Prelude to the Apocalypse

[Sengoku Strider]

Yes, this is an actual real quote sourced by a legitimate journalist.

As evidence the doomsday clock ticks ever closer to midnight, the QAnon Shaman's lawyer is actually going with the Idiocracy defence for the Capitol rioters.



A bold strategy which, if it pays off, could well end all human life on this planet.

[orange808]

These right wing cunts would drown every spectrum child (outside of some high functioning Asperger's) in the river at birth if they could.

[Mischief Maker]

A novel defense strategy, I'll give you that.

I hope this lawyer said that with the world's thickest Boston accent.

[emphatic]

These right wing cunts would drown every spectrum child (outside of some high functioning Asperger's) in the river at birth if they could.

And at the same time being all about pro life, right? Makes sense to me, you ding-dong.

[BryanM]

I watched a thing the other day, and am actually amazed at how shitty Britney Spears was treated by the media. It was easy to miss if you didn't watch TV all day, but when the bits are all put together back to back it's monstrous. Her character went from naive Christian country belle being exploited by skeevy music studios as a kid, to "crazy white trash bitch". Sarah Silverman calling her children "mistakes" at a roast is a bit low, but a Family Feud question that bullies her? Good lord. Leave Britney alone, indeed.

At least Melinda Gates is divorcing her husband, so he'll face a teeny tiny consequence for his "relationship" with Epstein. Instead of having all of the money, he'll only have around half of all of the money. Isn't that great?! ...Isn't it??!?!

I'm not worried about the time frame. You're already thinking long term when you consider running out of fossil fuels, so considering mining materials from the moon isn't really behind the scope of the conversation. (It is probably beyond our lifetimes--at least comfortably beyond our primes.) Given the amount of power we can harvest and the extreme cost of future rare fossil fuels, the economics could become viable very quickly.

Using on hand resources to construct a mOon base and deploy probes and such from there makes sense, as the vastly lower gravity makes for a cheaper escape velocity. Just need AI to be at the threshold to automate such an endeavor.

Bringing stuff into earth, well... I suppose if we had such a base we could dump the stuff into our oceans. And not have it be a hyper over the top luxury only for the absolute peak of society, such as the material to build steel toilets for the planet's emperor and such. All without needing a magical space elevator.

While talking about loooOOoooong timeframes: heat death of the universe. Hydrogen had to come from somewhere somehow. Maybe it's not completely, totally impossible that the universe isn't a closed system.

[orange808]

These right wing cunts would drown every spectrum child (outside of some high functioning Asperger's) in the river at birth if they could.

And at the same time being all about pro life, right? Makes sense to me, you ding-dong.

Yep. I can't understand any of it.

[orange808]

I watched a thing the other day, and am actually amazed at how shitty Britney Spears was treated by the media. It was easy to miss if you didn't watch TV all day, but when the bits are all put together back to back it's monstrous. Her character went from naive Christian country belle being exploited by skeevy music studios as a kid, to "crazy white trash bitch". Sarah Silverman calling her children "mistakes" at a roast is a bit low, but a Family Feud question that bullies her? Good lord. Leave Britney alone, indeed.

At least Melinda Gates is divorcing her husband, so he'll face a teeny tiny consequence for his "relationship" with Epstein. Instead of having all of the money, he'll only have around half of all of the money. Isn't that great?! ...Isn't it??!?!

I'm not worried about the time frame. You're already thinking long term when you consider running out of fossil fuels, so considering mining materials from the moon isn't really behind the scope of the conversation. (It is probably beyond our lifetimes--at least comfortably beyond our primes.) Given the amount of power we can harvest and the extreme cost of future rare fossil fuels, the economics could become viable very quickly.

Using on hand resources to construct a mOon base and deploy probes and such from there makes sense, as the vastly lower gravity makes for a cheaper escape velocity. Just need AI to be at the threshold to automate such an endeavor.

Bringing stuff into earth, well... I suppose if we had such a base we could dump the stuff into our oceans. And not have it be a hyper over the top luxury only for the absolute peak of society, such as the material to build steel toilets for the planet's emperor and such. All without needing a magical space elevator.

