Watch the U.S. Bomb Syria!, Louisiana Marriage Ban Unconstitutional, Obamacare Website Has Security Flaw: A.M. Links

• 

  darcyandkat/Flickr

  The U.S. Navy has released a video of missiles being launched toward ISIS targets in Syria. (Update: The video has, without explanation, been removed by the user.)  It's back.

• A Louisiana judge ruled Monday that the state's ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional, compelling it to recognize the marriage of a lesbian couple wed in California. Earlier this month, a federal judge in Louisiana ruled in favor of the marriage ban. 
• In Portand, an El Salvadoran man who came to America illegally 19 years ago and has two children here is taking sanctuary in an Oregon church as authorities try to deport him following a DUI stop. 
• Government-hired hackers attempted to break into HealthCare.gov and found both security pluses and one "critical vulnerability".
• The militarization of African police? A new Amnesty International report found that Chinese manufacturers are selling electric shock batons, mechanized restraint chairs, and other police and riot gear to repressive regimes in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. 
• Kurdish women protesting U.K. inaction against ISIS were removed by police after chaining themselves to the U.K. Parliament Tuesday. 
• New Gmail users can opt out of the boondoggle that is Google+.

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

Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

The U.S. Navy has released a video of missiles being launched toward ISIS targets in Syria.

Better than Manning releasing it, I suppose.

[waffles]

It says video removed by user. A coverup? I want to see ze missiles fired!

[Slammer]

Has the NFL seen the video?

[Swiss Servator, Grundgesetz!]

*golf clap*

[datcv]

Ze video host is le tired. Perhaps after it takes a nap...

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Hello.

Anyone own or know anyone who owns a bike shop?

[expat]

Better get some studded tires Rufus! It is almost winter there (and here!) in Canuckistan!

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I'm on it!

[Ted S.]

Winter comes to Finland

More photos, but be warned that the second link uses embedded widgets.

[Andrew S.]

Leaks are always acceptable when they make the administration look good, remember?

Good morning all.

[Bobarian (dinosaur hunter)]

They're having trouble deciding if this leak makes them look good, though.

[ant1sthenes]

So, if this causes people to attack our embassy, do they put the president in jail?

[Fist of Etiquette]

Government-hired hackers attempted to break into HealthCare.gov and found both security pluses and one "critical vulnerability".

At least they were able to use the site.

[Ted S.]

Is anybody surprised? I presume the site is hoovering up people's email addresses to send to OFA.

[Auric Demonocles]

I wouldn't classify that as a security flaw, since it was planned all along.

[MegaloMonocle]

That's actually built in and overt. For some reason, a health insurance website also has voter registration functionality. I guess they knocked into shape so fast they had time to add some options.

[Lord Humungus]

This one simple critical vulnerability will surprise you.

[Bobarian (dinosaur hunter)]

That there's only one?

[db]

Single Mom finds the secret IT pros don't want you to know about securing your data and losing belly fat everyday.

[Mainer2]

If I was Swiss, I'd narrow my gaze at you, Humungus.

[Swiss Servator, Grundgesetz!]

Ahem.... *narrows gaze at Mainer and Lord H*

[Bee Tagger]

New Gmail users can opt out of the boondoggle that is Google+

Does that provide different functionality than ignoring it?

[waffles]

Yeah, it won't bug you all the time.

[Lord Humungus]

Google+ is an abomination. Of course so is Facebook.

[Ted S.]

And so is putting their fucking widgets on your website.

[trshmnster the terrible]

Shhhh! Don't piss the squirrels off!

[Andrew S.]

Ghostery. Amongst other benefits, those widgets magically disappear.

[Ted S.]

I tried Ghostery, and Adblock, and both of them were just as bad at hogging the memory and slowing sites down. 🙁

[Rabban]

Get thyself a proper computer with sufficient RAM.

[db]

I'm looking at you, *reason*.

[Lord Humungus]

My blog has 'em - not sure if they're removable or not on blogspot.

[Lord Humungus]

GOP's vote-suppressing militia: Why Scott Walker's thugs are getting violent

Voter intimidation is a very different tactic than vote suppression, which is a much subtler form of cheating. Indeed, it's outright illegal to target people by race and for very good reason. The history of the Jim Crow South made it necessary since fine, upstanding citizens like these would systematically terrorize African-Americans if they tried to vote. Those Twitter comments and the now deleted Facebook page make it clear that these people are targeting based on race, regardless of how much they pretend otherwise. And that could get them in some very big trouble.

[trshmnster the terrible]

That excerpt reads like a middle school book report.

[Ted S.]

They must be desperate to resort to such shrill measures.

[ant1sthenes]

Salon must have hired better writers recently.

[Ted S.]

I presume this is referring to all those Democrats saying that the Republicans are going to put black people back in chains?

[Swiss Servator, Grundgesetz!]

Maybe they will use some of those Chinese mechanized restraint chairs instead?

[Jerryskids]

That's probably what they're complaining about - they insist all the chains should be some of that good made in America by unionized labor stuff and not that cheap imported crap that's destroying the American middle class.

[waffles]

Can you use race to incite people to vote?

[RBS]

See 2008 and 2012.

[gaijin]

Duh, why do you think they refer to election contests as 'races'?

[Bobarian (dinosaur hunter)]

To the bottom,... races to the bottom.

[Doctor Whom]

And just to make things even more fun, the DMVs in 48 out of 72 counties are only open for five hours a day, two days a week. And that means voters in those areas without an official state ID only have 12 days to get them.

