Obama Defends Iran Deal, Donald Trump Says He's Worth $10 Billion, Clashes Break Out in Greece: P.M. Links

• 

  Todd Krainin

  In an afternoon press conference, President Obama defended the nuclear deal with Iran as the best possible option.  Hillary Clinton expressed support for the deal, while Jim Webb, another candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, criticized it as putting the cart before the horse. Obama also reportedly called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to offer immediate talks about upgrading Israel's offensive and defensive  military capabilities.

• Obama also answered a question at the press conference about the allegations surrounding Bill Cosby, saying there was no precedent to revoke his Presidential Medal of Freedom.
• In a press release about filing financial disclosure forms, the campaign of Donald Trump says the candidate is worth $10 billion. 
• Clashes broke out in Greece, where protesters are demanding more money from European powers.
• Mexico has released surveillance footage today of drug cartel leader Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman escaping from prison over the weekend.
• The jury began deliberations in the trial of James Holmes for the 2012 mass shooting at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado.

Newly Published at Reason.com:

• Hillary's Dirty Dance with Trump on Sanctuary Cities She was right the first time when she opposed a federal crackdown on these cities By Shikha Dalmia
• Here's How Regulators Create Problems, Not Solve Them Government means never having to say you're sorry By A. Barton Hinkle
• Video: Donald Trump Is Appealing to "Racist" Voters, Says Former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson "I don't want to have anything to do with it," says Johnson. "It embarrasses me." By Nick Gillespie and Meredith Bragg

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Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

Clashes broke out in Greece, where protesters are demanding more money from European powers.

Oh, Europe. Lie down with economically illiterate dogs you get economically illiterate fleas.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Maybe the dogs are actually the policymakers.

[Pro Libertate]

Blessed are the policymakers, for they shall be called the children of fraud.

[SPENCER THE DESTROYER]

Blessed are those who persecute because of a false sense of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of government.

[Pro Libertate]

Blessed are the venal, for they shall inherit the Earth.

[SPENCER THE DESTROYER]

Blessed are the poor,
for theirs is the slave labor of the wealthy.

[Pro Libertate]

Blessed are those who scorn,
For they shall be comforted.

[Inigo "Chip" DuBois]

Blessed are they who are triggered or othered, for they shall be comforted with cozy blankets and gluten-free non-GMO cookies.

[Whahappan?]

And puppies.

[Mike M.]

"Give us more money, or we'll burn our own cities down to the ground!"

There's an effective strategy if I ever saw one.

[The DerpRider]

It's like the homeowner stripping all of the copper when the get the foreclosure notice.

[Pro Libertate]

I saw this movie. Mel Brooks, right?

[Wasteland Wanderer]

Hold it men, he's not bluffing!

[Pro Libertate]

Yes, that would be it.

[JW]

Look, do you want them to start holding their breath or never eating again?

They mean it!

[SPENCER THE DESTROYER]

assuming their cities are the collateral... what choice do they have? /sarc

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Burn the bitch down!

It's called the Ferguson Effect.

Give us what we want or we burn it down.

Krugman approved.

[SPENCER THE DESTROYER]

well, Krugman says it WILL stimulate their economy. Every window they break is money in the bank!

[Antilles]

Can you believe the balls of these people? This is literally like someone maxing out their credit card, refusing to pay it back and then demanding to continue to use it to support an unsustainable lifestyle. Where do they think the money's going to come from? Talk about being entitled. I honestly hope those protesters starve to death in the street.

[SPENCER THE DESTROYER]

they really should just go bankrupt and leave the EU. it's the more painful, but better long term solution.

[ant1sthenes]

Not really. They need imports to survive as something more than a third world shithole, and you can't export bureaucracy unless you're DC or Brussels.

The worse things get, the more the people who could actually succeed on their own will bail. They won't be able to plunder, they don't produce enough to trade, they don't have enough character to learn and improve themselves, and they've pretty much blown through everyone's charitable natures by being arrogant, entitled assholes. I don't know about immigration law inside the EU, but I would imagine there would mechanisms to prevent them from just moving to other nations en masse and leeching off their welfare systems (and it would be a major step down from government pensions anyway). They fucked themselves, basically.

[Zaytsev]

There's only 10 million people in the entire shithole country.

The could easily build an economy around tourism, agriculture and oil extraction.

[Suthenboy]

Gall, not balls. If they had balls they would work their way out of this hole.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Well. There's hope. I just found out a family who owed me money (thousands) is coming this week not only to pay me in full but to re-register their kid with us. Some people DO have pride.

Karma works!

[SPENCER THE DESTROYER]

and then fall into arrears again?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

No. They got their shit together and it's just one kid instead of three.

[SPENCER THE DESTROYER]

I'm not a detective on TV... but that would make me ask questions... I mean, kids just don't go away...

[Raven Nation]

So they sold the other two to pay the tuition of the chosen one?

[SPENCER THE DESTROYER]

I've got 3 kids... what school is this, and can you get me a lead on the child sales market? right now they're all cool, but eventually I'm probably going to want to get rid of one or two of them.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

You guys.

The other two are in kindergarten and 1st grade now.

[Swiss Servator, rudert schwer!]

A likely story....

[Sevo]

"Where do they think the money's going to come from?"

The boards I've been watching are full of people hoping to go back on the Drachma since then they can 'print all the money they want', and I don't think it's sarc.
It seems that Tsipras was under a similar illusion until that marathon meeting in Brussels until he got the message from several finance ministers that it doesn't work that way.
Of course, he can do that and his new Drachma can trade 1:1 with the Zimbabwe dollar.

[Inigo "Chip" DuBois]

The news reported that some local Greeks staged a protest outside the Greek consulate here and they quoted this woman as saying that the EU's austerity plan is criminal because there's still plenty of money available to Greeks and it's just the banks lies that make some people think the country is bankrupt. It is unbelievable what some people believe about economics. I swear that I'd have more respect for someone who maintained that leprechauns exist and maintain pots of gold.

[Rhywun]

What's Greek for "banksters"?

[paranoid android]

I'd like a translation for "Weimar" while we're at it.

[Rhywun]

Enh, not like the squirrels would let it through.

[jesse.in.mb]

Sure it will. The Squirrelz have been lazy about foreign language text.

Banksters: ??????? (Jews) I'm assuming that's what people mean when railing against international monetary cabals.

Wiemar: ???????? (Di?mokrat?a ti?s Va?m?ri?s)

Now lets see if this will let it through. I got some Cyrillic in a while back.

[Rhywun]

Verdammt noch mal!

[Notorious G.K.C.]

A fairly harsh charge for offering dates on the street:

http://www.madamasr.com/news/3.....oves-you-0

[Notorious G.K.C.]

posted in the wrong place, see below

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Hello.

'Clashes broke out in Greece, where protesters are demanding more money from European powers.'

Can I get a dignity here, Luann?

[Pro Libertate]

Thinking about options here, there's a free enterprise zone, kind of a Greek Hong Kong, there's a complete reworking of their economic and welfare systems, then there's the attempt to restore the Byzantine Empire, starting with invasions of Cyprus and Turkey.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

My Greek buddy who owns land there was telling me he feels it's heading that way (if it's not already there) and it's the Americans that will act as 'trustee.' To him, Greece exists in name only. Sell it off piece by piece.

