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Tiananmen Square

A.M. Links: Obama Swaps Taliban Fighters for U.S. Soldier, China Prepares for Tiananmen Anniversary, Spanish King Abdicates Throne

Damon Root | 6.2.2014 9:00 AM

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  • Credit: C-Span

    President Obama has swapped five Taliban fighters held in U.S. custody in exchange for captive U.S. soldier Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl.

  • Spanish King Juan Carlos will abdicate the throne to make way for his son, 46-year-old Crown Prince Felipe.
  • Chinese authorities have arrested dozens of activists and increased the number of armed forces in Tiananmen Square in anticipation of this week's 25th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre.
  • Donald Sterling attended services at a predominantly black church yesterday in Los Angeles.
  • Bypassing Congress, President Obama plans to use executive power to create a new Environmental Protection Agency rule on carbon emissions.
  • The N.S.A. is collecting millions of images of peope's faces from intercepted emails, text messages, and other communications.

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NEXT: Thai Protesters Embrace Hunger Games' Three-Fingered Salute

Damon Root is a senior editor at Reason and the author of A Glorious Liberty: Frederick Douglass and the Fight for an Antislavery Constitution (Potomac Books).

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  1. Fist of Etiquette   11 years ago

    President Obama has swapped five Taliban fighters held in U.S. custody in exchange for captive U.S. soldier Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl.

    Luckily since he's ending Bush's war there, there'll be no US soldiers left to keep kidnapping for swaps.

    1. Swiss Servator, CH yeah!   11 years ago

      -9,900

    2. Rufus J. Firefly   11 years ago

      Hello.

      Blackhawks ran out of juice.

      Any cycling fans around here?

      1. Ted S.   11 years ago

        I like stage races for the scenery.

        1. Rufus J. Firefly   11 years ago

          Exactly. Same here. For me, the Giro because of Italy's endless architectural diversity. It's nuts. It literally changes from stage to stage.

      2. invisible furry hand   11 years ago

        Yep, am excited about Le Tour

        1. Rufus J. Firefly   11 years ago

          Giro, Vuelta, Tour and a few other UCI road races. All good.

          1. Rufus J. Firefly   11 years ago

            Just finished watching Quintana impressively win Giro. It was a great race. Onto the TDF.

            1. anomdebus   11 years ago

              Fuckin' Quintana... that creep can roll, man.

      3. Rich   11 years ago

        News you can use: Buy a shitty bike

      4. Swiss Servator, CH yeah!   11 years ago

        Yeah, I knew the Hawks were done when with 14 minutes left and a one goal lead, they went into a shell.

        This is the worst outcome - all the beatings, injuries and long weardown of the playoffs, without a chance at the Cup.

        Bleah.

        1. Rufus J. Firefly   11 years ago

          Yeah my buddy was buzzing on that. He couldn't understand given LA's proven and wicked comeback abilities.

        2. Rufus J. Firefly   11 years ago

          With this core of Hawks I'd be stunned if they don't win at least one more cup. Six or seven bona fide world class players on that team. They even have a chance at matching Detroit's 4-2 record in Cups final over, what, a 15-year span?

        3. KDN   11 years ago

          The Worst Outcome basically sums up the entirety of my sports-watching experience over the last couple of years. I think I'm going to quit watching them entirely and take up a more productive hobby, like meth.

          I think a goalie upgrade needs to be targeted. I found Crawford to be unimpressive at best.

  2. db   11 years ago

    U.S. DOJ attack on French bank BNP called a "masterful slap."

    Obama's pimp hand is strong.

    1. Swiss Servator, CH yeah!   11 years ago

      After urinating on the heads of Swiss banks, Team Lightworker moves on to France!

    2. Palin's Buttplug   11 years ago

      Fuck BNP. Sanctions are Obama's version of white phosphorus.

      1. db   11 years ago

        Ethically highly questionable?

    3. Anomalous   11 years ago

      Pastor Manning was right!

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khuu-RhOBDU

      1. Rich   11 years ago

        Awesome. I was unaware of this dude. AMEN!!

    4. KDN   11 years ago

      "This affair is part of Washington's hegemonic ambition in law and commerce," said Jacques Myard, a lawmaker from Former President Nicolas Sarkozy's UMP Party. "Washington has the annoying habit of trying to apply its laws outside its jurisdiction and use its strength for commercial ends."

      Yes, it certainly does. It would be nice for somebody to actually do something about that.

      1. VG Zaytsev   11 years ago

        The strong do as they please; and the weak bare what they must

        1. Clich? Bandit   11 years ago

          bare or bear?...or both?

