A.M. Links: Hundreds Dead After Turkey Mine Explosion, McCain Would Send Special Forces to Nigeria to Rescue Kidnapped Girls, E.U. Court Backs 'Right to Be Forgotten'

Credit: Medill DC/Foter

• At least 232 people are dead after an explosion at a mine in Soma, 280 miles west of the Turkish capital Ankara.
• Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has said that the U.S. should send special forces to Nigeria, regardless of Nigerian permission to do so, to rescue the girls kidnapped by Boko Haram if their location is known.
• Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said that he would find a potential GOP 2016 presidential nomination race that included both him and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush "stressful."
• Tea Party groups are celebrating Ben Sasse's nomination in the Nebraska Republican Senate primary and Alex Mooney's nomination for West Virginia's 2nd district.
• A South African court has ordered Oscar Pistorius, the Olympic and Paralympic runner on trial for the murder of his girlfriend, to undergo a mental examination.
• The European Union Court of Justice has backed the "right to be forgotten," in a case brought against Google by a Spanish man who wasn't happy about an auction notice related to his repossessed home showing up in search results.  

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Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has said that the U.S. should send special forces to Nigeria…

“There are gooks in Nigeria, right?”

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Hello.

Hey. On time!

/Wiserhood clap.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuScm9FZPmQ

[Slammer]

Howdy!

[UnCivilServant]

Who wants on-time? A little variety is a good thing. reason should pop it up at 8:30 some time…

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Pens.

Tsk. Tsk. Eh?

[Restoras]

Ha Ha!

[KDN]

Typical. They’re Sharks East at this point.

With the way this year is going I had resigned myself to a Wild-Rangers final after catching that score. At least that didn’t happen. Suck it, Parise. Enjoy your decade of mediocrity.

[Ted S.]

To be fair, his team is in the second round of the playoffs, unlike ours. 🙁

[KDN]

Don’t interrupt my schadenfreude with reality.

I anticipate the Devils to make it back to mediocrity next year. Hell, they would have been there this year if only there was a little less Marty and Salvador and a little more Schneider and Gelinas/Merrill. But DeBoer’s still coaching, so I expect a lot of head-scratching decisions next year as well.

[Ted S.]

Hell, they would have been there this year if only there was a little less
fucking penalty shootout.

Or, make all games three-point games, with three points for winning in regulation.

[KDN]

The latter would make entirely too much sense. That’s why it won’t happen for another 7 years.

[Auric Demonocles]

I’m holding back most of my criticism for the Penguins at least until tomorrow.

[hamilton]

Tell me about it. I’m spending the day thinking about whether to go out to a bar or stay home and just drink and watch. It’s the truth table of shared/alone and jubilation/disappointment.

[Auric Demonocles]

I’ve got boot camp tomorrow morning, plus a big drinking weekend coming up, so I probably won’t drink much tonight.

Planning on watching at home, with a pair of friends. We’re making our third venison dish in the past 4 games (excluding the one we went to on Saturday). This time it’s venison sausage pizza.

[Swiss Servator, CH yeah!]

“I’ve got boot camp tomorrow morning”

So are you a juvenile offender or did you join the Marines?!

[grrizzly]

If only NBCSN were on basic cable, I’d watch it at home too.

[creech]

Now I feel worse about Flyers narrow loss to Rangers. Flyers would have dined on Penguin flesh, given what we didn’t see from Crosby and Co.

[Auric Demonocles]

My dream of an all original six road is becoming closer and closer…. But that completely depends on tonight, of course.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I don’t know if top eight is mediocrity though.

[KDN]

I do, and I expect that this is the furthest that the Wild will be able to get.

[Idle Hands]

No the Capitals will forever be the sharks of the east, the pens have a Stanley cup at least.

[Fist of Etiquette]

I was sick of watching them halfass it through the playoffs anyway. And I’m curious the coaching changes next year.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Think Bylsma is done?

[Fist of Etiquette]

If he hadn’t been named to the US Olympic team last year he might have been done then.

[John]

Tough day for Sydney Crosby fan boys. Their tears are yummy.

[Citizen Nothing]

My Jackets softened ’em up. You’re welcome.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I remember when people spoke of Mario Lemieux like they do Crosby. He was cry baby, whiner, always yapping at the ref like Jordan.

But you know what? He was right. The NHL was a garage league during the Lemieux years. The beating Crosby takes is outrageous and even more crazy is Shero refusing to go out and get a fricken enforcer to protect him.

The league needs to get rid of the instigator rule. Until then, assholes rule the ice.

[John]

I agree with that. I don’t dislike Crosby. I just like to make fun of his fans.

That said, how the Pens don’t have an enforce to protect their star player is beyond me. Do they just secretly hate Crosby or something?

[Auric Demonocles]

Crosby was a pretty big idiot in the conference finals last year. They were down 3-0, the entire team scored 2 goals in 3 games, and he was still talking about how the Bruins weren’t doing anything to stop them.

But his fans are definitely his biggest problem. Being the best offensively doesn’t make you the best player in a sport where you have to play both.

[Overt]

That said, how the Pens don’t have an enforce to protect their star player is beyond me. Do they just secretly hate Crosby or something?

As said above this is due to the instigator rule. Previously, if you fucked with a star, the enforcer would come out and fight you, getting you off the ice for five minutes. And then when you came back on, he’d take you off for another five- or he would concentrate on whomever else is targeting your star.

Today, if he starts a fight, he gets an extra 2 minute instigator penalty- putting the team on the penalty k. And if he does this twice, the enforcer is kicked from the game. And if he instigates during the last five minutes of the game, he gets a fine and a suspension.

This has made the role of enforcer much more difficult. The enforcer can’t start fights, so he has to go out and make big hits to “discourage” head hunting. This draws penalties. And while a coach could previously send an enforcer onto the ice and have him start a fight quickly (stopping play), having the enforcer skate around requires the enforcer to also try to avoid getting scored on.

[KDN]

It’s not like they don’t have room for one, either. Crosby and Malkin already play a lot with the fourth line, will replacing say, Tanner Glass, with an extra shift by each of their top 4 and a few shifts by some goon really kill the team? Unlikely.

[Ted S.]

Until then, assholes rule the ice.

Crosby rules the ice.
Crosby is an asshole.
Therefore, assholes rule the ice.

😉

[Fist of Etiquette]

Lemieux was right. Lemieux will always be right.

As for whining and taking dives, I will say this for the last time. If you’re not working the refs and drawing penalties, you’re not doing everything you can to help your team compete.

[antisocial-ist]

Is there any place on planet earth John Mccain doesn’t want to send the US military? If there is we could save a lot of time by releasing that list.

[Swiss Servator, CH yeah!]

At first I read this as “is there any planet that John McCain doesn’t want to send the US military” – and I still could not come up with an answer…

[Longtorso, Johnny]

Don’t wait for the good woman. She doesn’t exist. There are women who can make you feel more with their bodies and their souls but these are the exact women who will turn the knife into you right in front of the crowd. Of course, I expect this, but the knife still cuts. The female loves to play man against man, and if she is in a position to do it there is not one who will resist. The male, for all his bravado and exploration, is the loyal one, the one who generally feels love. The female is skilled at betrayal and torture and damnation. Never envy a man his lady. Behind it all lies a living hell.
-? Charles Bukowski

[Restoras]

The female is skilled at betrayal and torture and damnation. Never envy a man his lady. Behind it all lies a living hell.

I’m getting this tattoed on my chest in reverse so I can see it in the mirror Every. Fucking. Day.

[Rich]

“We have to talk.”

[Citizen Nothing]

Rough night at the disco, Johnny?

[hamilton]

Sigh.

[Auric Demonocles]

On a positive note, I have upcoming dates with two different redheads. One looks incredibly similar to Anna Kendrick, and the other is a libertarian.

[Fr?ulein Nikki]

Behind them both lie a living hell, dude. I don’t envy you.

[Auric Demonocles]

Is hell full of redheaded libertarian women?

[Fr?ulein Nikki]

Actually it’s just full of Bukowski novels.

[Auric Demonocles]

To be fair, the pair of bars named after him in Boston/Cambridge are pretty decent.

[Swiss Servator, CH yeah!]

Go on…

[hamilton]

You are my hero.

[Auric Demonocles]

If previous trends hold true, I’ll end up at least making out with one of them, but never talk to the other again.

[Auric Demonocles]

Oh god… Disaster. The Kendrick looking one apparently donated her hair to one of those cancer wig charities last night.

[Fr?ulein Nikki]

I warned you.

[Auric Demonocles]

I haven’t even gone on the date but have already been betrayed. I expect the torture to begin Sunday evening.

[Restoras]

I think you are going to suddenly become ill and not be available for two months…

[Jordan]

Um. What? Sounds like a self-pitying douchebag.

[mr simple]

Well, it is Bukowski. And yeah, I know he’s a pretty good read. But God who’d wanna be such an asshole?

[John]

I think being a self important asshole is almost a prerequisit for being a good writer.

That is actually a great piece of prose. There is some truth to what he is saying, it is just grossly and histrionically exaggerated.

