NYPD Releases James Blake Footage, Tragedy in Mecca, Marine Gender Integration Questions: P.M. Links

• The New York City Police Department (NYPD) has released video footage of retired tennis pro James Blake being tackled by an NYPD officer.

• Navy Secretary Ray Mabus is questioning the findings of a new study claiming gender-integrated combat units did not move as quickly and female Marines were more than twice as likely to suffer injuries.
• At least 87 people are dead after a crane smashed into Mecca's Grand Mosque, where worshippers were gathering.  
• Tennis champion Serena Williams is out of the U.S. Open after losing Friday afternoon to Italy's Roberta Vinci. 
• The Senate is expected to vote next week on a bill that would ban abortion after 20 weeks. 
• An Ohio church is suing a nearby strip club over its employees protesting topless. 
• Fellow officers complained about Simpsonville, South Carolina, cop Brian Kurta's use of excessive force, but it wasn't until body camera footage showed it that Kurta was fired.

New at Reason: 

• Expect a Complicated, Gory Story with The Bastard Executioner: Game of Thrones-style violence and intrigue in 14th-century Wales. By Glenn Garvin
• How Much Is a Football Player Worth? Hint: A lot more than the NCAA wants to admit. By Alexis Garcia

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter, and don't forget to sign up for Reason's daily updates for more content.

Comments

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

The New York City Police Department (NYPD) has released video footage of retired tennis pro James Blake being tackled by an NYPD officer.

Stupidity won in straight sets.

[Ted S.]

Congratulations, Rufus. Two Italian women in the US Open final.

[Pan Zagloba]

Mmm....two Italian women....

[Notorious UGCC]

That's a spicy meat-a-ball.

Is what a sexist racist cisgendered person would say.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Dude, change your stereo-type up.

Use osso buco or something.

[Episiarch]

You might want to look at some pictures. And look up Schiavone while you're at it. Or you might not want to. Don't say I didn't warn you.

[Ted S.]

Ah, but Schiavone's tennis was highly entertaining when she won the French Open in 2010.

[Episiarch]

This isn't a discussion about skill. That's a completely different conversation.

[Ted S.]

I happen to be a tennis fan.

[Episiarch]

Yeah. And I'm a tennis player and a fan; I just had my lesson at 11. But that's not what Pan was talking about.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I can whip both your asses.

[Ted S.]

So you have a cat-o'-nine-tails. Big deal.

[Pan Zagloba]

Shut up, I want to believe all Italian women look like the ones I caught on their afternoon programs when I was a kid in the 80s and we were holidaying on the Adriatic coast.

[Ted S.]

To be fair, I've met quite a few guys whose thoughts about tennis boils down to, "I don't want to watch that player because she doesn't make me want to masturbate."

Particularly irritating when H?nin was #1.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Or Navratilova.

Back to Shwing! with Chris Evert.

And then along came Graf and back to shrinkage.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Like I had anything to do with that.

Salute! E a cent'anni!

[Ted S.]

But you wear your Italian heritage on your sleeve around here.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I do?

/smells armpits. Sez who?

[MJGreen - Docile Citizen]

GMSM with the first?

Never forget.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Hello!

HEADSET GATE!

[Ted S.]

Fuck the Patriots. Fuck Belicheck. Fuck Boston sports fans.

[J from somewhere]

And fuck you.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

CRIPPLE FIGHT!

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

I think I know where somewhere is.

[Mad Scientist]

I know where it is. I'm somewhere right now.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Don't think I hadn't noticed Leverkusen spanking Lazio.

I didn't think they had the experience to take them on away from home anyway.

Good side Leverkusen.

[Ted S.]

And Bayern spanked them.

That having been said, I just want Germany, and then Italy, to pass England in the league coefficient.

That, and fir Fox not to punish us with the English teams in the CL and EL over and over.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Germany passed England already.

http://www.worldfootball.net/u.....fficients/

I don't expect Italy to get back up for another 5 years at least. They just started to spend money. The new stadiums will bring in more money but that will take time.

That being said, Serie A outspent all leagues this past year.

The question is, when will Liga slow down. For 60 years the only league to consistently challenge and surpass it was Serie A and for a brief period Bundesliga and later EPL.

They seem extremely strong at the moment.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Serie A will take a step back in CL this year. Juve has to contend with too many changes and Roma - while solid - are Roma. They can't seem to get over the hump.

That leaves Europa. Better chance to make a mark there.

It's still Liga and Bundesliga to me for the next couple of years.

[Ted S.]

Italy were only about 4points behind England at the start of the season.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

They have to go deep.

Not convinced.

Already at a 1.66 coefficient. No good.

It's funny. I was talking to a buddy the other day and we wondered when was the last time both the national side and club teams were at a low ebb. We had to go to the 1950s for that when the national team was in rebuild mode after the Superga tragedy in 1949.

