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bolverk

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Everything posted by bolverk

  1. Yeah, it was that guy. After he was crowdsourced, he created @WineGuy69 as his handle, but that one got the banhammer too back in June earlier this summer. No idea which one is him now, but look for an account that emerged around the end of June or the beginning of July. Edit: I do recall him being quite the White supremacist and Islamophobe, so take that into account as well.
  2. The below "Guest Essay" is a short analysis of the situation from a senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, writing from Venezuela. It sure sounds like an echo of the debates we had this summer about invading Iran and potentially toppling its government. Are those who advocated regime change in Iran on board with regime change in Venezuela? Are supporters of the regime in DC cool with the "Donroe Doctrine" which appears no different than Russia bullying all the neighbors in its "sphere of influence." Since January, we've threatened the sovereignty of Canada, Mexico, Panama, Greenland, and now Venezuela. Y'all see this, right? And, as always, regime change = "We break it; we buy it." In one way or another, we'll end up being responsible for the mess, eventually. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/21/opinion/venezuela-trump-maduro-machado-regime-change.html Caracas, Venezuela’s neglected but beautiful capital, sits behind a forested, over 9,000-foot tall mountain that obscures the city’s proximity to the sea. From the summit, on a clear day, the Caribbean looks close enough to touch. Out there, over the horizon, like a scattering of toys in a bathtub, floats a good portion of the U.S. Fourth Fleet, packing enough lethal hardware in Tomahawk missiles alone to level large parts of the city. B-52H strategic bombers and supersonic F-35 stealth fighters have prowled the edge of the country’s territorial waters. There are also signs of President Nicolás Maduro’s response to the American military buildup. Along the highway that winds up to the capital from the coast, the Venezuelan military has placed concrete tank traps beside the tarmac, presumably at the ready in case the amphibious assault group onboard the U.S.S. Iwo Jima should attempt a landing. Perhaps it’s the mountain that stands in the way of the American military swarm, or maybe it’s their feeling that there’s so little to be done about it, but caraqueños are, for now, going about their normal business. If the traffic is less snarled than it once was, if the restaurants aren’t as full, it has less to do with the specter of war than with Venezuela’s hyperinflation and a repressive security apparatus. Even down at the coast, the American military menace is treated mostly with typical Venezuelan ribaldry, rather than dread. “Have you heard?” people ask each other, jokingly. “The Marines have arrived!” For all the deadly weapons floating off the coast, it seems increasingly clear that all the Trump administration’s push for regime change in Venezuela has done so far is create a potentially disastrous political trap. If the administration fails to oust Mr. Maduro, as is its apparent goal, that will almost certainly grant the dictator a political victory and deal a lasting blow to the Venezuelan opposition. If it succeeds, and Mr. Maduro finally falls, it may plunge the nation, already in crisis, into a potentially violent breakdown. No matter what happens, everyone loses. Over the past few weeks, the forward momentum of the U.S. aggression seemed — temporarily at least — to have stalled. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the driving force behind the thrust for regime change, has played down the possibility of a ground invasion. The recent arrival of the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Gerald R. Ford and its battle group in the Caribbean, and reports of a flurry of meetings in Washington, led to some frantic speculation that the long-awaited ground strikes were imminent. But President Trump’s subsequent statement that the administration “may be having some discussions with Maduro” let the air out of the balloon once again. Mr. Rubio has a close, longstanding connection to the uncompromising faction of the Venezuelan opposition headed by the Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado, who is currently in hiding. He is also keen to rid the hemisphere of leftist dictators. If we are then to take Mr. Rubio’s recent comments and Mr. Trump’s stated aversion to foreign military entanglements at face value — not to mention that of the MAGA base — the administration appears to be engaged in a kind of phony war: one that doesn’t require American boots on Venezuelan soil, but that is convincing enough either to