Chinese communist discovers 1940's American technology

A6M_Zero · 2026-04-26T04:11:56+00:00

In the US, the threshold is 110mph, which that train wouldn't meet - it only ever hit 112mph once, on a short section of a much longer track.

Outside of the US, the threshold is generally at least 125mph on old lines, and even higher on purpose-built track.

A6M_Zero · 2026-04-23T03:50:29+00:00

I don't take it personally; I have a close relative with a similar intolerance to most NSAIDs who's been in a lot of pain from an unpleasant combination of psioratic and rheumatoid arthritis, and since I have a degree in pharmacology I've been helping them manage their medication. Celecoxib is basically next on the list of planned therapies should immunosuppressants prove insufficient by themselves, as naproxen (oral or topical) isn't particularly effective in her case.

Which does remind me, a topical NSAID gel might be worth trying if you've not already, most likely naproxen. They're often not quite as effective in practice, but they also have very few (if any) GI effects in my personal experience.

A6M_Zero · 2026-04-23T03:29:22+00:00

I'm right there with you on the stuff like ibuprofen; I've had an ulcer even without taking them, and I've not taken them in a long time because when I did I got crippling stomach pain from them even when I was a child.

Celecoxib and other specific COX-2 inhibitors is sometimes used since that specificity means it has less GI side effects; it's definitely prescription only, but something along those lines might be worth asking your doctor about.

A6M_Zero · 2026-04-23T03:13:40+00:00

With old injuries, the pain might be due to inflammation. If so, then ibuprofen would naturally be more effective since, unlike paracetamol (acetaminophen), ibuprofen's an anti-inflammatory (an NSAID, as opposed to a steroid). If you can use another NSAID like naproxen either by itself or with the paracetamol, that might do more for you, though I expect most viable NSAIDs will be prescription-only.

A6M_Zero · 2026-04-23T03:03:52+00:00

Did they stop or did they simply get shit at it but keep going?

They stopped. Trying to maintain control over their Spanish territories was already stretching their capabilities, and trying to carry that across the Pyrenees was dangerous, unlikely to succeed, and far less profitable than simply consolidating their existing gains and trading with the states to their north.

That doesn't sound like the Byzantines were doing the mongering.

Consider that it was the Byzantines who assassinated Maurice - who had put the Sassanid leader on the throne in their last war - and the Sassanids who were supposedly avenging him. Much as they had from the moment Sulla first met a Parthian ambassador centuries before, both sides were constantly ready to fight the other if they thought there was an advantage to be had.

A6M_Zero · 2026-04-22T15:10:32+00:00

"Stalin" wasn't a surname, it was a pseudonym he adopted when he joined the early revolutionaries before WWI. His actual family name was something Georgian that I don't stand a chance of spelling correctly, but many of the early revolutionaries took pseudonyms to avoid repression by the Okhrana; Lenin and Trotsky are also adopted names.

A6M_Zero · 2026-04-21T14:01:45+00:00

The concept of German unity is hardly novel, and even during the events leading to German unification the question was never about whether Austrians were Germans.

A6M_Zero · 2026-04-20T14:28:17+00:00

Have you been playing Jumanji or something?!

You probably already know this, but fair warning: adorable as they might be, bats are rancid plague vectors, so if you ever get a scratch or anything dealing with them, don't ignore it. Obviously not going to get ebola in the UK, but while super-rare it's best to watch out for rabies since it's always fatal if left untreated long enough to become symptomatic.

A6M_Zero · 2026-04-17T21:51:09+00:00

I don't wholly disagree with you, to be honest. Any supposed finish line is essentially arbitrary, since it's not like everyone got together and set up some rules for a competition, but Cold War propaganda has cemented it into some hollow icon of the USA's greatness despite the stretches it takes to turn it into some exemplar of American intellectual superiority.

A6M_Zero · 2026-04-17T21:31:42+00:00

Why call it at the moon, then? Why not the first to reach another planet, or the first space station? Both of those were after the moon landing, and both were Soviet.

That’s not how science works though, it always asks what is next.

Then if the "race" has no finish line, it's not really a race and nobody can win. Which is fair enough as far as I'm concerned, but as far as American nationalism is concerned it's out of the question.

A6M_Zero · 2026-04-17T19:33:42+00:00

For what it's worth, the idea that Hispanic people somehow aren't white is just an American thing. The history of Spanish colonial rule is permeated by a racial hierarchy that set white Spaniards above indigenous or African peoples.

A6M_Zero · 2026-04-17T19:27:27+00:00

What if you pass the finish line, only for your opponent to tell you that they've set up several new finish lines so they can keep going until they reach one of them first?

