Gromnir

Republicans Block Effort to Check Trump’s Power in Venezuela Mr. Hawley and Mr. Young were part of a group of five Republicans who last week joined all Democrats in supporting the measure aiming to curb the president’s war powers. ... Mr. Hawley said that assurances from Mr. Rubio in the letter, and in phone calls from both the secretary and Mr. Trump, had convinced him that the resolution was no longer needed. ... couldn't help but flashback to HA! Good Fun!

again, am not certain if is deceit or legit ignorant, though is requiring brobdingnagian ignorance to lean in that direction. even you could see the lines you lifted from your internet searches did not meaningful represent the articles portrayal o' pahlavi, which is hardly surprising as the search engine results is mindless extraction of snippets from the first two paragraphs o' sometimes longish stories. those stories (and the american-but-nevertheless-western articles we linked *eye-roll*) attempt to explain the possible significance o' the iranian pahlavi photos and chants in crowds o' protesters and oft times reach ambivalent conclusions. we s'pose you learned about conclusions in primary school? conclusions is important too, but am thinking @Hurlshot would regrettable need give you a poor grade if you ignored everything in-between the intro and conclusion when testing for your reading comprehension o' a source, but you ignored conclusions as well, so... nevertheless, in spite o' being confronted over and over with both western and non western sources who is recognizing the invocation o' pahlavi's name by iranian protesters without painting him as heroic or even with a skew towards his legit relevance, insist that your lazy-arsed search engine selective-quoting is a defense to your failure to link the stories and abrogating your responsibility to show what those stories actual said 'bout pahlavi. no meaningful context to the quotes sans to say, "And on Pahlavi, taking the first ten search engine results for reza pahlavi (exc wikipedia/ brittanica and revapahlavi.org) over the past four days" okie dokey. beyond all reason, and in spite o' being confronted now by numerous western and non western stories which undermine any reasonable conclusion that there is an organized effort to "embiggen" pahlavi's standing, you cleave to your initial hasty generalization based on what? laziness? deceit? unlinked snippets from internet search summaries? serious. nevertheless, is good to know am able to add you to our list along with sharp_one and wrath of dragon who excused their posting o' articles which undermined their position 'cause those articles showed up in an internet search. bravo. you enjoy special company. unrelated to zor's typical defense o' the indefensible, Federal prosecutors resign over concerns about probe into Minneapolis ICE shooting, source says At least six prosecutors with the U.S. attorney’s office in Minnesota have resigned over their concerns with the direction of the investigation into the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer, a person familiar with the resignations told NBC News on Tuesday. ... Within the main Justice Department in Washington, at least six leaders at the criminal section of the Civil Rights Division were taking early retirement, two people familiar with the matter told NBC News. A third person familiar with the departures said that they were planned before the Minnesota shooting. end am gonna note carol leonning is also reporting that the civil rights division attorneys who resigned were considering leaving the doj before the renee good shooting, but the events in minneapolis clarified and hastened their decisions. twelve resignations so far, and it's only wednesday. 'course the french is likely more concerned with greenland, but as is so infrequent we find ourself in agreement with the french or am able to appreciate their humor, honor demands we admit to having chuckled when we saw the 30 rock bit. à votre santé. HA! Good Fun!

