A.M. Links: Senate Intelligence Committee Investigating CIA for Spying on It, Obama Approval Ratings at New Low, Monocles Making a Comeback

• 

  Renaud Camus/flickr

  The Senate Intelligence Committee is investigating whether the CIA has been spying on it, according to committee chair Dianne Feinstein, an intelligence community booster.

• President Obama's approval rating is at a record low 38 percent according to a new Fox News poll.
• The White House is working on imposing sanctions on Ukrainian and Russian officials, other people, and organizations it finds responsible for undermining democracy in and the sovereignty of Ukraine. It has not identified anyone specific so far.
• A U.S. drone strike accidentally killed four Afghan soldiers, according to the NATO coalition in the country.
• Four men in their early 20s were reportedly convicted in Nigeria of having gay sex and whipped publicly in an Islamic court.
• The monocle is apparently making a comeback, with hipsters.

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Comments

[Slammer]

Wrong place, guys.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Hello.

What the hell? The A.M. links show going up at 9:02 on my end. How am I supposed to plan my day around it being late by two minutes?

[Slammer]

Howdy. The only way I can get to the links was the front page of reason. Not the H&R blog. WTF?

[Auric Demonocles]

There didn't show up till 9:01 here in Boston. I guess they are annoyed at how much we drank of their free happy hour booze.

[Ted S.]

Isn't that just the conversion between American and Canadian time?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Phew. I thought it was because racism.

[mr simple]

Global warming strikes again.

[Doctor Whom]

A gutn tog.

[Swiss Servator, alles klar?]

Gruss Gott

[Fist of Etiquette]

The Senate Intelligence Committee is investigating whether the CIA has been spying on it, according to committee chair Dianne Feinstein, an intelligence community booster.

Yeah, I'm sure DiFi is all over this.

[UnCivilServant]

"How dare you! I'm no peasant!"

[BigT]

I'm sure DiFi is all over this.

I hear she has her boxers in a knot.

[Bones]

Her Barbara Boxers? Sorry. Her Senator Barbara Boxers?

[gaijin]

Intelligence Committee, Diane Feinstein...oxymoron writ large

[UnCivilServant]

They used to be the Committee for Rectal Identification and Tracking - until it turned out they'd located a hole in the ground.

[Jerryskids]

According to McClatchy, the inspector general's office has asked the Justice Department to investigate the case.

Why don't they get the cybersleuths at the CIA to investigate the case? That sort of thing's right up their alley, isn't it?

[Lord Humungus]

Good job, Ed.

[Auric Demonocles]

Great pic and great alt-text.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

Baltimore Police officer charged with killing puppy

Taylor's girlfriend told police she received a text from Taylor on February 26 telling her that he killed the seven-month-old dog, named Rocko, after it defecated on the carpet. He then sent her a picture, according to a news release.

[Andrew S.]

I'm sure the dog was threatening him with the poop. Good shoot, IMO.

[Ted S.]

Procedures were followed, nothing else happened, Taylor got home safely, yada yada yada.

[sarcasmic]

He should have put on his costume first. That would have given him immunity.

[Doctor Whom]

Did the dog have a clearly established right to shit on the carpet? Cite a case that says so.

[Swiss Servator, alles klar?]

Scruffy v State of Illinois 127 U.S. 1117 (1987)

"We hold that canines under the age of 1 year have a fundamental right to crap the floor and look sad when scolded about it

Reversed and remanded for an opinion consistent with this finding.

[Matrix]

See, he did the wrong thing. 1) he's supposed to shoot the dog, and 2) he needs to say he felt he was endangered.

Then they would have given him a medal.

[Slammer]

The shit was coming right towards me!

[Certified Public Asskicker]

She told police Taylor said he was tired of cleaning up the dog's mess and that he had beaten it with a mop before throwing its body in a parking lot dumpster. Police said he later told investigators he used a mop to force Rocko from behind the dryer and then used his hands to choke the dog.

In this case, shooting the dog definitely would have been more humane.

[Spartacus]

That's future mass murderer material right there. He'll probably get a promotion.

[Night Elf Mohawk]

I'm sure that this is his first ever instance of not being able to control his temper when disrespected and that it therefore never happened on the job.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Holy crap that shot of the cop seems to tell he's a piece of shit.

[Auric Demonocles]

President Obama's approval rating is at a record low 38 percent according to a new Fox News poll.

Well, that's better than 8%.

[a better weapon]

FAUX NEWSSS!!!11!

[sarcasmic]

Jessica Alba unveiled as face (and toned legs) of Braun's new beauty campaign

Mother-of-two brand's new beauty brand ambassador
Chosen for being a 'strong and passionate woman'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/fem.....paign.html
Dark Angel is still hot!

[Fist of Etiquette]

Four men in their early 20s were reportedly convicted in Nigeria of having gay sex whipped publicly in an Islamic court.

Definitely in need of proof readers.

[Steve G]

Four men in their early 20s were sex whipped publicly in an Islamic court, reportedly convicted in Nigeria of having the gay.

You're welcome reason.

[Steve G]

*your.

Pumps fist..."yesss"

[Rasilio]

Hey some people will pay extra for the flogging

[Lord Humungus]

thank god it wasn't a pop tart.

10-year-old suspended for making fingers into shape of gun

The offense? Nathan was "making his fingers look like a gun, having the thumb up and the pointed finger sticking out," said Entingh, describing the February 26 incident.

"He was pointing it at a friend's head and he said 'boom.' The kid didn't see it. No other kids saw it. But the teacher saw it," he said. "It wasn't threatening. It wasn't hostile. It was a 10-year-old kid playing."

The next morning Paul Entingh escorted his son Nathan to the principal's office, where they met with Devonshire Alternative Elementary School Principal Patricia Price.

[Night Elf Mohawk]

A "level 2 look alike firearm." Beyond parody.

[Neoliberal Kochtopus]

Columbus City Schools have been beyond parody for years.

[mad libertarian guy]

A "level 2 look alike firearm." Beyond parody.

WHoever came up with this needs to go in to the nearest closet and hang themselves. Someone this stupid shouldn't be allowed to contaminate the rest of humanity.

[Rich]

Why does any Elementary School *need* an Alternative Principal?

[gaijin]

Why don't they?

/GovEd Administrator

[Neoliberal Kochtopus]

Hm? She's the principal at an Alternative Elementary.

[Rich]

Exactly.

[sarcasmic]

Is this the world's fastest car? Swedish 'megacar' clocks nearly 274mph with a five-litre V8 engine and an enormous 1,322 horse power (that's TEN times more powerful than a Ford Fiesta)

The Koenigsegg One:1 is described as the 'world's first megacar'
Incredibly, it should be able to go from 0-250mph in just 20 seconds
Koenigsegg unveiled the car at this week's Geneva Motor Show
Five models being built have already been sold for ?1.67 million each

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....iesta.html
Google up that thing going around the Top Gear track. Holy shit it's frightening.

[TheZeitgeist]

Five liters and 1322HP? Must be some big turbos. Guys do that to Corvettes in their garage all the time, just keep throwing boost on a tough motor with forged parts - it's actually kinda easy.

[Snark Plissken]

God, can't someone make a faster car? Swedes are already insufferably smug.

[UnCivilServant]

I seem to recall the land speed record being in excess of mach 1. It's just not with an internal combustion engine.

[sarcasmic]

It's the fastest car that can be legally driven on a public road.

[UnCivilServant]

What fun is that? Becuase you know you'll be tagged by the speed cameras and helicopters if you try to use it's one capacity.

[sarcasmic]

I see the guys on Top Gear put their supercars through their paces on public roads all the time. Just not in the Land of the Free. They did do a show in the Land of the Free, and were sorely disappointed that in the freest country in the world they were forced to drive like grandmothers.

[BigT]

the freest country in the world

Hahahahaha. That's so 19th century.

[TheZeitgeist]

I seem to recall the land speed record being in excess of mach 1. It's just not with an internal combustion engine.

Not to be pedantic, but to be pedantic a jet engine is an internal combustion engine. Maybe it's not a 'reciprocating piston internal combustion engine' is what you intended.

Now, if some guy came along with a Stirling engine...

[UnCivilServant]

I was pretty sure it was a rocket.

[R C Dean]

Also internal combustion, per TheZ.

[mad libertarian guy]

That said, they are the er of some awesome metal.

[Slammer]

Yes. Awesome at metal.

[Warty]

Opeth is dead to me, but fuck do I love their back catalogue.

[Slammer]

Don't forget Entombed, either.

[Rich]

The Senate Intelligence Committee is investigating whether the CIA has been spying on it

You can't fool *me*, Ed. That's from The Onion.

[Aloysious]

A little Postmodern Jukebox for the upcoming morning squirrel punches.

Not metal. SFW.

[a better weapon]

Poor girl has Resting-Bitch-Face syndrome.

[mr simple]

That's hot.

[sarcasmic]

Philadelphia man sentenced to 20 years for firing celebratory gunshots into the air

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....s-air.html

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Each time I see things like this it makes me want to write Joe Biden. Or, preferably, punch him in the face for being such a galling bull shitting jerk.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Says he was a convicted felon?

[Lord Humungus]

Man writes 'pleH' on window after getting stuck in Portland police car

Ruben Turner III, 30, told Portland police he accidentally locked himself in the back of a police car after finding it unlocked at 4735 E Burnside St. and deciding to sleep there overnight.

He was found yelling around 7:45 a.m., police said. Before getting locked in the backseat, Turner rummaged through the glove box and unhooked the Mobile Data Computer from its mount.

He also ripped out the foam padding from the headliner and around the plastic seats in the back of the car, causing extensive damage.

[UnCivilServant]

If he got to the front seat, he should have been able to unlock the front doors. Of course, he also didn't realize that the text would be the other way around when viewed from the outside, so...

[Citizen Nothing]

"He was found yelling around 7:45 a.m."
And what he was yelling was "Pleh! Pleh!"

[Swiss Servator, alles klar?]

*narrows gaze*

[gaijin]

that's chuckle inducing

[SRVolunteer]

Excerpt says he was in the front seat before he locked himself in the back.

[UnCivilServant]

I was wondering where the divider went.

[Swiss Servator, alles klar?]

The monocle is apparently making a comeback, with hipsters."

BACK OFF, THE MONOCLE IS OURS!

[waffles]

Damnit. Hipsters ruin everything.

[Ebriosa]

No, this'll be good for the H&R commenters wanting to make some money off their well-trained monocle polishing orphans! Everyone wins when hipsters like a thing, except for the hipsters!

