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bolverk

Certifiably Surly
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Everything posted by bolverk

  1. Are you even a native Texan, boy? Because that's some Yankee talk! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positive_anymore
  2. @Bevo That analysis is kind of rich, coming from The Telegraph, an English paper that endorsed the Russian-backed Brexit campaign, though I'll give them credit for now knowing the game being played. They're still being a little too kind in their judgment of this regime, as you can see in this statement: Donald Trump seems blissfully unaware of Russia’s track record – or at least doesn’t care. He has launched a mission to reset ties with Moscow and promised β€œto get that war over” in Ukraine. In doing so, he has shocked the international community by upending Western foreign policy, reopening ties with the Russian president and ruling out offering US security guarantees or Nato membership for Ukraine. They're missing a third, much more likely reason for the new American regime's acquiescence and embrace of Putin's stance: Trump is fully aware of Russia's track record and embraces it. β€œVranyo” is a Russian word for a specific type of lying. β€œI once translated it for one of our ministers as β€˜epic, bare-faced whopper that we both know cannot possibly be true, but I’m going to tell you anyway’,” says Sir Laurie Bristow, who was the UK’s ambassador to Russia from January 2016 until January 2020. It is a concept that sits at the heart of Vladimir Putin’s statecraft. And it is about power. If anyone hasn't figured it out by now, this has always been the MO for the man who's now plopped his plump rump in the Oval Office for decades in all facets of his life: personal, professional, and political. He is a master of this type of lying and does it daily on just about any topic imaginable. He's doing it right now with all his demands, bluster, and lies about Zelenskyy and Ukraine starting the war. When an asshole lies to your face, and you know he's lying, and he knows you know he's lying, but you go ahead and do his bidding, or you continue to support him, then he knows he has power over you and can do anything he wishes. "The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command." It's regrettable and maybe even embarrassing to be fooled by a lie, but to go along with it is complicit cowardice. So, now that the mask has come off, the question is: What are we going to do about it? What can we do about it?
  3. Wordle 1,353 3/6 πŸŸ©β¬›πŸŸ¨β¬›πŸŸ¨ πŸŸ©β¬›πŸŸ©πŸŸ©πŸŸ© 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Connections Puzzle #631 🟩🟦🟦🟦 🟩🟦🟦🟦 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟩🟦🟦🟦 🟩🟦🟩🟩 πŸ™‚ Daily Quordle 1134 5️⃣8️⃣ 9️⃣6️⃣ m-w.com/games/quordle/ ⬜⬜⬜🟨🟨 ⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜ ⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨 ⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬜🟩🟨⬜⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬜⬜🟨⬜🟩 ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨 ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨 ⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ 🟨⬜⬜⬜🟩 ⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜ ⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜ ⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜ ⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟨🟨⬜🟨🟩 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬜⬜⬜🟩⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛
  4. Oh, 100% agreed. Same as UKIP (also Kremlin-backed) with Brexit, separating them from Europe. It's the time-honored divide and conquer strategy.
  5. I think it took me about 4 hours to watch it yesterday for the same reason.
  6. The role we were playing for Ukraine was very much akin to the one France played for us versus the UK, minus the actual fighting alongside the Continental Army part. It offers an interesting speculative historical scenario to play out how the US would be different today had they not come to our aid. It'd certainly be a cool topic to discuss with some of the smarty-pants amateur historians around here. Maybe we'd be Canada's 51st state instead, which doesn't seem too bad right about now.
  7. If Yang is going to continue to play JV, they really need for him to start wearing guyliner as part of the bit.
  8. Since history doesn't repeat but rhymes, maybe Europe will save our continent from fascism one day, and we'll speak of the bombing of College Station instead of Dresden.
  9. We might need to keep an eye on Chris Murphy as a new Dem leader who checks off a few demographic boxes.
  10. From the European summit in London, a "coalition of the willing" is emerging:
  11. Regimes are aligning. One small crack
  12. From the European summit in London, a "coalition of the willing" is emerging:
  13. A couple of updates on what people in the Kremlin are thinking.
  14. English is now the official language of the United States, so you guys had better brush up on your grammar, spelling, and composition skills. In not doing so, you disrespect our glorious national tongue and risk being reported and deported. In other news, Mike Johnson said this morning that Zelenskyy should step down if he doesn't bow to the threats and extortion coming from the American regime. At the same time, France and the UK announced they're working hand-in-hand with their ally, Ukraine, on crafting a ceasefire proposal.
