TBoneTX

Honestly, I think that the U.N. can take a long walk off a short pier. Your thoughts? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Let the morally and financially bankrupt UN perish "Imminent financial collapse," United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres hysterically predicted in a Jan. 29 letter to all UN member states, saying his reputationally challenged organization is so cash-strapped that it will run out of money by July, close its iconic Manhattan headquarters in August and cancel its annual General Assembly meeting in September. Most UN functions, including its Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, which claims to coordinate responses to global emergencies, may also sunset in the coming months due to lack of funds. This gushing cavalcade of good news sounds more like a promise than a warning. The institution in December foolishly approved a $3.45 billion budget it can't afford, and less than a month later Guterres lamented "the urgency of the situation we now face." Cuts and layoffs are already underway. Morale is reportedly low. "It's now or never," one UN spokesman told The New York Times. "We do not have the sort of cash reserves and the sort of liquidity to keep functioning." [...] https://nypost.com/2026/02/07/opinion/let-the-morally-and-financially-bankrupt-united-nations-perish/

Got this for Cat T-B.: https://www.chewy.com/smartykat-instincts-hidden-hijinks/dp/847246 It's superior to her previous SmartyKat toy -- more speeds, distinctly faster even on slowest speed, seemingly far more durable fabric shade that can't easily be claw-snagged. I got a deal (not listed now; does one need to be logged in on Chewy.com?) of "buy 3, get 4th one free." I got 4, in case Cat T-B. destroys them like she did the old version (not seemingly likely, is my impression), and as a potential gift.

All the worst news articles start with "British politicians said..."

Mini-B. and I also noted this and agree with you completely.

Thrilling Sunday report, see man: Did usual groggy a.m. stuff, groggy we man. Breakfast (!) was onebowl of cereal, ingest we man. Attempted a siesta that failed, man. Conquered our one LL, victorious we man. Called Mama T-B. to acknowledge birthday, nothing "happy" about it man. For tax stuff, we went through her credit-card statements for last year, see we man. We were very sad to again see the charges for various Rx's and the moving vans, sigh man. No one (not us, not Mama T-B.) should have to go through that, sigh man. Din-din was 2 turkey sandwiches, ingest we man. Mini-B. told us to get snacks for the Stupor Bowl, "we're coming at Many (2+2+1) p.m. man," si man. Of course, ex-Mrs.-T-B. brought him after half-past Many (2+2+2) p.m., miss entire first half man. Ex-Mrs.-T-B. then promptly fell asleep on our couch and began snoring, nearly drowned out the game man. She then awoke, looked exhausted, and went to her casa, tired ex-she man man. She nearly accidented with a neighbor out-backing from a driveway, just missed man. We and Mini-B. watched the Stupor Bowl, snooze-fest deluxe man. We consumed most of respective bags of cheaps, ingest Two Guys man. We consumed some Gansitos and Pingüinos, ingest Two Guys and hose our glucose we man. We consumed 2 bowls of Costco popcorn, ingest Two Guys man. Counting Thursday, this tallies to Many (2+2+1) bowls, already halfway to weekly quota man. Mini-B. noted that we hadn't bought an edible item for the week, we man. After the Stupor Bowl, we supermarketed, only time out of the casa all day we man man. We got Mini-B.'s item and, amazingly, one Manyzen Powerade Zero grape, usually sold out by eve man. Miu was needy and tailing us all day, needy miu man. We set up new miu-toy, see man: https://www.chewy.com/smartykat-instincts-hidden-hijinks/dp/847246 This is superior to her previous one, more speeds, faster in general, and seemingly sturdier man. We got a deal "buy Many (2+1), get Many'th (2+2th) free," F$WM. This is in case miu destroys one or more, reason we man. It also leaves a spare for our grandcat, cute orange mini-miu man. Miu loves it, distracted miu man. No party with the rubias tonight, no cavort we man. No distinct plans for Monday, must hit Mama T-B.'s taxes we man. And that was/is our thrilling Sunday, report we man.

Consider Adguard only, take it from us man. Worth every penny, $i man. Quite a reasonable lifetime price, too, whee man! Definitely the first, and usually the second, si and usually si man. But if it's that way "all the time usually all of the time," shouldn't it be si and no man, huh man?

Fascinating, and rather ingenious. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ AI to help track icebergs PARIS — British scientists said on Thursday that an AI tool to catalog and track icebergs as they break apart into smaller chunks could fill a "major blind spot" in predicting climate change. Icebergs release enormous volumes of fresh water when they melt in open waters, affecting global climate patterns and altering ocean currents and ecosystems. But scientists have long struggled to keep track of these floating behemoths once they break into thousands of smaller chunks, their fate and impact on the climate largely lost to the seas. To fill in the gap, the British Antarctic Survey has developed an AI system that automatically identifies and names individual icebergs at birth and tracks their sometimes decades-long journey to a watery grave. [...] https://global.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202602/06/WS69853d35a310d6866eb37c45.html

The game itself was largely a snooze-fest. Should've called it the Stupor Bowl. Mini-Bone kept asking if we could watch anything else. I told him that this was a good excuse for us both to keep eating junk food. My recurring thought was, why couldn't the Patriots have played like this against the Texans?