He's a businessman. For the record.

[Pro Libertate]

That's a great idea. Literally turn the whole country into Hong Kong, but with a lease to the United States. We run it, unlike our own country, as limited government, free market territory.

[SPENCER THE DESTROYER]

Why the USA? Why can't the commenters all pool money to lease it in a year or two (when it's really in the dumps!).

We COULD create a Libertopia on the Aegean!

[Pro Libertate]

That would be marvelous, but how long would they allow mercenary corporations to run Greece?

[SPENCER THE DESTROYER]

Their lives would get so much better they would beg for us to never leave.

[ant1sthenes]

Well, the citizen-equivalents would by definition be people who could pay the corps for services rendered. The rest would be at best tolerated, and the rabble-rousers would be escorted off company property by security and banned from returning.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I'm so in.

Greek women here comes Rufus!

[Pro Libertate]

I want the food concession. And an office in the temple Nike.

[SPENCER THE DESTROYER]

I could be wrong here... but wouldn't a food concession be against the Libertopian constitution?

[Pro Libertate]

I just meant on the Acropolis. Limited space for restaurants.

[bacon-magic]

Libertarian city states? Great. The occasional clash on the abortion or gay weddings will be no big deal with NAP in place, we will rock,paper,scissors it.(I said scissors and abortion, oh my.)

[SPENCER THE DESTROYER]

I'd be curious to know how many libertarians actually have abortions. I mean, there are only like 2 women libertarians, so it can't be that many.

Seriously, most libertarians are educated and more affluence people. These traits are NOT often the traits associated with the group of people who make up the majority of abortion clinic customers.

So, the point might be moot in Libertopia.

[Derpetologist]

I fear that Greece would merely turn into another Puerto Rico.

[Pro Libertate]

No, no, no, not just some new territory. Hong Kong-like. With a crazy, free market type economy. As an experiment.

[grrizzly]

This Vanity Fair article on Greece from 2010 continues to be relevant.

[perlchpr]

Civil servants protested with a 24-hour strike that disrupted public transport and shut down state-run services across the country.

Isn't that like, the exact opposite of what they wanted, re: "Austerity"?

[jesse.in.mb]

Mexico has released surveillance footage today of drug cartel leader Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman escaping from prison over the weekend.

Pr0n for Trump

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Chapo is the president of Mexico in everything but name.

Thanks, WoD.

[JW]

I thought the Carlos Slim?

[JW]

Someone stole my prepositions.

...that was Carlos Slim.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Chapo could have his head on a platter.

[Robert]

I always initially read "El Chapo" as "El Cheapo".

[C. Anacreon]

I keep thinking "El Chap-Stick"

[Juice]

Every time I hear the name I say, "Yes, you have a plethora."

[Inigo "Chip" DuBois]

El Guapo from the Three Amigos had a plethora of pinatas.

[thrakkorzog]

Do you even know what a plethora is?

[Fist of Etiquette]

In a press release about filing financial disclosure forms, the campaign of Donald Trump says the candidate is worth $10 billion.

Worth being a relative term?

[PBR Streetgang]

I suspect he's worth less.

[jesse.in.mb]

worth less

*narrows gaze*

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Yes. 10 Billion dollhairs.

[Pro Libertate]

10 billion box.

[C. Anacreon]

They say that he's worth ten times what he earns!
To friends he's known as Monty, but to you he's Mr. Burns.....

[Pro Libertate]

I was thinking more Warner Brothers.

[WoodchipperPatriarch]

He'd pay $10 billion for him.

[expat]

but could he?

[Christophe]

If he pays himself in installments he can.

[WoodchipperPatriarch]

ZWD?

[Jerry on the sea]

Can anyone get a campaign going to get Trump to release 30 years of tax returns?

[The DerpRider]

Calls for Stone Mountain to be sandblasted. That didn't take long.

[Drake]

We have a lot of history books that need burning too.

[C. Anacreon]

The photo accompanying the article would be great for a caption contest. Have you every seen more angry frowns in one picture?

[ant1sthenes]

I'd love to see a political cartoon that was a shot-for-shot recreation of this, but with a donkeylike Stalin sitting with a Klansman, a Confederate, and a Henry Ford lookalike with a Nazi armband.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Why? Does it need a new coat of paint?

[The DerpRider]

Maybe they'll call the Taliban for a consult.

[Jerry on the sea]

It needs a new layer of whitewash.

[Pro Libertate]

Ye gods.

[JW]

Wait for the demands that Bill Cosby be part of it.

[Libertarian]

"According to Rose, "all of this recognition of Confederate generals is upholding the white supremacy on which the Confederacy was founded and the war was fought." He goes on to say, "all of this should have ended in 1865 when Lee surrendered to Appomattox."

I'm not a historical buff. Can someone tell me who this General Appomattox was?

[Pro Libertate]

He wasn't a general. He was a judge. He judged the Confederacy unworthy, and Lee surrendered right then and there.

[Enough About Woodchippers]

I like the alternate idea:

Big Boi endorses petition for Outkast carving on Stone Mountain

[JW]

These people just need to use their imagination.

[Raven Nation]

Now that would almost certainly lead to a real live gunfight.

[Thymirus]

This is outright evil. This desecration should be outlawed immediately.

[John Titor]

ISIS really has the right idea with this 'destroy piece of history you don't like' thing.

[DesigNate]

"all of this recognition of Confederate generals is upholding the white supremacy on which the Confederacy was founded and the war was fought."

Way to completely ignore all of the other causes to a complicated situation there Mr. Rose

[Zaytsev]

is that a Scotty dog head on top of the bald dude in the bottom right of the pix?

What kind of fucking monster walks around with a decapitated dog head for a doo!

[Fist of Etiquette]

...saying there was no precedent to revoke his Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Those things are worth about as much as a Nobel at this point anyway.

[Juvenile Bluster]

Nobel Peace Prize, or Nobel Economics Prize? Not sure which is worth less.

[Brett L]

I vote the Literature prize as the Most Worthless. Although it was worth giving Faulkner one for his acceptance speech.

[Irish ?s ESB]

Peace Prize is worth less because they've given it to people like Yasser Arafat.

That would be like giving the Nobel Prize for Literature to Stephanie Meyer.

[PapayaSF]

Yes, the Peace Prize is the worst: Rigoberta Menchu and Obama are two other frauds who got it.

[WoodchipperPatriarch]

And Gore.

[Brett L]

Twilight brought happiness to millions of teenage girls, Gabriel Garcia Marquez just pisses off everyone who isn't enamored with logorrheic non-sense. Borges' Magical Realism is awe inspiring, I find Marquez's boring. So... Would vite for Mayer.

[Hamster of Doom]

You know what else brought happiness to millions of teenage girls? Justin Bieber. This is not a convincing argument.

[Irish ?s ESB]

"You know what else brought happiness to millions of teenage girls?"

I refuse to answer this question on advice of counsel.

[C. Anacreon]

We had to read "Love in the Time of Cholera" for a college English class way back when. For that book alone Gabriel Garcia Marquez should have been sentenced to a hundred years of solitude.

[Old Man With Candy]

You know what else brought happiness to millions of teenage girls?

