Paul Ryan Says He Won't Work on Immigration Reform With Obama, Bernie Sanders Launches TV Ad Campaign, Antarctica Gaining Ice: A.M. Links

• 

  StormPetrel1/flickr

  The Republican National Committee named a new official to act as a liaison between the presidential campaigns and the television networks hosting debates.

• House Speaker Paul Ryan says he won't work with President Obama on immigration reform because the president is "untrustworthy."
• Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders launched his first TV ad campaign, to air in Iowa and New Hampshire.
• The Vatican announced the arrest of a monsignor and a member of a finances reform commission for allegedly leaking confidential documents to the media.
• The Indian air force was placed on high alert after a number of sightings of drone-like unidentified flying objects over the Delhi international airport.
• The United Nations says plans by 150 countries to limit carbon emissions wouldn't be enough to save the climate.
• New research from NASA shows Antarctica gaining ice mass, not losing it.
• Former U.S. senator and Law & Order actor Fred Thompson died this weekend, aged 73.
• The Kansas City Royals won their first World Series since 1985.

New at Reason.com:

• Brickbat: Bad Pictures By Charles Oliver
• Ohio's Choice: Pot Prohibition or Cannabis Crony Capitalism? Many legalizers are less than thrilled by the Buckeye State's marijuana initiative. By Jacob Sullum
• The Wickedness of Our Foreign Policy Individual persons who did no harm to anyone are being slaughtered and starved with the help of American politicians and military bureaucrats. By Sheldon Richman
• Muslim Heroes of the Holocaust A Mideast website responds to Netanyahu's blunder. By Charles Paul Freund
• Why Congress Shouldn't Act on GMOs Let the Supreme Court rule on mandatory labeling. By Baylen Linnekin

Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

The Kansas City Royals won their first World Series since 1985.

New York was our last chance to reject the monarchy.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Hello.

/borrows Swiss's narrow gaze.

[Swiss Servator]

Gladly given, Rufus, gladly given...

[toolkien]

Actually, the name Royals comes from the livestock trade -

http://www.americanroyal.com/about.aspx

Meanwhile, your average "Metropolitan" is a Socialist City State dweller, the cancerous "blue" clusters that are trying to run the whole country.

So I think, overall, lovers of freedom won a little last night...

yada yada yada

[spqr2008]

Wait... the name doesn't come from Randy Marsh's song?

[Zeb]

Kansas City isn't a blue cluster?

[Fist of Etiquette]

...Fred Thompson died this weekend, aged 73.

I guess he wasn't lucky enough to live through it.

[gaijin]

Which bank owns his reverse mortgage now?

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

He was too lazy to keep his heart beating.

[MP]

Wait...he was only 47 when they shot The Hunt for Red October? Holy fuck does that make me feel old.

[Fist of Etiquette]

New research from NASA shows Antarctica gaining ice mass, not losing it.

MOTHER NATURE IS A STINKING DENIER.

[Bee Tagger]

It should be illegal for Antarctica to do this, frankly.

[straffinrun]

Well I'm here to terrify you.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Some show more water now, some show less now. MAKE UP YOUR MIND, SCIENCE.

[Rhywun]

Doesn't matter - any change is evidence of crisis. QUAKE IN YOUR BOOTS NOW.

[Tommy_Grand]

I love that an article about Antarctica *gaining* ice ends with the quote: "But it might only take a few decades for Antarctica's growth to reverse, says Jay Zwally, a glaciologist."

Of course that's true, depending on what it means for "growth to reverse." Does that mean only a few decades to eradicate the gains? To begin shrinking? Or, just increase less rapidly? ok, sure. That might happen. And it also might take only a few decades for Antarctic ice to double. Either way, it clearly proves climate change -- meaning we must act NOW to avoid human extinction, total annihilation, dead babies crying silent tears, etc.

[EMD]

I'd like to know if some of these photos were taken at the same time of year, x number of years apart, or not.

[Gilbert Martin]

But, but KONSENSUS!!!!!!!!!

[some guy]

To be fair, it make sense that a warming Antarctica would gain ice. To make ice you need cold and water. But Antarctica is so cold that the air there has very little moisture in it.

/insert standard "Denier" credentials here

[Zeb]

The article says that the gain in ice mass started 10,000 years ago. And the rate has decreased recently. So it's probably more to do with the warming at the end of the glacial period.

[Francisco d'Anconia]

This IS an inconvenient truth.

[Suellington]

Antarctica hates science.

[toolkien]

Fuck the penguins, those cute polar bears need the ice more.

[Princess Trigger]

Penguins: "Molon Labe"

[spqr2008]

Polar Bears: "Yum."

[Zeb]

Move some polar bears to Antarctica.

[Swiss Servator]

"Agreed, we need more food"

/Shoggoth

[A Cynic's Guide to Zen]

Don't talk to the shuddering blobs, Danforth, you madman...

[Bee Tagger]

The United Nations says plans by 150 countries to limit carbon emissions wouldn't be enough to save the climate..

Do I have to click the link to learn from what it's being saved?

[The Shrubber's Woodchipper]

I did to answer that very question. It was a poorly worded headline from the original post, not a quote from anyone.

[Fist of Etiquette]

THE CALL TO ACTION IS COMING FROM INSIDE THE HOUSE.

[some guy]

Saving the climate from itself! It is an intervention, after all.

[Suthenboy]

'Save the Climate'

*ponders meaning. looks around for someone to punch*

[Lord Humungus]

Man injured after being attacked with a fish

It happened around 1:45 a.m. on Sunday. Whitehall police say the 61-year-old man was drawing a sketch of a mounted sailfish in the home when his 58-year-old girlfriend became angry and moved the fish.

The fish fell over and broke when she left the room. Police said that when she returned, the woman blamed the man for the damage.

She then allegedly hit the man over the head with the fish and poked him with the nose of the sailfish, cutting his hand.

Police say the couple had been drinking and the woman was not arrested at the time due to health issues.

I have land up in that county... nice place.

[straffinrun]

She sounds like a keeper.

[AlmightyJB]

There is someone for everyone

[Frank Frankelson]

*considers narrowed gaze, but decides on polite applause.*

[IndyEleven]

She broke it on purpose because she had always been jealous of the fish. She had also used up all the glue so he couldn't fix it. Notafingah!

[Elspeth Flashman]

a trophy girlfriend is more important than a trophy fish?

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

Depends on how much disposable income you have.

[Francisco d'Anconia]

Buried it in the backyard, as Taps played quietly.

[Schei?e Schau]

I watch that movie about 10 times on xmas.

[some guy]

So what injured the man after he was attacked? They left out the really important part.

Also, how did poking him in the nose result in a cut on his hand.

That's some Daily Fail quality reporting.

[MJGreen - Docile Citizen]

Poked him with the nose, presumably in the man's hand.

And if it was the Daily Fail, I would hope they end it with the Monty Python fish-slapping sketch.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

I have land up in that county... nice place.

Do you have fish scars?

[Lord Humungus]

Only the locals. I protect myself with an army of orphans.

[gaoxiaen]

The locals use swordfish. You should get your orphans a narwhal.

[Mindyourbusiness]

I thought it might have been something like this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9SSOWORzw4

[Fist of Etiquette]

The Republican National Committee named a new official to act as a liaison between the presidential campaigns and the television networks hosting debates.

Like it's not ultimately going to be Trump every time. Negotiation.

[Zeb]

Antarctica link is bad. Proving that Fist is half-assing it and not even glancing at the links.

[Fist of Etiquette]

There are links?

