BSR

Hmm, you actually started a thread with a clickbait headline just to try to trigger forum members who think you hate the US?? Like some old English guy once said: "The lady doth protest too much, methinks."

Since I'm not a soccer fan, I missed all the World Cup excitement as it was happening. Only months later did I catch an interview with Bono (Yassine Bounou), the Moroccan goalkeeper who blocked 2 penalty kicks to beat Spain and put Morocco in the QF for the 1st time. Some Moroccans do speak Spanish, but not with this accent. Apparently Bono "speaks Argentine" despite playing in Spain because his coach & trainers in his first team Atlético Madrid were all Argentine. Handsome guy, but holy sh*t, his accent could melt buttah.

The Kroger app showed a digital coupon, a dozen eggs for $1.49. If I can buy a dozen eggs for just a buck & a half, I'm gonna get all Linda Richman vehrklempt at the self-checkout.

For years if not decades, San Franciscans called anyone who disagreed with them racist, white supremacist, stupid, bigoted, hate-filled, and so on. Now that San Francisco is going to hell in a handbasket, thanks to their own "enlightened" policies, do you really expect those of us SFans smeared as racist monsters to extend our hands and sing Kumbaya?

For the sake of the Millennium Tower residents and all their neighbors, I hope the plan to level the building works. But it's built on soft soil and is already leaning 29 inches ... oh boy. Best of luck 'cuz they're gonna need it.

You are the self-proclaimed man of science, yet you pack your posts with assumptions and accusations. O man of science, where are the peer-reviewed studies proving that millions (or even hundreds of thousands) of LGBTs are rejected by their religious parents? Where are the peer-reviewed studies proving that the preachings of Pat Robertson and similar figures directly cause these religious parents to reject their LGBT children? Present those peer-reviewed studies, stop the wild-eyed assumptions & accusations, and then we'll talk. Have a nice day.

What a great Roland Garros! Novak beat Carlos in the most anticipated match of the year. The match lived up to its billing for the first 2 sets, but unfortunately Carlos succumbed to cramps early in the 3rd. Muchova played Swiatek a lot tougher than I expected. The Czech was up a break in the 3rd when Swiatek decided to step up the aggression. 3 RG titles in 4 years for the just turned 22 Swiatek. Novak took the lead in the Slam race by winning his 23rd over now 2-time RG finalist Casper Ruud. Ruud fought hard and played better than I expected, but Novak in Slams simply operates on another level.

@augustus mistakenly identified the protesters as the lunatic fringe group, the Westboro Baptist Church, when they were actually another lunatic fringe group, Official Street Preachers. No real difference between the two, unless you want to get all hair-splitty. I actually don't know any gay person who has been rejected by their family. Granted, that doesn't prove the problem doesn't exist, just as the one case of your fiance doesn't prove the problem is rampant and widespread. O Man of Science, can you prove the causal relationship between Pat Robertson and your fiance's parents' decision to cut off ties with him?

You can claim you were born & raised on Neptune -- doesn't mean it's true. As much as LGBTs claim they're leaving because of oppression & persecution, I'll bet my bottom dollar that the real reason is far less glamorous: work, family, staggering homeowners increases. But hey, there is no chic like victim chic.

If you want to get all hair-splitty, then yes, @augustus is wrong. But really, same song, different verse. How many members does this group I've never seen or heard of have?

I can't say I was a fan of Pat Robertson nor a critic because I know almost nothing about the guy. I was simply criticizing all the nouveaux Jussie Smolletts who carry on as if they were victimized by the man.

Professional victims are celebrating the death of their "oppressor" Pat Robertson to validate their own delusions of victimhood. For far too many Americans, victimhood is social currency. Social status and prestige are not measured by money, looks, or education, but rather by one's degree of victimhood. So professional victims bend over backward to pretend they were in some way oppressed by Pat Robertson to show off their victimhood bona fides. It's the Cult of Victimhood's version of keeping up with the Joneses.

For a self-proclaimed man of science, you make some very bold assumptions. Can you prove any of your claims? Or are you just indulging in victim chic?

Yes, we have Alcaraz-Djokovic Part Deux! Karen Khachanov came out super-aggressive and was the better player for almost 2 sets, but Novak played a perfect 2nd set tiebreak and restored order. Tsitsipas claimed he was adversely affected because he took a melatonin tablet to take a nap before the match. Hmm, I wonder what his excuse is for his other 4 losses against Carlos. Carlos beat Novak in a thrilla in Madrid in their only prior match, squeaking it out in a 3rd set tiebreak. Carlos has only improved since then, but Novak is a different player in Slams. This semifinal is like a virtual final because none of the 4 players in the other half of the draw can beat the winner of this clash of the Titans.

Maybe just a poor judge of human nature. Are you going to let some selfish mooch take your house away just like that? Or are you gonna fight like hell to defend what's yours? If it were me, I'm going Braveheart on that okupa's ass. Have you figured out yet why all the people on inner tubes float in only one direction across the Strait of Florida?