I have brought happiness to hundreds of pre-teen girls.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Which one did Rigoberta Menchu get? Because that one sucks.

[C. Anacreon]

Later she became the porn star Rigoberta Munch-you

[Libertarian]

"Nobel Peace Prize, or Nobel Economics Prize? Not sure which is worth less."

Let's not forget that the Nobel Economics prize was not instituted by Alfred, but by a Central bank!

[Antilles]

Is a drone strike out of the question?

[Jerry on the sea]

Hell, they don't even revoke your Nobel Prize for Literature after you tell everyone you served in the Waffen-SS.

[The DerpRider]

Obama also reportedly called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to offer immediate talks about upgrading Israel's offensive and defensive military capabilities

Mmm. Add some crony capitalism to that soup.

[John]

I love it. Our solution is apparently to arm the other side. Amazing how Progs never actually believe in anything they claim to. I thought were all for disarmament?

[Injun, as in from India]

Disarmament of the masses is what they are all for.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Obama also reportedly called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to offer immediate talks about upgrading Israel's offensive and defensive military capabilities.

"Oh, right, we need the Jews. Uh, what can we throw Israel's way?"

[Pan Zagloba]

"Do we have some Duck and Cover videos we can send them? Like, put that bullshit skull cap thing or something on the turtle to placate them."

[Injun, as in from India]

"My milkshake brings all the boys to the yard..."

Maryland Democrat lawmaker busted for flashing

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

"with one breast in each hand [shaking] them up and down."

Paging Crusty. Crusty, pick up the white courtesy phone!

[Crusty Juggler]

She seems fun.

[Irish ?s ESB]

She's on the absolute worst end of the hot/crazy axis.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

Yeah, that's like one step up from Lorena Bobbitt.

Would serve as a great reference point for clear and distinct lines of "where not to stick your penis".

[perlchpr]

0,10?

[Mike M.]

I would... not hit it.

[The DerpRider]

Unattractive and crazy are not the optimal options...

[Crusty Juggler]

Unattractive and crazy are not the optimal options

I pity you.

[The DerpRider]

I didn't say they were unacceptable, just not optimal. (/bow in deference to CJ)

[Crusty Juggler]

just not optimal

I overreacted. You're good people. We will have to go to a Perkins sometime together to chase ass.

[Mrs. Lemuel Struthers]

If you're chasing ass at Perkins you should expect unattractive and crazy.

You might want to take it a step up and go TGI Fridays.

[Mrs. Lemuel Struthers]

A minimum standard would be Red Lobster.

[C. Anacreon]

See Food Differently?

[kinnath]

rapist

[Hamster of Doom]

She is also a member of a legislative task force that is studying maternal mental health issues.

Zing!

[The DerpRider]

Your honor, I'd like to call myself to the stand.

[Irish ?s ESB]

Ariana Kelly before she put on a few pounds.

[waffles]

She is also a member of a legislative task force that is studying maternal mental health issues.

This line really ties the whole article together.

[Crusty Juggler]

Fuck, marry, kill: Abortion, Cosby, Trump?

[John]

Many wows.

[The DerpRider]

That appears to be the rotation of stories, yes.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

That's not how that works. You're supposed to have at least one decent option.

[PBR Streetgang]

Faced with that choice, there is one decent option, kill yourself.

[Brett L]

"I'd fuck me."

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

I'd fuck Brett, too!

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Would Chip Him.

[Wasteland Wanderer]

He died doing what he loved...being chipped.

[gaoxiaen]

Well then, go fuck yourself.

[Irish ?s ESB]

Marry Trump because he's rich, kill abortion for the purposes of revenge, fuck Cosby because he's not going to give me a choice anyway.

[MJGreen - Docile Citizen]

*nods*

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Fuck abortion, marry Trump, kill Cosby.

Hey, hey, hey.

[hurts_donut]

I'd abort cosby, kill trump and fuck myself.

[Injun, as in from India]

Obama also reportedly called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to offer immediate talks about upgrading Israel's offensive and defensive military capabilities.

"Hey Middle East Nuclear Monopolist! You want more delivery mechanisms?"

[Fist of Etiquette]

Oh, yeah, and we're back to embedding videos on a page that gets refreshed often. The maniacs. They're going to blow it up.

AH, DAMN YOU. GOD DAMN YOU ALL TO HELL.

[Rhywun]

Stylish is your friend. Available for Chrome or Firefox.

[Fist of Etiquette]

But it might be a cool video I want to see.

[Rhywun]

Well, that's the problem. I avoid "cool videos" like the plague.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

Take your hands off, you damn dirty ape!

[Pro Libertate]

Cornelius, your fire hose, please.

[Pro Libertate]

It's a madhouse! A madhouse!

[Ted S.]

Turn off plug-ins.

[Fist of Etiquette]

We live in a multimedia culture. I don't want to miss out.

[iCarl]

HTML5 brah. Won't work.

[perlchpr]

NoScript

[Crusty Juggler]

Obama also answered a question at the press conference about the allegations surrounding Bill Cosby, saying there was no precedent to revoke his Presidential Medal of Freedom

I say we bomb the Jello pudding pop factory.

[John]

Reason has hte nastiest ad scripts on the internet. I have yet to find a browser Reason can't crash.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Their new flash shit is bad. My laptop fan gets angry.

[Pan Zagloba]

Have you tried Lynx?

Commenting might not work, though.

[John]

No I have not. I need to try something.

[Pan Zagloba]

Well, if you are truly desperate, there should be download links from Wiki article.

Lynx

[Pro Libertate]

My iPad is not fond of this site. I always thought that was due to political differences.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Adobe Flash.

My Macbook shits itself when the flash ads show up here. Same with the iPad.

[grrizzly]

Microsoft Surface with AdBlock is the best way to check HyR.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

*Checks couch cushions*

Nope, no Surface anywhere.

[iCarl]

There is no Adobe Flash on iPad.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

No shit. That's why it crashes.

[iCarl]

That doesn't make very much sense. Not none at all, but not very much.

[iCarl]

Anyway, now that I'm done eating...

Browsers generally don't attempt to open* embedded plugin content that they don't support and then somehow choke on it; they just leave it. I say "generally" because it's difficult to say that they never in all cases given the vagaries of content sniffing. But it (the presence of Flash content) is highly unlikely to be the cause of crashes on your iPad.

*for a simple definition of open

[Brochettaward]

People may not like our Middle Eastern allies or friends, and they do suck. But a deal that pisses off every other country in the region really isn't a great idea. That's the least talked about aspect here. Great - maybe America doesn't go to war with Iran (this won't stop it, and may increase the chances when Iran balks at something they agreed to), but if no one else in the region is on board with it, it's going to lead to an even bigger mess.

Seriously, we had treaties with Iraq, too. We still invaded. It would have been better to do nothing and let the hawks keep blustering.

[Drake]

Flank-speed for the Saudi nuclear program.

[PapayaSF]

The rumor is that the Saudis funded the Pakistan program, so they can get finished product from them PDQ.

[Migrant Log Chipper]

This, the royals won't settle for second place. I'd guess they have a nuke in hand before Iran does. I'd guess it won't end well.

[The DerpRider]

The missiles fly at $30/barrel...