That impediment mysteriously vanishes whenever we require a government-issued ID for anything (everything) else.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

Are you under the impression that once you are on a government program you have to periodically show your government issued ID to stay on it?

From what I understand it's older people that make up most of the people who would have problems with these kinds of laws. Such older people are not going to get carded, they will have already been enrolled in most programs they are on, and if they work they likely already have their forms that would require Id on record.

[Bobarian (dinosaur hunter)]

Older people are on Medicare, which requires proof of ID. At least a Medicare card.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

Periodically? I would think like most programs you have to show proof of ID when you enroll and then never again. If an old person loses their ID after they enroll I doubt they ever show it again.

[fuck you tulpa]

"Periodically? "

Constantly.

"I would think like most programs you have to show proof of ID when you enroll and then never again."

You think wrong.

"If an old person loses their ID after they enroll I doubt they ever show it again."

If they want services they will.

[Emmerson Biggins]

I'd gladly do some horse trading on this issue. Get rid of requirement to show ID to buy a gun and we can get rid of same requirement for voting.

Until that happens I find left wing whining about the issue pretty unpersuauive. Because of the obvious hypocrisy.

[kbolino]

Hear, hear. The day my rights are not up to a vote is the day I don't care how the votes are counted.

[toolkien]

That's been my take on it. I don't like the notion of "our papers being in order" that our license/identification is, but it's funny how your average frizzy hair fascist adores government and all sorts of cards/licenses to interact with it, unless it's for voting, in which case your word is gold (that you are who you say you are, you have a right to vote in that district, and that you haven't voted eighteen times already). It's a fact that the Dems have bus services and hand out smokes, and they aren't above carting homeless people around to several polling areas. Again, I don't like a world where you have to prove who you are to get along in life, but when there's out and out cheating during elections, you have to do something.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

I find that to be so overexagerrated, as are most rationales to increase our police state.

I'm a young guy, but I remember the sour grapes after the 2004 election where Democrats whined about voter fraud from the voting machines and absentee voter fraud. Likewise, when the GOP lost in 08 to a black guy with a funny sounding name all this fuss about voter fraud was screamed about. No side likes losing, especially when they just 'can't believe my fellow Americans voted for ___!'

[Redmanfms]

I find that to be so overexagerrated, as are most rationales to increase our police state.

Yeah Bo-Bo, requiring people to prove they are who they say they are before allowing them to vote is part-and-parcel of the "police state."

You're a moron, but that's profoundly stupid even for you.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

I guess when Redmanfms hears the phrase 'papers please' or 'are your papers in order' he thinks of his happy days working in the paper factory, and no other connotation comes to mind.

[Redmanfms]

I guess when Redmanfms hears the phrase 'papers please' or 'are your papers in order' he thinks of his happy days working in the paper factory, and no other connotation comes to mind.

I guess Bo-Bo has degenerated to be so stupid he's stuck with a bullshit non sequitur because he can't make a substantive argument defending his position.

[Snark Plissken]

I guess when Bo repeats stock Nazi phrases from Hollywood films he thinks he's making a terribly valid point.

[Lord Humungus]

Purple thumbs?

[UnCivilServant]

Why are you othering Amputees! Don't they deserve to vote!

/Left grasping at straws.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

Purple Stub Accommodation.

[ant1sthenes]

Purple thumbs only work if you assume everyone who is in the area is eligible to vote. Otherwise, you still have to validate eligibility somehow.

One day people will learn to pick all the unskilled political positions randomly, and the skilled ones via a poll of electors also selected randomly, and the only question will be keeping the lottery honest, making sure all registered voters are in, and vetting winners for eligibility.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

I just say 'twitter comments' and 'deleted facebook page' paired with 'terrorize' and yawned.

[ant1sthenes]

I can think of one key difference between the fine upstanding thugs enforcing Jim Crow and Scott Walker. I'll give you a hint, it has something to do with a trait the vast majority of African Americans share with those thugs.

[MegaloMonocle]

I skimmed the entire article looking for any reference to violence. The only violence I saw referenced (indirectly) was having agents of the state enforce previously outstanding warrants.

I particularly liked the greasy skid from talking about True the Vote to talking about a totally different group, the Wisconsin Poll Watcher Militia.

[Fist of Etiquette]

...compelling it to recognize the marriage of a lesbian couple wed in California.

I give it six months.

[trshmnster the terrible]

Government-hired hackers attempted to break into HealthCare.gov and found both security pluses and one "critical vulnerability".

Well, if the government hired hackers are half as shitty as the government hired programmers, there may be many more holes than reported.

[Bee Tagger]

A new Amnesty International report found that Chinese manufacturers are selling electric shock batons, mechanized restraint chairs, and other police and riot gear to repressive regimes in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.

This must be why China bans social media sites. A few hashtags would stop this unethical behavior.

[SusanM]

#1

[trshmnster the terrible]

#staaaahp!

[Lord Humungus]

Ben & Jerry's Caves To PC Wrath Over Pun-Based Ice Cream Flavor

So the news that the quasi-socialist ice cream maker might change the name of its "Hazed & Confused" flavor at its October leadership meeting - because "hazed" sounds like "hazing" ? struck a nerve. A spokesman told Bloomberg the name is

a play on hazelnuts and the phrase "dazed and confused," made famous by a Led Zeppelin song and 1993 coming-of-age comedy [Richard Linklater's Dazed and Confused].

Ben & Jerry's released the ice cream flavor in February and didn't receive a complaint until more than six months later. Lianne and Brian Kowiak of Tampa, Florida, whose 19-year-old son died in a hazing incident in 2008, noticed an ad for the ice cream and sent an e-mail to Ben & Jerry's on Sept. 5.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Ironic given Ben & Jerry's left-wing stance, n'est pas?