As I stated previously, the homeless problem is complicated. Yes, something is wrong with our system when millions of people work full-time yet can't afford housing or medical care. That is an extensive political discussion that we unfortunately cannot pursue on this forum. But I'm shocked that you think the solution is giving government the power to confiscate property at will and redistribute it however government sees fit. If your proposed system is so superior, then why do all those people risking their lives on inner tubes in the Strait of Florida try to float away from your beautiful system and toward the evil, oppressive, and unjust system?

Oh, so I can lock you out of your condo and live there for free while you are forced to keep paying the mortgage, HOA, homeowners, property tax, and utilities? And 3 years from now, after you've spent tens of $thousands in legal fees and I've caused tens of $thousands in damage, I don't owe you one thin dime? Great! When can I move in? Wait, forget that, 'cuz you have no say in the matter. I'll take over your place whenever I damn well please. ¡Gracias, tío, te debo una gorda!

El AVE (Alta Velocidad Española, the Spanish high-speed train system) is a financial clusterf*ck. Annual revenue falls waaaaaaaaaay short of the operating costs. The typical annual loss is €100 million, jumped to €480 million in the red during the worst of Covid. Forget recovering even 1 céntimo of the €billions in startup costs. That's your definition of "success"? That's my definition of disaster.

We are talking about 2 different things. I am referring to the actual number of homeless whereas you are referring to homeless visibility and presence. Never been to Tokyo but have been to Madrid more times than I can count. Granted, you will be hard pressed to see more than a few scattered homeless. If that's your definition of "solving homelessness," uh, OK. But if "solving homelessness" means reducing the number of homeless, then Spain has massively failed. The government simply forces property owners against their will to house squatters. ~40 additional houses/apartments per day are taken over by squatters, and it takes months if not years to evict them. Plus if the owner is delinquent in paying the mortgage, property tax, HOA, utilities, etc. while the squatters are living for free in the owner's property, the owner is fined. You call that a "solution"? I call it an outrage.

According to this research paper published in February of this year, there are an estimated 4,146 homeless people in Madrid (comunidad autónoma, not city proper), far more than the "two dozen" one might see walking the streets. While that rate is much lower than San Francisco or NYC, when you take into consideration the Okupa law, Madrid has clearly fallen far short of solving homelessness. Stripping citizens of their property rights does reduce the homeless population significantly yet utterly fails to address the issue of homelessness. No, you won't see homeless in Tokyo because of the deep stigma attached to homelessness and begging. But people crashing in cybercafes & capsule hotels fails as badly as Spain's Okupa law in addressing homelessness. Here's a video that exposes the dark secret behind Japan's "0% homelessness" ...

Novak and Carlos beat their R16 opponents by identical scores 6-3 6-2 6-2, but while Novak was good against Varillas (turned pro 10 years ago but played mostly Challengers until this year) Carlos was godlike against Musetti (heckuva good claycourter, beat Novak in Monte Carlo this year and Carlos in Hamburg last year). Carlos is 4-0 against his QF opponent Tsitsipas, Novak 8-1 winning the last 7 in a row against his QF opponent Khachanov. Still crossing my fingers for an epic Carlos-Novak semifinal. A "huh, whaddya know" factoid courtesy of Eurosport: Even though Novak Djokovic has only 2 Roland Garros titles to Rafa Nadal's 14, Novak has reached more RG quarterfinals than Rafa -- 17 to 16. Even though Rafa has only 2 Australian Open titles to Novak's 10, Rafa has reached more AO quarterfinals than Novak -- 14 to 13.

On one hand, you have to empathize with the Ukrainian players. Kostyuk's parents had to flee their town after it was bombed. Even after they moved in with Kostyuk in Kiev, they still suffered the trauma of hearing bombs dropping uncomfortably close to the house. Trauma like that sparks a passionate response. But on the other hand, what do they expect from Russian/Belarusian players? Even if Aryna Sabalenka and all the other Russian/Belarusian players quit tennis to become a full-time anti-Russian activists, Putin would give exactly zero f*cks. More vocal opposition & condemnation would make the Ukrainians feel better but won't make a speck of difference in Putin's prosecution of the war.

I doubt that other rich developed countries have completely solved their homelessness problem. In Japan, the government, society, and the homeless themselves do a heckuva job of keeping homelessness out of sight and thus out of mind. Spain has an "Okupa" law: if someone occupies a home for more than 48 hours, they have a legal right to stay there while the owner is forced to continue paying the mortgage, property tax, utilities, etc. Because the eviction process can take months, the would-be homeless keep a roof over their head by being serial okupas. On the flip side, in the far less wealthy Philippines, the culture "solves" homelessness: someone will always take you in -- usually a family member, maybe a friend, sometimes even a well-to-do person you barely know. In other words, homelessness, like so many issues, is complicated. Gun violence is equally complicated, but any further discussion of the issue will delve too much into politics. San Francisco seems to take a simplistic approach to a complicated issue: more money and more government programs will solve homelessness. If only it were that easy.