[Fist of Etiquette]

At least 87 people are dead after a crane smashed into Mecca's Grand Mosque, where worshippers were gathering.

So even Muslims should steer clear of Muslims on this cursed day?

[Antilles]

Hate to admit I chuckled when I saw this. Horrible, I know, but it's the result of seeing those savages celebrate whenever anything bad happens in the US. And the delicious irony of the date almost makes me believe in a deity.

[Timon 19]

So "those savages" who died were celebrating NINE-ELEVEN!!!!!!?

[Antilles]

Oh, I'm sure most believed 9/11 was a good thing. And I think savages is the appropriate word for people who support beheadings, child rape, honor killing, and female genital mutilation. How would you describe people stuck 1,000 years in the past?

[Timon 19]

So we're collectivizing people because some of their co-religionists are assholes?

[Homple]

It was the will of Allah. Take it up with him.

[Private Chipperbot]

It sucks, but one of the side stories on that page was about the Saudis beheading five foreigners, so...

[Suthenboy]

I am amazed that this made the news. This shit happens all the time in the middle east. Saudi Arabia in particular. It is nearly impossible there to get aggregates that don't chemically react with cement. Their shit is always falling down. On top of that, despite a few notable exceptions, you have people who believe in magic attempting to practice engineering.

[Private Chipperbot]

Bippity, boppity, boom?

[Pan Zagloba]

Sinan the Architect laughs derisively from beyond the grave.

[Suthenboy]

Outlier.

[Pan Zagloba]

Also, not an Arab.

When I mentioned the "200 mosques for Germany" Saudi trolling, he told me that his very religious Muslim friend from Sarajevo said, in utter seriousness, regarding Saudi imams making their way to Bosnia:

"What do Saudis know about Islam? All they do is corrupt our peasants."

Apparently, the Turkish stream of Islam, which includes Bosnia, doesn't have a high opinion of the Arabs.

[Antilles]

The only people who have a high opinion of Arabs is Arabs.

[Pan Zagloba]

No, there's also the British Foreign Office.

Yup, I think that concludes the list.

[Citizen X]

I can't find it, but wasn't there a prominent Arab nuclear physicist a few years back who published a serious paper speculating on the thermodynamic properties of djinn?

[Tonio]

And I get called a bigot when I remind people about Eddy's weeping statues.

[Suthenboy]

Standard.

[Homple]

Maxwell's Demon by another name?

[gagster]

Well, Barbara Eden is pretty hot.

[Lee G]

+1 Alkali Silica Reaction

[Sevo]

Skydaddies work in mysterious ways!

[Fist of Etiquette]

Fellow officers complained about Simpsonville, South Carolina, cop Brian Kurta's use of excessive force, but it wasn't until body camera footage showed it that Kurta was fired.,/i

Cop's word against cops' word? Let's go to the video!

[Citizen X]

Two weeks of desk duty all around!

[Illocust]

"Navy Secretary Ray Mabus is questioning the findings of a new study claiming gender-integrated combat units did not move as quickly and female Marines were more than twice as likely to suffer injuries."

Because such a result would be so surprising consider average differences in strength between men and women. Someone probably didn't get the memo they were supposed to fudge results.

[Ted S.]

How dare facts not comport with political ideals!

[Illocust]

How dare someone look at facts. The researchers should have known better and tailored their study so only one result was possible.

[PapayaSF]

Who could have expected the results of this study, except for anyone over the age of 12 and an IQ over 70?

[jesse.in.mb]

"Part of the study said that women tend not to be able to carry as heavy of a load for as long," Mabus told NPR. "But, there are women who went through this study that could. And part of the study said that we're afraid that because women get injured more frequently, that over time women will break down more. That you will begin to lose your combat effectiveness over time. That was not shown in this study. That was an extrapolation based on injury rates, and I'm not sure that's right."

One of the researchers who did the study:

"There isn't enough power in the research ? at least not the way this research was designed ? to go back and say, 'There you go. That's her. You want ones that look like that,'" Johnson said. "We tried, and that's one of the limitations in my report. [emphasis added]"

I think the complaint is more "is there no woman who can meet the standards for this job" and even the researcher involved doesn't seem to think his study covers that, it just talks about the average woman-Marine not being cut out for more physically strenuous positions.

[Red Rocks Rockin]

And part of the study said that we're afraid that because women get injured more frequently, that over time women will break down more. That you will begin to lose your combat effectiveness over time. That was not shown in this study. That was an extrapolation based on injury rates, and I'm not sure that's right."

Right Ray, whenever elite athletes suffer injuries, they always bounce right back to 100 percent effectiveness, especially if they suffer numerous injuries over time. So regular fit human beings should do the same thing!!