I could find it only in 6-packs with that unwieldy plastic holder, and then only rarely in a couple of stores. The only 12-pack I saw was when I'd flown out of town and couldn't bring it back. My distinct thought is that Coca-Cola could have sold more TaB if they'd made TaB more available.

Awful! It's been in the upper 70s around here and will largely continue in the low/mid-70s next week, it's said.

You're right about this part, most definitely.

Bugs Bunny or whoever he is must've rented an entire hotel for his performers and stage crews. I wonder how many 18-wheelers it took to haul it. I can vividly envision a casting director asking, in the future, "What's your previous experience?" "I was Tree #42 in the Bugs Bunny Super Bowl extravaganza, sir."

Our jokes are so effective in evoking approvals (that is, if correlation = causation) that we hasten to present Sunday's Official Weekly VAWA-Thread Joke: =========================================== UH-OH I was in a bar listening to music, and I needed to pass gas. To hide my farts, I timed them to the beat of the music, but then I realized that I had my earbuds in. While sitting in the living room with my husband, I heard a text come in on my phone, which I'd left in the kitchen. When I read the text, it was from my husband. It said, "Bring the chips when you come back." I was at the Post Office when I saw a blonde yelling into an envelope. I asked what she was doing, and she said, "Sending a voice mail." I got my shot for shingles today. Just to be safe, I got one for vinyl siding, too.

2 is better than nothin'. Fixed.

Did they give you a time frame for their answer? Were there any factors warranting their further investigation? If neither of the above, contact that office if you can. If not feasible, contact the immigration liaison of your U.S. Congressman's office. There will be a form to complete, authorizing them to inquire on your behalf.

Thread is shifted from the K-1 Case Progress subforum to the K-1 Process forum.

Thrilling Saturday non-GS/ES report, see man: Breakfast was 2 slices of honey-wheat bread, ingest we man. Weather was spectacular, Texas weather Many man. We began GS-/ES-ing at Many (2x2x2 +2) a.m., oh well man. Route took us through FST, always enjoy we man. We groceried at little supermarket for good specials, F$WM. Lunch was at Mexican restaurant, consume we man Many (2+1) chicken enchiladas + rice/beans + small salad + warm cheaps/warm salsa, ingest we man. Route took us to Favorite Medium-Sized Town, always enjoy we man. ESs were down angled country roads, blacktop at most and chiefly gravel man. Both ESs were way out in very peaceful rural areas, dead silence but for occasional chirp-birding man. This day was like an escape for us, highly therapeutic man. Route back took us to Second-Favorite Medium-Sized Town, always enjoy we man. Groceried for rest of Two Guys Week stuff. grocery we man. We made great time on casa-ward freeway trip, somewhat exceed posted speed we man. We were in fast lane and almost overtook Constable in center lane, uh-oh man. We immediately braked and moved behind him, savvy we man. He tried to maneuver behind us, smell prey Constable man man. We put other vehicles in his way, expert maneuverer we man. He eventually sped up and gave up, ha ha HAAAAA man. Later, we saw him exit, bye Constable man man. Stopped at Uncle T-B.'s pharmacy before going to casa, stop we man. Pharmacy had refilled all Rx's that were merely meant to be reauthorized for normal refilling, man. We determined which Rx's cost 0, Many (2+2+1) out of Many (2+2+2+1) man. We took these and delivered them to Uncle T-B., surprised senior he man man. He won't run out of these for a LONG time, no man. We showed him the receipt for $0, see man. He said, "We should frame this one, si man," si man. We told him that we had gotten him off his long-time rip-off Medicare Part D plan, F$WM. This will knock his $Many ($2x2x2x2 -1) Rx's down to 0, for one thing man. The no-monthly-charge will also save him over $Many,000 this year, for another thing man. We convinced Uncle T-B. to buy the lifetime Adguard computer protection, cheap senior he man man. We now think that it will launch whenever he needs it, si man. He noted with amazement that the trial had blocked Many00 pop-up ads in just 2 days, si man. Unloaded stuff at casa, exhausted we man. Miu demanded treats/dry miu-food/wet miu-food, demanding miu man. Casa looks like a disaster, plastic bags and GS/ES items everywhere man. And Mama T-B. spent half an hour lecturing us about doing her taxes, man. A much-needed siesta failed completely, too much bodily pain we man. Din-din was 2 turkey sandwiches, ingest we man. Mama T-B. turns Many years old on Sunday, venerable senior she man. Absolutely no one thought she'd make it, least of all Mama T-B. man. She doesn't want to celebrate in any way, understandable man. Ex-Mrs.-T-B. & Mini-B. will probably visit to try it anyway, up to them man. No party with the rubias tonight, no cavort we man. HSM before bed tonight, need major zzz we man. Sunday = a taxing day, must mollify Mama T-B. man. And that was/is our thrilling Saturday, report we man.