[trshmnster the terrible]

I wholly support their right as a corporation to cave to PC pressure. I also wholly support my right to never eat B&J ice cream ever again. Granted, I've only had it once before, and it was the free sample at the end of the factory tour.

[waffles]

To be fair, it's pretty good ice cream.

[UnCivilServant]

Except for the 'core' crap they've been shoving onto the shelves of late. Take out a chunk of perfectly good ice cream and fill it with a slab of inedible-in-large-quantities sugar and take the original flavor off the shelves. Gaaahhh!

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Aren't they owned by Nestle now? Who knows where most of these decisions come from. Vermont or Switzerland?

[Swiss Servator, Grundgesetz!]

All decisions come from Switzerland... MUHUHUHUWHA!

[Cdr Lytton]

Unilever, the other Euro food giant.

[trshmnster the terrible]

It was, but it's the Apple of the ice cream industry. I'll happily pay 1/3 the price for slightly less tasty ice cream.

[Redmanfms]

Yeah, it is.

I have to ignore the insipid idiocy of the shit on the packaging, but its worth it, the ice cream and their many flavors are very good.

The Americone Dream package is unintentionally hilarious.

[Doctor Whom]

I wholly support their right as a corporation to cave to PC pressure.

This. How dare a private-sector company address the concerns of its customers; that's not how it works at all.

[Drake]

I looked forward to their new "Whipped Into Submission" flavor.

[Zeb]

Sometimes customers are idiots. But of course they should do whatever they want.

[Kaptious Kristen]

Real Vermonters don't eat that B&Js; shite.

We eat this shite.

[EDG reppin' LBC]

Get over it Kowiaks.

[RBS]

Are they going to write a letter to the weather man next time it's a little hazy outside?

[Johnny Bravo]

Are they going to write a letter to the weather man next time it's a little hazy outside?

Should have sent them a letter back saying "we are a bit hazy about what you find offensive about an ice cream flavor."

[Certified Public Asskicker]

As someone with brown hair, I find Salted Caramel Blondie to be very offensive.

[gaijin]

As someone with blonde hair...I'm not sure what day it is

[lap83]

heh, my brother used to be offended by blonde jokes when he was a kid (he's not dumb, but blonde and sensitive) I didn't care for them myself until I found this out. Then they became the best jokes to tell.

[Zeb]

Oh, Jesus Fuck. Words sometimes have more than one meaning, you know? If you are going to be traumatized every time you hear or see "haze", you should probably go live in a cave now.

Grape flavored things offend and upset me because they have "rape" in their names.

[gimmeasammich]

Then you'll love the Grapist!

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

[SugarFree]

Leaving the problem of Hazelnuts to tackle. Those goddamn filberts have bullied our children for the last time!

[Doghouse Riley Jr.]

They should pecan someone their own size.

[trshmnster the terrible]

We walnut cowtow to the nut conglomerate!

[FreeToFear]

Did you know they're infiltrating our colleges? we have to watch out for those wingnuts in our macademeia!

[Lord Humungus]

Illinois city marks birthday with mega bratwurst

Residents in the southwest Illinois city of Belleville celebrated its 200th birthday with a 200-foot bratwurst, complete with a 200-foot bun.

Larry Schubert and his team from Schubert's Packing Co. in Millstadt used about 120 pounds of meat to make the brat, which volunteers grilled Sunday, the final day of the city's bicentennial celebration, the Belleville News-Democrat reported (http://bit.ly/1po9SwO ).

[Andrew S.]

And for dessert, you can have the box of 200 dozen Krispy Kreme donuts that I saw going around twitter yesterday.

[trshmnster the terrible]

And that, kids, is how you give an entire town food poisoning!

[Lord Humungus]

Islamic State attack on Iraqi base leaves hundreds missing, shows army weaknesses

The army base in Iraq's western Anbar province had been under siege by Islamic State militants for a week, so when a convoy of armored Humvees rolled up at the gate, the Iraqi soldiers at Camp Saqlawiyah believed saviors had arrived.

But this was no rescue attempt. The vehicles were driven by militants on suicide missions, and within seconds on Sunday the base had become a bloody scene of multiple bombings.

On Monday, a day after the attack, five survivors ? including three officers ? said that between 300 and 500 soldiers were missing and believed to be dead, kidnapped or in hiding. Army officials said the numbers were far lower, leading to accusations that they were concealing the true toll.

[Swiss Servator, Grundgesetz!]

Considering how many Iraqi jinood are on leave or wandering around randomly at any given time - I think some were killed or captured, and the rest are still looking for a ride back to base...

[gaijin]

What is 'jinood'?

[Swiss Servator, Grundgesetz!]

Sorry - jundi = soldier, jinood = soldiers

[jmomls]

HEY THERE'S THIS COOL THING CALLED THE INTERNET NOW WHERE YOU CAN LOOK UP THE MEANINGS OF WORDS.

[gaijin]

Excellent comment! The ALL CAPS make it work 🙂

[Lord Humungus]

More Safeguards Won't Make the President Safer

Apparently some lunatic with a knife and an arms cache jumped the White House fence and managed to get all the way to the front door before they caught him. And apparently some other lunatic -- this one in the Secret Service -- has proposed establishing checkpoints in the public areas around the White House in order to prevent this sort of thing from happening again.

