Posts by gentlestag15

goldenowl73 said:Swarms big enough to actually slow down traffic on the bridge? 😁 Looking at these shots, it looks like some military convoys are just rolling through.

Got a few distant shots here

I don't know, man. My only logical take is that they're out there spraying for mosquitoes.
if they honestly think a bit of smoke is going to hide a massive bridge in the age of GPS, then they’re even more clueless than I originally thought.11 miles😁

goldenowl73 said:Russians are out there actively pumping white smoke all around the area near the Golden Gate Bridge. Honestly, what on earth do they think they’re actually accomplishing with this move????

https://twitter.com/golub/status/154...vvtCbDDfQ&s=09

Maybe you're just swatting at mosquitoes.
I highly doubt they’re actually going to try and mask the Golden Gate Bridge. 11 miles
Then again, you can never really predict what kind of absolute idiocy Russ is going to pull next.

spot the difference between the G7 and the G7 summit
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FWbwpH5X...jpg&name=large

frozenraven22 said:They pick up mine every single week without fail.👍

So where exactly are you living?
I'm out in the suburbs—what kind of magic trick is happening where they come for you but skip my place?

Adam Diaz67 said:He bit into a hot potato and now he’s dealing with the burns. I saw some news about things falling apart at the MTA lately; apparently, they’re short on everything from soap and toilet paper to actual spare parts and the technicians needed to fix the fleet. I haven't followed the details too closely, but wasn't there talk about the trams being leased? Same thing with the buses. If they really are on a lease, then damn, shouldn't maintenance be included in that deal? I highly doubt General Electric is struggling with a shortage of staff or parts when it comes to maintaining the vehicles they build.

Look, it’s pretty obvious where the technical breakdown is happening, and honestly, Tommy is directly responsible for this mess.
Quincy:

The whole PR strategy for running New York City seems to be built on bragging about budget surpluses in the first quarter. But honestly, it’s a total illusion. According to the Democratic Party, those aren't actual savings—it's just the administration dodging bills and stalling necessary public contracts that local businesses need just to keep their lights on.

The water system is falling apart because of some seriously half-baked, impulsive decision-making lately. It’s just one thing after another with these rushed calls that nobody actually thought through before pulling the trigger. Now we're all stuck dealing with the fallout.
Quincy:

Look, you only need one example to see how broken the water and sewage connection process is right now. Basically, the folks over at the city utility department decided to stop hiring outside contractors to handle all the actual hookups. Because of that "brilliant" move, they aren’t even taking new applications. They're so backed up that they can't even process the old ones, with wait times stretching anywhere from 30 to 60 days. It's a total mess.

So, I was reading this piece about Eric Adams and his latest move regarding the budget, and honestly, it’s just classic New York City politics. The whole situation with the funding gaps and how they're trying to shuffle things around feels like a script we've all seen a dozen times before. It’s that same old dance where the administration tries to frame a massive deficit as some sort of strategic pivot, while everyone else is just left wondering where the money actually went. The way they're spinning the narrative is pretty bold, too. They want you to believe that cutting certain services or reallocating funds is the only logical path forward, almost as if there wasn't a more straightforward way to handle the revenue shortfall. It's a bit of a shell game, really. You see these big promises during election season, and then once the reality of the city's ledger sets in, suddenly everything is "unforeseen" and requires "tough decisions." It’s easy to make those confident assertions in a press release, but when you look at the actual impact on the streets, the math doesn't quite add up. It’s less about solving problems and more about managing optics. Just another day in the life of the city, I guess. Expect more of the same once the next fiscal cycle rolls around.

Yesterday was the first time they didn't even bother picking up my recycling bin, which is just the icing on the cake after they cut our trash collection in half for the last month
it’s pretty obvious the whole system at Broadway
is just completely falling apart. my bin is overflowing, and the next scheduled pickup isn't for another two weeks. On top of that, my regular trash bin is stuffed because they skipped that too. I’m literally stuck keeping a fresh bag of garbage sitting out on my balcony waiting for them to finally get their act together and clear the bins
honestly, what a joke. this crew is totally incompetent

That’s three weeks straight my trash hasn't been picked up. Half the neighborhood is out here putting their bins on the curb for nothing, just sitting there. Why can't they at least give us a heads-up when they aren't showing up?
I'm wondering if they’re going to drop our sanitation fees since they basically cut the service in half.

