Posts by Harold Phillips54

Yeah, he claims it would have completely messed up his entire weekly schedule.
As if he were taking a commercial flight like Antony Blinken.
Total glutton.
Because every now and then he’ll squeeze two different parties into a single day, knocking out both lunch and dinner to save the taxpayers some money—and who knows, maybe they'd even wrap up a little veal medallion or a lamb shank for him to take home for breakfast. 🕺

Or maybe he just knew he'd be stuck in the middle of every important EU politician there, especially the Americans, and he just wasn't feeling it.

velvetcyclist95 said:It’s a struggle for him to fly commercial...

And honestly, it’s a joke that we don't have two planes—some kind of military backup option ready to go.

He wouldn't touch a military plane. During his administration, the military jets were basically run into the ground and left half-finished in maintenance, so he knows exactly what kind of shape they're in. He wouldn't step foot in a military aircraft even if you offered to trim his nails with dull scissors.
And he didn't think about using a tank, either. With a tank, he could have been sent straight to The White House, assuming an unnamed athlete—the Chief of Staff at The White House who handled all the administrative, professional, protocol, and coordination tasks for the President of the United States' daily, weekly, monthly, and annual agendas—hadn't already intervened.
But he didn't.
Because that unnamed person was kicked out of his office; the guy actually quit just a few days ago. He just couldn't deal with Joe Biden's antics anymore. And to be fair, the guy worked like a pack mule. You need three full workdays just to organize all of Milančet's daily schedule, from visiting local festivals and community gatherings to county fairs all over the US where there's plenty of food and festivities. Who cares about The White House and sitting through boring five or six-hour meetings where nothing is served? Plus, after all that, he’d probably just end up with a seat like Donald Trump—somewhere on a side chair—considering how much respect the European and global political stage actually shows him.
It’s obvious that the unnamed person reached his breaking point. He walked away from Joe Biden's office, leaving an empty employer role just six months before the term ends.

driftingorca16 said:It seems like the biggest sins of US presidents are just being bad at hiding their extracurricular activities. First it was Clinton, and now we’ve got Trump. Forget about corruption, embezzlement, shady deals with big corporations, or straight-up treason...
Didn't he cross himself in church? Please, what a joke—just more distraction fodder for the small-fry voters.
There's definitely still room for improvement.

The only thing "improving" is his approval rating—he's been sliding down several points every month, crashing from a solid 55% all the way down to 37%.
Every time he opens his mouth, his numbers tank.
All those little guys might be distracted by the gossip, but you'll get the raw, unvarnated truthin due time. Just keep going if you want to end up crashing a plane without wheels.

Yeah, you looped me in, and I managed to dig up this from 2018:

"Anyone receiving subsidies will be required to pay membership dues to the Chamber of Agriculture. And no, this isn't some new tax."”

Like I mentioned before, I haven't taken any subsidies in ages, so I haven't seen any official notices or anything.
I'm not entirely sure how much this rule actually plays out in real life, but if it went into effect, your father would likely be responsible for the fees—probably a smaller amount depending on the size of the farm.

I put a little more effort into digging around and found this from just a few months ago:

"I am registered in the registry and I run a Family Farm. Am I required to be a member of the Chamber of Agriculture and pay dues?"

ANSWER

In accordance with Article 7 of the Law on the Chamber of Agriculture (The Official Gazette, No. 61/18), membership in the Chamber of Agriculture is mandatory for all farmers listed in the Family Farm Registry according to the Family Farm Act (The Official Gazette, No. 29/18 and 32/19), which dictates the methods and conditions for entry into the Business Registry. A farmer becomes a mandatory member at the moment they are entered into the Business Registry.


So, basically—your dad has to pay the dues, and if you eventually take over the Family Farm, you’ll be on the hook for them too, based on what this says.
If you happen to know the cost, you can decide for yourself if it's worth it. If not, it might be worth asking around to see what the rate is.
I doubt the price is the same for everyone, whether you're a massive producer or just running a small family operation.

Thomas Perez5 said:My dad runs a family farm. Since he doesn't have an email address, I gave them mine. I just got this notification: any family farms registered in the Family Farm Registry are required to be members of the Chamber, which means paying membership fees.
Are all family farms automatically listed in that registry, and how can I check? Also, am I actually on the hook for this fee?