[Illocust]

I never read the links before commenting. That's to be done afterwards when it looks like someone actually wants to discuss it.

[commodious spittoon]

when it looks like someone Nicole actually wants to discuss it.

[Elspeth Flashman]

I read the link headlines but not the links themselves.

[some guy]

It appears to be fixed now. Not that there's much there. It's three short paragraphs with no details.

[Lord Humungus]

Cats ARE neurotic - and they're probably also trying to work out how to kill you, say researchers

'For a lot of people, it is worth it. Cats can be fantastic, sweet companions. Until they turn on you.'

Only their size prevents the cat from being able to unleash its full predatory qualities.

'It is good to understand the personality characteristics of our pets. Different cats have different personalities. But as a species, there are a lot of commonalities,' Dr Wachtel said.

[Zeb]

Cats that spend their lives indoors are particularly neurotic.

Anyone who has dealt with a feral cat knows that even at their size, a cat can be pretty dangerous.

[Illocust]

The happiest cats are those that are allowed to hunt small furry creatures. If you have an attic I recommend letting your cat go up there so they can hunt the small furry creatures that like to chew on your wires. You have less electrical problems and your cat gets to feel good about himself when you praise his hunting capabilities (plus yummy internal organ treats). It's a win win for all involved.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

My brother in law's cat liked to hunt and bring back trophies to him. One time years and years ago, I was in his back yard, she waltzed in with a bird's head, dropped it in front of him and nonchalantly walked away. 'I'm the Emperor' he said to me. Hilarious.

[Illocust]

I wish there was a way to teach cats to focus on the furry things and leave the feathered things alone, but alas, I haven't found a way.

[Zeb]

That would be nice. A few times one of my cats has found a nest and caught the babies one by one, which is a little upsetting.

[Illocust]

I've had to rescue a bird from our cat once or twice. Mostly we just make sure he's indoors when its feeding time and won't let him out until afterwards. The birds seem to have figured out how to hide/guard their nests from him.

[Bodica Slayer of Woodchip]

Where do you think the term "bird brain" came from? Evil cats and stupid birds.

[toolkien]

The cat was probably thinking "if I were big enough, this would be your head"...

[Schei?e Schau]

Agreed. I larfed at this anecdote in my office whilst sneaking vapes.

[My Dog Bites Better Than Yours]

When a cat brings a dead animal in your house, it's not a gift.

It's a warning.....

[Zeb]

I won't have cats that don't go outside. I should probably have them spend some more time in the attic and basement as it's getting to be the time of year when mice and squirrels try to move in.

[Rhywun]

I won't have cats that DO outside. They just disappear and come back pregnant.

[Zeb]

There is something you can do about that pregnant thing. Even if they stay in, it's nice to have cats that don't go into heat.

If they disappear, it means it wasn't a good enough cat. Or they found something better to do.

[Rhywun]

I thought I read somewhere that spayed or neutered cats should not be outdoor cats, though I can't find it now. Something about the procedure makes them less able to defend themselves against other cats (?).

[Zeb]

I hadn't heard that. Hasn't ever seemed to be a problem for any I have had. De-clawed cats probably shouldn't spend a lot of time out.

[Rhywun]

Yeah, declawed cats should absolutely not go outside. It's possible I got it confused with that.

[gaoxiaen]

Like get eaten by a raccoon.

[Rhywun]

I have two indoor cats. They know full well that I am their only source of food. They treat me very well. They just prey on each other.

[Lord Humungus]

I have one indoor cat - a medium longhair. The idea of her going outside and getting muddy - which she has done already during an escape - isn't something I want to deal with. That and fleas.

[The Shrubber's Woodchipper]

Recently got a longhaired cat for the first time. Fleas do seem to be a problem. And burrs. No more outside for that cat.

[Bodica Slayer of Woodchip]

You do know there's a veritable plethora a flea medications OTC -right?

[Bodica Slayer of Woodchip]

I love to see my cats chase a spider. I hate spiders. My cats know there's a spider under the blankets before I do.

[Citizen X]

Hint: there's ALWAYS a spider under the blankets.

[Bodica Slayer of Woodchip]

Not anymore . . ..

[Fist of Etiquette]

The Vatican announced the arrest of a monsignor and a member of a finances reform commission for allegedly leaking confidential documents to the media.

You know who else had a transparency problem?

[straffinrun]

No, I've never seen anyone with that problem.

[Jimbo]

+1 Invisible Man

[Sapient Mulch]

Claude Raines?

[Citizen X]

Palaemonetes paludosus?

[Almanian's Rusty Woodchipper]

My fourth grade teacher when she tried to use the overhead projector?

[bacon-magic]

The Invisible Man?

[Jimbo]

Damn you!

[EMD]

My sixth grade science teacher, Mr. Flynn?

Wait, that was more of an overhead projector problem.

[EMD]

SCROLLS UP. CURSES SMALLER LAPTOP SCREEN.

[EMD]

My sixth grade science teacher, Mr. Flynn?

Wait, that was more of an overhead projector problem.

[Warty]

KITTIES!!!

Also, hillbilly banjo black metal.

[TwB]

Not too shabby. Warty, have you ever listened to Zakk Wylde's one off band, Pride and Glory? They released only one album back in 1994 or so, and if you haven't listened to it, I suggest you check it out. Southern Rock/metal mashup. Also, the band Pallbearer deserves more attention. Those guys are talented.

[Warty]

Oh yeah, I love all of Zakk's stuff, but particularly that.

Pallbearer is really fucking good. I couldn't remember if I'd listened to them or not just from the somewhat generic name, but I immediately recognized the opening riff there. Good shit.

[TwB]

Southern doom metal man. Great stuff.

[Schei?e Schau]

Agreed. A little slow for my taste, but still very good.

[commodious spittoon]

If you've been to any of Disney's theme parks, you likely know about the "hidden Mickeys" scattered throughout the parks for guests to find.

Not to be confused with the hidden micks who work Walt's elaborate steam-driven carnival for the good protestant boys and girls.

[The Shrubber's Woodchipper]

They hide malt liqueur throughout the park? I had vowed to never go there but this revelation may change my mind.

[Citizen X]

Damn, that Panopticon is rad.

[Bee Tagger]

House Speaker Paul Ryan says he won't work with President Obama on immigration reform because the president is "untrustworthy."

Ha, if he he can't be in the white house then no republican can!

[Lord Humungus]

I'm Always the Wallflower at the Orgy

In the dimmed living room, purple, sparkly sheets covered every flat surface, and gauzy red hankies and scarves muted the lamps' harsh glow. If a pirate had a mid-'70s lounge, it would look like this. Just a typical San Francisco sex party. A voluptuous, tattooed woman wearing nothing but a thong interrupted the light chatter with a question.

"Anyone want to help me hold down and fuck my pregnant friend?"

Her question was met with a chorus of arms raised, and I was left alone, squinting in the direction of a pile of girls surrounding a woman, eight months pregnant and getting enthusiastically fisted.

I was at Girl Pile, a long-standing Bay Area girl-on-girl orgy that happens every few months, and once again I was sitting by myself and wondering how I got there.

[Lee G]

eight months pregnant and getting enthusiastically fisted

Isn't that what the ob-gyn is for?

[Monty Crisco]

Now you know why the top of a baby's head is soft...

[straffinrun]

Hasn't reached puberty yet?

[Crusty Juggler]

She is soooooo interesting.

[Elspeth Flashman]

And he's wearing the cap, and he's got the bow and arrow . . . /league of gentlemen

(I tried to find a youtube of this but failed, sorry. *hangs head in shame)

[gaijin]

The Vatican announced the arrest of a monsignor and a member of a finances reform commission for allegedly leaking confidential documents to the media.

