Pressure On to Arm Syrian Rebels, DOJ Steps Up Search for Radicalized Americans, Microsoft Buys Minecraft: P.M. Links

• 

  Credit: kenming_wang / photo on flickr

  The White House is pressuring Congress to authorize arming and training Syrian rebels, possibly as part of a federal funding bill.

• The Department of Justice is starting a pilot program to try to discourage Americans from joining terrorist groups like ISIS and going to war overseas. Given the general failure of the federal government's war on drugs, we can probably look forward to some really stupid messaging. The program is also about catching them before they (allegedly) strike, so maybe we should be worried about more ginned up "sting" operations against loners and losers.
• Microsoft has purchased the studio that created Minecraft for $2.5 billion. Remember when the creator of Minecraft got angry when virtual reality headset maker Oculus Rift sold out to Facebook? Good times.
• British Prime Minster David Cameron is begging Scotland voters to choose against independence, comparing it to a "painful divorce," as though there would be no possibility for things like trade and immigration between the two of them.
• A new, strict dress code at a Staten Island school has resulted in hundreds of detentions over the past two weeks over things like too-short shorts, hoodies, and sunglasses. The school, by the way, has no air conditioning and the area had been suffering from a heat wave.
• Alison Lundergan Grimes, the Democrat challenging Sen. Mitch McConnell in Kentucky, is running as far away from President Barack Obama as she can for her race, going so far as to engage in skeet shooting in her ads.

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Comments

[Idle Hands]

Boobs are unfair.

To Esco and many others in Free The Nipple, laws against female toplessness or restrictions on images of female, but not male, nipples speak to larger and, admittedly, more important areas of sexism. "Just because some women go topless doesn't mean we want a whole topless revolution," says Esco. "It's about starting a conversation and showing we're not really equal. A woman in Louisiana can get three years in jail for going topless. Women get paid 77 cents for every dollar men make."

One, how many times does this stupid 77 cents meme have to be killed? it just won't die. Two, I feel like these shrieking harpies fail to realize how much of a net positive having boobs has Eg; free drinks, attention, escaping tickets etc.. These people are the worst.

[Ted S.]

Trust me, you don't want to see my nipples, even though as a man I'd be free to show them.

[Aloysious]

It's Time to Reclaim Our Breasts

They lost their breasts? I didn't know those things detached.

[gaijin]

A woman in Louisiana can get three years in jail for going topless. Women get paid 77 cents for every dollar men make."

I'm guessing male strippers don;t earn nearly as much for showing their nipples as their female counterparts.

[Idle Hands]

Ignore the man behind the curtain.

[Jerry on the sea]

Talking about boobs: Venezuela's newest shortage: breast implants.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

Good, I've never been a fan of fake boobs.

[Riven]

+1 refund gap

[This Machine Kills 40s]

I've never been a fan of fake boobs

Long as I'm not paying for them, I think they're pretty alright.

[Obama's Buttplug]

Good, I've never been a fan of fake boobs.

Me neither.

[Dances-with-Trolls]

I saw that. I also saw somewhere recently that they were all set to start importing oil. Viva la Revolution!

[Horatio]

If I can touch 'em, they're real.

[robc]

I think a Canadian judge from a decadeish ago got it right.

He refused to overturn the laws against female topless nudity because if boobs were treated equally, then grabbing a womans boob would no longer be sexual assault. If you grab a man's boob, its assault. If you grab a woman's, its assault AND sexual assault.

So he figured that boobs should be treated equally in both cases or inequally in both.

I think you can go either way, but I think he went the right way.

[Coeus]

Lovely. Never heard that argument. Feminists would go apoplectic when presented with that choice.

[robc]

Feminists would go apoplectic when presented with that choice.

Thats what makes it so brilliant.

[Doctor Whom]

A woman in Louisiana can get three years in jail for going topless. Women get paid 77 cents for every dollar men make.

Yes, because those two things are so strongly linked. I think that women should be free to go topless, but not for nonsensical reasons like that.

[Idle Hands]

The whole fucking article was nonsensical.

[MJGreen]

I assume the next sentence is, "One-in-four women have suffered sexual assault."

[Tommy_Grand]

That sentence runs afoul of the truth police and the grammar police!

[A Secret Band of Robbers]

Do they establish a pay ratio at which they'll drop their objections to senseless obscenity laws with jail sentences?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Hello.

