Pelosi Blasts Boehner Over Netanyahu Invitation, NY Assembly Speaker Arrested for Corruption, Yemen's President Resigns : P.M. Links

• 

  Screen capture/Hogan's Heroes

  Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is quite cross with her successor, John Boehner, for inviting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address Congress without passing it by the White House.

• New York's Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver was arrested for corruption by the FBI in a just shocking hint that the Empire State's politics may not be entirely above-board.
• The Democratic Party stumbles over its tribal politics as California Latinos protest D.C. powerbrokers' quick embrace of Kamala Harris as the favored Senate candidate.
• BlackBerry CEO John Chen wants government to make it mandatory for app developers to include his company's platform in their efforts. Now that's a business plan for the modern world.
• "I know nothing, nothing!" says the totally sincere New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, when asked about revelations that that 11 of 12 balls used by his team in the last game were deflated in a way that makes them easier to hold.
• Riverside County sheriff's deputies killed a suspect after he killed a police dog. Apparently, the whole puppycide thing is a selective policy.
• Yemen's president and prime minister resigned as the country gets increasingly chaos-y.
• The European Central Bank doubled down on its quantitative easing efforts with a plan to buy 60 billion in euros each month. Doing more of what didn't work before should totally fix the continental economy.

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Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

Yemen's president and prime minister resigned as the country gets increasingly chaos-y.

Why can't our guys do this?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

"Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is quite cross with her successor, John Boehner, for inviting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address Congress without passing it by the White House."

Ahhhhh shaddap you face.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uIveUw5BzA

[Ted S.]

Unfortunately, there was a bar at the top of that link telling me some worthless politician would be interviewed no YouTube later today.

[Pro Libertate]

As a matter of protocol, sure, the White House maybe should be informed. But since this administration has been a long FUCK YOU to Congress and to the Constitution, well, tough shit. And Nancy can fuck off, too.

[Libertarian]

If she's serious about it, she can boycott Netayahu's speech. Right? Right? HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

[Pro Libertate]

She wants to flash him.

[Mike M.]

Block Yomomma might be the most insufferable, thin-skinned twerp who ever lived. He Insults, trolls, and dismisses his opponents at every opportunity, yet the slightest retaliation drives him bonkers.

You're not America's dictator, you lowlife piece of crap. Congress is equal to you; get that through your fucking skull.

[R C Dean]

Block Yomomma

Do. Not.

It strips all credibility from whatever else you have to say. You may not like it, but that's the way it is.

[Tonio]

What's up with that bizarre line-break in "chaosy-y"? HTML not support non-breaking hyphens? I'd have used "chaotic" as a work-around.

[Hey Nikki!]

HTML does not support nonbreaking hyphens. It's MF annoying.

[Los Doyers]

A wild nikki has been spotted in the PM links!

[Hey Nikki!]

Suck it, Los Doyers.

[Los Doyers]

That might loosen the clots, give me a week.

[Tonio]

Thanks, Nikki.

[Hey Nikki!]

You're welcome, Tonio!

[Carl ?s the level]

Yes, it does. You have to use an HTML entity to insert it.

[Carl ?s the level]

see here

[Los Doyers]

Filthy casuals?

[Carl ?s the level]

Indeed.

I was not sure myself, initially, but I figured that there was probably some obscure Unicode code point representing one; I searched, and lo and behold, there is, and it has browser support, except for a rendering issue in IE

[Hey Nikki!]

Yes, it does exist, but web publications pretty much never use it.

[Carl ?s the level]

Fuck.

That was was supposed to say "IE less than 10", but the squirrels ate my less than sign.

Dear Dancing Mammoth: lern2sanitize.

[Carl ?s the level]

Addendum: I probably should not say that you "have to use an HTML entity", as technically, if your page is encoded as UTF-8 (as Reason's is), you should be able to insert it directly -- although I have not tested it.

[Carl ?s the level]

It does, but they didn't use one.

[Free Society]

Why can't our guys do this?

Because we don't shoot at them enough.

[Enough About Palin]

Farmington couple charged with theft-by-swindle from Mall of America store

The two, who are former law enforcement agents, allegedly returned discount merchandise purchased online to the American Girl store for full price.

A Farmington couple who were former law enforcement agents have been charged with theft-by-swindle in an elaborate scheme that involved returning discount merchandise purchased online to the Mall of America's American Girl store for full price, authorities said Thursday.
Jennifer Jo Cho, 37, and Henry Lim Cho, 34, returned more than 135 items for full price to the Bloomington store, with the returns occurring on more than 30 dates between October 2013 and November 2014, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said at an afternoon news conference.
Jennifer Cho was a special agent for the Minnesota Department of Commerce's fraud bureau, and Henry Cho is a retired police officer.
The total loss to the store was just over $5,300, according to charging documents. If convicted, the two face up to 10 years in prison.
Neither defendant is in custody.

http://www.startribune.com/loc.....78101.html

[Enough About Palin]

Retired at 34? WTF?

[Tonio]

Obviously a medical retirement for a hero wounded on duty.

[CE]

Hurt his back opening a file cabinet?

[Ted S.]

Picking up a box of doughnuts.

[Ted S.]

Started by ratting out his elementary school classmates, and retired after 20 years.

[BiMonSciFiCon]

But I thought our dedicated public servants had hearts of gold, and that it was only the greedy capitalists that did this sort of thing?

[Injun, as in from India]

Well, this is because of the pathetic retirement benefits you selfish Koch-suckers give our noble public servants, especially the peace officers.

If only our noble retired public servant peace officer was not so desperately poor would he have not stolen.

So it's your fault.

[BiMonSciFiCon]

Better raise some common sense taxes. Only a wing nut would oppose them.

[Raven Nation]

I believe the approved trolling term is now Peanuts rather than wingnut.

[BiMonSciFiCon]

Is that for everyone, or just our "classical liberal" friend?

"Rethuglican" is still my favorite.

[Raven Nation]

Good point. But he does seem to be the most consistent one whose posts are only made the be insulting.

[Injun, as in from India]

RethugliKKKan beats Rethuglican anyday.

[BiMonSciFiCon]

Yes, it does. I regret the error.

[PBR Streetgang]

I wouldn't call their scheme 'elaborate'

[Enough About Palin]

Or really all that profitable. A lot of time invested in addition to having to purchase items to return. Thirty trips netted them $2,750. Less than $100 each per trip. But I guess if you're retired at 34, you have to kill time somehow.

[Enough About Palin]

Thirty trips netted them $2,750 each.

[CE]

My sister's ex-husband's aunt's neighbor makes 4 times that on the Internet in just a few hours.

[Lady Bertrum]

My sister's ex-husband's aunt's neighbor makes 4 times that on the Internet in just a few hours.

Link, please.

[Marshall Gill]

That is not a link for a Lady.

[creech]

Don't stores just refund what you paid as evidenced by a receipt? Where I once worked, the policy was "no receipt, but if we sell the brand, then you only get what the lowest price for which it was sold in the last 60 days."

[waffles]

An elaborate scheme? This is what passes for elaborate? Amateur hour!

[CE]

Couldn't the store just refuse the return? Don't they check IDs, like every other store, to make sure you're not a serial returner? Plus, what, no receipt = store credit only?

[Lady Bertrum]

Depends on the store policy. It's hard to refuse a return when the merchandise is so store and manufacturer specific. I'm guessing they were doing unreceipted returns. Giving them the store equivalent value. The managers would have figured it out but probably wanted to prosecute.

