Jump to content

Bevo

Legacy Members
  • Posts

    12687
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by Bevo

  1. Just like everyone is vying for Alexandra Daddario.
  2. FIFY - We are fucked. Unless it is just the tip. It's just the tip right?
  3. What would work better? I have Zoysia in the backyard, but it ended up being a mix so I am pretty unhappy about the purchase considering the cost difference. The neighbors on both sides have St. Augustine. I have a huge planting bed around our oak. And our tree was severely damaged the last time we had freezing rain so maybe it is time for us to take that oak out and put in something smaller. That would help a little but you can see in the pic, where the neighbor's tree is located, it causes a problem for the remainder of our front yard.
  4. Since we are on the subject - I have a nice sized backyard but the side yards between houses are the suck. One of my previous neighbors planted a tree that has grown into a big tree. That tree blocks light from getting to our side yard and 1/3rd of our front yard. So, bermuda grass doesn't grow on 1/3rd of our yard. Should I give up on growing grass there and just deal with dirt and weeds? Should I trim back the tree branches going into our yard? Should I tell the neighbor to trim his tree? It isn't the current neighbor's fault. It is the developer's fault for having such short side yards and the fault of whichever previous neighbor planted the tree at the edge of the two properties. I'm not even sure trimming it back is going to make a huge difference because it is just the wrong type of tree in the wrong place.
  5. https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/political-instability-iraq Background Since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, Iraq has undergone a long period of instability, with armed groups like the self-proclaimed Islamic State taking advantage of the power vacuum left by the disbandment of the military and the ban on Saddam Hussein’s Baath party. In 2014, the Islamic State advanced into Iraq from Syria and took over parts of Anbar province, eventually expanding into the northern part of the country and capturing Mosul in June 2014. Former President Barack Obama authorized targeted air strikes against Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria, and the United States formed an international coalition of nearly eighty countries to counter the terrorist group. Regional forces—including as many as thirty thousand Iranian troops—joined the Iraqi army, local tribes, and the Kurdish Peshmerga in operations to retake territory from the Islamic State, recapturing Tikrit in April 2015, Ramadi in December 2015, Fallujah in June 2016, and Mosul in July 2017. The Trump administration sharply escalated the U.S. presence in Iraq in early 2017 to bring a swift end to the Islamic State, and the Iraqi government declared victory over the group in December 2017. Since then, most foreign troops have withdrawn from Iraq, except for a small U.S. presence. In late April 2018, the U.S. military officially disbanded the command overseeing the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq, declaring an end to major combat operations against the group. Roughly 2,500 U.S. troops remain in Iraq at the invitation of the Iraqi government as part of a mission to train, advise, and assist the Iraqi military in fighting domestic terrorism. Underlying sectarian tensions in Iraq among Sunni and Shiite groups, as well as tensions between Kurdish groups in the north and the government in Baghdad, exacerbated the fight to dislodge the Islamic State. These tensions intensified after the U.S. invasion in 2003 and the fall of Saddam Hussein, now threatening the stability of the new Iraqi government as it looks to rebuild the country and prevent a resurgence of the Islamic State. A coalition of parties led by Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr won a surprise victory in Iraq’s May 2018 parliamentary election. Their victory raised questions about continued Iranian influence in Baghdad, as al-Sadr’s Shiite bloc has historically remained at odds with Iranian-backed groups in Iraq. Following the 2021 election, which saw increased representation [PDF] for minority groups, the newly elected parliament could not form a coalition government, precipitating a political crisis. The assassination attempt on Prime Minister Mustafa al-Khadhimi in November 2021 led to armed clashes between the Iraqi government and the Iran-backed militias accused of orchestrating the attack. Amid the political crisis, the entirety of al-Sadr’s political bloc resigned from parliament in a gamble aimed at pressuring the government to elect a president. The move largely backfired as al-Sadr’s bloc was quickly replaced, allowing the Shiite groups backed by Iran to assume a majority in the parliament. Al-Sadr retired from politics in August 2022, leaving control of the Iraqi government to his Iranian-backed rivals. In October 2022, Abdul Latif Rashid was elected president, promising to return the country to normalcy. The premiership was ultimately handed to Mohammad Shia al-Sudani, a long-time ally of Iran. His pro-Iran government includes ministers with ties to several U.S.