scare Mr. Maduro into fleeing or to persuade his own military to topple him. Ms. Machado and her closest allies have for years tried to persuade outside powers — the United States in particular — to intervene militarily against the Maduro regime, with little success. Mr. Trump’s return to office offered a fresh opportunity. Ms. Machado and her allies sought to build a case that Mr. Maduro posed a clear and present danger to the United States, rooted in three issues that resonated with the Trump administration: drugs, migration and terrorism. There is no public evidence to support the claim that Mr. Maduro is the head of a military-run drug cartel, but it contains enough half-truths to make it politically useful. The gunboat diplomacy the Trump administration may have hoped would be a shortcut to bloodless regime change does not appear to be working. Mr. Maduro could well be losing sleep over the possibility of a targeted strike, a Special Operations snatch squad or even a full-scale intervention; he claims to have mobilized millions of militia members. But the safest outcome for those in Mr. Maduro’s inner circle is to remain in power. Any officers who might be privately keen to overthrow him would be reluctant to install Ms. Machado, their sworn enemy, in the presidency, and know full well the fate that awaits them if they fall afoul of Mr. Maduro’s security services. As the world awaits Mr. Trump’s next move, there are broadly speaking two main directions this could go. Either the U.S. fleet disperses, presumably after demonstrating its firepower on some terrestrial targets as a token show of force, and leaves Mr. Maduro in power, or the Trump administration succeeds in toppling the government, with or without landing U.S. troops on Venezuelan soil. n the first scenario, Mr. Maduro would benefit from having faced down “the empire,” as he calls it, and walk away with even more internal authority than before. Ousting Mr. Maduro could prove even more costly. Unless Ms. Machado and her allies have an unlikely secret transition deal with key figures in the Venezuelan military, whose cohesion and loyalty would be critical to maintaining internal security if Mr. Maduro goes, a swift ouster could produce a power vacuum. That, in turn, could lead to an open-ended internal conflict waged by armed groups resistant to change. Without the commitment of a huge U.S. military force to guarantee internal security — and a sustained diplomatic effort by Washington to back a political transition — Mr. Maduro’s ouster could usher in protracted, bloody chaos that would likely spill over Venezuela’s porous borders. Ms. Machado and the opposition leadership risk paying a heavy price in either scenario. Having placed all her chips on an external intervention, her domestic credibility will suffer if U.S. force fails. If that happens, the Venezuelan government might not wish to jail her, and thereby make a martyr of a Nobel Peace Prize winner. It might prefer to let her deflate on her own, ideally in exile, where she would be less of a political irritant. If Mr. Maduro falls, but is replaced by a crony, that successor might be less reluctant to have Ms. Machado arrested. Either way, the long, painful struggle to restore the rights of Venezuelans will have suffered a severe setback. Having outsourced its strategy to a foreign power, the Venezuelan opposition can, for now, do little but brace for impact. When the American fleet sails away and the world’s attention turns elsewhere, they will be left — as the local saying goes — to pick up the broken plates.
  3. And fuck that amnesty for war crimes shit.
  4. If the peace agreement is poorly translated from Russian and the phrasing only works in Russian, then it's clear that on the American side, we didn't even bother to read it fully, absorb its meaning, and put it into "our own words," so to speak. This is a lazy (and desperate) copy/paste job from the Kremlin. As to the specifics, why are there no stipulations on the size of the Russian military or with whom they can align militarily, like, say, Iran, China, or North Korea? If NATO can't have soldiers in Ukraine, why can Russia keep troops in Belarus? I mean, if the purpose of neutering Ukraine's military and not having Western soldiers in Ukraine is to create a "neutral buffer" for security, then we should demand the full withdrawal of Russian troops from Belarus. Or shit, if I were at the negotiating table and Russia insisted Ukraine give up land, then I'd insist that Russia should give up Kaliningrad Königsberg and maybe transfer ownership over to Ukraine. If this is all about security and clean boundaries between the West and the East, and Ukraine is just "pawn in game of life," then let's go all in. This world's greatest dealmaker we have sure seems shitty at serious negotiations.