[John]

I love how various Americans who have never even been to the region are so sure Iran isn't a threat while the people who actually live there are terrified of them. I guess the white man really knows better than all of those excitable brown people.

[Pan Zagloba]

Off topic, but what's with "brown people" thing? Arabs, Jews, Iranians and Turks don't look brown to me at all. India or Pakistan, sure. But Mideast?

[John]

Just being a smart ass. You are right many or even most people in the region are not brown. "Brown people" is meant as a catch all word for anyone not Western.

[Pan Zagloba]

Well yes, but I've often seen it used in conduction with ME and it really never made sense to me. Though maybe because what few Arabs I met are from urban areas, and Turkey usually gets glossed over.

Iranians, though, not brown. Unless it's a racial thing that those who fled the Revolution or hold positions of power have lighter skin tone, while the peasantry is more dark. Kinda like Mexico, I guess.

[Drake]

The ones you meet out in the desert are a lot darker than the ones selling rugs or shish-kabobs in LA.

[Thymirus]

Turks are as diverse in appearance as Armenians, with every tone from Sinhalese-like browns to undiluted, pale yellow-grays (almost Oriental).

[hurts_donut]

What really sets them apart besides their vast differences in history, culture and contributions to the modern world is their choice in neck jewelry.

[SoGrimSoTrueSoReal]

Do you think this is some genius plan by Obama to create a huge sunni-shia war and have them kill each other? Iran hates Saudi's more than jews.

Nah, he must be stumbling into this on accident.

[Brochettaward]

If anyone thinks there is a massive war in the Mideast and America isn't going to jump in fully erect rearing to go, they aren't very bright.

[ant1sthenes]

Even if it was nuclear?

[Brett L]

Persians v Arabs is older that Mohammed. They've been at each other since before Jesus.

[Apatheist ?_??]

Well they did help Cyrus forge his empire but that's probably the last time they weren't at each other's throats.

[Thymirus]

Any honest, substantial examination of Iran as a state enlightens instantly as to the depravity and retardation of its government, and of its culture generally. Progressives tend to strive for an absolute denial of such conclusions, lest their degenerate delusions insisting upon the equality of all cultures collapse violently atop their smug heads.

[Mazakon]

Fraser Institute finds that longer wait times for health care costs Canadians $1.2 billion

[Injun, as in from India]

But... but... it's single payer!

Wait times are good times under single payer!

Besides, the $1.2 billion is just money that Canadians spend on themselves!

[Rufus J. Firefly]

But it's a free $1.2 billion.

Stop being micro-aggressive.

[Mazakon]

I can't help it, I micro-aggress without even knowing it. In fact, I could be micro-aggressing against you right now.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I absolutely feel your micro-aggression and it has left me distraught and feeling unsafe.

[WoodchipperPatriarch]

Idea: Revive Murphy beds, but cover them with panes of glass that say "Break in case of unsafe feelings." We can sell them to every college in the country!

[Pan Zagloba]

Also, Fraser institute are evil neo-cons, who lie. And even if true, $1.2 billion is a small price to pay for free health care!

[perlchpr]

*actually laughing out loud at this one*

Well played, sir. 😀

[Pan Zagloba]

God, I wish that was a joke. But most of the country wouldn't see anything wrong with the sentence, until you broke it down for them by the word.

[iCarl]

NEOLIBRULZ

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Who knew that offering dates was blasphemous?

http://www.madamasr.com/news/3.....oves-you-0

[Rhywun]

How long has the writing been on the wall for Christians in Muslim territory? I would have high-tailed it out of there decades ago.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

It's their *home* - and be it ever so humble....

Nowadays, many *are* fleeing.

[WoodchipperPatriarch]

Have you not seen Raiders? Those Christians are just trying to poison everybody!

[Injun, as in from India]

Make a run to the store to pick up some Depends before you read this, just in case.

The Really Big One - An earthquake will destroy a sizable portion of the coastal Northwest. The question is when.

"Our operating assumption is that everything west of Interstate 5 will be toast."

Twenty-nine per cent of the state's population is disabled, and that figure rises in many coastal counties.

Really? 29%? Or is that a f***ing typo?

Four years later, to foot the hundred-and-twenty-eight-million-dollar bill, the district put up a bond measure. The tax increase for residents amounted to two dollars and sixteen cents per thousand dollars of property value. The measure failed by sixty-two per cent.

Oregon is infested with ani-tax teathuglican kochsuckers.

[Rhywun]

Twenty-nine per cent of the state's population is disabled

That probably means they have a disabled placard for their car. Figure 3/4 of them are faking it.

[jesse.in.mb]

Wasn't there a thing a few years ago where states were pushing people on the unemployment rolls onto the disability rolls because disability had more federal backing? Or am I thinking of something else?

[Pro Libertate]

I was just telling Episiarch about this. It's potentially very awful, with the quake killing a lot of people, followed by a horrific tsunami, possibly capped off by Rainier blowing.

[Mrs. Lemuel Struthers]

So, what's the downside for the rest of the country?

[Hamster of Doom]

The loss of Episiarch's rapier wit and stunning good looks.

[Trshmnstr doesn't recycle]

If the conspiracy theory that we're all Epi's sockpuppets is true, then H&R will be a ghost town.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

I'm still waiting for a downside; hasn't anyone anything constructive to add?

[Mad Scientist]

There is a really amazing used book store in Portland that would be destroyed.

[Pro Libertate]

Powell's?

[Mad Scientist]

Yes.

[Pro Libertate]

Perhaps some sort of dome over it?

[RAHeinlein]

I wouldn't call Powell's a "used book store"...just the best book store ever!

[WoodchipperPatriarch]

The quality of the nation's apple crop will be devastated.

[Pro Libertate]

I got some surprisingly good apples from north Georgia, up in the mountains. I was totally surprised by that.

[Pro Libertate]

Surprisingly.

[jmomls]

Aren't all the apples EAST of I-5?

[Rhywun]

Feature, not bug.

/NYS apple growers

[Pro Libertate]

What, you don't like Amazon?

[Trshmnstr doesn't recycle]

Prime Day was really overhyped. I haven't seen all that much that screams "buy me, i'm an amazing deal!!!" Most of it was 10% off of their normal price (but advertised as 60% off!!!!! because their MSRP prices is woefully inaccurate).

[Pro Libertate]

I thought about getting an Echo but decided to skip it for now. In any case, I like Amazon whether this sale was lame or not.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

It skipped you, bro. All have been claimed.

[Pro Libertate]

I saw it before that happened.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

They had a 32" LED HDTV for 75 bucks. That disappeared in a few minutes.

[Chinny Chin Chin]

On top of that, infrastructure like roads, and electric and water delivery systems will be knocked out - in some areas - for months afterwards. Big time suffering.

[Mrs. Lemuel Struthers]

29% are receiving some type of disability payment. How fast they'll be able to run once the Big One hits is another question.

[Suthenboy]

The question is when? Actually, the entire surface of the earth will certainly be destroyed and remade. It is just a question of when.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Cascadia? Soon.

[Pro Libertate]

Of more pressing interest to the rest of us is the Yellowstone caldera.

[Suthenboy]

"Twenty-nine per cent of the state's population is disabled, and that figure rises in many coastal counties."

Wait just a minute. This is like Greece's island of the blind, isn't it?