[Zeb]

That’s definitely Bukowski all over.

[ElevenOnly]

+1 Good News for People Who Love Bad News reference

I was just thinking, the way things are going H&R could be renamed “Good News for People Who Love Bad News”

[ElevenOnly]

If God controls the land and disease,
keeps a watchful eye on me,
If he’s really so damn mighty,
my problem is I can’t see,
well who would wanna be?
Who would wanna be such a control freak?

[Zeb]

I like Bukowski, but I don’t think that his experiences with women were necessarily typical.

[Corning]

They probably were typical for a violent drunk asshole with wit.

Walk up to any random dog and kick it around and it will quickly stop being the kind of dog you want for a pet.

[lap83]

That’s an eloquent way of saying his penis isn’t a good judge of character. How unfortunate. If there was only some other organ that could help us tell whether or not someone is a good person before fucking them.

[Matrix]

Organized Criminal Gang targets child’s home-baked cupcake operation for extortion

“I don’t foresee that we’re going to be raiding lemonade stands or cupcake sales,” Trotter said.
So when it inevitably does happen, can we expect you to put your head on the chopping block? (And I am not speaking figuratively. I literally want your GD’d head on the chopping block)

[Swiss Servator, CH yeah!]

I AM SO PROUD TO BE FROM THE LAND OF LINCOLN!

*quietly weeps in rage and shame*

[cavalier973]

This is exactly the sort of thing that Lincoln would support.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Politicians destroy.

[Pathogen]

Your reckless disregard for regulations and the rule of law is what brought this upon you, sweetie… that’s why we had to condemn your mothers kitchen, and burn your little stand to the ground. You’ll understand that one day, when you’re older. But, for now, while everybody’s looking.. you’re good to go and play, or what ever it is that you do. Oh yes, that brings me to one other tiny little detail, honey… paying your fair share, you’re never too young to do it, and Tax evasion is a serious crime.. let me go get your records..

[cavalier973]

Mr. Harker: We do our part to keep the wheels of democracy rolling; warriors unsung, unknown, misunderstood.
Prof. Ned Brainard: If need be, I imagine you’d put your own mother in jail.
Mr. Harker: Funny you should mention that about Mom. A little matter of some unreported income from jams and jellies. We nailed her dead to rights!

[AdamJ]

Do you have a non Fox News version of this link? If I go sharing this, it will be immediately dismissed by all my liberal friends (aka all my friends).

[Lord Humungus]

They discovered the libertarian clubhouse:

Massive Grow House, Cockfighting Ring Unearthed Under Dog House

A massive underground marijuana growing operation and a cockfighting ring were discovered in west Miami-Dade Monday night.

Acting on an anonymous tip, police secured a search warrant for the home in the 12100 block of N.W. 6 Street and found the cleverly concealed illegal operation. A dog house on the side of the residence served as the entrance to an underground crawl space which was half the length of the home.

[Slammer]

Anonymous tip= competitor. Or, they didn’t make their payments to the cops on time.

[Swiss Servator, CH yeah!]

^THIS^

[John]

That or someone who felt they got ripped off betting on a cock fight.

[waffles]

Please, pokemon gym is the preferred nomneclature.

[John]

You have to hand it to them, they had one full service business going on.

[Longtorso, Johnny]

NPR: Great News, Employers Might Start Paying You For Health Care!!!
Employers will pay you money!!! Only in Obama’s America would employers pay you consideration for your work!!!

Now, as Ed Morrissey noted, this is of course just an enormously deceptive, put-on-a-happy-smile euphemism for the truth: As predicted, and long denied by Obama and the progressives, Obamacare is a glidepath to destroying private insurance.

What NPR means, of course, is that employers plan to dump you on to the Obamacare exchanges.

They’re not “paying you for healthcare,” at least not in any new way: They were already paying you for healthcare. That’s what “employer-provided healthcare” means, after all. They’re paying you, partly in the form of a healthcare policy.

But that policy was a private one.

Now they’ll be saving money (hint: this means paying you less) by paying you a contribution towards your health care, which you will then use to… buy Obamacare on the terrific website Healthcare.gov….

[Auric Demonocles]

Only in Obama’s America would employers pay you consideration for your work!!!

Yes NPR, no one every received any compensation for work prior to Obama.

[Fr?ulein Nikki]

Yeah, that’s not an NPR quote. Johnny’s links are to a much higher form of journalism…

[Auric Demonocles]

Betrayed by my laziness and usual lack of attention to Johnny L’s posts.

[waffles]

At least I can then quit my job and go play guitar now.

[Swiss Servator, CH yeah!]

+1 Cowboy Poetry Festival?

[Fr?ulein Nikki]

What if employers started giving workers a chunk of cash to buy health insurance on their own instead of offering them a chance to buy into the company plan?

I’ll pay more in taxes. Next question?

[Swiss Servator, CH yeah!]

Feature, not bug.

/Prog

[Fr?ulein Nikki]

The real feature is the tiny percentage of listeners and readers who probably know that.

[Auric Demonocles]

Don’t forget: You won’t be able to take advantage of your “choice habit”.

[Zeb]

It would be great if tax policy changed so that you wouldn’t get taxed more if your employer gave you money instead of insurance. Or if you could deduct individual insurance premiums from taxes. And if Obamacare hadn’t fucked up the individual insurance market, of course.

I’d have a bunch more money right now if I could have received all my health benefits in cash and just bought a catastrophic plan and paid for regular stuff out of pocket.

[Fr?ulein Nikki]

It’s almost like there wasn’t anyone calling for that pre-ACA…

[Zeb]

Almost…

[AlexInCT]

How does this advance the agenda to have government create yet another giant entitlement they can use to hold people hostage with?

Have no doubt that the ACA had 2 main goals: the first was to destriy the healthcare system as we know it so they could do the second, create a government controlled single payer system that would allow them to deny coverage to anyone that pissed them off.

[John]

And guess what, since that payment will be in cash not in the form of an already purchased insurance policy, you will most likely be paying taxes on it now.

[Zeb]

I’m kind of baffled that making individual premiums tax deductible (or getting rid of the tax exemption for employer insurance) hasn’t been a bigger part of the whole insurance reform discussion.

[Fr?ulein Nikki]

I heard some fuckface talking about it on NPR a couple months ago and started screaming about how legit economists had been saying this for ages and where the f did they get off acting like this was new AFTER their shitshow…sigh…

[Zeb]

My dad (who called himself a Christian Socialist) always thought that eliminating the tax exemption was the thing to do. In my naif idealistic teenage years when I thought that universal single payer was a good idea, he convinced me that it really wasn’t. Of course, he wanted to use the extra taxes to subsidize people who can’t afford insurance. But that would probably be better than the stupid shit we have now.

[Overt]

John McCain proposed this EXACT policy during the first Obama ascendancy.

And Obama basically called him out in a debate, saying “Yeah, you get your tax break, but this evil man is going to raise taxes on poor Corporations to pay for it. How CRUEL.”

And of course, McCain flubbed explaining why “taking away the tax deduction” isn’t the same as “raising taxes” and why the fuck is Obama so pissy about raising taxes on Corporations anyway, etc etc.

[Corning]

Ending employer provided health care would be a good thing if there was a competitive market for people to buy health care insurance from.

People seeing the real costs would allow them to shop around and spur competition…

Of course Obamacare did away with a competitive market.

[Overt]

No doubt- the best thing we could do is give everyone a tax shelter- HSA. Allow them to buy whatever insurance they want out of that HSA. We could take care of the truly poor by depositing money in those HSAs for individuals to use to buy insurance. (I know that isn’t very Libertarian, but we’ll never abolish the safety net- this at least allows it to work in a market.)

The only thing HSAs don’t handle is pre-existing conditions. If we gave Insurance Companies the ability to exclude any expenses related to a Pre-Existing condition for, say, 8 months on any customer who was un-covered prior to joining, it would encourage those customers to stay covered (unlike the mandate today that encourages customers to not pay until they need it).

Again, I know this is no libertopian system, but I think it would do the most to bring market forces back into play, encourage people to save for their own health care, and ameliorate most of the problems that Liberals are using to make power grabs for a huge portion of our economy.

[Juice]

This is exactly what’s happening to my girlfriend. Her company is under 50 employees and they won’t be able to offer insurance anymore. I’m not sure if it’s because they’re not allowed or because it’s too damned expensive. They had awesome insurance (no ded, low copays, big network, covers everything). After the affordable care act, this is no more. Next year they’re going to have to go on the exchanges. They’re trying to see if they will just give them cash to buy their own insurance, but they can’t get near the same coverage on the exchanges, and of course those plans are just as expensive if not more.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said that he would find a potential GOP 2016 presidential nomination race that included both him and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush “stressful.”

So would the rest of us. The stress eating would bust the country’s stomach staple.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Chief Executive Magazine lists the best and worst states to do business.

The results may surprise you – not!

http://www.conservativeintel.c…..-business/

[Doctor Whom]

To Marylanders, that will be a badge of honor. In fact, some of them will ask, “How can we beat out California?”

