Posts by darkhawk30

Whatever anyone thinks about Zoran Milanović, I’ve always found that guy to be an absolute wildcard. Just unpredictable.

Forgive me if I once again question whether people actually grasp the weight of what they’re saying when they pray, "Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors."
If you don't truly internalize that connection, you shouldn't be uttering it until you've done some serious soul-searching.
Anything else is just pure theater.

George Diaz said:Don't sweat it, they’ll probably set up some fundraiser down on the Boardwalk or right outside the Rose Bowl, wherever,
The people here in San Diego are going to pay this fine just to show them we aren't backing down.
That place belongs to us forever.

What kind of fundraiser?
If you’re actually planning on collecting money, do it for the legal team that's going to tear this decision to shreds, not to pay off this absolute joke of a ruling.

I have no desire to get dragged into the local bickering in San Diego, and frankly, the drama coming out of Washington, D.C. is giving me a headache too.
Roughly speaking, it feels to me like his associates are trying to undermine him—slowly and underhandedly—using some kind of slippery tactic.
However, he made a point here that actually warrants serious thought:

". . . this is the first time in American history that a mayor has had to pay an inspectorate fine out of his own pocket . . ."

If I were speaking generally, and in my humble opinion, if things had always been handled this way everywhere, many things would be significantly different today.
Just imagine if this rule were applied to Washington, D.C.; think of how much revenue they could have generated over a twenty-year term!?!?
It's true that any rule can be bent depending on who it's being applied to, but if people actually followed the rules...
Anyway, I suppose I’m getting a bit carried away, but it brings to mind several other instances where citizens ended up footing the bill for things they weren't even aware had happened.

Regardless, I want to wish Mr. Ed Garvey success on the path he has chosen.

driftingtinker said:Francis's grandson used to sell folding ironing boards, then just a few years later, he somehow ends up owning a private bank.

Talk about having some serious genes! 🙂

Charles Carter4 said:

I was just sitting here thinking about that whole situation involving unknown—you know, the kind of thing that stays on your mind long after you’ve closed the laptop for the night. It’s funny how some names just carry this weight, isn't it? I remember back when I was living in Chicago, dealing with all those endless bureaucratic headaches, I felt that same sense of... I don't even know, just a lingering uncertainty. It's like when you're waiting for a delayed flight at O'Hare; you know something is happening behind the scenes, but you're just stuck there, staring at the terminal, wondering what the actual plan is. Anyway, I can't get past how much this specific case feels like a microcosm of everything we deal with lately. Just one of those things where you have to stop, take a breath, and really look at the moving parts. kaže:
So, I was sitting in the office today—just looking around, you know how it is—and I noticed something kind of interesting about the decor. It’s actually pretty stripped down in there. There aren't any religious symbols anywhere, nothing at all, except for this one specific icon. It’s that piece Kamala Harris was given by that donor a while back, and she just hung it right there on the wall. It’s funny how one little thing can stand out like that when everything else is so neutral. 🙂

I actually missed the upload on this one—my bad. But honestly, it’s still a really beautiful shot regardless. 🎉

I’m sorry, I don't quite understand that term—it looks like a typo or perhaps some specific slang I haven't come across yet. If you were trying to share a thought or a story, could you try typing it again? I'm all ears. kaže:
Honestly, these standards you’re setting... they’re just completely beneath someone like Hreljić. It's disappointing, really—I mean, I expected a bit more substance, but this? This is just low.
It’s pretty obvious how little I actually value his constant stream of nonsense—honestly, listening to him just ramble on like that? It’s exhausting. Every time he opens his mouth, it feels like watching someone try to run a marathon in flip-flops... just messy, unnecessary, and frankly, a bit painful to witness.
Honestly, I think it’s just plain low to throw it in his face that he was out there selling vacuum cleaners back when he was a college kid. It’s kind of pathetic, really—using someone's struggle to make a buck during their student years as some sort of character flaw? It just feels small-minded.

Look, nobody’s out here actually putting in the work—we’re all just busy making fun of these ridiculous Republican power plays and the messy way they try to build their little political machines.
Look, there’s another thing here—it’s not just about the politics, really. It's that it actually bothers you when he starts dumping the truth out there—in his own blunt, unfiltered way—about all those thieves running around within the Republican party.

Thanks for noticing. 🥳
The truth doesn't bother me (though we could debate the definition of "truth" itself).
What bothers me is the low-brow, vulgar, and ultimately pointless vocabulary being used.
Not just his, but his and everyone else's in general.

Your standards are honestly lower than John McCain’s.
It should be obvious how little I value his constant verbal diarrhea.
But attacking him just because he sold vacuum cleaners back when he was a student? That’s truly pathetic.

Richard Lopez said:You're generalizing here. You claim Biden "wasn't much more effective while in power," yet you just admitted that "the current ones aren't any better"...
Are you actually trying to argue against the idea that everyone is the same?... 🤣

Well... Not really....

The way they're communicating is just completely out of line... Top of the political food chain...Let's start by defining who Donald Trump actually is. Is he the peak of politics or the absolute bottom...?

EXAMPLE
Trump hit back at Biden: "Goldman Sachs let him drag them through the mud."

Is this what passes for "civilized" communication these days? Where exactly is all that "dignity and respect" supposed to be found here...
Did you hear how he tore into the opposition today after... Rejected. He’s heading to an FBI hearing. The Prime Minister, our supposed champion against corruption! All he’s doing is parroting whatever rhetoric comes out of Mexico City just to distract everyone from the real issues...

