The Political Thread

[sheridan]

Contact your mp and ask them how many innocents killed in a nuclear fire would be too many.

I think I know the answer my MP would give already (in the last year he's become famous nationally and internationally and bears a resemblance to Ben Obi Wan Kenobi).

[Keef Monkey]

Contact your mp and ask them how many innocents killed in a nuclear fire would be too many.

I think I know the answer my MP would give already (in the last year he's become famous nationally and internationally and bears a resemblance to Ben Obi Wan Kenobi).

Well, when asked if she was prepared to authorize the killing of "a hundred thousand innocent men, women and children", Theresa May answered yes, so there's little doubt what she wrote in her letter of last resort.

What kind of a sociopath can calmly answer yes to that question?!

[TordelBack]

...in some configurations even increasing kinetic energy release.

Increase kinetic energy how? Will always be same as / less than potential energy. You have to input kinetic energy to achieve desired orbit (stored potential energy) then get whatever hasn't been lost to friction/heat back when you drop it some poor bastard. Always less than you put in: which is where nukes break the rules. Otherwise we could use this 'kinetic release' tecnhique to accelerate our space probes to near-light simply by repeatedly bouncing them around the solar system, as opposed to the meticulously calculated gravity-assist slingshots we have to do now.  Anyway, citation needed!

[James Dilworth]

Let's bomb Russia.

[Modern Panther]

Interesting little release from the national archives today...apparently the Thatchers considered suing the BBC because they didn't like a short story which was read out on air.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-36847893

For the lazy, and because anything that questions the wisdom of political icons should be repeated at every occasion...

[spoiler] Ingenious: individual choice must be paramount. With growing confidence she legalised hard drugs. Prices fell sharply. Legitimate outlets replaced bankrupt drug syndicates. Crime figures plunged. Crematorium shares surged. City populations thinned as the weak spirited succumbed. Unemployment vanished. Only the worthiest survived. Nobody could complain. The unfit died of freedom.[/spoiler]

[Definitely Not Mister Pops]

Will always be same as / less than potential energy.

FTFY. You forgot the second law or thermodynamics. Entropy and that.  For shame Tordelback, for shame.

[Definitely Not Mister Pops]

Will always be same as / less than potential energy.

FTFY. You forgot the second law or thermodynamics. Entropy and that.  For shame Tordelback, for shame.

Orry didn't read the rest of your post. Carry on, nothing to see here...

[ZenArcade]

Last time you'll take a pop at our Tordel!! Z 

[Eric Plumrose]

Bottled TordelPop. "I'd buy that for that for a dollar (£0.76)!"

[The Legendary Shark]

Apologies - "increasing" was the wrong word, I should have written "maximising." It's something to do with the separate parts of tungsten within the ceramic shell hitting each other on impact.

I'm looking for a citation but I read about this yonks ago and can't remember where. Maybe I dreamed it...

[James Dilworth]

Maybe I dreamed it...

[Spikes]

Frankie Boyle discusses Theresa May.

[Definitely Not Mister Pops]

Anyone familiar with King of the Hill will enjoy this post that recently surfaced:

Hank: "Yep."

Bill: "Yup."

Boomhauer: "Mmmhmm."

Dale (Wearing a "Make America Great Again" hat): "Gentlemen, I would like to cordially invite you to my post-Election, post-Apocalypse barbecue in November. I call it the Post-Electolypse." (Dale hands paper invitations to the others.)

Hank: "Okay Dale, I'll bite. What are you up to this time?"

Dale: "Me? Nothing. Donald Trump? EVERYTHING. He's gonna win this election in a landslide, and my vote will be but a drop in the coming storm."

Bill: "What does that have to do with the end of the world? He keeps saying he's gonna make America great again."

Dale: "Only to the fat, balding, untrained eye. But to the keen observer, it's obvious that Trump is planning to take America down from the inside. He's already taken down the Republican party and network TV. Now, he's after bigger game."

Hank: "Ugh. 'Make America Great Again'? America is already great. She doesn't need jackasses like Donald Trump dressing her up and parading her around like she's, well... I guess there's no polite way to say this... a marketing gimmick."

Dale: "You just don't get his strategy, Hank. He's a master manipulator, playing chess in seven dimensions. Most politicians only play chess in four dimensions, five at most. I've run simulations of every possible outcome of this election in my mind, and do you know how many he's won? Most of them."

Bill: "But wait a second. If Donald Trump is such a master at manipulating people, why don't I want to vote for him? I'm just the kind of easy mark politicians are looking for. I mean, you know how easily persuaded I am."

Dale: "Pfft. You wish, Bill."

Bill: "Oh. Okay."

Dale: "Trump's looking for strong alpha males, the type who can take leadership in the smouldering ruins of our former civilization. You know what alpha males call other, lesser males? 'Cucks', short for 'cuck-OLDs'. Definition: A husband whose wife cheats on him. (Chuckle) Now THAT'S a label that stings like no other."

(Hank, Bill and Boomhauer shift uncomfortably.)

Hank: (Nervously trying to change the subject) "So, uh, Bill, what have you been up to lately? Shave any interesting, uh, heads?"

Bill: "I've been following the Clinton campaign. I think it's high time we had a lady president. I mean, it is 2015..."

Hank: "It's 2016, Bill. It's been 2016 for months now."

Bill: "(Pauses while staring into space.) I missed my own birthday."

Hank: "I don't know how I feel about a woman president. I mean, a president needs to have a certain amount of upper-body strength. If Air Force One crashes, who's going to heroically pull the pilot out of the burning wreckage?"

Dale: "Hillary couldn't even keep Bill under control. How d'you expect her to run a country?"

Bill: "Y'know, I'd never cheat on a woman like Hillary. I'd like to think that under that tough exterior, she's probably warm, and soft, and..."

Hank: "Bill, you can't pick a president based on how, uh, handsome they are. Elections aren't supposed to be about popularity, or 'strategies', or who can come up with the best insult. I mean, sure, Ronnie Reagan got in a few jabs at the Democrats, but when push came to shove, he was a president EVERYONE could depend on. It used to be that a man could vote based on the candidate's character and their stances on the issues. But these days, everything's so gat dang crazy, I just don't know anymore."

(Pause)

Boomhauer: "Itellyouwhatman, dangol' 1776, themfoundingfathersgotthatdangol' WeThePeoplewiththemdangol' checksandbalances, man. Thempoliticians'llcomeandgo, man, longaswegotthedangol' ConstitutionandtheBillofRights, that'swhatAmerica'sallabout, man. It'slikethatdangol' BenFranklinsaid, 'Wegotadangol'republicifyoucankeepit', man."

Hank: "(Sigh) Boomhauer, as usual, you always know just what to say."

[Michael Knight]

Whats the betting if Corbyn gets replaced there will be no call for Blair to be brought before the House of Commons to explain himself. I worry for democracy in this country not a fag packet between the 3 main UK parties anymore. At least Corbyn offers something different.
Cant believe how media didn't make more of Cameron's apathetic response to Chilcott.
Then he again he the self proclaimed 'Heir to Blair' and the majority of the Tories were as foolhardy over Iraq as Blair and Co.

[Professor Bear]

Someone pointed out that more people turned up to help set up for Corbyn's engagement in Leeds than actually turned up to Owen Smith's rally in Liverpool.  I suspect this is not going to be a tight result.