[HeteroPatriarch]

Surprising suspects

My ass.

[Rasilio]

If I was on that Jury I would find them not guilty.

Sorry American Girl Doll store but it was your poor business practices that allowed this, you don't like it change your return policies and train your damned employees better.

And while you are at it you might want to cut the prices you charge for your POS dolls so there'd be less money for enterprising scammers to make money off you with.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Riverside County sheriff's deputies killed a suspect after he killed a police dog.

The suspect killed the dog or a deputy did? Because, you know, it could be either.

[Los Doyers]

The dog got too old and couldn't keep up with the deputies on their quads. This was the best way for him to go.

[BiMonSciFiCon]

Riverside County sheriff's deputies killed a suspect after he killed a police dog. Apparently, the whole puppycide thing is a selective policy.

That's not a dog. That's a soldier.

Your dog? Target practice. /hero in blue.

[Enough About Palin]

That helped. Thanks.

[Marshall Gill]

That happened here in OKC. The murderous armed thugs were chasing someone for a dine and dash and they released a police dog on the suspect. The suspect stabbed the dog and was summarily executed from 20 feet away.

They had a fucking parade like funeral for the dog, giving his murderer master the flag from the dogs coffin.

[Cyto]

You must have missed the money quote from the current article.

The state Senate took the unusual step of adjourning in the police dog's memory on Thursday.

Sultan "bravely gave his life protecting other law enforcement officers," said Sen. Jeff Stone, R-Temecula.

[Fist of Etiquette]

"I know nothing, nothing!" says the totally sincere New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick...

Drudge has been trying his best to come up with that perfect suggestive headline on this.

[Rasilio]

One thing I don't get is why everyone is so insistent that air was let out of the balls.

If I was the Pats equiptment manager and I knew Brady liked the ball a little under inflated and I knew that the balls would be checked at a precise time (2 hours and 15 minutes before kickoff) it would be a trivially easy task to simply inflate the balls to the level Brady wants them at then heat them up by sticking them in the Sauna for a little while before I brought them to the Refs.

The balls would heat up which would increase the air pressure and then as the balls slowly cooled it would go back down to where he wanted it and the only thing the ref would notice is the ball would feel a little warm.

So in this case, inflate the ball to 11.5 PSI at 50 degrees (outside ambient temperature that day), Then bring the balls inside and let them sit in a 110 degree sauna for an hour. That will raise the air pressure up to around 13.2 PSI. Sitting in a 72 degree room it would take probably half an hour to 45 minutes for them to cool enough to drop the pressure below the 12.5 PSI minimum giving the refs plenty of time to certify then by the middle of te first quarter at the latest the balls will be back down to 50 degrees and ~11.5 PSI.

Nobody lets air out of the balls and depending on exactly how the rule is written it might not even be illegal.

[Injun, as in from India]

BlackBerry CEO John Chen wants government to make it mandatory for app developers to include his company's platform in their efforts. Now that's a business plan for the modern world.

And I want the government to make it mandatory for Santa to give me free gifts every year.

[flye]

Samsung might buy Blackberry anyway, which makes sense. As Matt Levine put it:

"Samsung is good at making phones that people buy, but not so hot at mobile security, and BlackBerry is the opposite."

[Somalian Road Corporation]

This is so remarkably stupid that I went to check the comments. I see that one of the only people who agrees with Chen is a self-described "administrator" at a bakery (obviously a programmer slumming it) whining about how "but do you want the corporations in their corporation buildings to call the shots" and calling the multiple real developers decrying this lunacy, one of which is an ex-RIM employee, ignorant. The other is a janitor.

Not to shit on the proletarians, but, as Dirty Harry once said: "A man's got to know his limitations."

[Palin's Buttplug]

Inflate-gate is up there with BENGHAZI! in the fake scandal HOF.

MLB deliberately spreads mud on baseballs for crying out loud.

[Palin's Buttplug]

DEflate-gate. Too much stimulus.

[PBR Streetgang]

I prefer BallGhhazi for this scandal's nom de plume

[jesse.in.mb]

It's Ballghazi, dude. I was delighted when there was finally a scandal that was not popularly given a gate suffix, and I'll be damned if anyone here walks that back.

[Irish]

You're just happy the word 'Ball' is in a scandal name, aren't you Jesse?

[Hey Nikki!]

He's allowed to like it for two reasons.

[Root Boy]

Schwinggg

[Palin's Buttplug]

Its still stupid. Brady was contrite but denied any wrongdoing in his presser.

It seems to me they probably did it and saved one ball for the kicker. But the refs didn't step in and no one complained during the game.

[Hey Nikki!]

First, all 12 balls were deflated, one less dramatically than the others.

Second, D'Qwell Johnson did notice and complain during the game, which is when the investigation began.

[John]

That is just it. Brady had to have known they were deflated and illegal and were that way for his benefit and didn't say anything. Brady is more responsible here than Bellicheck. I bet Bellicheck had no idea. But Brady did.

[Irish]

"I bet Bellicheck had no idea."

Except that the last time they played the Colts were complaining that the balls were deflated.

The Patriots have clearly been doing this for awhile and just got caught now.

[John]

Sure they have. But that doesn't mean he knew about it. The Patriots are smarter than that. The people who did it never told him. That way he can't get in trouble for it. If there is anyone who should be nailed for this it is Brady. He is the one person who had to know.

[creech]

If they are so smart, why didn't they reinflate the balls as soon as the game was over? Then there's no evidence a day or so later when the NFL got around to checking the game balls.

[Free Society]

D'Qwell? Is that some sort of joke name?

[Enough About Palin]

I can't take a story seriously that includes a guy mamed D'Qwell.

[Palin's Buttplug]

My fave football name:

D'Brickashaw Ferguson

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D'Brickashaw_Ferguson

[Hey Nikki!]

You should ask him. I bet he would totally not kick your ass or anything.

[Free Society]

If he doesn't know his name is ridiculous he might shake my hand for letting him know.

[Nihilist]

Obligatory link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25Q6R8KARoM

[Mickey Rat]

The balls used for kicking plays are different than the twelve being discussed.

[grrizzly]

So you're now on the BENGHAZI FAKE SCANDAL page?

[jesse.in.mb]

I have no strong opinion on Benghazi. Every scandal that's happened since Watergate, except Whitewater, has had a -gate suffix to denote its scandalousness. I'm just really excited for their to be an attempt at variety.

[CE]

Yeah, if the Watergate scandal happened now, it would be Watergate-gate.

[Los Doyers]

How about...Fistergate?

[Fist of Etiquette]

You shut your whore mouth.

[CE]

Except in Benghazi, and American ambassador was murdered. In inflate-gate, the Colts just got crushed a little worse than they would have anyway.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Yes, but that is not the supposed scandal of it. The scandal was about the innocuous comment made by Susan Rice.

[Whahappan?]

Except it wasn't an "innocuous comment made by Susan Rice." It was a deliberate, coordinated campaign of lies and deceptions by the entire administration, including Obama, culminating in the jailing of an innocent man for a year to deflect from the government's incompetence and malfeasance.

[Mickey Rat]

"MLB deliberately spreads mud on baseballs for crying out loud."

Yes, so? That is part of the spec for a game ready ball.

