Climate Deal Inspires Bipartisan Skepticism, U.N. Doesn't Like U.S. Legal Marijuana, ISIS Battle Goes Uphill: P.M. Links

• The U.S.-Chinese climate deal is already inspiring skepticism on both the left and the right.

• The U.N. is throwing a fit, saying legalized marijuana in America is a violation of international law. Sorry, what? We're just too stoned to give a shit.
• The U.S. and its allies face an uphill battle against ISIS in Iraq's Anbar province.
• A federal judge overturned South Carolina's same-sex marriage ban.
• JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Bank of America Corp. and three other global banks were fined by U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission a total of $4.3 billion for currency manipulation.
• Russian long-range bombers will conduct patrols in the Gulf of Mexico.
• The European Space Agency for the first time successfully landed a spacecraft on a comet.

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Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

The U.N. is throwing a fit, saying legalized marijuana in America is a violation of international law.

If this doesn't galvanize the GOP...

[Rich]

? to throw those fuckers out of NYC.

[Zenon Evans]

...then I'm a monkey's uncle.

[Raven Nation]

Umm, alt-text...bye Zenon?

[Zenon Evans]

I'm terrible at goodbyes :/

[Every Cop is a Criminal]

YOU DON"T FUCKING KNOW ME, ASSHOLE!

[EDG reppin' LBC]

Bye, dude. Good luck in your next adventure. It's been fun having you around.

[Zenon Evans]

Thank you, sir. It's been quite a ride.

[BigT]

I'm terrible at goodbyes :/

Maybe you can get a job as a commenter at HandR. The pay sucks, but the bennies are great.

[Zenon Evans]

I've never been half as committed as you all are.

[Rich]

"Committed"? Exactly what are you trying to say, Zenon?

Good luck in any event!

[Zenon Evans]

I'm pulling a One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest.

[Bobarian (Mr. Xtreme)]

So...
You're being lobotomized and suffocated by a big indian?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Good luck. Whoever you are and wherever you're going.

/cue Talking Heads Once in a Lifetime.

[The DerpRider]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udeh0pF4jJw

[Raven Nation]

Best of luck to ye.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

How will we find you if you do not tell us where you are going?

Or, is that the point?

[Zenon Evans]

I'm going into the Oregon wilderness for a little while.

[Certified Public Asskicker]

Good luck, watch out for moose.

[Raven Nation]

I'm going into the Oregon wilderness for a little while.

Just like DB Cooper...

*narrows eyes, stares at Zenon Evans*

[BakedPenguin]

I'm going into the Oregon wilderness for a little while

Hope you have enough guns and dope. Oh, and women.

Good luck for the future

[Bill Dalasio]

Best of luck, Mr. Evans.

[Old Man With Candy]

The nice thing about being a commenter is the groupies.

[Cdr Lytton]

If you ever come back to reason, we can finally have Zenon the Zequel here.

Enjoy Oregon! One more kook around here won't stick out at all.

[Carl ?s the level]

Would you care to email me, Raven?

[Raven Nation]

Somalia sounds good.

[Doghouse Riley Jr.]

I notice the clock reads 4:20 LA time, right beside the marijuana link.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Son of a bitch, you're right. Subversive.

[PapayaSF]

Ooooh, subliminal!

[Rufus J. Firefly]

"The U.N. is throwing a fit,"

Crazy girlfriends you break up with tend to do that.

[Riven]

When will men learn?

You don't stick your dick in crazy. I don't care how good the sex is. Go find a chubby girl instead; they'll work for it.

[RBS]

The thing is, they all have at least a touch of the crazy.

[Restoras]

Remember, the Crazy Axis starts at 4, not 0.

[Mad Scientist]

Also remember, all women are at least a 4 on the scale.

[AlexInCT]

UNICORNS!

[JWatts]

Beware the sub 4 Unicorns.

[jesse.in.mb]

Careful, RBS, Riven's one of them...

Don't make eye-contact and back away slowly.

[RBS]

Haha, I know.

[Riven]

Be not afraid, ye heathens--I'm practically the anti-woman.

[CE]

Don't blame me. I voted for Badnarik.

[Fist of Etiquette]

A federal judge overturned South Carolina's same-sex marriage ban.

That's what you get for living in a state named after some chick's nether regions.

[Injun, as in from India]

So is North Carolina named after some chick's bosom?

[Injun, as in from India]

Aah, yes. I would like a Virginian South Carolina with a good North Carolina. Thanks.

[EDG reppin' LBC]

Does she have to be Indiana?

[Restoras]

I thought that was an Egyptian he, not a she?

[Injun, as in from India]

The Indiana don't matter as long as the North Carolina is a juicy Georgia peach.

[jesse.in.mb]

The European Space Agency for the first time successfully landed a spacecraft on a comet.

Wake me when we land a person on Mars.

[Injun, as in from India]

Didn't they make a movie about it already? We don't need yet another fake landing.

[CE]

Yeah, Armageddon, where Bruce Willis landed on the comet and saved the world. And insisted on a lifetime exemption from income taxes as a condition for helping. Which got a huge round of applause in the theater I was in.

[RBS]

Let me know when that comet is leaving the solar system.

