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bolverk

Certifiably Surly
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Everything posted by bolverk

  1. Wordle 1,371 4/6 ⬛⬛⬛⬛🟩 ⬛⬛⬛⬛🟩 ⬛🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Connections Puzzle #649 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟨🟪🟨🟨 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🙂 Daily Quordle 1152 7️⃣4️⃣ 5️⃣6️⃣ m-w.com/games/quordle/ ⬜🟨⬜🟨⬜ ⬜⬜🟨⬜🟩 ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜🟨🟨⬜⬜ 🟩⬜⬜⬜🟩 ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬜🟨⬜⬜🟩 🟨⬜🟨🟨⬜ ⬜⬜🟨⬜🟨 ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜🟨🟩 ⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
  2. Are you saying your dad lived through that? If so, come on. There's gotta be one helluva story behind that experience. Do tell.
  3. Wow. That had ALL the emotions. Just incredible. Such a long wait ahead. Question to be pondered: Since Mark's Cold Water project was to build all those different Gemma innies (Geminis...get it? Twins?), what the hell were the other members of MDR working on? I assume they have individual ones for themselves, n'est-ce pas?
  4. It's akin to his expressions of disbelief from those, such as myself, who grew up in rural fundagelical families. Many of us have patiently explained to that stubborn donkey about all the kooky shit we grew up having to hear, but Rex is a hard-headed asshole who I strongly suspect had quite a financially privileged upbringing. Oh, he'll tell you he frequently travels to the Permian Basin or SE Texas to work on deals, and so, therefore, he’s "in touch" with salt-of-the-earth, red-blooded Texans. He'll say he's *shocked* or feign disbelief by the stories we, the people actually from those places, tell about our own personal experiences. I suppose I can thank spending my formative years for exposing me to uncut christofascism at an early age. To tell the God's honest truth, I'm torn on Rex. He engages in conversations at times, but more often than not, he acts like an obnoxious and obstinate prick. I'm just not sure if he really leads such a sheltered life or if he's simply a contrarian cunt.
  5. As a progressive/liberal/pinko-commie bastard born and raised in Texas, spending nearly all of the first half of my life in a conservative small town out in West Texas, I can assure anyone who would question the veracity of Biff’s story that a trumptard will automatically assume that any straight, white, middle-aged man they address is also one. They take it as a given that you’ve also drank the Kool-Aid for that piece of shit, and they are not shy about it. It’s much the same way fundagelicals will try to push their perverted version of American Christianity on you without beating an eyelash.
  6. He can't be bothered with that kind of nonsense now. Instead, he's getting personal briefings of our top-secret war plans against China. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/20/us/politics/musk-pentagon-briefing-china-war-plan.html The Pentagon is scheduled on Friday to brief Elon Musk on the U.S. military’s plan for any war that might break out with China, two U.S. officials said on Thursday. Another official said the briefing will be China focused, without providing additional details. A fourth official confirmed Mr. Musk was to be at the Pentagon on Friday, but offered no details. Providing Mr. Musk access to some of the nation’s most closely guarded military secrets would be a dramatic expansion of his already extensive role as an adviser to President Trump and leader of his effort to slash spending and purge the government of people and policies they oppose. It would also bring into sharp relief the questions about Mr. Musk’s conflicts of interest as he ranges widely across the federal bureaucracy while continuing to run businesses that are major government contractors. In this case, Mr. Musk, the billionaire chief executive of both SpaceX and Tesla, is a leading supplier to the Pentagon and has extensive financial interests in China. Pentagon war plans, known in military jargon as O-plans or operational plans, are among the military’s most closely guarded secrets. If a foreign country was to learn how the United States planned to fight a war against them, it could reinforce its defenses and address its weaknesses, making the plans far less likely to succeed. Cont'd: https://archive.is/GJrFA
  7. I seem to recall you mentioning you live in Hood County or very near Granbury, correct? That ain't exactly the "sticks," especially since you mention low green fees. That area doesn't exactly align with the traditional urban/rural divide. In fact, it's basically become the playground of well-to-do retirees from DFW and all over West Texas, living comfortably in what is basically an exurb of Fort Worth with an increasing number of retail/entertainment amenities drawn to the area's expanding population which has a good amount of disposable income. I'm pretty sure the same could all be said about nearby Glen Rose/Somerville County, just 15 miles or so down the road. If I'm right about your general location, it's not like you live in a struggling little town out in the real sticks like Menard, Brady, or Eden.
