rjshae

Well certainly it works in the US where every team has its own immigrant support community, even Iran. But I'm not sure how well it will work out in terms of television audiences.

Japan vs. Netherlands was a fun game; Sweden vs. Tunisia not so much. Ecuador seemed to run out of steam at the end vs. Cote d'Ivory, and they paid the price. I don't see much to look forward to with Group G or H today. This World Cup has perhaps 16 teams too many; the contests would be more engaging if they cut down on the number of participants. But I suppose as long as fans keep flocking to the games, they'll keep expanding it. Superficially, the throw-in rules change seemed like a good one, but I suspect that players will now simply not head for the sideline until the team is deployed.

I'm happy to root for Canada, USA, Mexico, and England in this tournament. But most likely only England will last to the later rounds.

It was refreshing to see the USMNT actually play like a team that knows what it's doing on a football pitch. Well apart from that one defensive hiccup. Maybe one day it will become the norm.

The first match in Seattle Stadium, Belgium vs. Eygpt, is scheduled for June 15th. Fun fact: the weather is predicted for a record-breaking heat wave on that day. Yeesh. Well I guess Eygpt will feel right at home.

Well he's refereeing the UEFA Super Cup now, so that's not nothing. UEFA Appoints Somali Referee Omar Artan for Super Cup After World Cup Entry Denial

Heh, the bloke gets treated as a national hero when he returns home. Somali soccer referee denied entry to US for World Cup is welcomed home as a hero

In thinking back to the Redacted vs. Biden campaign, I remember when the political right was trying to convince everybody that Biden would start another war. Heh, wrong. It used to be that the Dem Presidents got us into wars (WW II, Korea, Vietnam), but somewhere around the 1980s that changed and now its mostly the Pubs that do it (various Gulf wars). I'm starting to question the premise that strengthening the US military somehow makes us (in the US) safer. Instead, it just seems to provide an incentive for Republican Presidents to resolve conflicts through military force. Maybe it's time to shrink the military?

Yes, well with elections coming up, the Republicans need to start looking responsible again. But Redacted and his family still enjoy immunity to tax audits, so that will likely be challenged in court.

Trump admin is terminating a vast network of ocean monitors We ought to know by now not to bother billionaires with pesky facts and data when there are oil profits to be made. I mean, who would want to know what's happening on 70% of the planet's surface anyway?

Today is Marilyn Monroe's 100th birthday, so here's a classic ode...

World Cup 2026 power rankings: Counting down all 48 teams (USA Today) Brazil is number 7?

The first meeting of the Bored of Peace took place Feb. 19. Nine days later the USA and Israel started bombing Iran. Coincidence? 🤨

MIT researchers develop a low-cost technique to get lithium out of rocks Sounds intriguing, if they can scale it up.

Our world-class hypocrite is rapidly draining the strategic national oil reserve, after criticizing Biden for the same. America’s pile of emergency oil is shrinking fast But what else is new.

Greenland/US.

DOJ Removes All Mentions Of Justice From Website (Onion)

I was impressed how rapidly it left the pad. Must be the new engines. The old Saturn V seemed to take forever to clear the tower.

I could see a major vehicle transition occuring if we switch most vehicles to self-driving. In that case there might not be the incentive to buy bulky, gas-powered vehicles, with the motivation switching to internal comfort and safety. One thing I do wonder about is why the EV are still so focused on streamlining instead of style? Without the motivation to save on gas, streamlining seems like a lower priority. (The Tesla Cybertruck seems like a partial exception to this.)

Slow Horses was pretty good spycraft drama, although the seasons are only six episodes long. I could see that being remade for the US.

Republicans cancel votes amid fight over Trump's ‘anti-weaponization' fund In the USA, we're rapidly approaching political "silly season" as politicians posture for the upcoming election. In this case, some Republicans are objecting to Redacted's 'anti-weaponization' slush fund. I guess that isn't as silly as usual. At least the police who were attacked on Jan. 6th are taking the settlement to court. Redacted likes to break the rules, but perhaps this was a crime too far?

To top it off: US government will permanently drop tax claims against Trump as part of IRS lawsuit deal Such a deal. How do we get one of those? Yeah, sue the government for $10 billion. Anyway, seems just a tad illegal.

The 100 Greatest Punk Albums of All Time (Rolling Stones) The Clash is only number 4? Hmm.

So... after weaponizing the DoJ to go after his enemies, Redacted is creating a $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization" fund. Guess who will be the recipient of those funds? Heh. They're not even trying to hide the corruption any more. Trump creates $1.8B "anti-weaponization" fund after dropping IRS suit