Posts by Gerald Palmer66

I find myself wondering about that too.☕

It seems to me that those in Washington, D.C. are fully aware of how things are unfolding and are feeling quite anxious—mostly for their own sake rather than out of concern for any Spaniard—which is likely why they’ve stayed silent, given that the reality on the ground is much more dire than what is being reported to the public.

Nathan Diaz54 said:I've got kids in 1st and 5th grade, and they aren't attending (out of the first two students, two aren't going, and out of the four 5th graders, just mine is sitting this one out). Most of the families around here live near the border with Canada, and the principal is a religious studies teacher who—if you ask me—would much rather be running a private Catholic school. A lot of parents actually don't want their kids enrolled, even though they aren't particularly religious themselves, but since everyone else is doing it, I went ahead and signed my kid up too... mostly because of what people might say. You know how it is with those local busybodies; they'll complain about everything from the curriculum and the homework to the cost of First Communion and Confirmation...

Kudos to you👍

The parents who enroll their children just because "everyone else is doing it" are 👎, and honestly, they should just deal with the consequences and stop whining about the mess they helped create by following the pack...

Melissa Sanchez17 said:Honestly, looking at all these "cake" buyback schemes lately, I’ve started thinking we’re headed straight for a future where the only thing left will be a shady black market for gold and silver—whether you're trying to buy it or offload it.

What makes you say that?
Is it because the spreads have become way too wide?

shadowhawk31 said:Except, you know, Sweden is actually the polar opposite of a country that protects free speech.

What are we even talking about here?

Rachel Allen55 said:

Sweden has gone completely downhill.

It’s a pattern I find quite symptomatic of nations that claim to champion free speech and open expression.
We have seen this exact cycle play out countless times throughout history.

mellowrider66 said:I've got a few coins from $8.25 lying around at home, and I was wondering where I might be able to swap them out for actual bills?

Honestly, just deposit them straight into your bank account and then pull out the cash from an ATM; it saves you from having to deal with all the unnecessary back-and-forth with the tellers.

Richard Walker38 said:Even after a full year, some of you just won't stop asking about this 🤣 🤣. Honestly, please realize that what was labeled a "temporary" measure has become permanent; after twelve months, it should be obvious by now, so please just stop asking.

I suppose if anyone actually had a shred of respect for the users, they might have bothered to officially announce it instead of making us "figure it out" ourselves. 🙄 This is exactly how #management handles things.
👍

Of course not; our only real job here is to keep this community breathing, and frankly, I couldn't care less about anything else.
It isn't just that you can't search for specific user posts, but they haven't even bothered to include a "new posts" section either.

I suspect they're getting hammered by DDoS attacks, yet somehow, they can't seem to find it in their hearts to invest even a single cent into proper security...

If you ask me, I'd give Reddit maybe another year or so before it fades away entirely, mostly just riding on its old reputation.

https://www.reddit.com/r/CringeAnarc...s_against_the/

Is this actually happening somewhere?

The article claims some guy was just having a casual, friendly chat with the police at a train station in Seattle, only to be sent off for a urine test because they suspected him of using steroids—all because his muscle definition looked a little too perfect.

Really?
Fun fact, the guy is from the US.

In Sweden, if you mess up big time, you just tell everyone you're fifteen and suddenly everything is fine.👍

“I’ve dealt with people standing right in front of me who clearly look 35, yet they insist they’re only 15. Since there isn't a way for me to prove they aren't telling the truth, we're forced to let them go,” says Richard Sorensen, an officer on the force.

rustywalker42 said:Other than the fact that I don't believe 90% of what's being written here? Nothing. 😁

I don't see why she couldn't pull it off, especially after she headed out on her own...
So, she probably spent her time out there networking or whatever—running around trying to make connections since she couldn't exactly stay put. Or was she just wandering around aimlessly? Who knows.