[CE]

+1 Oort Cloud

[LarryA]

The European Space Agency

Damn NASA. We should be on Mars by now.

[Doghouse Riley Jr.]

No, Zenon, don't leave us!

[Fist of Etiquette]

I wanted to be the one to drive him out.

[Doghouse Riley Jr.]

I guess you got your wish, but he'll probably give some excuse like a better job, the Kochtopus check bounced, etc. But you'll know it was really your doings.

[Fist of Etiquette]

He was just too beautiful for this blog.

[Zenon Evans]

Zenon was just an alias, I was Lucy all along.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Nooooooooooooooooooooooo...

[Zenon Evans]

If it makes you happy, you can tell everyone you did it.

[jesse.in.mb]

Ugh, don't let Fist make this about him...He'll be insufferable-er forever now.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Since I always considered your name sounding too much like a Bond villain's, that would make me 007.

[some guy]

See? It's already starting.

[Mad Scientist]

Fisting and Bondage do tend to go together.

[Riven]

... ladies

[jesse.in.mb]

I see you as more of a Parker Wyndham from this fine film.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Denial ain't just a river in Egypt.

[Bobarian (Mr. Xtreme)]

I always figured you to be about 013.

[Fist of Etiquette]

0069

(tee hee)

[waffles]

Zenon! You never called!

[Jerry on the sea]

Urh.

[Zenon Evans]

whom?!

[Fist of Etiquette]

The European Space Agency for the first time successfully landed a spacecraft on a comet.

Begging your pardon, sir, but it's a bigass sky.

[Rich]

Good, um, catch.

Congratulations, anyway!

[Injun, as in from India]

The U.N. is throwing a fit, saying legalized marijuana in America is a violation of international law.

The solution is: ONE WORLD GUBMINT!

[Riven]

Unite all the countries under one rule so that everybody can be interfered with or ignored equally.

[Florida Man]

"Unite Us! Unite the clans!"
*manly arm clasp with Robert the Bruce*

[Shirley Knott]

The Russians are putting long range bombers on patrol in the Gulf? Seriously?
Gee, that worked out so well when they put missiles in Cuba.

But hey, maybe it will distract from the invasion of Ukraine.

[BigT]

Excellent intelligence gathering opportunity for the USAF. Bring it on.

[Doghouse Riley Jr.]

I'm pretty sure the USAF knows damn near everything there is to know about these.

Signal intelligence, maybe.

[PapayaSF]

I just found out that those big nacelles on the trailing edges of the wings are there because of the area rule.

[Doghouse Riley Jr.]

Huh, I did not know that.

[Tonio]

You know who else liked ample nacelles?

[Doghouse Riley Jr.]

Scotty, in his later years when he put on some weight?

[mnarayan]

Kirk in the parallel universe where Hitler won?

[Cytotoxic]

The Russians are also sending a couple warships off the Australian coast in international waters...with a tugboat. Shows how much confidence they have in their own navy.

[Injun, as in from India]

Russian long-range bombers will conduct patrols in the Gulf of Mexico.

Sadly, we're going to see more of this in the future, quite possibly with China.

[John]

But remember, Reason said we had to elect Obama to keep the country from getting into really big wars.

Weakness and fecklessness is what causes wars not strength. Sadly the Reason staff are not real big on history or book learning when it comes to such things. They have seen some movies and read a few Howard Zinn Books. They know the score.

[Zenon Evans]

Consider me a Goldwater-type when it comes to the Russians.

[Cytotoxic]

The libertarian movement needs more of you and fewer peacenazis.

[CE]

The libertarian movement needs fewer neocons.

[JWatts]

And maybe people that actually know what the word neocon means. Because there is no way in hell John is a neocon.

"Neoconservative foreign policy is a descendant of so-called Wilsonian idealism. Neoconservatives endorse democracy promotion by the U.S. and other democracies, based on the claim that they think that human rights belong to everyone. They criticized the United Nations and detente with the USSR. On domestic policy, they endorse a welfare state, like European and Canadian conservatives and unlike American conservatives. "

[John]

I am an Eisenhower type. Give them a wide birth but make it very clear you will wipe them off the face of the earth if you have to.

[Juice]

*berth

[John Titor]

Crush them, drive them before you, and hear the lamentations of their women?

[Injun, as in from India]

IMHO, this really proves that Putin has a short d1ck and is trying to overcompensate. You don't f*** with America, period.

[John]

It totally proves that. The problem is that thanks to Obama being so weak and feckless, Putin thinks he can get away with it. That is just fine until he miscalculates and tries to measure his dick by doing something even Obama can't ignore.

[LarryA]

Bingo. Carter Part Deux.

Elect another Reagan and the Bears will hibernate, just as Carter's Iran hostages were released when the Gipper got hold of the button.

[Doghouse Riley Jr.]

What if we announce B-2 bombers are patrolling near Russia, then don't actually patrol?

[some guy]

Every now and then report that a B-2 had mechanical problems during one of these flights, but managed to return safely to base.

[Doghouse Riley Jr.]

Apologize for incursions that never happened, little things like that, just to mess with them and make them question their stealth detection abilities.

[Stormy Dragon]

Making the other side question their detection abilities when nuclear weapons are involved can be a bad idea.

