Jump to content

bolverk

Certifiably Surly
  • Posts

    15622
  • Joined

  • Days Won

    12

Everything posted by bolverk

  1. I'm old enough to remember seeing TV ads as a kid for companies that stated they were equal opportunity employers, without much of a stink. It's pretty plainly stated and, hell, there's a whole federal commission that's supposed to enforce related laws. Is it the fact that organizations/companies that incorporate proactive employment opportunity policies (DEI) in hiring and internal advancement a bridge too far for these people? Take Greaser Bob, for example. As a self-professed employment lawyer, he should be familiar with EEO laws; however, his judgment appears muddled when it comes to actually encouraging equal opportunities for all rather than simply passively requiring them. Or maybe I'm being too charitable and he's actually opposed to equal opportunities to all, after all.
  2. I would've liked to see how the National Security Council's previously prepared pandemic playbook, which was scrapped, would've panned out. Instead, we got all kinds of conflicting and confusing messages from the powers that be while they were making up shit on the fly and pitting states against one another from the outset. In hindsight, it'd be a bit easier to prepare the next one if we could see what actually happened and worked (or didn't) and tinker with that existing plan.
  3. If you ever find yourself In a place/situation/group Where leadership/peer pressure/propaganda are focused on Separating/isolating you from the influence of other groups/external influences To make you fear other groups/the outside world You might be in a cult and should consider getting the fuck out or fighting back and changing that place/situation/group, because the point of that reinforced isolation is to control you and take advantage of you.
  4. I can think of no better use for Kyle Field.
  5. Russian asset and dumbest American president in history is maybe, perhaps, starting to figure shit out after at least 10 years that he’s being played like the stupid, fat fiddle he is. Photo below cracks me up. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/29/us/politics/trump-putin.html
  6. Wordle 1,440 4/6 πŸŸ¨β¬›πŸŸ©β¬›β¬› β¬›β¬›πŸŸ©πŸŸ©πŸŸ© β¬›β¬›πŸŸ©πŸŸ©πŸŸ© 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 πŸ™‚ Daily Quordle 1221 5️⃣4️⃣ 6️⃣8️⃣ m-w.com/games/quordle/ ⬜⬜⬜🟨🟩 ⬜⬜🟩⬜🟨 🟩⬜⬜⬜🟨 ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟩 ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ 🟩⬜⬜🟩⬜ ⬜🟩⬜⬜🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩⬜⬜🟨 ⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜🟨🟨 ⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨 ⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜🟩🟨⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬜🟩🟩🟩🟨 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
  7. I might be up for that in the aftertime, but it currently hits too close to home.
  8. Seems they've really taken the isolate part of isolationism to heart.
  9. Remember, the main point of all the anti-abortion stuff is really about controlling women. With that in mind, his being a fucking psycho toward them totally checks out.
  10. Be dear and become a 21st-century Pied Piper for us by training an AI to hack into Cybertuck programming to lead them and their techbro drivers off the Pennybacker Bridge.
  11. Looks like a deranged turtle about to take a bite out of Brownsville.
  12. I see they have the classic Trump Waffle Taco on the menu.
  13. Yeah, see, I should replace my existing ride with one of these, yeah, just to get into the spirit. See? Chollie, hand me my Tommy gun! RATATATAT
  14. I read it as: The first one says he discussed it with colleagues for a long time, for months. The second one says he discussed it in excruciating detail with influential and powerful people for a long time, once during dinner.
  15. I wonder if we’ll come up with a fun 21st-century neologism to describe all the various crimes of this new fraud-filled era that we’ve ushered in by the cons in charge, or if the existing ones, such as bootlegging, piracy, smuggling, trafficking, counterfeiting, Ponzi scheming, scamming, thieving, poaching, plundering, or grifting, will suffice. Trade Crime Is Soaring, U.S. Firms Say, as Trump’s Tariffs Incentivize Fraud President Trump’s steep global tariffs have supercharged efforts to evade them. Some U.S. companies say the government is ill equipped to keep up. As President Trump’s tariffs have ratcheted up in recent months, so have the mysterious solicitations some U.S. companies have received, offering them ways to avoid the taxes. Shipping companies, many of them based in China, have reached out to U.S. firms that import apparel, auto parts and jewelry, offering solutions that they say can make the tariffs go away. β€œWe can avoid high duties from China, which we have already done many in the past,” read one email to a U.S. importer. β€œBeat