[MJGreen - Docile Citizen]

I like how much she goes back to "the children!" well. There are schools in the disaster zone! AND nurseries!!

I wonder if such an event would cause a bad tsunami for Hawaii, since my brother still lives there. But then I remember that he's been thinking of moving to Oregon, making the question doubly moot.

[Migrant Log Chipper]

Not western Oregon, its all prog all the time.

C'mon it's the New Yorker....it's kind of like giving my dog a bone and asking him to not shit on the carpet.

[Rhywun]

I read the headline as "Obama Defends Donald Trump, ...". Yikes.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

You know. It would actually be a welcomed thing if Obama for once took a stand in the interest of freedom of speech and expression. You know?

'Look, I don't agree with him but he's entitled to his opinion without being called names.' Something along those names.

You know, like a real leader.

[Rhywun]

Oh I agree.

[Hamster of Doom]

The ringleader doesn't run the circus, the clowns do.

[Pro Libertate]

After which, he lights up the White House with the Confederate flag.

[SoGrimSoTrueSoReal]

You know, like a real leader.

Ha! You Canucks have that subtle humor perfected!

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Yeah. Why did the Canadian cross the street? To fuck the American.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

'along those lines'

[John]

I think people misunderstand just how stupid and delusional Obama and the people around him actually are. The driving principle of Obama's dealings with the Middle East has been the idea that the way to solve the problem was to find an acceptable form of radical Islam to install in power. The idea is that if you can find a radical who can be dealt with, you put him in power and alleviate the pressure created by the popular appeal of radical Islam and still have someone you can business with in charge. This is why Obama pushed the Muslim Brotherhood, has such a bromance with that paper hanging buffoon in Turkey and was so eager to get rid of Kadafi and replace him with an Islamist government. All of these efforts have failed miserably. The Muslim Brotherhood was so inept it lasted about a week in power, Turkey is turning back secular and Libya is a failed state. So, Obama's solution now is to let Iran have nukes and become the dominant power over the entire region allowing the US to strategically partner with them ensuring stability and US interests.

[John]

This is of course insane. You have to remember Obama and the people in his administration have no idea how the world actually works. They have no conception that some people might be different than they are. These people are utterly cynical, view religion as a silly tool to be used to control the masses, and think everything and everyone has a price because they have a price. That cannot conceive that anyone could actually believe in silly things like religion or not have a price and not have any interest in being reasonable. They are exactly the kind of over confident Western rubes that Sheiks and tribal chiefs have been fooling for centuries.

They will not be shocked when Iran builds nukes. That is part of the plan. They will be utterly shocked when Iran proceeds to use those nukes to settle their centuries old score with the Arabs and the Suni. And even more shocked when the Suni Arabs don't roll over and die for the good of the world and launch a war before Iran has a chance to do that.

This deal guarantees a regional war between Iran and the Suni Arab states and their surprise ally Israel sometime in the next two to five years. Remember, building a nuke is not the same as having a deliverable nuke. At some point Iran will either test a nuke or it will become apparent they are about to and the Suni Arab states and Israel will have no choice but to go to war with or without US help.

[PapayaSF]

I think it's some variation of standard anti-Western prog blather: "The problems in the Middle East are cause by colonialism and racism (and Israel), so if we respect the (non-Israeli) local regimes, they will respect us and things will be fine."

[perlchpr]

Well, I certainly think some of the issues in the region are the fault of colonialism, and a British obsession with ruler straight lines on maps. I just don't understand why we're so fucking eager to step in front of the bus for the Brits.

[PapayaSF]

Sure, some are, but the common prog attitude these days is that racism/sexism/homophobia/colonialism/Christianity is the source of all evil.

[Brett L]

Honestly, John. After Libya and Egypt, I'm starting to come around to the idea that we've got a bunch of retards running around in a nuclear plant's control room. Whatever strategy they think they are implementing is not what they are achieving in the consensus reality the rest of us are experiencing.

[Thymirus]

I'm not convinced we should exert ourselves in some purportedly noble attempt to harmonize that region. If those barbarians wish to slaughter each other into extinction, let them. The proposition that the destructive nature of these cultures is our doing is hilariously retarded. It's not our responsibility to guard them from their neighbors.

[John]

That is both the sad and funny thing about it. The people on the right like Mark Steyn crying about how this is the end of Western Civilization are wrong. This is going to be the end of Islamic civilization.

The Iranians talk a good game about how much they hate the US, but I am skeptical they would ever actually nuke us. I have no doubt at all they would nuke Saudi Arabia. This will end up being the final Armageddon between the Shia and Sunni.

Obama probably is a secret Muslim. He is just so amazingly stupid and incompetent he is going to wind up destroying them rather than us.

[Thymirus]

I'm not concerned with the wellbeing, howsoever you choose to define it, of Western civilization broadly, but with American civilization solely. I admit to a sharp dislike of Europe especially.

American civilization, its health, and its functionality generally are entirely unrelated to whether Muslim factions exterminate each other in regional warfare. It's not our problem. Fuck them.

Furthermore, Iran will never possess the capability to inflict significant (relatively) damage on the United States, adventurists' bullshit screeching notwithstanding. Any attack is an absolute guarantee that hours later, all that shall remain of the Middle East will be ash and craters.

[John]

The only capability they have that worries me is if they get an HBomb and do an EMP attack. And if we would get off our ass we could protect ourselves from that pretty easily.

[jmomls]

* If those barbarians wish to slaughter each other into extinction, let them*

Nice line of thought--as long as you are tickled pink about the prospect of paying 30 bucks for a gallon of gas and shivering through winter and living through food riots because it costs to much to transport stuff to the store.

[Cytotoxic]

Oh BS. The whole world is awash in oil and the ME won't stop selling it forever. Even as civil war rips Iraq and Libya apart, they are increasing output (incredibly).

[Pan Zagloba]

As Mark Steyn said

Obama's belief that American power and influence has been bad for the world extends beyond America itself to America's allies. So on missile defense he takes the side of Russia over US allies like Poland and the Czech Republic; in the Falklands he takes the side of Argentina over the United Kingdom; and now in the Middle East he takes the side of Iran over the Sunni Arab monarchies and Israel.

[Trshmnstr doesn't recycle]

You miss the reason why Obama is playing "action figures" with the middle east so much. He knows that with Netanyahu in power, he's not getting any action on the Israel-Palestine issue. He so badly wants to be like Clinton and Carter and all of his other Presidential heroes. He wants to be the one to finally fix the middle east. Since the traditional "fix the mideast" solution isn't there, he has to improvise. That means he's butting in to situations where he's not particularly useful or wanted, such as Iran and Arab Spring.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Obama's half brother in Kenya is upset with him.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....Kenya.html

[John]

The Kenyans are sadly insufficiently gay affirming.

[Pan Zagloba]

Racism has a far reach!

[Derpetologist]

Recently in bonehead arguments: calendars prove atheists don't exist

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/.....41006.html

[John]

At this point isn't it fair to conclude that Robertson is perpetrating the greatest long con in history?

[Jerry on the sea]

Tour des vaches gasconne.

[jesse.in.mb]

Meanwhile in Kenya: Nude Protest Against Homosexuality Awaits Barack Obama Next Week

A little-known party has sought permission to show US President Barack Obama the differences between a man and a woman through a nude protest.