our prejudice against stoopid and incompetence made us dubious about the effectiveness o' a hegsteh department of war and a jeanine pirro US attorney for dc. doge were charlie fox before it even started as the potential fraud and waste literal could not amount to the trillions o' dollars claimed and the notion that "big balls," would be able to fix US spending problems had us rolling our eyes. usaid is gone and hundreds of thousands o' people is dead 'cause o' the end o' such funding with projections o' fourteen million dead by 2030 if nothing changes. the civil rights division o' doj had ~400 lawyers in various offices working in december 2024. less than half those folks remain after mass resignations. trump's sh!t coin scam has generated billions in wealth for his family-- now try tell us that were donald's idea. the republican party is open welcoming overt antisemites such as nick fuentes and candice owens into the fold, while simultaneous the trump administration used claims the major universities failed to protect jewish students during the recent israel-gaza protests to cut funding to those schools. the overall effort o' trump 2.0 to kneecap law firms, universities and media groups has been far more effective than we thought possible given how empty the administration's legal threats were/are. cecot etc. we keep underestimating the administration. keep in mind, is Gromnir who since 2017 has been warning that the traditional legal and institutional guardrails don't apply to trump. joe rogan's 2025 and 2026 epiphanies regarding the trump administration's authoritarian efforts would be amusing if joe's willful ignorance for years weren't part o' the reason we are needing suffer each new trump administration effort to outdo their previous high watermark for cruelty. unlike rogan, we saw this coming and predicted it, but am nevertheless surprised by the amount o' pain trump has been able to cause given the reality o' the people running the sh!t show. paul ingrassia is the kinda guy trump has brought in to implement project 2025. these people are clowns who is living and breathing expressions grievance who somehow manage to be utter incompetent in spite o' the fact project 2025 spent four years looking for the ideal people to implement the regime change? jeanine box-of-wine pirro and her efforts to prosecute sandwich guy and investigate jerome powell, has been entertaining 'cause she is so inept, but don't forget that she is quietly preventing any number of investigations and is otherwise effective destroying one o' the most important prosecutor offices in the country. trump 2.0 is incompetent and inefficient to a degree previously unimagined for a Presidential administration. and? HA! Good Fun!

update: at least ten doj attorneys has resigned over the handling o' the renee good shooting. the number "ten" is based on reporting from sources such as the washington post. however, am being told that ten is underreporting, but am not sure how much larger is the actual number o' resignations at doj. ... if a "mass walk-out" (am genuine not certain what a mass walk-out entails,) o' the washington civil rights division happened later this week, we would only be mild surprised. HA! Good Fun!

3 Prosecutors Quit After Push to Investigate ICE Shooting Victim’s Widow Mr. Thompson’s resignation came after senior Justice Department officials pressed for a criminal investigation into the actions of the widow of Renee Nicole Good, the Minneapolis woman killed by an ICE agent last Wednesday. Mr. Thompson, 47, a career prosecutor, objected to that approach as well as to the Justice Department’s refusal to include state officials in investigating whether the shooting itself was lawful, the people familiar with his decision said.

am realizing that our favorite enameled cast iron cookware is staub. staub is not manufactured noteworthy superior to le creuset or even lodge. staub doesn't offer superior color options or a better aesthetic design approach... though am gonna admit we like the staub knob replacements nope. the reason am having decided after many decades to finally commit to team staub is 'cause o' the black enamel interior. our ocd means am spending ridiculous time attempting the impossible: keeping white enamel on a braiser or dutch oven stain free. black enamel don't show those minor color stains. staub wins. that said, if you want good enamel cast iron cookware, lodge is fantastic and costs a fraction o' staub or le creuset... or you could just buy all o' 'em 'cause you are stoopid and got some kinda weird illness when it comes to chef knives and dutch ovens. we got eight enameled dutch ovens in the 5-7qt range alone. am collecting dutch ovens, enameled and naked, and am admitting we go to estate sales with the sole purpose o' looking for old dutch ovens and butcher blocks... as well as the good PYREX glassware 'cause am still missing a couple lids to complete a golden sunflower daisy set. HA! Good Fun!