[Brett L]

Please. Hipsters can't afford orphans. They drink PBR and dress like bums. Nobody does that by choice.

[UnCivilServant]

They might be able to rent the service, however.

[Swiss Servator, alles klar?]

jesse's Adorphans?

[mr simple]

Exactly. I think Brett should have his Evil Capitalist card suspended for 24 hours.

[Auric Demonocles]

I... don't think you get hipsters.

[Brett L]

They're like roaches. Everybody gets hipsters once in a while now.

[Auric Demonocles]

They really are the worst thing about living where I do, even worse than shelter in place (at least that was only once).

[Zeb]

Maybe we're hipsters and don't even realize it. The whole top hat and monocle thing is pretty Steampunk.

[Swiss Servator, alles klar?]

BITE YOUR TONGUE, SIRRAH!

[Rasilio]

We were hipsters before hipsters were cool?

[waffles]

Denial, hating things, a cynical snarky worldview. Yup, hipsters, all of you, except me.

[UnCivilServant]

I'm not in denial, and I won't believe anyone who says otherwise.

[Agammamon]

We do not have GEARS all over our shit!

And we know when goggles are appropriate.

[UnCivilServant]

I'm okay with letting you keep it, both my eyes are equally bad.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Neither hipsters nor libertarians deserve depth perception.

[Lord Humungus]

then you need a Pince-nez

[Auric Demonocles]

One monocle and one contact.

[Andrew S.]

Ah, but hipsters don't have child slaves to properly care for their monocles like we libertarians do.

[Elspeth Flashman]

Sure they do, they're just called "unpaid interns."

[UnCivilServant]

hipsters don't have interns, at best they are interns.

[Auric Demonocles]

I see you've got faster interns than I do. I better have them flog each other.

[Agammamon]

They float from one internship to the next, complaining that their *studies degree won't get thjem a good paying job teaching *studies.

[Auric Demonocles]

Hipsters don't have unpaid interns, hipsters are the unpaid interns.

[a better weapon]

+1 coffee run

[lap83]

hipsters have helicopter parents to do their monocle polishing

[Slammer]

Great monocle

[AlmightyJB]

They should all be forced to wear monicles with targets on them.

[BigT]

Why don't The Independents wear monocles? It would be attention-grabbing - and that might boost viewership, and might broaden the allure of Libertarianism, etc.

[mad libertarian guy]

They're hoping it that the monocle helps people get their minds off of the skinny jeans.

[Griffin3]

Best monocle review evah

[GILMORE]

THIS AGGRESSION WILL NOT STAND

[sarcasmic]

Secret of the flying CAR: Maker set to reveal the technology behind its incredible part-sedan private jet

The ?166,000 ($279,000) Transition is part-sedan, part-private jet
It is due to go on sale in 2015 from Massachusetts-based firm Terrafugia
Engineers will discuss the vehicle's development during a webinar
Event is being hosted by Nasa and starts at 1pm EST (6pm GMT)
The flying car made two 20-minute flight demonstrations last August
It is going through other testing needed to earn federal certification

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sci.....e-jet.html
Except that it's got a propeller so it's not a jet.

[Zeb]

More like part Cessna. "Private Jet" has rather different implications regarding comfort. Small planes are cool, but not exactly the most relaxing journey.

[Rasilio]

Also calling it a flying car is a bit of a misnomer, it is much more of a plane with limited ability to do on street driving

[UnCivilServant]

It's an "External turbine jet"

[sarcasmic]

It's piston powered.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrafugia_Transition

[UnCivilServant]

Yes, my jokes don't always work. I'll keep trying.

[sarcasmic]

There are turboprop airplanes that use turbine engines to turn propellers. I wasn't sure if that's what you were trying to say.

[The Late P Brooks]

The White House is working on imposing sanctions on Ukrainian and Russian officials, other people, and organizations it finds responsible for undermining democracy in and the sovereignty of Ukraine. It has not identified anyone specific so far.

They'll be getting a sternly worded tweet from Pajama Boy.

[DJF]

They undermined democracy by supporting the democratically elected President of the Ukraine

[AlmightyJB]

Don't they have mirrors in the White House?

[gaijin]

yes, but they only reflect things in a positive, red tinted light

[Zeb]

No. They are all vampires.

[Jerryskids]

"Sanctions" is the name of the new longer-range drones they've developed.

[Fist of Etiquette]

A U.S. drone strike accidentally killed four Afghan soldiers, according to the NATO coalition in the country.

Only an accident until the disposition matrix is retroactively updated.

[gaijin]

Obama will be lying...awake at night...about it.

[Lord Humungus]

How does one become an expert? Just asking for a friend.

Goat hair pheromone puts female goats in the mood, say goat-arousal experts

There is more to that characteristic "goaty" odor of male goats than one may think (or smell). It turns out, a male goat's scent is powerful enough to get female goats in the mood.

New research has identified a pheromone in the hair of male goats that activates a hormone in female goats called gonadotropin-releasing hormone, which stimulates their reproductive systems. The pheromone is called 4-ethyloctanal.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

I don't want to think about the final exam you have to take in the goat-arousal expert training course.

[gaijin]

Or the internship

[R C Dean]

Yeah, "unpaid goat fluffer" isn't really going to dress up your resume.

[Invisible Finger]

Unless you're applying for a job at the DNC.

[Steve G]

OMG, I lol'd hard since I was scrolling slowly and saw your first line, then scrolled to read the link. There's something to be said for beats/timing.

[Mickey Rat]

"How does one become an expert? Just asking for a friend."

Specialization is for insects.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

http://www.deliberatedumbingdo.....oA.sml.pdf

It's a pdf book of 273 pages for those interested titles 'The Dumbing Down of America.'

[waffles]

Does the author let Canada off the hook?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

We're marginally better.

As far as I know, the psychotic practice of not correcting mistakes because it will hurt a child's self-esteem hasn't come up here yet - at least that I'm aware of.

I really hope this is just an anomaly.

[Lord Humungus]

Nine-month-old baby may have been cured of HIV, U.S. scientists say

A 9-month-old baby who was born in California with the HIV virus that leads to AIDS may have been cured as a result of treatments that doctors began just four hours after her birth, medical researchers said on Wednesday.

That child is the second case, following an earlier instance in Mississippi, in which doctors may have brought HIV in a newborn into remission by administering antiretroviral drugs in the first hours of life, said Dr. Deborah Persaud, a pediatrics specialist with the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, at a medical conference in Boston.

[Matrix]

Did they take a lot of money, put it in a blender, and inject the blended money in the baby's veins?

[R C Dean]

I bet they discover that the high level of stem cells in infants is a big part of the cure.

[Slammer]

The monocle is apparently making a comeback

Did they ever leave?

[UnCivilServant]

Were they ever popular?

[gaijin]

don't call it a comeback
they been here for years
Rockin my peers and puttin suckas in fear

[mad libertarian guy]

Were they ever popular?

Only by extroverts in the early part of the 20th century.

[The Late P Brooks]

The Senate Intelligence Committee is investigating whether the CIA has been spying on it, according to committee chair Dianne Feinstein, an intelligence community booster.

"Senate Intelligence Committee"

That's always good for a chuckle.

[WTF]

That's always good for a chuckle.

Especially with an idiot like Feinstein in charge.

[Lord Humungus]

NSA chief criticises media and suggests UK was right to detain David Miranda

The general, who is due to retire in the next several weeks, said that the furore over Snowden's surveillance revelations ? which he referred to only as "media leaks" ? was complicating his ability to get congressional support for a bill that would permit the NSA and the military Cyber Command he also helms to secretly communicate with private entities like banks about online data intrusions and attacks.

"We've got to handle media leaks first," Alexander said.

"I think we are going to make headway over the next few weeks on media leaks. I am an optimist. I think if we make the right steps on the media leaks legislation, then cyber legislation will be a lot easier," Alexander said.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

secretly communicate with private entities like banks

Let me be the first to say "FUCK OFF". That is not in any way in the jurisdiction of the NSA.

[Ted S.]

Well he would say that, wouldn't he?

[gaijin]

The general, who is due to retire in the next several weeks,

And then he becomes just an ordinary citizen, no special immunities or priviledges, like the rest of us, right?

[Injun Joe]

The monocle is apparently making a comeback, with hipsters.

Just wait till they find out EVULL KAPUTALISTS used to wear them way back.

[Auric Demonocles]

That just makes it better because of irony or something.

[waffles]

That is actual irony though or at least close enough.

[Auric Demonocles]

It's much much more ironic than their usual.

[prolefeed]

You don't really get how "ironic" works, I take it.

[Zeb]

Like rain on your wedding day? (sorry)

[Neoliberal Kochtopus]

get out

[Zeb]

I'm already being punished adequately by the soundtrack in my head. God that's a stupid fucking song.

[Lord Humungus]

(Dallas Fed President) Fisher warns Fed's bond buying could be distorting U.S. financial markets

Fisher, an outspoken policy hawk, pointed to soaring margin debt and the narrow spreads between corporate and Treasury debt as areas of concern.

In the stock markets, he said price-to-projected-earnings, price-to-sales ratios, and market capitalization relative to GDP are all at "eye-popping levels not seen since the dot-com boom" of the late 1990s.

"We must monitor these indicators very carefully so as to ensure that the ghost of 'irrational exuberance' does not haunt us again," he said, borrowing former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan's line warning about the tech-asset bubble.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

Here comes the rain again...

[Longtorso, Johnny]

Cops: [Non-Florida] Woman Beat Her Mom With Vibrator

[Jordan]

She probably played too much Saints Row.

[Ted S.]

Some people would just find this kinky.

[Floridian]

Non-Florida? I'll make a few calls. I'm sure we can top this.

[Swiss Servator, alles klar?]

Florida (Wo)man up to the challenge?

[Floridian]

All it takes is a little meth, vodka and the sight of a pretty girl to hate on, and Florida woman will surprise you with depravity.

[Brett L]

Relax, we're still the craziest place in the world.

Police have arrested a Tampa man after his neighbors reported that he was having sex with a dog.

But the picture really brings it all home.

[Floridian]

You know how people say you can't judge a book by its cover? Those people are wrong.

[BigT]

Marsonek, who is just a few days shy of his 58th birthday, faces charges of cruelty to animals, sex with animals, and illegal gun possession.

It's only cruelty if he didn't spend enough time in foreplay. Did he forget to toss a frisbee a few times?

