|
Elyv posted:Don't read Out of the Dark; like Comrade Gorbash said, the vampires basically come out of nowhere at the very end, there's no setup for them or anything. It's probably the purest example of Deus ex Machina I've ever seen. I think my one exposure to this story was tripping across it on tvtropes. From the depiction there, it was a thrilling story that was derailed at the end by Dracula scooting across the rest of the story with a big, long, dingleberry. I had spoilers off but it looks like people didn't even want to spoiler it because it was just so awful.
|
#
?
Jan 17, 2018 18:56
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 27, 2024 23:45 |
|
|
Ardent Communist posted:Financial warfare has already been a thing. The Germans tried to destroy the British economy during one of the world wars, by trying to flood it with counterfeit currency. It didn't work because most of the people that found the airdropped currency turned it in. Just as a gut reaction that feels like the financial warfare version of Sealion. Even assuming that everyone used the money without compunction, how much money would it have taken to significantly affect the British economy, and did Germany actually had the capacity to produce, transport, and drop that much money on Britain?
|
|
#
?
Jan 17, 2018 19:00
|
|
|
Tias posted:Please come live in an actual monarchy, then. Our royal family are the dumbest pieces of poo poo, except for when thinking up excuses to wring even more millions out of the state budget for their pointless gala poo poo, and all the while people are still starving to death. So you're an American?
|
|
#
?
Jan 17, 2018 19:16
|
|
|
Tias posted:Taking Berlin was really dumb from an enlisted point of view, yes. The RKKA lost a lot more people taking Berlin than they had in any battle in the prior two years IIRC.
|
|
#
?
Jan 17, 2018 19:18
|
|
|
Vincent Van Goatse posted:I would read a book called Dracula: Freedom Fighter.
|
|
#
?
Jan 17, 2018 19:20
|
|
|
Comrade Gorbash posted:Blindsight by Peter Watts. It's a pretty terrifying first contact novel that also happens to have a surprisingly reasonable take on some otherwise absurd elements.
|
|
#
?
Jan 17, 2018 19:21
|
|
|
HEY GUNS posted:You might enjoy Ship of Fools, then. Can confirm, Ship of Fools is good.
|
|
#
?
Jan 17, 2018 19:22
|
|
|
Tomn posted:Just as a gut reaction that feels like the financial warfare version of Sealion. Even assuming that everyone used the money without compunction, how much money would it have taken to significantly affect the British economy, and did Germany actually had the capacity to produce, transport, and drop that much money on Britain? Considering how a little inflation stimulates the economy, and this was a time when most currencies were pegged to the gold standard and governments couldn't engage in monetary policy, that might've actually helped the British economy. The sheer amount of bills that it would take to send Britain into a hyperinflationary spiral probably would've probably been enough to kill people just by hitting them in the head. And that's before taking into account the way that Britain wasn't actually running on a fully free economy during wartime. It might've been a better idea to counterfeit ration books so that the limited supply of resources would get overdrawn by the populace.
|
|
#
?
Jan 17, 2018 19:28
|
|
|
The British also had a counterfeiting operation during the American Revolution, aimed at producing continentals to undermine support for the Continental Congress. Also in WWII, the Nazis spent tons of effort in Operation Bernhard to produce high quality counterfeits of US dollars and Pound Sterlings. The thread already mentioned the failed plot to collapse the British economy with them, but iirc late war the counterfeits were used to fund German intelligence operations abroad. I assume that was the only effective thing that Nazi intelligence did through the war since everyone seemed to dunk on the Abwehr on a daily basis.
|
|
#
?
Jan 17, 2018 20:01
|
|
|
Don Gato posted:I assume that was the only effective thing that Nazi intelligence did through the war since everyone seemed to dunk on the Abwehr on a daily basis. Tipping off Franco about the fact that joining the Axis isn't probably a good idea should count.
|
|
#
?
Jan 17, 2018 20:10
|
|
|
The counterfeiting operation in the American Revolution was a lot more effective, probably because Continental currency already had issues with its value without any mass counterfeiting. That was a time when the currency of like 5 empires and commodities were all equally valid for trade in the same place and the colonies/states were all making their own money.
|
|
#
?