Notwithstanding clause in action in Ontario:

http://www.quebecoislibre.org/14/140915-5.html

Nice.

[Clich? Bandit]

Ummm Nicole is the worst AND she has boobs...allegedly

[Knarf Yenrab!]

Look feminists and varied other social critics, if you want to roll back every public indecency law, go for it. Run around completely nude like its San Fran, screw on the sidewalk, pee wherever you want, follow your bliss as you will. I'm all for public equality, and I don't see why women, naked people, or people who enjoy exhibitionism should be discriminated against on publicstate property.

After a few weeks of that, people will quickly learn the value of privately owned roads and sidewalks with privately issued norms of behavior.

[Fist of Etiquette]

The White House is pressuring Congress to authorize arming and training Syrian rebels...

They may be out of new ideas.

[gaijin]

I thought Obama had all the authority he needed under the AUMF from 2001?

[MegaloMonocle]

You mean, the fraudulent one that the Dems spent years attacking?

[gaijin]

that's the one!

[hamilton]

Huh? Who's Congress?

[Doctor Whom]

A bunch of people who just sit at their desks waiting to be scapegoated every time the Obamessiah fails to lead us into the new Jerusalem. That's it.

[CE]

I thought it was illegal to arm and fund terrorists.

[Atanarjuat]

Only if you're the family of a captured journalist. If you're the Feds, you can supply them with actual weapons. Because

FUCK YOU, THAT IS WHY

[Fist of Etiquette]

...is running as far away from President Barack Obama as she can for her race, going so far as to engage in skeet shooting in her ads.

Unless that skeet has the Obama campaign seal on them...

[Horatio]

"Skeet" shooting? Didn't her hubby get impeached for that?

[Fist of Etiquette]

...so maybe we should be worried about more ginned up "sting" operations against loners and losers.

Yeah, in other words, undercover agents will entice idiots to join and then arrest them.

[Tim]

Yeah but only the best idiots. The cr?me de la cr?me.

[expat]

Perhaps this is the first foray into this ridiculousness...

http://cnsnews.com/mrctv-blog/.....pport-isis

[Andrew S.]

How else are bloated federal agencies supposed to justify their own existence if not by creating the very scenarios that justify their own existence? You expect them to do actual work?

[Fringe Loony]

Never trust a white van that pulls up beside you with FREE JIHAD written on the side...

[Aloysious]

The White House is pressuring Congress to authorize arming and training Syrian rebels, possibly as part of a federal funding bill.

I think they should hitch this to a Highway Omnibus bill.

[Scarecrow Repair]

Shovel ready, I bet they are. Sharpen the edges, guillotine!

[Fist of Etiquette]

British Prime Minster David Cameron is begging Scotland voters to choose against independence...

He's just worried about losing Prima Nocta.

[Florida Man]

I hope they split, just to see a government wail about losing some serfs and a smaller government somewhere.

[Idle Hands]

How else is Prince Harry going to satisfy his need for feasting on the souls of non gingers?

[CE]

There aren't any non-gingers in Scotland, are there?

[Fist of Etiquette]

...comparing it to a "painful divorce," as though there would be no possibility for things like trade and immigration between the two of them.

"Stay together for the wee lads and lasses, ya dobbers."

[Jerry on the sea]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29-LRuuqFT0

[Rich]

"I was, like, flipping out, cursing mad, and I said, like, 'You know I'm not gonna wear this!'?" Silberberg said of her gym clothes.

"Cursing mad"? How quaint!

[Fist of Etiquette]

A new, strict dress code at a Staten Island school has resulted in hundreds of detentions over the past two weeks over things like too-short shorts, hoodies, and sunglasses.

You can always make criminals.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

Wait, if it is too hot, why are they wearing hoodies?

[Obama's Buttplug]

Kids in my neighborhood wear them -- with the hood up no less -- when it's 102 degrees out on a July afternoon. Why? They wanna look like Trayvon.

[Ted S.]

Three felonies a day!

[gaijin]

David Cameron is begging Scotland voters to choose against independence, comparing it to a "painful divorce,"

Baby please don;t go...I promise I will stop drinking and smacking you around.

[Xeones]

But aren't the Scots the ones doing most of the drinking and smacking?

[Ted S.]

Oh Andy Capp, you lovable wife-beater you!

[Winston]

Andy Capp is English actually.

[Trouser-Pod]

Err....uh...Angus. McCapp.

[gaijin]

indeed. I suspect Cameron will still love them the morning after...

