Jump to content

The Political Thread


Recommended Posts

Took me a few tries to get the legend readable:

Kangaroo Ownership Legality

Green: Legal, no permit needed
Yellow: Legal, with a permit
Red:  Illegal

Dang!  Even though Indiana is surrounded by six Legal states (located within the Legal Belt, you might say) it's a hold-out.  :P

 

  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Amazingly, I conveniently 'forget' to follow the election, maybe I was afraid it'd be like four years ago, or maybe if I care less, I'd be depressed less.

Actually, I was more appalled about other news, maybe I'm too ignorant, I was really surprised to learn that fur farm are actually still a hot thing. Not sure why, I thought real fur for fashion is a thing from the past, heirloom maybe, or illegal trade by poaching. I absolutely have no idea that it is still a modern thing, and feel very stupid, because, of course. But I'm also.. how to put it, disgusted??? Extremely annoyed? I mean, it's for fashion! Food, I can understand, despite the controversy etc etc, it's a main necessity and we have yet discovered better way to feed the whole world, it's a shaky industry that could crumble one day, because resources have limitation.

BUT FASHION?????? We are not living in the cave anymore and there are more than enough synthetic materials. Why would a living creature sacrificed just for that? It's not even the tertiary need, clothes on our back, but what? Aesthetic??? Aesthethic my A...DAMN MY LEG!

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah -- shoes I can understand -- leather really is a good material for those, even though synthetics have come a long way over the past few decades.  But fur?  In my opinion, fur is right up there with food delicacies like lark's tongues.

If it makes you feel any better, my impression is that there's way less fur being used in the US than there used to be.  Aside from being a non-vegetarian choice, it's also politically incorrect in many circles.  Not sure who's still wearing it.  I just searched for "fur coat" on Amazon and practically all of them are fake fur, even the ones with just fur trim.  I did see one real fur coat, and I can see one very good reason (in addition to those already mentioned) why my friends don't wear them -- it costs thirteen thousand dollars!!!  You could get a really nice used car for that much (maybe even a basic brand-new car).  You could rent a pretty nice apartment for a whole year.  Plus fur takes special care -- you can't just throw it in the washing machine, and a lot of people opt for convenience these days.

 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I see a lot of of faux fur (well, supposedly faux) but the only real fur on clothes I've ever seen was in museums or my grandparents' closets from like the fifties or older. 

With very few exceptions, I dislike the look of it. Even if I can be 100% sure it's fake, I refuse to wear it. It's just not my style. 

I used to think that there was some kind of moral consensus that wearing real fur is wrong these days but so many things seem to be acceptable again (see: politics...) that it's no surprise to me that I was wrong there as well. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

2 hours ago, T.o.b.y said:

the only real fur on clothes I've ever seen was in museums or my grandparents' closets from like the fifties or older.   [....]   I used to think that there was some kind of moral consensus that wearing real fur is wrong these days but so many things seem to be acceptable again [....] that it's no surprise to me that I was wrong there as well. 

Why do you say you were wrong?  I doubt that fur farms have disappeared entirely, but it looks to me like the market for fur has dwindled to a mere fraction of what it was in the fifties.  OK, here's an article from an investor's website:

In the ensuing decades, it became less popular to own fur, sparked by animals' rights concerns and increasingly casual lifestyles. In the decade ended 2014, however, fur popularity staged a comeback, especially in the high-end market.  [....]  Fur is unlikely ever to enjoy the mass appeal it once did (many have since sworn off the real deal in favor of faux, or no fur at all)....

So yes, there was apparently something of an upward trend a few years back, but nowhere near a return to the old status quo.  I assume there have always been people who wear fur because it's soft and pretty and ostentatious and that's all that matters to them, and I assume there will always be such people.  But I think your first guess was absolutely correct, most people nowadays don't want to wear fur -- partly out of concern for animals and partly because it's gotten so darned expensive.  Part of the expense is merely inflation, of course, but the smaller market is also bound to drive prices up.

