Brussels on Third Day of Lockdown, France to Intensify ISIS Airstrikes, NASA Not Ready to Send Astronauts Into Deep Space: A.M. Links

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  "Black Hole"/Disney

  Brussels entered a third day of partial lockdown as authorities hunt for suspects in the Paris terrorist attack as well as an unspecified planned attack, while the United Kingdom will join France in intensifying air strikes against ISIS.

• Migrants in Greece called for a hunger strike and blocked cross-border rail traffic as they demanded to be allowed passage to Western Europe.
• Chris Christie is not willing to challenge the claim by Donald Trump that he saw Arabs in New Jersey celebrating 9/11 on television.
• Sixteen people were injured in New Orleans after two groups at a crowded park started shooting at each other.
• The inspector general for NASA says the space agency is not ready to send astronauts into deep space.
• A Pepsi smartphone is being crowdfunded in China.
• The Golden State Warriors have tied an NBA record with their 15-0 start.

New at Reason.com:

• Brickbat: And if That Doesn't Work… By Charles Oliver
• Tackling the Islamic State Requires Realistic Goals No-fly zones and ground invasions aren't the solution. By Steve Chapman
• Do Pot and Pregnancy Mix? The evidence concerning marijuana's effect on fetuses is mixed and incomplete. By Jacob Sullum
• Let the Refugees In We shouldn't fear extending our hand to those who flee oppression. A world of zero risk is not an option, but the risk here is not significant. By Sheldon Richman
• The FDA's New Food Safety Rules Won't Accomplish Much More regulation for very little return. By Baylen Linnekin

Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

Stay thirsty, my friends.

[Juvenile Bluster]

Good morning.

I hate football.

[Certified Public Asshat]

The Ravens now have basically everyone on IR. So, cheer up?

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Man that was awful. I went to prep the garage for winter rather than watch the Eagles.

[Bern-o-Matic 5000]

It was a good week for the Saints.
(Bye week = not a loss)

[MSimon]

The Bears passed up an easy FG and thus lost to Denver. Idiots.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

GO CHIEFS!

[sarcasmic]

You're not that interesting.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Hello.

Pretzels will come us thirsty.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

'make us.'

Jesus.

[Rich]

Come again?

[gaijin]

Come again?

That's what he said! ba-da-boom! Don;t forget to tip your waitstaff.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Forget. I messed it up.

[Citizen X]

I bet you say that a LOT.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Yes. Yes I DO.

[PM]

I got it

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Nothing gets passed PM.

[Crusty Juggler]

Tome, again?

[commodious spittoon]

Stay Thursday, my friends.

Come again?

[PM]

University yoga class canceled because of 'oppression, cultural genocide'

In studios across the nation, as many as 20 million Americans practice yoga every day. Few worry that their downward dogs or warrior poses disrespect other cultures.

But yoga comes from India, once a British colony. And now, at one Canadian university, a yoga class designed to include disabled students has been canceled after concerns the practice was taken from a culture that "experienced oppression, cultural genocide and diasporas due to colonialism and western supremacy," according to the group that once sponsored it.

[Juvenile Bluster]

As a Jew, I say that bagels are cultural appropriation and nobody else is allowed to eat them.

[Copernicus would chip]

As a Polack, I feel Congress is appropriating my culture's stupidity.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Give me back my ravioli!

[Citizen X]

You better not be eating tomatoes or peppers with that ravioli! Tomatoes and peppers were appropriated from American natives by cishet colonialist shitlords.

Come to think of it, pasta originated in China. Your whole deal is problematic.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Actually, not sure where that theory came from but Durum based pasta is all Italian. People confused the egg noodle with pasta. The Chinese weren't making that. There's no such thing as Chinese pasta as the Italians have come to produce.

[Citizen X]

Ok but wheat was domesticated in Mesopotamia. How much Sumerian ancestry do you have?

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

I bet you we ALL have a drop of SOOOOOMARIAN!

Hey. If Lizzie can claim to be Native why can't we be Sumerian?

[gaoxiaen]

I guess I need to subsist on corn, Concord grapes, pecans, and local game animals.

[Lord Humungus]

racist!

[Apple]

All whiskey belongs to me.

[Medical Physics Guy]

But I live in Scotland. The whiskey now belong to me. Screw your ancestry.

[Mrs. Lemuel Struthers]

John Jameson would like a word with you.

[Krabappel]

Which is just a Scottish bastardization of the French eau-de-vie.

[Mrs. Lemuel Struthers]

"And so the Great War of Whiskey Appropriation began. Eventually, after much blood and treasure was spent, the Great Tribe of Bourbon in the Land of Kentucky triumphed over the Lesser Tribes of Irish, Scotts, and French having been better armed and more vicious in nature, although their products was judged inferior."

[Medical Physics Guy]

That's what we get for banning handguns. We've got some hunting rifles around though...

[Citizen X]

I just ate a bagel and i'm not even one of God's chosen, so up yours.

[Rhywun]

I am hurting inside, in sympathy with my hurting Jewish friends.

[Krabappel]

Was it an everything bagel? Because if it's not an everything bagel, then it's a nothing bagel.

[Matrix]

and fried potatoes. I think french fries and hashbrowns are derivative of latkes. So no fried potatoes.

[Matrix]

And it was a couple of Jews that invented Christianity, so we're taking that shit back to... and then burying it somewhere because we really don't want it.

[pan fried wylie]

crate, warehouse, Top Men, etc

[Just a thought not a sermon]

So you're only ever allowed to do things that your culture indigenously produced?

[Rasilio]

It's gonna suck for virtually every other culture on the planet when they are not allowed to watch decent movies, tv shows, or drink Pepsi

[sloopyinTEXAS]

Why would anybody drink Pepsi when Coke is available?

[Idle Hands]

did you know through a creative marketing scheme and distribution strategy coke only cost 5 cents for roughly 70 years? from 1886-1959.

[Tonio]

Are we sure it's impossible to reach peak derp?

I'm sure they have a double-standard justification ready, something along the lines that since western media is full of kultural appropriashunz that it's ok. Plus, people should consume locally produced media anyway so as not to be contaminated by our evil culture.

[Azathoth!!]

Yeah, they may have a double-standard justification ready, but since they're not allowed to culturally appropriate English anymore we'll never know about it--especially when they stop culturally appropriating the internet.

[expat]

Oatmeal, mash (without bangers) and whiskey it is.

[Medical Physics Guy]

Smoked salmon though.

[MSimon]

And cream cheese.

[Citizen X]

I hope you don't mean mashed potatoes. Potatoes were appropriated from the proud Inka people by the Spanish oppressors.

[Mrs. Lemuel Struthers]

Yes, we're supposed to lock ourselves into culture boxes and only enjoy those products produced by our direct ancestors. Lucky are the mongrel breeds of mixed heritage. Soon everyone will be required to get DNA testing providing proof of ancestry prior to ordering Thai food, practicing yoga or a martial arts, listening to hip-hop, playing hockey or skiing.

Stop othering people by installing bamboo wood floors in your family room. You shits.

[Mrs. Lemuel Struthers]

Everyone needs to stop using antibiotics except for those with direct Scottish heritage!

/Alexander Fleming

[Medical Physics Guy]

Oh, wait. We own MRI for medical use now! Come and get it. A million a pop.

[MSimon]

Polio vaccine.

[Krabappel]

Segregation for everyone!

[Bern-o-Matic 5000]

Americans have dibs on anything related the human genome, I guess.

[ant1sthenes]

The multiracial are appropriation personified, and must be eliminated for the sake of compassion and understanding.

[VG Zaytsev]

Why can't anyone on the left see the inherent racism in that position?

[Just say Nikki]

A huge number of people on the left can. The left has very much not 100% embraced critical race theory.

[Trigger Hippie]

So you're saying it's permissible for me to still drink vodka? Whew!

*wipes sweat from brow with a shaky hand*

[Krabappel]

I'm just thankful my grandmother was French so I can continue to drink Cognac.

[Citizen X]

I've got Dutch ancestry, so i guess i'm stuck with gin. Fuuuuck.

[Krabappel]

That sucks, dude. Gin is gross.

[Citizen X]

Gin and, what? Herring? Ugh.

At least i get Gouda and Edam cheeses.

[dan'o en barrel]

Dont forget Tulips

[lap83]

I think my Finnish side covers every base that the German side doesn't. Yay, cultural alcoholism!

[sloopyinTEXAS]

So you're only ever allowed to do things that your culture indigenously produced?

I'm fine with restricting deep dish to Chicago.

[MSimon]

Unos. Yum.

[Enough About Palin]

One of the most beautiful women I have ever encountered is a waitress at an Uno Pizzeria & Grill.

[Bern-o-Matic 5000]

Leave algebra to the Arabs! Woohoo!!!! FREEEDOMMM!!!!

[MSimon]

Calculus only for Brits would save a LOT of math heartache.

[commodious spittoon]

The Germans might have a word or two to say on that subject.

[robc]

Brits can do calculus, but cant use Leibnitz notation.

[commodious spittoon]

That's fine, despite two years of the subject I feel like I can't do either.

[Agammamon]

And *none* of you get to use the zero.

[gaoxiaen]

Being from Pittsburgh, I have to live on steel?

[EMD]

... n'at.

[MJGreen - Docile Citizen]

Those unfortunate 1.2 billion Indians. Their culture is nearly extinct!

[The Last American Hero]

Many martial arts styles have been developed because of oppression.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

This is why griefing is a martial art on most campii these days.

