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9 hours ago, Monzanator said:

Apparently the "OK" hand symbol is racist now and some coach in New York got fired because of it.I

It’s complicated because white nationalist groups co-opted it a few years ago, but many people still use it for its intended purpose.

 

The club investigated the instance and then fired the trainer, which to me seems to indicate the trainer was using it in the less savory way.

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SAG-AFTRA will go on strike, so the American entertainment industry is likely about to grind to a halt. The writers have already been on strike for a few months now. It won’t affect too many shows/films releasing soon, but 2024 could get pretty bare if things aren’t resolved.

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17 minutes ago, hckošice said:

that ungrateful animal flew away. very likely back home to

 

He was here for 9 days, so I went to buy him 2 kilos of a special mixture of food for pigeons, and that ingrate flew away that evening

 

Now you know to tie the receipt to his leg next time. You can throw some room and board costs on there too 

Edited July 9, 2023 by Olympian1010

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44 minutes ago, heywoodu said:

Are those names references to those US thingies where they stick three random Greek letters together and then act all super cool when they meet someone who happens to have had the same three letters in their school period?  

 

No idea what this 'sport' is though  

 

Edit: I thought it was remotely operated for the downhill part, but there's actually a small person laying inside it  

My guess is that these aren’t fraternities or sororities, but rather honor societies (for engineering, manufacturing, etc). They employ similar naming conventions, but tend to be more tame, or at least not have the “reputation” of fraternities and sororities. I participated in neither at my university, though that may actually cause me problems when it comes to getting hired as those groups can open and close doors in that regard. 
 

I don’t think this a proper sport, but rather a fun traditional competition. (And yes, the “buggy” is piloted from my understanding, which is why it’s actually not a bad replacement for bobsleigh.)

Edited July 8, 2023 by Olympian1010

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If bobsleigh/skeleton is ever dropped from the program, I humbly submit we replace it with whatever the hell this is…

 

 

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1 minute ago, intoronto said:

Happy Canada day!

 

 

Have a nice day loyalist scum 

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1 hour ago, NearPup said:

What kind of cheap ass solar panels does the UK use? Texas routinely gets over 40° in the summer and it’s the biggest solar power producer in the US.

Right? My town is a huge hub for solar and wind energy, and it too routinely has temperatures over 40 Celsius in the summer.

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I finished my first trip to the EU a few days ago. I thought it might be fun to post what I did in each city/country, so that users from there could give me some feedback on my visit. 
 

I technically visited four countries, although my layover was very short in Austria. I had one full day in Frankfurt, then a week in Malta, and 2 1/2 days in Athens.

 

Frankfurt: Römer, Main Riverbank, Cathedral of St. Bartholomew, Historical Museum

Malta: Ħaġar Qim Temples, St. John’s Co-Cathedral, Lower Barrakka Gardens, Upper Barrakka Gardens, Saluting Battery (evening gun), Republic Street, Beach at St. Paul’s Bay

Athens: Plaka, Acropolis, Acropolis Museum, Arch of Hadrian, Olympieon, Presidential Palace, Parliament (Changing of the Guard), Lykeion, Panathenaic Stadium, Zappeion Megaron, National Garden, Ancient Agora, Roman Agora, Church of Panagias Grigorousas, Library of Hadrian, Prison of Socrates

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@Glen If you have time/get the chance, I’d love a run down on the language landscape in Malta.
 

Before my trip, I was under the impression that English was widely spoken in Malta, but I didn’t necessarily feel like that was the case while I was there. Maltese seemed to be the preferred language of many athletes and officials I spoke too. However, I did feel like younger athletes spoke better English, and overall seemed more comfortable with the language.

 

Also, is it typical for people switch between English and Maltese in the same conversation. I feel like sometimes I’d overhear people speaking in English, and then all-of-sudden it would become Maltese.

 

It also fascinated me how many of the road signs and government placards were in Maltese, but most commercial signage was in English. 
 

I never really felt like I figured out the language landscape while I was there, so I thought I’d ask some questions now that my trip is over. 

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30 minutes ago, Monzanator said:

It's not your decision to make. Even Roosevelt said self-determination of nations is paramount. I assume you're familiar with the concept?

I respect and believe in the right to self-determination. I generally disapprove of the heavy hand my government has played in neighboring nations. However, I personally believe you can build a much healthier nation around other values. I would just advise caution around using race, religion, or ethnicity as the foundation or measurement for one’s nationality.

 

Of course, pluralist republics aren’t immune from their own troubles. 

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Maybe nationalism based around ethnic identity is unhealthy? 

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Double Post. Delete.

Edited June 1, 2023 by Olympian1010

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7 hours ago, Griff88 said:

For the SEA Games closing ceremony, there is a 'do and don't' list for the spectators and one of the rules is "sit down and respect the leader when the leader is giving a speech"

Still not as bad as the 20 minute applause from Ashgabat 2017.

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Yeah, the language, education, and communications fields really weren’t prepared for this can of worms. A.I. has pretty much dominated the conversations I’ve had on those subjects in the last two months. Some people are encouraging students and professionals to use that technology, while other groups are standing firm against it. Policy is a bit all-over-the-place at the moment. 

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If those far right votes end up with Erdogan, won’t he hold on to power (assuming the gap stays consistent with the results shown, among other factors)?

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1 hour ago, Vektor said:

This isn't the Grammy Awards, it's not about quality.

I don’t really feel like those are either 

 

Maybe most clout, or best studio financing. They tend to reward the popular and radio friendly (and English), more than the technically brilliant (in my opinion).