As if this kind of sophistry couldn't make it more clear that the push for women in combat is not about force multiplication, but political grandstanding, box-checking, and FEELZ.

[Pan Zagloba]

So I'm beginning to feel like Dread Pirate Roberts when it comes to Accomplished Female Athletes of Eastern and Central Europe. "Have a good weekend feature, will probably kill you on Monday." I mean, we didn't have a lot of Trump today, but Trump tomorrow? Quite likely.
So, if this is the last one, I say go out on something close to my personal preference. Elena Dementyeva is a now-retired Russian tennis player, won Olympic gold in 2008, was rated as high as number 3 in the world. Also, she's literally a MILF, as she has a 17-month old daughter.
The link goes to a number of galleries, I highly recommend #5. Just, don't at work.
And, for those who missed it, this is what Accomplished Female* Feminists of US and Western Europe look like at their most accomplished. Just for a bit of contrast.
*not redundant, because there are male feminists, and they are worse more accomplished.

[Ted S.]

Her name is more commonly spelled "Dementieva", which may make image searches easier and more fruitful.

She was always one of my favorite players, and I always thought she was more beautiful than what advertisers push as sex appeal. Much better looking than, say, Sharapova.

[Pan Zagloba]

Interesting, "Dementyeva" came out as preferred google search term, but yes, if people want to research her more, I highly encourage it. And yes, better looking than Sharapova, better player than Kournikova (and honestly, better looking, too). Plus, had the good sense NOT to go into politics upon retirement.

[DEG]

Gallery #5 is a good one.

[Zombie Jimbo]

If the strippers are on church property they are clearly in the wrong. I will stop by the next time I'm in Columbus on a Sunday, to check and see.

[Citizen X]

You should probably take some pictures/videos and upload them here so that we can confirm your observations.

[Irish ?s ESB]

"At least 87 people are dead after a crane smashed into Mecca's Grand Mosque, where worshippers were gathering."

I saw conservatives making fun of the dead people on Twitter because LOL DEAD MUSLIMS HILARIOUS.

This is why we have to deal with morons claiming it's bigoted to criticize Islam or to point out problems in the Muslim world - because idiot conservatives actually do spend a lot of time dancing on piles of Muslim corpses.

[Ted S.]

I'm not doubting you, but links please.

[Irish ?s ESB]

There was a lot of gloating about how it was 'karma for 9/11.'

[Timon 19]

Damn, people are assholes.

[Antilles]

There's no such thing as Karma. It's just a delightful coincidence.

[Careless]

this got a /doublefacepalm

[ant1sthenes]

I dunno about karma, but Saudi construction families sure seem to cause a lot of trouble on this day.

[lap83]

OK, but twitter is like the YouTube comment section of the upperclass. I doubt most conservatives reacted that way.

[Heroic Mulatto]

I doubt most conservatives reacted that way.

Why?

[Just say Nikki]

I mean, we have someone upthread who chuckled about it.

[Almanian - Micro Trumper]

Well, shit, that's practically everyone then.

[Antilles]

"someone upthread who chuckled about it."

That was me. But I also expressed some remorse for reacting that way.

[Crusty Juggler]

I would agree that twitter conservatives do not speak for the majority of conservative-minded individuals.

[Episteme]

All the conservatives with whom I interact on Twitter have been too busy with the news of sole surviving 9/11 Search & Rescue Dog's 16th birthday party, because dogs and America!

[PapayaSF]

Very few would be "dancing on piles of Muslim corpses" if they didn't regularly see evidence of Muslims dancing on the corpses of Jews and Christians and other Muslims. Yes, you can say "not all Muslims," but that's pretty thin consolation. It's a bit like saying: "Well, not all Communists run GULAGs!" History shows that GULAGs are (to a great degree) inherent in Communism, and that piles of corpses are inherent in Islam.

[Antilles]

Well said. It might not be a nice reaction, but it's a very human one.

[Timon 19]

It's actually a retarded reaction in, like, four different ways.

[PapayaSF]

Feel free to explain.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Navy Secretary Ray Mabus is questioning the findings of a new study claiming gender-integrated combat units did not move as quickly and female Marines were more than twice as likely to suffer injuries.

It's a War on Women in War.

[Tonio]

Well done.

[Mad Scientist]

An Ohio church is suing a nearby strip club over its employees protesting topless.

Let me make sure I understand this. If I protest a strip club, there's a good probability that topless women will come to my house and march around, topless, for free? Seems too good to be true.

[Tonio]

You, Sir, are a scholar and a gentleman.

[Citizen Nothing]

Why don't topless strippers ever protest MY church?

[Antilles]

"An Ohio church is suing a nearby strip club over its employees protesting topless."

Still don't understand why Christians are so opposed to tits. If they're good enough to nourish their larvae, then why can't we all enjoy them?