  3. Fist of Etiquette   11 years ago

    Donald Sterling attended services at a predominantly black church yesterday in Los Angeles.

    Next stop: rehab.

    1. wareagle   11 years ago

      on the next Oprah...

  4. Snark Plissken   11 years ago

    Donald Sterling attended services at a predominantly black church yesterday in Los Angeles.

    But he didn't put the pics up on Instagram.

  5. invisible furry hand   11 years ago

    Slurry sex pervert jailed for vendetta against farmer who banned him from rolling in his manure

    Read more

    1. Swiss Servator, CH yeah!   11 years ago

      "Read more"

      Um, no thanks. Not even with SugarFree's eyes.

      1. SugarFree   11 years ago

        You wouldn't believe the things I've seen with your eyes.

        1. db   11 years ago

          Hemorrhoids on fire off the rim of Uranus. I watched g-showers glitter in the dark near the Stagliano Gate. All those... moments... will be lost in time, like tears... in... rain. Time... to die...

    2. Slammer   11 years ago

      The FARMER'S manure? Yikes!

    3. Ted S.   11 years ago

      Some people would ask what's perverted about that.

      Thankfully, I am not one of those people.

    4. Scruffy Nerfherder   11 years ago

      The heart wants what it wants

  6. Fist of Etiquette   11 years ago

    Bypassing Congress, President Obama plans to use executive power to create a new Environmental Protection Agency rule on carbon emissions.

    There's nothing a new bureaucracy can't fix. Especially economic growth.

    1. Drake   11 years ago

      The only good news is that Executive Orders can be reversed with Executive Orders - if the next guy has any balls and brains.

      1. gaijin   11 years ago

        if the next guy has any balls and brains.

        Hillary has neither

  7. invisible furry hand   11 years ago

    A woman has complained to police ? and even volunteered to provide a statement in person ? about cannabis in a stolen handbag. Police are surprisingly relaxed about it

    1. Ted S.   11 years ago

      Do you get a holiday today like those freaky Kiwis do for the Queen's Birthday? (And wasn't she born in April anyway?)

      1. robc   11 years ago

        Royalty can have a birthday whenever they damn well please.

      2. invisible furry hand   11 years ago

        Ours is Monday 9 June. She was born in April, but the monarch gets an official birthday for us to celebrate along with an actual one. Much like a thoroughbred racehorse.

        When i was a kid, the Queen's birthday was pretty magical because you could legally buy fireworks and set them off in your background. Out on a cold night, bonfires burning, and blowing shit up. God save our noble Queen!

        1. robc   11 years ago

          Like the joke about July 4th. We celebrate the independence of our country by blowing up pieces of it.

        2. Clich? Bandit   11 years ago

          I would pay good money to hear your accent read that paragraph.

  8. Slammer   11 years ago

    Police dogs on the loose. Karma may be a Bitch

    1. Swiss Servator, CH yeah!   11 years ago

      The dogs are highly trained, but the sheriff's office says they are not at all killers. They worry that if approached the wrong way by someone the dogs could react aggressively, making finding them a priority for their office.

      Not killers at all, but they could go Cujo on you, so, um, we'd like to find them...

      /cops

      1. Fluffy   11 years ago

        It would be awesome if some family took these dogs in off the street, and then a couple of days later there was a no-knock raid on their house.

        BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG

        1. Swiss Servator, CH yeah!   11 years ago

          That would be the Irony Award winner of the decade.

      2. Rich   11 years ago

        Well, you know -- It might be nice if we we informed as to the *right* way to approach them.

    2. waffles   11 years ago

      The article makes it seem like they were intentionally dognapped. And the police claim the three dogs are worth $100,000. How much do they compensate people when they shoot their dogs?

      1. Virginian   11 years ago

        These aren't dogs, they're canine officers. Whoever took them has kidnapped three police officers.

  9. Palin's Buttplug   11 years ago

    Donald Sterling attended services at a predominantly black church yesterday in Los Angeles.

    $2 billion search for poontang begins.

    1. Fluffy   11 years ago

      "I'll take 'People Who Annoy You' for $2 billion, Alex!"

      Ha! It's funny 'cause it's the wrong game show!

  10. Fist of Etiquette   11 years ago

    Spanish King Juan Carlos will abdicate the throne to make way for his son, 46-year-old Crown Prince Felipe.

    They still have a monarch? Didn't they elect socialists a few years ago? What good are socialists if they leave royalty in place?

    1. WTF   11 years ago

      "Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead."

      1. Fluffy   11 years ago

        I was going to post that, but it made me feel old.

