Bomb Hits Bangkok, College Football Unionization Efforts Rejected, Star Wars to Take Over More of Disney Parks: P.M. Links

• A bomb blast in Bangkok, Thailand, has killed at least 18 and injured more than 100. The explosion was reportedly centered near the popular Hindu Erawan shrine. Nobody has claimed credit for the explosion as yet.

• The National Labor Relations Board has rejected the efforts by Northwestern College's football team to unionize. The Board decided unanimously that they do not have jurisdiction over state-run universities and colleges.
• There's a push underway now to change Mississippi's flag in order to remove the Confederate emblem from it.
• Even more Hillary Clinton emails have been flagged for review to see if they contain classified material that should not be publicly released.
• Three years ago Californians passed a ballot initiative taxing corporations to create an estimated 11,000 green energy jobs a year. Guess what happened next! The state didn't create all those jobs, obviously.
• The White House announced today it was launching a plan to treat heroin addicts rather than punish them (what a coincidence!) in order to counter the current "epidemic." They are nevertheless going to also keep trying to fight the drug by trying to go after the sources, so the drug war won't be scaled back much, if any.
• The governor of Utah has ordered state agencies to stop giving federal money to Planned Parenthood within the state.
• Star Wars fans should start planning trips to the Disney parks in California and Florida in the next couple of years, if only to complain about everything they get wrong.

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Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

The National Labor Relations Board has rejected the efforts by Northwestern College's football team to unionize.

To make things worse, Walmart bought the rights to all the bowl games.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Hello.

Give me some fun.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZ3ai-ZYLP0

[LynchPin1477]

I think we should all secretly agree not to post in the PM links one day and not tell Fist. The thought of all those witty comments all by their lonesome warms the cockles of my heart.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

FIST IS NOT MY BOSS.

He's my friend.

[LynchPin1477]

I hate to tell you this, but he's just using you for your poutine.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Is this for...

true?

[Fist of Etiquette]

I don't keep my BMI at 22 by eating poutine.

[LynchPin1477]

Don't feel bad. We're libertarians. We're all using each other for our own selfish personal gain, or so I have been told.

[AlmightyJB]

Fist is obviously a bot.

[Fist of Etiquette]

I have everyone else blocked so my comments are all I see anyway.

[LynchPin1477]

Then how did you see my comment?

[Fist of Etiquette]

I didn't. I just randomly post a comment reminding people that I block them and also a comment explaining that comment.

[Mad Scientist]

Love of two is one.
Here but now they're gone.

[Warty]

Free Vikingmoose!

[JW]

Trapped under all that Santorum.

The horror. THE HORROR.

[Warty]

One day a hard salty ham rain is going to come and wash all the scum off the streets.

[JW]

I hope the Santorum family, one day, assembles to re-enact that picture.

[Fist of Etiquette]

One would think they do it every time he fails to get the nomination, but I have a feeling even they know he's never going to be president.

[Warty]

I assume that they do it every year on the anniversary.

[Fist of Etiquette]

The White House announced today it was launching a plan to treat heroin addicts rather than punish them (what a coincidence!) in order to counter the current "epidemic."

Why does heroin deserve this special treatment? PUN INTENDED

[RBS]

I'm sure these new "patients" won't be "encouraged" to seek treatment at centers owned by well connected people.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

Puns are the lowest form of humor.

You deserved to be pun-ished by... heroin treatment from the government

[Fist of Etiquette]

There's a push underway now to change Mississippi's flag in order to remove the Confederate emblem from it.

Any plans to change Mississippi itself?

[Antilles]

Not necessary. The flag is the root of all their problems. Get rid of that symbol of hatred and racial harmony will sweep the state.

[RBS]

And literacy.

[LynchPin1477]

The Board decided unanimously that they do not have jurisdiction over state-run universities and colleges.

Um...Northwestern is private.

[Ted S.]

It's as public as USC!

/sarcasm

[C. Anacreon]

Dammit, I went to Northwestern! Now I have to find this out???

[C. Anacreon]

Also, the alma mater is called Northwestern University, not Northwestern College. In case you hadn't heard, Mr. Shackford, it's even a rather well-regarded institution (especially in your local LA film/tv industry).

[AlmightyJB]

Big Ten braniacs.

[db]

They turn it up to eleven twelve.

[Fist of Etiquette]

The state didn't create all those jobs, obviously.

It's the thought that counts.

[LynchPin1477]

I'm sure they didn't spend the money on thoughts.

[Juvenile Bluster]

I blame corporations who fled the state because of the high tax scheme. They should be punished.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

Well, to be fair, they haven't finished creating all the hamster wheels that all those green jobs were going to consist of.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Even more Hillary Clinton emails have been flagged for review to see if they contain classified material that should not be publicly released.

Others have been flagged for spam.

[Irish ?s ESB]

A bomb blast in Bangkok, Thailand, has killed at least 18 and injured more than 100. The explosion was reportedly centered near the popular Hindu Erawan shrine. Nobody has claimed credit for the explosion as yet.

