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bolverk

Certifiably Surly
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Everything posted by bolverk

  1. The lid was already closed, and now the final nails are being hammered into the Pax Americana coffin. Clowns and Nazis are taking over everywhere.
  2. In the press conference, it sounded like they said some water tanks in Palisades went dry overnight due to the firefighters relying on municipal water supplies. They were then later able to push water through a different trunk line. Don't quote me on that.
  3. Jet Propulsion Laboratory under mandatory evacuation now; Rose Bowl under evacuation warning.
  4. That statement could well apply to the whole nation. Fuckin' Vermont had that flooding disaster not too long ago. I think one of the reporters mentioned it already burned down. I'm not kidding.
  5. BTW, over in Europe, we've got another far-right party founded by former Nazis with ties to Putin about to take control in Austria. I'm becoming increasingly impressed with the outcome of the British and French elections earlier this year.
  6. Yep. It's pretty remarkable that discussing a future president's threats to invade allies is taken as "You fools can't grasp the English language! That's not news; it's just politics. Get that out of here!" And, poof, talking about it is siloed to a subforum where folks who don't want to think about such a radical departure from normal international relations don't have to see it. Foreign policy is a government activity and is, therefore, politics -- never mind the fact that news about international relations is discussed all the damn time elsewhere. Perhaps, it's a good example of what we're seeing elsewhere: anticipatory obedience. Bezos, Zuck...I guess all the tech execs got the same memo. Back on topic: How has Panama responded? In a statement of rebuke to Mr. Trump last month, President José Raúl Mulino of Panama wrote “every square meter of the Panama Canal and its adjacent area belong to PANAMA.” Mr. Mulino also said U.S. vessels are not being overcharged. Rates being charged to ships and naval vessels, he insisted, are “not on a whim.” Panamanian officials said all countries are subject to the same fees, though they would differ based on ship size. They are established in public meetings by the Panama Canal Authority, and take into account market conditions, international competition, operating and maintenance costs, Mr. Mulino said. Rates have gone up recently, however. That’s because starting in 2023, Panama experienced severe drought, driven by a combination of El Niño and climate change, which Mr. Trump has called a hoax. With water levels at Gatun Lake, the principal hydrological reserve for the canal, at historically low levels, authorities reduced shipping through the canal to conserve the lake’s fresh water. A Trump spokeswoman said that because the United States is the biggest user of the canal, the increase in fees hits its ships the most. What is China’s role in the Panama Canal? Chinese soldiers are not, as Mr. Trump has claimed, “operating” the Panama Canal. “There are no Chinese soldiers in the canal, for the love of God,” Mr. Mulino said in a speech Thursday. “The world is free to visit the canal.” A Hong Kong-based firm, CK Hutchison Holdings, does manage two ports at the canal’s entrances. And some experts have said that does raise valid competitive and security concerns for the United States. Ryan C. Berg, the director of the Americas program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank, noted that CK Hutchison would likely have data on all ships coming through the Panama Canal. China has been using its shipping and maritime operations to gather foreign intelligence and conduct espionage. “China exercises, or could exercise, a certain element of control even absent some military conflagration,” Mr. Berg said. “I think there is reason to be worried.” Mao Ning, a spokeswoman for the Chinese foreign ministry, said Tuesday that China “will as always respect Panama’s sovereignty” over the Panama Canal. China is the second-largest user of the Panama Canal after the United States. In 2017, Panama cut diplomatic ties with Taiwan and recognized the island as part of China, a major win for Beijing. Can the United States reassert control? Not easily. Mr. Mulino has made clear the Panama Canal is not for sale. He noted that the treaties established permanent neutrality of the canal and “guaranteeing its open and safe operation for all nations.” And the Senate ratified the Panama Canal treaties in 1978. Mick Mulvaney, Mr. Trump’s former chief of staff, suggested that the provocations were merely part of a negotiating tactic to get rates down. “You know, I don’t envision American troops going in to retake the canal, but you got to think that someone is out there scratching their head going, ‘Is Donald Trump crazy enough to do something like that?’” Mr. Mulvaney said Tuesday on “The Hill” on NewsNation. Mr. Berg said the neutrality agreement made it unlikely that Panama would even be able to grant special rates to the United States. And, he noted, Mr. Mulino is “incredibly pro-American” and likely eager to help the incoming Trump administration deal with issues like illegal immigration. “President Mulino is going to be a great ally with the United States,” Mr. Berg said. “We should not want this to devolve into some kind of political fight because we’re going to need President Mulino on a number of other issues.” But there is, as Mr. Trump has threatened, a military option. Mr. Trump could as president order an invasion of Panama. Under the terms of its constitution, Panama has no army. But experts dismissed Mr. Trump’s threat on Tuesday as empty intimidation. “If the U.S. wanted to flout international law and act like Vladimir Putin, the U.S. could invade Panama and recover the canal,” said Benjamin Gaden, director of the Wilson Center’s Latin America Program in Washington. “No one would see it as a legitimate act, and it would bring not only grievous damage to their image, but instability to the canal.”