[Ted S.]

It's because the Pope tells them tits are wrong.

[Antilles]

But only adult, female tits...

[Almanian - Micro Trumper]

Charles Schumer has a happy

[Notorious UGCC]

They're Protestants.

[Episteme]

To be fair, Catholic theology on breasts is actually (no pun intended) quite supportive ?of course, the ladies need to keep their bottoms on, and there may be canonical arguments among some Latin Mass congregations if they show up with their heads uncovered (just stick a pastie up top?)...

On the other hand, if protestors come to a church in sweatpants or something, that's neither respectful of God's Creation OR God's majesty!

[Warty]

Surrender to the fucking emotional bludgeoning already, you stupid racist redneck teabagger idiots

They've gathered for a rally here in the nation's capital. They are the "other" gun lobby, and they've come to look politicians in the eye, to make them think twice before cashing another check from the NRA.

How do the kids say it? Such wow, much brave?

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

I AM THE NRA

[waffles]

Go home dad, you're drunk. I'm going home too I have pneumonia. Stupid hippies and their dusty lungs.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

I can day drink on 9/11?

[waffles]

I can't imagine a better day.

[DEG]

I saw the story on CNN.com earlier. It was linked on the front page as "The loneliest gun club" with no other text. I clicked on it wondering about the gun club with only one member. Well, that's not what the story is about. It's about waving the bloody shirt.

Moving on.

[Akira]

I'm usually pretty jaded about political events these days... But it makes me genuinely sad that these people - who have gone through some of the worst losses imaginable - have been duped into believing that Bloomberg, Obama, Feinstein, and other anti-gun politicians actually view them as anything other than props for their political campaigns.

[MJGreen - Docile Citizen]

to make them think twice before cashing another check from the NRA.

And then they cash the check anyway and vote accordingly. But they thought twice! That's good work, boys.

[Episteme]

It's always important to think twice before cashing a check ?you need to double-check that everything's properly filled out and signed!

[Notorious UGCC]

OK, so James Blake is standing the lobby, minding his own business.

Then some guy in a T-shirt and sneakers rushes up to him, grabs him, wrestles him to the ground, and shackles him.

Then the cops apologize for grabbing a tennis star by mistake, instead of the guy they were looking for, who is also innocent but isn't a celebrity.

Poor NYPD, what are the odds that the guy they abused was a big shot with access to the media?

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Truthers, make yourselves known. I have an hour lunch break. Let's go.

[Almanian - Micro Trumper]

Valkyrie was an inside job!

Oh, wait....

[Pope Jimbo]

The 1975 Hail Mary pass was actually offensive interference!

[Lee G]

Ted Bundy was framed! It was actually Elvis.

[Private Chipperbot]

I saw Elvis riding a ten speed on the side of the road on my way from WMU to South Haven in 91.

[Lee G]

How could you tell it was Elvis? Was he carrying a Twinkie?

[Almanian - Micro Trumper]

Deep-fried peanut butter and nanner sammich or GTFO

[Private Chipperbot]

Actually a jumpsuit. It was well known he worked at Burger King in Kalamazoo so I wasn't shocked to see him.

[Almanian - Micro Trumper]

I saw a werewolf drinkin' a Perrier at Trader Vic's

[Citizen X]

I saw a baby give another baby a tattoo! They were very drunk!

[Almanian - Micro Trumper]

Maybe they should have been drinkin' Perrier.

[PBR Streetgang]

How was his hair?

[Entropy Drehmaschine Void]

PERFECT!

[Pan Zagloba]

Horus was a true hero, trying to prevent creation of a cruel, theocratic, galaxy-spanning totalitarian state dedicated to the worship of False Emperor.

[MacDaddy81]

How dare you vilify the Corpse Go... I mean the Emperor? !

[Pan Zagloba]

Because I speak the TRUTH...Of Tzeench!

[Citizen X]

Soylent Green is made of people!

[Crusty Juggler]

I wouldn't consider myself a "truther," but I do know the only way to melt steel is with Jew magic, so while I am not saying the Jews are responsible, I am saying that steel does not melt without Jewish assistance.

Make of that what you will.

[Lee G]

but I do know the only way to melt steel is with Jew magic

Thank you. I'm using that

[Trouser-Pod (The blowhard)]

+1 Jewish-Industrial Complex

[waffles]

The FBI uses burning man to field test surveillance techniques!

[Sevo]

Those balls were not under-inflated!

[Almanian - Micro Trumper]

I can easily believe that women would be injured twice as much as men in the Marines. Cooking is dangerous, what with the hot stoves and sharp knives and whatnot.