[rts]

Latest trigger word is "empire":

Nanaimo Empire Days name too colonial, says city council

Nanaimo city council has cut off funding to Nanaimo Empire Days unless organizers agree to change the event's colonial-sounding name.

...

"I guess for me it triggers some old history that really isn't positive for our people [First Nations]," said Manson.

"I get why we celebrate Queen Victoria's birthday," said Manson. "I think that's what it ought to be called."

Wot?

[Ted S.]

What are they going to do about the furniture style? Or the horrible show on Fox?

[Andrew S.]

If they need carpeting for City Hall, I'm guessing they won't be calling [phone]?

[Enough About Palin]

Man I hated the old voice-over guy they used for years.

[Whahappan?]

Yeah, but the jingle is tits.

[Medical Physics Guy]

As an empiricist, I'm offended.

[Cytotoxic]

Can't this be challenged in court?

[John Titor]

"I get why we celebrate Queen Victoria's birthday," said Manson. "I think that's what it ought to be called."

So wait, the word 'Empire' is a problem because colonialism, but celebrating the most colonially of all the colonialist British monarchs, Queen Victoria, is fine?

[Root Boy]

Yeah, I don't get the logic. QE is the the sovereign of Canada, but can't talk about Empire?

Plus, I thought the Injuns were treated awesome by the English compared to us ugly Americans?

[John Titor]

Naw, in Canada we stuck them in horrible residential schools where people tried to 'assimilate' them through physical and sexual abuse.

[The Last American Hero]

When the guys at Fort Pitt were handing out smallpox blankets, it was before there was a U.S.

[Root Boy]

Well, I guess that could be worse than dying on the field of battle or being marched to Oklahoma.

I know the blanket story is widely quoted, but did people back in the 1700s even know how smallpox got transmitted? I don't believe they knew about bacteria and spoors back then.

[Heroic Mulatto]

There is textual evidence to suggest that Lord Amherst was not only aware that smallpox could be transmitted via blanket, but that he intended it as a form of germ warfare.

Besides, you don't need to know germ theory to make the causal assumption that people who handle personal garments of the infected tend to get infected themselves.

[Root Boy]

I thought it came from bad air and a little blood letting would cure it.

[Ted S.]

Why couldn't it be the Assembly Speaker (and the other 149 members) resigning?

[Fist of Etiquette]

...in a just shocking hint that the Empire State's politics may not be entirely above-board.

At least he wasn't selling loosies.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Funny how NY politicians never die resisting arrest - and *they're* the ones who gave Eric Garner his job (by creating a lucrative black market for cheap cigarettes).

[Ted S.]

I was a bit mean in my previous comment about Sheldon Silver. I suppose I wouldn't mind too much if he defended his innocence just like Budd Dwyer did.

[Injun, as in from India]

The Democratic Party stumbles over its tribal politics as California Latinos protest D.C. powerbrokers' quick embrace of Kamala Harris as the favored Senate candidate.

If the Democrat Party passes over half-Indian Kamala Harris in favor of a Latino, I will be half-offended.

If I was half-Latino, half-Indian, I would be half-offended either way.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Kamala Harris is pretty hot, IIRC.

[Los Doyers]

and into assplay, so you're in luck.

[John]

Go on....

[Los Doyers]

Those beads don't go around her neck

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Analbeadsgate.

[Los Doyers]

You have to be into some anal stuff if you're attorney general of CA. It's in our constitution.

[Free Society]

Kamala Harris is pretty hot, IIRC.

mehh

[Los Doyers]

Fruit blindness?

[Free Society]

My dick is racist is all.

[Tonio]

Nothing like a strong offense in the first quarter, eh?

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Your Latino half could picket your Indian half.

[John Titor]

RACE WAR!

*Injun begins beating himself up, with both sides of his mouth saying the other started it*

[Fist of Etiquette]

BlackBerry CEO John Chen wants government to make it mandatory for app developers to include his company's platform in their efforts.

That would depend on how big his campaign contributions were.

[Ted S.]

Ah, the days of the antitrust suit against IBM.

[Pro Libertate]

No, piss off.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is quite cross with her successor, John Boehner, for inviting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu...

They killed her savior. (The first one.)

[John]

Who told Boehner it was okay to invite a dirty Jew to speak before Congress?

[Irish]

You can't just commit the crime of lese majeste, especially when you're ignoring the dictates of your liege on behalf of some money grubbing Semite.

This is what the Obama administration has taught me.

[sloopyinTEXAS]

Eric Cantor?

[Old Man With Candy]

Actually, it was her people. Mine just paid for the hit.

[BiMonSciFiCon]

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is quite cross with her successor, John Boehner, for inviting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address Congress without passing it by the White House.

Good thing she never met with a foreign leader like Assad against a sitting President's wishes. Oh, wait...

[John]

http://pjmedia.com/tatler/2015.....uomo-next/

The Democratic Speaker of the New York State Assembly has been arrested on corruption charges. I guess we know why Andrew Cuomo decided to shut down the New York anti-corruption commission.

[Ted S.]

I wonder whether Cuomo doesn't mind having Silver out of the way. The scuttlebutt was that the Moreland Commission was getting too close to Cuomo and his inner circle.

[Root Boy]

Couldn't happen to a nicer guy. I heard he's still spouting the (now) 1 in 4 women get raped in college stat that most of the SJWs seem to have dropped.

[Injun, as in from India]

Cuomo should have have shut down neither the anti-corruption commission nor hydrofracking. Both would have done good.

[Cytotoxic]

Is incognito fracking possible?

[Rhywun]

This just made my day. Keep it coming!

[Doghouse Riley Jr.]

Cobb County Solicitor says eating while driving not a crime unless it is so distracting it causes the driver to drive badly.
Morgan says eating is "no more illegal than someone reading and driving, or applying make-up, unless it is so distracting it causes the person to drive dangerously." He says the violation is the bad driving that is caused by some action that distracts them from due care.
As for why the ticket says "EATING WHILE DRIVING", Morgan says "I can't speak for the officer but he may have written notes that would trigger his memory to remember the circumstances unique to this case from the other 300 to 400 tickets he may write before it comes to court."
Turner maintains he wasn't driving dangerously and says "the officer even told me I wasn't driving erratically." He plans to fight the ticket. He has a court date February 3rd.

[Injun, as in from India]

So this logic should apply if you were to receive oral sex at 75 mph, no?

[Doghouse Riley Jr.]

A) Well, 75, that's speeding, totally different than distracted driving, but yes, by that logic you are correct.
B) You apparently never read The World According to Garp, and yes, I know the car was parked when it happened in the book, but still, it's a bad idea.

[flye]

Next thing you know they'll try to outlaw Pissing In A Bottle While Driving and then where will our trucking industry be?

[Doghouse Riley Jr.]

Stuck in rest stops?

[The Last American Hero]

Replaced by driverless vehicles?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Try eating a shish-taouk while driving.

[Whahappan?]

Yeah, but the officer will just testilie and the judge will pretend to believe him.

[waffles]

Transcripts of the Ross Ulbricht trial are being crowdfunded and posted here. I really liked how the transcription turns "anarcho-capitalist" into "a narco-capitalist" in a detailed examination of how DPR and some posts on mises.org may be from the same author.

[waffles]

Donate or whatever and day 6 will appear here.

Things look especially damning for Ross now. The markets that sprang up to replace the silk road won't have someone as committed to the NAP behind them. He forged a path and now is paying with his freedom. It's hard for me to stomach the sentence that can be laid on him. Who are his victims?