I'll wager a guess about what it was related to.

Over 6,000 people have died and more than 10,000 have been injured between 2004 and 2014 in a formerly ethnic separatist insurgency, which has currently been taken over by hard-line Jihadis and pitted them against both the Thai-speaking Buddhist minority and local Muslims who have a moderate approach or who support the Thai government.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Jews?

[Rich]

Lord Shiva?

[LynchPin1477]

Sounds like this insurgency is heating up to about 4 Thai chili peppers. You don't want to know what happens when they get to 5.

[Antilles]

A friend of mine retired to Thailand and gets upset whenever I refer to the murderous Muslims in his country as "terrorists." He's says they're separatists, and that they only attack those who represent the Thai government (such as Buddhist monks...?). Wonder how he'll defend this latest attack.

[Irish ?s ESB]

It's especially laughable since there have been foreign Jihadists who have traveled to Thailand to fight on behalf of the insurgency.

Content warning and also shameless blog plug, but I wrote about Reza Aslan lying about 'moderate Islamic countries' and the picture at the top of the post is of an Iranian terrorist who traveled to Thailand to take part in the Jihad and accidentally blew his legs off with hand grenades.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

'Moderate' meaning they don't condone terrorism but they understand it and in some cases privately say, 'good'.

It's just that they don't lash out like their psycho brethren.

But hey. Christian crusades. So shut up.

[Irish ?s ESB]

Reza Aslan explicitly said that Indonesia has completely equal rights for women.

Completely equal. You know, Indonesia. The country where 80% of women undergo genital mutilation and where they force women who want to join the police department to undergo two finger 'virginity tests.'

Aslan is such a liar that it always amazes me when people are too ignorant to call him on his bullshit.

[Medical Physics Guy]

This is because he's like a Greg Mortensen with the right genes. He serves the liberal purpose perfectly. The only reason he hasn't flown higher is because he keeps trying to represent himself as a religion scholar, when he's an adjunct professor of creative writing. I think this has pissed off the academic religion establishment and they have blocked him out.

[Tonio]

Indonesia...[t]he country where 80% of women undergo genital mutilation

Ugh. Disgusting. Thanks.

[Copernicus would chip]

" The country where 80% of women undergo genital mutilation "

I reckon my scientific study is as accurate as anyone's. I've personally inspected a ton of Indonesian cilt and found each and every one of them to be fully intact and highly functional.

[Crusty Juggler]

shameless blog plug

blocked.

[Irish ?s ESB]

Hey man, I warn you when I'm being a shameless self-promoter.

That's the least you can ask since I am a raging narcissist.

[Crusty Juggler]

Still blocked.

[LynchPin1477]

shameless blog plug

Just be careful that you don't get it stuck.

[Cytotoxic]

An Iranian? Was he Shi'ite? That would be kind of unusual.

[Medical Physics Guy]

I'm sure he was Baha'i - bloodthirsty savages that they are

(/sarc)

[Irish ?s ESB]

Iranians have carried out a bunch of bombings and attempted bombings in Thailand.

A lot of the time their bomb attempts are targeting Israeli ambassadors and things like that.

Lebanese Shi'a who were sponsored by Iranians have also tried to kill Jewish tourists in Thailand.

[Irish ?s ESB]

^ The dead Iranian was apparently actually a part of that first bomb plot and they were targeting Israelis.

So that was unrelated to the Southern Thai insurgency because it was a targeted attempt at a political assassination.

It's hard to keep my Islamist terrorist organizations straight some times.

[*GILMORE*]

re: the Iranian bombing attempts in Bankok...

the NYT story covering the same? has this prototypical comment =

Harry San Francisco, CA February 14, 2012
So why is it terrorism when the Iranians engage in this absolute heinous nonsense but when the Israelis engage in it, murdering 5 scientists, it?s supposed to be ok?

No one anywhere suggested that Israeli assasinations were "okay". Its just the knee-jerk, "UH WE DO IT TOO!! IRAQ BOOOOOSH!!!"-reaction to anything that they think sounds like confirmation of the narrative that the Moolimbs are actually not very-nice-people.

this guy noted the same thing =

" Matt NY February 14, 2012

Too predictable - if it wasn't so serious a subject, it would be funny. An Iranian man throws a grenade at a taxi. An Iranian man throws a grenade at Thai police. The Thai police arrest another Iranian man. NYT commentariat blames Israel.

I proudly identify as a Democrat, and it's hard to see a population with whom I otherwise agree with on most issues be so far off on this."

[Cytotoxic]

It's not terrorism when Israel does it because Israel is trying not to be nuked off the map.

[Cytotoxic]

Clearly blowback for Thailand's imperial interventions abroad, much like Peru's imperial interventions abroad were the root cause of Hizbollah's plot to murder Israeli tourists in Peru. I have been informed as much by members of the commentariat that they hate us because we are over there and that this is the "root cause" of terrorism, not states that support terrorism. Thinking otherwise is neocon thoughtcrime.