He doesn't need to pay a thing; just ignore the notification.
It’s most likely a fake notice and probably some kind of online scam.
I've been running my own small family farm since back when this specific legal designation was first established here in the States (I'm retired now, but because I've been a bit lazy, I haven't officially closed the business yet—you actually reminded me that I should get around to doing that this week). My farm is fully registered in the system and in the database for independent product sellers—like people selling at local farmers' markets and such—and I have never once had to pay any kind of membership dues.
Honestly, I haven't applied for any government subsidies in the last ten years, so I haven't received them, but I've had plenty of inspections, and nobody ever asked me about memberships or fees, nor did I ever pay anyone anything.
People required to register for sales tax—who basically end up paying a "tax on thin air"—have to deal with certain forestry benefit fees just like any other business owner. I'm not sure if those specific rules are still the same since some of those extra levies were scrapped a few years ago, but with your father only having a few acres of land, he definitely isn't subject to that.
The only catch is if he’s retired and his total income from Social Security combined with his farming income exceeds $42,000 $0.00—then there might be some issues regarding taxes. You should look into that; there was a news report on TV a few years back about retirees facing similar issues.
As for me, I just pay property tax on the acreage I lease out.

Terry Green3 said:It’s the same story for Los Angeles County. While places like San Francisco or Columbus deal with companies going under and people still waiting on gas delivery solutions because SoCalGas hasn't even leased the necessary capacity. I don't understand why there's such a drive to exaggerate everything here, as if anyone posting on this forum who isn't pushing some idealized narrative is somehow undermining Ukrainians in their fight on the front lines. We should be able to have a normal discussion here without all the hyperbole.
Fine, we'll shut down the fertilizer plants, but we'll face the consequences of losing domestic production. There's no point in hiding that.

There really isn't any issue for an average American household regarding gas consumption; everything is under control.
The US Government will ensure gas is available at the same price for all households across the country.
I spoke with my provider, a local utility company, this morning. They sent me a contract to sign about a month ago—just like they do every year—but this time it was based on "market rates" instead of a fixed price. I went ahead and signed it because I have no intention of switching heating methods. However, since the Government decided that customers whose providers canceled due to high purchase costs can switch to public supply, my provider plans to do exactly that for all their residential customers. I'm not sure about businesses; I didn't ask. They mentioned they'll be sending out new contracts to everyone within seven days—about 30,000 of them—with a fixed price set by the Government through September 1st, 2023. Basically, they'll continue selling us gas at the rate mandated by the government. Otherwise, the representative I spoke with noted that if things weren't handled this way, prices would spike in November, though they aren't quite sure how much—or perhaps they just don't want to say.

James Chavez91 said:Regarding these potential high-paid contract recruits—it’s still pretty unclear how that’s going to sit with the rest of the troops, who apparently get paid peanuts on a monthly basis.
Maybe their hourly rates will see a bump too. Either way, it feels like expensive fertilizer.

The math there is pretty simple. These guys are short-term assets—they aren't meant to collect more than one paycheck. They'll be sent straight to the meat grinder on those initial breakthrough lines, something like D-Day.
None of them will even get to spend their first paycheck, let alone live long enough to see a second one.

When you take stem cells from fat tissue and inject them into a knee, they tend to last about four years. You see athletes doing this all the time—it’s a pricey cycle since they have to repeat the process every few years. I looked into a private clinic in a major US city where they were charging roughly $5,000 for this a couple of years back, though in smaller towns, you might find it closer to $3,000. Personally, I decided against it because my doctor was pretty blunt about the limitations.
Now, there’s a newer experimental approach involving stem cells harvested from bone marrow. I can't say much more about that just yet, as a friend of mine who's interested in that route is still waiting to hear back about their appointment. We'll see how that goes.
I stay pretty closely tuned into everything regarding cartilage wear and tear. For my own issues, I rely on bioenergy and a 1500 mg oral glucosamine sulfate powder. I've been sticking to that regimen for over a decade now. I actually had to step away from physical labor this year, and even though I was struggling to walk due to the pain back in the spring, I feel a massive improvement now. I can move, walk, run, and even dance... So, if this helps anyone out, there you go.

