A.M. Links: Putin in Crimea for Victory Day, House Approves Benghazi Select Committee, Romney Backs Minimum Wage Hike

Credit: Mark Taylor/wikimedia

• Russian President Vladimir Putin is visiting annexed Crimea on Victory Day, when Russians celebrate the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany.
• Yesterday the House approved a select committee tasked with investigating the September 2012 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, which resulted in the deaths of four Americans.
• President Obama slammed House Republicans yesterday for having "stubbornly refused" to allow for a vote on immigration reform.
• China's foreign ministry has blamed the U.S. for stoking territorial tensions in the South China Sea by encouraging countries to behave dangerously.  
• British and American military advisers, negotiators, and counsellors have arrived in Nigeria to assist in the search for the schoolgirls kidnapped by the Islamist group Boko Haram.
• Mitt Romney wants the minimum wage to be raised.

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter, and don't forget to sign up for Reason's daily updates for more content.

Comments

[Carl ?s his privilege]

Sina Weibo (China's Twitter) user comes up with 15 reasons small boobs are nice.

Winning comment:

#15, not correct at all... if you dont have tits, you anyway have a mouth to get promotions!

Related: Sina Weibo users hold a flat chest contest (potentially mildly NSFW) (trigger warning: in Chinese).

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Hello.

Blake Bortles?

[Certified Public Asskicker]

The Jaguars did us all a favor by keeping Lindsey Duke in Florida.

[KDN]

That and the Browns swapping with Minny for Gilbert were my two biggst "WTF?" moments. They loved Blaine Gabbert so much they had to try out part II. Even their names are similar!

I hated the Saints taking Cooks while Dennard was there (mostly because I don't like Cooks and think Dennard is both a stud and a perfect fit at a need), but that was defensible.

[Carl ?s his privilege]

Hey... hey! This is a small boobs sub-thread. Don't muck it up with your football talk!

[Certified Public Asskicker]

And I brought up Lindsey Duke, who has big boobs.

I am sorry Carl.

[KDN]

Don't blame me, the dirty Canuck brought it up!

#'s 4 and 12 are winners. 4 only because the man is Ellen, and 12 because it's undeniably accurate. I mean, just look at that diagram.

[Carl ?s his privilege]

4 only because the man is Ellen

Yeah I loved that one.

[waffles]

Didn't they ban small chested women in Australia last year?

[Carl ?s his privilege]

I thought it had something to do with banning porn with underage-looking-actresses, which could be interpreted to include many flat-chested ones.

Anyway, it's obviously a racist plot against Chinese immigrants.

[PhaistosDisk]

I've always liked petite women, and curvy women too. As long as the breasts are real all is good.

[Zeb]

I like the illustrations for "You can avoid men staring at your chest".

[sarcasmic]

From a waving bear to a smiling chameleon: The top 10 STUNNING entries to the National Geographic photography competition

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tra.....ition.html
Cool stuff.

[Raven Nation]

Excellent, thanks.

[Corning]

Someone should photo shop an explosion going off behind that lizard.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Mitt Romney wants the minimum wage to be raised.

By 47%.

[Longtorso, Johnny]

Liberal professor calls for genocide, says white males should commit suicide
On his last day of teaching at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Professor Noel Ignatiev reportedly received a standing ovation when he told his class that white males are a cancer and they should kill themselves, Jim Hoft reported at the Gateway Pundit Monday, citing an interview posted at the Diversity Report.

"If you are a white male, you don't deserve to live. You are a cancer, you're a disease, white males have never contributed anything positive to the world! They only murder, exploit and oppress non-whites! At least a white woman can have sex with a black man and make a brown baby but what can a white male do? He's good for nothing. Slavery, genocides against aboriginal peoples and massive land confiscation, the inquisition, the holocaust, white males are all to blame! You maintain your white male privilege only by oppressing, discriminating against and enslaving others," he said, according to Ivan Fernando.

Fernando, who wrote the piece at the Diversity Report, called Ignatiev's comments "sound and reasonable" words that "resonate with every enlightened and progressive mind."

[gaijin]

That link, you didn't build it right.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

See what happens when you don't have governzmint!

[UnCivilServant]

SFed link...

[Rufus J. Firefly]

It was nice knowing you guys while it lasted.

[waffles]

That's just trolling. Bad trolling. But the sad part is, I think people stuck in this mode do often believes this stuff.

[Longtorso, Johnny]

Liberal professor calls for genocide, says white males should commit suicide

[waffles]

But, he's white.

[DontShootMe]

Then he can go first.

[waffles]

That's what I don't get. You can't advocate suicide without and then not lead by example.

[gaijin]

But, he's white.

lol! Maybe he's not, you know, white-white.

[Mike Laursen]

He's Jewish. Apparently, that makes him non-white.

Or maybe he is white but feels really bad.

[Corning]

Or maybe he is white but feels really bad.

All the more reason to kill himself.

It would ease his pain.

[R C Dean]

And mine. Win-win!

I'll loan him a gun and even donate a round.

[SusanM]

http://www.theblaze.com/storie.....f-society/

old news - it's a fake

[EDG reppin' LBC]

He's still got some odd views regarding white people.

Ignatiev, however, is no stranger to controversy.

In the past, the professor has reportedly argued for the abolishment of the white race in an issue of Harvard Magazine. At the time, the magazine's editor said he was really calling for the abolishment of the "mind-set and attitude that automatically grants privileges to white people."

In an interview with the New York Times, Ignatiev added that he wants to "abolish the privileges of the white skin."

"The white race is like a private club based on one huge assumption: that all those who look white are, whatever their complaints or reservations, fundamentally loyal to the race," he said. "We want to dissolve the club, to explode it."

Ignatiev is also the co-editor of "Race Traitor," a journal which says that "treason to whiteness is loyalty to humanity."

[Ted S.]

That's an interesting link.

[Carl ?s his privilege]

Massachusetts College of Art and Design

[Rufus J. Firefly]

http://diversitychronicle.word.....isclaimer/

If it originally came from this site, then it's apparently satirical.

[UnCivilServant]

When you can't tell the difference from what these people normally say (or the honest conversation two of these people had behind me on a train when they thought no one could hear) it's not satire.

[SusanM]

Poe's law in action.

[Idle Hands]

lol.

[Lord Humungus]

Should we all drink the kool-aid at once, or draw lots?

*as he slowly edges out of the room*

[Zeb]

Yeah, if white males are all to blame for the Holocaust, then Black males are all to blame for enabling the African slave trade, the Rwandan genocide and the deaths of Tupac and Biggie.

I have plenty of criticism of the ways Europeans became a dominant cultural and economic force throughout the world, but they could do it because of some technological and cultural reasons, not because they were uniquely evil. Every civilization has been at least as brutal and horrible as Europeans, worse in many cases.

[Raston Bot]

Droz: Hi, is Sam in there?

Womynist #1: "In there"? What the hell's that supposed to mean?

Womynist #2: Yeah, cock-man-oppressor!

Droz: Why, thank you.

[Pro Libertate]

You know what? What he said is considerably worse than what Sterling or Bundy have said. So he'll be shunned and unemployed, right?

[Joe M]

Mitt Romney wants the minimum wage to be raised.

Good old Mitt, a true conservative.

[EDG reppin' LBC]

That's why libertarians should have voted for Mitt.

[gaijin]

See, establishment repubs really do care about their help, er, I mean people.

[Injun, as in from India]

Remember, he went from "more progressive than Ted Kennedy" to "severely conservative". I guess the pendulum is swinging back now.

[Zeb]

Maybe he wants to run for something in Mass again.

[Injun, as in from India]

Massholes are forever.