[Suthenboy]

Not long ago a friend of mine told me he had been in touch with someone we both went to college with. He said her Facebook page is filled with this SJW bullshit. I was not surprised. The girl was an emotional basket case back when I knew her.

She worshipped Natalie Merchant and would never shut up about how wonderful and beautiful Natalie was. I mean it was a sickening display of the most sycophantic behavior you can imagine. When she would drink she would break down in tears and go on and on and on....and then eventually get angry about how unfair it was that she was not as beautiful and talented as Merchant.

I think she is a pretty typical example of the SJW.

These people are emotionally unbalanced nuts. It is no surprise to see this kind of unhinged behavior from them.

[Tonio]

...then eventually get angry about how unfair it was that she was not as beautiful and talented as Merchant.

Paging Diana Moon Glampers...

[Akira]

+1 bullfrog voice

[Copernicus would chip]

Maybe someone just needs to ask her, what's the matter here?

[sloopyinTEXAS]

I've seen Merchant live. She's a pretty talented singer.

Thats all I've got to add.

[Rhywun]

I've seen 10,000 Maniacs - great show. The lyrics can be a little trying if you're not into a parade of SJW causes.

[Krabappel]

She's a pretty good singer, at least once she got older and stopped singing like Kermit the Frog.

Still, she really can't be forgiven for dreck like this:

"Oh they tell us, there's poison in the well. That someone's been a bit untidy, and there's been a small spill."

[EMD]

I saw 10,000 Maniacs at a college gig a million years ago.

Utterly boring, even if I liked the songs. Merchant had zero charisma on stage. She complained about recycling.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

And you didn't date her?

[gaoxiaen]

Only anal.

[Bill Dalasio]

Can we just slap these assholes?

No one "owns" a culture. A culture is nothing more than a set if learned achievements that, unless you're the one individual person who registered that achievement in the fist place, you have no particular right to do anything other than thank your lucky stars that someone, probably someone much, much, smarter than you, had the decency to grace your life with.

One of the things I love about America is we're the world's supreme cultural adapters. Or "appropriators" if you're an imbecile social justice cadre. We took shit from every culture on the globe, threw it together with every other culture's shit and turned it into a spanking new bit of awesomeness. We're the one's calling someone a schmuck or a putz because he's too macho while we're on our way to get some dim sum, which we really need because we had too much Guinness last night talking to our kids' kindergarten teachers about old school blues. AND GOD FUCKING BLESS US FOR THAT!

[Zeb]

The cultural appropriation complaining is always idiotic, but applied to Indian things, it seems especially bullshitty. Yes, it was a British colony and there was definitely some bad stuff that went with that. But it's a huge country and a major world player which appears to have maintained its distinctive cultures quite well through colonialism and economic globalization. Not to mention that India was full of empires and kingdoms conquering and colonizing each other well before the British showed up.

[Bern-o-Matic 5000]

And, moreover, it's not apparent what any of that has to do with Americans.

[commodious spittoon]

So you're saying Britain appropriated colonialism from India?

[R C Dean]

Yes, it was a British colony and there was definitely some bad stuff that went with that.

While I can't rule out entirely the idea that the Brits actually made it worse for the bulk of the Indian population, it's basically my default assumption that most Indians probably had it pretty bad under both their pre-Brit rulers, and the Brits.

[UnCivilServant]

Between the start of Company rule and the completed conquest of the subcontinent, there was a consistant flow of people to British run regions in India because life was better there. Not Utopian better, but good enough a differential to cause migration.

[Zeb]

Probably the biggest negative effect the Brits had on the India of today was breaking up the empire when socialism was all the rage, leaving them with a government that held back their economic development for decades.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Chris Christie is not willing to challenge the claim by Donald Trump that he saw Arabs in New Jersey celebrating 9/11 on television.

He was too busy hugging victims to notice.

[Palin's Buttplug]

The celebrating Arabs were the bin Laden family when told that Bush was getting them out of the country before they could be interrogated by the FBI.

[sloopyinTEXAS]

What a crock of shit.

Oh, and when did the CIA find time to string the explosives and cut the foundation beds in the towers, huh? Since you're buying into all of Michael Moore's idiotic bullshit.

Lastly, since when do we hold people because of the actions of the followers of their relative? Because if we did, Billy Carter would be in jail waiting to be interviewed on the accusations.

[sloopyinTEXAS]

On rape accusations. He'd be held for rape because his brother is a serial rapist.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

Billy Carter? Or are you referring to Roger Clinton?

Because he looks like he held for his own actions.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

like he 'should be'...

[commodious spittoon]

Imagine the gnashing of teeth from the left if Bush had rounded up and interrogated every umpteenth cousin of the bin Laden family. In literally that same sequence Moore would have castigated the feds for their insensitivity and paranoia.

Chump.

[Copernicus would chip]

The Bin Ladens departed on September 20, about a week after air travel was re-opened.

[Harun]

Read the link.

Chris Christie says he doesn't recall seeing people cheering.

What more do you want Christie to say?

[Just a thought not a sermon]

116) Is it wrong that I laughed at this item? I think I may be a bad person.

Police release 911 call of a suspected PCP overdose of 500-pound man

"The man's mother told the operator that her son had just arrived at the house and had been smoking PCP before he got there. When she was asked for a description, she said her son was a 'big boy.'"

[Lord Humungus]

Hooray! Vagina Emojis Are Here
Just what the world needs now: vagmojis!

Now entering the fray, vagina emojis! Or if you prefer, "vagmojis." It's a word that just rolls right off the tongue (so to speak). Technically, the part of the body depicted in these cute little guys is the vulva, but it seems that most of the world thinks the vagina is the name for the whole lady parts region.

The artists behind the colorful new anatomical emojis are Katy McCarthy and Jeremy Yingling, who created them for Flirtmoji, a sex- and body-positive, self-described "group of hornballs" who design emojis that "empower people of all sexualities to communicate their desires, concerns and flirtations." Isn't that nice? In other words, they just want to help people to sext better. Sounds like a worthy cause to us.

[Atanarjuat]

Those are frightening.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Just like the real thing.

[SugarFree]

One of those reminds me of the traditional medical rhyme:

If thy labia is green
a doctor should be seen

[Sapient Mulch]

If it smells like fresh fish, it'll be a good dish;
If it smells like provolone, better leave it alone.

[Rich]

I suspect the link is NSFW.

[Just say Nikki]

Nah, I don't think so.

[Rich]

Very well, I suspect the images that appear when you click the link are NSFW.

[A Cynic's Guide to Zen]

Barf. What happened to the feminine mystique? "The bathrooms used to be clean but then feminism happened and we started pissing on the floor."

[PM]

Those look like the diagrams of amoebas that we had to draw in grade school.

[Rich]

LOL

More like paramecia.

[Tonio]

^This

[Just say Nikki]

Technically, the part of the body depicted in these cute little guys is the vulva, but it seems that most of the world thinks the vagina is the name for the whole lady parts region.

And since we're children, we'll just go with that!

[The Last American Hero]

It's kind of like talking about the US but using the word America.

[Copernicus would chip]

VAGINA! FUCK YEAH!

[Crusty Juggler]

Tome, again?

[Zeb]

I don't know. "United States of America" is called "America", just like the "United States of Mexico" is usually called Mexico.
I'm with Niki on the vagina thing. There's a lot of interesting parts in the female genital area and it's a shame to just conflate it all.

[Copernicus would chip]

It's a bit different Zeb. The United States of Mexico can be synonymous with Mexico because there is no other geographical usage of "Mexico".

Technically "the Americas" includes all of North and South America, which is obvously much more the just the USA.

However, the entire world commonly means the USA when they say "America", it's not just USA-ans doing it.

[Azathoth!!]

Because, in all the Americas, only one nation has 'America' in it's name.

[Mrs. Lemuel Struthers]

I want to see the dickmojis.

[PM]

Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar

[Citizen X]

Here you go: c===8

[Tonio]

You know that there's a double standard. Those will be seen as othering, triggering and patriarchal.

[Just say Nikki]

Nah they're going to be released in the same emoji pack.

[Bern-o-Matic 5000]

It's exclusionary to womynz who don't have vaginas

[SugarFree]

Technically, the part of the body depicted in these cute little guys is the vulva, but it seems that most of the world thinks the vagina is the name for the whole lady parts region.

The War on Synecdoche.

[Zeb]

Is it synecdoche (odd, my spell check doesn't know that word), or do many people just not know the specific meaning of "vagina"?

[SugarFree]

It's a synecdoche whether they know it or not. They are using a part to refer to whole.

[Idle Hands]

I have a hankering for a sandwich.

[Entropy Drehmaschine Void]

Tuna?

[Trigger Hippie]

Week old roast beef, sprinkled with paprika, topped with a dead moth.

I call it the Reba McEntire Reuben

[Suthenboy]

Vertical smiles?

[Rhywun]

Pass.

[MSimon]

Vagimojis sounds more Japanese. Cultural appropriation. RAPE!

[Tejicano]

If it was Japanese it would end up being Bajimojizu.

No thanks.

[Lord Humungus]

needs more tentacles.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

If it was Japanese it would end up being Bajimojizu.

And sideways and pixilated?

[Bee Tagger]

The Golden State Warriors have tied an NBA record with their 15-0 start.

May be time to restart the game and turn the "keep scores close" option on.

[Idle Hands]

Stephen Curry is the best shooting point guard I've ever seen. He can completely eviscerate a team in minutes.