[JWatts]

Yes, I think this is kind of a trump.

[Cytotoxic]

Yeah, but so what? Russia's just going to bankrupt itself faster.

[Fist of Etiquette]

JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Bank of America Corp. and three other global banks were fined by U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission a total of $4.3 billion for currency manipulation.

And the savings will be passed on to the consumers?

[Injun, as in from India]

Savings? What savings? The money is already spent, sir. We spent $18 Trillion yesterday, so we're paying back the debt to ourselves.

[Mad Scientist]

JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Bank of America Corp. and three other global banks were fined by U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission a total of $4.3 billion for currency manipulation.

The US government was too big to fail and needed a bailout.

[John]

http://www.washingtonexaminer......le/2556079

Another Gruber video emerges. The remarkable thing about these videos is that Gruber is acting under the assumption that voters ever supported or wanted Obamacare. The voters are not stupid. They did everything they could to stop Obamacare and have punished the Democratic Party and the members of Congress who voted for it pretty severely. Twenty-eight of the 60 Democratic Senators who voted for it are no longer in office. When you consider that incumbent Senators at best leave office at a five percent or so rate per election, nearly 50% in three elections is brutal.

It wasn't the American voter who was stupid. It was the Democratic Congress who thought they could lie and get away with it who were stupid.

[Raven Nation]

How about this interpretation: Gruber thinks the American voters are stupid because they won't knowingly agree with his policies.

Also, what's the over/under on how many days before Obama says, "I don't really know Jonathan Gruber, this is the first I've heard of this, and I'm going to get to the bottom of this," followed by Gruber being publicly trashed by the administration?

[Mad Scientist]

Surely Obama has read about it in the newspaper by now.

[John]

How about this interpretation: Gruber thinks the American voters are stupid because they won't knowingly agree with his policies.

For sure. The problem is that even with the lies, they won't even unknowingly agree with those policies.

[Mike M.]

If the republicans have any brains at all, they'll make a commercial out of this shithead's speech and air it around the country every week for the next two years.

[Rich]

This.

Or throw him against the wall and see what sticks.

[John]

If they were smart and played to win, they would do exactly that. Sadly, they are rarely either.

[Raven Nation]

And, if they were smart and had cojones, if Hillary's the nominee they will make a video with the embassy burning and Chris Stevens being dragged through the streets with Hillary say "WDATPDIM," but don't hold your breath.

[BakedPenguin]

For once, I agree with Mike M. That would be a brutal, and entirely justified, campaign.

[JWatts]

"If the republicans have any brains at all, they'll make a commercial out of this shithead's speech and air it around the country every week for the next two years."

And they should include a comment that he was paid $400,000 for his "help" writing Obamacare.

[some guy]

The really remarkable thing is that these people don't realize that everything they say is being recorded and so,everything they say is being said to the world.

[BigT]

And Gruber had a 2009 NYT article full of lies:

'Cadillac' tax isn't a tax -- it's a plan to finance real health reform
By Jonathan Gruber
Dec 28, 2009
As we prepare for the final round of debate over health reform, perhaps the most contentious issue will be financing. Both the Senate and House agree that most of the financing for reform should come from scaling back overpayments to Medicare insurers and providers, as well as excise taxes on some of the sectors that will most benefit from 30 million newly insured consumers. [ ]

The Senate assessment ..would reduce the incentives for employers to provide excessively generous insurance, leading to more cost-conscious use of health care and, ultimately, lower spending. In other words, it "bends the curve." It would also be progressive, in that it would take from those with the most generous insurance to finance the expansion of coverage to those without insurance.

The assessment proposed in the Senate is not a new tax; it is the elimination of an existing tax break that is provided to exactly these firms. [ ] As a result, the tax code has for years provided a large subsidy to the most expensive health plans -- at a cost to the U.S. taxpayer of more than $250 billion a year.

Not taking is giving. It's the guv's money.

[John]

It won't happen. But I will bet you anything he told those same lies under oath at some Congressional hearing or another. Wouldn't it be great to indict his ass on perjury?

[BigT]

Your wish...

[Rich]

Make it so, congress of The People.

[Steve G]

Alpha Mike Foxtrot Zenon

[Zenon Evans]

Thanks for the kind words.

[John]

It is always good to leave mad as hell and unwilling to take it anymore. Keeps you from later regretting the decision.

Good luck!!

[Florida Man]

Why is Xenon mad?

[John]

He is not. It is a joke related to the picture and alttext.

[seguin]

Because you misspelled his name.

[JWatts]

He was just spelling it phonetically. 😉

[John]

http://www.bloomberg.com/polit.....-obamacare

Meet the citizen journalist who tracked down the Gruber videos. The poor bastard actually seems surprised that media wasn't interested in doing its job.

[Raven Nation]

Wonder how long before the media investigates this guy. Something along the lines of, "Troubling facts are beginning to emerge about the man behind the Jonathan Gruber videos..."

[PapayaSF]

No doubt an IRS audit is coming his way.

[AlexInCT]

It won't be the media investigating him. It will be the IRS, the DOJ, or both.

[Carl ?s the level]

In first-lady-of-China news....

