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Baltimore Cops Make Their Case to Prosecutor, Surveillance Restrictions Pass House Committee, Lois Lerner's Emails Retrieved: P.M. Links

J.D. Tuccille | 4.30.2015 4:30 PM

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  • Russell Watkins/Department for International Development

    Baltimore police handed a prosecutor the results of their own investigation into the death of Freddie Gray while he was in their custody. I think we're all in for a nickel ride.

  • The USA Freedom Act, a somewhat watered-down effort to rein-in domestic surveillance conducted under the Patriot Act, passed the House Judiciary Committee on its way to an uncertain fate.
  • Lois Lerner's long-sought emails are not so lost after all. The Treasury Department's Inspector General for Tax Administration recovered thousands of them. Maybe the IRS should have contracted with Hillary for storage.
  • And speaking of the presidential wannabe… Past and potential Clinton donors are getting cold feet about opening their checkbooks because of very public revelations of financial shenanigans.
  • In other tax news, the IRS won't tell people in whose names fraudulent returns were filed exactly what info the scam artists stole. It's concerned about privacy, you see…
  • In Pakistan, ten militants were convicted and imprisoned for the attempted assassination of teenager Malala Yousafzai, who was targeted for advocating that girls should be taught how to read and other dangerous stuff.

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NEXT: Watch "Tech Elders" John Perry Barlow, Mark Cuban, George Gilder et al Celebrate the Day the Internet Got Great

J.D. Tuccille is a contributing editor at Reason.

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  1. Fist of Etiquette   10 years ago

    Maybe the IRS should have contracted with Hillary for storage.

    She's too quick to delete.

    1. Rufus J. Firefly   10 years ago

      Hello.

      My work is done here. So you better entertain me well.

      1. UnCivilServant   10 years ago

        *Hands Rufus a book.*

        1. Rufus J. Firefly   10 years ago

          'Tips on Turnips'?

          No thanks.

          1. UnCivilServant   10 years ago

            No? Then how about This one?

            1. Rufus J. Firefly   10 years ago

              Is that your book?

              Fine.

              Sigh.

              /pulls out Amazon credit card.

              1. UnCivilServant   10 years ago

                You asked to be entertained, people seem to find it entertaining....

                1. Rufus J. Firefly   10 years ago

                  Done.

                  1. UnCivilServant   10 years ago

                    I hope you enjoy it.

      2. Slammer   10 years ago

        Here.

        1. Rufus J. Firefly   10 years ago

          Where's the part where they fuck?

        2. Pl?ya Manhattan.   10 years ago

          The headline for that when it happened was hilarious.

          "Black llama in police custody, white llama still at large"

        3. Entropy Void   10 years ago

          I laughed.

    2. lomerqaleona   10 years ago

      Start making cash right now... Get more time with your family by doing jobs that only require for you to have a computer and an internet access and you can have that at your home. Start bringing up to $8012 a month. I've started this job and I've never been happier and now I am sharing it with you, so you can try it too. You can check it out here... http://www.work-cash.com

  2. Injun, as in from India   10 years ago

    The USA Freedom Act, a somewhat watered-down effort to rein-in domestic surveillance conducted under the Patriot Act, passed the House Judiciary Committee on its way to an uncertain fate.

    Lots of best friends Al Qaeda has!

    1. Scruffy Nerfherder   10 years ago

      Who let Yoda post on here? Are we letting anybody join now?

  3. Fist of Etiquette   10 years ago

    Past and potential Clinton donors are getting cold feet about opening their checkbooks because of very public revelations of financial shenanigans.

    Pay to play isn't as much fun as it used to be.

    1. Grand Moff Serious Man   10 years ago

      It's fine to be a stooge but nobody wants everyone to know they're being a stooge.

    2. Pl?ya Manhattan.   10 years ago

      Take money from anyone and everyone. Only give it back when you get caught.

      Clinton 101.

      1. Injun, as in from India   10 years ago

        Only give it back when you get caught.

        That depends on what the meaning of "caught" is.

      2. Medical Physics Guy   10 years ago

        I thought the quote Sean Davis was playing up, the director of the Clinton Global Initiative saying it was a commercial and not a charitable endeavor, was really striking. One would think that such a quote could put the tax status of the CGI in real trouble. With a less partisan IRS at least. Or maybe a quote like that is not actionable.

      3. Jerry on the sea   10 years ago

        So let's see who else tried to get acquire yellowcake from Niger. Well, the Chinese government for one:

        North of the border, however, a single operation has emerged as the main link between China and Niger's stocks of another critical energy source ? uranium. Trendfield is registered in the British Virgin Islands and based in Hong Kong but the hub of its business to date has been Niger, where it maintains an office on a quiet, sandy road.
        The consultancy was instrumental in helping state-owned China National Nuclear Corporation secure in 2006 the permit for what is to be its biggest uranium mine in Africa ? a deal sealed with a $300m signature bonus. It is run by Guy Duport, a Frenchman with an education from Liverpool and a mining background. The company has ties to Chinese and Canadian businessmen.