Dude should have fled to Russia before leaking the intel.

[bacon-magic]

You can not escape the Illuminati. *adjusts tin foil hat

[gaoxiaen]

Slightly OT. The oldest woman in the world eats bacon every day. Unless one of you shitbirds put that on Wikipedia.

[Fist of Etiquette]

House Speaker Paul Ryan says he won't work with President Obama on immigration reform because the president is "untrustworthy."

He needs to get over his racism if he wants anything to get done.

[some guy]

Did anyone really expect Ryan to get anything done with Obama in office? I thought the continued gridlock was a selling feature of his Speakership...

[Lord Humungus]

Second former top Romney aide rebuts Bush whispers about Rubio

U.S. News, citing an anonymous Bush aide, said the reference was to "concerns Mitt Romney's team unearthed in when they vetted Rubio for vice president in 2012." The slot would ultimately go to Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, now the speaker of the House.

But in an email to POLITICO, Matt Rhoades, Romney's campaign manager in 2012, pushed back, saying that "Gov. Romney's ultimate decision in selecting his vice presidential running mate had absolutely nothing to do with vetting issues with Sen. Marco Rubio."

"Our vetting team was confident that, if chosen, Sen. Rubio's legislative record and high personal character would have been a great asset to Gov. Romney," Rhoades added. "To say otherwise is utterly dishonest."

[Bee Tagger]

The Republican National Committee named a new official to act as a liaison between the presidential campaigns and the television networks hosting debates.

What did the last one do wrong? Seems like the best way for a Republican candidate to gain popularity is to rail against a poor media.

[Free Society]

Well when it comes to NBC I don't think they're wrong or just posturing. I've noticed this since the 2008 cycle of debates, NBC and it's affiliates have a habit of asking questions designed to make the candidates attack each other and make the whole GOP primary look like kindergartners fighting over a toy.

I once watched George Stephanopopopulous do nothing but ask questions like "Senator So-and-So said that you're dishonest and incompetent in an attack ad from 2 months ago, how do you respond?", "Governor Dogdick said that your five failed marriages are sign that you can't commit, is that accurate?"

Then after the debate when the "journalists" are doing the post-debate analysis George Stephanopopopulous kept saying how shocked he was that the GOP candidates were all too busy attacking each other to focus on the issues. Bunch of activists at that network. The RNC should have disassociated with NBC years ago.

[sarcasmic]

No need for a flash! Fireflies light up the night sky in incredible pictures that even capture the Milky Way
Photographer Adam Dorn spent a year-and-a-half capturing on camera florescent green fireflies in rural Wisconsin
He studied moon and Milky Way patterns in order to capture the galaxy as a backdrop to the creatures at night
The unique phenomena of the bugs being able to light up their tails is what is known as bioluminescence

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....y-Way.html
Some idiot in the comments thinks it's photoshop. Do they have fireflies in the UK?

[Caput Lupinum]

They call them glow worms there, but yeah, they have them across the pond.

[sarcasmic]

Glow worms fly?

[commodious spittoon]

If you throw 'em, yeah.

[commodious spittoon]

My kid coulda done that in MS paint!

[lap83]

They're probably unfamiliar with long exposure

[MJGreen - Docile Citizen]

Long exposures produce some amazing and weird photographs.

[gaoxiaen]

In places on the ocean, a ship's wake is full of bioluminescence. Deep in the ocean it's fairly common. If you come from an area with "lightning bugs", they're not very amazing.

[Lord Humungus]

U.S. Spent $43 Million on Afghanistan Gas Station: Watchdog Report

"Even considering security costs associated with construction and operation in Afghanistan, this level of expenditure appears gratuitous and extreme," SIGAR said in a report issued Monday.

The agency's top official went further.

"It's an outrageous waste of money that raises suspicions that there is something more there than just stupidity," John Sopko, the special inspector general, told NBC News. "There may be fraud. There may be corruption. But I cannot currently find out more about this because of the lack of cooperation."

[Lee G]

As long as you check off all the correct boxes on your Statements and Disclosures forms, it's ok.

[The Last American Hero]

President Obama, in your 2008 campaign and again in 2012, you pledged to cut down on waste, fraud and abuse. How do you square that promise with the reports of a 43 million dollar gas station in Afghanistan?

-question #4517489 that will never be asked by a compliant press corps.

[JWatts]

"President Obama, in your 2008 campaign and again in 2012, you pledged to cut down on waste, fraud and abuse. How do you square that promise with the reports of a 43 million dollar gas station in Afghanistan?"

Well I blame it on Bush, of course. Next question. /President Obama

[some guy]

There may be fraud. There may be corruption. But I cannot currently find out more about this because of the lack of cooperation/I

Transparency strikes again!

[Old.Mexican]

U.S. Spent $43 Million on Afghanistan Gas Station: Watchdog Report

Well, it must be a full-service gas station! Those things cannot be built on the cheap, ya know!

[gaoxiaen]

You'd think that they could afford toilet paper in the bathroom.

[sarcasmic]

Mysterious huge crack developing in Wyoming

http://www.9news.com/story/new...../74891352/
*autoplay warning*
Must be climate change.

[Crusty Juggler]

Or John Goodman moved there. HA!

[Citizen X]

Update your celebrity references, Crusty. There's not as much of John Goodman as there used to be.

[Crusty Juggler]

Calm down, John Goodman fan. I will update my attempt at humor just for you.

Or Star Jones just moved there. HA!

[Citizen X]

Thanks!

[gaoxiaen]

Not since he was in Flight.

[commodious spittoon]

Must be fracking.

[sarcasmic]

Russian Media Take Climate Cue From Skeptical Putin

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters......html?_r=0
Skeptical? Don't they mean heretic denier?

[sarcasmic]

I wasn't away that long! New York man returns home after knee surgery to discover the local town DEMOLISHED his house
Phil Williams, 69, went to Florida in December to undergo knee surgery
Hempstead Town claims it had warned Williams about the demolition plan
Williams returned to Long Island in May to discover his house was gone
Now he is suing the town for damages to compensate him for his home

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....house.html
[insert Arthur Dent joke here]

[Lee G]

I hope he was able to retrieve his towel.

[Swiss Servator]

"But the plans were on display?"
"On display? I eventually had to go down to the cellar to find them."
"That's the display department."
"With a flashlight."
"Ah, well, the lights had probably gone."
"So had the stairs."
"But look, you found the notice, didn't you?"
"Yes," said Arthur, "yes I did. It was on display in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying 'Beware of the Leopard."

[Sapient Mulch]

+42

[Lord Humungus]

Too hot to work? Maybe in 30 years' time

Climate change could slash labor productivity in some countries by as much as 25 percent over the next 30 years, according to a report by Verisk Maplecroft on Wednesday.

The risk consultancy firm found that rising global temperatures and humidity could cause a dramatic increase in the number of days where it would be unsafe to do physical work.

"Incremental rises in global temperature and humidity due to climate change are likely to increase the number of working days exceeding safe levels of heat stress, which can cause absenteeism through dizziness, fatigue and nausea and even death in extreme cases," Verisk Maplecroft said in its report.

robots - duh.

[Illocust]

Or you know folks will work in the early morning and late afternoons and take a siesta in the middle of the day. It's almost like this is a problem we have dealt with and found solutions for before.

[Drake]

We'll all be taking siestas and dodging taxes like Greeks and Spaniards?