[Lord Humungus]

Do Republicans Lower the Bar for Blacks?

In effect, South Carolina Republicans treat Scott like the national party previously treated the ham-handed presidential candidate Herman Cain and the party's not-quite-competent chairman during Obama's first term, Michael Steele: They are members of an endangered political species for whom the bar is effectively lowered.

Affirmative action based on race has taken quite a beating at the Supreme Court, in state legislatures and at the ballot box. In the Republican Party, however, affirmative action can punch your ticket like nobody's business.

[Swiss Servator, CH yeah!]

As opposed to Sheila Jackson-Lee, Charles Wrangle, et al?!

-1 Guam tipping over.

[Doctor Whom]

She just wants to exercise the rights set forth 400 years ago in the Constitution.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Clarence Thomas is definitely the affirmative action Justice.

[#]

And ironically, every time our resident fascist says that about Thomas, he makes his point on this issue.

[Lord Humungus]

He can't help it. The derp is never reduced but remains at a constant level.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Fascism is right-wing. I proved this the other day when I slapped the derp off the Derpologist.

[BiMonSciFiCon]

You keep saying you've "proved" things and that you're "clearly right" any yet you never are. Self-awareness, you don't have it.

[tarran]

IT'S NOT SENTIENT!

It spews randoms strings of characters that in the past have been shown to trigger a response!

It's like a brainless version of the Voight-Kampff test.

[Palin's Buttplug]

You really mean that I escaped the GOP Plantation - unlike you Peanut Heads.

Try it! You don't have to be tied to a fucking party! Independent all the way!

[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.

[Brandon]

"Independent" meaning never criticizing TEAM BLUE or a single one of its members and attacking Republicans, especially those black conservatives who are stealing TEAM BLUE's god-given votes, in every comment.

[Ted S.]

Totalitarian collectvism is evil regardless of whehter it's perceived to come from the "right" or the "left".

Unfortunately, far too many supporters of TEAM COLOR can't see this.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Of course it is. And the right and left are both capable of totalitarian monster states.

[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.

[wadair]

Do you know who coined the term "Totalitarian" without looking it up?

If so, then you know that fascism is a variety of socialism and you are just lying about it being right-wing. If not, then you don't know enough about the subject to argue about it.

[R C Dean]

Clarence Thomas is definitely the affirmative action Justice.

An affirmative action Justice, maybe.

THE affirmative action justice, no way. Sotomayor? Kagan? Hell, Ginsberg? All of them nominated in no small part to due to race/gender/maybe even sexual preference.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Russian President Vladimir Putin is visiting annexed Crimea on Victory Day, when Russians celebrate the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany.

NATO is just waiting for winter to push back.

[gaijin]

Russia practices not going to war

Simulated responses to nuclear attack

[Longtorso, Johnny]

I wonder who the small proportion of men who would be allowed to survive would be? George Clooney or some schlub accountant? And wouldn't a 20:1 ratio of women to surviving men just bring back real live Patriarchy?

'Homo Rapiens': Anti-PIV RadFem Goes Total Moonbat on Climate Change
...Men, homo rapiens, you scum, you filth. There is no word to describe the extent of your evil, you are pure evil, pure lechery. I hate you, how I hate you. In the 250,000 years of your rotten, defunct existence, you have managed to kill 5 million years of life on earth....

The unstoppable death-machine has always only been orchestrated by the homo rapiens. By men. YOU. Women are not and have never been responsible for the atrocities committed by men, for men's global industrial rape and death system. By lying and deceiving you are continuing to be part of the problem, because you are masking the fact that the obvious solution all the time, long before the extinction of all life was impending, was to depopulate the earth of males or to reduce them to manageable levels again ? only by doing so would have men's patriarchal and industrial necrophilic sado-system come to an end without destroying the rest of life....

[Andrew S.]

"Homo rapiens"

I'll admit it, I laughed.

[Swiss Servator, CH yeah!]

That is just Warty, and STEVE SMITH, right?

[Injun, as in from India]

That sounds like a gay slur. Bigoted woman!

[waffles]

This stuff makes me miss the golden girls link.

[Longtorso, Johnny]

You didn't submit to my demands when I kidnapped and killed Suki, so no Golden Girls links for you.

[Zeb]

Threatening not to kill Suki might have worked better.

[Swiss Servator, CH yeah!]

Zing!

[gaijin]

Women are not and have never been responsible for the atrocities committed by men

Except of course for having given birth to them

[Brett L]

Really? So when 89% of the sexual assaults on juveniles in state custody are female agents of the state on male prisoners, that doesn't have any effect on those males' sexual choices in the future?

[UnCivilServant]

Where do you get that statistic?

[Ted S.]

This is why I should have refreshed before posting. 🙁

[Ted S.]

Do you have a link to that? It would be nice to be able to post those statistics elsewhere.

[Brett L]

It was cited on Instapundit a week or two ago. There was a large sexual violence study that found approximately 1.27M women and 1.27M men were subject to sexual violence, and that 89% of the assaults on juveniles in custody were men on women. Aha!

Those surveys turned up the opposite of what we generally think is true. Women were more likely to be abused by fellow female inmates, and men by guards, and many of those guards were female. For example, of juveniles reporting staff sexual misconduct, 89 percent were boys reporting abuse by a female staff member. In total, inmates reported an astronomical 900,000 incidents of sexual abuse.

[Swiss Servator, CH yeah!]

How does she propose "to depopulate the earth of males or to reduce them to manageable levels again" if said menz have "The unstoppable death-machine"?

[gaijin]

How does she propose "to depopulate the earth of males or to reduce them to manageable levels again"

Talk them to death?

[Doctor Whom]

If more radfems stopped emoting long enough to think things through, there would be fewer radfems.

[Warty]

The unstoppable death-machine

Guilty.

[WTF]

The unstoppable death-machine

aka "The Doomcock of Doom"

[Red Rocks Rockin]

Women are not and have never been responsible for the atrocities committed by men, for men's global industrial rape and death system.

That's right, bitch--it's a man's world, you're just living in it. Glad you're finally waking up to this fact.

Remember, the most noodle-armed, limp-wristed, pasty-skinned neckbeard can still throttle the life out of you, no matter how much Joss Whedon tries to convince you otherwise.

[EDG reppin' LBC]

Not tasteful, but true.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

Tastefullness is only for the P.M. links, as long as Warty doesn't make an appearance.

[Brandon]

Really? 'Cause I don't see Yglesias being capable of throttling the life out of a goldfish.

[R C Dean]

If the goldfish was between him and cushy no-work job where he could be lauded for his idiocy, I think he could manage.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

The stupid, it burns like white phosporus

[wadair]

Why then do feminists insist that women are the same as men?

[Lord Humungus]

There's Something about Harry

The Editors would like to extend our condolences to Senator Harry Reid and his family as they go through this difficult time. While we can only guess at the exact nature of the psychiatric or neurological trauma the Senate majority leader has suffered, we assume that it is severe, judging by his symptoms, the most prominent of which is his new habit of taking to the Senate floor to deliver speeches that sound like they ought to be coming from a man wearing a bathrobe in front of a liquor store in Cleveland.

[Longtorso, Johnny]

a man wearing a bathrobe in front of a liquor store in Cleveland.

At least Reid avoided recommending that Manziel be drafted.

[Swiss Servator, CH yeah!]

Are you sure? I think we would need to check The Congressional Record to confirm...

[Brandon]

I think Manziel will be embraced in Cleveland. After all, fans love entitled carpetbagging first-round picks who pout about being picked by their team on national television and try to take a starting job from a blue collar hometown hero coming off an injury suffered in the line of duty, right?

