Alex Moore6 said:I got shut down. 😢 I didn't say anything wrong. She’s cute, totally normal, and just brutally honest. She actually offered to buy me coffee to thank me for my effort, but she's still hung up on her ex and isn't looking for anything serious. I respect the honesty. I’m persistent, so I even asked if there was a chance for something else later, which just landed me straight in the friend zone. And man, I really liked her.
Bringing up heavy stuff like relationships and exes on a first coffee date? Yeah, you were basically asking to get rejected. You have to build trust first, and since she doesn't know you, she probably suggested meeting somewhere crowded for a reason. Start with low-stakes small talk so she can actually gauge interest. Once that's established, then you make your move... 😁
Benjamin King2 said:Look, if a country wants to go out and borrow money on the bond market, investors need to know one thing: creditworthiness. They don't want to get burned by lending cash to someone who won't be able to pay them back. So, they turn to rating agencies to track market movements and assess risk—that’s just the mechanism at play here. Now, you can absolutely question the objectivity of those numbers—since, let's face it, the very entities being rated are the ones funding the rating agencies—but we are talking about estimates, not some divine truth etched in stone. If politicians decide to act like drunken billionaires, you can't exactly blame the agency when their rating drops and they suddenly can't service their debts, right?
And for the record, a rating agency isn't a bank—let's not confuse the two.
The US actually had its rating downgraded to AA+ nearly six months ago. 🙂
But those exact same agencies have their hands right in the gears, influencing how the market moves. So we're just running in circles again, aren't we?
silverraven7 said:Look, America already ships a massive amount of goods over to Western, capitalist nations anyway, so they don't even really need the Non-Aligned bunch!🙂
Look, we should be leveraging that privilege somehow. There are other European nations roughly our size that aren't even members or observers, yet here we are with a seat at the table. It’s not like having this status hurts us—nobody is forcing us to pick between the EU or the Non-Aligned Movement. So why would we just kick ourselves out and walk away from the deal?
frozendrifter7 said:As a member of the NATO alliance and a nearly established part of the EU, the US—well, let's look at the US context here—an American nation in our position has absolutely no business hanging around at a political gathering for the "Non-Aligned."
I don't see why we should avoid it. It’s not like joining the Non-Aligned movement means walking away from NATO or the EU, nor does it mess with what everyone in this country is actually chasing: full European integration. Honestly, just showing up could be a net positive. There's no downside here.
Need some advice here. A colleague and I are looking at starting a small business together as partners. My question is: do we both have to shell out roughly $500 each in taxes/contributions, or is there some other way to handle things when you're running a partnership?
I’m bumping this thread because I need some advice. About a month ago, my mom's neurologist put her on Aspirin100 every single day. She’s dealing with inflammation in her vestibular system, and the doc figured the Aspirin would help boost her circulation. She’s been taking it every morning alongside her other meds for a month now, but a couple of days ago, she noticed blood in her stool.
Obviously, your mind immediately jumps to the absolute worst-case scenario—like colon cancer. She went to see her GP, who basically guessed it might just be internal hemorrhoids without doing any real testing. The doctor prescribed some pills, suppositories, and an ointment for a ten-day course before she follows up again. That said, I’ve been doing some digging online and saw that Aspirin can actually cause both visible and occult GI bleeding. Realistically, how likely is it to cause bleeding after just a month of daily Aspirin use? Can Aspirin actually be the culprit in a situation like this?
melloworca6 said:Regarding the ER, I’d personally fine patients who show up for absolute nonsense when they aren't actually sick. Like those cases you mentioned—someone walks in with a 100-degree fever and expects to be rushed to surgery.
Everyone knows what an emergency is and what isn't. If you have diarrhea for one day or a mild fever, you aren't dying; just go see your primary care doctor. And honestly, we should penalize hypochondriacs too. If you won't see a therapist, then deal with the bill when everything turns out perfectly fine.
And don't even get me started on oncology patients waiting forever for chemo or surgery; it makes me sick seeing how our healthcare system works. 😢 We act like we're the USA, but it's basically "if you have the cash, you get treated; if you don't, you're out of luck." 👎
I'm with you. False alarms need to be strictly penalized because that behavior puts actual lives at risk. People like that should probably be forced into treatment.
dustymarlin10 said:Since we're already going in circles about these "cases," let me throw one my way. A dear family member was diagnosed with breast cancer back in August of last year. They were scheduled for surgery in September 2011!!!!!!!! By then, if they were even still alive, the cancer would’ve spread everywhere. Once we finally made enough noise, a "free slot" magically appeared and she was operated on within three weeks. After that, she went through radiation therapy, which was supposed to start in November 2011.
