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[smjjames]

Tbh the reason why USA is averse to communism is because it is so warm. If you want communism you need cold weather.

*points at Cuba, Venezuela, and Vietnam*

No automation, not real communism. Checkmate capitalists

I know Cuba attempted automation. One of the first things Castro did was attempt to industrialize hard with Soviet support. Mechanicized sugar cane harvesters and factories especially. I think they never really got as much support in that area as they expected.

If Cuba didn't get embargoed hard the way it did, who knows how it would have turned out. It'd have become a major trade partner with the US by way of proximity for sure.

[Loud Whispers]

*Major trade protectorate of the US

[Max™]

*Puerto Rico II: The Riconing

[EnigmaticHat]

I'm not sure we would have done that.  After WW2 we weren't in the colony business anymore, not in the old sense at least.

Only reason Puerto Rico is still a colony is because there's no political will to deal with it.  Same reason the native american reservations are basically a holding tank.  The ultimate authority in all our colonies is the federal government but the federal government would rather pretend they don't exist.

[Egan_BW]

Star Trek is fucked up for so many reasons, not the least of which: why do they keep having to "set phasers to stun" like it's such a hassle or they couldn't have these ridiculously powerful pocket weapons equipped with a basic target recognition function or even just have them default to stun maybe? "Set phasers to fuckoff deathbeam!" "Set phasers to horrific burning to death from the inside out!" "Set phasers to mild concussion and nausea with occasional recurring headaches, vomiting, suicidal thoughts, and diarrhea!"

You can just assume that they're set to stun by default, and when they say "set phasers to stun!" they're just reminding the crew and audience that they're not using deadly force.

[EnigmaticHat]

That is a hilarious idea tho, that phasers could be set to something other than stun or kill.  "Set phasers to guilt trip!"  "Set phasers to confuse!"  "Set phasers to toast marshmellows!"

[Egan_BW]

I assume they have settings such as "warm slightly", "painful blisters", and "melt steel".

[smjjames]

I'm not sure we would have done that.  After WW2 we weren't in the colony business anymore, not in the old sense at least.

Only reason Puerto Rico is still a colony is because there's no political will to deal with it.  Same reason the native american reservations are basically a holding tank.  The ultimate authority in all our colonies is the federal government but the federal government would rather pretend they don't exist.

Yeah, we keep trying to allow Puerto Rico to choose which way to go rather than a population threshold as was the norm for territories on the continential US. If it was a state, PR would rank around the 30th or 31st most populous state. Which really underlies how badly underrepresented they are.

Of the other four permanently inhabited territories, only Guam and US Virgin Islands have populations that might be considered somewhere close to the statehood threshold.

[Starver]

You can just assume that they're set to stun by default, and when they say "set phasers to stun!" they're just reminding the crew and audience that they're not using deadly force.

By default, they're probably set to "off", and probably any given "stun" (several levels eventually got defined, in canon, from a few minutes knocked out to a number of hours) comes one or more clicks prior to "kill" (again, several levels, from collapsing dead but 'untouched' through singed effects and on qgain into full disintegration like they were never there when they reshot the next part of the scene) with thermal effects (heating rocks), anti-materielle (destroying walls) and mining (digging rock) probably featuring both intensity and focus adjustments to properly achieve (the plot/series/model of prop might try to address this, or keep it as wibbly-wobbly as the Sonic Screwdriver).  Also, some aliens (notably changelings) need higher-than-most-powerful-human-stun setting to get any stun effect at all, kill-effects also being notably higher than 'standard'.

As to being told to set them to stun. That's just a form of proper military communication. The lead character is positively telling the redshirts/etc that this isn't an Extreme Prejudice away-mission, that if you have to shoot first you still want to be able to ask questions later, and thus no misunderstanding occurs that undermines the duty commander's intentions.

(We know that the natives are probably going to fatally shoot (or zap, perforate, dissolve, swallow, crush, etc) anybody wearing red that isn't faking a Scottish accent, or yellow without a fancy Alice Band over their eyes/being an Android/being Klingon/RIP Tasha, but our guys/gals/etc are the Good Guys/Gals/Etc and should be following orders they know to be in line with Prime Directive, diplomatic or just good investigational procedure...)

[hector13]

That is a hilarious idea tho, that phasers could be set to something other than stun or kill.  "Set phasers to guilt trip!"  "Set phasers to confuse!"  "Set phasers to toast marshmellows!"

You’ve only been beat by, like, twenty-five years or something

[Dunamisdeos]

STAR TREK PROBLEMS (I am a big fan, by and by, just playing adversary here)

Their shields are down! Start using one of our several transporter systems to start disappearing parts of their ship at random!  Said noone ever.

Deep Space Nine is completely stationary for all practical purposes, and somehow is able to be relevant in any tactical military sense whatsoever.

The most irrevocably sacred thing to our Federation culture is the right of all species to develop free of outside influence or control. Uhoh, there are immediate consequences to ourselves involved? Never mind, let's just Janeway/Kirk it.

Non-liberal rural folks causing trouble? Sell them to the Cardassians. They should be proud to serve the Federation with their backwards lives.

A catastrophe has occurred. Instead of dealing with the aftermath responsibly, let us manipulate time itself with the full regularly stated knowledge that we could (and do) accidentally wipe entire civilizations from existence. Our shining example of a utopia does not deserve consequences.

I think all of this neatly frames exactly what a human space utopia would be like. A utopia of convenience. For us. And those who are "us" enough. A society where the people we disagree with either don't exist or don't matter, at least until the replicators run out.

[smjjames]

Deep Space Nine is completely stationary for all practical purposes, and somehow is able to be relevant in any tactical military sense whatsoever.

I thought it was in orbit of Bajor, though I never saw Bajor through the windows. I suppose it could be in an orbit close to Bajors and still be tactically relevant.

Anyhoo, lets veer away from this tangent to... somewhere.

[Dunamisdeos]

More best headlines, complete with baffling contradictory tweets from our sanest President ever.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-has-posted-his-%E2%80%98fake-news-awards%E2%80%99-but-the-site-keeps-crashing/ar-AAuPLB9

[Frumple]

DS9's parked in front of a galaxy bridging wormhole that has a monodirectional-ish opening, near as I can recall. Its military importance comes mostly from that (and whatever being able to skimp on engines lets them load up _{also baldboss is like a demigod or somethin' I'unno things got weird}). It's difficult to find chokepoints in space, most of the time, but authorial fiat can manage it.

... anyway, two more days 'till shut down. Anyone heard anything new on that front? Last I noticed the GOP was doing its freedom caucus backstabby thing while multiple democrat representatives are openly considering going, "Hey, y'know what. You guys can't get your stuff together, maybe we return some favors and decline to help y'all unfuck your mess."

[wierd]

Deep Space Nine is completely stationary for all practical purposes, and somehow is able to be relevant in any tactical military sense whatsoever.

I thought it was in orbit of Bajor, though I never saw Bajor through the windows. I suppose it could be in an orbit close to Bajors and still be tactically relevant.

Anyhoo, lets veer away from this tangent to... somewhere.

REwatch episode 1.

It *WAS* parked in orbit of bajor, but with some knob fiddling, and a little push, it went SAILING through space, and set up shop next to the wormhole. (AKA, the infinite plot device)

A trick they never again performed, even when it would have been really useful.  Also, for a major trade hub, they have a serious problem laying hands on photon torpedoes for some reason. (Yes, the station has torpedo launchers, but no torpedoes.)  Even when they went to war... I dunno... THREE TIMES.. No torpedoes. Because reasons.