While talking about loooOOoooong timeframes: heat death of the universe. Hydrogen had to come from somewhere somehow. Maybe it's not completely, totally impossible that the universe isn't a closed system.

I would automate the process. Shouldn't have to send any people to the moon. Maintaining a presence in orbit would be good, though. First order of business is cleaning up the trash in orbit. Can't have things coming and going with this mess.

China also needs to raise the bar. They cut corners almost everywhere. From construction codes, to health standards, and (even) planning rocket launches, they tend to estimate and ignore details.

The universe will burn out. I'm not familiar with a heat death theory of the universe and I don't subscribe to any theories that the universe isn't a closed system--at least in terms of where our universe exists. I have no idea what the expanding edge replaces. In my opinion, the Higgs Field will collapse after the universe spreads out and goes dark. That will be the end of all physics and everything. Although, that's a bubble expanding at the speed of light inside a bubble expanding at the speed of light. At least here where we "are", our existence will probably become impossible.

[Mischief Maker]

As hilarious as the Bill Gates Jeffrey Epstein angle is right now, I wish people would talk more about how Gates was a major force in preventing Covid vaccine proliferation to poorer countries.

Especially in light of Gate's obsession with controlling African birth rates and foreskins.

...which brings us back around to his buddy Jeffrey Epstein's plan to inseminate every woman in the world and what kind of influence that idea may have had on a post-coital Bill Gates' thought process.

[FinalBaton]

Urgh, there's literally only around 4 democrats in congress raising a hand against the apartheid, and yet there are partisans who want to pretend it's only Republicans who are evil.

^^^^^^^^
This x1000

[Mischief Maker]

Urgh, there's literally only around 4 democrats in congress raising a hand against the apartheid, and yet there are partisans who want to pretend it's only Republicans who are evil.

^^^^^^^^
This x1000

How many Republicans in congress are raising a hand against apartheid?

[FinalBaton]

Does that mean you should be satisfied with this Democratic party?
Does this mean you shouldn't ask for the Democratic party to be better? (considerably better actually)

[Mischief Maker]

Does that mean you should be satisfied with this Democratic party?
Does this mean you shouldn't ask for the Democratic party to be better? (considerably better actually)

It means stop letting Republicans off the hook. Nobody is "supposed to be" evil.

And it's worth noting those same Justice Democrats standing against Israeli apartheid right now are the same ones people on this forum a couple short months ago were calling irredeemable gaslighting neolib sellouts because they didn't drop everything and set their careers on fire for Jimmy Dore's idiotic #forcethelosingvote.

[BryanM]

Epstein's wank fantasy was definitely one of those obvious worst-case scenarios that came to mind when the technological singularity idea was spreading around ~2005. It was kind of pants shittingly terrifying for someone so powerful openly talk about it, in terms that pretty clearly reveal he didn't want it to remain just a fantasy.

There's an ocean of optimism within the uh... well I can't call it the futurism scene anymore since that's transitioned from hoping/expecting a utopia to accepting we're probably backsliding into a Helen Caldicott hellworld at best.

But the true believers who still hold on think the robots will put us out of work, we'll all be on welfare and immortal and playing Mortal Kombat with our robot catgirl wives and everything will be just great... I don't think they're unaware that super intelligent computers that'd run the world would have terminal values, or that those terminal values would be corporate... I think they make the same mistake a lot of normies do and project their already biased and idealized view of themselves onto powerful people.

Would they be Santa Claus, or would they relegate the irrelevant flesh into ditches and hoard all the zinc and robot catgirls to themselves?

This reminds me of a geeky webnovel where there's killer robots that want to kill everyone to prolong their own survival for as long as possible. It's like 5% of the plot, the rest of it is cosplaying Warhammer 40k, Star Trek and Super Heroes... in space.

[Sengoku Strider]

When the apocalypse comes, its dark tide will roll forth upon the the black Ford F-150s of a generation radicalized by The Apprentice.