The peaceful demonstration against homosexuality will begin at 10 am at the Freedom Corner, on July 22 and 23, said Republican Liberty party leader Vincent Kidala.

Well that's...odd, but ok, they're hoping to have 5,000 people, not quite a million person march, but whatever.

"In fact our party has a network of prostitutes in Nairobi, Nakuru and other counties. This is where we shall get all these people whose number we expect to increase," he told the Star on phone.

He said the prostitutes agreed to participate free of charge since they will lose customers if homosexuality is legalised.

Mind. Blown.

[Crusty Juggler]

First, a surge in the acceptance of homosexuality caused Top Gun 2 to be green-lit, and now the gay menace is putting prosties out of work in Africa? What is next, huh?

[jesse.in.mb]

Top Gun 2

*Pours one out for fit Val Kilmer*

[Crusty Juggler]

I prefer overweight, witty, "Gay Perry" Val Kilmer, but that is me.

[jesse.in.mb]

It's hard not to like Gay Perry.

[Mrs. Lemuel Struthers]

They could look on the bright side; male prostitutes will gain customers. There must be a wage gap.

[Rhywun]

And China was claiming there is no homosexuality there as recently as a few years ago. Or it was an evil Western plot - they never can keep their story straight.

[Hey Nikki!]

Meet the manliest journalist in America.

Then I run home and do a sick ab workout, like just killer and raw. You would seriously puke. Mark Judge would also puke. It takes way less manliness to wear cargo shorts than it does to wear a crop top. A crop top demonstrates willpower and tenacity?your strength to bend nature to your will in the face of the cupcake platter in the office. Pain is weakness leaving the body. You can hide a lot of weakness with cargo shorts.

[John]

One of the saddest things I've ever seen is a thriving BMW motorcycle dealership on an Army base where thousands of infantrymen were stationed. These guys had gone to Iraq, maybe multiple times, and had fired their weapons, and been shot at, and seen mutilated dead bodies?and they still had something to prove.

That is the dumbest fucking thing I have read today. No you dumb bitch, they got a taste of adrenaline and risk and liked it and miss it. They are not buying the bikes to prove anything you fucking half wit.

[PapayaSF]

Thanks for the link to that weird article. I left a comment.

[gaoxiaen]

I'd never buy a bike with an engine that looks like the Yellow Submarine.

[John]

And seriously who the fuck judges their masculinity by the intensity of their ab workout? Anyone who writes that paragraph has just self identified as a douche bag.

And that article is so poorly written, I can't tell if it is in the voice of the female author or is her quoting this douche bag.

[Hey Nikki!]

And seriously who the fuck judges their masculinity by the intensity of their ab workout? Anyone who writes that paragraph has just self identified as a douche bag.

...that's the point.

[John]

And I don't know who Elspeth Reeve is, but she is a horrible writer. That article is a complete mess. What the hell point is it making? And who does the ab routine, Judge or her? That woman could fairly be called functionally illiterate judging from the pile of crap.

[Irish ?s ESB]

John, calm down. She was making fun of the Mark Judge guy for writing a dumb article about MASCULINE JOURNALISTS WITH MUSCLES AND GUNS.

The ab workout thing wasn't serious, she was joking.

[John]

It is still a mess of an article.

[Mrs. Lemuel Struthers]

Don't you get it, John?

She's a woman but she's like completely tough and strong!! She does an ab work out and stands her ground against screaming cis-shit lords in the military.

She is the New Man.

[C. Anacreon]

I thought Elspeth was an architecture critic.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I have decently developed abs though.

/smiles at John.

[John]

My abs are shit. Always have been. I fucking hate doing ab workouts.

[Enough About Woodchippers]

I was a gymnast in grade school, junior high, high school and college (and post-college) and have always had well defined abs. At 58, I still do, but sadly the layer of skin that covers them is getting rather saggy.

[SPENCER THE DESTROYER]

I've got one big ab. It's formed of pizza and beer.

[Suthenboy]

Who judges masculinity by the intensity of their ab workout?

People who don't know what masculinity or manliness are.

[Irish ?s ESB]

That is the only good thing TNR has published since everyone quit.

"Here again, allow me to swoop in with a tale of manly triumph. I've had an angry soldier, wasted on his first night back from Iraq, scream in my face, "I DON'T KNOW WHETHER I WANT TO PUNCH YOU IN THE FACE OR FUCK YOU!" while his buddy stood behind him, saying, "Hit her hit her hit her!" Don't worry kids, he did neither. I talked him down with exquisite manliness. His friends apologized to me later. His time in Baghdad had been difficult."

[Mrs. Lemuel Struthers]

It must be satire. Or I weep for humanity.

[Irish ?s ESB]

It is very much satire:

"About two miles into my daily run, I climb the brutal elevation of the Manhattan bridge, and in my glorious endorphin-fueled reverie, I behold the phallic skyscrapers of the New York skyline thrusting toward the raw masculine sunlight. It is a sacred moment, heightened by that new Jamie xx album, which is manly in its goodness without being unmanly in its pretentious obscurity. In these moments, my thoughts wander, often back to Twitter, and to all the males on it that I could beat up so easily. "

I like her style, even though everything else I've read by Elspeeth Reeve has been retarded.

[Derpetologist]

The worst summary of the Vietnam war ever?

"killing people that had the audacity to try and change their economic system."

Yeah, because that was all the North Vietnamese were trying to do: just making some harmless agrarian reforms! It's not like were trying to conquer another country or something. Sheesh!

http://www.theguardian.com/fil.....t-film-yet

[John]

The Khamer Rouge were just people who had the audacity to try and change their economic system.

[Drake]

They were audacious.

[SPENCER THE DESTROYER]

with such hope.

[Derpetologist]

I taught English (she could speak it, but was nearly illiterate) to a woman who escaped Cambodia as a teenager. She had to hide in the woods on the border with Thailand for weeks before she got asylum in the US. Her family had a prosperous jewelry business. The communists looted it and left them with almost nothing. They barely escaped with their lives.

Fun fact: Most people pronounce Khmer like it looks. It actually sounds like kuh-MY-ee. The "r" is just used to indicate the tone because r never comes at the end of Khmer words.

[John]

I went to law school with a guy who along with his sister escaped Vietnam and watched both of their parents get murdered in the process. If I were that guy and ran into the asshole who wrote this article, i don't think I could keep from punching him.

[Brett L]

Say what you will about those murderous fucks, they at least understood the New Soviet Man would be needed to do so.

[MJGreen - Docile Citizen]

And it's an ethos.

[Christophe]

Killing proles doesn't count.

[SPENCER THE DESTROYER]

"hey man, we're just the peaceful Vietcong here. He just want to, you know, be free to do what we want and stuff, man. Like, okay?

We in no way want to enslave everyone to our beliefs and kill those who disagree with us- that's like, not cool man."

Press view of the north Vietnamese.

[Thymirus]

Totalitarian, murderous communist barbarians systematically exterminating civilization = freedom-fighters? Alright, then.

[ant1sthenes]

Killing people who want to erect an economy based on slavery and oppression is sad and terrible. Killing people who want to preserve an existing economy based on slavery and oppression is fucking heroic, and we should forget those assholes ever even existed.