  8. Brisket might be known as this board’s Cassandra, but tell us, was she wrong? It seems to me the fine citizens of Troy would’ve ultimately been a lot happier if they’d only fucking listened.
  9. I went looking for an appropriate Pam JPG or GIF but found this. It's serious business.
  10. Done. I also expressed my opposition to Senate Bills 10 & 11 (Ten Commandments in classrooms and school prayer).
  11. Hopefully, this won't be too disruptive. From the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO): Based on all available monitoring data, AVO regards the following scenarios as possible. We consider scenario 1, explosive eruption(s) like those in 1953 and 1992, as most likely at this time. Scenarios 2 and 3 (smaller eruption, or no eruption) are possible but considered less likely, and the likelihood of a much larger eruption is currently low. Explosive eruption(s) like those in 1953 and 1992: In this scenario, one or more explosive events, each lasting as long as a few hours, would produce ash clouds carried downwind for hundreds of miles and minor (up to about ¼ inch) ashfall over southcentral Alaska. The flanks of Mount Spurr likely would be swept by pyroclastic flows (hot avalanches) and impacted by ballistic showers. Mudflows (lahars) could inundate the upper Chakachatna River valley. Lava-forming and/or small explosive eruption(s): It is possible that the volcano could erupt less explosively than it did in 1992 and 1953, and produce lava flows, a lava dome, and/or brief explosive eruptions. Such events would have less far-travelled impacts, but lahars (mudflows) in the drainages around the volcano are possible. Failed eruption: If the magma stalls and does not reach the surface, as happened in 2004–2006, we expect to see earthquake activity, ground deformation, gas emissions, and surface heating slowly decrease over several weeks or months. Large explosive eruption: Eruption(s) larger than those in 1992 and 1953 could occur. These would likely result in larger ash clouds, thicker ashfall deposits and greater overall impacts. No such eruptions are known in historical times, and the geologic record suggests these are rare. Therefore, the likelihood of such an event is low. ***** Old video about the 1992 eruption that's a little less than 7 minutes. Actual footage begins at 4 minutes:
  12. Noticed that as well
  13. Erosion of checks and balances. Consoldiation of power in the Executive. Corruption. Sounds familiar. Netanyahu Expected to Fire Shin Bet Chief Despite Protests Israelis have been demonstrating against the move, which many see as part of an effort to reduce checks on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing government. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel was expected on Thursday to formally fire the head of the Shin Bet domestic intelligence agency, despite growing street protests and scuffles over the move that have further roiled a deeply divided country still at war. The Israeli cabinet was set to convene for a nighttime vote on the dismissal of the Shin Bet chief, Ronen Bar, just days after Mr. Netanyahu announced his intention to oust him, citing a lack of personal trust between them. It comes after Israel’s military resumed a deadly campaign in Gaza that has raised concern among many Israelis about the fates of hostages still held in the enclave. Sirens warning of incoming rocket fire from Gaza sent Israelis in the Tel Aviv area running for cover on Thursday for the first time in months. The Shin Bet is deeply involved in Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, providing intelligence and targets. By law, the agency is also tasked with protecting Israeli democracy. The discord between Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Bar goes to the heart of a broader battle playing out over the nature and future of Israel’s democracy and the rule of law. Critics of Mr. Netanyahu’s ruling coalition, the most right-wing and religiously conservative in Israel’s history, accuse it of working to reduce the authority of independent state watchdogs and to remove checks and balances on the powers of the government, which holds a narrow majority in Parliament. The firing of Mr. Bar on grounds of personal trust has also raised public concerns that future appointments may be based primarily on loyalty to the prime minister. Thousands protested in Jerusalem on Wednesday in anticipation of the move, and more protests took place on Thursday. By lunchtime, a long column of academics had marched in stormy weather from a campus of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem toward one of