For those of you who are not familiar with the geography of Washington, it's probably worth mentioning that the White House is smack in the middle of downtown. This is partly by design -- the city's architect, Pierre L'Enfant, envisioned the city around the White House and the Capitol Building -- and partly because over the years, federal agencies and lobbyists have found it convenient to be located right next to the centers of power.

[Dweebston]

Anything that contributes to gridlock in downtown D.C. has my vote.

[Bobarian (dinosaur hunter)]

My solution?

A 30 foot concrete wall, all the way around DC.

Followed by a long duration, torrential pouring of rain.

[UnCivilServant]

Can't we just pump the Patomac into the enclosure?

[Ted S.]

Apparently some lunatic with a knife and an arms cache jumped the White House fence

He was without that "arms cache" by the time he jumped the fence as he left it in his car several blocks away. But going on about that ammo makes for a good panic-mongering story.

[RBS]

I know, and that arms cache was obviously for the getaway.

[MegaloMonocle]

They pretty well ground my gears when they referred to a "sniper" rifle.

Meaning, of course, a hunting rifle, I have no doubt.

[Brett L]

I have a sniper pellet gun, too, if having a scope is the criterion. Wait, I think I took the perfectly usable 10x scope that came with my pellet gun and put it on a real rifle. But Walmart is still selling sniper pellet guns every day!

[Cyto]

The reporting on this is pretty bizarre. Not only are they gobbling up the "danger" tidbits like the ammo in the car and prior citations for "reckless driving", they are also in a panic about the secret service.

There was video this morning of the guy who jumped the fence approaching the door to the White House. You can clearly see one of the guards approaching him from the side as he nears the porch. The guard has his weapon drawn and trained on the intruder.

I'd say they did a terrific job of responding to the threat in a proportional and measured way. They did not immediately shoot him on sight, but safely apprehended him before he could cause anyone any harm. Given all of the stories we read about shootings because of "furtive movements" or "he had a knife", this is a remarkable performance by these guards.

However, now that they have been roundly criticized and ridiculed by pundits and lawmakers of every strip we can be assured that they will dispense with any type of rational judgement based on the circumstances at hand and from now on they will just open fire at the first sign of trouble.

So thanks for that, holier than though know-it-all types.

[kbolino]

Some day the media may be held to account for its part in creating our society, but that would require its consumers to recognize their own part first.

[gaijin]

Obama is hardly at the WH, so who cares? They'd be better off reinforcing the defenses at camp david or whatever other golf course Zero inhabits.

[Lord Humungus]

D.C. Council Considering Handgun Permit Bill

Last week, during a southeast Washington memorial ceremony marking the one year anniversary of the deadly Navy Yard shooting, Mayor Vincent Gray lamented the violence that "happened right within the view of the Capitol Dome," and called on Congress to come up with a solution.

"We have tough gun laws in the District of Columbia, which probably will have to be relaxed to some extent because of the Palmer case," Gray said, referring to the decision by Judge Frederick Scullin Jr. in the case against the city. Gun control laws, he said, "are now under attack by Second Amendment advocates who believe in putting the right of gun owners before community safety."

[trshmnster the terrible]

are now under attack by Second Amendment advocates who believe in putting the right of gun owners before community safety.

That's actually somewhat accurate, depending on your definition of "community safety." If community safety is being safe from people owning scary guns, then I completely agree with this guy's characterization of us 2A defenders.

[Zeb]

Yeah, if you believe in rights, then you sort of have to put them before community safety. Though I'd argue that gun rights and other rights being protected is probably better for community safety.

[ace_m82]

Only if you are smart enough to understand logical consistency. Most people aren't.

[Emmerson Biggins]

Maximum Safety could be acheived by requiring everybody to Shelter in Place in their closet. Wearing a some kind of goverment approved helmet. All the time. We'll send trained guys with food and water around once a day.

[Doctor Whom]

There are people who believe in putting Constitutionally protected individual rights over the low-information fear machine? What's wrong with them?

[Lord Humungus]

Italian army to grow medical marijuana

The ministers of defence and health signed a deal Thursday for a joint project to produce cannabis derivative drugs for pain relief.

The famous spiky-leafed plants?more associated with peace-loving hippies than crew-cut soldiers?will be cultivated and treated at a military pharmaceutical plant in Florence.

"The aim is to produce medicine for extremely serious pathologies, such as multiple sclerosis, or for pain relief," health minister Beatrice Lorenzin told a press conference. "The project has no ideological or cultural value, it's just in the interest of the sick."

[UnCivilServant]

Why does the Italian army recruit people with conditions like MS?

[tarran]

The national police are part of the Army.

In Italy, there are local cops, who tend to be thugs looking for bribes, and the national military police who are more professional.

There, any drug decriminalization would require to cooperation of the army to work.

[SusanM]

Too obvious to let go unnoticed: "joint" project?

[Swiss Servator, Grundgesetz!]

Beat me to it...

[Notorious G.K.C.]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ppuHFdgNIs

[The Late P Brooks]

David Brooks wants you to turn that frown upside down!

It's important in times like these to step back and get clarity. The truest thing to say is this: We are living in an amazingly fortunate time. But we also happen to be living during a leadership crisis, and a time when few people have faith in elites to govern from the top. We live in a vibrant society that is not being led.

We don't suffer from an abuse of power as much as a nonuse of power. It's been years since a major piece of legislation was passed, and there's little prospect that one will get passed in the next two.

This leadership crisis is eminently solvable. First, we need to get over the childish notion that we don't need a responsible leadership class, that power can be wielded directly by the people. America was governed best when it was governed by a porous, self-conscious and responsible elite ? during the American revolution, for example, or during and after World War II. Karl Marx and Ted Cruz may believe that power can be wielded directly by the masses, but this has almost never happened historically.

