SXSW Cancels Gamergate Panels (For and Against), South Carolina School Cop Investigated, Cornell Hates Jesse Watters: P.M. Links

• Organizers of South by Southwest cancelled two panels because threats were made against the participants. One of the panels was seen as "anti-Gamergate" because it included critics of the movement and set out to address online harassment; the other was "pro-Gamergate." BuzzFeed and Vox Media are now boycotting SXSW unless organizers reverse the decision.

• If you want Arthur Chu's take, here it is.
• The FBI will investigate the South Carolina school resource officer who tackled a girl in class.
• The University of California is going to elaborate lengths to criminalize speech critical of Israel.
• Cornell University kicked Jesse Watters off campus.
• Edward Snowden denounced CISA in a Reddit thread.

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Comments

[Karl Hungus]

I had long realized that "to" is racist and that "two" is homophobic, so I guess it only stands to reason that "too" is sexist. I can only hope that all the womyn I've othered along the way with my hate-filled microaggressions can find a way to forgive me.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/.....n&ir=Women

[RBS]

Cameron Schaeffer is a freshman at The University of Vermont and is from Philadelphia. She has a strong opinion on just about everything. Cameron is absorbed in her interests in social justice, feminism, pop culture, art, politics, conservation, and mozzarella sticks. She is currently working on developing her writing portfolio.

[Tonio]

Well, at least they admit she's self-absorbed.

[Trshmnstr has a soft carrot]

Am I the only one who thinks the "personal interests" section of a resume is dumb as fuck? I really don't give a shit that you like mozzarella sticks or yachting or spanking your monkey to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra while suffocating yourself with Warty's wank sock.

I had an interviewer start giving me shit because I didn't have a personal interests section, acting like he was somehow inconvenienced by having to ask me what I do during my free time. I was half tempted to tell him that I run a sex trafficking ring and just walk out of the interview.

[Bern-o-Matic 5000]

I've always hated that. My personal interests are irrelevant to my job. I'm applying to be your employee/co-worker, not your friend.

[Juice]

Don't you know the importance of fitting in with the culture? Have you even thought about the culture? It's the #1 priority! Competence is a distant second to "do we like you and want to hang out with you."

[The Grinch]

I enjoy drinking to excess, sleeping late, chasing secretaries around desks, and pilfering office supplies. When do I start?

[Libertymike]

Now?

[PBR Streetgang]

Uh...do you run a sex trafficking ring?

[Trshmnstr has a soft carrot]

*darty eyes*
Have you been talking to Warty?
*panickedly dials a phone number*

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

How hard is it to write 'I like long walks on the beach' and 'bubble baths'?

You're just being difficult.

[LynchPin1477]

If you're trying to stand out that isn't going to cut it. I mean who doesn't like bubble baths?

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

...in blood.

[Krabappel]

"I like movies, books, to laugh and just have fun!"

[Medical Physics Guy]

"Looking for friendship, maybe more..."

[sloopyinTEXAS]

The correct answer to personal interests is always this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GftZXo6IJZY

[MJGreen - Docile Citizen]

I was expecting Conan's, "To crush your enemies, to see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of their women."

[LynchPin1477]

I can see it being relevant in some cases. I work at a place where your coworkers are your friends pretty much by necessity. You don't want to hire someone that is going to be a really poor fit or is going to be unhappy and then have them leave after a short period of time. But that's something I would ask of a candidate, not expect them to offer up.

[Bern-o-Matic 5000]

Yeah, but a lot of that can be gleaned from the interviewee's temperament and behavior during the interview itself. It shouldn't be a resume item.

[Overt]

The purpose is to get the interview in the first place.

My first good job was scored precisely because I put on the resume that I "Enjoy camping, skiing and complexity theory, quantum mechanics and robotics."

It interested them enough that they called me back, just to hear what I had to say about the last three.

[Brett L]

"I set fire to people who ask me too personal a question in an inappropriate context. "

[sloopyinTEXAS]

Sounds like an answer somebody from Houston would give.

[Brett L]

Please, like I need Metroplexians telling me about their supposedly superior culture that runs the gamut from gauche to Oklahoman.

[Trshmnstr has a soft carrot]

"So, do you have a family? Wait... what... wait... why are you...no.. No... Stop That!... Please! Put that down!! AGH! YOU SET ME ON FIRE!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!"

[MJGreen - Docile Citizen]

...I'm supposed to have a "personal interests" section on my resume?

[Trshmnstr has a soft carrot]

Not unless you're fresh out of school and can't fill a page with your resume.

[Trshmnstr has a soft carrot]

Not unless you're fresh out of school and can't fill a page with your resume.

[Trshmnstr has a soft carrot]

duplicating things helps fill the page, too.

[B. Woodrow Chippenhaus]

She's too opinionated.

[GILMORE?]

"Cameron Schaeffer is a freshman at The University of Vermont"

It used to be you had to graduate college, and then work as a copy-editor for a few years before people would publish your insipid, juvenile mind-drek.

[Zeb]

And everyone has epiphanies as freshmen in college. Usually while really baked or tripping.

[MJGreen - Docile Citizen]

And their first month of college.

FFS, if she's a freshman, she presumably graduated high school 4-5 months ago.

[GILMORE?]

" Usually while really baked or tripping."

And those are the *smart* ones.

[Anomalous]

Her basement is a whine cellar.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Hello.

[Lee G]

That's got to be trolling. Please, it must be.

[Karl Hungus]

In this day and age, that's simply not a valid assumption to make.

[Trouser-Pod (The blowhard)]

That might explain why, for the first time, HuffPo commentators actually gave me a glimmer of hope for "1st-world-problems" types that congregate there.