[Sudden]

Speaking of Cleveland, Fuck Cleveland for jumping the Chiefs to select Manziel. I'd say go to hell Cleveland, but eh, you're kinda already there.

Also, remember what happened last time you jumped the Chiefs to select a QB at #22 overall? Hahahahahaha

[Andrew S.]

GOP establishment continues to show why they're the Stupid Party, continue to go after Justin Amash

[Drake]

HW Bush proved it to me 25 years ago.

[robc]

The GOP establishment tried to boot Ron Paul from his House seat election after election. Remember it was his mid-90s primary opponents who brought up the newsletter stuff.

Which is why it was very, very old news by the time reason got around to covering it.

[John]

A good number of GOP politicians would rather be in the permanent minority running a huge and pervasive government than in the majority running a small one.

How can you steal if the government is small?

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

WAIT A MINUTE

I have it on good authority that you are a GOP shill. Why in hell would you say something sacreligious like that?

[John]

I am just trying to throw then off my trail.

[Corning]

Shrike is physically incapable of reading this post.

A trigger will go off in his brain and he will read it as "blah blah blah Rand Paul gets cock sucked by Fox news blah blah blah"

[Injun, as in from India]

I really detest the GOP because of sh like this.

[Elspeth Flashman]

I get the mailers from the Ellis people who are trying to make Amash look bad. They even are doing a billboard campaign (which I assume means they are also on radio and tv, but I wouldn't see or hear those). The Ellis family has deep pockets in the area, but Amash is really popular in his district.

[sarcasmic]

Street food in Indonesia, multi-courses in France and low-fat dishes in America: A taste of school lunches all around world

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/fem.....world.html

[Ted S.]

I'm reminded of the scene in Eat Drink Man Woman in which the old chef learns his neighbor is giving her money to buy a school lunch, so he decides to make her traditional Chinese food to take for lunch.

[EDG reppin' LBC]

Great film.

[sarcasmic]

Meet Rambo grandma: Woman, 51, 'shot four times by two armed thugs' pulls her own gun on them and hospitalizes one
Paris Ainsworth said two men tried to rob her outside her Detroit home on the weekend
The licensed gun holder fired at them eight times after they shot her
The grandmother-of-four was hit in the side and hand
Police arrested both alleged attacks at a hospital where one with gunshot wounds was being treated

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....s-one.html
Surprisingly the comments aren't pure derp.

[Jordan]

She fired 8 shots? But I thought nobody needed more than 7 shots?

She should have pulled out her phone instead and called the Detroit PD with its hour+ response time /progderp

[Lord Humungus]

Poll Finds 1 in 5 People Would Have Sex With a Robot

Would you have sex with a robot? If you answered yes, you're not alone.

Forget raging against the machine: Some people would rather get nasty with it instead. A new survey has found that one in five U.K.-dwellers would be willing to have sex with robots, marking something of a leap in the realm of digitized romance.

[Carl ?s his privilege]

U.K.-dwellers

[Andrew S.]

http://vimeo.com/12915013

[Raven Nation]

I was thinking of the same show but this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdlbnD6HstM

[Carl ?s his privilege]

better: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGSVYgcy24Q

[Raven Nation]

In that case, the death penalty seems justified.

[waffles]

How is sex with a robot any different than masturbation? Once you cross the uncanny valley there's not stopping it.

[Restoras]

Sterling Archer agrees!

[Corning]

Cyborgs are not robots.

[Joe M]

Forty-six percent of participants said they felt that technology was progressing too quickly, while a third expressed fears that automatons posed a serious threat to humanity.

Sam Waterson has the solution: Old Glory Insurance.

[BiMonSciFiCon]

One of my favorites.

[Brett L]

The Teledildonics age is nigh!

[Fist of Etiquette]

Yesterday the House approved a select committee tasked with investigating the September 2012 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, which resulted in the deaths of four Americans.

They're going to surf YouTube all day?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

"Mitt Romney wants the minimum wage to be raised."

So much for that.

Next.

[sarcasmic]

Kate Moss: 'I know, it's weird though, innit?' Supermodel claims she's baffled by her own enduring appeal
Kate, 40, speaks in candid interview with photographer Nick Knight
Reveals she was very self-conscious posing topless at the age of 15
Claims she is baffled by her enduring appeal

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/fem.....ppeal.html

[Idle Hands]

As am I Kate, as am I. You could find a better looking girl/prepubescent looking male at any college bar on any night.

[invisible furry hand]

Ah, but she looks up for it. A right scrubber.

[Restoras]

Cindy Crawford and Elle McPherson are still hot, and OMG Liz Hurley.

Good genes. Some are blessed with them - and its amazing that all the drugs and smoking etc. didn't wreck everything like it does for most people.

[sarcasmic]

Elle McPherson...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/fem.....e-her.html

[Restoras]

Jesus H. How the hell am I supposed to get any work done?

[Swiss Servator, CH yeah!]

Wow....

[John]

She must have the same agent for making deals with the devil Christie Brinkley has. She is ageless.

[Lord Humungus]

I blame Epi:

Seattle severed foot, found in white sneaker, is the thirteenth foot found in B.C., Washington since 2007

A Port of Seattle spokesman says a human foot in a white sneaker has been found on the shore at a park near Seattle's Pier 68.

The Seattle Times reports that port spokesman Peter McGraw says volunteers cleaning the park found the shoe and foot Tuesday.

Port police turned both over to the King County medical examiner's office.

Since 2007, there have been roughly a dozen cases in which a human foot encased in a tennis shoe has washed ashore in regional waters. A number of them were found in British Columbia.

[Jordan]

More likely STEVE SMITH.

[Andrew S.]

My father-in-law's name is Steve Smith. My wife wonders why I chuckle sometimes when his name is mentioned.

[EDG reppin' LBC]

I saw a "For Sale" sign in the yard of a house a few months ago. The Realtor was Steve Smith. I giggled. Tried to explain to my wife. Bottom line: we did NOT go that open house.

[Brett L]

Its like the reverse of "To Catch a Predator"

[Zeb]

I can't remember where I saw it, but someone figured out that the mysterious feet in shoes were probably from people who had jumped into the water and died, or were killed and dumped there. After they decompose enough for the joints to start to come apart, the feet float because of the buoyant shoes and the rest of the body stays sunk or gets eaten.

[Corning]

A number of them were found in British Columbia.

British Columbia has Pacific Ocean Shoreline...

For the severed foot to make it to Seattle the little guy would have had to float through the Strait of Juan De Fuca.

[sarcasmic]

'I have decided to put a stop to this kerfuffle': Med student, 28, who had planned to auction off her virginity with the highest offer at $801k backs out
The student, who is using the alias 'Elizabeth Raine,' said she wants to focus on her medical studies instead
She also wrote that the auction had made a point about 'how society continues to exercise control over female sexuality'
Raine launched her online auction on March 31 and initially hid her face to conceal her identity
She initially claimed she was doing it not only for the money, but also the adventure, eroticism, scandal and the chance to challenge norms about virginity

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....s-out.html
Who wants to fuck a virgin anyway? Boooooriiiiing...

[Restoras]

First!

[waffles]

Wait. She was offering her virginity for sale and then concludes that society was controlling her sexuality? Um, she was completely in control.

[RBS]

It's the "society controls my sexuality when something I don't like happens, otherwise I'm in complete control" brand of feminism.

[#]

It really is all evidence points back to the predetermined conclusion.

[Joe M]

Jesus, what a tool of the patriarchy you are.

[Brett L]

Probably when they found out that "society" didn't value her virginity at the same price she did. I imagine she's pretty disappointed to find out that nobody gives a shit about the hymen of a 28 year old.

