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BurntEyes

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Posts posted by BurntEyes

  1. I already posted it in the Apple thread but I'm loving it, but my expectations weren't high.

    I'm repeating myself, but its a sci-fi sitcom based on a self aware robot that's on spectrum. It takes shots at both liberal and conservative tropes. It has really good dialog, great internal monolog, and is just silly. I enjoy the hell out of it for what it is.. so. 

    • Hook 'Em 1
  2. 7 hours ago, henrygandorf said:

    finished up dept q last night. it was excellent throughout and did a great job launching into (hopefully) multiple seasons. it's based on a book series and has already been made into several (danish?) movies, so they should have plenty of material.

    akram is the man.

    I really loved it for all the various dynamics of cast, story and dialog. 

    It address some serious issues but wasn't afraid to have fun in the process. Some truly fantastic chemistries between various actors.

  3. 5 minutes ago, Ghost of NMAS said:

    I don't think the dialect differences between Kentucky and Boston would prevent a hillbilly invasion

    Go ask the people of Kentucky their thoughts on an all expenses paid 3 week vacation to Boston and get back to me.

    Edit - Great now I'm thinking about Appalachians occupying Boston and the all the conversations that would be occurring. This actually would make for a hilarious sitcom.

    • Haha 1
  4. 3 minutes ago, Pato del Muerto said:

    You, I believe, are talking to a Taiwanese person who emigrated to America with his family. 

    Fair, and he's absolutely entitled to his opinion, but it doesn't seem like his fellow countrymen agree.

    (I was really tempted to light another CR/fire..... I resisted, you're welcome)

  5. 49 minutes ago, gsoda3 said:

    It's the exact same language not even a different dialect. And culturally there's not as big of a divide now as there was maybe twenty years ago.  The communist brainwashing apparatus has been effective.

    Not as of 5 years ago per the research below and not based on my Taiwanese national friends and his medical doctor wife who left Taiwan to come to the US based on concerns regarding China. Or... the rest of his family who now lives in the US.

    PG_2020_05.12_Taiwan_0-04.png.080279847e4af9c37e0252ced09d124e.png

    Link

    Or this one from 3 months ago 

    CFR article

    Or this one from the BBC 6 months ago

    BBC Article

    Or this one from Reuters:

    Taiwan president pledges peace with China but says island must strengthen defences - https://www.reuters.com/world/china/anniversary-taking-office-taiwan-president-reiterates-willingness-talk-china-2025-05-20/

    I could go on. 

    And if you think there are no dialect differences between Chinese Mandarin and Taiwanese Mandarin, I'm sure you think people in Boston speak like people in Kentucky. That's before dismissing all the other dialects found in China. But you're right, officially they speak the same language.

    This fucking place. 

    • Haha 3
  6. 4 hours ago, BabaYaga said:

    No - which is why this notion that they could attack, invade, and occupy Taiwan is problematic on so many levels.  

    There is the military logistical and capabilities reality, which is problematic. Potentially as big an issue is the hatred between the two. They make speak different dialects of the same language but culturally they are vastly different. This isn't a recent divide either. It's not China/Japan level hate, but it's real.

    But... that's a different thread.

  7. 17 minutes ago, BabaYaga said:

    Kharg Island is Iran's main export terminal.  Iran/China really want to FAFO, that island is an easy, easy target. 

    Then the entirety of the ME OG would send as much money as they felt needed to achieve goals they felt needed achieving to partners they felt capable of achieving it.

    Iran/China could succeed but... China might see a pretty big increase in oil cost, Iran would absolutely cease to exist under current leadership and Russia wouldn't get any help from them as they're a little busy plus Russia is a really shitty partner. China is crazy, but they aren't stupid. Don't bite a hand that feeds you.

  8. 1 hour ago, Dnaguy said:


    Question…. For a friend.

    Are there really that many fucking dudes comfortable scanning their ID’s and sending it to OnlyFans so they can pay chicks for ‘batin material?

    When …. my friend …. realized you couldn’t view contact without a verified account that checks your age via an upload of your ID, he just went back to Reddit NSFW threads and VPN enabled pornhub access.