[Swiss Servator]

Can I haz red wine break too?

[Zeb]

Yes, that comes just before siesta.

[gaoxiaen]

No mezcal until dinner.

[Old.Mexican]

Climate change could slash labor productivity in some countries by as much as 25 percent

Ha! As if people needed another excuse not to work...

[The Shrubber's Woodchipper]

Climate change to end unemployment!

[Suthenboy]

They just can't quit, can they?

I was hearing this shit 30 years ago.

Also, by 2012 over a billion people will be dead from the effects of global warming.

[JWatts]

Oh come now. In the late 1980's and 1990's it was common to state those projections as 20 years in the future. They've learned a lot since then. Now most of the projections are stated as by the end of the century. So, it's a lot harder to be so obviously wrong during your working career now.

[Lee G]

Another addition to the climate myths bible

Arctic snow not darkening due to soot, dust

For millennia, Greenland's ice sheet reflected sunlight back into space, but satellite measurements in recent years suggest the bright surface is darkening, causing solar heat to be absorbed and surface melting to accelerate. Some studies suggest this "dirty ice" or "dark snow" is caused by fallout from fossil fuel pollution and forest fires.

But a new Dartmouth-led study shows that degrading satellite sensors, not soot or dust, are responsible for the apparent decline in reflectivity of inland ice across northern Greenland. The study's results suggest the ice sheet hasn't lost as much reflectivity as previously thought, and that black carbon and dust concentrations haven't increased significantly and are thus not responsible for darkening on the upper ice sheet.

[Illocust]

Oh, that's bad news. If the satellite sensors are degrading that means all the satellite data (like temp records) should be called into question (not invalidated outright but investigated). How did we not notice this? You think sensor calibration would be a big deal on these things.

[Lee G]

Having studied remote sensing pretty extensively, I can tell you that the engineers who designed the systems would know about the degradation and calibration issues. The climate "scientists" would simply ignore anything that doesn't fit their confirmation bias.

[Illocust]

You're probably right. Makes me want to throw things at them, though.

[commodious spittoon]

The climate "scientists" would simply ignore adjust their models ex post facto to account for anything that doesn't fit their confirmation bias.

[gaijin]

that degrading satellite sensors

Another reason not to believe in the 'pause'...those satellites are just not as reliable as made up computer models.

[gaijin]

I should have refreshed.

[Swiss Servator]

I believe I have expressed that same sentiment roughly 3000 times on this site...

[Zeb]

Well, that's good news. Too bad hardly anyone will react to it that way. People just love their doom.

[Old.Mexican]

But a new Dartmouth-led study shows that degrading satellite sensors, not soot or dust, are responsible for the apparent decline in reflectivity of inland ice across northern Greenland.

Those satellites are DENIERS!

[sarcasmic]

Owner tricks cat into going for a ride down the stairs in a mission to capture a beam of light
Two cats appear to be cautiously examining a mysterious spot of light
A third cat arrives on the scene and take matters into his own paws
Stepping into the box results in him careening down the stairs
The video has been viewed more than 12.5 million times

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....light.html
That's funny. If I didn't have an old house with dangerously steep stairs, I'd do that to my cats. As it is I'm content to watch them climb the walls trying to get the pointer.

[Elspeth Flashman]

Again with the cat links this morning! Actually this one is pretty funny.

[Monty Crisco]

Why china was right, humans are a plague, and I am a neo-Malthusian!

http://www.bostonglobe.com/opi.....story.html

Jesus, they never learn. But here goes:

IN 1798 Thomas Robert Malthus inaugurated a grand tradition of environmentalism with his best-selling pamphlet on population. Malthus argued with impeccable logic but distinctly peccable premises that since population tended to increase geometrically (1,2,4,8 ) and food supply to increase arithmetically (1,2,3,4 ), the starvation of Great Britain was inevitable and imminent. Almost everybody thought he was right. He was wrong.

In 1865 an influential book by Stanley Jevons argued with equally good logic and equally flawed premises that Britain would run out of coal in a few short years' time. In 1914, the United States Bureau of Mines predicted that American oil reserves would last ten years. In 1939 and again in 1951, the Department of the Interior said American oil would last 13 years.

Wrong, wrong, wrong and wrong.

"Plenty of Gloom", The economist Dec 18th 1997

[Rhywun]

"Forced abortions and forced sterilizations are simply assault and clearly violate human rights. Still, the idea that people should limit the number of children they have to just one is not, I would argue, a bad one, for the Chinese or for the rest of us."

*facepalm*

The two sentences are right next to each other and she can't - or won't - connect them.

[perlchpr]

The second sentence could be achieved by cultural changes. Of course, they mostly have been, on the scale of averages.

[Rhywun]

Almost nowhere is it down to 1.0 per woman.

[Clich? Bandit]

uhh, wouldn't a birthrate below 1.0 be the end of humanity? I think "replacement" average is around 2.1.

[gaoxiaen]

The more kids you have the more tax you should pay. Kids use resources that single people don't need, but have to pay more than the breeders. Plus, you can't leave a much bigger carbon footprint than descendents, unless you burn down a national forest.

[sarcasmic]

Customer with a concealed carry license shoots and kills armed gunman attempting to rob a Chicago corner store
A masked man walked into the store in Gage Park at about 7pm Saturday
He pointed his gun at an employee and forced her to the back of the store
The armed customer shot the robber, identified as Reginald Gildersleeve
It was not immediately clear whether the unidentified customer will face charges

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....unman.html
Yet some of the commenters think more gun control is the answer.

[Swiss Servator]

Sounds like the shooter had his gun under perfect aiming control.

[Monty Crisco]

This story will not be widely reported in the US. At all.

[commodious spittoon]

DM tied it into the last month's Detroit incident and quotes the chief whining that citizen intervention is a "slippery slope," so if nothing else this gets play as a case of vigilantism. I'll bet nobody interviews the woman held at gunpoint, but family members of the shot "victim" will probably be featured.

[sarcasmic]

The people who want to control guns believe that government has the monopoly on all legitimate violence. They seem to be incapable of grasping the difference between initiating violence and responding to violence. Thus self defense equals vigilante justice in their feeble minds.

A common conversation I've had with gun control nuts goes kinda like this.

me: "So, you don't want anyone except the cops to have guns, right?"

them: "Yup."

me: "You do realize that criminals will still have guns, right?"

them: "Gun control makes it harder for them to have guns."

me: "But they'll still have guns."

them: "I don't want them to have guns."

me: "But they'll still have guns."

them: "OK, some will have guns."

me: "Do you acknowledge that when seconds count, the cops are minutes away?"

them: "Well, I guess."

me: "So you'd rather people die with a phone in their hand than live with a gun in their hand when faced with a criminal with a gun?"

them: "I NEVER SAID THAT! FUCK YOU! CRIMINALS SHOULDN'T HAVE GUNS! FUCK OFF! THIS CONVERSATION IS OVER!"

[Restoras]

As you have pointed out so many times, they don't think, they feel.

I had the same conversation with someone last week. I always go home warm and smiling.

[Homple]

The end of the Not-So-Great Gildersleeve series.

[Lord Humungus]

Here's why China's one-child policy was a good thing

Of course, China has enforced its one-child policy in unacceptable ways. Forced abortions and forced sterilizations are simply assault and clearly violate human rights. Still, the idea that people should limit the number of children they have to just one is not, I would argue, a bad one, for the Chinese or for the rest of us.