[Bardas Phocas]

She also wrote that the auction had made a point about 'how society continues to exercise control over female sexuality'

By making a spectacle demonstrating her exercising her control over her sexuality?

I'm confused. Shouldn't you be wearing the bucket?

[Ted S.]

Life is a bowl of cherries....

[Swiss Servator, CH yeah!]

*narrows gaze and shakes head slowly*

[Injun, as in from India]

Cherry pop corn, you mean?

[mr simple]

Yes, I'm sure this was about exposing patriarchy and not that she got cold feet at the last minute because she realized she was becoming a whore. NTTAWWT.

[Scruffy Nerfherder]

Not real bright, that one.

[R C Dean]

$800K? She turned down $800K? I don't think she's cut out to join the medical profession if she turns down that kind of coin.

[invisible furry hand]

Adult site Pornhub asked fans to create Safe-For-Work ads (SFW, you nervous Nellies)

[mr simple]

SFW? Nevermind, then.

[sarcasmic]

Man, 20, 'deliberately rammed into LAPD patrol car killing newlywed officer as he tried to stop them from chasing his friend'
Officer Roberto Sanchez, 32, a six-year veteran on the force, died from his injuries Saturday; he married only three months ago
Sanchez's partner and best friend Richard Medina suffered a broken jaw
Mynor Varela, 20, charged with second-degree murder and vehicular manslaughter

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

[UnCivilServant]

I have no sympathy. The assailant wasn't firing wildly in a public place and targetted only those likely to gun down his friend.

[Brett L]

If the roles were reversed and the cop killed a guy with a car "desperately trying to stop him from chasing his [partner]" it would be heroic.

[sarcasmic]

Atheists to launch the first TV channel dedicated to godlessness
American Atheists are taking their Cranford, N.J.-based production to the big leagues with a new Internet TV channel for non-believers.

http://www.nydailynews.com/new.....z31ASbhU1h
More anti-religionists giving atheists a bad name.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

"the first TV channel dedicated to godlessness"

Really? The first? The author must not watch a lot of TV.

[Lord Humungus]

The Benghazi Deniers

The deniers evidently believe:

An administration should be able to make erroneous statements about a terror attack that killed a U.S. ambassador in the weeks before a presidential election and expect everyone to accept its good intentions afterward.

An administration should be able to withhold a bombshell White House email from congressional investigators and expect everyone to greet its long-delayed release with a yawn.

An administration should be able to send out its press secretary to abase himself with absurd denials of the obvious and expect everyone to consider its credibility solidly intact.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

An administration should be able to send out its press secretary to abase himself with absurd denials of the obvious and expect everyone to consider its credibility solidly intact.

Well, why not? It's worked for Obama the last ten years. Why break the pattern when you're on a hot streak?

[DesigNate]

Fake Scandal!

/retard

[sarcasmic]

Coldest Year On Record So Far In The US

http://stevengoddard.wordpress.....in-the-us/
When it's colder than average, that's just weather. Dismiss it.
Anything warmer than average is a climate event.
Cold is weather. Warm is climate. Got it?

[robc]

We went from record lows to record highs in about a week.

[sarcasmic]

Brothers Yanked By HGTV Respond: "If Our Faith Costs Us A TV Show, Then So Be It"

http://www.deadline.com/2014/0.....lled-show/
Tolerance in action.

[robc]

The key is to have the popular show first, then make the comments.

See, Duck Dynasty.

[Rhywun]

"America's Christian majority must repent for tolerating 'homosexuality and its agenda that is attacking the nation'"

Meh - if I was running a TV station I wouldn't want these jerks around either.

[Stormy Dragon]

So they're from the execute homosexuals (ala Leviticus 20:13) wing of the evangelical movement? Yeah, I have no idea why a TV channel wants to back away from that.

[Jordan]

Russian President Vladimir Putin is visiting annexed Crimea on Victory Day, when Russians celebrate the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany.

Yay! Murderous regime A successfully fended off murderous regime B!

[Lord Humungus]

Charges in 'culture of cheating' at Philadelphia school

The culture of cheating was so blatant at Cayuga Elementary, authorities said, that the principal broadcast orders to tamper with tests over the loudspeaker.

Five educators were arrested Thursday and accused of tampering with public records, forgery, conspiracy and other crimes - the first such charges brought in a Pennsylvania cheating investigation expected to yield more arrests.

[sarcasmic]

Jaw wired shut, eye sutured and unable to hear: Boston bomber's lawyers reveal full details of his injuries as they complain FBI questioned him for 36 hours straight
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was shot in the head, face, throat, jaw, hand and legs
Health 'suddenly declined' after arriving at the hospital and had to undergo life-saving treatment
His mouth was wired shut, left eye sutured shut, could not hear out of one ear and complained that he needed to vomit
Shortly after that, he was interrogated for 36 hours heavily medicated with prescription drugs including Propoful and Diluadid
Notes he took during the interrogation shows that he asked for a lawyer 10 times and the pen trailed off the page- suggesting he passed out or stopped being able to control his motor skills
Defense team has filed a motion to get the bedside confessions thrown out

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....n-out.html

[Restoras]

Assuming it is true, that is a great way to let the guy walk. Nice job, heroes in law enforcement!!

[Carl ?s his privilege]

I sure as hell hope not. Because if he walks, we'll end up with all sorts of calls to (further) fuck up due process rights, BECAUSE TERRORISM!!!

[tarran]

The incompetence the cops and the FBI showed in this affair is simply staggering.

Sadly, they - and a majority of our countrymen - think they did an outstanding job.

[sarcasmic]

Boston strong!

(by strong they mean cowering in their homes under what is practically martial law while every cop in a hundred mile radius gets parades around town in full battle gear, acting all important while accomplishing absolutely nothing)

[some guy]

A retarded chimp could get this guy convicted with or without those confessions. And I bet his interrogators knew it as they were questioning him. They didn't care about due process because they knew they wouldn't need his testimony. They just wanted find out if anyone else was involved. If all of this is true then throwing out the confessions will not protect the due process rights of the accussed. You have to punish the interrogators who broke the law, too.

[Pro Libertate]

I suspect this is largely true--they were after other fish and not worried about using what they got out of him against him.

[Carl ?s his privilege]

Trigger warning: nostalgia

New York City photographed with the Game Boy Camera in 2000

[waffles]

Thanks, now I have the indigo plateau theme stuck in head.

[Carl ?s his privilege]

Hey, I gave you a trigger warning.

[UnCivilServant]

Trigger warnings offend and traumatize me.

[Ivan Pike]

How about a tigger warning?

[UnCivilServant]

Naw, I can cope with those.

[BigT]

Morning nut punch:

Teen Dead After Alabama Police 'Shoved Sharp Object Into Throat' to Retrieve Drugs

The documents go on to say that the officer threw him to the ground, cuffed him and pepper-sprayed him. The autopsy report also found that the teens neck was restrained.

The Smith family lawsuit claims police told paramedics the 17-year-old swallowed a bag of drugs.

In an effort to retrieve the alleged bag, the lawsuit says police had to shove a sharp object into the teenagers throat. Lawyers for the Smiths say drugs were never found in his throat or stomach.

The autopsy report confirms this, stating that there was no indication of anything unusual found in the teens body.

[UnCivilServant]

The autopsy report confirms this, stating that there was no indication of anything unusual found in the teens body

Except for the injuries he shouldn't have had from the police.

[R C Dean]

Those aren't unusual.

[EDG reppin' LBC]

The War on Drugs is a war on Americans. These cops should be tried for murder in this case. All cops should be charged for treason.