Mr. Netanyahu’s private residences, beating on drums, chanting, “Democracy!” and scuffling with police officers after trying to break through a barricade. Some prominent opposition figures joined the demonstrators. Video footage from the scene showed police officers aggressively pushing protesters, including Yair Golan, a former deputy chief of the military and now the leader of the center-left Democrats party, who ended up on the ground. The police used a water cannon and sprayed protesters with a foul-smelling liquid in an effort to disperse them. The new protests recall weekly demonstrations in 2023 against attempts to overhaul the judiciary to reduce its power as a check on the government, with business leaders at one point joining labor unions to hold a national strike. Those protests came to an abrupt halt with the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel that ignited the war on Oct. 7, 2023, though the broad sense of national solidarity that prevailed then is now fraying. Mr. Netanyahu and his allies have made accusations of overreach against the judiciary and other independent branches, saying that they have hampered the government’s freedom to make decisions and to represent the will of voters. Mr. Netanyahu has been under police investigation and is on trial on charges of corruption, which he denies. He has repeatedly accused a liberal “deep state” of conducting a witch hunt against him and his family. For months, Mr. Bar had angered Mr. Netanyahu by investigating officials in the prime minister’s office over claims that they had leaked secret documents to the media and also worked for people connected to Qatar, an Arab state close to Hamas. The investigation, called “Qatargate” in the local news media, is continuing in secrecy under a sweeping gag order. Mr. Netanyahu has denied wrongdoing and his office has dismissed the episode as “fake news.” The Qatari government did not respond to requests for comment. Mr. Bar, who has led the Shin Bet since 2021, issued a rare public statement last week, after Mr. Netanyahu’s announcement, saying that the expectation of “personal trust” was in opposition to the public interest. “It’s a fundamentally flawed expectation that is in contravention with the Shin Bet law and statesmanship,” Mr. Bar said. Mr. Bar and the Shin Bet have taken responsibility for their part in the intelligence failure that led to the Hamas-led attack, which resulted in the deadliest single day for Israelis since the foundation of their state in 1948. But in a summary of the agency’s internal probe into its conduct issued earlier this month, the Shin Bet also pointed to years of lenient government policy toward Hamas and Gaza as a major contributing factor, likely angering Mr. Netanyahu. Appearing emboldened domestically, as well as in Gaza, by the staunch support of the U.S. administration, Mr. Netanyahu made common cause with President Trump in a blunt social media post late Wednesday. “In America and in Israel, when a strong right wing leader wins an election, the leftist Deep State weaponizes the justice system to thwart the people’s will,” he wrote. “They won’t win in either place! We stand strong together.” The billionaire Elon Musk, a close ally of Mr. Trump, replied with a red “100” emoji, suggesting that he agreed with Mr. Netanyahu. Many Israelis view the country’s democracy as increasingly fragile. Israel has no formal written constitution, only one legislative chamber and a president whose role is mostly ceremonial and symbolic. By taking the vote straight to the government on Thursday, Mr. Netanyahu was also defying a legal opinion of the attorney general, Gali Baharav-Miara, who advised that the dismissal of Mr. Bar must first be approved by an advisory committee that oversees senior appointments. Ms. Baharav-Miara, who was appointed by the previous government, has frequently clashed with the current one. Prominent members of Mr. Netanyahu’s cabinet have said that after Mr. Bar’s removal, the attorney general will be the next. The families of hostages still held in Gaza, up to 24 of whom are believed to be alive, have expressed outrage and alarm over what they view as Mr. Netanyahu’s misguided priorities, as well as the collapse of a temporary cease-fire and the renewed military campaign. “First, return the hostages. Everything else comes after!” the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, a grass-roots organization that advocates on behalf of captives and their relatives, said in a statement on Thursday. The forum described the hostages as being “in danger of death and disappearance in the Hamas tunnels in Gaza.”