Fuck.

[Cytotoxic]

The markets that sprang up to replace the silk road won't have someone as committed to the NAP behind them.

I think that's pretty inconsequential. It's the technology and concept that matter, not the people.

[waffles]

Ok sure. Developing a trustless system for black markets is a big deal. A big deal that the government cannot stop. I guess I just feel empathy for the guy and the tiniest twinge of vicarious horror at what he is facing.

[Cytotoxic]

Fair enough. I hope he still has a big BTC stash. A guy in prison with a lot of money no one can get to is not one to fuck with unless you want to play a starring role in a remake of the more iconic scenes from Breaking Bad.

[Ted S.]

Who are his victims?

The state, which of course means everybody but you and me.

[Free Society]

I wish I could prosecute people for defying my arbitrary whims.

[GILMORE]

""I know nothing, nothing!" says the totally sincere New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, when asked about revelations that that 11 of 12 balls used by his team in the last game were deflated in a way that makes them easier to hold."

Recent allegations that Boston is "full of assholes" is technically incorrect. Its only 'mostly' full of assholes.

[John]

I am sure he doesn't. It is called plausible dependability.

[Andrew S.]

I challenge you to show me one person in or around Boston who is not a complete asshole.

[AlmightyJB]

Funny, never been to Boston but everyone I've met from Boston has been an asshole. Not just run of the mill asshole but major asshole.

[Rasilio]

Rises Hand.

I'm not a complete asshole. Only about 80%

[Ted S.]

To be fair to Belichick, it's generally the QB who would be getting the equpiment people to make the ball to his specifications, not the coach.

Aaron Rodgers has said that he prefers the footballs to be more inflated.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

And someone (I forget which QB) said he preferred less inflated.

It's the less filling, more taste debate of our times!

[Bobarian (hyphenated-american)]

Yes, they could definitely fit a lot more assholes into Boston. It's no where near full yet. You could start piling em up in the 'Big Dig', even.

[Doghouse Riley Jr.]

In case you missed it: The Conan O'Brien/Sterling Archer interview.

[Cytotoxic]

That was pretty funny.

[Pro Libertate]

Conan is a surprisingly good shot.

[Cytotoxic]

Moot resigned from 4chan yesterday. Too lazy to link.

[waffles]

*ragequit

[MJGreen]

And I'm too lazy to figure out what this means. Also too lazy to finish thi

[GILMORE]

France Continues its Free-Speech-Promoting-Efforts By Insisting Social Media Censor its Users

"There are hate videos, calls for death, propaganda that has not been responded to, and we need to respond," Harlem Desir, French state secretary for European affairs, told reporters on the sidelines of a U.N. General Assembly meeting on the rising threat of anti-Semitism.

The French call for a radical shift in the way governments treat social networking companies such as Facebook (FB.O) and Twitter (TWTR.N) came two weeks after Islamist militants killed 17 people in Paris at a satirical magazine and a Kosher supermarket.

"We must limit the dissemination of these messages," Desir said. "We must ... establish a legal framework so the Internet platforms, the large companies managing social networking, so that they're called upon to act responsibly."

"Or Else", I assume

[Cytotoxic]

The Bank of Canada has lowered its interest rate from 1.0 to 0.75%. I guess our housing bubble just isn't big enough.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Are you Canucks that slow? The rest of the world had their housing bubble pop in 2007-08.

[Andrew S.]

Shockingly enough, it's bubbling up again right now. And it's going to pop again at some point.

[Cytotoxic]

We didn't because Canada's banking and housing sectors are less regulated/subsidized than in that socialist shithole the USSA. We also never had a Greenspan-Bernanke level of monetary looseness.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Er, Cyto. Canada's banking system is extremely regulated. What are you talking about?

[Cytotoxic]

Not compared to America's. Canada does not require banks make out loans to poor people. Canada does not have an equivalent of Freddie Mac/Fannie Mae. Canada doesn't restrict flows of capital across provincial lines or otherwise fragment banks into units that are 'too small to succeed'. The regulations are fewer and less confusing. It is regulated but less so than the states.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

You're picking and choosing your spots.

When I took my PFC and CSC for my licenses it was pretty clear you learned we had the most 'efficient' and 'regulated' banking system. America can open banks much easier than we can. And we basically have six banks that act like one.

[Cytotoxic]

All provinces except Alberta have 'key laws' which mean you can't just walk away from the home and leave the bank holding it, and there's no mortgage interest tax deduction (granted I am digressing slightly).

[Palin's Buttplug]

Canada does not require banks make out loans to poor people.

And the US never has. That is a wingnut myth.

The Community Reinvestment Act merely prevented redlining. Banks could still not loan based on sub-prime FICO scores.

They did anyway for profit.

[Cytotoxic]

The Community Reinvestment Act merely prevented redlining.

Thereby forcing banks to make loans to people they should not have.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Wrong again.

Canada does not have an equivalent of Freddie Mac/Fannie Mae.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C.....orporation

[Cytotoxic]

The CMHC is nothing like FM/FM you fucking idiot. All the CMHC does is issue mortgage insurance.

[Palin's Buttplug]

This insurance protects mortgage lenders against mortgage defaults on mortgages for which insurance has been purchased (mandatory on loans with less than 20% down although lenders may require it on loans with more than 20% equity if they perceive additional risk of default).

You have full recourse in Canada (key laws) and full protection for lenders.

THAT is heavy regulation.

And NO US bank was ever forced to make a loan to anyone.

[Cytotoxic]

Never said that Canadian banks weren't heavily regulated, just a lot less so than American ones. And key laws are a law enforcing contract rights it's not a regulation. And the CRA forced banks to make loans they otherwise would not have, your pathetic obfuscation notwithstanding.

[Palin's Buttplug]

GOP bank regulator says you are full of shit:

Along with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the Community Reinvestment Act has been fingered by a number of critics--mainly from the right--as a key cause of the financial crisis. But in a speech Wednesday, FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair--a Republican--called such logic a "myth."

Let me ask you: where in the CRA does it say: make loans to people who can't afford to repay? No-where! And the fact is, the lending practices that are causing problems today were driven by a desire for market share and revenue growth ... pure and simple.

http://money.usnews.com/money/.....stment-act

[Cytotoxic]

No one but you cares.

Reality: Second, Congress strengthened the Community Reinvestment Act. The CRA had initially, from its passage in 1977, merely imposed reporting requirements on commercial banks. Amendments in 1995 empowered regulators to deny a bank with a low CRA rating permission to merge with another bank?at a time when the arrival of interstate banking made such approvals especially valuable?or even to open new branches. In response to the new CRA rules, some banks joined into partnerships with community groups to distribute millions in mortgage money to low-income borrowers previously considered non-creditworthy. Other banks took advantage of the newly authorized option to boost their CRA rating by purchasing special "CRA mortgage-backed securities," that is, packages of disproportionately nonprime loans certified as meeting CRA criteria and securitized by Freddie Mac. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke aptly commented in a 2007 speech that "recent problems in mortgage markets illustrate that an underlying assumption of the CRA?that more lending equals better outcomes for local communities may not always hold."[8]

http://www.cato-unbound.org/20.....y-happened

Educate yourself, peon.

[Whahappan?]