Look, that’s all well and good, but did you actually bother to read the article? Seriously? Let me just pull out a few things for you:

She kicked things off studying design in Milan. She actually snagged a scholarship at a top-tier university there—wasn't just some random luck, either. Out of 200 students from all over Europe, she was the one they picked.
Meanwhile, she went ahead and knocked out her Master’s in interior design and urban planning.
So, Miranda’s fronting this massive band in China right now—huge popularity there. And her jewelry and furniture designs? You wouldn't believe it. Top-tier global corporations are practically clawing at each other just to get their hands on them.
Right after she finished school, she landed a job with Renzo Piano. You know, one of those heavy-hitting global architects? The guy TIME actually ranked as one of the ten most influential people in art and music. Plus, he's the mind behind that massive skyscraper in London.
An offer to work alongside that famous Italian architect Gianni Ranaul on some interior design project landed her in Paris, and before she knew it, she was halfway across the world in Mexico City.
So, Ranaulo does this specific thing with lighting. I actually worked on an interior project with him in Las Vegas once—totally wild setup, complete with a speaker that moves up and down. Anyway, a friend of mine who worked with Piano fell head over heels for a Mexican guy, and they ended up opening an office in Mexico City together. She invited me to join them, and you know what? I said yes. I was itching to go back to school anyway; I had my sights set on urban planning, so that became my second master's degree. I was the only non-architect in the program, too. Out of about thirty students, I was easily the youngest. They even gave me a scholarship for it. Then, after I presented my thesis, they offered me a PhD program in Barcelona. So, I packed my bags, quit the job in Mexico, headed back to Europe, and started hunting for an apartment in Barcelona. That’s the story, according to Miranda.
So, while she was hunting for an apartment in Barcelona, she decided—without getting her hopes up too high, obviously—to toss her resume over to an architecture firm in London. Apparently, living in London has always been the dream.

It was my birthday at the time, so I headed over to London for a few days to celebrate with friends. I figured I’d just worry about finding an apartment back in Barcelona once I got home. Then, out of nowhere, I get an email from that office asking me in for an informal interview. They actually asked if I could start the very next day. I pushed it back a few days, ended up staying in London for two years, and stayed on with them for a year and a half before photography caught my eye. The whole thing happened by accident. We had a deadline for some award submission, and since nobody had any free time to photograph our building, I just stepped up and did it. The director loved it. Suddenly, he's sending me on photo assignments left and right. To really sharpen my skills, I reached out to the heavy hitters—Iwan Bann and Fernand Guerra. Eventually, I even ended up collaborating with them in China.
"They scouted me to shoot for Blueprint—you know, that magazine every architect obsesses over. I was out there photographing 20th-century architecture and did a whole series on Wembley Stadium. Not long after, I snagged a year-long visa for New York. I had some freelance gigs lined up for London and was writing for a blog, too. I was only supposed to stay three months, but honestly? I went crazy for New York. I live for jazz. I ended up staying eight months," Miranda says. But apparently, China was her karma all along. She spent forever looking for work anywhere in the world, and where does she land? Beijing.

So, I landed this killer gig as a media promoter for an international firm with offices everywhere. Honestly? I didn't think I stood a chance. But then the director calls me for a Skype interview. And get this—I actually messed up the time zone, showed up in my pajamas, and kept my camera off. Somehow, they hired me anyway. That was my ticket to Asia. My life became a whirlwind of organizing exhibitions, scouting venues, hunting down sponsors, and even collaborating with architects on design projects. I was all over the map—attending conferences in Colombia and Mexico City, lecturing at universities, guesting on radio shows. I basically acted as the right hand to every director across their global offices, according to Miranda. Then, everything changed during the 2013 Beijing Design Week. I met this Italian architect who specialized in concrete. We teamed up, started experimenting, and ended up creating concrete jewelry. That’s where the whole jewelry chapter of Miranda's story really takes off.

Look, I'm done copying and pasting. Just read the article. 😁 Every single paragraph is just one win after another. Scholarships are drying up, yet they call her the best? They need the top talent right now. You don't see stories like that in the movies.

Like Richard Lewis16 says,
Bad luck? Please. People always forget that when things actually go right, they were blessed by God. Instead, they just credit their own selfish egos. Why is that?
Natural talent plus a ton of hard work? Fine by me. I don't see any issue with her just being exactly who she is.

Look, luck is obviously a massive factor. But man, this isn't just being lucky. It’s like... what do you even call it? A landslide of good fortune? Is she just the physical embodiment of luck at this point?

So, let me get this straight. She didn't even get a PhD from MIT, nor did she study mechanical engineering at some top university in Chicago. It was just some veggie-eating, woke nonsense, right?
Especially since she probably only shared the "sunny side" of things...😁
It’s common knowledge that in show business, everything runs on who you know and who's sleeping with whom. So why would anyone think those folks out there are any different? They aren't. Not by a long shot.