        1. Ted S.   11 years ago

          "You're only as old as the woman you feel." -- Groucho Marx

          [This is why there are no female libertarians....]

    2. Swiss Servator, CH yeah!   11 years ago

      Tourism $? Plus did this particular Rey help thwart a rightie coup attempt back in the day?

      1. invisible furry hand   11 years ago

        He did indeed. He also had a bespoke perfume created for him by Guerlain, slept with many beautiful women, and shot elephants. Basically all the things you'd hope for in a modern monarch

    3. Scarecrow Repair   11 years ago

      The whole constitutional monarchy thing makes my head spin. All the articles about this abdication are full of stuff about the crown prince being ready to take on the duties, blather about the king being unpopular partly because he spent money on a lavish safari, then blather about the prince being popular because he likes sailing on the royal yacht.

      I just do not get it.

      1. Ted S.   11 years ago

        If you have to have a ceremonial head of state doing the state funerals etc. thing, I suppose it's no worse to have an inherited monarch than to have an ex-politician in a sinecure.

        1. invisible furry hand   11 years ago

          Probably better, as there's no controversial track record to squabble over and it's not a prize for political arse-licking or worse. You get it for the lamest, and hence least objectionable, reason, and you have to shut up and support charities and turn up to boring things a lot.

        2. invisible furry hand   11 years ago

          Probably better, as there's no controversial track record to squabble over and it's not a prize for political arse-licking or worse. You get it for the lamest, and hence least objectionable, reason, and you have to shut up and support charities and turn up to boring things a lot.

        3. Scarecrow Repair   11 years ago

          I understand that part, and even like it in some ways. But I don't understand the press going along with it, all the talk of being prepared for his duties, all the seriousness they throw in the stories. I read them all with the image of the writer giggling while he types, having to take laugh breaks, I just cannot believe anyone takes any of it seriously.

          1. Clich? Bandit   11 years ago

            I always wondered, is there a bright line in British history when the monarch became impotent? I know the whole Charles thing but that was reversed. I mean more recently. We, of course, faced off against George III, who no doubt was as absolute as it got at that time. But when since then did the Monarch lose all their power? Or was it just gradual?

            1. Scarecrow Repair   11 years ago

              George III was not absolute. Many of his problems stemmed from this. The ministers he wanted wouldn't bend to his wishes, and the ministers who would bend to his wishes were incompetent. He had to do everything through them.

              I think the death knell for Brit monarchy power was George III's successors, who were weaklings, and then Victoria, who left the ministers alone, and she reigned so long that any idea of restoring even a little monarchial power were too quaint for anybody.

  11. Ted S.   11 years ago

    The N.S.A. is collecting millions of images of peope's faces from intercepted emails, text messages, and other communications.

    This is why I don't email photos of myself. Well, this, and the fact that while Helen of Troy had the face that launched a thousand ships, I've got the face that broke a thousand cameras.

    1. gaijin   11 years ago

      The N.S.A. is collecting millions of images of peope's faces from intercepted emails, text messages, and other communications.

      Surprisingly, many Americans look like dicks

      1. Swiss Servator, CH yeah!   11 years ago

        Nicely done!

      2. Snark Plissken   11 years ago

        +100 Carlos Dangers

      3. Rich   11 years ago

        The NSA: Saving Us from (Carlos) Danger!

    2. LiveFreeOrDiet   11 years ago

      This is why NSA thinks I look like Bernadette Peters.

  12. Rich   11 years ago

    Dems to unveil 2014 slogan

    Contest! What *will* it be?

    My entry: "Are You Serious in 2014?"

    1. Bee Tagger   11 years ago

      This could be lead to a Yahoo Serious ticket, so count me in.

    2. Fluffy   11 years ago

      #YesAllFascists

      1. Rich   11 years ago

        #LOL

      2. Scruffy Nerfherder   11 years ago

        #BringBackOurTurds

    3. WTF   11 years ago

      "What difference at this point does it make?"

    4. Swiss Servator, CH yeah!   11 years ago

      "Team Blue - we haven't strangled the last of the economy yet!"

    5. Fist of Etiquette   11 years ago

      "Republicans Did It"

    6. invisible furry hand   11 years ago

      "Pop pop!"

    7. Slammer   11 years ago

      Forwards into the Great Future, Comrades!

    8. Restoras   11 years ago

      "Our Bush is Better!"

    9. VG Zaytsev   11 years ago

      "What difference does it make."

    10. JW   11 years ago

      "Because you're stupid enough to vote for us, again."

