A.M. Links: House Suing Obama, Ebola Epidemic Out of Control, Israel to Investigate Gaza School Shelling

• 

  White House

  Before the House voted, largely along party lines, to authorize a lawsuit against President Obama, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Tex.) suggested on the House floor yesterday that the lawsuit against the president was a "veiled attempt" at impeachment and claimed Democrats never tried to impeach President Bush even though he "pushed" America into the Iraq War. In fact, Rep. Lee co-sponsored a bill to impeach Bush in 2008. Democrats continue to use the threat of impeachment, suggested by Democrats, to raise money and political support.

• In a town hall meeting yesterday, Governor Chris Christie (R-N.J.) warned that the state government won't be able to meet all of its pensions obligations.
• The Peace Corps is evacuating from Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone over concerns about the ongoing Ebola outbreak while Doctors Without Borders warns the epidemic is out of control.
• Israel says it will investigate the shelling of a U.N. school in Gaza. A government spokesperson said he was sure Israel would apologize if it finds it was responsible for the attack.
• Prosecutors in China have formally charged with "separatism" a Beijing-based Uighur professor who disappeared with seven students seven months ago, although there was no mention of the students.
• George Bush will be writing a book about his father, George Bush.

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Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

Before the House voted, largely along party lines, to authorize a lawsuit against President Obama...

It's a wonder it took an organization lousy with attorneys to wait this long.

[UnCivilServant]

They quibbled over strategy, like a kitchen full of chefs without a defined pecking order.

[Clich? Bandit]

Speaking of chefs (surly or otherwise)...I still dont have a response to these burning questions:
from yesterday

[Restoras]

They are lawyers that use the law to enrich and empower themselves, not to uphold their duties.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Hello.

[UnCivilServant]

Too slow.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Down low.

[Longtorso, Johnny]

Misandry Hat

Have You Ever Beat Up A Boyfriend? Cause, Uh, We Have
...According to a study of relationships that engage in nonreciprocal violence, a whopping 70% are perpetrated by women. So basically that means that girls are beating up their BFs and husbands and the dudes aren't fighting back. With Amy Winehouse busting open a can of whupass on her husband last week, we decided to conduct an informal survey of the Jezebels to see who's gotten violent with their men. After reviewing the answers, let's just say that it'd be wise to never ever fuck with us....

[WTF]

Because if the dudes dared to defend themselves they'd end up in jail.

[Longtorso, Johnny]

Equality can pack quite a punch
...It is plainly obvious in the video that Goldberg was the only one at that table not verbalizing the idea that women had license to attack men physically, with legal and moral impunity. She was the only one there not living under the assumption that violence against men was a privilege women enjoyed, and that any retaliation by a man against physical aggression by a woman made her a victim....

[Ted S.]

With Amy Winehouse busting open a can of whupass on her husband last week

That's some trick!

[Rich]

Not for Amy Winehouse the Second!

[Bobarian]

How is it possible that he isn't writing that blog from inside an appliance box, with jars of urine being carefully stored?

[db]

With Amy Winehouse busting open a can of whupass on her husband last week

From inside it, apparently. Fermentation is a he'll of a thing.

[Ted S.]

Is it a she'll or an it'll of a thing, too?

[db]

Their they're, dont get you're panty's in a bunch.

*disclosure: that was exceptionally painful to write.

[Auric Demonocles]

I'm sure Jezebel wouldn't have a problem if a guy wrote an article about punching or slapping women and used that same tone...

[Brett L]

I'm just gonna guess, unless Amy Winehouse was a zombie all along, that this is a couple of years old.

[Longtorso, Johnny]

Dear Feminists: This Is Why You Are In Trouble
...You've attacked male sexuality with bloodthirsty abandon, belittling the "male gaze" and objecting to "objectification" - without understanding that objectification is as important to male sexuality as emotional context is to female sexuality. Your relentless fight against "rape culture" has put you at odds with every heterosexual man in the country, as you rampage for the right to only be approached by attractive men, and demonize unattractive men by their "misogyny". Feminism has been responsible for more male sexual guilt that the Catholic Church. But you don't know that, because we stopped talking to you a long time ago....

...But like the 35 year old woman who is still trying to rock a miniskirt, you still think feminism is about equality. No, it is not about equality, and hasn't been for a long time. What you think feminism is and what it does in the real world are two entirely separate things, and your association with an ideology that is, in effect, anti-male, anti-marriage, and anti-freedom of thought is not doing yourselves any good...

[Apatheist ?_??]

The redpill... really?

[Warty]

At least he's not posting his Suki garbage anymore.

[Fist of Etiquette]

...Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Tex.) suggested on the House floor yesterday that the lawsuit against the president was a "veiled attempt" at impeachment...

AND racism.

[hamilton]

Oh, that Sheila. What a card. And how inspirational! Proof that, really, pretty much anyone can get elected to Congress.

[Longtorso, Johnny]

She is a freed slave, you know. She realizes that after 400 years our Constitution needs updating.

[WTF]

Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Tex.)...claimed Democrats never tried to impeach President Bush ... In fact, Rep. Lee co-sponsored a bill to impeach Bush in 2008.

The Ministry of Truth approves this message.

[Longtorso, Johnny]

Walton And Johnson, Sheila Jackson Lee

[Swiss Servator, spare a franc?]

It was a "speak-o"...

[Rich]

And *she's* an "ass-o" ...

[Jerryskids]

We all know that that "a veiled attempt" was a veiled attempt to suggest "a pointy white hooded attempt".

[Longtorso, Johnny]

Liberal billionaires 'hijacking' EPA: report
...According to the report, billionaire environmentalists funnel large amounts of money to environmental groups to lobby on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency.