U.S. Tariffs,” a second read, promising to cap the tariffs β€œat a flat 10%.” It added: β€œYou ship worry free.” β€œGood News! The tariffs has been dropped finally!” another proclaimed. The proposals β€” which are circulating in emails, as well as in videos on TikTok and other platforms β€” reflect a new flood of fraudulent activity, according to company executives and government officials. As U.S. tariffs on foreign products have increased sharply in recent months, so have the incentives for companies to find ways around them. The Chinese firms advertising these services describe their methods as valid solutions. For a fee, they find ways to bring products to the United States with much lower tariffs. But experts say these practices are methods of customs fraud. The companies may be dodging tariffs by altering the information about the shipments that is given to the U.S. government to qualify for a lower tariff rate. Or they may move the goods to another country that is subject to a lower tariff before shipping them to the United States, a technique known as transshipment. The Trump administration said this month that it would focus more on fighting trade fraud, including tariff evasion. The administration is also trying to persuade other countries to step up their own enforcement efforts, including in trade talks with Vietnam, Mexico and Malaysia. But many American companies say the scale of illicit activity now far outweighs the ability of these governments to thwart it. These schemes are costing the U.S. government billions of dollars in tariff revenue annually, executives and officials say. And they are leaving honest companies that pay tariffs deeply frustrated and worried about being left at a financial disadvantage to dishonest competitors. β€œIf nothing is done, those willing to cheat are going to continue to win the day here,” said David Rashid, the executive chairman of Plews, a car parts company that has appealed to the government to crack down on unfair trading practices by its competitors. Mr. Rashid said that unfairly traded products had filtered into supply chains throughout the United States. β€œIt’s easy to pull the wool over people’s eyes, especially if people like the wool over their eyes,” he added. Continued (free link): https://archive.is/7NTa4
  16. Trumpism has ushered in an era of corruption, fraud, and lawlessness across the board. We’re living in a Mobland, ruled over by the ultimate con artist and his incompetent capos, inspiring a horde of scammers, fraudsters, liars, cheats, thieves, grifters, and various other ne'er-do-wells to rob you fucking blind. Someone, help me find a Tommy gun, trench coat, and fedora. Trade Crime Is Soaring, U.S. Firms Say, as Trump’s Tariffs Incentivize Fraud President Trump’s steep global tariffs have supercharged efforts to evade them. Some U.S. companies say the government is ill equipped to keep up. As President Trump’s tariffs have ratcheted up in recent months, so have the mysterious solicitations some U.S. companies have received, offering them ways to avoid the taxes. Shipping companies, many of them based in China, have reached out to U.S. firms that import apparel, auto parts and jewelry, offering solutions that they say can make the tariffs go away. β€œWe can avoid high duties from China, which we have already done many in the past,” read one email to a U.S. importer. β€œBeat U.S. Tariffs,” a second read, promising to cap the tariffs β€œat a flat 10%.” It added: β€œYou ship worry free.” β€œGood News! The tariffs has been dropped finally!” another proclaimed. The proposals β€” which are circulating in emails, as well as in videos on TikTok and other platforms β€” reflect a new flood of fraudulent activity, according to company executives and government officials. As U.S. tariffs on foreign products have increased sharply in recent months, so have the incentives for companies to find ways around them. The Chinese firms advertising these services describe their methods as valid solutions. For a fee, they find ways to bring products to the United States with much lower tariffs. But experts say these practices are methods of customs fraud. The companies may be dodging tariffs by altering the information about the shipments that is given to the U.S. government to qualify for a lower tariff rate. Or they may move the goods to another country that is subject to a lower tariff before shipping them to the United States, a technique known as transshipment. The Trump administration said this month that it would focus more on fighting trade fraud, including tariff evasion. The administration is also trying to persuade other countries to step up their own enforcement efforts, including in trade talks with Vietnam, Mexico and Malaysia. But many American companies say the scale of illicit activity now far outweighs the ability of these governments to thwart it. These schemes are costing the U.S. government billions of dollars in tariff revenue annually, executives and officials say. And they are leaving honest companies that pay tariffs deeply frustrated and worried about being left at a financial disadvantage to dishonest competitors. β€œIf nothing is done, those willing to cheat are going to continue to win the day here,” said David Rashid, the executive chairman of Plews, a car parts company that has appealed to the government to crack down on unfair trading practices by its competitors. Mr. Rashid said that unfairly traded products had filtered into supply chains throughout the United States. β€œIt’s easy to pull the wool over people’s eyes, especially if people like the wool over their eyes,” he added. cont'd
