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Police Continue Hunt to Catch Charlie Hebdo Shooters, Mike Rogers Heads to CNN, Supreme Court to Meet on Gay Marriage: P.M. Links

Scott Shackford | 1.8.2015 4:30 PM

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Large image on homepages | Abode of Chaos / photo on flickr
(Abode of Chaos / photo on flickr)
  • Something worth being all "Can't stop, won't stop" about
    Credit: Abode of Chaos / photo on flickr

    Thousands of French police are searching the countryside and going door-to-door north of Paris trying to find the two brothers wanted in the deadly attacks on Charlie Hebdo. In the meantime, Google has earmarked about $300,000 to help support the satirical weekly, and other media outlets are expected to jump on board.

  • Meanwhile terrorist group Boko Haram has attacked another village in Nigeria. Experts estimate the group has killed at least 2,000 people and displaced 1.5 million others in 2014.
  • Supreme Court justices are scheduled to meet in a private conference tomorrow to discuss whether they'll take up any gay marriage recognition cases from a handful of states.
  • Former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) has taken his slavish, uninhibited devotion to the security state and its surveillance systems to CNN as a national security commentator.
  • Before worrying about CNN's credibility, though, consider CNN anchor Don Lemon, who, after having a Muslim human rights lawyer on the show spending an entire segment condemning the attacks on Charlie Hebdo, obliviously asked the man if he "supports ISIS."
  • A liberal activist in Saudi Arabia convicted crimes like disobeying his father and abandoning his faith, will receive the first 50 lashes of what will be a 1,000-lash sentence tomorrow, according to Amnesty International.

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NEXT: Does Islam Prohibit Images of Mohammed? Nope. Does It Command Death to Blasphemers? Nope.

Scott Shackford is a policy research editor at Reason Foundation.

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  1. Fist of Etiquette   10 years ago

    Former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) has taken his slavish, uninhibited devotion to the security state and its surveillance systems to CNN as a national security commentator.

    Like I needed another reason to avoid CNN.

    1. tarran   10 years ago

      Their current website layout is an unreadable abortion, anyway.

      1. The Other Kevin   10 years ago

        Today was the first time in a long while that I checked it. It really is terrible. I liked the layout they had about 10 years ago.

        1. CE   10 years ago

          A lot of websites were better 10 years ago.

      2. thom   10 years ago

        It's actually unreadable now.

        1. Geoff Nathan   10 years ago

          Does anybody have any recommendations for a usable site, now that they've ruined it? I'd like something for a quick headline check that's not too bent (e.g. not Fox or MSNBC). I tried BBC and Reuters today, but other suggestions would be worthwhile.

          1. Doghouse Riley Jr.   10 years ago

            Have you tried France 24?

            1. Doghouse Riley Jr.   10 years ago

              Which is available in English, BTW.

          2. kinnath   10 years ago

            google news

            1. flye   10 years ago

              Second vote for google news, with some break-in time to adjust the news source sliders.

              1. LynchPin1477   10 years ago

                That's what got me reading more Reason!

          3. tardisisbiggerontheinside   10 years ago

            Newser is another decent one, pretty much facts, thier motto is read less, know moreIts really not bad. yes the CNN site is garbage, and not just the "reporting"

            1. Zeb   10 years ago

              read less, know moreIts really not bad

              That's a weird motto.

          4. Medical Physics Guy   10 years ago

            I'm a Real Clear guy. I read Real Clear World, Politics, and sometimes Science Markets and Tech.

          5. HeteroPatriarch   10 years ago

            If it's not on Reason, it's not newsworthy.

        2. Rhywun   10 years ago

          Holy hell. I see they're following the recent craze for making items shift around and change size when you scroll. Oh, and giant text. Terrible. Meh, I stopped going there years ago anyway.

      3. DEG   10 years ago

        Seconded.

        1. Slumbrew   10 years ago

          Jesus, that's a horrible redesign. It makes the boston.com redesign look good by comparison (and that's terrible)

          1. DEG   10 years ago

            Somehow I manage to find information on the CNN.com website. I think that's more due to my stubbornness and luck in clicking on the correct things.

            I haven't been on the boston.com website in a long time. Sounds like I'm not missing anything.

            1. LynchPin1477   10 years ago

              They also seem to be using 300 pt font for their headline at this moment. But that's probably because there is too much drama in today's news to be contained by a mere 72 pt font.

              1. DEG   10 years ago

                I laughed.

      4. LynchPin1477   10 years ago

        I'm noticing a lot of websites getting worse. SI and USA Today come to mind. Maybe they make sense on a tablet, but it was so bad that I stopped reading SI entirely.

        1. Slumbrew   10 years ago

          Maybe they make sense on a tablet...

          That's the problem, in a nutshell - they're primarily designing for mobile devices now, with desktops as an afterthought (as opposed to the other way around a few years back).

          1. LynchPin1477   10 years ago

            But there are m. sites that manage to do both well.

            1. Riven   10 years ago

              Whenever I access Reason on my mobile, I switch it over to the desktop version instead of the mobile version.

          2. Rhywun   10 years ago

            Also, every site has to look like Windows 8 now. Freaking tiles everywhere.

            1. hamilton   10 years ago

              Yeah, this. If reason.com moves this way it'll be the final straw; I'm gonna have to fly out to LA and spill all of their cocktails.

            2. Riven   10 years ago

              Haaaaaate the tiles.

            3. robc   10 years ago

              There is a reason the majority of mobile users are on android or idevices. Why design for 3rd place?

        2. CE   10 years ago

          Yahoo News is practically unusable now. Yahoo Sports used to be good.

    2. Rufus J. Firefly   10 years ago

      Hello.

      "Thousands of French police are searching"

      I heard as many as 88 000; 10 000 in Paris.

      Lord, are the apologist assholes in full force with their 'yeah buts" and "I understand" and 'they were asking for it' gibberish.

      Case in point Canadian left-wing journalist - asshole extraordinaire - Eric Margolis:

      "These were young guys with computers enjoying their work, and revelling in being exceptionally provocative and getting people angry at them, and saying things that some people considered outrageous," Margolis said. "They certainly enjoyed kicking hornets' nests."

      Oh how I loathe such people.

      1. Rufus J. Firefly   10 years ago

        Link:

        http://www.ctvnews.ca/world/ch.....-1.2176736

        1. Winston   10 years ago

          So Chavez apologist, apologist for Chinese rule of Tibet, another score for the Rockwellians!

      2. Doghouse Riley Jr.   10 years ago

        Hey, he's just a old guy with a computer enjoying his work being provocative, saying things all decent, freedom-loving people consider outrageous.

        1. Winston   10 years ago

          So I suppose Margolis will be okay if someone murders him for being offensive?

          1. Doghouse Riley Jr.   10 years ago

            Well, he'd understand.

      3. Pro Libertate   10 years ago

        It's hard not to think of The Day of the Jackal, though, of course, that was a manhunt prior to the murder attempt.

      4. Ted S.   10 years ago

        Lord, are the apologist assholes in full force with their 'yeah buts" and "I understand" and 'they were asking for it' gibberish.

        Could you imagine if people were saying such things in the wake of Anders Breivik's killing spree?

      5. Libertarian   10 years ago

        I read the article and I watched the video interview with him. What am I missing? I don't know the guy, but saying that the cartoonists enjoyed kicking hornets' nests isn't exactly controversial, is it? He's been to the magazine offices. In what way is he an apologist?