Up From Greenwich
WHEN Barack Obama won the White House in 2008, he did so in an unusual way for a Democrat: As the candidate of the rich. He raised more in large-dollar donations than any of his rivals and raked in more cash from Wall Street than John McCain. In November, he won the upper class's votes: By 52 percent to 46 percent, according to exit polls, Americans making more than $200,000 cast their ballots for Obama....

[Andrew S.]

Yes, but when rich people donate to leftist candidates, it's a good thing, and there's nothing wrong with it. When rich people donate to rightist candidates, it's evil, evil money and we must stop it before it takes over the world.

[Root Boy]

I'm only a little surprised there has been no follow up on Obama's fundraising and the way he ran his payment systems.

I'm sure he got lots of small donations from the fanatics, but I think there was a lot of money laundering from overseas and in the US to make it look that way.

[WTF]

I'm sure Holder's DOJ will get right on that.

[Root Boy]

I just wanted to read something in the WAPO about how they called up a bunch of small donors who said "what, I never donated to Obama, but my brother is a prog fanatic, so maybe he used my name"

[DJF]

You have a better chance that Holder will do it personnaly

[MegaloMonocle]

Follow-up by who? His consigliere at Justice? The DemOp media? The pathetic FEC, which is half Dem appointees?

[Lord Humungus]

F-35 fighter jet: Most expensive weapons program ever

A new analysis of the F-35 fighter jet shows it's not only the most expensive warplane ever. Once the engines are added, it's also the most expensive weapons program in history.

Defense analyst Winslow Wheeler broke down the costs of the jet's various versions and found they range from $148 million (Air Force F-35A) to $337 million (Navy F-35C). The Marine Corps' F-35B lands in between at $251 million.

"It gets worse," said Wheeler. "These are just the production costs. Additional expenses for research, development, test and evaluation are not included."

[UnCivilServant]

AND it doesn't work.

[WTF]

So, the perfect DOD program.

[Drax the Destroyer]

Not that I care beyond how much my bastard progeny will be fucked over by this kind of bullshit, but were these numbers adjusted for inflation at all?

[Restoras]

Enough already. Can't we just make do with the F-18, F-16, and F-15? And why are we paying the development cost - shouldn't that R&D be born by Boeing, McDonnell, et al?

[Root Boy]

We'd fall behind the awesome might of the Russian and Chines Air Forces. Plus you can add F-22, which has flaws, but it was in production already.

Marines also needed a VTOL version to replace all the old Harriers, which is an air wing fetish that needs to die - added way too much cost to the program.

[Restoras]

The probability that we will get into a major shooting war with Russia and China is minimal.

Let the military-industrial complex fund the development, not us.

The Harrier seems perfectly suited to the role it is intended.

[Root Boy]

I agree. I was being snarky about the Ruskies and Red Chinese.

Harries are getting old and do need to be replaced, but F18s or taking over A10s could have worked almost as well.

[UnCivilServant]

Speaking of Private Venture R&D for Aircraft, check out the Textron AirLand Scorpion developed for a fraction of the cost of a single F-35, with a unit price of $20mil to fill a niche in the air market we're currently misusing F-16s for.

[Root Boy]

Or the AT6 or Embraer's turboprop fighter. All are good options for cheap and workable.

Which is why they will never be chosen. Since unit costs are always being thrown around they fear lowering the total buy...plus the AF will never by any low speed stuff.

[UnCivilServant]

Any Air Farce pilot who refuses assignment to a 'low speed' jet should be dumped on Derigible duty until they learn the meaning of humility. We don't need egos and hotshots, we need close air support.

[Root Boy]

Once a month on AR15 there is a thread on this and it's a fight between Army combat vets and AF guys. The AF guys typically end with "you just don't understand" and the guys who led troops in combat in AFG gives up.

[Swiss Servator, spare a franc?]

make 'em fly C-130s

[Stormy Dragon]

AC-130 is the coolest plane ever.

[RightofCenter]

A C-130 is the coolest plane ever.

FTFY (if I got the HTML right...no reasonable at work)

[MegaloMonocle]

Incoming pilots should be given a choice:

You can fly hot-shit fighters, or you can be in line for promotion. Your choice.

[Drax the Destroyer]

Many engineering majors are some of the only people who still have a shot at the classic "American Dream" horseshit. You pull back that funding and they will have to join the ranks of Starbucks and Wal-mart. Yes, they might be managers. Calculus prepared them for that.

Every time I see these overpriced albatrosses, I wonder how many sex-bots could have been constructed. What a waste.

[Lord Humungus]

It's always with the sexbots...

[Swiss Servator, spare a franc?]

And the problem with that is....?

[DontShootMe]

Carpet bomb the middle east with sexbots. Maybe that'll settle the place down.

[Drax the Destroyer]

What would suggest? Foreplay-bots? What is this amateur hour?

[Drax the Destroyer]

YOU suggest...

I'm the amateur.

[Rich]

Foreplay-bot

"You have 20 seconds to *brace yourself*!"

[Lord Humungus]

Cuddlebots!

[Rufus J. Firefly]

When are they going to make the Invisible Plane?

http://bit.ly/1u3lJVq

Is that Wonder Woman? Does she think she's invisible again?

[Bobarian]

Isn't this normally FdA's beat? You filling in for him today?

[The Last American Hero]

As I've said before, for what these things costs, they better transform into giant robots.

[sarcasmic]

Vegan tofu lover wanted her Tennesee license plate to read 'ILVTOFU' but was turned down because the state misinterpreted the plate as being 'too vulgar'

Whitney Calk who loves tofu wanted her license plate to read ILVTOFU which the state of Tennessee interpreted as vulgar
Whitney Calk has dedicated a lot of her time to living the vegan lifestyle and even works for PETA as an assistant manager for youth marketing
iN 2009, Kelly Coffman-Lee wanted her license plate to read the same thing but was also denied

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....ulgar.html
Um, OK.

[UnCivilServant]

... I LV TO F U

I see it.

