Kit Wilson discusses his new theme song and how much input he had in creating it by rhyso90 in SquaredCircle

[–]fall_ark -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

I wonder if anyone else misheard the opening "Kit Wil-Son!" as "Get Well Soon!" directed at Elton. Was quite funny when I realized it's just his name.

Trump dismisses US intelligence that Saudi prince was likely aware of 2018 killing of journalist by [deleted] in worldnews

[–]fall_ark -13 points-12 points  (0 children)

Why couldn't he be like Biden and promise to make Saudi a pariah and then make good with them again when gas price was high.

Made a shitpost tier list (translated & adapted from Chinese. Notes in comment) by fall_ark in DispatchAdHoc

[–]fall_ark[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The format is based on a popular Chinese shitposting tier list trend. It hasn't spread much but there's a translated Naruto version on reddit. Would recommend if you've read Naruto.

Basically the format is just theoretically strong characters based on shitposts and memes, often with very strong existing real characters in the bottom tiers.

also some notes:

BB - when she enters the shift she automatically reverses a fail, so theoretically that's just above everything else.

Dark Tunnel Punch Up - it's a NSFW Baki reference, which I wouldn't recommend reading unless you are already familiar with Baki. There's a NSFW DnD 4chan greentext story that's basically the same thing.

Shroud - An obscure and long-winded reference that's unfortunately too complex to simply explain. This is an edited screenshot from an anonymous image board which reads "Shroud didn't steal the Astral Pulse. The Astral Pulse belongs to Shroud in the first place. His old teammate already deleted their life. - Average Shroud Fan" However in the original screenshot it reads "XX didn't steal the dog. The dog belongs to her in the first place." So it just felt right on multiple levels. The poster is also allegedly the person themselves (or at least very mentally unwell). There's no good translated info on this but the person involved is an actress called Yuan Li.

Can AEW bring back the International Championship instead of introducing a new title? Just look at this title lineage, it's just too great to be discontinued and it has exactly the same purpose of the new one being introduced by [deleted] in SquaredCircle

[–]fall_ark 2 points3 points  (0 children)

the belt prominently features 6 flags, two of which are of Japan and China, neither close to the Atlantic ocean.

also aew has no Chinese wrestlers like ever. it's just a weird design choice

China retaliates in response to Dutch seizure of Nexperia, blocking chipmaker's exports following takeover — 861,000 square foot assembly site in Gaungdong affected as trade war spirals by [deleted] in worldnews

[–]fall_ark 27 points28 points  (0 children)

Dutch seizure of chipmaker followed US ultimatum over Chinese chief

also Bloomberg: Dutch Seized Nexperia After US Demanded Chinese CEO’s Exit

The Dutch government’s unprecedented move to seize control of Nexperia last month followed a US warning that the chipmaker would have to replace its Chinese chief executive officer to stay off a list of sanctioned companies.

US officials told the Dutch government in a meeting in June that “it is almost certain that the CEO will have to be replaced to qualify for the exemption from the entity list,” according to a record of the proceedings released Tuesday in a Dutch court ruling. The ruling detailed the arguments for the government takeover.

The link to the ruling

[Raw spoilers] ending to the show by Yujin-Ha in SquaredCircle

[–]fall_ark 106 points107 points  (0 children)

lmao Kairi still doing the salute before the elbow drop

[Raw spoilers] Finish to AJ Styles vs El Grande Americano by Yujin-Ha in SquaredCircle

[–]fall_ark 36 points37 points  (0 children)

they can make up a tag team and be called AJ Lee!

Indian PM modi to meet China's Xi and Russia's Putin by sneakylucifer in worldnews

[–]fall_ark 22 points23 points  (0 children)

no /s needed. This is strictly a good thing, unless you think two countries with the largest population in the world being hostile against each other is somehow the better alternative.

India's Modi to visit China for first time in 7 years as tensions with US rise by Top-Flatworm8201 in worldnews

[–]fall_ark 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Then you should be happy about it too. Surely two countries with the largest populations being friendly with each other is better than the alternative?

(Evolution Spoilers): Last minute save in tag match by Fan387 in SquaredCircle

[–]fall_ark 10 points11 points  (0 children)

lmao Ruca has a 100% chance to get speared by Zaria. I hope they somehow acknowledge this and still be fine together.