[Certified Public Asskicker]

Hey, we are very proud to be #41.

[Rich]

O’Malley is just trying to help “the Region”.

[JW]

Hey, it’s not for a lack of trying. We’ll get them next year.

[Swiss Servator, CH yeah!]

PLEASE STOP. ENOUGH ALREADY!

*continues weeping in rage and shame*

[Corning]

Georgia made top 10.

Shrike is rolling around in his mom’s basement.

[Lord Humungus]

French Foreign Minister: ‘500 Days to Avoid Climate Chaos’

Well, I’m very happy to be with John. There is no week without a phone call or a visit between John and myself, and we have on the agenda many items, many issues ? Iran, because negotiations are resuming today; the question of Syria, and we shall meet next Thursday in London together; Ukraine as well; and very important issues, issue of climate change, climate chaos. And we have ? as I said, we have 500 days to avoid climate chaos. And I know that President Obama and John Kerry himself are committed on this subject and I’m sure that with them, with a lot of other friends, we shall be able to reach success on this very important matter.

[Steve G]

Start the stopwatch, we’ve got the new Mayan calendar

[Swiss Servator, CH yeah!]

Can we haz cheesy movie like “Y2K” and “2012”?

500 DAYS, coming to a network Sunday night movie near you?

[KDN]

The Day After Tomorrow wasn’t bad enough for you?

[Swiss Servator, CH yeah!]

A worthy effort – but this has EVEN MOAR URGENCY! And new terminology! “Climate Chaos” FTW!

Lets see, in my lifetime now, we were going to see a new ICE AGE, then it was acid rain and Amazonian deforestation meant we would all die gasping for oxygen, then AGW – “Earth in the Balance”, then Climate Change, then Climate Disruption, now Climate Choas.

What is next CLIMATE HELLSTORM? Climate Death? 300 days? 100 days?

[Ivan Pike]

What is next

Ocean acidification.

[DFG]

What ever happened to the hole in the ozone layer that was going to cause us all to be cooked by cosmic rays or something? I recall reading about sheep in Patagonia who were blinded by solar radiation because of the R-12 in my car’s air conditioner. I haven’t heard about the ozone hole in ages. Did we fix it?

[JW]

The Space Shuttle fixed it with a giant, vulcanized rubber patch.

[Swiss Servator, CH yeah!]

Ah, nice catch – I had forgotten that one.

[Injun, as in from India]

Since when did Foreign Ministers become experts on climate science?

[WDATPDIM?!]

And the beauty is, we’ll all be dead before anyone can prove him wrong.

[John]

Didn’t we have 500 days left to live in like 2008?

[Swiss Servator, CH yeah!]

And the glaciers of the Himalayas have all melted too!

[John]

And the entire nation of Micronesia has disappeared beneath the sea.

[Injun, as in from India]

The glacier melt BS was the most egregious error from the IPCC. It really made them look like fools.

[Zeb]

My response to ridiculous pronouncements of doom like that is “well, then climate chaos it is”. What the fuck do they think is going to possibly change in 500 days?

[Zeb]

Another good one was “If Keystone XL gets built then it’s game over for the climate”. OK, then it’s game over.

What the fuck do they think? The whole developing world is just going to decide that they need to sit in the dark and starve so that people can continue to live on low lying islands and get eaten by polar bears?

[Fluffy]

They’re like the Persian rug store place that always has a going out of business sale on its front window.

For like 20 years.

ACT NOW! EVERYTHING MUST GO! FINAL WEEK! BIG SAVINGS! REALLY WE MEAN IT THIS TIME!

[AlexInCT]

^^^^THIS^^^^

[JW]

we have 500 days to avoid climate chaos.

I’m pleased to see that our French allies have publicly announced their surrender timetable in advance.

[Swiss Servator, CH yeah!]

*applause*

[Fist of Etiquette]

The European Union Court of Justice has backed the “right to be forgotten,” in a case brought against Google by a Spanish man who wasn’t happy about an auction notice related to his repossessed home showing up in search results.

No search left behind.

[DJF]

Does this include the right to have the EU forget you?

[Swiss Servator, CH yeah!]

In EU computer forget…no, wait.

In EU, forgetting computers you!

No, that’s not it…

[Doctor Whom]

The right not to have inconvenient facts noticed has been rebranded.

[Cyto]

This is one of the most epicly stupid decisions in the history of epic stupidity.

The specific case at hand was about a lawyer who had some personal troubles and ended up having financial troubles that were handled by the courts. These proceedings ended up in the paper. Since that was the only newsworthy thing that had ever happened to him, that’s what shows up on google.

The courts have ruled that the papers don’t have to take their stories down, but google can’t point to them in relation to his name. Really.

So the government has public record documents that they produce and maintain – that they will not remove from public view. And the press writes articles about these public record documents – and they won’t remove these articles.

But the government is going to ban you from pointing to the articles about the government documents or to the government documents directly when you are asked if you know anything about the person listed in those documents and articles.

/southpark This is what they actually believe! /southpark

[R C Dean]

Since that was the only newsworthy thing that had ever happened to him, that’s what shows up on google.

So, Google complies, and now the only thing that shows up for him on Google is the story about how Google had to take down the links to the story about what a fucking deadbeat this whiny little bitch is.

Big win for the whiny little bitch, no?

[Lord Humungus]

How ‘Hyperpalatable’ Foods Could Turn You Into A Food Addict

As Kessler told the New York Times, restaurant chains like Chili’s cook up “hyper-palatable food that requires little chewing and goes down easily,” while a Snickers bar is “extraordinarily well engineered.” As we chew it, he says, the sugar dissolves, the fat melts and the caramel traps the peanuts so the entire combination of flavors is blissfully experienced in the mouth at the same time.

Eventually, the experience of eating impossibly delicious foods results in what Kessler describes as “conditioned hypereating.” When we consume enjoyable sugary and fatty foods, it stimulates endorphins in our brains ? chemicals that signal a pleasurable experience. In turn, and in Pavlovian fashion, these chemicals stimulate us to eat more of that type of food, while also calming us down and making us feel good.

[Steve G]

It’s funny, occasionally I will grab a snickers whilst standing in line at the grocery store, but 99% I’m actually able to keep my “addiction” in check. I guess I’m one of the lucky people who actually have free will and a grasp of risk/reward.

[Doctor Whom]

So am I. I evidently have superhuman levels of free will. Where’s my comic-book series?

[UnCivilServant]

Having a comic book means your free-will is subjugated to the words and actions dictated by the authors and editorial. Your superpower is actually protecting you from the emergance of a series.

[Night Elf Mohawk]

Snickers are awesome. We bought a box of them so my daughter could take a couple with her whenever she golfs. The box just sits there in the pantry. I grab one about once a month. I feel pretty in control.

As fas as endorphins from eating go, I get them from habaneros and ghost peppers.

[Spoonman.]

I enjoy both Snickers and asparagus. Are they denying that this is possible?

[Night Elf Mohawk]

Chili’s isn’t palatable, let alone hyper-palatable.

[NebulousFocus]

This. The Singpore version is even worse.

[Auric Demonocles]

The Honey Chipotle Chicken Crispers are delicious.

[hamilton]

Christ we have a generation of children raised to think chicken tenders are food. The apocalypse is coming.

[Auric Demonocles]

I said it was delicious. Technically I didn’t say it was food.

[Doctor Whom]

I went there once. The key word there is “once.”

[hamilton]

“You shouldn’t hang me on a hook, Johnny”

[Restoras]

Fargin’ icehole…

[Sandi]

I took a shit at Chili’s once.

[Sandi]

Fuck you, impostor.

[LiveFreeOrDiet]

Four of us went to Chili’s last week for the first time since they got rid of their Chicken Frisco salad. It was okay. It was rather expensive for “okay.”

[Lord Humungus]

For a few years, it was our company’s “go to place” for off-site company meetings. Thank god for the recession.

[cavalier973]

I like the “Southwest Eggrolls”.

[Swiss Servator, CH yeah!]

I am a food addict. I just cannot quit it. And I probably shan’t be able to for the rest of my life!

[mr simple]

Sounds like a job for the ban hammer. Protect us, oh noble bureaucrats!

[LiveFreeOrDiet]

How ‘Hyperpalatable’ Foods Could Turn You Into A Food Addict

Palatability “is the hedonic reward provided by foods or fluids that are agreeable to the taste.” IOW ‘Hyperpalatable’ means you like it too much because you like it too much. Not very helpful, especially as the science of taste, hunger and satiety is quite deeply researched.

It’s especially funny that the article references Pavlov, as he found one of the mechanisms Kessler chooses to ignore. Besides salivating, the dogs also released insulin at the sound of that bell. Insulin clears glucose from the bloodstream, which makes you hungry.
Make conditions such that insulin remains high, and leptin’s signal is blocked, which keeps your system from ever knowing to stop eating and feel free to burn it.

[BigT]

Snickers has caramel = Yuk shit that sticks to your teeth.