        1. Zeb   10 years ago

          That was what I was thinking as well. It isn't really apology for the murderers to note that the Chrlie Hebdo people intentionally kept publishing stuff that they knew annoyed violent extremists who were willing to do them harm. I think that counts as a metaphorical kicking of the hornets' nest.

          I think that is greatly to their credit and is not blaming the victim at all. They knew that this is the sort of thing that could happen, and accepted the risk anyway. Which makes them awesome.

          1. Rufus J. Firefly   10 years ago

            Margolis was on Montreal radio being an apologist. Perhaps my link was not a good one.

      6. Irish   10 years ago

        "These were young guys with computers enjoying their work,"

        Wasn't Charb like 50 years old?

      7. Rufus J. Firefly   10 years ago

        Eric Margolis is a left-wing journalist who generally makes derpy comments.

        You can find him on Google he has his own site.

  2. Smilin' Joe Fission   10 years ago

    The Molten Salt Reactor is, IMO, the most exciting new nuclear technology. A Canadian company has teamed with Oak Ridge National Lab to build the prototype within 10 years.

    Think of it: a nuclear reactor that
    - is cheaper than coal
    - creates much less waste and few long-lived radioactive elements
    - uses almost all of the fuel which lasts 7 years between replacement, and can be recycled easily
    - is modular, from 80 MWt to 600 MWt, able to be combined and adapted to individual needs for both on and off-grid heat and power
    - is small enough to allow fast and easy construction, and trucking to the site
    - operates at normal pressures, removing those safety issues, and at higher temperatures making it more energetically efficient
    - has the type of passive safety systems that make it walk-away safe
    - does not need external water for cooling
    - can load-follow rapidly
    - cannot be repurposed for military use and has strong proliferation resistance
    - can last for many decades
    - uses a liquid fuel

    1. Slumbrew   10 years ago

      Faster, please.

    2. waffles   10 years ago

      and will be obsolescent by the time it is approved by the NRC.

      1. Smilin' Joe Fission   10 years ago

        CNSC (Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission), unlike the NRC will help to get this approved.

        1. waffles   10 years ago

          I hope so. I put in two years designing walls for a plant that will never be built. I am so sick of the nuclear industry in the United States.

          1. Smilin' Joe Fission   10 years ago

            The CNSC is not much better in that regard, but they are more friendly to nuclear innovation than the NRC.

            Both regulators still regulate an ultra-ultra conservative radiation dose limit. Although no facts can back it, regulators still promote the idea that radiation dose, at any level above background, will increase your risk of cancer and ignore any study showing that there is a J curve to rad dose and health risk.

    3. Ted S.   10 years ago

      Cheap nuclear within 10 years. Where have we heard that before? 😉

      1. Smilin' Joe Fission   10 years ago

        Except this thing was built before (at Oak Ridge), and isn't a theoretical pipe dream.

        1. Ted S.   10 years ago

          Voyager's going to leave the solar system again soon.

          1. Smilin' Joe Fission   10 years ago

            Voyager, it will forever be leaving the solar system.

            1. Sudden   10 years ago

              Call me when it's leaving the Oort cloud

            2. d3x / dt3   10 years ago

              V'Ger needs love!

      2. Steve G   10 years ago

        Popular Mechanics? They alternate this and the blimp breakthrough stories every other month.

        1. Doghouse Riley Jr.   10 years ago

          When will we have nuclear powered blimps anyway?

          1. Smilin' Joe Fission   10 years ago

            The molten salt reactor actually started as a design to power a nuclear bomber so that it could fly for months on end without having to land.

          2. JEP   10 years ago

            When will we have nuclear powered blimps anyway?

            *slaps cigar out of Doghouse's mouth*

            What are you? Crazy?! You want to blow us all up?!

            1. Slumbrew   10 years ago

              For the last time, the Excelsior is filled with non-flammable helium!

        2. Smilin' Joe Fission   10 years ago

          Do they really have a story regarding molten salt nuclear fission reactors every other month? I have missed all of those.

          The design is not difficult. Oak Ridge built and operated one for 5 years in the 60's but was abandoned when funding was cut off. Really, the difficult part about this whole thing is getting it licensed in the US. Which is a very sad fact.

          1. Pro Libertate   10 years ago

            Built it in orbit and beam down the energy via microwaves. Also good for chastising one's enemies.

            1. waffles   10 years ago

              As an engineer and a Catholic I humbly await this heavenly chastisement.

            2. hamilton   10 years ago

              Are you still working on that project?

              1. Pro Libertate   10 years ago

                Our work is of a more. . .kinetic nature.

                1. hamilton   10 years ago

                  Just send me a text before you and Auric start lobbing asteroids.

                  1. Pro Libertate   10 years ago

                    No "lobbing" is necessary. Just a small, well-calculated, push.

              2. waffles   10 years ago

                Me? I switched. Still an engineer. I make less money but now I get to ski. It's a win.

                1. HeteroPatriarch   10 years ago

                  Son of a bitch. I'm an accountant, supposed to be working 9-5, and I still don't get to ski. Fucking kids.

            3. Doghouse Riley Jr.   10 years ago

              Just wear a tinfoil overcoat AND hat, and put some microwave popcorn envelopes on the outside so you know you're being bombarded.

    4. Pl?ya Manhattan.   10 years ago

      Mmmm, salt.

      1. MJGreen   10 years ago

        Not legal in NYC.

    5. LynchPin1477   10 years ago

      NEEDZ MOAR REGULATIONS!

    6. C. Anacreon   10 years ago

      It sounds wonderful, so no doubt will be feverishly protested by greenpeace-types wearing skull masks and black robes, and anyone who supports it will immediately be denounced as a fat-cat capitalist exploiter who wants to destroy mother Gaia.

      You do know that if we just embraced green technology like solar and wind there'd be no need for any other energy sources, right?

      1. Slumbrew   10 years ago

        You do know that if we just embraced green technology like solar and wind [and mass exterminations] there'd be no need for any other energy sources, right?

        FIFY

        1. LynchPin1477   10 years ago

          From a random blog-post:

          A 70 kg man contains about 12 kg of fat and 12 kg of protein. The rest is mainly water and minerals. Fat produces 39 kJ/g in a bomb calorimeter; protein produces 23 kJ/g. That's 744 MJ in total. You'll also get a small contribution (just a few MJ) from carbohydrate stores in the liver and muscle, so 750 MJ is a nice round figure not too far from the mark.
          An obese person's weight gain is almost entirely fat, with only a relatively small increment in water and protein, so you can figure the energy content of an obese body fairly easily from the above.

          Trouble is, it's very difficult to get a human body to burn, and you end up requiring considerable energy to initiate the process. You also have the problem of releasing carbon dioxide back into the atmosphere.

          Hmm, so the 1% are not a renewable energy source after all.

          1. Smilin' Joe Fission   10 years ago

            You also have the problem of releasing carbon dioxide back into the atmosphere.

            That this was even included.. just wow.

            1. Zeb   10 years ago

              What do they think happens to dead people?

          2. Bobarian (Mr. Xtreme)   10 years ago

            Hmm, so the 1% are not a renewable energy source after all.

            Math dictates that there will always be a 1% until you get to zero.

            1. straffinrun   10 years ago

              to 99, just sayin'

      2. Smilin' Joe Fission   10 years ago

        If you read the comments on the article you will find they are already out in force promoting every lie they can muster their ignorance to type.

