I think the Kohr-Ah would have been more likely to engage the Alliance than the Kzer-Za. The MO is ``deal with the riff-raff, then get down to business (Doctrinal War)", not the other way. Although I do agree that the outcome of the war with the Alliance becomes a little uncertain if the Kohr-Ah don't behave like that.

Maybe there's a Doctrinal Conflict rule-book somewhere that stipulates the correct action under these circumstances?

Not embarassing, dangerous. The Kohr-Ah wouldn't wait around, they would engage in the doctrinal conflict immediately, and the Kzer-Za would be obligated to respond in kind while still attempting to hold off the Alliance simultaneously.

I disagree. As you say, either of the Ur-Quan want to pacify any free sentients who might get in the way before starting the ritual conflict. If the Kzer-Za have deemed the Alliance to be a threat to the conduct of the doctrinal war, the Kohr-Ah probably would too. So I think they'd wait for the Kzer-Za to finish the job. Or help out. The Kohr-Ah may be simple-minded, but that doesn't stop them from being fair.

Yeah, they were winning anyway. They just sped it up.

I'm not suggesting otherwise. Of course they're experienced conquerors, and of course they've dealt with organised opposition before. I'm saying that using the Sa-Matra would potentially give them an unfair advantage that the Kohr-Ah wouldn't have had in their position, even though it may not have turned out that way in the end. Which admits the possibility of cheating (to increase their strength for the war with the Kohr-Ah), although as I say, I suspect they had a reasonable excuse.

Of course, the Shofixti blowing up Delta Gorno with a significant Ur-Quan fleet in the vicinity certainly didn't help either.

Good pont, it's interesting to wonder how things might have turned out differently if the Kzer-Za hadn't used the Sa-Matra against the Chenjesu, such that the Kohr-Ah ended up dealing with the Shofixti.

Actually, the Kzer-Za only used the Sa-Matra against the Alliance because the Kohr-Ah fleet was fast approaching.

And wouldn't it be embarrassing for the Kohr-Ah to arrive and sit around watching the Kzer-Za grapple with the inferiors for another few years? The perfect time to cheat if there's some excuse for it.

In my book they already cheated by using the Sa-Matra against the Alliance. But I believe their honour pontifications, so maybe they thought there was something special about this region of space that excused the cheat - perhaps the presence of such exceptional species as the Chenjesu and Mmrnmhrm, and the precursor bomb. They would know if that justification was valid, having ploughed through half the galaxy.

Imagine a fleet of dreadnoughts that can cloak, use point - defense lasers, transform to blazer form, launch limpets and DOGIs, use Yehat shields, warp backwards, use the Syreen song (with Syreen slaves aboard, of course), regrow Mycon crew members, use the Thraddash afterburner, transform (or if that is too difficult to do with a Dreadnaught, just give it some of those long range missiles), fire B.U.T.T missiles, etc.

In at least some of those cases, I don't think it's a case of not being able to develop that technology themselves, I think it's more about an economy of weaponry. Economy of design and resources. For example, the Kzer-Za are responsible for the Ilwrath weapons but don't use cloaks themselves.

Once you have eaten enough planets (I'm not sure but it usually seems to be around 10 - 20)

Ah hah! What I kept doing wrong was eat too many planets, that turns you into a black hole.

Also, I advise against eating any urea worlds

What of fellas who've deleted their accounts? Are their posts still in the forum total?

But consider this: to what degree can evil be attributed more to a societal, political or cultural institution rather than individuals?

Hey, don't forget about natural phenomena . . . like the Dark Side of the Force!

Such a list is full of pitfalls, I mean, what is the definition of evil? Is it how many people you are responsible for killing even if you are not personally involved yourself?

If it's net lives lost, Stalin might not feature because the outcome of WW2 might have been very different without him. But I think he does belong on the list.

Also, did you consider Genghis Khan? I think empire building is justifiable if done with the greater good in mind, but he divided everything up between his sons. Wikipedia's Mongol Empire article lists some benefits though.

That isn't really what he said. He not only told westerners to not point the finger of blame (which they probably shouldn't yet), but that further carbon emission producing industrialization in developing countries is justified, even though they're aware of what they're doing.