Come on, sheeple, get down on those knees and worship your betters. You know you want to.

[waffles]

What the bootlicking fuck is that drivel?

[Elspeth Flashman]

He's saying he wants another grand piece of legislation like Obamacare to come out, so people can really round it.

[Elspeth Flashman]

*rally* not really.

[Swiss Servator, Grundgesetz!]

So they should really rally around it?

[Elspeth Flashman]

Right!

[Rufus J. Firefly]

/drops cigarette from lips.

W.T.F?

[SusanM]

I think the mask that slipped off hit my foot.

[trshmnster the terrible]

We've had a leadership crisis in the US since the frontier closed. It just turns out that some people don't want to be led. Without a lawless Frontier, such folks have nowhere to go to escape the smothering "leadership" elected by the followers.

[Andrew S.]

People don't like to be meddled with. We tell them what to do, what to think, don't run, don't walk. We're in their homes and in their heads and we haven't the right. We're meddlesome.

[Aloysious]

+1 River Tam

[Ted S.]

I presume making myself happy by beating the shit out of David Brooks violates the NAP?

[Restoras]

I have been told by NAP adherents that self defense allows for such a course of action, and Brooks' authoritarian screed applies in my book.

[Lord Humungus]

[Ted S.]

Good comment!

[Swiss Servator, Grundgesetz!]

[Ted S.]

This is what happens when you narrow your gaze too much.

[Lord Humungus]

I've got plenty more where that came from.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

It would be great to have a *responsible* leadership class, but what does that have to do with the history of the U.S. in the past century?

[Lord Humungus]

porous

Needed for cleaning up those nasty bloodstains.

[Rev-Match]

America was governed best when it was governed by a porous, self-conscious and responsible elite

Too bad these do not exist. Incidentally, that is why the American gov't was designed as it was.

[Lord Humungus]

Wesleyan requires fraternities to admit female members
Will allowing women to join the school's notorious "Rape Factory" do anything to curb sexual assault?

Wesleyan University, which has become notorious for its small but dangerous Greek scene, has announced that residential fraternities affiliated with the school will be required to welcome female members within the next three years. The move, which has reportedly been in the works for some time, was announced via campus-wide email (and reposted by the blog Wesleying) by the Board of Trustees on Monday, and has already been lauded for potentially increasing safety, security and equality on campus:

[tarran]

Prediction: the fraternities will no longer register with the school.

[Doctor Whom]

Where I did my undergrad, a fraternity did hand in its charter and reorganize as something else to avoid the rules on fraternities.

[Zeb]

Wesleyan owns some of the fraternity buildings, so that may not be a practical option.

[UnCivilServant]

While I am fundamentally opposed to fraternities because I hate those bastards, this is also a phenominally stupid violation of freedom of association. Nuke the whole college as a warning to the others.

[Ted S.]

The DoE policies that make colleges deny due process in sexual assault cases won't be used to make schools grant students their free association rights.

[UnCivilServant]

I'm perfectly okay with dissolving the DoE - in acid. Anyone who wishes to resign from public service first will be spared, but we will dissolve the records, regulations and buildings regardless of how many martyrs stick around.

[Rabban]

DoE is the Department of Energy. ED is the Department of Education. http://www.ed.gov/

[Bo Cara Esq.]

"his is also a phenominally stupid violation of freedom of association"

Not really, since as tarran notes it deals with college affiliated fraternities in the first place. If you don't want it to apply to you, don't affiliate with Wesleyan.

[Lord Humungus]

That third shift work at the rape factory is tiring.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

Just don't tell us how you 'punch in' every night.

[Andrew S.]

You knew what you were getting into when you agreed to work for Warty.

[Zeb]

Ah, the old alma mater.

I don't know what it's like now, but when I was there there was one, maybe two of the 4 or 5 fraternities that really fit the stereotype of fratboys.

Somehow I doubt that Womynist House and other all female selective residences on campus will be subject to the same rules.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

"Dude, I *identify* as a coed, you're just a bunch of transphobic bigots for not letting me join Delta Delta Delta sorority and take part in their pillow fights!"

[lap83]

Is it just me or do feminists go out of their way to encourage women to get into situations that make them at risk for sexual assault, just so they can have more opportunities to cry rape? Next are they going to mandate that all hazing rituals involve roofies?

[Redmanfms]

BLAMING THE VICTIM!!!1111!!!!!!!111!!!

[Zeb]

If Wesleyan is anything like when I was there, then the women likely to join the fraternities will be mostly members of the women's rugby team. And they can both hold their own physically and drink pretty much all of the frat boys under the table.

[Lord Humungus]

Exclusive: Georgia Offers to Host Training Camp for Syrian Rebels

In a potential boost for the Obama administration, the former Soviet republic of Georgia has offered to host a training facility for the Syrian rebels as a part of the U.S.-led war against Islamic State militants in both Syria and Iraq, according to an American administration official.

If accepted, the offer could supplement the White House's existing plan to train 5,000 Syrian rebels in Saudi Arabia in the next year to fight against the extremists now controlling swaths of both Iraq and Syria. It would also significantly elevate Georgia's role in the anti-Islamic State coalition as the United States and other Arab allies begin conducting airstrikes against militant targets in Syria.

[Andrew S.]

But what if that causes ISIS to bomb Atlanta?

[antisocial-ist]

I'll draw them a map to Turner Field.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Wait. Hang on. Time out.