[Ted S.]

I immediately saw the same thing as you.

Never mind the fact that loving tofu is vulgar.

[UnCivilServant]

Tofu has the textural consistancy of foam rubber without the structural strength. It has no flavor on its own and the process for making it is rather dangerous to the workers. Who would want to eat that stuff?

[Restoras]

Plus soy gives you moobs. No thanks.

[Bobarian]

ILV2FU is much clearer.

[thom]

You need to learn to cook it properly.

[Bobarian]

With lots of lard?

[thom]

If you want. As a vegetarian, I obviously don't do it that way, but throw a little salt on it and deep fry it in your favorite oil is a great way to go for a sandwich or a stir fry.

Otherwise, tofu will take on the flavor of whatever you marinade it in, which makes it quite versatile. Also, you can mash it up and add it to spaghetti sauce as a great meat substitute. Or scramble it with eggs.

People often "try" tofu by taking a bite of it raw. That's not good eats. You have to cook it, or at least marinade it.

[DontShootMe]

So I have to marinade my tofu in steak?

[CatoTheElder]

BACON!

[Rich]

"'Vegan tofu lover' ... yeah, *that's* the ticket!"

[Fist of Etiquette]

George Bush will be writing a book about his father, George Bush.

You'll have to hold it upside down to read it.

[Drax the Destroyer]

Ah good, I was getting sick of using toilet paper. Thank the free market for options.

[Root Boy]

Guy did have an interesting life, going to Tx to make his own way, plus the military service. But doesn't he have an autobiography already?

Even a sappy book written by his son would probably be a better read than biographies of Hilldog or Zero.

[UnCivilServant]

You forget when a politician 'writes' a book, it's almost always ghostwritten by someone else and their name is slapped on it. So there's no predictor of writing quality since we don't know who the actual wordsmith will be.

[RBS]

Hopefully this one will at least be illustrated by W.

[Rich]

*Profusely* illustrated!

[Bobarian]

Pop-ups?

[hamilton]

You know what other world leader did a lot or painting...

[Swiss Servator, spare a franc?]

Winston Churchill?

[Drake]

Call "How Dad Tried to Destroy the Reagan Revolution and I Finished the Job".

[Root Boy]

Perfect.

Sad that I like both bushes, but they were statist as fuck.

[Drake]

I liked them until they were elected. Then they both turn to runny shit.

[Collegiate Inspector]

Do you remember when Bush2000 was calling for "a humble foreign policy"?

[Drake]

"read my lips..." still my favorite.

[Root Boy]

I do. Lived in TX and GWB was a decent governor. Thought he'd bring small government to WDC, but that was not to be.

Humble FP was supposed to follow all the stupid shit Clinton did. Didn't know Bush had an 11 knob in his back pocket.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Mussolini would approve. On one occasion (possible more who knows?) he took to the balcony to read (I forget what) to the people. Problem is, someone discovered he held the book upside down!

Breaking his socialist habit proved to be difficult, eh?

[thom]

Hopefully the older Bush doesn't get too confused by the bar code on the back.

[Mike Laursen]

It's George Bushes all the way down.

[sarcasmic]

That's job satisfaction! Woman who works as professional sex toy tester has 15 orgasms at work a week

Cara Houiellebecq has an office crammed with 2,000 toys
She test drives them for adult companies and reviews them on her blog
Earns ?15,000 a year and shares advice for women
Met her long-term partner working at a sex toy review website before setting up her own company

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/fem.....-week.html
Um, OK.

[gaijin]

"Met her long-term partner ..."

i.e., her boy toy?

[Swiss Servator, spare a franc?]

*narrows gaze*

[Drake]

After a long day with the toys in picture #3, he's throwing a hot dog into the Chunnel.

[Ted S.]

That's job satisfaction! Woman who works as professional sex toy tester has fakes 15 orgasms at work a week

Fixed it for them.

[Zeb]

Sounds like she works alone, so I don't know what the point of that would be.

[Bobarian]

That's nothing! I work for the government; masturbating all day at my desk is my job, too.

15 is a slow week or a busy day.

[Lord Humungus]

Vulnerable Dems balk at Obama actions

Democratic senators facing tough reelections want to put the brakes on President Obama's plan to reform the nation's immigration enforcement system through executive action.

Two of the Senate's most vulnerable incumbents, Sens. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) and Kay Hagan (D-N.C.), say Obama should not act unilaterally to reduce deportations, arguing it's Congress's job to change the law.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Israel says it will investigate the shelling of a U.N. school in Gaza.

What's to investigate? I'm assured repeatedly that Hamas has never engaged in shenanigans and western press has never fell for it.

[MegaloMonocle]

Is it one of one Hamas was storing missiles in? Or one of the ones Hamas was firing anti-tank rockets from?

[Lord Humungus]

Controlling the Past
Obamacare has required its partisans to ignore reality.

Since its official launch, in October of 2013, the architects and salesmen of our ill-conceived phalanx of reforms have been engaged in some of the most pronounced historical revisionism of the modern era ? truth being subjugated to expedience; idealism being repackaged in the pathetic language of good intentions; and the past being tweaked at every tricky stage. Thus has the ironclad promise that insurance premiums would decrease for all people given way to scoffing admissions that "of course" some people's premiums would increase. Thus has the quixotic assurance that there would be no winners and losers been transmuted into the defensive insistence that there are no perfect plans but that this one was "worth it overall." Thus has a favored vow that anybody who "liked" their existing plan would be able to "keep it" replaced with the patronizing mantra that people just don't know what's good for them ? and need in consequence to be told what they may buy. Thus has the claim of "universal health insurance" been quickly forgotten, a series of unseemly statistical victory dances being offered in lieu.

[gaijin]

What seems different this time is YouTube and the Interwebz...much harder to revise that much 'record'

[Root Boy]

In other words, like every government program since FDR - they have distorted original purpose and results of those programs since they began.

