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A.M. Links: 10 Year Old Killed in Likely U.S. Drone Strike, Edward Snowden Applies for Asylum in 21 Countries, Support for Gay Marriage at Record High

Ed Krayewski | 7.2.2013 9:00 AM

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    The Obama Administration has made no comment about the death of a 10-year-old in a likely U.S. drone strike in Yemen, as if evidence were required that the president's pledge to "facilitate transparency and debate" on the issue was a load of crock.

  • Edward Snowden has applied for asylum in 21 countries, ranging from Venezuela to Ireland, according to Wikileaks, but he dropped his bid to apply for asylum in Russia. Several European countries have already said his application is invalid.
  • Polls show support for gay marriage at 55 percent, a record high, while support for affirmative action appears to have increased after the Supreme Court's ruling against it. 49 percent oppose the Voting Rights Act ruling and the Supreme Court's approval rating is at 43 percent.
  • New York City is considering abandoning its hybrid buses due to maintenance problems, and may retrofit more than 20 percent of the fleet with diesel engines. The transit union opposes the move, saying it's "not good for people's lungs," though they may be more concerned about there being less work for repairmen.
  • John Kerry claims the U.S. and Russia both want a peace conference on Syria, but said it might not be possible to hold until August. Kerry didn't mention whether the Syrian government or the rebels were interested in a peace conference.
  • Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi said he's going to pursue his own plans for national reconciliation, irrespective of any army ultimatum about making concessions to the opposition.
  • An Arizona wildfire that killed 19 firefighters on Sunday remains out of control.

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NEXT: Obama Administration Has Nothing To Say About Drone Strike That Killed 10-Year-Old Boy

Ed Krayewski is a former associate editor at Reason.

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  1. Fist of Etiquette   12 years ago

    Edward Snowden has applied for asylum in 21 countries, ranging from Venezuela to Ireland...

    Good luck finding a country that doesn't suckle at the American government's teat.

    1. UnCivilServant   12 years ago

      I can't afford to fund that many countries, we need to cut spending.

      1. Fist of Etiquette   12 years ago

        I think you mean increase revenue.

        1. UnCivilServant   12 years ago

          Does this mean I can tax countries taht recieve US Aid?

          1. NeonCat   12 years ago

            Try it and let the rest of us know how it turns out.

    2. robc   12 years ago

      What happened with Ecuador? After the offer of cash to the US, I figured they were going to grant the asylum.

      1. DJF   12 years ago

        I think the problem there is that he has to get there without being intercepted by the US.

        1. Ice Nine   12 years ago

          If the US can do that, they can get him in Ecuador.

          1. DJF   12 years ago

            Not necessarily, air routes between Moscow and South America pass over the USA. Once the plane is over the US then the US can order it to land and then grab him. Actually invading Ecuador is a bigger hurtle.

            1. Ice Nine   12 years ago

              Good point. But, that would be obviated by leap-frogging around the US.

            2. Tonio   12 years ago

              And there are probably lots of countries upon who the US could exert influence to have a commercial flight land while in their airspace for the purposes of nabbing him. That makes the routing even more critical.

              An even more subtle approach would be to engineer (or claim) mechanical troubles forcing such a landing in a country amenable to US persuasion.

              Icey, you're right, but I'm not sure how far out of their way a commercial airline would go to accommodate Snowden; probably not very far. Google or Wikileaks could charter a flight, but that might open up other risks for Snowden.

      2. Brett L   12 years ago

        Biden called them and reviewed the 1990 invasion of Panama blow-by-blow, then made them an offer they couldn't refuse.

  2. Lord Humungus   12 years ago

    Israeli Orthodox Jewish rabbi rules marijuana not kosher
    http://www.yourjewishnews.com/2013/06/n27971.html

    Rabbi Efraim Zalmanovich, who is an Orthodox rabbi of the Israeli city of Mazkeret Batia, said last week that the distribution and smoking of marijuana is kosher, provided it is for medical purposes.

    Recreational use is another issue, according to Zalmanovich.
    "The use of the drug to escape this world is definitely forbidden," Zalmanovich said. The rabbi's comments are the first by a Jewish religious leader about the substance.

    1. Rich   12 years ago

      "The use of the drug to escape this world is definitely forbidden," Zalmanovich said.

      Drink alcohol, the way God intended.

      1. gaijin   12 years ago

        to escape this world

        It's not like you actually escape the world. You just experience it differently. The Rabbi clearly knows not of which he speaks.

    2. Matrix   12 years ago

      That makes no sense in light of the fact that drinking alcohol recreationally is not only permissable, but in some instances a requirement.

      1. Andrew S.   12 years ago

        We Jews have a whole holiday where it's a requirement that you get so drunk you can't tell the difference between right and wrong!

        (I swear. If Jews were evangelical, we'd be able to convert every college student in existence given the amount of alcohol we're commanded to drink)

        1. Matrix   12 years ago

          I know. I've tried doing the whole Purim drinking thing, but I honestly can't get that drunk unless I pass out. But I hate the hangovers, so I keep it to the point I know I won't get a hangover.

          I remember a couple of years ago I was TDY during Purim. Got extremely hammered with a friend. I was really sick the next day and he dragged by ass to the beach to 'sweat it off'... bastard

          1. Good God   12 years ago

            Does anyone have an opinion about whether replacing the four cups of wine at a Seder with four glasses of grape juice passes halakhic muster?

            1. invisible furry hand   12 years ago

              You're called Good God - shouldn't you know the answer already?

              1. Good God   12 years ago

                I was thinking more along these lines.

            2. Matrix   12 years ago

              Well, recovering alcoholics are permitted to use K4P grape juice in place of wine.

              1. invisible furry hand   12 years ago

                how about people who have to have a zero blood alcohol reading, like surgeons on call?

      2. Tonio   12 years ago

        It doesn't have to make sense, Matrix. It's religion, the point of which is dogma, not reason.

  3. Andrew S.   12 years ago

    But I thought we were not doing these drone strikes anymore! The media told me that! They wouldn't lie, would they?

    1. Rich   12 years ago

      "Those" drone strikes are a thing of the past, Andrew.

    2. DJF   12 years ago

      They weren't going to do the old drone strikes anymore, these are new drone strikes. Totally different.

    3. Certified Public Asskicker   12 years ago

      Of course, a quick google search show very little reporting on this story...

      1. Lord Humungus   12 years ago

        media bias is just a meme /ghost of MNG

  4. Bee Tagger   12 years ago

    The transit union opposes the move, saying it's "not good for people's lungs,"

    I agree, it would be a shame were something to happen to those nice lungs they got there.

  5. Matrix   12 years ago

    Pierce Brosnan's daughter dies
    Died the same way her mother did--ovarian cancer. Losing one's wife must be hard enough, but watching your child die. Very sad.

  6. Good God   12 years ago

    The Labarynthine thought-processes of our Marijuana Legalizer

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/.....en-harder/

    Educated fools, I swear to God

    1. mad libertarian guy   12 years ago

      When you consider that there has never been a recorded death attributable to pot, and that accidents and violence are rarely an issue, it's almost like our high minded Ivy League educated betters can't do as well at regulating the market and effects of marijuana on society as potheads!

    2. Rich   12 years ago

      Weyl suggests some sort of mandatory turnover policy to discourage firms from turning people into problem users.

      WTF?

  7. Fist of Etiquette   12 years ago

    The Obama Administration has made no comment about the death of a 10-year-old in a likely U.S. drone strike in Yemen...

    Hey, if you're going to send drones to make an omelette...

    1. gaijin   12 years ago

      Well, he already commented on it. It was a blanket comment. This death will haunt his dreams...

  8. Matrix   12 years ago

    Huntsville Stars cave to pressure and cancel gun giveaway promo
    Being a resident of Huntsville, I am disappointed!

    1. Good God   12 years ago

      I honestly believe that these sorts of efforts are one of the few things that scare The Powers That Be?.

      MOAR

  9. Matrix   12 years ago

    Rats jumping ship
    XBox chief leaves M$ for Zynga

    1. Andrew S.   12 years ago

      Given that Microsoft had to copy the PS4 for the Xbone to possible survive, he'll be the perfect fit for a company that lives on copying other companies' IP!

      1. Ruckus   12 years ago

        My first thought as well!

        Zynga has to be the worst game development studio producing today. Not only do they blatantly rip off IP, but their tech and *coding* is down right pathetic. I remember when the wife first started playing farm/frontier-ville. It had worse memory leaks than AIM on win98, and would absolutely cripple/hog both the CPU/RAM on her dual-core, 3GB RAM laptop in about 15 min to the point it would lock up. Not to mention the flip book animations, the 60 sec loading screens in between jumps, the random refreshes, not saving progress, etc.

        I know there are plenty of people that play different types of games than I do, so more power to the social gamers. But Fuck, how can you put up with a game that runs like it was developed by four 12 years old in 1999.

    2. Rasilio   12 years ago

      To Zynga? That's like jumping on to the Titanic

      1. Kaptious Kristen   12 years ago

        Exactly. I think it's less "jumping ship" and more "Zynga made him an offer, and a golden parachute, that he couldn't refuse".

    3. Brett L   12 years ago

      But to Zynga, a company with good original IP and terrible budget forecasting? Nah. I think Zynga is just determined to blow all that Farmville money with no fresults.

  10. Lord Humungus   12 years ago

    JFK Airport security supervisor axed after accidentally sending photo of his genitals
    http://www.nypost.com/p/news/l.....SyZXT8xXNO

    The embarrassing incident occurred around 7:15 a.m. June 21 after Gerard Robson, a project manager for private contractor FJC Security, responded to an airport parking-lot fender bender involving a security guard's car.

    Robson had hoped to alert his bosses and PA execs to what happened by taking photos of the cars and e-mailing the images with his company-issued BlackBerry, sources said.

    But Robson somehow attached another snapshot stored on the cellphone ? showing him inside a car, "waist down, naked penis out, belly and all," according to one source.

    Ok, fess up - who here did this?

    1. Rich   12 years ago

      Anybody seen Weiner?

      1. invisible furry hand   12 years ago

        He's too busy hacking Russell Crowe's Twitter

    2. Brett L   12 years ago

      Is this guy running for mayor, too?

  11. Swiss Servator - past LTC(ret)   12 years ago

    "was a load of crock."

    Um...maybe a crock of load? Or, simply, a crock?

    1. Zeb   12 years ago

      I first read it as "load of cock". In James May's voice.

    2. Numeromancer   12 years ago

      A crock bomb! Run for the finish line your lives!

  12. Matrix   12 years ago

    Vegan website shames vegan traitors
    How DARE you not follow our line for the rest of your life. One woman quit her vegan lifestyle because it was negatively impacting her health. That's a lousy excuse! You should sacrifice your life to keep people from eating meat! You are literally WORSE THAN HITLER if you would rather have good health than to stop eating meat.

    1. Lord Humungus   12 years ago

      I'm a vegan traitor *holds head up high*

      1. invisible furry hand   12 years ago

        you make itty-bitty lambs cry

        1. UnCivilServant   12 years ago

          I hope not, I expect them to be dead by the time I start to cook them.

        2. Francisco d Anconia   12 years ago

          I make itty-bitty lamb CHOPS.

    2. Live Free or Diet   12 years ago

      One woman quit her vegan lifestyle because it was negatively impacting her health.

      Most vegetarians stop because of health reasons, whether diagnosed or not feeling well.

