If I speak Québécois French could I live in France or a French speaking nation like Belgium? : r/French - "I'm not trying to defend the waiter but we correct each other all the time in France, it's not personal* and it's very often more in a helping spirit than anything* else. I understand that this can be irritating, but you have to understand that the French are in fact very demanding when it comes to politeness, in their own way. From a young age, we learn a set of strict social rules, often misunderstood by foreigners, and we expect every adult to know and respect them, because for us, it has become second nature. As a Frenchman told me on the same subject not long ago: "In France, criticizing is caring, and if no one criticizes you, no one cares about you." * Thanks Byronite"
Tattoos are permanent and personal. But what happens when you outgrow them? - The Globe and Mail - "On an April afternoon, session 12 of about 24, specialist Christina Eustace aims the laser at Ms. Ahern’s right arm, targeting a cluster of images just above a Hello Kitty Band-Aid inked across the top of her hand, whose much-awaited demise will be left to another appointment. “I hate you, Hello Kitty,” Ms. Ahern says, between teethy clicks. “I will dance on your grave when you’re gone.”... Tattoos have been a way to establish status, mark milestones, declare love or process loss since the earliest civilizations. Humans have also been rethinking their skin art for just as long: Even Egyptian mummies have been found with tattoos scraped away. Today, tattoos have gained in popularity among younger generations. About a third of Canadians have at least one, and according to some surveys as many as half experience some regrets. The reasons for second thoughts vary, says Ms. Eustace: the tattoo has lost meaning, a new career frowns upon them, a relationship ends. She’s taken the laser to sensitive areas such as fingers, the bottom of feet and her own wrist – an experience which she rated a seven out of 10 on the pain scale."
Dutch is named the LEAST sexy language while Italian leaves listeners hot under the collar - "Global e-learning platform Preply unveiled the languages most likely to seduce, based on the heart rates of participants who listened to flirty clips in different languages while having their pulses analysed. The research found that Italian speakers made them increase the most, closely followed by those speaking Portuguese, while the Dutch and German language failed to excite participants. Linguist Aleksandra Stevanovic explained that we perceive languages like Italian as more attractive because they have less consonants stacked together and are thought to be easy for singing, unlike dialects perceived as non-musical such as German. She also revealed how to make your voice sound more seductive whatever your native language; by lowering your pitch and speaking slower. Dutch was the language that got participants least excited, with heart rates only increasing by a mere 12 per cent, followed by German and Japanese with a 15 per cent increase. Looking at the gender divide, men are less excited about Dutch speakers with only an eight per cent increase in bpm than women. Women on the other hand are less fond of Japanese with a nine per cent increase. The language that came out on top was Italian, with participants experiencing a 23 per cent average uplift in heart rates from 65 bpm to 80 bpm. This was followed by Portuguese and French, while Russian and Greek also made the top five. It seems both men and women are most attracted to the Italian language. However, women seem to be more wowed by French with a 22 per cent increase in bpm - while men saw a 17 per cent increase. So why are certain languages less tempting than others? Linguist and translator Stevanovic explained that languages which follow the pattern of one-vowel-one-consonant, like Italian, are perceived as more attractive... Jo Silverwood, head of translation and localisation at marketing and advertising company META, also claimed that it could also be cultural stereotypes about a country which make the language more or less attractive. 'By far one of the sultriest languages is French,' she said. 'It's the je ne sais quoi that makes it sound so charming, but is this down to linguistics, or social and cultural reasons? 'We have a stereotypical view of the French with their stylish haute couture, fine wines, and romantic Parisienne landmarks. 'However, the phonemes of the French language mimic the husky, "sultry" hoarseness we've grown to love.'"
Oscars bounce fails to materialize for this year's nominees as they fail to gross $1 million - "The films nominated for this year's Best Picture honors played to mostly empty theaters over the weekend, with none of them able to break more than 1 million after the Oscar picks were announces earlier in the week."
From 2023
GB Politics on X - "🚨NEW: Green party councillor Cllr Sohail Asghar has been arrested on suspicion of modern slavery in Accrington"
Winston Marshall on X - "If this had been a Reform councillor or candidate we wouldn’t hear the end of it. But it’s Green Party and not being reported by any major outlet. Just one or two local news outlets. A Lancashire Police spokesperson said: “We have arrested three people as part of an investigation into alleged modern slavery in Accrington” https://lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/25705426."
Meme - @BritishLandeur: "You could dump 10,000 Europeans on Antarctica and in 100 years people would seek asylum there."
@pradahunter: "Basically Australia"
@BritishLandeur: "Actually an excellent point, yes. Basically Australia."
Meme - Babe: "Is it what I think it is? $6,499.50 out of our checking account?!?"