Decades ago, I had a parka with a fur ruff on the hood.  I thought it was OK to buy it because the ad said the fur was not from an endangered species.  But then later I got to thinking that -- since the fur was not from a food species -- an animal had been killed just for that stupid fur (which I didn't even like, because it tickled my nose).  So I haven't bought anything with fur since then.  And I think that society in general has made a similar transition over that period of time.  Otherwise some of those coats on Amazon would have real fur, at least as trim.

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, J.P. said:

I can remember bits of information that in Russia fur is still a thing.

Perhaps because it's especially cold in certain parts of that country, so fur is more practical and traditional?

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is another story, what I meant is luxury fur.
 

Quote

The move was surprising in Russia, where fur is a wardrobe staple. Although the country makes up approximately 6 per cent of global luxury spending, it is the world’s second largest fur market. (China is the largest.) $2.3 billion of fur coats were sold on both the legal and black market in 2017, according to the Russian Fur Union. “Russia is a special case with regards to fur — it is so ingrained in our culture,” says Katya Fedorova, the fashion consultant who runs the popular Telegram channel “Good Morning, Karl”. “It is not just something you buy to look good; it is a social statement, more so than in other countries.”

https://www.voguebusiness.com/consumers/russian-fur-market-still-growing

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks -- that makes perfect sense.

I don't think the US ever had much of a fur tradition, even when many Americans lived in the wilderness and made their own clothing.  Just offhand, I can think of only a few animal-based garments from that era.  Buckskin jackets are still seen occasionally; plus they and buckskin chaps have morphed into the leather protective garments worn by some motorcyclists.  Coonskin caps still pop up as fads now and then.  But in this country, fur coats are not a legacy of our frontier past, they're more like an imported European fashion statement.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Actually I don't understand why leather is associated with motorcyclists. Not sure how motorcyclists I am, having only ride for a decade but no crazy distance, and for me, leather would be a nightmare and the last thing I would wear, maybe the last thing after fur. Imagine it sticks and shrinks and smells like cow (yah I know it's not the actual smell 😄 but when you are stuck in hot weather, red light and leather you'd be lucky to smell like hamburger). But I could see the purpose of leather boots.

Anyway, leather is side product right?

I mean, there are other uses for the animals? Food?

Oh wait, maybe you meant like crocodile leather products?

Anyway, I hope at least all those news bring awareness to the luxury fur industy. It's too bloody, unjustifiable imo, unnecessary cruel to kill so many, and subject their whole existence  to misery, only for that single purpose. It sent me to a little bit of rabbit whole to see the actual farm practice, and NO, it's so wrong, wrong, wrong, WRONG!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

31 minutes ago, Van Buren Supernova said:

I don't understand why leather is associated with motorcyclists.  Not sure how motorcyclists I am, having only ride for a decade but no crazy distance....

The rationale is apparently that if they take a spill, the leather will help protect them from certain injuries.  I have the impression that you ride mostly in a city (so your speed is presumably fairly low), and it's my impression that leather is worn more by people who ride their motorcycles for long distances at higher speeds -- which seems kind of backwards to me, since injuries at highway speeds are likely to be far more serious than leather might protect them from.  I'm probably the wrong person to ask about the reasons, though.

39 minutes ago, Van Buren Supernova said:

Anyway, leather is side product right?

I mean, there are other uses for the animals? Food?

Yes, I assume it's mostly cowhide.  But please note that I was merely saying motorcycle leathers are one of the few animal-hide products (other than shoes) that I see worn these days.  I was not comparing them to fur in any other sense.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, Carol the Dabbler said:

The rationale is apparently that if they take a spill, the leather will help protect them from certain injuries. 

Maybe you are into something, but I still think that possibly heatstroke and death of all the nerves exceed the risk of getting more bruises, broken bones or flatter face :D

4 hours ago, Carol the Dabbler said:

  I have the impression that you ride mostly in a city (so your speed is presumably fairly low)

city yes, low speed no

4 hours ago, Carol the Dabbler said:

and it's my impression that leather is worn more by people who ride their motorcycles for long distances at higher speeds

I rode interstate to work every weekday for almost seven years, but it was not terribly far. And another three on medium to heavy traffic fast expressway.