      1. Clich? Bandit   11 years ago

        When was the last time there was a Dem back to back presidency (different person no so FDR) NOT due to assassination or death in office?

        1. Not an Economist   11 years ago

          Bill Clinton was a Democrat.

          1. Clich? Bandit   11 years ago

            Preceded by an R and succeeded by an R.

            Try again.

        2. mr simple   11 years ago

          Franklin Pierce and James Buchanan? Still they both only served 4 year terms. More than 8 might be too much for the American public.

    11. Moe19   11 years ago

      Pro choice!!!1!
      ...as long as it is our choice!

  13. Bee Tagger   11 years ago

    The N.S.A. is collecting millions of images of peope's faces from intercepted emails, text messages, and other communications.

    The NSA is going to think we're a race of pouty-lipped people, now.

    1. Fluffy   11 years ago

      "Yes, sir, the computers are quite sure. We're about to face a devastating terrorist attack launched by...ducks."

    2. Scruffy Nerfherder   11 years ago

      At least somebody knows what to do with all those selfies

  14. Fist of Etiquette   11 years ago

    The N.S.A. is collecting millions of images of peope's faces from intercepted emails, text messages, and other communications.

    At least they're not collecting our serial commas. Yet.

    1. Fluffy   11 years ago

      I think you mean Oxford commas.

      Me, I don't give a fuck.

  15. Jordan   11 years ago

    We Lost Soldiers in the Hunt for Bergdahl, a Guy Who Walked Off in the Dead of Night

    After we redeployed, every member of my brigade combat team received an order that we were not allowed to discuss what happened to Bergdahl for fear of endangering him. He is safe, and now it is time to speak the truth.

    And that the truth is: Bergdahl was a deserter, and soldiers from his own unit died trying to track him down.

    1. John   11 years ago

      They just wanted to close Guitmo and let the scumbags go. This asshole wasn't a pow. He was a deserter.

      1. Virginian   11 years ago

        I don't want him to be, just because I really hope there isn't anyone dumb enough to think deserting to the Taliban is a good call. But anything's possible.

        1. Scruffy Nerfherder   11 years ago

          There's always somebody dumb enough, always.

          1. Restoras   11 years ago

            Indeed. PT Barnum understood this.

          2. BakedPenguin   11 years ago

            4 soldiers deserted to North Korea.

        2. Jordan   11 years ago

          Well, he wasn't intending to desert to the Taliban. He intended to walk to India. Yeah, still a dumbass.

          1. DontShootMe   11 years ago

            He intended to walk to India.

            why can't our public schools teach geography anymore? Sheesh.

            1. Marshall Gill   11 years ago

              why can't our public schools teach geography anymore?

              Well, Afghanistan and India are only this *holds fingers an inch apart* far apart on a globe!

  16. invisible furry hand   11 years ago

    Spanish King Juan Carlos will abdicate the throne to make way for his son.

    He broke his hip while shooting elephants a few years ago, you know.

  17. BigT   11 years ago

    Off the pigs!!

    Protester arrested for impersonating a police officer while wearing a pig mask

    1. Ted S.   11 years ago

      Well, it was a Muslim police officer....

  18. Slammer   11 years ago

    Star Wars meets Agalloch/ Opeth metal. Hoth, an unsigned metal band from Seattle. Check out the Vader tie-fighter logo. Concept album about 'the story of an individual from his conception and follows him down a path that grows darker and darker.'

  19. Rich   11 years ago

    Bakery Will Stop Making Wedding Cakes After Losing Discrimination Case

    What about civil-union cakes?

    1. Jordan   11 years ago

      So, if people have a right to cake, isn't closing a bakery violating their rights as well?

      1. Ted S.   11 years ago

        Someone left my cake out in the rain....

    2. Swiss Servator, CH yeah!   11 years ago

      "The next time a gay couple wanders in there asking for a wedding cake, they won't have the experience we had.
      "They will have a responsible experience and leave feeling respected."

      Um, no... Now nobody will get wedding cakes from there.

      1. Rich   11 years ago

        "With all due respect, we don't sell wedding cakes."

        1. Brian D   11 years ago

          "And if we did we wouldn't want to sell to you anyway."

          Still legal to say, for now...

      2. Virginian   11 years ago

        "The next time a gay couple wanders in there asking for a wedding cake, they won't have the experience we had.
        "They will have a responsible experience and leave feeling respected."

        Laws are magic!

        People like this never left grade school. They're still tugging on the teacher's sleeves, demanding that she make Johnny be nice to them, and give them all his cool stuff.

