Afghanistan Surge Looks Like a Bust, Economy Staggers Along, Drug Legalization Touted at the U.N.: P.M. Links
-
Conditions in Afghanistan are nastier, more brutish and shorter than they were before the surge, according to the country's NATO command structure.
- Obama is losing fans among Arab-Americans, though they still favor him over the other brand, while Romney raises funds in Hong Kong where, to be honest, politicians who talk the free market talk are probably an easier sell than at home.
- Because of how the European Union calculates fines, Microsoft could be on the hook for as much as a $7.4 billion penalty over a rules-slip that it brought to the attention of officials.
- The economy, it grows not so much — up 1.3 percent in the second quarter which is (wait for it) lower than expected. Orders for manufactured goods are way the hell down, too.
- Several Latin American leaders took to the podium at the U.N. to urge legalization and other approaches to drugs that break with decades of failed prohibition.
- Uber, the start-up transportation service, has an important tip for its drivers: Don't use Apple Maps! Not until the bugs are worked out, at least.
- The .xxx domain for adult content has its own search engine — Search.xxx — courtesy of domain-managing ICM Registry. Yes, we know this isn't the first such engine, but this one is sexxxier!
Have a news tip for us? Send it to: 24_7@reason.com
Don't forget to sign up for Reason's daily AM/PM updates for more content.
Editor's Note: As of February 29, 2024, commenting privileges on reason.com posts are limited to Reason Plus subscribers. Past commenters are grandfathered in for a temporary period. Subscribe here to preserve your ability to comment. Your Reason Plus subscription also gives you an ad-free version of reason.com, along with full access to the digital edition and archives of Reason magazine. We request that comments be civil and on-topic. We do not moderate or assume any responsibility for comments, which are owned by the readers who post them. Comments do not represent the views of reason.com or Reason Foundation. We reserve the right to delete any comment and ban commenters for any reason at any time. Comments may only be edited within 5 minutes of posting. Report abuses.
Please
to post comments
Uber, the start-up transportation service, has an important tip for its drivers: Don’t use Apple Maps! Not until the bugs are worked out, at least.
Can’t wait for Uber to come to Orlando!
they’re doing the best to kill in DC.
their best
Trout Fishing on Mars: rover finds itself in an ancient streambed that likely flowed with knee-to-hip-deep water.
So your feet stayed dry?
Mars is so weird!
Really? What alien landscapes have you seen where the water does run along the ground. I’ve only ever seen ribbons of water flowing aimlessly through the air.
SF’d the link.
http://www.wired.com/wiredscie…..r-on-mars/
Poop.
Fixed link.
I tried to fix it but got skwerld.
Get your bass to Mars.
Will your monstrous evil never end?!?
You know, so much of curiosity’s mission (as reported) seems like Spirit/Opportunity deja vu.
Spirit/Opportunity deja vu confirmation.
FTFY. /NASA
I’m no fan of govt funded space exploration, but I wouldn’t want to base my knowledge of an entire planet on 2 landing areas. (I know there have been more landings than 2, but still. It’s like taking a vacation to Arches, Zion, and the Grand Canyon and thinking you’ve seen all the national parks you need to see.
Let’s just fucking send (via private means, thank you) some people there already. Jesus, robots suck.
Skynet has noted your comment and you have been scheduled for deletion, ProL.
…while Romney raises funds in Hong Kong where, to be honest, politicians who talk the free market talk are probably an easier sell than at home.
Was this before or after his most recent tirade on China?
Romney has proven to be an idiot, and utterly incompetent at picking up the middle. First bullying foreign governments. Now bullying our biggest trading partners.
I used to want him to win. No more. The “free market” brand cannot take the damage.
Conditions in Afghanistan are nastier, more brutish and shorter than they were before the surge, according to the country’s NATO command structure.
Not enough surge.
how does a condition become short?
Not enough surge.
SURGE!!!!!!!!!!
Florida man, leads police on a low speed DUI chase, arrested without incident when his horse gets tired. Shockingly, police felt no need to shoot the horse.
You sugarfreed the link, dude.
Shit. My bad.
Because of how the European Union calculates fines, Microsoft could be on the hook for as much as a $7.4 billion penalty over a rules-slip that it brought to the attention of officials.
Greece is saved!
Yes, I see now. Hundred billion dollar fines for everyone!
This is exactly why I will not advise my clients to participate in “self-disclosure” under the CMS fraud and abuse regime.