    7. Injun, as in from India   10 years ago

      I'm fully expecting environmentalist "progressives" to start a Molten Salt Satyagraha to demand restrictions.

      Scientific progress actually regressive in nature, and therefore must not be supported.

    8. NotAnotherSkippy   10 years ago

      I like molten salt reactors, but I hate it when people get the details wrong and over hype parts of it.

      - does not need external water for cooling

      Um, it's still a heat engine. It still has to reject heat to a cold sink and that cold sink is going to be... water. What he means is that it doesn't need cooling water when shutdown.

      - cannot be repurposed for military use and has strong proliferation resistance

      Not exactly. You can breed with this design and you can make 239Pu running with denatured fuel mixes. It's not ideal for making weapons, but it can. You can also potentially breed 233U by injecting 232Th and following the 233Pa decay chain. Maybe that's why they propose a sealed design, but that also makes refueling more complicated and expensive.

      Still, it's good if they get this off the ground. Weinberg can rest a little easier.

  3. Slammer   10 years ago

    Thousands of French police are searching the countryside and going door-to-door north of Paris

    Croissant shops still open?

    1. Los Doyers   10 years ago

      Don't be a fool. French labor laws only allow shops to be open on the 3rd Thursday of every month. Croissant makers need their rest.

      1. Medical Physics Guy   10 years ago

        No. Fresh bread is always available. And the French public, which is willing to wait in no other line, will wait for two hours to get their morning baguette.

    2. JEP   10 years ago

      Funny story about croissants...

      according to other sources in Vienna, in 1683 to celebrate the defeat of the Ottomans by Christian forces in the siege of the city, as a reference to the crescents on the Ottoman flags, when bakers staying up all night heard the tunneling operation and gave the alarm.[12] This has led to croissants being banned by some Islamic fundamentalists.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croissant

      1. Doghouse Riley Jr.   10 years ago

        Boy, those Islamic fundamentalists sure do love to ban stuff.

        Given all the bans he tried, how do we know Michael Bloomberg isn't an Islamic fundamentalist?

      2. Mickey Rat   10 years ago

        How dare Christians commemerate not being brutally conquered by Muslims!

        1. Heroic Mulatto   10 years ago

          How dare Christians commemerate not being brutally conquered by Muslims!

          You may jest, but have you ever heard the whinging that accompanies just about every regional celebration or festival in Southern Spain nowadays?

  4. DEG   10 years ago

    CNN reports on Elizabeth Warren's wealth.

    Senator Elizabeth Warren fights for middle- and working-class Americans. But she's part of the Top 1%.

    Warren, the Harvard bankruptcy law professor elected to the Senate in 2012, is worth between $3.7 million and $10 million.

    That's not including the three-story Victorian home in Cambridge, Mass., that she owns with her husband and fellow Harvard law professor, Bruce Mann. It's now assessed at $1.9 million, according to city property records.

    1. Irish   10 years ago

      "Senator Elizabeth Warren fights for middle- and working-class Americans."

      Oh, CNN. Will you never stop sucking Democrat cock?

      1. Injun, as in from India   10 years ago

        Democrat c0ck is so far down their throat that it is exiting through their ears. They can't hear a word you just said.

      2. Rich   10 years ago

        Ever notice that Democrats almost always are said to "fight" for whatever? Not "argue", "legislate", ?.

      3. Medical Physics Guy   10 years ago

        Still, I'm amazed CNN reported this at all.

        1. Irish   10 years ago

          At the very least they could have been sensitive to Warren's cultural heritage and discussed how Big Chief Warren has accumulated piles of wampum far in excess of that possessed by lesser tribes.

          1. Bobarian (Mr. Xtreme)   10 years ago

            Tax breaks to her casino?

        2. SugarFree   10 years ago

          They are prebutting the arguments against her in case she runs.

          "Yes, Warren is rich, This is such OLD news."

        3. CE   10 years ago

          Probably Hillary backers gearing up for the primary against Warren.

    2. Fist of Etiquette   10 years ago

      But she really needs the milk and apples.

    3. Anonymous Coward   10 years ago

      The Inner Party needs its wine, to better focus on improving the lives of the Outer Party and the proles.

      1. Injun, as in from India   10 years ago

        +1 Victory Gin

    4. Rufus J. Firefly   10 years ago

      I'll just leave this here. Elizabeth Warren and 'foreclosed' and 'profits' go hand in hand.

      http://news.yahoo.com/harsh-fo.....08111.html

  5. Fist of Etiquette   10 years ago

    ...consider CNN anchor Don Lemon, who, after having a Muslim human rights lawyer on the show spending an entire segment condemning the attacks on Charlie Hebdo, obliviously asked the man if he "supports ISIS."

    No punching down, Shackford. Leave Lemon alone.

    1. Injun, as in from India   10 years ago

      This reminds of how kindly inquisitor extraordinaire Glenn Beck treated Keith Ellison on his show way back.

      "Rep. Ellison, prove to me you're not with the terrorists."

    2. Raven Nation   10 years ago

      TBF: Lemon is more at home with scientific theories about missing airliners.

    3. Bobarian (Mr. Xtreme)   10 years ago

      Lemon was a lot better when she was on '30 rock'.

  6. BiMonSciFiCon   10 years ago

    Thousands of French police are searching the countryside and going door-to-door north of Paris trying to find the two brothers wanted in the deadly attacks on Charlie Hebdo. In the meantime, Google has earmarked about $300,000 to help support the satirical weekly, and other media outlets are expected to jump on board.

    Have they dispatched Christoph Waltz?

    1. Slumbrew   10 years ago

      I laughed out loud.

  7. Injun, as in from India   10 years ago

    Former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) has taken his slavish, uninhibited devotion to the security state and its surveillance systems to CNN as a national security commentator.

    What commentary does national security opinionated news need anyway?

    Fellate authority.
    Fellate authority.
    Fellate authority.
    Fellate authority.

    ... ad nauseam.

  8. Francisco d'Anconia   10 years ago

    Killing of unarmed Montana man by police found justified

    The five-year police veteran said he became convinced that Ramirez had a gun after the man reached for his waistband during their 30-second encounter last April in a high-crime area of Montana's most populous city.

    "I knew in that moment, which later was determined to be untrue, but I knew in that moment that he was reaching for a gun," Morrison said. "I couldn't take that risk. ... I wanted to see my son grow up."

    Heros all.

    1. Steve G   10 years ago

      I wanted to see my son grow up

      But the victim's family? Fuck 'em

      1. Ted S.   10 years ago

        Suggest that somebody like Ramirez get a moment of silence before sporting events and people will look at you like you're some sort of freak.

        Dead cops, however? How dare you roll your eyes at giving them a moment of silence before a hockey game.

    2. Ted S.   10 years ago

      Fearing for your life against a cop, however, is totally unjustified.

    3. Anonymous Coward   10 years ago

      The five-year police veteran said he became convinced that Ramirez had a gun after the man reached for his waistband...

      Ah, the Remarley Graham crime. Waistbands are assault-mckilly-death weapons, just like AR-15s in Death Black.

      Morrison said. "I couldn't take that risk. ... I wanted to see my son grow up."

      Perhaps it's time America turn the police into a variation of the Night's Watch, since Officer Safety and "I just wanted to go home and see MUH KIDS" is such an obstacle to protecting the rights of the citizens.