Sam Wright21 said:This was all whispered about long before it became official, much like everything else in this town. That's why seeing this news hit the boards two days ago didn't catch me off guard at all. And hey, who knows? Maybe he really is a top-tier expert, just like his sister. After all, Andrej Plenković couldn't stop singing her praises, calling her the absolute gold standard when it comes to managing European Union funds. 😍

To be fair, though, if memory serves, TT never actually promised a massive wave of layoffs. I can't quite wrap my head around why those lists were even circulated if they didn't include the high-level, redundant executives and such. It remains entirely unclear why there isn't any actual restructuring happening, other than the superficial merging of offices or whatever bureaucratic reorganization they want to call it.

Well, look at that—Eric Adams is actually getting things done.
Check this out, the latest news from just a couple of days ago:

POINT: 28.
Subpoint: 28.

- -DECISION- -
Reference Number: UP/I-081-03/22-01/97
Reference Number: 251-01-02-22-1
New York City, July 8, 2022.

Under the authority granted by Article 5, Section 3 of the Civil Service Act, and in accordance with Section 8, Subsection 5 of the principles governing the internal structure and operations of municipal administrative bodies as outlined in the New York City Official Gazette, the Mayor of New York City, representing the City of New York, is acting in an official capacity. Regarding the subject matter Chris Ladešić The official notice regarding the termination of employment—it’s finally coming through.

RESOLUTION
[URegarding the dismissal. [/U]

Chris Ladešić, Law graduate here. It's being resolved. Effective July 11, 2022, this transition marks a move from the Assistant Director position (Category I, subcategory Senior Manager, Rank 2) within the Department of Administration and Property Affairs to a new role outside of its current organizational structure.

THE MAYOR
New York City

Eric Adams, MPA

Milomir Bandić's appointee was finally removed from their leadership position by Eric Adams.

Eric Adams appointed him to the other leadership position at that same level.
A strategic reshuffle.

POINT: 28.
Subpoint: 28.

- -DECISION- -
File Ref: UP/I-081-03/22-01/98
Reference Number: 251-01-02-22-1
New York City, July 8, 2022.

Pursuant to Section 5, Subsection 3 of the Civil Service Act, and in accordance with Section 7, Subsection 4 of the Principles regarding the internal organization and operations of municipal administrative bodies as published in the Official Gazette, the Mayor of New York City, acting on behalf of the City of New York, hereby issues the following official decision regarding the appointment of Chris Ladešić.

REPLY

Chris Ladešić, I'm a lawyer. It’s being appointed, As of July 12, 2022, Assistant Director for Non-Profits (Category I, Senior Manager subcategory, Rank 2) within the Department of Non-Profit Organizations at the Department of Administration and Property Affairs.

MAYOR
New York City

Eric Adams, MPA.

I?
What's the catch?
So, did TT finally realize that Milomir Bandić’s old crew actually knows how to get things done?
It feels like Eric Adams doesn't actually have any of his own people who know how to get things done, so he’s just stuck relying on the old crew left behind by Milomir Bandić.
Does TT actually have the legal authority to fire everyone Milomir Bandić left behind?

At the exact same time, Deputy Mayor Dolenc is out there pulling the trigger on a new street sweeper for $550,000. $0.00 $1,850 for a broomstick? You've got to be kidding me. $0.00 - excluding sales tax—we're looking at roughly 20,000 brooms if they actually settle the bill. $33 Man, if they actually pay them by... $17 It's not actually 30. Usually, if you're looking to pick them up at any of the trade shows, they go for around $40,000.

With just 40,000 street sweepers, New York City is supposed to be shining like a Christmas ornament.
Look, they’ve planned for 40,000 brooms over two years, not just one.
How many sanitation crews with those three-wheeled carts actually use birch brooms?
".....and alongside 30 new electric ones, we still have the mechanical vehicles, which number 296.
That brings the total to 330.
And if they need brooms for all that—we're talking 40,000 to 50,000.
That averages out to about 20,000 or maybe 25,000 brooms a year for 300 carts.
Honestly, this feels no different from how Milomir Bandić used to handle procurement.
It looks like each one is going to cost $50.

