[Non-US] News That Makes You laugh/cry/neither...

nockermensch · Post by **nockermensch** » Sat Aug 11, 2018 2:55 am

The best thing to come from the absurdist comedy that's Brazil politics right now. I'll buy the T-shirt.

tussock · Post by **tussock** » Sun Aug 12, 2018 6:59 am

URSAL, URSAL, URSAL!

Needs an anthem, great idea though. Like the little bear, top work there.

Koumei · Post by **Koumei** » Thu Aug 23, 2018 5:20 am

We're having a new wave of leadership challenges in Australia because it's ages since our last coup and we have a reputation to uphold.

Back when Tony Abbott was ousted, people all over the country left onions outside their houses in... not exactly celebration, certainly not sympathy, just a weird form of mockery. Because of the time he took a bite out of a raw onion like it was an apple.

So Peter Dutton, who looks like an angry potato full of fearmongering, failed in his first attempt at a coup, then gave his resignation but I think he took it back later. People now have left potatoes outside their houses. Note: if we can get rid of Dutton for good, that is excellent, ideally we can bar him from the country and send him off to face court in the Hague.

But now, in preparation for the next challenge (again by Dutton possibly?), our government have seriously shut parliament and basically gone on strike. This is the union-hating, strike-breaking government. Which has just closed up so they can... fight over the top job instead of doing their fucking jobs.

tussock · Post by **tussock** » Thu Aug 23, 2018 12:08 pm

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/21/worl ... nbull.html

The New York Times says it's probably because of that climate change legislation they tried, and failed, to pass, same as the last few coups were. Something about Australia basically being a coal mine subsidiary.

Thaluikhain · Post by **Thaluikhain** » Thu Aug 23, 2018 12:49 pm

Possibly being a deeply unpopular PM for ages might have had something to do with it. Same as last time.

Now, ok, yeah, you can say Rudd lost PMship because of the mining industry (at least in part), but as that article said, Turnbull hadn't been doing much of anything to oppose the mining industry. Also, the second change in recent times was Rudd getting the PMship back.

Koumei · Post by **Koumei** » Fri Aug 24, 2018 7:09 am

A big part of it has been Abbott trying to get revenge on the guy who took his job (as revenge for taking HIS job when they were in opposition), party be damned. And the fact that Turnbull is not hard-right enough for Murdoch, and what Murdoch wants, Murdoch typically gets.

However we had the latest spill, a fatal fourway, and the winner of this match and NEW Australian Prime Minister*, Scott "Look it's a shame we have to put people in concentration camps and torture them, but that's just the way it is!" Morrison! Still better than Dutton, but the whole "Stability and sensible government" party has basically dug up the final remains of their credibility to set on fire. Because even if you don't care about policies or you agree with their policies, this big show has been an embarrassing mess. It's a big deal in the way that the more important things should be a big deal but aren't.

Also note that damaging the country's international reputation is a crime that can carry up to 15 years in prison, and that this is the party that introduced that law.

*Until the next general election. Or the next spill, so probably Tuesday.

tussock · Post by **tussock** » Sat Aug 25, 2018 6:31 am

Would be quite funny if someone charged the PM with damaging the country's reputation through the method he used to became PM.

Seems sort of like you could also charge the next bloke. And perhaps the policeman laying charges could be charged too. Wait! Passing that law damaged Australia's international reputation! Bin the lot of 'em!

nockermensch · Post by **nockermensch** » Mon Sep 03, 2018 4:53 pm

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-45398084

Really in-topic, because this actually made me cry. I've been there two months ago and I still can't wrap my mind around everything that has been lost.

That place was huge and besides the museum proper it housed several research departments for Rio's Federal University. I have friends who did research there.

maglag · Post by **maglag** » Fri Sep 07, 2018 11:46 pm

Brasil's oldest museum catches fire, millions of ancient artifacts probably lost.

Brasilian 2nd runner presidential candidate stabbed at campaign event.

Mind you he's openly a racist, anti-LGBTQ (said that if had a gay son he would prefer them to die in an accident), pro-rape so he probably deserved it.

Also there's talk it may've been a PR stunt since nobody seems to actually have seen any blood.

Oh, and the first runner for brasilian president is Lula Da Silva that is currently and literally in prison behind bars.

nockermensch · Post by **nockermensch** » Fri Sep 07, 2018 11:50 pm

maglag wrote:Brasil's oldest museum catches fire, millions of ancient artifacts probably lost.

Brasilian 2nd runner presidential candidate stabbed at campaign event.

Mind you he's openly a racist, anti-LGBTQ (said that if had a gay son he would prefer them to die in an accident), pro-rape so he probably deserved it.

Also there's talk it may've been a PR stunt since nobody seems to actually have seen any blood.

Oh, and the first runner for brasilian president is Lula Da Silva that is currently and literally in prison behind bars.

I had mentioned the museum fire just above you. And yep, the odds that we will just segue into sectarian violence are looking good so far. My first idea was to write "civil war", but there's the fact that our population doesn't have much in the way of guns.

maglag · Post by **maglag** » Sat Sep 08, 2018 3:59 am

Ah my bad, somehow completely missed your post up there.