      1. mad libertarian guy   12 years ago

        A friend just recently developed an adverse reaction to soy. He hasn't been a strict vegetarian for years, but meat wasn't taken in all that much. In order to get protein, he ate metric fuck tons of soy products (that are nasty as balls). After nearly 2 decades of that shit, his body told him enough was enough and that it was time for him to return to the default setting of using meat as a means to get most of one's protein.

        1. Jon Lester   12 years ago

          Hemp happens to be a good protein source.

          1. Zeb   12 years ago

            There are lots of good vegetable protein sources that are better than soy. I think they key is to have a good variety. It's possible to have a healthy vegetarian diet. It just takes some effort. I'd rather eat meat myself.

      2. Red Rocks Rockin   12 years ago

        There's plenty of vegetarians that don't have these malnutrition issues, but you're right that a lot of them end up quitting because they don't get the energy and overall health benefits they expected.

        That's the main reason it's simply easier to eat a normal omnivorous diet, because it's so much of a pain in the ass to micromanage your meals. A healthy diet isn't that difficult--lots of fruits and veggies, a few grains, a few meats and other proteins. there's a reason we salivate at the smell of cooked meat; veganism is really nothing more than an indication of cultural decadence.

    3. Steve G   12 years ago

      Saw this a week ago when Denise Minger on FB proudly shared her selection to the list. She only took down the China Study and all...
      Seen a few petty things in my life, but that website is up there.

    4. thom   12 years ago

      Self-righteous vegans/vegetarians are annoying. But the number of self-righteous vegans/vegetarians pales in comparison to the number of self-righteous meat eaters who constantly shit on vegans/vegetarians for being self-righteous.

      Most of us keep our opinions about other people's diets to ourselves, out of the futile hope that such sentiment will be reciprocated.

      1. gaijin   12 years ago

        Most of us keep our opinions about other people's diets life choices to ourselves, out of the futile hope that such sentiment will be reciprocated.

        One more specific that is generalizable.

      2. Live Free or Diet   12 years ago

        self-righteous meat eaters who constantly shit on vegans/vegetarians for being self-righteous.

        Cool! Where do I join up?

        1. Teenage Girl   12 years ago

          Eewww!!

          1. Live Free or Diet   12 years ago

            No, I meant... Never mind.

      3. mad libertarian guy   12 years ago

        Anyone who makes a habit of making unsolicited remarks concerning another's diet should generally be considered as annoying.

        1. thom   12 years ago

          Yep.

          1. BakedPenguin   12 years ago

            Your diet is BAD and you are a BAD PERSON!

            1. BakedPenguin   12 years ago

              Just to be clear - since Francisco seems genuinely pissed - my above comment was not meant seriously.

      4. Francisco d Anconia   12 years ago

        Um... Have a steak you self-righteous vegan fuck.

        Oh and fuck off and die in a fire.

      5. Jose Chung   12 years ago

        I don't shit on vegetarians/vegans in general... I shit on the militant variety who not only presume to tell others how to live (which I find acceptable, if occasionally annoying) but try to paint meat eaters as either willfully ignorant or willfully evil. Live how you like, but afford me the same courtesy.

      6. sgs   12 years ago

        "Most of us keep our opinions about other people's diets to ourselves"

        The only people ever to insult me because of what I ate were vegans/vegetarians.

        1. thom   12 years ago

          Who else would you expect to insult you for eating meat?

          1. sgs   12 years ago

            "because of what I ate"

            Who said anything about meat fuckwit?

            1. thom   12 years ago

              Well, context matters. If you aren't talking about meat, elaborate.

        2. Michael   12 years ago

          The only people ever to insult me because of what I ate were vegans/vegetarians.

          Not too long ago I read an interview with John Joseph of the Cromags. Throughout the interview he kept insisting that he doesn't judge anybody's dietary choices and that his veganism is strictly a personal endeavor. He was also pimping his new book titled "Meat is for Pussies".

    5. Jon Lester   12 years ago

      I don't think your average vegan makes a religion out of it. I wouldn't have known about VeganSelloutList without seeing your link.

      1. Live Free or Diet   12 years ago

        I don't think your average vegan makes a religion out of it.

        Really? That's not my experience at all. It's not just about healthy eating (especially as it isn't healthy), it informs their entire world view. It assigns moral superiority on the basis of treating animals as if they were humans.

        1. Tonio   12 years ago

          treating animals as if they were humans

          Really? That strawman is getting pretty raggedy.

          1. Night Elf Mohawk   12 years ago

            Well, when people call meat "murder" there's at least a tenuous connection there.

            1. Tonio   12 years ago

              I believe that Reason writers have referred to the "murder" of dogs by police on at least one occasion.

              1. sgs   12 years ago

                Ok, so what? That doesn't refute anything HM said.

          2. thom   12 years ago

            The militant vegan itself is largely a strawman. Do militant vegans exist? Sure, there are a very few of them. But they probably have very limited interaction with the people who post to these comments.

            1. SugarFree   12 years ago

              The militant vegan is the same as the militant atheist/rabid evangelist or the militant feminist/men's rights weirdo or the militant warboner/self-negating pacifist... examples do exist of every one of them. They really only become a strawman argument when applied to all vegans, atheist, feminists, etc.

              I knew a vegan that would run out of a room if she saw someone eating meat, would make very loud gagging noises if someone mentioned meat, went on a huge paranoid rant about ketchup being colored with cow blood as a plot to make her consume murdered animals. And I've known a dozen vegans and/or vegetarians that never make an issue of it at all.

              1. SugarFree   12 years ago

                That was more of an parallel to thom, not a reply. Threading fail.

                1. invisible furry hand   12 years ago

                  You SF'd the thread? Branching out, hey?

                  1. SugarFree   12 years ago

                    Technically, I shouldn't have branched out.

                  2. Clich? Bandit   12 years ago

                    He has mastered the inability to link...next up Threading. Brooksie will be so disjointed.

              2. mad libertarian guy   12 years ago

                I knew a vegan that would run out of a room if she saw someone eating meat, would make very loud gagging noises if someone mentioned meat, went on a huge paranoid rant about ketchup being colored with cow blood as a plot to make her consume murdered animals.

                I would never have socialized with this girl more than once, and I would have made it clear that she was an uppity cunt who needs to shut the fuck up after the very first bit of bullshit commentary.

                1. SugarFree   12 years ago

                  She was dating a friend of mine. Ugh. She currently works at a popular local restaurant... Care to guess which one?

                  1. tarran   12 years ago

                    Red Robin?

                    1. Live Free or Diet   12 years ago

                      Steak and Shake?

                  2. mad libertarian guy   12 years ago

                    I'm not hip to the Lexington restaurant scene.

                    Maybe that hummus joint on Limestone?

                    1. Live Free or Diet   12 years ago

                      Meat-R-Us?

              3. Live Free or Diet   12 years ago

                And I've known a dozen vegans and/or vegetarians that never make an issue of it at all.

                Vegetarians vary, but the vegans I've known are all insufferable.

                1. Jerryskids   12 years ago

                  Somebody has to say it: I'm not a vegetarian but I do eat vegetarian animals.

                  1. Live Free or Diet   12 years ago

                    Somebody has to say it: I'm not a vegetarian but I do eat vegetarian animals.

                    Vegetarians: People who eat like food does.

                    1. thom   12 years ago


                      Somebody has to say it: I'm not a vegetarian but I do eat vegetarian animals.

                      Vegetarians: People who eat like food does.

                      It's this kind of shit. If a vegetarian makes a similar joke the meat eaters crucify them for being a self righteous asshole. I don't necessarily care, but I get annoyed when you all get your panties twisted because you can dish it out but can't take it.

            2. Francisco d Anconia   12 years ago

              http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v.....lWkv1kL5kg

              1. Live Free or Diet   12 years ago

                "That's because the other 90% is filled with curds and whey."

                Of course, mine is mostly saturated fat and cholesterol.

          3. Live Free or Diet   12 years ago

            treating animals as if they were humans
            Really? That strawman is getting pretty raggedy.

            "The plight of animals - be it farm animals, companion animals, marine or wild life animals - is one of the foremost reasons why many people around the world choose to eat a vegetarian diet, or vegan diet. As people who care about the animals of the earth, we believe that, like human animals, they have rights and deserve to have their best interests taken into consideration, regardless of whether they are useful to humans."
            http://www.happycow.net/why_vegetarian.html

            Site tagline: "Animals are not ours to eat, wear, experiment on, use for entertainment, or abuse in any way."
            Interestingly, they violate this statement by using a goose for entertainment right on the same page.
            http://www.peta.org/

            Want more? I can do this by the dozen.

        2. Jon Lester   12 years ago

          I think I'm helped by being in my 40's and living in a place where people are generally well-mannered, a town just small enough that insufferable and hysterical people don't last long on the social circuit.

          Actually, most of the diet-conscious people I know are vegetarian or semi-vegetarian, and might try to eat a vegan diet when possible, but aren't hung up on it past their own well-being. There's only one true vegan restaurant in town here, and I hope they stay in business long enough for me to try a few other meals, because so far, I've only had one of their dahls.

          1. Live Free or Diet   12 years ago

            I'm in my 50s, and until recently lived in a city boasting 8 colleges, though my count is more like 6. Either way, it can get to be a bit much. I own a "Celebrate Diversity" t-shirt that pictures 18 handguns on it. About one time in three that I wear it, I get rude negative comments, typically from pasty skinny-fat girls about my daughters' ages.

            My wife's best friend is a vegetarian who, despite the fact I cook vegetarian meals for her, talks like I never touch a vegetable. She sends me articles about things like how horribly farm animals are treated. I send her articles about how she's harming herself. We're friendly about it.

            Annual Death Rates of Vegetarians and Nonvegetarians (all causes)
            Male vegetarians .93%
            Male nonvegetarians .88%
            Female vegetarians .86%
            Female nonvegetarians .54%
            http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/36/5/873.short

  13. invisible furry hand   12 years ago

    Postmen refuse to deliver mail to Shropshire man with 'aggressive' raspberry bush

    more

    1. Tonio   12 years ago

      Bush!

    2. Swiss Servator - past LTC(ret)   12 years ago

      "He was told post service workers were 'intimidated and threatened' by his 7ft raspberry bush, with the Royal Mail ruling it was a health hazard."

      Maybe they just need a cop to come out and shoot the bushes?

    3. gaijin   12 years ago

      'agreesive' raspberry bush

      You aren't fooling me, this is some sort of gay p0rn site isn't it?

  14. Bee Tagger   12 years ago

    Several European countries have already said his application is invalid.

    I believe the parlance is now "he's been hong-konged"

  15. Matrix   12 years ago

    200 year old fish caught off Alaskan coast
    Dayum... a fish can live that long?!

    1. UnCivilServant   12 years ago

      Some jellyfish are immortal

      1. Zeb   12 years ago

        Some people think that lobsters have theoretically unlimited lifespans as well.

        1. UnCivilServant   12 years ago

          Because they keep getting bigger, aren't they limited by the available food supply though?

          1. Zeb   12 years ago

            Sure, there are definitely practical limits. But they keep growing and don't seem to age in the sense that their cells stop dividing properly and their organs wear out.

        2. Scruffy Nerfherder   12 years ago

          Lobster lifespans and human stupidity - What do they have in common?

    2. robc   12 years ago

      Link is SFed.