      "Night gathers, and now my watch begins. It shall not end until my death. I shall take no wife, hold no lands, father no children. I shall wear no crowns and win no glory. I shall live and die at my post. I am the sword in the darkness. I am the watcher on the walls. I am the shield that guards the realms of men. I pledge my life and honor to the Night's Watch, for this night and all the nights to come."

    4. Raven Nation   10 years ago

      "High crime" area in Billings? WTF?

      Total murders 2012: 3
      Total robberies 2012: 68
      Total assaults 2012: 261.

      http://www.city-data.com/crime.....ntana.html

      1. Irish   10 years ago

        Hey man, that's 1.8 murders per 100,000.

        It's a killing field. You're almost as likely to be murdered there as in Denmark.

        Almost.

    5. Andrew S.   10 years ago

      Just like traffic officers have forms that already include things like "slurred speech" and "smell of alcohol", I'm guessing that police statements on shootings already have "reached for his waistband" on the form.

      1. Riven   10 years ago

        "Enough drugs to kill an average person in his system." Check

        An autopsy determined Ramirez had enough methamphetamine in his bloodstream at the time of the shooting to kill a person not accustomed to the drug, forensic pathologist Tom Bennett testified.

    6. Riven   10 years ago

      Billings Police Chief Rich St. John said it was the fifth officer-involved shooting in his eight years as head of the department. Each shooting was ruled to be justified, he said.

      "That tells us we're doing the right thing in the right way," St. John said.

      Morrison shot and killed another man in 2013. He was cleared of any wrongdoing in that case.

      Well, someone's doing something, anyway.

  9. Winston   10 years ago

    But didn't the Charlie Hebdo shooters kill 2 cops and oppose US Foreign Policy? They certainly want a France that is not a US puppet state.

  10. Steve G   10 years ago

    will receive the first 50 lashes of what will be a 1,000-lash sentence

    ...but dropping a sharp angled blade on the Charlie Hebdo shooters when caught, that'd just be cruel!

    1. Rich   10 years ago

      To be fair, the remaining lashes are spaced out over a 50-week period. God is merciful.

      1. tarran   10 years ago

        So, 2 sessions every 5 weeks?

        No way he survives that.

    2. Notorious G.K.C.   10 years ago

      I think France got rid of the guillotine.

      1. Steve G   10 years ago

        Rog, a few decades ago.

        1. Rich   10 years ago

          Hey, how about a modern version using a laser or something? Who could object to that?

          1. kinnath   10 years ago

            Point a laser at the temple, flip a switch, instantaneous hole where the brain used to be . . . . . . contracted out to the lowest bidder, it will never work.

      2. Raven Nation   10 years ago

        They got rid of the death penalty via constitution a few years back.

  11. Winston   10 years ago

    Ron Paul on the Shootings:

    http://www.mediaite.com/online.....lie-hebdo/

    It doesn't justify, but it explains it."

    1. Anonymous Coward   10 years ago

      *Face palm*

      1. Winston   10 years ago

        To me or him?

        1. Anonymous Coward   10 years ago

          To Ron.

    2. HeteroPatriarch   10 years ago

      Meh. He maybe should've waited a few days, but the comments were not near as bad as some.

  12. DEATFBIRSECIA   10 years ago

    A liberal activist in Saudi Arabia convicted crimes like disobeying his father and abandoning his faith, will receive the first 50 lashes of what will be a 1,000-lash sentence tomorrow, according to Amnesty International.

    Ally!

  13. Grand Moff Serious Man   10 years ago

    Connecticut court orders 17 year old cancer patient to undergo chemo

    The Connecticut Supreme Court upheld a prior ruling Thursday that a 17-year-old cancer patient cannot refuse chemotherapy treatment for Hodgkin's lymphoma.

    The state argued that the teen lacked competency extended to maturity and that they did not believe she understood the severity of her prognosis. Her mother and her mother's lawyer said they expect to go back to trial court to more fully explore the mature minor argument.

    The teen, who is identified in court documents as "Cassandra C.," but was identified by police as Cassandra Callender in a November missing persons report, was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma in September.

    Cassandra ran away after two treatments in November and, with the support of her mother, refused any more when she returned. After the hospital reported Cassandra's mother, Jackie Fortin, the Connecticut Department of Children and Families (DCF) took temporary custody of the teen, and her mother was ordered to cooperate with medical care administered under the agency's supervision.

    The teen believes the chemotherapy will do more damage to her body than the cancer will, according to the Hartford Courant. Doctors have said the teen has an 80 to 85 percent chance of living -- with six months of chemotherapy treatment

    1. Francisco d'Anconia   10 years ago

      You'd have known this yesterday if you still watched TI...slacker.

      1. DEG   10 years ago

        Damn, here I thought I had found it first when I posted it on the morning links.

      2. Grand Moff Serious Man   10 years ago

        Don't have TV service and the livestream page is crap.

        1. Francisco d'Anconia   10 years ago

          Get Kibby a second job so you can afford cable.

      3. Ted S.   10 years ago

        People watch Texas Instruments?

    2. DEG   10 years ago

      I found this on CNN (somehow), and posted a link on the morning links.

      I don't remember CNN mentioning the teen's beliefs about chemo.

    3. Illocust   10 years ago

      So abortion, her body her right. No parental permission necessary. Chemotherapy, oh the poor youth is waaaay to immature to make such a major medical decision for herself.

      Fucking hypocrites the lot of them.

    4. MJGreen   10 years ago

      So, what, in a few months when she turns 18, would she be allowed to refuse treatment?

      Fuck you, judges. And the doctors administering it.

    5. CE   10 years ago

      So disappear until you're 18, then make your own ____ decisions.

    6. CE   10 years ago

      The state argued that the teen lacked competency extended to maturity...

      Yet the feds still take out Social Security from my paycheck, even though I signed up at 17, before I knew any better.

      1. HeteroPatriarch   10 years ago

        You signed up for SS? I never had the option.

    7. paranoid android   10 years ago

      So you're free to make your own decisions in life...unless those decisions conflict with the preferences of the State, in which case the State will declare you incompetent to make your own decisions and substitute their own for you.

      Yeah, nothing fucked up and Kafkaesque about that, no sir.

  14. Grand Moff Serious Man   10 years ago

    Surprise! Polar bears and other arctic critters are adapting to climate change

    Polar bears and other Arctic animals are shifting their distributions toward icier regions, according to new research suggesting that at least some species are attempting to adapt to climate-related changes in their habitat, such as dramatic losses of sea ice.

    Individual animals are not marching northward en masse, according to Elizabeth Peacock, a U.S. Geological Society researcher who recently studied polar bears. Rather, the population distribution shifts appear to be gradual and subtle.

    The bears, as well as certain other animals, literally are trying to go with the flow.

    "In general, polar bears move with their habitat," explained Peacock, whose study is published in the latest issue of PLOS ONE.

    Sea ice is important to polar bears, she said, because they use it as a platform for access to prey (seals), for migration, mating and denning. Without much ice, they have to swim greater distances in expanses of open water. Additionally, the bears may go into a "walking hibernation" on land and stop eating.

    As a result, it appears that polar bears over the past 15 to 45 years have shifted their distribution more toward the Canadian Archipelago, which is north of the Canadian mainland in the Arctic

    1. Steve G   10 years ago

      I could swear I read somewhere that polar bears only recently evolved as a brown bear variant anyway. Something like 10-20 millenia or something. They're a little more flexible than we give them credit for.