Marxist playbook right there.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

"Obamacare has required its partisans to ignore reality."

Isn't this a prerequisite to being a progressive?

[Fist of Etiquette]

...Governor Chris Christie (R-N.J.) warned that the state government won't be able to meet all of its pensions obligations.

Christie 2016.

[UnCivilServant]

I wouldn't vote for that ambulatory adipose tumor for dog catcher.

[Drake]

I invite to review the alternatives in New Jersey.

[Collegiate Inspector]

That incompetent cunt Buono is going to get the stupid fat fuck Governor elected Governor.

Chris Christie lost over $261 million investing taxpayer money in Atlantic City.

He should get cancer and die without aid of the medical marijuana programs he has impaired in NJ.

[Drax the Destroyer]

I'm sure he has big sugar in his corner. And arteries.

[Bobarian]

An unannounced series of bridge closings will be utilized to drive the deficit sideways.

[Lord Humungus]

State investigator dated Columbus schools' data chief during probe

An investigator for the state auditor's office began a romantic relationship with the head of the Columbus City Schools data-processing center while he was part of an investigation into district data-rigging in 2012 and 2013, officials confirmed.

Jim Longerbone, the investigator and a former Columbus police detective, was ordered by his supervisor to end the relationship with acting district Chief Information Officer Michele VanDyke in mid-2013. Instead, he resigned from the auditor's office, saying he wanted to continue to pursue the relationship.

good porn name

[Ted S.]

They learned corruption from tOSU.

[sloopyinva (previously -inca)]

I'm not,even gonna dignify myself with a response to that.

[Drax the Destroyer]

His first name should be Richard.

[Rich]

Or Harry.

[Pope Jimbo]

Of course VanDyke needs Longerbone.

[Obama's Buttplug]

It's pronounced lon-jer-b?-ne'.

[Fist of Etiquette]

...while Doctors Without Borders warns the epidemic is out of control.

The worst epidemics are the ones out of control.

[Restoras]

Didn't Ron Bailey recently assure that all was well?

[Drake]

That's when I really started panicking.

[Zeb]

I thought it was just that it isn't likely to make it to the US.

[RBS]

I'm pretty sure that was indeed the point of Ron's article. That won't stop people from acting like real life Outbreak is only days away.

[Swiss Servator, spare a franc?]

AAAAAH!!!!

*runs to basement, hides in corner and points spray can of Lysol at stairwell*

[gaijin]

Is this really an epidemic? I thought epidemics had to be widespread. Aren't the number of cases still in the low double digits?

[Zeb]

Getting toward the high triple digits according to Wikipedia.

[UnCivilServant]

Fatalities are in the mid triple digits. But since Ebola is 90% fatal, that could leave double digits currently infected (or in the thousands depending upon how much it's spreading).

[Rufus J. Firefly]

90% huh. I heard in the news it had a 60% death rate. I did feel 60 was a little low.

[UnCivilServant]

If you can get treated quickly in a western hospital, it's closer to 50%. In West African conditions it's 90%.

[Stormy Dragon]

The 90% figure is from a decade ago. More recent outbreaks have a significantly better survival rate because they've gotten much better at treating it.

[PD Scott]

According to this, it's killed 672 people as of July 23rd.

I didn't know there were different strains of Ebola, either. The current outbreak is of Zaire ebolavirus, the deadliest strain.

[MegaloMonocle]

This is Efrica, don't forget. Those casualty counts are bound to be low. By a lot.

[Lord Humungus]

Stuart Kettell starts pushing sprout up Snowdon with nose

Stuart Kettell, from Balsall Common, in the West Midlands, set off at 07:00 BST and hopes to reach the 1,085m (3,560ft) summit in four days.

The 49-year-old, who wants to raise at least ?5,000 for Macmillan Cancer Support, will replace the sprouts as they fall apart.

It is his latest in a series of fundraising challenges, which have included spending a week in a box.

[hamilton]

Interviewer: Er, Mr. Vercotti, what do you say to people who accuse you of exploiting Ron for your own purposes?

Mr. Vercotti: Well, it's totally untrue, David. Ever since I left Sicily I've been trying to do the best for Ron. I know what Ron wants to do, I believe in him and I'm just trying to create the opportunities for Ron to do the kind of things he wants to do.

Interviewer: And what's he going to do today?

Mr. Vercotti: He's going to split a railway carriage with his nose.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qvk2wNWmB20

[sarcasmic]

Florida gymnastics coach, 21, arrested after 'having sex with a 13-year-old girl' and then hiding in her closet

Justin Thomas Henry, 21 was found at 2am in the bedroom closet of the teen girl in Brandon, near Tampa, Florida
He was held on charges of lewd and lascivious battery
The girl told her mother she and Henry had consensual sex
It is believed he was found by the girl's parents

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

[WTF]

Florida Man?

[Root Boy]

But his face is not rearranged in the picture?

Does not compute.

[WTF]

Good point, since the parents of the girl supposedly caught him in her closet.

[Swiss Servator, spare a franc?]

Florida Coach.

[Zeb]

lewd and lascivious battery

13 is rather young, so some sort of statutory rape thing is probably appropriate. But if the girl says she consented, how can you call it any kind of battery?

[Bobarian]

Too young to give consent is the legal argument.

[Matrix]

My great uncle was 18 and married a 13 year old girl (back in the 50s).

[SugarFree]

A 13-year-old gymnast? I bet his defense was "Honestly, officer... I thought she was 9."

[Lord Humungus]

Vox: The biggest benefit of pre-K might not be education

One of the most common arguments in favor of universal pre-K is the argument that it will actually save money: $7 for every $1 invested, according to President Obama's proposal for expanding pre-K access. Some studies have found an even higher return ? as high as $16 to $1 ? on investment from sending 4-year-olds to school.