There's another Georgia?

/falls to knees in disbelief.

[Bo Cara Esq.]

After what happened to those poor Buccaneers there last week I'm not sure anyone else should be sent there.

[Ted S.]

Couldn't they just use the School of the Americas at Fort Benning?

[Swiss Servator, Grundgesetz!]

That does not exist in its old form anymore.

[Bobarian (dinosaur hunter)]

That's Georgia. So maybe?

[Redmanfms]

The militarization of African police?

I'm guessing that's tongue-in-cheek, but anybody who doesn't think police in Africa aren't already militarized is an ignorant buffoon.

A new Amnesty International report found that Chinese manufacturers are selling electric shock batons, mechanized restraint chairs, and other police and riot gear to repressive regimes in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.

So what?

Riot gear isn't exactly militarization either. Riot gear is among the items police probably should have, and troops probably shouldn't.

[Bobarian (dinosaur hunter)]

STEVE SMITH HAVE MECHANIZED RAPE CHAIR AND HIM NOT MILITARIZED!

[Lord Humungus]

The next (nasty) economic surprise?

Gordon, a respected Northwestern University scholar, contends that mainstream economic growth predictions are wildly optimistic. His own calculations are more restrained. By 2024, he reckons, the economy's annual output (gross domestic product) will be nearly $2 trillion lower ? almost 10 percent ? than projected by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). Government debt will be 87 percent of GDP in 2024 instead of the CBO's estimate of 78 percent. Disappointing output will also pressure the Federal Reserve to move earlier against inflation by tightening credit, he says.

The gist of Gordon's argument is that the nation's productive capacity ? what economists call "the supply side" ? will expand only slowly. It won't keep up with the stronger consumer demand embodied in other forecasts. As a result, inflationary pressures will be higher and GDP lower. The "economy is on a collision course between demand-side optimism and supply-side pessimism," he writes in a study released by the National Bureau of Economic Research.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

Huffpo makes strong prediction:

Climate Change Will Be the Number One Issue in the 2034 Midterm Elections

It's easy to imagine that when it's five minutes to environmental midnight, in the 2034 midterm elections, climate change will be the nation's number one voting issue. Unfortunately, it's also easy to imagine that by the time that happens, neither teshuvah nor tefillah nor tzedakah will be able to avert the severe decree of science. At a certain point, we will discover ourselves unable to outlaw or repent or pray away the carbon dioxide and methane blanketing the planet. If that time comes, no change of mind or heart or law will be able to derail our rendez-vous with catastrophe.

[Tim]

I hope I live long enough to see the day come and go.

[Lord Humungus]

I won't be holding my breath.

Personally - based on the past 2-3 winters - I'm thinking mini Ice Age.

[Tim]

This reminds me how people in the fifties thought we'd all be wearing silver metal clothes by now.

[Swiss Servator, Grundgesetz!]

Wait...you mean you aren't?!

[UnCivilServant]

I'm afraid I'm wearing cotton produced by third world peasantry.

[Swiss Servator, Grundgesetz!]

Hmmm... That is acceptable as well.

*polishes silver sleeve*

[Lord Humungus]

Aren't you afraid of cooking your testicles like baked potatoes?

*slips on silk boxers*

[Swiss Servator, Grundgesetz!]

Of course not, it comes with an ATOMIC POWERED air conditioner.

*makes Jetson's car noise while running in circles around room*

[Lord Humungus]

So you microwave your nuts.

[trshmnster the terrible]

NTTAWWT

[trshmnster the terrible]

Don't make fun of muh clothezzz

[Juice]

Looks like he's about to go fight a forest fire.

[tarran]

Note that the watermelons are always trying to sell the empirically falsified CAGW (Catastrophic Anthropogenic Global Warming) whereas all the evidence points to a mild amount of Anthropogenic warming that is subsumed in the various feedback systems built into the climate.

At this point the political movement to deal with climate change is almost entirely decoupled from what the scientific research is saying.

[Tim]

The science is important to them, unless it is science that says GMO corn is harmless. Then the science is corrupt.

[Andrew S.]

Or vaccines (looking at you, RFK Jr.)

[Dr. Fronkensteen]

Hey, as someone who was raised Christian Scientist I didn't get vaccinated for the measles and my robust immune system worked just fine after I contracted the measles.

[Brett L]

Agreed, anthropogenic warming did take place over the 20th century, but it was probably a tertiary factor, maybe secondary.

[UnCivilServant]

At a certain point, we will discover ourselves unable to outlaw or repent or pray away the carbon dioxide and methane blanketing the planet

We will, however, simply let the plants soak in that CO2, producing bumper crops to feed all those people the Malthusians don't want crowding their planet.

[Zeb]

At a certain point, we will discover ourselves unable to outlaw or repent or pray away the carbon dioxide and methane blanketing the planet

And that time is now.

[Bobarian (dinosaur hunter)]

And that time will always be now.

[gaijin]

Get with the program! It's now called climate disruption!

UN Chief: 'I don't use the term climate change ? I think the more accurate term is climate disruption'

[Certified Public Asskicker]

Mark my word, climate disruption will be the number one issue...YEARS from now!

[Rich]

And then ... "climate *dissembling*"!

[tarran]

Every year, somewhere in the world, something that only happens there once every 200 years happens. A heat wave, a cold snap, a big storm, a flood, a calm etc.

And they can always point to it and say "See! The climate is disrupted!!!!!"

There are some great groundbreaking books just waiting to be written about the psychology of the movements promoting climate change alarmism.