  17. Wordle 1,439 3/6 β¬›πŸŸ¨πŸŸ¨β¬›β¬› β¬›πŸŸ©πŸŸ¨πŸŸ©πŸŸ¨ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Connections Puzzle #717 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟦🟦🟦🟦 πŸŸͺπŸŸͺπŸŸͺπŸŸͺ πŸ™‚ Daily Quordle 1220 7️⃣4️⃣ 6️⃣5️⃣ m-w.com/games/quordle/ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜🟩⬜⬜ ⬜🟨🟨⬜🟨 ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨 ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ 🟨⬜⬜⬜🟩 ⬜🟩⬜⬜⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬜⬜⬜🟩⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟩 ⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨 ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜🟩⬜🟨⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛
  18. Went to the TimesMachine to see what they had on the 200th anniversary. No mention of a parade, but it's a pretty interesting read. https://www.nytimes.com/1975/06/14/archives/us-army-marking-its-200th-birthday-feels-a-kinship-with-washingtons.html https://archive.is/lXDDP About the Archive This is a digitized version of an article from The Times’s print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions.
  19. This is a list of every team from north of the 36th parallel or on the West Coast (and not exactly a murderers’ row) that Texas has hosted at DKR for an August or September day game since 2000. We’re 4 and 3 in these relatively rare match-ups. 9/23/2006 (2:30 pm) IOWA STATE W 37-14 9/29/2007 (2:30 pm) K STATE L 21–41 9/12/2009 (2:30 pm) WYOMING W 41–10 9/25/2010 (2:30 pm) UCLA L 12–34 9/02/2017 (11:00 am) MARYLAND L 41–51 9/09/2017 (2:30 pm) SAN JOSE ST W 56–0 8/31/2024 (2:30 pm) COLORADO STATE W 52–0 I’m sure that heat matters on the margins, but coaching, caliber of players, and preparation matter as well. Moreover, the starters are young men in the athletic prime (or nearly) of their lives, so I'm also sure that they’re accustomed to or can manage it during game time. I’m sure they’re all expecting Austin to be an inferno and will do their best to prepare. Now, the Ohio State fans might be another story. I also eyeballed their listed roster for next season, and it looks like 20-25 percent are either from south of the 36th parallel (excluding So Cal) or have played college/IMG football there. It may well be an advantage, but the limited universe of data over the last quarter century doesn't really bear that out. For me, the jury is still out on this one until I start seeing Northern players collapse en masse at midfield.
  20. It's finally fucking over. Be sure to keep your phone handy to browse while "watching" it in the background. Edit: It looks like there's supposed to be a sequel series called 'The Testaments' based on another Atwood novel from 2019 that follows up on her original one in this universe. It supposedly will follow the daughter 3-4 years later when the kid is high school age.
  21. I didn’t realize you were from the Midwest. Both of the above invalidate any opinion you might hold in this debate, because: You must be a Yankee, and Your grammar sucks. Therefore, you can’t be correct about green spaces, parkland, or recreation areas, because I’m feeling a little tired and cranky this morning and reserve the right to criticize you for unrelated shit. The end.
  22. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/27/world/europe/russia-ukraine-nuclear-zaporizhzhia.html
  23. Since November, the creator of 'Succession' has written and made a movie called 'Mountainhead' (Take that, Ayn Rand!) that will premiere on HBO this Saturday about techbros trying to take over the world.
  24. Wordle 1,438 4/6 πŸŸ©β¬›β¬›πŸŸ¨β¬› πŸŸ©πŸŸ¨πŸŸ¨β¬›β¬› πŸŸ©β¬›β¬›πŸŸ©πŸŸ© 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Connections Puzzle #716 πŸŸͺπŸŸͺπŸŸͺπŸŸͺ 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟨🟨🟨🟨 πŸ™‚ Daily Quordle 1219 8️⃣4️⃣ 6️⃣5️⃣ m-w.com/games/quordle/ ⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜🟨⬜🟨 ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨 ⬜⬜⬜🟨🟩 ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟨🟩🟨⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜🟨⬜🟩 ⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜🟩🟩 🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ 🟩🟩⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛
Γ—
Γ—
  • Create New...