BSR

Who in America has no access to healthcare?

At least one of your posts was recently deleted by a moderator for being too political. Aplícate el cuento.

Despite poor reviews on Imdb, for some reason (code for: I thought the lead was hot) I decided to watch Jaguar, a limited series about a group of Holocaust survivors in 1960s Spain who seek to capture a sadistic Nazi doctor to bring him to trial. As I was watching, I was baffled by the poor reviews because I was really enjoying Jaguar: well-developed characters, intriguing plot, edge-of-your-seat suspense. I realized only at the end that the series was scripted for a 2nd season. Unfortunately, Netflix in its infinite wisdom pulled the plug. But even without its 2nd season, Jaguar is well worth watching.

People who were predicting a really bad recession pre-2008 were also dismissed as Chicken Littles. The rose-colored glasses set insisted that no recession was coming or that worst case it would be a mild one. I'm not predicting a recession as bad as 2008, but it won't be mild either.

For those who don't get the reference, Team Carota is a group of guys who support Jannik Sinner by wearing goofy carrot costumes in the stands. I, like most I think, assumed the carrots were a nod to Sinner's red hair, but it's actually because Sinner has the odd habit of eating carrots during changeovers. The Djoker-Shelton drama resurfaced in this Australian Open, with Novak saying that Shelton showed disrespectful behavior in their USO match. Unfortunately, no rematch on court. Although they were slotted to meet in the 4th round, unconventional veteran Mannarino upset Ben in the 3R. Ben's dad & coach Bryan admitted that the drama was a distraction for Ben, who when asked about it said he just wanted to put it behind him. Here's a video about Sinner's carrot-garbed supporters:

In particular, was the room any brighter?

He lost me at "in the dance of life."

Drive out Palestinians?? Just googled it, 1.6 million Palestinians are living in Israel as Israeli citizens. Palestinians (10 currently) even hold seats in Knesset, Israel's parliament. If Netanyahu is trying to drive Palestinians out of Israel, he's failing spectacularly.

The difference, of course, is that when Netanyahu says "from the river to the sea," he is affirming Israel's right to exist whereas when Palestinians say it, they are calling for the mass-murder of Jews.

Whatever the chant meant back in the 1960s is irrelevant. All that matters is what it means today. As you point out, the phrase was coined by Hamas, who very clearly states both in word and deed that it calls for the extermination of the Jews. This chant, this call for genocide, is what Gay allowed to be openly and freely expressed at Harvard. Harvard did the right thing when it forced/pressured Gay to resign, although it is a disgrace that it took so long. It's also a disgrace that this nonscholar will be collecting $900,000 as a "professor," but that's another debate.

70% of Palestinians in Gaza support Hamas, the terrorist group that wants to kill all Jews. How selfish of Israeli Jews to shut out people who want to mass-murder them. Any way you cut it, the "From the river to the sea (in other words, the elimination of Israel), Palestine will be free" chant is a call for genocide of Jews.

That is disgustingly disingenuous. The "end of the Israeli state" is a thinly disguised way of calling for the genocide of the Jews because the only way to eliminate the state of Israel would be to kill all the Jews who live there.

"destroying the planet" ... then why do hundreds of climate-change activists always travel to all these environmental conferences on their private jets? Maybe because climate activists care only about control over the world's economies. Climate? meh, not so much. Some people have to choose between heating their homes and buying groceries. The Very Important People who fly private have no idea how painful that is, and they certainly don't care.

Because there is so much to unpack with your post, I'll take on just one point for now. As much as I'd like to respond to all of them, I doubt I'll have the energy or motivation. Elise Stefanik did have a tough question waiting for Gay, but Gay's response to the easy question ("Does calling for the genocide of Jews violate Harvard's rules on bullying and harassment?”) left Stefanik so flabbergasted that she never got to ask the "set-up" question: "What are you going to do about it?" That was the question Stefanik expected Gay to fumble because the first question is a no-brainer, as evidenced by Gay's retraction days later. Forget the hearing, Gay's fate was sealed when for much too long she allowed calls for genocide of Jews to be expressed openly and freely at Harvard. The hearing was simply the forum that made very public Gay's failure. Pray tell, in what possible context (it all depends on the context, according to Gay) is the call for mass-murdering all gays/blacks/Muslims/or even redheads protected by free speech? Any university president that allowed such calls for genocide of those other groups would be fired instantly, yet it took a House hearing to hold Gay accountable.