[Gilbert Martin]

If the DOJ is looking for "radicalized Americans" they start in their own house - Holder and a whole bunch of his leftist apparatchiks are pretty damn radicalized.

[paranoid android]

Microsoft has purchased the studio that created Minecraft for $2.5 billion. Remember when the creator of Minecraft got angry when virtual reality headset maker Oculus Rift sold out to Facebook? Good times.

You can make a lot of diamond pickaxes with that kind of scratch...

[gimmeasammich]

This somehow reminds me of that old adage, "A whore is just a name you call a girl who will have sex with everyone but you."

[Paul.]

They're all whores!

[Buddy Bizarre]

The way I heard it:

What's the difference between a bitch & a whore? A whore sleeps with everyone... a bitch sleeps with everyone EXCEPT me.

[robc]

It isnt helping Grimes any.

Her best hope is that enough of the TPers vote for the LP candidate.

And even that might not be enough, as he may be taking more votes from her.

[PapayaSF]

This is great: The full text of an 1849 guide to the brothels of Philadelphia. Think of it as early Yelp reviews.

[Max Power]

Do you have a more recent edition? Asking for a friend.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

"The denizens of this house are all actresses, but they are so mediocre that they will not give the clap."

[Notorious G.K.C.]

"This establishment doubles as a carriage repair shop, so you get screwed going in and coming out."

[Notorious G.K.C.]

"A Congressman named Lincoln once split his rails here."

[Notorious G.K.C.]

"Be sure not to ask for the Discount Entertainment at this establishment, or you'll end up picking raw wool out of your clothes."

[Horatio]

"A Guide to Gay Houses" is yet another example of why time travel is impossible. Imagine how disappointed you would be!

[Rich]

The Justice Department is launching a series of pilot programs in cities around the country to deal with American extremists intent on joining the fighting in countries like Syria and Iraq, Attorney General Eric Holder said Monday.

Apparently the administration is quite serious about "no boots on the ground".

[Ted S.]

The DoJ wants these extremists to burn Branch Davidians to death.

[MegaloMonocle]

The whole "go fight for ISIS" thing is a toughie.

On the one hand, would you rather ISIS supporters be far, far away?

On the other, hmm, the only real risk to the US seems to be after they come back. So just strip them of citizenship, so they can't come back. Enjoy your new barbarian shithole, jihadi!

[Andrew S.]

That comes with certain due process and Constitutional issues.

[Tonio]

And the practical problem of finding out who was an ISIL volunteer, and who was just visiting relatives. Especially if they are smart enough not to post brag videos on YouTube and travel through third countries.

[Heroic Mulatto]

Actually, there's a statute for that:

From the horse's mouth: Although a person's enlistment in the armed forces of a foreign country may not constitute a violation of U.S. law, it could subject him or her to the provisions of Section 349(a)(3) of the INA [8 U.S.C. 1481(a)(3)] which provides for loss of U.S. nationality if a U.S national voluntarily and with the intention of relinquishing U.S. nationality enters or serves in the armed forces of a foreign state engaged in hostilities against the United States or serves in the armed forces of any foreign country as a commissioned or non-commissioned officer.

[Heroic Mulatto]

Military service in foreign countries, however, usually does not cause loss of nationality since an intention to relinquish nationality normally is lacking. In adjudicating loss of nationality cases, the Department has established an administrative presumption that a person serving in the armed forces of a foreign state not engaged in hostilities against the United States does not have the intention to relinquish nationality. On the other hand, voluntary service in the armed forces of a state engaged in hostilities against the United States could be viewed as indicative of an intention to relinquish U.S. nationality.

[PapayaSF]

I'd say all Islamic terror groups are "engaged in hostilities against the United States," pretty much by definition.

[Heroic Mulatto]

Yeah? Who are you going to believe? Your lying eyes or Rambo III?

[Idle Hands]

Rambo, John Jay.

They drew first blood not me.

[MegaloMonocle]

The catch under that statute is: Fighting for ISIS doesn't mean joining the armed forces of a foreign state or foreign country.

[CE]

What do you think the first "S" stands for?

[MegaloMonocle]

I wouldn't propose it just as administrative fiat.

Schedule a hearing. If they don't show, hold the hearing in absentia. The hearing and decision will be open to the public, of course.

[PapayaSF]

That's my feeling, in part. Two more thoughts.

1) If the CIA etc. is on the ball at all, some of these people are working for us.