    Considering how many middle aged men …. Like my friend…. There are providing payments to OnlyFans creators and after the whole Ashley Madison debacle some years ago it surprises me that dudes would want to open themselves up to what seems like a digital sword of Damocles.

    But I guess the dong wants what the dong wants.

    My friend told me most of them have pretty big social media accounts. According to him, while you don't get full content there's enough on those account to achieve your goals of.. ya know, getting to "know" them better.

  9.  

    The following is a long, pretty comprehensive piece on factors prior to Isreal attack through today. I tried to highlight dates and important aspects with bold for critical points.

    How Trump, a self-proclaimed 'peacemaker,' embraced Israel's campaign against Iran

    Spoiler

    WASHINGTON - Roughly one month ago, from the stage at an investment forum in Saudi Arabia, U.S. President Donald Trump issued a warning to Iran that would prove prophetic.

    "We'll never allow America and its allies to be threatened with terrorism or nuclear attack," Trump told the crowd, sending a message to the leadership in Tehran.

    "The time is right now for them to choose. Right now. We don't have a lot of time to wait. Things are happening at a very fast pace."

    That May 13 ultimatum received little attention at the time.

    By mid-May, the Pentagon had begun drawing up detailed contingency plans to aid Israel if it followed through on its long-held ambition to strike Iran's nuclear program, the officials said. And the U.S. had already diverted thousands of defensive weapons away from war-torn Ukraine toward the Middle East in preparation for potential conflict, according to a Western source familiar with the matter and a Ukrainian source.

    The Pentagon declined to comment for this story

    This account of the weeks and days leading up to Trump's decision to throw his support behind Israel's bombing campaign is based on interviews with over a dozen administration officials, foreign diplomats and Trump confidantes, most of whom spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations.

    The picture that emerges is that of a long, secretive preparation process and a president who for weeks found himself torn between diplomacy and supporting military action - and was ultimately persuaded in part by an ally whose actions he did not fully control.

    While Trump has long described himself as a peacemaker - dispatching Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff to the region several times to try to seal a diplomatic accord - he had several trusted political allies pushing him to back an Israeli attack on Iran's nuclear facilities.

    And U.S. intelligence had indicated a unilateral Israeli strike was possible, even likely, even if Trump wanted to wait, according to two U.S. officials.

    While it is unclear if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or Trump's more hawkish allies ever got him to a "yes" to Israel's plans, by the days leading up the strike he was at least not a "no," according to two senior U.S. officials and a senior Israeli source.

    That stance, people familiar with the dynamics said, helped tip Israel into action.

    Seven days into the Israel-Iran conflict, Trump is left with a dilemma, said Aaron David Miller, a veteran diplomat who has advised six secretaries of state on Middle East policy.

    He can try again to pursue a diplomatic resolution with Iran, allow Iran and Israel "to fight it out," or he can enter the war with U.S. airstrikes on the deeply buried Fordow enrichment plant, a step that would have unknown consequences for the region.

    Trump "let it (the Israeli attack) happen," said Miller, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace policy institute. "He got on the tiger and he's riding it."

    The White House on Thursday said that Trump will make a decision on whether the U.S. will get involved in the conflict in the next two weeks.

    The White House, the Israeli prime minister's office and Iran's delegation to the United Nations did not respond to a request for comment. Tehran has consistently said its nuclear program is designed for peaceful purposes only, a conclusion Washington has rejected.

    One of the first hints that Trump might sign off on an Israeli bombing campaign came in April.

    During a closed-door meeting on April 17, Saudi Arabia's defense minister delivered a blunt message to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian: Take Trump's offer to negotiate an agreement seriously because it presents a way to avoid the risk of war with Israel.

    Reuters could not determine whether the message was sent at Washington's behest, nor whether Iran's leaders took that message seriously

    The Israel Defense Forces and the head of U.S. Central Command, General Michael "Erik" Kurilla, were discussing detailed intelligence about Iran's missile buildup and nuclear program and steps that could be required to defend U.S. troops and Israel itself in any conflict with Iran, according to a U.S. official and senior Israeli official.