-designated terrorist organizations, including Kataib Hezbollah. However, al-Sudani has taken a measured approach by expressing a desire to keep U.S. forces in Iraq while continuing his predecessor’s “balance and openness” policy. Six years after the war against the Islamic State, Iraq still faces significant challenges in its recovery. Over one million people remain internally displaced, 4.1 million people need humanitarian assistance, and reconstruction is projected to cost at least $88 billion. In addition to reintegrating liberated Sunni communities into the political system, the government has struggled to achieve the demobilization and integration of powerful Shiite militias, which formed during the fight against the Islamic State, into the Iraqi security forces. The government also faces ongoing tensions with Kurdish groups pressing for greater autonomy in the north following a failed independence referendum in October 2017. Concerns After leading an international coalition to regain territory taken by the Islamic State, the United States has an interest in preventing a resurgence of the militant group and supporting a stable government in Iraq. There remains a larger concern that the aftermath of the conflict and challenges of reconstruction and reintegration will lead to the breakup of Iraq and that sectarian tension will plague the region for years to come, possibly expanding into a proxy conflict among various international groups. Additionally, after losing control of territory in Iraq and Syria, the Islamic State has reverted to its insurgency roots and refocused on orchestrating a hit-and-run campaign. Despite its diminished presence, the Islamic State continues to plague Iraq. For example, it planted a bomb near the city of Kirkuk in December 2022 that targeted and killed nine federal police officers. In response, the United States announced that it would keep its troops in Iraq to fight the Islamic State. Another area of concern is Iran’s increasing involvement in Iraq and its government, obstructing Iraqi relations with the United States and reintegration with other Arab countries, particularly the wealthy Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states. Recent Developments Since late 2022, Iraq has faced economic and infrastructural issues. In November, a gas cylinder explosion killed fifteen people in the northern city of Sulaimaniyah, and in October, a gas tanker explosion in Baghdad killed at least nine people. In January, al-Sudani replaced the Central Bank governor after the value of the Iraqi dinar hit new lows, and the previous governor essentially quit. To solve these critical issues, al-Sudani has implemented several measures, including approving a $152 billion budget meant to add public sector jobs and increase public salaries. However, more recent developments illustrate Iraq’s persistent instability. In late March, the Iraqi government passed amendments that would increase the size of electoral districts, reducing opportunities for smaller parties and independent candidates to win seats in future elections. These amendments were supported by the Iran-backed Coordination Framework but proved to be controversial, sparking demonstrations and prompting several MPs to leave and postpone the session. Similarly, in late June 2023, over fifty MPs resigned from the local parliament in Iraq’s Kurdish region. They protested a court ruling by the Iraqi Federal Supreme Court that rejected their decision to delay regional elections. The ruling is another sign that Baghdad has largely reigned in the Kurdish region’s autonomy, having asserted its control over oil revenue and key infrastructure. Days later, thousands of Iraqi followers of a Shiite cleric protested in major Iraqi cities, criticizing the burning of a Quran during a demonstration in Sweden, demanding the Swedish ambassador’s expulsion from Iraq, and storming the Swedish embassy in Baghdad. These recent mobilizations showcase the ongoing capacity of al-Sadr to foster instability despite the suspension of his movement in April. In August 2023, Iran-aligned groups killed Kurdish protestors in the disputed northern city of Kirkuk over the handover of a building to the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP). Following days of deadly ethnic clashes, the Supreme Court in Baghdad halted Al-Sudani’s order to return the building to the KDP on September 1. The oil-rich province lies along the fault line between the Kurdish autonomous region and areas controlled by Iraq’s government. It has been the center of some of Iraq’s worst violence since the Islamic State. Meanwhile, Turkey has escalated its military attacks against the Kurdistan Workers Party (PPK) in northern Iraq, including a drone strike that killed seven members on August 24. In late August, Turkey called on Iraq to designate the PKK as a terrorist organization, citing the group’s threat to both Iraqi and Turkish security.
  6. Because our strategic partner and the only democracy the ME was attacked by a brutal organization that is hellbent on killing all Jews, removing Israel off the map, destroying America and killing as many Americans as it can.
  7. This Maalik stuff brings the laughs. Everyone thinks they are Nostradamus but in reality they are most likely Futureman with a sore ass.
