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This website is a place for people who want to move past shady thinking and test their ideas in a court of people who don't all share the same biases. Our goal is to optimize for light, not heat; this is a group effort, and all commentators are asked to do their part.

The weekly Culture War threads host the most controversial topics and are the most visible aspect of The Motte. However, many other topics are appropriate here. We encourage people to post anything related to science, politics, or philosophy; if in doubt, post!

Check out The Vault for an archive of old quality posts. You are encouraged to crosspost these elsewhere.

Why are you called The Motte?

A motte is a stone keep on a raised earthwork common in early medieval fortifications. More pertinently, it's an element in a rhetorical move called a "Motte-and-Bailey", originally identified by philosopher Nicholas Shackel. It describes the tendency in discourse for people to move from a controversial but high value claim to a defensible but less exciting one upon any resistance to the former. He likens this to the medieval fortification, where a desirable land (the bailey) is abandoned when in danger for the more easily defended motte. In Shackel's words, "The Motte represents the defensible but undesired propositions to which one retreats when hard pressed."

On The Motte, always attempt to remain inside your defensible territory, even if you are not being pressed.

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PaperclipPerfector 5d ago (text post) 840 thread views

Transnational Thursday for July 24, 2025

Transnational Thursday is a thread for people to discuss international news, foreign policy or international relations history. Feel free as well to drop in with coverage of countries you’re interested in, talk about ongoing dynamics like the wars in Israel or Ukraine, or even just whatever you’re reading.

Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

NunoSempere 4d ago

Some items I'm looking at this week:

Geopolitics

Europe

Belarus threatens to shift Zapad-2025 military drills closer to NATO border

Spain participated in a Latvia NATO exercise.

Israel is accused of 'mass starvation' as 100 charities blast aid blockade: At least ten people 'die of malnutrition' in 24 hours

Gaza faces 'man-made' mass starvation due to Israeli aid blockade, World Health Organization says

Russia |launches| major military exercise 'july storm' in the Baltic Sea

Middle East

US looking into reports American citizen killed in Syria's Suwayda

Syria evacuates Bedouin from Druze-majority city

Iran

Donald Trump warns that US could strike Iran's nuclear sites again 'if necessary'

Iran says nuclear program will recover after US-Israel strikes

Iran says it will continue uranium enrichment despite U.S. strikes on nuclear facilities

Fires in Iran; Iran accussed Israel of sabotage

Gaza

Belgian King slams Gaza killings as 'disgrace to humanity' (ironic)

Asia

China starts construction of world’s biggest hydropower dam in Tibet; could dwarf Three Gorges Dam

China is acquiring high-end weapons systems and equipment 5–6X faster than the United States

Thailand |deploys fighter jets| as border clashes erupt with Cambodia

Tensions between Thailand and Cambodia have escalated following a significant military confrontation, where Thai fighter jets targeted Cambodian military| installations, representing one of the most serious conflicts in recent years. This escalation was precipitated by a prior incident in which a Thai soldier was injured by a landmine near the disputed border area, further straining relations that have long been marred by territorial disputes. Reports of direct clashes between troops from both nations and resulting civilian injuries have intensified fears of broader hostilities.

Thailand Deploys Fighter Jets as Border Clashes Erupt with Cambodia

Thai and Cambodian forces clash at border

Africa

Mozambican Opposition Leader Venancio Mondlane Charged Amid Tensions Over Post-Election Unrest – Medafrica Times

At least 1,000 people killed in a day South Sudan Ethnic Clashes

Cholera and other epidemics are side effects of endless war in Sudan

Mozambique seeks to prosecute opposition leader over post-election unrest

Bio

Scientists resurrected the 1918 “Spanish Flu” virus

Tech and AI

US nuclear weapons agency reportedly breached in Microsoft SharePoint attacks

Starlink is down

Chinese hackers breach US Nuclear Agency in Microsoft SharePoint cyberattack

Context

Dean Flairless NunoSempere 2d ago

Some items I'm looking at this week:

If you want a better / more rounded list, just use the RealClear media roundup portal. The link is to RealClearWorld specifically for global emergent news, but there are a number of other portals (technology, energy, military, US politics, etc.) which provide more articles, from a broader selection of sources, daily.

Context

What is this place?

This website is a place for people who want to move past shady thinking and test their ideas in a court of people who don't all share the same biases. Our goal is to optimize for light, not heat; this is a group effort, and all commentators are asked to do their part.

The weekly Culture War threads host the most controversial topics and are the most visible aspect of The Motte. However, many other topics are appropriate here. We encourage people to post anything related to science, politics, or philosophy; if in doubt, post!

Check out The Vault for an archive of old quality posts. You are encouraged to crosspost these elsewhere.

Why are you called The Motte?

A motte is a stone keep on a raised earthwork common in early medieval fortifications. More pertinently, it's an element in a rhetorical move called a "Motte-and-Bailey", originally identified by philosopher Nicholas Shackel. It describes the tendency in discourse for people to move from a controversial but high value claim to a defensible but less exciting one upon any resistance to the former. He likens this to the medieval fortification, where a desirable land (the bailey) is abandoned when in danger for the more easily defended motte. In Shackel's words, "The Motte represents the defensible but undesired propositions to which one retreats when hard pressed."

On The Motte, always attempt to remain inside your defensible territory, even if you are not being pressed.

New post guidelines

If you're posting something that isn't related to the culture war, we encourage you to post a thread for it. A submission statement is highly appreciated, but isn't necessary for text posts or links to largely-text posts such as blogs or news articles; if we're unsure of the value of your post, we might remove it until you add a submission statement. A submission statement is required for non-text sources (videos, podcasts, images).

Culture war posts go in the culture war thread; all links must either include a submission statement or significant commentary. Bare links without those will be removed.

If in doubt, please post it!

Rules

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