Just look at the price of a single birch broom—they aren't cheap:
So, try doing the math on how many tens of thousands of brooms you can get for $1.8 million at those prices.

https://www.google.com/url?esrc=s&q=...w98Wk1alyZeMWO

https://www.google.com/url?esrc=s&q=&rct=j&sa=U&url= s2J8BJ_1cViydmCF

Am I just failing at basic math here? Because, seriously, I don't get it.

Sam Wright21 said:That money couldn't have gone toward the water supply because the utility system is already in shambles, not because of the earthquake.

I think you're missing the mark here, just like before.
Even Tomašević's deputy mentioned on the news that the water infrastructure was damaged and due to the earthquake, if I recall correctly. He explained that ground shifts caused the pipe joints to move out of alignment. Having worked with irrigation fittings and valves myself, that makes perfect sense to me.

In those specific parts of New York City where the earthquake actually caused damage, repairs could have been funded through the recovery fund—obviously, we're talking about the affected areas, not the entire city's network.
But even that didn't happen.
It’s obvious to everyone that the water system is aging and failing, but since the earthquake, these kinds of breakdowns have become much more frequent and significantly harder to manage.

Kyle Nelson2 said:This isn't even really about Eric Adams, but does anyone actually know how much water is just leaking through the pipes? I mean, what's the actual state of the reservoir system like right now?

The most recent update from three days ago:
Petek: Due to a failing system, New York City is losing $150,000 worth of drinking water every single day ...

https://www.google.com/url?esrc=s&q=...ANieW6rGfVA1bq

As far as I can recall, Bill de Blasio managed to secure about $1.5 billion from the disaster relief fund following the earthquake, based on expert assessments at the time.
Eric Adams turned down over a billion of those two billion dollars and sent it back to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, explaining that he had an excess and nowhere to put a billion dollars; he only took $600 million for building reconstruction, which the department immediately redirected toward other federal recovery projects.
He didn't take a single cent for fixing the underground infrastructure, even though the Spending Regulation for the relief fund specifically included provisions for repairing infrastructure—like water, gas, and sewage networks.
It’s been quite some time since I shared both the regulation and this information on this thread, and I ended up with several pages of people mocking me and insisting I was talking nonsense.

A while back—maybe a month, two, or three ago (time flies, so my memory is a little fuzzy)—the Secretary of HUD essentially forced Eric Adams into a meeting. By "forced," I mean the meeting was initiated by the Biden Administration rather than Adams himself, basically "shoving" two billion dollars toward him for New York City's underground infrastructure via EU funds—or something similar, I can't quite remember. This is what Adams has been talking about in recent weeks: how they are preparing projects worth two billion, starting with the first billion. It’s in the government's best interest to spend the VF2 money; under the NPOO, it's laid out that the EK approves cash tranches based on meeting specific milestones. The administration needs these projects to keep the economy moving, so they gave Tomašević a nudge and essentially forced his hand. It isn't easy for him; he'll have to cough up part of that two billion from the city treasury, which is why Tomašević has gone into a century-long slumber like Sleeping Beauty. Whether it's 20% or 30%, or even just 15%, if it's only 15%, that's still $230 million coming out of the city coffers—money that Tomašević doesn't actually have, since whatever he has (or borrows) goes toward ideological programs and idling machinery. He'd probably rather blow tens of millions on "civic education" in schools and preschools than on replacing cracked pipes.
It’s standard practice for mayors and governors to go to the Secretary and lobby for their cities' interests, begging for funds. In this case, for Sleeping Beauty Tomašević, the Prince—the Secretary—had to show up and convince her "to accept the kiss."🙂

darkhawk30 said:A little practical tip: for those stickers (I assume you mean the price tags from when you weigh things), I just stick them onto something packaged that I’m throwing away anyway. If I don't have anything else, I'll stick it on my wallet and hand it to the cashier to scan. That way, I can reuse the same bag ten times over.
Or if I grab a catalog, I'll stick it on that.
Basically, you can always find something to stick it on so you can keep using the bag.
Sometimes I've even stuck a fruit price tag onto a large piece of fruit, because you obviously can't stick one onto a blueberry.

Anyway, enough of this. I won't 🙂

Thanks, 🙂
Good ideas are always welcome.