[Slammer]

NYPD union challenging NFL's gun ban in stadiums

Sergeants Benevolent Association President Edward Mullins said the new league policy is a violation of any state laws that allow off-duty cops to carry their guns in public places.
"The NFL is telling us that highly trained law enforcement officials shouldn't be allowed to enter stadiums with their guns,"

[UnCivilServant]

Well, since there are no "Highly trained law enforcement officials" in the NYPD, I see no problem with forcing the NYPD to disarm - compeltely, not just at NFL stadia.

[Rich]

Serious question: Do any of those gun-totin' "highly trained law enforcement officials" get highly intoxicated in those stadiums?

[BardMetal]

So the NYPD who has no problem enforcing some of the country's most ridiculous gun laws, wants an exception for themselves?

These pieces of shit really do think they're better then everyone else don't they.

And the average CCW holder seems far more highly trained then the average cop.

[WTF]

Yes, they're very highly trained.
And who could ever forget this?

[Mickey Rat]

If they are there as ordinary spectators or staff, and the general public is not allowed to bring guns into the stadium, then I see no reason for LEOs to have special privileges. I don't even understand how they think they have an argument.

[Michael S. Langston]

The NFL should take them at their word that they are in fact highly trained law enforcement officials and immediately institute a testing policy where those current or ex-LEOs who pass an objective firearms test and score high enough to be considered highly trained... with published pass/fail stats of course.

This might temporarily stop the whole highly trained crap.

Side thought - does anyone else see LEO::Society as Spousal Abuser::Battered Spouse?

Because they are really good people, but only human. Which means bad things sometimes happen... dead pets, dead people, people beaten... but what we don't understand is that the LEOs felt really, really bad afterwards.

Some even cried. Most took classes and time off to get their minds straight.

But in the end, even though they are sincerely sorry, all these mistakes only exist because you (society) forced them to do this.

Just look at them! They are good people. They really don't like hurting people. No one does.

In fact, they are highly trained specifically to deal people just like you.

They are perfectly moral - and all abusive actions are nothing more than aberrations of normal behavior brought about by severe circumstances that only those who deal with daily life/death struggles can understand.

Now go get 'em a beer and make 'em a sandwich - after all, don't they deserve it for all of their dedication and sacrifices?

[Longtorso, Johnny]

I have a machine just like that, in....my....pants.

Scientists Build Orgasm Machine For Women

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

Just give me the remote.

[RBS]

Interesting stock photo they chose.

[gaijin]

What, noone's ever heard of Joni's Butterfly or the Sybian?

[Neoliberal Kochtopus]

Is it just me or does the Sybian seem to underperform?

[mr simple]

I've never tried it personally, so I can't say for sure, but if you can trust porn actresses then it seems to work just fine.

[Brett L]

Archer is so ahead of the game.

"I call him Fister Roboto. And the best part is... he's learning."

[Tonio]

And there was the infamous Orgasmatron in "Barbarella" back in 1968.

[mr simple]

Scientists have patented a new machine that will provide orgasms for women at the push of a button.

I love the use of the generic "scientists." They're not affiliated with a particular institution or practitioners in a specific field? Or maybe all scientists everywhere are part of it.

[Warty]

What, a Hitachi?

[Jerryskids]

ATM.

[Mickey Rat]

"Meloy explained that the idea is that orgasms could happen at the push of a button when the implant could be triggered by a hand-held remote control."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YO0WyOGHjU

[Lord Humungus]

Teacher allegedly called police on students who refused to smile

The head of a Welsh elementary school allegedly called police when she heard students were planning not to smile for a photo, a conduct hearing heard.

The General Teaching Council for Wales heard a list of complaints Tuesday against Ann Hughes, former headmistress of the village elementary school in Anglesey, including allegations she had a police officer come to the school to reprimand students who she heard were planning to refuse to smile for a school photo, the Mirror reported Wednesday.

The allegations against Hughes also include accusations she failed to investigate bullying complaints, shouted excessively at students, called a student "stupid," ripped up a pupil's exam for spelling his middle name wrong and showed favoritism toward students whose first language was Welsh.

[UnCivilServant]

I never smiled for any of those school photographs. The school officials never cared. They did get annoyed when we didn't buy any prints, however. (I wonder if they got kickbacks or something).

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

(I wonder if they got kickbacks or something).

Yup

[tarran]

Wow, I think this Ann Hughes has a cousin who works as a guidance councilor in my son's school! 🙂

[Ted S.]

I presume a "village elementary school in Anglesey" is not private. Once again, the state is the biggest bully of them all.

[Longtorso, Johnny]

No global warming for 17 years, 6 months
Seventeen and a half years. Not a flicker of global warming. The RSS satellite record, the first of the five global-temperature datasets to report its February value, shows a zero trend for an impressive 210 months....

[Aloysious]

If you are trying to summon Tony, you need to sacrifice a picture of Michael E. Mann in a burning tire soaked in used motor oil. Works every time.

[tarran]

That's a nasty way to waste a tire.

[UnCivilServant]

That's why it's a sacrifice.

[Auric Demonocles]

It didn't say it had to be a new one.

[Agammamon]

But young new tires, *virgin* tires provide the best results.

[Auric Demonocles]

CONSENSUS! OIL COMPANIES! CONSENSUS!

[gaijin]

The warming is just hiding...in the oceans, er, I mean in the volcanos, er, I mean, in the ice and snow. Yeah, in the ice and snow. Regardless, this just gives us a little more time to take actions that will prevent the inevitable warming catastrophe.

[Auric Demonocles]

"We don't have enough data points in the Arctic. We're just sucking all the cold out of the Arctic to the rest of the globe right now, so that area is warming a bunch and we're just missing it. That's why we're getting all these polar vortices."

[a better weapon]

From the comments

Climate Same

[R C Dean]

Next up from the Warmistas:

The natural climate is constantly changing. The recent lack of change is unnatural, and really is Catastrophic Climate Change, caused by CO2! Run for the hills!

[db]

Just overheard a conversation by a new marketing lady here with a sales guy. She was talking very loudly about how we.want to emphasiz3 the "white, light, clean, crisp" nature of what we provide vs. the "black, dark, dirty" nature of what we do (chemical manufacturing).

The hilarious part is she said this very loudly in the vicinity of the offices of several Black employees. I'm wondering what will come of this.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Doesn't sound bad unless you choose to make it so.

[db]

I know, I just wonder if.it.will be taken.badly. this new lady hasn't exactly been.making.friends for a number of reasons.

[gaijin]

Marketing ladies (and gentlemen) are, very often, some of the worst co-workers in my experience.

[prolefeed]

Why did you capitalize "Black"?

[db]

Not sure.

[Neoliberal Kochtopus]

I don't have any problem capitalizing races and ethnicities. They're kind-of titles.

[db]

I agree, it.just seemed appropriate.

Joe is Asian.
George is Caucasian.
Hector is Latino.
Dave is black.

Doesn't seem right not.to capitalize it.

[R C Dean]

You can capitalize black if you would capitalize white.

[Zeb]

Dave is Black. Dave has black skin.

I'd say if it's the name of a race, then capitalize it. If it is simply descriptive, don't. Though I find it is easiest not to argue with the people who get all worked up about these things. When I was in college there were some people on campus who went absolutely bananas arguing about whether "Asian American" should have a hyphen or be two separate words. I can't remember which version was the extremely offensive one.

[Mickey Rat]

"Black" is not linguistically equivalent to the other three, but "Negro" would be.

[Calidissident]

Negro means black in Latin languages.

[Longtorso, Johnny]

Fourteen of America's 25 Biggest Campaign Donors Are Unions
...The top campaign donor of the last 25 years is ActBlue, an online political-action committee dedicated to raising funds for Democrats. ActBlue's political contributions, which total close to $100 million, are even more impressive when one realizes that it was only launched in 2004. That's $100 million in ten years.
Fourteen labor unions were among the top 25 political campaign contributors.
Three public-sector unions were among the 14 labor groups: the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees; the National Education Association; and the American Federation of Teachers. Their combined contributions amount to $150 million, or 15 percent of the top 25's approximately $1 billion in donations since 1989.
Public- and private-sector unions contributed 55.6 percent ? $552 million ? of the top 25's contributions....

[John]

But what about the evil Kochs!!

[Dances-with-Trolls]

59th if I recall correctly.

[Matrix]

But... but... KOCHTOPUS!!!!!

[Auric Demonocles]

But but but Citizen's United!

[R C Dean]

So, over 10 years, the unions have skimmed off over half a billion in dues for political contributions. More than $50mm a year.

And people wonder why unions can't hold gain or hold onto members without the State putting its thumb on the scales.

[Slammer]

Pre-marathon bike race poses public safety threat, LAPD says

"The bottom line is we are trying to keep people safe," Los Angeles Police Cmdr. Bill Scott said. "When you have an event with a lot of people and it's not permitted, there is a lot more problems.

[UnCivilServant]

No surprises here, the LAPD has never heard of the right to peacably assemble.

[Juice]

No no. You have a right to ask permission to assemble.

[The Late P Brooks]

(Dallas Fed President) Fisher warns Fed's bond buying could be distorting U.S. financial markets

No way.

[Lord Humungus]

Al Jazeera America at Six Months: Some New Advertisers, Few Viewers

"None of my clients are jumping on board just yet," said Steve Kalb, senior VP and director-national broadcast, Mullen. "There's a little more interest than when the network launched. It is a good, quality product ? but viewership is still so small."

The channel isn't even pulling in half the total audience that predecessor Current TV managed. Al Jazeera America has averaged just 15,000 total viewers in prime-time since bowing in August, with only 5,000 viewers in the target 25-to-54-year-old demographic, according to Nielsen figures. That's low enough to be considered "scratch," or negligible, by Nielsen. For the marketers that still worry about the channel's perspective and its image in the U.S., those aren't the kind of numbers to tempt a re-examination.

[Ted S.]

The funny thing is, I've found their news to be bland, but in a good way, largely devoid of the moral panic shit you get from Fox/MSNBC/CNN. I haven't really watched any of the discussion/analysis programs.

[Lord Humungus]

I watched them online during the Egyptian uprising/revolution - I thought the coverage was really good.

I imagine the name turns off certain people - the "Bushpigs" and "Christfags" of the world. Or else the market is glutted with news channels.

[John]

I think their coverage of news events is better and more interesting than any of the American cable news networks. It is actually much less biased than MSNDC. They don't have a professional imperative of covering up for the President. So they actually cover news.