2) If they aren't, let's do what Hitler did to Stalin before the war: plant a bunch of evidence that the Western jihadis are working for the CIA, even if they aren't, and let nature take its course.

[CE]

Just send ISIS a Homeland DVD.

[A Secret Band of Robbers]

You still have to charge them $21,000 to dispense with their US citizenship, though. No one gets off that easy.

[Tonio]

OK, let's say there was an Ebola outbreak here in the US. Would libertarian principles allow for things like quarantines and travel restrictions?

[robc]

Is a person with Ebola aggressing by traveling?

I thought it took a bit more contact than that, so Im gonna say no.

[PapayaSF]

If they sneeze, cough, or even sweat on you or something you touch, yes, they are aggressing.

[MegaloMonocle]

Mine would.

[Brandon]

Libertarian principles would allow for recommended quarantines and travel restrictions.

[MJGreen]

I think a virus like Ebola would qualify as extraordinary, "lifeboat" circumstances, allowing for limited exceptions. And these should probably be tempered by the right of "victims" to sue for unreasonable treatment.

[MegaloMonocle]

On the one hand, getting McConnell out of Senate would be a good thing.

However, if it comes at the cost of leaving Harry Reid in charge of the Senate, its probably not a good trade.

[robc]

Im voting for the Libertarian, even thought he is a cop.

And people say I am anti-cop?

[robc]

s/thought/though/

[PapayaSF]

Yup. Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

[Ted S.]

Can't they both drop dead?

[Idle Hands]

Meh miracles only happen in the movies.

[Dances-with-Trolls]

PJ O'Rourke on Scottish independence.

This coming Thursday the Scots will vote on whether to make Scotland an independent nation. And I hope they do because it will be a disaster.

I don't say this as a prejudiced Irishman. Even though the thistle-arse sheep-shagger Scots swiped Ulster and sent a herd of Presbyterian proddy dogs and porridge wogs to squat on our land and won the Battle of the Boyne in 1690 by using unfair?indeed, unheard of ?- organization, discipline, and tactics on an Irish battlefield. We Micks only hold a grudge about such things for 300 years or so.

Nor is Scottish independence a misery-loves-company moment for us Irish. True, Irish independence has been no bed of shamrocks, what with the Easter Rebellion, the black-and-tans, the civil war, the IRA, and the Celtic Tiger turning out to be a mangy barn cat drowned in the well.

We Irish don't hate the Scots per se. They're too much like us Irish, who all hate each other. So we're just looking for a fine entertainment from across the Irish Sea as Highland Scots have a donnybrook with Lowland Scots, Glaswegians dust up with Edinburghians, and Clan Dewers unsheathes its claymores for battle with Clan Johnny Walker.

[PapayaSF]

P.J.'s always good.

[Coeus]

Who-ha-in-the-what-now?

While I am glad that people are telling their stories and raising awareness about the complexity of this question, I am sad. Sad that this is the question to which people want answers. That we live in a society that cares more about answering the question ? "Why didn't she leave?" than it does about even asking the question ? "Why did he abuse her?"

[Idle Hands]

Because he's a dick.

[Coeus]

Exactly. It's a bizarre complaint. Everyone knows the answer already. Why ask the question?

[Idle Hands]

Oh no wait I'm sorry he just is one learning camp away from realizing the error of his ways. He can't be blamed for the patriarchies affect on men and their attitudes towards women.

[Ted S.]

The question I'd like to see asked is, "Why is everybody going nuts about Goodell, and not about the DA who gave Ray Rice an even lighter punishment than the NFL did?"

[Idle Hands]

The NFL set themselves up to this nonsense due to their reactionary policies of caving to the pc police at every turn. If they simply had handled every case before this by saying this is a law enforcement issue and therefore we have no comment, said player can play if he's not in jail etc.. But they got into the business of policing their players behaviors off the field and the people that demand action will never be assuaged no matter how proactive the league is. Goodell should be fired just based on the fact that he made this bed so= now he can sleep in it.

[MegaloMonocle]

Yep. Should have gone with a simple policy:

(1) Every player indicted for a violent felony is suspended for the duration of the criminal case.

(2) Every player convicted of a violent felony is barred from the league for life.

(3) Teams can set their own personnel policies that don't conflict with (1) and (2).

[Idle Hands]

agreed.

[trshmnster the terrible]

Why does a bear maul you? Who gives a fuck? Just shoot the damn bear!