      1. Matrix   12 years ago

        linky

    3. Tonio   12 years ago

      Well, matrix, they aren't actual fishes despite the name.

      1. robc   12 years ago

        In cladistics, there is no such thing as fish.

    4. Fist of Etiquette   12 years ago

      How do they know it's that old? Found it floating next to 200 candles?

      1. PS   12 years ago

        No it was floating next to some confusing document that was more than 100 years old.

    5. WTF   12 years ago

      You SF'd the link.

    6. Rasilio   12 years ago

      Some longer, a lot longer.

      I know Lobsters can live several hundred years, some species of catfish too.

  16. Matrix   12 years ago

    Park ranger in Georgia hit by bullet that a suicidal woman used to kill herself

    1. gaijin   12 years ago

      this is how zombies are made.

    2. Brett L   12 years ago

      Rule #4! Know what is downrange of your target! Suicide is no excuse.

      1. T   12 years ago

        At least get a better backstop.

  17. Lord Humungus   12 years ago

    Horrific video shows Syrian Catholic priest being 'beheaded by jihadist fighters in front of cheering crowd'
    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....crowd.html

    A Syrian Catholic priest has been beheaded by jihadist fighters in Syria, it has been claimed.

    The death of Franciscan Father Francois Murad has been confirmed by the official Vatican news agency.

    The gruesome killing has raised further concerns about the West arming rebels in the fight against the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

    1. Matrix   12 years ago

      these rebels sure are friendly and deserve support from the US govt

      1. SugarFree   12 years ago

        As long as we only send them Stingers, I'm sure everything will be fine.

        1. WTF   12 years ago

          Yeah, just make sure we don't send them knives and other choppy things.

        2. Matrix   12 years ago

          since our govt considers explosives to be WMDs, us arming terrorists with explosives should count as...?

          1. Scruffy Nerfherder   12 years ago

            Bullets have explosives in them, holy shit!

            1. Rich   12 years ago

              And they're like little pressure cookers!

      2. gaijin   12 years ago

        these rebels sure are friendly and deserve support from the US govt

        That'll learn those damn Catholics not to challenge Obamacare.

    2. Scruffy Nerfherder   12 years ago

      McCain is ready for his photo op with them now.

    3. VG Zaytsev   12 years ago

      McCain must be so proud of his new friends.

  18. invisible furry hand   12 years ago

    Bizarre naked woman picture sent from Russell Crowe's twitter account

    more

    1. PS   12 years ago

      Earlier today, Crowe said on social media that he had successfully completed a gym session and was getting ready to guzzle a Pina Colada.

      He later tweeted that he liked getting caught in the rain.

    2. Ted S.   12 years ago

      What's bizarre about naked women?

      1. invisible furry hand   12 years ago

        that's the sort of comment that makes me google for freaky shit and post it here.

        1. itsnotmeitsyou   12 years ago

          Go on...

  19. Matrix   12 years ago

    Woman builds herself a prosthetic leg out of legos
    If you like ink, she has some

    1. kinnath   12 years ago

      As an engineer, I felt compelled to watch that to the bitter end.

      1. invisible furry hand   12 years ago

        and then design a better one, right? If not, then turn in your slide rule immediately

        1. kinnath   12 years ago

          That's exactly what I was thinking of.

    2. Dweebston   12 years ago

      I thought this was another NHS horror story. I am disappoint.

  20. PS   12 years ago

    John Kerry claims the U.S. and Russia both want a peace conference on Syria, but said it might not be possible to hold until August. Kerry didn't mention whether the Syrian government or the rebels were interested in a peace conference.

    It's okay to think like a neo-colonialist as long as you have the right intentions.

  21. Rich   12 years ago

    Obama sought to reassure fellow world leaders that the scale of US espionage against friendly nations did not signify a lack of trust.

    "Let me be clear. It's more like having, uh, one of those monitors in, uh, your child's room."

  22. Fist of Etiquette   12 years ago

    New York City is considering abandoning its hybrid buses due to maintenance problems, and may retrofit more than 20 percent of the fleet with diesel engines.

    Score another one for green energy, the public coffers' third worst enemy.

  23. Lord Humungus   12 years ago

    Librarian foot soldiers enlisted to help with Obamacare enrollment
    http://www.washingtontimes.com.....macare-en/

    The nation's librarians will be recruited to help people get signed up for insurance under President Barack Obama's health care overhaul. Up to 17,000 U.S. libraries will be part of the effort to get information and crucial computer time to the millions of uninsured Americans who need to get coverage under the law.

    The undertaking will be announced Sunday in Chicago at the annual conference of the American Library Association, according to federal officials who released the information early to The Associated Press.

    1. SugarFree   12 years ago

      The ALA steps on its dick again.

      1. Swiss Servator - past LTC(ret)   12 years ago

        Dick? I did not know there were any male librarians left?

        1. Rich   12 years ago

          I actually know one, although I believe he considers himself a "library scientist".

          1. Lord Humungus   12 years ago

            if one is a library scientist, what kind of lab do you have?

            1. Rich   12 years ago

              I think it's a brown lab.

              1. Lord Humungus   12 years ago

                what's brown and sounds like a bell?

    2. Tonio   12 years ago

      More like a desperate attempt to curry favor at a time when libraries are increasingly irrelevant (sorry, Sug).

      1. mad libertarian guy   12 years ago

        More like a desperate attempt to curry favor at a time when libraries are increasingly irrelevant steal as many funds as possible while the gravy train is running (sorry, Sug).

      2. Zeb   12 years ago

        Public libraries are becoming irrelevant. I think academic libraries will continue to be valuable and used.

        1. BakedPenguin   12 years ago

          So long as academic journals are able to keep their IP scam going, this is definitely true.

          1. Tonio   12 years ago

            ^This.

        2. Rasilio   12 years ago

          Indeed, in any kind of research or engineering environment a good librarian is worth their weight in gold.

          Hell I think most large corporations would be much better off if they actually hired a few good librarians to help them catalog and manage their sharepoint and netapp data services rather than allowing each team to handle it in an ad hoc manner

          1. SugarFree   12 years ago

            Seriously. Netflix needs librarians something awful, for example. That's one of the worst search interfaces I've ever dealt with.

            There are more and more corporate librarians. Special Libraries Association is where they end up, because ALA sickens them with their Marxist nonsense.

            1. BakedPenguin   12 years ago

              Netflix needs librarians something awful, for example. That's one of the worst search interfaces I've ever dealt with.

              When good companies make bad choices...

              Seriously, though, it is fucking terrible. It's hard to think how it could be worse.

          2. Kaptious Kristen   12 years ago

            We have a professional taxonomist/librarian on staff. Who knew the Feds wold be ahead of the game on this?

        3. generic Brand   12 years ago

          Academic libraries continue to hold higher value because there is an embargo on publishing for public use. When you hold the materials hostage, it makes it easier to charge a premium for use.

          1. generic Brand   12 years ago

            Damn it! Should have refreshed. Well, can't be said enough, truthfully.

          2. Zeb   12 years ago

            Sure, there is that. But I think there will always be need for libraries and archives of original documents and people who are skilled at organizing and finding information in such collections.

      3. SugarFree   12 years ago

        No need to apologize. Although it is only partly that. A bigger reason is that the public library system was forced into doing social service's job so many times, it turned into an arm of social services, attracteing the same sort of naive do-gooders who think stealing other people's money and redistributing it is "charity."

        ALA as an organization is at the forefront of this mindset.

    3. Irish   12 years ago

      I read that as 'Liberian foot soldiers' and thought for a second that we'd stumbled onto the most bizarre scandal yet.

      1. UnCivilServant   12 years ago

        That's not as bad as me, I first misread it as Libertarian footsoldiers. Which confused the crap out of me.

  24. Palin's Buttplug   12 years ago

    U.S. Economic Confidence Holds Near Five-Year High in June

    http://www.gallup.com/poll/163.....-june.aspx

    ISM Manufacturing Rises More Than Expected In June

    Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com.....z2XtQKfibc

    Bulls are back from near death in 2008!

    1. Andrew S.   12 years ago

      All Hail Obama! Because economies never go up after going down, if he hadn't saved us from certain doom, we'd all be in bread lines!

      So, the question is, how long did Obama's policies delay the recovery? About 3 years I'm guessing?

      1. Swiss Servator - past LTC(ret)   12 years ago

        Sure..."recovery".

        I think it is more like stagnation.

        1. UnCivilServant   12 years ago

          Until I see an improvement in the workforce participation rate without a corresponding dip in median income, I can't say we're in recovery.

          1. Fist of Etiquette   12 years ago

            No, we're in full blown recovery now, and that's the important thing.

            And just wait until Obama's new environmental regs kick in. Nothing spurs economic recovery like high energy costs.

          2. Andrew S.   12 years ago

            Oh, I'm aware this is no recovery. Without idiotic government interference, we'd have already recovered. The 3 years delay is just a guess, because it ain't over yet.

      2. Palin's Buttplug   12 years ago

        GDP has been positive every quarter since q2 2009.

        Govt spending as a % of GDP is at a new multi-decade low.

        1. Scruffy Nerfherder   12 years ago

          What in holy hell are you on? Government spending as a percentage of GDP is near all time highs, exceeded only by WW2 and 2009.

          1. Mike M.   12 years ago

            Don't feed the lying demonic vermin.

          2. tarran   12 years ago

            He's an insane homeless guy screaming at the wall.

            He's always been an insane homeless guy screaming at the wall.

            Ignore him and move on, because no matter what you do, he will always be an insane homeless guy screaming at the wall.

        2. UnCivilServant   12 years ago

          GDP is a bullshit stat made up to talk to idots about the economy. It's not a useful metric of anything.

          1. Brett L   12 years ago

            If they'd subtract government borrowing then it would be okay, but treating government bonds like normal debt (ie, having no effect on production because it will be repaid over time) is obviously not valid in reality.

            1. VG Zaytsev   12 years ago

              Subtract all government spending and it might be useful.

        3. Lord Humungus   12 years ago

          positive but generally shitty.

        4. Red Rocks Rockin   12 years ago

          GDP has been positive every quarter since q2 2009.

          That GDP growth has been propped up by deficit spending. Remove the deficit spending and GDP growth is negative.

          Would you like me to pull out the government data to make you look like a dumbass, again, shriek, or do you prefer to simply concede this irrefutable point?

      3. mad libertarian guy   12 years ago

        About 3 years I'm guessing?

        At the minimum.

  25. Bee Tagger   12 years ago

    John Kerry claims the U.S. and Russia both want a peace conference on Syria, but said it might not be possible to hold until August.

    I'll admit, I don't know Russian weather patterns, but could it be that Kerry is waiting for a time when there is less snow 'den there is now?

    1. Swiss Servator - past LTC(ret)   12 years ago

      *narrows gaze*

      I'm watchin' you. No more of that.

      1. Bee Tagger   12 years ago

        Just be glad I thought of that because I was seconds away from singing Putin on the Ritz.

        1. Swiss Servator - past LTC(ret)   12 years ago

          *turns*

          "Yes, that is him....release the dronez!"

          1. Entropy Void   12 years ago

            Quit Stalin .. release the damn drones!

        2. Rich   12 years ago

          Leningrad you didn't.

        3. UnCivilServant   12 years ago

          You and your damn pun-nishment.

  26. mad libertarian guy   12 years ago

    The Obama Administration has made no comment about the death of a 10-year-old in a likely U.S. drone strike in Yemen[.]