The most recent estimate from the United Nations says we'll reach a population of 9.7 billion by 2050. And we just reached the population milestone of 7 billion in 2011, meaning it will take just less than 40 years to increase our population by almost 3 billion people All of this from a world population of about 1 billion in 1800. China now constitutes 19 percent of the world population, and so a change in the country's fertility rate will likely bring about that 9.7 billion even sooner.

The sad truth is that trying to support this many people will bring about environmental disaster.

[Monty Crisco]

HAH! Beatcha to it, LH!!

[Lord Humungus]

I am weeping bitter tears.

[Monty Crisco]

*dabs tenderly at LH's cheeks with tissue, jocularly punches shoulder*

[Palin's Buttplug]

The Republican National Committee named a new official to act as a liaison between the presidential campaigns and the television networks hosting debates.

QUIT ASKING OUR CANDIDATES ABOUT STUPID SHIT THEY SAID!

[Gilbert Martin]

So says the number one, all time hands down champ of saying stupid shit.

[JWatts]

The fact that you wrote that in CAPS indicates that even you know it's a misleading point. CNBC's moderators completely disregarded etiquette and common sense, lost control of the debate and were roundly criticized as poor journalists. They let their partisanship show clearly. So of course the RNC will react to prevent this type of media bias from reoccurring.

[Pope Jimbo]

"Former U.S. senator and Law & Order actor Fred Thompson died this weekend, aged 73"

Law and Order? Why not cite Hunt for Red October? Or Die Hard 2?

[Juvenile Bluster]

Or Days of Thunder. I tried to find a Youtube of his "Japanese inspection" speech from that movie yesterday, but I couldn't.

[Lee G]

It's gotten out of control.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Even the franchise has refused to cite Die Hard 2.

[Ed]

Cuz I'm a millenial.

[Zeb]

It probably is his best known role.

[Juvenile Bluster]

The Securities and Exchange Commission, by a 3-1 vote (the one Republican commissioner against) approved crowdfunding rules on Friday. Nearly four years after the JOBS Act required the SEC to do it, and 2 years after their interim rules. It's 686 pages of new regulation. Government.

(the one vote against, from the one Republican commissioner, was because the rules were needlessly complicated and restrictive)

[Mr. Flanders]

Antarctica link doesn't work.

[Mr. Flanders]

Its fixed.

[Lord Humungus]

F.B.I. Tool to Identify Extremists Is Criticized

The program, according to those who saw it at F.B.I. headquarters, called "Don't Be a Puppet," leads the viewer through a series of games and tips intended to teach how to identify someone who may be falling prey to radical extremists. With each successful answer, scissors cut a puppet's string, until the puppet is free.
Continue reading the main story

In the campaign against terrorists such as the Islamic State, law enforcement agencies have been stepping up efforts to identify those susceptible to recruitment. The agencies have enlisted the cooperation and advice of religious and community leaders. But the controversy over the Federal Bureau of Investigation's new online tool is one more indication that there is no consensus on who should be involved in detecting and reporting suspects, and where to draw the line between prevention and racial or religious profiling.

[Illocust]

If you actually taught people how to resist indoctrination then public schools, political parties, and various do gooder organizations would lose influence. It would be a valuable life skill to teach people how to identify the Mott and Bailey though. Figuring out if you agree with core premises before you would lose your entire social group to disagree would do a lot of good.

[Zeb]

The problem with that idea is that most parents seem to want their children indoctrinated in one way or another. Even those who think they are teaching their children how not to be indoctrinated.

[Illocust]

Indoctrination is necessary for children. Higher reasoning skills like the kind needed to evaluate moral arguments really doesn't start kicking in until the teens, but until that point you need to make sure your kid isn't an asshole and doesn't do something they will regret.

[Lord Humungus]

Omaha Woman Bitten by Tiger After Breaking Into Zoo: Cops

There was no merciful repeat of Daniel in the lions' den, however, and Eide suffered a "severe trauma" to her left hand, the Omaha Police Department said in a statement.

She was driven to hospital by a friend, where police said Eide was aggressive and showed signs of intoxication by alcohol or drugs. She was cited for criminal trespass and remained at the hospital for treatment Sunday.

The tiger involved was said to be an 18-year-old Malayan tiger called Mai, according to the zoo. The incident was still under investigation Sunday.

"Just in case you had any doubt ... If you pet a tiger you will most likely get bitten," the Omaha Police Department said on Facebook.

[Professor Woland]

True story, I made out with her at a party sometime in the 2002-2005 time frame. We called her Stabby because there was a rumor that she had stabbed a guy with a broken bottle.

[Crusty Juggler]

We seem to have similar taste in women.

[Crusty Juggler]

I forgot to link this. Also, the internet is mean. Also, I'm in love. Was she a good kisser?

[Crusty Juggler]

this link

[Zeb]

Yeah, she looks like fun.

[gaoxiaen]

I expected a few tats.

[Zeb]

I'm not sure why you'd want to link that.

[Citizen X]

She looks like my sister-in-law, who has never been bitten by a tiger only because of a lifetime ban from most zoos.

[commodious spittoon]

What about a moose?

[Citizen X]

I am not aware of her history with mooses (meese?), but she did get kicked out of Glacier National Park under mysterious circumstances...

[Professor Woland]

Average. I think she was only making out with me to show everyone how interesting she was, I hadn't really talked to her at all, owing mostly to the fact that I was worried that she would stab me.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

3 DUIs? That's marriage material (for you).

[Lord Humungus]

If one wanted to marry a hot mess, I would at least hope a high HOT factor.

[Professor Woland]

There's also the scary violent part. Believe me, whether the story about her stabbing a guy is true or not, this lady was frightening. I can confirm she smashed an ex-boyfriend's car up one night with a cinderblock.

[gaoxiaen]

I hate when that happens. Except in my case she used a toboggan.

[Pope Jimbo]

Thank god that our double plus good governor is working hard to make Minnesoda a great state!

Dayton promises to make state govt work force more diverse. He's upset that 9 out of 10 management jobs in state govt are held by whitey.

http://www.minnpost.com/glean/.....government

May I suggest that he fire 5 out of every 9 white managers in state government? That would save a ton of money and double the minority rate!

[The Late P Brooks]

I was just reading a Christian Science Monitor article about the stunning new revelation regarding polar ice. The "scientists are shitting their pants about a rise in sea level of a quarter of a millimeter. That's just about ten ONE-THOUSANDTHS of an inch.

I guess I had better put my house on stilts.

[Lord Humungus]

Halloween rave party turns into chaos as revellers bombard London riot police

Garrett filmed a woman being struck in the face with a baton by a police officer (see video at top of page).

"They [the police] were shoving everyone towards the street and she was saying just put your backs to them ...and that's when she was hit on the head by the baton and I really think that was the trigger [for the subsequent trouble]."

He said he went to three different streets around the venue and saw trouble on all of them, with police charging partygoers. Some people broke into a yard under the rail tracks and came out with pieces of wood.

Garrett said some officers taunted partygoers as they left. "The police were saying: 'What, you're going home? You don't want anymore?' It seemed to me the easiest solution would have been to let people go into the building to contain it. It was certainly handled badly."

[Lord Humungus]

Australia drops knights and dames

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says the country will no longer appoint knights and dames, calling the titles anachronistic.

The cabinet "agreed that knights and dames are not appropriate in our modern honors system," a statement from the government said on Monday.

"Her Majesty The Queen has agreed to the government's recommendation to remove knights and dames from the Order of Australia."

The change will not affect those already bestowed with either title.

booo

[AlmightyJB]

The new title for both men and women is "Bitches"

[commodious spittoon]

Hoes and tricks.

