Posts by graniteviper37

Gerald Chavez7 said:Honestly, this is hands down the best suggestion I've seen yet—we don't even need to bother starting some brand new thread, we just need to go back and rescue the existing one...

👍

It’s honestly such a damn shame—we had some absolute gems of posts here, especially right when this thread first kicked off, and now they’re just talking about shutting the whole thing down. Even that idea the bear floated about just closing it for a little while... man, what a waste.

Look, I’m starting this thread because this specific topic keeps blowing up all over the news cycle lately—it's everywhere you look—and honestly, it’s got everyone talking. It's one of those things that hits the front page, gets a massive amount of clicks, and then suddenly everyone has an opinion. Once people start reacting to certain posts or articles, you get that inevitable snowball effect where the whole conversation just spirals out of control. So, here we go.

Gerald Chavez7 said:...should we just move everything over to "Cost of Living Comparisons Across Different States" or something like that?

Honestly, if we want to save this thread from turning into a total dumpster fire, someone’s gonna need to step up and moderate this thing around the clock—like, strictly and constantly. We need some actual oversight to steer things back toward calmer waters, otherwise, we're never going to get any meaningful discussions going without everyone just shouting over each other.

nimblelynx7 said:So what specifically isn't she doing?

Every single company—whether it’s government-run or private—needs to operate on the same basic principles. That means profitability and staying afloat without begging for outside help.

Look, an owner shouldn't be dictating everyone's rights, but they also have zero business taking taxpayer money from the federal budget. If they take that subsidy, they lose all authority to set prices for their products (like timber, electricity, or highway tolls). And they certainly don't get to pack those companies with political cronies.

When will our politicians finally grasp this? They won't. Not now, and probably not ever.

First you're two posts back trying to correct some educator's statement,
and now you're just dumping this absolute nonsense here.
Who else is going to decide these things besides the owner (assuming we're even talking about actual ownership) through selection processes and management decisions? (And honestly, that's irrelevant because the owner is either draining the company dry or constantly pumping cash into it just to keep the lights on.)

Or do you seriously think a board of directors should have zero limits when it comes to running the show?

Robert Vaughn10 said:Washington, D.C. has officially fallen off the fiscal cliff. Or at least, that's the official line. The Senate voted to maintain current tax rates for anyone earning under $400k. This means the middle class might actually dodge a tax hike—assuming the House of Representatives agrees during their meeting this afternoon. We'll see, though I doubt the Republican majority would dare vote against this; they aren't about to hand the middle class a tax increase. Spending cuts are also being pushed back, but only by two months, right when our ability to borrow more hits its limit. If things stay on this trajectory, especially regarding middle-class taxes, the deficit looks set to hit at least $800 billion by the end of March, depending on what happens in two months. The math is still being finalized, but in my view, this is long-term bullish for gold and silver. We have to wait and see what March brings, but I highly doubt they’ll risk not raising the debt ceiling; they’d go bankrupt instantly. This trend could suggest a medium-term shift in how things play out. Printing money out of thin air without any long-term sterilization will eventually lead to inflation. It might not happen overnight, but it's coming.
To be honest, I briefly thought they were going to tighten the belt. Now? That's off the table. They've decided to blow the bubble until it pops.
All things considered, gold should clear $2,000, and silver ought to hit at least $40 by 2013. Though, predicting silver is always a thankless task.

Let's be real—that’s not even the middle class. In the US, there's been this running idea for ages that once an individual starts pulling in over $250,000 a year, you've crossed into the wealthy territory. Even Barack Obama’s unofficial benchmark was around $200k for a single person—which is $250k for a couple—and honestly, according to some polls, most Americans think the line is drawn at $150,000. If those folks are the "wealthy," then where the hell is the actual middle class?...

If you ask some theorists, this whole "impossible deal" drama was basically scripted and agreed upon behind closed doors not too long ago.
The whole point is to look clean in front of the voters while setting the stage to push through a massive, totally new budget control act that fundamentally reshapes everything on multiple levels.

And yeah, technically they didn't fall off the cliff—because that "fiscal cliff" is really just the economic fallout from being unable to agree on a decision in the first place.

Brian Anderson8 said:I’m not entirely sure if this belongs under the economics section, but I figured I’d just drop it here. I buy plastic models and hobby supplies from overseas online shops all the time, and honestly, I’ve never had a single issue with my transactions until today. I was browsing an American hobbyist forum earlier and saw a post saying some online shop over in the USA got hacked and credit card info was stolen. Since I actually ordered something from that specific shop maybe three or four weeks ago, I thought to myself, okay, better check my Visa statement. So, I log into my Chase online banking, scan through the recent activity, and everything looks fine at first—until I spot these three suspicious charges. There were two tiny test transactions on October 23rd for $10 each, and then a massive one on the 24th for about $900. I called the bank immediately to cancel the card and explain what happened, and they basically told me to go ahead and file a formal written dispute at a local branch and then just sit tight while they run an investigation. It seems like most people who get hit by this kind of thing manage to stop the payments because their banks actually flag the suspicious activity beforehand. But, in America, that just doesn't happen. I mean, what am I actually supposed to expect from my bank here? My gut feeling is that I'll probably end up stuck footing the bill for this myself. Has anyone else dealt with something like this before?