Still even if there's no civil war, if stabbed dude makes it to president it won't exactly be much better since he's a military fanatic and seemingly advocates shooting first and asquing questions later as far as crime is concerned.

nockermensch · Post by **nockermensch** » Sat Sep 08, 2018 4:15 am

maglag wrote:Ah my bad, somehow completely missed your post up there.

Still even if there's no civil war, if stabbed dude makes it to president it won't exactly be much better since he's a military fanatic and seemingly advocates shooting first and asquing questions later as far as crime is concerned.

Yeah, it's all very surreal, because his speeches are all "the only good indian leftist is a dead one", and then when a lunatic who believes in masonic conspiracies stabs him because God told him so, he and his fans react with indignation.

They laughed when the bus carrying Lula was shot. They said that the carioca city councillor who was murdered because she was investigating corrupt cops had it coming. Like 50% of Bolsonaro's speeches is calling for more guns / people using guns / violence. Well, violence happened.

phlapjackage · Post by **phlapjackage** » Wed Sep 19, 2018 2:38 am

Brian Blessed to voice Gotrek in a Warhammer audio-something (audio drama?):
https://twitter.com/brianblessed/status ... 7231312897

Pros: Brian Blessed !!!
Cons: Age of Sigmar

Clearly the pros have it by a margin of infinity

Thaluikhain · Post by **Thaluikhain** » Wed Sep 19, 2018 5:53 am

Huh, that's...not how I imagined Gotrek. Unless they've retconned him a lot, which isn't unlikely.

Schleiermacher · Post by **Schleiermacher** » Wed Sep 19, 2018 11:55 pm

As long as he has it within his range to be a little less... jolly than his usual ouvre, I think this sounds like brilliant casting. Is Gotrek really all that different from Prince Vultan in a fatalistic mood?

OgreBattle · Post by **OgreBattle** » Mon Sep 24, 2018 5:26 am

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/09/19/aust ... index.html

Australia

Pariah Dog · Post by **Pariah Dog** » Mon Sep 24, 2018 5:46 am

Because everything being 6 feet long/tall and venomous just isn't enough. </s>

Koumei · Post by **Koumei** » Mon Sep 24, 2018 6:43 am

Yeah that has been a great distraction from all the terrible things our government has been doing the past week or so. (Similarly the media has been super happy to talk about some Labor MPs being ejected from Parliamentary Question Time for bringing muppets in, which is absolutely more important than the government giving hand-outs to "private" schools full of child molesters or wanting to force companies to put back doors into their apps and things so they can spy on us whenever they want.)

Thaluikhain · Post by **Thaluikhain** » Thu Sep 27, 2018 2:40 pm

In other entertainment news, it has been revealed that Voldemort's snake Nagini is, in fact, not a snake at all, but a woman who will be played by Korean actress Claudia Kim.

I am not sure what she thinks this will add to Harry Potter lore. I mean, beyond the obvious weird fan-art by people who remember that Wormtail apparently milks her at some point.

angelfromanotherpin · Post by **angelfromanotherpin** » Thu Sep 27, 2018 4:06 pm

I can see some worthwhile angles to that.

• Social commentary: Nagini is an animagus who for some reason comes to so prefer her animal form that she identifies as a snake more than a human and eventually just lives as one. Insert wizarding metaphor for body dysphoria.
• Character development: Tom Riddle is so damaged that he can't grasp human love, but he can still express the affection of a person for a pet. Nagini wants a relationship with Tom, accepts 'pet' as the best available option for mutual affection, and volunteers for transfiguration.
• Worldbuilding: Nagini is forcibly transfigured into a snake as punishment for some crime and supports Voldemort as the person who will most fuck up the system that wronged her. Further examination of how monstrous wizarding criminal sentencing can be.

hyzmarca · Post by **hyzmarca** » Thu Sep 27, 2018 4:30 pm

JKR's posts in response to twitter shitstorm suggest that Nagini is a Naga, not a human.

To paraphrase -
Many Twitter Dickheads: Casting an asian woman as a snake is extremely racist.
JKR: Nagas are from Indonisian mythology, you wankers.

She was more polite than that, of course. And the Twitter Dickheads less polite.

Grek · Post by **Grek** » Thu Sep 27, 2018 4:34 pm

Nagini is literally the word for "magical snake that turns into a woman" in Indonisian mythology.

Thaluikhain · Post by **Thaluikhain** » Thu Sep 27, 2018 4:51 pm

Grek wrote:Nagini is literally the word for "magical snake that turns into a woman" in Indonisian mythology.

Doesn't that make it a bad choice for an individual's name, though? That'd be like calling a werewolf...oh, right, nevermind.

Anyhoo, people complaining that Nagas should be from India, not Indonesia, though again, Korean actress, so whatever.

virgil · Post by **virgil** » Thu Sep 27, 2018 5:48 pm

Indonesia isn't part of Asia?

Grek · Post by **Grek** » Thu Sep 27, 2018 6:31 pm

Thaluikhain wrote:I am not sure what she thinks this will add to Harry Potter lore. I mean, beyond the obvious weird fan-art by people who remember that Wormtail apparently milks her at some point.

Fuck the fan art, check out the OFFICIAL CONCEPT ART (warning, NSFW).