[BigT]

Yes. I've always considered Jerry West as the best pure shooter ever, but now Curry is performing at the highest level I've ever seen.

[PM]

The GOP's Primary Rules Might Doom Carson, Cruz And Trump

In a few months, after Iowa and New Hampshire begin to winnow the field, the GOP nomination race could boil down to an epic final between a candidate with a more pragmatic image, such as Marco Rubio, Carly Fiorina or Jeb Bush, and a more conservative one, such as Ted Cruz, Ben Carson or Donald Trump.

If that happens, the moderate finalist ? like Mitt Romney and John McCain before him or her ? will have a hidden structural advantage: the party's delegate math and geography.[...]

In reality, the GOP nominating contest will be decided by an intricate, state-by-state slog for the 2,472 delegates at stake between February and June. And thanks to the Republican National Committee's allocation rules, the votes of "Blue Zone" Republicans ? the more moderate GOP primary voters who live in Democratic-leaning states and congressional districts ? could weigh more than those of more conservative voters who live in deeply red zones.

I've never taken the time to learn exactly how the delegate allocation process takes place. It's even dumber than I imagined.

[A Cynic's Guide to Zen]

"I only know you got the wrong man."

"Information Transit got the wrong man. I got the right man. The wrong one was delivered to me as the right man, I accepted him on good faith as the right man. Was I wrong?"

[Suthenboy]

They are gonna have Jeb lose the race whether you like it or not.

[Gray Ghost]

It's going to be Rubio. The GOPe is obsessed with winning Florida, and despite Rubio not being able to balance his own checkbook, his stance on immigration and that he looks good on TV is going to get him the lion's share of establishment money and air time. Add Jeb!'s voters to Rubio's and he's right there with Carson and Trump.

[Mr. Flanders]

I'm happy that these rules temper the party's more insane tendencies, though.

[PM]

Firefighter who flunked physical injured 10 days into job

A firefighter who was allowed to graduate the Fire Academy despite failing physical tests has already gone out on medical leave ? just 10 days into the job, The Post has learned.

Probationary firefighter Choeurlyne Doirin-Holder injured herself Monday while conducting a routine check of equipment at Queens' Engine 308 in South Richmond Hill. Getting off the truck, Doirin-Holder missed a step and landed on her left foot, suffering a fracture, sources said.

It was her second shift after a transfer from Engine 301. In training for a hazmat assignment, officers found her struggling to perform the required tasks.

[Illocust]

So, first thought is that injury doesn't sound like the kind caused by lack of physical fitness. Second thought is that it was probably indirectly caused. If she couldn't keep up she was probably getting exhausted and making more mistakes than normal. Also, lack of muscle around joints can make them easier to break or fracture (though the strain of creating the muscle can also fracture or break).

Really, they should have known better than to let her join without making the physical.

[PM]

Yeah, the connection is a little tenuous, but it's still a bit ironic.

[Copernicus would chip]

No, she's likely just a klutz. A routine check of equipment does not create exhaustion in anyone.

Unless..... she was exiting the truck while carrying some bulky/heavy equipment which is very possible during an equipment check. In that case, her physical shortcomings could contribute to her fuck up.

[Illocust]

I was thinking exhaustion from the other things she was doing during the day not necessarily the activity she was performing that exact second. Your theory is a possibility as well.

[commodious spittoon]

Are you slut shaming her for sleeping around the station? Sexist bigot!

[A Cynic's Guide to Zen]

"We just don't understand, Doctor! Are women equal to men or not?"
"Well, we want them to be equal...but we can't tell them they aren't, and we can't hold them to male standards..."
"Doctor, I have this disabled man here who wants to be a firefighter..."
"Gott in Himmel! Get that man a fire suit!"

[SugarFree]

Getting off the truck, Doirin-Holder missed a step and landed on her left foot, suffering a fracture

This is just how my mother broke her foot. My 67-year-old diabetic mother with osteoporosis.

[Citizen X]

What was your mother doing in a fire truck in the first place?

[SugarFree]

Looking to get me a new daddy.

[Citizen X]

Oh, is the position still open? Where do i send my resume and full frontal nude shot?

[Not an Economist]

So what fire station does your mother work at?

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

Technically, she works in front of the fire station.

[Jerms]

Its says she recently transfered to E301. The reason for her transfer was that she didnt like the bathroom in the first firehouse she was sent to. She failed the academy a few times and was given a desk job while she waited for the next one to begin. They will make the department equal no matter what.

[DJF]

If she stays in the FD she will probably end up in administration or inspections or some other position that does not require physical labor. First this will take away jobs of older or injured firemen who got those jobs later in their career. The bigger problem is that she will demand promotions which will then put her in charge of fire stations without having the hands on experience needed to command them.

[Copernicus would chip]

That's not how promotions work in the fire service. A firefighter can easily go his/her entire career without a promotion beyond FireFighter 1. It's not like the military.

[Jerms]

Well you're supposed to pass a test to get promoted. She was also supposed to pass a test to get hired, so nothing would suprise me.

[DJF]

Hiring her was not how hiring was done in the fire service, but that did not stop her from getting hired. I bet she is already working on demands for promotion due to the fact she says she was discriminated against.

[Copernicus would chip]

Maybe... It will be fun to watch the Union trying to sort out who to support as other firefighters object to her if she gets promotional favoritism.
I do think there will be a practical difference between giving her favoritism over the general public to get her into the department vs. giving her favoritism over establish firefighters in the promotion process.
The lesson to be learned for the residents of NY, vote out any politician implicated in the bullshit waste of money and perversion of "rights".

[Harun]

She will be promoted to move her up and out.

This is how government agencies get rid of bad employees since they can't fire them.

[Jerms]

She was also one of 240 priority hires who because she failed to pass a test that was deemed "racist" got hired at 40 years old, given 10 years backpay and pension payments and has seniority over anyone hired in the past 10 years.

[Copernicus would chip]

I didn't see all of that in the article but it sounds right because the salary they quoted looks way too high for a new firefighter.

[Rhywun]

Nice gig if you can get it. And if you have no shame whatsoever.

[Jerms]

Guy in my battalion is from Panama. Hired about 7 years ago, passed everything legit---but sued the city for backpay, saying he would have gotten a higher score and been hired sooner, but no interpreter was given to him when he took the test. He won.

[Rhywun]

*facepalm*

[Copernicus would chip]

I'm assuming winning the suit entitles him to a full-time interpreter at work too? I mean, if he's not expected to know English for the test, why would he be required to know English at work?

[Napoleon Bonaparte]

RIP America
Born of Liberty
Died of Equality.

[R C Dean]

I would say her plan worked to perfection, then.

She'll be out on disability, and probably even retire on full disability, after 10 (count 'em) days on the job.

A victory of womankind, not doubt.

[Lord Humungus]

Shot twice during robbery, Phoenix ice-cream truck bleeds cherry syrup

No one was injured in the robbery, which occurred on a residential street near Third Avenue and Broadway Road.

At first glance, it appeared the robber had left a bloody scene, according to Phoenix police. The red substance pooling on the asphalt turned out to be cherry syrup that spilled from a bottle struck by one of the robber's bullets, an officer said.

[Entropy Drehmaschine Void]

I don't know why, but that made me smile.

[a better chipper]

HE HATES THESE CHERRY SYRUP BOTTLES! STAY AWAY FROM THE CHERRY SYRUP BOTTLES!

[Fist of Etiquette]

Migrants in Greece called for a hunger strike and blocked cross-border rail traffic as they demanded to be allowed passage to Western Europe.

Migrating to Greece in the first place might have been as bad an idea as not eating.

[Drake]

Well, Greece won't have to borrow money to feed them now.

[gaijin]

For the patient, the beauty of hunger strikes is that time puts and end to them.

[Medical Physics Guy]

If Schengen breaks down life in Greece is gonna get real interesting

[Suthenboy]

Fuck 'em.

[Rhywun]

I think Europe agrees.

[R C Dean]

I thought they were protesting closed borders, which makes blocking cross-border traffic an . . . interesting . . . tactic.

[Hank Phillips]

The Reuters page with the results of Greek voting also showed a video of a Chicago cop murdering (16 shots) an unarmed brown guy walking away from him. He IS going to maybe face charges and perhaps get off scot-free, a slap on the wrists or (get this!) 20 years hard time.
Has Reason commented on Trump leading God's Own Party away from feds shooting teenagers over weed and confiscating homes yet? Hillary and the other looters except Rand still want our kids arrested, raped or shot AFAIK.

[PM]

Singapore megachurch leaders sentenced to jail for pop music fraud

The co-founder of a Singapore church and five other leaders were sentenced to jail terms of up to eight years on Friday, for fraudulently diverting millions of dollars to support his wife's pop singing career.

The mix of faith and fraud has fascinated tightly-regulated Singapore, where such cases are rare in an affluent city-state with little tolerance for corruption.

Senior pastor Kong Hee heads City Harvest Church, one of a growing number of Singapore's megachurches preaching a "prosperity gospel" that blends spiritual and material aspirations.

Six church officials were convicted last month of diverting nearly S$51 million ($36 million) in funds to advance the career of Kong's wife, Ho Yeow Sun.

[Just a thought not a sermon]

New York London Singapore Munich

everybody commits fraud for Pop Music

[Entropy Drehmaschine Void]

Nice.

[MSimon]

Sing A Pore?

Sing A Hole would do better.