Putin Hits on China's First Lady, Censors Go Wild

This animated GIF is all the proof you need that Mrs Xi Jinping is the real boss at home

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I'd hit that.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

That fucking suave Slav.

[Every Cop is a Criminal]

U.N. Doesn't Like U.S. Legal Marijuana

Only because they haven't tried it.

[Doghouse Riley Jr.]

Don't diplomats prefer cocaine?

[Restoras]

Yes, it goes better with teh hookers.

[Bobarian (Mr. Xtreme)]

Figgis: Don't you mean escorts?

Archer: When they're dead, they're just hookers.

[JEP]

Shall I fetch a rug?

[Doghouse Riley Jr.]

I thought it was because it cost more and they believe they deserve the good life, being diplomats and all.

[Ska]

Best part of Deep Cover: on the docks where the drug dealers meet up, and the big shot's second takes one toot of the synthetic coke...

*sniff* *sniffle* [strained voice] BUY IT.

[John]

http://www.salon.com/writer/heather_l_hughes/

Salon trolls married women with an article by a woman explaining the joys of dating their husbands.

[RBS]

Finally, sex. Sex at 29, after a prolonged virginity that wasn't the result of religious beliefs or a commitment to not having sex until marriage or extreme undesirability. My extended virginity seemed to have just happened, or rather, sex just hadn't happened.

That should have raised some red flags for that Jack guy.

[John]

Isn't the point of cheating on your wife to do with your mistress all the nasty things you like but your wife doesn't? Maybe I am a cynic but I can't see a 29 year old self created virgin being that wild in the sack.

[RBS]

You'd think so wouldn't you?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Wives who don't swallow or give head or whatever would save themselves a massive migraine if they understood their better halves may get it elsewhere. View it as a sex subsidy.

[John]

Women are stupid if they think men are not emotional about sex. Men are emotional just in a different way than women. If a woman won't do something sexually a man wants, the man views that as a rejection. Some women just can't seem to understanding that and are shocked when their husband ends up with a woman who will do what they want. They never understand that their husband is only reacting to his perception that they rejected him.

[PapayaSF]

I think this it true.

[Riven]

On the other hand, what happens when the wife is a little freaky and the husband is all vanilla?

I could tell you, but I don't want to ruin the surprise.

[John]

Women marry gay men thinking they can convert them all of the time.

[Riven]

Ugh... I hate that "I can change him!" mentality that women get sometimes.

How about you find some puss who actually wants to be cuckolded and leave the poor guy who just wants to get laid alone?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

SEND PICTURES.

[Riven]

Oh, yours are in the mail. For sure.

[John]

Can you email mine Riven?

[Riven]

Sorry; hard copies only.

I wouldn't want to compromise them by sending them electronically. I mean, what about all that cloud nonsense?

[jesse.in.mb]

Nooooo. Sending a Canadian saucy pictures is like feeding a mogwai after midnight!

[Florida Man]

+1 bucket of chicken

[Riven]

So, I shouldn't have gotten him wet, either?

/turns off the hose

[Bobarian (Mr. Xtreme)]

That isn't what got him wet...

/ewww

[jesse.in.mb]

I don't know where we're going to find enough sunlight in Canada to deal with this problem.

[Riven]

If we go far enough north, isn't it always "daytime" for some part of the year?

[jesse.in.mb]

We're on the wrong side of the autumnal equinox for that.

Current sunrise/set for Rufus is 6:50 AM/4:26 PM

Damn dude, how do you even get out of bed like that? We get an extra hour of daylight in LA.

[John Titor]

Rufus' is spinning his cocoon out of maple syrup as we speak.

Welp, time to call the Population Control Team.

[Bobarian (Mr. Xtreme)]

Shouldn't the first red flag be that she writes for Salon?

[Notorious G.K.C.]

To add to the humiliation of betrayal, these wives have to face up to the fact that their husbands cheated on them with a freelance writer whose erotic fantasies involve Frodo Baggins and Tintin.

Fuck you, you homewrecking bitch, leave Frodo and Tintin out of your messed-up life.

[Cytotoxic]

Aww, Russia thinks it's still a somebody. They're gonna puff out their chests and tuffgai it up until they tucker out go bankrupt.

[The Late P Brooks]

Speaking of noxious hysterical bullshit:

The Border Patrol has more than 16,000 of the M4 carbines, but has pulled thousands and slated them for refurbishing.

Moran said there is potential danger for agents relying on rifles shared with others, noting the importance of personalizing settings and having a general familiarity with a personal weapon.

"You don't want a weapon that is zeroed in to someone else," he said. "You don't share guns and you don't share needles because both could end with people dying.

"We work in areas and situations where having these rifles could be a matter of life or death," he added.

Customs and Border Protection officials said the scrutiny of the M4 carbines throughout the nation's Border Patrol sectors will continue until all have been inspected and, if necessary, repaired or replaced. He defended the use of pool guns to ensure each sector's armory was stocked.

But the agents' concerns are valid, one law enforcement expert told FoxNews.com.

"They are losing 40 to 50 percent of their M4s," said Jeff Prather, a former Drug Enforcement Administration agent who now runs the Warrior School, an independent law-enforcement training facility in Tucson. "They are basically disarmed."

I don't see a problem.

[Rich]

"They are losing 40 to 50 percent of their M4s."