I mostly prefer light coat or windbreaker, jeans and tracking shoes.

There are special 'proper clothes' for 'safe' motorcycle riding, and to my knowledge, they are never leather, but jacket and pants with hard elbow and knee guard, with some hardy than common fabric material, I think some has 'plates for wind etc. Motorcycle boots are high, covering half of lower leg and hard toes (not steel toes like contruction boots though). Close-toes shoes make sense to protect them from being entangled etc especially with manual gear bikes, but there is no way I survive in those proper riding gear, I am creature of comfort and practicality  as much as I can get away with it as long as they are not needed for actual life support.

I strongly suspect motorcycle = leather are more for style. Cool, big guy, with shade, terminator, tough, testosterone, movie cool chicks, matrix, resident evil, catwoman, batpod, those. Well, nothing wrong with that, just that, in real life, to my limited experiences, most of the flashiest ones don't actually live up to their look, and some that I witness could be pretty annoying, the bikes are loud (very loud) with earth shattering vibration. I'd get headache in their vicinity.

Forgive me if I told the story before, getting old. I was riding my smaller scooter bike one day, and this guy in Harley was cutting vehicles left and right, booming at the loudest and most obnoxious sounds, vibrating like Godzilla's fart. He cut my line couple of times. I was on the way to work, expecting tiring day, meeting people I don't like, discussing things I don't see importance with, and I didn't have my morning coffee or the sun rose on the wrong side or something. 

After enduring him for a while, it's obvious to me that this guy is not that skillful or whatever, as I kept catching up to him which annoys me more, means he was always there. So I decided to 'race' that bloody loud thing and ape. Picture me in small scooter and this big guy with airy armpit lifted high up in his big Harley, and I won. He couldn't catch up with me eventhough there multiple chance of redlights as equalizer, he tried from the roaring and the throttle movement.  I also broke my speedometer as result. Stupid, but worth it. I didn't ride carelessly, I hope, I know it's stupid thing to do but .but.. he started it!!

 

 

  • Haha 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, Van Buren Supernova said:

I strongly suspect motorcycle = leather are more for style.

That would be my guess at this point, though I assume they started out as protective gear, back before they had modern materials to make the sort of gear you described.  I don't think I see leathers as often as I used to, but then maybe I'm just not paying attention!

10 hours ago, Van Buren Supernova said:

the bikes are loud (very loud) with earth shattering vibration. I'd get headache in their vicinity.

If you're talking about the same kind we get here, the noisiest ones are apparently in two categories:  1) The muffler broke and hasn't been repaired yet, or (mostly, I suspect) 2) they think it sounds "cool" -- in an in-your-face kinda way.  My word for that kind is obnoxious, and it makes me wonder if the guy is feeling dumped on in some way -- nasty boss, maybe -- so he makes himself feel better by passing it along.  It seems to me there are better ways to cope!

10 hours ago, Van Buren Supernova said:

Forgive me if I told the story before, getting old.

Nope, don't think you did.  (Or maybe I'm getting old.)  Thanks for telling -- made me laugh!

Some of those guys who keep passing you over and over drive cars too.  My impression is that they simply don't like being behind another vehicle, so they pass it.  But then they aren't really into going all *that* fast, so they gradually slow back down, at which point you (or I) pass them.  So then they're behind again and it bugs them, so pretty soon they pass again, and so on.  Other times, like with you and your little scooter, it may be a mobility issue -- they can't weave through the openings that you can.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It might be that leather was the best material for motorcycle suits before all those fancy modern materials. As an ex-owner of a leather jacket I can tell you it's breathable and warm, and definitely feels better than synthetics, giving you better protection from the elements than natural voven fabrics.

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, J.P. said:

It might be that leather was the best material for motorcycle suits before all those fancy modern materials.

Yeah, that's what I'm thinking.

