Koala

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-04-09/california-declares-independence-from-trump-s-coronavirus-plans

Well, California didnt wait long to start rubbing it in.  Im just waiting for Newsome to declare that, "The Nation-State of California is prepared to supply spare ventilators to help poor people living in ****-hole countries like The-Rest-of-the-United-States."
 

6 minutes ago, skinsfan_1215 said:

My mom is a public school teacher in Virginia. Classes have been canceled for the remainder of the year. The governor has issued a shelter in place order. The superintendent for her school district? Mandating that teachers come to school starting next week if they want to get 

Can superintendents be fired or do they have to be voted out?  This guys deserves both.

3 minutes ago, PartyPosse said:

If it ain't the floor then we need to trade out.

Now thats exactly what im talking about. For that to be the floor, were talking about generational player -- L.T. level.

Hes.somewhere between Kerrigan and Von Miller IMHO.  Which would be fine, but not.good enough to not even consider any.other options but drafting him with #2 pick.  Thats all Im sayin...

1 minute ago, BRAVEONAWARPATH said:

Ryan Kerrigan has basically been "a perennial 10 sack guy". 

 

Is that the ceiling for Chase?

Hes a little better than Ryan Kerrigan.  But I think people also underrate R. Kerrigan.  Perennial 10 sack guys dont grow on trees, its a pretty high compliment.

5 hours ago, mistertim said:

 

I really don't understand your take that Chase is already as good as he's going to get. He's a freak who's still perfecting his toolbox. There's no reason to believe he won't continue to improve with NFL coaching. Von Miller got better once he got to the NFL because he kept perfecting his craft. No reason to think CY will be any different based on what we know about his drive and work habits.

Dont get me wrong, I like the fact that hes pretty polished already.  But I also think it means hes close to his ceiling.  Which is a perennial 10 sack guy.  Which is great and all, but people are hyping him like hes the next L.T.  or somn, and therefore wont even consider other options such as Simmons.  Its just a little too much hype IMO, but like I said Im a former OSU fan thats been spoiled.  He is same level as N. Bosa.  Which is very very good.  But not L.T good.

I guess Im kinda coming around on Chase Young.  I still just cant shake the feeling that hes gonna be good, but hes not gonna be THAT good.  The problem I see with Chase is that he is as good now as he is ever gonna get, there is no room for improvement as he is already perfected the technical side things.  And hes just not quite the physical freak that Jevon Kearse or Clowney are.

He'll be good, but he is just not gonna be a generational type player in the NFL like he almost was in college.  

Keep in mind I got spoiled at Ohio State, watching Joey and Nick Bosa, Will Smith a generation ago.  But thats why I can see, he is not a cut above those guys.  Hes about the same level, not as strong as Nick Bosa or Will Smith upper body wise, but a little quicker.

If you wanna draft Chase Young  expect someone at the level of Will Smith (DE for saints that got murdered).  Good, but  no Reggie White or L.T. or Sean Taylor level of truly once a generation player.

You know who could be though?  Isiah Simmons.  A LB thats faster than Saquon Barkley or Ezekiel Elliot, and most WRs.  Now THAT is a potential once in a generation type player, with room to grow and the freakish athleticism of Sean Taylor (minus Seans mean streak, which we are just never gonna see again).

I wont complain too much with a perennial 10 sack guy, as long as Simmons stays out of the Giants hands.

Its a foregone conclusion that the 2nd pick will be Chase Young.  It SHOULDNT be a foregone conclusion WHO makes that second pick.

Just step back and think.  Look at all the gaping holes we have on defense.  I draw your attention to particularly the middle LB positions and the outside CB positions, where you will see black holes where a football player should be residing. 

Now look at the front lines, the front 4.  You know, basically, in a normal situation, this should be a pretty darn good line already.  And I dont think adding Chase Young will add much value to that -- nor does Chase Young's addition make the 2 blackholes at MLB and CB less destructive.  

But...Chase Yooung can fill those two black holes...if you trade down and get Isiah SImmons and CB in the 2nd round....

Or does that make too much sense?

1 hour ago, RansomthePasserby said:

I’ve wondered if the Iranian leadership was in on Soleimani’s death all along. Not only because it would draw attention away from the protests, but also because they feared his popularity and viewed him as a political threat in the long run.