Paging Eric Holder ?.

[Cytotoxic]

"They are losing 40 to 50 percent of their M4s," said Jeff Prather, a former Drug Enforcement Administration agent who now runs the Warrior School, an independent law-enforcement training facility in Tucson. "They are basically disarmed."

Faster please.

[Mike M.]

Democratic party favorability rating falls to all-time record low in the Gallup poll.

Hell of a job Obama. Keep up what you're doing.

[The_Millenial]

He just needs to keep on listening to the Jonathan Grubers of the world and he'll be set.

[John]

Don't worry, he will. There is no stopping him. He is going to fuck every single constituency in the Democratic coalition. Jews? He will be making a deal with Iran that lets them get the bomb. Blacks? He will be doing executive amnesty. Unions? He will be doing carbon regulation and letting the EPA make war on industry. Hispanics? They will get a green card but won't be able to find a job with it after the EPA gets done with carbon regulation. Gentry White Liberals? Hope they have a good backup generator or live in a mild climate.

HE is going to do all of that and more and there is not a damn thing the Democrats can do to stop him or not get blamed for it. And if Obama leaves office with the Democrats totally out of power, it won't be Obama's fault and he won't give a shit or in any way be deterred by the prospect of it happening.

[EDG reppin' LBC]

...it won't be Obama's fault and he won't give a shit or in any way be deterred by the prospect of it happening.

Let the $2 million dollar speaking fees begin!

[John]

He will spend his days living with Valarie Jarrett and Michelle. I am not sure even he deserves that.

[BakedPenguin]

Yes he does.

And yes, that statement was as filled with hate as you'd think.

[John]

http://nymag.com/thecut/2014/1.....-icon.html

Ayn Rand now on a Girl Power Shirt. Do the Jezzies' heads explode or do the Objectivists' heads explode over this? Or is it both?

[Restoras]

Is it meant seriously or ironically?

[Cytotoxic]

As an Objectivist, I exploded. With joy.

[Iucundus]

Make sure to wash the sock.

[Riven]

What a waste.

[seguin]

I hear there's a brisk trade in spent sockwives in Japan.

He could've gotten a couple of yen at least.

[Rich]

Ms Rand *smoked*.

We can't have that in a role model.

[The Late P Brooks]

The U.N. is throwing a fit, saying legalized marijuana in America is a violation of international law.

As part of my "No, fuck you; stop spending" initiative, I will revise the US contribution to the United Nations to zero.

[Rich]

Oh, how about a kilogram of MJ?

[The_Millenial]

Well, this would explain things a bit:

"At the U.S.'s insistence, cannabis was placed under the heaviest control regime in the Convention, Schedule IV. The argument for placing cannabis in this category was that it was widely abused. The WHO later found that cannabis could have medical applications after all, but the structure was already in place and no international action has since been taken to correct this anomaly."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S.....otic_Drugs

[CE]

What about Denmark? Were they kicked out of the UN? Or is that where UN officials go on vacation, so it's exempt?

[XM]

Isn't the Gulf of Mexico not in Russia's territories? How are their airplanes patrolling the area?

Why is Obama so hostile to one commie (Putin) and so friendly with another (China)?

[Cytotoxic]

Yeah, how does Putin get those planes there? Do they land and take off in Cuba?

[Wasteland Wanderer]

There's a reason they're called long-range bombers.

[Cytotoxic]

Really? All the way from Russia to the Caribbean?

[Wasteland Wanderer]

The Tu-95s have a range of 9,400 miles. It's only 6,200 or so to the Caribbean, even while sticking to international airspace.

Add in a couple mid-air refuelings, and it's a fairly easy round trip.

[Cytotoxic]

I did not know that. Thanky.

[Doghouse Riley Jr.]

Takes forever, though, as the cruise speed (according to Wiki) is 441 mph.

[Sigivald]

Neither of them are Commies.

Both are authoritarian state-absolutists, but even the Chinese Communist Party is only Communist in name, and the Russians don't pretend to Communism even in label anymore.

I'm not sure there are any actual Commies left, except maybe Cuba.

(North Korea's so weird I'm not sure their economic and power structure is describable as "Communist", rather than "Batshit".)

[Cytotoxic]

I would say North Korea is communist, as well as Eritrea, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan. The last two are letting some rays of light threw, but they are still very dark places.

[John]

Uzbekistan isn't that bad. It is a typical authoritarian corrupt third world shit hole. It is Turkmenistan that is really fucked up. Turkmenistan is to Uzbekistan what Belorussia is to Ukraine.

[Cytotoxic]

Sounds a lot worse than typical but yes still better than Turkmenistan.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.....Uzbekistan

[Gene]

A survey by UNICEF found that 69.6% of women agreed that a husband is justified to beat or hit his wife under certain circumstances (including 61.2% if the wife goes out without telling him, and 47.9% if she argues with him).

I think I know where Ghomeshi is hiding out.

[BakedPenguin]

Turkmenistan's former ruler was basically Kim Jong-Il light. Batshit insane.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

What the fuck did Stan ever do to these countries?

DAMN YOU STAN!

[John]

If ever I get to start my own seasted or own a private island, I am calling it "Bananastan".