[Certified Public Asskicker]

Adrian Peterson to return, after being punished with a paid day off.

"Today's decision was made after significant thought, discussion and consideration. As evidenced by our decision to deactivate Adrian from yesterday's game, this is clearly a very important issue," Vikings owners Zygi Wilf and Mark Wilf said in a statement.

We were fucking trounced yesterday, so we need him.

[Fringe Loony]

Zygi? What, their parents made up a name from leftover Scrabble tiles?

[Dances-with-Trolls]

Ok so it wasn't just me.

[Rich]

His real name is "Zygmunt", and "Munti" is just ridiculous.

[gaijin]

Wilfs...there sure are alot of them out there if you know what I mean.

[Ted S.]

So Adrian Peterson is a cop.

A policeman on a football forum I post to said that policemen see this stuff every day, so I responded that yes, the police were intimately familiar with child abuse, with a link to the immigarnt baby in Georgia who was flash-banged into a coma. Needless to say, some folks got very angry at me. 🙂

[Brandon]

The sooner they move to Bridgewater, the better.

[Mike M.]

The White House is pressuring Congress to authorize arming and training Syrian rebels

What could possibly go wrong?

[gaijin]

Shorter response might come from asking "what could possibly go right?"

[Rich]

"Oh, you didn't mean as Chicago police officers?

[Andrew S.]

Nothing. It's not like he'll have trouble getting Congress to approve money to arm the rebels against the rebels we're arming right now to take out ISIS.

[PapayaSF]

Next up: the hunt for the rare, elusive "moderate Muslim" rebel. Will our team be able to find one of these semi-legendary beings? Tune in to the Discovery Channel tonight and find out!

[CatoTheElder]

There are lots of moderate Muslims.

However, moderate Muslims are not generally inclined to take up arms in an illegal insurrection to kill other Muslims.

[Stormy Dragon]

Microsoft has purchased the studio that created Minecraft for $2.5 billion. Remember when the creator of Minecraft got angry when virtual reality headset maker Oculus Rift sold out to Facebook? Good times.

I completely don't get this. Minecraft has no characters, game universe, lore, etc. that would emotionally tie gamers to that particular franchise. All it has is a general concept which can't be IP protected from any other company's open sandbox building game. If MS thinks there is money in a Minecraft style game, why not just make one of their own for a fraction of the price?

[MP]

Brand value.

[PapayaSF]

Yes. Kids want to play Minecraft, not some knock-off version from Microsoft. See also: iPod vs. Zune.

[Stormy Dragon]

If Microsoft buys the name iPod and just renames the Zune, does it end up selling better than it would have under the original name? The problem with the Zune wasn't the branding; it was the actual product.

If Microsoft doesn't know how to keep the product popular, the fact it's called Minecraft isn't going to matter.

[PapayaSF]

I'd say they'd have to try pretty hard to screw it up.

[Stormy Dragon]

Minecraft has a lot of warts. It's a clunky engine (Java? Really?) and crappy graphics. Most of the popularity is due to a mod interface that isn't actually part of Minecraft but was developed by a third party who's already walking away from Mojang post-buyout. Not to mention that the very flexibility that makes the product popular makes it hard to monetize because the users can make whatever they want rather than paying for it.

What I predict is going to happen is that Microsoft is going to end up crippling Minecraft trying to get revenue from it while simultaneously allowing it to stagnate. Meanwhile Buckit is going to come back attached to a new engine with snazzier graphics and all the people currently playing Minecraft are going to bolt for the new cool sandbox game.

[Brandon]

I had a Dell DJ, and it was way better than the 1st-gen iPod. More flexible, better battery life, didn't require iTunes. I think branding was a big factor in the DJ's failure. Never had a Zune.

[Stormy Dragon]

Most of which evaporated the second it became a big corporate property rather than an indie golden boy, and the rest is going to disappear if they don't keep improving the game.

Long term the brand value of Minecraft is going to converge to whatever the brand value of whatever they would have built themselves would be, and it's not clear to me that Microsoft is going to be able to claw back $2 billion+ of profit before then, especially since most of the people who want it have already bought it and the fact they don't rely in centralized infrastructure means there's no way to force them to chip in more to keep playing.

[MP]

Most of which evaporated the second it became a big corporate property rather than an indie golden boy

I suspect you are overplaying the relationship between the brand value and the "indie" appeal.