[Zeb]

There is a line beyond which "just doing my job" is no excuse. I put enforcement of drug laws firmly over that line.

There is another reason why there really aren't any good cops. If you are willing to arrest someone and lock them up for drugs, let alone do shit like this, you are not a good person. Unfortunately, if you look at opinions on legalization of drugs other than pot, this also means that most Americans are bad people.

[EDG reppin' LBC]

But cops want to free addicts from the prison of addiction, by putting addicts in prison. It's compassionate, really.

[BiMonSciFiCon]

What. The. Fuck.

If there were any justice, those cops would get the chair.

[sarcasmic]

Senators want FDA to study how some e-cigarettes can give you cancer just like traditional smokes
New research suggests e-cigarettes known as tank systems can produce dangerous carcinogens similar to those from traditional cigarettes
Eight senators are calling on the Food and Drug Administration to examine
New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles have all recently instituted bans on the use of e-cigarettes in certain indoor areas and public places

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....ettes.html
The new scientific method.
Step 1 - write legislation.
Step 2 - come up with conclusion that justifies legislation.
(Steps 1 and 2 can be interchanged or combined)
Step 3 - pay smart people in white coats to confirm conclusion.
Step 4 - Fucking consensus! Shut the fuck up you fucking deniers! We've got a fucking consensus here!

[Restoras]

That's quality snark, sarc.

[Zeb]

They probably will find that it produces some of the same compounds, but in about 1% or less of the concentration in cigarette smoke. There are enough people convinced that Fukushima has poisoned the entire pacific ocean that they will still be able to justify a ban.

[sarcasmic]

They will find whatever the politicians who fund the studies want them to find.

[Zeb]

I was imagining someone doing a legitimate study, which probably won't happen I guess.

[Lord Humungus]

CIA's plan to retrench in Afghanistan worries U.S. military

The CIA is planning to close its satellite bases in Afghanistan and pull all its personnel back to Kabul by early summer, an unexpectedly abrupt withdrawal that the U.S. military fears will deprive it of vital intelligence while thousands of American troops remain in the country, U.S. officials said.

CIA Director John Brennan informed U.S. military commanders in March that his agency would shutter operations outside Kabul, removing CIA case officers and analysts as well as National Security Agency specialists responsible for intercepting insurgent phone calls and other communications, a rich source of daily intelligence, the officials said.

[Warty]

So. Manziel. Succeed or fail, this should be fun. Just look at what a hilarious dickhead he is.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

Overall not a bad start for the Browns I would say, especially getting another first next year.

But why, do they feel the need to trade up ONE FUCKING SPOT all the time?

[Palin's Buttplug]

Who knows? They still had the best first round in recent memory.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

Their entire 2011 draft was pretty good, when they didn't pick a QB at all.

And they can't do much worse than 2012.

[Palin's Buttplug]

They also picked up Buffalo's first and fourth round picks next year for trading down.

And they got a QB many consider better than RGIII.

Yeah, they hauled in the loot.

[BiMonSciFiCon]

"And they got a QB many consider better than RGIII"

I haven't heard that. I'd be surprised, given what the Redskins gave up to get RGIII, and that he was the consensus #2 overall pick, whereas some had Manziel falling mid- to late- first round.

[Andrew S.]

They said the same thing when they drafted Joe Thomas... and Brady Quinn

[Warty]

Joe Thomas has been the best tackle in the league for 7 years in a row. Even though Quinn sucked, that was still a pretty good draft.

[Sudden]

As I stated above, last time the Brownies jumped the Chiefs to take a QB at #22, it didn't work out too well.

[BigT]

Couch, Quinn, McCoy, Weeden.

Manziel is probably a step up only in that he will generate some buzz while he plays his way out of the league or gets injured.

[Warty]

And if he does, he'll be hilariously insufferable while he's failing. I can't lose.

[RBS]

I was hoping for an Eli Manning getting drafted by the Charges thing. Instead he went with "God wants me to be in Cleveland."

[Swiss Servator, CH yeah!]

"God wants me to be in Cleveland."

And verily, verily I say unto you the punishments of THE LORD are dire indeed.

[invisible furry hand]

Cleveland simpliciter or the pleasure pits of Cleveland?

[Swiss Servator, CH yeah!]

The Tree of (Cleveland) Woe

[RBS]

Chris Berman made the comment along the lines of "QB's don't usually work out in CLeveland."

[Warty]

Because KEVIN COSTNER.

Mosley falling into Ozzie's lap was unlucky. Fucking Ozzie.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

I didn't like it at first, I would have rather went safety, but I am warming up to the idea.

[Auric Demonocles]

The Pats actually used their pick this year, plus Tom Brady showed up to the draft party as a surprise. If the Bruins didn't play the Canadiens at the same time, I'd say that hamilton and I should have gone.

[hamilton]

I know it. When I saw the picture of Brady at the party that was the first thing I thought.

[Auric Demonocles]

But the venison bacon burgers, homebrews, fried plantains, and Bruins I got from my couch were amazing.

[Brett L]

So who's going to fail worst? Because the big three quarterbacks went to three of the four teams with the worst record for QBs. If only Tampa Bay were in on it, it would be a perfect test case.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

Manziel has a line and people to throw to.
Bridgewater has a line, Peterson, and people to throw to.
Bortles has...

Good luck Bortles.

[KDN]

I have a feeling this article is going to look hilarious in a few years.

Four indisputable reasons the UCF QB is more likely to go boom than bust

Experts say that Bortles may be on his way to Canton.

Yeah, good luck, Blake.

[KDN]

Bah.

http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl.....n-magazine

[Swiss Servator, CH yeah!]

"Experts say that Bortles may be on his way to Canton."

Oh, is his team playing in that pre-season game there this year?

[John]

Experts say 15 is likely to be the next power ball number.

[Swiss Servator, CH yeah!]

*races to nearby 7-11 to buy ticket*

[Brett L]

The Canton Washouts are the arena team.

[Warty]

The Browns are a better team than people think. Weeden cost the team at least three wins with his insane decisions. Plus, there's no reason to play Manziel right away because Hoyer played really well last year before he got injured. I think there's a decent chance Manziel will be fine.

Poor Jacksonville deserves a break. So I'm gonna go with Bridgewater. Because I'm RACIST.

[John]

I think the Browns are getting pretty good. Justin Gilbert is going to be a top flight corner and return man. Manziel is a risk but totally one worth taking with the 22nd pick in the draft.

Think of it this way, they basically traded Trent Richardson and and a couple of lesser draft picks for a shot at the Johnny Manziel circus. I would take the trade.

[John]

And I like said, if Manziel does turn out to be good, just think of how much that obnoxious little bastard is going to torture Pittsburgh fans. Manziel is like the Tom Cruise character in the Color of Money, the perfect hustler, so obnoxious everyone is going to hate his guts and want a piece of him. Players like that are fun to have on your team.

[Brett L]

I predict at least once, the o-line is going to give away the snap count/give the defense a bullfighter paseo just to remind Johnny Football that he needs to shut the fuck up and play football.

[John]

I don't think so. You only hate people like Manziel when he isn't on your team.

[Warty]

Yep. The Browns finally have their answer to the obese rapesquatch in Pittsburgh, and he's an insufferable little Texan gangster. If he's the least bit good, this will be fun.

[John]

Just imagine him scoring a 4th quarter go ahead TD in Pittsburgh and doing that money sign thing in the end zone. Those people will go mad. It will be great.

[Ted S.]

What's that on Manziel's right wrist below the Dopestrong bracelet?

[Warty]

I think a terrible tattoo. Oh god, he's the worst. This will be great.