        So where are these businessmen now? Well they are now running West African Iron Ore. And who is West African Iron Ore's major investor? Well, none other than Frank Giustra.

        Ah yes, the people one keeps company with...

  4. Injun, as in from India   10 years ago

    In Pakistan, ten militants were convicted and imprisoned for the attempted assassination of teenager Malala Yousafzai, who was targeted for advocating that girls should be taught how to read and other dangerous stuff.

    Meanwhile, the LeT plotter of the 2008 Mumbai attacks was let out.

    Islamic nut caress along with an Islamic nut punch.

    1. LynchPin1477   10 years ago

      nut caress

      That's not allowed in Islam.

      1. Injun, as in from India   10 years ago

        Do you have a fatwa to prove that?

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

        The rams seem to like it.

        1. Free Society   10 years ago

          zing

  5. Pl?ya Manhattan.   10 years ago

    One of my buddies from high school is having trouble with a local union.

    He's far classier than I.

    1. Mad Scientist   10 years ago

      Your buddy is my new hero.

      1. Pl?ya Manhattan.   10 years ago

        You must be a nice guy too.

        If I saw my name on a banner like that, everyone involved would pay dearly.

    2. Matrix   10 years ago

      libel? slander?

    3. Carl ?s the level   10 years ago

      related

    4. Injun, as in from India   10 years ago

      AWESOME. Made my evening.

    5. Viscount Irish, Slayer of Huns   10 years ago

      https://www.unionfacts.com/lu/28894/CJA/1506/

      ^ Here's the address of the carpenter's union who is doing this.

      Now, if I were a rich, vindictive man, I might consider hiring some illegal aliens to stand outside their building with signs decrying the fact that the Carpenter's Union pays unfair wages to the people they pay to hold their signs.

      1. kinnath   10 years ago

        Kickstarter? I'll kick in a few bucks.

    6. Libertymike   10 years ago

      Don't you love his solution? Not only classy, but smart.

      Of course, as he noted, he could have retained a big legal gun from within our ranks, like R C Dean, John, or BIG BO CARA!

      1. Sudden   10 years ago

        Or he could've hired a violent goon from among our ranks to enforce his will with an iron fist. I.e. dunphy!

        1. Lady Bertrum   10 years ago

          ^ I love to but have other commitments at the moment.

    7. Ted S.   10 years ago

      Take out ads publicly naming the head of the local saying that they're using non-union laborers.

    8. HeteroPatriarch   10 years ago

      Holy shit. He started a company in California? He must have the patience of a saint.

      1. Los Doyers   10 years ago

        We have ample reserves of patience, since we don't have to wait for mounds of snow to melt to go outside.

    9. Catatafish   10 years ago

      That's incredible.

      1. C. Anacreon   10 years ago

        That's incredible.

        Who are you, John Davidson?

  6. Fist of Etiquette   10 years ago

    Baltimore police handed a prosecutor the results of their own investigation into the death of Freddie Gray while he was in their custody.

    Toxicology report didn't show it, but they're sure he was high on PCP.

    1. Xeones   10 years ago

      No way, dude, it was flakka.

    2. Injun, as in from India   10 years ago

      Every cop is entitled to his own toxicology report.

  7. Injun, as in from India   10 years ago

    By the beard of the prophet!

    Frankfurt Prosecutor: Couple Arrested on Suspicion of Plotting 'Criminal Act'

    1. Scruffy Nerfherder   10 years ago

      Did they freeze their assets and make pariahs of them? Because if not, Germany still better than the USA.

  8. Fist of Etiquette   10 years ago

    The USA Freedom Act, a somewhat watered-down effort to rein-in domestic surveillance conducted under the Patriot Act, passed the House Judiciary Committee...

    They can pass our lives, but they can never pass... OUR FREEDOM ACT!

  9. Injun, as in from India   10 years ago

    In other tax news, the IRS won't tell people in whose names fraudulent returns were filed exactly what info the scam artists stole. It's concerned about privacy, you see...

    So criminals and the government know all about us?

    I'm starting to see things better now.

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

      "Those items "could be used for the building of a bomb," Schreiber added, saying the couple also had several "conservative religious texts" in their apartment."

      I think the term you're looking for is "radical," not "conservative."

      1. Injun, as in from India   10 years ago

        ^THIS.