    I bet that kid was a imminent threat to our freedom. Especially if he was in explosion proximity of a drone-launched missile that was aimed at a guy they may or may not have positively identified as hostile.

  27. SugarFree   12 years ago

    Cardinal Dolan on the DOMA decision:

    "Today is a tragic day for marriage and our nation."

    Cardinal Dolan Transferred $57 Million To a Cemetery Fund to Shield It From Sexual Abuse Victims

    According to documents released today, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the archbishop of New York, moved nearly $57 million into a cemetery trust fund in 2007 specifically to shield it from lawsuits by victims of clergy sexual abuse. The New York Times has the scoop:

    [T]he files released Monday contain a letter [Dolan] wrote to the Vatican in 2007, in which he explained that by transferring the assets, "I foresee an improved protection of these funds from any legal claim and liability."
    The Vatican moved swiftly to approve the request, the files show, even though it often took years to remove known abusers from the priesthood.

    Oh, and...

    ...during his tenure as the archbishop of Milwaukee:

    Cardinal Dolan's moves involving church assets have come under particular scrutiny. Lawyers for the victims said the documents would prove that he transferred $130 million from the church's books ? about $55 million in a cemetery account, and $75 million in an investment account ? to shield the money from abuse victims.

    Moral authority.

    1. Matrix   12 years ago

      Dolan?

      Please, I hope no one posts any Dolan memes.

      1. gaijin   12 years ago

        Hey hey we're the monkees!

        1. Rich   12 years ago

          Dolenz. Close enough.

          1. gaijin   12 years ago

            argh! should have googled first.

    2. Zeb   12 years ago

      The money was just resting in the account.

  28. Swiss Servator - past LTC(ret)   12 years ago

    "Kerry didn't mention whether the Syrian government or the rebels were interested in a peace conference."

    Pffft. Like that matters. Kerry has to grab a legacy issue and this might be it!

  29. Lord Humungus   12 years ago

    Exclusive: Greece has three days to deliver or face consequences - EU officials
    http://in.reuters.com/article/.....7A20130702

    The lenders are unhappy with progress Greece has made towards reforming its public sector, a senior euro zone official involved in the negotiations said, while another said they might suspend an inspection visit they resumed on Monday.

    Athens, which has about 2.2 billion euros of bonds to redeem in August, needs the talks to conclude successfully. If they fail, the International Monetary Fund might have to withdraw from the 240-billion-euro bailout to avoid violating its own rules, which require a borrower to be financed a year ahead.

    1. Restoras   12 years ago

      Worse? 'Ow could it be worse?? Jehovah! Jehovah! Jehovah!

  30. Good God   12 years ago

    How advertisers of yore convinced Americans they smell bad:

    http://www.smithsonianmag.com/.....79646.html

    If the GOP follows Rand Paul, they will continue to lose (argues AEI):

    http://aei.org/article/politic.....uls-party/

    WARNING: Includes poll data!

    1. VG Zaytsev   12 years ago

      They use Romney and Schwarzenegger as examples of successful blue state republican governors.

      Uh, yeah ok.

      1. mad libertarian guy   12 years ago

        They use Romney and Schwarzenegger as examples of successful blue state republican governors.

        But RomneyCare is solvent and CA doesn't have any problems at all!!

        It seems to me that they are substituting "successful" for "Republicans elected in a blue state." They don't care about legislative successes or failures, all they care about is that their team is in power. And if being milquetoast can get one elected in one of those hellholes, well then that's what the party needs to be!

      2. Eduard van Haalen   12 years ago

        No, they attribute that view to Rand Paul (WTF?) and then undertake to rebut it.

        And they seem to think that, because of his call for a truce on SSM, Paul is open to the choicers on abortion, even though Paul has sponsored "extreme" prolife legislation.

      3. Red Rocks Rockin   12 years ago

        Lost in the hosannahs from the left about California potentially running a surplus this year is that the state both raised taxes AND cut spending.

        In other words, austerity. Real, actual austerity.

        1. califernian   12 years ago

          well at least they got it half right

  31. Ted S.   12 years ago

    All sorts of butthurt from New Zealand's health Nazis over the fact that NZers are buying more takeaway food.

    (The link is to a 1.2MB, 3min audio file.)

    1. gaijin   12 years ago

      more takeaway food.

      What is takeaway food? is this some kind of commie regionalism..like saying 'pop' when you really mean 'soda'?

      1. UnCivilServant   12 years ago

        To be fair, at least with takeaway I know what they mean. With pop, I just want to punch them in the face.

      2. Dweebston   12 years ago

        It's coke, you citified, coastal elitist.

  32. Lord Humungus   12 years ago

    Ron Paul: If You Like The Surveillance State, You'll Love E-Verify
    http://www.the-free-foundation.....-2013.html

    From massive NSA spying, to IRS targeting of the administration's political opponents, to collection and sharing of our health care information as part of Obamacare, it seems every day we learn of another assault on our privacy. Sadly, this week the Senate took another significant, if little-noticed, step toward creating an authoritarian surveillance state. Buried in the immigration bill is a national identification system called mandatory E-Verify.

    The Senate did not spend much time discussing E-Verify, and what little discussion took place was mostly bipartisan praise for its effectiveness as a tool for preventing illegal immigrants from obtaining employment. It is a tragedy that mandatory E-Verify is not receiving more attention, as it will impact nearly every American's privacy and liberty.

  33. Lord Humungus   12 years ago

    Libertarians of La Mancha
    Objections to NSA surveillance are too often ?fanciful.
    http://www.weeklystandard.com/.....38055.html

    The political tables have turned almost 180 degrees. President Obama uneasily defends surveillance programs of the National Security Agency, while his liberal and libertarian opponents accuse him of lawlessly abusing his powers. The spectacle might even be entertaining, were it not for its worrisome implications. Republicans, the most reliable constituency for the surveillance policies that have protected the nation since September 11, are starting to walk away from them.

    Senator Rand Paul recently crowed that Edward Snowden, the NSA leaker now on the lam, will go down as "an advocate of privacy." His father, former GOP congressman Ron Paul, declared that "we should be thankful" for the "great service" Snowden did in "exposing the truth about what our government is doing in secret." Rank-and-file Republicans in the House have filed a bill to further stifle NSA surveillance, and Tea Party favorite Mike Lee is leading a similar effort in the Senate. At the libertarian Cato Institute (where Epstein is an adjunct scholar), privacy champions have assailed the "authoritarian measures that are advanced by the military, intelligence, and law enforcement agencies." These voices could inadvertently weaken support for national security programs to a dangerous degree.

    1. Swiss Servator - past LTC(ret)   12 years ago

      Fuck off, NR slavers.

      1. Swiss Servator - past LTC(ret)   12 years ago

        WS slavers, whichever.

        1. gaijin   12 years ago

          Exactly.

          the surveillance policies that have protected the nation

          Whole lotta faith based politics in that statement.

        2. Red Rocks Rockin   12 years ago

          Same difference.

    2. Tonio   12 years ago

      The stench of their fear is as sweet as a field of spring flowers.

    3. VG Zaytsev   12 years ago

      Never forget that the NeoCons are socialists that left the democrat party because that of party's insufficient war mongering.

      1. robc   12 years ago

        not just socialists, Trotskyites.

      2. califernian   12 years ago

        and insufficient fag hating dont' forget that one too

  34. Lord Humungus   12 years ago

    Justin Bieber's Ex-monkey Moves to Private Island with Moat and Three Potential Girlfriends, Tries to Forget Justin Bieber
    http://www.vanityfair.com/onli.....ey-germany

    1. Eduard van Haalen   12 years ago

      I won't check the article, the headline sounds so good the article itself must be a letdown.

    2. Brett L   12 years ago

      Awesome hed.

  35. Bardas Phocas   12 years ago

    Remember when AOL/Time Warner/Mega-Media Conglomerates were going to take over the internet.
    Top Men.
    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....s-ago.html

    1. robc   12 years ago

      I have never heard of Bebo until now.

      Still not as dumb as the Blue Mountain purchase.

      Price was about the same.

      1. Swiss Servator - past LTC(ret)   12 years ago

        A bunch of Scots I knew were using Bebo in 2008. I think it was going to be the Euro-Facebook. Ooops, maybe not.

      2. Tonio   12 years ago

        Don't talk shit about Blue Mountain.

        1. robc   12 years ago

          BlueMountainArts.

          The brewery is unconnected, I hope.

          1. robc   12 years ago

            Or, you know, unless they took the money from the sale and started a brewery, that would be cool.

            I was talking shit about Excite though.

          2. Tonio   12 years ago

            AFAIK, the brewery is unconnected. I was just funnin' you a bit. And reppin' for some awesome local beer.

      3. B.P.   12 years ago

        And that lucre from the sale of Blue Mountain Arts went into the election of the former owners' son, Jared Polis, to Congress.

  36. Lord Humungus   12 years ago

    The Origin of 'The World's Dumbest Idea': Milton Friedman
    http://www.forbes.com/sites/st.....-friedman/

    Friedman's article was ferocious. Any business executives who pursued a goal other than making money were, he said, "unwitting pup?pets of the intellectual forces that have been undermining the basis of a free society these past decades." They were guilty of "analytical looseness and lack of rigor." They had even turned themselves into "unelected government officials" who were illegally taxing employers and customers.

    How did the Nobel-prize winner arrive at these conclusions? It's curious that a paper which accuses others of "analytical looseness and lack of rigor" assumes its conclusion before it begins. "In a free-enterprise, private-property sys?tem," the article states flatly at the outset as an obvious truth requiring no justification or proof, "a corporate executive is an employee of the owners of the business," namely the shareholders.

    via BoingBoing.
    http://boingboing.net/2013/07/.....ds-du.html

    1. robc   12 years ago

      a corporate executive is an employee of the owners of the business

      Umm...yeah, why would that statement need justification or proof?

      How is it not fucking obvious?

    2. Red Rocks Rockin   12 years ago

      It's like these idiots have never heard of professional sports--the commissioner is, for all intents and purposes, employed at the discretion of the franchise owners. Their whole reason for being is to market the league and make as much money for the owners as possible.

    3. Brett L   12 years ago

      Its boingboing, they are rigorously opposed to every freedom that is not electronic. Which is why they are so entrenched in the EFF, dedicated to bargaining away every freedom not online.

  37. mad libertarian guy   12 years ago

    For a more relaxing morning.

  38. Lord Humungus   12 years ago

    Anti-Tank Missiles Found In Leesburg; Situation Clear
    http://www.leesburgtoday.com/n.....963f4.html

    t's finally quiet in the area of Rockbridge Drive SE in Leesburg this evening, following a long day for local police and fire-rescue personnel who were tasked with evaluating and moving anti-tank missiles that were discovered hidden in a garden shed.

    During an 11 p.m. Channel 9 news briefing, Loudoun County Fire-Rescue Battalion Chief James Williams said authorities were alerted to the existence of the missiles at around 1:30 p.m. June 29. A homeowner cleaning out her garden shed found the missiles and contacted the authorities. Members of the Leesburg Police and Loudoun County Bomb Squad arrived on scene, assessed the situation and quickly coordinated to establish a safety perimeter.

    1. Swiss Servator - past LTC(ret)   12 years ago

      Bet they were LAWs, not TOW IIs or such.

    2. Outlaw   12 years ago

      You know what I'd do if I found epicness like that in an old shed on my property? Nothing. I wouldn't say a damn thing.