"Sold Sep 20, 2025. Critters Horror Movie 1986 Video Store Counter Display Pre-Owned $6,499.50 eBay.com"
Meme - "Me innocently scrolling Facebook *soldier with RPG*
Questions about Nancy Pelosi's boobs *tank*"
Meme - Pop Crave @PopCrave: "Airline IndiGo is now offering women the choice of not sitting next to men when they book seats."
Tony @TonyVask: "the way we as a society had to come to this because a lot of men behave like irrational animals"
Rob Smith @robsmithonline: "Yes, men in India, where this airline is based."
Meme - Aragorn: "Actually, I'm 87"
Eowyn: "Oh, wow. But you prefer younger women, right?"
*Evenstar*
Eowyn: "YOU PREFER YOUNGER, WOMEN! RIGHT?!"
Which pasta shape is right for your dish? - "Shapes are not just for aesthetics. They can enhance the eating experience. For example, Caputo explains, ragu with thicker pieces of meat might not stick between the ridges of corkscrew shaped pasta. But pesto will. And, Caputo adds, “A long noodle will twirl a richer sauce and chunks of meat together so that they make an impression on your memory.”"
When Do Chefs And Doctors Buy Generic? - "Pharmacists and doctors are more likely than the general public to buy generic medicine, as we reported last year. And chefs are more likely than the general public to buy generic food... When it comes to food, chefs buy generics for baking (baking soda, brown sugar baking mix) much more often than the general public. Also, interestingly, tea. But chefs buy name-brand yogurt, cereal and ice cream more often than the rest of us. Maybe that fancy ice cream really is worth the extra money. Doctors and pharmacists buy generic pain medicine more often than laypeople do. But they're much less likely than the rest of us to buy generic Alka-Seltzer. Is there something we should know about generic Alka-Seltzer?"
Genghis Khan, Feminist - "Genghis Khan adopted a policy of strategic marriages. He would marry off a daughter to the king of an allied nation. The king’s other wives were dismissed. Then he would assign his new son-in-law to military duty in the Mongol wars, while the daughter took over the rule of the kingdom. Most sons-in-law died in combat. "
Trump wants the U.S. to build tiny cars. Will they take off? - "It is not actually illegal to build tiny cars for the U.S. auto market. The problem is that kei cars built for foreign countries don't meet U.S. safety standards, so you can't import them unless you're willing to buy an antique. And companies could build tiny cars to U.S. standards, but given the American preference for big vehicles, they simply don't."
Bassem Youssef Acceptance Speech - Committee to Protect Journalists - "It is said that the freedom of any people can be judged by the volume of their laughter. So my wish for humanity is to have the loudest laughs ever."
Khomeini would not approve. Iran must not be free
A long list of sex acts just got banned in UK porn - "Pornography produced in the UK was quietly censored today through an amendment to the 2003 Communications Act, and the measures appear to take aim at female pleasure... While the measures won't stop people from watching whatever genre of porn they desire, as video shot abroad can still be viewed, they do impose severe restrictions on content created in the UK, and appear to make no distinction between consensual and non-consensual practices between adults. "There appear to be no rational explanations for most of the R18 rules," Jerry Barnett of the anti-censorship group Sex and Censorship told Vice UK. "They're simply a set of moral judgements designed by people who have struggled endlessly to stop the British people from watching pornography." More worryingly, the amendment seems to take issue with acts from which women more traditionally derive pleasure than men. "The new legislation is absurd and surreal," Itziar Bilbao Urrutia, a dominatrix who produces porn with a feminist theme added to Vice UK. "I mean, why ban facesitting? What's so dangerous about it? It's a harmless activity that most femdom performers, myself included, do fully dressed anyway. Its power is symbolic: woman on top, unattainable.""
From 2014
7 savage quotes from the judge on S'pore influencer Rachel Wong's defamation case - "1) "The plaintiff describes herself as “a full-time social media influencer, actress, model and host”. She maintains an Instagram account that she claims has 41,400 followers. That, I suppose, entitles her, in her estimation, to be a celebrity."...
3) "By a combination of Instagram-speak and the utter failure of counsel to translate that into English, the Statement of Claim is filled with chaff."
4) "Another of her [Wu's] statements was reproduced in the Statement of Claim, with emphasis in bold and underline, by the plaintiff’s counsel. It is hard to tell whether the emphasis represented counsel’s excitement or outrage, but such emphasis is not necessary in pleadings...
5) "When asked what exactly the defamatory content of the plaintiff’s case was, Mr Clarence Lun, counsel for the plaintiff, referred to a line in paragraph 12 of the Statement of Claim which states as follows: “WHICH KIND OF BEAST FKS THE BRIDE ON HER WEDDING DAY?????”. I leave the capital font in the original text alone but removed counsel’s emphasis in bold and underline."...