        I noticed it too. But according to the fair-and-balanced leftist media, conservative Hindu = conservative Christian = conservative Muslim = conservative Teabagger.

        Conservative = Radical OMG!

      2. Pan Zagloba   10 years ago

        No, what they meant was, there was Burke, and Chesterton, and Thatcher's memoirs...

        Clearly these were Euro-teabaggers, about to shoot up some helpless minorities and/or gays.

    2. Sudden   10 years ago

      So criminals and the government know all about us?

      Please stop repeating yourself.

      1. Farm to Toilet   10 years ago

        Damn you!

    3. Farm to Toilet   10 years ago

      "criminals and the government"

      But you repeat yourself.

  10. Medical Physics Guy   10 years ago

    I have a question for the car enthusiasts here. My 6 year old son (and car maniac) and I just happened on a page for Underground Racing where apparently you can add another 500+ horsepower to your supercar and get it well above Veyron hp, principally by adding twin turbochargers. Can this really be done? If so why don't Lamborghini, Audi etc. do it in the first place? They say the cars are still street legal.

    Incidentally it is not necessarily the best idea to show a 6 year old boy drag race videos just before bedtime. But I find myself doing it a lot anyway.

    1. Pl?ya Manhattan.   10 years ago

      Link? I'm trying to picture what you're describing. And then Mad Scientist can tell you it's not possible.

      1. Medical Physics Guy   10 years ago

        One example: http://undergroundracing.com/l.....lardo.html

        1. Mad Scientist   10 years ago

          I have some friends who do R&D for Audi, which also owns Bugatti. They tell me when the Veyron is dialed up to 1000 ponies, it will shred a set of brand new tires in under 100 miles. But you don't need to worry about that too much since you'll run out of gas in about 25....

    2. Mad Scientist   10 years ago

      You can add all kinds of power by cramming more air down the throat of the engine. HOWEVER....you'll have to start running very expensive fuel to avoid detonation, (or you'll have to turn the boost down so low that you won't be adding anywhere near 500 horses). The engine will run much hotter. MUCH hotter, and you'll be out of cooling capacity if you're using it for anything longer than a sprint down the highway's entrance ramp. The crank bearings in the block were not build for those kinds of loads, and neither was the block itself. You can expect severe reliability problems with most engines if you boost the hell out of it. Your stock fuel injection system will not be able to pump enough fuel to make that horsepower without replacing all injectors and, very likely, the fuel pumps as well with higher capacity units that cost quite a bit more. Your transmission wasn't built to handle that much torque. Neither was your driveshaft. Neither was your differential....

      You see where this is going. Every other part of the car has to be upgraded to be more robust to handle the power, making the car both more expensive and heavier. Most sports cars value handling more than outright straight line speed, so a mere 600 horses in a Ferrari is plenty if the car is also nimble.

      1. Medical Physics Guy   10 years ago

        So the moral of the story is, the experts at Ferrari know what they are doing. I did notice that the Underground Racing specs say the last 500hp or so is only available using racing fuel. Still, good for father son fantasies. Thanks.

      2. Ted S.   10 years ago

        HOWEVER....you'll have to start running very expensive fuel to avoid detonation,

        I had to stop laughing before I could read the rest of your comment.

        1. Mad Scientist   10 years ago

          His question was specifically about making absurd horsepower. Not just turning up the boost by half a pound.

    3. seguin   10 years ago

      You can...but unless I see a dyno sheet I wouldn't take their word for it. For another thing, forced induction can push a lot of air into something, but it doesn't mean it can withstand it for very long.

      My brother has built short and long block LSXs that are now pulling 1k+ HP, but they have to have the bottom end upgraded completely (H-beam forged rods, Eagle cranks, etc) - and I don't know how many passes they've lasted.

    4. Bobarian (sexbot hand model)   10 years ago

      Putting that much turbo on an engine greatly decreases it's lifespan. Audi incidentally does put turbos on many of their engines.

      Also, you need to do a lot of other things to make that engine behave if using it on the street: new fuel and system management, intercooler, water injection, modified cams and/or heads.

      People do this with some drag racing applications, but being street legal isn't the same as being streetable.

  11. lafe.long   10 years ago

    Private Security Camera Captures 'Mystery Stop' of Police Van That Was Carrying Freddie Gray

    1. Pan Zagloba   10 years ago

      The fuck? Are the cops taking a page from Hilary Clinton playbook now, where there will be so many revelations that people just lose interest?

    2. Catatafish   10 years ago

      And regardless of whether this directly contradicts a filed written report NOTHING ELSE HAPPENED.

  12. Winston   10 years ago

    In Pakistan, ten militants were convicted and imprisoned for the attempted assassination of teenager Malala Yousafzai, who was targeted for advocating that girls should be taught how to read and other dangerous stuff.