      1. Brett L   12 years ago

        I was thinking I'd replay the Die Hard scene because my local Sheriff's office has the same APC.

  39. Lord Humungus   12 years ago

    Numbers Go Missing From China Factory Report Without Explanation
    http://www.bloomberg.com/news/.....ation.html

    Analysts seeking a fuller picture of China's economy could turn to an English-language version of the report released in Hong Kong by the Fung Business Intelligence Center, which included the missing numbers. Inflated trade figures this year highlighted flaws and omissions in data that investors rely on for assessing the strength of the world's second-biggest economy.

    "We hope it's just a hiccup, and we certainly want the data released to be consistent and comprehensive," said Zhu Haibin, chief China economist at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in Hong Kong. He said the sub-indexes of export orders, imports and stocks of finished goods are "important" in reading the Chinese economy.

  40. Auric Demonocles   12 years ago

    support for affirmative action appears to have increased after the Supreme Court's ruling against it. 49 percent oppose the Voting Rights Act ruling and the Supreme Court's approval rating is at 43 percent.

    So it's still like double Congress, despite people wanting the court to rule based on outcome? Maybe Roberts really did save the prestige of the court by penaltaxing.

    1. mad libertarian guy   12 years ago

      49 percent oppose the Voting Rights Act ruling and the Supreme Court's approval rating is at 43 percent.

      And you can bet that 100% of those people couldn't explain exactly what the ruling is or why it's bad beyond "RACISM!!!!!!" The amount of disinformation floating around abut the VRA case, and the amount of purposeful obfuscation on the part of the media is higher than normal (and that's saying a lot).

      1. Auric Demonocles   12 years ago

        I got in an argument with a coworker at lunch the other day. She eventually talked about how she protested NH's voter ID act by refusing to show her ID when she voted last year (which required her sign an affidavit instead). She thinks it is just there to prevent poor people from voting.

        I asked her what she though of background checks for guns, and after taking a second to be confused as the apparent non sequitur, said she was for them. When I asked her why she was trying to prevent poor people from having guns she said "I don't see it that way."

        I also asked her if the law allowed for free IDs if you can't afford it, since every one of these laws I am aware of does, and she said no. I have since checked it out, and it does. I am not sure if I should point that out, or just let it go.

        1. Night Elf Mohawk   12 years ago

          Point it out. Also clear up why she doesn't see it that way on guns other than she likes poor people to vote but not to have guns.

          1. Auric Demonocles   12 years ago

            It's pretty obvious that she doesn't see it that way on guns because the wrong people like guns.

            I am not sure pointing it out is worth it, since I have to work with her. It would be preferable if people just stopped trying to talk politics at work.

            1. mad libertarian guy   12 years ago

              It would be preferable if people just stopped trying to talk politics at work.

              FIFY

              1. mad libertarian guy   12 years ago

                Which should have read . . .

                It would be preferable if people just stopped trying to talk politics at work.

  41. Lord Humungus   12 years ago

    Health Insurance Rates Could 'Double Or Even Triple' For Healthy Consumers In Obamacare's Exchanges
    http://www.forbes.com/sites/th.....exchanges/

    "Supporters of the law say tighter regulation on insurance practices gives consumers more protection and is worth the extra cost, but they have to persuade people who don't have an immediate need for health care of that," she observes. "If only sick people buy into the new insurance pools, prices could shoot up."

    Obamacare's advocates argue that it's acceptable for healthy people to pay double or triple for individually-purchased health insurance, because the sick will benefit, and because the poor will be protected from the hikes (due to the subsidies). That seems optimistic to me?but we'll find out soon enough.

    lots of pretty charts in link.

    1. Palin's Buttplug   12 years ago

      The market will correct the price - the WSJ should know this simple fact. Nothing in Obamacare sets prices.

      1. Night Elf Mohawk   12 years ago

        Because nothing says "market" like requiring insurance to cover pre-existing conditions and setting what coverage is even available.

        1. Auric Demonocles   12 years ago

          The market will just make the companies lose money to cover the required coverage options and already sick people.

        2. Tonio   12 years ago

          Don't feed it, Mullet.

          1. Night Elf Mohawk   12 years ago

            Battle.net is down, school is on summer break, Half Price Books isn't open... it's a time of weakness.

  42. Palin's Buttplug   12 years ago

    GOP Aborto-freaks launch new mandatory ultrasound tests in Ohio - Texas moves to outlaw abortion.

    http://politicalticker.blogs.c.....spotlight/

    FREEDUMB!!! Sarah Palin says!

    1. WTF   12 years ago

      BUSHPIG!!111!!!CHRISTFAG!!11!!!

      1. Palin's Buttplug   12 years ago

        BUY YER GOLD AND AMMO NOW BEFORE THE HOLE COLLAPSE!

        1. Lord Humungus   12 years ago

          your hole is going to collapse from continual use.

          1. mad libertarian guy   12 years ago

            Not so long as it's being stuff by Obama's cock.

  43. Kaptious Kristen   12 years ago

    Supreme Court's approval rating is at 43 percent.

    If the SCOTUS ever starts basing its decisions on poll numbers, we're all royally fucked.

    1. gaijin   12 years ago

      If the SCOTUS ever starts basing its decisions on poll numbers, we're all royally fucked.

      3 out of 4 libertarians agree! 😉

      1. Numeromancer   12 years ago

        +1 iron

  44. generic Brand   12 years ago

    I'm going to Las Vegas tonight for the next 3-4 days. Any recommendations (besides betting it all on black/red)?

    1. Andrew S.   12 years ago

      Didn't you ever see Passenger 57? Always bet on black.

    2. Lord Humungus   12 years ago

      HOOOKERZ!

      1. Brett L   12 years ago

        No hookers in Vegas, just escorts.

        1. Andrew S.   12 years ago

          No Brett, when they're dead they're just hookers.

    3. robc   12 years ago

      Are you guided by a force much greater than luck?

    4. Kaptious Kristen   12 years ago

      Yeah, fuck those fancy scratch-off lottery games and play a man's game like poker or blackjack.

      1. generic Brand   12 years ago

        How about baccarat?

        1. Kaptious Kristen   12 years ago

          Always bet on the bank. That's bound to provide ours of entertainment and stimulation!

        2. Ska   12 years ago

          It's like betting on heads or tails, but you pay a commission every time heads wins.

          Fuck that.

    5. Tonio   12 years ago

      There's this place that will let you rent heavy equipment by the hour and push sand and old tires around. Build or destroy, your choice.

      1. Jerryskids   12 years ago

        Oh hell yeah - Tonka toys for big boys.

    6. Tonio   12 years ago

      Circus Circus. Pretend you're Hunter S. Thompson.

      1. SugarFree   12 years ago

        If you're going to recommend that, maybe you need to provide GB with a line on some ether.

        1. BakedPenguin   12 years ago

          C'mon Sug, weren't you 16 years old at some point?

          1. SugarFree   12 years ago

            It never did much for me. Maybe I bought the wrong brand or something.

            1. BakedPenguin   12 years ago

              Unfortunately for me, I was even dumber than I am now at that age, and I had a father who'd worked as an intern in a hospital. He was quite familiar with the smell, and very curious as to why it was in the house. Trying to dissemble while high on ether isn't an easy task.

              1. SugarFree   12 years ago

                As I do some reading, I realize I was taking too heavy of a dose, skipping the "excitation phase" and going straight to vomiting and drooling.

        2. Tonio   12 years ago

          "There is nothing more depraved than a man in the depths of an ether binge."

          1. Coeus   12 years ago

            They stayed pretty close to accurate drug effects in that movie, only to go and ruin it all with the ether and the reptiles. Which I believe were in the book as well.

    7. sarcasmic   12 years ago

      The roller coaster at NYNY is a blast.

      1. sarcasmic   12 years ago

        Here's a youtube of it.
        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpWyV4OcUHQ

    8. Sevo   12 years ago

      "Any recommendations"
      Hoover dam tour (if they still offer it)

      1. robc   12 years ago

        Excuse me, is this a God dam?

        1. Red Rocks Rockin   12 years ago

          "Where can I get some dam bait?"

    9. Ice Nine   12 years ago

      Don't go outside.

    10. mad libertarian guy   12 years ago

      Zumanity.

      It's Cirque de Soleil with naked people. It's fucking awesome.

      1. generic Brand   12 years ago

        Are there any clowns? Because the clowns in "La Nouba" ruined that Cirque de Soleil show for me.

        1. mad libertarian guy   12 years ago

          No clowns.

      2. Gray Ghost   12 years ago

        It's fucking awesome.

        Not any more. Although, are there two different shows of CdS in Vegas? Anyway, the article says that Ka will be closed for a few days while TPTB investigate. Horrible story.

        GB, for some of the best Thai food in the country, try Lotus of Siam. Shitty location, great food.

      3. SugarFree   12 years ago

        Zumanity: Do you like the boring ostentation of burlesque but wish it had more drag queens and flailing dongs?

        1. mad libertarian guy   12 years ago

          No, dude. Chicks in Catholic schools uniforms doing crazy acrobatics with their titties hanging out.

    11. Red Rocks Rockin   12 years ago

      The breakfast buffet at the Paris and the seafood buffet at the Rio are pretty sweet.

    12. Restoras   12 years ago

      Go shoot some machine guns. That's what I'm doing next time I go.

    13. Azathoth!!   12 years ago

      Collect Hooker Cards*.

      They hand them out all over Vegas.

      Collect them all! Trade doubles with your friends!

      *chewing gum not included

  45. Floridian   12 years ago

    To balance out the cop shoots dog stories.

    http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013.....er-handed/

    1. Auric Demonocles   12 years ago

      He couldn't kill a deer? What a pussy. I was literally doing that at 10 years old.

      1. Floridian   12 years ago

        He does kind of shoot a hole in the cops love killin' meme. I guess he is part of the 1% the other 99% make look bad.

      2. Kaptious Kristen   12 years ago

        Speaking of Vermont kids - the boys on my school bus used to imitate shooting whenever they saw a deer on our way to school. I bet if some kid tried that in, say, Northern Virginia, they'd be suspended or expelled.

    2. UnCivilServant   12 years ago

      But... Dogs are useful and loved. Whitetails are a pest that need to ahve their numbers thinned because there are no wolves to cull them.

      1. Floridian   12 years ago

        Honestly though I would like this officer to be my local cop. Seems to have a conscious, doesn't love killing, and trust the public. Of course I live in Florida so any officer from any other state would be a step up.

        1. UnCivilServant   12 years ago

          I don't know if you get whitetails that far south, but the gators and immigrant pythons would probably take care of them for you. I don't like having to dodge deer in the middle of the city and risk thousands in damage to my car just because people can't see that they're overpopulated and starving due to lack of predation and hunting.

          Also, be careful what you wish for. If you get an import of Nanny Bloomberg's stormtroopers, they might start a contest of oneupmanship with the home grown cops.

          1. Floridian   12 years ago

            We have white tails but they don't get as big as they do in the north. There are also a lot of wild life management areas that do a good job of keeping their numbers down. The pythons do get some deer but most of them are in south Florida. Also we lost most of our panthers so that does not help. I'm sure the coyotes get some of the fawns though.

          2. BakedPenguin   12 years ago

            Deer hunting in Florida.

            1. Brett L   12 years ago

              If this doesn't include a pickup truck and spotlight, you're doing it wrong. I only know because I had a boss who lived in the Lower Alabama area whose cousin got caught spotlighting and shooting a fake deer set up by the FWC guys.