Gov't regulator says gov't regulations weren't responsible - yep, you've convinced me. Your brilliance shines through once again.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Yes.

[Cytotoxic]

YES.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Bullshit. Canada regulates banks more than almost any other country.

http://www.cba.ca/en/media-roo.....-in-canada

[Rufus J. Firefly]

FUCK YOU CYTOTOXIC FOR MAKING ME AGREE WITH ROSCO P. COLTRANE!

[Cytotoxic]

I am not making you agree. You're just a little wrong.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

http://www.brookings.edu/resea.....ada-nivola

Enjoy.

Like I said. Very hard to compare the two and the study reminded me that Canadians are far more conservative than Americans when it comes to money.

We keep a close eye on banking; now whether this manifests itself into 'more' regulation looks like a matter of debate. I don't know enough of the American system but it's been my experience and the general impression from observers that it's rigorously regulated.

[Cytotoxic]

Not a bad little report but there are a few problems. For one, small America bank failures were absolutely a feature of the Great Recession (much like the Great Depression) in America. Further, the 'centralization' theme ignores the fact that Canada's securities regulation is done at the provincial-level. Each province has its own securities regulator. Last, for all our patriotic harrumphing over our sound banks and lack of housing crash, we have ton of debt. Thanks BoC.

[Irish]

Do you ever even read your own links?

"The World Economic Forum has ranked Canada's banks as the most sound in the world for seven years in a row1 ? a ranking that highlights the fact that banks in Canada are well capitalized, well managed and well regulated. Canadians understand this: When asked to rate the performance of banks in Canada on stability and security, 79 per cent Canadians provided a favourable rating."

'Well regulated' does not mean 'more regulated.' Often times it means the opposite. Literally nothing in your link says they're more heavily regulated than America's banks or Europe's banks.

Nothing. You just throw links out there assuming we won't read them and will take your word for it.

[Irish]

Then there's this:

"The Rule, in its draft version, was so broad that it captured domestic operations of Canadian-based banks with U.S. operations as well as other foreign banks that have U.S. subsidiaries, and would restrict Canadian banks from undertaking activities in Canada that are permitted by the Canadian government."

So your own link explicitly states that there are types of investments no longer allowed in America that are still allowed in Canada.

Yet you supposedly read that and came to the conclusion that Canadian banks are more heavily regulated, despite the fact that, at least in one way, your link says they're less heavily regulated.

You're bad at reading.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Very hard to compare the two systems but having worked in the industry for 10 years it was common knowledge we have a more regulated banking system.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Canadian banks are known for their safety and regulations, you idiot. They brag about the many safeguards they follow.

Well-regulated, well-managed Canadian banks overshadow freewheeling U.S colleagues

http://www.winnipegfreepress.c.....27872.html

[Cytotoxic]

"If a press outlet puts it in their lead it must be true!" -area dipshit

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Canada's banking system is indeed stable. It's probably something we do best. But, it's not as competitive (the 'Big Six' pretty much have the same mandates - a gray/grey scenario) thus limiting choice for consumers.

You ain't gonna see a Canadian bank give a mortgage to deadbeats that's for sure.

[Cytotoxic]

You're right about the lack of competition caused by an explicit government law that limits Canadian banking to an oligopoly. The US banking sector is still littered with more regulation.

[Somalian Road Corporation]

Nothing. You just throw links out there assuming we won't read them and will take your word for it.

That's pretty much been his MO since, oh, forever.

[The Other Kevin]

I must be missing something regarding the deflated ball scandal. Why would that give an advantage to one team? Unless they had "other team's ball" written in Sharpie on the 12th ball.

[John]

It was a wet day. A deflated ball has more give and is easier to grip and thus easier to throw and to catch.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I wonder if the rain had anything to do with it.

Rain and leather don't mix well.

Like Sonny and Cher.

[Pro Libertate]

What? Sonny and Cher were great together!

[Rufus J. Firefly]

THEY BROKE UP!

[Pro Libertate]

Yet the show continued post divorce. It's all about the show. And the band.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Fine.

Not Sonny and Cher.

[Pro Libertate]

Maybe Donnie and Marie?

[The Other Kevin]

Ok, but wouldn't that make it easier for both teams to throw and catch?

[Hey Nikki!]

You use your own ball on offense.

[John]

Yes. You always have to bring your own balls if you want to play any offense.

[Palin's Buttplug]

So logically you would inflate one ball to the max to use on field goal attempts.

Why this hasn't come up before is baffling.

[John]

Which is why 11 of 12 balls were under inflated. And it hasn't come up before because no one has ever been Bush league enough to try it.

[CE]

Or the Pats have been doing it all along, and only now got caught. Tom Brady has a reputation of being a good cold weather quarterback (unlike say, Peyton Manning). Makes you wonder...

[John]

But any player who picked up the ball would notice it. They were going to get caught the first time Brady threw an interception. It was the dumbest scheme ever.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

The first person who grabbed those balls should have known something funny was going on.

[Hey Nikki!]

That is what I could not understand about it, John.

[Pro Libertate]

I like this idea that the Patriots only cheated in this one specific manner in which they were caught. All else was pure.

Some other past incidents have been brought up which aren't the same at all, like the one where Brad Johnson had the balls scuffed. . .after asking Rich Gannon if he wanted his done, too. Not quite the same.

[Mickey Rat]

They use a different type of ball for kicking. The twelve balls they were underinflated were all NE offense balls.

[The Other Kevin]

Thanks, I was not aware of that. What the hell are they thinking? It would be like allowing a pitcher to bring his own baseball.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

As for me, I don't let anyone else handle my balls.

[Enough About Palin]

How lonely you must be.

[Hey Nikki!]

Yeah. Of course, they are supposed to be inspected, but obviously something went wrong there.

[Migrant Log Picker]

Each team has their own dozen footballs.The league provides 6 or 8 for kicking.

[John]

The unusually sharp exchange, between a senior senator and a president from his own party, occurred during a Senate Democratic retreat at a hotel in Baltimore. A senior administration official also confirmed details of the exchange, which was first reported by the New York Times.

Obama said that as a former senator himself, he understood how outside forces ? like special interests and donors ? can influence senators to act, one of the senators recounted.

That's when Menendez stood up to challenge the President, telling Obama he took "personal offense" to his assertions, the New York Times reported, arguing that he has worked to curb Iran's nuclear ambitions for many years and was not motivated by political considerations.

http://hotair.com/archives/201.....democrats/

So does Mendendez decide the various Obama scandals are not so fake or does the media suddenly discover those allegations about Menendez and under age hookers might be true?

[Illocust]

I'm thinking Mendendez gets thrown under the bus. Obama's popular with the media again since he threw out all that red meat at the SOTU.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

SOTUA garnered lowest ratings in 15 years with 31.7. In his first speech he had 52 million.

http://money.cnn.com/2015/01/2.....t-ratings/

Tuning out, eh?

[BiMonSciFiCon]

I'm shocked it's that high. Who could sit through that garbage, other than those paid to livetweet it?

[Cytotoxic]

Venezuela's government is 'considering' cuts to its ridiculous gasoline subsidies and a necessary devaluation carried out in the most convoluted way possible of course. Observers call it insufficient.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/.....ought.html

[Pro Libertate]

I suggest a five-year plan, in which they let free markets run amok. At the end of the five years, they can return to communism. . .assuming the people don't like the wealth.

