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Serak The Preparer

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Posts posted by Serak The Preparer

  1. 1 minute ago, Brisketexan said:


    Oh, I think now is a great time to discuss it, for real. I was just observing why it’s not getting traction; the story and graphics from Gaza at present are much more compelling/will get more press.

    This would also be a great time to have an honest conversation about how the Palestinians in the levant are incredibly poor and have lousy living conditions….while their leaders have amassed literally billions of dollars in personal wealth and live lives of luxury in Qatar. Instead of improving the lives of Palestinians in Gaza, they’ve been funneling piles of money, intended to fund basics and infrastructure for the people, to themselves. We won’t be talking about that, either.

    I agree with your second paragraph 100%, but I disagree with "just observing why it's not getting traction". It wasn't getting traction before the terror attack and ensuing Israeli response. Most of the Western World and most of the Arab world doesn't really give a shit about improving Palestinian lives.

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  2. 15 hours ago, Brisketexan said:


    Well, it’s not the focal point of the immediate war.
    Not that there isn’t bullshit happening there RIGHT NOW (Israeli paramilitaries killing Palestinians in land grabs in just the last two weeks), but it’s not as juicy a picture.

    You are certainly correct that it is not as big a story but is also as more than a hint of "Now is not the time to talk about gun control" after the latest mass shooting. Again not to justify Hamas's actions even a fraction of a percent, but when is/was there going to be a time when Israeli actions in West Bank are going to be discussed in any internationally significant way?

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  3. 12 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

    Knowing what's coming on a pitch from a guy hitting the high 90's is a big advantage, but not an overwhelming advantage because hitting a baseball at the major league level is still really fucking hard. Yet the Astros got hammered by MLB, justifiably, for the sophistication and extremes they took it to with the codecracker and videos and such.

    The Astros cheating are certainly the most relevant analogy in terms of taking to the next level, but also for other self-inflected injuries that didn't help. I don't think the reaction to the Astros scandal would have been severe without the shitty relationship they already had with the media, trading for Osuna, etc. Like the Astros, Harbaugh and Michigan aren't starting off on a great foot. Harbaugh doesn't suck up to the media and he was panned for his reaction to the suspension earlier this year. I don't think he has a lot of friends in the media. 

     

  4. 19 minutes ago, JBJ said:

    This is clearly a fall guy.  They'll have issues tying this back to the school.

    I don't know about that. You may be right but this was a guy making 55K a year buying all of these tickets in his own name and travelling to all of these stadiums. He was clearly getting paid either by the school or a booster. Even if a booster, the only way Michigan skates is if Harbaugh can plausibly claim he had no idea what was going on, otherwise dreaded Lack of Institutional Control. I don't see how he can claim to have all of these decoded signs going into games without having some knowledge of how he got them. 

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  5. 10 minutes ago, ImissWallyPryor said:

    I think that may be his point. 

    He said "Their life is already sad if they're into that bullshit", which is silly. I'm not into fantasy sports but there is nothing wrong with it, just talking about it incessantly.

  6. 13 minutes ago, Okie State said:
    37 minutes ago, Dbeasy said:
    Nothing makes me more surly than people talking on here and in real life about their fantasy football teams. 

    Let them have it. Their life is already sad if they're into that bullshit.

    Eh, I have zero issue with other people being into fantasy sports, it is no less lame than other hobbies. But people who talk to others about their fantasy teams, poker hands, or sports bets need a kick in the ass.

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  7. 15 hours ago, 956 Worldwide said:

    There has been a lot of discussion about how the West Bank experience proves that abandoning terrorism was a mistake and Gaza had good reason to for Hamas as a better alternative:

     

    This is important context because as shitty as things are in how Israel treats West Bank, it is undeniable that it’s better to be a Palestinian there than in Gaza— whether that’s economics or security. 
     

    Diplomacy gets tossed around like it’s an option on the drop-down menu, but there needs to be certain conditions met for it to be an option.  The pressing issues for West Bank— stopping illegal settlements, policing settler violence against Palestinians, logistics of control of Jerusalem, expanded political and civil rights of Palestinians— are issues where diplomacy can be deployed. You have parties (Israel and the PA) that have in the past made concessions, you have specific things to talk about, there is a desired end state that can be seen.  These problems aren’t intractable and there are similar problems elsewhere that got chalked up to “ethnic hate” that proved soluble. 
     

    You cannot sprinkle some diplomacy on the Hamas problem. It is not an insurgency, it’s an apocalyptic group with a genocidal charter, with outside backers, that has installed itself as the authority in Gaza. There is not a party to do diplomacy with and the issues at play are not ones where either side can make concessions without surrendering its own core interests. Something kinetic is always going to be needed. 

    I like The Economist but unless I am missing something, this seems like really shoddy analysis. I don't think anyone would be surprised that the economy is better in West Bank than in Gaza but I am not sure how confidently anyone can then state that a) this is true specifically for Palestinians or b) that this means life is better for Palestinians in West Bank.