Now Mounds, that’s a different story…

[Restoras]

Next to Heath Bar, the perfect candy…

[Fluffy]

Yet more evidence that any and all discussion of a concept called “addiction” is bullshit.

[LiveFreeOrDiet]

Certainly the idea of substances being addictive is. I used to smoke. I gave it up (for a girl, of course), no big deal.

Addiction seems to be more about the person. I used to have a boss who was an addict looking for the next addiction. He would go to rehab almost like I go with my wife to an outlet mall. Then he would hop off the wagon in days.

[Lord Humungus]

My ex-junky friend went from prescription pain-killers, to weed, to smack, to crack, to methadone (clinic), and finally ended up with alcohol. He finally quit that… and has been clean for the past few years. He admits that he is a walking addict.

When I was a kid I noticed that after my dad quit smoking, his boozing amount went way up.

[Rich]

The Military Is Going To Build Robots That Have Morals

“Google’s self-driving cars are legal and in-use in several states at this point. As researchers, we are playing catch-up trying to figure out the ethical and legal implications. We do not want to be caught similarly flat-footed in any kind of military domain where lives are at stake.”

Meh. Just deem ’em “drones” and be done with it.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

I guess I’ll drop this here.

Vatican official tells UN that wartime decisions involving life or death should be made by humans, not “autonomous” weapons with AI

http://en.radiovaticana.va/new…..en1-799166

[Rasilio]

Is this the same Vatican that outlawed the use of Crossbows because it allowed peasants to kill knights on the battlefield?

[Notorious G.K.C.]

I genuinely hadn’t heard of this before. Not saying it *didn’t* happen, just that I’d like to see a citation.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Ah, here we go, Second Lateran Council:

“The council also may have banned the use of crossbows against Christians, although the authenticity, interpretation and translation of this source is contested.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S…..ite_note-4

[Notorious G.K.C.]

If it exists, it is this:

“29. We prohibit under anathema that murderous art of crossbowmen and archers, which is hateful to God, to be employed against Christians and Catholics from now on.”

http://www.papalencyclicals.ne…..ecum10.htm

[Notorious G.K.C.]

And if the Knight Lobby was so influential, how do we account for this Canon from the same Council:

“14. We entirely forbid, moreover, those abominable jousts and tournaments in which knights come together by agreement and rashly engage in showing off their physical prowess and daring, and which often result in human deaths and danger to souls. If any of them dies on these occasions, although penance and viaticum are not to be denied him when he requests them, he is to be deprived of a church burial.”

[John]

It wasn’t the Knight Lobby it was the noble lobby. They didn’t want their expensive knights killing themselves in tournaments anymore than they wanted them shot down by filthy peasants with crossbows.

[fuck you tulpa]

“And if the Knight Lobby was so influential”

God you’re fucking stupid.

[Ted S.]

So these robots are going to take out the politicians?

[Rich]

Operational test?

[WDATPDIM?!]

General: “Don’t blame me! The robot made its own decision!”

*Court-martials robot*

[mr simple]

Johnny 5 is alive!

[Swiss Servator, CH yeah!]

The United States v Predator Drone AV-171,
US Court of Military Appeals (2028) decision en banc….

[Lord Humungus]

Vietnam mobs set fire to foreign factories in anti-China riots

Thousands of Vietnamese set fire to foreign factories and rampaged in industrial zones in the south of the country in an angry reaction to Chinese oil drilling in a part of the South China Sea claimed by Vietnam, officials said on Wednesday.

The brunt of Tuesday’s anti-China violence appears to have been borne by Taiwanese companies in the zones in Binh Duong and Dong Nai provinces, as rioters mistook the firms to be Chinese-owned. There were no reports of casualties and the rioting appeared to have subsided by Wednesday.

[Restoras]

China is the Asian version of gringo, amirite?

[waffles]

You know what? Spot on analogy.

[UnCivilServant]

The brunt … appears to have been borne by Taiwanese companies … as rioters mistook the firms to be Chinese-owned

Taiwan, aka the Republic of China, is Chinese. If they meant mistook for owned by the PRC, aka Red China, that would be a mistaken association. I imagine their rage is directed at the PRC, who have been rather aggressive against its neighbors (taking up the venerable Chinese tradition of bullying southeast asia)

[Ted S.]

How dare you suggest there are two Chinas! 😉

[UnCivilServant]

There is only one China, and someday this Maoist revolt will be put down.

[LiveFreeOrDiet]

There is only one China, and Allah is his name!
Or something…

[Injun, as in from India]

This scene from Rush Hour:

Jackie Chan: “why did you hit me?”
Chris Tucker: “Y’all look alike to me!”

[Lord Humungus]

Cancellation of WWII Reenactment Because of Participants Wearing of German Uniforms

A WWII reenactment planned to take place in Yorkshire has been cancelled, due to the highly sensitive nature of the subject. Set to raise funding for the Help for Heroes project, it had been planned to include legitimate vehicles, weaponry, and uniforms, including those used by the Nazis during the war. Barnsley Council stepped in to cancel the event when many apparently complained that some of those involved in the WWII reenactment would have been dressed like Nazis.

er…

[Notorious G.K.C.]

“some of those involved in the WWII reenactment would have been dressed like Nazis”

Do like the Captain America movie and have them wear special non-Nazi bad-guy uniforms.

[Rich]

Or emulate Howard Campbell.

[Ivan Pike]

You can’t make this stuff up, can you? Satire is dead, we are living it.

[Steve G]

Of course the next illogical step of this will have civil war reenactors on the grey side labeled racists.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Already happening

http://www.civilwarnews.com/ar…..hannel.htm

[Ted S.]

Is it me, or is that article undated? Other than the “Feb. 19 [year not given]” and “early March” mentions.

It’s gotta be years old though, since it’s about the History Channel airing a program that’s actually about history.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Good point – it’s from 2001

http://onlineathens.com/storie…..0022.shtml

But my point stands – the racist thing is *already happening.”

[WDATPDIM?!]

Can’t we just call them all damn fools?

[andarm16]

The English political correctness machine is beyond parody.

[Fr?ulein Nikki]

Don’t mention the war!

[Swiss Servator, CH yeah!]

Would you like your salad before or after the war?

[Fr?ulein Nikki]

That all depends on whether you have salad cream.

[WTF]

“Hors d’oeuvres… vich must be obeyed at all times vitout qvestion! “

[Pro Libertate]

I mentioned it once, but I think I got away with it all right.

[WTF]

” Is there something wrong?

Will you stop talking about the war?

Me? You started it.

We did not!

Yes, you did. You invaded Poland. “

[Pro Libertate]

Possibly the best single sitcom episode ever.

[Matrix]

Anti-gun proglodyte calls black 2nd Amendment defender a “chimp”

I suppose it is okay for progs to use racist slurs against people that don’t fall in line with their way of thinking.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

He also says “porch monkey.”

And accuses the NRA of racism.

[Matrix]

See, it’s okay to call black conservatives/libertarians/non-Democrats “Uncle Tom” and racial epithets, because they don’t fall into line of the “proper way of thinking”, however progs and leftists in general decide what the “proper way of thinking” is.

But if you criticize a non-white, or hell, anyone that has the “proper way of thinking”, well, you’re a racist, and you should be sent to a reeducation camp.

[Ted S.]

I assume he’s from the SPLC?

[Slammer]

Where’s Reverend Al?

[Matrix]

Probably drawing up protest signs to call Noir an “Uncle Tom”.

[mr simple]

This is what happens when you off the plantation.

[Rich]

Russia to ban US from using Space Station over Ukraine sanctions

“Fuck you.”

“FUCK YOU!”

[Restoras]

Ha Ha!

[waffles]

I thought space was where we, as a species, were supposed to cooperate no matter what the apes on the ground are squabbling about. Isn’t that the premise of Star Trek?

[Auric Demonocles]

Space is where we’re going to end up with the most competitive, individualistic, and libertarian society in the history of human civilization.

Also the only place where you might be able to avoid getting pummeled by big rocks.

[Restoras]

EVE Online?

[Rich]

Well, first ya gotta get there.

/Putin

[DJF]

Peace will happen as soon as we have a starship in orbit with phasers capable of destroying entire continents

[Pro Libertate]

Look into the eyes of the Dragon, and despair!

Well, that’s what I’d say, after telling SpaceX we’d like a manned spacecraft this year, thank you.

[BigT]

Shoot it down.

[Lord Humungus]

Nashville man leads effort to build full-scale Millennium Falcon

Chris Lee has launched the building of an up-to-scale replica of the Millennium Falcon, the ship piloted by Han Solo and Chewbacca in the Star Wars films.

Already, a team working out of Mindgear Labs in Madison, AL are assembling a prop cockpit, complete with navigation chairs, levers and throttles.

“I expect someday for the halls of this thing to feel like you’re in an actual spaceship with that engine rumble beneath you where you can feel it, hear it, even smell it,” said Daniel Valdez of the Full Scale Falcon Project.

holy nerd-a-linger

[DJF]

But can it do the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs?

[The Late P Brooks]

De Blasio will make NYC just like Sweden.