[Bern-o-Matic 5000]

I can't tell the difference anymore

[Zunalter]

Why, oh why, did I support that tripe with a click?

[Karl Hungus]

Because you couldn't help yourself, you sick fuck.. You just had to see.

[Zunalter]

It's all true. I just can't help myself.

[Doctor Whom]

I love how she womynsplains about life as a man and gets it wrong. Then again, that's par for the course, isn't it?

[Trshmnstr has a soft carrot]

the Social Justice movement, where below-average, insecure people go to blame their personal issues on other people.

[AlmightyJB]

too does make me think of boobies. Of course so does two and also to.

[Karl Hungus]

too does make me think of boobies. Of course so does two and also to.

Three does it for me. Of course, I also watched Total Recall the other night.

[Anomalous]

Three is almost enough.

[Karl Hungus]

If you need more than that, just buy a dog.

[Pope Jimbo]

Any plural noun makes me think of boobies.

[PBR Streetgang]

Chuck Schumers?

[lap83]

Most of the comments are a lot more sensible than the article

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

You make me think of boobs.

[gaoxiaen]

Not to mention your love-filled macroaggressions.

[Zeb]

Oh, god. I don't give a shit how long your hair is or how tall you are or about anything else relating to your personal grooming or personality. Get the fuck over yourself.

I love the claim that no one says that men are "too" anything. Ever heard of confirmation bias?

[Trshmnstr has a soft carrot]

They're proven wrong in one linke

[Fist of Etiquette]

The FBI will investigate the South Carolina school resource officer who tackled a girl in class.

The FBI has a lot of cred in the area of use of force by local law enforcement these days.

[Karl Hungus]

Sickening. When we take Mr. Fields' silly little costume out of the equation, we see this incident for what it really is: a large, strong man beating the hell out of a teenage girl because she didn't demonstrate the level of respect and deference he feels he's entitled to. In any other segment of society, a man like this would arrested, charged, convicted, and imprisoned. Afterward, he would be a pariah, maybe another or two above pedophiles and rapists in society's hierarchy of douchebaggery.. But because of the costume, the badge bunnies, sycophants, and boot-lickers will crawl out of the woodwork to tell us how she should've listened, how she should've been respectful, how she should have immediately obeyed this costumed hero. Which of course is just as sickening as the crime itself.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Someone needs to be hugged by a hero.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Some people run away from teenage girls sitting at desks. We call those people coward. Some people run toward that danger. We call those people hero.

[Karl Hungus]

And spend the rest of my day reeking of steroid-infused sweat, kevlar, Aqua Velva, and cowardice? No thanks, mister, you can keep that hug.

[Tonio]

That's some tasty prose, Karl.

[Karl Hungus]

That's some tasty prose, Karl.

Thank you. Among this crowd, that means something.

[Zeb]

Just so you don't get too full of yourself: kevlar is extremely inert and therefore has no smell to speak of.

[Karl Hungus]

Just so you don't get too full of yourself: kevlar is extremely inert and therefore has no smell to speak of.

When you're a real man like Ben Fields, you impart your earthy, manly stench to everything you come in contact with. Kevlar may stop bullets, but it offers no resistance to pure, undistilled manliness. His vest positively reeks of it, I assure you.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Fun fact: Too much sweat runs kevlar.

[Karl Hungus]

Fun fact: Too much sweat runs kevlar.

Tell that to the Marine Corps. My vest was probably a decade old and had been issued to God only knows how many guys before me, each of whom poured buckets of sweat into it on a daily basis. If what you say is true, mine wouldn't have stopped a BB.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

*ruins*

That's why there's an expiration date inside. Although yours was probably worn off.

[Tejicano]

The gear I was issued in the Marines was so old that the "use by" date was a Mayan calendar pictograph.

[Brett L]

Hard hats expire too. It's only a problem after you die.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

Hugged around the neck until unconcious?

[Tonio]

+1 Sleeper Hold

[Clich? Bandit]

My response to LineoleumBlownApart in the earlier thread

Low...lets look at this from another angle:
Chance a US Person with a gun kills someone non-negligently - 0.0000105%
Chance a US Police Officer kills someone - 0.00117

That is two entire orders of magnitude! In anyone's measure that is more than statistically significant.

[C. Anacreon]

that is more than statistically significant

Let's do a chi-square and see just what our level of confidence is!

[Clich? Bandit]

p < .5

I would like the relevant xkcd but i am lazy

[Cyto]

I really have no way to process this decision by the FBI. Sure, this is deplorable, but c'mon! The mere fact that "school resource officer" is a thing should let you know that we are way, way, way down the wrong path.

If the FBI wants to do some real investigating, all they have to do is load a web browser and go to Cop Block or Photography is not a Crime or any of a hundred other similar websites. There's at least a couple of incidents that put the abuse of this schoolgirl in proper perspective every week.

Just having good video and a kid involved gets it on "Today" with Matt Lauer. Making the Today show shouldn't be the criterion used by the FBI.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Edward Snowden denounced CISA in a Reddit thread.

What does some high school dropout know that learned legislators don't?

[Fist of Etiquette]

Cornell University kicked Jesse Watters off campus.

But she's so good as Lucille Bluth and Malory Archer.

[Mazakon]

Wrong person, that's Jessica Walter.

[BiMonSciFiCon]

911? It's an emergency. M's joke detector is broken. Get here, STAT!

[Fist of Etiquette]

Everything's a joke with you, isn't it, BMSFC? (Especially 911 in yo town.)

[BiMonSciFiCon]

That's why I use the real number, 9-1-2.*

*Note: please ignore if not a Stonecutter. Thanks.

[Trouser-Pod (The blowhard)]

You might be called up for a Wreck of the Hesperus for posting that.