[Juvenile Bluster]

Blame the Jews? He sounds like the type that'd blame the Jews.

[Antilles]

Actually, my 'friend' is a raging anti-Semite who has always maintained a shrine to his grandfather who served in the SS. I have no doubt his affection for Muslims is the result of his shared hatred of Jews. He could never explain to me why he hates them so much, but that's typical.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

He's your friend?

[Antilles]

Not sure what else to call him. We grew up together and went to school together. Never thought his anti-Jew rants were a big deal until I grew up. We communicate occasionally through email, but I try to avoid political topics. But if I met someone like him today I would not associate with him.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Sounds like an interesting, erm, friendship.

Write a book.

'My pal is a NAZI!'

[Antilles]

Back in high school he was part of a WWII re-enactment group (playing a German soldier, of course) and on Halloween he literally came to school dressed as a Nazi. He spent 20 years in the Marines and none of his commanding officers had a problem with his idolization of his Nazi grandpa. But other than the fact he'd like to see all Jewish people rounded up and exterminated, he's pretty good guy. That last line was supposed to be a joke.

[Juvenile Bluster]

Your friend is Eric Cartman?

[Antilles]

I never thought of that before. But now that you mention it, kinda...

[RBS]

You didn't eat the chili did you?

[Antilles]

Ah, no. Unlike Cartman, he was mostly bluster.

[Cytotoxic]

Get better friends.

[Antilles]

I maintain our acquaintance mainly for one reason: I'd like to visit Thailand someday and it would be nice to be shown around by a local. He's actually not a bad person. He's just ignorant on some issues plus he was brainwashed from a young age by his German mother who openly expressed she thought the Jews got what they deserved during WWII. Shocking to hear that now, but I was just a kid at the time and didn't know any better.

[Irish ?s ESB]

So he's an anti-Semite who denies Islamic fundamentalism.

Are you friends with George Galloway?

[Antilles]

No, but that's not too far off...

[Juvenile Bluster]

I know somebody who's constantly sharing 'George Galloway for Mayor of London' stuff. Apparently after he couldn't get re-elected in Bradford because he's an idiot, he thinks he can run for mayor of London and win.

Read the other day that he's vowed to make London "Israel Free" if elected.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

What an ass and a piece of shit Galloway is.

[Ted S.]

One wonders what will happen when the king finally dies.

[Antilles]

They'll probably have to allow the southern part of their country to separate and become its own Muslim country (just like India did with Pakistan). Of course, that would create all kinds of new problems...

[Irish ?s ESB]

It would almost make more sense if Malaysia just got that territory since the people there are all ethnic Malay Muslims anyway.

[Cytotoxic]

Malaysia has a lot of injustices but it isn't so bad. Annexation might be for the best.

[Copernicus would chip]

While the importance of the King to the Thai people cannot be overstated, I don't see the King having much to do with the fight between the Thai government and the separatists.

[Cytotoxic]

BUH-BUH-BLOWBACK!!11 /Paultard

[Copernicus would chip]

"I'll wager a guess about what it was related to"

You'll likely lose that wager. Mostly, the separatist jihadists do their violence locally (in the south), mostly. Mostly, violence and bombings in Bangkok are motivated by internal (Thailand) political fights, mostly.

[Jerry on the sea]

Nobody has claimed credit for the explosion as yet.

A local Jewish sect?

[CatoTheChipper]

Karen Christians?

Zen Buddhists?

Hmong shamanists?

Atheists?

[Fist of Etiquette]

The governor of Utah has ordered state agencies to stop giving federal money to Planned Parenthood within the state.

Who could have guessed the optics of selling baby parts would appear so bad?

[Rich]

Even more Hillary Clinton emails have been flagged for review to see if they contain classified material that should not be publicly released.

That had jolly well better not be the *Confederate* flag!

[Jordan]

The SC decision Reed v. Town of Gilbert was overshadowed this term, but it may seriously roll back the regulatory state:

Though just two months old, the decision has already required lower courts to strike down laws barring panhandling, automated phone calls and "ballot selfies."

The key move in Justice Thomas's opinion was the vast expansion of what counts as content-based. The court used to say laws were content-based if they were adopted to suppress speech with which the government disagreed.

Justice Thomas took a different approach. Any law that singles out a topic for regulation, he said, discriminates based on content and is therefore presumptively unconstitutional.

Securities regulation is a topic. Drug labeling is a topic. Consumer protection is a topic.

That same week, the federal appeals court in Richmond, Va., agreed that Reed had revised the meaning of content neutrality. "Reed has made clear," the court said, that "the government's justification or purpose in enacting the law is irrelevant" if it singles out topics for regulation.

Strict scrutiny, bitches!