  7. From last night: A rapidly spreading wildfire in southern California reached the grounds of the Getty Villa museum north of Santa Monica on Tuesday, but officials said no structures had burned and the collection was safe. The Pacific Palisades fire, fueled by a major windstorm and prompting mass evacuations in Los Angeles county, burned some trees and vegetation on site at the Getty Villa, but museum leaders said the galleries and archives were protected. The Villa is located along the Pacific Coast Highway and is roughly 10 miles away from the affiliated Getty Center, the site of the main museum of the world-famous art institution. The Getty Villa had “made extensive efforts to clear brush from the surrounding area as part of its fire mitigation efforts throughout the year”, Katherine E Fleming, president and CEO of the J Paul Getty Trust, said in a statement early Tuesday evening. While the blazes reached some of the vegetation on the property, “staff and the collection remain safe”, she said. Fire prevention measures at the Villa include water storage on-site, with irrigation immediately deployed throughout the grounds on Tuesday morning, Fleming said, adding: “Museum galleries and library archives were sealed off from smoke by state-of-the-art air handling systems. The double-walled construction of the galleries also provides significant protection for the collections.” Footage spread on social media showing some greenery ablaze near a Getty Villa sign, but the video appeared to be of the driveway entrance and a nearby building that is separate from the Villa.
  8. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/08/us/california-fires-landmarks-pasadena-palisades-malibu.html?smid=url-share The wildfires that continued to burn through Southern California early Wednesday have gutted some local landmarks along the Pacific Coast Highway and other areas. Here are some of the most affected sites so far: The Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center: The synagogue in Pasadena was engulfed by the Eaton fire, said Melissa Levy, its executive director, though the extent of the damage was unclear. That fire in Eaton Canyon, in the San Gabriel Mountains north of Pasadena, had consumed at least 1,000 acres as of Tuesday night. Malibu Feed Bin: A local institution that has offered pet supplies and gifts since 1966 was destroyed in the Palisades fire, according to a post on social media. “With a heavy heart, I am writing this. We lost the Feed Bin today,” the post said. Reel Inn: A well-known seafood restaurant in Malibu, Reel Inn posted a link on social media to a report in The Malibu Times, which said the restaurant had been destroyed in the Palisades fire. “We are so grateful for the 36 years we have been part of the community,” the restaurant’s owners said in the post, adding: “We are heartbroken and unsure what will be left.” Palisades Charter High School: Flames overwhelmed the campus at the independent charter school in Pacific Palisades, according to Nick Melvoin, a trustee at the Los Angeles Unified School District. Mr. Melvoin said the school — a local landmark and the alma mater of numerous celebrities in show business, sports and the arts — was still closed for winter break, so there was no need to evacuate. Mr. Melvoin said that classrooms, bungalows, tennis courts and the baseball field had burned.