I have had the pleasure of grilling CMS lawyers at conventions on what guarantees of leniency they will give if you self-disclose, and the answer is always “None”. Followed by a “But trust us, we’ll be nice! Probably. Hard to say, actually. It depends.”
Fuck that.
Just like telling everything to a cop that pulls you over with the expectation of leniency or that “it’ll go easier” on you.
What is CMS? Compliance management systems or something?
The actor who played Half Sack, and one time paramour of Katy Perry, is dead suspected of murdering his landlady in PCP fueled attack.
Did he punch through her windshield?
FTA: “Law enforcement sources say the men he fought with say Johnny showed ‘super-human strength’ and was ‘phenomenally strong.'”
And just like always, there will be no PCP in his system. Fucking full-of-shit dumbass cops.
“Bath salts”, then.
Probably broke every bone in his hand.
Wouldn’t feel it for hours too, I bet.
See this scar? This one time….
The .xxx domain for adult content has its own search engine ? Search.xxx ? courtesy of domain-managing ICM Registry.
Finally, it won’t be so damned difficult to find porn on the internet.
At last FoE can find all the Wesley Crusher slashfic porn he can possibly consume.
Pffft. I can make that myself.
I have to say, my favorite work by Kitty Glitter is The Feline Puerto Rican.
All her work is genius. I don’t see FoE bringing us Wesley Crusher: Teenage Fuck Machine.
I always suspected the Traveller was a boy-hungry pedophile anyway. Although I guess Dr. Crusher felt he was a lost cause anyway.
It was the future, baby. Anything goes.
The Traveler was for real. An actual superbeing. The rest was bullshit. He actually wanted a slave (just to run errands and pick up stuff, not anything perverted, you sickos), and he bought Wesley from Dr. Crusher. That simple.
When will there be SafeSearch.xxx?
“Showing results for opal hex”
Science, bitches. Female Democrat politicians look like men.
If a new academic study is to be believed, Republican women politicians look more feminine than their Democratic counterparts.
Well, Nancy Pelosi is awfully busty for a man. On the other hand, her face is awfully stretchy for a human.
She rebelled, she evolved, to look…and to feel….human.
Someone should do a science fiction movie with her as a hero, fighting against her alien programming to grasp at the slightest hint of humanity. In the end, she wins and resigns her position. The final scene is her hitchhiking to Montana. With a bandana on her head.
Soon to become acquainted with STEVE SMITH.
Sequel.
Credits end with a weird grunting sound and trees rustling. Next film picks up with her pitching a tent and looking for firewood.
I’m good with that. Directed by Kenneth Branagh. Nancy Pelosi played by. . .who? Herself? Could she be conned into it?
Next film picks up with her pitching a tent
So it will have a tranny theme? Better get Nutra-Sweet involved in the script on that one.
Chuckles “Moobs” Schumer is awfully busty for a man, as well. Maybe its just a Donk thing.
Pelosi wasn’t half bad looking a few decades ago. Olympia Snow though was pretty fucking divine the first time I saw her interviewed on the NewsHour in the early nineties.
I’d say you need glasses, but seeing the world more clearly would probably be a gut-wrenching shock for someone who thinks those hags were ever attractive.
That’s not a man that’s a woman, baby.
But what about Lindsay Graham?
…while Romney raises funds in Hong Kong where, to be honest, politicians who talk the free market talk are probably an easier sell than at home.
Then why doesn’t he just run for president of Hong Kong and leave us regulated (i.e. FAIR) market lovers in America alone.
PETA’s star member
“I’m surprised to see all the cats were found dead. It seems when I talked to him that he took care of all the animals…” said Bryce Baker.
Where in the article did it mention PETA?
Joke fail. Maybe the PETA kill vans weren’t as famous as I thought.
Best. Photobomb. Ever.
The SF quotient on this thread is high.
Also, not sure if you were referring to the photobomb link, but it worked fine for me.
Not me.
That stingray looks so freaking weird. That is awesome.
New PQ govt plans to soak the rich in Quebec
Is NutraSweet in the water today? Why is everyone SFing their links?
The squirrelz, man. The squirrelz.
UGH
http://fullcomment.nationalpos…..ew-quebec/
And in another case of celebrities forgetting who the incumbent is, Samuel L. Jackson tells voters to wake the fuck up and vote for Obama. (NSFW unless you have headphones).
To which I respond to Jackson: I don’t remember asking you a goddamn thing!