Agreed.  Like I said, the #2 most powerful guy in a country getting assassinated usually leaves the #1 guy and the former#3 pretty happy --- leadership is either in on the plot, or green-lighted the move through a mutual benefactor (i.e. Vladmir).  

The whole ordeal has a pre-determined, staged feel to it.  Just look how quickly and eager Iran was to declare their satisfaction with the "revenge" missile strikes that were very obviously for show only.  And how quickly Trump was to accept and agree that Iran had "stood down".  Seriously I dont think the fires had even beet put out yet, but somehow everyone has agreed that this the end of things for now.  Its not even been a full week, and the whole situation wont even be front page news by tomorrow.   Step back and think about that for a second  --and think if you would have thought that this was possible one week, when people were freaking out like WWIII had just started.   

2 hours ago, skinsmarydu said:

Just heard on MoJoe that the attack on the city of Atlanta's computers was "of Iranian origin". 

Im just waiting for Trump to say, "Itd be a shame if the Iranians hacked our elections <wink wink>"

1 hour ago, Sacks 'n' Stuff said:

I mean, do you have some sort of evidence to support that? There's plenty to criticize without making **** up out of the blue.

Not really, just a gut instinct.  Having lived in a 3rd world country, Im pretty familiar with the modus operandi of these type of people -- gangsters in government.  The only people they see as threats are those that directly threaten their personal business interests (they dont give a damn about threats to the country), and when they kill, its to hush someone up, get rid of a rival, or get rid of a threat 

For example, Kissinger and Bolton are evil SOBs ,but they arent just gangsters like Trump.  Somewhere in their twisted minds, they actually believe they are protecting the country.  Not Trump.

Anyhow, the only evidence I have is some article that linked the Trump organization to some money laundering operation run by an accolyte of Soleimani that was trying to acquire ICBM technology.  Apparently he couldnt get any US organization to do the laundering, except Trump which was considering it as late as 2016, but apparently dropped it once he got in office.  Or say they say.  My hypothesis is they didnt really drop it,  and thats why this general is dead.  Or something like that.  Point is, we need to investigate everything Trump does, with the assumption of a criminal motive.  The link to this article is on reddit worldnews page somewhere, 1st page I think, Ill look it up at some point today.       

Edit:  Never mind, just scroll up and read Cooked Crack's posts.  Thats what those posts are referring to.  Basically, Trump organization may have laundered money to help Iran get ICBM parts and technology.  Waaaay bigger than Ukraine, this is flat out treason-hang-him kinda stuff.  

I wish people would stop trying to understand Trump's motives through political reasoning.

He's a gangster.  This Iranian General was killed cause he knew too much.  What he knew about Trump, should be everybody's focus.  Follow the money, they say....

Am I the only one that doesnt think that this is that crazy a move from Trump?  Im not saying I would advise this, Im generally not a pro-assassination type of person, but all in all, my only really worry about this move is that itll succeed in helping Trump's reelection chances by shoring up his support from establishment republicans (i.e. military/industrial complex), and giving his base their scheduled dose of dead muslims.  It also throws a bone to his favorite but somewhat ailing ally -- MBS.

Iran's options are pretty limited here, really what can they do?   It has to respond in some way to save face, but the response has to be limited to ensure that the U.S. is left with the option of not going to all out war.  All out war is not an option, because they will lose, and they know it.  This immediately precludes any action that likely leads to all out war, such as shutting down the straight of Hormuz, or a massive attack that shuts down oil installations for a prolonged period of time.   I doubt that any high level Americans are within Iran's reach.  They could go for a Saudi prince, but thats a confused response unlikely to satisfy the "revenge' calls. 

Iran cant enlist the support of its allies to join them in a direct conflict with the U.S.  We all know that this assassination never happens without the implicit approval of the most powerful man in the world -- Vladmir Putin -- so that take's Russia off the table.  The Iranians are left with China.  And China is not going to war with U.S. on behalf of anyone, period.   

I also think that the Iranian regime -- which is only concerned about its own survival -- is unlikely to risk that by putting themselves in the crosshairs, so again, no all out war.  I also believe that whenever the number two most powerful man in a country is assassinated, the number one and formerly-number-three most powerful men are pretty happy, though they can never admit it.  I know Khamenei supposedly liked or trusted this guy, but then again maybe he was getting too powerful and Khamenei took heed of what happened with Sissi and Morsi in Egypt.  So with the now-two-most-powerful men in Iran secretly smiling, Irans not doing anything bat**** crazy.        