[Illocust]

That's a shame. Titles like that are a good way to channel people who want status away from actual positions of power.

[Zeb]

I'm not so sure that's how it works. I think the honors often go to people who are in or have retired from government positions.

[Lee G]

Krugman jumps the kettle.

Springtime for Grifters"

About the grifters: Start with the lowest level, in which marketers use political affinity to sell get-rich-quick schemes, miracle cures, and suchlike. That's the Carson phenomenon, and it's just the latest example of a long tradition. As the historian Rick Perlstein documents, a "strategic alliance of snake-oil vendors and conservative true believers" goes back half a century. Direct-mail marketing using addresses culled from political campaigns has given way to email, but the game remains the same.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Krugman is right about Carson. He and his followers are full-out fucking idiots like Chancey Gardner mouthing incoherent platitudes.

On the other side Bernie Sanders is a weird mix of protectionism and socialism. Then there is the ultimate grifter - Trump.

Like I have been telling you Peanuts - 2012 was an comparative embarrassment of riches.

[Monty Crisco]

Yes, yes, once again your razor-sharp powers of observation and incisive analysis were accurate down to the nanometer. Why - oh WHY! - didn't we listen to you?!?!

You're too good for us, dipshit!!!

[VG Zaytsev]

Unlike Hilldog, who's runs a criminal conspiracy.

[The Last American Hero]

Having your so-called charity accept payments from foreign governments so that you will endorse and enact US policies favorable to the donor is worse than anything the folks you mention have done.

[Old.Mexican]

As the historian Rick Perlstein documents, a "strategic alliance of snake-oil vendors and conservative true believers" goes back half a century.

I can easily say the same thing about Marxian true believers and the strategic alliance with snake-oil sellers like our pal Paul "Inflation-is-good" Kruman there.

[Suthenboy]

The R's are grifters, but not Hillary. No Sir.

Got it.

[JWatts]

Principals over principles every time.

[Agammamon]

The United Nations says plans by 150 countries to limit carbon emissions wouldn't be enough to save the climate.

Well, if this is the case it would seem to me the thing to do then is to move full-bore on increasing economic activity. Remove all the 'global warming' restrictions completely. Because if there's nothing we can do to *stop it* - then the only thing to do is increase global wealth as fast as possible so that our descendants (who will have to live with this) will be rich enough to be able to afford the mitigation actions needed.

Its better to be rich in a warm world than poor in a cold one.

[Citizen X]

+1 little matchstick girl

[The Late P Brooks]

Different cats have different personalities.

No

fucking

shit.

[JWatts]

But they all view you as an inconveniently large and strong potential meal.

[Citizen X]

Well, mine keep me around because they can't change their own litterbox. Also, sleeping on top of my face is a great way to keep warm on chilly nights, apparently.

[Lord Humungus]

White People Explain Why They Feel Oppressed

Sometimes white people vex me. Maybe they confuse you, too. Maybe you're a white person who is sometimes confused by white people. A lot of white people have told me they're befuddled by the actions and perspectives of other white people. I hear you. What confuses me? I think it's the utter lack of awareness of how race in America truly functions. In the midst of a national policing crisis, the Black Lives Matter movement is trying to will into existence a sense of value for black bodies and some white people respond, "Why are they so anti-white?" That's dumbfounding to me. I wonder, how could they be so clueless? When white people question why blacks get to say certain words or make certain jokes that whites can't or when white people ask where is White History Month or when white people question why they have to pay for the racism of their ancestors, it's offensive and infuriating and it's also confounding.

In Ta-Nehisi Coates's astounding new book, Between the World and Me, he refers to white people as "dreamers" to evoke the sense of them being not fully awake, like sleepwalkers. I'm not sure if white people are like sleepwalkers, or more like ostriches, consciously burying their heads in the sand, hiding from reality.

aww...

[Juvenile Bluster]

Has Ta-Nehisi Coates replaced Neil Degrasse Tyson as white progressives' favorite black person?

[Crusty Juggler]

He was awarded a "genius grant" from the MacArthur Foundation, so he is doing something right.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

I know Western standards have dropped in the 'everyone's a genius epoch' but sheesh. That low?

[Lee G]

He's terribly vexed

[Zeb]

I hate this notion that everyone should go around thinking about racial identity all the time, and that the fact that most white people don't do that is some kind of failure of white people. In my experience, aside from racists assholes and SJW types (yes there is overlap there), most white people don't spend a lot of time thinking about racial identity and race issues. And that is good. The goal for an anti-racist shouldn't be to get everyone to think about race more, but to get everyone to stop thinking about race as a primary part of anyone's identity. That's not to say that we ought to ignore the racism that does exist, but that things won't get much better than now (which at least in the US is pretty damn good compared to most of history) if we keep obsessing about race and if people keep defining their identities on race.

[commodious spittoon]

Racialism is just supremacy by another name. They're both racists.

[Zeb]

The whole "privilege" thing as applied to race is particularly racist. Instead of just saying that everyone should be treated the way white males are, they insist that white people need to be knocked down a peg. Having your rights respected more than some other people (which certainly has been the case for white men in the US for a lot of its history) isn't a privilege, it's the basic minimum of how everyone should be treated.

[MJGreen - Docile Citizen]

A lot of the privilege talk is scary. It's pre-Enlightenment thinking, with "crimes" judged according to the person's supposed faults, rather than according to a clear code of law. They don't want justice to be blind, but sensitive to the accused's privilege or hardship.

[JWatts]

"...with "crimes" judged according to the person's supposed faults,.."

Or even the faults of their ancestors.

[Zeb]

And here's another thing he gets terribly wrong:

Modern white Americans are one of the most powerful groups of people to ever exist on this planet

No. Many of the most powerful people on the planet are American white people. That doesn't mean that every American white person has some secret power that is denied to other races.

The whole problem is assuming things about people based on the racial groups they belong to. Fucking stop it.

[commodious spittoon]

It certainly makes it easier to identify the designated hate group, as well as singling out Trotskies and race traitors.

[Mickey Rat]

Is it just me or does anyone else find the concept of putting "value on black bodies" a bizarre and creepy phrasing? Almost as if they should be valued because they are black, not because they are people.

[Zeb]

Yeah, it's totally fucked. How about putting value on individual human beings?

[commodious spittoon]

Why don't you think black lives matter?

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

Cause he's racist.

Like, straight up.

yo.

[perlchpr]

The idea is poorly expressed. The appropriate hashtag should be #BlackLivesMatterToo, really.

It's not that they should be valued because they're black, it's more that they should be valued despite being black, which they feel is not currently the case. Or at least, that's my understanding of things.

I think there's probably a lot of miscommunication between individualist anarcho libertarians and that crowd, because I get the impression they can't really imagine people truly looking at people as individuals. *shrug*

[Rhywun]

when white people question why they have to pay for the racism of their ancestors, it's offensive and infuriating and it's also confounding

Cute how they slip that little bit of collectivist guilt in there. Open your wallets, white people, and pay for the sins of the (great, great, grand-) fathers.

[Old.Mexican]

What confuses me? I think it's the utter lack of awareness of how race in America truly functions. In the midst of a national policing crisis, the Black Lives Matter movement is trying to will into existence a sense of value for black bodies and some white people respond, "Why are they so anti-white?" That's dumbfounding to me.

"After all, we're all sinners who fell from racial grace."

Every time I read these weird rants by self-conscious white Marxians I see them express their remorse for being "white" with a lot of embedded religiosity. And by the level of religious fundamentalism that they harbor, there will be nothing anybody can do to convince them that people have expiated these original "sins" they think every white person was born with. Therefore, you cannot judge the morality or reasonableness of a movement based on clear racist attitudes like the BLM because you're a sinner and you will always be a sinner.