[Tonio]

The most disgusting thing you will read today, including Tony shitting all over the 9/11 thread: An FB post from something called US Uncut claiming that the "real" 9/11 was in 1973. In Chile. "The world didn't begin on September 11th, 2001. Rather, for the first time in modern history, Americans were visited by the same violence the US has imposed since its creation. In Chile the US murdered tens of thousands and impoverished millions." [emp mine]

That's right, folks, the US murdered those Chileans, not the Pinochet regime. Also, predictable commie rhetoric about Milton Friedman, the 1%, yadda, yadda. I refuse to dignify that with a link and am not willing to visit their webpage.

[Warty]

US Uncut

Intactivists are getting weird.

[Citizen X]

What's their position on deep dish, though?

[Careless]

Yes, I was thinking anti-circumcision group

[Episteme]

I was about to say, at least we can't blame the Jews if the perpetrators are uncut.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

I can't imagine that will be the WORST thing I read today. Bottom 5, maybe.

[Irish ?s ESB]

"In Chile the US murdered tens of thousands and impoverished millions."

That's weird - I was under the impression Chile became way richer after Pinochet killed Allende. Doesn't make Pinochet anything other than a monster, but his economic policies improved the lives of millions of people who would otherwise be living in Communist squalor.

[Pan Zagloba]

For a from-ground but non-standard view of the situation, I recommend Alistair Horne's Small Earthquake in Chile, which was written before the coup, and was amended couple of times. Warning: it might instill optimism, reading what South America was like in 70s, and comparing it to today.

[Irish ?s ESB]

Well, Maduro and the Brazilian government are desperately attempting to go backwards.

[Pan Zagloba]

Maduro, yes. But not even stupidest excesses in Brazil and Bolivia were as close to what Horne describes as run of the mill at the time.

Here's the opening of his chapter set in Bolivia:

...Then, somewhere in the night and through the Tuinal torpor, I became vaguely conscious of the noise of breaking glass and agitated shouting. Bolivia's 187th revolution, and I was missing it!

It was merely his hotel being on fire. Coup #187 came two weeks after he left.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Yeah. Good luck convincing Chileans of that.

I merely mentioned this 'en passant' in my Latin American history class in University and I damn near caused multiple strokes. I still have nightmares of that ghoulish yelp a girl let out.

[Irish ?s ESB]

"Good luck convincing Chileans of that."

Well, it's an objective fact if you look at Chilean growth rates. And I don't need to convince Chileans of that because I actually learned it from a Chilean expat when I was 13 because he went to my parents church and had stories about Allende's goons taking all his parents' property and destroying the economy of his village.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

I understand that and there are who get it.

But I'm close to a Chilean family and my brother is dating a wealthy Chilean. Very left-wing.

They don't seem to compute Pino's role in making them richer because, well, you know.

[Tonio]

According to that article, or whatever it was, Chile under Pinochet became "a playground for the 1%."

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

What?!? The 1% wasn't even invented until a few years ago.

[PapayaSF]

However many people Pinochet killed, a look at the death toll over every other Communist takeover of the 20th century indicates that Allende (or more likely, whoever followed Allende, or whoever followed him) would have probably killed and oppressed even more people, and as Irish says, left the country in worse shape.

[Pan Zagloba]

According to Derpapedia

The new government rounded up thousands of people and held them in the national stadium where many were killed. This was followed by brutal repression during Pinochet's rule, during which about 3,000 people were killed, and more than 1,000 are still missing.[20]

Fucking piker compared to any Communist regime.

[PapayaSF]

Yup. I'm no fan of Pinochet, but it's hugely disingenuous of leftists to hold him up as a right-wing boogyman, when he was clearly a reaction to past Communist atrocities.

I once got banned from Boing Boing for making that point. Questioning the Pure Evil of Pinochet was beyond the pale for people who regularly make excuses for far bloodier Communists.

[Wasteland Wanderer]

4000 is probably less than Che killed personally.

[Suthenboy]

The person running the Tony sock forgot to switch names in that thread before criticizing Tony.
Classic.

Has anyone ever seen Matt Welch and Tony in the same room?

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

The plot thickens.

[MJGreen - Docile Citizen]

I thought that at first, but it wasn't criticizing Tony. He was patting himself on the back for spending so much time with ideological enemies.

[Lee G]

Yeah but he bugged out when called on it

[Lee G]

Yeah but he bugged out when called on it

[Lee G]

Yeah but he bugged out when called on it

[Lee G]

Yeah but he bugged out when called on it

[Lee G]

Yeah but he bugged out when called on it

[Lee G]

Yeah but he bugged out when called on it

[Lee G]

Yeah but he bugged out when called on it

[Careless]

wow

[Red Rocks Rockin]

Squirrelz trying to fill up their end-of-week quota.

[Lee G]

Whoa. What the hell?

[Swiss Servator]

Hast thou angered the Squirrelz?