  15. Wordle 1,352 5/6 β¬›β¬›β¬›πŸŸ©πŸŸ¨ β¬›πŸŸ©β¬›πŸŸ©β¬› β¬›πŸŸ©β¬›πŸŸ©πŸŸ© β¬›πŸŸ©β¬›πŸŸ©πŸŸ© 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Connections Puzzle #630 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩 πŸŸͺπŸŸͺπŸŸͺπŸŸͺ 🟦🟦🟦🟦 πŸ™‚ Daily Quordle 1133 4️⃣6️⃣ 7️⃣5️⃣ m-w.com/games/quordle/ ⬜🟨⬜🟩⬜ 🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜ 🟨⬜⬜🟨⬜ ⬜🟩🟩⬜⬜ ⬜🟩⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟨⬜⬜🟨⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜🟨⬜🟨 ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨 ⬜🟨⬜⬜🟩 🟩🟨⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜🟨🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛
  16. Bitchin' Camaro, bitchin' Camaro Donuts on your lawn Bitchin' Camaro, bitchin' Camaro Tony Orlando and Dawn
  17. That was my underlying assumption while watching the last episode, but until we learn more, it's not a hill I'm willing to die on.
  18. Okay. That's a different interpretation I hadn't considered. It'd explain her compliance, but didn't Ms. Casey tell Mark S. in one of their sessions last season that she'd only been "alive" for some ridiculously low number of minutes? Of course, the whole passage of time stuff is really fuzzy in that building.
  19. I think it's more speculation than a full-blown theory at this point. I think it's pretty well established that she's OG Gemma when she's in her apartment/quarters and out in the hallways. And, of course, Ms. Casey is conjured when she's on the Severance floor. But who is she when she's in one of those six rooms? Certainly not Gemma or Ms. Casey. Is she the same tortured innie when she's in each of them? Or, conversely, did all those tests she took reveal something special to Lumon about her that would allow them to dice up her soul in such a way that she could have multiple innies who only briefly exist for whatever time they have to suffer while in those rooms? Maybe they haven't even bothered to label each of them since she's not really interacting with anyone new because it's always that same creep cosplaying different roles with her. It's a damn mystery, I tell ya.
  20. His legacy shall be a ruin, and his name shall be a slur.
  21. Zelenskyy's response starts at the 1-minute mark. He sidesteps it but astutely mentions the relationship between his people and ours, but you can see the pain in his eyes.
  22. Macron Raises Prospect of New European Nuclear Weapons French President Emmanuel Macron has said he is ready to start discussions for nuclear deterrence for Europe in response to the threat posed by Moscow. Macron told the newspaper Le Monde he was ready for talks about nuclear weapons for the continent following a request from the likely German chancellor, Friedrich Merz. The French president's comments on Friday follow reports earlier in the week that France was ready to use its nuclear deterrent to help protect Europe. Michael Witt from King's Business School, King's College London, told Newsweek that France's offer to extend its nuclear umbrella was in response to President Donald Trump signaling a retreat from NATO which meant Europe could not rely on U.S. protection. Why It Matters France is one of the two European countries with a nuclear deterrent, along with the U.K. Trump has cast doubt on the U.S. role in NATO and so a Europe-wide nuclear weapons capability signals the continent accepts it can no longer rely on Washington for protection. What To Know On Friday, Macron told Portuguese television that if Europe wanted "greater autonomy" in matters of defense, then its leaders should start a strategic and "open" discussion about a nuclear deterrent. Macron referred to the threats posed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in comments which follow a statement by Germany's election winner Merz about "nuclear sharing" with France and Britain, and Europe exerting its nuclear independence. The U.S. has an arsenal of around 100 nuclear missiles, many of them stationed in a U.S. military base in Germany but this security guarantee for Europe is under threat with Trump's rhetoric. Michael Witt, professor of international business and strategy at KCL, said France's offer to extend its nuclear umbrella to Germany and Europe could solve the issue of a U.S. retreat from security support of Europe. But Germany must overcome its reluctance and take a leading role in funding the effort. Witt also said that Europe must tackle its energy vulnerabilities, as reliance on external sources risks blackmail and weakens defense without U.S. support and that boosting domestic production, including nuclear, is key to this. Boris Johnson, the former British prime minister, told The Telegraph there was a "moral case" for Ukraine to have its own nuclear weapon due to the danger posed by Russia which has issued numerous nuclear threats since the start of the war. What People Are Saying French President Emmanuel Macron: "If colleagues want to move towards greater autonomy and deterrence capabilities, then we will have to open this very deeply strategic discussion. It has very sensitive and very confidential components but I am available for this discussion to be opened." Michael Witt, King's College London: "With Donald Trump signaling a retreat from NATO commitments and prioritizing American interests over alliances, Europe can no longer rely on U.S. protection. France's offer to extend its nuclear umbrella to Germany and the rest of Europe presents the most viable solution." What Happens Next Citing German diplomatic sources, The Telegraph reported talks on a European deterrent for Germany had not started amid discussions on forming a coalition government following last weekend's election. Macron has been pushing Europe to hold a debate on the role that French nuclear weapons can play in the continent's defense, which could pressure the U.K. to follow suit.
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