[Swiss Servator, CH yeah!]

"Oh god, he's the worst."

The Nikki of the NFL!

[Auric Demonocles]

But I kind of like nikki's worstness.

[Brett L]

Wait until you see his aTm tramp stamp!

[hamilton]

I was watching the draft with my 11 year old who has not paid too much attention to it. His response on seeing Manziel: "god, what a dick."

[Auric Demonocles]

You're a good dad.

[Lord Humungus]

Police rescue intoxicated tramper

A drunk Auckland man had to be rescued from the Coromandel bush after taking a sixpack of beer on the tramp, rather than "essential" items, police say.

The 25-year-old had become "quite intoxicated" the night before the tramp and then continued drinking alcohol during the day before entering the bush, Senior Sergeant Graham Shields said.

The man took a sixpack of beer with him on the tramp on Saturday, off the Kopu-Hikuai Rd, instead of essential items like good food, water and warm clothing.

[Swiss Servator, CH yeah!]

a sixpack of beer on the tramp, rather than "essential" items,

Wait...what?

[Restoras]

Seriously. At least a 12-pack. At least.

[Swiss Servator, CH yeah!]

I cannot remember who, but one clever commenter here mentioned that you simply take a small flask of 151, rather than bulkier products.

[UnCivilServant]

The only reason I own a bottle of 151 is because of the "Warning: Flammable" on the label. You don't drink the stuff.

[invisible furry hand]

Man arrested for offences prompted by online drinking game ? 'evidence' posted on social media

more

[Lord Humungus]

Cops: Full-Body Scanner Trips Up Inmate Who Sought To Smuggle Phone Into Louisiana Jail

A Louisiana inmate who sought to smuggle a cell phone into a new jail was thwarted last week when a full-body scanner revealed that the device was nestled in the man's rectum, police report.

While being processed into the Shreveport jail last Wednesday, Anthony Alvey, 22, was required to twice pass through a scanner (which has been used by jailers for the past year). The scans showed a "dark unidentified object" inside Alvey, according to a Caddo Parish Sheriff's Office report. Alvey, who was also subjected to a pair of strip searches, subsequently "admitted that he had a cell phone in his rectum."

[Swiss Servator, CH yeah!]

Guard 1 "you go get the phone"

Guard 2 "no way, YOU go get the phone"

[UnCivilServant]

Guard 3 "maybe some laxitive and a chamber pot?"

[Swiss Servator, CH yeah!]

I am not sure most DOC guards are smart enough for that option.

[Brett L]

I'm sure they cast lots for the opportunity.

[Carl ?s his privilege]

Itching mistaken for masturbation at bookstore

An itchy groin landed a man in trouble after he was accused of being a pervert by a woman, who thought the man was masturbating while reading a book at a Taipei bookstore.

After an investigation by the Taipei District Prosecutors' Office, the criminal case against the 30-something man, surnamed Chang (?), was dropped on Tuesday.

Chang also provided supporting evidence, including a doctor's report of his treatment for a groin rash, and presented photographs showing that he had a serious case of pustular rash around his groin.

Prosecutors were able to verify the medical reports, as Chang has sought treatment and received medication for his rash.

After examining the videotape of the incident, prosecutors found that Chang had not exposed his genitals and dropped all charges against him on Tuesday.

[Auric Demonocles]

Awful headline. It wasn't itching that was mistaken, it was scratching.

[Carl ?s his privilege]

Glad to know I'm not the only one irritated by that.

I also can't take "the chances of _____ looking very likely".

[invisible furry hand]

All that scratching is making me itch

[gaijin]

and presented photographs showing that he had a serious case of pustular rash around his groin.

I hope he bought the book he was touching

[Lord Humungus]

Obama Economist Disagrees with Saint Piketty

"Do you agree with the prescriptions in Mr. Piketty's book around taxation?" co-host Andrew Ross Sorkin asked.

"We certainly need a more progressive tax code but there are better ways to do it than he proposed in that book," Furman said.

"The president in particular is proposing not to raise tax rates on higher income households, but to limit some of the tax benefits that high income households get," Furman added.

[gaijin]

limit some of the tax benefits that high income households get,

Translated into derp: The president is prepared to cut tax spending on high income households.

[Carl ?s his privilege]

VAIO Corporation will finish separating from Sony in July

Sony announced plans in February to sell its VAIO PC business to Japan Industrial Partners. Now it looks like the transition should be complete by July 1st.

That's when a new entity called VAIO Corporation is expected to launch? and when Sony will officially be out of the PC business.

The Japanese electronics manufacturer has already largely shifted its mobile device focus to tablets and smartphones. And of course Sony still has its TV, game console, home audio, and camera divisions. But the VAIO brand will live on? in Japan.

Over the past few years, Sony has had a hard time keeping up with the competition in the stagnant PC market. While some of the company's latest laptops have been pretty solid devices, they've struggled to stand out in a crowded field? especially given Sony's traditional practice of trying to charge premium prices for premium design at a time when PC prices seem to be trending downward.

The VAIO Corporation's efforts to turn things around will start at home. The new company is expected to market its products to Japanese customers initially, and it could be a while before we start to see new VAIO products offered in other countries? if we ever do again.

[Longtorso, Johnny]

Sorry, the rootkit boycott continues. Fuck VAIO w/ Sony's dick.

[Carl ?s his privilege]

Sounds like a keeper to me

[Brett L]

Obviously, the mother daughter porn fantasy is on the table.

[KB Check Release]

Warty what did you think of the Browns last night?

I was pretty happy and will be thrilled if Marquise Lee is available with their 2nd round pick.

[Warty]

Farmer pulled off a coup. I wanted Watkins, but if Gilbert pans out, having two shutdown corners + another 1st round pick is pretty amazing. And Manziel will be fun whether he succeeds or fails.

[KB Check Release]

I agree entirely. Wanted Watkins but another shut down corner, if Gilbert works out, would put this team in position to compete now.

Maybe not win a playoff game now, but at least be there fighting for a berth in December.

[Lord Humungus]

Humble Hero Saves Teen Who Fell Onto Subway Tracks

The strapping Garcia quickly lifted the slight 5-foot-4 teen above his head and placed her onto the platform.

"It was adrenaline and the power of the Lord," Garcia said.

For a moment, he found himself looking up from the tracks at scores of faces watching them. Some people were snapping photos or taking video with their cellphones, he said.

"It was amazing seeing all these people doing nothing," he said. "It was an eye-opener."

[Ted S.]

"It was amazing seeing all these people doing nothing," he said.

How many of them were po-po?

[invisible furry hand]

A 13 year old is raped. Scumbag is paroled after seven years, returns to home town, and runs into girl's mother. "How's your daughter?" he asks. She answers by buying petrol, tracking him down and setting fire to him.

http://www.thelocal.es/2014050.....ers-rapist

[sarcasmic]

No way I would have been able to convict her.

[Restoras]

Me neither.

[Idle Hands]

yea if this was happened in Texas she would be elected Governor.

[John]

Never in a million years. I don't care if they locked me in the jury hotel and said I couldn't leave until I voted guilty. I wouldn't do it. Sometimes people just asked to be killed.

[Idle Hands]

What is this petrol you speak of? Greek fire or something more arcane?

[UnCivilServant]

It's like modern gasoline, but with a different Ethanol content.

[Warty]

Greek Fire

[Lord Humungus]

Magic flammable liquid that is dispensed from pumping machinery.

[EDG reppin' LBC]

So... Warty's ejaculate?

[Idle Hands]

Interesting...

[Auric Demonocles]

Which would be worse: living in a Nazi-occupied Russia, or suffering through Feeney (aka alt-text-less) AM Links?