[MJGreen - Docile Citizen]

Did he really?

That was impressive.

[DEG]

including Tony shitting all over the 9/11 thread

I haven't read that thread yet. Should I skip it?

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

There's some gold in there. We have a pirate truther.

[DEG]

Pirate truther? OK, I will read it.

[DEG]

I found the pirate truther. Oh boy. And I saw the post where whomever runs Tony fucked up.

[MJGreen - Docile Citizen]

The world didn't begin on Sep 11, 2001, but apparently the US was created in 1973.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

At least 87 people are dead after a crane smashed into Mecca's Grand Mosque, where worshippers were gathering.

Hannibal Lecter: Killing must feel good to God, too. He does it all the time, and are we not created in God's image?

Will Graham: Depends on who you ask.

Hannibal Lecter: God's terrific. He dropped a church roof on 34 of his worshipers last Wednesday night in Texas, while they sang a hymn.

Will Graham: Did God feel good about that?

Hannibal Lecter: He felt powerful.

[Notorious UGCC]

OK, so the church was posting the license numbers of strip club patrons online.

Believe it or not, I think this is a Bad Thing. In addition to the privacy issues, you aren't going to win souls that way.

Maybe we need a new kind of license plate which shows your license number only when you're on the road but doesn't show it when you're parked. Or maybe a number only cops can read (yeah, abusive cops, I know).

But I like this part:

"New Beginnings Ministries in Warsaw alleges that the protesters have been threatening church members, blocking church entrances and exits and violating their right to religious freedom and the federal *Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act,* according to the federal lawsuit filed last Friday by the church's pastor, William Dunfee."

What the...they're treating the strippers like they were prolife demonstrators?

Apparently yes. In addition to protecting abortion clinics, the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act provides penalties for anyone who "by force or threat of force or by physical obstruction, intentionally injures, intimidates or interferes with or attempts to injure, intimidate or interfere with any person lawfully exercising or seeking to exercise the First Amendment right of religious freedom at a place of religious worship."

https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/248

I had not known that.

[Notorious UGCC]

because we all know that without a federal law on the subject, force and threats of force, obstruction, etc. would be totally legal.

/sarc

[Florida Man]

Have a good weekend everyone. I'm off to Moe's a food truck festival.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

What kind of food?

[Florida Man]

Mixed cuisine from all over the city.

[Crusty Juggler]

It's Florida, so the "mixed cuisine" consists mostly of a variety of gourmet roadkill.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Have you eaten at Ming Court near the convention center yet?

[Florida Man]

On your recommendation I did. Pretty darn good. The menu is huge.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

If you don't like their ribeye with brown sauce, I'll let you kick me in the dick.

[jesse.in.mb]

What about Florida Man makes you think he'll act honorably with this offer?

He can enjoy the ribeye with brown sauce AND kick you in the dick.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

It's so good that he'll admit it. In spite of his complete lack of honor.

[Derpetologist]

Tales from the Derp

A few weeks ago, I was at the military entry processing station. One of the first tests was an eye exam. There was a sign outside the room that said "eye exam room". Below those words was the same thing in braille.

How many blind people join the military?

herp herp herpa derp.

[Notorious UGCC]

"How many blind people join the military?"

Yeah, I thought they all joined the intelligence agencies.

[Tonio]

I would imagine that this is a labelling requirement imposed on all federal facilities. There are federal civilian employees. And the government goes out of its way to hire the disabled.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

The drive up ATMs at BofA have braille.

[Mad Scientist]

So do the ATMs at my Chase branch.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Are you calling me a liar?

[Mad Scientist]

THIS IS CETI ALPHA V!

[Episteme]

I once saw a blind guy in the back seat of a car using the braille on a drive-up ATM. I'm not sure whether on not to be ashamed of having yelled "BUCKET LIST!" at catching a glimpse of such a sight.

[Pan Zagloba]

Are you sure it said the same thing? Maybe it says "bro, you're in the wrong building" in Braille?

[Tonio]

FTFA: New Beginnings Ministries in Warsaw alleges that the protesters have been threatening church members, blocking church entrances and exits and violating their right to religious freedom and the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, according to the federal lawsuit filed last Friday by the church's pastor, William Dunfee.
Young children were "forced to be exposed to multiple female topless defendants protesting" at the church, according to the lawsuit.

So much lulz.

But I just learned that FACES not only covers healthcare facilities, but places of worship.

Children must be protected from the trauma of uncovered breasts.

And remember, folks, the religious started this by going out of their way to protest the strip club and posted the license plates of club patrons online.

[Notorious UGCC]

Wow, it's like deja vu all over again!

[Tonio]

I didn't refresh before posting. I checked the FACES act to make sure they actually had some grounds under that.

[Tonio]

Also, STOP STALKING ME!!1!