[SugarFree]

Chris Christie is not willing to challenge the claim by Donald Trump that he saw Arabs in New Jersey celebrating 9/11 on television.

Maybe Trump can't tell the difference between a Palestinian street party and New Jersey.

[Citizen X]

To be fair, who can?

[sarcasmic]

Man called 'Phuc Dat Bich' whose Facebook account was blocked three times believes his plight has helped to highlight how 'certain names populate different cultures'

A 23-year-old Melbourne man has thanked his supporters on Facebook
'Phuc Dat Bich' shared his passport on social media to prove his real name
The original post had gone viral with 125,000 likes and 67,000 shares
Commenters have supported Phuc and said he should embrace his name

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

The name, which is pronounced 'Phoop Dook Bic,' is common in Vietnam, despite the spectacular response it has received in Australia.

[The Last American Hero]

If that guy can even sort-of rap, he could be an overnight sensation.

[Medical Physics Guy]

Stop Vietnamese cultural appropriation of indigenous American cultures!!!1!

[Bee Tagger]

A Pepsi smartphone is being crowdfunded in China.

I hope this phone is as small as possible because I'm looking for max headroom when I use this thing.

[sloopyinTEXAS]

I'm sure the phone will be the choice of a new generation of smartphone users.

[Rich]

[Trump] recounted how he saw "thousands of thousands of people ... cheering" as the World Trade Center collapsed on 9/11. "I don't recall that. I don't," the governor of New Jersey [said.]

Sheesh, how hard is this to fact-check?

[Just a thought not a sermon]

Rich, it took place in 2001. Can you check the Twitter archive in 2001? Can you look back at your Facebook page in 2001? Clearly, actual facts from this era are as irretrievable as if they had taken place in the Dark Ages.

[Rich]

But, but, ... they keep saying once something is placed on the Internet it's there *forever*!

I confuse.

[The Last American Hero]

But we didn't have smart phones then. The camera on a standard issue flip phone was 13 pixels, so everybody looked like Minecraft characters.

[Citizen X]

This comment is othering to those of us who look like Minecraft characters anyway!

[commodious spittoon]

Adult film stars in Japan concur.

[R C Dean]

I recall people celebrating in MENA. I don't recall people celebrating in NJ. Did Trump say where these partays were happening?

[Lord Humungus]

Men eat more pizza when trying to impress women, study suggests

Of all of the ways men try to impress the ladies, from big wallets to big muscles, here is one that has finally been quantified by science. In a woman's presence, men eat 93% more pizza, according to researchers at Cornell University.

And props to you profs who came up with this study, and secured the funding.

"When one recognizes the overwhelming presence of men in competitive eating contests where the goal is to consume as much as possible in as short a period as possible, then it becomes clear that male eating patterns warrant closer attention through the lens of sexual selection theory," reads the study's introduction.

The scientists came to their conclusions after observing the eating habits of 133 adults who were recruited at an all-you-can-eat Italian buffet over a two-week period.

Deep Dish indeed.

[Rich]

And when they're trying hard to impress women, men use pizza as a sex toy.

[Certified Public Asshat]

You want a pizza this Rich?

[Rich]

*** teeth cheddar just thinking about it ***

[Prof. Mondo]

[Prof. Mondo]

D'Oh! -- Should be: (Narrows Swiss's eyes.)

[Certified Public Asshat]

There's...mushroom for improvement.

[Azathoth!!]

Put those back in his head.

[Rasilio]

"They found that not only did men eat 93% more pizza (1.44 more slices) when dining with a female than when with another man, but they also ate 86% more salad.

"These findings suggest that men tend to overeat to show off," said Kevin Kniffin, visiting assistant professor and lead author of the study. "

No, no it doesn't.

That is ONE possible explanation for why they overate.

There are however others, for example it could be that the presence of women alters their hormone balance making them hungrier, or, it could be that in the presence of another man they are competing by demonstrating their self control to establish dominance but do not feel the need to compete for dominance in the same way with a woman.

The proper reading of this "research" is that it is UTTERLY pointless but the researcher managed to convey a minor point of interest that came out of the "study" into an attention grabbing headline in order to secure future funding.

[gaijin]

That is ONE possible explanation for why they overate.

Agree. Another is that, while he listens to the female talk, he avoids having to say anything by filling his piehole with deep dish.

[Citizen X]

Works for me.

[Copernicus would chip]

Obviously, he was storing extra calories to get him through a long night of raping.

[Bern-o-Matic 5000]

Another is that women eat more slowly and, not wanting to sit there awkwardly with an empty plate or make the date feel rushed, he orders more.

[BigT]

Women cut the pizza into smaller slices, so it just looks like more.

[Medical Physics Guy]

^ di preciso, grazie

[Suthenboy]

Men? No, boys.

Men understand that acting like a caveman is not attractive to women.

[Medical Physics Guy]

Every chick I was hot for in high school went for the closest thing to cave men available. This changed by my 30s however. Partly due to better taste in women.

[MSimon]

I LIKE women who improve their taste. Strawberry is for kids. Chocolate for adults.

[Bern-o-Matic 5000]

And chocolate strawberries are win-win-win.

[PM]

A Federal Judge Refuses to Stop a Jim Crow-Type Election in Hawaii

It's bad enough having a state hold an election that is racially discriminatory. Now we have a judge willingly to allow it to move forward.

That would be federal district court Judge J. Michael Seabright (a George W. Bush appointee, surprisingly enough). He's refused to issue an injunction to stop an election in Hawaii to set up a separate government that excludes anyone who doesn't meet the state's definition of "Native Hawaiian."

Seabright's deplorable decision in Akina v. State of Hawaii is on an emergency appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ? which, unfortunately, doesn't always seem to believe in following Supreme Court precedent.

Meanwhile, voting has already started in Hawaii. The election is intended to select delegates to a convention, which will draw up "governance documents" for a Native Hawaiian government. Registration to vote was restricted to "Native Hawaiians," who are defined as only those whose ancestors lived on the Hawaiian Islands prior to 1778 ? and even then only to those willing to confirm a statement affirming "the unrelinquished sovereignty of the Native Hawaiian people." Voting by mail started on November 1 and runs through the end of the month.

[Just say Nikki]

When sharia comes to America, it will be wrapped in a taro leaf and carrying a can of spam.

[Tonio]

[golf clap]

[MSimon]

[vagina clap]

[R C Dean]

If this stands, it sets up an interesting precedent that could prove very useful to sharia enthusiasts.

We'll see. This strikes me as so batshit nuts that not even the Ninth (or SCOTUS) will let it stand.

[The Last American Hero]

I saw this episode of South Park.

[Tonio]

This is madness. If this stands we are doomed.

[Suthenboy]

I am a little lost on the connection to Bush.

[PM]

It's National Review, so they are apoplectic that a Bush appointee might rule in a way they dislike.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

"If it doesn't, it will be up to the Supreme Court to once again take Hawaii ? and the Ninth Circuit ? to the woodshed for their misbehavior."

Doesn't he mean 'woodchipper?"

[Win Bear]

If Hawaii wants independence, they should be able to get it, by majority vote. What isn't acceptable is to set up a racially discriminatory government while still claiming the benefits of US citizenship and receiving large amounts of money from the federal government.

[Fist of Etiquette]

The inspector general for NASA says the space agency is not ready to send astronauts into deep space.

Yes but how on track is that Muslim outreach program? And how goes the Climate Change battle?

[A Cynic's Guide to Zen]

They should be making sure that there aren't offensive shirts on their scientists, not doing science stuff.

[Mickey Rat]

Well, yes, since NASA currently has nothing to get astronauts to low earth orbit by its own means right now.

[Bee Tagger]

::wonders if the election is worth paying attention to::

Chris Christie is not willing to challenge the claim by Donald Trump that he saw Arabs in New Jersey celebrating 9/11 on television.

::deletes all social media accounts::

[sarcasmic]

Donald Trump branded a 'racist' after retweeting made-up statistics that claim most white people are killed by black people

Donald Trump retweeted figures on murders committed by black people
It said 81 per cent of white murder victims were killed by black offenders
Tweet also said 16 per cent of white people murdered are killed by whites
Official FBI figures show that Trump's statistics are wildly wrong
His 'source', the Crime Statistics Bureau - San Francisco, does not exist
Tweet originally posted by user with a neo-Nazi logo as their profile picture

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....eople.html
Fake, but accurate.

[Rhywun]

Never mind that the real numbers are still problematic - LOOK OVER THERE DONALD TRUMP SAID SOMETHING STUPID!

[Lord Humungus]

Officer fired after singing on duty with death metal band

Smith says police received video showing Ricks on duty and in uniform while singing "Let the Killing Begin" ? a song referencing the crucifixion of Christ ? with Vital Remains at a Sanford venue Nov. 13.

In a statement Thursday, Smith said the incident "erodes the thin fibers of trust" between police and the community.

[Copernicus would chip]

Finally an answer to the question: What does it take to get a policeman fired?

[Fist of Etiquette]

Now, had he merely shot them instead...

[A Cynic's Guide to Zen]

Death Metal should unify everyone. Hashtag: Nolivesmatter...

[Tonio]

Ha!

[MSimon]

Death Metal = Knife or Sword

[sarcasmic]

B16 DKK, OR16 ASM and CR16 PLE: The rude-sounding new number plates banned by the DVLA for sounding too naughty

Host of new '16 number plates banned for being too offensive or poor taste
OR16 ASM, B16 DKK, BU16 GER, N16 GGA and B16 FAG are all forbidden
The DVLA has banned those which are religious, homophobic or plain rude
Personalised number plate business worth around ?2.3billion a year in UK

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

[Rich]

CR16 PLE

I give up. "Creampie"?