  5. Wordle 1,616 3/6 ⬛🟨⬛⬛🟨 🟨⬛⬛🟩⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Connections Puzzle #894 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🙂 Daily Quordle 1397 4️⃣8️⃣ 5️⃣6️⃣ m-w.com/games/quordle/ 🟩⬜🟩⬜🟨 ⬜🟨⬜🟨⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ 🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟨⬜⬜🟨⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜ ⬜🟨🟩🟩🟨 ⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜🟨⬜⬜🟨 ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜ ⬜⬜🟩🟨⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
  6. It just occurred to me. What happened to all the family pets?
  7. Quiet, piggy.
  8. Wordle 1,615 4/6 ⬛⬛🟩⬛🟩 🟩🟩🟩⬛🟩 🟩🟩🟩⬛🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Connections Puzzle #893 🟦🟪🟩🟨 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🙂 Daily Quordle 1396 8️⃣6️⃣ 7️⃣4️⃣ m-w.com/games/quordle/ ⬜⬜🟩⬜⬜ ⬜⬜🟨🟨🟨 ⬜🟩⬜⬜🟩 ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟩 ⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜ ⬜🟩🟩🟩⬜ ⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜ ⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜🟨🟨🟨 ⬜⬜⬜🟩⬜ 🟩⬜⬜🟨⬜ ⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛
  9. I had the same question and found out he was a US citizen. My previous understanding was that he was British. Apparently, he's been released while the trial is currently pending. He had been under house arrest, but now it's just "judicial control," which means he can travel so long as he shows up for court dates. And this is likely the correct answer for why he's no longer under house arrest.
  10. That's what we've all been wondering, and it's part of the discussion. She's gets a little defensive about the actual journalists doing investigative work but agrees they're not getting the resources from their corporate overlords that they need. Of course, we should all recognize that those who are consolidating media ownership are tied at the hip to other powerbrokers and this regime. Basically, there's a whole class of individuals, regardless of party, who all think they're above the law and can operate with impunity. It's nothing we don't already know, but a good discussion nonetheless.
  11. He's a useful idiot, and his ironic username is the tell.
  12. In case anyone missed it, Amanpour was on The Daily Show this past Monday and had a really interesting conversation with Stewart about the state of journalism as it relates to the Epstein Files. By my recollection, there's very little (if any) partisanship in the conversation. Instead, it's more about the power of journalism to uncover the truth, in general, and inform the public, specifically about who the brazen assholes are who were involved in the Epstein affair and think they're untouchable. 20 minutes. Good discussion.
  13. He's got a bad habit of not linking articles. A quick Google search of the headline led this: https://unn.ua/en/news/high-efficiency-ukrainian-f-16-and-mirage-2000-pilots-neutralized-over-1600-russian-targets
  14. Wordle 1,614 4/6 ⬛⬛🟨⬛🟨 ⬛🟩⬛🟩🟩 ⬛🟩🟨🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Connections Puzzle #892 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🙂 Daily Quordle 1395 4️⃣5️⃣ 🟥7️⃣ m-w.com/games/quordle/ 🟩⬜🟨⬜⬜ ⬜🟨⬜🟨🟨 ⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜ ⬜🟩⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟩 ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬜⬜⬜🟨🟩 ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨 ⬜⬜🟨🟩⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ 🟨🟨⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ 🟩⬜🟨🟨⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ 🟩🟩⬜🟩🟩 ⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩⬜🟩🟩 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩⬜🟩🟩 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛
  15. Pretty sure I watched it a few years ago during the pandemic. This appears to be the documentary in full on YouTube, where I think I watched it.
  16. I'm not sure, man. To be clear, I don't "subscribe" to PBS and the Midland transmitter is too far away to get it over-the-air, but my TV has a PBS app built into for streaming it on line (I don't have cable). But, at the moment, the entire series is available to me if I'd like to binge it. That said, I'm just watching one episode a night with the live stream. Do you have a laptop available to you to check there?