      2. Auric Demonocles   12 years ago

        Also venison is delicious.

    3. robc   12 years ago

      I need a bow season this fall in my neighborhood.

      I understand why there isnt a gun season in the city and all, but the deer are getting way too thick in my 'hood.

      Yesterday, at lunchtime, one casually strolled across the street in front of my car about a block from my house and roamed into someone's backyard.

      Decent sized Doe.

      Ive only seen one in my backyard over the years, but the empty lot next to my yard has them fairly regularly.

      1. Scruffy Nerfherder   12 years ago

        Jeez man. I've got a good dozen in the ravine behind me. The Bambi lovers wet their pants whenever someone talks about thinning them out.

        1. robc   12 years ago

          Id be fine with them if we had something like a "ravine".

          My neighborhood has a few isolated clumps of trees and weeds.

          1. Scruffy Nerfherder   12 years ago

            The deer by themselves aren't horrible. It's the damn ticks and lyme disease they help spread. I'm ready to annihilate the whole herd.

  46. The Late P Brooks   12 years ago

    It's curious that a paper which accuses others of "analytical looseness and lack of rigor" assumes its conclusion before it begins. "In a free-enterprise, private-property sys?tem," the article states flatly at the outset as an obvious truth requiring no justification or proof, "a corporate executive is an employee of the owners of the business," namely the shareholders.

    What the fucking fuck?

    1. BiMonSciFiCon   12 years ago

      Employees no longer work for their employers. Ok.

    2. Night Elf Mohawk   12 years ago

      How is that not an obvious truth? What are the possible alternatives?

      1. Jerryskids   12 years ago

        Think in terms of "you didn't build that". They are stewards of social capital beholden to *all* stakeholders, not just shareholders but employees, customers, suppliers, neighbors, neighbors of neighbors, citizens of their town and state and country, fellow taxpayers and receipients of taxes paid - in short, all of both present and future inhabitants of the planet.

  47. Sevo   12 years ago

    Yes, the SF BART workers are on strike, since they'd rather not pay for a portion of their retirement benes, and it seems it's contagious:
    "Union wants vs. city needs"
    "Hundreds of city workers staged a one-day strike on Monday, shutting down city services because they don't want to pay for their rising pension and health care costs. (They want you to pay for it.)"
    http://blog.sfgate.com/cjohnso.....ity-needs/

    1. GroverinCA   12 years ago

      Honorable public servants, the lot of 'em.

      I'm so glad I left SF.

  48. invisible furry hand   12 years ago

    Which Makes You More Productive: Rock Music or Classical?

    more

    1. mad libertarian guy   12 years ago

      In my MA program, I found that listening to either post rock (Sigur Ros in particular) or Gregorian Chant worked well.

      When mowing the lawn, I want fucking metal. Blacken the Curs?d Lawn!

      1. SugarFree   12 years ago

        My favorite grass mowing music as a teen.

        Now I have orphans mow my lawn for a nickel while I whip them, like a proper libertarian.

  49. The Late P Brooks   12 years ago

    If the SCOTUS ever starts basing its decisions on poll numbers, we're all royally fucked.

    I've got some bad news for you, Shirley.

    1. Sevo   12 years ago

      Quit calling me Surely!

  50. Lord Humungus   12 years ago

    for the lulz:

    Weird Japanese Commercials Compilation
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giGAEe3_Ft0

    1. generic Brand   12 years ago

      Hahaha thanks for this find. Even with a decent grasp of Japanese, I could never understand any of their commercials over there.

      Also, Tommy Lee Jones and "Lainbow Mountain".

  51. Palin's Buttplug   12 years ago

    An Athens man's affinity for women with large buttocks got him in trouble early Monday morning.

    He said he was stabbed in the back by a man who was angry that he was flirting with a woman, according to Athens-Clarke police. The victim told police he was attracted to the woman because of her large rear end.

    Authorities were called to Athens Regional Medical Center shortly before 1:30 a.m. on a report that medical personnel were treating a man with a stab wound.

    http://onlineathens.com/local-.....s-stabbing

    1. Rasilio   12 years ago

      I hope Sir Mix-a-Lot is going to be ok

  52. Ken Shultz   12 years ago

    "Edward Snowden has applied for asylum in 21 countries, ranging from Venezuela to Ireland,..."

    I wish Barack Obama had to apply for asylum in 21 countries.

  53. Coeus   12 years ago

    Bull. Shit.

    Study reveals that e-cigarettes are toxic.

    1. Zeb   12 years ago

      Well, nicotine is pretty toxic.

      But it is bullshit. There is no context. I'm sure some e-cigs have all those things. But so does the air in any building or city street.

      1. Coeus   12 years ago

        Look who put out the study:

        German Cancer Research Center: Red Series: Tobacco Prevention and Tobacco Control.

        Sure, no bias there.

    2. Tonio   12 years ago

      Well, if you swallowed the wick with all the tobacco juice, sure.

      Toxic, schmoxic. I got tired of my lungs hurting. No more nasty cough. And I actually use less nicotine since I've gone electronic.

      Die in a fire, public health nazis.

      1. Red Rocks Rockin   12 years ago

        "Hey, we're all adults here."

        Honestly, e-cigs are a great invention. No one likes the smell of regular cigarettes, and for smokers, inhaling nicotine-laced vapor gives them their fix without the horrible odor sticking everywhere.

        1. Tonio   12 years ago

          No fire hazard, either.

        2. sticks   12 years ago

          I ducking love the smell of analog cigs.And smoke. My god I miss them.

  54. Coeus   12 years ago

    Goddamn do they love their random rules and regulations on Fark.

    Jim_Callahan
    2013-07-01 02:27:16 AM

    How about you move somewhere where there aren't minimal code standards for residential buildings for the incredibly farking obvious goddamned reasons that anyone with half a brain can figure out in half a second, then? I hear Somalia's nice and warm this time of year.

    1. robc   12 years ago

      I was down to only reading the business tab before finally giving up fark altogether.

      1. robc   12 years ago

        The business tab was fun during the housing crisis.

    2. Irish   12 years ago

      SOOOOMALLLLIAAAAAAAAA!

    3. VG Zaytsev   12 years ago

      How about you move somewhere where there aren't minimal code standards for residential buildings for the incredibly farking obvious goddamned reasons that anyone with half a brain can figure out in half a second, then?

      In CA you technically need a building permit to pour a concrete patio or walkway of more than 50sq ft.

      The reason is obvious - to give the local governments money they don't deserve.

      1. Brett L   12 years ago

        So if I pour it in 7x7 sections?

    4. Andrew S.   12 years ago

      Weren't building codes started by insurance companies, not government?

  55. Scruffy Nerfherder   12 years ago

    Robert Samuelson goes full retard

    All this qualifies our view of the Internet. Granted, it's relentless. New uses spread rapidly. Already, 56 percent of U.S. adults own smartphones and 34 percent have tablets, says the Pew Internet & American Life Project. But the Internet's social impact is shallow. Imagine life without it. Would the loss of e-mail, Facebook or Wikipedia inflict fundamental change? Now imagine life without some earlier breakthroughs: electricity, cars, antibiotics. Life would be radically different. The Internet's virtues are overstated, its vices understated. It's a mixed blessing ? and the mix may be moving against us.

    1. Kaptious Kristen   12 years ago

      Now imagine life without some earlier breakthroughs: electricity, cars, antibiotics.

      He just contradicts his entire point with this sentence.

      1. Scruffy Nerfherder   12 years ago

        I love his starter line.

        If I could, I would repeal the Internet.

    2. UnCivilServant   12 years ago

      I do 80%+ of my commerce online because no retail stores carry what I'm looking for at the quality I want. Loss of the internet would impose a fundimental change to my way of life.

    3. Irish   12 years ago

      Of course Top Men hate the internet. It allows people who didn't go to Columbia to get involved with the news. It allows people who didn't go to the Ivy League to express their opinions to a large audience. And that's terrible.

    4. Rasilio   12 years ago

      Email and wikiopedia? Hell yes life would be different without them, Facebook not so much

    5. VG Zaytsev   12 years ago

      But the Internet's social impact is shallow. Imagine life without it. Would the loss of e-mail, Facebook or Wikipedia inflict fundamental change? Now imagine life without some earlier breakthroughs: electricity, cars, antibiotics. Life would be radically different. The Internet's virtues are overstated, its vices understated. It's a mixed blessing ? and the mix may be moving against us.

      This is an unbelievably ignorant comment from an economist - of any type.

      The internet has, and continues to, drive efficiency by reducing friction between buyers and sellers and expanding trade. While the benefits to consumers are obvious to anyone who thinks about it for more than half a minute - (cheaper travel arrangements, quickly find rare products, vastly expanded secondary market, increased competition for commodity retailers) the unseen effect is even larger at the business to business level.

      He's literally saying that he prefers higher friction and less trade, because scarcity is wealth -or some such bullshit.

    6. Red Rocks Rockin   12 years ago

      Technophobia aside, he has a point--the ubiquitousness of the internet and social media does entail questions on how these tools contribute to a healthy, stable society. Would people be more concerned about the NSA, for instance, if they weren't already putting so much of their personal business out in the public sphere for everyone to see?

      Hell, look at society 15-20 years ago. During that time, wouldn't the emotional and intellectual basketcases at sites like Reddit and Gawker be relegated to society's margins, instead of having their hangups celebrated and enabled?

      Just because technology grows and develops, doesn't necessarily mean those developments are ultimately good for mankind.

      1. Jerryskids   12 years ago

        Just because technology grows and develops, doesn't necessarily mean those developments are ultimately good for mankind.

        I guess that depends on who gets to define what's good for you. You can decry the fat, drunk and stupid way of going through life all you want but if that's what people want that's what they're going to get.

        This is what saves me from massive brain aneurysms from reading the news every day - keeping in mind that no matter what people say about what they want or don't want, this is the world we have collectively created and therefore must be the world we collectively want. I may not like the way the world runs, but it's not my world to run. Just let it go.

  56. sarcasmic   12 years ago

    Bestiality brothels are 'spreading through Germany' warns campaigner as abusers turn to sex with animals as 'lifestyle choice'

    Animal welfare officer Madeleine Martin problem of 'erotic zoos' is growing
    She tells of farmer whose once friendly sheep began refusing human contact
    So when he put CCTV in his barn he watched men file in and abuse his herd

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....hoice.html

    Germany is a weird place.

    1. Kaptious Kristen   12 years ago

      Essen mein Schie?e!

    2. Coeus   12 years ago

      Bestiality. A true test of a libertarians principles.

      1. sarcasmic   12 years ago

        I figure that if the animal don't mind, why should I care if someone wants to stick their dick in it.

        1. Coeus   12 years ago

          I feel the same, but I don't have the normal human disgust reactions to things. Being true to my principles is easy for me.

          1. Floridian   12 years ago

            If animals don't have the right not to be eaten I guess they don't have the right not to be fucked.

            1. mad libertarian guy   12 years ago

              Perhaps.

              But that doesn't make one less deplorable for being a sheep fucker.

              1. Floridian   12 years ago

                Sure. I think that is the hardest thing for people to understand with freedom. Legal doesn't mean moral. Just because it is legal doesn't mean everyone in the world is going to rush out and do it. Legalize sheep fucking and I doubt the number of people who do it would increase.

