BSR

We're not on the same page. I was referring to Princess Kate's participation in the men's trophy presentation but not the women's.

I wasn't criticizing you nor dictating how you should feel. I was just confused. When you went, did you know about Cuba's severe penalties for stealing from or harming tourists?

Interesting that you perceived the risk of hiring to be high. It's been 20 years since I visited Cuba, but I remember our guide (I was there for my Canadian cousin's wedding, and part of our group package was a local we could go to for any questions or problems) told us that while one should always take the usual precautions, Cuba was extremely safe for tourists. Because the regime so desperately needed the hard currency that tourists bring in, the penalties for harming or stealing from a tourist were quite severe. Sure, ripoffs ran rampant, like charging foreigners 3x what a Cuban would pay, but that's common in any touristy spot and not really a crime. But outright theft or worse, like assault, was extremely rare. Certainly a lot can change in 20 years, but the current regime is still as starved for hard currency as Fidel was 2 decades ago.

Carlitos (he prefers either Carlitos or Charlie since his dad is also named Carlos) is one helluva big match player. Yet despite winning 2 Slams in just 5 weeks, he's still ranked #3 behind Sinner and Novak because of inconsistent results. For example, he lost his first match at Queens to Jack Draper, who lost in the 1st round at Wimby. So don't bet the milk money on the Chuckster in smaller tournaments, but in Slams the guy is NAILS.

Yes, that's what most people would think, but I doubt that'll placate the feminists.

I normally ignore emoticon reactions, but I really need to know @EZEtoGRU's motivation for laughing at my previous post. Did you read Just Chuck's post detailing Baldwin's decisions that created an unsafe set? Instead of hiring a certified armorer, Baldwin hired a grossly unqualified and inexperienced woman just to save a few bucks. Baldwin is guilty of shocking irresponsibility. What about that is so funny?

The judge dismissed the charges with prejudice, which means that Baldwin cannot be retried. Nonetheless, I hope Baldwin gets destroyed in civil court. His knowing and willful irresponsibility is horrifying.

Hmm, I'm reading conflicting reports. Some say that Princess Kate is only attending; others say she will present the trophies, which she's been doing since 2016. If she does present the trophies, I'm guessing the feminists will be rather unhappy about it since since she did not participate in the women's trophy presentation today.

Thanks for this eye-popping revelation. The information you provided confirms my suspicion that Baldwin's horrifyingly bad decisions stemmed from budget concerns. My blood ran cold when I read that detail about the armorer's "qualifications." Who knows what will happen with the criminal charges, but my God, Baldwin deserves to get destroyed in civil court.

If the prosecutor was guilty of misconduct, then the appropriate measures are sanctions and penalties for that prosecution team. But the defendant shouldn't "benefit" from that misconduct. I hope another prosecutor refiles the charges. Yes, primary responsibility for the tragic death falls on the (horrifyingly incompetent) armorer. But as executive producer, Baldwin bears some share of blame as well. If your crew flat-out ups and quits because set procedures have become so unsafe, your responsibility as executive producer is to shut down filming to straighten everything out. Failure to do so is gross negligence. @pubic_assistance, allow me to tweak your analogy a bit. If you as the architect contract a plumber with an impeccable reputation, top-notch work on every single project going back decades, and the plumbing explodes, are you responsible? No, of course not. But if you knowingly hire a shyte plumber whose previous dozen jobs are plagued with problems, are you responsible? Duh, of course. The latter scenario is a far better analogy of Baldwin's mismanagement. The crew's quitting was a slap in the face, telling if not screaming at him to stop filming. Yet he chose to ignore that giant red flag, maybe because of budget concerns, maybe because of a shocking lack of common sense. Whatever the reason for his (baffling) decision, Baldwin bears a share of responsibility for that poor woman's death.

Inflation has caused prices to jump 25% in just 3 years. People speak negatively about the economy not because they want doom and gloom, but because they're getting crushed by price increases. 27% of Americans report that they are occasionally skipping meals because money is so tight. When their financial situation has gotten that dire, people aren't going to celebrate a few discounts.

Good point. As people have mentioned in other threads, many expats living abroad cannot or will not learn the local language, which causes all sorts of problems, causing some to give up & leave. I can't imagine retiring in a country but not bothering to learn the language, although I've met a fair number who do just that. Personally, I'd feel too isolated, even if I made strong friendships amongst the expat community. But in the end, to each his own.

It's so obvious now why Eichner was screaming "homophobia!" at the top of his lungs. The alternative would have meant having to acknowledge that the (vast) majority of moviegoers found him deeply unlikeable. Playing the victim is so much gentler on the ego.

Congratulations on your hat trick.