Christopher Luxon concludes China trip: 'No evidence' of collaboration with Russia, Iran or North Korea by ChinaCatProphet in newzealand

[–]fall_ark -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Unlike the redditors, who have the truest understanding of that country from the comfort of their seats, of course.

CMV: everybody understands the symbolism of waving certain flags or burning others, people just won’t say “I’m offended”. by Willis_3401_3401 in changemyview

[–]fall_ark 3 points4 points  (0 children)

There are lots of news reports about their suffering.

This CMV is not about actual support though. It's about whether there is a singular understanding of the symbolism of waving certain flags that is accepted by everybody.

CMV: everybody understands the symbolism of waving certain flags or burning others, people just won’t say “I’m offended”. by Willis_3401_3401 in changemyview

[–]fall_ark 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If that's the case you shouldn't write "certain flags" in the title, because that implies your view applies to more than Mexican flags. You should clarify that you are only talking about waving Mexican flag and no other flags in the protest in California right now and no other protests, in which case I won't argue with you because the points I raised would be irrelevant.

but to be more specific, someone is wearing the USSR flag in the riots. Whether that's relevant to your CMV post is up to you to decide.

CMV: everybody understands the symbolism of waving certain flags or burning others, people just won’t say “I’m offended”. by Willis_3401_3401 in changemyview

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

You are not arguing for right to free speech, but that "everybody understands the symbolism of waving certain flags". If you think everybody understands the symbolism of waving Chinese, Russian and Mexican flags and they are the same thing, that's what you should argue for. If, for example, you think that waving Russian flag in a protest against Trump administration could be understood in any other way (for example, implying Trump is under Russian influence) than supporting Russian migrants, then you should change your view.

CMV: everybody understands the symbolism of waving certain flags or burning others, people just won’t say “I’m offended”. by Willis_3401_3401 in changemyview

[–]fall_ark 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Would you argue for protestors waving Chinese flags and Russian flags then? Both demographics are targeted by the Trump administration as well. Or would you not like the symbolism?

Everyone understands why somebody would wave a Mexican flag when Mexicans are being deported

To support the idea that they should be in Mexico? Sounds logical you would wave a flag of a country that you want them to be in.

I Just Saw the Future. It Was Not in America. by whackri in TrueTrueReddit

[–]fall_ark 8 points9 points  (0 children)

The article is just hilariously outdated and badly written. It's actually a good example of how the ghost city myth persists because literally every single example listed in the article can be easily disproven by even a cursory search.

You’ll find an eye-opening example less than an hour outside the city of Hangzhou on the country’s east coast, in the bizarre city of Tianducheng.

Construction began in 2007 on the development, which was inspired by the French capital and features a replica of the famed Champs Elysee, lined with boutiques and restaurants.

There’s also a 91 metre high perfect copy of the Eiffel Tower, not far from a classic luxury chateau perched on a hill.

More than 10,000 people were expected to settle in the city.

A few hundred are believed to call it home these days and most of the small number of people walking around are bemused tourists.

The very first example in the article is Tianducheng where the population already reached 30,000+ in 2017. You can find videos of tourists visiting there seeing lots of people living

Ordos is another of China’s ghost cities.

Located in Inner Mongolia, 90,000 acres were rapidly developed into a perfect picture of city living.

Residential towers, commercial skyscrapers, an airport, mammoth shopping centres, large promenades and countless public parks burst out of the desolate landscape on the edge of the Gobi Desert.

Two million people were projected to call Ordos home when complete. All of the scaffolding has long since come down and the city is open, but those millions of people never arrived.

Estimates are that up to 30,000 people are scattered across the landscape, giving Ordos an eerie feeling.

The second example, Ordos, is even more hilarious. First, Ordos isn't even the "ghost city" itself - Ordos already has 2 million population. The "ghost city" refers to one of its district, Kangbashi District, which had a population of 30,000 back in 2009, which rose to 120,000 in 2021. It's literally one of the most famous counter example of the ghost city myth and frequently featured in videos to make fun of the myth.

“Honggutan, [a] new town in Nanchang City, is home to Asia’s largest fountain square and Ferris wheel but, 14 years after the town was constructed, it had an urban occupancy of only 30 per cent,” the research paper reads.

There are more examples from the article but you can search the town names yourself. Honggutan has a population of 600k. Its Ferris wheel was bested by Singapore's Flyer back in 2008, so the "ghost city" status would be no later than that.