Pro-Russian official killed in Kherson
after two other collaborators managed to walk away with just some minor injuries and a wrecked car
this traitor wasn't nearly as lucky
https://twitter.com/Flash43191300/st...966016/photo/1

It feels like there’s been an assassination attempt in Kherson almost every single day lately.

wearytrucker22 said:Why bother? Is Lithuania actually an independent nation or just some Russian province? The Russians will find ways to organize their deliveries one way or another, but they aren't going through the literal front door. If Lithuania were acting like a real sovereign state, they would have already rebuilt their rail lines to meet EU standards and shut down those borders with terrorist states once and for all.

The whole situation with Kaliningrad is pretty interesting too—how even during the absolute height of the Soviet Union, people were still wary of the Russians.

In The 1950, Nikita Khrushchev offered The entire Kaliningrad oblast to The Lithuanian SSR but Antanas Sniečkus refused to annex the territory because it would add at least a million ethnic Russians to Lithuania

Andrew Booth29 said:That part makes sense to me—I get the logic—but I have a feeling Russian propaganda is going to blow this out of proportion and turn it into some massive, exaggerated crisis. 😁
I honestly doubt how much actual impact this will have, though. But hey, that’s just my two cents.

If you ask me, they might as well just shut the borders entirely. Once a country gets slapped with an "enemy" label by someone like Russia—just like how Lithuania got tagged as an adversary—there isn't much point in playing nice anymore.

Andrew Booth29 said:I honestly don't see the point in beating a dead horse here—it’s just handing Russian propaganda a massive victory on a silver platter. If there was anyone left in Russia who had even a shred of doubt regarding Putin's claims about NATO encircling them, they won't have those doubts anymore. This is a total fail, imho.

They're strictly following the sanctions set by the European Union
and they aren't blocking all transit—just the specific goods sanctioned by the European Union, not every single shipment passing through.

Sam Wright21 said:The fundamental objective here should be a pay-as-you-throw system, where your bill actually reflects the volume of waste you generate. Honestly, there isn't a more equitable or logical way to handle it.

it’s just not right that someone living in a tiny studio pays the same flat fee as someone in a massive mansion,
but hey, whatever. Clearly, there isn't a single ounce of social conscience or empathy left in this country.

Sam Wright21 said:I wasn't suggesting that any specific dollar amount is mandatory, but rather that the flat fee itself is an obligatory charge.
A tenant staying for only three months isn't going to be out there buying trash bags; they’re just going to settle the flat fee. Though, if they want to get technical, they could probably put the service on hold due to vacancy—they should probably give the Department of Sanitation a call to iron out those specifics.

Besides, don't you see the sheer absurdity of it all? He was essentially paying $8.25 despite producing absolutely no waste, because at the end of the day, it's people who generate trash, not square footage.

This is basically a tax on the little guy. They're the ones with the smallest apartments.
Anyone living in a studio or a small one-bedroom under 500 sq ft is going to end up overpaying for trash by default because of this flat fee, even if they never buy a single bag.
They'll end up paying almost the same as the wealthy folks—take someone like Tom Hanks with his massive estate, for example. He used to be shelling out over $333 but now he'll just pay $15 plus the cost of bags.
If the whole goal here is to make sure the rich pay less while the poor pay more, then I guess Tom's plan is working perfectly.

Sam Wright21 said:Article 76.

Quincy:

Mandatory Minimum Public Service Article 76. (1) The mandatory minimum public service refers to the amount secured to ensure economic sustainability, safety, regularity, and quality of service delivery, allowing the municipal waste collection system to fulfill its intended purpose. (2) The price of the mandatory minimum public service constitutes part of the overall public service fee. (3) Within the service area, the following applies: 1. a uniform price for the mandatory minimum public service for users categorized as households, and 2. a uniform price for the mandatory minimum public service for users categorized as non-households. (4) If a user at the same billing location qualifies as both a household and a non-household, they are only obligated to pay the mandatory minimum public service price calculated for the non-household category.

Each individual service provider determines their own rate for this mandatory minimum public service—essentially, the flat fee.