@Bartimaeus reflecting on the motivation to get out a narrative asap (you can tell much about an individual's intellectual dishonesty by observing how they pick and choose which issues need immediate judgement sans reflection,) so that facts won't lead to provable defamation, it occurred to us that something more terrifying could happen post the recent tragedy in minneapolis. the officer who somehow managed to hold onto his cellphone and simultaneous shoot a woman in minneapolis in spite o' being struck (or almost struck... narrative keeps changing,) is gonna have a more difficult time explaining his actions precise 'cause he were the only law enforcement present who fired his weapon. rule: is legit to use deadly force in self defense, and defense of others, if there is a reasonable fear o' imminent bodily harm or death. there were multiple law enforcement present, and nobody else fired their weapon in defense o' the guy who were s'posed almost run down? is a reasonable person standard and there is other cops present who didn't feel compelled to shoot? what if border patrol and ice training changes to address this potential problem? in the past, an investigation would take place after a tragedy such as the one which occurred in minneapolis and then the relevant law enforcement agency would decide whether to sacrifice the officer as a bad apple, or to defend at all costs. the President, vp and secretary o' dhs all came out and defended the cop's actions within a couple hours o' the shooting, so am not expecting any kinda meaningful reflection. furthermore, given how this administration is attempting to avoid any accountability, there is the possibility that a reasonable and logical approach post shooting of ms. good is to train officers to be less reserved about shooting... seeing as there is no political cost being exacted by the republican base thus far, the lesson learned from this incident could very well be similar to the defamation conundrum. as ludicrous as it sounds, the chances o' suffering legal repercussions could be decreased by an intentional effort to behave less responsibly. am not saying ice and border patrol pedagogy will be altered to ensure agents shoot more reliably, 'cause that would be insane, right? ...

to be fair, is a whole lotta rake stepping happening Federal Prosecutor Is Fired Amid Further Turmoil in Comey Case The administration has tried to restart the Comey prosecution and wanted Mr. McBride to lead that effort, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal discussions. Mr. McBride said he could not do that while also running the prosecutor’s office as the first assistant U.S. attorney — he could do one or the other, these people said. One person familiar with the events disputed that explanation, stating that Mr. McBride had been dismissed because he had secretly met with judges in the district to try to persuade them to appoint him as U.S. attorney. Mr. McBride, that person added, had resisted pursuing immigration-related investigations related to local jurisdictions’ sanctuary policies and drug enforcement. The person also said Justice Department leaders supported the decision to fire Mr. McBride. regardless of the article offerings, am having no idea why mcbride were fired, but am gonna observe how this entire mess is utter unprecedented, so any explanation is gonna be unique. we highlighted the portion which am thinking sounds most plausible as a reason for the firing, but am admitted just going with our gut and have no support for the conclusion other than that the other excuses sound... lame. project 2025 were kinda insidious and it is impressive just how much o' that infernal blueprint has been realized less than a year into the trump 2.0 administration. nevertheless, am shocked by how poorly a few o' the more public efforts at undermining american norms and law has progressed. oh sure, we get why tariffs has gone so bad. trump wants to be in charge o' tariffs and he changes deals, grants delays and provides exceptions based on his whims, which is kneecapping a whole lotta US business efforts. predictable chaos. an important ancillary part o' project 2025 were the effort to identify competent political loyalists necessary to reimagine the federal government. ... the doj appointees has been a clown car cavalcade o' nincompoops and incompetents. perhaps the 2025 folks didn't care 'cause they figure they win even if they lose-- the damage these folks accomplish by breaking things will take years to fix? dunno. HA! Good Fun!

