bolverk

Smotrich admits that the plan is to all but annex the West Bank. Well, duh, that's been apparent for decades, but now, Israeli right-wingers are brazen enough to concede they've been lying all along and have, indeed, never negotiated in good faith. Every deal they ever offered was full of poison pills. Israeli Official Describes Secret Government Bid to Cement Control of West Bank Israeli judges have long ruled that Israel’s control of the territory is a temporary military occupation and complies with international law. A powerful minister’s recent speech, caught on tape, suggested the government is trying to change that. An influential member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition told settlers in the Israeli-occupied West Bank that the government is engaged in a stealthy effort to irreversibly change the way the territory is governed, to cement Israel’s control over it without being accused of formally annexing it. In a taped recording of the speech, the official, Bezalel Smotrich, can be heard suggesting at a private event earlier this month that the goal was to prevent the West Bank from becoming part of a Palestinian state. “I’m telling you, it’s mega-dramatic,” Mr. Smotrich told the settlers. “Such changes change a system’s DNA.” While Mr. Smotrich’s opposition to ceding control over the West Bank is no secret, the Israeli government’s official position is that the West Bank’s status remains open to negotiations between Israeli and Palestinian leaders. Israel’s Supreme Court has ruled that Israel’s rule over the territory amounts to a temporary military occupation overseen by army generals, not a permanent civilian annexation administered by Israeli civil servants. Mr. Smotrich’s June 9 speech at a West Bank gathering may make that posture harder to maintain. In it, he outlined a carefully orchestrated program [NEXT POST] to take authority over the West Bank out of the hands of the Israeli military and turn it over to civilians working for Mr. Smotrich in the defense ministry. Parts of the plan have already been incrementally introduced over the past 18 months, and some authorities have already been transferred to civilians. “We created a separate civilian system,” Mr. Smotrich said. To deflect international scrutiny, the government has allowed the defense ministry to remain involved in the process, he said, so that it seems that the military is still at the heart of West Bank governance. “It will be easier to swallow in the international and legal context,” Mr. Smotrich said. “So that they won’t say that we are doing annexation here.” Reporters for The New York Times listened to a roughly half-hour recording of the speech that was provided by one of the attendees, a researcher from Peace Now, an anti-occupation campaign group. The researcher shared a recording of the entire speech. A spokesman for Mr. Smotrich, Eytan Fold, confirmed he gave the speech and said the event was not a secret. Mr. Smotrich, a far-right lawmaker, said Mr. Netanyahu was aware of the details of the plan, much of which was foreshadowed in a coalition agreement between their parties that allows the prime minister to remain in power. Mr. Netanyahu is “with us full on,” Mr. Smotrich said in the speech. If the government collapses, a future coalition could reverse the changes, but government moves in the West Bank have, in the past, usually remained in place through successive administrations. For many Palestinians, the speech itself is likely to be greeted with less surprise than the fact that Mr. Smotrich said the words aloud. “It’s interesting to hear Smotrich in his own voice confirm much of what we suspected about his agenda,” said Ibrahim Dalalsha, director of the Horizon Center, a political analysis group in Ramallah, West Bank. Still, Mr. Dalalsha said, the approach is not new. Palestinians have said for years that Israeli leaders are trying to annex the West Bank in all but name, building settlements in strategic locations in a bid to prevent contiguous Palestinian control across the territory. “It’s been going on since 1967,” said Mr. Dalalsha. “Since way before Smotrich came to the scene,” he added. cont'd

Wordle 1,098 3/6 ⬛⬛🟨🟨⬛ 🟨⬛🟨🟨🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Over-thought this one. Connections Puzzle #376 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟦🟪🟦🟦 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟪🟪🟪🟪 Daily Quordle 879 6️⃣4️⃣ 7️⃣5️⃣ m-w.com/games/quordle/ ⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜🟨🟨 🟩🟩⬜⬜🟨 🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜ 🟨🟨⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜🟩🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬜⬜⬜🟩⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬜🟨⬜🟩🟨 🟨⬜⬜⬜🟩 ⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜ ⬜🟨🟨⬜🟨 ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜🟨⬜🟩⬜ ⬜🟨⬜⬜🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛

Wordle 1,097 4/6 🟩⬛⬛🟨🟨 🟩🟨🟩⬛🟨 🟩⬛🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Connections Puzzle #375 🟩🟩🟩🟪 🟩🟩🟩🟪 🟨🟨🟪🟨 🟨🟨🟪🟨 Daily Quordle 878 4️⃣7️⃣ 8️⃣6️⃣ m-w.com/games/quordle/ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜🟨⬜⬜🟩 ⬜🟨⬜⬜🟨 🟩⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬜🟩🟨⬜🟨 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬜🟨⬜⬜🟨 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜ ⬜⬜🟨⬜🟨 ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟩 ⬜⬜🟩⬜⬜ ⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟩 🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜ 🟩🟨⬜🟨🟩 🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛

Would've worked better at peak football season.

Are you saying you promote racists and neo-Nazis on this site? Like, are you propping by giving them added rep to keep their accounts active? Are you somehow elevating their posts by pinning them to the top of the page? Man, you're not doing any of that stuff. Your MO seems to be to give them enough rope to eventually hang themselves at times, but as far as I can tell, you're not manipulating shit to give them greater prominence. Or are you?

That's old, but yet, an evergreen statement.

Crossposting Screenshot in case it gets deleted.

Twitter's algos couldn't possibly be wrong. Get the fuck off Twitter. Yes, it's a pain in the ass, but you can find stuff on sites that don't promote racists and neo-Nazis, like Threads, Blue Sky, and Reddit.

Seabrook isn't far from Clear Lake. Is that you? Since I asked, you have to tell me.

Gracias. I didn't watch the inauguration, so I guess I missed the whole context other than the "cry more, libs" assholes who kept posting it before they slunk away from this board, and all became Gary Johnson voters.

I'd never heard of Juice Force, but I've had their Imperial (9%). Shit will mess you up. I can't imagine trying to do much anything serious after a sixer, let alone drive to or from work in a bustling metropolitan area.

I've seen this GIF many times over the past several years, mostly by Trump supporters mocking pissed-off libs for his election in 2016, but I have never asked what the real story is behind it. Where's it from? Why have I never seen the actual video in context?

The only excuse is that they're saving it for an advertising and overall campaign blitz in the fall, which, in my humble estimation, is too late. Still, I've never led or even worked for a political campaign before. It's true that Americans have short memories, though the time is nigh for them to get their shit together and build enthusiasm which would help the campaign raise money for said blitz.

I might've gotten upset, too, but I've been around long enough to be familiar with your posting history to know what a twisted sense of humor (and golden heart) you have. You seem to have been a much more prolific poster back in the day, so maybe BOOM has forgotten that you're a sick but funny fucking prankster.

Some folks ain't takin' it so good.

The first commandment always confused me a bit, even as a kid. It reads like a tacit admission that there are other gods, which checks out given that the Old Testament god was always petty, jealous, and angry. It kind of reminds me of a certain orange someone, which might explain why Evangelicals who favor the fire and brimstone god of the OT so much, worship Trump.

And on his way to work

Voodoo Ranger Juice Force High ABV: 9.5%.

After seeing he played ball for Trinity International (looked it up -- located in Illinois), and she got her Bachelor's from something called Olivet Nazarene (also located in Illinois), I'm convinced. The headshot for the ball team and the mugshot seem to match.