I’m sorry did I break your concentration?
Go the Fuck to Sleep, Sam.
Delightful. A little girl has been brainwashed into saying “Fuck!”
What’s most disgusting is how the Obama zealots swoon over how awesome Obama must be because he has cool actors endorsing him.
Kind of like when the actor talked to the empty chair?
What does that have to do with anything? Are you suggesting Romney has as many retarded celeb endorsers as Obama or that his supporters care about being hip?
Never mind him, he’s an Obama fluffer.
Meh. Another brain dead celebrity shoots his mouth off. But I will say this: Django Unchained had better be really damn good, or I am no longer giving him the benefit of the doubt. He hasn’t had a significant part in a decent movie since Black Snake Moan.
What was wrong with The Avengers?
Haven’t seen it. Didn’t know he was in it.
Uh, everything.
Jackson has about zero credibility with me for endorsments. Especially after his Apple commercial pushing that crappy as shit Siri stuff.
Read these reviews if you want to barf: Won’t Back Down
Note: I would never watch a movie like this but the butthurt among the critics is palpable.
They have to hate it. The message being portrayed in the movie must be stamped down ASAP to avoid screwing up the narrative.
Or it could just be a crappy “inspired by a true story” schmaltz-fest.
I have a co worker who was an extra in this so I’ll probably end up having to watch it at some point.
A lot of buttsore in those lead in lines:
The film casts the teachers’ union in the role of the story’s villain, an option that’s far too simplistic and unfair.
The film is all for teaching as a calling. What it doesn’t do is offer it the dignity of also being a job.
The plot is just a clothesline on which to hang an unabashedly biased diatribe.
“Won’t Back Down” is to school reform what “Reefer Madness” is to drug policy.
A kind of Norma Rae for the Paul Ryan set …
This movie fears nuance, pushes an agenda and demonizes its opposition.
Babies need a cookie, yes, you are the most sophisticated, complex and nuanced people on the planet. Yes, you are! Now lets powder that diaper rash of having your views challenged.
Honestly, the only thing this movie confirms is that Hollywood will go to the Let’s You and Him Fight plot device nearly every single time.
My wife (a teacher) expressed interest in wanting to see it when the commercial came on the other day. Given the movie has been put out by Hollywood and features two mainstream actresses of popularity, I figured it was some union activism solidarity thing. Based on the people that hate it, I’ll get double credit for taking the wifey there for date night.
And time to start another week of the pick ’em. I’m shooting for a much better record than last week.
Who’s going to blow it worst in the Bears/Cowboys game? Cutler or Romo?
Cutler. He’s about 2 sideline tirades away from his line just refusing to block for him any more, and Demarcus Ware will literally leave an indentation of his facemask in Cutler’s chest. So it will ultimately come down to: Cutler or Campbell?
I don’t wanna bet on the Cowboys tho…
Don’t worry, I’m sure Romo can out-choke Campbell. But it’s always hard to pick between two non-playoff teams.
Past years, I always given Cutler some slack on personality disorder problems given the tough row of his diabetes, but, damn, I’m out of slack.
For your gut laugh of the day.
The team of Larry Sabato, Kyle Kondik and Geoffrey Skelley said if the election were held today, Obama would win 290 Electoral Votes, Mitt Romney 204. And the 42 toss-up Electoral Votes would not be enough to help Romney even if he took them all…
What’s more, with Obama’s improving fortune is the likelihood he will have coattails for House and Senate candidates to grab onto. According to the new U.Va. analysis, the Senate looks to stay in Democratic hands and House Democrats will claw closer to control, but likely not win it.
Riight. No fucking way.
WTF? Seriously, this is stupid. The economy is a wreck, our foreign policy is an obvious joke, and we’re going to vote for more of that?
Obama and his party are in for a very shocking loss. Shocking to them, anyway.
I was just thinking that I live in Tallahassee and can’t name the Democrat who is running for the House seat. Allen Boyd was there forever but got knocked off by a Republican in ’10 for his Obamacare vote. Where in the world are they going to pick up seats if they can’t win that one back?
Florida. A Republican governor, following a series of Republican governors. A Republican-controlled (by a huge margin) legislature. Nineteen of 25 Congresspeople are Republicans. One Republican senator.
Yeah, it’s just begging to vote for Obama.
Everyone knows that GOP-weariness gave Obama the election in 2008. And now, in 2012, even greater weariness with the Democrats and Obama will end this awful administration.