[Calidissident]

RC Dean, I wanted to continue the conversation we had earlier in the Libertarian Moment thread. Here were the comments, to refresh your memory:

Me: "The story of liberty in the US has been one of give and take, progress in some areas accompanied by setbacks in others, not one of constant growth or constant decline."

You: "For the last two or three generations, its been one of pretty constant decline, with a few exceptions. Kind of a ten steps back, one step forward deal."

Me: "How long are you defining a generation as? 20 years? 30? I can't really respond to that question unless I know the time frame you're specifying."

http://reason.com/blog/2015/08.....nt_5520278

[Cytotoxic]

RC Dean is wrong about gun rights, MJ legalization, and gay rights. Economic freedom is worse but lately a large number of states have been implementing policy we could only fantasize about 10 years ago. I think NH constitutionally forbade a state income tax.

[Juvenile Bluster]

There's a lot of things wrong with Florida, and a lot of things wrong with our government, but I love the fact that (1) state income tax is constitutionally forbidden here as well, and (2) it would take a 60% vote to overturn that, which will never happen.

[DEG]

The NH Constitution does not prohibit an income tax. NH has an income tax but it is limited to interest and dividend income only.

An attempt to ban income taxes through a constitutional amendment failed.

[Cytotoxic]

It may have been Tennessee. I am almost positive is it was TN.

[DEG]

Tennessee also has an income tax which only affects interest and dividend income. Tennessee passed a constitutional amendment prohibiting income taxes except for income taxes already in place.

[Cytotoxic]

Also, RC Dean's claim that spending is going up and up is also pretty wrong. It was true before the Great Recession (PBUH) but USG discretionary spending has been pretty level since. Many states are getting serious about curtailing excesses.

[Irish ?s ESB]

USG discretionary spending

Well the primary problem with US deficits isn't discretionary spending, it's entitlements.

[Cytotoxic]

True. But it's gotta start somewhere.

[*GILMORE*]

" SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) ? Three years after California voters passed a ballot measure to raise taxes on corporations and generate clean energy jobs by funding energy-efficiency projects in schools, barely one-tenth of the promised jobs have been created, and the state has no comprehensive list to show how much work has been done or how much energy has been saved.

Money is trickling in at a slower-than-anticipated rate, and more than half of the $297 million given to schools so far has gone to consultants and energy auditors. The board created to oversee the project and submit annual progress reports to the Legislature has never met, according to a review by The Associated Press."

I never would have imagined in my wildest dreams......

....that anyone would have expected *anything else*

[JW]

Oh man, someone is going to get fired.

[*GILMORE*]

ha ha hahahaha hahaha haha
...

..wait you're not kidding.

sigh. no, not only will no one get fired.... no one will remember farther than tomorrow.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

The idiots who voted for it were expecting *a free pony*.

[Mad Scientist]

The voters knew this would be horribly mismanaged and a complete waste of money. But they also knew NOT voting for it would mean opposing "green" energy and giving tax breaks to evil corporations. So they went with the 2 minutes of warm fuzzy.

[JW]

It screwed Big Business and accomplished practically nothing, all the while pissing money away like a fire hose?

DEMOCRACY WORKS!

[neoteny]

The board created to oversee the project and submit annual progress reports to the Legislature has never met

... but picked up their per diem for the planned meeting days, I bet.

[Rich]

Clinton's campaign has more recently said none of her e-mails were marked classified. Experts say it is the responsibility of an e-mail's author to handle classified material correctly, including by using proper markings to indicate its presence.

And, of course, it is *impossible* to ascertain the author of those e-mails.

[Mickey Rat]

So the Secretary of State was cut out of all important e-mail threads or some incompetent redshirt forgot to mark them properly. In every single case.

Even if true, how does that reflect well on Hilary's management of State?

[Copernicus would chip]

The crime is the intentional avoidance of using the properly secured communication system established by the State Department.

Whether or not actual security breaches occurred pales into insignificance.

[Pan Zagloba]

To celebrate the one-month anniversary of Accomplished Female Athletes of Eastern and Central Europe, today we have Yelena Isinbayeva. World record holder in pole vault, Olympic gold 2004 and 2008, Bronze 2012, World Champion 2005, 2007, 2013, Indoor World Champion 2004, 2006, 2008, 2012. She set the world record 28 times (15 outdoor, 13 indoor) and is generally considered top female pole vaulter of all time.
Here's a shot from Adidas promo shoot.
And here is a gallery of images from various competitions.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

When you gonna do Dene and Uzbeki women?

[Ted S.]

Are Uzbeks East or Central European?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

DON'T GET SMART WITH ME.

[Medical Physics Guy]

Don't rush him -- he's got this

[Pan Zagloba]

Asia isn't Europe, sir! I'd sooner throw in Finnish women, given how long Duchy of Finland was a part of Russia.