the hypocrisy is tough to endure. again, zor is specific using out of context quotes to promote a narrative even you conceded weren't accurate. not past. not future. current. those westen media sources you quoted sans links weren't actual promoting pahlavi as a hero o' the revolution. you implied the quotes did so, but even a cursory reading o' the articles rebut that argument, and yet here we are arguing inanities 'cause you can't defend the initial premise. we will indeed use the search engine line again. zor selective quotes disingenuously as a near reflexive habit, so you will no doubt provide us many future opportunities to use legitimately. this admission o' a lazy reading comprehension fail on your part is useful as it does explain curious past behaviours and will no doubt help us in the future to make sense o' how/why you could so inexplicable misrepresent or misunderstand your own supplied sources. the fact pahlavi is indeed being invoked by iranians is relevant and newsworthy, so is hardly shocking western news sources would report it. if iranians were shouting barbara streisand's name and carrying photos o' her, western media would report and attempt to explain. particular to westerners, the notion pahlavi would be invoked by iranians is curious and newsworthy 'cause pre 2026, those dastardly western sources were your angel gabriel who had informed you o' pahlavi's cia and israeli links, supplying fact such as how he has an american-iranian wife (born in iran, but attended high school and college in the states) and has lived much o' the past decades in texas. given the horrors o' his father's regime, and pahlavi's pre 2026 links to israel and trump, hearing that pahlavi has supporters in iran is... curious. you ignorant focused on search engine result o' articles which typical took bits from the first few lines o' articles, while ignoring the concluding lines o' such stories. example: The self-described alternative leader for a democratic Iran is also close with Israel, which has sparked criticism. Notably, in 2023 Pahlavi controversially met with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. His visit came with mixed reactions as some touted him as a bridge builder for appearing with a kippah and denouncing antisemitism. Others argued it was hypocritical to meet with Israeli officials as the army clashed with Palestinians living in the occupied West Bank. Whether the exiled crown prince will ever see that day - or a free Iran - remains one of the many unanswered questions about a nation still wrestling with its past. we can do same for the ap article He has also faced criticism for his support of and from Israel, particularly after the June war. Pahlavi traveled to Israel in 2023 and met Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a longtime hawk on Iran whose criticism of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal fueled Trump’s decision to withdraw America from the accord. Netanyahu also oversaw the 12-day war with Iran. “My focus right now is on liberating Iran, and I will find any means that I can, without compromising the national interests and independence, with anyone who is willing to give us a hand, whether it is the U.S. or the Saudis or the Israelis or whomever it is,” he said in 2017. oh, and the first relevant al jazeera article we found from today: While chants by protesters initially focused on the ailing economy, they have switched to opposition to the clerical establishment in Iran. Some protesters have also begun chanting in support of Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of deposed Shah of Iran Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, and the heir to the former Pahlavi monarchy. Many supporters of Pahlavi are calling for a return to the monarchy, although Pahlavi himself says he favours holding a referendum to determine what type of government structure Iranians want. ... regardless, you knowing or ignorant created a false impression o' how western media is covering pahlavi. am genuine not certain if the failure is 'cause o' laziness or deceit. in either case, your newest rake tripping exploits is useful for today and future. HA! Good Fun!

invocation of, it's just a meme is not as reassuring when applied to trump. more than a few US policy changes were birthed via trump disgorging the illegal or insane via social media. unrelated: and yes, the federal officer's behavior is illegal... which is not the same as prosecutable. am wondering if the extra from fargo in bdu is gonna be fired or even disciplined. and HA! Good Fun!

wait, usa media doesn't count as western media? curious. we provided numerous western exceptions to the posited generalization that pahlavi is being portrayed as heroic by western media. is kinda axiomatic that evidence o' additional exceptions undercuts a generalization... and if the generalization is only legit for the "first few lines of the articles," it shouldn't take much to zor or anybody else that the generalization was a failure. well, that further diminishes the heroic portrayal in western media generalization and given even zor recognizes it weren't just american western media which were portraying pahlavi as less than heroic, there isn't much of a point in your protest. deja vu again? as is typical, we are getting to a silly/stoopid place much faster than we expected. so you half-assed it or you were deliberate misleading? is a tough choice with no good option for you. considering your past shenanigans with selective quotes, am gonna default to deception, but if you are settling on lazy, am s'posing that is a kinda explanation. to blame your failure to provide meaningful context on your belief that people don't actual read articles beyond paragraph two is hardly an excuse for your personal mistake... and such an observation does little to reinforce the notion that pahlavi is genuine being portrayed heroic... though it does explain a couple o' your recent posting errors. a significant number of western media articles (USA and other nations) do mention the fact that there is iranians chanting pahlavi's name. is newsworthy in part 'cause it is not what many western readers would expect. we don't need the angel gabriel to explain to you why the curiosity o' pahlavi being invoked by 2026 iranians is newsworthy, yes? no doubt zor has read at least a few pre 2026 sources which would make a Pahlavi, Hero for the Iranian People, seem unlikely. converse, the suggestion that all of a sudden, in 2026, the monolithic western media (again, not genuine a thing and undercut further by zor inexplicable distinguishing USA sources) would try and promote pahlavi as a hero o' the revolution is something Gromnir would find almost as curious as iranians chanting pahlavi's name... would be newsworthy if it weren't just some bs cobbled together from half-arsed search engine silliness untethered from the substance of articles. however, am gonna observe how the fixation o' media on pahlavi, western and non western media, is likely 'cause reporters has not yet adjusted to the 21st century dynamic o' large protest movements. who were the leader of blm? who were the leader of the hong kong protests? converse, who were the face o' protests in russia a couple years past? 'cause o' 21st century communications, there is no need for a charismatic leader to be the face o' a movement. a leader is also a target. why give putin a target? is doubtful the iranian protesters is mentioning a specific leader they got in mind for after tomorrow, but the media has a need to report, and if the only guy getting mention is pahlavi, media outlets is gonna fixate on him. regardless, am thanking you for providing us with, "Every single quote I picked was in the first few lines of the articles," 'cause am suspecting that bit o' zor-specific pith is gonna get future use. HA! Good Fun!