[Aloysious]

Today, I ate bacon. On purpose.

[Juvenile Bluster]

Who will you have as the pallbearers at your upcoming funeral?

[Aloysious]

Pirate Truther and his lusty wenches.

[Leigh]

Lou Reed?

[Stormy Dragon]

The Cleveland Browns obviously.

[Bern-o-Matic 5000]

Enjoy it now while you can. HHS will be going after it soon enough.

[mad.casual]

Once they've figured out how to get people to identify bacon grease as second-hand bacon and convinced them that they've unwittingly consumed and been victimized by it, the jig is up.

[Brett L]

Sometimes I make bacon because I really want the grease. But of course I also eat the bacoy.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Me too. Win win.

[Pope Jimbo]

WHAT? Are you telling me that because of govt meddling, I am going to have to start buying store bought lube?

Sunday morning sexy times with Her Holiness just won't be the same.

[C. Anacreon]

Mmmm, bacon on porpoise.

[Rasilio]

Bacon Tuna Melt?

I'll take 2

[Crusty Juggler]

Today, I ate bacon. On purpose.

Slather it in mayonnaise and then I will be impressed.

[Fist of Etiquette]

The University of California is going to elaborate lengths to criminalize speech critical of Israel.

So no divestment talk at UC then?

[Tonio]

The University of California is going to elaborate lengths to criminalize speech critical of Israel.

That's unique. I thought that public campuses were hotbeds of pro-palestinian speech.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

The UC campuses are out of control with pro-palestinian talk. Of course, the administration had to respond by going full retard.

[MJGreen - Docile Citizen]

If you want Arthur Chu's take, here it is.

You know we don't.

[Ted S.]

It was so satisfying to see him blow the Jeopardy Tournament of Champions.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

He blew everybody? He gets around.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

From the article:

The ability to "downvote" or "dislike" something has proven in the past to be a pretty terrible idea that, despite the best intentions of implementers, serves to encourage mobs of haters to go after unpopular people

Yes it's the dislike option that causes this, and totally not the 'unpopular' asshats who tell others what to think or how to feel.

[Cyto]

In reality, crowdsourced moderation works great. Slashdot was the pioneer in this area in the 90's. They also "meta-moderate" - so the moderators get moderated. It works. "All jooz must die" posts get hidden very quickly, and posts that are interesting and informative get promoted.

They also cap "up" votes at 5. So crowds of people upvoting "Booosh is duh Evil" has minimal effect.

All in all it is very effective.

Of course, that didn't save the community from falling apart as everyone of interest moved on to other things. But the point remains, crowdsourced moderation works great when done right.

[Unreconstructed (Sans Flag)]

StackExchange uses similar methods for its Q&A sites, and the speed with which spam and junk gets deleted is impressive. Jeff Atwood (one of the founders) has written quite a bit about it, and his latest project, Discourse, is an attempt to bring some of those lessons to general forum comments.

[Fist of Etiquette]

BuzzFeed and Vox Media are now boycotting SXSW unless organizers reverse the decision.

Because successful attacks would give them juicy copy?

[Apatheist ?_??]

Organizers of South by Southwest cancelled two panels because threats were made against the participants. One of the panels was seen as "anti-Gamergate" because it included critics of the movement and set out to address online harassment; the other was "pro-Gamergate." BuzzFeed and Vox Media are now boycotting SXSW unless organizers reverse the decision.

It is shocking that this thing is still going on. It is the most pointless "controversy" over nothing ever. The people who take GG and anti-GG seriously are pretty insane.

[Episiarch]

It's a perfect example of all KULTUR WAR bullshit. It's just two sides/TEAMs who are unified by how much they hate the other TEAM.

[Cyto]

That's what the Gamer Gate conspirators want you to think! That's all part of their evil plan!

[Zeb]

Yeah, the more I learn about the whole thing, the dumber it seems. I seem to be the only male person between the ages of 18-45 who doesn't care about video games, so that probably contributes to my utter apathy. But even so, how about everyone just buys the video games they like and mind their own damn business?

[Heroic Mulatto]

But even so, how about everyone just buys the video games they like and mind their own damn business?

Well, that's the point. One side advocates this and the other doesn't.

[Zeb]

There is a very real possibility that I still just don't get it. I've probably invested a grand total of 15 minutes looking into the whole gamer gate thing. I'm guessing that the people who want the video games that no one wants to actually buy are the ones that don't. Do they want to prevent video games that people actually want to play from getting made too?

Seems to me that if you like video games, you can probably just ignore it all and the game makers will produce what the market demands.

[Heroic Mulatto]

Do they want to prevent video games that people actually want to play from getting made too?

Why, they just petitioned the United Nations to do just that!

Seems to me that if you like video games, you can probably just ignore it all and the game makers will produce what the market demands.

That's true for the moment, especially in the US and Japan, but I do feel for those in the UK and Australia who have to deal with draconian restrictions on game content that are getting even more draconian under pressure by SJW groups working hand-in-hand with "children shouldn't be exposed to violence unless its in a Tom and Jerry cartoon" nanny groups.

[Krabappel]

I think they are threat-calling on themselves just to keep this completely boring bullshit that I am fucking tired of hearing about in the news.

[Crusty Juggler]

It is the most pointless "controversy" over nothing ever.

"You are just mad because we are winning."

[Cytotoxic]

That you think it is over nothing is a perfect encapsulation of 'why libertarians aren't as relevant as they should be'.

[Mazakon]

If you want Arthur Chu's take, here it is.

I did, it's as stupid and "against the enemy" as his usual writings.