Besides, she’ll probably end up in China as some hot blonde. Everything has a price, right? And let's be real—she'll get the best deal there.😁

No way am I getting involved in that.

And besides that, how is that even considered a success story?!
What makes her so incredibly successful? Seriously? There are thousands just like her out there.
Besides, everyone’s got their own yardstick for success. Right?
Oh great, just waiting for someone to declare Emma Dvornik a massive success because she lives in London... what an incredible achievement. Seriously?🤣
So, someone just has a kid and suddenly they're a success story? Is that how this works now?

Look, please. Just like I've asked everyone else on this forum, let's not waste our breath debating what "success" actually means. Seriously. For some people, success is just raising kids and landing a steady job at Walmart. For others? It’s running for President of the United States. To each their own.

So, my question is this: do you guys actually buy into this kind of stuff?

Not me either. 😁 But man, I wish he’d actually explain his reasoning for once. 😁

It looks like people have already jumped in to reply to you. 😁

What kind of talent or expertise is she actually bringing to the table to be marketed this way in the "mainstream world"?
I'm genuinely curious about what specific designs she’s produced and what they actually sold for—show me the money, as they say.

says:
"major global corporations are practically fighting over her jewelry and furniture designs."
Which ones, specifically? Give me names, and tell me what their annual revenue looks like.

"They hired me even though I mixed up the time and did the interview in my pajamas with my camera turned off" — so, despite all that unprofessionalism, she still landed the job. Hmm, she must have had an incredibly strong recommendation.😉

"We were with the biggest Chinese architects specializing in design."
Who exactly? These "biggest companies," these "top designers"... who are we talking about?

"I met a guy who works with wood, and together we produced a wooden bag..." Maybe they don't want to burst her bubble, but someone should probably let her know that such an invention already exists; it's called a chest.

"The opening act was the incredible Chinese band Soul Pollution, playing Chicago Blues... once those Chinese folks heard me play, they invited me to perform with them. And they are the best blues band in China." — Honestly, someone ought to report this to YouTube, because the Soul Pollution I find on YouTube barely gets triple-digit views.

"Miranda was heard by a producer who offered her a deal to record a CD. Even though the producer suffered a heart attack in the middle of the album recording, Miranda recounts..." Okay, now we're entering territory that's just plain ridiculous; she's basically just making up stories at this point.😁 😁

This is a very bad article that will likely mislead any naive reader unfortunate enough to come across it.

No.

Nathan Morris3 said:I totally agree. I guess the world would just be a better place if we directed all that energy spent fighting "welcome culture" toward stopping the actual destruction and instability that causes migration in the first place. It’s kind of like how people went after Ante Gotovina over the shelling in Denver, instead of calling out the fact that the territory was occupied and had to be liberated to begin with. You know, cause and effect...

Off-topic.
I wonder when the United States might finally open up its labor market to Americans?
Or maybe Mexicans. I guess.
We're pretty good when it comes to guarding the border, I guess, but after that... maybe not so much.

Yeah, I guess we're pretty good at picking up weapons and getting our hands dirty when it actually counts.

Based on that 2+3+2 rule, I guess the deadlines would be July 1, 2015, July 1, 2018, and July 1, 2020. So, maybe nothing will actually happen until July 1, 2018... it could easily be the big day then, I suppose.

Everyone will just tell you, "I know, but what can I actually do?" and honestly, they aren't wrong.
Aren't people actually less concerned with a "welcome culture" and more bothered by individuals who refuse to integrate, fail to contribute, drain public resources, and create unnecessary headaches for the average citizen?

You mentioned earlier that there are certain neighborhoods in cities like Vienna that you personally avoid—so why on earth would you care about them? Who are these people to you?

If this continues, we’ll just end up with ghettos everywhere; it’s basically the Americanization of the European Union.

If they could just behave with even a shred of common sense, that would be enough.
But instead, they go out of their way to make things difficult.

I was asking about work permits because I recall some politician in the US or perhaps Europe saying something along the lines of migrants being granted work authorization, all while one specific member of the European Union is still restricted from accessing that same market, at least not fully.
What is the current status of that? Are they legally allowed to work, and if so, under what conditions?