In a bid to reverse generations of roadway unruliness, Mayor Bill de Blasio has put the strategy, known as Vision Zero, at the forefront of his transportation and policing agendas, targeting 2024 as the first year with no traffic deaths.

What could possibly go wrong?

[UnCivilServant]

Does he realize that New Yokr is full of New Yorkers, whereas Sweden has the advantage of having a lot of Swedes? By definition, New Yorkers are assholes and cannot follow traffic rules to save their lives.

[Slammer]

There are rules?

[WTF]

More like suggestions.

[sarcasmic]

Teenage girl forced to leave school prom after ‘ogling’ dads complained her dress and dancing would give their sons ‘impure thoughts’
Home school prom organizers told Clare she needed to leave because of her dress and the way she danced
17-year-old says she followed dress code, and had been too busy chatting with friends to dance

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new…..ughts.html

[Matrix]

Some FB friends were attributing this to RAPE CULTURE!

[Fr?ulein Nikki]

I’m attributing it to gross dads and prudes.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

Home school prom? Lame, now we can’t rip on public schools.

[Auric Demonocles]

PSA: Don’t bother. It’s quite disappointing.

[Pro Libertate]

I had a blast at my prom, but I had a good date and hung out with my closest friends. It was quite the drama, with other people’s dates dating other people, comingling, all that crap.

[Ted S.]

I went stag, and had my prom photo taken with three women at the same time.

[Pro Libertate]

A buddy of mine took a woman who must’ve been in her late 20s. She wore something involving tiger skin. It was awesome, and he was actually dating a good friend of mine who had committed to a prom date with some old boyfriend she had no interest it. It was drama, but fun drama.

[Auric Demonocles]

I actually was referring to checking out the dress in the article.

[Pro Libertate]

Sure you were. LOSER.

[Auric Demonocles]

Are you suggesting that the dress in question is, in fact, titillating?

[Pro Libertate]

I’m suggesting I didn’t even look.

I was kidding about the loser part. I mean, who is a loser in high school who can dump meteorites into people’s laps? “Prom? With you? No w–wait, you’re the guy who kills from space, aren’t you? I’d love to go with you.”

What do you think about the Russians denying us their RD-180s? I’m thinking that’s one heck of an opportunity and a good kick in the pants. It was stupid to be dependent on the Russians for that as much as it was stupid to let them solely control access to our fucking boondoggle space station.

[Auric Demonocles]

Now that you mention it, with a couple of very tiny and very carefully aimed rocks that dress could become more revealing…

I pretty much agree with you. It’s probably a good thing in the long run, and the negatives in the short term are exactly why it was dumb for NASA to outsource stuff to another country’s government agency. But NASA’s a government agency, so I don’t expect them to be smart about much of anything.

[Pro Libertate]

I’m not even sure who could take up the production of a replacement engine. Could be good news for SpaceX, as an alternative lift option could help drag out the supply we have on hand, but there’s still the longer term to be considered.

Not to mention, whither ISS?

[John]

She is awfully cute. But if she was so much more attractive than the other girls at the prom that everyone couldn’t help but stare, the talent level at that prom is a bit substandard.

[Fr?ulein Nikki]

It sounded like she was older than average. I guess home school prom has 13 year olds. But they should still have boobs for the most part. I guess the dads draw a line somewhere north of there but south of 17.

[John]

A lot of girls have boobs at 13. I don’t see what the objection is. The dress is a bit short but hardly slutty. She has too much makeup on but that is typical of girls that age. She looks like a typical cute teenager going to her prom to me.

I am about as big of a letch as they come and I don’t think being in a room with her would cause me to lose focus and stare. I think the dads are just a bunch of repressed old perverts. Get over yourself and learn not to stare.

[Ted S.]

Home school prom organizers

I think they got the prom mixed up with the purity ball.

[Fluffy]

I guarantee you that the dads did not complain.

GUARANTEE.

What happened here is a MOM decided that a PARTICULAR dad possibly had looked at the girl for too long, or with insufficient discretion.

Whenever there is a dispute about the appropriateness of the dress of a young female, it is an iron law of nature that an OLD female is behind it all.

[Rasilio]

This.

I have read several versions of this article and all of the girls interactions were with 2 women and outside of those 2 womens assertions there was no actual evidence that any actual male complained.

The whole thing sounds more like the women didn’t like it or one of the wives goaded her husband into complaining

[John]

That sounds about right. If you are threatened by attractive teenage girls, maybe you should not volunteer to chaperone a high school prom?

[Lord Humungus]

Scientists: Camel Flatulence Isn’t Contributing to Climate Change

“Our results suggest that the methane emission of Australia’s feral camels corresponds only to 1 to 2% of the methane amount produced by the countries’ domestic ruminants and that calculations of greenhouse gas budgets of countries with large camelid populations based on equations developed for ruminants are generally overestimating the actual levels,” the abstract concludes.

The articles conclusion gives camels an almost clean slate when it comes to greenhouse gas, or GHG, emissions.

so how does camel taste?

[Swiss Servator, CH yeah!]

Awful – even Afghans won’t eat it unless they are at the brink of starvation.

[BigT]

Sounds like we need some good old fashioned genetic engineering.

[sarcasmic]

‘It just kept going up and up’: Children seriously injured after inflatable bouncy house is blown 50 feet in the air
Two boys aged 5 and 6 were tossed out of the carnival staple and seriously injured, with one incurring a traumatic head injury
One of the boys hit a parked car while the other landed in a South Glens Falls, New York street on Monday afternoon
A third child in the bounce house, a little girl, suffered only minor scrapes
The bounce house continued to blow an estimated 50 feet up until landing at a nearby school

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

[Ted S.]

Amazingly, I didn’t hear about this on the news at dinner last night (I get the over-the-air channels out of Albany). Then again, I only had the last 15 minutes of the news on

[John]

How did they not tie that down? I can’t believe the instructions didn’t say “TIE THIS DOWN BEFORE USE”.

[sarcasmic]

Where did it say that they read the instructions?

[Brett L]

I read that they did stake it, it just blew loose. Which happens.

[Matrix]

Time to ban bouncy houses!!! FOR THE CHILLRUNZ!!

[sarcasmic]

Just how ridiculous are Japanese women willing to look to become beautiful? The most bizarre beauty aids you will ever see
The bizarre products are offered by Japanes website, Japan Trend Shop
Pupeko mouthpiece said to tighten the cheeks to hide wrinkles
Also available is a nose straightener and a ‘face bra’

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/fem…..cises.html

[Rich]

Those mouthpieces seem like fun.

[Tejicano]

Mostly just marketing BS – none of that is anywhere near mainstream as far as I can see (from here in Japan). Granted, a lot of weapons grade stupid ideas get foisted off on the Japanese in search of beauty.

But then a lot of them do hold on to incredible attractiveness well into their late 40’s and 50’s.

[sarcasmic]

Shorts and sweet! Lana Del Rey puts on a show as she writhes around in hotpants on stage in Toronto

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvs…..ronto.html
She’s gonna plump right up before too long.

[Night Elf Mohawk]

Gonna?

[Ted S.]

I know there are some rubgy fans here, so:

NZ set to play US in Chicago in November

Unfortunately, the reporter in the audio file (~900KB, 2:10) tries to turn it into a PC whinefest.

[Swiss Servator, CH yeah!]

I WILL BE THERE! HOT DAMN!

[Lord Humungus]

How Courteous Are The Drivers In Your City?

AutoVantage, a roadside assistance service, measured behaviors such as speeding, running of red lights, driving while talking on cell phones and cutting across lanes with no notice in major cities to come up with the rankings. The same survey was conducted in 2009 and notably Portland was ranked number one most courteous that year, as well. In 2009, New York City topped the list as least courteous but no longer makes the top five.

Type/Bottom five in the link.

[Matrix]

I gotta agree with this list. Just TRY driving the speed limit on the interstate in Atlanta, even in the right lane. You’ll get your ass run over.

I tried it one time, and people were wanting to shoot me. If you’re not going 20 miles or more over the speed limit in Atlanta, you’re going to be run off the road.

[John]

I have lived and been to most of the US. I lived in Atlanta for a year and the drivers there are the worst in the country in my opinion. People talk about Boston drivers. Massholes wouldn’t last ten minutes on the connector.

[Rasilio]

I have lived in Boston for about half my adult life and lived in Atlanta for about 5 years.

Boston drivers as a general rule are far more aggressive but they are consistent and predictably aggressive and more often than not know how to drive aggressively (for example cutting someone off is not so bad, cutting them off and slamming on your brakes is). Atlanta drivers however tend to be fast and erratic which is not a good combination

[Juice]

That’s the problem with DC drivers. You never know what you’re going to get. It’s a mixed bag of the fucks that want to go 15 in a 30 and the ones who don’t care who else is on the road. Throw in assholes that just park their car in the middle of the lane or the people who swerve into traffic like it’s not there and it’s just complete hell.

[Kaptious Kristen]

I didn’t even know it was possible to get up to the speed limit on ATL highways. Every time I’ve been there, it has been stop-and-go on the interstates.