Congratulations! Two posts in a row that make no sense!

Please calm down. This last post of yours doesn't even make sense. Others are simply pointing out that you are mistaken about the reality of Dubai and Abu Dhabi. While homosexuality is technically illegal in the United Arab Emirates, people are not arrested for it, and they certainly aren't executed. You are simply required to do all sexual activity, no matter how mild like holding hands, in private behind closed doors. If it's any consolation, the straights have to follow the same rules. Stop assuming that all Muslim-majority countries are like Iran. If you don't want to go to the UAE, fine, nobody is forcing you. But the least you could do is stop spewing falsehoods.

Ever wonder what happened to the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence? 5 signers were captured by the British as traitors, and tortured before they died. 12 had their homes ransacked and burned. 2 lost their sons in the revolutionary army, another had 2 sons captured. 9 of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships from the revolutionary war. What kind of men were they? 24 were lawyers and jurists. 11 were merchants. 9 were farmers and large plantation owners. Men of means, well educated. But they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were captured. Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships swept away from the seas by the British navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts, and died in rags. Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his family almost constantly. He served in the Congress without pay, and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him, and poverty was his reward. Vandals or soldiers, or both, looted the properties of Ellery, Clymer, Hall, Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton. At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson Jr., noted that the British General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters. The owner quietly urged General George Washington to open fire. The home was destroyed, and Nelson died bankrupt. Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed his wife, and she died within a few months. John Hart was driven from his wife’s bedside as she was dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill were laid to waste. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning home to find his wife dead and his children vanished. A few weeks later he died from exhaustion and a broken heart. Norris and Livingston suffered similar fates. Such were the stories and sacrifices of the American Revolution. These were not wild eyed, rabble-rousing ruffians. They were soft-spoken men of means and education. They had security, but they valued liberty more. Standing tall, straight, and unwavering, they pledged, "For the support of this declaration, with firm reliance on the protection of the divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other, our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor."

https://x.com/hugyerbuds/status/1806313353834267125?t=DvTHjqz6ySpQzzbTF4SNZw&s=19

Two of my aunts live in one of those 55+ communities in Florida. Their active-adult (don't call it "retirement" because that makes them sound old!) community, and apparently all others, are cauldrons of gossip with a bunch of Gladys Kravitz's snooping into everybody's business. So gay, straight, or any combination, I'm pretty sure your nosey neighbors will be onto you in a New York minute.

This has to be a Photoshop because Rock Hudson hated exercise and working out. I doubt he was ever that sculpted, even in his salad days. Also, according to Tales of the City author Armistead Maupin, Hudson was a massively hung show-er. The cock shown is beautiful, but not massive. That said, it's still a great pic 😁

Killer handsome ... https://x.com/Burbanksteve1/status/1807048330423541819?s=19

The closest thing to hell on earth is to be a convicted pedophile in prison. The charges against Wolf are possession and distribution of child pornography, not pedophilia, but I doubt his fellow inmates will see much of a difference.

While I didn't know about Zuck's elaborate preparations, I did know that rich techies were a significant demographic in the prepper community. The logic behind it is that although the likelihood of a doomsday scenario is slim, if the sh*t does ever hit the fan, you'll be damn grateful that you made the investment. Also, for rich techies the cost of prepping is quite small relative to their net worth. However, if it were just a matter of a small investment relative to net worth, then rich people outside the tech sector would also be preppers, but that's not the case. While there are probably exceptions, in general you don't see a lot of investment fund managers or Hollywood producers into prepping. Maybe it's that a lot of tech geeks grow up playing, and still play, doomsday scenario video games, which foster a prepper mentality. I couldn't come up with any other theory for why rich techies are into prepping whereas rich doctors, lawyers, bankers (for the most part) are not.

Although The View is actually the highest rated daytime show, that's damning with faint praise because their ratings and number of viewers are still rock-bottom, just slightly less awful than the competition. I never thought about the dark money angle, but that makes total sense. Given the hugely inflated salaries the ladies are getting, someone has to be subsidizing the show with monster cash. Hey, like you said, this is America -- if you wanna flush your money down the toilet, it is your 100% your right to do so. The View should be retitled as The Victims because all that henhouse hell of a show ever rants about is victimhood: left, right & center. I can't say I've ever tuned into the show, but I've seen way too many clips of Sunny Hostin's perpetual tirades about supremacy this and oppression that and privilege other thing, all while backup singers Goldberg & Behar chime in their support. Obviously there's a market out there for such dreck because waaaaaaaaaay too many Americans love their victimhood. Nonetheless, that this orgy of self-indulgence has gone on for 27 seasons is, uh, impressive.