The Very-Many-Questions-Not-Worth-Their-Own-Thread Thread XXXIV

[Valka D'Ur]

Yeah, seriously.
Fruit is healthy, fruit juice is not. It has all the sugar and very little fiber. A glass of orange juice is about as healthy as a can of Coke.

That is ridiculous.

I guess modern people have forgotten how to use hand-held, hand-operated, non-electric kitchen tools.

If I wanted a glass of orange juice, my mother or grandmother would take an orange, peel it, and get out the juicer. It took some effort on their part, but I got real juice, and the pulp and rind were saved for other purposes. But that was 50 years ago, and I suppose most people aren't willing to put in the time and energy for that nowadays.

As I said in my comments on the CBC page, I have this vision of some kid actually doing this - bringing an orange and juicer to school, making some fresh orange juice, and along comes some ignorant adult who throws away the juice and makes the kid eat what's left.

Here's a tip for people who want to indulge in junk food but still feel somewhat virtuous: Oranges are good on pizza, particularly when there's a bit of Parmesan cheese on them. Just make sure they're not broken open so the pizza gets soggy. Put whole orange slices on the pizza, along with whatever other stuff you like, sprinkle some Parmesan cheese on it (don't smother it), and bake the pizza like you would normally. The results are delicious, and you get both pulp and juice.

 

[Lemon Merchant]

I don't think they are going for a beautiful people look.

You got that right.

 

[Zkribbler]

Oranges are good on pizza,

Interesting

 

[Commodore]

Cus there is no way in hell Israel is aligning with anyone other than US/nato.

I read something not too long ago in my research for this (can't remember if it was an article or something on Wikipedia) that Israel and Russia signed some kind of arms deal with each other. That was the basis for me considering aligning them with Russia. I also considered India due to some potentially common enemies so it would just be an alliance of convenience. I know realistically they would be firmly on the US's side in a global war, but NATO already has almost half of the civs in the mod on their side.

Japan - I would actually do China here

Interesting. I was considering India just because I was going to align every Asian nation that has any kind of beef with China with India. And I know one of the main reasons Japan is investing more in its military now is to counter China's rise. What's your reasoning for putting them with China?

I guess it depends if you want balance or realism by like today's climate.

I'm trying to keep it as realistic as possible while also keeping it balanced. So I guess you could say I'm going to both.

I'd say find out where each country has military bases in and take it off from there.

That's where it gets difficult because only the US really has any significant military presence beyond its borders. Russia has closed down a lot of its foreign bases and the Chinese are only just now starting to establish a global military presence by building a base in Africa. As far as I'm aware, India, while powerful, has mostly contained its military within its borders.

I did find a map though that shows the results of a nation-by-nation poll of who their people would prefer as an ally in the event of a military conflict, so maybe I'll use that for any nations I can't make a final decision on.

 

[FriendlyFire]

I am breaking the civs into four different locked alliances based on the allies of the four most powerful nations according to the Global Firepower Index (US, Russia, China, India).

With the way things are going it will be US+ Russia+NK vs rest of the world

 

[Samson]

How do most countries handle sick members of the legislative assembly and close votes? We in the UK just had a close brexit vote, and one member had to make an 8 hour round trip from hospital and was pushed through the commons in a wheelchair, and another had to come in 9 months pregnant. This seems a bit mad, and I wondered how other countries handle it.

 

[BenitoChavez]

How do most countries handle sick members of the legislative assembly and close votes? We in the UK just had a close brexit vote, and one member had to make an 8 hour round trip from hospital and was pushed through the commons in a wheelchair, and another had to come in 9 months pregnant. This seems a bit mad, and I wondered how other countries handle it.

Not too long ago in the US the senate delayed voting on a bill because John McCain was having a major surgery. He is one of the most prominent congressmen and it was an important piece of legislation but it seems it's handled along the same lines as the UK. Not sure how common practice it is though.

 

[Arakhor]

Normally, MPs only need to be present on Parliamentary grounds to register a vote if they are indisposed, but apparently this vote was so crucial that apparently the Govt required everyone to vote in person.