It happened to me just the other day—I’d dropped a massive amount of cash on four plane tickets and a huge haul at the Nike store.

Just follow whatever instructions they give you at the bank. Once you file that formal dispute for the transactions, they'll reverse the charges and hook you up with a new card.
Honestly, don't sweat it too much.

neonwalker92 said:Just a few days ago during an interview, he mentioned that anyone claiming he played poorly is simply lying...🙄

Looking at Avram Grant on Wikipedia, there isn't anything listed about his playing days, which makes me think he might just be one of the answers to my question... 🙂

Alex Ferguson definitely didn't spend four or five seasons playing for the New York Rangers...

I’m pretty sure Branko Blazevic played for LA Galaxy and Sion
He wasn't exactly some superstar, but he definitely doesn't fit that "never played" mold

Jose Mourinho played in Portugal—I think it was for Vitoria

Honestly, I find it hard to believe there’s any manager out there who didn't at least scrape by as a semi-pro or amateur player at some point

wiredfalcon2 said:The Olympic Stadium doesn't even have fences high enough for players to climb unless they're literal spiders or someone hands them a ladder. Most of the barriers are just a few feet tall and made of Plexiglass or whatever—it’s basically impossible to scale because, let's be real, the guys playing for local clubs aren't exactly trained rock climbers.
What actually happens is they just run up to the barrier and slap their hands against it to wave at the fans on the other side.
Then it's really just up to whether the ref is feeling generous or if they want to nail them for time-wasting.

A few feet high?
Are you watching this through some weird TV lens or what?
If you were actually at the stadium, I don't know where you were looking from, but players can absolutely hop up onto the top of those Plexiglass barriers.

Samuel Wilson5 said:1 Who told you climbing the fence is totally fine?
2 I don't know, man, I didn't see that specific play, but based on what you're saying, the ref definitely blew it.
3 Look, when deciding on a penalty, you have to look at the player's positioning relative to the goal. If they were moving away from the net, the ref can give the keeper a yellow card, but he doesn't have to. If they were charging toward the goal, then yeah, the keeper gets booked.

1. Honestly, I haven't seen anyone get cautioned just for jumping on a fence before—just look at any major derby in the US, like a Yankees vs. Red Sox situation where players go wild after a home run...

2. I actually posted these exact same questions on an Italian forum, and two actual referees who remembered the play chimed in. They said the rules are clear: the ref didn't really have another choice. He might have been able to book both players, but apparently, the defenders are protected in this scenario.

3. Wait, hold up—are we talking about positioning or movement?
If it's about how the player is moving, then they're almost certainly heading toward the goal.
I mean, anything could happen at the European Championship, right? It’s not like we haven't seen two keepers get sent off after conceding penalties before.
I think back then they mentioned that the "last man" rule (the red card) applies regardless of whether it's a straight penalty or just a foul outside the box—and that includes the keeper being counted as a player.

Maybe there's a referee lurking in here who can actually explain this to me?

wiredfalcon2 said:how can you say that? players used to get slapped with suspensions based on video replays even if the ref didn't pull the trigger on the field right then and there.
plus, refs actually had the power to flip their calls mid-game. look at that mess with Lazio and Roma—the ref originally goes to red-card the keeper, Doni, but then the linesman jumps in and corrects it to a yellow because it turns out the keeper wasn't technically the last man.

yeah, exactly—all without an immediate penalty from the official
but if you’re actually paying attention to Serie, Lucarelli wouldn't have faced any extra heat for hacking down little Pandev after the ref only handed him a yellow during the match (if my memory serves me right, Lucarelli was the one who ended up tying it up 2-2, which is wild considering he should've been sent off)

wiredfalcon2 said:you don't get the basics of modern soccer.

Thanks for the masterclass... really went all out there, didn't you? 😕

So, what exactly are these "basics" of modern soccer we're talking about here?
Giving a player a hard time for taking his shirt off?

There’s actually one more thing—regardless of how messy the situation gets, a player can't be punished twice for the exact same incident.
Say you headbutt a player—it's brutal—but the ref misses the worst of it or just misjudges the severity and hands out nothing but a yellow card.

In that scenario, does that mean they can't hand down a retroactive suspension after reviewing the replay, simply because the player already served his punishment on the field?

