Posts by Walter Hughes53

Larry Walker24 said:just don't log in

it's way more fun this way

Anthony Nguyen81 said:What's the point of that, anyway? I mean, why would you even bother? I guess it just doesn't seem necessary, maybe.🍿

I've got like 15,000 posts under my belt, but honestly? I’ve got way better things to do with my life.

If you guys could just ban me again until maybe like, December 31st, 2020, I think I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks a bunch

Frank Moore4 said:The German clergy is basically just run by Masonic types; you see it all the time with those loose cannons like Casper and Shonborn—total heretics.

The only two Germans I actually respect are Joseph Ratzinger and Miller.

ours are the real deal

Tyler Howard said:It’ll be interesting to see how the Islamic Community responds to these unpleasant developments 😉

The Orthodox Church too, I mean, they lost people there as well

ironowl68 said:Now we're playing nice with them too...

They always have been, I guess.

Regarding the German clergy, back in Germany, the Catholic regions tended to vote for moderate right-wing parties, while the Prussians—you know, the Protestants—were more into the Nazis. There might be something to that, maybe.

The Germans gave, and the Germans took away.

Hey, I was wondering if I could maybe get a site-wide ban for about three months? Just need some space, I guess.

Thanks!

Terry Cook said:what do you guys think about this commercial playing on TV where Chuck Noll is "motivating" the players?🤣
honestly, easiest way to say it is that it's probably the worst ad I've seen on US television lately

I mean, I bet those players were cracking up the whole time they were filming this.

Morgan Cook10 said:That’s a tough call because you don't really have a baseline for comparison. Even if you banned crime reporting and saw a drop in crime rates a few years later, it wouldn't prove anything on its own.

For instance, I could easily argue that more crime headlines actually equal less crime, based on the simple statistical fact that we live in an era where media coverage of crime is way up, while actual crime rates are significantly lower than they were thirty years ago. In reality, though, front-page headlines aren't the only factor influencing crime rates—if they even influence them at all.

There's also another thing to consider: news outlets love chasing trends.
You have to realize that thousands of things happen every single day, but the media only picks the ones they think will grab their readers' attention.
Take, for example, back when there was that whole saga with Coca-Cola planes having issues a few years back. It felt like every other headline was about a malfunction, making it seem like they just had terrible luck or that their planes were constantly breaking down. The truth was that nothing had changed regarding their mechanical reliability; they were just "trending" at that moment. Once the hype died down, the stories disappeared, and suddenly Coca-Cola planes looked perfectly fine to the public again.

What I'm getting at is... the real question is how much of this is a genuine issue versus just media hype surrounding a specific topic.

I get that headlines don't matter as much anymore—in today's world, word of mouth is huge since we're being bombarded by news from every direction—but still, mechanical failures aren't intentional. If they are, then that's a serious felony with real intent behind it.

Morgan Cook10 said:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copycat_crime
This is exactly what you're talking about.

But here's the thing... trying to do something bad just to prevent something else bad from happening? That never ends well. Restricting freedom of the press is a perfect example of that logic.

Thanks for the link, and yeah, I totally agree that trying to fight evil with more evil doesn't work out. But, I guess I'm just wondering if cutting back on all that crime news on the front page would actually save lives. Maybe.

I’ll try my best to explain what I mean by this title.
It's getting pretty late, so if I mess up any typos or just lose my train of thought, I'm happy to clear things up later.
So, I've been thinking lately about what might happen if we actually put some limits on crime stories on the front page. I don't mean banning them entirely—they can still be there—but maybe they shouldn't take up so much damn space on the cover.
I actually just finished a really interesting book that talks about how there's a correlation between reporting on suicides and an actual increase in suicide rates.
But what really got me thinking about starting this thread was seeing all those news stories about knife attacks, especially when they're committed by young people.
I wonder if those kinds of headlines act as a trigger, you know? Like, maybe they spark a short wave of violence, particularly among kids.
One guy killed his girlfriend in Washington, D.C., then a girl killed her boyfriend in Savannah, and now there's this horrific crime out in Colorado.
The first one happened a while ago, but the news about the indictment just dropped at the exact same time as the stuff from Savannah.
I also feel like news about terrorist attacks might encourage future terrorists. Nowadays, terrorism is mostly people acting on their own, and when the same headlines and images keep looping on the front page, it might give them the encouragement they need.