[sarcasmic]

Cripple maybe?

[Rich]

NO! Can't you read?! That would be "Crigple", which makes NO sense!

[Rhywun]

Sounds like something horrible they might eat for breakfast. "Some fried crigple, mate?"

[Mr Lizard]

So DN4 DVDA is still good?

[Rich]

France Is Pledging 100% Security Within Climate Conference Walls

What could *possibly* go wrong?

[Drake]

Snow?

[DJF]

But how much carbon will be released because of that extra security?

[Rasilio]

Will everything inside the walls be bubble wrapped?
Also a plane loaded with explosives is not technically inside the walls

[R C Dean]

Well, it will be when it matters.

[Citizen X]

Hitler?

[R C Dean]

[Prepares spittle-flecked rant on modern-day Islamists as the spiritual descendants of Nazis]

[Win Bear]

The Spanish Inquisition?

Nobody ever expects the Spanish Inquisition!

[Bee Tagger]

The inspector general for NASA says the space agency is not ready to send astronauts into deep space.

You'd think with the focus in our society right now on eliminating domestic violence that NASA wouldn't be so eager to be linked with the phrase "Pow! Straight to the moon!"

[Lord Humungus]

HHS: Bailing out Obamacare insurers an 'obligation' of the federal government

The Department of Health and Human Services attempted to reassure private insurers on Thursday that they'll be able to recover losses from participating in Obamacare by claiming it was an "obligation" of the U.S. government to bail them out.

At issue is a provision within the law known as the risk corridors program. Under the program, which runs from 2014 through 2016, the federal government is to collect money from health insurers doing better than expected and use those funds to provide a federal backstop to other insurers who incur larger than expected losses from rising medical claims. The idea was to provide training wheels to insurers in the first years of Obamacare's implementation, and to take away any incentive for insurers to cherry pick only the healthiest customers.

Republicans, fearing that this could turn into an open-ended government bailout in the event of industry-wide losses, included a provision in last year's spending bill that limited the program, requiring HHS to pay out only from the pool of money collected, rather than supplementing it with other sources of government funding. President Obama signed that bill.

[Illocust]

So the Republican correctly predicted how the provision would be abused and explicitly wrote in statements to prevent that abuse. Now the gov is just going to ignore those provisions and if it ever makes it to the supreme court the law will be reinterpreted to allow them to do unlimited bailouts.

Of course,

[Just say Nikki]

Now the gov is just going to ignore those provisions and if it ever makes it to the supreme court the law will be reinterpreted to allow them to do unlimited bailouts.

Yeah, that wasn't part of the story.

[gaijin]

the federal government is to collect money from health insurers doing better than expected and use those funds to provide a federal backstop to other insurers who incur larger than expected losses

So taking from those doing better than expected and giving to those who are not is competition at the highest level? PB was right all along!

[BigT]

From each according to his ability, to each according to his need. It's right there in the Constitution!

[Mrs. Lemuel Struthers]

To continue funding the corridors HHS needs congress. Not going to happen, not with a Republican majority in the House. It looks like O'care will die a natural death, leaving behind a damaged system.

[Juvenile Bluster]

Persons of H&R, I give you Peak Guardian

The future's at stake: the left must show it could create an iPad

Innovation is seen as a product of individuals and free markets. But in fact it takes public money, cooperation, and key socialst principles. It's an argument we have to win

[sarcasmic]

If one penny of public money went into research that ultimately resulted in a marketable product, then that product could never have been invented without the aid of democratic socialist government. Duh. That includes fire and the wheel.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Jobs and Woz were/are traditional liberals. Most of the top capitalists are.

"The Left" is a smallish segment of Bernie Sanders type idiots.

[Monty Crisco]

Brilliant analysis, dipshit.

[Hyperbolical (wadair)]

Of course history is replete with examples of socialist innovation. Just take a gander at the entrepreneurial prowess of the USSR...oh wait. Maybe China? Or Cuba--they have the very best healthcare in the whole world. Venezuela for sure. They're using worthless money for toilet paper.

[ant1sthenes]

And if you fail, or spend too much money, you have to give up on leftism forever and acknowledge it sucks. Yes, good deal.

[Lord Humungus]

Shocker: Avis Car Rental Bars Israeli Executive from Renting

A reservation agent named Angelline declined to honor Mr. Bergwerk's reservation, saying that it was company policy not to recognize Israeli documents. Stunned, Mr. Bergwerk explained that he had rented from Avis many times, including a car from that very same office on Thursday, November 19 ? only two days earlier.

Mr. Bergwerk asked Angelline to access the profile attached to his Wizard card, which shows that he is an executive at a giant multinational company who has no regulatory issues and has rented from Avis, including at that very branch, many times without incident. She refused. They argued.

[Fist of Etiquette]

True or not, so far it appears Avis is handling this badly.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Horrible how they're handling it.

And it only gives voice to assholes like that 'Hoffinger' jerk off in the thread.

[MSimon]

Freedom of association.

[MSimon]

Has consequences. Sharmuta will get a promotion.

[Suthenboy]

Institutional fascism is bad, but worse is the mentality of the general population under such a system where everyone gets to be a petty tyrant and the system not only tolerates it but encourages it.

Goddamn I hate the fuckers.

[Win Bear]

Avis requirements are clearly spelled out on their web page:

If you intend to rent outside your home country, you may also be required to present an International Driver's Permit. International Driver's Permits are valid only if presented with the original local license.

IDPs exist mainly to help people with the translation of drivers licenses. Since the Israeli drivers license contains a lot of information only in Hebrew, it makes sense to require an IDP. When my family visits from overseas, they always bring an IDP just for that reason.

I think Avis handled this badly and if they have any sense, they should fire the people responsible for it. But, frankly, the Teva executive also suffers from a great deal of arrogance and sense of entitlement and he comes across as a bit of a jerk, and I have no problem with businesses refusing to serve jerks.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

"Migrants in Greece called for a hunger strike and blocked cross-border rail traffic as they demanded to be allowed passage to Western Europe."

Is it me or is there a tad too much demanding going around? Gimme this, gimme that.

[Suthenboy]

No, there is too much giving in to those demands. It only encourages more.

They should have a couple hundred cops beat the shit out of those fuckers and drag them back over the border.

[Rhywun]

If they're in Greece, wouldn't that mean tossing them in the sea?

[Mickey Rat]

Could toss them into Turkey.

[Harun]

First taste of freedom, maybe they go overboard?

[Lord Humungus]

Princeton, Don't Erase Woodrow Wilson's Name

He also made America a global power, winning the fight against isolationism that was led by his former secretary of state, William Jennings Bryan, so that America could enter, and end, World War I. While he failed in the war's aftermath to fulfill his dream of a new international organization dedicated to the prevention of future wars, Wilson's vision eventually triumphed thanks to his disciples Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman. The United Nations was rooted in Wilsonian principles and proved to be a transformational force for peace and decolonization.

Despite the broad sweep of his presidency, it's become fashionable to treat Wilson as little more than a petty racist. The Washington Post's Alexandra Petri (in an opinion piece actually in support of keeping Wilson's name on buildings) blithely asserts that "Woodrow Wilson was terrible. On this we can agree," before summarizing his record on race. Dylan Matthews at Vox.com (the so-called "explainer" news outlet) barked that "Woodrow Wilson was extremely racist ? even by the standards of his time" and accused him of defending the Klu Klux Klan.

[Lord Humungus]

wat?

One fifth of young adults think fish fingers ACTUALLY ARE the fingers of fish, research finds

A quarter (25 per cent) are 'confused' about whether wasps make honey and nine per cent think potatoes grow on trees.

Meanwhile, one in seven (15 per cent) do not know that lamb comes from sheep or that a pork chop comes from a pig (15 per cent).

The study, carried out by Rowse Honey, found over a third of those aged between 16 and 24 (35 per cent) are not aware that veal comes from cows.

It also indicates that young adults struggle to answer simple questions regarding the humble bumble bee.

One in six (15 per cent) think bees make syrup and one in eight (12 per cent) believe farmers have to 'squeeze' bees to get honey out of them.

[PM]

Wait until they find out the truth about buffalo wings.

[Bern-o-Matic 5000]

I know, right? The North American winged buffalo has been extinct since the 1890s; companies have actually been using bison wings all this time.

[BigT]

Fish sticks

[R C Dean]

I always thought that was just a bad pronunciation of "Fish's dicks"

[Juvenile Bluster]

Next you're going to tell me that ham, bacon and pork chops all come from a singular wonderful, magical animal.

[bacon-magic]

That's magic for you...

[Idle Hands]

is this supposed to prove something? Depending on the poll something like 6-20% of americans think the moon landing was fake.

[Just a thought not a sermon]

I often thank God for those wonderful Mexican workers who pluck my burritos from the burrito bush at the height of ripeness.

[Lord Humungus]

"burrito bush" - wrapped tight and full of goodness

[SugarFree]

Her name is Juanita.

[Just a thought not a sermon]

That's a good one. Now try it with "taco tree."

[Lord Humungus]

"taco tree" - an open ditch of meaty goodness?

[Citizen X]

an open ditch of meaty goodness

That phrase makes me equal parts hungry and grossed out. Is... is this what it's like to be SugarFree?

[SugarFree]

Basically.