    But those militants don't like the cops or army either...

    1. Libertymike   10 years ago

      Thus, the enemy of my enemy.....

  13. Catatafish   10 years ago

    "...teenager Malala Yousafzai, who was targeted for advocating that girls should be taught how to read and other dangerous stuff."

    You give a girl in an oppressive cave-dwelling theocracy an inch...

    1. Injun, as in from India   10 years ago

      ...and they go to Virginia schools with sex offender frat boys?

      1. Catatafish   10 years ago

        Gang-raped in the streets of Karachi on one hand. Gang-raped on a shattered glass coffee table on the other.

        CHOOSE.

        1. Injun, as in from India   10 years ago

          How about a Cave Dweller called Haven? Last name Moynihan?

        2. Bobarian (sexbot hand model)   10 years ago

          Literally Gang-raped in the streets of Karachi on one hand. Notionally Gang-raped on a shattered glass coffee table on the other.

      2. Slammer   10 years ago

        Next thing you know she's lugging a mattress around for the rest of her life

    2. Dark Lord of the Cis   10 years ago

      I think their uncles were trying to give them a little more than an inch.

  14. Mike M.   10 years ago

    Al Sharpscum gets in physical confrontation with Fox News Reporter Leland Vittert for trying to ask Stephanie Rawlings-Blake a question.

    Frankly, Sharpscum looks like he's in no condition to be picking a fight with anyone these days. Actually... I take that back: go ahead and get in more fights "Reverend".

    1. Rufus J. Firefly   10 years ago

      He looks like Mr. Mackey.

  15. Pl?ya Manhattan.   10 years ago

    I'm too lazy to look this up.

    If I, as a driver, have passengers who don't wear seatbelts, I'm criminally liable for it.
    Is there some sort of exemption for prisoner transport?

    1. Rufus J. Firefly   10 years ago

      I'm too lazy to look it up for you.

      1. Viscount Irish, Slayer of Huns   10 years ago

        Rufus won't enact that labor. Why don't you Google it?

        1. Pl?ya Manhattan.   10 years ago

          LAZY

          1. Rufus J. Firefly   10 years ago

            /narrows gaze.

            Stretches harder.

    2. Injun, as in from India   10 years ago

      There is no exception for people in the back of squad cars.

      Cops will intentionally handcuff people, put them in the back, and drive rough to bounce those people around.

      And they're not held liable for it.

  16. Raven Nation   10 years ago

    Lois Lerner's long-sought emails are not so lost after all. The Treasury Department's Inspector General for Tax Administration recovered thousands of them. Maybe the IRS should have contracted with Hillary for storage.

    Be interesting to know the chain of custody here. I wonder what the chances are of someone at the IRS purging any incriminating e-mails, handing over the rest, and everyone, all together, goes: FAKE SCANDAL.

  17. Carl ?s the level   10 years ago

    Will China Ban Katy Perry?

    ...Perry grabbed a Taiwanese flag from a fan in the audience and wore it draped around her shoulders like a cape... And she did so while wearing a dress decked out with sunflowers ? which happen to be the symbol of anti-mainland student protests that led to the occupation of Taiwan's legislature for 24 days in March 2014. ...the reference to the Sunflower Movement may not have been intentional; the sunflower dress was incorporated into Perry's tour outfits as early as April 20...

    But mainland fans are worried that Perry may be banned from returning to mainland China. She's quite popular there; mainland fans have even given her a Chinese nickname, "Fruit Sister," due to her penchant for flamboyant, fruit-themed costumes.

    Cloudy With a Chance of Censorship: China Bans Unofficial Weather Reports

    The regulation... covers any weather predictions involving "clouds, wind direction, wind speed, air temperature, humidity levels" as well as visibility and more. Those who distribute false or manipulated weather information and "create a negative impact on society" with such reports are liable to be fined as much as 50,000 yuan (around $8,000).

    1. Carl ?s the level   10 years ago

      I had something else in mind when I first read "fruit sister"...

      1. The DerpRider   10 years ago

        Something from the melon family?

        1. C. Anacreon   10 years ago

          Carnegie Melons?

    2. Sudden   10 years ago

      Maybe Thomas Friedman was right about China after all...

  18. The Late P Brooks   10 years ago

    apparently you can add another 500+ horsepower to your supercar and get it well above Veyron hp, principally by adding twin turbochargers. Can this really be done?

    Anything can be done. The question is, "WHY?" .
    I'd rather have a Lotus Super Seven (or a Caterham with a strong two liter four cylinder) than a Lamborghini.

    1. Gilbert Martin   10 years ago

      "Anything can be done. "

      Cool.