[Ted S.]

Tourists to Iceland drive off-road, get car stuck in fissure

They probably violated the rental car agreement too. Unfortunately, the photo is not of the actual car in the fissure. 🙁

[robc]

All rental cars are off-road vehicles.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

"Bernie Sanders could be the Ron Paul of 2016"

http://washingtonexaminer.com/.....le/2548253

[Longtorso, Johnny]

I'm intrigued w/ Sanders' ideas and would like to subscribe to his newsletter.

[Raven Nation]

Did not RTFA but that seems an odd take. RP, although critical of government seemed to offer a positive way forward. Every time I hear Sanders speak, he just sounds pissed off.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

"Young actress Shailene Woodley is the latest celebrity to upset the leftists by saying "No" to the question "Do you consider yourself a feminist?" Her first words to Time magazine were "No, because I love men.""

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/t.....because-i-

[John]

I saw a poll on CNN where something like 62% of the respondents said they thought the NBA overreacted to the Sterling comments. It was hardly scientific but I think people are starting to push back against this nonsense. In the end, most people have lives and are not the politics obsessed loons that inhabit the left and the media. Without the power of violence behind them, leftists I think are going to race a tough road as people get increasingly tired of their perpetual outrage.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

My biggest thing is really sisterhood more than feminism. I don't know how we as women expect men to respect us because we don't even seem to respect each other. There's so much jealousy, so much comparison and envy. And "This girl did this to me and that girl did that to me." And it's just so silly and heartbreaking in a way.

Jezzie heads everywhere explode.

[Bardas Phocas]

NO! She has to say the Word!

[Brett L]

SHE has violated the 11th Commandment! Burn the heretic!

[Notorious G.K.C.]

"Mock wedding at Queens cemetery will reenact pre-Civil War love story

"Mary and Jonan Coward were separated during the Civil War and didn't reunite until 50 years later. Friends of Maple Grove Cemetery in Kew Gardens have tapped actors to give the sweethearts, who are buried side by side, the wedding they never got to have as teenagers....

""The wedding part of the event is solemn and sacred and done to highlight a love that truly never dies," said Carl Ballenas, a history teacher who leads the group.

""I don't think it's weird," he added. "I think it's unique, educational and honorable. To speak the name of the dead is to bring them back to life.""

http://www.nydailynews.com/new.....-1.1785249

[creech]

Pretty cool. Just the other night a neighbor was telling me about a true story regarding his old property. A Union prisoner from Gettysburg was assigned to work on a local farm. Lo and behold, the maid on the farm was a chick he had once dated in Ireland! Got married after the war and lived happily ever after.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

That's actually more interesting than my link.

[John]

Clinton Bocco Harum the result of poverty not ideology. They are just pissed their record company ripped them off. Islam has nothing to do with it.

http://thepunditpress.com/2014.....cal-islam/

Why is it so hard for these people to administration to just admit that maybe a few Muslims are not so peaceful?

[CampingInYourPark]

Is it drunk Friday?

[invisible furry hand]

No, it's Slap-Ass Friday

*slap!*

[John]

I am all for ending the patriarchy. I think it should be socially acceptable for random women to slap my ass as I walk by as a way of making up for all of the harassment women have received in the past.

I wouldn't advise doing that in front of my wife but she is not always there and I won't tell.

[Carl ?s his privilege]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Mlp_Gcc_5Q

[Carl ?s his privilege]

It's the Major Leagues Rafi. We're all from the Dominican Republic.

[Rich]

*slap!*

Sorry I'm late, so here's another:

*slap!*

[John]

The Procal Harum joke never gets old.

[robc]

You dont get to say that when you are the one making it.

Its a true statement, but pointing out the "clever" joke you made is poor form.

[John]

I meant never gets old to me. It might and probably does get old to other people.

[tarran]

Why is it so hard for these people to administration to just admit that maybe a few Muslims are not so peaceful?

Because the Saudi monarchy has its knife at the throat of the U.S. economy, and the officers of the U.S. government don't want to make them angry.

[sarcasmic]

Google up where the US gets its oil.

[tarran]

It's not where the oil comes from but what people need to buy it.

The day the Saudi king announces that he will accept Euros or gold for oil, that's the day our economy implodes by a good 20%.

[robc]

Nope.

Currencies are entirely interchangeable. The dollar value isnt held up by what Saudi oil is traded in, but by the US government accepting it for paying taxes.

[tarran]

My goodness!

You mean that the Chinese government is encouraging the inflow of dollars into the country so they can pay taxes to the U.S. government?!?

Please tell me more!

[robc]

Currencies are exchangeable. If they are encouraging inflow of dollars, then its because they consider the dollar stronger than the alternate currency.

If the Yen was stronger, you should encourage Yen flowing in, and then if you need dollars for a purchase, just exchange the Yen for dollars in a just-in-time trade. But you want to hold the stronger currency for the future.

This is simple math.

[Sevo]

robc|5.9.14 @ 10:05AM|#
"Currencies are exchangeable. If they are encouraging inflow of dollars, then its because they consider the dollar stronger than the alternate currency."

And we hear that the dollar is great regardless of Obo's lame policies.
Well, it's true; the only other competition is the Euro and it's got France as a major partner, so Obo can keep fucking things up for a while longer.
Hollande sets a low bar.

[Palin's Buttplug]

robc is right.

The Chinese want US Dollars because they peg the Yuan to it. They back their currency with Dollars.

[R C Dean]

Sure, they're interchangable at a given price.

The problem is that, if the Saudis go off the dollar standard, that will mean the dollar isn't the sole reserve currency anymore. That will dramatically cut the value of dollars on the currency market. It will lead to a lot of dollars currently "sitting still" in clearing accounts getting dumped into circulation.

Yeah, it would be a big deal.

[robc]

That doesnt matter. Oil is fungible, so Saudis raising prices cause a ripple effect.

But, its just not a real problem anymore, there are enough sources in the US and Canada.

[R C Dean]

This right here. It doesn't matter how much Saudi oil we actually import. The price is set globally, and the Saudis can sell all they want.

Us not importing a drop of Saudi oil wouldn't affect the price, or the amount of money the Saudis take in for their oil.

[robc]

Because the Saudi monarchy has its knife at the throat of the U.S. economy

Fracking and shale oil says otherwise.

[tarran]

Right now you can't buy oil from the guys pumping it out of the ground without having dollars to pay them with.

That fact allows the U.S. to export the negative effects of its decades long inflation to the rest of the world.

The day they don't need dollars but can spend other types of coin to get petroleum, people will stop trying to sell Americans shit to get those dollars. And suddenly dollars won't be worth as much, and the inflationary policy will accrue far less benefit to the FED and the people connected to it.

[robc]

Currencies are completely fungible.

You can sell Japanese shit for Yen and then trade the Yen for Dollars to pay the Saudis.

Or bitcoins or whatever.

That makes no difference. The US Dollar is propped up by the US government using it. If the US Government started accepting tax payments in gold or btc, the dollar would be in trouble.

[John]

I tend to agree Rob. I have never gotten the whole "oil must be priced in dollars or the US economy dies" thing. It has never made any sense to me.

[tarran]

I tend to agree Rob. I have never gotten the whole "oil must be priced in dollars or the US economy dies" thing. It has never made any sense to me.

Maybe you can visit Zimbabwe and get one of the locals to explain it to you. 😉

[John]

What does printing money and causing hyper inflation have to do with how oil is priced? Does pricing oil in dollars somehow protect the US for the dangers of printing money?

I am not an international monetary expert. I would be curious to hear how that works?