[Capo]

On the police dog...not to be the cynic. But the original article has them going on and on about how much they loved the dog and it was family and all that.

But then they turn around and send the dog into the building with no backup to face off with an armed suspect. Yeah, lots of love there.

Then they used the fact that he killed the dog as justification for killing him.

[Stormy Dragon]

As car engines have gotten more efficient, they've also gotten much quieter (which makes sense: engine noise is energy being wasted on vibrating the engine rather than pushing the car forward). The problem is that the cosumers tend to perceive quiet cars as less powerful, even when they aren't. This has led to many manufacturers going to increasingly ridiculous lengths to make their sports cars and trucks to artificially produce larger engine sounds:

America's best-selling cars and trucks are built on lies: The rise of fake engine noise

Ford has finally taken this to the logical conclusion: the 2015 Mustang is just going to play pre recorded vroom vroom noises through the car's speaker system.

[John]

Porsche started feeding engine noise into the cabin of the 911 a few years ago.

Efficiency isn't the only attractive quality in an engine. An loud engine that vibrates a bit makes the car feel more alive and makes the driving experience better for people who like that sort of thing.

[Cytotoxic]

But that's just silly.

[John]

No it is not. Driving a car that is more mechanical and less electronic is a different driving experience than one that is more electronic. There is nothing silly about preferring that experience.

There is more to cars than efficiency and practicality.

[Bobarian (hyphenated-american)]

I can tell you, I have a turbo-charged Cobalt SS, which is a quiet, but very fast car. The lack of engine noise is gonna get me arrested for felony speeding one day.

I often catch myself going 40+ over the speed limit on some of the back-roads into work.

But piping fake sounds into the cabin is still utter bull-shit.

Ford does it because their ecotec motors sound like the small V6s they are, even though the run like big V8s.

[Stormy Dragon]

John also thinks the "rich Corinthian leather" in his Chrysler LeBaron is way more luxurious than the vinyl in your car.

[John]

No Stormy I don't, though that was a funny shot.

There is a huge difference in how cars even from 12 or 15 years ago drive and feel compared to now. Go back further and the gap becomes epic.

I like to drive. A new car almost drives itself. An older car is more fun. The noise and the feel of an engine and of a steering system that is mechanical and gives direct feedback and takes attention to use, is a lot of fun.

[Cytotoxic]

Your last paragraph is all composed of correctly spelt words in proper grammatical order but it still makes no sense.

[John]

I can't make you understand the words. I can just type them. There is nothing about that paragraph that is either unreasonable or not obviously true. Maybe you are 14 and have no idea that cars have changed. I don't know. Maybe you have never driven a car. If you have, however, you would perfectly understand what I am talking about. Old cars are kind of a big deal. And driving is kind of a big deal.

[Cytotoxic]

It's the "I enjoy driving" and "older/any cars are fun" and "I like how the engine/whatever feel" that I cannot grasp. It's a machine to get you from point A to B. Driving is never fun it's dangerous. Every moment is flirting with death. Ideally the damn thing would drive itself.

[waffles]

Every moment is flirting with death. Ideally the damn thing would drive itself.

You're deranged. Driving is a joy. Old cars are fun. It's okay. There's transportation for people like you too.

[Enough About Palin]

^^THIS^^

I drive a 1994 F-150 4x4*. I wouldn't drive anything else.

*with only 66,000 miles.

[Cytotoxic]

"Driving is a joy. Old cars are fun."

*Blinks* Do you also enjoy working? Cause that's what driving is: work.

[GILMORE]

"Driving is a joy. Old cars are fun."

*Blinks* Do you also enjoy working? Cause that's what driving is: work."

We already knew you were insane from your opinion of JJ Abrams and Star Trek.

You don't need to keep hammering the point.

[Cytotoxic]

So you blame me for not having fun while doing something that is not fun (driving) AND blame me for having fun enjoying a fun movie (Abrams Trek). Very consistent. Consistently wrong.

[Mad Scientist]

Cyto, we don't care if you don't enjoy driving. Why do you care if we do?

[Cytotoxic]

STOP LIKING THINGS I DON'T LIKE

Okay maybe I need a hobby.

[Mad Scientist]

Likewise, I can't imagine why anyone would want to live in Canada. It's cold there, and the only things to do are dangerous things like ice fishing or curling.

[John Titor]

You forgot incest and polar bear wrastlin'.

[Libertarian]

That's a complete myth. They do NOT wrestle bears.

[Cytotoxic]

Hey! We make EXCELLENT wine! And igloos!

[John]

t's the "I enjoy driving" and "older/any cars are fun" and "I like how the engine/whatever feel" that I cannot grasp. It's a machine to get you from point A to B. Driving is never fun it's dangerous. Every moment is flirting with death. Ideally the damn thing would drive itself.

I am sorry you were apparently born with no balls. And saying a car is strictly to get you from point A to point B is like saying there is no point in going to a fine restaurant because the only purpose of food is to keep you alive.

What you are saying is absurd.

[Irish]

"It's the "I enjoy driving" and "older/any cars are fun" and "I like how the engine/whatever feel" that I cannot grasp. It's a machine to get you from point A to B. Driving is never fun it's dangerous. Every moment is flirting with death. Ideally the damn thing would drive itself."

Wow. This is one of the most autistic things I've ever read.

"Guys, what is fun? Machine is for practical purposes. When machine is fun, Cytotoxic's logic circuits begin to spark and fizzle. Cytotoxic does not appreciate this uncertainty."

[Cytotoxic]

Okay I laughed. A lot. But I honestly find driving harrowing here in Alberta. Driving in snow is just terrifying. Further, I cannot eat a car.

[John Titor]

You can totally eat a car.

[Sevo]

"Driving in snow is just terrifying."

I'm late to the party, but you're not doing it right.
Find an empty parking lot and spend some time with the car sideways. Pretty soon, you'll find the way the car is pointed is irrelevant so long as you know where you want to go.

[Cyto]

But I honestly find driving harrowing here in Alberta. Driving in snow is just terrifying

You need a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution.

It is a little econobox 4 door with a metric ton of performance on tap. In addition to a ridiculous amount of power for the money, they have all wheel drive with "snow mode". Yes, they have a traction control mode meant specifically for driving on the edge in the snow. Perfect for the 9 months out of the year you arctic circle types spend buried in the snow.

Goes fast as stink, doesn't cost too much and corners hard enough to bruise your ribs. If you can't have fun with one of those, you are just a lost cause. Plus it doesn't look too terribly much like a sports car, so you can still pretend to be a curmudgeon who is driving his mother's sedan.

[Cyto]

But I honestly find driving harrowing here in Alberta. Driving in snow is just terrifying

You need a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution.

It is a little econobox 4 door with a metric ton of performance on tap. In addition to a ridiculous amount of power for the money, they have all wheel drive with "snow mode". Yes, they have a traction control mode meant specifically for driving on the edge in the snow. Perfect for the 9 months out of the year you arctic circle types spend buried in the snow.

Goes fast as stink, doesn't cost too much and corners hard enough to bruise your ribs. If you can't have fun with one of those, you are just a lost cause. Plus it doesn't look too terribly much like a sports car, so you can still pretend to be a curmudgeon who is driving his mother's sedan.

[Homple]

"...I cannot grasp."

Doesn't stop you banging on about it, however.

[Mickey Rat]

Geeky fetish of the gearhead variety.

