Kimberly Perez82 said:I can wrap my head around the sheer irrationality coming from Russia lately—honestly, we’ve become almost numb to it at this point—but I am completely baffled by the logic on the American side. They are still pushing forward with plans to send massive shipments of weaponry into the occupied Donbas even after its annexation by Russia, which just invites the accusation that the US is launching a direct assault on Russian soil. It feels incredibly reckless. According to CNN, the forecasts are looking pretty grim; for the first time, they are openly acknowledging the possibility of nuclear war and have briefed "the world and their member states" about it. I mean, seriously, what on earth are they thinking? Why keep flooding that region with arms when it's clear the people in charge have lost their grip on reality and reason has completely flown out the window? Shouldn't the priority be trying to de-escalate the situation instead of pouring gasoline on the fire?
Joshua Myers432 said:The text stated that nations have the right to secede, not individual republics. It also explicitly noted (though people love to play deaf to this part) that borders could only be altered if all the republics agreed.
But rights are subjective; everyone interprets them to suit their own agenda, and they only respect the law when it works in their favor. Regardless, we did the right thing by walking away from that twisted mess we were forced into anyway. But strictly from a legal standpoint? It’s incredibly shaky. 🕺
And how else are you supposed to pull off national self-determination besides through republics? You think every little town is going to vote on which country they want to live in?
Linda Harris59 said:In all likelihood, his behavior will cost him more in the next election than his sheer rudeness or lack of class. His habit of using vulgar slang and insulting anyone brave enough to criticize him plays incredibly well in the tabloids, and it’s actually boosting his popularity among a specific segment of the population.
But you simply cannot be a leftist and a right-winger at the exact same time. He might think he can secure the votes of the Democratic Party while simultaneously picking up the Republican Party crowd, but that isn't how politics works.
Look, if someone is running for President and presents themselves as strictly Left-wing or strictly Right-wing, they've basically shot their chances in the foot. You need a pragmatic approach—you have to try and appeal to as many voters as possible. It's totally fine for someone in that role to hold "Left-wing" views on certain issues and "Right-wing" views on others. For example, I’m pretty Left-wing when it comes to economics (more worker rights, less corporate greed, against special interests), but when it comes to political and national identity issues, I lean much more toward the Right.
Kyle Campbell4 said:And yet, you can't find a single corrupt chef or server willing to slip anything into his food. It’s absolutely unbelievable.
Man, he’s got that guaranteed food taster before every meal. Honestly, a better move would be to swap in an "authentic" bottle of vodka laced with poison—but only if the guy's a solo drinker. 😁
The first thing that pops into my head is Carpenter's "Somebody's Watching Me," which I saw ages ago. Honestly, when it comes to movies, I’ve always found the horror scenes way more intense when they involve stuff that could actually happen in real life—rather than all that nonsense with monsters or supernatural entities.
redbear12 said:Maybe the old-timers know better than I do, but to me, the new wave back home didn't feel quite the same as the actual new wave overseas (like in England or America?!?)
To my ears, our version was much more about that gritty rocker and punk sound, whereas true new wave leaned way harder into the whole synthesizer vibe. 🤷
In the old territory, Charlot the Acrobat were probably the closest thing to a pure punk sound. But even in England, you had bands like The Stranglers (despite the keyboards), Boomtown Rats, The Jam, or XTC sounding pretty damn punk on their early records.
stormybadger8 said:Look, the whole thing regarding those of you working in government service is actually pretty straightforward... The thing is, most of you don't actually get it—and the people working in the private sector, where I'm stuck myself, understand it even less.
It’s honestly hilarious watching you guys grovel toward the private sector. Most of them are stuck in the exact same mess as you—if not a hell of a lot deeper in it—even without all this extra nonsense. Look, most of us over in the private sector don't get it. We don't see you individuals as the actual problem. Instead, we just sit here whining about how insanely expensive you are, how everyone's just a bureaucrat, how nobody actually does anything, blah, blah, blah... Actually, in most cases, it’s the exact opposite. It’s a damn shame, really, but the truth is you guys are mostly underpaid and working way too hard—mostly because you’re constantly fighting fires in total chaos instead of actually following an organized system.
The real problem is your completely irresponsible employer—or honestly, just the entire organization they belong to.