[Krombopulos Carl]

Xie Zuoshi read your comment yesterday, Jesse, and he thinks you're a moron:

2. On same-sex marriage:

"Legalizing same-sex marriage would not solve the problem of guanggun [men who cannot find a wife]'' because it would allow women to marry each other.

A Chinese Economist Responds to Critics of His Proposal to Let Men Share a Wife

[Ted S.]

There are more gay men than lesbian women.

[Heroic Mulatto]

?

[GILMORE?]

Meh. Kinsey says its just like a low single-digit difference. Which I get is 'significant' in very large populations, but its still not a crazy disproportion

[Heroic Mulatto]

I guess that's true if you're going by strict definitions of "gay" and "lesbian"; however, if you take into account the fact that your average woman's sexuality is fluid as fuck, it's going to tip the scale greatly in the lez direction.

[GILMORE?]

"if you take into account the fact that your average woman's sexuality is fluid as fuck"

*someone's* been watching too much hentai

(schpluuuuuuch!!)

No, i get your point, but the "gay" thing as far as Kinsey is concerned is pretty specific. Gay, as in = find the opposite sex completely and utterly sexually un-appealing

[Heroic Mulatto]

Yamatte! Yamatte!

Motto motto onegaishimashu!

Ooh..kimochi!

[Mongo]

Living in a large, metro area, I tell my small town friends that you pretty much work on the assumption that the local gals are bi-sexual.

[TimothyZ]

That's good advice, but of rather tactical nature.

[Florida Man]

Not in my browser history.

[waffles]

I thought SXSW was a music festival. Why are they crapping up something cool with this awful bullshit. Also Arthur Chu is a disgusting sychophantic blob. I guess that these battles even happen just shows we have reached absurd prosperity.

[Heroic Mulatto]

The University of California is going to elaborate lengths to criminalize speech critical of Israel.

I read that entire article and I could find no mention of any group advocating that legislation (federal or state) that would deem "speech critical of Israel" illegal be passed.

*shrugs*

[Pan Zagloba]

In fact, everyone claims they are fine with speech critical of Israel, but it gets iffy (50-50) on Jew-hate. But hey, I'm sure anti-Islamic or anti-feminist speech is treated with the same level of tolerance.

[Tonio]

And to further muddy the waters there are many who dishonestly claim that any criticism of the state of Israel is exactly the same as criticizing jews as a whole.

[Libertymike]

Cytotoxic being exhibit 1.

[Cytotoxic]

Speaking of extreme dishonesty and in that stroke, irony...

[Libertymike]

Was my post not predicated upon reality?

[Cytotoxic]

Your posts never are.

[Tonio]

Yeah, me neither. "Criminalize" was sloppy since they're just talking about campus speech codes. But having said that, a state university system is indeed an agent of the state and 250k students is a lot.

[Zeb]

Wait, I thought all of academia were full supporters of Palestinian terrorists and hated the Jooos.

[Heroic Mulatto]

"We're here to listen," Pattiz said. "What I'm feeling is there are an awful lot of people who have addressed the group who want to find a solution."

A final solution, perhaps?

[Libertymike]

Just as General Sherman conceived.

[Heroic Mulatto]

Grant was behind General Order 11, actually.

[Libertymike]

Thanks. I was not aware of General Order 11.

My comment was referring to Sherman's use of the phrase, "final solution", which he employed with respect to systematically killing and caging hostile Plains Indians.

[Cytotoxic]

Well it is pretty chock-a-bloc with those types.

[Cytotoxic]

So apparently Nick's article on the Ex-Im reathorization was grossly dishonest. Again: fire Gillespie. He's bad for reason.

[Pan Zagloba]

Sargon of Akkad's latest video in his "why people hate feminism" series is arguably best thing he's ever done: Feminist Men.

More cringe than the entire UK run of The Office.

[Heroic Mulatto]

I'll say it again, in the world of ranting Brits, Sargon has said nothing in 15 minutes that Pat Condell hasn't said better in 5.

[Cytotoxic]

Meh. I don't need to see Condell's face constantly. Sargon shows graphics that support his point, and I think he's funner to listen to.

[Heroic Mulatto]

I don't need to see Condell's face constantly

I get that, but I just listen to it in the background anyway.

[Pan Zagloba]

I prefer Condell myself, but Sargon does provide male feminist videos in addition to cutting commentary. Also, his voice is sexier.

[Cytotoxic]

I like the statue bust he has in his videos, preferably the old picture rather than the animation.

[Libertymike]

Condell has a better voice. But the statue is cool.

[Notorious UGCC]

Continuing my Halloween costume theme, let's look at this one - try it and see if it works!

[Notorious UGCC]

Too soon?

[Notorious UGCC]

It's like they're made for each other.

[Notorious UGCC]

Never mind factory farming, this is real cruelty to animals.

[Notorious UGCC]

I give this link just to show an example of something which is totally NOT FUNNY and NOT OK.

[Notorious UGCC]

Not exactly a costume, but it's Halloween-themed.

Theeeey aaaallll waaant caaaake...

[Notorious UGCC]

Hey, stop appropriating my culture, you racists!

[Fist of Etiquette]

I like that one, but should the lettuce and tomato be outside the wrapper?

[Cytotoxic]

Nasdaq to Unveil Blockchain-Based Platform

A company-issued statement said Nasdaq Linq ? first announced in May ? would include Chain, Change Tip, PeerNova, Synack, Tango and Vera as its first private company clients.

http://www.coindesk.com/nasdaq.....-platform/

[Juice]

Very interesting, but I don't get it. What would they use a blockchain for? Just keeping a record of transactions? What's so bad about Nasdaq keeping them centrally instead of having a shitload of copies floating around?

