svcg

Women are too emotional to be leaders

Seems to only ever be said by people who don't count anger as an emotion.

If I had to describe my feelings about this, I would have to say that I am bivalent.

Any floury potato will do. In England we would probably use Maris Piper potatoes.

It depends on your definition of "legitimate", I suppose.

My point is that the targeting of civilians is still and always has been common in war. It may now be de jure illegal but it is de facto not policed.

You couldn't make Brokeback Mountain today. Some Hollywood studio would be like "hey you can't make Brokeback Mountain, we own the rights to that."

According to the British (during the Malayan Emergency) and Americans (during Operation Ranch Hand), indiscriminately starving enemy civilians by spraying Agent Orange everywhere was legal.

In more recent history, we of course have Captain Drone Strike's reign of terror against wedding parties and aid workers in Afghanistan.

The only thing that's changed since the Geneva conventions of 1949 is that when civilians are targeted, the rest of the world says "tut tut, that's a war crime" before it proceeds not to do anything about it.*

* Unless you're from Africa or the Balkans, apparently.

Since when?

Baked potatoes fancy? I love a baked potato with beans and cheese, but it's hardly fancy.

Fondant potatoes are what you want for fancy (and delicious).

Why does anyone get to have nuclear weapons?

Because once you have them, who's going to try to take them away?

One and the same person, Jack.

I also love Jasper Fforde, and it is because he was guest of honour at a Jodi Taylor event that I also got into her books. She writes a series about time-travelling historians which I would recommend.

She also writes at a much faster pace than Fforde does these days, so that's a plus. I was never half as annoyed waiting for GRR Martin to write A Dance With Dragons as I was waiting for Red Side Story!

It's because of these two and David Lo Pan that I still say "indeed" a lot to this day.