Just read up on my district. We’ve got a real winner of an Independent. Especially love the empty photo gallery.
That’s serious independent.
For 100 years We The People have been transferring the Wealth of the working class to the Corporations and the Wealthy Individual Kingdoms of America whom have been manipulating our system for their benefit against the best interest of We The People and the Republic of The United States of America.
Can anyone tell me what flavor of crazy this is?
You know what you should do? For free, edit his site. There are all sorts of errors.
Anybody who starts a political rant with We The People is a collectivist nutjob that may be safely ignored on the internet, but should be actively avoided IRL.
I think I could come up with at least a constitutionalist rant beginning with “We the People”, but I concede your point–I’ve seen crazy like this before.
Check out the last paragraph:
I really like “the Wealthy and Manipulated parties.”
Sure. That’s HERCULE TRIATHLON SAVINIEN flavor crazy.
I miss him–still my favorite troll ever.
His cat rants were awesome.
You know he has a blog, right? I haven’t checked it in a looong time, but just google old HERC and it comes right up.
Sure, but not enough ALL CAPS words.
Hasn’t TEAM BLUE shown that it is utterly delusional already? So more delusion like this shouldn’t be surprising. These people are seriously fucked in the head, and reality is very tenuous for them.
What’s funny is the projection of delusion. Which, frankly, I think will backfire spectacularly, as Democrats don’t show up, thinking it’s in the bag, while Republicans and independents are more motivated to get out and vote.
It’s like the economy, wars, and global discontent are something happening on Mars, not here.
All Team Blue has to do, Epi, is get enough people to also believe their delusions.
Heh, coattails.
The squirrels are drunk.
Here’s the quebec rant I hope
http://fullcomment.nationalpos…..ew-quebec/
Doesn’t the PQ realize that a, if not the, biggest problem with the separatist movement is the belief that an independent Quebec will be an economic basketcase? Looks like they are doubling down on stupid.
Plain clothes dipshit cop doesn’t like being videotaped. Takes dangerous camera operator to the ground. Police in comments are suitably enraged that the kid doesn’t just do what anyone who says they’re a cop says to do.
More of your rights gone to facilitate the war on that devil weed:
A victory for LE: Warrantless tracking of cell phones
In my little corner of the world, which does not seem particularly friendly to such insane republican teabaggery as private property rights or free enterprise (sampling error duly noted), the ratio of Rehberg(R) to Tester(D) signs is about 100 to 1.
Meaningful? probably not. But another R thwarting the WILLZ OF TEH PEEPULS is okay by me.
*AFSCME is flooding the teevee waves with anti-Rehberg ads, so he can’t be all bad.
Also, as I noted on the Audit the Fed thread, your “Yes, We Got No Inflation” data point for the day:
Levi 501s- sixty four fucking bucks at Kohl’s today. I think I paid less than thirty for the last pair I bought, a couple of years ago.
DID NOT BUY.
Holy crap. Go to Academy Sports (if you got those) and buy their store brand. I think they are still 17 dollars.
Lands’ End has good jeans for $35/pair too.
There was an Audit the Fed thread? I didn’t think it would develop after shrike and the drive by troll crapped on it so early.
Jesus Christ–I get the Target discount brand for about $15-20, and they last me for years.
Because of how the European Union calculates fines, Microsoft could be on the hook for as much as a $7.4 billion penalty over a rules-slip that it brought to the attention of officials.
Couldn’t they buy an army to invade the EU at about the same price?
Obama is losing fans among Arab-Americans, though they still favor him over the other brand, while Romney raises funds in Hong Kong where, to be honest, politicians who talk the free market talk are probably an easier sell than at home.
Before looking, I’m guessing they are finding him to be too much of a fundamentalist Islamist for their more moderate sensibilities given the medieval language with concepts like ‘profane’ and ‘blasphemy’ that he speaks in.
This sounds like a great party to me. People are so fucking uptight.
Going with the Mexican side on this one
Fucking Jezebel. I have to sit through a commercial before I can read an article now? Fuck you.
Just a few days before the “border party” was canceled, two sororities put on a “fiesta-themed” bar night, during which some revelers donned fake mustaches and shirts that said “border patrol.” With that in mind, it’s not surprising that Ryan Miller, lead team member for the Campus Climate Response Team, told the paper that his office has received 15 reports of racially biased theme parties at UT so far this semester. Holy shit.
Parties were cancelled. Pearls were clutched.