[Krombopulos Carl]

It seems like someone posted this already, but maybe not:

Chewbacca is arrested in Ukraine while driving Darth Vader to the polls

This weekend's local elections in Ukraine were marred by electoral fraud, vote-buying, and one particularly disturbing incident: the arrest of a man wearing a Chewbacca costume.

The Wookiee, real name unknown, was driving fellow "Star Wars" character Darth Vader?an anonymous candidate in the elections?to the polls in Odessa when he was detained for illegally campaigning on election day, and for failing to present the appropriate identification.

[Mazakon]

Oonion: Report: Red Meat Linked To Contentedly Patting Belly

[BiMonSciFiCon]

If you want Arthur Chu's take, here it is.

Least clicked link ever?

[GILMORE?]

DoubleClick reports =

"Its fascinating... its the first time we've seen the phenomenon where ...the More links to the source...it *actually drains hits from the site*. We're not even sure how thats happening"

[Cytotoxic]

Yesterday Guatemala elected a comedian for president with 67%.

http://www.reuters.com/article.....R320151027

The (somewhat) Bad: ... the smartphone is the least populist (idea) that there is," Morales said in an interview on Monday, the day after his massive win. He will take office in January.

He plans to start with a pilot program in schools in 45 of Guatemala's municipalities, and said it would cost the government nothing.

"We are going to give (the telephone companies) school and government walls to paint their brand logos on to compensate them," said Morales

The Good: Morales said Central America's largest economy should focus on bolstering criminal investigations to tackle lawlessness, instead of resorting to the military, allaying fears that his party's ties to the armed forces could lead to a larger role for the military during his four-year term.

The Weird but Maybe Not so Bad?: He floated the idea of assigning an engineering unit within the military, one of the country's most opaque institutions, to build roads and bridges.

The Ugly: He also described as "ridiculous" a 1 percent mining royalty that is paid to the government by foreign and domestic mining companies and said it was time to review the law.

"Investors may not be interested, but it may be that Guatemala is not interested in letting them take away its gold and nickel at very low prices," said Morales

[Cytotoxic]

Landmark Case in Mexico's Supreme Court Could Pave the Way for Marijuana Legalization

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/.....99712.html

[Cytotoxic]

So how many people died in Hurricane Patricia?

[Fist of Etiquette]

Under 15. I guess not enough to further any narratives. That bitch.

[Cytotoxic]

Truly remarkable that it was so few. Development really is the best bet against disaster. Bangladesh used to lose thousands in hurricanes now they don't because the information is disseminated.

[Krombopulos Carl]

Leaving China? Your books, maps and DVDs may be confiscated

An odd thing happened when movers came to box up Ruth Kirchner's furnishings as she was preparing to return to Berlin after a decade in China. The chief packer made a beeline for the German journalist's globe to see whether it was politically correct.

"Where's Taiwan?" he asked, checking whether the island ? which has de facto independence but which China's communist leaders regard as a breakaway province ? was rendered in a different color than the mainland. Next he demanded: "Where are the Diaoyu islands?" referring to uninhabited specks of land long administered by Japan but claimed by China.

Weeks later, though, Kirchner's moving company called to say that customs authorities inspecting her shipment found a book that included an objectionable Taiwan map. Kirchner had to sign a form saying she was "voluntarily" abandoning the book ? "The Opium War," by Julia Lovell ? even though she had bought it in Beijing. (The title recently has been taken off shelves in the city because of the map issue, booksellers say.)

Oh, and this is great:

Finally, the packer picked up a road atlas of Britain and asked where Taiwan was.

[Tonio]

Yeah, I'm thinking those packers are chinese state security thugs. Ordinary packers don't give a shit.

[Ted S.]

Which of the two Chinas are you talking about? 😉

[grrizzly]

I have visas to both in my passport.

[GILMORE?]

"Organizers of South by Southwest cancelled two panels because threats were made against the participants."

I'm so sick of this "threats" nonsense.

You'd think people would have learned by now = you're *feeding* the 'threateners' by doing exactly what they want.

The appropriate response is, "Suck it" and go right ahead with what you were planning to do. If some douche-hat tries hurting someone, THEN shoot them.

[Trshmnstr has a soft carrot]

I want to know exactly how many horrible outcomes have occurred based on received threats. Are mass murderers really stupid enough to telegraph their intent by phoning in a threat?

School bomb threats during finals were the same way. Assume it's a hoax until you see smoke coming from somebody's shoes.

[John]

And the threats are almost never real. What threats? Making a threat is a crime. Did the subjects of these threats call the cops and has an investigation been initiated? If not, then the threats didn't happen and they are just a made up excuse to stop people from saying things the prog douche bags who run SBSW don't like.

[Pan Zagloba]

And in fact the participants in GG panel wanted to go on, for those very reasons. But, the organizers said no, can't have it. So "threats" thing is just bullshit.

[GILMORE?]

these people are so gay. You'd think they could just have their fucking debate via Google Groups Chat or some shit. But everything's got to be a big fucking production and drama.

[commodious spittoon]

Let's poll millennials on what they believe Trump really thinks about gamergate.

[GILMORE?]

in the "actual news" department =

China + US = Either playing Chicken, or game of Cat & Mouse... editors can't decide

[John]

Remember, we had to elect Obama because McCain or Romney would have gotten us into really big wars with China or Russia.

It will be a fucking miracle if that moron doesn't blunder us into another world war.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

We're playing 3-D chinese checkers or something with them now.

[Restoras]

There's still lots of time left, and I bet Obumbler doesn't go quietly into retirement his last two months in office.

[Slammer]

"Mischief Reef"... good album name

[widget]

#gamergate, like the IRA and PLO, is just one of those causes I cannot grok. Goddammit, there aren't enough Irishmen writing gaming software, or some such thing.