If any of you guys have had your luggage lost at DFW when flying American, now you know why. I'm having trouble believing this guy is married to the gal posted above. Accused drunken driver slams into 2 cyclists near Dallas-Fort Worth airport, police say Two cyclists were hit by an accused drunk driver near Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport on Monday. The collision occurred near the intersection of North Airfield Drive and Freeport Parkway in Irving. It was captured on video posted to X. In the video, a white 2020 Subaru Forester can be seen quickly approaching the cyclists from behind, then colliding with two of them. The cyclists fell onto the road, and the car swerved and stopped briefly. The driver then moved forward, running over one of the cyclists in the road with its front and back wheels before driving off. The driver was identified as Benjamin Hylander, 31, of Fort Worth, according to DFW airport police. His job was listed as working for American Airlines’ cargo team. The police found the group of cyclists around 6 p.m. on Monday. According to police reports, some of the cyclists followed Hylander’s car to a nearby Shell gas station, where they told him to return to the accident. While the cyclist he had hit was being treated by paramedics, Hylander ran to the scene and shouted, “I’m sorry,” police said. He attempted to speak to an injured cyclist but was pulled away by officers. The victims were identified as Thomas Geppert, 69, and Deborah Eads, 65, both of Grapevine. Geppert’s injury was listed as a “severe laceration” and he was hospitalized at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center in Grapevine on Monday night. Eads’ injuries were also listed as “severe laceration” but were treated by paramedics at the scene and did not require hospitalization. Hylander told police he had drunk beer in Grapevine an hour earlier. The amount he said he drank changed as police were interviewing him, they said. Hylander was arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated. Results of a breathalyzer test showed his blood alcohol concentration was over 0.15, the minimum threshold for a second degree misdemeanor DWI charge. While searching Hylander’s car, police found six empty cans of Voodoo Ranger beer in a backpack behind the passenger seat. The car was towed and is being held for evidence. Hylander is charged with two counts of intoxication assault with a vehicle, one count of accident involving injury and one count of driving while intoxicated. He is in custody at the Tarrant County Corrections Center.

Here's what's burned so far. The top one, as far as I can tell, was from last month and is no longer active. Edit: Forgot the map: Poorly written article says 500 structures in one paragraph and 1,400 in another. Maybe each figure is for the separate fires. I can't tell, but either way, that's a lot of homes, condos, cabins, and barns for this small town and surrounding area. Two fires threatening the community of Ruidoso expanded Tuesday, June 18, affecting at least 500 structures and prompting a second evacuation order, this time for the neighboring City of Ruidoso Downs. The South Fork Fire burning to the west and north of the village grew to about 15,300 acres by mid-afternoon, with 1,400 structures reported lost, according to the New Mexico Forestry Division. The Salt Fire, burning to the south, totaled about 5,500 acres. Both were 0 percent contained by 9 p.m. Tuesday. KOB-TV and Source New Mexico reported at least one death has resulted from the fires. https://www.ruidosonews.com/story/news/2024/06/19/tuesday-ends-with-south-fork-and-salt-fires-uncontained-near-ruidoso/74148299007/ Radar indicates some rain in the area. Hopefully, Mother Nature is doing her bit. Current webcam from Ruidoso: https://www.ruidoso.net/visitor-information/ruidoso-midtown-webcam

Poor @NorthLoop

Video taken from a drone shows Russian soldiers executing four surrendering Ukrainian soldiers. Taken for a distance; no gore. A wounded Russian soldier complains about Ukrainians defending their country, calling them "Germans" and "not humans", and so now he hates them. Edited to add: Official: Russian army killed dozens of civilians in Vovchansk, Kharkiv region UKRAINE, June 19 — Russians killed dozens of civilians in Vovchansk, said Oleh Syniehubov, Kharkiv Oblast Governor, in an interview with Ukrinform on June 18. On May 10, Russia launched a new ground offensive north and northeast of the Kharkiv region, in the Vovchansk and Lyptsi directions. Currently, the frontline is reportedly stabilized by Ukraine’s troops, and heavy fighting is ongoing. The information about the Ukrainians killed by the Russian army became known thanks to the military’s video from copters, but the details will be available only after the liberation of the territory, said Syniehubov. Governor also said that about 50 people still live in the temporarily occupied territory in Vovchansk, and Ukraine’s police can’t reach them yet. Currently, the Ukrainian military controls about 70% of the city. Police and the Prosecutor’s Office reported the first documented cases of Russian troops executing civilians in Vovchansk within a week after Russia launched a new ground offensive north of Kharkiv. Ukrainian authorities and law enforcement agencies also spoke about cases of Russians taking civilians prisoner and not allowing them to evacuate from the city. According to Oleh Syniehubov, police, volunteers, and rescuers evacuated about 11,859 people from the border communities of the Kharkiv Oblast, threatened by Russia’s new offensive.

Took 'em a few times but they finally got there.

Between the UEFA championship and the upcoming Olympics, lots of sports going on in Europe this summer. Translation: Putin is a dickhead.