    Meanwhile, the U.S. was funneling weapons to Israel that would be useful for an air war with Iran. In one instance in early May, a large shipment of defensive missiles originally meant for Ukraine was diverted to Israel instead, according to the Western source and the Ukrainian source.

    The diverted shipment caused consternation in Kyiv and sparked continued fears that additional weapons needed to defend against Moscow will instead be used to defend U.S. interests elsewhere, the Ukrainian source said.

    In the opening months of Trump's term, Israel had already proposed to Washington a series of options to attack Iran's facilities, according to sources.

    While Trump had rebuffed those ideas, saying he preferred diplomacy for the time being, several people close to him said he was never dead-set against using military force against Iran.

    He had done so before. In 2020, despite a foreign policy during his first term that was otherwise marked by restraint, Trump ordered a drone strike that killed major general Qassem Soleimani, the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' division responsible for its international operations.

    The Iranian government has since sought to murder Trump in revenge, U.S. prosecutors have said, an allegation Tehran denies.

    Behind the scenes, Trump had been pulled in multiple directions on the Iran issue since before he even took office.

    On one side, many supporters - including conservative media personality Tucker Carlson - and administration officials saw Trump's Make America Great Again movement as an antidote to decades of foreign wars that cost thousands of American lives without significantly advancing American interests.

    On the other, several close Trump allies - from conservative commentator Mark Levin to Republican Senator Lindsey Graham - were portraying a nuclear Iran as an existential threat that must be removed at any cost.

    Trump himself took pride in being a broker of peace.

    "My proudest legacy," he said during his inauguration address, "will be that of a peacemaker and unifier."

    Ultimately, no U.S. official, Trump confidante or diplomat Reuters talked to identified an epiphany that tipped the scales for the president.

    One senior administration official said that after months of sitting on the fence a lack of diplomatic progress, a push from the Israelis and appeals by hawkish allies likely wore him down.

    Trump aides and allies have noted that Israel's attack unfolded just after the expiry of a 60-day deadline the Trump administration had set for a diplomatic breakthrough with Iran.

    The senior U.S. official said another dynamic was at play: As U.S. intelligence consistently showed Israel might go ahead with an attack with or without U.S. support, the administration could look caught off guard if they did not get behind it. Worse, it could appear that the U.S. was opposing a longtime ally.

    Although Trump had appeared to some to snub Netanyahu as he pushed for a peaceful solution to the crisis, privately, Israel understood that Washington would stand by it, said a separate official.

    By the time Trump talked to Netanyahu on Monday, June 9 - one of many phone calls in recent days - his stance was one of tacit, if not explicit approval, according to one U.S. and one Israeli official.

    The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump had said he would like more time to see diplomacy play out. But the U.S. official said that he did not explicitly veto Israel's plans.

    By Wednesday, June 11, it was clear to Washington that Israel's plans were a go.

    The next day, June 12, Washington sent a formal diplomatic note to several regional allies, warning them that an attack was imminent.

    Trump and some key cabinet members watched the events live from the wood-paneled "JFK room," part of the White House Situation Room. Other officials watched the events nearby.

    The initial attack appeared to be a success, with several close advisers to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei killed and key nuclear sites seriously damaged. Over the weekend, the Israelis considered killing Khamenei himself, but were waved off by Trump, according to two U.S. officials.

    Almost immediately, a political civil war erupted in Trump's Republican Party, with several high-profile conservatives, including members of Congress, accusing his administration of fanning the flames of war

    Seven days on, the U.S. intelligence community believes the strikes have set Iran's nuclear ambitions back by only months, according to a source familiar with U.S. intelligence reports, confirming a CNN report.

    A significant blow to Iran's nuclear ambitions, most analysts say, will require dropping bunker-busting bombs on the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant, the crown jewel of Iran's nuclear program. Only the U.S. has that capability.

    Trump has said he is considering such a strike, which would represent a major escalation for the United States.

    Link

  10. 2 hours ago, Scholz said:

    Haha those idiots will never learn. 😂

    I haz tears... 

    The most delicious thing about the new mythos they have created is that we are upset about their class. I don't recall anyone on Surly doing anything but mocking it. YET, it's already become canon and now, it will be added to every off season roller-coaster queue.

    So fucking glorious. 