[SusanM]

I just can't believe people are still talking, indeed caring, about it. With one side making the calm, rational assertion that "TEH WIMMINZ ARE EEVUL!!!1!" and the other side offering the nuanced, insightful rebuttal that "TEH GEAMERS ARE EEVUL!!11one!!1", I really don't see anything that hasn't been hashed out a thousand times already.

[Crusty Juggler]

Corning is going to beat the shit out of his dick to this thread.

[SusanM]

If he stops Corning he won't have any shit in his dick in the first place.

I should make clear that I'm not saying that SXSW shouldn't have these discussions or that people in general can't talk about it. I'm making the observation that continuing the discussion without adding anything new, just rehashing the same old talking points serves no purpose that I can figure other than keeping the whole situation going without any resolution.

[Trouser-Pod (The blowhard)]

Will that result in pics?

[Trouser-Pod (The blowhard)]

:Refresh, dammit:

That was for CJ

[Crusty Juggler]

Only when it resembles a fresh stalk of broccoli. I hope.

[Trouser-Pod (The blowhard)]

+1 Green Giant

[Bern-o-Matic 5000]

Why would anyone give a shit about what Arthur Chu has to say about anything?

[Sevo]

From the Snowden link:
"Call your senator and make sure they're speaking for you, rather than against you."

Yeah, Boxer and Di Fi are all ears, just waiting for that guy who's registered as a Libertarian to give 'em their marching orders.
Ed, I know ya mean well, but...

[widget]

That's a bit naive, but it does get under their skin.

Dear Senator Boxer,

I have payed over $400,000 in taxes to the State of California during the last 30 years including your salary. Would please listen to me on this....

Dear Mr. widget,

Thank you for your continued support...

[Juvenile Bluster]

If you want Arthur Chu's take, here it is

Nooooooope.

[BiMonSciFiCon]

I just checked. He blocked me, too! I can't even remember tweeting at him.

[Juvenile Bluster]

I never did. I once replied to Popehat when he was blasting Chu. That's probably what did it.

[Krabappel]

Maybe he has someone reading and filtering out all the mean comments from his social media accounts.

[BiMonSciFiCon]

Butters really needs a break.

[Brendan]

Same here. I'm pretty sure he shares a blocklist with some other SJW type(s). RandiHarper and Wil Wheaton have me blocked as well despite never tweeting either of them.

[bacon-magic]

Ahhhh Chu. No need to click on that contagion.

[commodious spittoon]

Achoo?

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Why is he looking away in his avatar? Is autistic-artism trendy among hipsters or something?

[GILMORE?]

Russian Soldier = Hanged himself full of bullets while in Syria

* no evidence he was shot. just thought it sounded cute.

[esteve7]

I'm not GG, but you gotta give props to the one group who hasn't bowed down to the SJWs.

[GILMORE?]

YAY AMERICA LOOK WHAT OBAMA DID WOMEN ARE POWERFUL NOW

[Trshmnstr has a soft carrot]

Obligatory

[GILMORE?]

Catholics = Why do you never rape little girls?

[Fist of Etiquette]

My childhood priest never laid so much as a hand on me and I was absolutely the hottest altar boy around. Sluttiest, too.

[Pan Zagloba]

You should sue him for not molesting you. Use Mr Garrison as your spiritual guide.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

BuzzFeed and Vox Media are now boycotting SXSW unless organizers reverse the decision.

Will we believe what happens next?

[Bern-o-Matic 5000]

People celebrate that those hacks won't be at SXSW?

[GILMORE?]

"BuzzFeed and Vox Media are now boycotting SXSW"

OMG BOTH OF THEM WHY ITS LIKE THE WHOLE WORLD HAS BEEN DENIED KNOWLEDGE

[Brett L]

Maybe it will be worth going to again. I'm really hoping 10 years from now it's just a fun place to see crazy films and fun bands up close.

[lafe.long]

This one cool trick will MAKE you believe!

[GILMORE?]

You know what else they call a "Bloody Unicorn"?

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

Cornell University kicked Jesse Watters off campus.

I initially read that "Jesse Walker".

[BiMonSciFiCon]

To stop those grievance mongers, one-two-three,

Here's a fresh new way that's trouble-free,

It's got Paul Anka's guarantee ... [winks]

(Guarantee void in Tennessee.)

Just don't look! Just don't look!

[Juvenile Bluster]

::Mansplains about privilege while holding up "Now with sprinkles!" sign::

[Free Society]

Edward Snowden denounced CISA in a Reddit thread.

In other news, Smokey the Bear says he doesn't particularly love forest fires.

[Pope in Rome]

I'm Catholic.

[Mongo]

Michael Douglas got throat cancer eating some meat, if you know what I'm sayin'.

[That's A Bingo!]

You know who else didn't eat meat?

[Pan Zagloba]

Students who didn't get their pudding?

[Trshmnstr has a soft carrot]

My college girlfriend who would eat chicken wings and burgers if you got her drunk enough?

[Akira]

You had one of those too, huh?

[sloopyinTEXAS]

Every North Korean not related to Kim Jong Un?

[Anomalous]

Isaac Bashevis Singer?

[MJGreen - Docile Citizen]

It's never been clear to me if fish counts as meat.

[Rich]

There's fish, poultry, and meat.

[John]

http://www.theglobeandmail.com.....e26950887/

Why are young feminists so clueless about sex?

Has the author of this post seen any of these feminists? When you are as homely and hostile as these women, you are not going to have a lot of experience with sex.

[Pan Zagloba]

Has the author of this post seen any of these feminists?