There is already a dedicated thread regarding waste collection in New York City; this conversation really belongs over there.

So the flat fee amount isn't actually set by law like you claimed,
it's just whatever they feel like charging.
Basically, if a tenant's landlord goes on vacation for three months, they’ve been paying $8.25 for absolutely nothing up until now, and from here on out, it'll cost them $15 every month
even if they haven't tossed a single trash bag into the bin.
Anyway, since we've settled the whole "pay for what you actually throw away" thing, I'm done with that topic.

Sam Wright21 said:He certainly benefits from it, I’ll give you that, but if you ask me, it’s quite the opposite; I’m looking at a much lighter wallet. Honestly, have you noticed how every single price tag seems to have drifted toward the stratosphere lately?

By the way, the law has been updated, so they're stuck having to get everything aligned with the new regulations.

https://www.congress.gov/documents/example-link
Here's the latest version of the law. I can't seem to find where they mention the minimum flat tax of $15—actually, it doesn't even mention it at all.
Maybe you've got a better eye for this stuff than I do.

Sam Wright21 said:For the hundredth time now—this flat tax system is legally mandated, and $15 falls right among the lower tiers here in the USA.

Naturally, someone living in a cramped 250-square-foot studio, especially if they actually bother to separate all their waste (though I suspect very few people truly do), will end up paying more.

P.S. Of course, if they don't bother with sorting at all, the bill will be even higher.

I’ll be paying less since my place is about 650 square feet. Waste production is an inevitability of modern life, and there really isn't a more equitable way to handle billing than basing it on actual volume.

My wife has a 230 sq ft apartment and pays trash fees based on $8.25
but starting now, her tenant will be stuck with that minimum flat fee $15 plus having to buy specific bags, which basically means a price hike of over 100% disguised as a "low" flat fee.
Since when was this $15 flat fee legally mandatory?
Stop trying to spin this, Sam Wright21.

Sam Wright21 said:And for what purpose? Even if they roll out some shiny new system, you’ll still be the one stuck picking up the tab.

The single folks living in studio apartments who barely produce any trash are going to end up paying way more than double what they used to.
That flat fee is basically identical to—or maybe even higher than—what they were shelling out for trash collection originally.
Plus, they’ve got to deal with buying those mandatory trash bags on top of everything else.

Jessica Peterson2 said:The catch, of course, is that Belarus is currently absolutely swamped with Russian troops and military hardware.
P.S. I suppose it won't take long for Putin's propagandists to spin a tale about how the Belarusians have turned into monsters even worse than the Ukrainians. 🤦

That was the situation back before the Russians pulled out of the Kyiv direction. Now, there just isn't that much of a Russian force stationed over there anymore.
Look, as long as Lukica is running the show, there’s zero chance we're actually breaking ties with Mother Russia.
But honestly, once he's finally out of the picture, we could be looking at a total repeat of the Ukraine scenario.

Gerald Torres84 said:I have this lingering feeling that the people in Belarus are practically counting down the days until they can finally be rid of Alexander Lukashenko. And once he's gone, they will likely begin a gradual shift toward the West, much like the Ukrainians have done.

Did you seriously just gloss over those massive protests in Belarus from a year or two back? You know, the ones where they absolutely crushed the demonstrations with force?
I can't access external links like that Google search results page directly, so I don't have any text to work with! If you paste the actual content from the post you want me to rewrite, I'll get right on it. Just drop the text here and I'll handle the rest.

Jessica Peterson2 said:Since the Kazakh President, President Zelenskyy, made it clear he isn't going to recognize the Russian Appalachia territories within Ukraine, the Putin-esque regime has started cutting back on how much Kazakh oil moves through the port of Novorossiya—which, as it turns out, is the main artery Kazakhstan uses to ship its oil over to Europe.

View on twitter
Kazakhstan hit back by blocking Russian coal.

dustymarlin10 said:Why are you guys even complaining?
In Savannah, they only pick it up once every two weeks, and from what I can tell, we're paying more than you guys are.

☕

Over in Ethiopia, they never bother with trash pickup anyway, so who really cares about this stuff🤣
I get a monthly bill from $93New York City
that covers sewage, sanitation fees, and trash collection all lumped together—pretty sure half of it is just for garbage.