[Apple]

They need to Americanize their name. "All Jazz Era News". Or "Al's Jazzy News".

[lap83]

"Al's Jazzy News"

That sounds like a pretty good comedy sketch in the making.

[WTF]

The news readers end every story with *Jazz Hands*

[Don Mynack]

"Al Jazeera America has averaged just 15,000 total viewers in prime-time since bowing in August, with only 5,000 viewers in the target 25-to-54-year-old demographic"

WHA? Those are youtube-like numbers. Those are less than youtube like numbers.

[Longtorso, Johnny]

The Cleveland Browns will be letting us down in "cutting edge" uniforms for 2015

[Rich]

I am disappoint.

I thought the uniforms would be encrusted with razor blades.

[Slammer]

That photo looks just like the old let us down uniforms.

[Auric Demonocles]

That's because it is. They didn't announce what they will look like yet.

[Slammer]

I know. I was being snarky. Yahoo is retarded. Why even put the article on the site without a new photo?

[KDN]

We've been working with the NFL and Nike for almost a year now

Shudder. Nike's uni design people are the worst. This is going to be bad.

[Neoliberal Kochtopus]

Nothing says "cutting edge" like anything related to Cleveland.

[BigT]

You dis the Cleve, and she'll cut you, bitch!

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A 28-year-old man is dead and a 21-year-old woman is in custody after what police believe was a domestic incident late Thursday night. Cleveland Police arrived in the 600 block of East 123rd Street just before 11 p.m., after receiving reports of a domestic fight, police said.

Officers on scene found the man, who has not been identified, inside the home with a stab wound to the chest. He was taken to MetroHealth Medical Center, where he died about 11:40 p.m., police said.

Police said early investigations show the man was stabbed during "an altercation" with the woman. Officers arrested the woman.

[Palin's Buttplug]

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The globe cozied up to the fourth warmest January on record this year, essentially leaving just the eastern half of the United States out in the cold.

And the northern and eastern United States can expect another blast of cold weather next week.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported Thursday that Earth was 1.17 degrees warmer in January than the 20th century average. Since records began in 1880, only 2002, 2003 and 2007 started off warmer than this year.

http://news.yahoo.com/world-ha.....IASwPQtDMD

[John]

So its the 4th warmest January out of 14 so far this century. Average January is average.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Since 1880. Learn to read.

[John]

only 2002, 2003 and 2007 started off warmer than this year.

That makes is the fourth warmist this century.

It is not even in the top 8%

[Lord Humungus]

8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8

who you going to date?

8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8

[gaijin]

O U 8 1 2?

[Slammer]

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration was keeping records in 1880?

[tarran]

Actually, the Navy logs from the era are still stored somewhere. IIRC somebody is digitizing the records kept by ships to extract the temperature readings.

With that having been said, the lack of good measurement standards and the paucity of data in/from olden days, and makes it difficult to compare measurements with those from the modern era.

[John]

Didn't Mann and company "accidentally" erase all of the temperature measurement source data from the US?

[tarran]

No.

Mann is an applied physics guy who does paleoclimatology - ie. tries to divine temperature records from growth rings in trees, snail shell thicknesses buried in sediments and the like.

The thing you are thinking of is the University of East Anglia, which in an appallingly cavalier decision did something very much like that. Early in the computer age, they started storing temperatures on magnetic tape. They for various reasons decided to adjust the raw data. And, in an apallingly cavalier manner, they failed to (a) retain the raw data, (b) keep track of what modifications they made and why. Their excuse was that they didn't have the means to store both the 'corrected' and the raw data.

This wasn't malice, it was incompetence (botchery, not butchery as I like to call it). In essence they really didn't understand data retention. Many of them really don't understand stats either, so it's really not surprising they didn't recognize the ghastly blunder they were committing.

Mann's major crime is that he sucks at statistics, and he is unwilling ever to admit making a mistake. Thus, he came up with the hockey stick by accident using an inappropriate, flawed variation of PCA that he invented, and then refused to admit his mistakes when real stats guys started pointing them out.

[John]

Thank Tarran. Most of the climategate emails were various idiots trying to write code and failing badly.

The thing that people forget is that not all "scientists" are created equal. Until the 1990s climatology was a total backwater. The smartest people never went into it. People like Mann and the guys at East Anglia are bottom of the barrel scientific talent. They are guys who couldn't do well enough on the MCAT to go into medical research or couldn't code well enough to go into computer science or do math well enough to do physics.

More than anything, the climategate emails were a comedy of errors.

[tarran]

Incidentally, anyone who wishes to see the quality of programming that is the gold standard in climate science should follow the saga of the Harry Readme file, as a phd student tries and fails to get his hands around the precipitation data used in a UAE database:

My favorite passage:

You can't imagine what this has cost me - to actually allow the operator to assign false
WMO codes!! But what else is there in such situations? Especially when dealing with a 'Master'
database of dubious provenance (which, er, they all are and always will be).

False codes will be obtained by multiplying the legitimate code (5 digits) by 100, then adding
1 at a time until a number is found with no matches in the database. THIS IS NOT PERFECT but as
there is no central repository for WMO codes - especially made-up ones - we'll have to chance
duplicating one that's present in one of the other databases. In any case, anyone comparing WMO
codes between databases - something I've studiously avoided doing except for tmin/tmax where I
had to - will be treating the false codes with suspicion anyway. Hopefully.

[tarran]

Of course, option 3 cannot be offered for CLIMAT bulletins, there being no metadata with which
to form a new station.

This still meant an awful lot of encounters with naughty Master stations, when really I suspect
nobody else gives a hoot about. So with a somewhat cynical shrug, I added the nuclear option -
to match every WMO possible, and turn the rest into new stations (er, CLIMAT excepted). In other
words, what CRU usually do. It will allow bad databases to pass unnoticed, and good databases to
become bad, but I really don't think people care enough to fix 'em, and it's the main reason the
project is nearly a year late.

[tarran]

Note this bit:

It will allow bad databases to pass unnoticed, and good databases to become bad, but I really don't think people care enough to fix 'em, and it's the main reason the project is nearly a year late.

[Tonio]

+1 King Charles Spaniel

[Tonio]

That was supposed to be a reply to tarran at 9:40, re "Cavalier".

I (heart) squirrels.

[R C Dean]

This wasn't malice, it was incompetence

I dunno. Violating an absolutely fundamental principle of science strikes me as a bit much to attribute to pure incompetence.

Here's the explanation that makes them look the best: They incompetently botched their adjustments and the record-keeping, and decided to delete the source data to cover it up.

The alternative explanation is that their adjustments weren't botched, but knowingly fraudulent, etc.

[CampingInYourPark]

Actually, the Navy logs from the era are still stored somewhere.

U.S. Navy logs from the 1880's? That's going to be comprehensive data.

[Juice]

Exactly. Trusting the value for "global temperature" from 1880 is just stupid. Hell, trusting it from 1930 is dumb too.

[Palin's Buttplug]

RTA. Anyway, there won't be a world carbon tax imposed by the UN or whatever it is you anti-empiricist freaks worry about these days.

I hear that Obama is going to lock all us white people up in FEMA camps - shouldn't that be more of a concern?

[John]

Well this century is supposed to be 8% warmer.

[WTF]

First off, the retarded don't rule the night. They don't rule it. Nobody does. And they don't run in packs. And while they may not be as strong as apes, don't lock eyes with 'em, don't do it. Puts 'em on edge. They might go into berzerker mode; come at you like a whirling dervish, all fists and elbows. You might be screaming "No, no, no" and all they hear is "Who wants cake?" Let me tell you something: They all do. They all want cake.

[sarcasmic]

Any time it's warm, that's a climate event.

Any time it's cold, that's just weather.

Heads they win, tails we lose.

[prolefeed]

If it's cold, it's climate change, brought on by a warming globe ... or something ... powered by cognitive dissonance.

[kinnath]

I expect the world to come to an end Sunday morning when the sun rises one hour earlier for daylight saving time and there is still fucking snow on the ground.

[UnCivilServant]

But it'll actually rise an hour later, we're throwing away a perfectly good hour between 2 and 3am.

[Zeb]

Why can't they put that hour in the middle of a work day? Saturday night hours are precious.

[Andrew S.]

No, when it's cold, that's also a climate event.

And when it rains, that's a climate event.

And when it doesn't rain, that's a climate event.

[Longtorso, Johnny]

See above, PB.

[Jordan]

Explain why this is meaninful. Further, explain why none of the IPCC's models can account for the current 17 year pause in warming.

[sarcasmic]

Last I heard, the warming had stopped because of a drop in solar activity that would have otherwise caused cooling temperatures has it not been offset by carbon induced warming. When solar activity gets back to normal, all that pent up warming will happen suddenly, like stepping up a stair.

Either way, the end of the world is near unless governments around the world take steps to completely control every aspect of human activity.

Humanity is a disease, and totalitarianism is the cure.

[CampingInYourPark]

Well, I was told all the warm is being stored in the oceans.

[Jordan]

No, no. I want shriek to explain it to us "anti-empiricists".

[Auric Demonocles]

Remember, if your projections turn out to be wrong, don't admit that your premise could be wrong. Just say that it'd be even worse if not for something. So if you do a stimulus and things go poorly, things would have been a catastrophic collapse if you didn't. If you predict warming and none happens, it's only because of the (for the first time ever relevant) natural factors temporarily suppressing the artificial warming.

Mixing politics with your science means never having to stand by your predictions.

[BigT]

Humanity is a disease, and totalitarianism is the cure.

It has been more effective at eliminating humanity than many drugs are at eliminating other diseases. So true statement (given the premise)

[UnCivilServant]

It's at best a treatment, since no region has been cured of humanity by the application of totalitarianism.

[R C Dean]

the warming had stopped because of a drop in solar activity

Still invalidates all the models, which are generally premised on the bathshit insane idea that the climate of a planet orbiting a mildly variable star won't be affected by variations in the energy it absorbs from the star.

[Brett L]

Pay no attention to the giant, unlicensed fusion reactor in the sky!

[BigT]

One month is a pretty short time period. But given that, there is no dispute that the globe has been warming since the 1850's (or earlier), but the causation is disputed.

CO2 levels have risen in a monotonic fashion, but global average temperatures have risen in a very non-uniform manner, with long (1940-1975, and 1998-2014) periods of stasis or decline. The SHAPE of the T vs t curve is not correlated with CO2 levels. Correlation is not causation, but ANTI-correlation is certainly ANTI-causation.