On 9/16/2019 at 10:56 AM, Destino said:

They might be counting on the US refusing to fight, which Beto is happily signaling would be the case if he were elected President, and the UN stepping in and limiting any real damage that any other nations might do to them. 

Who's Beto? Cant think of anybody who has a snowballs chance in hall of being president named Beto.  

I think your statement is more likely true assuming Trump stays president.  Papa Putin ain't letting him go to war with Iran.  And Trump doesnt really want any war on Iran.  He showed his hand when he backed down to Iran by calling back those strikes in June.

Basically Iran did this because they can.  The Saudis are a bunch of cowards, they'll never fight a war against an enemy that can fight back, and so 8f they cant hire someone to fight Iran for them, the just have to sit there and take it.  Iran realizing this, and are now openly taunting the Saudis.

On 9/12/2019 at 3:37 PM, Skinsinparadise said:

 

 

90% of me knows Gruden was joking was this comment, 10% of me wants thinks we may discovered why he is so adept at stealing defeat from the jaws of victory.  

He probably looks back at WW2 and thinks it woulda been smart to let Hitler deal with Soviets for us....

5 minutes ago, Larry said:

I think it's an interesting and valid point.  I assume (hope?) that most of the people associated with him aren't kidnapped child molesters.  Most of them, I assume, are simply people who thought of him as a guy who throws cool parties.  (Or he's a campaign donor.)   

 

But it's also believable that lots of people wind up with lots of "lesser" dirt on them

What I gather from that list is that he is very well-connected (politically, socially, economically), from Washington DC to Hollywood.   

If rumor is true that hes got blackmail tapes on a lot of big names,then loook for him to plea down to 3 to 4 year prison sentence in exchange for keeping his mouth shut.

This kinda thing should be handled by highest levels of the justice department, with additional congressional oversight -- not by local law enforcement.  Put Mueller on this now that he's done with Trump.  When you are throwing around names like Bill Clinton, you cant have some Joe Schmoe handling the investigation. 

We should try to keep in mind, that a very thorough investigation that produces absolutely airtight evidence, is the minimal standard when dealing with the rich and famous.  Bill Clinton aint going to jail cuz he took a flight with Epstein or cause he had some business ties with him.  Nor should he.  But it should be investigated as part of a major, broad, well funded investigation that is shielded from partisanship and from corrupt influences.  I cant think of too many people not named Mueller who are capable of that type of investigation.  

21 minutes ago, Barry.Randolphe said:

I want to have her babies

I was pretty sure you meant to say that "you want her to have your babies," but then I saw this pic of her  ....Not a pretty frowner, Nope.

1 hour ago, Bacon said:

 

It goes off the rails in season 5, but the finale is one of the show's better episodes. 

Still think Wire is #1 all time, from start to finish it was more consistent than GOT.  Never a very high cheese factor, no true wtf moments.  Maybe didnt have the crazy highs and stunning lows of GOT's -- certainly never had any episodes like NK episode, or Battle of the ****s.   Just consistently a good show episode in and episode, that a told a very believable, very real -- and therefore, at times, very frightening story.      

Ill say this -- Im glad the show didnt drag on, Id rather put up with the somewhat rushed feeling, than watch a show go beyond its appropriate time (ala the Sopranoes which was several seasons too long, or Mad Men which was about 5 seasons too long).  Im done with this series.  Dont really care much more to see any more episodes, and there are no episodes, so I guess they timed it well.    

Just a general thought, but I think the title of this thread is indicative of the problem.  We have such low expectations of justice when police are the defendants.  The thread title should be, "some more cops that need to be in prison."

If you can basically just kill anybody, and the worst thing thats gonna happen to you is that maybe you lose your job (and even then only if there is a national outcry), theres no real incentive not to be an asshole with an itchy trigger finger.

This is the episode that made me realize it was 100% a mistake for the TV series to go ahead of the books.  If the author cant finish the books, its because he doesnt how to get to the ending.  Knowing the ending doesnt help, hes struggling because he didnt know how to get Dany to become a Mad Targearyn, in a sensical and satisfying manner.  Clearly the show writers just decided to go ahead and force it, and we're left with this episode which I think is best descibed as..awkward.  Very awkward, I couldnt wait for this episode to be over.  

