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bolverk

Certifiably Surly
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Everything posted by bolverk

  1. https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/03/19/us/jfk-assassination-files Here’s what to know. For years, the assumption — held by conspiracy theorists and many historians alike — was that the final tranche of documents related to the assassination of John F. Kennedy was being kept under wraps because it might reveal damning evidence showing that Kennedy was not assassinated by a lone gunman in Dallas. But with the release over the past 24 hours of what the Trump administration said was the last of the documents held by the National Archives, including many no longer weighed down by blotted out paragraphs and sentences, it is becoming clear that something else might have been behind the decision to keep them from public view: protecting the sources and methods of U.S. intelligence gathering operations. The roughly 63,400 documents released in two phases on Tuesday night are still being reviewed, so it’s an open question if they contain undiscovered information. But judging by one standard — those items that are no longer redacted — the real concern seemed to be more pedestrian: masking the names of C.I.A. agents and informants, agency intelligence gathering operations directed at U.S. allies, and the location of various C.I.A. stations and even their budgets. The C.I.A. has always been very protective of the way it works. That is understandable given the nature of its mission — but also because of its history of at times unsavory practices. (Case in point: the Bay of Pigs) But this could help to explain the shambolic nature of the release of documents. Piles of uncategorized documents were dumped into the public arena in two tranches after President Trump abruptly announced on Monday that they would be released the next day. “The holdup was not because of the smoking guns that would help us understand Lee Harvey Oswald’s role in the assassination,” said Timothy Naftali, an adjunct professor at Columbia University and a former director of the Nixon presidential library. “It’s because ensnared in these documents were the sources and methods. We were intercepting message from Egypt during the Nasser era! That has nothing to do with who killed Kennedy.” The latest release of dry government documents, diplomatic cables, handwritten notes and blurry photocopies offered no major revelations, at least at first glance. But scholars held out hope that the documents might expose new details or at least shed light on persistent questions about an event that traumatized a nation and remains the subject of conspiracy theories six decades later. Here’s what else to know: Kennedy criticism: Jack Schlossberg, the only grandson of President John F. Kennedy, criticized the release of the new trove of government files about the assassination and the news media’s coverage of it in a series of social media posts. He also said that the Trump administration did not give anyone in President Kennedy’s family a “head’s up” before the documents were released. Read more › Difficult reading: The documents released Tuesday were not categorized or presented in any organized way and, in some cases, they were blurred and difficult to read. That no doubt reflects their age — many of them were typed or handwritten a half-century ago — but also that they appear to be the end result of repeated photocopying of originals. Persistent doubts: Was Kennedy killed by the Mafia? By the C.I.A.? Was he an early, liberal victim of what modern conservatism has come to call the Deep State? A lot of people think so, and nothing in the archives is going to dispel the swirling fog of hypothesis, rumor and speculation. Read more › [spoilered below] Three killings: The latest records were released through an executive order signed by Mr. Trump in January. That order also directed the nation’s security agencies to disclose any remaining documents related to the assassinations of Senator Robert F. Kennedy and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968. So far, no new information is apparent. Read more › Good read:
  2. I see that statsman is still on the ethnic cleansing train, even more so than the typical Israeli. Israelis Take to Streets a Day After Gaza Strikes Israeli protests are converging over the war in Gaza and domestic politics amid concerns about a government push to reduce the power of state watchdogs. Thousands of Israelis gathered on Wednesday outside the Parliament building in Jerusalem to call for a renewed cease-fire deal in Gaza and to protest political moves by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, including firing the head of the Shin Bet intelligence agency. The convergence of popular anger over both domestic and national security issues came a day after Israel carried out deadly aerial attacks across the Gaza Strip in what Mr. Netanyahu said was “only the beginning.” The strikes ended a temporary truce with Hamas that began in January and added to the uncertainty over the fate of hostages still held there. The broad sense of national solidarity over the war in Gaza, which was set off on Oct. 7, 2023, by the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel, appears to be fraying. Critics accuse Mr. Netanyahu of placing his political survival and bolstering his right-wing government ahead of the country’s best interests. The Israeli leader appears to be emboldened by the broad backing of President Trump, who has shown little opposition to his approach in Gaza. Despite its strong support for Israel, the Biden administration periodically pushed Israel to do more to avoid civilian casualties in the territory and to alleviate the humanitarian crisis there. The Trump administration appeared to back Israel’s decision to resume wide-scale attacks, with the White House saying Israel had consulted with the United States before launching its assault. This month the Trump administration bypassed Congress to send Israel $4 billion in arms and floated a new cease-fire proposal that breaks significantly with the deal signed in January. Opinion polls indicate that a majority of Israelis favor a complete cessation of hostilities in Gaza to secure the release of up to 24 living hostages and the bodies of more than 30 others still in Gaza. But politically, Mr. Netanyahu depends on far-right members of his governing coalition who have been pressing for a resumption of fighting, with the goal of fully defeating Hamas. cont'd:
  3. Sounds like the title to a They Might Be Giants song.
  4. I'm half-convinced 52-80 *is* Ian Miles Cheong.
  5. I'm quickly learning to be wary of trauma counselors. "Shofner is a trained Christian life coach who seeks to empower women in recovery from traumatic experiences."
  6. Oh, yeah, the whole Obama executive order thing. I remember that particular rant being a big one amongst the crowd that used to dominate the old CR back in the day when I dipped my toes in these waters. Obviously, that once-popular topic went away immediately in January 2017 for some reason. For context, Trump made more executive orders annually during his first term than any president after Carter. And he issued 26 on his first day of this one.