        1. Restoras   11 years ago

          These people are also supremely stupid. They actually believe, despite 10,000 years of recorded history, that by passing a law you can make people not be people anymore.

          Sometimes I feel bad for them, because someday they will get a very rude awakening. But then I get over that and look forward to it.

    3. invisible furry hand   11 years ago

      They always want cake

      1. robc   11 years ago

        So my choices are "or death"?

        1. invisible furry hand   11 years ago

          "You must have tea and cake with the vicar or you DIE!"

        2. Trouser-Pod   11 years ago

          "We only had three bits of cake, and we didn't expect such a rush so many gays!"

    4. Fist of Etiquette   11 years ago

      NO CAKE FOR ANYONE. HAPPY?

      1. Swiss Servator, CH yeah!   11 years ago

        So...the cake is a lie?

    5. Rufus J. Firefly   11 years ago

      Fucking bull shit. What a couple of idiots those guys are.

      Can someone just be discriminated against without making a federal case out of it anymore?

      I mean, the Montreal Canadiens have been practicing discrimination for quite some time you don't see me going to the Supreme Court.

    6. Slammer   11 years ago

      danheckler takeresponsibility ? 3 minutes ago
      The business owner's rights are intact - his rights have not been violated in the least. Mr. Phillps never had the "right" to discriminate. Owning a business isn't a right. It is a privilege afforded to those who abide by the laws governing commerce.

      1. Snark Plissken   11 years ago

        Imagine the Commerce Clause stamping on a human face ? forever

        1. JW   11 years ago

          Can I get that on a cake?

          1. Swiss Servator, CH yeah!   11 years ago

            Sure, as long as it isn't a wedding cake!

      2. Scruffy Nerfherder   11 years ago

        Earning a living isn't a right, it's a privilege.

        We are so fucking doomed.

        1. mr simple   11 years ago

          But having someone bake you a cake, now that's a right if i've ever heard of one.

      3. Virginian   11 years ago

        It is a privilege afforded to those who abide by the laws governing commerce.

        Citation needed....oh wait, there's a letter here from the government.

        *opens letter*

        It says "FYTW" and it's signed by Eric Holder.

        1. Trouser-Pod   11 years ago

          Please, sir...May I have a business?

          1. Swiss Servator, CH yeah!   11 years ago

            DENIED!

            /DoC

      4. lap83   11 years ago

        I would be shocked if the person who wrote that wasn't from a privileged background. You'd have to be totally unfamiliar with hard work to assume that it doesn't exist.

    7. waffles   11 years ago

      Yet another sterling example of "this is why we can't have nice things".

    8. mr simple   11 years ago

      The commission also ordered the baker to submit quarterly reports about the customers he refuses to serve and retrain employees to serve everyone.

      Oh, well that seems ok.

      1. Virginian   11 years ago

        Free country, right?

      2. JW   11 years ago

        The commission also ordered the baker to submit quarterly reports about the customers he refuses to serve and retrain employees to serve everyone.

        "Here's the census of the Untied States. Printed out."

        WHUMP.

    9. Clich? Bandit   11 years ago

      It is sad. There are many gay folks who defend this guys rights but they get lumped in with these two morons and the whole argument becomes cultural rather than a principled discussion of rights.

      stupid all around.

  20. db   11 years ago

    Georgia woman shoots would-be home invaders posing as police.

    Guaranteed, some asshole lawmaker somewhere is working on legislation making it illegal to shoot at anyone who.claims to be a LEO. There's just too much opportunity for a hero to not return home.safely at the.end.of his.shift.

    1. Ted S.   11 years ago

      They're also going to make it a much more seriously enahanced crime to try to claim you're the popo as part of a home invasion.

  21. Virginian   11 years ago

    http://twitchy.com/2014/06/01/.....e-obvious/

    Mother Jones brings the derp, Twitter responds.

    1. LiveFreeOrDiet   11 years ago

      I love the bit about "If only someone was willing to build a pipe... In a line... Maybe like a pipeline."

      1. John   11 years ago

        It is so crazy it just might work.

  22. Rich   11 years ago

    Young girl drowns during birthday party

    "I see nothing that indicates that anyone was inattentive, negligent in any manner," Sgt. Christ [sic] Holzhauser said.

    Not even the *kid*?

    Ban swimming pools already -- for the children!

    1. waffles   11 years ago

      many of the 75 to 100 partygoers were apparently distracted while singing Happy Birthday to a 1-year-old. The 4-year-old drowning victim was then spotted in the pool.

      This scene is stunningly morbid.

