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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 6d ago (text post) 662 thread views

Transnational Thursday for November 13, 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 3d ago

Some headlines:

Geopolitics

United States

Rest of the Americas

US escalates its campaign against 'narco-terrorism' in Latin America with the launch of Operation Southern Spear

cuban government acknowledges out-of-control dengue and chikungunya outbreaks, responds with slogans and propaganda

Europe

DR Congo and M23 rebel group sign a framework agreement for a peace deal in Qatar

Middle East

Trump hosts Syria's new ruler in dramatic turnaround

Iran

Gaza

Hamas says fighters holed up in Rafah will not surrender | Reuters

Yemen

Yemen’s Houthis appear to pull back from Red Sea shipping attacks Houthis News Al Jazeera

Asia

China was able to detect the need for an implement a measure to avoid a Chinese and American satellite from colliding, indicating that it now has greater situational awareness in space

Japanese Prime Minister Koshi Sanae's stated that a crisis in Taiwan could justify Japan's collective self-defense

Former Bangladeshi minister accused USAID and the Bill Clinton family of supporting the riots in 2024 that led to the ousting of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Thailand suspends Cambodia 'peace deal' after soldiers injured

At least 12 martyred, 21 injured in suicide bombing outside Islamabad court

India/Pakistan

'We are in a state of war': Pakistan minister sounds alarm after suicide bombing kills 12; blames Kabul

Smaller terrorist attack in India

Ex-Bangladesh leader charged with crimes against humanity wants vote ban lifted

Africa

Sudanese leader rules out any truce or peace with paramilitary RSF unless it lays down arms

Sudan conflict: RSF's ceasefire move seen as tactical deception

U.N. migration agency warns Sudan relief operations are 'on the brink of collapse' - Washington Times

TikTok star publicly executed by al-Qaeda jihadists in Mali as ANOTHER African country is gripped by Islamist bloodshed

Over 200 killed as Boko Haram, ISWAP fight for Supremacy in Lake Chad

Biorisks

Ukraine, Gaza, Syria...: Thanks to wars, bacteria turning antibiotics useless

Deaths linked to antibiotic-resistant superbugs rose 17% in England in 2024

Chronic kidney disease continues rising in prevalence.

Another person is hospitalized in the U.S. with bird flu

Context

George_E_Hale insufferable blowhard NunoSempere 3d ago

Not an encouraging response to Takaichi's comments:

>In a now-removed post on X, the Chinese consul general in Osaka, Xue Jian, threatened to "cut off that dirty neck", apparently referring to Takaichi.

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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