                1. Rasilio   12 years ago

                  Oh I think it would probably increase some, not because there is a large population of wannabe sheep fuckers who are restraining themselves because it was legal but rather it would make it possible for some people who fuck sheep to "come out of the barnyard" (and no I have no idea if that is a real phrase, I just made it up) about it and then some others on seeing that will say "Gee I wonder how fun that is" and try it themselves.

                  That said, I agree even if it were fully legal it would never be common

              2. Jerryskids   12 years ago

                Hey! What's so deplorable about being a sheep fucker?

                Now them perverts that fuck goats.....

                1. Restoras   12 years ago

                  Should we ask AAW?

      2. Rasilio   12 years ago

        Lol not really since libertarianism only answers how to interact those with human rights, it doesn't do so good on the determining who or what has them.

        Believing that animals are mere property to be disposed of as you will and believing that animals have full human rights are both perfectly compatible with libertarianism

        1. Coeus   12 years ago

          Most people against bestiality don't believe that animals have full human rights. Thus the conflict.

          1. Brett L   12 years ago

            The animals don't have to have rights. Its just as easy to argue (successfully, IMO) that anyone who abuses animals without any benefit but their own gratification (ie, there may be some level of what would be sexual abuse in humans that is economical without personal gratification, such as artificial insemination of livestock) is warming up to do the same on humans.

            1. Coeus   12 years ago

              is warming up to do the same on humans.

              Arguing animals have rights would be a better argument. It's philosophical and thus immune to counter-factuals. The one quoted must find a link between the two that's better than the "gateway drug" phenomena. And according to the kinsey study, there's probably not one.

    3. Eduard van Haalen   12 years ago

      So long as the bestiality keeps them from invading neighboring countries or committing genocide.

  57. The Late P Brooks   12 years ago

    How about you move somewhere where there aren't minimal code standards for residential buildings

    I wonder what that guy would say about my "deck" eight feet above the earth with NO RAILINGS AT ALL1111!!

    1. Scruffy Nerfherder   12 years ago

      CHILD HATING SOMALIAN

    2. Zeb   12 years ago

      God I wish I lived in a place with no code standards for residential buildings. Having just built my house, I can say with complete confidence that I would be better off without.

    3. some guy   12 years ago

      That sounds scary. As a friend I might encourage you to put up some railings. As a family member I might try to coerce you into doing so. As a stranger I will simply hope that a good, funny story comes out of this and that no one gets hurt.

  58. Coeus   12 years ago

    What tha fuck?

    Now, I'm pro-abortion, but this is insane:

    The "when does life begin" debate is nothing but smoke and mirrors to obfuscate the reality that we routinely make valuations about different lives, some rightly and some wrongly. It is an attempt to pretend that abortion is an entirely unique scenario, and thus cannot be easily resolved. And no one knows this better than the architects of the anti-choice movement, who qualify fetal life as "innocent life," as opposed to the soiled lives of, say, the people whose lives were cut short because we lacked the political will to fund effective levees or repair a crumbling bridge.

    It is the worst kind of intellectual dishonesty to indulge this garbage argument about irreconcilable disagreement over when life begins. It doesn't matter even if life does begin at conception. The calculus thus becomes which life matters more, which is an assessment we are willing to make in dozens of other situations across our political and cultural landscape.

    Concede their point. Then make the argument that we must actually value the actual lives of actual people who have actually been born over fetuses.

    1. Eduard van Haalen   12 years ago

      The scientific evidence has the choicers backed into a corner. The whole "gosh, who really knows if fetuses are living humans" meme was a choicer invention, now this author finds it embarrassing since it so clearly flies in the face of reality. So it's straight to an examination of whose lives are more valuable.

      1. robc   12 years ago

        So it's straight to an examination of whose lives are more valuable.

        Has anything but evil ever come out of that examination?

      2. Rasilio   12 years ago

        "The scientific evidence"

        That bolded word there does not mean what you think it means.

        Science can offer no evidence on the issue of abortion which at it's root is purely a philosophical/religious issue.

        1. Eduard van Haalen   12 years ago

          Science can tell us - and *does* tell us whether the fetus is alive (it is) and whether it is human (it is). Of course science can't tell us what to do with the information. The linked article would have us subordinate the *lives* of some human beings to the (real or alleged) convenience of others. Science by itself can't prevent this. But many choicers are dropping the risible claim that they cannot know if the the fetus is a living human.

          1. Eduard van Haalen   12 years ago

            And I *love* the way the author puts scare quotes around "innocent life."

            1. Zeb   12 years ago

              Well, original sin and all that, you know.

          2. Rasilio   12 years ago

            "Science can tell us - and *does* tell us whether the fetus is alive (it is)"

            Can it now? I have yet to see a rigorous scientific definition of "alive".

            "and whether it is human (it is)."

            Again not so much, science can tell us it has Human DNA, but having Human DNA is not really sufficient to make something human in all cases.

            The definitions of the terms "Human" and "Alive" are philosophical ones, especially as we enter an age of genetic engineering and even to the extent that their scientific definitions were acceptably accurate they still do not address the question of whether those two criteria are sufficient to be granted legal protection from being killed

            1. Brett L   12 years ago

              Umm, able to survive outside of the womb with medical technology available at least 30% of the time (24 weeks from last menstruation, right now) is a pretty good definition of alive. Has human DNA, and if left alone will develop as every other human in history is a good definition of human.

              1. Tonio   12 years ago

                Think about that, Brett. So, you're basing the definition of humanity on the ability of current medical science to keep the organism alive.

                So let's say Dr. Jones performs an abortion today (2013); four years later (before the statute of limitations expires) a prosecutor decides to charge him with murder because in 2017 that organism could have been saved.

            2. Eduard van Haalen   12 years ago

              In the Middle Ages, there were philosophers who thought the fetus, before a certain stage of development, was a lifeless inhuman mass. (Even then, when the early-stage fetus was simply deemed a potential human life, killing it was considered wrong).

              Some of the choicers find it convenient to perpetuate the medieval debate, but meanwhile try finding an actual scientist who denies that the fetus is alive and human.

              As for genetic engineering, I assume you're talking about human/animal chimeras, which raise their own issues.

              And I have specifically agreed with you that science by itself "do[es] not address the question of whether those two criteria are sufficient to be granted legal protection from being killed." Saying that the law should protect living human beings from arbitrary killing is a value judgment. But it's a judgment essential to civilization.

              1. Zeb   12 years ago

                It is undoubtedly alive. And it is part of the human species. That is certainly not a debatable point. But the philosophical question of what gives an entity the moral standing of a full human being is not so clear. I don't think that Homo sapiens genes are sufficient to make something a human being. You need a mind too. That's why it's OK to pull the plug on a braindead person, even though they are still living and human in the same sense that an embryo is.

            3. Tonio   12 years ago

              It's never *not* alive, Ras. It's living cells all the way back to the egg and sperm.

              It appears that Eddie is one of the believers in the magical Human DNA(tm). Good luck getting a robust, useful definition of that out of him.

              1. Zeb   12 years ago

                Yeah, the thing about life is that it's a continuous process. It started billions of years ago and is doing just fine.

              2. robc   12 years ago

                Good luck getting a robust, useful definition of that out of him.

                You keep saying this, thread after thread, but a fucking definition is obvious to everyone else.

                But, you want one? All descendents of mitochrondrial Eve.

                Yeah, now tell me what the fuck is wrong with that definition.

                1. Rasilio   12 years ago

                  You have just allowed for slavery by creating genetically engineered humans which are not descendants of 'mitochondrial Eve"

          3. some guy   12 years ago

            Science also tells us that a fertilized egg cell is not a person, though it is alive and possesses human DNA. It lacks self-awareness and all other forms of brain functions because it has no brain. Saying that it is a living human is important, but only part of the story.

            1. Tonio   12 years ago

              Science doesn't really define personhood; that's a philosophical concept. The law is ultimately applied philosophy.

              The stages of fetal development before the appearance of specialized neural tissue is a real problem for the humanity-begins-at-fertilization crowd. They will do anything to try to shift the discussion away from that stage of fetal development.

              1. some guy   12 years ago

                I think most agree philosophically that some form of awareness is necessary for personhood. Science tells us that no form of awareness is possible for at least the first few months of gestation. That's all I'm saying.

            2. Eduard van Haalen   12 years ago

              Personhood, and the rights of personhood, are precisely the questions science does *not* answer.

              That's no dig at science, it is simply one of those "ought" questions science does not profess to answer.

              Are living human beings, by virtue of being human, to be considered rights-bearing individuals? Or do we need to add something extra before a human being can have human rights? Maybe consciousness (what about the comatose?) Maybe full brain development? Maybe they need to be valued by other humans? These are all various "humanity-plus" definitions of full personhood which have been bandied about.

              Which definition leaves least room for arbitrary government?

              1. some guy   12 years ago

                Which definition leaves least room for arbitrary government?

                The least room for arbitrary government would be to say that no human being is responsible for any other human being, however that is defined. In this sense, if no one wants to take care of a comatose person, then that person will die. Same goes for the mentally ill, children and fetuses.

                1. Eduard van Haalen   12 years ago

                  I presume that you're here speaking of induced labor, not abortion. Because abortion involves not just leaving the fetus to fend for itself, but actively destroying it.

                  Narrowing the debate to induced labor, even there I would be for banning it if it led to the death of the fetus. Just as it's illegal to throw a sick guest off your property if that would kill him. You can *bill* him for your trouble, but not *kill* him.

                  1. some guy   12 years ago

                    The "sick guest" analogy doesn't work unless this guest causes you nausea, vomiting, enervation, decreased mobility and also increases your risk of incapacitation, disfiguration and death.

          4. Numeromancer   12 years ago

            Error: reification of abstract notion. Cognition aborted.

        2. Apatheist ?_??   12 years ago

          You are right that it doesn't answer the issue of abortion but it does answer the issue of whether a fetus is a living human. Which is what he said.

          1. Tonio   12 years ago

            Nope.

            1. Apatheist ?_??   12 years ago

              Yep.

    2. Eduard van Haalen   12 years ago

      Ooh, I bet you didn't know that the "anti-choice" movement is part of "rape culture." It's insights like this which make feminism so intellectually rigorous.

  59. sarcasmic   12 years ago

    The end of the world is (almost) nigh: Scientists predict that all life will be wiped off our planet in less than a billion years

    Astrobiologist Jack O'Malley-James says the sun will get hotter and hotter causing greater evaporation which will reduce carbon dioxide levels
    This will mean there is eventually too little CO2 for plants to survive
    When they die out, herbivores will also die out, followed by carnivores
    Microbes will then be all that remains until another billion years later when the seas will also dry out meaning very little life will remain

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sci.....years.html
    But, but, but...

    1. Andrew S.   12 years ago

      This is news? This is something we've known for a long time.

    2. Rasilio   12 years ago

      Eh not worried, if our species survives even another thousand years we'll have the ability to simply move to Mars, Europa, and Titan and there is little doubt that within 5000 years we'll have the ability to travel to other star systems

      1. califernian   12 years ago

        you're probably over estimating by a factor of ten

  60. sarcasmic   12 years ago

    Mother and her boyfriend killed by her ex hours after they TWICE called police for help

    Grand Prairie police confirm that Jenea James called them for help twice before her ex-Dashun Atkins shot her and James Doyle dead on Sunday
    James' two children with Atkins were in the house at the time of the shooting
    Police only advised James on how to get a restraining order

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....-help.html

    Now if they'd only told the cops that they had a dog...