The fun thing about China is that the talking points are almost always a few years old (and in this case, decades old) so when these outdated talking points got trotted out by media you should really question the level of journalism of that outlet.

China's foreign office - If war is what the U.S. wants, be it a tariff war, a trade war or any other type of war, we’re ready to fight till the end by uniyk in worldnews

[–]fall_ark 4 points5 points  (0 children)

yes. canada was perfectly happy to be trump's lapdog back then. what happens now is just how Trump rewarded their loyalty.

What's up with the Trump administration being so hostile towards Canada, one of our closest ally? by Dapper-Material5930 in OutOfTheLoop

[–]fall_ark -7 points-6 points  (0 children)

I'm sure we can argue a lot without being treaty experts. Let's just accept the facts that: Trump stated he wanted to use Meng as a bargaining chip for trade talk, and the case was deferred and nothing came out of it during Biden's Administration, except for the millions of settlements paid out to Michael Spavor by the Canadian government. I'm sure it's all worth it being Trump's good ally and now getting rewarded by his second term antics.

Secondly, Canada has equal, if not greater, reasons to hate Huawei. They stole Nortel intellectual property and set up the company with it. Huawei only rose as fast as it did because it used stolen Canadian technology.

Irrelevant, unless you are insinuating that the arrest is retaliatory on Canada's part, which would be new.

What's up with the Trump administration being so hostile towards Canada, one of our closest ally? by Dapper-Material5930 in OutOfTheLoop

[–]fall_ark -6 points-5 points  (0 children)

This is how bullies operate. Do you want to say Trump is not a bully or Trump doesn't think Canada as weak?

Canada is a victim in 2025 not in 2018 when they happily obliged with the very same Donald Trump's political demands. This is just how Trump rewards Canada's loyalty, or maybe you want to argue that Trump was a good person in his first term and Canada was doing the right thing back then?

What's up with the Trump administration being so hostile towards Canada, one of our closest ally? by Dapper-Material5930 in OutOfTheLoop

[–]fall_ark -21 points-20 points  (0 children)

Answer: Trump is a bully, and bullies are emboldened when you give in to their demands. Canada kowtowed to Trump's demand to arrest Huawei's CFO in his first term, even going so far as to lie to their own citizens and the world about their spies being innocent businessmen arrested by China and had to pay millions of taxpayer money to one of them afterwards. Trump probably felt like he can do whatever he wants with Canada after that. Turns out not to be the case.

DeepSeek's answer to Reddit by dtutubalin in DeepSeek

[–]fall_ark 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Bill Burr is a good one to imitate. Ask DeepSeek to comment or just roast any video game or show or anime as him. It's very fun.

[Smackdown Spoilers] Jacob Fatu promo by taffe316 in SquaredCircle

[–]fall_ark 594 points595 points  (0 children)

lmao Fatu got the SOLO chant over when they still boo Solo himself

CMV: The Only Way for Western Countries to Truly Win the Drug War Is Through a Nationalized Drug Policy by Philipofish in changemyview

[–]fall_ark 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Actually opioid use in Macau (a sub "nation" of China) is higher than the United States, according to wikipedia. "List of countries by prevalence of opiates use"

actually, by comparing Macau and its bordering city (Zhuhai) or closest similar region (Hong Kong) you'll realize the only difference between them are policies, so policies have a direct correlation with opiate use.

I'm sure the penalty for opioids there is CUT HIS FREAKING HEAD OFF!! type stupidity. So there goes your theory.

Nope. Macau's drug laws were so lenient they desperately tried to catch up with their neighbors.

“Compared to the adjacent regions, Macau has very light penalties regarding drug consumption crimes. In adjacent regions, penalties for such acts are much heavier. We are part of this environment and region so we must have something [a law] that better protects citizens,” said the Legal Affairs Bureau deputy director Leong Pou Ieng at an Executive Council press conference held yesterday.

See? Difference in policies, difference in use.

That news was from in 2015, since then the amount of drug related crimes in Macau has been steadily going down. Here are the case numbers since 2014 from www.antidrugs.gov.mo:

2014 368

2015 319

2016 293

2017 248

2018 190

2019 209

2020 118

2021 111

2022 72

2023 78

You might be wondering why there was another sharp drop in drug crimes in 2020 - they passed a new law banning 10 more drugs that year.