Jan 17, 2018 20:21
|
|
|
SlothfulCobra posted:Considering how a little inflation stimulates the economy, and this was a time when most currencies were pegged to the gold standard and governments couldn't engage in monetary policy, that might've actually helped the British economy. The sheer amount of bills that it would take to send Britain into a hyperinflationary spiral probably would've probably been enough to kill people just by hitting them in the head. Enh. I think that only really works if the economy has a significant output gap and therefore lots of people sitting around unemployed. In a wartime situation where you have essentially full employment, things are different. EDIT: Consider that in a recession the basic problem is that everyone (at least, the rich people) is sitting on a mattress full of money and not consuming it, and that's why no one has jobs etc. You want to stimulate the economy to get people to start spending those savings. In a war you basically want the opposite. You want to kill civilian consumption stone dead so you can up war production. You want people to *save money*, to defer all their demands to after the war. That's what BUY WAR BONDS means really. In contrast to in a recession where government bonds basically pay nothing because the government doesn't want you to buy them. Fangz fucked around with this message at 20:39 on Jan 17, 2018 |
|
#
?
Jan 17, 2018 20:26
|
|
|
Well, I did say that was before I considered how the economy wasn't free during the war.  Either way, I can't really see what extra harm a little extra money supply's going to do. At most it'll fuel frivolous consumerism. Even if the Germans did manage to inundate the UK with the sheer amount of currency necessary to kickstart some hyperinflation, the government's got most important industries on lockdown anyways.
|
|
#
?
Jan 17, 2018 22:00
|
|
|
Victor Hutchinson's POW Diary Wednesday 17th January, 1945 Another refinement to the weather a stinging wind driving snow & sleet, make us view appels with horror. Russians have taken Kielce and have mounted a colossal offensive all along the front. The Allies are pushing too.
|
|
#
?
Jan 17, 2018 22:07
|
|
|
SlothfulCobra posted:Well, I did say that was before I considered how the economy wasn't free during the war. Yeah, considering how closely controlled the British Wartime economy was anyway, if you wanted runaway inflation you'd need way, *way* more money printed. Don Gato posted:Also in WWII, the Nazis spent tons of effort in Operation Bernhard to produce high quality counterfeits of US dollars and Pound Sterlings. The thread already mentioned the failed plot to collapse the British economy with them, but iirc late war the counterfeits were used to fund German intelligence operations abroad. I assume that was the only effective thing that Nazi intelligence did through the war since everyone seemed to dunk on the Abwehr on a daily basis. The Nazis dunked on the Abwehr, FFS. Their long term strategic projections were often quite accurate, and thus a subject of constant ridicule for the Nazis they reported to. I can't speak to other intelligence operations.
|
|
#
?
Jan 17, 2018 23:13
|
|
|
Kemper Boyd posted:Tipping off Franco about the fact that joining the Axis isn't probably a good idea should count. So they hosed up even when they tried to do a good thing.
|
|
#
?
Jan 17, 2018 23:23
|
|
|
Didn't a lot of Abwehr incompetence end up being internal sabotage?
|
|
#
?
Jan 17, 2018 23:32
|
|
|
Essentially after witnessing atrocities in the invasion of Poland, Canaris decided he had a conscience and started actively messing things up and contacting MI6 and so on. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Canaris
|
|
#
?
Jan 17, 2018 23:42
|
|
|
Can anyone recommend to me a good book about the history of the SAS? I've read "Soldier I" and a couple of the other tell-all types of books written by SAS people before the British MoD put a stop to it, but I am looking for something that's more of a comprehensive history. I do have my eye on a couple such books on Amazon, but I'd feel better going with one recommended by folks here if possible. (I do realize unlike US tier one units there is very little public info available about SAS in modern times, but I am looking for something that's not terribly dry that covers WWII up through the 60s at least. If it covers anything past that timeframe it would be a bonus)
|
|
#
?
Jan 17, 2018 23:47
|
|
|
MrMojok posted:Can anyone recommend to me a good book about the history of the SAS? I enjoyed Ghost Force: The secret history of the SAS.
|
|
#
?
Jan 18, 2018 00:16
|
|
|
You wouldn't think twitter would produce much of relevance to this thread https://twitter.com/ConorJReidy/status/952794837773946880/photo/1 And it hasn't
|
|
#
?
Jan 18, 2018 02:32
|
|
|
Nebakenezzer posted:You wouldn't think twitter would produce much of relevance to this thread Was this Downton Abbey stealth marketing?
|
|
#
?
Jan 18, 2018 03:48
|
|
|
Epicurius posted:Was this Downton Abbey stealth marketing? Same question but crusader kings 2
|
|
#
?
Jan 18, 2018 05:39
|
|
|
Epicurius posted:Was this Downton Abbey stealth marketing? Crusader Kings 2.
|
|
#
?
Jan 18, 2018 05:42
|
|
|
Ainsley McTree posted:Same question but crusader kings 2 Isn't the CK2 answer to just kill your brother?
|
|
#
?
