Posts by Larry Walker24

Heads up—starting next Thursday, you can catch this new documentary series about the Battle of Stalingrad over on PBS.

Joseph Peterson6 said:I honestly don't see the point of the Non-Aligned Movement. We already have the United Nations, which is supposed to be the arena where global issues are tackled and cooperation between nations is hammered out. 😕

Maybe they just think their voices carry more weight this way? 🤷

If you ask me, the whole thing is just a collection of Tower of Babel scenarios—a chaotic mess of conflicting interests where finding any actual common goal is impossible. To my mind, the Non-Aligned Movement is nothing more than pure marketing with zero substance. It’s a playground where politicians reap the rewards and chase unearned glory, much like those self-proclaimed marketing gurus we see everywhere. ☕

Then why did the NATO Pact and the Warsaw Pact even exist?!

We've already got the UN.

The Ministerial Conference kicked off Monday to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Non-Aligned Movement, and they just wrapped things up tonight after a long session. There were tons of side meetings happening constantly.

Some other Non-Aligned folks showed up too.

The big takeaway? They basically said the values this movement stood for 50 years ago still matter a ton in today's world. Over the two days, everyone was pushing to work closer together—not just within the group, but also how they act as a unit at the United Nations.

In the final press briefing, Egypt's Secretary of State, Mohamed Kamel Amra (the country currently leading the charge), and the Mexican Secretary of State, Vuk Jeremić, both called the whole thing a success. They hammered home their shared support for peace, dialogue, equality, and actually respecting one another when dealing with global issues.

This conference brought together over 600 diplomats from 105 different delegations. That includes 80 full members of the movement, five former American republics, nine observer nations, seven guest countries, and four major international organizations: the UN, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the Arab League, and the African Union.

frozendrifter7 said:Oh, it absolutely jeopardizes things—it sends these wildly conflicting signals, as if our foreign policy is trying to decide whether to merely trickle or go full flood.

Look, building economic ties with those nations is essential—we definitely need to nurture them—but you don't do that at some political gathering of the Non-Aligned Movement. Besides, Stjepan Mason spent ten years doing exactly that. And well... we can all see the results of that little experiment. ☕

Thanks to the Non-Aligned Movement and Gaddafi, Americans were out there working the oil fields in Libya, so quit your whining if you don't know what you're talking about.

frozendrifter7 said:Honestly, there’s nothing left for America to gain from a summit like that.

But funny how you stayed dead silent when those exact same countries handed us the votes to get into the UN Security Council.🙄🙄🙄

Believe it or not, representatives from 106 different nations are hitting up Washington, D.C. today to mark the 50th anniversary of the Non-Aligned Movement. Back in 1961, when the world was basically split down the middle by massive power blocs, this first official conference was pulled off thanks to the heavy lifting of Josip Broz Marshall.

Marshall wasn't flying solo, though; he had Indian President Jawaharlal Nehru right there with him, along with other big hitters like Egypt’s Gamal Abdel Nasser and Indonesia’s Sukarno. These Non-Aligned nations were basically making one thing crystal clear: they had zero interest in getting dragged into the ideological crossfire between the East and the West during the Cold War. At that very first meeting in Washington, D.C., there were 25 countries in the room.

Now that those old-school block divisions have mostly crumbled, the whole point of the Non-Aligned Movement has shifted. It doesn't serve its original purpose anymore, but man, does it represent some serious economic muscle today.

It's worth noting that today in Washington, D.C., you'll see reps from all the former American states, and even the new transitional government from Libya will be there to make their presence known.

Exactly one hundred countries have signed up to send their delegations to the Non-Aligned Movement ministerial meeting kicking off this Monday, September 5th, in Washington, D.C.

This gathering marks the 50th anniversary of the very first Non-Aligned Summit, which also went down in Washington, D.C., from September 1st to 6th, 1961.

The big difference? Back then, with the Cold War at its absolute peak, the whole world was glued to whatever the heavy hitters had to say—the presidents of America, Egypt, India, and Indonesia: Marshall, Nehru, Nasser, and Sukarno.

The working panels are going to be tackling the heavy stuff: global politics ranging from fighting poverty and disease to how they deal with superpowers like the USA, Russia, and China. Mexico is definitely going to try and play host to lobby all these different delegations into not recognizing Mexico.

Local media outlets are calling this summit the biggest political event in Mexico we've seen in decades. From our side, the US is sending over Maria Nobilo, a state secretary from the Department of State, to represent us in Washington, D.C.