    I haven't posted much in this thread because I know enough to know I don't know shit about fuck, but at least per Wikipedia the Israeli population in West Bank has grown by 4.6% CAGR 2000-2018 (the latest date available), more than double the GDP growth cited by The Economist. I suspect that the increasing Israeli population isn't solely responsible for the GDP per person growth but also seems like something that can't be ignored. Even if GDP growth were true for Palestinians in West Bank, given that Israelis have suffered no consequence for literally killing Palestinians and seizing the settlements, I wouldn't be ready to argue that a better economy means life is better in West Bank.

    None of this is meant to justify anything that has happened, just to say I am surprised by this lazy journalism and the conclusion from @956 Worldwide that "it is undeniable that it’s better to be a Palestinian there than in Gaza— whether that’s economics or security".
     

     

     

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  8. 15 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

    The only path forward -- dictated by reality -- is to play the ball as it lies TODAY.  To switch metaphors, we show up and play the chess match with the pieces arranged as they are at present, not as we belief the were positioned/should have been justly positioned before.  To grab a third metaphor....you can't unscramble the egg.

    In this metaphorical chess match, are vibrating anal beads allowed? Asking for Hamas Israel a friend.

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  9. 4 minutes ago, MC Fresh Breath said:

    link?

    From the CNN article linked right above: "Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Daniel Hagari said the IDF is looking into the reported strike, saying since it was fairly recent, the IDF is still unclear whether the hospital was hit by an Israeli Air Force (IAF) strike or failed Hamas launch."

     

    I think it's fair to say that's a possibility. Given that the strike just happened, saying it's not necessarily an Israeli strike is true. Based on my completely uneducated guess, it certainly seems more likely than a failed launch but think it's fair to say we are not 100% sure, and should be sure before we say one way or another.

  10. 6 hours ago, Planet Houston said:

    My favorite memories/moments are from Game 7 in 2017 against the Yankees. I took my dad (RIP) and we had seats right on the fence in the right field corner. Will never forget McCann’s double down the line that was right at us, Bregman’s ridiculous play to come home for a play at the plate that only works with a *perfect* throw, Gattis’s bomb to left center and of course LMJ’s curveball extravaganza to end it. What a game. 

    This is the play I most remember of the entire 2017 playoffs. Game 7, 1 run game, just a ridiculous throw by Bregman and a hell of a job by McCann just catching and holding on to the ball while taking cleats to his wrist. I've watched this video approximately 6,000 times over the years.

     

     

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  11. I'm really looking forward to the series, there's a strange mix of pseudo-rivalry and lack of pressure.

    For all the hype it's got as the Battle for Texas, Houston-Dallas rivalry, etc., its the first time both teams are good so it's not like there's an established history of the rivalry really meaning anything. Also, while both teams obviously want to win, there's not a ton of pressure on the loser. The Astros just won a world series, the Rangers have already achieved great things this season and aren't going to lose any key payers for next year. I don't think either fan base views this as a true "must-win" series, at least any more than anyone ever wants to win a post-season series.

     

     

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  12. 12 minutes ago, BRLA said:

     

    Additional update this morning - the principal has filed paperwork to take a leave of absence for the rest of the school year.  I think he'll end up resigning or being fired, but this looks like an interim step.  Assuming this is not the first time he's pulled something similar to this, but it does appear to be the first time it has gotten out to the general public.  I still think there's something else to this story that just hasn't come out yet.

    Appreciate the updates.

  13. 44 minutes ago, DDD Dad said:

    This is a horrible take and implicitly anti-Semitic. You should delete it. 

    This is a bad take. I am not particularly fond of @WhatTheBuck constant stridency but he has consistently been anti- any organized religion for years. I haven't ever see you say his (or others') takes are implicitly anti-Christian when they make "religion bad" posts. 

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  14. Just now, Grade of D as in David said:

    Why do you think Texas wins out?

    Becauase Texas is significantly better than every one of the remaining opponents. In s shitty game with three turnovers against a very good team Texas lost on a last second touchdown. Other than OU, someone has to go to the big 12 title game. Who goes? Otherwise your bleating is as inane as "X team is over-ranked". Well fine, who should be ranked higher?

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  15. 4 hours ago, perfectchaos007 said:

    Final margins of 8 points or less, here's where Texas is under Sark 

    2021: 2-5
    2022: 2-5
    2023: 0-1

    Overall: 4-11

     

     

    If we aren't winning big, we're probably losing.

    Another wat to look at this is the first two hears he was coach he had 7 close games. This year he's had 1 (while winning all non-close games). That seems like a pretty damn good trajectory to me.

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  16. 20 minutes ago, Grade of D as in David said:

    Are we going to be able to get 85 seats together or are we going to split the team up into different sections? Because the only way we go to Arlington is in the stands.

    Egregiously stupid post. Please say who you think is going to win out in remaining schedule other than Texas.

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  17. Just now, Pancho said:

    If we play and coach like today, yes. You don’t think TCu or ISU will go all out to beat Texas in their last year of the big 12 and playing in those stadiums in possibly forever? 

    The question I’ve had for 25 years is why don’t we treat the Texas/ou game with the same amount of vitriol as ou does?

    Fair enough. I think even if Texas plays and coaches exactly as today we beat TCU and ISU by 7+. I could be whistling past the graveyard but even a bad texas game in 2023 is much better than bad Texas games from the last 15 years, and TCU and ISU are just not that good. This is a shitty big 12. Yes Texas could miss the rematch but would you say odds of that are >50%?

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