Look, let’s be real—number one is pretty obvious: you guys are working with tiny paychecks. That part is absolutely indisputable. What are we even talking about? It’s ridiculous. We've got an American Secretary of Commerce making less than some guy driving a skid steer on a construction site in Germany, yet the cost of living here is basically the same. Honestly, you're just screwing over the entire country when you underpay the judiciary, the schools, healthcare, and all those essential services. It’s ridiculous. You've got people in critical roles wondering if they can actually afford lunch today or if they'll even be able to cover the utility bills. How is that supposed to work? That’s exactly where the corruption creeps in. When you've got someone drowning in problems like this who also has their hands on public funds—or someone's offering them a kickback—it isn't a matter of "if" they'll take it. It's just a matter of when. On the other hand, you’ve got this guy running a private gig—he's sitting on a massive payroll with zero actual work coming in. He’s broke, everything is a total mess, and he'll be begging for scraps sooner or later. Look, let’s be real—the government is the biggest buyer on the block. That's where all the work is, and honestly, that's where the money is. So of course this guy is going to come out there peddling the exact same stuff... The only real question left is who’s going to blink first—is he going to start making offers, or is he just going to sit there demanding? Most people are decent enough, but let’s be real—when a golden opportunity for some bullshit presents itself, they jump on it. Then, once they realize they actually got away with it, they play the victim. It's pathetic. I’m honestly worried we’re about to see an absolute explosion of this nonsense. Once things go totally sideways and everyone starts picking sides, even the people who never would've dreamed of doing this might actually cave in.
Problem number two: there’s this massive paradox where, in most sectors, your salaries are simultaneously way too high and yet somehow still nowhere near high enough! How is that even possible? How can both things be happening at the exact same time? Look, the reason those salaries are so bloated is simple: there are just way too many people in the system. We’ve got a massive crowd of employees clogging up everything, most of them working positions that serve absolutely no purpose whatsoever. It's pure nonsense. It's not like they're all just sitting around being useless bureaucrats. A huge chunk of them actually work their asses off, pulling 12-hour shifts and getting stuff done. The real issue here is that none of this makes any damn sense. There’s zero logic behind what they're doing, and the way they've organized the whole mess is enough to make your head explode.
Just think about how insane it is that we’re dealing with situations like this. Take my town, for example—it's so ridiculously tiny it barely makes sense, let alone the fact that we went from being one single municipality to becoming a city plus three whole new ones, all while having way fewer residents and businesses than before. In this town, we used to have one basic public works department responsible for building and maintaining the gas, water, and sewer lines, handling trash, and keeping the streets clean. Now, suddenly, we’ve been split into six different companies, which means six directors, six secretaries, six accounting departments, six billing offices, six meter readers, and blah blah blah... It's not like these people aren't working—that's not true—but the damn truth is that their jobs make zero sense. Everyone is essentially doing the exact same thing. Honestly, any one of them could handle the workload for all six of them if they just had a little more time. For every actual worker, you’ve got five others sitting in cloned positions, and that is a massive problem because someone has to foot the bill. And then there's the issue of everyone having tiny salaries, mostly because that single pool of money is being sliced six ways. Imagine how much better this would function if they all had triple the salary and just a slightly heavier workload; the city budget would actually save 50% on payroll... Because realistically, whether you're processing payroll for ten people or sixty, the job is the same. It’s pure stupidity that now one guy comes to read the gas meter, another reads the water... one carries the gas bill, another carries the water bill, another handles the trash...
That's the core of the problem. It’s the same deal with the local municipalities, which at best have three or four times more staff than before, facing the same or even worse issues at every level. It’s the same absolute nonsense with the schools. In this former municipality alone, we now have seven schools, which means seven different accounting departments and seven different payroll offices. And then, of course, they can't even order damn toilet paper or hand soap, because they'll use every cent they have just to cover the payroll, and there's simply no money left for TP. So we end up with this crazy paradox where teachers have low wages, yet education is insanely expensive because we have a massive surplus of administrative staff and a shortage of actual teachers. It’s the same, if not way worse, modus operandi in healthcare and so on.
And I haven't even touched on all the other garbage, like agencies designed to oversee other useless agencies...
Look at this total idiocy with the movement restrictions right now... We’re all going to be losing our minds at the government employees who have to issue these stupid permits for blah blah... And those poor people are going to lose it under the sheer volume of requests, having no clue if they're allowed to issue them, how to do it, who gets them, or why. On top of that, they'll be stuck facing the pressure, the swearing, and getting yelled at, not to mention the risk of infection. Police officers will probably catch the virus just checking every car on the road, and the officials issuing the certificates will too...
And all of this for what? What kind of twisted logic makes it a problem when someone sits in their car driving from point A to point B, but it's perfectly fine to cram a huge crowd of people into a line just to get a permit? 🤦
Honestly, it would be easier, faster, and cheaper right now to just hastily open some shitty LLC for $3.25, issue yourself a permit, and not give a damn. Then later, just don't pay your taxes and file for bankruptcy—hey, it was the pandemic, right? But instead, we have to go out and beg for a permit just so we can visit elderly folks and bring them something to eat...
👍 Great catch on that bolded part, and honestly, the whole post. If only someone in charge actually read this stuff and gave it a second thought...