      1. Medical Physics Guy   10 years ago

        Here is a cool polar bear fact I learned recently from my kid. Polar bear hair is perfectly clear. It only looks white. Due to reflecting light or something, I guess, but I am not an Optics Guy.

        1. Rich   10 years ago

          Along those lines, did you know that blue jay feathers are actually gray?

        2. lap83   10 years ago

          This is also the case with human hair when it turns white and gray.

    2. Rufus J. Firefly   10 years ago

      Animals...ADJUSTING?

      J'amais! You're just another one of those ignorant, right-wing Kochers.

      If this were David Suzuki would have reported this 'On The Nature Of Things.'

      1. CE   10 years ago

        No, right-wingers believe all animals were created as perfect and don't need to change. Make up your mind.

    3. Bobarian (Mr. Xtreme)   10 years ago

      Arctic animals are shifting their distributions toward icier regions

      Like the fucking midwest? Cause there is no way in hell I want go outside right now, and I'm in KY.

      1. Slumbrew   10 years ago

        Total heatwave in the Boston area - it has warmed up to 18, from -2.

  15. Slumbrew   10 years ago

    In important cultural news, new Archer tonight!

    1. Krieger's Waifu   10 years ago

      Are we still doing "phrasing"?

      1. Slumbrew   10 years ago

        What could have been - Archer in prison

        1. Andrew S.   10 years ago

          Forget the OITNB comparisons. I would've loved to have seen that.

    2. MJGreen   10 years ago

      I forgot it was coming back so soon into the month. Time to say good bye to ISIS.

      1. LynchPin1477   10 years ago

        I put it in my Google Calendar a while ago.

    3. Brett L   10 years ago

      My 1 year old son and I are getting matching back tattoos in honor.

      1. HeteroPatriarch   10 years ago

        I tried to talk my wife into naming our upcoming kid Seamus. She wouldn't go for it. We compromised on Triston, from Stardust.

  16. Slammer   10 years ago

    Russia bans transsexuals from getting driver licenses

    Russia has listed transsexual and transgender people among those who will no longer qualify for driving licences.

    Fetishism, exhibitionism and voyeurism are also included as "mental disorders" now barring people from driving.

    The government says it is tightening medical controls for drivers because Russia has too many road accidents.

    "Pathological" gambling and compulsive stealing are also on the list.

    1. Rich   10 years ago

      The government says it is tightening medical controls for drivers because Russia has too many road accidents.

      Gotta keep those pervs off the roads for the sake of public safety. That's a better rationale for clamping down than doing it for the children!

    2. Francisco d'Anconia   10 years ago

      See what that 50 year communist stint did? Russia will lag us by 50 years forever. (Well, until we have our 50 year stint, and then they'll catch up. So like in 45 years.)

      1. Winston   10 years ago

        See what that 50 year communist stint

        So which Soviet leaders weren't Communists?

    3. Doghouse Riley Jr.   10 years ago

      What about people with an authority fetish?

      Actually, I guess they'd get off on it.

  17. Libertarian   10 years ago

    It's funny that we haven't heard the slogan "Paris Strong!" yet. But I guess the downside to using it would be that all Parisians would have to hide in their houses until the police told them to come out.

    1. Notorious G.K.C.   10 years ago

      What's the world coming to, when Parisians panic less than Bostonians?

      1. Slumbrew   10 years ago

        As something of a Bostonian, I'll chime in that we weren't exactly given a choice and I wasn't alone in thinking it was bullshit. I spent much of the time watching TV with a public defender friend asking how the fuck the house-to-house searches were legal - but I don't know if anyone objected, sadly.

        1. Anonymous Coward   10 years ago

          I spent much of the time watching TV with a public defender friend asking how the fuck the house-to-house searches were legal...

          That's easy. They are legal under the time honored doctrine of "Fuck You, That's Why" and the newly emergent legal theory of "Do You WANT the Terrorists to Win?".

        2. tarran   10 years ago

          It was a fucking police riot.

        3. Francisco d'Anconia   10 years ago

          Idda sued their asses off.

        4. Notorious G.K.C.   10 years ago

          OK, Paris *authorities* vs. Boston *authorities.*

          1. Slumbrew   10 years ago

            Thank you - we bow to no one when it comes to hysterical, pants-wetting overreaction by our authorities!

      2. Jerryskids   10 years ago

        To be fair, it's the French gendarmes vs. the Boston PD. Are the French police some of those who face down criminals without even carrying a sidearm like those brave heroes in blue we have who pee their pants and start blasting wildly away at every puppy that yips at them?

        1. Rufus J. Firefly   10 years ago

          French cops are pretty effective.

          1. CE   10 years ago

            Yet they let these 2 guys get away. Don't they have any helicopters? Maybe the LAPD can loan them some.

    2. Doghouse Riley Jr.   10 years ago

      In French it would be Paris Fort!, which sounds like you put a toy Eiffel Tower on your couch cushions with a blanket over them.

      1. Rufus J. Firefly   10 years ago

        Each time I heard Boston Strong I thought of a semi-literate Ukrainian nationalist. Or someone with mental deficiencies.

        'Boston Strong! Rawwwww!'

  18. Winston   10 years ago

    So have Richman and Raimondo commented on Charlie Hebdo and the Interview? Will I be pleasantly surprised or am I being na?ve?

  19. Notorious G.K.C.   10 years ago

    "It goes without saying that I feel immeasurable sympathy and compassion for the victims and their families. But asking me to say sorry for the actions of extremists because I happen to be a Muslim is like demanding I apologize for another writer's spelling errors....

    "...I'll go on a solidarity march not because it's my duty to show the world that Muslims don't abet murderers and terrorists, but because I'm a human being and I feel empathy for those who have been hurt."

    http://www.vice.com/read/this-.....emists-890

    1. lap83   10 years ago

      I'd understand if there were people demanding he personally apologize for the terrorists. That wouldn't make sense. But I've only heard of people asking Muslims to condemn the actions, which is perfectly reasonable.

    2. Red Rocks Rockin   10 years ago

      Yet another pretentious dipshit who doesn't understand the difference between sympathy and empathy.

  20. Anonymous Coward   10 years ago

    From the Blatant Lies Files: "I'm The Most Anti-Establishment Speaker in History

    After defeating a rebellion by 25 conservative Republicans this week, Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) on Thursday declared himself "the most anti-establishment Speaker" in history.

    "During my years here when I voted, I had the eighth-most conservative voting record in the Congress, and it does pain me to be described as spineless or a squish," Boehner told reporters. "But what pains me the most is when they describe me as the establishment.

    "Who was the guy who got rid of earmarks? Me. Who's the guy who believes in regular order? Me," Boehner continued. "Who believes in allowing more members to participate in the process from both sides of the aisle? Me."

    I don't even have words for this. The comedy writes itself. This is going to be a great two year term.

    1. Krieger's Waifu   10 years ago

      Who was the guy who got rid of earmarks? Me. Who's the guy who believes in regular order? Me,"

      He said, sarcastically.

    2. Injun, as in from India   10 years ago

      Wow. The establishment calls itself anti-establishment!

      The rebellious tea party movement has had an impact.

    3. Notorious G.K.C.   10 years ago

      "They call me part of the establishment, Smithers!"

      "That's a horrible insult, sir."

      "Why, I am nothing if not a wild rebel. I would let my hair down if I had any!"

      "I'm sure you would, sir."