But yes, I too am skeptical that this can translate into a long term profit center. It's no different than some sucker buying Zynga at the height of FarmVille popularity.

[Corning]

I too am skeptical that this can translate into a long term profit center.

Think MarioCart...

Now think MarioCart with all the minecraft characters (Steve, creeper, sheep, magma cube, etc) in it....exclusive to Xbox.

Not just about selling games but about locking consumers into Microsoft's console.

[PapayaSF]

it's not clear to me that Microsoft is going to be able to claw back $2 billion+ of profit before then

Many think that Microsoft has still not made money from the Xbox, given how much they've put into it.

But MS has been flailing for a decade now. They don't know WTF they are doing anymore. This is another desperation move, like buying Nokia.

Fun fact: for years now, Apple has made more money (gross and net) from the iPhone alone than from everything MS does added together. MS has been running on just Windows/Office inertia for a long time.

[Corning]

Minecraft has no characters, game universe, lore, etc

What the fuck are you talking about?!?!

[Coeus]

Austrian Economists, 9/11 Truthers and Brain Worms

The Austrian catechisms range from almost plausible (taking toxic mortgage assets off of bank balance sheets must have been part of the reason the Fed did quantitative easing), to somewhere in the neighborhood of the 9/11 truthers and moon-landing hoaxers. Most of the elements of Austrianism are so directly contradicted by data that the belief system practically screens itself for people who are out of touch with reality.

Out in the wider world, the Austrian brain-worm's darker whisperings are music to the ears of the paleo-libertarian Ron Paul movement. Austrianism's antiSemitic overtones are conveniently papered over by the fact that two of its founding figures (von Mises and Murray Rothbard) were Jewish. But it's no coincidence that Austrianism carries great appeal for the more unsavory corners of American politics.

[Aloysious]

antiSemitic?
...oh it's Bloomberg view. Figures.

[Fringe Loony]

Look, he's an associate professor of economics at Stony Brook so he's a perfectly disinterested expert on the subject.

[Carl ?s his ? for ?s]

I'm not an Austrian, but I don't know who is served by Smith acting like such a twat about it.

[Warty]

I don't know enough about economics to have a real opinion about it. But the right people sure seem to hate Austrian economics, don't they?

[CE]

We already know austerity doesn't work, because we've tried it! And if Keynesianism isn't working, it's because we're not borrowing enough when times are bad!

[A Secret Band of Robbers]

Do you ever get the feeling these people are just trying out new slurs at random to see which ones might stick?

[Jerry on the sea]

Most of the elements of Austrianism are so directly contradicted by data

The Empirics of Austrian Economics.

[CatoTheElder]

The Austrians do have a case when they argue that inflation is much higher than official BLS statistics indicate.

Consider shelter costs, 32.8% of the CPI.

The Case-Shiller Index has gone from a low of 135 in early 2012 to 172 in August 2014. This is about 9.5% per year.

The BLS reports the shelter component of CPI to have risen by just 2.0% per year over the same period.

Why? Because the BLS value is largely determined by asking this poll question: "If someone were to rent your home today, how much do you think it
would rent for monthly, unfurnished and without utilities?"

Seriously, about 28% of the CPI valued by asking a poll question.

Don't take my word on it. Here's what the BLS says

[CatoTheElder]

The author of this article is an ignoramus when it comes to the Austrian School.

The Austrians have been always defined inflation in terms of money supply rather than prices. That's because the original definition of inflation is related to money supply. Don't take my word on it. Here's what the Federal Reserve says.

He is correct that many Austrians incorrectly predicted high price inflation by now. What they failed to anticipate was that the $2 trillion++ explosion in bank reserves, which even conventional Keynesians and Chicago School economists used to call "high-power money", would not be used to create new money. Excess reserves are now about $2.7 T where they had been approximately zero for the 95 years before 2008 (Fed Res Bank St Louis FRED Excess Reserves). Old-school banking theory was that banks were in the business of loaning money, and that they would create as many loans (i.e., create money) as their reserves and capital would allow. Reserves and capital are separate constraints.

[CatoTheElder]

For hundreds of years, that was how banks behaved. But two things were different this time around. Number 1: banks were capital-constrained rather than reserve-constrained. Number 2: the Fed paid interest on reserves. So the proceeds of bond sales to the Fed just accumulated in reserves accounts at the Fed, and never became money. Reserves are not money because they are not in circulation. And because they are not money in circulation, they cannot directly cause inflation.