She has not. Wente is their one token non-lefty, contrarian author. Which means she gets her subjects from various non-lefty US sites, retells the story with some anecdote about her "girlfriends from Toronto", then they get published two weeks later. Putting her head and shoulders above the rest of that paper's staff.
In retrospect, it's amazing I only unsubscribed from it two weeks ago, after they published a puff piece on Trudeau that reminded me of pro-government papers in Serbia, circa 1991.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

I see stories about how his students loved him.

Niiiice.

[Pan Zagloba]

I was so angry that the puff piece was hidden behind the paywall. What's the point of paying for fucking propaganda if I can't pass it on?

[Pan Zagloba]

Actually calling it "puff piece" doesn't do it justice - hagiography is closer to the mark.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

You know who else had a girlfriend from Canada?

[grrizzly]

Which party did the Globe and Mail endorse this time? I recall I was surprised to learn that it had endorsed the Conservatives in the previous two elections.

[Pan Zagloba]

They were forced to endorse Conservatives by their owner, while demanding Harper resign after the victory. It was a cause of much merriment up here.

[Akira]

"retells the story with some anecdote about her "girlfriends from Toronto""

Ok, this is a bit off topic, but... Why do girls call their female friends "girlfriends"? I don't call my male friends "boyfriends".

[Pan Zagloba]

No idea. Since I'm ESL guy, it always throws me for a second (or a few seconds, if the female in question is attractive).

[GILMORE?]

MSF has another hospital bombed

US support for Saudi Bombing campaign not mentioned in story

[widget]

Bret Baier: Mrs. Clinton, who was the first President of the United States?

Mrs. Clinton: That was a long time ago, but I know it was George Jeffer... Washington.

Bret Baier: Mr. Trump, who is the President of Yemen and why is the US bombing them?

Mr. Trump: Kiss my hairy ass.

[Notorious UGCC]

More Halloween costume fun

[GILMORE?]

I give up = what are they

[Notorious UGCC]

Explorer and Firefox

[GILMORE?]

Why does "Explorer" have a beard and a fanny pack...

...unless....

...they mean to imply "old, but still trying to be cool"..... groan....

[Notorious UGCC]

Explorer and Firefox

[Notorious UGCC]

Explorer and Firefox

[Notorious UGCC]

In case you didn't get it the first two times

[Krombopulos Carl]

Internet Explorer and FIrefox

The Firefox globe is pretty forced, but... I'll forgive her.

[Notorious UGCC]

Fap away, nerds!

[Pan Zagloba]

Holy crap. After the votes were counted in Polish election this weekend, not a single socialist party is in the parliament. Oh, to dream the impossible dream...

[Law and Justice] party won 37.58% of the vote, giving it a majority in the lower house of 235 out of 460 seats.
Civic Platform, which led Poland's coalition government for the last eight years, won 138 seats or 24.09%.
Three other parties also won enough votes to get seats in parliament: a new right-wing party led by rock star Pawel Kukiz with 8.8%; a new pro-business party, Modern Poland, with 7.6%; and the agrarian Polish People's Party with 5.13%.

[John]

Looks like Poland and the Czechs might be all that is left of Europe before too long.

[Pan Zagloba]

Always Slavs having to come to the rescue...

[John]

Always them standing between the West and barbarism of the East.

[Pan Zagloba]

This is (hilariously) common belief among Serbs (450 years of Turkish occupation), Bulgarians (500 years of Turkish occupation), Croats, Hungarians (250 or so years of Turkish occupation apiece), Romanians (350 years of Turkish occupation), Russians (250 years of Mongol-Tatar occupation) and Poles (never actually occupied until 18th century). Each of these nations believing they alone were a bulwark against the Muslim tide...

[John]

Just ignore the 800 pound Hapsburg Austrian gorilla in the corner. It was all you Ivan. All you.

[grrizzly]

Da, konechno.

[Libertymike]

Yes, of course.

[Pan Zagloba]

At least Poles have Yan Sobietski to point at!

[Krabappel]

Gee, I wonder why socialism is so unpopular in those countries.

We need to send all of America's budding young socialists to live abroad in Cuba or Venezuela for a few years. And if they come back still parroting idiot Marxist ideas, they can go to North Korea next.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Poland rocks.

[Pan Zagloba]

Me and my handle agree on Poland, but Law & Justice is old-style Conservative party, with a fairly Bismarckian policy:

It promised increased childcare benefits, tax breaks for the less well-off and small businesses, as well as free medicines for those over 75.

It plans to undo Civic Platform's unpopular reform to increase the retirement age for both men and women, and draft a law that will help the more than half a million Poles who took out a mortgage in Swiss francs and now face spiralling repayments.

Law and Justice plans to pay for all this with a new tax on banks, tax big mainly foreign-owned supermarkets and improve collection of sales tax (VAT).

From the same BBC article, I thought this was quite hilarious:

In social policy a Law and Justice Poland will certainly be more conservative than many Western European countries. It opposes civil partnerships, afraid that homosexuals might somehow get the right to marry and adopt children.

"Might somehow?" Really, I have no idea, where could have they gotten the idea??

[Notorious UGCC]

The Stages of Progressive Policymaking:

"Don't be paranoid! If we do X it totally won't result in Y!"

"Y was inevitable, why are you trying to turn back the clock?"

[Rhywun]

Because increasing the pool of people willing to adopt is a bad thing? I'm not current on my socon bigotries.

[Cytotoxic]

Law and Justice loves them some free shit. They are lowering the retirement age and waging taxes on Supermarkets and banks. They hate them dirty immigrants, gays, and abortion. Perfect yokeltarian party.

They make up for it by keeping Poland out of the Euro. The Euro is that bad.

[Notorious UGCC]

Don't overthink your costume, and don't spend a whole lot of time making it, either.

[Trouser-Pod (The blowhard)]

Lame.