[JEP]

There's always money in Bananastan!

[Unreconstructed]

Bah, I was too slow.

[John Titor]

North Korea's its own weird 'Juche' system more than anything else, a weird blend of Marxist-Stalinism and traditional Confucian hereditary monarchy.

[John]

With some racialist fascism thrown in for good measure.

[Iucundus]

Heil Kimler!

[Sigivald]

A Tu-95 has a 9,400 mile range without refueling, and it's not quite 7,000 miles from, say, Volgograd to the middle of the Gulf.

I imagine they get there by "flying".

It's very likely they're either doing mid-Atlantic refueling if they want to do non-stops, or stopping in Cuba for a refill.

[CE]

Isn't the Gulf of Mexico not in Russia's territories? How are their airplanes patrolling the area?

Is the Persian Gulf somewhere off California? US airplanes patrol it all the time.

[LarryA]

Isn't the Gulf of Mexico not in Russia's territories?

Most of the U.S. Navy is way outside U.S. territory.

[Iucundus]

PMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Bank of America Corp. and three other global banks were fined by U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission a total of $4.3 billion for currency manipulation.

That's the Fed's job.

[Carl ?s the level]

Microsoft open sources server-side .NET runtime, libraries, etc., under the MIT license with a patent grant/promise to boot. Will work with Xamarin to make compatible with OS X and Linux.

[kbolino]

Nice. One of my biggest gripes about C# versus Java was the lack of source code for the libraries. Not only does seeing the source help you to understand how the system libraries are implemented, it teaches you the right (and wrong!) way to do things.

[The Late P Brooks]

Does this mean you're made as hell, and not going to take it anymore, Z?

[Zenon Evans]

Nah, I'm as stoic as a stoner.

[seguin]

Does this mean you're made as hell

I bet he sold Nick's carpet cleaning van.

[Crusty Juggler]

Oh Columbo!

[The Late P Brooks]

D'OH!

e

Now I'm MAD AS HELL.

[Sigivald]

The great thing about "International Law" in the form of treaties like the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, is that you can simply repudiate them, and nobody can do anything about it.

Especially in the SCND's case, there simply is no enforcement mechanism except for the Board it creates asking very nicely to maybe stop doing that.

I'd say it's a paper tiger, but it's not even a tiger on paper.

[Doghouse Riley Jr.]

Plus, it's the UN. If the UN wants to officially scold the US, the US can use it's permanent veto.

I'd bet Obama would not tell the ambassador to the US to do that, though, so he could cite "international pressure" as an excuse to crack down on the states.

[Doghouse Riley Jr.]

D'oh. Ambassador to the UN, not the US.

[The_Millenial]

Ironically, marijuana was placed under the Single Convention's heaviest control regime at the US' behest.

[Riven]

So... basically this?

[Cytotoxic]

The name given to encrypting data and storing it in an image is called steganography.

Sonic's Technology Enables Encryption Through Images

https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/sonic-coin/

[JEP]

I would say that storing data in an image is an example of steganography.

Steganography, in general, is any method of hiding that a message even exists to be decrypted.

[Carl ?s the level]

FWIW, the reason this reads like a press release is that it is:

Sponsored Stories

[Florida Man]

Johnny pneumonic?

[Anonymous Coward]

Jonathan Gruber went on the Ronan Farrow(who?) Show to say that he's sorry...that he got caught.

"I was speaking off the cuff and I basically spoke inappropriately, and I regret having made those comments."

Note: He doesn't regret having deceived the public, he doesn't regret having written the bill the way it was written, but he does regret that he admitted to lying for "The Greater Good."

[John]

What is funny is that he is actually having to grovel. No one but other leftists listen to Rowen Farrow's show. And Gruber sure as hell doesn't care what anyone on the evil Right thinks of him. Apparently, this whole thing really is making him a bit toxic to the cause.

Have fun under the bus Jonathan. It will take more than a few self criticism sessions with the media to get you out of this one.

[The_Millenial]

The Mendacity of Hope: Jonathan Gruber, Barack Obama, and the Fleecing of America

[Raven Nation]

HuffPo has an article on the guy who found the videos: pretty decent actually. I was surprised at the variety of views in the comments, although this comment was priceless:

"A$$holes. Any human being would notice this wording problem and FIX IT, instead of using it to take away people's health care."

[Anonymous Coward]

Man Who Slapped Woman on F Train Will Not Be Charged; Plans to Sue NYC for False Arrest

Charges were dropped against a 6-foot-6-inch bar bouncer seen on a viral video slapping a woman on the subway ? and he now plans to sue New York City over the bad arrest, the man's lawyer said Wednesday.

Jorge Pena was let go once prosecutors found he was acting in self-defense, said his lawyer, Cary London.

The case was officially dismissed Monday in Manhattan Criminal Court after the district attorney's office reviewed the tape, which shows Pena getting harassed by Shanique Campbell.

At right, Jorge Pena was coming off a 12-hour shift when people harassed him over his 8-ball jacket, leading to him slapping a woman in what prosecutors are now calling self-defense, his attorney says.

Campbell, 20, can be seen berating Pena, who towered over her, making fun of his jacket, which has a large 8-ball on the back, on the F train about 4:20 a.m. Saturday.