[Stormy Dragon]

The 310hp 4 cylinder engine in a 2015 Mustang is more powerful and the 300hp V8 in a 1995 Mustang Cobra R. It just doesn't sound like a V8.

The fact that the "feel" can be recreated merely by playing the V8 sounds without putting the actual V8 engine in the car pretty conclusively shows that the "feel" differences are entirely in the driver's head. It's the gearhead version of audiophiles buying ten thousand dollar cables that can be easiy shown to have no actual objective effect on the sound they play.

[Mad Scientist]

The "feel" of the IL4 with sound effects is completely different from the "feel" of an actual V8. Is this really something that has to be explained?

[John]

The fact that the "feel" can be recreated merely by playing the V8 sounds without putting the actual V8 engine in the car

It can't be recreated. A 2015 Mustang drives and feels nothing like a 1995 one. It just doesn't. That doesn't mean it is a worse car. Better or worse is a matter of opinion. But it is most certainly different.

[waffles]

Better or worse is a matter of opinion

Well maybe preference. But the performance of the 2015 car is going to make the 1995 stang look stupid.

[jesse.in.mb]

Jonathan Berger, professor of music at Stanford, was on a panel with me at a meeting of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in Mountain View, CA on Saturday. Berger's presentation had a slide titled: "Live, Memorex or MP3." He mentioned that Thomas Edison promoted his phonograph by demonstrating that a person could not tell whether behind a curtain was an opera singer or one of Edison's cylinders playing a recording of the singer. More recently, the famous Memorex ad challenged us to determine whether it was a live performance of Ella Fitzgerald or a recorded one.

That preference is as much an artifact of your expectations and when you learned how to drive as it is anything else.

[waffles]

It's true. But I really hate the high pitched whining dynamo sound of my 2.0 liter boxer engine compared to the I-6 I used to own.

[John]

Jesse,

There is more to driving than sound. It is not memorex versus live.

[jesse.in.mb]

I wasn't trying to make a point just about the sound of the car. Preferences are at least partially culture-bound.

[The Last American Hero]

+1 Red Barchetta

[Mad Scientist]

Seriously?

[Pro Libertate]

It's soft Corinthian leather. Jesus, I hate it when people misquote Montalb?n commercials.

[Stormy Dragon]

Sorry, it's hard to remember exactly. It's not like it's as iconic as when Montalb?n said "No, I AM your father" in Battlestar Galactica, after all.

[Pro Libertate]

You need a Jedi mind-meld, my friend.

[Whahappan?]

I thought it was fine Corinthian leather.

[Ted S.]

Wait until the silent ICEs start killing kids playing in the streets who can't hear the oncoming traffic.

[John]

If "what about the children" gets golf carts banned from the road, I might have to reconsider my low opinion of that justification.

[waffles]

They'll just have to make this noise

[Carl ?s the level]

A commenter on Marginal Revolution said that the Leaf has external speakers that make it noisier when it is travelling at low speeds for that reason (well, for pedestrians in general, not just kids).

[Root Boy]

Hadn't heard that, but I remember their were fears the Prius would be a death machine to pedestrians (and ped deaths have gone up recently...)

Don't forget the Japs spent a ton of money and R&D trying to replicate the Harley sound.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

"revelations that that 11 of 12 balls used by his team in the last game were deflated in a way that makes them easier to hold."

Huh huh huh, holding their balls, huh huh huh.

Huh huh huh, huh huh.

Huh huh huh.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Huh huh, they needed bigger balls, huh huh.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Huh huh huh, huh huh

Huh huh huh, huh huh.

Huh huh huh, huh huh.

Huh huh huh, huh huh.

Huh huh huh, huh huh.

Balls.

Huh huh huh, huh huh.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Huh huh, they should *teste* the balls before using them, huh huh.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Balls, huh huh.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Belichick said he only learned of it in the news on Monday.

Hm. Sounds like someone we know, no?

Of course, he gets to use that excuse. Belichick no.

[Root Boy]

Paging Rufus.

Oh Canada! First pic, she looks game for something.

Miss Universe Costumes

[Rufus J. Firefly]

No kidding. I'd stick it to her.

[Root Boy]

I have to look at her non-cosplay picture, but I'm digging the boots.

[GILMORE]

Argentina = Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner Rejects Conspiracy Theories Surrounding Prosecutor Death: Instead Rambles Insanely on Facebook

Because nothing says "the government had nothing to do with this man's death" like a batshit crazy president insisting on facebook that everyone's out to get her.

[SugarFree]

Khmer Rouge Survivor Says Guards Drank Wine Mixed With Human Organs, but it will totes different this time around, sez Gawker Media.

[Cytotoxic]

Ew I just hope it was ice wine or something else that was gross in the first place.

[Free Society]

"There is a very close bond between a K-9 and the deputy that he's assigned to," Manning said. "It's more than property or a tool. It's a heartfelt bond between the dog and the handler."

Except when it's a non-cop. Non-cops are being a done a favor when a cop isn't shooting their dog.

[The Late P Brooks]

asked about revelations that that 11 of 12 balls used by his team in the last game were deflated in a way that makes them easier to hold.

Absent active participation by ref(s), how does this not get picked up on?

Part of the baseball umpire's job, I believe, is to monitor the condition of the ball. How can the ref spotting the ball at the line of scrimmage never detect a meaningful difference between balls?

[waffles]

Perhaps there really wasn't a meaningful difference between the balls.

[Rasilio]

It would actually be pretty hard to notice the difference between 13 PSI and 10 PSI just by holding the ball.

Enough to make a difference to a QB where his grip is everything to him but pretty much no one else would really notice it.

[Hey Nikki!]

It was noticed and reported on the field.

[Jerms]

It was noticed by the Colts equipment guy after an interception.

[Rasilio]

Actually it wasn't. The guy who intercepted it has come out and said that story is totally false he didn't notice anything unusual and never said anything to the refs

[John]

http://news.yahoo.com/obama-ab.....nance.html

Under the proposal floated by a Presidential review panel, telephone call "metadata" generated inside the United States, which NSA began collecting in bulk after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, could instead be collected and retained by an unspecified private third party.

The Obama administration has decided, however, that the option of having a private third party collect and retain the telephone metadata is unworkable for both legal and practical reasons.

Gee you think?

[Whahappan?]

Yeah, a private company might actually insist on a warrant before giving access to data.

[The Late P Brooks]

engine noise is energy being wasted on vibrating the engine rather than pushing the car forward

BZZZZZZZT. False.

[Doghouse Riley Jr.]

Encouraging headline, discouraging details: GA lawmakers considering restricting no-knock warrants.

A bill introduced this month with bipartisan sponsors requires that "no-knock" warrants be carried out between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. unless a judge specifically OKs an overnight search. It also requires more oversight and written training policies within police agencies.
Republican Rep. Kevin Tanner, a former sheriff's deputy who worked in law enforcement for 18 years, said he already was discussing limits on the warrants when the toddler's case became national news. Under his bill, law enforcement agencies also would have to report their warrants to the state. Tanner said that will indicate whether the tactic is being overused as opponents have argued.
"The attention always is drawn to the bad situations, but we have hundreds of search warrants conducted in Georgia and there's never a problem with them," Tanner said. "We're just trying to tighten the process and put some speed bumps in the pathway."

[The Late P Brooks]

Perhaps there really wasn't a meaningful difference between the balls.