    Also on the last page one thing cause my eye in their Watergate deep throat "investigation". Who the fuck runs a business using an AOL email?Screenshot_20250619_180453_Chrome.thumb.jpg.954a761921b7911941eaf1fd9598f638.jpg

    • Haha 1
  11. 9 hours ago, blacklab said:

    my best guess based on what has come out from the trial:

    John went into the house, was attacked by the dog, slipped and hit his head, died, they threw him in the yard and made Karen a patsy. 

    So what you're saying is this was a plot by the Dog Mafia who put a hit out on this cop for his past misdeeds?

    Fight the Pawa!

    (Sorry, couldn't help myself)

  12. 6 minutes ago, Duane Moore said:

    Take a look at this analysis of Russia’s reaction. I guess Marjorie Taylor Greene’s vaunted BRICS defense pact isn’t coming to the rescue. 
     

    If anyone has the full NYT article, I’d love to read it. 

    I don't think Russia will HELP Iran at all. I should have been clear. By rope I meant reasons for both Iran and Russia to talk shit. The 2nd biggest narcissist (1st, 3rd ? You pick em) in global politics isn't just going to keep his mouth shut and that could be the nudge that closes the door on Iran.

    5 minutes ago, Vegas64 said:

    What do you mean Putin gave nothing. He's offered to mediate peace! What a mensch.

    Not if Trump gets there first! 

    The two global Peace Kings.

  13. 3 minutes ago, Vegas64 said:

    Not just your speculation, but a common one in the diplomatic space. Rumors abound that Bibi has a weapon capable now after literal decades of development and that we wouldn't be where we are today if there wasn't at least a plan to see it through to the end (complete disembodient of Iran's programming). No half measures.

    The other side of the rumor mill is that Bibi & Trump/U.S. brokered a partnership to see it through-- Israel doing 90% of the work and American putting in the finishing touches with the GBU-57's. 

    Or Bibi could be calculating that he could see his 90% through and then cajole and sell Trump on finishing them off and sharing the credit or something.

    We don't know what we don't know, lots of informed speculation at this pointm though.

    Yeah.. I think the last 2 are most likely, but given the scary level of Mosad so far, I think 1 plus a check off with US and OG is certainly possible.

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  14. IAEA chief identifies Isfahan as Iran's planned uranium enrichment site

    VIENNA - U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi on Thursday identified Isfahan, home to one of Iran's biggest nuclear facilities, as the location of a uranium enrichment plant that Iran said it would soon open in retaliation for a diplomatic push against it.

    The day before Israel launched its military strikes against Iranian targets including nuclear facilities last Friday, Iran announced it had built a new uranium enrichment facility, which it would soon equip and bring online. Tehran did not provide details such as the plant's location.

    Spoiler

    Iran's announcement was part of its retaliation against a resolution passed by the International Atomic Energy Agency's 35-nation Board of Governors declaring Tehran in breach of its non-proliferation obligations over issues including its failure to credibly explain uranium traces found at undeclared sites.

    Had it gone online, the new enrichment plant would have been the fourth in operation in Iran. But Israel's attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities destroyed one of those plants and put another out of action by killing its power supply, the IAEA has said."

    There was an announcement, quite coincidentally, on the eve of the start of the military operation by Israel of a new enrichment facility in Isfahan, precisely, that we were going to be inspecting immediately, but this inspection had to be postponed, we hope, because of the start of the military operation," Grossi said.

    The IAEA has previously reported that Israeli military strikes on Friday damaged four buildings at Isfahan, including the Uranium Conversion Facility that transforms "yellowcake" uranium into the uranium hexafluoride feedstock for centrifuges so that it can be enriched.

    Grossi told the BBC on Monday that the "underground spaces" at Isfahan did not seem to have been affected. Officials say those spaces are also where much of Iran's most highly enriched uranium stock has been stored.

    The IAEA has not, however, been able to carry out any inspections since the strikes.

    Reuters Link

  15. On 6/18/2025 at 12:30 PM, Felix said:

    I would have happily broken her arm and dislocated her shoulder to get her to let go of that other woman.  Fuck that drunk bitch.