[sarcasmic]

Alec Baldwin calls cop who cuffed him a liar and insists he didn’t ask for special treatment in ANOTHER angry Twitter rant
Starting just before 10p.m., Baldwin fired off 10 tweets in 30 minutes lambasting Officer Montero who he claims ‘lied in her report’ of the Tuesday morning incident
Witnesses said he ‘went ballistic’ at police after being stopped for cycling the wrong way on Fifth Ave and failing to produce ID
He received two summons – one traffic violation and a second for disorderly conduct
He was detained at 10.15a.m. and cycled home after he was released at 12.20p.m. then he immediately began tweeting about arrest
Baldwin – who once considered running for Mayor of New York – tweeted earlier: ‘New York City is a mismanaged carnival of stupidity’
He became enraged because police officers were ‘too young to recognize him’ though he later said one did

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvs…..-rant.html

[Rufus J. Firefly]

And someone wanted to have Baldwin as part of the panel on TI.

He’s too messed up to be invited into the libertarian ranks.

[Cyto]

Someone needs to send Baldwin the “how to interact with the police” video. “Contempt of cop” is a recognized phrase for a reason.

[Lord Humungus]

Can Democrats Win When Obama’s Not on the Ticket?

What’s changed is the makeup of both parties’ coalitions. Seniors, who frequently voted Democratic over pocketbook issues like Social Security and Medicare, have migrated into the Republican column. White blue-collar voters, once a staple of Democratic coalitions past, have become estranged from their old political home over cultural issues. In their place are what my colleague Ron Brownstein labels “the coalition of the ascendant”?single women, minorities, and millennial voters. Voters within these groups turned out at high levels in the last two presidential elections to offset Democratic losses elsewhere.

The challenge for Democrats in this year’s midterms is getting these “ascendant” voters enthusiastic about showing up to the polls when Obama isn’t on the ballot?something that Democratic turnout specialists are working overtime to achieve. Even if they don’t show up and Republicans retake the Senate in 2014, the assumption is they’re bound to return at similar levels for the next presidential election. That’s not necessarily the case.

[R C Dean]

Ron Brownstein labels “the coalition of the ascendant”?single women, minorities, and millennial voters

I think he means the Dems are relying on a coalition of the dependent.

[Lord Humungus]

Harvard University Freshmen To Be Forced To Undergo ‘Check Your Privilege’ Training

“The administration has officially expressed its desire to collaborate with us on designing a privilege training component for orientation week for every HKS degree program,” the student group that lobbied for the effort, Harvard Kennedy School Speaks Out, states on its Tumblr page.

The “power and privilege training” is expected to cover “components of race, gender, socioeconomic class, sexual orientation, ability, religion, international status, and power differentials for every incoming HKS student starting August 2014,” the group states on its website.

The new training comes about as the result of the Harvard Kennedy School Speaks Out’s lobbying effort, which launched this school year and was prompted by what some students described as negative classroom experiences.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

“ability”?

[Swiss Servator, CH yeah!]

Yeah, that was my reaction. Guess we can cross Harvard off the list of schools that might actually teach anymore.

[Cyto]

The main benefit (to the prospective employer) of a top school has always been as a filter identifying the cream of the crop in terms of ability.

Studies have repeatedly shown that the top IQ scores predict success in life, regardless of education path. So a top school graduate will give you top IQ plus motivation to perform well in a competitive school environment. That should be a pretty good predictor of success in your company. It doesn’t really have much to do with what they learned in school. (although this is certainly more important in the hard sciences than it is in general “business”)

[R C Dean]

So a top school graduate will give you top IQ plus motivation to perform well in a competitive school environment.

It will also give you someone who has spent years steeping a toxic environment, and might be more about the ability to perform well in a highly politicized environment where actual ability is secondary to the ability to mouth PC cant.

[WDATPDIM?!]

Paging FIRE. Paging FIRE.

[Jordan]

Not much they can do other than public shaming.

[WDATPDIM?!]

Public shaming is a good start.

[UnCivilServant]

You think these College officials have shame?

[Rich]

Will the privilege of having multiple orgasms be covered?

[Drake]

Harvard “Kennedy” School…

Will all sense of irony be surgically removed?

[Restoras]

Maybe with a well placed rifle shot…

[Ted S.]

Yeah; it should be named after Kmele.

[John]

What should happen is the students themselves should go to it and make a laughing stock out of it. Sadly, anyone who had the back bone and independent thought capable of doing such a thing is weeded out early by the admissions process. Those little boot lickers will goose step right along just as their masters tell them.

[Fr?ulein Nikki]

It’s the Kennedy school. They’re in training to be the masters.

[John]

And lesson number one is following orders and telling your betters what they want to hear.

[Swiss Servator, CH yeah!]

“Those who would rule must first derp”?

[mr simple]

I’m sure the minorities at Harvard are totally oppressed and have no access to power or privilege. While attending Harvard. Jesus, these kids are clueless.

“We could not grapple with hard questions about the role of government, the impact of a particular social welfare program, or the root cause of poverty,” the letter stated.

Who wants to bet the answer they come up with has to do with racism and not personal responsibility or poor decision making?

[WDATPDIM?!]

The European Union Court of Justice has backed the “right to be forgotten,”

A/K/A “The Costanza Doctrine”

[Rich]

French Foreign Minister: ‘500 Days to Avoid Climate Chaos’

Calm damn, Messr Fabius. The mid-terms are *well* before your deadline.

[Jordan]

$1.2 Billion Obamacare Contract Pays Workers to Do Nothing

There are some weeks that a data entry person would not process an application. The main thing is the data entry side does not have hardly any work to do. They’re told to sit at their computers and hit the refresh button no more than every 10 minutes. They’re monitored, to hopefully look for an application. Their goals are to process 2 applications a month, and some people are not even able to do that. There are centers in Missouri, Kentucky, and Oklahoma. 1,800 people trying to get 1 of 30 application that pop up. Serco, gets paid for the number of people they employ. So they want us there even if we are not doing anything.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

Stimulus!

[Mokers]

CEO Magazine: California is the worst state for business

So who are you going to believe, Jerry Brown or your own lying eyes?

[Notorious G.K.C.]

ahem –

https://reason.com/blog/2014/05…..nt_4510337

[Mokers]

Ahh, I knew I saw the link somewhere.

[Ted S.]

I haven’t seen this anywhere else here, so:

Searching for Sugar Man director Malik Bendjelloul dead at 36

That link also has a link to an audio file of an interview he did back in August 2012 before the movie became big and won the Oscar.

🙁

[John]

What a shame. That movie is great.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Today’s snipping news:

“A Florida mother is hoping that the Fourth District Court of Appeals will intervene and stop a court order that her 3-year-old son be circumcised.
Heather Hironimus of Boynton Beach and Dennis Nebus of Boca Raton had a child together in 2010 and entered into a parenting agreement more than a year later. The agreement clearly stated that the father would be responsible for scheduling and paying for the boy’s circumcision.

“But now that the boy is three and has not yet been circumcised, the mother objects, because, as court documents explain it, the procedure is “not medically necessary and she did not want to have the parties’ son undergo requisite general anesthesia for fear of death.”

“However, Judge Jeffrey Gillen last week ordered that there’s no reason the parties shouldn’t abide by the parenting agreement and that the father can go ahead and schedule the procedure.”

http://blogs.browardpalmbeach……_boy_s.php

[db]

Barbaric.

[John]

I am siding with the mother. Both parents should have to agree to elective medical procedures. If one parent objects, it shouldn’t happen.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

Agreed. It is like the recent Supreme Court case that said that if a married couple stands at the door of their home and one says its ok to come in but the other says it is not, most people would not take the invitation. Some things need to be unanimous.

[Brett L]

Heather Hironimus of Boynton Beach and Dennis Nebus of Boca Raton had a child together in 2010 and entered into a parenting agreement more than a year later. The agreement clearly stated that the father would be responsible for scheduling and paying for the boy’s circumcision.

Both parents did agree — in legal documents. Where else can you unwind this other than in court?

[Drake]

Make the father stand in front of the kid while it’s happening so he knows who’s idea it was to mutilate his prick.

[R C Dean]

Both parents should have to agree to elective medical procedures.

She already did. The case is about her breach of the contract containing that agreement.

[Juice]

Fuck what the kid might want.

[Rich]

Baltimore City May Impose New Curfew For Teens

“We have to look for ways to support kids in need, vulnerable children,” said Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake.

Nice spin, Mayor.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

Kumar sent a letter to the council saying enforcement of the curfew expansion encourages unnecessary police stops for young people.

“I can’t look at you and say, `You’re over 14; you’re under 14; you’re 15.’ And moreover, I can’t look at you and know whether you are on your way home from school,” she said.

But Police Commissioner Anthony Batts says he believes it’s enforceable.

“I think it’s fairly easy to see the difference in a 14-year-old, 13-year-old, 12-year-old,” he said. “And if this keeps them safe, I think it’s a positive.”

Ha!

[Rich]

“I think it’s fairly easy to see the difference in a 14-year-old, 13-year-old, 12-year-old,” he said.