So, does anyone actually know what the hell the referee guidelines are for this stuff:

1.) It makes zero sense to me why a player gets slapped with a yellow card just for ripping off his jersey after scoring a goal, yet he’s allowed to climb up the stadium railings without getting booked?
2.) Also, maybe this isn't an official rule, but something happened a few months back over in Italy
Basically, after scoring from a penalty kick, Parma's Domenico Morfeo went to chase down the ball—if I remember right, he cut the deficit to 2:1 with about five minutes left on the clock
The goalie was still laying on the grass, nowhere near the play
Morfeo grabbed the ball and started heading toward center field when some massive powerhouse of a player just absolutely leveled him. Morfeo is pretty small and slight 😬 so he basically just folded onto the turf
And the ref (who supposedly saw the whole thing go down) actually handed Morfeo a yellow card???
To make matters even worse, that was his second one—which should have been a straight red🙄
3.) And then there's the whole deal where a player gets sent off right after a penalty is awarded—that "last man" rule (I think that implies the goalie should basically be sent off by default every time he gives up a penalty)—honestly, I feel like that's such an overkill punishment. They already got the penalty! After that, the game is basically over anyway.

...I mean, seriously... if they go out and absolutely demolish Brazil in all their upcoming friendlies... then aiming for that fifth title in 2026 won't be an issue at all...

...honestly, it just hit me again after reading that—and yeah, like I said before, I was just thinking out loud since I wasn't totally sure myself...
...watching them play is honestly beautiful compared to watching some soul-crushing, mindless ball-chasing torture, but man, I’m really hoping that by the World Cup 2006, some European national team finally steps up to actually challenge Brazil... I mean, they already have five titles under their belt—when are we actually going to catch up to them???

Jerry Evans57 said:Brazil is gonna take it again... 99% sure.

...honestly, I don't think Brazil has ever actually won a World Cup held in Europe—it’s always been some European powerhouse taking the trophy...
...plus, they just seem to win everything all the time. It feels a bit excessive if they start snatching titles over here too... I'm really hoping some European national team can actually step up and shut them down.👍

(if nobody else manages it—well, at least Greece 🙄 )

Greece??? 😂 and then 🙂

...yeah, absolutely—sell Vieri first (to Juventus 🙂), if not then he’s riding the bench...
...ever since he told Zaccheroni he wouldn't start games from the bench and started complaining about his leg...

...other than that, I think Adriano has a massive edge right now—not just based on how he finished the season... but looking at how Vieri finished (that totally senseless red card during the UEFA match, plus zero goals in the league, just constant yellow cards for hacking opponents, indecision, ripping down advertisements, all that nonsense)...
...and honestly, I don't think they can play together... because Vieri knows damn well that Adriano is coming for his spot—I mean, did you guys see how he (doesn't) congratulate him on his goals?...

...Crespo is also one of my favorites... and I seriously don't get how they got rid of him so easily...
Mattias Almeida—one of the most useful players in the American league (really hoping he gets back into form soon)—can't even get on the pitch
Emre—seems better to me as a super-sub, someone who can use his speed and creativity to completely flip the momentum of a game
Christian Zanetti—he'll be back in peak form next season (when they're definitely winning the Triple Crown), and then you'll all see just how good of a player he really is
👋

...but look, when I say these guys need to find their form—the real issue is that everyone this season (including Coco) was sidelined with injuries for months at a time...

Zachary Jones4 said:All they need now is to go out and grab themselves a legitimate creative playmaker. If I remember correctly, the last one we actually had was Paolo Sousa...
But honestly, even if they did, New York City won't even be in the same zip code as us.🙂

...are you kidding me right now? You really think New York City is better than the great New York Yankees?
...I don't believe a word you say... you're pulling my leg, aren't you?
...you've completely lost it... the Yankees are the greatest team on the planet!

...you clearly haven't got a clue, my friend...
...just look at this lineup:

Francesco Toldo -!- Coco Francesko - Ivan Ramiro Cordoba - Fabio Cannavaro - Javier Zanetti -!- Sebastian Veron - Mattias Almeida - Christian Zanetti - Kily Gonzalez - Cristian Alberto Peret -!- Alvaro Recoba - Adriano Leite Ribeiro

bench:
Christian Vieri, Daniele Adani, Emre Belozoglu, Obafemi Martins, Julio Ricardo Cruz, and a whole bunch more....

Frank Morales3 says:
that’s just how those backroom deals work... the New York Yankees need Reggini to pick up some points to stay afloat, so Reggina just hands them the wins next season...

...it’s pretty suspicious when you look at the pattern—last season, Reggina somehow managed to beat the Dallas Cowboys right after they had already clinched the title... kind of looks like exactly what we’re seeing happen with the Yankees this year...