    1. Night Elf Mohawk   12 years ago

      And if the cops had arrested him before the shooting but while he was driving past the house one of those times, I wonder what the take here would be?

      What in the hell would possess them to go outside at 2AM if they're that scared of the guy, though?

      1. tarran   12 years ago

        To protect the kids.

        It's like a bird shamming that it has a broken wing to lead a predator away from the nest containing its fledglings.

        If she stays in the house, he'll break in and maybe hurt the kids.

        It's instinctive: I've done it myself without even realizing I was doing it until after the fact.

      2. Zeb   12 years ago

        "I wonder what the take here would be?"

        My reaction would probably be that people are allowed to drive on public streets when they want to and the police are not security guards. If the guy had made specific threats, an arrest for assault might be appropriate, though.

    2. NeonCat   12 years ago

      And the dog was growing pot?

  61. The Late P Brooks   12 years ago

    the architects of the anti-choice movement, who qualify fetal life as "innocent life," as opposed to the soiled lives of, say, the people whose lives were cut short because we lacked the political will to fund effective levees or repair a crumbling bridge.

    Wow.

    1. sarcasmic   12 years ago

      Not taking is giving and not giving is taking.

    2. Scruffy Nerfherder   12 years ago

      Basic logic fail. No surprises there.

  62. sarcasmic   12 years ago

    Mad Max mods: Moped fans gather on Indonesian beach to show off their tricked-out scooters

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....oters.html

  63. Coeus   12 years ago

    They have lost their freaking minds.

    Apparently, this photo is considered "A highly insensitive and offensive photo of Don West".

    1. Auric Demonocles   12 years ago

      Nothing how they only have white ice cream? Racists.

    2. Irish   12 years ago

      What do you think this picture says about the character of Don West?

      I'm confused as to why the character of a defense attorney is of any relevance. He defends his client because it's his job, not out of some noble calling.

      1. Dweebston   12 years ago

        You're expecting sound, dispassionate judgement from the camp of Treyvon, Right or Wrong?

    3. MJGreen   12 years ago

      This means that West is free to continue enjoying ice-cream with his children, while trying to make it appear as if Tracey Martin and Sybrina Fulton's child deserved to be brutally killed in the wet grass on a rainy night in Sanford, Florida.

      LLLLLLLOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLL

  64. Eduard van Haalen   12 years ago

    "Polls show support for gay marriage at 55 percent, a record high, while support for affirmative action appears to have increased after the Supreme Court's ruling against it. 49 percent oppose the Voting Rights Act ruling and the Supreme Court's approval rating is at 43 percent."

    Live by the opinion polls, die by the opinion polls.

  65. Coeus   12 years ago

    There are some seriously statist assholes writing for Gizmodo.

    UberX in LA: It's Illegal. It's Great. It Needs to Stop.

    Despite the fact that it's currently banned in Los Angeles, UberX is defiantly still up and running. I used it for the first time this weekend. This so-called ride-sharing service from San Francisco-based Uber Technologies is supposedly the future of cabs. Much like similar services Lyft and Sidecar, UberX seeks to "disrupt" the taxi industry by using average people with a car (and without a taxi license) to shuttle others around. But it's pretty clear that they shouldn't be allowed to.

    1. Warty   12 years ago

      If you don't have a license, it means you're evil. Sorry, dude. Them are the facts.

      1. Auric Demonocles   12 years ago

        Well, these people probably do have a license to drive.

    2. invisible furry hand   12 years ago

      I tend to favor explicit consumer information as a bare-bones pre-requisite for putting a product or service into the world. Right now, Uber makes only sparse information available to the average consumer, even on their website.

      And yet it is enough information for the consumers actually using it. How confusing.

      1. Nikkis enthusiastic dissent   12 years ago

        I love it -- I tend to prefer something, and evidence that other people don't seem to prefer that thing doesn't suggest to me for a minute that other people should be able to have what they want, while I continue to use traditional cabs.

    3. Andrew S.   12 years ago

      It's Gawker. WTF do you expect?

    4. Fluffy   12 years ago

      This moron is afraid of crime committed by drivers who just created a permanent electronic record of where they were going and who they were meeting.

      I don't know about you, but when I feel like doing some robbing and raping, what I always do is enter a detailed itinerary of my plans and the names of my victims into an online database.

  66. Kaptious Kristen   12 years ago

    Nut punch, anyone?

    1. Coeus   12 years ago

      Article yesterday. Yeah, it's brutal.

    2. VG Zaytsev   12 years ago

      UPDATE II: The Hawthorne Police Department posted the following press release on its Facebook page, claiming they had to arrest Rosby because his "distracting music (more the individual's vehicle), and his intentional walking within close proximity to armed officers, while holding an 80-pound Rottweiller on a long leash-line" adding that other citizens were recording from a "safe distance and compliant to officers' regards."

      This part is obvious bullshit to anyone that watched the video. During which time he stayed behind the police car baricade and was only approached by the pigs after he put the dog in the car. Apparently in preparation to leave the area.

  67. The Late P Brooks   12 years ago

    The only thing stopping serial killers from offering people rides and then killing them is the cost of a taxi medallion.

  68. Enough About Palin   12 years ago

    A wild yearling deer that wandered into a weedy lot in downtown Minneapolis on Sunday was shot and killed after a lengthy ordeal for police, witnesses and the deer itself.

    Deemed a public safety threat, the animal was shot four times over the course of 30 to 45 minutes as Minneapolis police tried to put it down. The first two times it was shot, it would pop up and move around, police and witnesses said. The third shot knocked it down and the fourth shot killed it.

    It took longer than expected because the officers had to wait for the deer to settle down before they could safely take another shot, explained a Minneapolis police spokeswoman.

    "You just can't start using a rifle in city limits and pow pow pow. You have to be careful on city surroundings," said spokeswoman Cyndi Barrington.

    http://www.startribune.com/loc.....26321.html

    1. robc   12 years ago

      Surely someone in the Minneapolis police force knows a bow hunter who would have been happy to safely take care of the problem with probably one shot.

      Bo Jackson is somewhere near Chicago, he could have got there in a few hours.

      1. gagster   12 years ago

        Why would he have wanted to go there if people were gonna hunt him?

    2. Brett L   12 years ago

      OTOH, its nice that they've found a city with some fire discipline.

    3. Fluffy   12 years ago

      And the deer was a threat to public safety because...

      I didn't realize there were a lot of people made of shrubbery living in Minneapolis.

      "That deer was coming over to try to nibble on my shrubbery baby, so I had to shoot it!" exclaimed Ms. Citizen Q. Rosebush.

      1. Tonio   12 years ago

        Well, deer do cause a lot of car crashes, Fluffy, both actual impacts and crashes trying to avoid hitting the deer.

    4. sarcasmic   12 years ago

      If it had been a dog...

    5. Pope Jimbo   12 years ago

      I don't get anything about this story.

      In Minnesota it is illegal to use a rifle to shoot deer in the southern half of the state. Shotgun and slugs only. Why did the cops get to use a rifle?

      If you got one of the long barreled shotguns, not only could you shoot this deer with a slug, but it would be quiet enough that most of the locals probably wouldn't even know you were shooting.

      And "pow pow pow"? Maybe if you were skilled it would be just pow.

      Finally, why did they have to shoot this deer in the first place? I've got swarms of them traipsing through my backyard in a suburb of Mpls and no one lets me start shooting.

  69. The Late P Brooks   12 years ago

    the animal was shot four times over the course of 30 to 45 minutes as Minneapolis police tried to put it down.

    Were they using a .22?

  70. Brett L   12 years ago

    3D printing is awesome and will make the world a better place for sick people. We must ban it over pretend fears of plastic guns!

    1. BakedPenguin   12 years ago

      3D printing is the first step to a post-scarcity society.

      1. Brett L   12 years ago

        I don't think post-scarcity is a good term. Essentially, every American can eat to satiety, but it hasn't changed the economics of food.

        Although, I think I've entered a post-scarcity state with TV and movies. Even the ones I like, I could give a shit if I see.

  71. Jose Chung   12 years ago

    That 10-year old should have chosen better parents... isn't that the justification we use for killing children these days?

    1. Tonio   12 years ago

      Who is included in this "we" of whom you speak?

  72. Jerryskids   12 years ago

    Holy crap - a story I missed from last week:

    Sanctions sought over two-year old case of off-duty cop shooting a cabbie 5 times in a fight.

    Don't be silly, it's not sanctions against the cop, he's still in good standing, it's sanctions against whoever leaked the internal affairs documents showing that cops can get away with just about anything.

    The report recommended 19 departmental charges for what it found to be 11 unlawful acts and eight departmental rules violations by DiLeonardo. He has not been criminally charged and remains a Nassau police officer.

    The report also recommended five departmental charges be brought against DiLeonardo's companion that night, Nassau police Officer Edward Bienz. He also remains on the job.

    Nassau Police Commissioner Thomas Dale said in a statement that Moroughan's $30 million federal lawsuit against the department and the fact that an Internal Affairs investigation is still open prevented him from commenting.

  73. Brett L   12 years ago

    Whoa, body transplants now physically possible. Holy fuck. I just... I'm a bit uncomfortable about this. Maybe reading CS Lewis' Perelandra trilogy a couple of times.

    1. Pope Jimbo   12 years ago

      If this gets big, think of how it will affect professional sports.

      Take super gifted athletes who have a shitty attitude (TO, Moss, JR Rider). You could pay them a lump sum to swap places with some schmoe who is 4' 8" and weighs 220, but has an awesome attitude.

      Everyone wins. TO can be rich and go back to being crazy on his own time. The new schmoe can light up the league now that he can run the 40 in 4.3 and jump out of the stadium.

      1. Brett L   12 years ago

        I was more concerned about Nancy Pelosi and other elected officials who don't experience term limits using this to be effectively immortal.

        1. Coeus   12 years ago

          I'm more worried about killer-cyborg Pelosi, but to each his own.

      2. Jose Chung   12 years ago

        If this get's big, think of how it will affect politics.

        Take wastes of oxygen and space who already view themselves as demigods (Dianne Feinstein, John McCain, Mitch McConnell). They could seize the body of some convicted whistleblower who is 30 years old, but actually cares about liberty.

        Everybody suffers. Dianne can continue getting reelected and being crazy on the taxpayer dime. The (now) old schmuck can continue to waste away in prison now that he has tits down to his ankles.

    2. robc   12 years ago

      That Hideous Strength is literally the only novel to ever give my nightmares.

      1. Zeb   12 years ago

        I'm re-reading that right now.

        CS Lewis was definitely not a trans-humanist.

        1. Brett L   12 years ago

          Yes, well, a Christian apologist might take issue with the idea that keeping something mechanically functional is not the same as keeping it alive. Also, N.I.C.E is so scarily accurate a prediction of today's academe, I wonder if he had a time machine.

          1. robc   12 years ago

            The same stuff was going on then. He didnt need a time machine.

  74. Jerryskids   12 years ago

    Also, according to William Knowles this is a list of some bad words you should sprinkle into your e-mail and internet conversations.

    I hate that Elvis sent me a package of halibut.

    1. Brett L   12 years ago

      Really DEADBEEF if a monitored code? Why the fuck? because it fits a hex number (0xDEADBEEF)? Because people jokingly have used it when doing military quality disk wipes?

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