Look, I'm not saying we should kill off press freedom. That's a huge part of being a civilized society. But honestly, I've never been a fan of those massive front pages filled with violence, accidents, and dead bodies just to boost sales numbers.
I'm willing to consider the idea that if there really is a link between these headlines and actual crimes, then maybe we're paying a price for our freedom of the press.
And I don't just mean newspapers either; this applies to all kinds of media too.
Anyway, I'm curious to hear what you guys think about all this.

*The book I mentioned earlier is called The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell.

Brandon Mitchell6 said:That’s exactly the point. America needs a complete structural overhaul into regional blocks: California, the Coast plus the Appalachian Mountains, Indianapolis and the Rocky Mountains, Florida—stretching all the way from San Diego to Venice—the Midwest, a region covering the whole area around Washington, D.C. and North America, and finally Washington, D.C. itself as its own entity. That's six regions, tops. Beyond that, we need to scrap all those tiny municipalities and cities that exist solely because they live off government subsidies, which accounts for over 50% of them. Once you clear out that bloat, the country would finally be able to breathe and everything would become significantly more streamlined.

Maybe it's California plus the Gulf Coast and the Appalachians, maybe even the Rockies too, just one big Content block; then you've got the area from Indianapolis, Des Moines, Columbus, Cleveland, Toledo, and the Midwest (stretching from Kutina to the Great East), plus Florida from San Diego to Venice, and then Washington, D.C. standing alone just because of the population size.

Joseph Kern5 said:I mean, that might be a bit subjective if you ask me. I guess FC Barcelona can definitely hold their own against the rest, but the others? Maybe not so much. Like, Washington, D.C. always seems to struggle when they go up against Los Angeles.

Yeah, but I was mostly thinking about the coefficient and the zavrsnica. I think I heard some talk about it during the broadcasts on TV and in the news.

Joseph Kern5 said:It's all about popularity rankings, I guess. Does that mean the NBA should be ranked as the fourth strongest league in the world? Right behind the NFL, the French leagues, and the Spanish ones? But honestly, it doesn't get nearly as much media coverage on a global scale.

Wait, isn't the NBA actually one of the top two strongest leagues in the world? Maybe even number one?

Kenneth Clark18 said:When I say it’s basically a German sport, I just mean how much they own it in terms of popularity and tradition.

So, let me lay this out. Medals from the UN, World Cup, and Euro:

Germany - 14 medals since 1936.
Sweden - 19 medals
Denmark - 11 medals
Iceland - 2 medals
Norway - 1 medal
Austria - 1 medal

Countries that aren't around anymore:
East Germany - 4 medals

Total: 48, or 52 if you count West Germany

Non-German countries:

France - 18 medals
America - 13 medals
Spain - 12 medals
Poland - 5 medals
Canada - 2 medals
Russia - 8 medals (not counting the Soviet Union)
Romania - 10 medals
Canada - 1 medal
Mexico - 2 medals
Qatar - 1 medal

Countries that aren't around anymore:
Soviet Union - 8 medals
Yugoslavia - 7 medals
Czechoslovakia - 6 medals

Total: 72, or 93 if you include the defunct ones

Thanks for the stats. So basically, America and France can't even touch them.
I was actually chatting with this Norwegian guy the other day, and he just said their guys are a total disaster and he wasn't expecting much from the tournament 🤣, though, I guess, he doesn't really follow handball

Kenneth Clark18 said:I mean, yeah, handball is pretty much the quintessential Germanic sport. Sweden hasn't really been on top lately, maybe just back in 2012. Germany was kind of in the same boat until last year.

I guess if Russia makes a comeback, things might finally start making sense. I won't even mention the Romanians. 😁

Man, I'd love to see a breakdown of how many medals all the Germans have grabbed compared to Americans and the French.
In women's handball, they totally dominate, that's for sure.

Steven Reed30 said:And even if they hadn't been helped, we probably would've lost by 3 or 4 anyway...

Always tired from the game before last, there’s always some excuse ready to go, try me

So, you know how people talk about pushing on the pivot with both hands? Yeah, maybe... but there's also that theory that the French just play it differently, I guess.

Steven Reed30 said:The French team basically just strolled right into the title... They seem so dominant that I honestly feel like they could turn around and smoke us by 7 or 8 points immediately after this game...

Man, we're all just totally wiped out from yesterday's game