    4. Irish   10 years ago

      'I'm the most anti-establishment Sultan the Middle East has ever seen!' - Saladin

      'I don't think I get enough credit for what an anti-establishment king I am.' - King Louis XIV

      'All this criticism is meritless given that I have shown myself to be a tremendously anti-establishment commissioner.' - Roger Goodell

      1. Winston   10 years ago

        'I don't think I get enough credit for what an anti-establishment king I am.' - King Louis XIV

        Well Louis XIV did seek to undermine the nobility and raise up the middle class...

        Let's not forget that the original Anti-Establishment folks were the Puritans...

        1. Notorious G.K.C.   10 years ago

          Don't forget the advocates of Antidisestablishmentarianism.

          1. CE   10 years ago

            I'm strongly opposed to antidisestablishmentarianism, myself.

            1. Notorious G.K.C.   10 years ago

              You believe in nonantidisestablishmentarianism?

        2. Marty Comanche   10 years ago

          No love for the Albigensians or the Lollards?

          1. Winston   10 years ago

            No, the term originally referred specifically to English religious disputes.

            1. Winston   10 years ago

              I mean opposition to the English established church.

    5. Rufus J. Firefly   10 years ago

      Wow. Most transparent President and most anti-establishment Speaker ever.

      The results speak for themselves.

  21. Doghouse Riley Jr.   10 years ago

    We were discussing Frank Gehry the other day. On last night's Jeopardy! one of the video clues was one of his unique/looks-like-all-his-other-crap buildings, asking who the architect was. None of the contestants got it and I'm (a tiny bit) ashamed to say I was hoping he was watching, terribly disappointed that they didn't know who he was.

  22. Grand Moff Serious Man   10 years ago

    Neil deGrasse Tyson to get his own talk show on the National Geographic channel

    Neil deGrasse Tyson is getting his own show.

    The astrophysicist and TV personality, who fronted Cosmos in 2014, has nabbed a late-night series on National Geographic Channel called Star Talk.

    "Cosmos allowed us to share the awesome power of the universe with a global audience in ways that we never thought possible," said Tyson. "To be able to continue to spread wonder and excitement through Star Talk, which is a true passion project for me, is beyond exciting. And National Geographic Channel is the perfect home as we continue to explore the universe."

    This is kind of low-risk, I think, for National Geographic," Tyson told the crowd at the Television Critics Association press tour. "Star Talk exists as a thriving podcast right now."

    Star Talk will indeed follow a similar format to Tyson's podcast, which marries science and popular culture and feature interviews with celebrities, comedians and scientists. He's still sorting through all of the elements that he'll add to the television iteration, but he does intend to give Bill Nye a platform for a minute-long rant in each show, much as Andy Rooney had for many years on CBS' 60 Minutes.

    I'm sure the smug will be strong and they won't resist ruining it with politics.

    1. Slumbrew   10 years ago

      Jesus, I can _already_ feel the smug from that show.

    2. Brett L   10 years ago

      Like the O'Reilly factor but less factual than Bill's "tide comes in, tide goes out" speech.

    3. Illocust   10 years ago

      Oh smug politics wrapped up in SCIENCE! (tm) was guaranteed the second they mentioned Bill Nye getting to be on the show.

      What I would give for a show actually about glorifying science. A.K.A. the process for learning things about the world, not whatever talking point folks are currently trying to push.

      1. Grand Moff Serious Man   10 years ago

        What I would give for a show actually about glorifying science. A.K.A. the process for learning things about the world, not whatever talking point folks are currently trying to push.

        Wasn't that the original 'Cosmos' with Carl Sagan? Sagan was a liberal IIRC, but he wasn't a douche about it.

        1. Doghouse Riley Jr.   10 years ago

          Sagan was also a stoner cannabis enthusiast, so he had that going for him.

        2. Illocust   10 years ago

          Wouldn't know. That was before my times, or at least before my tv watching time.

          1. d3x / dt3   10 years ago

            GET OFF MY LAWN, WHIPPERSNAPPER!

    4. Andrew S.   10 years ago

      A talk show? Is he going to have guests, or is he going to pretend to have guests and fabricate quotes from them?

    5. Ted S.   10 years ago

      Jack Horkheimer's been dead for years and they got rid of the Debussy electronica. 🙁

    6. Rufus J. Firefly   10 years ago

      Bill Nye and David Suzuki each have their own shows and they're as smug as smug comes.

      1. John   10 years ago

        At least Suzuki is an actual scientist of some accomplishments. Who the hell is Bill Nye? Seriously, he is Captain Kangaroo with a bunson burner. Why the hell does anyone over the age of seven pay attention to him?

        1. trshmnster the terrible   10 years ago

          Why the hell does anyone over the age of seven pay attention to him?

          The cult of SIUNSE!!! People who couldn't hack it in an astrophysics or mechanical engineering or biochemistry career gather to worship the petty frivolities of pop science and the tabloidiers who publish that drivel.

          I read a book by Michio Kaku while in high school about the prospects of hyperspace. The thing belonged in the "young adult" section of the library because it was chock full of bowling balls on bed sheets and notably absent of any substance.

          Those who can, do. Those who can't, watch Bill Nye make a fool of himself on TV.

          1. John   10 years ago

            Yeah, I would think if you were a great scientist, you would be too busy being one to be bothered with doing interviews and making kids' shows.

            1. trshmnster the terrible   10 years ago

              Don't get me wrong, there are really cool things going on in science and technology. However, just like opinion polls and medical studies, they're easily misrepresented by a drive by attempt at journalism.

              Despite what the science cultists want you to believe, you can't actually understand a new published sci-tech journal paper with a 5 minute blurb from a glorified Mr. Rogers.

        2. DK   10 years ago

          Actually, I remember reading somewhere that he developed a hydraulic pressure resonance suppressor for the 747 while working for Boeing. His wiki on it is sparse on details, so don't know if he was the main/sole developer or part of a team. So, at least, he has some engineering credentials.

          Certainly doesn't excuse the idiocy he spews, though. I wouldn't mind these people at all if they just stuck to science and not veer off into political ideology. Even rudimentary scientific principles can be interesting, especially for a young audience.

    7. CE   10 years ago

      I prefer Morgan Freeman in Through the Wormhole, myself. He speaks from a higher position of authority, since he frequently played God in the movies.

  23. GILMORE   10 years ago

    CNN's Don Lemon Asked A Muslim Human Rights Lawyer If He "Supports ISIS""

    "CNN anchor Don Lemon made the Columbia Journalism Review's list of worst journalism of 2014 for gaffes such as this, this, this and this

    The 4X examples of "this"

    x1 = CNN host Don Lemon ...casually asked his panel if black holes could be responsible for the missing Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 disappearance.

    X2 = Blames slavery for popularity of corporal punishment in black community; then defends the practice, comparing it to beating dogs, keeps children from playing in traffic.

    X3 = CNN's Don Lemon Tells Bill Cosby Accuser "There Are Ways Not To Perform Oral Sex" (i.e. if you really didn't want to do it, you should have bitten his dick)

    X4 = While visiting Ferguson riots, notes = "Obviously, there's a smell of marijuana in the air."

    .............

    That last one? the thing 'wrong' about it is pointing out that it should be 'obvious' any time black people get together to do anything - even *protests* - there's going to be a cloud of weed following them around? I don't know whether to laugh or groan.

    1. Andrew S.   10 years ago

      The thing wrong with #4 is that it's idiotic and serves no purpose other than to try and turn the viewer against the protestor for using the devil weed.