Never mind I am totally apathetic to their beliefs which I find silly and self-righteous. I should not judge only because I am what I am, not who I am.

[MJGreen - Docile Citizen]

When white people question why blacks get to say certain words or make certain jokes that whites can't or when white people ask where is White History Month or when white people question why they have to pay for the racism of their ancestors, it's offensive and infuriating and it's also confounding.

I love how that's slipped in there at the end. Well played, sir.

[Suthenboy]

Y'all keep in mind that a key figure in this movement is Shaun King, a white dude who has a fraud conviction and makes himself up to be black and lies to everyone that he is black.

Of course they are asking for money. They are scam artists.

[Lord Humungus]

Vox: The hidden racism of school discipline, in 7 charts

1) The gap between discipline for black and white students starts in preschool

2) Black students are suspended or expelled at higher rates throughout their school years

3) Black students are far more likely to be arrested at school

4) Differences in behavior can't explain the disparity

5) The disparities are particularly striking in the South

6) Black girls are punished at even more disproportionate rates

7) Dark-skinned black girls are punished more than lighter-skinned peers

You know who else believed in punishing non-whites...

[Citizen X]

Tony?

[Crusty Juggler]

FDR?

[Juvenile Bluster]

Woodrow Wilson?

[DEG]

Hendrik Verwoerd?

[JWatts]

My color printer.

[EMD]

20 Mule Team Borax?

[Restoras]

Margaret Sanger?

[gaoxiaen]

Willie the Pimp?

[Lord Humungus]

Halloween was rainy and cold. We had maybe 30 trick 'n' treaters - and no sign of the usual er, poor people, hitting the nicer neighborhoods.

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

1,800 pieces of candy, gone by 7:15pm at one per trick or treater.

But it was in the high 70s.

[Lord Humungus]

With those kind of numbers OMWC would be overwhelmed with choices

[Pl?ya Manhattan.]

He asked if he could come, but I live within 1000 feet of a school.

[commodious spittoon]

He came anyway.

[lafe.long]

Skreemr Jet: New Jet Can Travel From New York to London in Half an Hour, Designers Say

Spoiler: Probly won't happen, but:

Still, the idea is pretty cool. First off, to get the Skreemr jet to Mach 4, the aircraft is launched from a magnetic railgun launching system. This is a similar system to one that NASA is considering to help launch spacecraft, and involves a magnetic field accelerating the jet along a set of rails at incredible speed. It pretty much works in the same way as the maglev trains in Japan, which levitate the train carriage to avoid friction.

[Illocust]

I'm guessing only people without health conditions will be able to use it, which will kill the rich old guy market who could actually afford it. Would be pretty good for overnighting packages, though. I could see it making it as a cargo lift for people willing to dish out a hundred for overnight.

[Zeb]

Overnight shipping works pretty well now. This could make same day freight a lot more of a thing.

[JWatts]

"I'm guessing only people without health conditions will be able to use it, "

It may well only impart a forward acceleration of 1 G or less. So, it wouldn't be any more strenuous than laying down on the ground.

[Old.Mexican]

Skreemr Jet: New Jet Can Travel From New York to London in Half an Hour, Designers Say

And still manage to hemorrhage money unless heavily-subsidized by prestige-seeking governments.

[commodious spittoon]

Government steps in where markets fail (to waste a ton of money on fruitless vanity projects).

[lafe.long]

C919: China Unveils 1st Homegrown Passenger Jet at Event on Monday

The plane was built entirely in China by Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China. The aircraft is comparable to the Airbus 320 and Boeing 737. It can seat up to 174 and fly a 3,451-mile range.

[Lee G]

Let me not be the first to ride in it.

[Juvenile Bluster]

The USSR had the home-grown Tupolev planes. Their record was... um, poor.

[Lee G]

They've probably been cleaned up since the fall of the Soviet Union, but they used to just push the wreckage of accidents off to the side of the runway in the more remote regions.

[DEG]

According to the article, some of the parts weren't made in China, so I doubt it will be completely unsafe.

[Lee G]

That smoke detector in the lavatory is rock-solid reliable.

[gaoxiaen]

Until the pilot goes into the bathroom.

[JWatts]

"..ncluding the engines (by U.S.-French joint venture CFM International), power system and landing gears (both by U.S.-based Honeywell)..."

[DEG]

For the bear lovers out there

To outsiders, the sight of a troupe of dancing bears, decked out in blood-red tassels, stomping through the snowy streets of a small Romanian town might be a strange, almost sinister sight.

But for those who live in Romania's eastern Moldova region, the arrival of the bears -- actually locals wearing real bearskins -- is a time of celebration.

The event takes place annually between Christmas and New Year's.

[Juvenile Bluster]

Wait, are we talking about bears like you find in the forest, or bears like you'd find at that club in Fort Lauderdale called the Cubby Hole?

[DEG]

Why not both?

[Lord Humungus]

bears dressed as bears

[Sapient Mulch]

locals wearing real bearskins

Ewwww.

[DEG]

S&P downgrades Saudi credit rating

Standard & Poor's downgraded Saudi Arabia's credit rating on Friday.

The dramatic plunge in oil prices over the past 18 months has caused a "pronounced negative swing" in Saudi Arabia's financial picture, S&P warned.

The oil-rich kingdom has gone from a healthy budget surplus of 7% of GDP in 2013 to a projected deficit of 16% this year. S&P estimates that unless oil prices rebound meaningfully, Saudi Arabia will suffer deficits each of the next three years. A lower credit rating means that borrowing becomes more expensive.

S&P's outlook on OPEC leader remains negative, leaving the option for the credit ratings firm to downgrade it further if the government fails to rein in deficits or runs low on cash.

[Lee G]

The oil export dependent countries are screwed. And the Saudis have nothing else to fall back on. I expect a lot of them will be evacuating the country with large sums of cash in the coming years.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Blame the Jews rhetoric will be ramped up to eleventy.

[Illocust]

Hmmmm, I expect to see Saudi cutting back on oil exports soon. Whoever they were trying to begger by keeping prices low isn't worth their own insolvency.

[Rhywun]

If each of the thousands of princes cuts out one week's worth of hookers and blow, they should be able to stay afloat.

[Citizen X]

Yeah, but that'll only last like one or two centuries, tops. Then what?

[lafe.long]

Max Planck Institute of Plasma Physics: Group Constructs World's Largest Nuclear-Fusion Machine

The machine, a stellerator called W7-X, took 1.1 million hours to construct and cost $1.1 billion. Engineers say the machine can possibly hold a plasma pulse for 30 minutes, Science reports.

[Lee G]

I can't imagine the amount of empirical tweaking that thing needs.

[Crusty Juggler]

Empirical twerking?*

I am channeling my inner HM.

[lafe.long]

Ku Klux Klan: Anonymous Publishes Names of Members Through Social Media, Report Says

Anonymous and the KKK have been battling it out in cyberspace for almost a year, ever since the protests in Ferguson when a local chapter of the Klan weighed into the debate by warning that it would use "lethal force" against anyone protesting on the streets of Ferguson. In response, Anonymous took control of the official Twitter account of the KKK chapter and published details of some members' identities. The group also claimed evidence of a connection between the Ferguson police and the KKK.

[VG Zaytsev]

Was Te Nehasi Coates on the list?

[Professor Woland]

How many of them will be undercover law enforcement or informants? And how many of them will be LEOs who just happen to be Klansmen?

