Master-Debater131

Working at a rec dispensary sounds pretty good right now. I did that for a while, was a fun job.

At this point Im just happy Ive made it this far without forgetting an entire week like I normally do

True. And theres a lower tax base in local govs now with people not going out to lunch or consuming products within a city's tax jurisdiction. I know downtown out here is having huge problems right now because people are abandoning the city to work remote and stay in the suburbs and surrounding areas. Short of sporting events and conventions, a lot of people just dont go downtown anymore. Work was the draw, and most places are sticking with at least a somewhat hybrid option right now. Job market is too tight to force return to work without losing a lot of people.

Its actually about reducing the number of employees without having to pay severance or unemployment when they quit rather than being fired.

Hamas relented in cease-fire talks under Trump pressure, official says https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/hamas-israel-trump-gaza-hostage-ceasefire-rcna184143?cid=sm_npd_nn_tw_ma&taid=675c7d347ea5c90001a90b60 "Pressure from President-elect Donald Trump was a major factor in Hamas relenting on two key issues during cease-fire and hostage-release talks with Israel, a senior administration official told NBC News on Friday. New hope for an agreement had senior Biden administration officials fanning out across the Middle East this week with the goal of closing on a critical pact by the end of 2024. According to officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to the media, Hamas has now agreed to Israeli forces staying in the Gaza Strip temporarily after fighting ends and to provide a complete list of hostages, including Americans, who will be released. The Wall Street Journal was the first to report on the concessions Hamas was prepared to make." Trump isnt even president yet and it already looks like the chances of Peace in Gaza have increased. Maybe those voters who protested Harris, or even voted for Trump, were on to something. Hamas realizes they are totally fucked, and Trump is the complete opposite of Biden. Hes not going to abandon Israel, and absolutely will put our own resources to use to bring the American hostages home. Hamas realizes that and is basically to the point of taking whatever they can possibly get knowing they have thoroughly lost the war.

Israeli Strikes Hit Syria’s Navy, Military Arsenals https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/israeli-strikes-hit-syrias-navy-military-arsenals-bd00a840 "TEL AVIV—Israel has targeted hundreds of Syria’s naval and other military assets in the past two days as part of its campaign to destroy weapons left behind by the country’s military following the downfall of President Bashar al-Assad. Israeli missile ships destroyed naval vessels belonging to Assad’s forces that held dozens of sea-to-sea missiles with heavy payloads capable of striking up to 120 miles, Israel’s military said. The strikes happened in the port area of Latakia and El Beida bay, and were intended to prevent the weapons from falling into the hands of rebels who could eventually use them against Israel, it said. The military said it had struck about 500 Syrian military targets in the past two days and destroyed most of the Assad regime’s stockpiles of missiles and other strategic weapons. “I authorized the Air Force to bomb strategic military capabilities left behind by the Syrian army, so that they would not fall into the hands of the jihadists,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday. Netanyahu said Israel wants to establish a relationship with Syria’s new rulers, but also issued a warning against taking actions that Israel would regard as a threat." Smart move by Israel. We dont yet know whos going to be running the show in Syria, and at least one of the groups is already telling women that they are basically no longer considered human. So theres at least one actor with territory whos could be bad news. By flat out decimating the Syrian military it prevents it from either being used by a new hostile Syrian government, or being sold or "acquired" by other malevolent actors in the region. The images of the strikes are pretty spectacular. Without any sort of way to fight back, the Israeli Air Force had free reign to do whatever it wanted, and they did just that. The Syrian Navy simply no longer exists (Russia apparently GTFO right before the strikes) and reports say there is not a single functional AA battery left for the Syrian army to use. There probably has been this kind of decimation from air strikes since the US took out Iraq.

This was a pretty rapid fall. The Civil War had basically been a stalemate for a long time now. I wouldnt be shocked if the key cause of this was Ukraine and the October 7th Massacre. Both of those wound up pulling resources from Syria with Russian and Iranian resources needing to be redirected to their own wars, either direct or proxy. As those resources dwindle, they just didnt have enough to maintain their own wars as well as prop up Assad. Its remarkable watching the entire Iranian sphere of influence completely collapse in the span of a little over a year. Now the real question is who takes power. This region has a tendency to replace one horrible despot with another.