  9. Evacuation Zones: https://www.latimes.com/wildfires-map/
  10. FIRMS map updates: https://firms.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/usfs/map/#d:2025-01-08;@-118.36,34.18,10.89z
  11. Really happy you guys got out, and I can only imagine your nerves. Fire is a general concern for me too, living in a windy and drier climate along a brushy ridgeline. I hope I never experience the same.
  12. New fire in Sylmar according to local news.
  13. Wordle 1,299 3/6 ⬛⬛🟩🟨⬛ ⬛⬛🟩🟨🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Connections Puzzle #577 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟩🟪🟩🟪 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🙂 Daily Quordle 1080 5️⃣4️⃣ 6️⃣7️⃣ m-w.com/games/quordle/ ⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜ 🟩⬜🟨⬜⬜ 🟨⬜⬜🟨🟩 ⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜ 🟨⬜⬜⬜🟩 ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟨⬜⬜🟨🟨 ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜🟨🟨 🟨⬜🟨⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜ 🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜🟩🟨⬜🟨 ⬜⬜⬜🟩⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
  14. I'm watching the local news from that link up-thread and this is some scary and heartbreaking shit.
  15. Fire map: https://firms.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/usfs/map/#d:24hrs;@-118.27,34.10,11.10z
  16. Do you really think that Trump would willingly send troops to Haiti? I doubt he gives a shit about those folks unless we start seeing a bunch more refugees, but I could very well be wrong. It seems his MO would be the deportation angle. But, yeah, I'm cool with just having a general foreign policy, "WTF is wrong with you, World?" thread like the Global Spring one but (now that it's CR) freer discussion.
  17. https://www.latimes.com/wildfires-map/
  18. Thanks, Inka. My intent was to have an ongoing discussion about US foreign relations (not troll the board) because a) the subject matter interests me (it was one of my 2 minors) and b) I think it's going to be in the news a lot over the next few years as I expect our foreign policy will see some radical changes. I was doing my best to stick with mainstream sources and edited my copy/pastes to avoid any unnecessary or opinionated commentary. Folks were responding and behaving pretty well, too. I acknowledge that it can be tricky to discuss without going full CR, but I really wanted it to focus mostly on providing/sharing information. I'll likely continue to post relevant content here as I come across it, though.
  19. Also Norway and now Finland, too.
  20. SBBruin had to evacuate, but he got a photo posted from his driveway in the Winter Weather thread (last page) before bugging out. Send him and his family all the good vibes you've got.
  21. If you're going with the overly broad definition instead of the commonly understood definition, which is partisanship, then any mention of government action is "politics," and ALL of these should be moved to the CR. Be consistent. https://www.surlyhorns.com/board/topic/39938-jay-hartzell-has-entered-the-transfer-portal/?do=getNewComment https://www.surlyhorns.com/board/topic/32512-israel-hamas-war-thread/?do=getNewComment https://www.surlyhorns.com/board/topic/6402-русский-корабль-иди-нахуй/?do=getNewComment https://www.surlyhorns.com/board/topic/222-fuck-the-police/?do=getNewComment https://www.surlyhorns.com/board/topic/39667-usn-beats-usn/?do=getNewComment https://www.surlyhorns.com/board/topic/9777-is-the-supreme-court-fuct-up/?do=getNewComment https://www.surlyhorns.com/board/topic/14726-fitlump-fucking-won-a-austin-city-council-seat-now-on-to-congress-2026/?do=getNewComment
  22. It wouldn't shock me if Mexico did. After all, Trump has mused about sending in the military to take out the cartels. Edit: This is in reference to China, not Russia.
  23. Read this again and tell us it isn't newsworthy. He refused to rule out using military force to retake the Panama Canal, which was given back to Panama by treaty in the late 1990s, and acquire Greenland, which Mr. Trump said was necessary for the national security of the United States. I guess since an invasion of Panama or Greenland would be "political," we won't be able to post about in the DT.
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