[gaoxiaen]

The CPUSA always figured that the ones that paid their dues on time were the FBI.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

What's the diff between the KKK and race obsessed progs?

[Citizen X]

Spiffy ghost costumes and makeout opportunities at family reunions?

[Sapient Mulch]

A love of Dragons?

[Zeb]

I thought they were race obsessed progs.

The main difference is probably that many race-obsessed progs do actually believe that they are anti-racists.

[Notorious UGCC]

"The Republican National Committee named a new official to act as a liaison between the presidential campaigns and the television networks hosting debates."

One sticking point in the negotiations is that the networks want to be able to pester the candidates about birth control and allow their "moderators" to give pro-Obama talking points.

The GOP negotiators are expected to put up and initial resistance, then cave like they usually do.

[Notorious UGCC]

*an* initial resistance

[Rhywun]

Darn, I missed another Richman article and its accompanying clusterfuck of comments.

[Notorious UGCC]

I sees the article's title and I says to myself, "is this Richman?" And sure enough it was.

[Crusty Juggler]

For all of you who aren't debased twitterers, this is a tweet from Daily Beast journalist Olivia Nuzzi:

Olivia Nuzzi
?@Olivianuzzi

Imagine what any candidate whining about the debates would do to freedom of speech if they were elected president.

[Mickey Rat]

Does she know what the leading Democrat candidates have said what they would do to free speech if elected?

[commodious spittoon]

Doesn't know, likely wouldn't care if she did.

[Citizen X]

That's different! Freedom of speech doesn't mean freedom to do hate speech!

[tarran]

CORPORATIONS AREN'T PEOPLE

REPEAL CITIZENS UNITED!!!!!!

[lafe.long]

Swedish Foreign Minister: Margot Wallstr?m Says Country Is Facing 'Collapse' Due to Refugee Influx

"I think most people feel that we cannot maintain a system where perhaps 190,000 people will arrive every year - in the long run, our system will collapse," Wallstr?m told Dagens Nyheter.

"As 190,000 migrants this year alone pour into the country, law and order is beginning to break down as the country plays witness to numerous arson attacks, stabbings and gang rapes."

...and some, I assume, are good people?

[Zeb]

I assume most are probably good people. But that leaves a lot of room for bad people still.

[Old.Mexican]

Some, it is assumed, are good people. Let's be clear.

[Zeb]

I am being clear. I assume that most people are good. Or at least not actively evil.

[Old.Mexican]

You're different. Ok, not different, you're like everybody else with a sensible mind. The Trumpistas would readily assume that every single immigrant MUST be evil except for some, just like their daddy Trump said.

[Suthenboy]

Considering who we are talking about Zeb, you are wrong.

[Zeb]

I see no reason to believe that. Do you have some special, specific knowledge about all of the Muslims coming to Sweden? Are the majority of the migrants/whatever you call them committing violent acts or doing anything other than trying to improve their lots? Then why would you assume that most of them are actively evil?

[sarcasmic]

ISIS!

[R C Dean]

I'm curious:

What percentage of ISIS operatives salted through the wave of migrants would be enough to justify a country closing its borders?

[ant1sthenes]

What percentage of members of a faith committing crimes on account of that faith would be enough for a nation with a (different) state religion and no first amendment style protections to simply ban the practice of that faith outright? I wonder if we will get a solid answer in the next decade?

[lap83]

Well naturally that would just mean we needed gun control more than ever.

[onebornfree]

Live Free[er]?

Dear Reason reader,

one of the most personal freedom- damaging beliefs you can have [one of many :-)] , is the belief in the necessity, and the effectiveness, of political involvement - to supposedly "improve" your own life and the lives of others via the political process.

Fact: as an individual you will _never_ enjoy a freer life for yourself until you completely reject the "drug", "religion" [ or whatever else you want to call it] known as "political activism" or "involvement", in its entirety.

It is nothing more than a trap- a dead end that dramatically _decreases_ your chances of ever achieving more personal freedom and happiness for yourself in this world.

Regards, onebornfree.
Personal Freedom Consulting:
http://www.onebornfree.blogspot.com

[sarcasmic]

Holy shit! Those underscores convinced me! May I subscribe to your newsletter?

[DEG]

Bring back HERC and his brackets!

[Crusty Juggler]

Ahoy! Ye _scalliwags, ye _carbuncles, rid yourself of _ideas or ye arrrgghhh _bound to walk the plank.

[Lord Humungus]

Consulting? w t f

[Citizen X]

YO HO HO, THAR BE MISSILE REMAINS IN THE WRECKAGE AT THE PENTAGON

[Crusty Juggler]

SHIVER ME TIMBERS! THE MISSLE REMAINS CARRY THE SYMBOL OF THE JEW-LY ROGER

[Citizen X]

X MARKS THE SPOT

WHERE THE EXPLOSIVES BE PLACED IN WTC 7, YARR

[Crusty Juggler]

RATTLE ME BONES! THE JOO DOOBLOONS CONTROL EVERYTHING ARRRGGGHH, EVEN YOUR _FREEDOM

[Citizen X]

AVAST! JET FUEL CAN'T MELT JOO DOUBLOONS

[Aloysious]

This makes my whole Monday. Pirate Truther and his lusty wenches to the rescue!

[Citizen X]

Agreed. Pirate Truther is by far my favorite commenter here - the rest of y'all can get pegged in a room.

[Agile Cyborg]

The finger-talkers unfurl a mysterious fabric.

[Old.Mexican]

The United Nations says plans by 150 countries to limit carbon emissions wouldn't be enough to save [sic] the climate.

Resistance is futile, so let's just commit collective suicide impose socialism and be done with it.

New research from NASA shows Antarctica gaining ice mass, not losing it.

But that could only mean somewhere else, someone is losing ice mass. Let's massage review the numbers again...

[Sapient Mulch]

Let's massage review the numbers again...

"This is too important to survival. We're gonna keep re-doing it until we get it right!"

[Auric Demonocles]

The Boston area As meet-up (actually in New Hampshire) went well. I look forward to next time.

Thanks for organizing, not-the-worst Nicole.

[Auric Demonocles]

The Boston area As meet-up (actually in New Hampshire) went well. I look forward to next time.

Thanks for organizing, not-the-worst Nicole.

[Old.Mexican]

You don't have to say that again!

No, really. Don't.

[Rockabilly]

Paul Ryan, Impeach Obama AKA Untrustworthy, his crimes can no longer be tolerated.

[James Anderson Merritt]

So the Back to the Future series was wrong in predicting that the Cubs would win the pennant this year, BUT the team that did win this year, has not won since it took the pennant during the year that Back to the Future first hit the big screen. Interesting...

[mccarti]

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[mccarti]

There is a new easy way to make cool cash.Email: atmmachinehackes It all about the BLANK ATM CARD. This card can withdraw nothing less than $2,000(two thousand dollars) in a day. This card works in any country and with any currency. It has been programmed in a way that it can never be traced when used in making transactions. Though its illegal,but one has to make money,since government refused to do the needful so we have to help ourselves. Though is illegal,there is no risk of being caught ,because it has been programmed in such a way that it is not traceable,it also has a technique that makes it impossible for the CCTVs to detect you..For details on how to get yours today, email the hackers on : atmmachinehackes gmail.com Tell your loved once too, and start to live large. That's the simple testimony of how my life changed for good...Love you all ...the email address again is Any one interested in the card should contact the programmer via his email address: [e-mail]

[gaoxiaen]

Sounds legit. How much does it cost?