    Push that elbow holding the hair up/forward, she lets go really quickly, at least that's what my friend told me when it happened to him.

    Anyway, spitting is assault and you can defend yourself. All bets are off for me at that point. Female, male, non-binary, zero fucks given. 

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  16. 1 hour ago, Duane Moore said:

    Pure speculation on my part, but I’d think the Israelis didn’t go into this without a plan for dealing with Fordow themselves, knowing that predicting Trump’s decision is about as reliable as a 247 crystal ball pick on a junior a year away from signing day. Given how meticulously they’ve planned all the rest of it, I’d be surprised if they were going to do the equivalent of relying upon the FBI to cut the power at Nakatomi Tower that would override the emergency locks on the vault. 
     

    I’d also expect they have eyes on Fordow from the outside (and maybe the inside) and if they detect large movements of material out of it, they will hit the trucks with their JDAMS. 

    Again, all speculation. 

    Bibi has said from the jump there was a 2 week plan. There was and remains a very specific plan in Israel. It goes back to something I said a page or 2 back. 2 weeks is also time line the OG power would allow for as anything longer becomes too disruptive and at that point they won't remain away from the table.

    I'm just suprised nobody has picked up on the similarities between Bibi's call at the start and Trump's 2 weeks. I think trying to predict what Trump will do is always an exercise in blind darts, other than he starts heavy, backs off to see what he is offered and how the wind blows. Then, makes a call. I speculate his 2 week talk is a short term stall to get OG power in the region to negotiating table. At the end of the day, lets be clear, ME OG power and OG speculations determine the time frame of this war. 

    I think it gives Putin and Iran some sabre rattling rope. They'll both get mouthy, that's guaranteed. Between their shit talk, Israeli plans and OG pressure, not to mention just smart operational, logistic and military planning, Trump's hand may be forced. All of this, of course, will occur behind closes doors. We all know who will claim to have been running the show the entire time regardless of the ultimate outcome.

    Then again, as I said before, predictions of Trump is a game of blind darts. So, maybe he "Brokers Peace" tomorrow.

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  17. 5 minutes ago, Pato del Muerto said:

    So Trump is giving them 2 weeks to get all of their stuff out of the target, while they “negotiate” with him?  Then they tell him to fuck off, he bombs out an empty shell, claims victory, and they build out at another location and are back operating in a couple of months time?

    With Putin's help Iran should be able to pull off a new secret underground facility in about 3 years.

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  18. 43 minutes ago, Ghost of NMAS said:

    Do you actually think that Trump could compute the date that is two weeks from now?

    Good grift requires maths bro. No better way to get the MAGA base back in line than bombing on the 4th of July. Don't like it? Why do you hate Murica?

    I'm adding some flavor for levity and appeasement certain subset of posters, but sadly... the logic tracks.

  19. Interesting "Analyst" take from John Sawyers ala Reuters:

    Spoiler

    17 minutes ago

    13:43 CDT

    JOHN SAWERS, SENIOR ADVISOR AT CHATHAM HOUSE AND FORMER HEAD OF BRITAIN'S SECRET INTELLIGENCE SERVICE:

     

    “I hesitate about saying what goes on inside Donald Trump’s head – we simply don’t know what calculation he’s making. It looks as though he has ordered everyone to be ready for this strike when he gives the say-so. I think he’s probably quite enjoying being the centre of this story and the whole personal, political aspect of this."

     

    “This is what he likes, he loves the whole world to be watching - but we need to separate the comments that Trump makes in order to excite the media and to attract attention from the actions and decisions of the US system of which he is the Commander-in-Chief."

     

    “I think the Americans should frankly get on with it and get it over with. So that there’s a chance that: a) it reduces the chance of the Iranians shipping out more and more kit from Fordow and other sites to places where they can store it safely - and they’ll certainly have those options, I think. And secondly, it gives the chance to say to the Israelis – look we’ve not destroyed everything that we know of on the nuclear side, stop going for regime change, it’s just going to create total chaos inside Iran if you do that.” 

    I agree with Sawyer and his reasoning that sooner is better than later if the narrative/concern is the nuclear threat. 

    I don’t think the Israelis would stop, but understand his logic. 

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