I binged Berlín last week -- loved it! Berlín was my (everyone's?) favorite character from Money Heist, so much so that they gave him his own series. Who knew that a sadistic psychopath could be so lovable?? Berlín is quite different in tone from Money Heist, much more tongue-in-cheek humor, plenty of laugh-out-loud moments before & even during the edge-of-your-seat suspense. Also, the prequel takes place before the protagonist is ¡spoiler alert! diagnosed with his terminal illness and shows a far more human and humane protagonist. The supporting cast is fantastic. Berlín assembles a motley crew to pull off a magnificent jewel heist, €44 million of jewelry from an auction house, and the chemistry of the ensemble cast is simply perfect. A very pleasant surprise was newbie Joel Sanchez, a model turned actor. When I heard this was his first acting gig, I thought, "uh oh, pretty but wooden," but he was terrific, totally held his own against decades-in-the-biz veterans Pedro Alonso, Tristan Ulloa, and Michelle Jenner. Alicia and Raquel are the only other two characters brought in from the Money Heist cast. Because Berlín was made years after MH yet supposedly takes place years before, you have to forgive the cognitive dissonance of the actors looking years older despite playing characters years younger. The ending leaves the door wide open for many more seasons of Berlín. I'm crossing my fingers hard for a Season 2. Maybe they can negotiate a group rate from a good surgeon, LOL

"An ongoing arrangement is ideal, too." Maybe he's quoting a high rate -- $600 sounds high, even for a big market like LA -- more to find a sugardaddy.

I love winter because I get to sleep in the cold, ~50°, huddled under the thickest down comforter I could find on the Internet. I love breathing in the cold air while I'm toasty warm under the covers. While awake, I set the thermostat at 55° and wear a long-sleeve T + sweatshirt. Because winters are relatively mild in Las Vegas, I can get almost all my heat from my downstairs neighbor (I wonder what his heating bill is). The big exception is when I take a shower. I turn on a space heater to make the bathroom nice & toasty so that I don't turn into an icicle upon exiting the shower.

I still can't believe they let you into Yankee Stadium with a full pan of baked ziti. Just how long ago was this? Were the Dodgers still in Brooklyn??

Gotta click on the link because X doesn’t let this tweet be embedded. Trust me, it's worth the bother ... https://twitter.com/AtPhotness/status/1745162666673402220?t=YurGaahslVApvQuMBhovcA&s=19

Unfortunately, this disgrace plagues every level of education, from preschool to university. Narcissists who don't give a sh*t about their students because they care only about themselves ram narratives down kids' throats, and the difference between an A+ & a D- is simply how well the student parrots back what the so-called teacher wants to hear. Sadder still is that society applauds these grotesquely selfish narcissists simply because they are called teachers. We all know people who work in a field totally different from their college major. I know an art history major who works as a transportation consultant, a PhD in anthropology who became a McKinsey partner, a Wharton finance major who ended up as a fine art buying agent, etc. These people succeeded in fields very different from their major because they learned HOW to think. Contrast that with the poor bastard who only learns WHAT to think. Put them in an unfamiliar situation, and they're completely lost because they never learned critical thought. The narratives & ideologies they learned in college might make them feel good (there is no chic like victim chic), but I wouldn't hire them to sharpen pencils.

Not really an analysis, more just telling the whole story. I started noticing that month after month the government would publish a stellar jobs report with great fanfare, only to very quietly revise it downward a week later.

The film sounds great, but intense. I plan on watching at some point, but it might take me a while to ready myself first.

Some facts about that rosey jobs report ... US Labor Market Summarized: 1. 10 out of the last 11 jobs reports revised lower 2. ~25% of jobs gains in 2023 ultimately revised away 3. Government jobs accounted for 25% of December jobs gains 4. Part time jobs UP 762,000, full time jobs DOWN 1.5 million in December 5. Full-time job gains are FLAT for 2023 while part-time is up sharply 6. Inflation adjusted earnings ~3% BELOW 2021 levels But still, the initial jobs number beats expectations and prints headlines before being revised lower. Source: The Kobeissi Letter

Kathy Griffin ridiculed Bristol Palin for being fat.

If the Fresno Olive Garden closes, put me on suicide watch.