This isn't because of the educational benefits of pre-K. Some studies have found that gains in test scores gradually fade out as children continue through public school.

Instead, the cost-savings reflect an unexpected side-benefit of early education: children who participated in pre-K in some studies were less likely to commit crimes, or to be arrested, later in life.

[Longtorso, Johnny]

See, incarceration DOES work to deter crime.

[gaijin]

save money: $7 for every $1 invested, according to President Obama's proposal

Magic multiplier anyone?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

If Quebec is any indication, BULL SHIT.

[Auric Demonocles]

Multiplier!

[Lady Bertrum]

Geez. Every sentence above is wrong, but his one is the dumbest:

children who participated in pre-K in some studies were less likely to commit crimes, or to be arrested, later in life.

correlation or causation?

[UnCivilServant]

The parents who are most apt to put their kids in pre-k are the ones who are more likely to raise law abiding toadies.

[Swiss Servator, spare a franc?]

law abiding toadies....or clever enough to not get caught!?

[Root Boy]

Your tax dollars at work:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07......html?_r=1

So, all that surveillance of phone and internet records that the NSA, FBI, DEA, etc does works out about as well as the Boston Bomber surveillance. My faith in gov confidence is as high as ever.

[Root Boy]

gov competence

[Bobarian]

Meh, Confidence... Competence... They're both mythical, so [Hillary Clinton Campaign slogan goes here]

[Lord Humungus]

Argentina defaults but investors see eventual deal possible

Argentina defaulted for the second time in 12 years after last-ditch talks with what it called "vulture" creditors failed, though debt insurance prices on Thursday suggested investors believed a deal could eventually be reached.

After a long legal battle with hedge funds that rejected Argentina's debt restructuring following a 2002 default, Latin America's third-biggest economy failed to strike a deal in time to meet a midnight payment deadline.

The immediate focus was on whether a group of big banks and funds overseen by the International Swaps and Derivatives Association would declare the situation a "credit event".

Don't cry for me...

[gaijin]

Maybe they could sell Messi to the USMNT.

[Ted S.]

It still wouldn't be enough to beat Germany....

[gaijin]

+1-nil

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Easy their my Ostrogoth King. They came close.

/wink.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

there.

Wtf.

[Aloysious]

On a lighter note...

Crowds flock to giant German crop circle.

Those crazy aliens.

Slideshow.

[Lord Humungus]

Swiss Banks Send U.S. Client Data Before Cascade of Accords

As many as 106 banks have entered the Justice Department's program to volunteer information on how they helped clients hide money from the Internal Revenue Service, in exchange for leniency. Bloomberg News contacted 34 of the lenders, 20 of which said they will meet today's deadline. Five others declined to comment, and seven didn't have clear-cut answers. Two banks said they have dropped out of the program.

The results indicate that banks with few exceptions will comply with the program's exacting terms. This would put them in position to pay fines and avoid the fate of Wegelin & Co., a more than 270-year-old bank forced out of business by a U.S. tax probe that led to a guilty plea in 2013.

WTF.

[Swiss Servator, spare a franc?]

I keep trying to warn our folks over in the Home Office - you can write whatever you want in contracts, etc.... one cranky American judge can shove a lit stick of TNT up your hiney and BOOM, we are all begging for scraps of roesti on the side of the road.

[Swiss Servator, spare a franc?]

And don't even get me started on our "DoJ".

[Root Boy]

When BNP got their big fine I read that they just had to suck it up because they would loose their ability to operate in the US if they didn't.

The Fed and DOJ are using their muscle to get into every country and every business and make them behave. What is the anti-gun/anti-porn/anti-payday lender op called again?

[Ted S.]

Operation FYTW, I think.

[Swiss Servator, spare a franc?]

Operation Choke Point.

[Swiss Servator, spare a franc?]

Ted's title is better than the real one.

[Root Boy]

Very true. It's amazing what the statist can do now that banks are basically controlled by the government.

[Jerryskids]

They're doing their best to get an international agreement going to adopt the yuan as the new world reserve currency. Between this, the NSA working to make sure nobody wants to use any American technology infrastructure, and the Prez insisting the US has the right to go anywhere anytime to fight terrorism, it's a wonder we aren't more isolationist. If the rest of the world were smart, they would impose isolationism on the US the same way you would impose isolationism on a rabid dog.

[Swiss Servator, spare a franc?]

Ummmm....you suggesting China would be better?

[Clich? Bandit]

The dollar is done. The BRICs are setting up a workaround and Obo is pissing off people left and right.

The age of US hegemony is now at a close...bummer.

[VG Zaytsev]

But the US isn't an imperial power. Nope, not at all.

[Swiss Servator, spare a franc?]

This stuff is really cringe-worthy.

[sarcasmic]

I'm afraid the bitter truth is Iraq and Libya were better off under the tyrants toppled by an arrogant and naive West

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/deb.....-West.html

Cruel and despotic though he was, Saddam did offer Iraq a measure of stability, which was destroyed by the invasion. This repulsive strongman at least held his country together, which the divisive Shia-dominated government in Baghdad cannot do.

A similar point can be made about the no less repellent Gaddafi. In the Libya over which he presided for more than 40 years, there were no factions of militias killing innocent people and destroying their homes and livelihoods.

I am inclined to agree.

[Drax the Destroyer]

Yep. Ran into an Iraqi from bumfuck in Germany during Octoberfest. Can't corroborate his story but he seemed pretty pissed half of his family got killed so a dictator none of them gave a shit about could be deposed. I wonder why that would make him so mad. Weird, huh?

[Swiss Servator, spare a franc?]

Yeah, you know how those people are - can only live under iron rape fist of a despot... Oh Uday, if only you could have lived and ruled!

[gaijin]

^This. The path to self determination might lead thru a civil war or three.