[DEG]

I have a Mosin-Nagant M1891 that was made in France under contract and counts as an antique under US Federal firearms laws. It is in great shape. I wondered how it survived that long in Russia and the Soviet Union in that great shape. I found out why when I researched some of the markings on the rifle. It wasn't in the Soviet Union, and probably didn't see use in the First World War. It has Finnish army markings.

[Mock-star]

Theres a good chance that it might have been used in the Winter War, though. Which is awesome.

[DEG]

I must resist temptation. Only a little longer before I wrap up my work and can leave the office.

[DEG]

She's OK.

[Copernicus would chip]

Have to admit, she is a bit "mannish".

[Jordan]

Depressing example of economic ignorance:

His interviewee, Mike Munger, explained how there was a hurricane in Raleigh, North Carolina. The roads were blocked, there was no electricity and there was a shortage of ice.

Ice may not sound that important but it is. Not only does it help to preserve food but it also helps to preserve some medicines like, for instance, the insulin needed by diabetics.

Some "yahoos" ? Munger's term ? saw an opportunity to make money. They got themselves a truck, loaded it with ice and some chainsaws and proceeded to drive towards the centre of Raleigh. If they found the road in front of them blocked they chopped up the fallen trees and carried on.

When they got to the centre of town they started selling the ice. Usually, ice sold for $2 a bag. They were selling it for $12. Very soon a queue appeared. Then the police arrived. Citing price-gouging laws they arrested the men and impounded the truck.

And here's the kicker: as the truck was towed away the people in the queue applauded the police.

So, here we have an example where the gap between cause ? the price gouging laws ? and effect ? the lack of supply ? is instantaneous. And yet people still support the law.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

As they yokels cheered Brandeen asked, 'So? What are we gonna do for ice?'

A collective 'D'oh' was heard from here to South of the Border in South Carolina.

[JW]

'So? What are we gonna do for ice?'

Storm the truck and "liberate" the ice. Duh.

[BigT]

If even one diabetic (or other) was harmed I smell a lawsuit from local diabetics. Wouldn't that be nice!

...except the taxpayers would tax-pay for this, as usual.

[Copernicus would chip]

Considering the ice was delivered through a forest of felled trees, I'd say $12/bag is underpriced.

[Apatheist ?_??]

Reason H&R J sub D Memorial Fantasy Football League 2015

Do to Ken's schedule I have been promoted to acting commissioner for this year's league.

If you participated previously and have not joined back up yet please check your spam folders as apparently the Yahoo emails can get filtered there.

We have at least one open spot so if anybody is interested in joining please email me at the address in my handle.

[*GILMORE*]

"There's a push underway now to change Mississippi's flag in order to remove the Confederate emblem from it."

FAGGOT COMMUNISTS AINT GONE MESS WITH ARE FLAGS LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT VOTE TRUMP

/pre-empting warty

[jesse.in.mb]

I thought you guys had reached some kind of detente...wishful thinking on my part?

[*GILMORE*]

detente suggests there was ever any 'conflict'

making fun of people's behavior is sort of a status quo, homeostatic condition that ensures harmony and balance in the universe

[jesse.in.mb]

Ah well as long as homeostasis is being achieved who am I to worry?

[*GILMORE*]

You're messing it up now. *just when it was all balanced!!!*

Someone get the ball

[jesse.in.mb]

Jesus, I'd entirely forgotten about that movie. A friend of mine took me out to see Jon Brion at the Largo right after that came out too. Now I'm listening to Knock Yourself Out from the sound track.

[Crusty Juggler]

Good song.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

It's always about the gay with you, ain't it.

[Warty]

homeostatic

FAG

[*GILMORE*]

Well played

[Cytotoxic]

Well....Warty's impression of yokeltarians ain't wrong.

[*GILMORE*]

SHUT UP UR ONE OF THEM YOU CANADIAN SHITTY MOVIE LOVER

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

Warty does impressions?

[Carl, Fighter of the Nightman]

He leaves impressions.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

"Even more Hillary Clinton emails have been flagged for review to see if they contain classified material that should not be publicly released."

RE: For your eyes only. Translate. I want you. I need you. I shiver all over with lustful anticipation in hopes you travel deep within my vulva. Meet me under the boardwalk at midnight and let's make the wood moist like my (not fit for consumption).

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

That, while not classified, should also not ever, EVER, be publically released.

[Juvenile Bluster]

I'm realizing that several H&Runners; have a sexual obsession with HRC, and I'm deeply, deeply concerned.

[ant1sthenes]

Yeah, you best stop with that Necronomicon shit before you summon some eldritch abominations.

[Paul.]

A bomb blast in Bangkok, Thailand, has killed at least 18 and injured more than 100. The explosion was reportedly centered near the popular Hindu Erawan shrine. Nobody has claimed credit for the explosion as yet.

Using the logic of the domestic gun control movement, explosives were responsible for the explosion.

[Rich]

Well, to be fair, the people who caused the explosion probably have guns.

[The Last American Hero]

Guns are a gateway weapon.