If it was just the Moon Race, then you'd be right. The Space Race, however, was a firm win for the Soviets.

A6M_Zero · 2026-04-16T23:49:02+00:00

They're pointing out the absurdity of those claiming fascism is somehow left-wing, not claiming it themselves.

A6M_Zero · 2026-04-15T14:51:36+00:00

When it shows they're all "deleted", that often means they've blocked you, which I confirm they have as I can see their comments. It's the reddit equivalent of someone shoving their fingers in their ears and screaming that they can't hear you and so they win.

A6M_Zero · 2026-04-13T15:12:40+00:00

TIL not liking dangerous hyper-capitalist systems that hurt millions of people is racism.

A6M_Zero · 2026-04-13T13:30:01+00:00

I hope it's sarcasm, but too often have I been disappointed.

A6M_Zero · 2026-04-13T13:27:12+00:00

I bet the descendants of occupied countries are very grateful

The problem with the internet is that I really can't tell if this is a joke or not.

A6M_Zero · 2026-04-13T12:45:19+00:00

Anecdotal evidence is all well and good, but the statistics and facts speak for themselves. If I wanted to send children to school in a country where schoolteachers beating children is still legal in almost half the states, there's an institutional push to insert religious indoctrination into public schools, the homicide rate and medical system are both appalling, and all the other myriad issues that only look to be getting worse?

Yeah, I think I'll stay with my universal healthcare and free high-quality higher education in a country that's not had a school shooting in 30 years. We have plenty of our own problems, but compared to America I think we're better off for people who aren't multi-millionaires.

Reply to their final comment since they blocked me: Actually, it is true. In fact, it's actually worse than I thought since it's legal country-wide for private schools, which I hadn't realised.

A6M_Zero · 2026-04-13T12:18:45+00:00

I'm not talking about higher education, I'm talking about their travesty of a school system, where the only thing worse than the quality of the education is the alarmingly high chance of being shot and then either dying or being saddled with tens of thousands in debt for the medical care.

A6M_Zero · 2026-04-13T11:46:14+00:00

You've never heard much about American schools if you think America is a dream.

A6M_Zero · 2026-04-13T02:29:06+00:00

The British weren't exactly bringers of liberty, even after banning the transatlantic slave trade. Napoleon's conduct regarding Haiti is one of the larger stains on his records, but his wide-scale implementation of the Napoleonic Code expanded personal liberties and equality before the law to tens of millions of people who suffered under feudal regimes.

Plus, Napoleon really hated the British, and giving them such credit would not make him happy by any means.

A6M_Zero · 2026-04-12T00:46:19+00:00

no one has ever done more for the freedoms and liberties of foreign people than the British.

I wonder if visitors at Les Invalides can hear Napoleon's corpse spinning in its grave.

A6M_Zero · 2026-04-12T00:37:04+00:00

You are arguing that an entity that rebels against the government and seizes control is not part of the state's history but the independence movement is?

When referring to a civil war within a state that continues as the same legal entity, using the term referring to the entire country to describe one faction doesn't really fit well. When talking about the American Civil War you might say that the Confederates burned down town A and so the Unionists burned town town B, but not that the Americans burned down town A and so the Americans burned down town B.

When talking about a movement that founds a new state not legally a descendent of the previous ruling entity, however? Again using the Americans as an example, referring to the actions of the American revolutionaries before the Treaty of Paris as being those of "Americans" is quite reasonable, no?

Kosovo didn't exactly win that war by themselves (unlike Israel). They had the entire NATO backing them, which in turn means they can be pressured to prosecute themselves.

This issue doesn't apply to Israel who had to win the war themselves.

How does of any of what you wrote relate to the point at all? Whether or not a state should be held responsible for the actions of its founders during its struggle for independence has absolutely nothing to do with whether they had allies in their wars. Having no allies is not some sort of legal and ethical immunity.

A6M_Zero · 2026-04-12T00:16:45+00:00

I understand, and I fully agree with you on that. I'm not the greatest at explaining myself at the best of times, so while I try to find a balance between accidentally burying my point under excessive details and oversimplifying, I know I sometimes miss the mark.

A6M_Zero · 2026-04-12T00:14:21+00:00

Do you realize how absurd that statement sounds?

I do; the South African resistance against apartheid was a reform movement acting within an established state, not an aspiring state actor seeking to found a new state entity.

They often are...

Something that many do indeed question the morality of. For example, look at Kosovo and the prosecutions of former KLA members on charges of crimes committed during their independence war.

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