      Turn a Saturn 5 stage one booster over on it's side, attach some wheels to it and light it up.

      1. C. Anacreon   10 years ago

        In other words, Thunderbird One.

        1. Raven Nation   10 years ago

          +1 FAB

          also, all hail Gerry Anderson

          1. Pro Libertate   10 years ago

            He gave us the Eagle.

    2. Medical Physics Guy   10 years ago

      I read that Lotus recently got a new chief. He said he is going to stop Lotus from trying to compete with Porsche and go back to making simple light cars with great handling. Sounds positive.

      1. seguin   10 years ago

        That's great. That last guy was kind of a tool - I wouldn't have been surprised if he had announced a Lotus SUV.

  19. Viscount Irish, Slayer of Huns   10 years ago

    I'm just going to leave this here.

    1. Xeones   10 years ago

      She looks disturbingly like my wife.

      Except ESB's eyebrows are waaay bigger.

      1. Pl?ya Manhattan.   10 years ago

        I can't tell if that was a humblebrag.

  20. Derpetologist   10 years ago

    Dutch comedian interrogated by Muslim women over offensive jokes:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryYETmi9lNA

    1. Viscount Irish, Slayer of Huns   10 years ago

      I've seen that and that guy is amazing.

      By the way, did you notice that the T.V. show is called 'Bimbos and Burqas' and appears to be a show where slutty dutch women get in arguments with orthodox Muslim men and Muslim women get in arguments with secular Dutchmen? This is the craziest T.V. show idea I've seen outside of East Asia.

      1. Pan Zagloba   10 years ago

        Holy crap, that's awesome! UK version would be amazingly trashy, and I'd watch the shit out of French version (sound off, but French bimbos - oh-la-la)!

      2. GILMORE   10 years ago

        The dutch invented reality TV

        they've always been one-toke over the line vs the rest of europe. pun intended.

    2. buybuydandavis   10 years ago

      "offensive"

  21. Derpetologist   10 years ago

    Spot the Not: Steven Segal movies

    1. Sheep Impact

    2. Cyborg Nemesis

    3. Today You Die

    4. Driven to Kill

    5. Infinite Vengeance

    6. Clementine

    1. UnCivilServant   10 years ago

      I'm thinking 1.

      1. Bobarian (sexbot hand model)   10 years ago

        #1 is a beer commercial?

        But does star Seagal.

        3 or 5 is my guess.

    2. Catatafish   10 years ago

      1. Segal isn't in porn nor is he Scottish.

    3. Rufus J. Firefly   10 years ago

      1.

    4. Hamster of Doom   10 years ago

      1.

    5. Derpetologist   10 years ago

      So many people picked 1 and were wrong. Behold the glory of Sheep Impact:

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANEY7zF2RFU

      5 is the Not. It is a result of the action movie title generator.

      http://phrasegenerator.com/actionmovies

      The political soundbite generator is entertaining as well.

  22. Derpetologist   10 years ago

    Spot the Not: Christian books

    1. The Christian Art of War

    2. The Action Bible

    3. Healing Oils of the Bible

    4. Duck Commander Devotions for Kids

    5. Bad Girls of the Bible

    6. The Insanity of God

    1. Hamster of Doom   10 years ago

      6. I know damned good and well modern Baptist housewives have coffeeklatches where biblical bad girls are discussed, so there's probably a book. And there were Donutman and Veggie Tales videos, so four is likely.

      Yeah. 6.

    2. Derpetologist   10 years ago

      Nope. #1 is the Not.

      Honorable mention: Faithgirlz! Bible

      Every girl wants to know she's totally unique and special. This Bible says that with Faithgirlz! sparkle.

      "If it pleases and sparkles with the girls..."

      As for 6,

      The Insanity of God is the personal and lifelong journey of an ordinary couple from rural Kentucky who thought they were going on just your ordinary missionary pilgrimage, but discovered it would be anything but. After spending over six hard years doing relief work in Somalia, and experiencing life where it looked like God had turned away completely and He was clueless about the tragedies of life, the couple had a crisis of faith and left Africa asking God, "Does the gospel work anywhere when it is really a hard place? It sure didn't work in Somalia.

  23. The Late P Brooks   10 years ago

    Someday we will pick up an old Jag (I'm in UK) with electrical problems

    Talk about your needle in a haystack...

    1. Mad Scientist   10 years ago

      Lucas once manufactured a vacuum cleaner. It was the only thing they ever made that didn't suck.

      1. Entropy Void   10 years ago

        Q: Why do the English drink warm beer?

        A: 'Cos Lucas makes the refrigerators.

        /sign at the parts shop where I used to take my Triumph TR7 convertible.

        1. Mad Scientist   10 years ago

          You know why British bikes are so fast? Because they have to get home before dark.