And if you can’t see it, you can *smell* it: 14-year-olds emit an odor of raw marijuana.

[Ted S.]

Kumar sent a letter to the council saying enforcement of the curfew expansion encourages unnecessary police stops for young people.

What does Harold think?

[AlexInCT]

He wants more White Castle! (yuck)

[Doctor Whom]

Story time: When I did my undergrad at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore City had a daytime curfew for kids of high-school age. I was routinely pulled over. I therefore call bullshit on the assertion that it’s easy to tell.

[UnCivilServant]

Given differences in genetics, it’s downright impossible.

[Lord Humungus]

Maybe you should stop carting underage girls around in your car.

[Lord Humungus]

I’m selling off my expensive audio gear – if anyone needs a turntable, a pair of 150pd (each) studio monitors, and a tube preamp – lemme know.

Reason? I rarely have the chance to play music on my downstairs system – it’s like having a sports car in the garage that you only drive on Sundays… during summer… only when the sun is shining.

[The Late P Brooks]

I wonder how the traffic is flowing on the Tappan Zee Bridge, this morning.

“Hey, ASSHOLE! I gotsta get ta WOIK!”

[Restoras]

Isn’t it always awful?

[db]

A.M. Links: Hundreds Dead After Turkey Mine Explosion,

Underground Thanksgiving dinners hardest hit.

[Swiss Servator, CH yeah!]

*narrows gaze*

[robc]

Dammit, was going to make a joke along the lines of:

They mine for turkeys? I thought they raised them on a farm or something.

[Steve G]

#BringBackOurTurkMiners

[Palin's Buttplug]

#FuckYouRush

Seriously, Jon Stewart put PigBoy in Twitter crosshairs.

[UnCivilServant]

Green Lantern has a Twitter account?

[Bo Cara Esq.]

Hawkgirl started it for him.

[WTF]

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.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

Oracle of Abortion?

The so-called “Oracle of Omaha” has donated more than $1.2 billion to abortion organizations from 2001 to 2012.

[Palin's Buttplug]

What is an “abortion organization”? Knowing the aborto-freaks like I do I suspect any medical organization is one.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

Why does that matter, doesn’t this make you love him more?

[Palin's Buttplug]

Well, I am pro-choice on everything (unlike some so-called libertarians) so I suspect I would applaud his charity choices.

[WTF]

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.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

I know, for some the Girl Scouts are one.

[Palin's Buttplug]

I suspect there are some sex education for third-world countries in there. The fundies hate educated women.

Educated women are more liberal, of course. And less religious.

[Pathogen]

“Educated women are more liberal, of course. And less religious.”

That’s a broad assertion.. I suppose that it depends on the individual, and who would educate them…

[AlexInCT]

And what leftist propaganda passes for education.

[Lord Humungus]

People who mocked John McCain outraged that Karl Rove asked about Hillary Clinton’s health

It might not be the towering height of liberal hypocrisy to watch the same people who savaged Bob Dole and John McCain as doddering old farts with one foot in the grave squeal in outrage when Karl Rove asks about Hillary Clinton’s health, but it’s definitely far up the north slope of that hypocrisy mountain.

I gather everyone on the Left has their amnesia circuits engaged, and is obediently forgetting the way snotty Obama operatives mocked McCain for the injuries he sustained as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. Apparently they’re also forgetting how Republican candidates tend to be far more open about their medical histories than Democrats. If Rove’s remarks were intended to lead Hillary supporters onto thin ice ? and maybe trick them into getting agitated about something that ultimately leads back to the Benghazi hearings ? he succeeded brilliantly.

[John]

I think asking about the health of a 69 year old women who recently spent significant time in the hospital is a valid question. The fact that Hillary’s sycophants are acting so outraged and dismissive makes me thing there really is something wrong with her.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

“the way snotty Obama operatives mocked McCain for the injuries he sustained as a prisoner of war in Vietnam”

Anyone got a link to this, first time hearing about it.

[Restoras]

This seems related. Not sure if there are others.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.co…..email.html

[Bo Cara Esq.]

Seems like a stretch, making fun of his computer illiteracy based on his statement that he was just starting to go online is not mocking him for injuries sustained in Vietnam.

[Palin's Buttplug]

They’re projecting.

In reality it is the Bush team that savagely attacked McCain in the 2000 GOP primaries. McCain had a black baby (his adopted child from BanglaDesh) and was shell-shocked in the war and mentally unstable.

The GOP is viscous and full of liars and ratfuckers.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

Ah, both sides do that all the time.

[John]

In reality it is the Bush team that savagely attacked McCain in the 2000 GOP primaries. McCain had a black baby (his adopted child from BanglaDesh) and was shell-shocked in the war and mentally unstable.

The voices in your head do not count as “facts”. Bush never attacked McCain for having a black baby. And only people like you, who are all Dems anyway would have cared if he did.

[Palin's Buttplug]

“Bush team” – Rove hired the telemarketers and it is well established now.

Eight years ago this month, John McCain took the New Hampshire primary and was favored to win in South Carolina. Had he succeeded, he would likely have thwarted the presidential aspirations of George W. Bush and become the Republican nominee. But Bush strategist Karl Rove came to the rescue with a vicious smear tactic.

Rove invented a uniquely injurious fiction for his operatives to circulate via a phony poll. Voters were asked, “Would you be more or less likely to vote for John McCain…if you knew he had fathered an illegitimate black child?” This was no random slur. McCain was at the time campaigning with his dark-skinned daughter, Bridget, adopted from Bangladesh.

It worked. Owing largely to the Rove-orchestrated whispering campaign, Bush prevailed in South Carolina and secured the Republican nomination. The rest is history–specifically the tragic and blighted history of our young century. It worked in another way as well. Too shaken to defend himself, McCain emerged from the bruising episode less maverick reformer and more Manchurian candidate.

http://www.thenation.com/artic…..hn-mccain#

[John]

Yeah dipshit, a single push poll that may or may not have happened or even went to very many people let alone voters is “savagely attacking”.

You are embarrassing even to bots.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

You are switching your arguments. First you said Bush did not do this, then when confronted with evidence his campaign did you now say ‘well, it was just one little push poll.’

The GOP does some dirty things to win elections, but so does the Democrat Party (I am no fan of Sarah Palin, but remember the attacks on her challenged child?).

[fuck you tulpa]

“well, it was just one little push poll.'”

That BUSH STILL DIDN’T DO.

How fucking stupid are you?

[John]

The reason why they said he was computer illiterate was because he couldn’t type. The reason why he couldn’t type is because of his injuries. Imagine looking at someone fumbling over a computer keyboard and saying “what are you too stupid and old to use a computer” only to find out later the person had deformed hands due to some horrible injury. You would rightfully feel and look like a complete jackass. And that is just what these people looked like to everyone except people like SHreek who are have basically devolved back to the level of animals.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

But even you note there is this weird chain reasoning to that (he says he was computer illiterate, but that is because he cannot type, and he cannot type is because of his Vietnam injuries, therefore they were really mocking his Vietnam injuries).

[John]

There is nothing weird about it at all. Maybe you wouldn’t feel like a jackass in that situation. Those of us not on the Autism scale, however, would.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

I will note you changed it to ‘looking at someone fumbling over a computer keyboard…’ A closer analogy would be if someone reported to you that Bob said he was just starting to learn how to get online and you said ‘what? that guy is behind the curve’ and then you found out that the reason why he was just learning is because he could not type, and he could not type because of an injury sustained long ago. I think in that situation most people would just go ‘oh, ok, my bad, that’s not so bad then.’

[Restoras]

Depending on how you lean it is easy to take either side. Regardless, it is/was a meaningless sideshow.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

Agreed. This was an election where the two candidates fell over each other to rush to DC to announce support for bailing out Wall Street, but the focus was on whether McCain could use the internet or whether Obama wore enough flag pins.

[robc]

What were you, 12 or something?

It happened a lot, depending on your definition of “operative”.

[Auric Demonocles]

I’m with McCain, provided that his proposal also includes taking out the Nigerian prince who stole away Feeney’s life savings of alt-text.

[kilroy]

New CDC study finds dramatic increase in e-cigarette-related calls to poison centers

I’d like to see the numbers contrasted against the calls for vitamins or household cleaners.

[Steve G]

Actually I’d like to see the increase in those calls correlated with the increase in e-cigarette use. I’m betting they’re following the same curve.

[kilroy]

I’m sure of it. My point is that, as a percentage of calls to poison centers, e-cigs are probably less than 1% of calls for things they aren’t trying to ban. This “study” just smells so strongly of manufactured justification for regulation.

[Brett L]

“Oh my god, my dog just swallowed three cartidges!”

[Rasilio]

yes, they increased 500% in the last 5 years

from just 1 in 2008 to an all time record high of 5 in 2013

[ElevenOnly]

About half were attributed to kids under 5…

So this tells us basically nothing, except kids are stupid, and keep toxic tasty liquids away from them.

How many calls does the CDC get because a 5 year old guzzled antifreeze? Or booze?

