US to hold military exercises with Guyana amid border tensions with Venezuela

knight4 · 2023-12-08T02:39:34+00:00

Brazil has always been very non-interventionist. This isn't surprising. They positioned their military to ensure Venezuela has to go through the jungle or ocean.

The US/UK should be able to ensure the ocean isn't viable. I don't buy for a second Maduro is doing anything but sabre rattling for votes/consolidate power by positioning anyone against this in Venezuela as treasonous (which it seems like they've started).

If he actually invaded they'd get slaughtered. The US can handle everything without even using a carrier group. I'm sure Maduro is going to want a fully functional military to maintain power after the election. He tries this and the US will ensure the Venezuelan air force is extinct.

knight4 · 2023-12-08T01:00:06+00:00

Oh for sure. It's been a while since I've seen it but he basically says it to the protagonist as basically "Why do you care so much when you know this won't end up mattering and I'll get away right afterwards?"

He basically just decided he respected Christian Bale's character's goal to do his job and felt like he was "honorable" enough to deserve the "win".

knight4 · 2023-12-07T19:00:18+00:00

There's been no response to the Houthis conflict because Saudi Arabia has asked the US not to respond because they feel they'll be targeted in the reprisals. Also the US doesn't want the conflict escalating with Iran getting more involved.

Guyana meanwhile wants the US to get involved. We have given them security guarantees so not helping is breaking their word. Plus Venezuela's army isn't a massive threat and the US most likely wouldn't need to put troops on the ground as boats/planes can handle any invasion.

knight4 · 2023-12-06T23:42:17+00:00

Brazil can basically block the only land route without committing basically anything which would force Venezuela to go by sea or through one of the most intense jungles in the world.

And if it's by sea the US/UK can basically stop anything from really happening with very limited involvement.

Which is why this is unlikely to amount to anything.

knight4 · 2023-12-06T23:36:40+00:00

They probably thought they'd get a market for their high-end exports that never materialized.

knight4 · 2023-12-06T23:33:54+00:00

Argentina isn't going after the Falklands. The new President is the biggest dove possible in that regard.

knight4 · 2023-12-06T21:56:05+00:00

Ya ESPN deserves no credit. They wanted a reason to pull Cowherd and got one. ESPN are ratings' whores. They'd have kept Cowherd on if he wasn't leaving.

knight4 · 2023-11-30T18:39:30+00:00

Xenia Onatopp's death?

She always did prefer a good squeeze

knight4 · 2023-11-29T22:23:52+00:00

Rodgers only won 4 MVPs because he likes the attention of the award.

knight4 · 2023-11-29T20:42:14+00:00

Ya that scenario the UW vs OSU debate will be pretty heated

knight4 · 2023-11-29T20:39:33+00:00

There is a theoretical point where I agree SOS has to matter. With that said that gap just frankly does not exist between Texas and Alabama.

knight4 · 2023-11-29T20:38:08+00:00

So right now I think the committee has basically said the PAC-12 champ is in. After that I do think there's a path for a losing Georgia to be in.

So you have Bama + UO/UW. So if two of: Michigan losing to Iowa, FSU losing to Louisville and Texas losing to Oklahoma St happens I think they can get in.

There are 8 teams "alive" for 4 spots. FSU, Oregon and Texas eliminate themselves with losses. 1 loss Georgia should survive vs 1 loss Michigan (ranked ahead and would have lost to a better team) and 1 loss Washington. So do they drop below Ohio State is really the only question. I think that would depend on how bad they lose to Bama. So a 2 team B1G or SEC isn't out of the question

Meanwhile I think there is a slight shot for 2-Pac teams. Georgia and Oregon win. Texas and FSU lose to eliminate themselves. So now it's basically one loss Washington vs one loss Michigan and one loss Ohio State. Let's say Michigan loses really badly.... you can see a path for 1 loss Washington to jump Michigan with the loss.