[Longtorso, Johnny]

How to Use a Nordic Ware Omelette Maker in a Microwave

[BigT]

Rebuttal to IPCC report.

Previously scientists have estimated climate sensitivity mainly from computer model simulations of the climate system. For the last two generations of models, the value for long-term warming has averaged 3.2?C per doubling. Due to the moderating effect of the ocean, such warming takes many centuries to be fully realised.

...

Good empirical estimates of both long-term warming and that over a seventy year period now imply very different expectations of future warming than do climate models ? some 40% to 50% lower to 2081?2100. This is almost certainly the most important finding of climate science in recent years, particularly since there are good reasons to doubt the reliability of climate model forecasts. However, in its report the IPCC only alludes to this issue in an oblique fashion. Moreover, rather than reducing its best estimate of climate sensitivity in the light of the new empirical estimates, it simply reduced the lower bound of the uncertainty range and omitted to give a best estimate, without adequately explaining why it had been necessary to do so. Only in the final report published in January 2014 was a paragraph added in the Technical Summary giving slightly more explanation.

Even these estimates are too high since better - non-CO2 - models have been developed.

[John]

But we had a January that was average. That means the world is going to end. Shreek said so!!

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Why are you such a denier, titfucker? You really don't care about polar bears and such, huh? Figures. You're too busy what with your mouth full of Kochs! I hope when the earth explodes you die.

/burp. Prog.

[Slammer]

Anger after tattoo artist inks sedated dog

The headline doesn't say it's his own dog.

[John]

It is no worse than docking their ears. That said, tattoo people are freaks.

[R C Dean]

Hey!

[Elspeth Flashman]

Utah bill will allow truancy for good students.

From the article: Under Utah law, parents can be charged with a class B misdemeanor if their child is deemed habitually truant through pervasive absences.

But a bill that received legislative committee approval Wednesday would exclude students ages 16 and older from receiving a truancy citation as long as they maintain at least a 3.5 grade-point average. . . .
http://www.deseretnews.com/art.....uancy.html

[Jordan]

I would have loved this when I was in high school. I forget how many "unexplained absences" we were allowed, but I pushed it right up to the limit my senior year (with a 4.0 GPA).

[db]

4.0? Phah. That's what, 80% of max now?

[UnCivilServant]

I've never heard of a school that uses a 5 point scale. When did such an abomination arise?

[db]

I have heard of it before where honors.courses are concerned. GPA inflation.is.ridiculous. I think when.I graduated HS, 4.3 was the top, which makes things confusing for.anyone who has.to.compare between students at different schools.

[Auric Demonocles]

I graduated in 2006 and my final 4 year GPA was like 4.5.

An "A" was 4.0, and "A+" was 4.3, and you got an extra point if it was an AP course. So theoretically you could get up to a 5.3, except that of course you can't manage to take only AP classes. This lead to the competition for valedictorian being mostly about who could take more APs.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Show off.

Pretty selfish of you given there are starving kids in Africa and students below you could have used some of those points you hogged.

[Auric Demonocles]

The school actually explicitly set up the AP science courses at the same time so you couldn't take more than 1 a year. I got around that by being friends with the chemistry teacher and getting her to let me do the AP Chem class as independent study. I barely did any work and she just based my class grad on how I did on the AP test.

[UnCivilServant]

We got no special credit for taking AP courses. they were treated like ordinary courses for the purposes of GPA.

[Zeb]

We had somethign similar. There were honors and college prep courses that had a weighted contribution to GPA, so you could get over 5 if you took a few honors classes every semester.

[Rasilio]

Holy shit a law about schools that actually makes sense.

[Elspeth Flashman]

My feeling about work (and this extends to school too) has been that as long as it gets done then does it matter whether you're at work everyday at the same time?

[Brett L]

Ass-in-chair time is the easiest metric to measure, therefore we must manage by it.

[UnCivilServant]

That's what they pay me on.

I can do this job from anywhere, but I don't get paid if I'm not in my cube.

[Jordan]

Agreed. Unfortunately, the standard management response is that if you can leave early, we'll find additional work for you.

[Matrix]

A way to make cats actually cool...
Strap a rocket on them!

[Swiss Servator, alles klar?]

As a former Ordnance Corps officer, I can only applaud this.

[mr simple]

So were these unfortunate animals from the 1500s really wearing 20th-century technology?

Wow. Magnificent failure in history of rocketry.

[Lord Humungus]

Hey, Rocky, watch me pull a rabbit out of this hat...

Obama administration again delays deadline for cancelled plans

The Department of Health and Human Services had already given insurers the option of continuing those plans facing cancellation through 2014, and on Wednesday said those policies could remain in effect an additional two years.

For example, if an individual renewed their health plan on Oct. 1, 2016, their coverage would last into 2017.

"We're extending this to give people an opportunity to make a judgment about what works best for them and their families," a senior administration official said, briefing reporters on the major policy change.

Administration officials say the change was crafted in consultation with lawmakers, such as Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., and Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., both facing tough re-election fights in November.

[Jordan]

We're extending this to give people an opportunity to make a judgment about what works best for them and their families

So close, yet so far.

[Auric Demonocles]

We're extending this to give people an opportunity to make a judgment about what works best for them and their families

"and then we will remove their options to leave only what we think works best."

[Injun Joe]

"We're extending this to give people an opportunity to make a judgment about what works best for them and their families elect Hillary and Democrats in 2016," a senior administration official said, briefing reporters on the major policy change.

Administration officials say the change was crafted in consultation collusion with lawmakers, such as Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., and Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., both facing tough re-election fights in November.

[Juice]

He can't delay the cancellation of plans. That ship has sailed.

[mad libertarian guy]

The ACA is of the utmost importance to America! Without it poor people will die by the bazillions!

For this reason, we're going to have to delay a major portion of it. Again.

[John]

http://nhjournal.com/2014/03/0.....sial-vote/

New Hampshire Senator Jeanne Shaheen fled the scene of the vote Wednesday ? following her decision to support President Obama's controversial nominee for U.S. Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights.

Debo Adgebile represented Mumia Abu-Jamal ? who was convicted of murdering a Philadelphia cop in 1982. In 2011, during which time Adgebile aided his appeal efforts, a death sentence was dropped to life without parole.

Wow is Shaheen dumb. How did she not know the nomination was doomed and that it was safe to vote against it?

[The Late P Brooks]

Speaking of the Kochs, the nodders on Morning Joke were huffing and puffing about their evil rightwing moolah.

Donnie Deutsch says allowing people like the Kopchs to make campaign contributions to political causes he doesn't approve of will destroy democracy.

[John]

Fascists got be fascists.

[Aloysious]

Nobel Peace prize? For Putin? Him and Barry will have something else in common.

[John]

Putin, BO, and Arafat. What a select group.

[John]

Even his brain dead supporters were embarrassed by that. My favorite was how they claimed it wasn't his fault they gave it to him. Sure, but that didn't mean he had to accept it.

Funny how none of his cult ever mentions his winning that. That was the one time were his actions were so appalling even his followers were embarrassed by them.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

What is wrong with those people?

[UnCivilServant]

Quick - What does the "Ministry of Peace" do again?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Start wars?

[Tonio]

And Kissinger, never forget Kissinger.

[John]

http://www.politico.com/story/.....04287.html

Boehner backs holding Lerner in contempt. Once she is, can't the Capitol Police arrest her?

[Aloysious]

Well, she would run the risk of being gunned down in her car, like that one lady nobody outside of H&R remembers.

[John]

Considering what she probably knows, if I were her, I would be very worried about some kind of "accident" happening.

[Elspeth Flashman]

The butt-dial that lead to a conviction:

A cellphone pocket dial that recorded on voice mail some of the final minutes in the life of Jason Bohn's girlfriend in 2012 helped persuade a New York City jury that the University of Florida law graduate should be convicted of first-degree murder on Wednesday.
http://www.abajournal.com/news....._convicts/

[mad libertarian guy]

A light in the world (dim though it may be) is about to go out. Having narrowly survived just 3 years ago, Sbarro is filing for bankruptcy once again.

Closely held Sbarro, which carries about $140 million in debt, said in mid-February it was closing 155 of the 400 restaurants it owns in North America to cut costs. The majority of its U.S. restaurants are located in airports and mall food courts.

The Melville, N.Y., company emerged from Chapter 11 protection more than two years ago. The company initially found success with its mall-based locations, but it took a hit during the U.S. economic downturn as mall traffic fell.

How else am I to gauge the quality of airports? Without Sbarro, all I have to look forward to is a TSA grope-down. Sbarro was the reach-around for me in the otherwise ass-fuck of an experience at airports.

[UnCivilServant]

That's odd, because I've always found their food to be disappointing. Or do you have another type of interaction with the staff?

[Ted S.]

I'd have thought he was being sarcastic.

Meanwhile, Au Bon Pain is still around.

[mad libertarian guy]

Actually, only partially.

Sbarro is generally bad pizza. But for one mysterious reason or another, I must have it at airports. The brewpubs are no better than Applebees (which is fucking disgusting), and I use Sbarro as a measure for airports. No Sbarro = Why the fuck would I want to layover there?

[Neoliberal Kochtopus]

Srsly, what the hell is wrong with Applebee's, exactly? I'm not saying it deserves a Michelin star or anything, but it's completely serviceable, decent and affordable.

[mad libertarian guy]

Each time I've been there, there was something horrific about the meal I ordered. I once got a hair about 18" long in a salad. Another time I had chicken fingers that were raw. When you can't even get a salad or chicken fingers right, you don't deserve to exist.

[BigT]

Each time I've been there, there was something horrific about the meal I ordered.

Franchises are not always run properly. At some point the mgt will figure out this is a bad one and make some changes. Maybe you should point it out to them.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Same impression here. We're picky eaters and find Applebee's fine.

[Swiss Servator, alles klar?]

Fans of the DeKalb Oasis on the IL stretch of I-90 weep as well.

[John]

Their death is the result of airports actually serving decent food.

[Auric Demonocles]

There's usually some brewpub-like place to go to instead.

[Palin's Buttplug]

I thought Sbarro was a cash cow. The last time I went to one a piece of pizza, tiny scrap of salad, and soda cost over $11.

[Slammer]

I only paid 8$ for the same meal.

[WTF]

Well, you're not retarded.

[Swiss Servator, alles klar?]

They should offer an 8% discount at airports.