[sarcasmic]

Not everyone wants self determination. Look at the left in this country. They don't was self determination. They want to be ruled.

[DJF]

When did self determination involve outside invading armies?

[MegaloMonocle]

You might ask the Kuwaitis. Or the French. Or the Dutch. Or the Belgians.

[Clich? Bandit]

Belgians would reply with "Which country Wallonia or Flanders"? So not the best example of your point.

You can only lead a horse to water. The only way to have a nation experience self determination is from within. Either way you feel about it I still see zero moral, legal, or rational reason why the US needs to be involved.

[sarcasmic]

It certainly appears that way.

[Zeb]

You kind of have to admit that things would be less fucked up in those places in many ways had the US not made the decision on when and how to remove the dictators, I guess.
It is a shitty choice, which is why outsiders shouldn't be making it.

[CatoTheElder]

Why do the bozos think that they can impose political and economic solutions in cultures that they barely understand while they fail so consistently and spectacularly in their own country?

The pretense of knowledge: It's the Hayekian information problem writ large.

[The Late P Brooks]

Cheap political stunts, when there's real work to be done.

WHEN WILL CONGRESS GET SERIOUS ABOUT BORDER CONTROLS TO STOP THE HORDES OF CORPORATE TAX REFUGEES FLEEING FOR IRELAND?

[robc]

Mr Obama, tear down that wall.

[The Late P Brooks]

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Tex.) suggested on the House floor yesterday that the lawsuit against the president was a "veiled attempt" at impeachment and claimed Democrats never tried to impeach President Bush even though he "pushed" America into the Iraq War. In fact, Rep. Lee co-sponsored a bill to impeach Bush in 2008.

Revisionist history merely accentuates the deeper truth of human experience.

[Aloysious]

Axe crashes through driver's window.

A car passenger is "shaken up" after an axe flew off the back of a lorry on a motorway and crashed midway through the windscreen, police say.

The problem is obviously these unregulated 'lorries'. They aren't safe, and must be banned. For the children.

[UnCivilServant]

Nonsense, we just need more armored windshields.

[Drax the Destroyer]

No the real issue is the axe. The axe obviously plotted this crime and therefore, all axes should be banned from public use.

Cops can still have them though.

[Swiss Servator, spare a franc?]

WHAT ABOUT FIREFIGHTERS???? WHY DO YOU HATE OUR HEROIC FIRST RESPONDERS, DRAX, HUH?!?!?!?!

[Drax the Destroyer]

They are just going to have to make due with driving their firetrucks through buildings.

[PD Scott]

More of a hatchet than an axe, really. So add hand tools to the list of things journalists misidentify, right under firearms and dogs.

[Swiss Servator, spare a franc?]

Semi-automatic Assault Rifle Pitbulls!

[MegaloMonocle]

Caught on camera:

http://www.buzzfeed.com/larapa.....ts-the-cut

[Bobarian]

I thought this was going to refer to the atrocious smell of body spray being used in lieu of bathing...

[db]

I was driving on I-79 yesterday and got a scare when I realized a truck in front of me was carrying a load of fiber nanotubes. On top of the.load was a large tube with several small ones nested inside. The.big one was strapped down but the smaller ones were loose and rolling back and forth. They were relying on the weight and friction between the tubes to keep them inside the big one. Not smart at all. In an accident, the tubes could fly.forward off the truck (they were up high above the cab) or the right wind could pick them up and dump them off the back of the truck.

That shit is dangerous; a friend of a friend was killed when his car was struck by a piece of something flying off a flatbed truck on the highway.

[Whahappan?]

Years ago I was driving behind a flatbed semi in a one-lane construction zone with very little room to maneuver. What looked like a railroad tie fell off and bounced up, I swerved left (I couldn't swerve very far as there was a barrier) and luckily the object bounced right, just missing me.
I got the drivers attention and he pulled over. Some of the other "ties" were loose and hanging off the bed, and as I discovered upon closer examination were solid metal. If it had bounced differently it would have gone right through the windshield and squashed me like a bug. Scary.

[MegaloMonocle]

I had a shovel barely miss us when it came out of the pickup ahead of us on the freeway once.

[sarcasmic]

Little league coach fired after it emerges he served 11 years for beating an off-duty cop to death with a baseball bat in 1988
Dean Chavez was convicted of second degree murder and served 11 for his part in the brutal murder of Chicago cop John Matthews
In recent years he has coached youth baseball in the Hegewisch Babe Ruth Baseball program, including a first place finish earlier this summer
When Matthews' family found out they approached the league which initially refused to do anything and said Chavez was a good coach
Chavez was ultimately fired by the national president of the league
He claims he had been trying to make amends and help his community, but now has no plans to continue coaching or volunteering

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....-1988.html
This comment made me smile.

Chunks_Bulldog, dallas, United States, 14 hours ago

sooooooo he can swing a bat really well...seems like he would be a great coach.

[Ted S.]

Screw the idea that perhaps this guy could rehabilitate himself.

[Zeb]

Yeah, if he has managed to behave for the last 25 years, he might not be much of a danger.

[sarcasmic]

Vet who was fired for 'slamming small dog against the wall five times' has animal cruelty charges DROPPED

Stefanie Stasse was fired from her workplace in Orlando, Florida, after a video showing the alleged abuse was discovered
Sheriff's deputies investigated the case and handed it to the state attorney's office, which filed two animal-cruelty charges
However, WFTV reports that those charges have now been dropped because prosecutors were having trouble with key witnesses in the case

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....OPPED.html
What does she think she is? A cop or something?

[Swiss Servator, spare a franc?]

Nah, she would shot the dog then.

[Ted S.]

Florida Woman.

[Lord Humungus]

U.S. Attorney Warns Cuomo on Ethics Case

In an escalation of the confrontation between the United States attorney in Manhattan, Preet Bharara, and Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo over the governor's cancellation of his own anticorruption commission, Mr. Bharara has threatened to investigate the Cuomo administration for possible obstruction of justice or witness tampering.