[Notorious UGCC]

I thought we were taking turns.

[Just say Nikki]

I'm forced to be exposed to Christians' faces all the time. I mean, what gives, people?

[Trouser-Pod (The blowhard)]

So much lulz.

Kinda like the mosque thing, eh?

[Tonio]

No.

[Trouser-Pod (The blowhard)]

Yeah.

[Knarf Yenrab!]

You people are disgusting.

Young children--some of them not even three years old!--were exposed to women's bare breasts! I bet you ungodly perverts would probably even approve of shoving bare, engorged breasts into the faces of children too young to speak.

[Tonio]

[golf clap]

[Almanian - Micro Trumper]

For the pic of Mr. Blake - it just SCREAMS

CAPTION: "Come at me, bro"

[Pan Zagloba]

Ooooh, I thought that was Serena Williams, and that's why she lost...

Alt-Text pls, Ms Nolan-Brown!

[Almanian - Micro Trumper]

Made me look....

[Sevo]

Mostly behind paywall, but:
"A temporary halt to construction of market-rate housing in the Mission proposed in a November ballot measure would lead to fewer units being available and harm the very residents it seeks to help if passed, the city's chief economist said in a damning report issued Thursday."
http://www.sfchronicle.com/bay.....ate-result

SF does not have a 'housing crisis'; it has lefty imbeciles presuming those who want to live in SF should be paid to do so.
So, in order to accomplish this 'noble goal', said imbeciles are pushing a proposition forcing developers to stop building 'market rate' housing; the sort that makes money for the developer and the only sort developers build without subsidies.
Well, the City economist pipes up and says: 'What a fucking stupid thing to do if you want to slow evictions and lower housing costs!'
The lefty imbeciles respond with (and I'm not making this up!)
1) 'He's missing the intent of the proposition!'
2) 'We didn't say is was going to cure *everything*!'
I wish it was 'only in SF', but it's really more wide-spread than that.

[PapayaSF]

Leftists don't seem to grasp that more supply, whatever the market cost, results in less price pressure at the low end.

[CatoTheChipper]

Navy Secretary Ray Mabus is questioning the findings of a new study claiming gender-integrated combat units did not move as quickly and female Marines were more than twice as likely to suffer injuries.

In other news, dozens of military intelligence agents allege that the brass sugarcoat the bad news regarding ISIS.

[CatoTheChipper]

Also relevant:

Leonard Wong of the Strategic Studies Institute at the U.S. Army War College talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about honesty in the military. Based on a recent co-authored paper, Wong argues that the paperwork and training burden on U.S. military officers requires dishonesty--it is simply impossible to comply with all the requirements. This creates a tension for an institution that prides itself on honesty, trust, and integrity.

http://www.econtalk.org/archiv.....ng_on.html

I'd add political correctness to the list of things that incentivize dishonesty on the part of US military officers.

[Derpetologist]

I was thinking today about dear Ms. Postrel. I think I can heal her wounds with the gift of song.

[jangly guitar music]

Hey there Virginia
We're sorry we're so shitty
We like to joke around
And we don't have a lot of pity
No we don't
Especially Warty and Episiarch
The third month is March

Oh, please forgive us
Oh, please forgive us
Oh, please forgive us
Oh, please forgive us
Please forgive us

[Aloysious]

That song won't work. Try this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPzkYhKAjB8

[Derpetologist]

The tune is a bit like This Is Halloween.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jU6iP0WLsU8

[Aloysious]

Very glamorous. I'm sure she'll love it.

Manson, that is.

[jesse.in.mb]

Artisanal Firewood.

CBC does a send up of the artisanal product manufacturing video (God I hope it's a send-up. Canadian entertainment is so inscrutable).

[Pan Zagloba]

Looking at the show page, it seems like Canadian version of PG-rated The Onion.

[jesse.in.mb]

Look, I've watched Little Mosque on the Prairie, I'm not changing my opinions on the inscrutability of Canadian entertainment.

I also rarely have reason to say "inscrutable".

[Pan Zagloba]

While LMotP was definitely made in Canada, it does NOT fall under any recognizable definition of entertainment!

Having said that, a Canadian-content edition of The Onion would be amazing. J-Roc from Trailer Park Boys is basically H. Cornfeld, and a McKenzie brother variation on Smoove B would be beyond belief.

So anyway, I'd take you to my pad, eh? And open the finest case of Molson Canadian just for us, eh?
What? Get off, hoser, I'm talking to my lady here

[jesse.in.mb]

Canadia seems to be pumping out a decent amount of sci-fi/fantasy television the last several years. Orphan Black, Continuum, Lost Girl and ReGenesis spring immediately to mind.

[Pan Zagloba]

Depending on how you define Canadian-pumped SF, there was X-Files, BSG, Special Unit 2, Lexx, Andromeda...