7) "In many discovery applications, the party resisting often claims, as Mr Lun (Wong's legal counsel) is now doing, that the applicant is “only fishing”, and the court should not order disclosure that lends indiscriminate assistance to such unmeritorious applications. [...] In this case, samples of relevant material had been produced, and, just to extend the fishing analogy just a bit more, it is not a mere fishing expedition if fish has in fact been spotted.""
From 2022
Labour’s attack on trail hunting is pure spite - "When the Labour government banned hunting with dogs in 2004, the clear understanding was that an alternative existed that would protect the jobs and tradition associated with the pastime. Hunts would be allowed to follow trails across the countryside instead of foxes or stags. For 20 years this new dispensation was accepted and largely followed. Hunters who broke the law have been prosecuted, with hundreds fined while police have issued formal cautions in other cases. But this was not good enough for the hunt saboteurs, animal rights groups and Labour Left-wingers. They abhor the very idea of people dressing up in traditional garb and galloping across the countryside. They maintain that trail hunts are a “smokescreen” for the continued pursuit of animals and convinced Labour to put the ban in its manifesto last year. When it was not included in the King’s Speech there was some optimism that the party was having second thoughts; but on Monday the measure will reappear as part of a new animal welfare strategy. This is not about animal welfare, however. It is about class warfare. A Prime Minister running scared of his Left-wingers feels the need to throw them some red meat to prove his Socialist credentials. Labour’s war on rural England already includes the imposition of inheritance tax on family farms and plans to concrete over green fields with thousands of new homes. This opens another front. Of course there are people in rural areas who do not like the hunts but that is no justification for wiping out a way of life that has been around for centuries. Labour is always professing its support for minorities, but only for those whose votes it can cultivate. In his memoirs “A Journey”, Tony Blair said the Hunting Act was “one of the domestic legislative measures I most regret”. It took up 700 hours of time in the Commons and Lords and was eventually forced onto the Statute Book only by the use of the Parliament Act. At least the supporters could justify this effort by claiming it spared animals from suffering. But a ban on trail hunting has no rationale at all and would outlaw activities that were an accepted compromise after the 2004 Act. If there is any “smokescreen” it is the pretence that this is an animal welfare matter when it is really an act of pure spite."
This is the day that ruined the joy of driving - "It was Dec 22 1965, and disgruntled motorists had gathered to protest against a new 70mph speed limit on motorways. Partly to blame for the enforced slowdown was racing driver, Jack Sears, or “Gentleman Jack”, as he was known, who had tested his AC Cobra Coupé on a new stretch of motorway in Hertfordshire the year before, reaching 185mph in the process. When his efforts made front-page news, the Government ordered an enquiry and imposed a temporary speed limit of 70mph. But it was the former Labour transport secretary, Barbara Castle, who ultimately sounded the death knell for limitless speed when she made the 70mph cap permanent in July 1967 (before then, it had been a four-month trial). Famously, Castle was a non-driver (and was also responsible for introducing the breathalyser)... Looking back now, in the light of seemingly ever-increasing restrictions on drivers in the decades since – the 10mph zone in Islington, north London, and the blanket 20mph cap in Wales spring to mind – it appears this was the day the British state’s war on motorists began. Before that, “driving was about freedom and fun”, says one 95-year-old who was on the roads at the time the 70mph limit was imposed. “If you were young, it was about putting your foot flat on the floor. Those were the days.”... Prior to the limit, Britons had been accustomed to driving as fast as they wished on the nation’s motorway network, which began to take shape in 1958 when the Preston Bypass, an 8.25-mile stretch of road which now forms part of the M6, was opened."
Review: Post-Liberalism by Matt Sleat & Against Post-Liberalism by Paul Kelly - "Western societies might be richer than they were before, but it isn’t clear that they’re stronger. The triumph of liberal politics has coincided with societies failing to replicate themselves, turning to migration to supplement falling birth rates, and finding in turn that they aren’t always able to assimilate the new arrivals to liberal ideas. Highly intertwined with this point is the discovery that the individual pursuit of happiness is not without its issues... These points form the backbone of the post-liberal critique: the liberal order is failing to sustain itself; this failure is inherent to a politics that emphasises unguided individualism; and we must move away from this if we are to rebuild our societies by reorienting the state towards the promotion of virtue. So far, so good. At this point, however, the post-liberals diverge. Some are devout Catholics who believe that an organisation which has lasted for 2,000 years, honing arguments and whittling traditions, might have developed a viable alternative framework of its own. Others are populists, riding in the wake of Donald Trump. Depending on how you draw the borders of post-liberalism, and whether you view the term as a catch-all for Right-wing discontent with the current order, some draw on far stranger ideas. Policy proposals can range from strengthening labour unions to reframing the state around political Catholicism. And as the critiques of liberalism have gathered force and multiplied, so too have the counter-arguments... The post-liberals, whatever else you might say about them, have reckoned seriously with liberalism. They’ve had to: they grew up in the world liberals made, served in the institutions liberals built, and write now for an audience still steeped in liberal ideas. They see in the constellation of breakdowns – birth rates, pollution, deaths of despair – a series of modern problems that might be susceptible to traditional solutions"
Meme - Andy Lee: "I just thought you should know as you try to find ways to save money to pay your bills that we sent $8.2 million to Vietnam to create gender-just rice"
"Greening our rice: gender-just, low- carbon, rice value chains in Vietnam"
Time to hate on Poilievre for wasting $2 million on a by-election
Meme - Willis Eschenbach: "I worked in Africa. This is tragically true. Only pennies reach the intended recipients. The rest is split between American NGOs and consultants, rent-seekers, local officials, bribery payments, African NGOs, Swiss bank accounts and the rest gets sold in the marketplace."