The warning, in a sharply worded letter from Mr. Bharara's office, came after several members of the panel issued public statements defending the governor's handling of the panel, known as the Moreland Commission, which Mr. Cuomo created last year with promises of cleaning up corruption in state politics but shut down abruptly in March.

Mr. Bharara's office has been investigating the shutdown of the commission, and pursuing its unfinished corruption cases, since April.

[UnCivilServant]

It's sad. Preet is a lousy guy, but he's better than the pols he's hunting so I have to root for him. There's little chance of the electorate getting rid of them, so he's the only avenue for improvement right now.

[Ted S.]

I told everybody after Wicked Eliot Spitzer that electing another AG was a terrible idea, but of course the fucking Noo Yawkers wouldn't listen to me.

[Root Boy]

Sharply worded letter - who does Bharara think he is, Hans Blix?

[Drax the Destroyer]

Hans Brix?

[Rich]

Bloomberg's amazing PRO-gun ad

See it now before it goes down the Memory Hole.

[WTF]

If only she'd had a gun....hey!

[Root Boy]

This must be part 2 of the Glock ad that Bloomberg must have done as well:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQHWTfFV3Vc

[CatoTheElder]

Incredibly lame. What were they thinking? The perp didn't need a gun to waste his victim, but the victim needed one to defend herself.

When seconds count, the cops will get there in a few minutes ... and draw a chalk line.

[Lord Humungus]

Trust, But Verify? Hillary Clinton Campus Speech Donations Can't Be Confirmed

Hillary Clinton says she donated her estimated $2 million dollars earned from campuses speeches over the last 18 months to her family's nonprofit Clinton Foundation ? but that assertion cannot be independently verified, according to a nonprofit foundation expert.

Rick Cohen, national correspondent for Nonprofit Quarterly, said the only way to confirm Hillary Clinton donated her campus speaking fees to her foundation would be for her to release her personal income tax returns to the public, or for her to direct her foundation to release its IRS tax filings to the public with specific identification of the names of its major donors and the amounts they donated.

[gaijin]

would be for her to release her personal income tax returns to the public
Maybe Harry Reid could do it?

[Aloysious]

Moon mystery: Why our Earth's satellite is lemon-shaped.

Scientists have worked out the reasons for the distorted shape of our Moon.

...snip

Prof Garrick-Bethell's new explanation is that four billion years ago - when the Moon formed from the debris thrown out by a huge impact between early Earth and a so-called planetoid - was much closer to the Earth. This meant tides were stronger.

Somehow, global warming is at the root of this heinousness.

[Drax the Destroyer]

Fracking strikes again.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Interviewer: What do you make of this revelation?

Prog: Er, um. Like, ban...lemons? No wait! Tax lemons.

/Crosses arms. Looks smugly at camera.

[db]

"Spiro came to make a speech about raisin' the Mars Tax."

[Rich]

Dog will not accept treats from Obama

[UnCivilServant]

Good doggie.

[Drake]

Smarter than half the voters.

[Ted S.]

How long until it's droned?

[Swiss Servator, spare a franc?]

Or eaten.

[Rich]

Ankle tags to monitor offenders' alcohol consumption

The mandatory tags record levels of alcohol in the sweat every 30 minutes.

Although this is being done in London, apparently it was developed in *South Dakota*.

[Aloysious]

Gaza: How Hamas tunnel network grew.

The BBC's Orla Guerin was given access by the Israeli military to a tunnel they say was used by Palestinian militants
Continue reading the main story

The use of tunnels in Gaza began approximately a decade and a half ago, on the border with Egypt, to smuggle weapons into Gaza under the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) border security.

Very quickly, in addition to smuggling weapons, the tunnel operators began importing any kind of sellable civilian wares.

...snip

Taxes imposed by the Hamas government on the imports were a major source of its revenue. After the Egyptian military overthrew the Muslim Brotherhood government, the new regime shut down these tunnels - this being one of the causes of the present economic crisis in Gaza.

[UnCivilServant]

There are three types of tunnels under Gaza - bunkers for Hamas leadership, smuggling tunnels into Egypt, and and offensive tunnels into Israel proper which have no economic function but do allow attackers to pop out of the ground within meters of civilian populations in what is internationally recognized Israeli land. They are actually very well made and reinforced with concrete meant for other types of infrastructure projects.

[Aloysious]

This story made me think about all the tunneling that went on during WWI. The more things change, the more they don't, I guess.

[creech]

Why can't the Israeli's use some sort of ground penetrating radar or listening devices to find these tunnels before they are completed? Or let them be completed and prepare a "surprise" for the next terrorists trying to use them?

[Swiss Servator, spare a franc?]

looks like they have.

[MegaloMonocle]

Or, since the tunnels are being used to attack Israelis, why can't the Israelis exercise their right of self-defense under international law, and cut them off at the source?

[Jordan]

The Peace Corps is evacuating from Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone over concerns about the ongoing Ebola outbreak while Doctors Without Borders warns the epidemic is out of control.

Keynesian stimulus!

[Rich]

"Run away! Run away!"

[Swiss Servator, spare a franc?]

The King Arthur College of Public Health?

[UnCivilServant]

Wouldn't that be the Sir Robin School of Medicine?

[Rich]

If they *bravely* ran away.

[UnCivilServant]

-1 Cannibalized Minstrel.

There was much rejoicing.

Yay.

[Aloysious]

UN blacklists North Korea arms ship operator.

The UN Security Council has blacklisted the operator of a North Korean ship seized in July 2013 near the Panama Canal with Cuban weapons on board.

The move means Pyongyang-based Ocean Maritime Management is now subject to an international asset freeze and travel ban.