[Warty]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Maryland bid goodbye to a superhero, when Leonard B. Robinson, the "Route 29 Batman," was struck in a fatal car accident Sunday.

Robinson's "Batmobile," a custom Lamborghini, broke down on Interstate 70 near Hagerstown, Md. Robinson, often dressed up as the Dark Knight and visited area hospitals to visit sick children. He was on his way home from a car show when the accident occurred.

[Paul.]

Was he wearing his Dark Knight costume whilst wandering about on the highway?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I bet he did more for America than Barry has.

[BigT]

Talk about your low expectations.

[DEG]

This is sad news.

[*GILMORE*]

Batmobile

It actually appears to be an unmodified Murcialago Spyder

[Derpetologist]

Spot the Not: how many angels can dance on the head of a pin?

1. The Sunni/Shia split came from an argument over who should have been Mohamed's successor

2. One reason for the Schism of 1054 was whether leavened or unleavened bread should be used for communion.

3. Buddhism was split over how much saints should be worshiped.

4. Judaism split over the correct diameter of yarmulkes.

5. The Mormon Church split over whether polygamy should be allowed.

6. The Russian Orthodox Church split over how to bend their fingers to make the sign of the cross.

[Rhywun]

#4

[DEG]

1 and 5 are true.

I say 6. The Russian Orthodox Church had a split over symbolism, part of which involved the sign of the cross. If I remember correctly, it was over the number of fingers to hold up, not how to bend fingers.

[Notorious UGCC (N? GKC)]

4

As for 2, the polemics on both sides did, indeed, mention the issue of communion bread, but this was after the quarrel was already well underway, and I don't think it's fair to blame the schism between Catholics and Orthodox on the issue.

Also, 1054 is adopted as a sort of shorthand for an ongoing process of separation - since this year marked some dramatic mutual excommunications, it's fixed on as the date of the schism but in fact it's a longer process.

[*GILMORE*]

MORE PEDANTRY PLEASE YUMMY YUM YUM

[Notorious UGCC (N? GKC)]

What about Cato the Chipper's comments below?

[*GILMORE*]

he wins on brevity.

for the record, i was tempted to say the same thing re: 1054, but decided it was boring.

[*GILMORE*]

4

you certainly did your homework on the rest though

[Derpetologist]

Bonus silliness:

Most Christians use the translation which says "this is my body which is given for you". Others argue it should be translated as "this is my body which is broken for you."

A major dispute between eastern and western Christianity comes from whether the holy spirit proceeds from just god the father or from the god the father and Jesus.

Something something Gulliver's Travels....

Lilliputians broke boiled eggs on the larger end; a few generations ago, an Emperor of Lilliput, the Present Emperor's great-grandfather, had decreed that all eggs be broken on the smaller end after his son cut himself breaking the egg on the larger end. The differences between Big-Endians (those who broke their eggs at the larger end) and Little-Endians had given rise to "six rebellions... wherein one Emperor lost his life, and another his crown". The Lilliputian religion says an egg should be broken on the convenient end, which is now interpreted by the Lilliputians as the smaller end. The Big-Endians gained favour in Blefuscu.

[Notorious UGCC (N? GKC)]

I've been at Catholic parishes which used one formula, and other parishes which used the other.

Not so much with Orthodox parishes.

The perpetuation of the schism can be historically be credited to the Turks and the Russians, both of whom overturned Catholic/Orthodox councils which agreed to reunion.

The Turks, of course, having conquered Orthodox peoples, didn't want those their subjects to have Western associations.

The Russian tsars (czars) wanted to be the big bosses in Christianity, so they had no wish to recognize the Pope and instead anointed themselves (tsars) as the Guardians of Orthodoxy.

[Derpetologist]

It sure would be great of Christians spent more pondering the Sermons on the Mount and on the Plain and acting on them instead of all the other nonsense.

[Notorious UGCC (N? GKC)]

To be fair, the Catholics and Orthodox have been doing a lot of work together. The Pope and the Patriarch rescinded the mutual excommunications of 1054 back in the 1960s, and (I bet this cheers you up), Pope Francis praises the Patriarch's environmentalism.

And I suspect Catholics and Orthodox will be working together in, say, Ukraine to deal with the humanitarian crisis in that country:

http://ncronline.org/news/glob.....t-millions

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

I say 3, what the fuck is a buddhist saint?

[Derpetologist]

The word they use is Bodhisattva, which means a Buddha-like person or an enlightened being.
They are enlightened beings which choose to continue to be reincarnated rather than go to nirvana so they can help others achieve enlightenment.

[jesse.in.mb]

Sometimes they're deities from other local religions who have been syncretized with Buddhist belief. Guanyin is a good example (she's the Chinese iteration of Avalokiteshvara (spelling?)

Avalokiteshvara shows up across Mahayan Buddhism, but Guanyin also shows up in folk traditions and Taoism.