 

[Lohrenswald]

How do most countries handle sick members of the legislative assembly and close votes? We in the UK just had a close brexit vote, and one member had to make an 8 hour round trip from hospital and was pushed through the commons in a wheelchair, and another had to come in 9 months pregnant. This seems a bit mad, and I wondered how other countries handle it.

deputy representatives

 

[Commodore]

Why can't they phone-in their votes? There should be a special phone line representatives can call in their vote if they can't physically be there for whatever reason. It seems like this really shouldn't be a problem in any relatively modern nation in 2018.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

How do most countries handle sick members of the legislative assembly and close votes? We in the UK just had a close brexit vote, and one member had to make an 8 hour round trip from hospital and was pushed through the commons in a wheelchair, and another had to come in 9 months pregnant. This seems a bit mad, and I wondered how other countries handle it.

There was a very close vote in Parliament back in 2005 when the Reformacons were trying to bring down the Liberal government in a non-confidence vote. Chuck Cadman, one of their former party members, was then sitting as an independent and he was in British Columbia trying to deal with terminal cancer. The Reformacons didn't really care about that little detail and two of them - with the knowledge and approval of Stephen Harper (our thankfully ex-PM) - offered a bribe of a $1 million life insurance policy (presumably to ensure that his wife would be taken care of after his death) for him to return to Ottawa and vote.

So Cadman went to Ottawa and cast his vote... on behalf of the Liberal party, citing it as being the wish of his constituents. That resulted in a tie, and the deciding vote was cast by the Speaker (naturally in favor of the Liberals). The Speaker said it was his duty to support the government, so the non-confidence vote didn't go as the Reformacons intended.

The issue of the bribe has been debated back and forth over the years, and investigated by the RCMP, and it's doubtful that the whole truth will ever come out. Cadman died later that year.

 

[Birdjaguar]

In the US senate, the Republicans are a vote down because McCain can't go to DC.

 

[Takhisis]

deputy representatives

These usually only take the seats when the holder actually steps down.

 

[Zkribbler]

Elvis's jet is up for sale.

https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/elvis-private-jet-auction/index.html

 

[Lohrenswald]

These usually only take the seats when the holder actually steps down.

actually the times they usually take their mandates is when the one they replace gets a seat in the government

 

[Takhisis]

That may be true in (some) parliamentary systems, but not in ones where the executive and legislative branches of government are formally separate.

 

[Commodore]

Why are turboprop aircraft considered good options for counter-insurgency operations? I ask because I've always noticed that a lot of South and Central American nations use turboprop planes for counter-insurgency but I always assumed it was because they were cheaper options for nations with limited defense budgets. However, I have been reading that the US is now considering a turboprop aircraft for light attack and counter-insurgency operations.

So is there any particular feature of turboprop aircraft that make them good for counter-insurgency operations?

 

[Ferocitus]

Why are turboprop aircraft considered good options for counter-insurgency operations? I ask because I've always noticed that a lot of South and Central American nations use turboprop planes for counter-insurgency but I always assumed it was because they were cheaper options for nations with limited defense budgets. However, I have been reading that the US is now considering a turboprop aircraft for light attack and counter-insurgency operations.

So is there any particular feature of turboprop aircraft that make them good for counter-insurgency operations?

They are able to take off and land on shorter runways.
(However, they are more expensive than agitprop.)

 

[Broken_Erika]

Why are turboprop aircraft considered good options for counter-insurgency operations? I ask because I've always noticed that a lot of South and Central American nations use turboprop planes for counter-insurgency but I always assumed it was because they were cheaper options for nations with limited defense budgets. However, I have been reading that the US is now considering a turboprop aircraft for light attack and counter-insurgency operations.

So is there any particular feature of turboprop aircraft that make them good for counter-insurgency operations?

Turboprops can be made to withstand a lot more punishment than a jet engine ever could. Kinda hard to protect the air-intake of a jet engine from small arms fire and other hazards.

 

[Cutlass]

Why are turboprop aircraft considered good options for counter-insurgency operations? I ask because I've always noticed that a lot of South and Central American nations use turboprop planes for counter-insurgency but I always assumed it was because they were cheaper options for nations with limited defense budgets. However, I have been reading that the US is now considering a turboprop aircraft for light attack and counter-insurgency operations.

So is there any particular feature of turboprop aircraft that make them good for counter-insurgency operations?

They're more efficient in the air. Particularly at moderate speeds. Hard to spot an insurgent when wizzing past at 600mph, and then immediately turning around and going for a refuel. Being able to loiter in an area for a while, and getting a really good look around, that's more important when trying to find a target that would rather not be found.