    2. Bobarian (sexbot hand model)   10 years ago

      Talk about a needle in a haystack sewing shop

  24. Derpetologist   10 years ago

    Duke, Stanford, Vanderbilt, Carnegie-Mellon,

    Spot the Not: anti-capitalism books

    1. Capitalism Sucks!

    2. Capitalism Must Die!

    3. The Enemy of Nature

    4. Why Not Socialism?

    5. Why Marx Was Right

    6. Down With Capitalism!

    1. Scruffy Nerfherder   10 years ago

      None of the above

    2. Derpetologist   10 years ago

      Duke, Stanford, Vanderbilt, Carnegie-Mellon,

      I accidentally copied another list of famous colleges named after evil capitalists

    3. Derpetologist   10 years ago

      #6 is the Not.

      Stephanie McMillan has produced a 244 page book of texts and cartoons titled Capitalism Must Die! What It is, Why It Sucks, and How to Crush It which makes the complex and indecipherable easy to understand.

      Get a signed copy for only $15!

  25. NidhoggRocketman   10 years ago

    No one knows for sure how the EM drive works yet, but it seems promising.

    Dibs on Calisto.

    1. UnCivilServant   10 years ago

      My first thought was "has anyone ruled out pushing against the Earth's magnetic field as a source of the effect?"

    2. tarran   10 years ago

      You don't need to interact with matter to alter momentum.

      The momentum of a photon of light is Plancks constant divided by the wavelength of that bit of light.

      Or simply put

      p = h/lambda

      It's not a lot, but it's measurable.

      1. UnCivilServant   10 years ago

        Their issue is that the microwaves don't exit the drive, so they'd be hitting the far end and counteracting the initial thrust, so it's not a photon drive.

        1. tarran   10 years ago

          They're burning energy, no?

          The energy is going somewhere....

          My guess is that's where the momentum change is also being realized. OF course, brighter minds than I more current in physics than I are stumped, so clearly the answer isn't immediately obvious.

          1. UnCivilServant   10 years ago

            I know, but sometimes you have to ask the stupid questions before going on to the smart ones. Because you can be too clever by half.

            I just want to know if they've managed to rule it out, as it's something it could be interacting with.

      2. Libertymike   10 years ago

        Good stuff for retard level STEM folks like myself - but what about practical applications in the near term? Yes, this breakthrough may mean savings on satellite and space station logistics / maintenance, but, what else?

        1. NidhoggRocketman   10 years ago

          An engine that requires only an electrical power source and no heavy chemical propellants is a HUGE game changer. It would at the very least open the entire solar system to manned exploration.

    3. db   10 years ago

      Cool cool cool stuff.

    4. Another Kevin   10 years ago

      Notice they also reference attempts at manipulating spacetime a la an Alcubierre Drive

      Btw, been lurking here for 17/18 years (with about five posts) and Agile Cyborg is by far the most entertaining poster I've seen. Makes me want to start doing DMT.

    5. seguin   10 years ago

      And here I am, turning shafts for the cars of yesteryear.

      Jeebus I wish I was somewhere on the leading edge....of something.

  26. Mike M.   10 years ago

    4.

  27. Carl ?s the level   10 years ago

    In Wrath Of Obama, The US President Teams Up With Putin To Destroy Lenin's Zombie Army

    The trailer is pretty good.

    In related news...

    Microsoft brings Android, iOS apps to Windows 10

    With Project Islandwood, iOS developers will be able to take their iOS apps and build them for Windows. Microsoft has developed an Objective C toolchain and middleware layer that provide the operating system APIs that iOS apps expect. A select group of third parties have been using the Islandwood tools already, with King's Candy Crush Saga for Windows Phone being one of the first apps built this way.

    For Android, there is Project Astoria... Windows Mobile... will include an Android runtime layer that'll let them run existing Android apps (both Java and C++) unmodified. Unlike Islandwood, which will require developers themselves to recompile their software to bring it to Windows, Astoria will in principle work with any old APK, without requiring the developer to do anything but publish the app in the store?as long as the APK sticks to the APIs that Astoria will provide.

    As an aside, the Ars piece contains several minor errors and they are mediocre in general. Oh well.

    1. db   10 years ago

      Somehow I know this was a Carl post without seeing the byline. Pretty cool stuff.