[gaijin]

That would be an 8% Convenience Fee at ORD and MDW

[Gbob]

Just because 92% of the public wanted the food changed in some way doesn't mean it's not a winning restaurant.

[Lord Humungus]

It used to be a popular lunchtime destination for me - getting a slice of pizza was cheap. These days it's just too damn carby.

[waffles]

Productivity rose at a 1.8 percent annual rate instead of the previously reported 3.2 percent pace, the Labor Department said on Thursday.

I don't get it. The market is optimistic as all get out but the numbers keep getting revised downwards. This stinks.

[db]

Whistling past the.graveyard only works as long as you have air.in your lungs.

[Jordan]

The market's optimistic because the Fed is flooding it with liquidity. The bubble will pop soon.

[waffles]

Why though? I't not as if the Fed has any reason to stop.

[Jordan]

Doesn't matter. They can't control it anymore than they could control the housing bubble. All that debt and malinvestment will catch up to us, no matter what they do.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

"[European] Human rights commissioner Nils Mui?niekshas has marked international Women's Day with an appeal to governments to target the proliferation of online misogyny....

""In Italy, the speaker of Parliament, Laura Boldrini, has been the target of repeated hate speech since she was sworn in, including recently when the leader of the 5-Star Movement, a political group which obtained a quarter of the votes in last year's legislative elections, published a clearly misogynistic post on his blog, which was picked up by his social media account and those used by his MPs, and which generated violent, insulting comments against her....

"...member states should also prohibit by law any advocacy of gender hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence."

http://www.humanrightseurope.o.....nst-women/

[lap83]

Oh yes, I've spent many a long sleepless night sick with fear that someone will be misogynist to me on the internet. (Not going on the internet is obviously out of the question as I might miss something adorbs on Pinterest)

[The Late P Brooks]

Also on Morning Joke, they played the tape of Issa shutting down his committee hearing as Cummings was attempting to recite some sort of DNC talking point excuse for Lerner's repeated Fifth Amendment defense. Mika was outraged. The nodders agreed.

I laughed.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Why doesn't the dumbass GOP grant Lerner immunity so she will spill her guts?

They don't want her anyway. They want Obama.

(this is so humorous)

[WTF]

First off, the retarded don't rule the night. They don't rule it. Nobody does. And they don't run in packs. And while they may not be as strong as apes, don't lock eyes with 'em, don't do it. Puts 'em on edge. They might go into berzerker mode; come at you like a whirling dervish, all fists and elbows. You might be screaming "No, no, no" and all they hear is "Who wants cake?" Let me tell you something: They all do. They all want cake.

[John]

Because they have lawyers who work for them and who know that you never grant immunity to someone until you know what they are going to say.

See when you are not retarded, you just see things differently.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Yeah, look how well the current advice is working out. This fake scandal is almost over with.

[WTF]

FAKE SCANDAL!!111!BUSHPIGS!!11!!CHRISTFAGS!!111!!

[UnCivilServant]

A true believer with immunity will say "I did it all of my own initiative, no one above me knew until it was revealed in the press".

[John]

That or you will grant immunity to the person who most deserves punishment.

You never grant immunity until the witness's lawyer gives you an offer that spells out exactly what they will say and you have a chance to make sure that checks out with what you know.

Lehrner has done no such thing and thus should not be granted immunity. Moreover, you don't grant immunity to people who have waived their 5th Amendment rights. And Lerner did just that when she got up and denied wrong doing. You can't say your are innocent and then refuse to answer questions.

Lehrner is guilty of contempt and needs to go to jail.

[tarran]

That or you will grant immunity to the person who most deserves punishment.

For example, the Karla Homolka case; she was an enthusiastic participant in the murders but was allowed to plead guilty to manslaughter.

[mad libertarian guy]

You can't say your are innocent and then refuse to answer questions.

Lehrner is guilty of contempt and needs to go to jail.

Turns out you can. Or at least that isn't exactly what happened.

[John]

Interesting article MLG. I agree that it is close. I didn't realize it was at a different proceeding. To me that is the most compelling argument. The cases Popehat gives in support of being able to proclaim innocence without waiving don't really apply here. Those cases involved people answering questions in complex and technical proceedings like bankruptcy. None of them involved a straight up voluntarily given assertion of innocence the way Lerner did.

The point of the rule is to keep people from doing what she did, get their side of the story out and then clam up.

[mad libertarian guy]

I'm not sure about the merits according to the law. I'm no lawyer, nor have I read case law outside of shit that interests me (though I have read lots of case law about shit that does interest me).

But I tend to trust Popehat because they are steadfast in their adherence to the philosophy of "The BoR is not a buffet from which one can pick and choose." I've seen them use the BoR to defend some very nasty shit, and that is exactly how one ought to use it, even if for no other reason than to show that if it applies to some very nasty shit, it applies to shit less nasty too.

[Andrew S.]

Does anyone watch Morning Joke except to laugh at how idiotic it is?

[Palin's Buttplug]

Between it, 'Fox and Freaks', and C-Span it is slim pickings for the political morning shows. That leaves the networks and CNBC.

I prefer CNBC myself.

[mad libertarian guy]

Or, you know, you could watch something of real value. Or nothing at all.

[John]

Senators on Wednesday expressed alarm at explosive allegations that the CIA might have spied on their computers to keep tabs on their controversial review of Bush-era "enhanced interrogation" techniques.

Lawmakers from both parties said that if the allegations against the CIA prove true, intelligence officials might have violated the law ? and certainly violated the separation of powers enshrined in the Constitution.

"I'm assuming that's it's not true, but if it is true, it should be World War III in terms of Congress standing up for itself against the CIA, " Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told The Hill.

Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) confirmed Wednesday that the CIA inspector general was investigating accusations that the covert agency had peered into the panel's computers. But she didn't comment on reports that the investigator has referred the matter to the Justice Department.

http://thehill.com/blogs/defco.....cia-spying

Time will tell. But if this is true, I find it hard to believe this won't be the death of Obama if it turns out he knew about it. Senators are partisan sure. But more than anything they are assholes. They are going to take being spied upon very personally. I really don't think team loyalty will trump their outrage at being treated like common citizens.

[waffles]

Obama is unsinkable. No one wants to have the same bullshit dragged out fight that happened in Clinton's second term.

[Ted S.]

Nobody wants to bring down the first black president.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Yeah. Impeaching him won't happen.

[Slammer]

But she didn't comment on reports that the investigator has referred the matter to the Justice Department.

Great. Now it will really go somewhere.

[John]

I am sure Eric is going to get right on it.

The thing is that if this is true, the Senate is going to want blood. Obama will throw the CIA under the bus. But while the CIA is incompetent, they are not stupid. They won't take the fall for this alone. If I were Obama, I really wouldn't want to get into it with the CIA.

This is going to get ugly.

[Palin's Buttplug]

When has any of your wingdingnut speculation been true?

[John]

I am pretty sure I called the 8% right.

[Neoliberal Kochtopus]

I must have missed the "8% joke". Helpabrotha out?

[Jordan]

Reason really needs a wiki page.

Shriek posted a poll that was supposed to be evidence of people's love for Obamacare. Only 8% said the law should not be changed.

[Auric Demonocles]

I like the idea of a Reason wiki. It'd be a nice central resource so we could point people to the original comments of something easily.

Like how Tony thinks you get pregnant when your spouse gets hit by a bus.

[Neoliberal Kochtopus]

We had a wikipage but Mary / Tulpa / rather kept trashing it and reporting it to Wikia for content. We could try again. I can't remember who the last keeper of it was.

Here's one that looks like a start:

http://reason-magazine.wikia.c.....zine_Wiki#

[Neoliberal Kochtopus]

Oh even better - the link I posted is Lonewacko's start at digging on reason. We should take it over.

[tarran]

It looks like that wiki has the Lonewhacko as its most prolific editor!

Awesome!

[Auric Demonocles]

Is there no way we could lock a wiki-type page to approved editors?

[tarran]

Is there no way we could lock a wiki-type page to approved editors?

Sure. But that makes it less fun!

I think a wiki about Reason made by people who hate us obsessively would be a hoot.

[Auric Demonocles]

There's certainly some value in the humor of that, but I was imagining it as more a functional thing.

[Tonio]

LOL, there is a Reason wikia but it hasn't been updated for years. Don't know who started that.

[UnCivilServant]

He posted a poll that showed only 8% liked ObamaCare the way it was.

[Palin's Buttplug]

And a new low of 31% want repeal.

Yet the Peanut Gallery keeps saying it spells doom for the Dems in future elections.

Fuck, only 1% of us don't want to change the Constitution. The 8 meme is silly.

[Jordan]

Fuck, only 1% of us don't want to change the Constitution. The 8 meme is silly.

And you think this is an argument in your favor? The Constitution isn't exactly popular with the electorate. Or haven't you noticed all the horrid shit the govs been doing this century? No doubt, a progressive like you supports most of it though.

[Palin's Buttplug]

The Constitution isn't popular?

Next to the Bible pols brandish it like Moses's tablets every chance they get.

I'M A CONSTITUTION LOVIN' CONSERVATIVE, BOYS! OF COURSE I DESPISE MOST OF IT!

[Jordan]

Next to the Bible pols brandish it like Moses's tablets every chance they get.

Look up revealed preference. Dipshit.

[John]

Shreek put up a link to some leftwing hack site quoting some unlinked poll saying that voters don't want Republicans to repeal Obamacare.

What he failed to mention was that the same poll showed that 8% of voters thought Obamacare was fine as it and didn't need significant changes.

[Auric Demonocles]

The hilarious part is that he actually didn't "fail to mention that". He accidentally included the 8% in the part he quoted.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Fuck, only 1% of us don't want to change the Constitution. The 8 meme is silly.

[John]

The 8 meme is silly.

You are the one that created it dumbass.

[Palin's Buttplug]

You don't know what a "meme" is, do you?

[John]

No one made you fuck up and post that Shreek.

[Neoliberal Kochtopus]

stop engaging Tulpa.

[BigT]

This is one time when I think the Ass-insertion is correct. The Senators want to get someone, but they don't want to be associated with a nasty investigation. So they will round up the usual suspects and a convenient fall-guy(s) will be ID'd and be permitted to retire with full pension. Maybe one person will take some real heat.

[John]

They will want more than that. And the CIA will not take that lying down.

[BigT]

The CIA more than anyone else will want to 'get this behind them' so they will gladly, willingly, enthusiastically offer up a scapegoat(s).

