unicorn

The massive difference, of course, is that those in power in the US don't murder journalists who disagree with them. At least so far. We'll have to see what happens if Trump wins the election.

You'll get no argument from me regarding the rationality of monarchies in today's world. I would agree with the sentiment that monarchies our outdated in the 21st century. That being said, the intention of the royal couple was clearly to provide moral support and commiserate with their people. There was certainly no intention to make fun of those suffering. If they wanted to show disapproval of the response, it would be more appropriate to address such disapproval at those in authority for coordinating said response. This reminds me of the Spanish hospitality shown to innocent tourists in Barcelona who were just trying to enjoy a meal. Instead of working on real solutions, such as changing laws on short-term-rentals, cruise ship docking fees and regulations, affordable housing, and so on, many locals took their frustrations on people who obviously had no decision-making capacity on the situation. How would they like to be treated that way when they traveled? (Or should one presume these yokels are too closed-minded to travel?) Regulations can work. My husband and I were scheduled to take a cruise ship from Barcelona in early May, but this was switched to Tarragona due to new regulations. Taking out one's frustrations on innocent people is not the right thing to do.

That's an absurdly short list. The list of journalists alone is many times greater than that: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_journalists_killed_in_Russia And it dwarfs the long list of other Putin critics he's murdered: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suspicious_deaths_of_notable_Russians_in_2022–2024

The King and Queen of Spain went to flood-stricken areas of their kingdom to show support. They ended up being pelted with mud by the locals. Maybe they're as dumb as Trump supporters, believing the royals control the weather? https://apnews.com/article/spain-floods-king-protest-mud-a8525bd82cf4cc3fc6273d535cbb9d66 "...Queen Letizia broke into tears sympathetically after speaking to several people, including one woman who wept in her arms. Later, one of the queen’s bodyguards had a bloody wound on his forehead and there was a hole in the back window of the prime minister’s official car. But even after being forced to seek protection, King Felipe VI, with flecks of mud on his face, remained calm and made several efforts to speak to individual residents. He insisted on trying to speak with people as he tried to continue his visit. He spoke to several people, patting two young men on their backs and sharing a quick embrace, with mud stains on his black raincoat...".

Well, it does have jurisdiction, though obviously no enforcement powers of its own over a permanent member of the security council.

The ICJ case is ongoing, however, "On 16 March 2022, the court ruled 13–2 that Russia must "immediately suspend the military operations" it commenced on 24 February 2022 in Ukraine, with Vice-President Kirill Gevorgian of Russia and Judge Xue Hanqin of China dissenting."

The US has yet to celebrate its semiquincentennial (though it's coming soon).

I feel a song coming on 😄

I'd send the book to his parents if I thought it'd help. I've noted this among some of my friends. Either the parents reject their children or their faith's teachings. Some faiths have some leeway, but others, such as Mormonism, are quite inflexible: either you shun your child or leave the church. I know one LDS couple, for example. One parent is supportive, and left the church, the other has no contact with her son. Churches which are maladaptive will lose membership. Since we came back from the Galápagos, I'm reminded of one of Darwin's truisms: The trend is especially evident in Western countries, such as France: Spain: Germany:

I'm not sure how this relates to my hubbie. His family knew he's gay and "accepted" him only on the condition that he never spoke of it. That doesn't seem like real acceptance to me. One doesn't have to agree with the way a person is or what he believes to accept them. They literally believe Bible stories about the earth being created in 6 days, Noah's arc, and Jonah and the whale. I went to a couple of his cousins' weddings, and thought their talk of one spouse being "God's choice" for the other to be ridiculous. While I personally find their beliefs inane and preposterous, I can respect their differences in belief. I certainly have never challenged their beliefs, much less voiced an opinion that a marriage wasn't "God's plan," unlike members of his family. For what it's worth, my hubbie said he's never been happier, and it shows.

Isn't faith wonderful? I feel a song coming on.

I thank God 😉that I was brought up in an atheist family, but the opposite was true of my husband, who's also atheist but brought up in a highly religious family. They kicked him out when he was 18, and only one set of grandparents supported him (to an extent). Almost none of his family attended our wedding, other than some 2nd/3rd cousins and one first cousin. One added to the decline that marrying a man was not "God's will." Only the grandparents and one cousin had a legitimate excuse (the grandparents said they'd have come were it not for recent knee surgery, and one first cousin was undergoing chemotherapy). Well, one brother stated he had a midterm 2 days after our ceremony (veterinary school), though it was certainly very early in the semester to be having a midterm, and I personally don't believe it. For our honeymoon, we enjoyed a luxury cruise in the Galápagos. All of the guests in the dining room clapped and sang to us the Mexican song "Cielito Lindo" to celebrate our honeymoon, waving their napkins around their heads in the air. We've both enjoyed that campy movie Mommie Dearest, and after seeing the entire complement of guests and crew celebrate our wedding, I told him that the scene reminded me of when Joanne Crawford asked her daughter why her own daughter couldn't give her the same respect given to her by any random people on the street: Well, my husband was not about to strangle his mother, but he told me that she texted him (after the honeymoon) and wished to communicate with him again (he stopped all communication with those who refused to come to the wedding). He said he texted her back and said that she would remain incommunicado until she apologized on social media and sent him the same amount of $$ she spent on any of her other children's weddings. I advised him not to hold his breath. I doubt that day will ever come. It's difficult for me to put myself in his shoes, since my family background was polar opposite, with both parents having scientific doctoral degrees, and eminent scientific careers. I'm curious if any members here came from families with religious/disapproving backgrounds, and how you may have dealt with that.

I find it a bit silly to be "debating" this issue. Sadly, it looks as though Trump will probably win. Smooth talking by a lifelong con-man will probably win over facts. I'm moving some of my assets over from stocks to bonds, since Trump's tariff frenzy will probably cause a downturn in the great economy which Biden has left us with, despite what he inherited. But this is purely a matter of informed speculation, not of opinion, so there doesn't seem to be much sense in arguing. If one actually wants to be productive about it, one could help the campaign. Criticizing someone's predictions seems pointless.

While the ethics of prostitution is debatable, prostitution is, de jure, illegal almost everywhere in the US.

Here she is playing with an unrecognizable Sir Lawrence Olivier: She received an Oscar nomination for her role in this movie.

https://www.newsweek.com/russian-pilot-found-dead-after-alleged-hammer-attack-1972098 "A senior Russian pilot complicit in a deadly attack on a Ukrainian mall has been found dead with hammer wounds to the head, according to the Ukrainian military intelligence (HUR). The pilot, named as Dmitry Golenkov, was said to be involved in the missile strike on civilians at Amstor mall in the Ukrainian city of Kremenchuk, on June 27, 2022. A total of 22 people died in the attack and at least 59 were injured. The body of Golenkov, who was chief of staff of the Russian 52nd heavy bomber aviation squadron, was found in an orchard on Sunday morning, in the Russian village of Suponevo, per a report released by HUR... At the time, President Zelensky called the attack, "one of the most brazen terrorist acts in European history," as at least 1000 people were inside the Amstor mall when it was hit... G7 leaders labeled the strike as "abominable," and listed aid for Ukraine as top of their agenda, according to Newsweek reporting at the time...". I feel a song coming on...

It's kind of difficult to miss one's own head when holding a gun to one's head. Murder makes more sense to me. 🤔

Maybe the simpler explanation is that one of those "names" forced him to write a "suicide note," and wanted to make sure he was dead. Then, of course, there are the Russian defenestrating "suicides," which rarely left behind notes.

My husband knows me well, and said "This is you at the dentist":