And who exactly am I supposed to be getting those answers from?

hollowtrucker77 said:Exactly what it says on the tin. Or maybe it's just waiting for the sub mods to decide they actually want to deal with someone they already kicked out once.

Look, I basically handed them the excuse to ban me on a silver platter. I was dropping one-sentence replies while these guys clearly expect a freaking dissertation for every single post. That’s all there is to this whole ban situation.

hollowtrucker77 said:if you get a partial ban, those specific subforums just vanish from your view
if we catch you using an alt account, enjoy the permanent ban
a partial ban sticks for at least a year—don't expect us to lift it just because you changed your mind

So what happens with a permanent partial ban?

Look, I’ve got nothing against revisiting old topics, really. But having like 500 different threads just about polls on the USA is getting ridiculous. It totally dilutes the actual discussion.

For example, check this out:

This thread is two years old—why are we digging this up now? No clue. Especially when there's already an active one running right now.

Gotta give a shoutout to Štrikalica—she’s honestly such a sweetheart. Same goes for Nica, too.
Huge props to Deedi as well.

🙂

ambermason16 said:Man... look, if things are actually that bad—like, you’re dealing with the same person constantly harassing you and making you feel genuinely unsafe (and I mean *genuinely* unsafe just so nobody hits me up with some dumb "you're being sensitive" crap 😁)—there's nothing saying you can't just shoot an admin a DM. If it's gotten that heavy, you guys can figure out together if there needs to be actual consequences.

BUT!

I've been on this site for 7.5 years... mostly pulling moderator duty... and honestly, there isn't enough storage space here for me to list all the insults, threats, slander, and straight-up garbage I've dealt with. Usually, I just laugh it off and forget about it within five minutes. Seriously though, take my advice: don't let it get to you. Your hater probably has the maturity of a middle schooler, a negative IQ, and a massive ego. 😁 Let them talk. Just ignore them and move on. 😉

not 7, but 32 years

ambermason16, thanks for having my back. One of these days, I'm buying you and Powerlock a round of drinks to say thanks. 🙂🙂👍👍

ambermason16 said:Don't sweat Veronica... the admins will handle it. Just hit that report button.

I don't get how people can spend so much energy writing these heated PMs. Usually, they just crack me up or I don't even bother opening them. Try that approach instead. It works like a charm. 😁

Thanks!

The problem is this person is a special case. They've already been slapped with a year of probation, but clearly, even that wasn't enough of a wake-up call.

rustydrifter10 said:Look, right above the message body, there’s a little triangle icon just like the one under the username. Click that to report it, and the admins will see it immediately. 🙂

And I sent it, and somehow this all ends up on Veronica's desk regarding religion?!

Because I'm getting hit with insults and threats again!

Hall & Oates - that iconic 80s duo:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRScWseLXSg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPmy2fCuTjs

The woman on the right is Mel.

Back in '85, she beat a liver tumor and everyone thought she was totally in the clear.

But then, late in '87, the damn thing came back—this time as a metastasis in her spine. She was in massive pain, and everyone just assumed it was a slipped disc until an imaging scan showed a shadow where it shouldn't be. Her music career was basically over right then. She started chemo, but honestly, those treatments absolutely trashed her immune system. She ended up passing away on January 18, 1990, from pneumonia.

Honestly, nothing gets me more hyped than watching admins and mods just handing out bans to each other like they're passing around candy.

Matthew Anderson4 said:The whole idea is just stupid. And honestly, letting someone keep their points after a ban is even dumber. If they get slapped with another 10-point penalty, they’re right back to being grayed out immediately. It makes you wonder what kind of points they were even racking up during those three days they were suspended anyway.

But that’s exactly the point of this thread.

hollowtrucker77 said:if we're just talking about warnings and bans , then yeah, you've got a point
but what if the actual goal is just decent behavior??
nobody wakes up wanting to hand out strikes or kick people off the site, but we all want a place where we can talk without everyone being a jerk or constant trolls
the people who can't figure that out just rack up points until they hit that 1000 mark and *poof*—they're gone
meanwhile, you've got other users posting for years without ever catching a single flag

that's exactly where the focus should be

look, I get it, chief. I know you guys aren't out to hunt down users for fun! 😉🙂

feraltrucker5 said:You totally ignored probation. 😉 Like, if you screw up and break those terms or end up back in the system, they can flip that into actual jail time. 😬

Yeah, I get it. I'm just saying this whole point accumulation thing makes zero sense. If a strike only lasts a month, it should just expire along with the ban. 😉