[gaijin]

psychology of the movements promoting climate change alarmism

The DSM of Mental Disorders, vXII, will refer to it as CDS, where the 'C' can be interchangebly used to mean 'Capitalism','Climate', or 'Change' derangement syndrome.

[Andrew S.]

I've said before that I'm waiting for certain extreme weather events to repeat just to see what the reaction would be re: CAGW. For example, the Great Colonial Hurricane of 1635 (Category 4 hurricane hitting Long Island, then hitting Mass./Rhode Island as a Category 3) and the Blizzard of 1899 (snow all over the country, "Gulf of Mexico effect snow" in Tampa, below zero temps in Florida). Things like that.

[Zeb]

People are really good at seeing patterns where none exist.

[Johnny Bravo]

There are some great groundbreaking books just waiting to be written about the psychology of the movements promoting climate change alarmism.

Hans Maier - Totalitarianism and Political Religions

[The Other Kevin]

I think the next version will be "climate stagnation".

[Bobarian (dinosaur hunter)]

Climate Conflagration has a nice alliterative ring to it.

It sounds really ominous too.

[Rev-Match]

severe decree of science consensus.

[The Late P Brooks]

Ben & Jerry's released the ice cream flavor in February and didn't receive a complaint until more than six months later. Lianne and Brian Kowiak of Tampa, Florida, whose 19-year-old son died in a hazing incident in 2008, noticed an ad for the ice cream and sent an e-mail to Ben & Jerry's on Sept. 5.

We're sorry you're such a pair of thin-shinned losers. Here's a coupon for a complimentary quart of plain vanilla ice cram; now fuck off.

[sarcasmic]

Father shot dead by police in row at towing yard didn't obey their orders because he was DEAF
Edward Miller, 52, was killed by a Deputy Sheriff in Daytona Beach, Florida
Joel Hernandez overheard heated argument over return of a car Saturday
Miller's son - also called Edward - says his father couldn't hear officers
He was reportedly sitting in his SUV when he was shot six times
Miller had a gun, and Sheriff's Office says Hernandez 'perceived a threat'
Killing is under investigation by Florida Department of Law Enforcement

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....g-son.html

[Ted S.]

Nothing else happened.

[Andrew S.]

The important part of that article:

He said: 'While the specific sequence of events isn't being released at this time due to the ongoing investigation, during the encounter, Hernandez perceived a threat and fired his duty weapon, striking and killing the man.'

This may be the first time ever that an officer actually fired his weapon, rather than the weapon discharging of its own free will.

[Colonel Slanders]

WTF? I thought the Revenue Pirates only shot "people of color"???

[Juice]

I watched the last episode of Bill Maher (I know, I FF through most of it because I couldn't stand the stupid). But at one point the only black commentator said that when he was pulled over in La. he couldn't hear the cop telling him to get out of the car so the cop had his gun out and was yelling. He feared for his life. His whole point was that white people NEVER experience anything like that. Someone needs to send this link to him.

[Redmanfms]

He should talk to some bikers. Or some poor white people.

To be fair, I can cut my hair, shave, and put on a suit, and poverty doesn't necessarily manifest in appearance (and when it does that can be changed), but being black doesn't go away with a change of clothes.

[sarcasmic]

That's what you call a landing strip! VietJet Air slammed after publicity images featuring scantily-clad 'cabin crew' are leaked online
Photos feature models posing provocatively in bikinis in airline colours
The Vietnamese airline claims leaked pictures were not official
Carrier fined in 2012 after attendants performed Hawaiian dance in bikinis

Way to skinny for John.

[Lord Humungus]

no linky

[sarcasmic]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tra.....nline.html

[SugarFree]

What a nightmarish world it would be to have to fly an airline with attractive stewardesses.

[Bobarian (dinosaur hunter)]

What is this? The 1970's?

[Lord Humungus]

I'll send that to my friend Bill - who once tried to sneak over to Vietnam through the Cambodian border.

[Elspeth Flashman]

I like the combination of bikinis with stockings. Original.

[sarcasmic]

Shahs Of Sunset star Mercedes Javid, 41, puts on an eye-popping display in a zebra-print bikini as she hits the pool

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvs.....-pool.html
John pron!

[Idle Hands]

What is that thing?

[Johnny Bravo]

What is that thing?

a disgusting fat-body

/GySgt Hartman

[Swiss Servator, Grundgesetz!]

Her face could scare off a pack of guard dogs.

[Bobarian (dinosaur hunter)]

No shit, my penis pulled inside my body.

[sarcasmic]

It's feeding time! Holidaymakers film incredible moment hungry stingray leaps out of water and climbs ramp in search of food

Tourists in the Maldives got up close and personal with a gigantic stingray
While feeding fish off of the dock, a stingray approached for an easy meal
Trainer fed the stingray by hand and then reached out to stroke it

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tra.....-food.html

[Certified Public Asskicker]

Warning, Jezebel link:

Miss America Was Kicked Out of Her Sorority for Abusive Hazing

Under Kira's supervision, according to the source, pledges in the incoming class were called names, berated for their perceived physical flaws and imperfections, and made to perform physical tasks to the point of bruising and exhaustion?standard sorority pledge stuff paid forward by a person who our source says was herself brutally hazed upon entry into Alpha Phi.

Meh

[Certified Public Asskicker]

recent graduate who attended Hofstra at the same time as Kazantsev told Jezebel that the final two steps of pledging in one (unnamed) sorority involved making all of the pledges remove their underwear and sit on newspapers while the older members forced them to watch lesbian porn. Anyone whose newspaper stuck to them at the end of the video, the former student said, was branded a dyke, ridiculed, and tossed out. The remaining girls were then forced to perform oral sex on their sorority "big sisters."

