Harvester

@wtg said: wtg said: @Daniel said: There was a treaty signed by the US with Gorbachev Could you post a link to that actual document? I have searched and am unable to find it. Thanks. I did a quick query to AI. Did the US ever sign a treaty with Russia that specifically stated that NATO would not expand eastward? Or were there merely discussions with/assurances to Gorbachev from Western Europe and the US about limiting NATO expansion? Here is the answer; No. The United States did not sign a treaty with Russia—or the Soviet Union—prohibiting NATO from expanding eastward. The treaty people often mean is the 1990 Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany, signed by the United States, the Soviet Union, Britain, France, and the two German states. It set limits on military deployments in the former East Germany; it did not bar NATO from admitting countries elsewhere in Eastern Europe. The Soviet Union, not the Russian Federation, was the signatory on the Soviet side. <citation src="6,7"></citation> There were, however, conversations and verbal assurances during German reunification negotiations. James Baker’s “not one inch eastward” phrase and similar remarks by other Western officials are documented. Their meaning and scope remain disputed: some argue they encouraged Gorbachev to expect NATO would not expand more broadly; others argue they concerned NATO’s military role in a reunified Germany, and were never a binding promise about future membership. <citation src="2,4,8"></citation> So the most precise summary is: no treaty barring broader eastward expansion; yes, there were diplomatic discussions and assurances, but no written, legally binding commitment covering Eastern Europe as a whole. <citation src="4,6,8"></citation> I'm not convinced.

Link to video This is so stupid. Assertion- They survived the plane crash. Argumentum ad nauseam Maybe these random pieces of shoe leather and whatever else have nothing to do with crash. Maybe (and there is no evidence of it) they are part of the debris field. Argumentum ad nauseam everywhere you look. Then you get to their imagined survival. This is a mystery. I'd like to know the answer- assuming for the sake of argument they survived the crash- How many days or even hours did they survive on a remote atoll, exposed to the elements, with no food, and no drinking water? Yes, they were heros. Yes, they should be honored. Stop making money off the tragedy, and let them RIP.

@Daniel These look amazing. I bet they sound great. https://tmraudio.com/products/cary-audio-design-cad-211fe-monoblock-tube-power-amplifiers

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just yesterday I signed up for a voucher program that our local transportation agency offers to seniors/geezers. if you are over 65 you can get a $60 monthly credit for any Uber rides starting and ending in our city. OK, not totally life-changing money, but it makes my monthly round-trip to the airport free and that’s kind of fun.

Yeah, good on Leslie Stahl. And Bari Weiss? Urgh.

Yes, they were aristocrats, weren't they?

Thank you all for your concern! I’ll get the knee taken care of as soon as I can.

I’ve never had coconut crabs but from what I hear they itch like hell.

@AndyD / It certainly is.

Welcome to the club! I go through phases with my regular coffee making process and switch every few months from Aeropress to Pour Over. I always start the day with a double espresso.

I haven't cared much about keys for an unusual amount of time. I had the key to my old place and would... well I'm not going to want to remember it in detail... Suffice it to say I locked the place when I left. I've told the story about the electricity being shut off. So, yeah. This was in winter. Just a fact. It stayed off in the spring. It stayed off in the fall. It stayed off a 2nd winter. It stayed off in the spring. It stayed off a 2nd summer. Then I moved the 2nd week of last August this year. There were countless nights the back door and porch door stayed open all night because of the heat. There were countless days both these doors were left open all day. So day and night. Dying of heat stroke didn't seem like an option. It was dangerous. Being born here, I know how dangerous it was.... Then x, y, and z happened, and I don't have doors or windows left open. Everything is kept on lock down 24 hrs a day and if I am working outside (and this is often), I'm always aware of what doors are open or shut, and if they are or are not locked. I like my new locks and deadbolt. I like my new keys. They have an oval shaped top. You inset the key, and then turn it with your thumb and/or index finger. Your fingers have a place on the key where you can turn the key and apply pressure at the same time. One set of keys is on my old lanyard and it's somewhere inside where I know where it is at all times. I like my old landward keychain. It's Stitch merchandise from Disney. This set is waterproof. I'll point out one impractical thing about it. The attached charm (Stitch's face) gets in the way of using the door key. This is a distraction and wastes time you want to be using to unlock the door. But NBD. I bought a second keychain with a clip. I might later but haven't used the clip. The keys are in this keychain. Also linked through this keychain is a second one that's big enough to fit in the hand and heavy enough to balance the house and car key. I like my new keychain. It's a disc and the disc hangs between two "arms". It can be spun around 360°. The disk is an LED flashlight. You turn it on- high, low, flashing red, and finally off with a button in the center. I'll post a link to an image. https://photos.app.goo.gl/67fk6VWpzBasFsYy5 I don't know why the picture has what looks like a plastic pull tab with an arrow. It doesn't exist IRL. I had the locksmith take the aftermarket key fob receiver that was creating havoc with my electrical system out of my car and threw the fobs away. So my keys are just old fashioned keys. BTW, I strongly advise not adding aftermarket key fobs to older cars. This is asking for trouble.

We're all so full of "forever chemicals" (another fun word combination) that if these chemicals trip the balance between health and disease or between life or death nobody will be the wiser

Interesting. I remember that girl and I'm sure I could Google her. Whoever put her up to it and profited from it is a con artist. I say con artist but it was no doubt many people operating together. I can't tell you how many 3rd rate artists made fortunes in Hawaii selling on Front St. In Lahaina until the art market cooled and the town burned to the ground a few years later.

A polity is a paradox. It's real. It's artificial. It's meaningful. It's meaningless. Etc. They say time flies. They could as well say maps change. And the Prime Minister is against it? Knock me over with a feather.

I was on another Delta flight to LGA this morning , no such announcement this time.