Everybody, just keep your damn hands to yourself, man, woman, cislord, tranny, fluid, whatever you are. Don't put your hands in their face, don't touch their cameras, don't poke them. Finally, if they are a whole head and a half a person bigger than you, and you pick a fight with them, and you get KTFO, I've got no sympathy for you.

[John]

No kidding. But I bet she had spent most of her life mouthing off to men figuring the fact that she was a woman would keep them from defending themselves. Looks like her luck finally ran out.

[Riven]

8-ball, train, 4:20...

All the elements are there for a good time, and yet it all went so horribly wrong.

[MJGreen]

Uhh... interesting mistake of a link.

Here's a link slightly more related.

[Anonymous Coward]

You're correct. I like big butts. Big, round, shapely, butts. I can not prevaricate nor obfuscate my taste for large, round, shapely gluteals. I'm of the opinion that even my fellows cannot gainsay or disclaim that when a women of certain proportions, specifically of a diminutive waistline and a large derriere passes before them, they will undergo a process known colloquially as "getting sprung."

Better Link

[Riven]

The narwhal bacons at midnight...

[Anonymous Coward]

...but only on Tuesdays.

[John]

So the woman two doors down from me is a late 40s fairly attractive MILF. She is wearing a wool skirt that its about three inches about her knees and leather knee high boots today. She has nice legs by any objective measure. But she is a married mom attorney in her late 40s. A pretty successful one at that. Is it bad to look? Is she not dressing such in hopes someone will?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Look away. As in drool and gawk. Make sure to have binoculars around your neck as you grin.

[John]

I figure a woman her age and married as long as she has been fully understands the effects of wearing a short skirt and is thus wearing it in hopes some unreconstructed heterosexual male like myself will notice.

[CE]

No, she's wearing it because she likes the fashion. Your male gaze is NOT excused.

[lap83]

Rule of thumb: if your looking is so obvious that she can tell, then it's creepy. It doesn't matter if she's a feminist or not.

[MJGreen]

Don't forget to take a picture; it'll last longer!

[MJGreen]

And make sure to harass her with comments like, "Good morning neighbor."

[Riven]

Don't, y'know, leer but I'd say it's totally alright to look.

Her intentions don't have anything to do with it. There's nothing wrong with observing other people.

[John]

I don't leer, much. Yeah I looked. Like I said above, a woman of her age and experience didn't wear that skirt without knowing and expecting its effect on men.

[Riven]

I'd like to think that a woman of any age would understand the effect that combination has on men.

I do and take much enjoyment out of it. Hopefully I still turn as many heads as she apparently does when I'm her age.

[John]

Riven,

Some younger women are really stupid and had negligent mothers and fathers and go through life acting surprised that their bodies could have an effect on any man that sees them.

I see 17 year old girls who should know better walking around in public in shorts so short half their ass cheeks are showing. Now, they are 17, so it is not exactly an unpleasant assault on the senses. I guarantee you, however, they would be shocked if someone explained to them that dressed that way ensured that every man aged 10 to 100 who sees them will leer at their ass.

[Riven]

You're right. I expect too much, I guess. :/

I think a lot of females go through a phase of showing a little too much, and they eventually learn to tone it down after they have one or more crappy experiences.

[John]

I don't mind women showing too much. I just hate to see young girls whom I know don't know any better doing (damn I am getting old) or them doing it in inappropriate places, as in dressing to go to work the same way they dress to go to a club.

[Riven]

Wait, you're saying yoga pants aren't work appropriate?

Say it ain't so, John!

Or come here and tell some of the female coworkers I have. Either way.

[BakedPenguin]

One videotaped walk through a lower socio-economic class neighborhood, perhaps.

[Raven Nation]

As a friend of mine once told me, "It's OK to look, just don't get caught looking."

[Riven]

*It's OK to get caught if you're cute.

[BakedPenguin]

This. It's not that (hetero) women don't want guys to look; it's that they don't want guys they think are uggos to look.

[lap83]

This isn't strictly true. I have known some guys who thought they could get away with more because of their looks, but they came across as sleazy. It probably works on the dumb ones, but not with every girl.

[Iucundus]

Let me give you a little inside information about God. God likes to watch. He's a prankster. Think about it. He gives man instincts. He gives you this extraordinary gift, and then what does He do, I swear for His own amusement, his own private, cosmic gag reel, He sets the rules in opposition. It's the goof of all time. Look but don't touch. Touch, but don't taste. Taste, don't swallow. Ahaha. And while you're jumpin' from one foot to the next, what is he doing? He's laughin' His sick, fuckin' ass off! He's a tight-ass! He's a SADIST! He's an absentee landlord! Worship that? NEVER!

[Anonymous Coward]

+1 Al Pacino monologue

[BakedPenguin]

You're a child! Who told you you could work with men?

[Anonymous Coward]

Coffee is closers, Penguin.

[EDG reppin' LBC]

It's not wrong to look. She presumably dressed herself to be attractive. You copping a glance is exactly what she wants. And just because you're both married doesn't mean you can't flirt a little.

I'm not saying grab her boobs, or get skeevy and tell her you want to bang her. But flirting is ok, right? Like being flirty with a cute bartender or the girl at the bus stop. Some women actually like to be reminded they are attractive.