[Derpetologist]

4 is the Not. Here is the deal with the finger thing:

The old practice was: Two fingers, pointer finger straight, middle finger slightly bent

The new practice promoted by the patriach was: Two fingers joined with thumb, held at point

link

[DEG]

Damn. I thought I had it. Thanks! This was a good Spot the Not.

[Notorious UGCC (N? GKC)]

It's good to have a hobby: Dr. Samuel Mudd's descendants still want to clear the name of their ancestor, convicted and sentenced to prison for his alleged role in the Lincoln assassination plot.

One day, John Wilkes Booth showed up at his house with an injured leg and, as a physician, he helped fix the leg!

http://www.theguardian.com/us-.....onspirator

Oh, and Mudd already received a "full and unconditional pardon" from Andrew Johnson in 1869:

https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Dr._Mudd's_Pardon

[Winston]

Time to revoke that Pardon....

[DEG]

Somewhere in my travel pictures I have a picture of Dr. Mudd's cell in Fort Jefferson.

[CatoTheChipper]

I guess #6. However, the Schism of 1054 was over much more than communion bread. The celibacy of priests was a much, much bigger issue.

[Derpetologist]

Etymology of religious names

"Religion" comes from a Latin word that means restraint.
Islam means submission.
Christianity, Buddhism, and Zoroastrianism are named after their founders.
Judaism is named after the ancient Jewish kingdom of Judah.
Hinduism comes from the Persian word for pagan.
Wicca comes from an Old English word for witch.
Orthodox means correct teaching.
Catholic means universal.
Evangelical comes from a word that means "good news".
Protestant means protester.
Sunni means traditionalist.
Shia means faction or splitter.
Heathen means someone who lives in a field.

[Derpetologist]

Episcopal comes from a word that means overseer.
Presbyterian comes from a word that means elder.

[ant1sthenes]

"Shia means faction or splitter."

Wait, they call themselves that?

[Derpetologist]

A jody I have been working on, based on this tune:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7iVsdRbhnc

Army Strong, Army Strong
Army boot camp is 10 weeks long
Opponents beware
Opponents beware
I'm coming, I'm coming, I'm coming, I'm coming

I gotta pocket fulla horses
I fuck the shit outta bears
I throw knives into heaven
I can kill with a stare

I'll kick you apart
I'll kick you apart

jun-jun-jun-jun-jun-jun-jun!

I make love like an eagle
Fallin outta the sky
I killed my sensei in a duel
And I never said why

I'll kick you apart
I'll kick you apart

Army Strong, in control
Ladies dig my clothes and my gallant stroll
Opponents beware
Opponents beware
I'm coming, I'm coming, I'm coming, I'm coming

[*GILMORE*]

I forget, how many dicks does George Washington have?

[RBS]

A lot, then you have to add the dicks his dicks have.

[Tejicano]

Here is mine - admittedly just a modification to a well-known one -

C130 rollin' down the strip
Airborne Ranger gonna take a little trip
Stand up, hook up, shuffle to the door
Jump right out and count to four
Just a smokin' hole in a hot LZ
Grunt muthafucker couldn't count past three

[Cytotoxic]

I don't have the links because lazy, but Japan's GDP contracted last quarter and the Philly Fed Index of Manufacturing (I think) went from about 3.6 to negative 14. UH OH.

[Paul.]

Ruh roh is right.

[Paul.]

The good news is, Japan can always lower interest rates.

[*GILMORE*]

You're confusing Philly Fed with NYS manufacturing index

Ny has a very small manufacturing base. the number is still up year over year. means little/nothing.

[Cytotoxic]

You're right about the first part but it is not little or nothing. This is quite bad.

[*GILMORE*]

No, its not

Consolidated indexes are all modestly positive

summer data often has a few odd areas of weakness. people shut things down/go to half-hours in august. See = Reason's posting-schedule of late.

[robc]

Isnt Northwestern a private U?

[Cytotoxic]

The Trump insanity is really making me thankful to be Canadian. The worst we'll get is Mulcair, and he might actually repeal some of Harper's awful laws. We'll be unemployed but not surveilled as much.

[Paul.]

Is he going to build a wall on your southern border too?

[Winston]

You Know Which Other Canadian PM said he would repeal his predecessor's laws during the election campaign?

[Paul.]

Obama?

[BigT]

He said Canadian PM, not Kenyan BM.

[Winston]

July and August should be renamed. We must not have the government honoring the dictatorial imperialist tyrant who killed a million Gauls and enslaved another million of them and the other imperialist dictatorial tyrant who passed laws to preserve the institution of slavery.

[Cytotoxic]

OH LOOK AT HOW CLEVER AND EDGY THIS GUY IS

[Winston]

Oh look at how moronic and stupid Cytotoxic is.

And better add in New York, Albany and Yale.

[Cytotoxic]

Nice comeback bro. Again, so clever and edgy. Make sure not cut yourself with your edginess.

[Derpetologist]

Thursday should be renamed as it may trigger those suffering from bronophobia.