Humanity's surviving descendants will ask how we could have just sat back and let it happen for all those years.

[Mischief Maker]

I wonder if this is the last thing that flashed through the brain of that woman who was shot to death while charging a barricaded hall of congress on January 6th?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4QNXnNftWk

Urgh... worth it...

[orange808]

I'm tired of the entire idea of the magic books, apocalypse, prophesies, and "chosen ones" You aren't fucking special and your made up magic ghost story is a sham. That's all of you.

What could be more dangerous than a mob of dipshit fuckers running around claiming their magic book and ghosty god gives them carte blanche? Even worse, they all have some "unavoidable" final battle apocalypse prophecy that must happen to fulfill their beliefs. What could go wrong?

There's a word for every one of these things: a cult. Starts with a "C", but it's not the word you were thinking!

[BryanM]

Erm. That's what makes deprogramming a liberal or fascist so difficult - you're asking them to betray their god, their family, their church and think all these strange heretical thoughts that make them feel bad and have never heard from anyone they care about in their real lives.

What do you get when you cross an atheist with a Jehovah's Witness? Someone who knocks on your door for no reason.

I've watched a couple youtube essays from Belief it or Not this month, it's always striking how cut off from the rest of society they are. (The one on martyrdom is most relevant to the current discussion here. The comment section is filled to the brim with traumatic stories.) That old South Park joke about Christian Rock, where you take love songs and insert "Jesus" into the lyrics is as true as it's always been.

This one lady saying that the multiverse hypothesis has no more merit than the Bible does rankle me up something mild though. Not all shit-shooting is created equal - the multiverse hypothesis is coherent and could imaginably be falsifiable some day. The bible, says there's this Sticks to Snakes spell anyone can cast and we should have ample ancient spell books describing it, if it were true.

[Specineff]

I'm tired of the entire idea of the magic books, apocalypse, prophesies, and "chosen ones" You aren't fucking special and your made up magic ghost story is a sham. That's all of you.

They'd have nothing if you take that away. As in "driven to despair, no reason to go on living" nothing.

[Mischief Maker]

If you think the Israeli raid of the al-Aqsa Mosque that set this whole thing off had anything to do with religion, and not with Netanyahu's failure to form a governing coalition less than a week before, I've got a bridge to sell you.

And if you think the SECOND Israeli storming of al-Aqsa mosque shortly after the ceasefire was declared was about religion, Lucy here would like you to kick the football she's holding.

With his Prime Ministership in peril, and the corruption trial against him picking up steam, Netanyahu has every reason to provoke Hamas and turn himself into super war-man protecting the people from the scary terrorists, nevermind his criminality in a time of crisis.


I used to be a hardcore atheist type, but I softened on the issue because of Christopher Hitchens, ironically enough. It was after he decided the Iraq War 2.0 was some kind of Atheist Jihad of Thomas Jefferson verses the New Age Preacher who talked his mother into a murder-suicide pact. Watching Hitchens twist himself into logical pretzels to excuse Cheney's oil-grab in the same way "Intelligent Design" advocates tried to sell Noah's Ark as scientifically sound made me realize the irrational thought processes I'd associated with right-wing evangelicalism when I was younger were not exclusive to religion at all.

[orange808]

If you think the Israeli raid of the al-Aqsa Mosque that set this whole thing off had anything to do with religion, and not with Netanyahu's failure to form a governing coalition less than a week before, I've got a bridge to sell you.

And if you think the SECOND Israeli storming of al-Aqsa mosque shortly after the ceasefire was declared was about religion, Lucy here would like you to kick the football she's holding.

With his Prime Ministership in peril, and the corruption trial against him picking up steam, Netanyahu has every reason to provoke Hamas and turn himself into super war-man protecting the people from the scary terrorists, nevermind his criminality in a time of crisis.