[Max Power]

How do you fix Philadelphia’s poverty?
Raise the minimum wage, of course!

Mariana Chilton, associate professor in the School of Public Health at Drexel University and director of the Center for Hunger-Free Communities, said that City Hall deserves a much greater share of the blame for neglecting poverty-plagued neighborhoods, failing to clear dilapidated homes or fix potholes. “It makes you realize that people have stopped caring about you,” she said.

Chilton said she believes that there has been too much emphasis on joblessness in the inner city and that a living wage for the people who are working would do more to pull more Philadelphians above the poverty line. Increasingly, the jobs that have displaced union factory labor with decent wages have been in service sectors such as fast-food restaurants or big-box stores that often pay at or near the current minimum wage of $7.25 an hour.

In addition, she said that paid sick leave – a measure that was considered but voted down by Philadelphia City Council after lobbying by Comcast and other businesses – and early childhood care would help parents who now have to make difficult choices between their kids and health or keeping their jobs.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

Why not just make poverty illegal?

[Jordan]

Hmm. Good idea. They already solved the problem of people not having health insurance by making it illegal to not have health insurance.

[UnCivilServant]

How do you fix Philadelphia’s poverty?

Shut down all government programs not related to fixing the ROADZ (or ROADZ-like non-redistributive programs like dealing with murderers and torts) lay off the mandarins and lock up the elected officials. The problem will then sort itself out as the people realize they can’t live on someone else’s dime and start looking for ways to support themselves again.

One might note the possiblity of this causing the people to simply move to another redistributive city. Simply repeat the process there. Eventually, the cities will pre-emptively end the programs to avoid getting locked up.

[John]

Poverty is a cultural not a monetary problem.

[sarcasmic]

Personal responsibility? How dare you?!?

[John]

Something like 90% of all NBA players who made more than $100 million in their careers end up bankrupt. They came from poverty and they really stayed in poverty most of them. They just got to spend some money and live in a nice house for a while. The money didn’t change who they were or the culture they were apart of.

If poverty were just about money, we would have solved it long ago.

[Overt]

I have family who have worked like hell to get out of poverty. It truly was a change in their mindset- it wasn’t that they were lazy or that they were hedonists or anything. It was that poverty conditioned them to spend money, not save it.

When you live in poverty, it is very, very difficult to get a cushion of savings. And all your saving for a year can be wiped out in one day due to an expensive car repair, or doctor bill. So you learn that if you got money, you better spend it now, rather than let it sit around in a bank account where it will get spent on something else.

I’m not saying it is good logic- but pointing out that the cultural problem is more than just drinking and drugs. (And I know you never said anything about that).

[John]

I completely agree. It is also about long term thinking and delayed gratification. People in poverty will do stupid shit like get a decent job and immediately move to the most expensive apartment they can afford or buy the most expensive car they can and thus sink like rocks if they ever get laid off or sick or something. Living right at the edge of your means is very dangerous for anyone and especially so for someone who doesn’t have a good support structure.

[UnCivilServant]

I was trying to suggest destroying the conditions under which that culture can survive.

[John]

I know. I was agreeing with you.

[andarm16]

It’s a win win. She gets to bitch about a lack of living wages now, and then she gets to bitch about the total lack of jobs in a few years. Everyone wins. Well, expect for the people that she’s trying to help, but there probably low brow philistines that prefer McDonald’s to cruelty free organic local food.

[andarm16]

they are dammit!

[Ted S.]

Everyone wins. Well, expect for the people that she’s trying to help,

She’s not trying to help anybody but herself.

[andarm16]

Yeah, claiming to help would be the right word.

[Ted S.]

How do you fix Philadelphia’s poverty?

This being Philadelphia, you could just bomb the poor.

[Max Power]

Gotta bomb something!

[Notorious G.K.C.]

“fix potholes”

That’s a good idea. Fixing potholes would probably cut down on car repair from people who drive over potholes on the way to work. It’s almost like giving people a raise.

[Sevo]

…”early childhood care would help parents who now have to make difficult choices between their kids and health or keeping their jobs.”

If they chose to have kids, they already made the ‘difficult choice’.
Hope it works out for them.

[Slammer]

she said…would help parents who now have to make difficult choices

These animals are such scum they can’t think for themselves.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Mark Pryor now has an 11 point lead in the Arkansas Senate race according to NBC Marist. The Arkansas Democratic Governor has a 74% approval rating.

But John said it was DOOM! for Democrats due to Obamacare! DOOM!!!!!!!! HE SAID!!!!!

[Bo Cara Esq.]

Isn’t Nate Silver giving the GOP chances to take the Senate at around 70-80%?

[Palin's Buttplug]

60% was his first forecast. Don’t know what it is now but it will drop for sure.

Then it will bounce around.

At issue is what will drive it and it is looking like Obamacare will not be a factor at all.

[John]

If you just poll registered voter and weight the poll towards Democrats enough, things are great.

Just go back to posting the talking points they give you. You are fucking retarded and it gets embarrassing when you try to do more.

[Sevo]

Palin’s Buttplug|5.14.14 @ 10:02AM|#
…”At issue is what will drive it and it is looking like Obamacare will not be a factor at all.”

Says shreek without a shred of evidence.
Hey, bleever, tell us of your god again; I need a laugh.

[Tejicano]

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]

That is a poll of “registered voters” rather than “likely voters” you fucking retard. The polls of likely voters all have Pryor behind. And no poll has Pryor above 50%, which is very bad for an incumbent.

[Lord Humungus]

NBC/Marist, though the latest, looks like an outlier
http://www.politico.com/p/poll…..3N5DHbeDgs

Time will tell if there has been a sudden shift in Pryor’s favor.

[John]

Like I said above it is of all registered voters not likely voters. Democrats always do better in registered voter polls than they do in likely voter polls.

Also, just polling registered voters covers up the biggest problem the Democrats face, their demoralized and unenthusiastic base.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

While I think the odds are in the GOP’s favor, I would caution you that the kind of thinking and conclusions you are making were the same ones many conservatives predicting a Romney victory made.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Were you here in 2012?

Red Tony had confidently declared victory for Romney and pre-ordered his Romney blow-up doll to smother with Team Red love.

It was nauseating. John is consistently wrong about everything.

[John]

Yes Shreek, we know, you only show up to lie and suck Obama’s cock.

So how is that whole Obama re-election thing working out for you? Four more years of the Chocolate Nixon hasn’t seemed to have done the Democrats a lot of good.

[John]

You never know who will turn out until they do. Of course we now know that the IRS was using the full force of law to keep the GOP from organizing. I doubt they are still doing that this year or will be able to quite have the effect.

Regardless, voter enthusiasm is down all over. But Republicans have a 15 point advantage 42% to 27% in number of voters “enthusiastic to vote” this year. That is enormous and nothing like anything in 2012.

Who knows. Maybe it will 06 and the public will give the Democrats total control of the government again, but I doubt it.

Regardless, no candidate who is down among likely voters and under 50% should take much solace from a single poll of all registered voters.

[The Late P Brooks]

The world needs more MBAs for social justice!

We need leaders who deeply understand markets, their connection to the public sector, and the philosophical, cultural, and social implications of business’s growing global influence. We need leaders who fully grasp that markets, while highly efficient, are not fair, kind, or wise. The prevailing market price, while efficient, is not inherently just?it can, in fact, be rather cruel: for example, when a large retail chain comes to a town, forcing small businesses to close. We need leaders who are ready to confront the challenges of growing income inequality, unemployment, environmental impact, and cultural homogenization that current business practices do not yet adequately address.

We need leaders who can take the lessons learned over the last 50 years in the private sector about effective management practices and apply them to improve the performance of organizations in the government and nonprofit sectors.

They don’t call it BLOOMBERG Business Week for nothing.

[John]

for example, when a large retail chain comes to a town, forcing small businesses to close.

I guess there is nothing cruel about making people pay higher prices to support a “small business owner”.

[Matrix]

Corn grown in space caves could be the future of farming

And, naturally, the anti-GMO/anti-irradiation crowd will consider this the next threat to humanity.

[Rasilio]

+1 Moon is a harsh mistress

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Fan video about Julie Borowski. It’s kind of what you would think.

Lyrics may be NSFW.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yawHRrXXWjE

[Elspeth Flashman]

The city that lost a three-year battle over a panhandling ordinance tries again, with a new ordinance.

http://www.mlive.com/news/gran…..sf/2014/05
/panhandling_proposal_in_grand.html

It looks like they’re attempting a “time, place, or manner” restriction on free speech with this go-round.

[R C Dean]

At issue is what will drive it and it is looking like Obamacare will not be a factor at all.

Summer and fall are when insurance companies have to post their rate increases, policy cancellations, etc. with the states.

I have the feeling that ObamaCare will continue to be in the news.

Sadly, the Repubs are far too stupid to be chasing down sob stories about narrow networks, high deductibles, etc. So I expect the Dems to get a pass on how bad many of the new exchange policies really are.

[Juice]

Don’t you know that ALL of those stories are completely made up by the Koch brothers?