      1. Rich   11 years ago

        "Quickly, Hannah, dear -- blow out the candle!"

      2. Snark Plissken   11 years ago

        In all seriousness, drowning isn't like in the movies, there can be little splashing or signs of distress like calling out even for an adult, much less a little kid. There are many cases of adults drowning right next to someone without their being aware anything was wrong.

        1. hamilton   11 years ago

          One of the few useful articles from Slate was on this subject.

          1. Snark Plissken   11 years ago

            That's what I was thinking of, yeah, I think it was posted here a little while back.

        2. mr simple   11 years ago

          Around 20 years ago I picked my little cousin up off the bottom of the pool, luckily in time, when he was around 2. The pool was full of kids playing and the adults were all 10 feet away around a table. I just happened to look over and see him standing on the bottom.

          1. Snark Plissken   11 years ago

            Scary stuff. What happened? Did you go to ER?

            1. mr simple   11 years ago

              I think he just coughed up some water but was otherwise ok. He was still conscious when I pulled him up. I remember the adults taking him after I brought him up, but not much after that. I was only around 12 at the time. I just remember seeing him standing on the bottom near the edge in the shallower end with his eyes open and not moving and me thinking, "Wait, that's not right."

              1. Snark Plissken   11 years ago

                I hope he realizes he owes you a life debt, he has to show up when you are getting a gun pointed at you and put a knife through the base of the guy's skull. Them's the rules.

                1. Corning   11 years ago

                  My oldest brother saved my other older brother in a similar fashion.

                  My saved brother is an asshole to everyone including my oldest.

                  I don't think those rules are followed very often.

      3. Scruffy Nerfherder   11 years ago

        And incredibly common. Everybody assumes someone else is watching the pool.

        1. Virginian   11 years ago

          Yep. There is absolutely no substitute for teaching your kids to swim. Trusting a lifeguard or a bystander is like assuming the cops or a good Samaritan will come save you if someone attacks you.

    2. invisible furry hand   11 years ago

      Do you have mandatory fences around backyard pools anywhere in the States?

      1. Restoras   11 years ago

        Everywhere, as far as I know.

        1. Agammamon   11 years ago

          As far as I know - they're only required to be installed when you sell the house. So if you own a place with a pool, technically you can't sell it without installing a fence.

          But not everywhere can have that rule - or people are getting away with selling their places without complying.

          A friend of mine both bought and sold her house (a couple of years later)without a fence around its pool in 2009.

          'Course that backyard was 90% pool - maybe they just considered the houses wall and backdoor to be fence enough.

          1. Restoras   11 years ago

            I don't actually know, to be honest, but everywhere I see a pool I see a fence. It might also be a home-onwers insurance requirement - I seem to recall hearing that.

      2. Ted S.   11 years ago

        Absolutely.

      3. Virginian   11 years ago

        I'm sure some places have such a rule. Of course it's just common sense. Or, you know, you could teach your kids to swim.

      4. Spartacus   11 years ago

        Yes. Not only that, but in Florida any new pool construction has to include alarms on any doors or windows that open onto the pool area. Even if, like me, your only child is 23 years old and no longer lives at home.

      5. JW   11 years ago

        Doubtful that even a fence would have prevented this, since the kid was in the pool with a float vest on, but went back in without it when no one was looking.

        Fucking sucks, what happened, but you can't completely eliminate risk.

  23. Virginian   11 years ago

    http://www.timesdispatch.com/n.....c45df.html

    Minutes later, Rose heard a loud banging on his outer front door and heard someone yell, "Police." When Rose opened the inner door, he saw Hancock and a man later identified as Sessions on his front stoop.

    I see this a lot in home invasion stories now. Thanks a lot cops!

    1. Fist of Etiquette   11 years ago

      I'm cuious what law enforcement experts suggest one do in this situation.

      1. Marshall Gill   11 years ago

        Die.

    2. WTF   11 years ago

      Well, you can tell it's not really the cops because the cops would have just busted down the door and come in shooting after throwing a flashbang grenade.

    3. Agammamon   11 years ago

      Rose heard a loud banging on his outer front door and heard someone yell, "Police."

      That's how she knew they weren't cops.

  24. SugarFree   11 years ago

    Watch Five Women See Their Vaginas for the First Time

    1. Scruffy Nerfherder   11 years ago

      /Picks up toys and leaves sandbox

    2. db   11 years ago

      Only if you watch my YouTube reaction video of the first.time I ever.saw.my own asshole.

      1. Scruffy Nerfherder   11 years ago

        I saw that one

        1. Ted S.   11 years ago

          I don't want to look.