[Obama's Buttplug]

A new, strict dress code at a Staten Island school has resulted in hundreds of detentions over the past two weeks over things like too-short shorts, hoodies, and sunglasses. The school, by the way, has no air conditioning and the area had been suffering from a heat wave.

Then you don't need to be wearing fucking hoodies.

[Carl ?s his ? for ?s]

You casuals are not just filthy, but poor: NPD: PC Gamers Tend to Earn More Than Console Gamers

[Matrix]

I game on PC and consoles. What does that make me?

[Horatio]

That's because we're too busy banging your mom and sister AT THE SAME TIME BURNNNNN

[Longtorso, Johnny]

Rotherham child-sex victim confronts her alleged abuser in the street... but SHE is arrested by a van load of police

[PapayaSF]

Ah, they joys of politically correct, multicultural policing. Labour has imported a new people, so you'd better get used to it, missy.

[Coeus]

Marcotte takes on Penn Jillette

The only person being patronizing here is Jillette if he thinks anyone is stupid enough to buy his claim that we'll all lose access to Ulysses if people dare suggest the obvious, which is his ease with applying the word "cunt" to women is obnoxious. Jillette starts with the assumption that a woman can't tell the difference between reading the word "cunt" to describe an actual vagina and having some needle-dicked asshole call her a "cunt" in an effort to shame her about having opinions. If he thinks women are that stupid, then how could he possibly think they're smart enough to understand a work as dense as Ulysses? Or perhaps it is Jillette who is too stupid to know the difference between calling someone a cunt and simply using the word "cunt". For reference, here is the one and only use of the word "cunt" in Ulysses, which I'm quoting because I'm super skeptical that Jillette has actually read the book he pretentiously references:

Now amanda's worried about people being obnoxious?

[Idle Hands]

Amanda is not worth responding to in any fashion. It would be like conversing and arguing geopolitics with a cockroach.

[Warty]

These cunts have hated Penn for some time. It's not hurting him any. This cuntflap...er...flap over him saying cunt is old news in any case.

[PapayaSF]

Suggested research project: counting the number of times Amanda has used the term "prick" or "dick" to refer to men.

[Coeus]

But, but, but...punching up!!! It makes everything you say about white men ok. You obviously need feminism101.

[PapayaSF]

One of the things I like least about PC thinking is how they have blatantly institutionalized double standards.

[Stormy Dragon]

Also note the implication that a man's value as a human being correlates to the size of their genitalia. If a man is unfortunate in the genetic lottery, his small size is clear the universe's way of telling him that he's an inherently bad person.

[A Secret Band of Robbers]

What was that thing about patriarchy being bad for men because it enforces a rank among them? Eh, probably not important.

[A Secret Band of Robbers]

Do you ever get the feeling that feminists just don't like men that much?

[Stormy Dragon]

Jillette starts with the assumption that a woman can't tell the difference between reading the word "cunt" to describe an actual vagina and having some needle-dicked asshole call her a "cunt" in an effort to shame her about having opinions.

Isn't the whole "trigger warnings" think premised on the belief that they can't?

[Horatio]

Women REALLY hate the word cunt, don't they? I think it's (1) the sound of the word itself is so strong and (2) it's the female-equivalent of motherfucker in terms of degree.

Thing is, we guys (and gals) use motherfucker so much that it has less impact. Also, the context matters far more than the word choice for males. The lesson is: grow a thicker skin, cunts of the world, and it won't be a big deal to call you such after a while.

[Warty]

These cunts are so obsessed with the idea that men are trying to put them in their place that they can't even deal with a simple insult. What a bunch of cunts.

[Idle Hands]

Cunt is the most forbinest words of forbiness. Some words should be used sparingly as to not diminish the effect. When I use cunt I want everyone to stop what they are doing in open mouth amazement that I deemed it necessary to use the mother of all pejoratives as an adjective of someones behavior.

[Idle Hands]

That's just like my opinion though.

[Horatio]

I use "Krugman" for such occasions

[A Secret Band of Robbers]

Personally, I kind of like the word, in the right contexts.

[lap83]

I'm a woman and I don't hate the word more than any other insult. But I have noticed that a lot of women seem to think it's worse. I didn't attend that secret meeting where it was decided, so I don't know.

[A Secret Band of Robbers]

We thought about inviting you, but we decided you had already been compromised by The Patriarchy/Illuminati. We couldn't take any chances.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I think cunt is one degree worse than motherfucker. I reserve this word for special occasions and for people I truly loathe.