  17. I wouldn't expect anything less from this board's biggest blustering blowhard, whose abiding buffoonery should make a man blush, but not our dear Rex. He never lets us down.
  18. A few months ago, I came across this video about the American Revolution from the same guy who did that "Checkmate Lincolnites" one from a while back, if any of you recall it. It's a tad over 40 minutes, so be prepared for its length, but I find his discussion of not just the politics but also the economics fascinating, especially when contrasting the Puritans and merchant classes in New England (along with their history) against the landed gentry (i.e., planters and slave holders) in the South a worthy one to make. Anyway, there's more to it, but I think this makes for a nice complementary piece to last night's episode.
  19. "Pokrovsk. A minute out of 40 in real time. 40 minutes of my friends being targeted or even hit before my eyes. Not everyone survived this meat grinder. Dead were not abandoned, they were taken away" a combat medic Vitsikkk.
  20. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/17/world/europe/poland-railway-explosion-sabotage-ukraine.html Saboteurs tried to “blow up a train” on a Polish railway that is important for delivering aid to Ukraine, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Monday after the authorities identified blast damage on tracks in the country’s east. “There is no doubt that we are dealing with an act of sabotage,” Mr. Tusk said in a video from the site of the blast, near the midpoint of a rail line between Warsaw, the capital, and Lublin, an eastern city close to the border with Ukraine. The explosion occurred Saturday evening. Residents in the area of the village Mika “reported hearing a blast,” Marcin Kierwinski, the interior minister, told reporters on Monday. Early Sunday, a train driver had reported a noticeable unevenness on the tracks. It was not clear who was responsible, or why the Polish authorities believed it was intended to take out a train. An “explosive device” destroyed the tracks, but no one was injured, Mr. Tusk said. The incident, which Mr. Tusk called “unprecedented,” comes during a period of high alert in Poland, which has been one of Ukraine’s strongest supporters since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. Although Poland did not directly implicate Russia in the railway blast, Moscow has been accused of various acts of sabotage and destabilization since the start of the Ukraine war. Mr. Tusk said that damage was also found on a different section of the same rail line, closer to Lublin, after what he said was an “attempt to destabilize and destroy the railway infrastructure, which could also have led to a train crash.” Polish officials mentioned two other rail incidents from the weekend that were separate from the blast — a damaged overhead cable that forced a train with 475 passengers to come to an abrupt stop on Sunday, and a stray piece of metal found attached to the track. But it was not clear which of the two Mr. Tusk was referencing. Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, the Polish defense minister, said on social media that the military would inspect about 75 miles along the train track that leads to the Polish border with Ukraine. These disruptions come two months after NATO jets shot down a swarm of Russian drones in Polish airspace, in one of the most dramatic episodes in a series of Russian incursions in the skies over NATO member states and facilities. Also in September, Russian drones appeared over Romania and Russian jets crossed into Estonia, spiking anxiety across Europe.
  21. Wordle 1,612 2/6 ⬛🟩🟩⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Connections Puzzle #890 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🙂 Daily Quordle 1393 6️⃣4️⃣ 7️⃣5️⃣ m-w.com/games/quordle/ ⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜ ⬜🟨🟨⬜⬜ 🟨🟩⬜⬜⬜ 🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜🟩⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜🟨⬜⬜🟨 ⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜ 🟩⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜🟩⬜⬜🟩 ⬜⬜⬜🟩🟨 ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜🟨🟨⬜ ⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩⬜⬜⬜🟨 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛
  22. Backup QB for Tech, who was pouring concrete last year, is in and just drove the ball down the field from Tech's 13-yard line to get a FG in about a minute.
  23. Jacob Rodriguez with an interception. Tech's about to score again. Edit: And now a TD for Tech. 35-2 in the 2nd with 3 minutes until half.
  24. Tech up 28-2 on a reverse. Missed the safety.
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