  7. Rex cares most about his wallet, and the ONLY reason Rex doesn't like Trump is he's bad for business. Rex is perfectly fine with everything else.
  8. A day or two ago, NPR interviewed the mother of one of the Venezuelans, and she said her son agreed to sign a deportation form (I don't know exactly what that is, but you probably do), thinking they would send him back to Venezuela with the understanding that "surely, the United States would respect human rights." She claimed he had no criminal record and had never been a member of any gang. Sure, that could very well be a "he's a good kid" kind of thing, but the reporter indicated that the regime had admitted many of them did not have criminal records. All of the above might not be new news since I haven't followed this particular story closely other than what I've read here on Surly.
  9. Wordle 1,369 3/6 🟩⬛🟩⬛⬛ 🟩⬛🟩🟩⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Connections Puzzle #647 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🙂 Daily Quordle 1150 4️⃣7️⃣ 6️⃣5️⃣ m-w.com/games/quordle/ ⬜⬜🟩⬜⬜ ⬜🟨🟨⬜🟨 ⬜🟩⬜⬜🟩 🟩⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟨⬜⬜⬜🟨 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩⬜🟩⬜⬜ ⬜🟨⬜🟩⬜ ⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜ 🟨⬜⬜🟨⬜ ⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜ ⬜🟩⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜🟩⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛
  10. Come get all your new, red-hot reaction gifs.
  11. I'm not sure Kristol was ever on the Trump train. I remember when my dad would hush the kitchen table when the guy came on the teevee during the 1980s. Later, after 26 years of Fox News conditioning, he thought he was a RINO. Anyway, Kristol, as an actual conservative with conviction, has been critical of Trump for years. But, yeah, I don’t disagree.
  12. Completely lucked out. Wordle 1,368 2/6 ⬛⬛⬛🟨🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Very tough one. Connections Puzzle #646 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟪🟦🟦🟪 🟪🟦🟦🟦 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🙂 Daily Quordle 1149 8️⃣7️⃣ 4️⃣6️⃣ m-w.com/games/quordle/ ⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜ ⬜🟨🟨⬜🟨 ⬜🟨⬜🟨🟨 ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨 ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨 ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨 ⬜⬜🟨🟨⬜ ⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬜🟨⬜🟨⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜🟨🟨⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜ 🟩⬜⬜🟨⬜ 🟩⬜🟨⬜🟩 ⬜🟩⬜🟩⬜ ⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
  13. Oh yeah, of course, they've got to feel pain, and I'm all for that. That's a given which should go without saying. But I'm also suggesting we "shape the battlefield" or "condition them" so they're more amenable to the idea when each of them gets burned. And it will. And God help them when it does. Repeating the word "corruption" a) is fucking true, b) has no ideology, c) plants the idea, and d) will be fertile fucking ground. Even the non-evil numbskulls of the bunch will get it. Shit, the idea that everything is fucking corrupt is what actually brought down the Iron Curtain.
  14. It always boils down to corruption in some form or fashion. If sanity is ever going to prevail, "corruption, corruption, corruption" has to be the leading message to the masses...on repeat and ad nauseum. There's nothing ideological about it, and everyone "gets it" on a gut level, so the head-in-the-sand independents, low-information voters, and the conscientious conservative crowds could, theoretically, eventually comprehend what the fuck is going on if hammered home consistently and constantly.
  15. Oh man, our ol' boy @Earl Haffler had better hope the regime doesn't cut this program (https://www.nadtc.org/). Otherwise, how the hell is he supposed to get his checks all the way up in Nacogdoches?
  16. Given how pathetic and outdated your "meme game" is (Rosie O'Donnell, really? as if she were somehow some sort of an au courant liberal avatar), my guess is you're getting mighty close to retirement age, that is, if you haven't already surpassed it. So, yeah, you would know all about social security, old man. You'd better pray the senile senior citizen whose dick you're sucking on doesn't take it away soon.
  17. Just came to post this. It took a little longer than usual because I wanted to find one where the guy looked like BurntEyes. This one's a reasonable facsimile.
  18. Refresher on who Walt Nauta is:
  19. That's still mas o menos 15 square miles gone up in smoke.
  20. Musk forced to halt Cybertruck deliveries as parts fall off Elon Musk’s Tesla has been forced to halt sales of its electric Cybertruck pickup amid mounting concern about metal panels falling off the supposedly indestructible vehicles. Customers posting on the Cybertruck Owners Club website – as well as on Mr Musk’s own X, formerly Twitter – said they had been told by agents that deliveries were on hold. Electric vehicle-enthusiast website Electrek said the decision was taken amid increasing instances of trim and panels “flying off the supposedly ‘bulletproof’ electric truck.” https://archive.is/c7G59 Tesla is done in Germany: 94% say they won’t buy a Tesla car A survey of over 100,000 Germans revealed that 94% won’t buy a Tesla vehicle. It doesn’t bode well for the automaker, whose sales had already been falling off a cliff in the important European market. In 2024, Tesla saw a 41% reduction in sales in Germany compared to 2023 despite EV sales surging 27% during the year. This has already raised red flags about Tesla’s future in Germany, but it is nothing compared to Tesla’s performance so far in 2025. Tesla’s sales were down 70% in the first two months of 2025, and again, that’s compared to its already poor performance in 2024. https://electrek.co/2025/03/14/tesla-is-done-in-germany-94-say-they-wont-buy-a-tesla-car/
  21. I harangued the staff of my State Rep, my State Senator, and my U.S. Rep late Friday afternoon. It felt so good to unload on them, I'm pretty sure I'm going to make it a weekly thing to call just before 5 pm while they're getting ready to leave the office for the weekend.
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