[The Last American Hero]

Burrito etiquette question: Are you supposed to peel it open carefully and nibble, or just rip the cover off and dive in?

[Just a thought not a sermon]

You can just ask her which she prefers.

[Res ipsa loquitur]

Stop stealing Mexican culture !

[Rich]

The study, carried out by Rowse Honey

Professional pollsters, to be sure.

[Suthenboy]

This is nothing new.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVo_wkxH9dU

[Hyperion]

With public school having devolved into what it now is, over the past several decades, I'm not surprised by this at all. I wouldn't be any more surprised if most adults believe it also.

[Bern-o-Matic 5000]

The nugget is my favorite part of the chicken.

[Idle Hands]

Trigger Warning: Autoplay.

What are we supposed to use harsh language?

In a surprising comment, Metropolitan Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier is encouraging ordinary citizens to subdue or even kill active gunmen if they can as the "best option for saving lives before police can get there."

During an interview Sunday on CBS' "60 Minutes," Chief Lanier was asked what should people do if they are in the vicinity of an active shooter like the ones who terrorized Paris on Nov. 13, The Washington Examiner reported.

"Your options are run, hide, or fight," the D.C. police chief said. "If you're in a position to try and take the gunman down, to take the gunman out, it's the best option for saving lives before police can get there."

The District for decades had outlawed handguns until the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the ban in 2008. Since then, city leaders have enacted restrictive laws that are still being challenged in court by gun owners and pro-gun activists.

[Lord Humungus]

Trump leads, Carson second as GOP voters favor change over experience

For the fourth consecutive month, businessman Donald Trump leads the contest for the Republican presidential nomination, with his candidacy fueled by a powerful anti-Washington mood among GOP voters, according to a new national poll by The Washington Post and ABC News.

After a tumultuous period that has included terrorist attacks in Paris, calls for stepped-up efforts to combat Islamic State militants, a backlash against accepting refugees from Syria, and two Republican debates, the race looks on the surface very much as it did in a Post-ABC survey a month ago.

Trump runs ahead of the large field with 32 percent support among registered Republicans and Republican-leaning independents. Running second is retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson at 22 percent. Both figures are identical to last month.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Lack of experience only matters to the GOP voter when a Democrat is running for something.

[The Last American Hero]

True, but to pretend that's not a two way street is silly.

[Palin's Buttplug]

We are truly blessed with the most inept field of idiots I can remember. On both sides.

AMERICA! WE DON'T DESERVE BETTER!

[Monty Crisco]

Says the dipshit that voted for Chocolate Nixon....

[Harun]

I think Obama just showed that Senators can be effective.

[Rich]

Pioneers of 'pee-cycling' tout urine's value

"Why waste it?" asked Nace, 57, who has transformed a garage into the institute's lab, workshop and processing center.

The conversation paused as a car pulled into the driveway. Nace recognized the driver ? one of the regulars.

Tom Miller, 62, stepped out, toting a 5-gallon plastic jug filled with an amber-colored liquid.

This is three or four weeks' worth," he volunteered. "Not all, of it, of course. When I'm away from home, I don't hold it 'til I get back."

'Fess up, SugarFree -- *you* wrote this, didn't you?

[gaijin]

Stil suits can't be far behind...once global warming turns the earth to Dune, we'll thank these heroes.

[SugarFree]

No, I tried to get them to drink it.

[Citizen X]

Anyway, the German market is already overcrowded.

[Mickey Rat]

That business did well by Harry King "of the Golden River".

[Gray Ghost]

It's just the next step for biodiesel enthusiasts: why pay $$$ to Mercedes for urea to inject in your diesel, when you can harvest your own?

Mickey's comment reminded me that we're never going to get another Discworld novel. Sigh.

[Lord Humungus]

Ethel Rosenberg Should Not Be Pardoned

Writing in The New York Times in August, Michael and Robert Meeropol called for the "government to formally exonerate Ethel Rosenberg." The Times tweeted: "Ethel Rosenberg's sons call on Obama to pardon their mother."

There is a simple reason why Ethel Rosenberg should not be pardoned: she was guilty. She did in fact conspire with her husband to spy for the Soviet Union both during and after World War II. Proponents of a pardon claim that Ethel's trial was tainted by perjured testimony, and that the death penalty was grossly unfair?and they are correct on both counts. While these assertions cast doubt on the fairness of the trial, they do not alter the fact that she was guilty.

In order to evaluate the merits of demands to exonerate Ethel Rosenberg it is necessary to understand both that she was convicted based in part on false testimony and that there is strong evidence indicating her guilt.

[Illocust]

She shouldn't be pardoned. She should be given a new trial.

[R C Dean]

The response kinda misses the point, too.

A pardon doesn't mean "you weren't guilty after all." A pardon means "you were guilty, but we don't really care any more."

[Idle Hands]

Labor department bans redskin memoribilia from "football party":

When the U.S. Labor Department's Center for Civil Rights wanted to celebrate its accomplishments last week, its managers threw the staff a football-themed tailgate party in the office parking lot.

The invite, distributed across the agency's official email system, had all the rah-rah of a playoff game. "Celebrate a championship year!" it declared.

Even the regular office dress policy was relaxed. "Show your team spirit and wear your favorite sports or club theme gear and come and enjoy tailgating favorites like dips, chili, chicken wings, nachos and more game-day grub," the invite said.

There was only stipulation: no Washington Redskins jerseys, paraphernalia or memorabilia.

how inclusive.

[Juvenile Bluster]

They should ban them, if only because anyone who roots for the WFT is de facto a terrible person.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

I guess, sigh, they should ban the Redskin Rhumba record too:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tR5rRjM2uyQ

[Monty Crisco]

The libtards will get their PC way eventually. And they won't stop. IF you are a fan of the Chiefs, Indians, Blackhawks, or Braves, get ready to face their wrath after they have disposed of the Redskins. They will not stop, adn you are a fool if you think they will. They hate freedom and especially free speech and free thought and free expression, and they will ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS have a great reason for wanting to control you. For your own good, of course.

[MSimon]

Omaha? Winnebago County? North Dakota? Indiana?

Some maps need changing. All of them.

[Hyperbolical (wadair)]

They should also ban redskin potatoes. And redskin peanuts. And peaches--redskin peaches.

[BigT]

New York. The Yorks were bloody butchers. And it ain't new.

Change it to Same Old Hell.

[Pope Jimbo]

I've been busy for a while, so sorry if this has been covered.

Latest entry from clueless woman blogger

She is amazed that guys LOVE getting an unsolicited beaver shot from a woman on a dating app.

I'd initially hoped the guys would see how invasive it is to receive such intimate photos from a stranger. When I'm excited to get to know a guy, his penis isn't the first part of him that I want to know. But given that men like to send dick pics, I suppose their enthusiasm for v-pics makes sense

[Palin's Buttplug]

Sadly, authentic "Beaver shots" are rare these days.

[Illocust]

She honestly didn't know that guys send dick pics because they think they want to see girl's genitals so girl's must want to see theirs? I thought everyone knew that.

[Just say Nikki]

She seems to have approximately the same lack of intergender awareness as the average dude.

[PM]

So... you two want dick pics then or nah?

[Citizen X]

Dick pic

[Win Bear]

She is amazed that guys LOVE getting an unsolicited beaver shot from a woman on a dating app.

Some guys do. Others will draw the logical conclusion, namely that she is a slut or prostitute and not interested in dating. Some of those will go on troll her a bit, just for fun.

[Mickey Rat]

Or wilco clude that she is not Miss Right but will do for Miss Right Now.

[Mickey Rat]

*"will conclude"

[Certified Public Asshat]

Are politicians stupid, or the people?

Sheila Dixon is early front-runner in Baltimore's mayoral race, new poll shows

Dixon, 61, spent 22 years in city government as a councilwoman, City Council president and eventually mayor. She was forced to resign in 2010 when she was convicted of embezzling gift cards meant for needy families.

Interviews with some voters polled show that many still consider her an effective administrator whose positives outweigh her negatives.

[sarcasmic]

Yes.

[Drake]

Yes

[Rich]

"Re-elect Marion Barry -- He got drugs off the streets"

[A Cynic's Guide to Zen]

Dude, you need to check the D, demographics. Baltimore is ~66% black, and skin color is the biggest sell in this city. Doesn't matter what she did, she's black, and that makes her better than not-black candidates.

[Palin's Buttplug]

GunTV, a 24-hour sales channel, launching in the desert

http://www.desertsun.com/story...../76082438/

[Lord Humungus]

Anti-Muslim Is Anti-American

This demonizing a single religious faith is a slippery slope. It feeds something that is at odds with the most noble ambition of this country's better angels: equality.

The 2011 Pew survey found that among Muslim Americans: "Significant numbers report being looked at with suspicion (28 percent), and being called offensive names (22 percent). And while 21 percent report being singled out by airport security, 13 percent say they have been singled out by other law enforcement. Overall, a 52 percent majority says that government antiterrorism policies single out Muslims in the U.S. for increased surveillance and monitoring."

We must put a lid on this corrosive language. Simply put, being specifically anti-Muslim is, in a way, anti-American.

[Drake]

Putting a lid on language = American.

[Idle Hands]

We must put a lid on this corrosive language. Simply put, being specifically anti-Muslim is, in a way, anti-American.

Tell that to catholics, mormons and jews.

[Marshall Gill]

Terrorism's great achievement isn't hijacking jetliners, but hijacking the debate. Successful terrorism persuades the terror-stricken that he's conscience-stricken.