[BigT]

The CIA will find "rogue agents" or simply settle old scores.

[John]

BigT,

Sure the CIA will want to get this behind them. But the Senate won't. And it won't be "rogue agents". The CIA will do whatever is necessary to ensure they don't get blamed for this.

[Gbob]

Journalists being targeted by the government didn't knock the democratic dick out of the mouths of the media. Why should it be any different for the team blue guys and gals in the senate?

[John]

Because the Senators are just as craven but not nearly as pathetic as the media.

You could line the media up and start shooting them and they would happily take the bullet for the cause. Senators? Not a chance.

[Tonio]

True Believer mindset, Gbob. They chose to believe that was an isolated incident ("Comrade Stalin didn't know..."). As evidence piles up, the more rational of them will change their minds.

[Rufus J. Fisk]

I am back!!!! I am sub teaching in a high school computer class today and they have an assignment in which I do absolutely nothing. Very quiet in this room. Hopefully I can get my unnecessary post bach teaching cert class work done.

[John]

How is subbing Rufus?

[UnCivilServant]

So Fisk is the substitute Rufus J and Firefly is the real deal?

[Auric Demonocles]

They're both Tulpa.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

?

[Auric Demonocles]

That's exactly what Tulpa would say!

[waffles]

Everybody is Tulpa now. Can you prove you're not Tulpa? Didn't think so.

[Slammer]

Tulpa's lurking, watching it all.

[Swiss Servator, alles klar?]

He is Legion?

[Rufus J. Fisk]

relatively easy at all levels except elementary, where it is pretty annoying as kids below fourth grade spend most of their time tattling on other kids. I actually enjoy the days when I get to teach a history of social studies class....I got to teach about the New Deal to 7th graders and I literally told them about how I may have to be retrained when speaking of FDR

[Rufus J. Fisk]

*restrained, fuck!!!

[Dances-with-Trolls]

I literally told them about how I may have to be retrained when speaking of FDR

Well if you ever want to be part of an American teacher's union, maybe.

[BigT]

I may have to be retrained when speaking of FDR

They have camps for your type.

[UnCivilServant]

They used to hold Japanese people, but got repurposed after the war.

[Elspeth Flashman]

Michigan Supreme Court to consider re-sentencing juvenile "lifers" to amend their life sentences.

. . . The law is now clear that juveniles convicted of first-degree murder can no longer be automatically sentenced to life in prison without parole, without a judge first considering the circumstances of the case and potential mitigating factors.

What's in dispute in arguments the Michigan Supreme Court will hear this morning is whether more than 350 teenagers who received mandatory life sentences under the old rules are now entitled to new sentencing hearings.

http://www.freep.com/article/2.....reme-Court

[UnCivilServant]

If you're a teenager and you willfully murder, I can't credibly believe you'd be safe to ever return to society.

[Dances-with-Trolls]

What? Teenager =/= fully formed brain. Change is certainly possible. In fact, more likely than an adult.

[UnCivilServant]

It's still old enough to know right from wrong. If they're that broken that early, there's no fixing it.

[Neoliberal Kochtopus]

I would go the other way on that. Teenagers are frequently maladjusted and become adjusted when they become adults.

[The Late P Brooks]

"I'm assuming that's it's not true, but if it is true, it should be World War III in terms of Congress standing up for itself against the CIA, " Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told The Hill.

Lindsey Graham, slumped on his fainting couch, fanning himself with a monogrammed lace hanky: "He'd never do such a thing. Not to me! Oh, how could he?"

*wails pitifully*

[Ted S.]

And he didn't even get a reach-around.

[John]

You don't understand Brooks. The CIA listening to your phone calls and reading your emails is something that happens to commoners, not Senators.

To quote our VP, this is a big fucking deal.

[John]

So I am doing the Army staff college right now. Last weekend we were doing leadership and changing organizational culture. As part of the discussion, there was a heated debate about the issue of criticizing and singling out people who screw up in front of others. One of the profs made the point that the methods of the past of strict account ability and public criticism doesn't work with the current generation. He said words to the effect that the country just doesn't make people like the ones in this room who are used to being held strictly accountable and can take open and pointed criticism of our actions.

I don't think I have ever had a more depressing moment in my professional life.

[db]

There is a difference between a manager taking an employee aside and clearly laying out how.the employee failed to.meet expectations; and publicly shaming an.employee in the presence of.his peers or subordinates. Tyrannical managers use fear and public shame because they themselves fear direct.confrontation with their reports.

It works so.much better to privately discuss the.issue, in my experience. I have worked.in.environments.with.both.styles, and the tyrant model is terriible for.organizational morale.

Passive aggressive management is.another bad.practice on the opposite.end of.the scale from the tyrannical style.

[John]

I didn't give the context well enough. The debate concerned the old WWII movie "12 O'Clock High" (an excellent movie BTW). The movie is the true story of how a commander fixed a bomber group in England during WWII. In it, one of the things the commander does is create a plane known as the "Leper Colony" maned by the biggest screw up at each of the crew positions on a B-17. We you fucked up you got sent to the Leper Colony and stayed there until someone else took your place. They actually did this.

That is old school Army shit there. In a normal office, that would be a bad idea. But in a place where you kill people for a living or you are doing something like sports that requires some amount of controlled aggression, those techniques work.

What the prof was saying was our current generation of snowflakes just are not cut out to handle such things. If that is true, this country is doomed.

[Neoliberal Kochtopus]

Please concern troll on the generational wars sommore. It's my favorite. Tyrant managers suck ass, and I say that as 13-year vet.

[John]

Sure tyrant managers suck. But having accountability doesn't make you a tyrant. And frankly, if you can't take being called out for legitimate failures, you suck.

What mostly makes tyrants tyrants is that they have the wrong or inconsistent standards. Having proper standards and enforcing them even ruthlessly does not make a manager a tyrant.

It all depends on the situation. If you are doing something where fuck ups can get people hurt or killed, then the standards better be ruthless and the pressure to meet them pretty intense. If your feelings can't take that, find a different line of work.

[Neoliberal Kochtopus]

Everybody worships the "hard ass old school" dudes, and for what? For their gross inefficiencies? For their continued culture of alienation that has led in no small part to the current generation feeling no need to be loyal to their employers?

The wake left behind by these people is terrible. I don't have any problem with accountability. It's the people who substitute accountability for "talk down to people like they're trash" that drive me apeshit. Respect is a two-way street.

[John]

But I don't worship those people. There are tons of idiocy and inefficiency. But that happened because people were idiots not because they were hard.

And I don't think we are really disagreeing. Standards and accountability doesn't mean being an asshole. But at the same time, I don't believe that there isn't a place for organizational pier pressure and for public accountability as well.

The problem with only holding people accountable privately is that eventually people start to think it isn't being done or that some people really don't give a fuck what you have to say and will only respond to public criticism.

There is a place for both.

[Dances-with-Trolls]

Was going to say something along similar lines. Calling people out publicly is a tool for managing other people really. A way of getting a message across quickly and clearly and hopefully avoiding errors where the CO can't see them. A smart leader will also take the individual so treated aside and one-on-one them to build them back up and explain why it was done.

Sadly this does not happen often enough.

[Michael S. Langston]

For their continued culture of alienation that has led in no small part to the current generation feeling no need to be loyal to their employers?

*If* old hard asses had anything to do with employees not being loyal to employers - good for them because any movement in that direction is a movement into reality.

At one point - people believed in this loyalty tripe, but all that happened was good people were held back by not moving to other employers all by being scared of the consequences of being labeled as not-loyal.

Meanwhile any business worth anything will quickly dismiss any employee or end any vendor/corporate contract the split second they feel the relationship is no longer useful (note here - I did not say they would end the relationship once it because negative - I said they would end it once it became less useful than they need/demand/etc).

I think reality aptly demonstrates that there is no reason to have any loyalty in an employee/employer relationship as it's not about loyalty.

It's about a simple contract where one party agrees to do certain work for certain remunerations.

In a free society at any point in time where either party decides that agreement is no longer needed, they should be able to freely and easily walk away - and loyalty simply never enters the equation.

In much the same way - an American can question their government without being unPatriotic either...

[GILMORE]

The Leper Colony

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voI-RNBvCzk

[Dances-with-Trolls]

The military is a bit of a different animal, though. For example, if one has ordered an assault that is blowing up in one's face and people are dying because of a mistake there is no time for a nice talking to and a we'll do it better next time. An officer in that position has to be able to absorb the impact and take immediate corrective action or worse consequences can certainly follow. Think it was Napoleon who remarked that you can't run an army like you run a civil society. I would agree that this is generally out of place in the civilian life. Very few things are immediate enough to require it.

[UnCivilServant]

However, I've run into a lot of ex-military managers who try to run the office like a military unit, generally trashing overall worker morale and productivity. I thankfully did not get one job when I honestly told the interviewer that I didn't go into military service because I knew I didn't have the personality for it. Since most of that company was ex-thisorthat, I wouldn't have fit there. The problem is there were a lot of offices where it wasn't mostly ex-milspec people, and that management style backfired grotesquely. Sadly, I'm pretty sure upper management blamed the line workers.

[db]

Yeah, I get the.difference in.required.styles for.military management/leadership. And, when things are really on the line, it can help to whip everyone.into.focus. But I have worked in orgs that had a lot of ex military in management roles and they did not understand the.differences.

I.worked for.one director who was a USNA grad who left the Navy after his.minimum service.commitment (now a VP at that company) who seemed to think the ideas of "up-or-out" and scapegoating were a perfect match. He has been.consistently promoted in thqt.company, but he has left a swath.of demoralized and dysfunctional groups in his.wake.

[Dances-with-Trolls]

But I have worked in orgs that had a lot of ex military in management roles and they did not understand the.differences.

I have too and have seen the same problem occur. Fuck, if I still wanted to be subject to military discipline I'd still be in it has been my reply more than once. (Which has given pause to some, and cost me a job once.)

There are crappy leaders in the military as well, guys that mismanaged their units and then go on to mismanage their people in the civilian world. Being in the service does present some opportunity for growth in leadership, but does not magically bestow the ability on everyone.

[Neoliberal Kochtopus]

I'm just going to put this out there: there's nothing special about military people when it comes to the civilian world. I know we have this grand idea that vets are the "best and brightest", but that just isn't true. They're fine - average - normal, and they've had a bit more real-world experience than your average college grad, but they aren't any better.