  24. Brett L   10 years ago

    Somebody catch me up on the last month. Did anyone else spawn? Amy interesting new trolls? Love affairs? Firings? I see Scott is still binge posting.

    1. Notorious G.K.C.   10 years ago

      The Rapture. Don't worry, all of us are still here.

    2. Andrew S.   10 years ago

      I'd love some new trolls. All we have are the same old ones. PB is still an idiot, Dunphy is still as bad as ever, and Mary's off her meds again. It's boring.

      1. Bobarian (Mr. Xtreme)   10 years ago

        I'd love some new trolls

        There's this Brett guy who showed up.

        Tulpa had some new socks on the police threads.

        Bo has become more botarded.

    3. Rufus J. Firefly   10 years ago

      I grew a second dick.

      1. Brett L   10 years ago

        Replacement or in addition?

        1. Rufus J. Firefly   10 years ago

          Replacement? Ha, ha!

          1. Slumbrew   10 years ago

            so, over-under or classic double-barrel?

      2. Raven Nation   10 years ago

        I thought you had to be born that way:

        http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/30684471

        1. Rufus J. Firefly   10 years ago

          I guess you googled 'man with two dicks' or 'Rufus grows a second pair'.

          1. Raven Nation   10 years ago

            The story actually came up on the BBC news feed yesterday.

    4. Riven   10 years ago

      I've been catfishing. It's very exciting.

      1. trshmnster the terrible   10 years ago

        Which kind? The slimy bottomdwelling muckeating kind or the one where you catch catfish?

        1. Riven   10 years ago

          The kind where people think I'm really a black dude in Wisconsin pretending to be the "perfect" female.

          1. Crusty Juggler   10 years ago

            Would you like to watch basketball together sometime?

          2. Beautiful Bean Footage   10 years ago

            You're my big brother?

  25. Medical Physics Guy   10 years ago

    And now for some British douchbaggery. Here is a featured comment on the BBC Charlie Hebdo live feed:

    Yesterday's shootings were outrageous and frightening enough, but nowhere near as frightening than the possible consequences in European politics.

    Right, because 12 people murdered in cold blood is not nearly so bad as those uncouth UKIP getting a few more seats.

    1. Winston   10 years ago

      I don't know, an anti-Muslim backlash could get pretty nasty.

      1. CE   10 years ago

        You know who else got pretty nasty in a political backlash against a minority religious group in Europe?

        1. Heroic Mulatto   10 years ago

          Pope Innocent III?

          1. trshmnster the terrible   10 years ago

            There are about 15 other popes that would fit as well.

        2. JeremyR   10 years ago

          I hate to say it, but sometimes that's necessary.

          There was a big anti-Mormon backlash in the US. Was it an overreaction? Yes. But at the same time, they were genuinely creepy as fuck with their forced polygamy.

          What did Mormonism do? By and large they cleaned themselves up. It's still a ridiculous religion, but it's no longer a vile one. The crazy Mormons are marginalized.

  26. grrizzly   10 years ago

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/.....38480.html

    The French are discussing if the National Front should be invited to participate in the marche r?publicaine, the manifestation of national unity, on Sunday

    1. CE   10 years ago

      When we say "national unity", we mean "national unity among approved groups we don't find uncouth."

  27. Grand Moff Serious Man   10 years ago

    Today in dumb celebrity environmentalism:

    Mark Ruffalo: Obama needs to ban fracking NOW

    Despite the fact that New York's decision is based on the best science, President Obama's administration had the audacity to denounce the decision. Last week Obama's Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said fracking bans make it "very difficult for the industry to figure out" rules in different areas, and stem from what she sees as bad science and misinformation. That simply doesn't hold up to the hundreds of peer-reviewed studies from leading scientific researchers and institutions demonstrating problems and harms. And frankly, we would like to see our public officials putting public health before concerns about the oil and gas industry's confusion.

    Robert Redford: Say no to the Keystone Pipeline

    But this isn't just a battle over industry influence. This is a choice about the kind of nation we want to live in.

    Do we want to live in a country where expert reviews don't matter and industry profits trump our families' health? Do we want to lock ourselves into a fuel that generates 17 percent more climate change pollution than crude oil and makes our children more vulnerable to extreme weather?

    Listen to the rich actors utterly insulated from energy concerns.

    1. Brett L   10 years ago

      Earthquakes are scary to people who don't understand logarithmic scales. A 3 is 1/1000th the energy of a 6. A 2-3 is mildly uncomfortable and won't dislodge pictures from the wall.

      1. Pl?ya Manhattan.   10 years ago

        A 4.0 is a wet fart in my house.

    2. LynchPin1477   10 years ago

      Even NPR is pointing out that the pipeline won't prevent the oil from going to market and so won't impact climate change one way or the other.

    3. Slumbrew   10 years ago

      You don't understand, it's the "best science"! You believe in science, don't you?!

      1. Doghouse Riley Jr.   10 years ago

        Is it the "best science" because it agrees with their predetermined views? Surely not...

        1. Copernicus   10 years ago

          And don't call me Shirley.

      2. MJGreen   10 years ago

        Only Tony believes in science.

  28. a better weapon   10 years ago

    Here's a fun story from my facebook feed...

    "A Phoenix, Arizona activist critical of police force underwent a use of force scenarios exercise with a local police department recently ? and left with a change of heart." ... "In the first scenario, Maupin allowed a suspect to hide behind a car where he pulled a gun and shot him."

    That kind of training is probably the biggest part of the problem. Here we have a training regimen where all three scenarios involved aggressive actors portraying everyday civilians and suspects. In every single one the three scenarios, the training actors escalate force with a hidden deadly weapon.

    If all my training taught me that every person I get a call over is almost 100% likely to have a weapon and confrontational attitude, I'd probably be conditioned to shoot innocent people too.

    1. flye   10 years ago

      You missed the baby, you missed the blind man...

      1. Doghouse Riley Jr.   10 years ago

        Zed: May I ask why you felt little Tiffany deserved to die?

        James Edwards: Well, she was the only one that actually seemed dangerous at the time, sir.

        Zed: How'd you come to that conclusion?

        James Edwards: Well, first I was gonna pop this guy hanging from the street light, and I realized, y'know, he's just working out. I mean, how would I feel if somebody come runnin' in the gym and bust me in my ass while I'm on the treadmill? Then I saw this snarling beast guy, and I noticed he had a tissue in his hand, and I'm realizing, y'know, he's not snarling, he's sneezing. Y'know, ain't no real threat there. Then I saw little Tiffany. I'm thinking, y'know, eight-year-old white girl, middle of the ghetto, bunch of monsters, this time of night with quantum physics books? She about to start some shit, Zed. She's about eight years old, those books are WAY too advanced for her. If you ask me, I'd say she's up to something. And to be honest, I'd appreciate it if you eased up off my back about it.

        [pause]

        James Edwards: Or do I owe her an apology?

        [pause]

        James Edwards: That's a good shot though...

        1. Riven   10 years ago

          Love that scene.

          To this day I'm not really sure what the tone is supposed to be, thanks to Will Smith's delivery. Is his character supposedly serious for that whole spiel?

          1. Doghouse Riley Jr.   10 years ago

            I think he thinks he's in a ridiculous situation - he's a cop with all these military dudes shooting at pictures of monsters that don't exist. So, he's flippant and not clear on why anyone is there.