  14. The map of nations that recognize the State of Palestine is getting greener. I don't think most Americans realize we're among the global outliers. Policies of some of the remaining major countries (from Wiki): FRANCE: In October 2014, France's foreign minister said France would recognize a Palestinian state even if peace talks with Israel fails.[250] On 2 December 2014 the French National Assembly approved a non-binding motion calling on the government to recognise Palestine.[251] In 2024, French President Emmanuel Macron said "I am completely ready to recognize a Palestinian state, but ... I believe that this recognition must come at a useful time".[252] GERMANY: In April 2011, Chancellor Angela Merkel labelled the Palestinian bid for recognition a "unilateral step",[253] and stated unequivocally that Germany will not recognize a Palestinian state without its prior acceptance by Israel. "Unilateral recognitions therefore definitely do not contribute to achieving this aim ... This is our stance now and it will be our stance in September. There needs to be mutual recognition, otherwise it is not a two-state solution".[254] She also reaffirmed her government's commitment to see an agreement reached as soon as possible. "We want a two-state solution. We want to recognize a Palestinian state. Let us ensure that negotiations begin. It is urgent".[255] JAPAN: Japan voted favorably for the United Nations General Assembly resolution to accord Palestine Non-member Observer State status in the United Nations in November 2012, and since then, refers to the country as "Palestine".[275] In August 2024, a Japanese official stated that the country was considering recognition.[276] UK: In October 2014, the UK House of Commons passed a symbolic non-binding Motion by a vote of 274 in favour to 12 against which called on the Government to recognize Palestine.[340][341] Also in October 2014, the devolved government of Scotland called for recognition of Palestine as an independent state and for the UK to open an Embassy.[342] Shortly before the UK general election in June 2024, Labour Party leader Keir Starmer stated that recognition of Palestine could jeopardise the UK's relationship with the U.S.[343]
  15. We’re deploying an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer to the Gulf of Mexico to guard our southern border. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/uss-gravely-texas-gulf-coast-deployment-southern-border-mexico/
  16. About 15 years ago, I had a project in Mat-Su Borough, so we obviously flew into Anchorage. I seem to recall that the town was on very flat, low-lying ground.
  17. Other than "run for the hills," what did you advise?
  18. What to know about Mount Spurr’s likely eruption It’s showing all the signs: There have been recent earthquakes nearby, the volcano’s surface has expanded, there’s melting snow on its peak and there’s higher-than-normal emissions of volcanic gases. “It's almost like we have a checklist of the usual signs that volcanoes give us before they progress to an eruption,” said Matt Haney, the scientist in charge at the Alaska Volcano Observatory. “And now we're seeing all four of those are giving us those indicators.” Located roughly 80 west of Anchorage.
  19. You’ve got to love the Party of Small (POS™) government dictating what you do with your own body. Women, you are forbidden from deciding when to get pregnant or receive adequate healthcare in case shit goes sideways during pregnancy. Gays, you are forbidden from a legal partnership with the person of your choosing. Everyone, you are forbidden from having consensual sex with whomever you choose in the privacy of your own home. Trans, you are forbidden from expressing your inner gender. Everyone, you are forbidden from getting a buzz or receiving comfort for anxiety/depression, chemo, etc. The State owns your body, not you. You’re just a child. The State decides.