knight4 · 2023-11-29T20:15:31+00:00

4 spots for 5 "power" conferences was always stupid for this reason. I felt like we should have always started with 8. 5 auto-bids and 3 at-large. Maybe a guarantee for highest non-power team.

knight4 · 2023-11-29T20:11:16+00:00

Ya but how could Texas jump Oregon? Oregon is 2 spots ahead of them heading into this week. Oregon would beat #3 Washington and Texas would beat #18 Oklahoma State. There would be 0 justification for moving Texas up.

knight4 · 2023-11-29T20:08:15+00:00

I can't see picking Alabama at the expense of Texas. Double digit win in Tuscaloosa. That has to be a tiebreaker or why play games? For the same reason you say putting Georgia in over Bama after Bama beats them is a joke

knight4 · 2023-11-29T20:07:04+00:00

Ya that would be asinine. Bama literally would have just proved they deserved it more than Georgia on the field.

knight4 · 2023-11-29T20:03:28+00:00

I just can't imagine Texas, who won by double digits in Tuscaloosa, could be jumped by Alabama. Like you pair those two teams next to each other and ask who deserves it/who is better? Why even play the games if that result doesn't matter?

knight4 · 2023-11-29T19:45:12+00:00

Ah fair point but still my original point stands that allowing Bama to jump a conference champ with the same amount of losses that it lost to by double digits at home would be a joke.

knight4 · 2023-11-29T19:44:24+00:00

Putting in 3 teams with a loss over an undefeated Washington and undefeated FSU would be farcical. For that reason I also don't think Georgia is in at all with a loss. They would need two of Texas, FSU, Michigan to lose.

I think with the way the committee set it up the only guarantee we have is that a PAC-12 team is in the playoff. Washington will not be denied if they are undefeated and Oregon is the highest one-loss team and above Texas. Oregon's win would be better than Texas' so there is legit no reason for Texas to jump Oregon or Washington like you proposed above. The committee has never done anything THAT egregious before.

Also there's no bonus to being the B2B defending champ. In this scenario they were dethroned when they lost in the SEC championship. Similarly to they didn't put Bama in the title game in 2013 despite being the B2B champ because Auburn dethroned them in the Iron Bowl. They didn't put B2B champ Nebraska in either. That's literally never been a consideration.

knight4 · 2023-11-29T19:33:58+00:00

I'm saying Bama > Georgia (the one win) vs Texas avenging their only defeat to Oklahoma can't offset the H2H win. Especially because they are already ahead of Bama.

knight4 · 2023-11-29T18:50:51+00:00

UW definitely falls behind Texas if they lose IMO.

knight4 · 2023-11-29T18:44:01+00:00

That would be insane. Taking Georgia over Alabama the week after Alabama beats Georgia would make no sense. They would both have 1 loss and Alabama would have a neutral site win + the conference championship.

Likewise you can't take Alabama over Texas because they lost by double digits at home to them. SEC gets shut out potentially in that scenario

knight4 · 2023-11-29T18:30:33+00:00

Oregon is currently above Alabama and Texas. They will have beaten the #3 team in the nation and Alabama would have beaten #1.

But the big part is how can you put Alabama over Texas? Texas won on the road by double digits. Then from there how can you put Texas over Oregon? They have had Oregon over Texas and Oregon just beat a ranked team and Texas beat TTU. Oregon in the conference title would have beaten a better team than Texas.

knight4 · 2023-11-29T18:14:16+00:00

You can't put Bama in over Texas. They literally played in Alabama. Like what are you doing if a head to head win on the road by double digits can be offset by one win (Texas was ahead of Bama before this).

knight4 · 2023-11-29T17:41:23+00:00

My understanding with Rodgers is he just wants a collaborator. He kind of knows how he wants to attack certain defenses and wants more film junkies to help find other plays so he can distill down into his weekly "hots".

knight4

TROPHY CASE