The company operated the Chong Chon Gang, found with Soviet-era weapons and fighter jets hidden under sugar sacks.

United Nations sanctions ban most arms shipments to North Korea.

Under resolutions adopted after Pyongyang's nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009, the export of all arms and related parts, with the exception of small arms and light weapons, to the communist country is prohibited.

Here comes Red Dawn II...

[Root Boy]

Awesome! I'm mostly ready, but need to stockpile more cans of pork n beans.

[gimmeasammich]

I assume that you have a Peacemaker ready to go in your truck?

[Root Boy]

Plus a few lever actions and a crossbow because they are cool you know.

[gimmeasammich]

"You know all that hate's gonna burn you up inside."

[Restoras]

It'll keep me warm

[Apple]

Sorry if this has already been covered, but the left might be over its love affair with Neil Degrasse Tyson after he tells folks to chill out about GMOs.

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/201.....over-gmos/

Just the other day I had a friend telling me everyone should be required to watch the Cosmos global warming episode. Now suddenly it's "Well, he's an astronomer. That's not his area of expertise."

[Zeb]

Of course, they also ignore the scientists whose area of expertise is genetic modification.

[Root Boy]

Apple is right, Tyson is another boyfriend of the left, but the power of non-logic is strong with them, so this is bigger news as they can't just say, well, he probably got money from Monsanto.

[Bobarian]

Even worse, he got money from Fox!

/Derp

[Apple]

Actually, I've read several comments that said exactly that.

[Apple]

That he must have been paid off by Monsanto, that is.

[robc]

So, just one of those things that pops into my head every now and again: Arent corporate board elections just a little too soviet?

I know that you sometimes get proxy wars and all, but the lack of options in the typical "election" annoys me.

Hell, I would be fine with them nominating 6 cronies for 3 spots instead of 3 cronies for 3 spots. At least I can select amongst the cronies.

[Zeb]

That has occurred to me many times. Which is why I usually don't bother voting my insignificant number of shares. Occasionally I'll write in my own name. A board of directors gig sounds pretty sweet.

[db]

Yeah, and the fact that in general, the CEO is frequently also the Chairman of the Board is a significant conflict of interest IMO. The CEO is technically subordinate to the Board, and yet is the.officer of that.organization that typically is able to set the.agenda and control its meetings? Doesn't sound terribly right to me.

[thom]

Isn't the real politics behind those elections all done in advance? I've always assumed that the major investors in a firm are consulted about this stuff, and that if any of them had a real problem with somebody they could do something about it.

[robc]

So, just like with the Soviets.

But with slightly less assassination.

[db]

Needs more pistols left on desks with single rounds loaded.

[The Last American Hero]

Except for it being business conducted between owners of a private entity. Oh, and if you don't like the company you can sell your shares and "leave".

[sloopyinva (previously -inca)]

I'm not gonna make a pithy comment or any of that shit. I'm just going to post the video of police officers beating a suspect that has surrendered.

http://www.nbclosangeles.com/n.....99451.html

The department said they will investigate their own actions and let us know what they find.

[sarcasmic]

"Move over! I want to kick him!"
"Yeah! Me too!"
"Sounds squishy when you club his head!"
"Ow, my fist! That's assault on a police officer!"

[vserve629]

It always looks like its gonna rerain dude.

http://www.WentAnon.tk

[Lord Humungus]

Huge graduation party busted

Authorities have arrested a 23-year-old central New York man who hosted a graduation party that got so big and rowdy that authorities called in a helicopter to help break it up.

Gregory York was arrested Tuesday night and arraigned in Town of Manlius Court on criminal trespass charges. He's being held on $2,500 cash bail after his mother decided to press charges.

Police were called to the party just before midnight on July 3 and found 200 cars parked on the street and an estimated 500 to 700 people engaged in a large outdoor bash that was getting out of control.

[UnCivilServant]

It's not like there's anything to destroy in Manlius. They could level the town and cover the cost of rebuilding with pocket change.

[sloopyinva (previously -inca)]

All for rolling a joint.

http://www.nydailynews.com/new.....z38rqQZrV0

Note the story is about the stomping on the head and it ignores the fact that an officer has his fist and forearm on the guy's neck the entire time he's squirming. Yeah, that pig of an officer might squirm too if someone had a fist on their windpipe.

Of,course, this is one bad apple. And,all,of the good cops standing around and watching it would have arrested him if,only they hadn't forgotten their cuffs at the station house.

[Root Boy]

Has anything happened to the CHIP that beat the crap out of the Black Lady on the highway?

[sarcasmic]

He was given a medal for saving her from walking into traffic.

[The Late P Brooks]

The department said they will investigate their own actions and let us know what they find.

"We'll get to the bottom of this, don't you worry. Appropriate disciplinary measures will be taken."

[The Late P Brooks]

So, just one of those things that pops into my head every now and again: Arent corporate board elections just a little too soviet?

Yes. If you want total dictatorial control over the enterprise, and wish to use it as your personal piggy bank, DON"T GO PUBLIC.

[Sevo]

Can't find an image of the new one, but Dean Cortopassi runs his forth "LIAR, LAIR, PANTS ON FIRE" full-page ad today, promises one next week. The guy seems SERIOUS!
This one uses graphs and tables to show CAs ridiculous increase in debt; with a population increase of 25% over the last 20 years, CA's spending has increased 200%, nearly all of it on borrowed money.
It's in the Chron, LA Time, Fresno Bee, Sacto Bee, SJ Mercury News, SD Union Tribune and the Stockton Record.
The email addy for the ads is [e-mail], but I cannot find a web-site post.
This is the ad from two weeks ago:
http://ads.contracostatimes.co.....cations-ar

[DK]

All four are at the bottom of that page. The latest is linked here.

[Sevo]

Well, dog my cats!
Thanks!

[Restoras]

All the comments in Richman's Borderlands piece got memory-holed.