[John]

http://blogs.news.com.au/daily....._children/

he third lady to speak, the one with all-natural, not-at-all-technological adult braces, is Ms Lierre Keith, a former radical vegan and now self-described "gender abolitionist" whose strange mental adventures have previously entertained us.

Ms Keith and her associates wish to wage "decisive ecological warfare" against? well, the rest of us, and to "disrupt and dismantle industrial civilisation," with "complete economic collapse" as the path to salvation. When not signalling their intellectual wattage by calling for the "abolition" of masculinity and "whiteness," and the "abolition" of the United States, "an illegitimate settler nation," Deep Green Resistance very much like the idea of "sabotaging infrastructure" and cutting power lines, thereby leaving tens of thousands of people without light and heat.

Such measures would, apparently, encourage "class consciousness." Elderly people in remote locations would no doubt embrace the finer points of revolutionary eco-socialism as they shivered in the dark and the feeling left their limbs.

In the day and age of easily created WMDs, these people scare the shit out of me. They view the entire human race as parasites. Talk about nihilism.

[Suthenboy]

""complete economic collapse" as the path to salvation."

I don't need salvation, fuck you very much.

[Juvenile Bluster]

So I'm sure the three people mentioned in the article live off the grid, in shacks in the woods, right?

[Cytotoxic]

"easily created WMDs"

What?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Ha. I'm sitting around the office and what do I see?

Copies of Bill Cosby 'My big lie' book for children. Published by Scholastics.

My sister has one warped sense of humor.

Perfect.

[SPENCER THE DESTROYER]

I was checking on our copies of the little bill series and they're all checked out. I was worried patrons would be complaining but most are, apparently, apathetic.

[Juvenile Bluster]

This is quite possibly the greatest tweet ever tweeted.

[Irish ?s ESB]

"#shillbucks" - Amazing.

[GILMORE, Haiku Pornographer]

lol

If anyone deserves to be snarking back at its critics, its Monsanto. They get accused of trying to Murder the World about 1000 times a second in the internet.

[lap83]

excellent

[lap83]

excellent

[John]

As if we needed any reminder, Obama once again reminded us what a thin skinned, arrogant small minded petty asshole he is.

http://pjmedia.com/instapundit/210693/

[GILMORE, Haiku Pornographer]

"Can you tell the country, sir, why you are content with all the fanfare around this deal to leave the conscious of this nation, the strength of this nation unaccounted for in relation to these four Americans?" Garrett asked.

actually, the question was asked in such an asshole way that it gave Obama the perfect out to dismiss it.

[Pro Libertate]

"Content" would be offensive if Obama didn't seem to actually ignore this whole business. Why that wasn't on the table during these "negotiations" is beyond me.

What I really don't get is that Iran is in pretty significant trouble with low oil prices and the embargo in place. That's why they came to the table in the first place. We could've made pretty substantial demands and been successful, just by being patient. In fact, one tactic we had was to throw up our hands and loudly say, "We're trying to get this soul-crushing embargo lifted, why is this government behaving so badly?" Iran isn't immune to revolt, after all.

[GILMORE, Haiku Pornographer]

Obama wants something to feather his cap with. He has zero actual concern about getting 'the best' deal. He wants this & Cuba to be his legacy since he knows the ACA is a house of cards built on a pile of shit.

[Pro Libertate]

It's weird how superficial these "accomplishments" appear to be. It's like pardoning a handful of drug users or changing his mind about gay marriage long after the tide had turned. Too little, too late. Some people may buy the bullshit now, but I doubt they will when he's out of power, hosting a late night talk show on E!.

[Suthenboy]

I think that is pretty accurate. I doubt those people ever crossed his mind. He coughed up that weak excuse after people reminded him of them after the deal was made.

[Pro Libertate]

He sure seems uninformed. I mean, even Bush seemed to know about shit like that, even if he didn't handle it adroitly.

[Libertarian]

Oh no! Iran is getting the bomb. Really. This time it's true!!!!!

http://www.informationclearing.....e30177.htm

Imminent Iran Nuclear Threat? A Timeline Of Warnings Since 1979

[John]

And that entire time the very same people who are today saying "sure this is a bad deal but it is the only alternative to war" were assuring us Iran had no nuclear weapons program at all.

They don't have those ceterfuges for nothing.

[GILMORE, Haiku Pornographer]

Not to necessarily echo john,.... but he has a point.

Obama today suggested that if we 'dont do this deal' the only logical alternative would be War.

WTF is that about? If they're not a threat (and they're not... to the US. To the region? always have been, always will)... then why the hell is the deal so absolutely-fucking-essential-at-any-cost?

meaning, the Left uses the claim of Iran's looming "potential danger" just as much as anyone when it comes to serving their own interests. Everyone does.

The fact is that most of it is horseshit, and that there's no compelling reason to necessarily change the status quo w/ Iran unless there is some clear benefit to everyone involved that can be measured and guaranteed. The current measure of 'risk vs. reward' is pretty unconvincing.

[Suthenboy]

You have your head in the sand GILMORE. Haven't you seen the Iranian navy zipping around with outboard motors and machine-gunning cardboard aircraft carriers?

Yes, we could do it, and yes, we would slaughter then in droves but, in all seriousness I think invading Iran would make Afghanistan and Iraq look like a sunday picnic.

[Derpetologist]

Iran's primary tactic in their war with Iraq in the 1980s was to send massive human wave attacks at the Iraqis until they ran out of ammo or stopped shooting out of pity.

"You can shoot down the first wave and the second, but at some point the corpses are piling up in front of you, and all you want to do is scream and throw down your weapon. Those are human beings, after all!"
-Iraqi soldier

link

Almost makes me feel sorry for the Iranians.

[Derpetologist]

They made a national hero out of a 13 year old who blew himself up under an Iraqi tank:

link

I don't think many other cultures would glorify a similar death.

[Pan Zagloba]

In a war of defense against foreign aggression? Most of the pre-45 West would be right with them. There are similar stories from WW2 all over Eastern Europe, and not just because of communism. So yeah, I can believe it. Hell, young boys who volunteered to chuck hand grenades through Nazi pillbox slits were taught as heroes when I was in school.

[Derpetologist]

True, you got me there.

I guess you grew up in Poland?

My Polish begins and ends with w szystka pronzanku? (everything OK?)

[Pan Zagloba]

Nope, Serbia. Though I'm a Polonophile, hence my use of a Polish literary character as my handle 🙂

Here's the most famous of Yugoslav partisan grenadiers (though he was 16 when he was accepted into partisans):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bo?ko_Buha

As a family note, my grandfather also had to wait until 16 to be accepted into partisans, though he did make it through the war (obviously).
I'm sure Poles have similar stories (like Boy Scouts in Warsaw Uprising), as do Russians, Ukranians etc.

[Raven Nation]

Ugh! That sounds like WWII Soviet tactics.

[Pan Zagloba]

For Iran, it was a strange mixture of necessity, strategy and cynical politics. Their army was not well equipped compared to Iraqis, but was still better trained (despite purges). The Revolutionary Guards of the regime were fanatical, dedicated, and a potential threat to the regime, since they didn't have many skills and were keen to export the revolution. So, send them in first, as they will seek martyrdom, and when they find a weak spot, use regular army to exploit it. Win or lose, you got rid of a slew of potential troublemakers whose utility has expired.