  8. https://www.dawgnation.com/recruiting/sentells-intel/london-humphreys-vanderbilt-transfer-portal-georgia-football-wide-receiver-target/FGWBP6IX75AJPGZ35YPMUDOCAE/ December 4, 2023 By Jeff Sentell, Dawgnation Staff Welcome to "Sentell's Intel" where Jeff Sentell not only provides you the latest recruiting information, he takes you into the homes of these students and what makes them special to the Georgia program. This Sentell’s Intel rep has the latest with 4-star transfer portal receiver London Humphreys. He ranks as the nation’s No. 1 WR and the No. 5 overall prospect for 2024 on the 247Sports Transfer ratings. He was seen as a 3-star recruit and the nation’s No. 66 WR prospect in the Class of 2023 on the 247Sports Composite. London Humphreys announced on Monday that he was going to submit his name to the NCAA transfer portal. That was very interesting. The soon-to-be former Vanderbilt wideout would be an intriguing potential fit for the Georgia football program. That’s not because he’s currently rated as the No. 1 receiver in the transfer portal right now for 247Sports. Humphreys was a 3-star receiver coming out of high school with very little football experience. Sometimes things like that go over in big-time SEC football like a New Kids on the Block reunion Country Christmas album would today. There are other times when they might work out like dipping your favorite fast food fries into ice cream. When scouts have seen Humphreys over the last year, they’ve usually come to the following knee-jerk conclusions about Humphrey: He’s too good to be at Vanderbilt. He’s good enough to choose to go anywhere he wants. That’s the thinking here with Humphreys and a potential fit for UGA for several reasons. DawgNation has been able to populate the prospect file on Humphreys with a lot of intriguing data. Prototype everything (Size, speed and athleticism): The 6-foot-3, 195-pounder ran a 10.63 in the 100 meters during the spring of 2023. That was his senior year of high school. He’s also soared 24-plus feet and won a high school state championship in the long jump. That’s a good track time, but he never ran track: Humphreys was a baseball player and he would just show up. He went to three meets. There was that one time he clocked that 10.63 after coming over straight from a baseball game. Rewinding his true freshman season. Humphreys caught 22 passes for 439 yards and four scores in 2023. That’s 20 yards per catch. While 243 yards and three of those scores came against the likes of Hawaii, UNLV and Wake Forest there was this big 49-yard touchdown romp against the No. 1 team in the land earlier this year. Humphreys came into the SEC this summer about as raw as it gets. He tried football once as a freshman at Christ Presbyterian in Nashville, but that didn’t work out. He tried it again as a junior in high school and ran nothing but deep routes. He didn’t attend any prospect camps or showcases to get his name out. The game film he had didn’t show he had much at all in terms of the route tree or blocking on the perimeter. He was seen as a one-trick pony just taking off on deep routes. As it turns out, he has quite a lot. Humphreys spent his youth playing a lot of baseball and basketball. He was a pitcher, third baseman and centerfielder in baseball and that range and experience helped shape his ball skills tremendously. He’s been described as a “genetic freak” by those close to the situation. His broad jump is over 11 feet and he has a 40-plus vertical leap. He was dunking easily when he was in the eighth and ninth grade. His mother, Erin, was an All-American decathlete at South Carolina. His father, Clark, was an All-American pole vaulter at Auburn. Clark Humphreys at one time served as a track coach at Vanderbilt before London signed to play for the Commodores. That’s part of the reason why he’s seen as very coachable. He’ll just show up put his head down and go to work. He’ll show up early every day. Wherever he signs, he will know the playbook and everything he needs to know by the time spring practice rolls on. He initially came out for football his junior year at CPA with the understanding he’d just run down the sidelines and serve as a deep threat a couple of times per game. Once he started doing that, he realized that he had some real natural ability and talent. He caught 45 balls for 1100 yards (24.4 ypc) and 12 touchdowns as a junior. He also showed off a knack for taking kickoff returns back for touchdowns. He added another 60 catches for 1,099 yards and 15 touchdowns as a senior. It is a funny story, but he had to be talked into playing high school football for his first real season in the fall of 2021. Humphreys was a 1,000-yard receiver in both his junior and senior seasons. He owns a regional-record 21.73 in the 200-meter dash that was previously held by NFL All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey When he was coming, he chose between Vanderbilt and Virginia. Oklahoma was another school that showed some legitimate interest. He was happy to have a couple of really strong offers considering that he didn’t grow up pursuing a football career at all. He was a high school teammate of Georgia 2024 CB commitment Ondre Evans for the 2022 season in football and the spring of 2023 in track. They competed in the state championships this past spring with Evans finishing second in their classification in the 100 meters with Humphreys right behind him in third place. That’s a pretty deep prospect profile, especially for a player of his size and athleticism who doesn’t often show up in the transfer portal.
  9. I don't know why you guys are sleeping on Charles Wright.
  10. I don't know - They had a car parked there. It wouldn't surprise me if they wanted to expand their driveway and put an RV or something back there as well. That would bug me because you would definitely want trees to block that.
  11. Wow, I didn't see this one coming. What a nice surprise on this Wednesday. Welcome.
  12. Staff has invited me, my uncle and my nephew in this weekend. I know. Marvelous, let's have a spot of tea and crumpets on Saturday.
  13. Luckily, Poland has almost 40M people. That is 4X larger than the Czech Republic and Hungary. That is a large enough population to take on an extremely weakened Russia. There is no way for Russia to win a war of attrition with Poland concurrent with the war in Ukraine. And I'm not sure Poland should allow Russia to win against Ukraine. It knows that Putin wants to put the USSR back together again. And after going through that shit once, in no way shape or form does it want to be a Russian puppet state again. So, it is better for Poland to fight now rather than waiting for Russia to rebuild. Poland to have strongest land army in Europe by 2026: Defense minister Polish Army to have 500 HIMARS launchers in 28 squadrons by 2026, with deliveries beginning at end of 2025, says Mariusz Blaszczak. https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/poland-to-have-strongest-land-army-in-europe-by-2026-defense-minister/2989460
  14. I don't know about that, but I wouldn't mind seeing a Byron Murphy to Sweat pass for a TD.
  15. Yeah, I wasn't fast enough hitting delete. It looks like two people caught it. You guys are faster than I am.
×
×
  • Create New...