I find this answer acceptable.

The Colts just sucked.

Period

The End.

[Mickey Rat]

All of the balls provided by the Patriots were below spec after they had been tested before the game, none of the balls provided the Colts were.

Cheating is still cheating even if it turns out you did not need to cheat to win.

[GILMORE]

ISIS = Plans to Make Mosul into "Boston on The Euphrates" = Big Dig Project Underway

""Under Islamic State's tender document, a trench two meters in depth and two meters in width needs to be dug around Mosul," said a source in the city close to the tendering process.

The winning contractor will be paid the equivalent of $4,000 for each kilometer of trench, the source said.

The tender demonstrates Islamic State's determination to defend the city that it conquered in June, as the extremists grabbed a large area of territory from Baghdad. Rich in Muslim history, Mosul stands at the center of the group's aim to carve out a modern caliphate from large parts of Syria and Iraq.

Interviews with 11 Mosul residents, several of whom fled this month, reveal how Islamic State has created a police state strong enough to weather severe popular discontent and military setbacks, including the deaths of senior leaders.

Along with the planned trench, the militants have sealed Mosul's western entrance with giant cement walls. "

[Pro Libertate]

I didn't know that Boston was so enviable that countries would want to replicate it.

[Somalian Road Corporation]

I haven't been to the East Coast in years. Did the Big Dig actually turn out to be "worth the wait"?

[GILMORE]

I still drive around Boston instead of through it.

I believe the dig allowed traffic to directly access the city center via the ginormous tunnel. This presumes people really want to get to the center of Boston.

I went through it once. It was a big hole.

Have i mentioned that Boston is full of 'holes? It really is.

[waffles]

What's north of Boston? Maine? No thanks.

[Pro Libertate]

Quebec?

[GILMORE]

"What's north of Boston? Maine? No thanks."

uh, actually...Yes.

i have spent a lot of summers eating lobster and sailing in bar harbor. because its the shit

[wadair]

Worth the wait, maybe. Not worth the eventual price tag, I don't think. The park that they built on top of the highway is cool.

[Enough About Palin]

ISIS is hoping to host the 2030 Olympics.

[Cytotoxic]

And ISIS's downfall begins.

[John]

Under Islamic State's tender document, a trench two meters in depth and two meters in width needs to be dug around Mosul," said a source in the city close to the tendering process.

If they were not so deadly, they would be comical. We need to send a couple of divisions over and murder every single one of them if for no other reason than to raise the world's collective IQ

[SugarFree]

You won't be laughing when they fill the ditch with water and then add alligators. There's even talk of portcullis.

[Bobarian (hyphenated-american)]

Isn't Mosul already in enough trouble?

[The Late P Brooks]

I really hate the high pitched whining dynamo sound of my 2.0 liter boxer engine compared to the I-6 I used to own.

The inline six is a great engine design. I want an old BMW 630, largely for the excellent howly six.

[The Late P Brooks]

Driving is never fun it's dangerous.

*outright prolonged laughter*

Pathetic hysterical weenie is pathetic.

[Cytotoxic]

Why does everyone here consider work fun?

[Heroic Mulatto]

I'm not a gearhead myself, but I would assume its part of the enjoyment that anyone feels after mastering a skill.

[Cytotoxic]

They're not talking about 'gearing' the car. They actually think driving itself is pleasurable.

[Mad Scientist]

Just out of curiosity, what kind of car do you drive?

[Cytotoxic]

I don't drive a car right now. Saves money. The last car I drove was a front-wheel drive 4 door car that was pretty much this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suzuki_Aerio

[GILMORE]

Do you also consider "Skiing" nothing but extended exercise in 'crash aversion'?

[Cytotoxic]

You might have me there. That being said, I used to enjoy skiing more. I'm getting old and now it seems really tiring and increasingly scary.

[Whahappan?]

Aren't you in your 20's? I'm 46 and I still enjoy skiing as much as ever. In fact I spent the MLK weekend skiing for 3 straight days. With a cold. God, you're lame.

[The Late P Brooks]

It was noticed and reported on the field.

Why didn't the ref call for a fresh ball, then? It's not like the frenetic pace of American football does not leave a few seconds for a ball swap.

[Mickey Rat]

All of the Patriots offensive balls were under spec. Calling for a new ball would do nothing.

[Jerms]

I got a theory that the ref never actually checked all the balls before the game. One was fully inflated-- thats the one Brady stuck on top in the ball bag hoping the ref wouldnt bother actually checking every ball, and the ref is lying to cover his ass. What you guys think?

[Wasteland Wanderer]

It takes maybe five seconds to deflate a ball. There wouldn't be any need to run a risk like that; you could just deflate the balls when you get them back after inspection.

[Jerms]

But that might be on tape, and the guy handling the balls would be in on it and a loose end. It would explain 1 ball still fully inflated.

[Jerms]

And brady said in his presser that he gives the balls in to ref before the game exactly like ha likes them. He might just be telling the truth with a lttle deception thrown in.

[Rasilio]

You don't need to run the risk of getting caught deflating them.

Just HEAT THEM UP right before you hand them over to the ref.

Seriously stick them in the teams Sauna (a nice dry heat) and warm them up to about 100 - 110 degrees.

That will raise the air pressure inside the ball by somewhere between 1.5 and 2 PSI.

Take them straight from the Sauna to the Refs and the balls pass inspection and then when they cool back down to the outside air temperature they'll be back down to the ~11 PSI they measured at.

[lap83]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/...../22148205/

House passes bill to ban federal funding of abortions.
Cue cries of evil Republicans wanting to take away a woman's right to choose.
Because choice=forcing others to pay for what you want.

[waffles]

You are such a traitor to my gender.

[Whahappan?]

Cat fight!

[Ken Shultz]

I'm not saying that if I should have to pay for their abortions that they should have to reimburse my folks for gas money on their way to and from church, but I am saying that if both of those things are unconstitutional, they're unconstitutional for the same reason.

Also, I've been out of the hospital business for a while now, but I think this is a bigger deal than a lot of people realize. Back in the day, you couldn't anesthetize a woman of child bearing years without giving her a pregnancy test first, and if you test positive, they used to...kill two birds with one stone if you know what I mean.

I think it has something to do with the physical health of the mother. Hell, I have moral problems with abortion (although I think it should be legal), but even my moral argument breaks down when it involves the health of the mother. And I can't imagine how a pregnancy that prevents a woman from having a surgery she would have had otherwise couldn't involve the health of the mother.

Maybe the answer isn't to prohibit taxpayer funds for abortions. Maybe the answer is to get the government out of the healthcare business. Everybody that wants to willingly chip in for free healthcare for other people should be free to do so.

[Ken Shultz]

"I can't imagine how a pregnancy that prevents a woman from having a surgery she would have had otherwise couldn't involve the health of the mother."

The first time a woman on medicaid dies because she couldn't pay for the abortion, and the anesthesia for her life saving heart surgery would have killed the fetus, the progressives are gonna jump on that and hump it like there ain't never gonna be anything else to hump again tomorrow.

[Paul.]

BlackBerry CEO John Chen, however, thinks this is unfair. In fact, he thinks it is so "discriminatory" that he wants legislators to widen the definition of net neutrality to include "application neutrality."

Proof that Net Neutrality would never have unintended consequences.

[Pro Libertate]

As I've long urged, we need an amendment to the Constitution that separates commerce and state.