            At least that's my take. And yes, a good scene.

            1. Riven   10 years ago

              That makes sense to me. Thanks for confirming my preexisting bias. 🙂

        2. Raven Nation   10 years ago

          MIB was great; MIB2 not so much. Haven't seen MIB3: worth it?

          1. Andrew S.   10 years ago

            3 is better than 2 but not as good as 1. I'd say it's worth it.

            1. Raven Nation   10 years ago

              Thanks.

          2. d3x / dt3   10 years ago

            Plot is incoherent, just like all movies that have time travel as a plot device.

            1. Slumbrew   10 years ago

              I liked jwz's take:

              "If your story is not about time travel, but it has time travel in it, then your story sucks."

            2. Raven Nation   10 years ago

              Thanks.

  29. Doghouse Riley Jr.   10 years ago

    US military to close 15 bases in Europe.

    The US will close 15 military bases across Europe, US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel has confirmed.
    The Pentagon says the move will save around $500m (?300m) a year, and comes as the US military seeks to shift its attention towards Asia.
    The US currently has more than 60,000 troops stationed in Europe, mostly in Germany, Italy and the UK.
    Many of the closures affect smaller bases that were remnants of the Cold War.
    US officials also have finalised plans to cut about 500 military personnel from the Lajes military base in the Azores islands, which drew opposition from Portugal.

    1. Raven Nation   10 years ago

      Credit to Obama on this one.

    2. Irish   10 years ago

      *clap, clap, clap*

  30. Grand Moff Serious Man   10 years ago

    What Elvis might have looked like were he still alive today, on his 80th birthday

    Happy birthday to him regardless!

    1. Raven Nation   10 years ago

      "Elvis isn't dead, he just went home."

      Agent K.

    2. Notorious G.K.C.   10 years ago

      Wait, that looks like the guy I saw in my doctor's waiting room! The one reading *Drug Free for Life.*

  31. Anonymous Coward   10 years ago

    Jon Stewart: Comedy Should Not Be an Act of Courage

    "A stark reminder that for the most part the legislators and journalists and institutions that we jab and ridicule are not in any way the enemy," Stewart continued. "For however frustrating or outraged the back and forth can become it's still back and forth, a conversation amongst those on let's call it 'Team Civilization.' And this type of violence only clarifies that reality."

    "Of course, of course our goal tonight is not to make sense of this because there is no sense to be made of this," he added. "Our goal as it is always is to keep going, 'Keep calm and carry on' or whatever version of that saying is in your dorm room. We spent the majority of our day honestly in shock and grief but also searching for a segue,"

    So the easiest way to shut Jon Stewart up, to stop his childish taunting, is to threaten him with a shooting/head-chopping, that he is such a complete moral coward that he will only mock those who he reasonably believes will not retaliate in any way that might cause him physical harm.

    Good to know, Clown-Nose. Good to know.

    1. John   10 years ago

      The most self important asshole on TV now decides that well you know "comedy really isn't that important and shouldn't be an act of courage". God, what a fucking spineless crap weasel that guy is.

    2. lap83   10 years ago

      "Comedy Should Not Be an Act of Courage"
      No wonder he's so unfunny

    3. F. Stupidity, Jr.   10 years ago

      Does Jon Stewart have the slightest fucking clue what satire is supposed to be?

    4. Migrant Log Picker   10 years ago

      This, fuck this hypocritical asswipe.

  32. Andrew S.   10 years ago

    Dear Fox 5 DC:

    What, did you not learn from #MyNYPD and #AskACop?

    1. All-Seeing Monocle   10 years ago

      Haaaaahahahaha. Internet, sometimes you don't disappoint. Here's hoping they just keep falling for that one.

    2. All-Seeing Monocle   10 years ago

      Kelly Thomas photo added, thanks for the link.

  33. Andrew S.   10 years ago

    And that reminds me. How are you all celebrating Law Enforcement Appreciation Day tomorrow?

    1. John   10 years ago

      By shooting a dog?

      1. trshmnster the terrible   10 years ago

        Flashbanging a crib?

        1. John   10 years ago

          Flashbanging a crib full of puppies, for the win!

    2. SugarFree   10 years ago

      I was thinking about masturbating to an episode of Cagney and Lacey with my back turned.

      1. trshmnster the terrible   10 years ago

        The way your comment cut off on my phone, I thought you were wanking to Cops. NTTAWWT

    3. Doghouse Riley Jr.   10 years ago

      Not resisting? Showing my hands?

      Here's a suggestion from a great movie.

    4. Brett L   10 years ago

      I was thinking Molotov Cocktails in police tamks.

    5. All-Seeing Monocle   10 years ago

      LEAD, how perfectly appropriate.

    6. Riven   10 years ago

      By going to the gym and then going to the range after.

      Oh wait, that's almost every Friday. Maybe I'll pull a fire alarm in a Toys'R'Us and run.

      1. Migrant Log Picker   10 years ago

        You rock, Riven, ever get to Missoula lunch is on me. The women in this people's republic are all victims, sure refreshing to see a young woman that calls bullshit when it's needed. Well done.

    7. Copernicus   10 years ago

      I'm going to bang Morgan Fairchild and then shoot the curl at some epic Pipeline brah.

    8. OA-5599   10 years ago

      LEAD? That can't be a coincidence.

      Couldn't they have come up with a less obvious acronym? Maybe TASER, CHOKE, BEAT, THUG. Wait, that's not less obvious.

  34. Slumbrew   10 years ago

    Ugh, god, no:

    U.S. Olympic Committee Selects Boston As Applicant City For 2024 Olympic And Paralympic Games

    1. All-Seeing Monocle   10 years ago

      Well, they do know that clearing the crowds will be easy.

      1. JEP   10 years ago

        Wasn't there an article a few months ago about how the Olympic committee considered a city's police presence and mob capabilities a huge plus when selecting cities?

    2. flye   10 years ago

      Thank you for beating out the SF bay area.

      The relatively modest $4.5 billion proposal, which envisions using existing or temporary structures, also seeks to align Boston with attempts by the International Olympic Committee to hold down costs, which reached $40 billion for the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing and $51 billion for the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, scaring off some bid cities.

      I'm going to estimate $75B by the time this gets done. Boston strong!

      1. Slumbrew   10 years ago

        the political hacks and local construction firms have to be fondly thinking of the Big Dig days. So many opportunities for graft... good times.

        1. flye   10 years ago

          Boston 2024: Shelter In Place

          I'm taking t-shirt orders...

      2. C. Anacreon   10 years ago

        The only reason I would have like the Bay Area to get the nod was that they proposed a new stadium for the Raiders as the Olympic Stadium.

        We may be losing the Raiders unless a new stadium can be figured out. Not sure who else wants them at this point, though....

    3. Copernicus   10 years ago

      Paralympics in Boston

      I can hear it now:

      What are you, retaaaahhhhded?

  35. Slumbrew   10 years ago

    This area was such a shitshow when they had the DNC here awhile back - the Olympics would be like armageddon.

  36. Stormy Dragon   10 years ago

    Supreme Court justices are scheduled to meet in a private conference tomorrow to discuss whether they'll take up any gay marriage recognition cases from a handful of states.

    Porn film idea: seven "justices" meet to decide if they'll take up any gay marriage cases. Each case they review is presented as a vignette (The next case is "People v. Ass Master" (dissolve)). At the end they end up deciding to just have a big orgy instead.

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