"Africa before $2.6 trillion in aid *mud hut*
Africa after $2.6 trillion in aid. *mud hut*"
Time to blame colonialism and send even more money
Meme - "Only in Pakistan
ANUS BURGER"
Meme - "Five colors of semen" (Five colors of somen)
Meme - Landshark: "I forget the details but one of the funniest cultural discrepancies I've read about was some American student going to his Indian or Chinese college professor to complain all his classmates (who were also Indian or Chinese) were in a cheating ring and had all the exam answers etc. And the professor just assumed the guy was complaining about being excluded from the cheating and said "oh no, poor you, I am sorry they are excluding you and refusing to send you the test answers, don't worry, I will talk to them and tell them to send everything to you too." Like the Oriental mindset professor just couldn't comprehend the concept that the student could complain about the cheating and corruption itself rather than about not personally benefitting from it. Two different worldviews."
Jonatan Pallesen on X - "There are 50+ million excess indian men who mathematically cannot find a wife. That's more than the entire population of Scandinavia plus Greece plus Portugal in incel Indian men. It is underrated how bad this is. Bad for these men, bad for the women many of them will likely harrass, and bad for the instability and emigration pressure this causes."
Is there a reason why SIA does not hire caucasians or people of non-Asian background for Cabin Crew? : r/askSingapore - "i understand the process because a friend of mine went through rounds of interviews. 1 : no visible scars on the skin that is expose outside the kebaya. 2: no tattoos or piercings marks 3: weight requirements < 55kg ( regardless of height) 4: mjn height 165Cm but now is slightly lower 160cm 5: able to be childless for 10 years once you sign the contract service 6: to have a child after the contract, you want to renew it , you need to show you can wear back your old uniform without fail 7: weight requirements throughout service 8: skin needs to be clear through service don’t think many can afford to do 5, 6,7. and most girls these days has full tattoos arm, chest, neck , hand, thighs, shoulder, obvious nose piercings , tongue, brows during teenage age."
US comedian Sammy Obeid issued Singapore correction order over claims he was told to edit his script - "Mr Obeid claimed on Aug 27 that his script was rejected twice and he was told to remove references to the conflict in Gaza, among other things. The Singapore authority in charge - the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) - said on Aug 28 that it had not requested any edits to the script. His show application was rejected because it was submitted 10 working days before the show, which was 30 days later than required."
Netflix's 'Squid Game' success shines light on international discounts - "Hollywood studios save millions of dollars by hiring local talent instead of Hollywood stars, collecting tax credits and rebates from hungry nations looking for bumps in tourism and recognition, and avoiding strict American union regulations, said Ajay Mago, a corporate and technology lawyer and managing partner for EM3... in the past, U.S. productions would often use international locations as stand-ins for American sets. “They’d come around to Canada or some place that offered tax incentives, and they’d drop in some American mailboxes and street signs, change the license plates on cars, and voila,” said Romano. “What’s happening now is there is local content from these regions. Studios are no longer masquerading.”"
Wall Street Apes on X - "Illinois Lawmakers discover Democrats laundered over $1 billion dollars to “Politically connected NGOs” “A staggering amount of taxpayer money, over a billion dollars, that's being funneled into political connected non-government organizations or NGOs — No transparency. NGOs aren't subject to the Freedom of Information Act or FOIA” “Taxpayers can't see how their money is being spent” Democrats are also laundering money through the official budget, “The budget language is vague and on purpose. These grants are buried under broad terms with little or no detail. Lawmakers are being asked to approve funding without knowing how the money will be used or even who's getting it.” “The human services budget has been hijacked. It used to mean helping seniors, helping single mothers, and people with disabilities. Now it's packed with programs for politically aligned groups offering vague services like parent mentoring, immigrant support, LGBTQ advocacy, and many are race or identity-based initiatives that serve political agendas”"