  25. Game of Thrones fan   11 years ago

    Prince Oberyn Martell will not be joining us at the small council meeting today. He has a mild headache.

    1. Fist of Etiquette   11 years ago

      NO SPOILERS.

      1. robc   11 years ago

        And see my response below.

        1. Fist of Etiquette   11 years ago

          I always throw up the all caps no spoilers as a warning for those who might be watching the series first or only. If you're watching the series first (like me) or only, part of the enjoyment is being surprised.

          1. robc   11 years ago

            Dont worry, the books and episodes are getting further and further apart.

          2. robc   11 years ago

            Also, sone of us dont watch the episodes until the dvds come out in Feb. So Im expected to shut up for 14 years but you tv people cant wait 9 months?

            1. Fist of Etiquette   11 years ago

              I agree on the live-slash-disc thing. But in fairness on the tv-slash-books thing, people are only talking about GoT now because of the television show.

    2. robc   11 years ago

      Ummm...that was like 9 years ago.

      Book 3 was about 2005, right?

      1. waffles   11 years ago

        Some of us can't read you insensitive literary supremacist!

      2. SugarFree   11 years ago

        August 8 2000

        1. robc   11 years ago

          I was thinking that was book 2. So 4 and 5 took forever (and 6).

        2. robc   11 years ago

          So nearly 14 years.

          I dont know the time limit on spoilers, but that is beyond it.

          1. SugarFree   11 years ago

            The patent has expired twice.

          2. Ted S.   11 years ago

            It's Game of Thrones, anyway. Who cares?

      3. Jordan   11 years ago

        Not everyone reads the books, as you already know. I have no interest in a Wheel of Time-esque slog.

        1. Game of Thrones fan   11 years ago

          Nynaeve tugs her braid.

        2. robc   11 years ago

          7 books isnt WoTish.

          1. Jordan   11 years ago

            Close enough. If they were all good, then I would be interested. I'm about to start the Stormlight Archive even though it will be a 10 book series, because I have faith that Sanderson won't turn it into a meandering clusterfuck.

    3. KDN   11 years ago

      "Hohohoho... holy crap! Did you see his head? It was like - PBBLLT!"

    4. Restoras   11 years ago

      I think GoT is getting a bit tired. Last night's episode sucked and there are only two episodes left in the season to pique my interest in coming back for the next.

      1. KDN   11 years ago

        Yeah, they seem to be spinning their wheels a bit. They usually save the most consequential stuff for episode 9, so hopefully next week's involves more than just Tyrion getting beheaded and the next installment of Westeros's favorite buddy comedy, Arya and the Hound.

        1. Virginian   11 years ago

          Next week has a huge battle if memory serves.

        2. robc   11 years ago

          "Tyrion getting beheaded"... Awe arent you cute?

          Plot armor, dude. The imp has all the plot armor the author could provide. He is Martin's favorite character.

          1. robc   11 years ago

            Note: this statement required no future knowledge of the books.

          2. Agammamon   11 years ago

            Not to mention the public's favorite character and number one on every dwarf and midgets 'people I am going to kill' list.

  26. Rich   11 years ago

    Private pilots say border agents go too far

    They asked him why he was flying from Opa-Locka to the islands. They pressed him to search the plane. Banks refused, but he said the agents didn't take no for an answer. Banks said an agent repeated the question again while squeezing his gun and inching it out of his holster.

    Well, at least he didn't have to take off his shoes.

    1. Virginian   11 years ago

      Banks said an agent repeated the question again while squeezing his gun and inching it out of his holster.

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

    2. DontShootMe   11 years ago

      "I would like to consult with my lawyer."
      BANG. BANG. BANG. BANG. BANG. BANG. BANG. BANG. BANG. BANG.
      he's still standing.
      Where's my spare magazine?
      BANG. BANG. BANG. BANG. BANG. BANG. BANG. BANG. BANG. BANG.

    3. db   11 years ago

      I've been posting and sending links to various reason staffers on the CBP stops of private flights inside the US based on some secretive tracking system for.months now and no.one has responded.

      1. waffles   11 years ago

        Maybe it's because your unique sense of punctuation gets caught in a filter.

        1. db   11 years ago

          When I write an email I make sure.it's clean.

      2. Scruffy Nerfherder   11 years ago

        This is why I prefer helicopters. No airport.

      3. Jordan   11 years ago

        I seem to recall them running an article or at least a brickbat about it quite a while ago. Maybe I'm wrong though.

        1. db   11 years ago

          I may have missed it.