I do believe that GRMM always intended to end with Dany going mad and requiring execution (i think obviously thats what the next episode is about).  The fact that Dany ended up picking up where her father left off is definitely something that was planned from the very beginning of this series.  But the reason why she ended up that way, just has to be better written than she felt lonely and was in a bad mood.  I think the GRMM in his books (if he ever finishes) will do a better job of helping us understand Dany's mindset and thought patterns, 

Jon's rejection of her was the straw the broke the camel's back.  I think the book will dwell quite a bit on how betrayed Dany felt, by Jon and everyone else around her. Despite his betrayal, she did pretty much practically beg him back, and so his rejection of her was probably very devastating, destroying what was left of her conscience.  Psychologically, what else can you do if a "good guy" like Jon betrays and rejects you?  Most likely, you would lose faith in the very idea of "good guys".  Still however, we need something more to happen to Dany, with the appropriate psychological impact, to make sense of her going mad.   If nothing else, Dany has always showed the willingness to do what she had to do, even if it meant coming down hard on people or  sacrificing people -- but since when has she ever elected to do somethign she didnt really have to do?  

This is a type of marketing technique -- it doesnt really cost that much, and it can go along way.  It also doesnt really solve the problem, which is that the policy must be changed, and whoever wrote that policy or was involved in writing that policy should be immediately fired, and publicly shamed like they tried to  shame those kids, IMO.  

9 hours ago, visionary said:

I've been thinking Tyrion or Jon has Varys killed for treason and then has to kill her themself later.  If Jon does it or takes part, I can see him exiling himself as punishment.

Not sure what happens with Drogon though if he is still around after Dany's death.  Also not certain this is what will happen.  Dany or Cersei even could still somehow be on the throne when it's over.

 

 

I'd like to see Tyrion, Jon, Arya, and Sansa survive.  Not sure about the rest. Sansa seems safest right now, but not sure what happens when Jon realizes she broke her oath and may be helped cause treason and infighting (rightly or wrongly).

I think there's very little chance Sansa faces any sort of punishment from Jon.  They are way too close for that to happen.  If the information gets out, Jon has noone to blame but himself -- he and not Sansa is the source of the original leak. 

I think it shows that some part of him realizes that he really belongs on the throne, not Dany, whether he likes it or not.  There is really no other reason on earth to tell Sansa and Arya, knowing full well that he has given Dany the impression that he'd keep his mouth shut. 

Which I find very interesting, as it is out of character for Jon.  Almost devious.  The first time Ive really seen him, consciously or subconsciously make a play for the throne.  But it also causes me concern.  One consistent theme about this show is that the characters who are untrue to themselves, and go back on their word (especially if they are considered trustworthy), are soon to be dead.  Ned Stark, Rob Stark, Lady Stark -- all of them seemed to be trustworthy, and all of them lied or went back on their word, and were killed shortly thereafter.  It is part of the grim justice that really does govern this world GRMM has created.

People like Cersei stick around because they dont claim or pretend to be anything than what they are -- Cersei is openly dishonest, which is actually a type of honesty in and of itself.  Cersei has stayed true to herself.  But if Jon starts playing a two-way game, letting Dany believe one thing, and then doing another -- then he is soon to be dead.  And Daenyrs is soon to be dead herself if she continues to show that she just wanted the throne all along at any cost, and that the whole claim about being the breaker of chains and wanting to make a better world were just B.S. -- B.S. that she may have tricked herself into believing, but will not spare her from the grim justice of GOT.  

This episode was a ..symphony.  A majestic orchestra that ended with the perfect note;  the priestess withering away.  Worthy of an Best Picture Oscar, even though its a TV show.  

I wonder where he got the idea from?  This is an intelligent enough troll job that I doubt he came up with it on his own.   

18 minutes ago, PeterMP said:

Certainly, the partition, which was driven by the UN, which was driven by the US and European powers, committed land that belonged to non-Jews to the formation of the Jewish state

Of course it was.  But, some supporters of Israel are on a mission to re-write history.  The latest twist, apparently, is that the Arabs were at fault for the holocaust.  I would say that you cant make this **** up, but apparently you can...