They totally left out the "Sexy" on the Pashtun Papa outfit.

Plus, they didn't even mention Mohammed's "Sexy briefcase clock".

[Agammamon]

http://everythingsaproblem.tumblr.com/

Reason (and ENB) is mentioned re: Yik Yak.

[Krabappel]

SMDH JFC AYFKM?!

[Crusty Juggler]

Finally someone who speaks my language.

ikr!?!?!?!!?

[Notorious UGCC]

In "having it both ways" news, the Telegraph dresses up as a Social Justice Warrior to "deplore" these costumes.

[Juice]

News does it all the time. "Would you look at these harlots! Can you believe they would dress this way? What if they were your daughter?!" while showing drunk half naked girls twerking or dancing in bikinis at the beach.

[Juvenile Bluster]

Sheriff "Peacemaker" Lott: It's totally alright! The officer who attacked the kid in the classroom is dating a black woman!

[Notorious UGCC]

So was Ray Rice.

[Trshmnstr has a soft carrot]

He was appropriating their woman-beating culture!!!1!!

/not making it better

[Rich]

So, if he had a daughter, ....

[Notorious UGCC]

You know you want one

[lafe.long]

From the Chu link:

One of the things I had been planning to talk about, in fact, was how many common types of Internet platforms are tailor-made to generate harassing behavior against vulnerable people, and SXSW threw us directly into one such?a public vote, with upvotes and downvotes, and open unmoderated anonymous comments for drive-by downvoters to spread negativity.

heh. He really should drop by here sometime.

[Notorious UGCC]

Have at Chu!

[John]

All you can do is merciless ridicule these people. There is no point in giving them the satisfaction of rational debate. They are unworthy of it.

Fortunately, all of these people seem to be socially defective morons who are easy to ridicule. I mean, my God look at Chu. He is right out of central casting. What a fucking dork.

[Krabappel]

Shorter: "WAHHHH! Nobody wants to listen to us complain!"

[GILMORE?]

"" vulnerable people""

Pro-tip = Maybe vulnerable people shouldn't be jumping into the worlds-biggest communications platform and making asinine, provocative statements if "People disagreeing with them" causes severe emotional trauma

[Notorious UGCC]

Remember - the NSA will be able to tell if you're laughing at this.

[Sigivald]

BuzzFeed and Vox Media are now boycotting SXSW

While I agree with what they want here - SXSW is being cowardly and appeasing the heckler - I also think SXSW should laugh in their faces, because BuzzFeed and Vox are both awful.

Praying for an asteroid, so to speak.

[Notorious UGCC]

It's true, you can put "sexy" before *any* costume.

[Trouser-Pod (The blowhard)]

Well, that's what I was kinda hinting at earlier.

And, you are correct about the finger costume.

[Notorious UGCC]

Just don't ask those girls what they were doing when that stuff first aired.

[Trshmnstr has a soft carrot]

Avoiding getting wanked out by their respective biological fathers?

[Notorious UGCC]

Schwing!

[bassjoe]

CISA is going to overwhelmingly sail through Congress. While the proletariat has been busy gobbling up useless stories on the House Speaker drama and Hilary's Benghazi/email issues, actual threats to our privacy and security barely get a relative peep in the media.

Reason is just as guilty. It's been on an absolute Hilary obsession for two weeks. Like it really matters who the President is when both parties routinely get together to screw over the rest of us...

[Notorious UGCC]

This costume in this video is sexy in the sense that it will screw with your mind.

[Notorious UGCC]

Holy crap, this costume doesn't just use makeup, it uses cloning!

[Notorious UGCC]

"Alors, what eez zees 'Alloween'? And what do you mean 'nice costume'? I *always* dress like zees, eet is my uniform!"

[Agammamon]

I was so hoping that would be a link to Colleen Camp.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pElFJQZmgr0

[Notorious UGCC]

"Have you seen a guy dressed like Napoleon? I have to give him his medication."

[Notorious UGCC]

Japanese schoolgirl - interactive video version!

[widget]

Germany does not seem to be one those wonderful European countries with all-encompasing single-payer/free government health care:

Many migrants have AIDS, syphilis, open TB and many exotic diseases that we, in Europe, do not know how to treat them. If they receive a prescription in the pharmacy, they learn they have to pay cash. This leads to unbelievable outbursts, especially when it is about drugs for the children. They abandon the children with pharmacy staff with the words: "So, cure them here yourselves!" So the police are not just guarding the clinics and hospitals, but also large pharmacies.

http://www.alipac.us/f9/muslim.....ne-324330/

[Cytotoxic]

A while back the WSJ had an article about how 'universal healthcare' is slowly retreating across much of the world.

This sentence is silly: "Many migrants have AIDS, syphilis, open TB and many exotic diseases that we, in Europe, do not know how to treat them."

We know exactly how to treat all of those things. Syphilis is super easy and TB is non-contagious when it's in its asymptomatic suppressed form which it is 90% of the time.

[Atanarjuat]

I think that sentence meant they don't know how to treat the exotic diseases.

[Trshmnstr has a soft carrot]

A-

Good troll, pushes the right buttons, topical as hell. Points deducted for failing to use Poe's Law to your advantage and for not enough butthurt.

[John]

Stop that. That is not cricket.

[bassjoe]

It doesn't fucking matter who in TEAM BE RULED you vote for. I'm sick and fucking tired of Reason -- who claims to look at things beyond the Red/Blue divide -- thinking it actually does.

[GILMORE?]

Winston is boring even when he's someone else

[Rich]

*** rising intonation ***

I smell a subpoena ....

[Cytotoxic]

Yes it does matter. There are better and worse people. Things could be a lot worse than they are now.