Jan 18, 2018 05:43
|
|
|
Hunt11 posted:Isn't the CK2 answer to just kill your brother? Or change the inheritance laws (may involve changing to Basque culture) and killing anyone who disagrees. The most accurate summary of CK2 I can give is "I thought I was a good person until I started playing this game."
|
|
#
?
Jan 18, 2018 05:47
|
|
|
Realtalk, there's one way out of this. http://www.tatler.com/article/trans-toffs
|
|
#
?
Jan 18, 2018 06:50
|
|
|
HEY GUNS posted:Realtalk, there's one way out of this. Cut the head off of every "Noble" and let God figure out the succession.
|
|
#
?
Jan 18, 2018 07:14
|
|
|
Cessna posted:So you're an American? I am not even being snarky when I say USA does not qualify for 1st world status in any metric except military. I live in Denmark, which claims to have the world's oldest monarchy, and one that is often being touted as the one that has updated itself most succesfully. There's still idiot making scandals and completely indefensible sums being siphoned off so their ex-girlfriends and friends can live in obscene luxury as well, though.
|
|
#
?
Jan 18, 2018 07:23
|
|
|
Tias posted:I live in Denmark, which claims to have the world's oldest monarchy edit: also the house of gluecksburg only got denmark in the...1400s or something, denmark is weaksauce HEY GUNS fucked around with this message at 07:30 on Jan 18, 2018 |
|
#
?
Jan 18, 2018 07:25
|
|
|
Tias posted:I am not even being snarky when I say USA does not qualify for 1st world status in any metric except military. Since when does the military have anything to do with whether a country qualifies as first world?
|
|
#
?
Jan 18, 2018 07:40
|
|
|
HEY GUNS posted:that's japan That's why I said "claims to", my assburger  Though you could make the argument that they're just saying "longest continuous reign of people who have called themselves by the title of king", which I think is the point made because we like to show up the neighbours. Anyway, stop being a monarchist. Illegtimate power based on nobility can not not lead to horrible lovely corrupt banana republics compared to nearly all other alternatives. dublish posted:Since when does the military have anything to do with whether a country qualifies as first world? I don't personally think it does, but people will often trot out the bloated US defense if you criticize their success as a country.
|
|
#
?
Jan 18, 2018 07:44
|
|
|
Tias posted:That's why I said "claims to", my assburger Japan's emperor claims lineage stretching back to 660BC, baka Danish Gaijin dont even claim to have a king until a thousand years afterwards  .E: fun fact, based on the earliest records we can find, the same dynasty has been on the Chrysanthemum Throne since 509 AD, which makes them far more successful than any crusader kings II dynasty I've ever had. Don Gato fucked around with this message at 08:04 on Jan 18, 2018 |
|
#
?
Jan 18, 2018 07:59
|
|
|
I appreciate how y'all are completely derailing my arguments about why monarchism is dumb with pedantic lineagechat, but it really isn't pertinent to my point. Denmark is one of the nations scoring best in the world on most metrics of the HDI, and we still have to lose billions of crowns to support a handful of inbred workshy layabouts while we straight up have children going hungry to sleep. Don't be a monarchist, it's the dumbest thing.
|
|
#
?
Jan 18, 2018 08:11
|
|
|
Tias posted:I appreciate how y'all are completely derailing my arguments about why monarchism is dumb with pedantic lineagechat, but it really isn't pertinent to my point. Dude I think you should relax a bit.
|
|
#
?
Jan 18, 2018 08:14
|
|
|
I'm pretty calm, I've had to live in it for my entire life after all. If you don't think I should grill another poster for declaring that they're a monarchist in TYOOL 2018, I don't think you 'get' the internet 
|
|
#
?
Jan 18, 2018 08:31
|
|
|
Tias posted:That's why I said "claims to", my assburger quote:Anyway, stop being a monarchist.
|
|
#
?
Jan 18, 2018 08:34
|
|
|
If those Danish kids are so hungry, then maybe they should eat all that salmon Denmark is overfishing off Greenland. 
|
|
#
?
Jan 18, 2018 08:46
|
|
|
C.M. Kruger posted:If those Danish kids are so hungry, then maybe they should eat all that salmon Denmark is overfishing off Greenland. well they certainly can't be fishing off their own coasts with all the dead journalist bycatch
|
|
#
?
Jan 18, 2018 08:47
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 27, 2024 23:45 |
|
|
I tutored a middle schooler for a single day and I couldn't really get them to think about social studies in any way besides rote memorization, but when we started the little government module they asked me whether Canada was a monarchy or republic. I said we were a monarchy because the Queen E is our head of state, and the kid got really indignant and demanded to know why we had a foreign queen, why we needed her at all, and how we could get rid of her and what powers she had over us. 
|
|
#
?
Jan 18, 2018 08:50
|
|