  28. Derpetologist   10 years ago

    More Agile Cyborg Facts:

    -Lisa Frank's art career when Agile Cyborg accidentally brushed her hand

    -Picasso's paintings are actually photographs of Agile Cyborg

    -Physicists in other dimensions have posited the existence of Agile Cyborg

    -Imaginary numbers were invented after someone gave Agile Cyborg a calculator

    -Agile Cyborg has consumed more drugs than all the people who attended Woodstock; both the original and the anniversary

    -Robin Williams was a successful drug abuse counselor until he met Agile Cyborg

    -Aliens have programs dedicated to finding proof of Agile Cyborg

    -Crop circles are actually caused by Agile Cyborg's attempts to mow his lawn

    1. Hamster of Doom   10 years ago

      That last one? Fabulous.

      1. Derpetologist   10 years ago

        I wrote the first batch after witnessing his fugue state last night:

        Agile Cyborg Facts

        -When The Dark Side of the Moon goes on an acid trip, it watches the Wizard of Oz on mute
        and listens to Agile Cyborg.

        -Acid has flashbacks to Agile Cyborg

        -The ending to 2001: A Space Odyssey was based on a conversation with Agile Cyborg

        -MC Escher was a regular architect until he became friends with Agile Cyborg

        -HP Lovecraft wrote greeting cards until he met Agile Cyborg

        -Agile Cyborg once met Cheech & Chong- they immediately became DEA agents

        -The entire works of James Joyce are based on watching Agile Cyborg compete in a spelling
        bee

      2. BiMonSciFiCon   10 years ago

        I enjoyed the last one the most as well.

  29. Viscount Irish, Slayer of Huns   10 years ago

    http://listverse.com/2012/12/2.....ism-sucks/

    TEN REASONS WHY CAPITALISM SUCKS!

    "In a controlled economy, the government decides which commodities will be produced, by whom, and where they will go. The unplanned free market capitalist economy, however, relies on individuals buying products ? and for this to happen, the consumer has to want them. For this reason, corporations spend billions on extensive advertising campaigns, trying every trick in the book (and more) to convince you and I that we need their product.I like using my cell phone to send texts and receive calls, but I realized today that I need a camera and internet access because it will vastly improve my life! And this very morning my wife was content, but after seeing dozens of airbrushed size 0 women on billboards just on the way to the corner shop, she apparently has to buy an outrageously priced beauty product.The truth is that, by its very nature, capitalism breeds discontent. If we were happy ? the system would fail!"

    AHAHHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

    1. Scruffy Nerfherder   10 years ago

      Shorter version: Put me in charge and I'll make it a perfect world where everything would suck equally.

      1. Pan Zagloba   10 years ago

        Seem reasonable! But you mean, "where nothing would ever suck," of course. I say we give it a try - what can go wrong?

    2. Medical Physics Guy   10 years ago

      The first few sentences are actually true. He is just too much of an idiot to realize that the first sentence breeds human suffering on an epic scale, while the second produces spontaneous order and economic growth. he thinks he is making the opposite case.

      1. C. Anacreon   10 years ago

        Also, he and his wife are apparently so incompetent that they are powerless when presented with advertising.

        "Help! I'm too stupid to resist TV commercials!! Eliminate capitalism, it's my only hope!"

        1. Mad Scientist   10 years ago

          Decision fatigue!!!!!

        2. paranoid android   10 years ago

          It's worse than that. The whole argument is so childishly sort-sighted, it's laughable.

          I like using my cell phone to send texts and receive calls, but I realized today that I need a camera and internet access because it will vastly improve my life!

          Well, the evil capitalists invented the cell phone, too, so doesn't it follow that he only likes its text and call functions because of their nefarious marketing sorcery? Everyone would have just been happy and satisfied with land lines if capitalism hadn't stepped into "breed discontent". Wait, but people only adopted landline phones because capitalists tricked them into thinking they needed one--otherwise they would have been happy sending everything by mail! And so on, and so on.

    3. lafe.long   10 years ago

      Here's What Police Just Did To This Woman After Her 'Terroristic' Threat Against 'All White Cops'

      According to news outlets in Atlanta, including WSB-TV, authorities have arrested a Georgia woman who posted on Facebook a call for "death to all white cops nationwide." The woman, identified as Ebony Dickens of East Point, Ga., issued her online threats under the alias Tiffany Milan.

      Why, that little dickens...

      With a perfect name like "Ebony Dickens" why on earth would she need to post under an uninspired alias like Tiffany?

      1. lafe.long   10 years ago

        thread fail

      2. Pan Zagloba   10 years ago

        Oh come on, "Tiffany Milan" is like, euro-stylish! Combines the luxury and allure of expensive jewelry with high-fashion centre of Italy.

      3. C. Anacreon   10 years ago

        Beats the Dickens out of me.

    4. paranoid android   10 years ago

      Yawn. It's just a slight rewording of the trite Marxist "capitalism instills false needs in people" argument. By this logic, history's greatest monster was the caveman who discovered fire, because without him, people would have remained happy and content to freeze and starve to death.

