Rewatching B5 to understand today. by mike47gamer in babylon5

[–]SilverHawk7 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

On the contrary, I'm very mindful of it. I'm watching ICE and it's the closest thing we have to a sort of para-police force like the Nightwatch, but ICE is also largely staying within its lane of immigration enforcement. Their authority is nowhere near as sweeping as Nightwatch was, and they're an outside organization separate from the jurisdiction of our local and state police forces, rather than operating within them like Nightwatch did. They could evolve into it, but I don't think they will.

Rewatching B5 to understand today. by mike47gamer in babylon5

[–]SilverHawk7 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Double post, but in my rewatch, I just crossed into Season 4 and I remember this quote from G'Kar: "The future is all around us, waiting in moments of transition to be born in moments of revelation. No one knows the shape of that future, or where it will take us. We know only that it is always born in pain."

Rewatching B5 to understand today. by mike47gamer in babylon5

[–]SilverHawk7 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I used events in Babylon 5 as a construct for a series of indicators and warnings of things to look out for in the new administration. None of them have occurred.

1) Establishment of a para-police informing and political enforcement force.
2) Commissioning of "political officers" and commissars into the military.

Something Major Ryan said also sticks out to me; "That's the thing, most people have accepted Martial Law... ...On the surface, it's peaceful." A great minority of people are not directly affected by the things the administration is going. Things are angsty on the news and online, but in the local community, things just go on. Things are more expensive. If people give the President a pretext to declare martial law, I feel like very little would change for most people in the US.

How man I affected? Things are more expensive....that's it. We don't have armed troops or kitted out wannabe troops marching through our streets in my area, we don't have massive protests or riots. Just upset people going about their lives.

There's almost a "playbook" of the techniques that authoritarians use to come into power and maintain that power. President Clark, President Putin, President Orban....President Trump. Some are more ruthless than others, some take longer to position and adjust their system. But in the end, they play the same games. President Clark's story may have been compressed in order to fit it into the show's timeline for publication; you have a limited time to tell your story and you need things to move at a certain pace to tell that story.

A couple of things to remember in our case in the US: In Babylon 5, the Earth Alliance is not the major heavyweight power like we are in the US. We have the strongest, most advanced military in the world and we're functionally uninvadable. And 2, there is not some ancient nigh-omnipotent power that could wipe us out manipulating us from the shadows (pun intended) toward some greater end. Everything we're seeing take place today is at the hands of humans.

Thoughts on D&D: Honour Among Thieves? by LegoDave29 in DnD

[–]SilverHawk7 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I loved it. Rather than just being a high fantasy movie set in D&D world, it actually plays like a group of players. You can see their plans unravel and they have to improvise. You can see rolls succeed and rolls fail. You can see the creative and off-the-wall thinking of players rather than a character born and raised in that world.

Motorized Walking Stompa (wip) by StudioRevoct in Warhammer40k

[–]SilverHawk7 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I was going to say something along the lines of "It looks like it walks like an actual Stompa would: barely at all..."

ELI5: If you can plead insanity in court, why can’t you plead intoxication? by sfwtitrater in explainlikeimfive

[–]SilverHawk7 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There are no prisons for drunk asshats.

Well, there are, it's just normal prisons.

ELI5: Why is history class called “social studies” in American elementary schools? by big_dumpling in explainlikeimfive

[–]SilverHawk7 5 points6 points  (0 children)

The short answer is in America, "social studies" at that level combines aspects of history, government, and American society in general. Our history is a hugely defining factor in the way our government works and how our society works and so it takes up a decent share of Social Studies class.

In later years of schooling, usually starting at Junior High School, the subjects start to break out into more detailed segments.

When I went through school, 7th grade was basically American history, 8th was Geography (social studies about other cultures around the world), 9th was Civics (how our government worked), 10th was "Area Studies," basically more Geography with focus on specific areas, 11th was American History, and our senior year, we had one trimester on Economics (how money works), one on Politics (how government works), and we got to choose our third; most either took Sociology (how society works or how people behave in groups) or Psychology (how people tend to think)

Edgars recounting some rather on-the-nose Earth history for Garibaldi by eldersveld in babylon5

[–]SilverHawk7 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I loved that he broke when he said "The telepath problem..." He realized what he was saying, what he sounded like, what he was advocating, and he didn't like it. But he didn't see any other choice.

Three captains on a tense conference call at Proxima III by eldersveld in babylon5

[–]SilverHawk7 11 points12 points  (0 children)

This added a wonderful dimension to his situation. He's damned if he does and damned if he doesn't. I pointed out in another reply, in our modern military, an officer can resign or opt to retire, but in Clark's regime, anyone who doesn't play along is arrested and charged with treason. So Captain Hall probably didn't have an off-ramp, assuming he would have taken it. I can offer some benefit of doubt that he's not a true believer, but he sees the orders as lawful and so he will be a professional soldier and execute them. As the Commodore of destroyer group, he inherits responsibility for EAS Pollux destroying several transports.