I asked ChatGPT how accurate Punxsutawney Phil's Groundhog Day forecasts have been. See reply, which I presume can be confirmed via NOAA and elsewhere. (Note: I wonder whether NOAA has anything better to do...) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Top Groundhog Day Predictors (NOAA rankings) Based on a NOAA analysis of Groundhog Day predictions (requiring at least 20 years of data): • Staten Island Chuck (NY) – ~85% accuracy — most accurate among groundhog forecasters. • General Beauregard Lee (GA) – ~80% • Lander Lil (WY, prairie dog statue) – ~75% • Concord Charlie (WV) – ~65% • Gertie the Groundhog (IL) – ~65% …others follow down to Punxsutawney Phil near the bottom. • Punxsutawney Phil (PA) – ~35% accuracy. Last: Mojave Max (NV tortoise) – ~25%. This ranking compares whether the animal's "six more weeks of winter vs early spring" call matched observed March temperature outcomes. Who is Staten Island Chuck? • Staten Island Chuck (official name Charles G. Hogg) is the resident groundhog of the Staten Island Zoo in New York City. • Like Phil, Chuck emerges each Feb 2 to "predict" whether spring will arrive early or winter will persist. • Chuck has been making predictions since the 1980s and — per NOAA data — has the best record of any long-term groundhog forecaster. Punxsutawney Phil is the nationally famous Groundhog Day figure because of historical prominence and media coverage. Chuck is more of a regional tradition centered in New York. His higher accuracy has only gained broader attention more recently as analysts (like NOAA) have compared the prediction records of many Groundhog Day animals. That's why someone might only hear of Chuck in the past few years. Accuracy context • Phil's overall accuracy (~35%) is well below random chance and below most long-term forecasters. • Other animals (even some non-groundhog predictors like a prairie dog statue) have outperformed Phil in NOAA's ranking.

I still miss TaB. Only diet cola with any real flavor, before or since.

You two are a disgrace to Boomer status, shocking man! Bad C man and CC man! Bad, BAD C man and CC man!

Saturday GS/ES report, see man: We attended Many (2+1) GSs and 2 ESs, prolific we man. All but the first GS yielded the take, see man: -- NIP Atra blades, NIP tupac Bic razors, 1-oz. body cream, 2 pill caddies, NIP travel-sized pack Q-tips = $1, steal man -- Many (2+2) warshcloths = $1, deal man -- Many (2+1) partial boxes Kleenex, NIP one-Manyzen lawn/leaf bags, set of Many (2+2) soda-can covers, wall calendar = $Many-&-a-half ($[2+2] + half a buck), steal man -- NIP roll Armaflex insulation tape, NIP no-slip safety pads = $1, steal man Total = $Many-&-a-half ($[2x2x2] - half a buck)

Ontarklar volunteers, si man! Speaking of whom, chicken report NOW, si D ma'am. Negligent Ontarklar! Negligent, NEGLIGENT Ontarklar!

This has news about 3 Latin American countries, but chiefly El Salvador. I utterly, absolutely urge you to watch the 8.5-minute answer from Bukele (El Salv. president) to a reporter about human rights. It has subtitles. Awesome! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The New Monroe Doctrine: The Plot Twists That No One Saw Coming Welcome to "The New Monroe Doctrine," where I give you an update on what's going on in the Western Hemisphere, south of our border, especially as it relates to the United States. Y'all seem to be enjoying Nayib Bukele lately, so let's talk more about El Salvador this week. Plus, I have some potential good news out of Venezuela that just dropped as I'm writing this, and I'll tell you what happened when Gustavo Petro came to town on Tuesday. [...] https://pjmedia.com/sarah-anderson/2026/02/06/the-new-monroe-doctrine-the-plot-twist-no-one-saw-coming-n4949213

After "Melania" documentary gets 8% from critics and 99% from audience, Rotten Tomatoes claims 'no manipulation' on reviews Reviews are in for first lady Melania Trump's self-titled documentary, showing a dramatic difference between its reception among critics and public audiences. [...] https://www.msn.com/en-us/movies/news/after-melania-documentary-gets-8-from-critics-and-99-from-audience-rotten-tomatoes-claims-no-manipulation-on-reviews/ar-AA1VQoSg

Some reviewers didn't even watch the film. Has anyone here seen it? What did you think? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Why Melania's hit documentary terrifies critics who desperately wanted her to fail The film "Melania," a documentary about first lady Melania Trump, made nearly $8 million on its opening weekend, making it the highest-grossing documentary in a decade. It's a huge win for the first lady and a crushing defeat for those rooting against her. The director of "Melania," Brett Ratner, has previously helmed Hollywood blockbusters such as "Rush Hour" and "X-Men: The Last Stand." The fact that Ratner is already an established brand in Hollywood is noteworthy. During the first Trump term, it would have been unlikely that a Hollywood director would take a chance on a documentary about Melania Trump. Ratner still took a risk making the film, because Hollywood is traditionally in lockstep on politics and quick to cut off anyone who steps outside the line. It's easier to make a film like this in 2026 than it was in 2017, but only marginally so. [...] https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/melanias-hit-documentary-terrifies-critics-desperately-wanted-fail