Pretty damn smart, right?
That’s horrific—total negligence toward patients—but unfortunately, it’s not an isolated incident. What do you even do in situations like this? File private lawsuits against the people responsible for neglecting folks who actually need medical care? Or just keep flooding the media with these stories until Milinović stops grinning like an idiot every time he starts bragging about healthcare reforms?
I'm seeing plenty of stories just like this one, or even worse, though I know some people have had decent luck. Look, I’m not trying to trash the whole medical system—I know there are incredible doctors and nurses out there—but these kinds of screw-ups are totally inexcusable.
If certain cities are seriously short on ambulances, why doesn't the Department of Health just buy enough vehicles to actually meet the needs of the public? We all pay into the system, after all. And honestly, I think most of us would much rather see that money pumped back into healthcare instead of being wasted on building some fancy new sports arena or whatever. If we don't have enough teams to respond to every emergency call, is the Employment Office really so empty that they can't find anyone to hire?
I’m no expert on how this stuff works, but common sense tells me this is broken and something has to change.
I wasn't sure where to dump this thread, so I'm dropping it here. Mods, feel free to move this to a more appropriate subforum if you think it belongs somewhere else.
I’m starting this because of some pretty messed up stories regarding emergency services failing to show up. A friend of mine was telling me about a situation involving her mom a few days ago—her mom started feeling dizzy and just collapsed on the floor. She managed to get her onto a bed, and in a total panic, she called 911, only to be told, "Ma'am, we don't have enough ambulances available to get to you right now." Luckily, it turned out to be nothing life-threatening—probably just a drop in blood pressure or something—but at that moment, nobody knew how bad things actually were. We live in Cleveland.
The second case involves my girlfriend. She lives about 15-12 miles miles outside of Cleveland, so any emergency help has to come from the city since her town doesn't have its own units. She had a nightmare experience when her grandmother suffered a mild stroke. She called 911, and the first thing they asked was "is the woman mobile?" (I mean, how "mobile" is an 88-year-old woman who just had a stroke?). Instead of sending an ambulance, they basically told her to throw her in the car and drive her to the hospital herself.
I haven't had to deal with them personally yet, but hearing these stories honestly shocked me. It's a joke how our healthcare system operates. I want to hear your experiences—are these just isolated incidents, or is it standard practice that they only roll up when someone is literally dying on the floor?
If we actually want to take down Poland, something fundamental has to change in how we play, and honestly, I don't think one day is enough time to fix the core issues. Beyond just playing well, you need composure, massive confidence, and actual chemistry on the court. I’m worried our guys have none of that right now. You earn that stuff by beating heavy hitters, but we’ve been getting rolled lately—and it hasn't even been close, despite what Goluža says about it being "just a matter of inches." So, personally, I'm feeling pretty pessimistic heading into this game. Anything other than a Poland win would be a total shocker.
Honestly, you guys calling yourselves "politicians" is a joke if you're actually shocked that Albanians want Greater Albania. It’s like opening a thread asking if a kid wants to be with their mom, and then everyone acts surprised when the debate starts about how the kid obviously wants to be with their mom. 🙄
dustypuma5 said:Wondering where I can pick up some Škija in NYC and what the damage is going to be.
Not interested in all those cheap mixtures and junk tobacco, just looking for the real deal (preferably the Herzegovinian kind).
What's the deal with those budget brands from the South? If you want my advice, just go with ELAN. They aren't bad at all, especially if you're just starting out.
Fak's decision makes sense. Bringing up other athletes and asking why they didn't act the same way is just stupid—we aren't all cut from the same cloth, and some people actually have a backbone. A better comparison would be how the Canadians recognized a world-class athlete even when he wasn't producing results right before the Olympics, while Americans failed to do the same. The US Olympic Committee is doing its usual thing: reacting and washing its hands of everything only after an athlete makes a splash on the international stage, then acting shocked when that same athlete finally says, "enough is enough." Fak serves as a warning that not everyone will be this patient or reasonable, especially since they weren't being reasonable back when the athlete was just a nobody. Something needs to change, and fast.
Jacob showed that he stuck by the core group of people who believed in his talent from day one, rather than the crowd that only shows up to kiss his ass once he's famous. That’s not how it works. Respect to Jacob for staying human.