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[nenjin]

The ability to correctly use "literally" should be a litmus test for getting to post.

[Draignean]

He did use it correctly.

There is still a nice little 'informal' sub-header for that particular definition.

Granted, I can't think of a communications forum more informal than the Internet, except perhaps a semaphore cabaret.

[Playergamer]

The ability to correctly use "literally" should be a litmus test for getting to post.

the ability to use the shift key should also be a litmus test, and yet here i am.

[Reelya]

Woody

Was gonna say, you're dealing with a whole generation that literally grew up with him as Woody to the point that the movie cast grew up with them and it was a main theme of the series, and the Rock is more recognizable as a character than any of his movie roles.

Woody Allen, Woody Gurthrie or Woody Harrelson, which one do you mean? Only a small subset of people would automatically be like "oh you mean Tom Hanks" if the only clue was "Woody".

[martinuzz]

Woody Woodpecker? Although I have to say that I've never heard of a series with a 'Woody' and a 'Rock'. I really thought you guys were talking about Don't Starve though, Wilson and Woody.

[Reelya]

That's sort of the point. Forrest Gump is unambiguous and it's associated with his face. People say it was a ... poor choice, but the only alternative they can offer up is a role with a generic name (that's the actual name of at least two well-known actors) and isn't associated with Tom Hank's face, since it was voice only. Associating voice roles with a face requires a secondary reference. 1994 Forrest Gump, 1995 Toy Story. So if you're associating Toy Story with Tom Hank's face, the most immediate reference is in fact Forrest Gump, which was his huge megastar movie of the time. Let's face it: Tom Hank's 1980s movie were all sort of shit in one way or another. He did lame 80s comedies then lucked out when he got serious roles like Forrest Gump, which reinvented his image.

Saying a generation grew up with him as Woody, and that they therefore didn't grow up with him as Forrest Gump is plainly bullshit. They came out at almost precisely the same time. But more people know his face in association with Forrest Gump, and not as "Woody".

[martinuzz]

Trump claims that no one will ever stop him from using Twitter.

Inb4 Twitter bans Trump (EVERYONE! push that report button on the covfefe tweet)

[misko27]

I suppose that could be true, though I had to look up the definition of a News Aggregator.  Unless google counts or my store's news rack counts I think I may be avoiding them.  I pretty much just know a number of famous publications, and then google the publication itself, look for an article on it, and then do the same for a few more publications until I've seen a few different takes on it.

Interesting. Google does count as an aggregator, though, since Google News is a thing. (Also, unrelated, but I just went to Google News and one of my news topics was "Joey Buttafucco". I'm 99% sure I did this as a child/young-teen, and I giggled like a maniac the entire time.) But it's still an interesting perspective, Google News and Buttafucco notwithstanding.

The ability to correctly use "literally" should be a litmus test for getting to post.

the ability to use the shift key should also be a litmus test, and yet here i am.

This forum should require a quiz where you recite minutiae about Dwarf Fortress.

[Neonivek]

You ever get the impression that Trump sabotages himself so that he can say he is fulfilling his campaign promises without actually doing them?

[martinuzz]

No, not really. I see him more and more as the president that managed to do what Russia has been trying to do unsuccesfully in the past 70 years, to divide the transatlantic alliance and isolate the US.

[Playergamer]

The ability to correctly use "literally" should be a litmus test for getting to post.

the ability to use the shift key should also be a litmus test, and yet here i am.

This forum should require a quiz where you recite minutiae about Dwarf Fortress.

ooh, i love the dwarves.

[Reelya]

Trump is jumping into the Saudi / Qatar dispute, firmly pro-Saudi.

The gist is that Saudi Arabia is well known to be the biggest state supporter of terrorist groups, and they're arming themselves up to the gills, they now have the third highest military spending after USA and China. The Saudi military expenditures are now around 2/3rds of China's,  according to some measures, and increasing, and hardly anyone is blinking an eye about this. There's a brutal dictatorship that cuts peoples heads off and they're arming themselves up to be a world superpower, while they've been caught out funding terrorist groups in nearby nations to destabilize and discredit them. We should in fact be very worried about this.