[lap83]

"having some needle-dicked asshole call her a "cunt" in an effort to shame her about having opinions."

Now is "needle-dicked" a description of the asshole or is it an effort to shame him for having opinions about her being a cunt?

[Idle Hands]

tiny penis, tiny penis, tiny penis. When you have the mind of a child you don't seem to recognize hypocracy, I guess.

[Coeus]

fantagor ? 18 minutes ago
Holy crap. I tweeted at Penn Jillette directly and he responded that he
used c**t zero times as a sexually derogatory word, meaning he's
claiming sexual neutrality even when directed at a woman. I don't buy it for a
second. He's not from the UK. He's an American, so he gets no cultural
leeway.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

What a cunt.

Seriously.

[Trouser-Pod]

Well, Marcotte is a 33? Cunt. A real Worthy Matron, that one.

[Sigivald]

Remember when the creator of Minecraft got angry when virtual reality headset maker Oculus Rift sold out to Facebook?I

I don't have a dog in the Minecraft fight, but it ... is different.

Facebook never had anything to do with gaming, apart from being a place for horrible "social" games to be.

Microsoft? Well, you might have heard of a little company called Bungie, and a game called Halo, and a device called an "XBox"...

Gaming is one of the few things Microsoft can actually get right.

[Corning]

Gaming is one of the few things Microsoft can actually get right.

I bought minecraft and have run it on linux and macOS...

You think I am going to be allowed anymore linix or MacOS updates now that microsoft owns it?

You think mojang's login servers will take my logins from my old miecraft versions? You think 3rd party servers will allow me onto their servers without loging in first?

Not about making a good game here. It is all about making Minecraft exclusive to Microsoft and their platforms.

[PapayaSF]

Why would they kill non-Windows versions? That's where a lot of the money is. Killing the iOS version would be especially stupid.

[Corning]

The same reason why you can't play Zelda on a PS4.

[PapayaSF]

That's different from killing a version of Zelda that's already popular on the PS4.

[Corning]

Microsoft has purchased the studio that created Minecraft for $2.5 billion. Remember when the creator of Minecraft got angry when virtual reality headset maker Oculus Rift sold out to Facebook? Good times.

The Oculas Rift was a kickstarter that took donations and advertized its independence in its kickstarter.

Minecraft did not do that and was never a kickstarter. Though i remember Notch saying that he would open source the game after 10 years or so...though it was not an explicit promise just something he said during an interview and before minecraft really took off.

[fuck you tulpa]

i love when fanbois miss the point and start hyper parsing things to find differences.

An asshole called someone a sellout, and then sold out. That's douchebaggery and he deserves to be called on it.

IMO, he crossed the line when he opened his idiot dicksucker about another person's money. But there's no doubt he's an asshole and a hypocrite.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

"10 classic Sesame Street moments we wouldn't show today's kids"

I particularly like the crook who tries to sell Ernie what is presumably a stolen "O."

http://theweek.com/article/ind.....odays-kids

[Notorious G.K.C.]

And note this disclaimer on classic Sesame Street episodes:

"These early Sesame Street episodes are intended for grown-ups, and may not suit the needs of today's preschool child."

[userve32]

Sounds like a plan to me dude.

http://www.Crypt-Tools.tk

[userve32]

Sounds like a plan to me dude.

http://www.Crypt-Tools.tk

[A Secret Band of Robbers]

I don't see a way it could turn out well for Scotland, given that they'd have two left wing parties vying for control during a monetary upheaval.

On the other hand, almost anything is better than being under the control of the UK panopticon nanny state.

[Warty]

A cold Venezuela will be a good lesson to the world.

[PapayaSF]

According to some Daily Beast commenters, since they are educated people and have oil, they simply adopt the "Nordic model" of socialism and all will be peachy.

[A Secret Band of Robbers]

I suspect that they will model rather closely to the Nordic countries, but it won't have the results they expect. It'll be good for the world to see that the Nordic model doesn't guarantee prosperity.

I had a Brit trying to tell me that they wouldn't have Nordic social democracy because they'd have to have austerity. There's a great bit of circular reasoning in there: it's only Nordic style if we like the results.

[Dances-with-Trolls]

"Cold Venezuela" sounds like it should be prohibition era mobster lingo.

[PapayaSF]

Or a cocktail.

[PapayaSF]

Zing!

[CE]

Or a metal band.