other than chargers v. pats, the playoff games has been highly entertaining. @ShadySandslikely doesn't wanna jinx by commenting, but the ten year playoff win drought for the broncos could end if they beat the team which knocked 'em out 31-7 last year-- the buffalo bills. 49rs v seahawks also looks like a fun contest with baked in drama given the two previous meetings this year... akin to packers v. bears. color us shocked, but am genuine interested in nfl football this post season. huzzah. HA! Good Fun!

well, am gonna observe that one author stands out 'cause his name not only represents an optional rule but may be used as a verb. stackpole, baby. is thousands o' battletech players (tabletop and online) who has never read a battletech novel, but they nevertheless venerate stackpole. that's a legacy... of sorts. on a more serious note, am just finishing battle cry of freedom by james mcpherson. fifth time. the first third o' the book reminds us of eerie similarities 'tween US 1830-1850 and today, while at the same time offering encouragement 'cause we ain't quite at bleeding kansas... yet. highly recommended. HA! Good Fun!

@Zoraptor and his amusing selective quotes? *eye-roll* try linking the actual articles so we are able to see the entirety. heck, we picked one at random from your sans context, sharp-oneesque list o' quotes : "Many demonstrators in Iran have been calling for the return of Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran's last shah (king)." first line from link maybe scroll down to the "divisive legacy," portion? we wouldn't call the bbc article singularly critical, but suggesting it paints him as "heroic" would be hyperbolic. the independent article from which you lifted, "Pahlavi’s name is being chanted through the streets of major Iranian cities including Tehran and Mashhad, with phrases “Pahlavi will return” and “Seyyed Ali will be toppled,” is also hardly painting pahlavi as particularly heroic. in fact, the independent article is extreme brief and not particular informative, but it does mention pahlavi's efforts to garner favour with trump and netanyahu, which is not gonna be seen as positives amongst the independent's typical readership as a progressive/lefty uk media source, eh? etc. the most recent nyt article am having read is kinda like all the rest in that it observes that pahlavi is mentioned by iranian protesters and that he has been making the rounds to gain support in the west, but... "Mr. Pahlavi, 65, has long been a divisive figure among Iran’s opposition, many of whom disdained the idea of restoring a monarchy that Iranians ousted because of its repressive rule. But he appears to have gained a base of support inside Iran in recent years, according to some analysts. ... "Whether Iranians will be further emboldened by Mr. Pahlavi’s calls for U.S. intervention remains to be seen. When Israel launched a 12-day war on Iran over the summer, briefly joined by U.S. warplanes, many Iranians expressed disdain for foreign intervention and did not turn against the government." most western articles include the observations repeated by zor's less then helpful out-of-context lifted quoting, recognizing that more than outlier numbers o' iranians are invoking pahlavi's name. beyond that, there is a consensus recognition that son o' the former shah is 65, has lived in exile for decades, and that he is making efforts to topple the current iranian regime. not really the stuff o' heroic tales.... and given the half-dozen links am having now offered that don't fit the narrative zor reflexive pushes, one would expect a normal person to question the accuracy o' the initial broad stroke generalization that western media sources is trying to push pahlavi as a hero o' the revolution.... but am suspecting reasonable won't be zor's response. 'course this is a zor mo ain't it? whether is selecta-quote from cnn regarding iran's projected time to reach nuclear weapon breakout, a senate report on iraqi wmds or even in his efforts to label us a liar, zor habitual and fraudulent selective quotes, typical w/o offering links... or clear hopeful nobody will actual bother to read the linked material when he does link. this ain't a one-off and it don't look accidental so much as calculated. poor calculated, but intentional in any event. that said, zor's triggered efforts to not argue with us like this is convoluted but kinda amusing. HA! Good Fun!