Ahhh, I see you decided to wake-and-bake today. Good choice on a Friday.

Fun new question thats floating around, whos next? CBS is saying that Biden is thinking of issuing preemptive pardons to people like Liz Cheney, Anthony Fauci, and Mayorkas. Will he even pardon himself? Lots of people expect Trump to be the first POTUS to pardon themself, but what if Biden beats him to the punch? What a fun new idea this is that in no way Trump, and virtually every single future President, would abuse. Im loving this fun new phase of YOLO Biden. Hes setting the stage so any future admin can do whatever they want and simply issue pardons to anyone who may have done illegal stuff during their work in the administration. Who cares what they did? They can just be pardoned and no one can do anything about it!

I repicked, but like, did we really need to? Is anyone going to take the Panthers of Raiders? I feel like those are kinda gimmies and you could have just given us all +2 lol

Because they largely dont. And unless you have a real reason to even know who a CEO is odds are you wouldnt know it if one sat down next to you. In the 1910-20s there were hits on CEOS and the Robber Barons, but we've largely moved away from that as a society in the US. If this is a swing back toward that then you can bet CEOs are going to start to have more body guards.

It was a total joke out here for years that they should buy the place and fix it up. Then Covid killed it, and they actually did. I remember going there as a kid. It was horrible food, and smelled like chlorine, but it was a great time. And the sopapillas were amazing. The way they are treating their staff seems pretty good. I wish more people did that. Just pay your people a better wage and increase the food by a couple of bucks. Wayyyyyy better than stupid freaking tipping culture.

My entire family signed up when they first opened. Used our own emails and everything. Still nothing. They are opening it up beyond a random lottery now, but Ive heard its still hard to get in. Its just one of those things you have to go to. Its a real experience. Havent seen the updates, but the old version really was something else. South Park did it justice.

This was clearly a hit job. Like straight out of a movie kind of hit. The assassin knew exactly who he was, where he would be, and when to strike. Im sure he had a family, so thats sad. Realllyyyy gotta question what led to this though. I also suspect that this is going to lead to more CEOs having body guards. Kinda wondering why that wasnt the case here honestly. Insurance company CEO seems like one of those jobs that has a slightly higher than normal chance of someone trying to take you out.

Hahaha! I wish! That place is still stupidly hard to get into.

2 pick 6s in the game, and we get to 8 wins. 1 more for a winning season, and 1 (or 2 depending on how other games go) to get a playoff spot. Things are good right now

https://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/5018308-charlamagne-tha-god-democrats-hunter-biden-pardon/ Charlamagne tha God knocks Democrats after Hunter Biden pardon “I just want Democrats to stop acting like they are on this moral high ground politically, when they have shown us they’re not,” he said Monday on the Black Information Network. “Whether it’s skipping the primary process when Biden stepped down to things like Biden pardoning his son. Stop acting like you all are the pure party and Republicans aren’t.” " This is by far my favorite political thing to happen in a while. Im just laughing so damn hard at what this has done. First off, I am once again correct in my predictions. Been saying, basically since he was found guilty, that Biden was going to pardon him. It was so obvious that anyone with any shred of honesty knew it was coming. But nope, it was impossible! Biden and Democrats are the party of law and order, they respect the courts and judicial system, and they would never ever use their power for personal gain. LOL. Mannn, thats as funny now as it was years ago. Democrats are just as sleazy, corrupt, and just downright bad as Trump and the MAGA Republicans are. Its glorious watching that burst out into the open like this. For all the talk about Trump abusing the norms, Biden sure is doing a great job of setting precedent for Trump to use. Hell, Biden even said that the Justice Department was effectively politicized in his pardon letter. Its just glorious. Then theres the media, theyve done nothing but gaslight and lie about this issue for ages now. And now Biden just flat out trolls them by doing this. And not at the end of his term, not on a Friday night, but on a Sunday night when it would dominate the news cycle for a week. Its an absolutely impeccable troll job, and I gotta respect that. The lame-duck phase of Biden is going to produce some absolute gems.