4 hours ago, J.P. said:

As an ex-owner of a leather jacket I can tell you it's breathable and warm, and definitely feels better than synthetics, giving you better protection from the elements than natural voven fabrics.

:facepalm:    Well of course it is!  I used to wear leather shoes, and recall them as breathable.

Dunno why I was thinking leather wouldn't be comfortable -- well, yes I do, I was following VBS's scenario, and thinking about wearing a full leather suit in hot, humid weather -- I can't stand wearing anything with long legs and sleeves when it's like that!  But most of the year, fall through spring around here, it probably would be perfectly comfortable.  Think I'd want to wear long underwear with it, though!

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had leather short boot before, not sure how authentic it was, it's okay but I wouldn't say they are suitable in most situation, definitely not for rough terrains (even city ones like rubbles etc) or for running, I also think my other shoes are way more comfortable, but that's me. I prefer anything that bend together with my joints.

Comfortable motorcycle wears, actually a lot of things are comfortable, when you are on the go. It's windy, breezy and sometimes cold. Under the sun, you's hope to have enough protection otherwise you could feel the body hairs start to curl. Under the rain, raindrops are very painful to the chest and some extreme would reduce visibility to close to zero. In both scenarios, it's good to be properly protected but it also requires different kind of protection. For me, still nothing leather. Hot weather is very unbearable during a stop in traffic or heavy traffic, it's sauna inside! I felt trapped in my outer wear, and leather would be crazy idea for that. In rain, ahem, what is the collection point of rainwater for motorcycle riders?? Take a wild guess! It's.. the crotch! So we would need a good wearable raincoat that is big enough to put over the regular wear. Raincoat is waterproof, equal bloody hot inside again, another sauna.

 

And to the topic, why politicians never consider leather 😆. They mostly sit inside aircon room, no? It's probably more comfortable than suits? Well, Mycroft?? Imagine him and Lady Smallwood in leather!

  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

24 minutes ago, Van Buren Supernova said:

Well, Mycroft?? Imagine him and Lady Smallwood in leather!


Hey, watch it!  This isn't the kinky forum!   :P

 

  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 11/16/2020 at 3:57 PM, Carol the Dabbler said:

Hey, watch it!  This isn't the kinky forum!   :P

Wait, what?? Tsk Carol!

Actually, really, I swear I didn't think of what Carol did. (geez, C! :D)

I was still relating it to Mycroft and Lady Smallwood with leather jackets, tight-fitted pants, gloves, chain accesories, sunglasses and headbands, riding a harley from Buckingham Palace to Diogenes, or to visit Sherlock in crime scene, where the little brother is frowning and being embarrassed by the spectacle, and John be like..

20201118-115804.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Van Buren Supernova said:

I was still relating it to Mycroft and Lady Smallwood with leather jackets, tight-fitted pants, gloves, chain accesories, sunglasses and headbands, riding a harley....

And this is not kinky?   :huh:

 

  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...
On 11/18/2020 at 3:04 PM, Carol the Dabbler said:

And this is not kinky?   :huh:

 

Hold on.

With this standard, maybe my younger days were not as lame as I thought it was.

  • Haha 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Sweet Jesus, that some messed up dung with those people storming the capitol, it was like a coup! I mean, the cops just let those people in!

The only good thing to come out of it is that Trump is permanently banned from Twitter, but I find that impeachment process a bit unnecessary. I mean Trump's term is almost over so...

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, Fantasy Lover said:

I find that impeachment process a bit unnecessary. I mean Trump's term is almost over so...

Yeah, it's apparently their version of the pillory.  Seems like a waste of everybody's time and the taxpayers' money,

7 minutes ago, Fantasy Lover said:

those people storming the capitol, it was like a coup!

I've seen a bit of coverage from both sets of media, liberal and conservative, and the former shows it that way, but it's considerably different on the latter.  As usual, I suspect that the truth lies somewhere between.  The Dems did seem quite eager to give Trump a dramatic send-off, and unfortunately for him, that large demonstration gave them something to work with.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of UseWe have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.Privacy PolicyGuidelines.