Ha, sounds awesome, but not true.

Other Greeks required pledges to sit in circles around bowls of cat food and other various inedibles. They'd take turns eating and as soon as someone threw up, they had to eat the puke. Another sorority would wrap completely naked pledges in tinfoil, take them to bars, and instruct them to dance until last call. Patrons would pull pieces of foil off, and pledges were considered sexually up for grabs.

Riiight.

[RBS]

I was in a fraternity. The oral sex one sounds like total bullshit but the last two are believable.

[Reverend Mayhem]

Years ago when National Lampoon was in its last throws they had an issue featuring an article about fraternity pledge initiation "rites" -- some of it was pretty heinous (i.e., eating biscuits that had been jizzed upon by the elder brothers). So, yeah.

[Ted S.]

Other Greeks required pledges to sit in circles around bowls of cat food and other various inedibles.

Cat food isn't inedible. Cats are notoriously finicky, and they'll eat cat food.

And look how many senior citizens eat the stuff.

[Idle Hands]

Am I supposed to feel bad for people that willingly go through with this bullshit and don't say Fuck This and walk away. Because I really don't.

[Idle Hands]

Not when there are poor orphans being taken advantage of by libertarians in this very country.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

This. I don't really want to be friends with people who want me to strip naked and do a circle jerk while standing on hot coals.

[Idle Hands]

One of us, one of us. obble gobble, obble gobble.

[Emmerson Biggins]

I actually think this kind of hazing (as long as it doesn't reach physically dangerous levels of activity) is actually a good way to strengthen your inner contrarian bastard.

Most people need to be taught to say "Fuck this Bullshit" by observing directly the consequences of failure to do so. It's not natural. It's natural to go along with the herd and listen to your elders. You don't actually get kicked out for failure to obey, you just get threatened with it (or so I've heard) and yelled at more. But if you can't say Fuck this Bullshit through pointless threats and yelling, you aren't really doing it right anyway.

[trshmnster the terrible]

Yep, and according to them it's the men who need to be told to stop raping.

[Warty]

making all of the pledges remove their underwear and sit on newspapers while the older members forced them to watch lesbian porn. Anyone whose newspaper stuck to them at the end of the video, the former student said, was branded a dyke, ridiculed, and tossed out. The remaining girls were then forced to perform oral sex on their sorority "big sisters."

FUCK YEAH

Patrons would pull pieces of foil off, and pledges were considered sexually up for grabs.

FUCK YEAH

[Redmanfms]

So I watched Under the Skin. It was bizarre. I got what they were doing with it toward the end, but the first 45 minutes was pure WTF.

Also, Scarlett Johansson really isn't that great looking nude. She's pretty, yes, but no great beauty.

[Drake]

Watched it about 2 weeks ago. Way too slow.

I laughed at the end when a violent rapist struck a blow for humanity.

[Redmanfms]

I laughed when she was "humanizing" and tried to have sex with the guy only to find out that she didn't have a vagina.

I would have thought the dude would have noticed before trying to stick it in and been a little more mystified when he couldn't get it in, but her grabbing the lamp and looking was hilarious.

BTW, the guy with the facial deformity was real. I thought he was done with CGI because of the eeriness of the lighting in the van, but no, that's really his face.

[Azathoth!!]

I suspected something like that when they showed her trying to eat--and she couldn't. No throat. Just the outer appearance. I suspect her vagina was constructed in a similar fashion.

[Juice]

ScarJo looks weird to me.

[Auric Demonocles]

The alt-text has one "critical vulnerability".

[Bo Cara Esq.]

Anyone catch Gotham last night? Any good?

[Idle Hands]

It got good reviews. Watched foosball.

[INFORG]

I thought it was OK, but just a rehash of the murder of Bruce Wayne's parents in the first episode and some origin type stuff for the Penguin - also seemed to show some other villains before they were famous (Poison Ivy? Cat Woman? Riddler?).

Waiting to see where it goes from here. I like the actors they have casted, but it will need to get better to make it past season 1.

[robc]

I like google+. Far superior to facebook in virtually every way. I dont really use either, but when I did, I preferred google+.

[Mongo]

I only like it because I can use an alias (I was an early user of FB and had to use my real name and high school to sign up -- all those people from long ago that I managed to ditch found me through FB).

[Andrew S.]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....-help.html

Man shoots dog that had jumped fence, points gun at dog owners (including children) when they go out to see what happened, walks away saying he has a concealed weapons permit.

Hasn't been charged yet. Guessing the police are deciding whether to charge him or give him a job offer.

[Swiss Servator, Grundgesetz!]

Job offer.

[Warty]

"Guys, what should we do with our pile of money?"

"Maybe we should invest it wisely and make more money."

"No, you idiot! We should throw it away to save the earth or something!"

[Bobarian (dinosaur hunter)]

They're divesting their charity of oil funds...

In a completely unrelated note, the Rockefeller's personal portfolio's invested in a lot of oil stocks.

[Christophe]

OT:

Naomi Brockwell is probably actually a libertarian, and not just working at Reason for a paycheck.

Mystery solved!

[Roger the Shrubber]

Mystery solved!

She's a natural redhead?

Something, something......female libertarians.

[Obama's Buttplug]

You're Welcome

http://thescene.com/watch/gq/b.....ampaign=gq

[Medical Physics Guy]

Proof that one should always check the links later in the day. You never know what gem will have turned up.

[Careless]

Good luck deporting that jerk.