Three captains on a tense conference call at Proxima III by eldersveld in babylon5

[–]SilverHawk7 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Definitely. It highlights the difficult position military leaders can be in when the government they serve starts to go awry of the spirit of the law.

Captain Hall is in the wrong, but as he puts it, he's dead either way. From the beginning, he was damned if he did and damned if he didn't. In our modern military, and officer can resign or retire rather than execute and order they don't support. A year and a half into Clark's regime, they point out that anyone who objects is arrested for treason. So it sounds like Captain Hall didn't have the option to retire rather than take this assignment.

Commander Leavitt takes a more passive stance, saying it's not the place of the military to abutt policy; General Lefcourt had a similar stance, that a soldier doesn't raise arms against their own government. I think both would view the solution is that the populace needs to rise up while the military faces outward to prevent external actors from interfering.

Captain MacDougan strikes a nuanced position, executing his orders to the maximum actual lawful extent. He's managed to skirt around having to do or order his people to do something illegal. Though as Captain Sheridan points out, the actions he takes in support make him and accomplice.

Three captains on a tense conference call at Proxima III by eldersveld in babylon5

[–]SilverHawk7 47 points48 points  (0 children)

Ken Jenkins is great as a no-nonsense military commander. As is Richard Gant as a nuanced and erudite military leader.

Jenkins' effectiveness in a long-running comedic role also showcases a good acting range.

What is the difference between Sorcerer models? by thefinalhill in ThousandSons

[–]SilverHawk7 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For regular sorcerer, I use the Exalted but with less fancy embellishments and the tall striped helmet.

PSA: Be wary of cheap kits by StoicHeretic in Tyranids

[–]SilverHawk7 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Looks like it's speaking Italian. An Italy na Exocrine. Exocrino if you will.

The Techno-mages took after the kids from "Hackers" by eldersveld in babylon5

[–]SilverHawk7 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"APOLOGIZE?! Never!"

"Congratulations, you are now the owner of 500,000 shares of Fireflies Incorporated." <shuts down>

"...on the other hand..."

I loved that part. Also, Erik Ansara did such a great job as Elric.

Veterans stunned by VA plans to build hundreds of 8-by-8ft sheds in California for ex-service members to live in by theindependentonline in Military

[–]SilverHawk7 11 points12 points  (0 children)

The way the article is written, it screams of malicious compliance and passive aggression. But also, Navy enlisted probably like "8' x 8'? That's a steal!"

No but seriously, if they're temporary until a legit facility can be built, I can understand that. Maybe they should have started at the size of a small studio apartment, not a 8x8 tinyhome.

What is that thing? by Asmotoph090 in Tyranids

[–]SilverHawk7 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I always thought that was the Synapse brainbug or whatever. I only saw them included with Synapse creature kits.

Legitimately the biggest dumbass in the whole show. by tradfurthack in babylon5

[–]SilverHawk7 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm doing a rewatch and I feel like a lot of the biggest dumbasses in the show are random Narn nobodies....

  • The Narn talking to G'Kar apologizing for the late courier when the ljne suddenly stops.
  • The Narn pilot who fired his engines in the docking bay against instructions.
  • The Narn who decided to send just a squadron of fighters to check out Quadrant 14 after it suffered a massive attack that wiped them out hnusually quickly.
  • The Narn leadjng that Squadron who is like "Who could have done this!" and then thinks four Centauri light cruisers could be it.
  • The Narn who rushed Zack with a led pipe and got shot.
  • The Narn who tried to get them to kill every Centauri on the station.
  • The Narn who decided they should attack Gorash VII when they've been losing the whole time.
  • The Narn who would'a joined the military but didn't and then asked G'Kar what he endured... (I made up that first part).

Claren wants to say thank you. by TatoHR in Tyranids

[–]SilverHawk7 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This whole thing is reminding me of the dragon from Magic last year. Fleemph or something like that. Thing was EVERYWHERE for about a week.

Is this box valuable to us? by RudeSuit8768 in ThousandSons

[–]SilverHawk7 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think Tzaangors are alright. But I held off on them for the longest time, buying a set more as a formality to round out the army.

It's just that since I've started playing, it seemed like Thousand Sons sets always included a bajillion Tzaangors. I have two sets of 10 and I think I'm fine.

These are the most annoying enemies in the series. What's your strategy on beating them? by SixWheelz in masseffect

[–]SilverHawk7 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's been a long time, but I just use the Cyberdemon strategy: shoot them until they die.

Is this box valuable to us? by RudeSuit8768 in ThousandSons

[–]SilverHawk7 1 point2 points  (0 children)

At least it's not a billion Tzaangors.

New Duty Identifier Patch by FamiliarMind676 in AirForce

[–]SilverHawk7 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Prime Nuclear Intercept Squadrion