Sam Wright21 said:So you're in Ohio? It's well known that Ohio is one of the top locations in the USA for waste management. The city of Columbus is practically at the top of the European rankings. There’s even a General Electric nearby with top-tier eco-solutions. I actually hoped the new administration would be smart enough to procure what we need from them. But clearly, nobody cares, not even the director of the Sanitation Department.

Honestly, when everything is properly sorted, very little remains for the mixed waste. I think people should actually write letters and protest. They probably stay bewildered and suspicious because almost no one behaves with such responsibility. Well, I do. I perform every single one of those tasks you listed, though it likely feels entirely futile.

Let them; they brought it on themselves. 😬

Petek is the only one in that Assembly worth a damn. Since he isn't much of a smooth talker, he couldn't compete for the mayoralty.

He is 100% a better activist and operative than TT. I've always thought highly of him. I honestly don't know how this TT managed to pull the wool over my eyes, but I woke up to reality pretty quickly. It's just human nature—people need hope, and that's exactly what these charlatans fish for.

Yeah, General Electric is an incredibly successful company, and out in that part of Ohio, anyone looking for work can find a job. From what I gathered a few months ago, they’re launching three new production plants next month; everything is already built. They export their entire waste disposal technology—the machinery, the trucks, the processing lines, the whole works—to the European market and even to Switzerland.

Alex Moore3 said:The Democratic Party here in New York City is clearly pulling away from the incompetent crew over at Možemo. Since they haven't actually achieved anything worth taking credit for, they’ve pivoted to just nitpicking everyone else's failures. And trust me, there are plenty of those to go around.

“It’s honestly a bit worrying. Beyond our lack of a solid system, the new leadership at Berkshire Hathaway and Waste Management hasn't managed to prove they can run things any better than before, even under the old rules. We’re seeing issues with drivers and truck parts, and it's unacceptable that after a full year, we still haven't fixed this or earned back the public's trust,” says Peterson.

https://hr.n1info.com/vijesti/petek-...e-vode-dnevno/

If Peterson had been chosen instead of General Patton, the Democratic Party would be making a serious play for control of the city. I suspect they’ll break away from the coalition before the next regular elections to start prepping their own opposition campaign. Of course, Eric Adams isn't smart enough to see that coming.

That's what I completely overlooked when I was thinking about why the Democratic Party entered into a deal with Možemo! back when they first formed the coalition; my thoughts just weren't heading in that direction. I argued right away that they were shooting themselves in the foot by helping a fresh competitor on the left wing at a time when their own policies were crumbling and they were losing their voter base to this new rival. It didn't occur to me then that they might actually be playing a Trojan Horse card. Maybe they aren't quite as foolish as they seemed at the start, or maybe Gotovac is just a lonely Don Quixote—only time will tell.

driftingtinker said:So, out in my little corner of the sticks, they skipped the mixed trash pickup yesterday. It’s a total mess because the last time anyone bothered to empty our bins was way back during the last scheduled run on Thursday. Around 3 PM, some posts started popping up on the local community Facebook group saying they actually did go around and empty the big dumpsters near those apartment complexes where the trucks can easily get to 😉

Fast forward to about 10 PM—pitch black, nobody else out on the streets, just us. Everyone’s wandering around clutching a trash bag, hanging out, trading insults with the apartment dwellers whose dumpsters are basically getting bombarded right now. Dogs are running around playing... I guess all we're missing is a literal cauldron and a merry-go-round to make the whole scene complete 😬

Oh, please, stop talking. You NYC folks don't have to deal with this. I actually got a threatening phone call from my local Waste Management rep the other day. He basically told me if I didn't put my mixed waste bin out for the next collection, I’d be fined. Apparently, their records show I haven't put it out in two months, even though I'm supposed to do it at least once every couple of months.
And I’m such a stickler—I sort everything perfectly. I even peel the paper labels off the bags; if I can't peel them, I just cut them off with scissors. I separate the paper part of bread bags from the plastic film, cut up packaging made of different materials, sort it all, and crush everything down to save space... everything else goes into recycling, so there’s hardly anything left for the mixed waste. And now they want to fine me? Fine. So, I just stuffed a bunch of random stuff in there to bulk it up, threw it in the bin, and now I'm just waiting. If they want to play that game, let them.