[John]

That is all true. More importantly, there are means and methods that are necessary and effective in the military environment that are insane when used in many civilian environments.

[Neoliberal Kochtopus]

Right. Take the ERS (NCOERS / OERS) System, where anything but a 1 block spells dooooom. Which means everyone is above average.

The new thing that is driving me crazy in the Army is the small fiefdoms of IT that are parsed out to CIVs and random SSGs, where they can just suspend the account of a BDE CDR because he failed to take his USB Awareness training. Fuck those people are petty.

[John]

The problem in the Army is that no one ever talks to the people below a commander or an officer. That is hard to do since there are always going to be malcontents and often times a commander has to do shit his people hate.

Even given that, people can respect someone if if they don't like that. And there are way too many people getting ahead who have never commanded any respect from anyone other than the person above them whose ass they kissed.

I am not sure how you fix it. But something has to be done.

[Dances-with-Trolls]

I am not sure how you fix it. But something has to be done.

If you can fix institutional ass-kissing in the Army you will go down as the greatest military thinker since Sun-Tzu.

[tarran]

Sun Tzu didn't scapegoat... he chopped off heads, even of the king's favorite concubines.

[tarran]

I once lost it in a staff meeting at LTV Steel - much to the amusement of the other vets.

We were installing some new networking gear on a crane to allow the operator to interact with the warehouse database from the cab. The gear required a power supply, necessitating the installation of a motor generator to convert the crane DC to 120VAC to feed an installed but heretofore unenergized set of 120VAC receptacles.

A USWA electrician was given the job of installing the MG, which promptly blew up when energized... as did its replacement 6 weeks later... as did its replacement 6 weeks later.

After each explosion we talked to the guy, and he told us what he had done, and the grounding checks and short circuit checks he described doing meant the problem had to be with the generator.

So after six weeks, motor-generator four arrives, and is hoisted up. But this time, another USWA electrician - one of the rare ones who actually gave a shit - decides to put his oar in and discovers that the 120VAC line is grounded. Badly.

So he starts popping access panels and tracing the line, and discovers after lifting the panels under the crane operator's seat, that the line was running through a goop made from the residue from hundreds of spilled cups of soda and sugary coffee collected over a decade, and that the insulation was impregnated with the stuff.

[tarran]

When he delivered his report, I went ballistic (this project was my baby). The rant lasted a good five minutes while I reviewed the offender's shortcomings, speculated as to why he hadn't killed himself yet (I asserted it was no doubt due to the fact that you can't get killed blowing off work to stuff your face with donuts), how long it would take him to pay LTV for the stuff he broke and what would be done to him in the Navy. The ex-F14 RIO who was in charge of operations was snickering audibly as I ranted.

It was not completely cathartic; it lacked me squeezing the offender's neck until my gear started working.

The offending electrician, for some reason, stayed out of my sight for the rest of the time I worked there.

AND NOTHING ELSE HAPPENED!

Except the company went into chapter 7 bankruptcy a year or so later.

[db]

That sounds like a lot of fun, and possibly necessary and good when rarely.done. It's when every single minor road bump becomes an opportunity for the tyrannical manager to puff out his chest and threaten people's jobs that it is far too much. Add to that the knowledge that the manager has made a career of scapegoating for advancement, and it crushes.morale.

[Swiss Servator, alles klar?]

"Except the company went into chapter 7 bankruptcy a year or so later."

So it was death by blowing off work to stuff donuts in the gob...except it was the company, not the slobistic electrician!

[tarran]

It was so frustrating....

We had good equipment... OK, decent equipment...

And a large contingent of young guys who wanted to make it work, and could have made it work.

Between the looters in the USWA,the upper management, and in Accenture, we didn't have a chance.

[db]

Have you ever read "And the Wolf Finally Came?"

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Technicalities aside, I like a good rant. Thanks.

[Agammamon]

I'd agree db, to a point.

But often, IME, taking them in the back and talking it out doesn't work. A failure of training (IOW they don't fully understand the task - which is a failure on *my* part) can be dealt with like that, or sometimes the guy has other issues outside of work distracting him.

And a lot of these young adults really have trouble with told they're underperforming, even in private. They'll deflect or turn around and attack.

But usually its because they just blew something off. Marines that don't get their haircut every weekend for example- that's something that's pounded into them starting at Basic - sometimes the yelling and abuse isn't *for* the guy you're yelling at, its pour encourager les autres and the guy on the receiving end is basically a lost cause who will be encouraged to 'seek opportunities elsewhere' when his contract is up.

Or, the reason I do it most often - they've done something really stupid/dangerous and need immediate, sharp, and painful correction so they will remember not to do it again. I've seen sailors drop mooring lines, while in the process of tying a ship to the pier, to answer a text. That sort of behavior gets a sharp reprimand right then and there and a full-on arse-chewing as soon as the job's done.

[Rasilio]

There is a difference between accountability and public shaming

[CampingInYourPark]

UPDATE (10:01 a.m. ET 3/6/14): President Obama is headed to South Florida to talk at a local school about education and the economy. He intended to spend the weekend in the area with his family, but the White House says those plans may be nixed because of the ongoing crisis in Ukraine.

This is something to miss a round of golf over?

[John]

Obama is missing a round of golf? Good God, are we planning to nuke the Russkies?

Seriously, I do not want to contemplate any crisis so serious that it causes that sorry bastard to skip a round of golf.

[BigT]

Hey guys, he ain't playing golf in DC, but in FL he might have a chance. Could drop in on Raoul C as well, since he's just in the neighborhood.

[Brett L]

If I were he, I'd stay far from the book "My Pet Goat".

[Sevo]

"President Obama's approval rating is at a record low 38 percent"

So shreek represents 38% of the voting public? That is pathetic.

[John]

Imagine how low it would be if he were not black and the media did anything but propagandize for him.

I would bet at least 10 or 15% of that 38 is just white people too afraid to admit they don't like him. Throw in another 10% that is black people who will support him no matter what and you are left with what 13%? More like shall we say 8% if you add in the effect of media bias.

[The Late P Brooks]

Nobody wants to bring down the first black president.

I think this is pretty much the bottom line.

People may trot out that weird old canard, "If you can't respect the man, at least respect the office," but it boils down to not admitting what an egregious fuckup it has been to have this clown in office for two terms.

The man in the office is an incompetent buffoon. Get the rope.

[John]

There is that and also there is the fact that the only reason this clown ever got into the Senate much less the Presidency is because the media and political establishment completely whored themselves to get him there.

Taking Obama down would require them admitting how wrong they were about him and how responsible they are for the harm he has done. And that is never going to happen.

Obama will end up like Wilson. He will leave office and no one will speak his name until enough time has passed to whitewash his record. Just like Wilson is remembered in the high school history books as "just that guy who was President during World War I" and nothing else, Obama will be remembered as the "first black President" and Obamacare, the economy, and all the rest of it will go down the memory hole just like Wilson's actions did.

[tarran]

Palmer Raids?!? What were those?

[John]

The great inflation of 1917 to 1919? Never heard of it.

[tarran]

It was a Republican who kicked blacks out of the civil service and encouraged Klan membership, right?

[db]

The insanely militaristic propaganda that Wilson used to push US involvement in WWI took what started in the Spanish-American War and forever converted the US into a nation engaged in global meddling rather.than local strength and.excellence.

[tarran]

I would argue that the meddling started earlier.

It had been half a century since Commodore Perry sailed his gunships into Tokyo Bay.

[Neoliberal Kochtopus]

Wasn't that to open trade?

[tarran]

It was an attempt to "open" Japan the way that China was being opened, with foreign "concessions" where the Japanese government had not sovereignty, and an understanding that American manufactured goods would be purchased with gold that was acquired either through mining or by selling raw materials cheaply.

You know, the same thing that the Brits did to the Americas that led to a large portion of the U.S. populace rebelling.

[db]

Possibly, but there was a long period post Civil War when.American had had enough of it. As thatgeneration.died out and industrialization opened up overseas markets.for. American goods, the politicians sensed opportunities for.power and influence and used them.

[John]

The frontier closed and the Indian wars ended. The US was always a colonial power. It is just that it took 125 years or so to run out of places to colonize in North America.

[db]

Interesting point.

[Rasilio]

"He will leave office and no one will speak his name until enough time has passed to whitewash his record"

Racist!!!!!!

[UnCivilServant]

I respect the office, which means we must get people who discrace the ofice out of it.

[alan_s]

"Monocles Making a Comeback"

Another sign that the libertarian Messiah is coming.

[db]

Testing new keyboard. The quick briwn fox jumps over the lazy dog.

[db]

Second test.with.some.autocorrect setting.s

[db]

Mor testing. Why is the autocorrect not.werking?

[Rasilio]

could be worse, it could have written "Why is the autocorrect no twerking

[GILMORE]

"The Senate Intelligence Committee is investigating whether the CIA has been spying on it, according to committee chair Dianne Feinstein."

- Asked what tools The Intelligence Committee has at their disposal to investigate the Nation's Intelligence Agency, they said, "Oh, we figured we'd Google it. That's how we heard about this shit in the first place."

Isn't the appropriate answer by CIA, 'Why would we not?'

or, "Isn't that what you keep telling the public we have every right to do?"

[asadjan]

my buddy's aunt makes $74 an hour on the computer . She has been out of a job for six months but last month her check was $12405 just working on the computer for a few hours. visit homepage............. http://www.mumjob.com

[UnCivilServant]

Sales is nice for people who can convince others to buy stuff. What about the rest of us?

[mad libertarian guy]

But that requires that you are good at selling shit, and can live with being a salesman.

When I worked in a dive shop I was once reprimanded after having sold someone exactly the gear they needed at the highest price point they could afford. I call that a good sale. But because I didn't upsell tank nets, telling the customer that they are a huge pain in the ass when he asked about them (because they are a huge pain in the ass), I was reprimanded. For not selling a $10 item after having sold nearly $2k worth of gear. My crime according to the manager? I was being too honest.

It was at that moment that I said "fuck sales forever."

[db]

This is.what concerns me about.hanging out a consulting shingle. I don't like schmoozing and doing what it takes.to.establish and.maintain a client list. Having thr cash in the bank up.front to hire a business manager/sales guy for a year or two in addition to.covering my own needs is a concern.

[Neoliberal Kochtopus]

See, that's just incompetent management, but I see that all the time. Sell the customer the $50 meal and the $10 drink? Great! ohhh, but you didn't sell him on the calamari??! That's our directive from corporate!