George Jonas

[Drake]

Do the right thing - submit.

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

I used to enjoy Jonas in the NP. And Robert Fulford.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

I thought his best work was 'He stopped loving her today'.

[Lord Humungus]

ObamaCare's imploding even without repeal

Looking at the collapse of the ObamaCare "cooperatives" a few weeks back, Betsy McCaughey warned in these pages that the death spiral was under way.

Now here's America's biggest insurance provider saying pretty much the same thing. Hemsley cited weak enrollment and high medical costs for those who did sign up.

And the Obama administration itself last month predicted 2016 enrollment would be less than half of what the Congressional Budget Office predicted in March.

Republicans have been tossing around plans to replace ObamaCare from the start. Now it's time for Democrats to join in ? unless they want to get caught looking when the whole thing goes belly-up.

[Palin's Buttplug]

Why bother repealing something that is dying anyway?

[sloopyinTEXAS]

Do you feel the same way about the Patriot Act?

[Palin's Buttplug]

IIRC, the PATRIOT Act was renewed.

[sloopyinTEXAS]

So the provisions that are set to sunset aren't important enough to try and get the whole mess eliminated?

You're a fucking retard. An unprincipled fucking retard.

[sarcasmic]

Principles are for small minds. At least that's what many leftists tell me, and they quote Oscar Wilde as proof.

[Palin's Buttplug]

I opposed the PATRIOT Act from day one back in 2001, you ignorant jackass.

You miss a simple point - it should have been left to die alone - same as with the ACA.

[sloopyinTEXAS]

Are you,telling us that all bad laws, regardless of how they impinge on individual liberty, should be left to sunset rather than be overturned?

Are the victims of those bad laws some form of collateral damage you're willing to accept merely because the laws will run out? What kind of sick fuck thinks that way?

[Lord Humungus]

A partisan sick fuck?

[Citizen X]

I thought the ACA was a triumph of free-market reform. That's what some shitstain called Palin's Buttplug has been saying, anyway.

[Suthenboy]

Renewed? By whom?

I can't believe it was renewed by congress without the light bringer vetoing it. I just can't believe that.

[The Last American Hero]

Only when a Republican is in the White House.

[Win Bear]

Because as it disintegrates, more and more of the cost will likely be picked up by tax payers.

The logical endpoint of this is that few people buy ACA compliant insurance and most people therefore will be paying both the penalty and private insurance.

[Mickey Rat]

Because the market cannot kill laws,just demonstrate that they are unworkable abominations that need to be put out of our misery.

[Juvenile Bluster]

No double standards. Nope!

Scace was involved in a civil motor vehicle infraction in July "after he had been drinking alcohol and was en route to purchase more," according to a probable cause statement prepared by Massachusetts State Police Detective Brian Foley.

Details of that incident weren't included in the court filing, but it was noted that the Dalton Police Department was notified, which caused Scace "considerable angst."

Later that evening, Scace became "enraged," and began destroying property inside the home and smashed the woman's cellphone to prevent her from calling for help, the report said. The woman left the house, but Scace allegedly followed her outside, threw her to the ground, kicked her in the ribs and wrapped his hands around her neck and throttled her hard enough to cause "significant" bruising.

The woman went back inside the house and saw Scace enter the basement and re-emerge holding a black handgun, believed to be his service weapon.

When he was asked what he was going to do with the weapon, Scace allegedly placed the firearm to the side of the woman's head, touching it with the end of the muzzle.

Four months passed between the incident and his being charged.

[Juvenile Bluster]

Bottom line is my own coda. Stupid me forgetting to correctly close my blockquotes.

[Lord Humungus]

Inconvenient truths for the environmental movement

So what should environmentalists be demanding? Foremost, governments need to fund research and development for low-carbon energy technologies at Apollo-program levels of commitment. Breakthrough innovations are needed in batteries, nuclear energy, liquid biofuels, and carbon capture. The required funding of this ultimate public good is too great a risk with too little a reward for private companies. But it is easily fundable by governments.

...snip...

Today, climate activism shoots off in too many directions: divesting from portfolios, urging asceticism, ending capitalism, demonizing ogres, prophesying doom, changing everything. This scattershot campaign is morally invigorating but distracts people from acknowledging the most inconvenient truth of all: None of this will stop catastrophic climate change. The movement should hit "Pause," do the math, and work for the combination of policies that can actually solve the problem.

[gaijin]

The movement should hit "Pause," do the math,

That right there is the problem.

[Marshall Gill]

Math is hard!

[Win Bear]

Don't references to "doing math" require trigger warnings these days? Math terrifies the kind of people who become journalists and politicians.

[MSimon]

You want to see people dying in the streets? Mention "doing calculus".

[sarcasmic]

The movement should hit "Pause," do the math, and work for the combination of policies that can actually solve the problem.

That assumes that the stated goals of these people are honest and that the policies are actually intended to achieve those stated goals.

[Suthenboy]

Morally invigorating.

The use of that term should tell any reasonable person everything they need to know about environmentalism.

[Res ipsa loquitur]

And what about the not so reasonable people ? Why do you anarchists hate the not so reasonable ?

[Hyperbolical (wadair)]

I think that's moralistically invigorating.

[Harun]

There was a website called the Skeptical Optimist who did the math.

Basically, its cars. So, you build nuclear power plants, and have electric cars.

That is how you cut carbon emissions.

[Lord Humungus]

National emergency? Belgians respond to terror raids with cats

Belgian forces ? searching for suspects in the aftermath of the Paris attacks ? told citizens to stay indoors and not go near their windows for safety reasons.

They also appealed for social media silence about any police action users might witness ? presumably to keep the suspects in the dark.

A tense time, no doubt. But Belgium reacted ? how else? ? with cats.

Instead of speculation about the sort of threat police might be reacting to, many people used the #BrusselsLockdown hashtag to post pictures of their pets.

[Lord Humungus]

For the First Time Ever, Astronomers Have Observed a the Birth of a Planet

The new research, published this week in Nature, provides hard evidence of a developing gas giant orbiting a young Sunlike star called LkCa 15, located 450 light years away in the constellation Taurus. What's more, it appears as if at least two other giant b?b?s are also forming around the star, though only one was directly detected.

"No one has successfully and unambiguously detected a forming planet before," said astronomer Kate Follette, a co-author on the study, in a statement. "There have always been alternate explanations, but in this case we've taken a direct picture, and it's hard to dispute that."

[Rufus The Monocled Derp Slayer]

Who got to cut the umbilical cord?

[Lord Humungus]

Warty?

[Citizen X]

Well, he is known to collect umbilical cords. He's making jerky.

[Lord Humungus]

This umbilical cord is two parsecs long, as wide as the sun's fulcrum, and has a meaty quality that is only improved by a touch of garlic and sea salt.

[Lord Humungus]

You know who else...

Flashback 1941: Scientist claimed Global Warming Caused Hitler ? Warmer temps 'may produce a trend toward dictatorial govts' ? 'People are are more docile & easily led in warm weather'

'Links Fascism with Weather' - United Press (UP) - March 27, 1941 - The Mason City Globe-Gazette (Mason City, Iowa)

UP: 'Increasingly warmer temperatures throughout the world may produce a trend toward dictatorial governments, in the opinion of Dr. Clarence A. Mills, professor of experimental medicine at the University of Cincinnati.

In fact, Dr. Mills believes that the rise to power of Adolf Hitler in German and Benito Mussolini in Italy may be due in part to the gradually warming temperature of the world. People are more docile and easily led in warm weather than in cold, Dr. Mills insists.

Dr. Mills is author of a theory that climate has a marked effect on human growth, stature, sex development and disease resistance."

[Lord Humungus]

related: 'YO-YO BANNED IN SYRIA ? Blamed For Drought By Moslems'
http://stevengoddard.files.wor......jpg?w=640

[Hyperion]

That's not any more Onion deserving than this:

Prince Charles claims Syrian war caused by climate change

[Suthenboy]

It doesn't occur to any of these idiots that the climate is essentially unchanged? Whatever changes we have had are statistically normal.

[Mickey Rat]

I do not think they have fully thought through the implications of that conclusion for every country in tropical climates.

[BigT]

"UP: 'Increasingly warmer temperatures throughout the world may produce a trend toward dictatorial governments"

Hottest decade 2000's, Obama elected 2008. Coincidence - not.

[Hyperion]

OT:

Pro-business guy to win presidency in Argentina

Macri promised to reduce the state's role in the economy and embrace more pro-business policies, as well as shift Argentina's foreign policy away from close relations with the anti-American governments in Venezuela and Iran and better ties with the USA.

Wait until he finds out that the USA has had an anti-business pro-leftist supporter of Venezuela and the Castros occupying the Whitehouse for the last 7 years. The irony is just derptastic.

The Obumbles will tell Marci that all of the problems with their economy have been caused by global warming and that the leftist "Kirchnerism" just didn't go far enough left.

[sarcasmic]

I heard that on NPR this morning. They made it sound like a horror story.

[Palin's Buttplug]

What is your screen name on Wingnut.com?

Why does the business community solidly support Obama if he is anti-business?

[John]

Because the hands out subsidies and suppresses the competition you fucking half wit. Big business loves big government. Everyone here knows that. Now ask yourself if Obama is doing anything other than letting his cronies on Wall Street loot the country, why do those cronies love him so much?