[tarran]

Does pricing oil in dollars somehow protect the US for the dangers of printing money?

It does.

People use money that they expect they can trade for what they want later. And the choice they make can be a very complex calculus involving how long they want to hold onto it, with whom they want to trade, what they want to buy with it etc.

Here in the U.S. the answer is pretty much USD. And as robc pointed out the legal tender laws and the demand that taxes be paid in USD do fuel a demand for dollars within the U.S. economy. But this is true for any local currency, including the Zimbabwe dollars.

For people who aren't involved in transactions that are under the jurisdiction of U.S. courts, or who don't owe taxes to the U.S. government ? which is most of the world, those drivers aren't there. So they have other reasons for wanting USD.

I think everyone recognizes that the USD is the defacto reserve currency of the world. Central banks treat it like their antecedents treated gold a century and a half ago. More foreign governments peg the value of their currency to it than any other foreign currency. People accept it almost universally. The disagreement is as to why.

[tarran]

Speaking for myself, I think the major reason why the USD is in demand is
1) A legacy of the post-ww II monetary regime where the USD was backed by gold, and the western nations used the USD to back their currencies that fell apart when Nixon was president.
2) The relatively greater political independence of the Fed as compared to other central banks
3) The ersatz petroleum standard that is created by OPEC's dollar only policy
4) The demand for goods produced by the U.S. economy.

The legacy is dying as memories fade and new blood takes over institutions.

The fed has increasingly been engaging in inflationary policies that benefit the US government in the short term, and is no longer very independent.

The capital equipment manufactured in the US is increasingly being manufactured to a high quality outside American borders, and that incentive will also get less with time.

[tarran]

The petroleum standard has been maintained by U.S. force of arms since Reagan took over. I don't think there is some conspiracy known only to the U.S. National Security Council where the new members are shown some agreement Nixon made with King Fahd. 🙂 Rather, it's an emergent property of the management by crisis that dominates U.S. policy, where the Saudi requests and suggestions are given great deference, because it is seen as being in the U.S. government's best interest to keep them on friendly terms. The Saudi's don't have to say, "we have you by the short on curlies", rather it is the Americans who do business with them who influence U.S. policy out of a desire to maintain their current business models' profitability.

So right now, when the Fed purchases U.S. bonds with newly 'printed' money. The expected price increase from the inflation doesn't materialize only within the U.S. Prices worldwide go up, since those dollars are bidding for goods all over the world. When Zimbabwe engaged in a similar scheme, there was no demand for their currency outside their borders, and so the dollars were chasing a much smaller pool of goods and services.

A good exercise to ask yourself is what conditions would make you want to own a large amount of Chinese Yuan. It would only be if you thought you could get something for it. And for most businesses and governments, the reason they want dollars is to that they can buy petroleum with it.

[John]

Tarran,

Is your theory that if the US were no longer the reserve currency, various foreign holders of it would immediately dump it on the international market and driving its value down causing rapid inflation in the US?

Possible. I think that is a bit far fetched for a couple of reasons. First, since the price of oil fluctuates on its own independent of the value of the dollar, pricing oil in dollars doesn't really protect the value of the dollar. So what if the dollar drops in value? That would make the price of oil high for the US but it wouldn't affect the rest of the world since their currencies will just buy more dollars.

Second, if there was a run on the dollar such that various countries put their dollars on the international market, the fed, through bond selling and other mechanism could buy those dollars up just as quickly as they came on the market and quickly keep the dollar from devaluating.

With the exception of countries like Zimbabwe who truly go insane and start handing out million dollar notes to anyone who wants one, the only time I can recall currencies being devalued like that is when the central bank of the country chooses to do so.

[tarran]

My guess is that it wouldn't be a sudden sell off - despite my hyperbolic use of the word 'implode' earlier.

My guess is that the price of foreign goods would start to rise here in the U.S. I think teh goods that would ordinarily sold here would end up being sold to markets in India, Russia, Africa & China.

In the meantime, U.S. exports would command lower prices. The capital inflows into the U.S. from overseas would dry up - and quickly - like is happening in England's electricity generation market right now.

How the Fed and the U.S. government reacted to this phenomenon would be the driver of whether there was a general sell off or not.

[tarran]

And this is the last I can write on this subject today....

Affairs of work have to take precedence over affairs of work. 😉

[Sevo]

Now that the evidence is getting weaker and weaker, why, double-down!

"Within weeks, President Barack Obama's administration is set to unveil unprecedented emissions limits on power plants across the U.S., much to the dismay of many Democratic candidates who are running for election in energy-producing states."
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/n.....tion-rules

[Swiss Servator, CH yeah!]

"much to the dismay of many Democratic candidates who are running for election in energy-producing states"

Much less energy using states.

Under my plan of a cap and trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket.

[Brett L]

Wow. I'd like to see a strategy here. Something that displayed even a hint of either higher thought processes or even the average elected official's reptilian hindbrain reflexive aversion to politically dangerous ideas, but nope. Its pretty much bankrupting the country to build solid-gold statues of himself.

[Sevo]

The guy seems more and more like a willful adolescent who can't get enough attention and wants to PROVE he can do what the adults warn him against.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Pope Francis Calls For 'Legitimate Redistribution' Of Wealth To The Poor

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/.....94629.html

Little do these idiots at HuffPo know that in any plan devised by the Pope the US would be PAYING billions out to third-world countries and the poor in the US would get the shaft.

Of course the Pope is powerless anyway.

[Raven Nation]

Richest sports in the world:

http://tinyurl.com/m6axcd3

FTA: [Television is] why the Cleveland Browns, an underperforming team from a city mired in recession, is worth more than global football powerhouses Chelsea, Manchester City or AC Milan.

[Mike Laursen]

President Obama is in Mountain View, CA, this morning to give a speech in front of our Walmart store.

Curiously, it is reported that he is going to be praising their energy-saving program rather than talking about his minimum wage initiative. However, minimum wage advocates are going to be out in force.

Even though Mountain View is home of Google and one of the highest-priced housing markets, the Walmart is one of the ugliest, most rundown Walmart's you have ever seen.

[John]

That is typical for Walmart. The best run Walmarts are in areas where they are the only big store. If there is competition, Walmart quickly gives up on attracting all but the lowest range of customers and stops caring about how good of a store it runs.

[BakedPenguin]

Never go to those Walmarts on the 5th of the month.

[Drake]

Is former Walmart Director Hillary Clinton there? She could explain the "let it go to shit" strategy.

[John]

I would like to hear it. It is a curious quirk in the market. Competition seems to make Walmarts in an area worse not better. You would think it would be the opposite.

[Sudden]

What difference, at this point, does it make?

[Mike Laursen]

Pretty sure she does not have a standing invite to go on road trips with the Obamas.

[Mike Laursen]

The Mountain View Walmart is primarily where the local poor Latin-American demographic shops. There's a more upscale Target across the street where pretty much everybody else shops.

[John]

That is how I find it always works. Once a Target or some other more upscale competition to Walmart opens in an area, Walmart seems to stop trying and cater to people who just can't afford to go anywhere else.

[Sevo]

What we need is a chart with a first-order approximation of jobs lost compared to increased M/W.
That way, when some econ-imbecile says "RAISE THE M/W!", we can just ask: 'Mr Romney, how many jobs would you like to see lost?'.

[Auric Demonocles]

The road crews managed to make me laugh today. One of the signs on the side of the Pike today said "Use Yah Blinkah".

[John]

That is awesome.

[BakedPenguin]

That is funny. They're sure doing a hell of a lot of work on 93.

[Sudden]

A buddy of mine who lives in Boston posted that this morning