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bolverk

Certifiably Surly
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bolverk last won the day on June 13

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  1. Austin American-Statesman livestream shows something going on with police downtown. EDIT: Nevermind. It's not Austin. It's Philly.
  2. This one has audio. Doggett's speaking.
  3. Come on, Austin Surly. Make us proud.
  4. The Regime has proposed a new travel ban list. https://archive.is/iMFJ7 Egypt, Nigeria, Ethiopia...wow. RED: Existing travel ban. ORANGE: Existing "partial" travel ban. YELLOW: New proposed countries added to the list.
  5. I live deeep in enemy territory now. Downtown Midland had a couple of hundred protesters this morning. Peaceful but a handful of redneck asshole fuckhead fascists showed up. Some heated words were exchanged. I stayed completely out of it because I don't trust myself not losing it and going completely berserker. No visible police presence except for a drone overhead.
  6. Sorry about that. I didn't realize you were responding to me. Plus, I've been a little high tomight. Yeah, I'm asking that same question. What does Israel get out of coming to the negotiating table? Nothing immediate, so far as I can tell. Longer term? That country is fast losing any support around the world, and it's neighbors with whom it's been friendly-ish could quickly see their own domestic threats to internal order if the "Arab Street" loses its collective mind. I honestly don't know how far deep that Shiite/Sunni split goes, but it's certainly not in Iran's general favor, so that benefits Israel. I do hope someday shit cools off over there for Israel's sake and all the rest of the folks over there (Sunni, Shiite, Kurd, Palestinian, Persian, etc.) but have strong doubts it'll happen in my lifetime. Also, like you, I didn't bother to watch the Walz video, primarily because I suspect the Wineguy dude is the same as that Hefeweizen guy feom a few months back who claimed to be a German-born, American-educated dude that shouted a lot of shit about Western Christendom ready to fall any day now at the hand of Moooooslems (I think he's pro-Russia/anti-Ukraine, too, but might be misremembering). Fuck that guy and his bigoted boooooshit.
  7. One thing that does go in China's favor (if the Israelis could trust them) is that their business entanglements with Iran could certainly be effective. That said, I'd rather not give them such an international diplomacy coup, so to speak, if they happened to be successful. All that said, I don't know if either Iran or Israel would even want to come to the negotiation table right now. Iran would see it as overwhelmingly embarrassing, as it'd be seen as an immediate concession of defeat. That seems domestically dangerous for a Regime that's not popular with the urban half of the country that wants to liberalize/westernize and suddenly WEAK by their own version of our evangelical rubes, rednecks, and aggy. For Israel's part, what would be the impetus for them to come to the table now while they're kicking ass? Moreover, what's their endgame in this? Is it getting rid of Iran's nuclear capabilities? They don't have the bigass bunker-busing bombs (or bombers) to pull that off without our direct involvement. Are we sure we want to get in on this action, another fucking war in the Middle East? Or, is the endgame for the Israelis regime change? Are they just going to continue to bomb shit until the Mullahs submit or domestic pressure takes them out? Good luck with that, considering Hamas has held out for so long in a minuscule strip of land that's smaller than Austin's city limits.
  8. I'm having difficulty thinking of a non-aligned player with the clout that could pull off some negotiation between Israel and Iran. Options: CHINA: I'm not aware of any beefs they have with Israel, per se, other than the Israelis are generally aligned with the West, who are all their biggest customers. They likely don't want to lose business with us. At the same time, there's the whole currently backing Russia thing (long-term backstabbing possible), who's in conflict with Western-backed Ukraine. At the same time, I *think* Iran is one of China's biggest oil suppliers and is likely also wrapped up in the belt-and-road shit. Not ideal. INDIA: I think they're generally seen as being strongly on the side of Israel, because of their own dealings with Muslims, though Sunni ones and not Shiites. I have no idea if the secular beef between those two Muslim groups has any bearing on India's potential antipathy toward Iran. I also have no idea if India and Iran have good, bad, or neutral relations. EU: I honestly think they'd do their best to mediate some fair agreement, but I don't think the EU really operates like that in foreign affairs. Maybe a group of their members could pull off some kind of neutrality stance, at least to the satisfaction of the Israelis, but no idea how Iran would react to them. TURKEY: Traditionally, they've been pretty friendly to Israel, but I'm guessing most goodwill between them is gone at this point. I also believe they're geopolitical rivals with Iran within the region (I don't know if their dislike of Iran equals their dislike of Israel nowadays though). They might do. Who else is out there? BRAZIL, maybe? It'd be a biiig step up on the international stage for them. No idea of their capacity or appetite. Anyone else?
  9. Other wino dipshit: Who can trust the IAEA, huh?
  10. Hey! Those airpods could be a bomb, plus you know, other reasons.
  11. He's lashing out because he got put in timeout earlier today, which apparently doesn't keep you from still negging when you're a little pissy bitch.
  12. I know that calling a cop a bitch is stupid, but it ain't illegal.
  13. bolverk

    LBGTQ

    Got my undergrad at Tech (wanted to go to UT but my parents were against it because of its liberal leanings) and made some good friends there, including gays and a transperson. Saw a couple of drag shows just a couple of blocks off campus in the early 90s. Slorch/Iceman walked the same campus during the same years as me. Brian Fantana is also a Tech fan. The alma mater has nothing to do with it. All three of us grew up in small West Texas towns. Got my master's at UT and lived in Austin for 28 years. I'm a fan of both schools. Now, with them in different conferences, that makes it easier.
  14. I'm sure by now you've read the account of Nazi Bat Boy's anger in that White House meeting when he was pissed that CBP wasn't picking up enough folks because they couldn't find enough "criminals," so, yeah, the marching orders seem be just stopping people in the streets to meet his 3000 per day quota.
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