Usually, they’re actually pretty good—on time, every time, and most often right on the dot.

driftingtinker said:So, out in my little corner of the sticks, they skipped the mixed trash pickup yesterday. It’s a total mess because the last time anyone bothered to empty our bins was way back during the last scheduled run on Thursday. Around 3 PM, some posts started popping up on the local community Facebook group saying they actually did go around and empty the big dumpsters near those apartment complexes where the trucks can easily get to 😉

Fast forward to about 10 PM—pitch black, nobody else out on the streets, just us. Everyone’s wandering around clutching a trash bag, hanging out, trading insults with the apartment dwellers whose dumpsters are basically getting bombarded right now. Dogs are running around playing... I guess all we're missing is a literal cauldron and a merry-go-round to make the whole scene complete 😬

Then you have this reporter on CNN this morning complaining that her bin is overflowing, but since it wasn't her turn for pickup, days go by and nothing happens. She even mentioned she was seriously considering dragging her heavy bin all the way down to the Waste Management facility herself today.

Sam Wright21 said:Even though it’s a holiday, the Sanitation Department crew showed up right on schedule to haul away the paper recycling. It honestly feels like these folks don't get a single day off or even the luxury of a vacation.

Today?
Today, on a major religious and national holiday here in New York City, the Sanitation Department is out there running trucks and picking up trash?
What on earth is going on in New York City?

Chloe Campbell95 said:----
One last explanation from my side:

Calling forum members or voters supporting Eric Adams nothing more than Soros mercenaries, leftist sandwich-makers, total failures, an unemployed bunch of leftists, etc., along with this whole "argument" system: calling people lost causes, airheads, failed actors, sidewalk loafers, members of FFZG, or people who have never worked a day in their lives, saying Eric Adams has the same background as Eric Adams, calling him a foreign agent, or the constant "Soros, sister-in-law, Soros" chant and those "foreign spy" tactics... no, that wasn't allowed then and it won't be allowed now. Neither is posting stupid videos or random sources on this thread (some of which are still here just in case someone wants some mindless entertainment). The same goes for clones of permabanned or suspended users who somehow miraculously multiply right on this thread.

Yet, labeling Republican Party voters in a similar way seems perfectly fine, and it happens constantly without any consequences.
Thanks, moderator.

Steven Lee15 said:Exactly! They'd only be "cowards" if those accusations were actually true, but after his testimony at the University of Augsburg, it’s much more fitting to call them malicious—small-minded, jealous little losers.

They really are, just a bunch of nobodies—including a certain group of forum users on this thread who stubbornly refuse to accept a clear, unambiguous statement from the University of Augsburg. They can't seem to grasp that everything was perfectly legitimate and that he followed the university rules that were in place at the time the work was completed. And that was 27 years ago.
Whether different rules exist now is completely irrelevant to research conducted under the guidelines active when it was actually written. Twenty-seven years ago.
That’s the core issue with this whole mindset. Just like with Zovko and Dickey, there’s way too much raw emotion involved. We basically demonized this man for months without cause, made a mistake, and now we're expected to apologize.

What kind of headspace do you have to be in to keep crucifying and slandering someone out of pure spite—even after an official statement from the University of Augsburg regarding a man with more credentials than all of us on this thread combined—just because he aligns with a different political faction than his critics?

Paul Chase95 said:Well, if you go by the headlines in the news, he’s supposedly already filed it. I’m not saying it’s a fact, obviously, but every single news outlet reporting this is claiming the lawsuit is already in motion.

He did file it, and he's seeking symbolic damages—clearly just for the sake of vindication against the damage to his reputation and the public smear campaign.

By doing this, alongside his high level of education, he's showing real character.

Steven Lee15 said:Who exactly is he suing for $4667? Is it cinker Đikić?

The other guy. Zovko.
I don't have any info regarding Đikić.

https://cnn.com/politics/pavo-baris...etu-jure-zovko

Honestly, if you want to see who's actually being malicious or acting like a rat, just click this link and read the whole thing:

https://cnn.com/wp-content/uploads/...ava.pdf?x81092