Well, if the developed world was allowed to pump so much shit into the atmospshere for so long, allowing rapid industrialisation with no thought for the consequences, why shouldn't the developing countries be allowed the same privilege? The warnings have been quite clear for both parties. If developing countries don't do this bad thing, they should be compensated for being so gracious, which I think was a sticking point at Copenhagen.

imo Geothermal is the "silver bullet" for green electircal production. Best of all these wells can be built anywhere on earth.

Also, internet to the rescue! Soon, who'll need to travel anymore?

As well as saying it can't be stopped, he says it will probably be good for humanity. Sounds like tacit encouragement to me. Which is stupid because whatever the benefits, it could entail the dislocation of coastal cities, the destruction of fragile ecosystems and the reorganisation of national agricultural efforts.

He is right, though, that the developing countries probably won't help much, because I don't think they should. They have every right to be as dirty as developed countries were during similar periods of their industrialisation, and have every right  to recklessly ignore the warnings for as long as the West did. The first world should stop pointing fingers at the likes of China and start taking responsibility for the example they themselves have set, because evidence for global warming isn't new, nor should it ever have been doubted; it's only the consequences that have now come in from the distant horizon.

Climate is a complicated system with many feedback loops, most of which are not understood.

. . .

Fortunately, global warming is probably good for humanity. Sit back, relax, and watch it happen.

Translates roughly as `we don't understand how the system works, but let's keep screwing with it anyway.' Dangerous thinking.

Leaked emails from the University of East Anglia Climate Research Unit showed a number of prominent advocates of drastic anti-greenhouse gas measures engaging in attempts to suppress contrary opinions by a variety of unethical means. Assertions by those embarrassed and their supporters that the leak was "illegal", whether or not valid, amount to a confession of guilt.

Wrong. The investigations only raised questions about transparency.

SCMMORPG

Star Control Masively Multi-player Online Role Playing game =)

Perhaps we should be "minimally multiplayer," since there probably aren't going to be very many of us...  

(link)

Although I don't think this is a necessarily bad idea. Done right, any new star control game sounds good to me, but this sounds like a lot of work

I think you mean house values.

Either is ambiguous. My mistake.

Besides, you can hardly see stars from the seafront, shouldn't you bee in the mountains somewhere?

Far side of the moon, more like. That way I can stop watching out for global warming and start worrying about being squashed by the next meteorite.

[serious]

Stop trivialising it! This is serious. You may be looking forward to regularly frolicking in sun-bathed meadows, but some of us who live just a hundred metres inland have waterfront views in prospect, doubling our house prices overnight!

There is nothing serious about something that no one can even prove exists. It's all just a bunch of hyperbole.

I hope you're the only one who failed to notice the sarcasm in my last post. Notice how I was looking forward to sea level rise? I was trying to keep things moving in a far more whimsical direction than they've now taken, but by all means persist and watch as my estimation of your intelligence decays exponentially.

EDIT: Whoops, this could be taken the wrong way. I'm mostly just saying I don't esteem skeptics of the established science on this topic highly, to put it mildly.

Oh no, here we go again... Take2 of the Global Warming thread...

Oh yeah, no-one ever posted about all the investigations of that leaked email thing turning up nothing at all. I haven't checked, but I assume all the vapid retards skeptics who were crowing about it haven't shut up.

It won't matter if we plant enough trees. So get to work!  

Or if we cull enough humans. So get to work!

[serious]

Besides, I don't post over there anymore

Those forum ranks were really getting to you, huh?

'kay. We've had a record winter and a record summer up here in Finland. Except for some trombs the weather has been awesome, better than in the last 20 years.

Stop trivialising it! This is serious. You may be looking forward to regularly frolicking in sun-bathed meadows, but some of us who live just a hundred metres inland have waterfront views in prospect, doubling our house prices overnight!

Were the number one country in the world anyway (according to newsweek) so it's only fair that we reap the benefits of this lovely phenomenon.

Per capita, you're probably the best country for star control, rivalled only by the Dutch perhaps.

on the scbd luki noted that he would hate to see this forum die. Any thoughts on how to keep it from biting the dust?

Another global warming debate

Not big enough to suit you, but this has a white background, and might even be useful for figuring out optimal routes



The SC2 stars joined by a pseudo-delaunay tessellation, to emulate SC1's links for Dragon's awesome remake. I can provide the postscript original to anyone who wants it. Also, this morning I went most of the way toward implementing a simplified version of Death 999's idea for doing something similar.

Maybe you'd also find this page useful.