[Derpetologist]

*brontophobia

[Winston]

Four of the days of the week honor Pagan German Gods and Saturday honors a Pagan Roman god, stop othering non-German and non-Roman pagans!

[AlmightyJB]

I think some spankings are definitely in order. Form a line ladies.

[*GILMORE*]

God, 'Guest Opinion' is a douchebag

[Crusty Juggler]

It's like you are all about flouncing women.

[AlmightyJB]

What's flouncing? That sounds fun.

[*GILMORE*]

These so-called "feminist" people do nothing but bitch about other people's failures to achieve an elusive ideal which no one likes very much anyway.

"The video lacks any mention of core ideals or service and philanthropy efforts. It lacks substance but boasts bodies. It's the kind of thing that subconsciously educates young men on how to perceive, and subsequently treat, women in their lives.....
....Did any of them stop to think about what they'd be selling? Did they think they were selling a respectable set of sorority chapter ideals? Did they think they were selling the kind of sisterhood that looks out for all women?"

They seem to think that everyone on earth needs to be a fucking Dour, Self-Important, Anti-Make-Up, Free-Tampon Demanding, Perpetrually-Pissed-Off about meaningless gender-disparities, modern day Fawn Leibowitz

They think THIS is somehow more interesting and laudable than THIS

There is a popular idea that Bimbos that revel in their own Bimbo-ery are all the female-equivalent of House Negroes and Gender Traitors. Its fucking stupid. While I personally hate the male version (e.g. Guidos), I don't act like they're somehow "Society's Fault".

[AlmightyJB]

I don't think the first girl needs a sandwich.

[AlmightyJB]

She's getting slammed in that comment section

[DEG]

She wrote an incredibly condescending apology.

[DEG]

And it isn't an apology for her original article. Surprise, surprise.

[AlmightyJB]

A sanctimonious twit. Typical.

[Notorious UGCC (N? GKC)]

Hey, sounds great, you've persuaded me - I'll join your sorority!

Wait, what do you mean I don't qualify, you sexist?

[Notorious UGCC (N? GKC)]

What if I said I was doing a sociological study of pillow-fights and wanted to do some research at your place?

No?

You'll be hearing from my attorney.

[Notorious UGCC (N? GKC)]

Let me try again...

Hello, there, ladies, I am a trans coed. Don't let the various male attributes fool you - I am simply a sorority gal trapped in the body of some ugly dude. It's a depressing enough situation without the likes of you categorizing me as, quote, male, unquote.

So, where do I sleep?

[DEG]

I wonder, whom is that recruiting video actually targeted to?

[AlmightyJB]

Yeah, I was thinking about going back to school after that:)

[In League with the Dark Ones]

There's a push underway now to change Mississippi's flag in order to remove the Confederate emblem from it.

Let's just revert back to the flag they used before the 1950s.

Nope, not going to work ? they've used the current once since 1894.

How about the one before that?

Nope, not going to work ? it was adopted by the Secession Conference of 1861 and looks like the Third Confederate National Flag (was it based on the Mississippi flag???) with the Confederate Battle Flag replaced with an unofficial Confederate flag ? the Bonnie Blue Flag.

How about the one before that?

Nope, not going to work ? it's the Bonnie Blue Flag!

All of Mississippi's historical flags are associated with the Confederacy.

[Juvenile Bluster]

Well, he's been accused of sexual assault, which by definition means he's guilty, correct?

[Rufus J. Firefly]

What an idiot.

[Crusty Juggler]

Thankfully the Buffalo PD wasn't involved.

[Fist of Etiquette]

I would have dropped him for that mullet.

[Crusty Juggler]

He also punched a cab driver a few years ago, so that combined with the fact that he is a white athlete means he is the world's biggest asshole, and guilty.

I have no idea if he raped that woman, but I hate the rush to judgement.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Tell you what, this has the potential to really mess up the Blackhawks and their cap management. The team is built around Toews-Kane-Keith.

[Antilles]

To be fair, there are many false accusations that men can make toward women that would have the same detrimental affect on their lives and careers. For instance...give me a minute...

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Imagine if 'Animal House' was (re) written by SJWs.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

This one is better.

[Antilles]

Wasn't that called PCU? Didn't see it, but based on the trailer...

[Juvenile Bluster]

PCU is a hilarious movie that could never be re-made again. It made at the time unthinkable predictions about college campuses, all of which have come true. Plus Jeremy Piven is great in it.

[Crusty Juggler]

+1 Penis party's got to go, hey-hey, ho-ho.

[Juvenile Bluster]

Can you blow me where the pampers is?

[BigT]

a rapid increase in debt is the single most reliable predictor of economic slowdowns and financial crisis

Krugnuts disagrees. And he's a Noballs Prize Winner, so I believe him. Yes I do.

[Copernicus would chip]

I have a confuse.

I was under the impression that China was a net "creditor" nation.