      1. Libertymike   10 years ago

        and they never would have become slaves to Big Oil.

  30. Viscount Irish, Slayer of Huns   10 years ago

    http://www.truthdig.com/report.....e_20150215

    Chris Hedges bitches about pornography.

    "When you fight porn you fight global capitalism," she said. "The venture capitalists, the banks, the credit card companies are all in this feeding chain. This is why you never see anti-porn stories. The media is implicated. It is financially in bed with these companies. Porn is part of this. Porn tells us we have nothing left as human beings?boundaries, integrity, desire, creativity and authenticity. Women are reduced to three orifices and two hands. Porn is woven into the corporate destruction of intimacy and connectedness, and this includes connectedness to the earth. If we were a society where we were whole, connected human beings in real communities, then we would not be able to look at porn. We would not be able to watch another human being tortured."

    1. Derpetologist   10 years ago

      Chris Hedges is the feces that results when shame eats too much stupidity.

      1. GILMORE   10 years ago

        lol

      2. Libertymike   10 years ago

        Great line. May I use it?

        1. Derpetologist   10 years ago

          I stole it from a Dale Gribble rant from King of the Hill.

          https://vine.co/v/OZlFeVZUbXi

    2. GILMORE   10 years ago

      I think this comment was trolling = if not, it is Epic Derp. You really need to see the photo of "shiffron" as well

      "
      Schiffon ? 2 months ago

      This is a poignant and critical assessment. We make a critical error in not guarding our hearts and minds with all due diligence. We make ourselves vulnerable when we naively ignore that the capitalist system is designed for consumption at any cost, even societal cannibalism. The society is more than morally indifferent it is depraved. This is a spiritual problem with undeniable adverse consequences.

      333 likes"

      I think this is actually real. only a liberal can use so many words and say absolutely nothing.

      1. Slammer   10 years ago

        333 likes to go and it's perfect.

      2. Libertymike   10 years ago

        Actually, Schiff is saying something:

        There are great multitudes who are plagued with nihilism who have spiritual problems of their own and who dream of the day when a Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili will come along with some undeniable adverse consequences.

      3. Derpetologist   10 years ago

        "We make a critical error in not guarding our hearts and minds with all due diligence."

        Is Stuart Smalley writing mission statements now?

        1. GILMORE   10 years ago

          """We are building a fighting force of extraordinary magnitude. We forge our tradition in the spirit of our ancestors. You have our gratitude.""

          1. F. Stupidity, Jr.   10 years ago

            +1 Dr. Klahn's Godzilla attachment

      4. Mad Scientist   10 years ago

        I count 3 "we"s and 1 "our." Why the hell do idiots like that presume they speak for everyone around them?

        1. HeteroPatriarch   10 years ago

          Argumentum ad populum? Or was that rhetorical?

    3. lafe.long   10 years ago

      If we were a society where we were whole, connected human beings in real communities, then we would not be able to look at porn. We would not be able to watch another human being tortured."

      ... but of course everyone would be fucking everyone else like minks all. the. time. And watching each other do it.

    4. Sudden   10 years ago

      I actually agree with his criticism of porn from a cultural perspective, but I don't believe criminalizing it is the way to deal with it.

      There are a wide array of issues that I find some agreement with either left or right on, but I rarely concur with their proposed solutions.

  31. Libertymike   10 years ago

    Absolutely. Love. It.

  32. Medical Physics Guy   10 years ago

    This link is perfect. The guy jacked up his car in his own garage. This is the story of hope I wish to tell my child. Someday we will pick up an old Jag (I'm in UK) with electrical problems, or maybe an Austin Healey, and rebuild it to have 1000hp in our own garage.

  33. Pl?ya Manhattan.   10 years ago

    I grew up with a Volvo wagon. I don't remember my mom driving like that, though.

  34. Pl?ya Manhattan.   10 years ago

    http://www.speedhunters.com/20.....age_volvo/

  35. Pl?ya Manhattan.   10 years ago

    I saw the rocket powered truck at the airshow last month. Probably the most interesting thing there.

  36. Scruffy Nerfherder   10 years ago

    I've seen that guy. I still prefer the military fly bys where they sit right on the sound barrier and make the white halo.

  37. Pl?ya Manhattan.   10 years ago

    I've seen the Thunderbirds and the Blue Angels, but I don't think they've done that while I was watching.
    I bring earplugs for the kids just in case.

  38. GILMORE   10 years ago

    You need to see the abomination that was the Draguar

    Short summary = it didn't go well.

    try a Miata instead

  39. GILMORE   10 years ago

    Also,

    "Someday we will pick up an old Jag (I'm in UK) with electrical problems"

    i think that's just called, "A Jag"

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