[Derpetologist]

Here's some gallows humor: a French journalist who watched the Iran-Iraq war said Khomeini thinks martyrdom is great...for other people.

[Old Man With Candy]

martyrdom is great...for other people.

Pretty common in that part of the world. Think Mashaal, for example.

[Suthenboy]

I remember that. It was horrific.

The difference now is that we would not be shooting them face to face. They would abandon that tactic quickly. Well, they would abandon it after all of the undesirables were drafted and used up as cannon fodder. Then the long grind of guerrilla warfare would begin and the body bags would start coming home.

[ant1sthenes]

But if we let them get the bomb, maybe we finally get fusion power too.

[Sevo]

"Obama also reportedly called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to offer immediate talks about upgrading Israel's offensive and defensive military capabilities."

So how much are we going to be on the hook for *this* pile of "Obo-legacy"?

[John]

A ton. The rest of the middle east is not going to stand by and let Iran get nukes. At some point they will figure they have nothing to lose and attack. If you believe there is any way in hell we will avoid getting drug into a full out regional war in the Middle East, you are dumber than Obama.

[Juvenile Bluster]

Planned Parenthood: Look at all these objective media organizations supporting us!

[Trshmnstr doesn't recycle]

Wow, what a lack of self-awareness.

[Raven Nation]

It's also profoundly stupid from a PR perspective. A better approach would be to publicly state they were appalled, demand the doctor resign, and announce an investigation.

It echoes the climate science community who continue to defend Michael Mann.

[Pan Zagloba]

I dunno. If they back down here, that might move the debate in the direction they'd be uncomfortable with. If they stand fast and manage to deflect sufficiently until something new comes up, they've just established the new normal.

[ant1sthenes]

Doctor? Granted that I only vaguely paid attention to the actual story, but I thought it was somebody important at the national office on the video.

[commodious spittoon]

Obama is angrier than anyone about something he found out from the news, except this time rather than reading it in the paper, the news said it to his face rather.

During a Wednesday press conference about the Iran nuclear deal, President Obama was angered by a question from CBS reporter Major Garrett about the American prisoners held in Iran.

"Thank you, Mr. President. As you well know, there are four Americans in Iran, three held on trumped-up charges according to your administration and one whereabouts unknown. Can you tell the country, sir, why you are content with all the fanfare around this deal to leave the conscience of this nation, the strength of this nation unaccounted for in relation to these four Americans?" Garrett asked.

This impertinent gesture generated a flurry of indignant responses, not least from the president himself:

"I've got to give you credit for how you craft those questions," Obama said, pausing at one point to glare at Garrett before continuing. "The notion that I'm content as I celebrate with American citizens languishing in Iranian jails, Major, that's?that's nonsense, and you should know better."

[commodious spittoon]

So... follow-up question, Mr. President. Just to be clear, despite doing nothing to secure the release of American hostages from a regime with which we've been negotiating, you're not content about it. Just so we're on the same page.

[commodious spittoon]

Ugh. Proofread, proofread, proofread. I'll never get that Reason internship at this rate.

[Raven Nation]

generated a flurry of indignant responses

Who from? The other members of the objective Fourth Estate in the room? Or commentators later?

[Pro Libertate]

It's really pretty criminal not to make their release part of the negotiations. We had a shitload of leverage here that we pissed away for some reason I'm not sure I understand.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

BECAUSE VALERIE JARRETT IS OF IRANIAN HERITAGE.

And commies.

At least neo-cons did what they did for America. They believed what they were doing was for America.

Not sure about this bunch.

[Suthenboy]

He is a proggie to the bone. He was indoctrinated from birth by communists and America haters. Progressives want to remake society, but first comes the destruction of the existing one, fundamental transformation, if you will.

Everything he has done has damaged our nation, our economy, our society.

[commodious spittoon]

Twitter, apparently. I didn't go digging, there's only so much derp I can deal with in one sitting.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

After GoFundMe dropped them, the Christian bakers in Oregon raised $355,000 through a Christian fundraising organization.

(from lifesitenews)

http://ow.ly/PFjub

It was suggested that they ram hobnailed boots up the asses of gay activists, but the idea was vetoed because the activists would probably enjoy it too much.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

"Though the family had hoped to pass on Sweet Cakes by Melissa to their five children, the boycott reduced them to working from their home kitchen and forced Aaron to take a job as a garbage collector.

This spring, labor commissioner Brad Avakian fined the Kleins $135,000 and ordered the couple "to cease and desist from publishing, circulating, issuing or displaying, or causing to be published"

Brad Avakian. Welcome to the Woodchipper Hall of Fame. Asshole.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Gofundme really makes it hard to contact them for a simple query.

[Rhywun]

It was suggested that they ram hobnailed boots up the asses of gay activists, but the idea was vetoed because the activists would probably enjoy it too much.

Oh, that's charming.

[SPENCER THE DESTROYER]

oh yes. wow.

[John]

Damn.

[Mrs. Lemuel Struthers]

Wow. She is beautiful. Not like the uglies Irish has been posting.

Too bad golf is all but dead.

[Pan Zagloba]

Yes. Yes we shall.

How about waterpolo next?

[Mrs. Lemuel Struthers]

How about baseball?

If I were a lesbian, I would.

[Suthenboy]

I hate to dampen ya'lls enthusiasm, but keep in mind that the only balls women golfers are interested in are the ones they hit with a club.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Egad, sir, I'll be in the clubhouse.

[Irish ?s ESB]

You are such a fucking monster, Kristin Tate is glorious and that annoying as shit girl from Al Jazeera was still pretty good looking.

I agree this blonde is ludicrously good looking, but your libel will not stand.

[Suthenboy]

"Too bad golf is all but dead."

So, pick another sport.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbESRGnFe5Y

[Chinny Chin Chin]

At least to get rid of the slaveholding racists Washington and Jefferson.

[perlchpr]

Might be worth that as a price of entry. It's been a while.

[Mrs. Lemuel Struthers]

If you're picking out a fantasy girlfriend why go for nice looking when fucking beautiful is available? Think big.

[Pan Zagloba]

So, regular PM Links feature?

[Suthenboy]

I just picked that sport randomly, knowing there would be beautiful women. Now I have watched it.

Holy shit, those girls really are stunning. Jaw droppingly, breath takingly, stunning. It is hard to believe they are real.

[lap83]

I have to agree with Irish, he can't afford to set very high standards for his fantasy girlfriends
*scampers away*

[MJGreen - Docile Citizen]

There was a collective "woah" in the theater when she appears naked in Wolf of Wall Street.

[CatoTheChipper]

Teddy was a racist as well, as was Lincoln.

[Irish ?s ESB]

I am but a lowly sex bear. On the rare occasion Molly Soda lets me out of her toy box, I don't have particularly high standards.

[jesse.in.mb]

bear

No

[Crusty Juggler]

I will have to start posting some photos I like.

[Chinny Chin Chin]

SHUT YOUR WHORE REVISIONIST HISTORIZING MOUTH!

Teddy and Uncle Abe were progressive American heroes.