    4. Scruffy Nerfherder   11 years ago

      In Florida, Banks said he also knows that the agents are simply doing their job. He's glad they're there to make it safer for him and others to fly their planes.

      This is why I hate these articles. They always end this way.

      1. Rich   11 years ago

        The operative word here is "simply".

        1. invisible furry hand   11 years ago

          Is that a typo for "simplistically"? Or "simplemindedly"?

          1. Rich   11 years ago

            Actually, it's a typo for "simpley".

    5. Agammamon   11 years ago

      General aviation aircraft is a popular means of transporting drugs across the country. Customs and border agents have seized 1,600 pounds of marijuana and 72 pounds of cocaine over the past two years, according to an agency report

      So, this guy is, with a straight face, saying that 800 lbs of marijuana and 36 pounds of coke make up a significant percentage of the total amount of those drugs consumed in this country? Because otherwise, how would they be able to come close to an estimate of the amount being run this way unless they were intercepting a statistically significant percentage of the total?

      Or is he saying that, despite aircraft being a popular means of transport for these drugs DHS and BP aren't actually able to interdict any more than the tiniest fraction?

      Or, maybe he's just parroting what some cop told him without actually *thinking* about it.

      And journalism has a fucking *degree program* - WTF are they teaching?

      1. Virginian   11 years ago

        And journalism has a fucking *degree program* - WTF are they teaching?

        How to cup the balls and swirl the tongue around the head and shaft.

      2. mr simple   11 years ago

        General aviation aircraft is a popular means of transporting drugs across the country

        Is it any more popular than it is transporting other things, like people, across the country? Does it actually represent a significant amount of the interstate drug traffic? Or is it just another way for them to wave their dick around and not get too much pushback?

        SLD: The whole WoD is bad.

  27. The Late P Brooks   11 years ago

    "The next time a gay couple wanders in there asking for a wedding cake, they won't have the experience we had.
    "They will have a responsible experience and leave feeling respected."

    Yes, of course. That's EXACTLY what will transpire.

    Nothing fosters respect like coercion.

  28. The Late P Brooks   11 years ago

    Maybe Bergdahl left to join the Free Tibet army.

    He's from Hailey, in the People's Republic of Blaine County, Idaho. It's a plausible explanation.

  29. Ted S.   11 years ago

    Oh dear, get a look of Jelena Jankovi?'s tennis dress on ESPN2.

    Great shape, but that pattern is a disaster. Errani's outfit is a nighmare, too.

    1. Rich   11 years ago

      *Mr. Blackwell*?!

      1. Sevo   11 years ago

        Gilmore?!

    2. SugarFree   11 years ago

      Sharapova was dressed as Princess Bubblegum yesterday.

      1. waffles   11 years ago

        That sounds hot, got any pics?

      2. Ted S.   11 years ago

        And unfortunately she won.

        Quite a few players have been dressed in citrusy colors that clash with each other, as though the color schemes came out of the late 70s. You should have seen Kuznetsova's orange outfit. Yikes.

  30. The Late P Brooks   11 years ago

    that pattern is a disaster.

    Perhaps it's intended to disorient her opponent.

    1. Restoras   11 years ago

      Razzle Dazzle?
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dazzle_camouflage

      1. invisible furry hand   11 years ago

        Vajazzle?

  31. Virginian   11 years ago

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

    Two weiner dogs.

    1. Rich   11 years ago

      Needs MOAR LABELS.

    2. Slammer   11 years ago

      Those people drink way too much soda. They should be investigated.

  32. Agammamon   11 years ago

    Donald Sterling attended services at a predominantly black church yesterday in Los Angeles.

    That's right, apologise.

  33. Solanum   11 years ago

    Slate: Alcohol Taxes Should Be Tripled

    The war on drugs has been a failure. But the war on booze deserves a second chance

    1. Virginian   11 years ago

      Trolling for clicks. Has to be.

      1. Scruffy Nerfherder   11 years ago

        There's always someone dumb enough, always

  34. Spartacus   11 years ago

    Bypassing Congress, President Obama plans to use executive power to create a new Environmental Protection Agency rule on carbon emissions.

    I don't need Congress! I don't need you, or Congress, or any of this! All I need is my pen and my phone. My pen and my phone, that's all I need. And my Blackberry. My pen, my phone, and my Blackberry, that's all I need! Oh yeah, and my golf clubs. All I need is my pen, my phone, my Blackberry, and my golf clubs...

  35. Sevo   11 years ago

    "Donald Sterling attended services at a predominantly black church yesterday in Los Angeles."

    Nothing about the fruit toss?

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