Nigeria vs Argentina: Over 4.5 yellow cards (Tuesday, 2.00 at SS)
The Argentinians were a total nerve wreck even when they played against the Americans, and now they’re staring down a must-win scenario just to stay alive. To make matters worse, a one-goal win might not even cut it if Iceland pulls off a miracle upset. On the flip side, a draw works perfectly for Nigeria. I don't see them holding back when it comes to hacking down Lionel Messi and those other attackers, and if they find themselves sitting on a result they like, they’ll happily kill the tempo. Basically, I’m expecting a high-tension scrap where the referee is going to be busy handing out cards.
Thursday, July 30th Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Stromsgodset: Over +3 goals 2.10 odds
The Dodgers' defense basically fell apart during the first two qualifying rounds, giving up seven goals total. They even surrendered four in their last league match against Istria, and that wasn't even their strongest lineup. On the other side, the Norwegians have found the back of the net in each of their last six league matches, including a 2:1 away win against Boleslav to keep things moving. You can bet they aren't just going to park the bus; they’ll likely push to grab at least one goal on the road. That should give us an open game with plenty of scoring, especially since the Dodgers' attack is easily the better part of this squad.
Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid both score (1.85 SS) (1-0)
I don't see this being a quiet affair. Real Madrid is going to come out swinging early to grab the lead, while Atletico will sit back, waiting to sting them on the counter or snatch something from a set piece. If one side breaks the deadlock, the whole thing is going to blow up. Given how much these two hate each other, expect tempers to flare, the intensity to spike, and plenty of cheap shots and trash talk along the way.
Because things are bound to get heated, I'm putting some money on red card in the match - yes (2.90 SS)
Real is absolutely rolling right now. They dominated our last matchup, and coming off that win in El Clasico to snatch the top spot in Primera is giving them a massive ego boost. On the flip side, even with their new signings, Liverpool isn't anywhere near the level they were last season without Suarez. If Real pulls this out, they lock up first in the group, and I'm betting they come out swinging. Plus, Benzema is looking lethal lately.
Atletico Madrid vs Chelsea FC: Both teams to score(2.00 SS) (0:0)
The odds on this one are actually pretty juicy, especially considering we're looking at a Champions League semi-final. Now, look—everyone talks about these two clubs like they’re defensive bunkers, teams that just park the bus and pray they don't concede. But honestly? I don't think there's going to be much tactical stalling here. Atletico Madrid is going to have to push forward if they want to walk away with something useful, mainly because Chelsea FC looks lethal when they're playing at home. Plus, I'm pretty sure José Mourinho knows that trying to shut down an Atletico side playing this well is a losing game. I'm taking this strictly for the value, even though I know there's always that nagging chance this ends in a boring 0:0 stalemate.
There shouldn't be much math involved in this one. After their rivals kept tripping over their own feet, Liverpool has a golden chance to pull even further ahead in the standings. On the other side, Norwich is staring down the relegation zone; they’ve dropped three straight games without finding the back of the net, but I wouldn't count them out. They'll fight tooth and nail to play spoiler against the favorites, just like Sunderland AFC did recently. Matches involving Liverpool are usually high-scoring affairs—they play aggressive, attacking football whether they're at home or on the road, and most importantly, they're hitting their stride right now.
After that loss to Liverpool, City can't afford even a single slip-up if they want to stay in the hunt for the title. On the other hand, Sunderland is sitting dead last. Given their current form and a brutal schedule ahead, they’re basically a lock for relegation to the Championship. They just got hammered 5-1 away against a mediocre Tottenham side, so I'm expecting a dominant win from an offensive powerhouse like City—probably by three goals or more.
Borussia Dortmund vs Stuttgart: Over 2.5 goals (2.00 HL) (1:1)
This one is massive for both sides. Borussia Dortmund is fighting tooth and nail for that fourth spot to secure a Champions League berth, while Stuttgart is stuck in the danger zone, sitting on the same number of points as sixteenth-place HSV. Stuttgart plays an open game—they score plenty, but they leak goals too, so I’m betting they find the net here. That said, the home side is looking solid and definitely holds the edge. I'm eyeing a 2:1 result or something similar.
Sevilla FC vs FC Porto: Both teams to score + Over 2.5 goals (2.20 odds) (4:1)
FC Porto takes a slim lead from the first leg, but honestly, I think Sevilla FC can find the net playing at home. That said, the visitors are lethal on the counter. Porto’s last two away trips in this competition were absolute chaos—3:3 against Eintracht Frankfurt and 2:2 against SSC Napoli. I’m expecting a similar shootout here.
Look, Tottenham hasn't exactly been the model of consistency this season, but they really ought to take down a bottom-of-the-table Sunderland. Sure, Sunderland is going to fight tooth and nail to avoid relegation, but let’s be real—that looks like a long shot, especially after getting absolutely hammered by West Ham United at home. Tottenham managed a decent win against Southampton in their last home outing, only to get completely washed by Liverpool FC right after. If they actually have any hope of sniffing around fourth or fifth place—which, let's face it, is a massive stretch since Arsenal FC and Everton FC are miles ahead and Manchester United is finally waking up—they have no choice but to win this one.