So Saudi sees itself as the next regional superpower, and they're intimidating everyone around them into falling in line. Qatar doesn't "toe the Saudi line" so they have to go, so the Saudi's are accusing them of being terrorist supporters, even though the groups are the same groups supported by Saudi Arabia.

"During my recent trip to the Middle East, I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology," Mr Trump said in a series of morning tweets. "Leaders pointed to Qatar - look!

Ah, so it's all falling into place. Saudi Arabia needed a scapegoat to throw Trump a bone, and since Qatar isn't a good little lapdog, they've been singled out. Qatar also happens to be the home of Al Jazeera, the most respected media outlet in the middle east, and the singlemost inconveniently independent voice in the region, as far as the Saudis are concerned. All given, this is extremely troubling, yet Trump's jumping on board with the Saudi fascists who want to dominate the whole region.

[Neonivek]

In all fairness Trump did compliment Saudi Arabia for having no protestors.

[smjjames]

Trump is jumping into the Saudi / Qatar dispute, firmly pro-Saudi.

The gist is that Saudi Arabia is well known to be the biggest state supporter of terrorist groups, and they're arming themselves up to the gills, they now have the third highest military spending after USA and China. The Saudi military expenditures are now around 2/3rds of China's,  according to some measures, and increasing, and hardly anyone is blinking an eye about this. There's a brutal dictatorship that cuts peoples heads off and they're arming themselves up to be a world superpower, while they've been caught out funding terrorist groups in nearby nations to destabilize and discredit them. We should in fact be very worried about this.

So Saudi sees itself as the next regional superpower, and they're intimidating everyone around them into falling in line. Qatar doesn't "toe the Saudi line" so they have to go, so the Saudi's are accusing them of being terrorist supporters, even though the groups are the same groups supported by Saudi Arabia.

Well, Iran also sees itself as THE regional superpower.

Aside from getting into an arms race with Iran (which would be troubling on it's own), yeah, you've gotta ask what they're doing with the building up of military stuff.

"During my recent trip to the Middle East, I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology," Mr Trump said in a series of morning tweets. "Leaders pointed to Qatar - look!

Ah, so it's all falling into place. Saudi Arabia needed a scapegoat to throw Trump a bone, and since Qatar isn't a good little lapdog, they've been singled out. Qatar also happens to be the home of Al Jazeera, the most respected media outlet in the middle east, and the singlemost inconveniently independent voice in the region, as far as the Saudis are concerned. All given, this is extremely troubling, yet Trump's jumping on board with the Saudi fascists who want to dominate the whole region.

Seems more like Trump is just cheering on the sidelines. It's hard to see any actual strategizing on Trump's part since we have a base there, for one, and squabbling among allies is the last thing that we'd want in the fight against terror. Not to mention contradicting the tone that his staff are trying to do.

It just, almost seems like a macrocosm of the palace intrigue and infighting that we are seeing within the white house. You have to remember that the guy likes to have his staff and allies compete with each other, I wouldn't be surprised if he was doing the same thing in the wider world, subconsciously or not. The only reason the European allies aren't squabbling over getting love from Trump is because they don't need to kiss his butt. The Saudis already had the buttkissing relationship, European countries don't.

[Reelya]

The arms race with Iran theory doesn't hold up when you realize Iran isn't playing that game. Iran's strategy is based on deterrent + diplomacy. They're a regional power, but force projection isn't the source of that power.

https://tradingeconomics.com/iran/military-expenditure

https://web.archive.org/web/20121024195316/http://www.salon.com/2009/10/01/cole_12/

Belief: Iran is a militarized society bristling with dangerous weapons and a growing threat to world peace.

Reality: Irans military budget is a little over $6 billion annually. Sweden, Singapore and Greece all have larger military budgets. Moreover, Iran is a country of 70 million, so that its per capita spending on defense is tiny compared to these others, since they are much smaller countries with regard to population. Iran spends less per capita on its military than any other country in the Persian Gulf region with the exception of the United Arab Emirates.