God, the Wiki page is YUUUUUGE.

[jesse.in.mb]

Your link, it is SF'd.

X-Files, Lexx and Andromeda are reaching back a bit, no?

Lexx was deeply weird, but fun. I'm not sure I ever saw the last season.

[Pan Zagloba]

Sigh, let's try this

non-SF?

Yes, Lexx is old, as is X-Files. Just showing that the "made in Canada SF" thing has a long, noble tradition. Or, you know, came in late 80s/early 90s when Canadian Dollar took in the nuts.

[jesse.in.mb]

ReBoot was CANADIAN!?

*Rethinks entire childhood*

[Pan Zagloba]

ReBoot was CANADIAN!?

Hell yeah, made in Vancouver, both animation and voice acting! Were you able to watch the last season, after ABC didn't renew them? Very different, much darker. Followup movies were...OK. We could use another ReBoot movie to wrap it up.

[jesse.in.mb]

I have no idea. I don't think I realized it ran as long as it did.

God the graphics were terrible on that show, but I enjoyed the hell out of it.

You might find this interesting...

[Cytotoxic]

"You might find this interesting..."

Only if you hate your childhood. The reboot of ReBoot is one of the most heinous things I have read.

[Cytotoxic]

"The ABCs are attacking us!"

"Treacherous dogs!"

[Homple]

Did they ever make "Welcome Back Khadr"?

[Pan Zagloba]

Of course. We call it

Elizabeth May, greatest Canadian of all time.

Born and grown in US, of course.

[Pan Zagloba]

If you can't stomach the whole thing, money shot is around 8:10 when she literally steals your joke.

[Enough About Woodchippers]

The New York City Police Department (NYPD) has released video footage of retired tennis pro James Blake being tackled by an NYPD officer.

One could say that...

*Puts on Ray Bans*

...NYPD blew.

[SIV]

The coroner also has said that, until he gets more information from investigators, he can't rule on whether Gliniewicz's death came by homicide, suicide, accident or a manner that can't be determined.

Thought so:

1

2

[PapayaSF]

Good call.

[SIV]

Not yet confirmed. I began thinking suicide as soon as the report switched from "stripped of his equipment" to "his gun was recovered at the scene and had been fired"

[Derpetologist]

So, I'm reading the Tony derp in the 9/11 thread. It's good derp, but not quite as good as the time he was spouting off about how smart he is and how dumb libertarians are. I asked him what grades he got in multivariable calculus and thermodynamics. Much backpedaling ensued.

[OldMexican]

I would hate to see what bad derp reads like...

[Derpetologist]

Then read, if you dare, the sanity-blasting horrors of the DERPONOMICON:

http://platedlizard.blogspot.c.....art-1.html

Warning: reading the DERPONOMICON may cause suicidal thoughts, insanity, and sudden face melting.

[Libertymike]

956 comments?

No thanks, I'll just take your word for it.

[Careless]

+1

[OldMexican]

Navy Secretary Ray Mabus is questioning the findings of a new study claiming gender-integrated combat units did not move as quickly and female Marines were more than twice as likely to suffer injuries.

"It is not true that female soldiers had to be carried out of dangerous situations after suffering sprained ankles!"

[Careless]

It's the knees that are the big problem. Their rate of severe knee sprains has been known to be ridiculously high for decades.

[Careless]

It's the knees that are the big problem. Their rate of severe knee sprains has been known to be ridiculously high for decades.

[Drake]

Saw a woman Marine break her leg doing a spider-drop from a ridiculously low window. Every male Marine in the company had already done it without incident. Heard her leg snap from 30 yards away.

Ironically, she was the biggest strongest woman in the unit. One of those who could supposedly keep up with the men - even though she never even tried to do a forced-march with us.

[pan fried wylie]

The camel that broke the straw's leg?

[pan fried wylie]

RE: way upthread, yesterday, where Notorious wonders

Maybe we need a new kind of license plate which shows your license number only when you're on the road but doesn't show it when you're parked. Or maybe a number only cops can read (yeah, abusive cops, I know).

Unfortunately, I fear the most easily implemented rendition of this idea would be RFID plates.

Though, I'm wondering if RFID plates would really be such a bad thing. I mean, I don't see how it would allow cops to abuse people any more than they could with current plates. And we'd have that added privacy among citizens that Notorious proposes. Net win, right?

[sports Air Max wear]

NYPD shouldn't do that ,they should know the whole thing and we know Blake was a very famous tennis player.

[Almanian - Micro Trumper]

outstanding

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

You midwesterners are sorely misinformed about what surfing is.

This is surfing.

[Private Chipperbot]

Slightly crazy people make me happy.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

He does it so that I don't have to.

[Almanian - Micro Trumper]

You're a Towel!