  20. U.S. Turned Away French Scientist Over Views on Trump Policies, France Says The French authorities said the academic had been traveling to a conference near Houston when border officials blocked his entry because of conversations found on his phone. A French scientist was prevented from entering the United States this month because of an opinion he expressed about the Trump administration’s policies on academic research, according to the French government. Philippe Baptiste, France’s minister for higher education and research, described the move as worrying. “Freedom of opinion, free research and academic freedom are values we will continue to proudly uphold,” Mr. Baptiste said in a statement. “I will defend the possibility for all French researchers to be faithful to them, in compliance with the law, wherever they may be in the world.” Mr. Baptiste did not identify the scientist who was turned away but said that the academic was working for France’s publicly funded National Center for Scientific Research and had been traveling to a conference near Houston when border officials stopped him. The U.S. authorities denied entry to the scientist and then deported him because his phone contained message exchanges with colleagues and friends in which he expressed his “personal opinion” on the Trump administration’s science policies, Mr. Baptiste said. It was not immediately clear what led the border authorities to stop the scientist, why they examined the contents of his phone or what they found objectionable about the conversations. Customs officers are allowed to search the cellphone, computer, camera or any other electronic device of any travelers crossing the border, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, although the agency says that such instances are rare. In 2024, less than 0.01 percent of arriving international travelers had their electronic devices searched, according to the agency. Mr. Baptiste’s office declined to provide further details about the case, and the National Center for Scientific Research did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokesman for the American Embassy in Paris declined to comment. The Agence France-Presse news agency reported earlier on the scientist’s refused entry to the United States. Mr. Baptiste has been particularly vocal over the past few weeks in denouncing threats to academic freedom in the United States, where funding cuts and layoffs by the Trump administration have targeted institutions of higher education, scientific research and the federal government’s own scientific work force. Mr. Baptiste has also urged French universities and research institutes to welcome researchers seeking to leave the United States. “Europe must be there to protect research and welcome the talent that can contribute to its success,” Mr. Baptiste wrote on social media after meeting with his European counterparts in Warsaw on Wednesday to address “threats to free research in the United States.”
  21. Wordle 1,370 2/6 🟨⬛🟨🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Connections Puzzle #648 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟪🟪🟪🟪 Almost got me. 🙂 Daily Quordle 1151 9️⃣5️⃣ 6️⃣4️⃣ m-w.com/games/quordle/ ⬜⬜⬜🟨🟩 🟩🟩⬜🟨⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨 ⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜ ⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬜⬜⬜🟩🟩 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬜⬜🟨⬜🟩 ⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨 🟨⬜🟨🟨⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛
  22. D.H.S. Detains a Georgetown University Academic Badar Khan Suri, an Indian national teaching on a student visa, was deemed “deportable,” a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security said. The U.S. government detained an Indian citizen who was studying and teaching at Georgetown University, and said he had been deemed “deportable” for violating the terms of his student visa. The academic, Badar Khan Suri, was detained at his home in Rosslyn, Va., on Monday night, according to his lawyer, Hassan Ahmad. Mr. Suri was “awaiting his court date in immigration court” in Alexandria, La., Mr. Ahmad said. Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, said Mr. Suri was “spreading Hamas propaganda and promoting antisemitism on social media.” Ms. McLaughlin didn’t provide any evidence to support the claim. Mr. Ahmad said that Mr. Suri denied all of the allegations made in Ms. McLaughlin’s statement. He believed that the accusations against Mr. Suri were “seemingly based on who his father-in-law was,” but that he was still researching the case. Mr. Suri has no criminal record and has not been charged with a crime, according to Mr. Ahmad. Politico first reported on the news of Mr. Suri’s detention. Ms. McLaughlin said that Mr. Suri had “close connections to a known or suspected terrorist, who is a senior advisor to Hamas,” and Secretary of State Marco Rubio had deemed him “deportable.” Ms. McLaughlin said Mr. Suri was detained under a rarely used provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which the administration is using to try and deport Mahmoud Khalil, a recent Columbia University graduate and legal permanent resident who had a prominent role in the pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia. The measure says the Secretary of State can initiate deportation proceedings against any noncitizen whose presence in the United States he deems a threat to the country’s foreign policy interests. Mr. Trump had said earlier this month Mr. Khalil’s case was the first of “many to come.” Civil Rights groups have said such arrests against immigrants with some form of legal status are a clear violation of the First Amendment. While both men were deemed to be deportable under the same statute, Mr. Suri was studying in the United States on a J-1 student visa while Mr. Khalil had a green card. Georgetown University, where Mr. Suri was a postdoctoral fellow, said in a statement that it was not aware of Mr. Suri “engaging in any illegal activity, and we have not received a reason for his detention.” “Seeing our government abduct and jail another innocent person is beyond contemptible,” Mr. Ahmad said.
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