uh... most western media articles am having read appear stress how divisive is pahlavi even in 2025 iran and there is a recurring tone o' perplexity coming from writers as they try to explain why some people in iran would offer their support for the 65-year old israel supporting son o' the former shah. real link Few analysts think Pahlavi has a real path to the throne or leadership in Iran. His improved reputation in recent years says more about the mounting discontent with the Islamic Republic than it does about a genuine desire by Iranians for a return of the monarchy, analysts said. Many Iranians see him as everything the current regime is not: pro-Western, secular and capable of ending Iran’s economic isolation. “Over the past decade, Pahlavi’s popularity has increased, reflecting not just nostalgia, but a sharp contrast of what the past was and what the future could be in Iran,” said Behnam Ben Taleblu, Iran senior director at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington think tank. “This rise in popularity correlates with increasing secularism and nationalism.” ... “The Islamic Republic is so bad people will accept anything in replacement, and he offers a simple solution,” said Javad Chamanara, an opposition activist and member of Iran’s Kurdish minority who favors a federalist system in Iran. Pahlavi is seen as a divisive figure among ethnic minorities, which make up close to half of Iran’s population, because of the monarchy’s past refusal to grant them some autonomy, he said. end quotes "western media" is hardly monolithic, but the stories am reading at nyt, time, washington post, cnn and npr are hardly effusive in praise of pahlavi. "Pahlavi's efforts to position himself as a leader for a future Iran have prompted sometimes heated debates inside and outside the country. And while protesters have shouted in support of the shah in some protests, it is not clear whether that is support for Pahlavi himself or a desire to return to a time before the 1979 Islamic Revolution. "His public support of Israel has prompted significant criticism in the past from ordinary Iranians and other members of opposition groups, particularly after the 12-day war launched by Israel in June 2025." ... am having seen opinion pieces at wsj and elsewhere that got more skew, but unless you are in an information silo, suggesting that admitted non-existent monolithic western media is "pushing Pahlavi as the hero of the revolution," is at best misleading. HA! Good Fun! edit: added a few more links... the time piece is noteworthy as a western media take on pahlavi-- The most damning similarity between Chalabi and Pahlavi is the legitimacy deficit. Chalabi failed not because he lacked American support but because Iraqis didn’t want him. He was seen, correctly, as an American creation—a man who had spent decades outside Iraq, spoke Arabic with an American accent, and embodied foreign interference rather than indigenous resistance. Pahlavi faces the same problem squared. The Pahlavi dynasty left Iranians with bitter memories: the 1953 CIA-backed coup that overthrew Mohammad Mosaddegh and restored the shah to power; the brutal SAVAK secret police; the Rastakhiz Party that antagonized formerly apolitical Iranians with compulsory membership and heavy-handed interference in daily life; the corruption and inequality that sparked the 1979 revolution. While most Iranians are too young to remember these horrors firsthand, a substantial proportion—those over 50—lived through them. They remember the torture chambers, the disappeared dissidents, the rampant corruption, the grotesque inequality. They participated in, or supported, the revolution that overthrew the monarchy. Their children have grown up on the stories.