[John]

There was some middle aged woman blogger I forget where who in response to the infamous catcalling video pointed to a survey showing that women over 50's biggest insecurity is becoming sexually invisible to men and then added "hey check your youth privilege bitch". It was classic.

[lap83]

I agree that women like to be reminded they are attractive, but I don't know of anyone who likes leering. Saying "Hi, how are you?" or casual small talk is better than leering.

[lap83]

Generally, even a woman who is dressed for attention doesn't want to be gawked at. But if you're subtle, and she can't tell you're leering, it doesn't matter.

[Mike M.]

There's breaking news that three U.S. sailors from the U.S.S. Ross were attacked by a group of IslamoNazi scumbags right on the dock in Turkey. Apparently they had bags put on their heads like they were going to be taken hostage.

What wonderful people. I can't wait to see how our "friends" in the Turkish government are going to deal with this outrage.

[JEP]

Turkey's a strange country politically. Because of Ataturk, a lot about the country is actually very Western - language, culture, etc.

But there's style some cultural holdouts due to religion. When I was there, my professor's wife taught us that you could figure out what political views a woman held just by how she wore her hair - there was, and still is, a big internal battle of women's rights.

Also, any time the police force is associated with a particular political party, it's not a good sign.

So yeah, the Turkish government is leaning towards strict Islam-based laws, but there's a big part of the common population that opposes it.

[Stormy Dragon]

So your suggesting that any time a sailor gets mugged by one of the locals while on shore leave, we should assume a conspiracy on the part of the entire country.

[Mike M.]

That's actually not what I said at all. But yes, I'm pretty sick and tired of this scummy Turkish government. They're the absolute worst so-called "friends" we've ever had.

Oh, and the word you want is "you're", not "your".

[Stormy Dragon]

The group responsible for the attack (TKB) is a communist group that thinks the current turkish government is US controlled puppet. Drawing conclusions about the current Turkish government from it would be like drawing conclusions about the US government based on video of a klan rally.

[Stormy Dragon]

Oh and to answer your question, they appear to be dealing with this outrage by arresting every member of the party they can get their hands on.

[Sevo]

"Russian long-range bombers will conduct patrols in the Gulf of Mexico."

As I understand it, they'll get cited for excess noise violations in NYC.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

HEY. WE'RE ALL ENTITLED TO THAT ONE CHICK OUTSIDE THE CUCKOOS NEST.

[Raven Nation]

Really? Ten years ago, maybe. She's looking a little rough around the edges these days.

[JEP]

I might be convinced to hit Coulter, after several beers, and if there were some sort of analogous paper bag to cover a person's intellect, opinions, and personality.

[Florida Man]

Mmmm...Jody Arais.

[John]

Don't listen to them Rufus. There is no sexy like crazy sexy.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Or is it inside the nest?

[CE]

Michelle Malkin?

[PapayaSF]

Age happens to everyone, if they're lucky, youngster.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I don't discriminate.

[John]

I never begrudge a man his vices Tundra.

[Riven]

Have none of you people heard of the anger-bang?

[John]

I would hit it just to say I did. But she would definitely be a poor consolation prize to Dana Lousche in the "bang your favorite right wing polemicist" competition.

[seguin]

I'm afraid of all of her sharp edges. I could poke an eye out.

[Raven Nation]

My advantage is that I never looked that good so aging hasn't hurt me as much.

[John]

She is very pro gun rights. She can't be that bad. And she sure looks good holding that rifle on the cover of her new book.

And she is married with a couple of kids. Still has that body. Damn.

[John Titor]

I believe the traditional term is 'hate fuck'. It is beautiful but dangerous.

[BakedPenguin]

"bang your favorite right wing polemicist"

Malkin.

[John]

Don't have the Asian fetish. I am going for Loesch all day and three times on Sunday. Mary Katherine Ham wouldn't be bad either. But she is probably a guilty Catholic girl and boring as hell in bed.

[Bobarian (Mr. Xtreme)]

A menage a four with them three chicks off the Five?

[Old Man With Candy]

Well, at least you know that Jody takes it up the ass and on the face, so you got that goin' for you.

[Riven]

To-may-to, to-mah-to.

[JEP]

What I've found, in my few short years, is that if you're going to look, follow it up with actually introducing yourself if you don't know her.

Just looking comes off as creepy. Looking and then letting her know that you're a social person who's normal and can carry on a conversation helps a lot.

[John]

Cupp is pretty fucking hot. But I find her annoying as hell. She lost me when she was whinning about how men talk about her looks on the internet. Honey, if you don't want men talking about your looks don't go on Fox News in a short skirt sitting so the camera shows your entire leg.

Cupp got where she is partially because of her looks and then bitches about people noticing them.

[Irish]

Oooh, sorry gentlemen. The correct answer is SE Cupp

SE Cupp is the correct answer.

I would also accept Jedediah Bila and Andrea Tantaros.

[Crusty Juggler]

Gutfeld? Well, he is tiny, so I guess you could just throw him around a bit...

[Crusty Juggler]

Gutfeld? Well, he is tiny, so I guess you could just throw him around a bit...

[PapayaSF]

Oh, Bila by a half-mile.