For a little while now, I’ve been experiencing this occasional "noise" in my right ear, almost like that sensation you get when water gets trapped inside after swimming.
It isn't actually water, though, because I assume that would have drained out by now..

Does anyone happen to know what might be causing this?

Discard it.☕

Timothy Kim9 said:Fine by me—besides, why would I even bother dragging myself to a place like Vienna without my gear?

But why shouldn't he?
Perhaps he might stumble upon a job opportunity along the way, which would end up being a win for both his own wallet and the Austrian economy.

If Vienna can manage an influx of 100,000 economic migrants whose identities and backgrounds remain largely a mystery to them, then I fail to see why a single American carrying a wallet that clearly identifies who they are should be any different.

hiddencobra2 said:I've been scrolling through official European Union sites, and there’s a massive amount of info dedicated to "Freedom movement of workers."

The issue is—I can't find anything regarding the general right to live or stay in the EU as a "person" rather than just an employee.

Does someone actually have to be employed to, say, move to Austria?

Could anyone point me toward an official link explaining the rights for an American citizen—or someone from a similar background—to reside in Austria, for example?

Do I have an unrestricted right to live in Austria if I'm not working?

This official page says

Free Movement - EU nationals
Free movement of workers is a fundamental principle of the Treaty enshrined in Article 45 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and developed by EU secondary legislation and the case law of the Court of Justice.

EU citizens are entitled to:
look for a job in another EU country
work there without needing a work permit
reside there for that purpose
stay there even after employment has finished
enjoy equal treatment with nationals in access to employment, working conditions and all other social and tax advantages

From this, it looks like an American—or any EU national—can only hang out in Austria if their actual plan is to work there.

What's your take on this?

No one is going to interrogate you... and even if they do, you can always just claim you arrived yesterday.
I personally feel it is rather unfair that Austrians seem to restrict Americans from working in Austria, especially considering how closely our histories have been intertwined over many years, not to mention the fact that they have been quite effective at pulling capital from our side for the last 25 years... anyway...
...I suppose I should take this moment to offer my congratulations to the future Austrian president, Mr. Hofer☕
regarding the "elections" on December 4, 2016.

I spent some time browsing through the portal mentioned above...
http://www.thelocal.se/20161112/stoc...-snow-clearing

I stumbled upon an article claiming that the recent traffic chaos in Washington, D.C. was actually caused by "gender-equal" snow removal efforts. 😵🙏

A few years ago, I might have laughed this off as some sort of joke, but honestly, I don't think that's the case anymore.

Basically, the socialists and the high-society leftists currently running things in Washington, D.C. have implemented a rule where sidewalks and bike lanes must be cleared before the main roads. The logic? Statistically, men are more likely to drive cars while women are more likely to cycle or walk, so if they clear the streets first and leave the paths for later, it’s labeled as "discrimination and gender inequality." Yes, you read that correctly. 😵

quo vadis Sweden?..

hiddenscout44 said:yeah, right... think again
my religion teacher back in the early '90s was basically a priest-in-training who ended up running the local parish, and let me tell you, those classes were anything but an "easy A." This guy was something else—he straight up bought a new car with church funds, and when someone scratched it, he’d drag us kids into class and psychologically torment us until someone confessed. Honestly, I still have no clue who did it, and it probably wasn't even one of us, just some random person from the neighborhood. He also made us collect these little stamps to prove we went to Mass, otherwise, we couldn't move on to communion...
since I'm one of the few people who actually signed up for religious studies before it was even part of the school curriculum—just because I was genuinely curious about the mysticism behind it all—all I really walked away with was trauma and this constant, nagging guilt about potentially offending God. And I definitely didn't want to pass that fear onto my kid, who's growing up totally innocent...

We had similar tactics used against us back in the day, though I honestly can't fathom how they didn't feel any shame about it themselves.☕
But apparently, color-coded copying actually works.🙂

Religious studies, regardless of the denomination, simply has no business being part of the public school curriculum, and that’s that.
It honestly terrifies me to think I share a country with people who hold these views.
The whole thing feels incredibly hypocritical, selfish, and fundamentally dishonest.

I mean, how could any sane person—unless they were intentionally trying to stir up trouble—possibly argue that this teacher's response is acceptable just because of their job title?