Lurker > Tom_Joad

KitKat, Smarties, Aero and Baci Perugina are the best known Nestl chocolate brands.

Yes, the Eastern Roman Empire, which very much considered itself to be the Roman Empire. The book I read (War of the Three Gods, which covered both the final Romano-Sassanid War as well as the Arabic invasions of both empires) referred to them as Eastern Romans.

That final war was launched by Shahanshah Khosrau II, in response to a weak emperor and internal discord in the Eastern Roman Empire. In mere years, the Persians overran the Levant (the Jews opened the gates of Jerusalem to them too), Egypt, and Anatolia, but were prevented from crossing the Bosporus by the Roman navy. It was only after Emperor Heraclius led a daring campaign into the heart of the Persian Empire, overtaking its capital Ctesiphon, that the Persians were forced to accept the status quo ante. However, the war lasted 26 years, and Khosrau II was murdered for his failures, leaving the Eastern Roman Empire exhausted and the Sassanid Empire weak and unstable. The latter was quickly overrun, while Heraclius wisely abandoned the Levant and set up defenses along the passes through the Tarsos Mountains. His Governor of Egypt was a moron and blew a strong defensive position, however.

How did a 20oz soda used to be 2.5 servings and now it's listed as one serving?

Hahahaaa! That actually worked?

In fact, the Jews opened the gates of Jerusalem to the Arabs, mostly because they hated the Romans, and the Muslims did typically treat Jews better than the Christians did.

Step 1 - Muhammad
Step 2 -
Step 3 - Prophet

90% of news on the war is just propaganda from either side

One does not simply "move on" from cereal.

Ducks have weird corkscrew penises though

I'm not a phone.
I'm not a number.

Next song, best song

Are people still pretending that IM3 is a bad movie?

No and half the time it's either got the texture of a cantaloupe or it's got the texture of styrofoam

https://youtu.be/HvCUAshtRws

The price of a 1-liter mug of beer has increased 15 percent since 2019, thanks to rising prices for barley malt, glass bottles and the glue for labels.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/oktoberfest-inflation_l_63249624e4b027aa4065b67b

MUNICH (AP) Oktoberfest is back in Germany after two years of pandemic cancellations the same bicep-challenging beer mugs, fat-dripping pork knuckles, pretzels the size of dinner plates, men in leather shorts and women in cleavage-baring traditional dresses.

But while brewers are more than glad to see the return of the Bavarian capitals sudsy tourist centerpiece, both they and visitors are under pressure from inflation in a way that could scarcely be imagined the last time it was held in 2019.

For one thing, the 1-liter (2-pint) mug of beer will cost between 12.60 and 13.80 euros ($12.84 and $14.07) this year, which is an increase of about 15% compared with 2019, according to the official Oktoberfest homepage.

The event opens at noon Saturday when Munichs mayor taps the first keg and announces Ozapft is, or Its tapped in Bavarian dialect.

For Germanys brewers, rising costs go much deeper than simply the price of a round at the festivals long wooden benches. They are facing higher prices all along their chain of production, from raw ingredients like barley and hops to finishing touches such as beer caps and packing material.

Its a mirror of the inflation running across the economy: Sky-high natural gas prices caused by Russias war in Ukraine are boosting what businesses and consumers have to pay for energy, while recovering demand from the pandemic is making parts and raw materials hard to come by.

Brewing equipment is often fueled by natural gas, and prices for barley malt or grain that has been allowed to germinate by moistening it have more than doubled, to over 600 euros a ton. Glass bottles have risen by 80%, as glassmakers pay more for energy. Bottle caps are up 60%, and even glue for labels is in short supply.

Prices for everything have changed significantly this year, said Sebastian Utz, head technician at Munichs historic Hofbraeu Brewery, which traces its roots in the city to 1589. To brew beer you need a lot of energy ... and for refrigeration. And at the same time, we need raw materials barley malt, hops where procurement has increased in price.

The costs of everything cardboard, stainless steel for barrels, wood pallets, cleaning supplies to keep the brewing tanks spotless have gone up.

These are prices that the German brewing industry has never seen before, said Ulrich Biene, spokesman for the historic family-owned Veltins Brewery in Grevenstein, which is not one of the brands sold at Oktoberfest.

Inflation hit an annual 7.9% in Germany in August, and a record 9.1% in the 19 countries that use the euro currency. Rising consumer prices in Europe have been fueled above all by Russia restricting supplies of natural gas, driving prices through the roof. That feeds through to electricity, because gas is used to generate power, and to the cost of a host of industrial processes that run on gas, such as making fertilizer, glass and steel. Farmers also are seeing higher costs for heating buildings and fertilizing crops.

All that gets built into the prices of things people buy, and those higher prices cut into their purchasing power.

Inflation is running red hot in Germany and could approach 10% by years end, said Carsten Brzeski, chief eurozone economist at ING bank. The rate should fall next year as consumer demand weakens but that is small consolation today.

In any case, Oktoberfest is a much-needed boost for Munichs hotels and food service industry.

Its beautiful, Mayor Dieter Reiter said. You can see the enthusiasm has returned. He downplayed concerns about such a big event during the pandemic, saying the spread of COVID-19 is no longer the decisive factor and adding, Lets see how it goes.

Some 487 beer breweries, restaurants, fish and meat grills, wine vendors and others will serve revelers at Oktoberfest, and opening hours will be even longer than in the past, with the first beer tents opening at 9 a.m. and closing at 10:30 p.m. The last orders will be taken at 9:30 p.m.

In the years before COVID-19, about 6 million people visited the celebrations annually, many of them dressed in traditional Bavarian garb the women in Dirndl dresses, the men in Lederhosen, or knee-length leather trousers.

Oktoberfest, first held in 1810 in honor of the marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria to Princess Therese, has been canceled dozens of times during its more than 200-year history due to wars and pandemics.

Reminder that The Last Starfighter was cutting edge CG in 1984.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkDzkjQodzs

Reboot