I used to be a hardcore atheist type, but I softened on the issue because of Christopher Hitchens, ironically enough. It was after he decided the Iraq War 2.0 was some kind of Atheist Jihad of Thomas Jefferson verses the New Age Preacher who talked his mother into a murder-suicide pact. Watching Hitchens twist himself into logical pretzels to excuse Cheney's oil-grab in the same way "Intelligent Design" advocates tried to sell Noah's Ark as scientifically sound made me realize the irrational thought processes I'd associated with right-wing evangelicalism when I was younger were not exclusive to religion at all.

Why obsess on that particular conflict? There's significantly worse perpetual violence on the entire African continent to the south. It's a curious obsession.

Believe it or not, you touched on one subject I won't discuss. I'm not that brave. It's amazing how many conflicts (past and present) are verboten.

[Mischief Maker]

Why obsess on that particular conflict?

I thought YOU were the one who brought it up with your talk about being sick of holy books and apocalypse.

Believe it or not, you touched on one subject I won't discuss. I'm not that brave. It's amazing how many conflicts (past and present) are verboten.

I won't ask you to discuss it, but out of curiosity which one?

[orange808]

Why obsess on that particular conflict?

I thought YOU were the one who brought it up with your talk about being sick of holy books and apocalypse.

It's literally the name of the thread, but my opinion isn't new.

Believe it or not, you touched on one subject I won't discuss. I'm not that brave. It's amazing how many conflicts (past and present) are verboten.

I won't ask you to discuss it, but out of curiosity which one?

Nope.

I understand freedom of religion to allow practicing your faith in your own way without imposing your values on others. It's a private thing. I'm fortunate to have lived in places that aspire to that standard, to some degree--even if we fall far short. I'll stick to offending the bible thumpers at home. They are less likely to hurt me and/ or cancel me.

[Mischief Maker]

*shrug*

The nation state of Israel is not Judaism and the politician Netanyahu is not the personification of all Jews worldwide.

If Apartheid was wrong in South Africa it's wrong in Israel too.

[orange808]

*shrug*

The nation state of Israel is not Judaism and the politician Netanyahu is not the personification of all Jews worldwide.

If Apartheid was wrong in South Africa it's wrong in Israel too.

Yes.. but... Nobody around the west was ever cancelled for spinning "Give Me Hope, Johanna".

[EmperorIng]

Glad to see our lad is sticking to his guns, days after giving hundreds of millions of dollars to israel.

Now he needs some more fellating articles from WSJ, Washington Post, and New York Times about how great it is to have a normal president again.

[BryanM]

Yeah... like I said before I'd call it a win if we could get two checks from them this year, which I guess is a higher bar than I had for the republicans (which was "please god put off the Iran war for later").

And it seems like they met it, for the child-havers. Which should be juuuust barely half-assed enough to keep them viable against fascism.

[Sengoku Strider]

Yeah... like I said before I'd call it a win if we could get two checks from them this year, which I guess is a higher bar than I had for the republicans (which was "please god put off the Iran war for later).

Well maybe if you promised to spend your stimulus cheques on state of the art radar systems, anti-personnel weapons and automatically renewable 5-year Northrup Grumman and Raytheon premium support contracts, government-senpai would notice you. You have to put out a bit to get the boys’ attention, you know.

[BulletMagnet]

Glad to see our lad is sticking to his guns

The Bipartisanship Fairy is totally real, and we must continue to placate her with sacrifice! Never, ever lose faith!

[BryanM]

They always go "just the tomahawks baby just gimme the tomahawks" but it's never just the tomahawks.

The gibberish they use to justify the apocalypse is always a delightful pile of shit. Oh gee, a carry capacity of 1 billion humans, that sounds fine.

Propaganda doesn't have to be like this, if what you're selling is cool and good you don't need to resort to bullshit. That "bipartisanship" pablum democrats use as an excuse for being evil... ahhh...

It's like an idiot's version of idiocracy.

[Sengoku Strider]

The Bipartisanship Fairy is totally real, and we must continue to placate her with sacrifice! Never, ever lose faith!

I mean, it's real in the sense that the military industrial complex give both parties marching orders. With things winding down in Iraq & Afghanistan, sliding a couple $bil to a military client state helps make up some of the shortfall.