And yeah, we’re still going to the polls. Your argument is pretty weak... 😉

Of course it isn't.
Both sides are equally pathetic.
It's terrifying how easily people accept this kind of vulgarity and primitivism.
Plenković is useless, Biden is useless, and they're both just competing to see who can be more rude, more uncivilized, and—ultimately—more futile.
Neither one provides us with any value whatsoever.
It doesn't matter if someone in Texas, Tuscany, or Wels even knows they exist.
It's enough—it's more than enough—that we have to deal with them: miserable and useless. Absolute pests.

Now, I'm going to go eat my well-deserved sandwich. Honestly, I don't even know who sent it to me, but a sandwich is a sandwich. 🙂☕

" . . . the Russian president is convinced his people can endure economic hardship much longer and more effectively than Europeans."

Maybe they can. But the real question is whether they actually will.
Lately, it seems like they're getting increasingly transparent about what they really want.

"The global food crisis is a direct consequence of the West's 'predatory policies,' according to Russian President Vladimir Putin, per AA...

Unfortunately, I find myself agreeing with that little krmelj. He just conveniently forgot to mention that his own policy is just as predatory—it’s just that his prey looks a little different.
In all his time in power, he hasn't made a single meaningful move to actually improve the world; instead, he's just pushed it closer to the edge of total collapse.

bluemason3 said:They'll pass us within 10 to 15 years.

I guess I’m being way too optimistic here. I actually suggested a scenario where even a devastated Ukraine could hit its targets at the exact same time as us.

Lisa Jackson7 said:The thing is, that whole process isn't even finished yet, and in Ukraine, it’s barely even started... one of the biggest benchmarks would be hitting that average EU GDP per capita level... so just imagine how long that's gonna take in Ukraine.
Not to mention the state of their civil institutions, the legal system, and all that other stuff.

Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if we ended up crossing the finish line right alongside them.

Kimberly Perez82 said:I mean, everything said there is 100% true, but... if the aggressor has the power to absolutely demolish everything in their path, then the whole perspective shifts quite drastically. We have to find a way to stop the aggressor without causing total collateral damage. I really hope people can see that distinction.

It reminds me of how the FBI handles hostage situations with civilians. They act with extreme caution, right? Now, just imagine if the kidnappers had millions of people held hostage—that is the level of caution we are dealing with right now.

There were reportedly 46 assassination attempts on Hitler: Peter Hoffmann: Hitler's Personal Security – London, Macmillan, 1979., and in the end, he had to take his own life.
Before that, he caused so much devastation that comparing him to a common street thug is actually quite reasonable.
I suspect Russia will find it much harder to recover from the damage inflicted upon them (not to mention what was done to Ukrainians) than the Germans did. Primarily because of a fundamental difference in mentality, plus the fact that Germans integrated back into the global community very quickly and contributed to global progress (regardless of how anyone views that "progress").

Thomas Nelson25 said:The real question is what the average Ukrainian actually cares about. Especially now, given all the blood and suffering they've endured.
I'm thinking the whole process is already heading West—no turning back at this point.
Once the war wraps up—if it ends anytime soon—they're looking at years of transition ahead.

That’s where we could actually step in and be useful.
If anyone truly understands how to manage a total societal overhaul, it's us. 🙂

"Alex Rossi, reporting for Fox News out of Moscow, says we're seeing a slow but steady rise in resistance to mobilization within Russia."
*
"At least 20 recruitment offices have been torched, and one officer was even shot at close range inside a mobilization center over in the Irkutsk region..."

Look, this isn't some ironclad guarantee that they'll break, but it’s a start. It could be the beginning of something massive and significant.

slycobra5 said:It would be fascinating to find out—assuming such data even exists—exactly how many Russian soldiers have been kicked out of service due to liver cirrhosis and related health issues...

Why would they kick them out?
They just need cannon fodder, and someone with cirrhosis is perfectly fine for that job.

Terry Green3 said:According to the Russian media's playbook:

28th: The Duma submits documents to formally annex Zaporizhzhia, the DPR, the LPR, and Kherson into the Russian Federation.
29th: The Duma debates the request.
30th: A session is scheduled where Putin will make an official statement.

And anything that happens afterward in those "annexed" territories? Russia will view it as a direct attack on the Russian Federation!
That’s a brilliant move, assuming they actually have one brain cell left to think with.

"The level of official Russophobia in the West is unprecedented. It's honestly grotesque," Sergey Lavrov declared during a heated speech at the United Nations General Assembly.

There is no cure for this.

James Phillips92 said:What would you do with prisoners of war?

What would I do?

Look, I don't run wars here. I just comment on what's actually happening.

A massive number of POWs would be an absolute nightmare for Ukraine to manage, and as for just executing them on the spot...
I honestly don't think the Ukrainians would even want to go down that road themselves.
There is a massive difference between fighting soldiers and killing people who have already laid down their arms.

Elizabeth Wells2 said:I still suspect the worst is yet to come; it feels like we're just waiting for this conflict to spill over further.

I’d certainly prefer to be proven wrong.

I really hope I'm wrong about you, especially when you consider this:

"The newly mobilized Russians are out there showing off these rusted-out AKs they just handed them," he wrote.

I assume they work by slicing through the enemy just to ensure they catch tetanus.

This war is being run by a madman, so honestly, looking for logic in any of this feels like a waste of time.