[Monty Crisco]

Dipshit only makes the most obvious, trolling, libtard arguments and NONE of them in good faith. Why would you even answer him when he knows full fucking well he is trolling. He is just a poor dipshit...

[John]

It is a character flaw of mine. I can't seem to help but scream at boxes of rocks hoping they will change.

[tarran]

Except by interacting with it, you are only training it to do more of the stuff you want it to stop doing.

It's an ant harvesting aphid juice. The ant doesn't care what the aphid wants. It just does the things to the aphid that thanks to natural selection it is programmed to do. In the past when the ant's ancestors did those same things to ancestral aphids, they got aphid juice. And so this ant repeats those actions.

Similarly, when you write a blistering rebuttal to shriek's mindlessness, all you are doing is giving it the delicious yet meaningless words it craves, thereby training its neural net to do more of the same.

[BigT]

Aphids everywhere are insulted.

[Sevo]

"Why does the business community solidly support Obama if he is anti-business?"

Now, I could see where turd might accuse someone of putting these words in his mouth, but see right above.
That ignorant POS wrote those words!

[PM]

Tech billionaires and banking scions != "the business community".

[Suthenboy]

Cronyists support the most cronytastic president in history?

I can't believe that.

[Win Bear]

Why does the business community solidly support Obama if he is anti-business?

"The business community" doesn't solidly support Obama. Business people who support him are mostly recipients of massive government handouts (banks, law firms, investment houses, insurance companies, health care companies, green energy companies, etc.).

There are also some number of confused techies who were raised and indoctrinated in a big-government, progressive environment, and who haven't been hurt yet enough by his administration to care. Which way they will go in the future depends on the balance between government handouts to the tech industry and government interference with it.

[Harun]

Industries with strong margins, and growth as far as the eye can see, much of it overseas away from American rules, that can afford tax lawyers, and have outsourced their manufacturing overseas, too, of course they can support Obama.

Its the marginal business where the ACA along might move them to loss that can't afford Obama.

[Drake]

Brazil seems to be headed down the socialist toilet as well.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/.....NlYwNzcg--

[Hyperion]

They've been headed that direction for around a decade at the hands of the Labor Party of Dilma. I think the same thing that happened in Argentina is going to happen in Brazil. They're trying to impeach Dilma. They may not succeed, but it's very likely that Labor will not win the next election. Brazil nearly elected a pro-business guy who barely lost to Dilma, and that's almost sure to happen in the next election.

[Hank Phillips]

The guy who lost to Dilma is a mixed-economy religious fanatic whose buddies' helicopters keep turning up in cocaine raids. Do a google image search on: A?cio coca?na...
It's all over the newspapers and magazines.

[Hank Phillips]

Brazil has no Libertarian party under a Nixon subsidies law. Senators, congressmen and captains of industry are being arrested, stripped of wealth and jailed for violation of the very income tax and laundering laws they so zealously espoused for others. The US ambassador here is a DEA mole who was kicked out of Bolivia for espionage, inserted in Paraguay where a coup promptly toppled the government, and then injected into Brazil where coup aspirants assembled to oust our presidenta (a communist guerrilla activist during the US-backed Cold War prohibitionist dictatorship). Unfortunately, the commie guerrilla gal is, by a simple process of comparison and elimination, far more competent than and preferable to any of the contenders from the other 31 fascist, communist and prohibitionist parties. This the voters have twice concluded--four times if you count party victories. The Brazil crash also arrived after the US depression spread to Europe.

[Sevo]

Not holding a lot of hope; it's CA after all:

"Money and clout on the line for teachers union in 2016"
[...]
"The California Teachers Association, one of Sacramento's most powerful interests, is heading into an extraordinary year with decisions on the ballot, in the Capitol and in the courts, holding the potential to impact its clout for many years to come.
Billions of dollars for schools will likely be at stake on the 2016 ballot as well as pivotal campaigns for state Legislature and a question about union pensions.
Meanwhile, the Capitol is expecting a robust debate about how schools are evaluated and courts will hear two lawsuits challenging the teachers union.
http://www.bakersfield.com/New.....-2016.html

[John]

if the people of California are that stupid, then they get the government they deserve. The majority of people in California are either poor or lower middle class. They could easily out vote the rich techie, public employee and Hollywood retards who run the state's government. If they refuse to do so, then they apparently prefer to have their money stolen and their economic prospects destroyed by such people. What else can you say?

[Lord Humungus]

Anyone remember when California used to vote Republican? What happened there?

[John]

An enormous influx of Latin Americans somehow didn't usher in the Libertarian moment everyone thought it would.

[DJF]

They allowed millions of left wingers from Mexico to pour into the state.

[sarcasmic]

Hippies.

[Mrs. Lemuel Struthers]

Reagan's dead, baby.

[Sevo]

"What happened there?"

We got rich enough to hand out free shit without immediately going bankrupt.

[Marty Comanche]

Not to discount the immigration explanation, but California was a Progressive Republican state. Now the Nixon Republicans are gone.

[Harun]

Many of those people left the state. Do you notice that Arizona was once a podunk state and now its far larger and more prominent?

That said, I've heard that voter turnout is so slow it would not be impossible to have Republicans elected.

We'll see if Rocky the Hispanic Marine can win election.

[Homple]

What's with all the pants shutting in Brussels?

[Certified Public Asshat]

Prudes.

[sarcasmic]

You misspelled "prunes."

[SusanM]

Hookers on strike?

[MSimon]

That is S&M.

[John]

In more than two dozen interviews over the weekend in New Hampshire, South Carolina and Alabama, voters offered some clues as to why Paris has altered the consciousness so dramatically. They described feeling more afraid of the Islamic State, more horrified by the imagery of beheadings and other atrocities. They are uncomforted by Obama's leadership. And with the pain of the Iraq war still weighing on the nation, they are even listening to the people who say the United States must send troops to the Middle East to fight the Islamic State.

http://pjmedia.com/instapundit/219601/

I guess "fuck you trust me or just shut up and be willing to die for my open borders principles" aren't a very appealing political message. Stupid yokul pants shitters.

[Ken Shultz]

"They are uncomforted by Obama's leadership."

It's even worse outside the U.S.

Outside of the U.S., Obama is a laughing stock.

[John]

And the public realizes that. No amount of media lying keeps them from noticing that. Worse, the more Obama and his media allies tell preposterous lies like "ISIS is not Islamic" or "terrorism has nothing to do Muslims or Islam" the less the public trusts him when he tries to assure them he has this under control.

[Ken Shultz]

I think there's a weird calculation that goes on in Obama's head on the other side of that equation, too.

The more the American people don't want Syrian refugees, the more insistent Obama becomes about bringing them here. It may have been an afterthought before. Not anymore.

I think he sees himself as the scourge of American racism. I think he believes that one of his most important responsibilities is punishing the American people for being racist and capitalist.

[John]

I think there is something to that. Obama seems to be mostly interested in defeating his political opponents and changing America into something more to his liking. The rest of the world and America's security in it is just tangential to that bigger goal. In the case of the refugees, he is going to show how racist and wrong his opponents are and show how much better America can be. If doing that gets a few people killed by letting ISIS terrorists into the country, that is not his worry.

[Res ipsa loquitur]

Not sure which sin he feelz is worse.

[John]

It is funny how the very same people who are totally convinced that people who wave the confederate flag are collectively responsible for the shootings in Charleston or that every law abiding gun owners is responsible for other people using guns to commit murder are equally convinced that ISIS has nothing to do with Islam and it is totally racist to think Islam can be connected to terrorism.

[Win Bear]

Outside of the U.S., Obama is a laughing stock.

Well, at least Obama will still have the Nobel Peace Prize. They don't take that back, do they?

[Ken Shultz]

In response to the next mass shooting, Obama will force the Redskins to change their team name by executive order.

Then, he gets another Nobel Peace Prize. Not before.

[Hank Phillips]

What's wrong with sending their own military after the mohammedans? How many mohammedan terrorist casualties were there in These States before the 1991 Desert Storm shindig? Weren't the French unwelcome in Vietnam and Algeria for quite some time?

[Ken Shultz]

"The United Kingdom will join France in intensifying air strikes against ISIS."

Well, I guess that's the end of ISIS, then.

Time to start hyping climate change treaties.

[John]

And any future attacks in either country are just blowback for them having the nerve to actually fight back against ISIS. Didn't they get the message that the way to deal with these sorts of things is to apologize to ISIS and ask them what the UK or France can do to make up for their previous sins? Don't these people read Reason?

[sarcasmic]

John crushes another straw man with an amazing pile driver! What a move!

[John]

And sarcasmic continues to be overly defensive and humorless.

[sarcasmic]

You're the dumbest smart-guy that I know.

[John]

Okay, that is a great line. I have nothing to say to that other than good show.

[John]

And beyond that, isn't this a mistake? Won't these strikes just produce more terrorism? The UK and France are going to bomb ISIS and that is just going to create more terrorist and more attacks. Ed was on here the day after the Paris attacks saying the worst thing the French could do is go to war over this.

The doctrine of blowback pretty much dictates that these attacks are just going to make ISIS stronger and create more terrorism. Right? If it doesn't, the what the hell does blow back mean?

[sarcasmic]

The fact that you even asked those questions tells me that a serious answer would be about as useful as replying to PB.

[John]

it is a simple question, why can't you answer it? If you don't like how I characterize the doctrine of blow back, fine. But you then have to tell me how it should be characterized.

[sarcasmic]

It's a waste of time. It's like trying to explain basic economics to a leftard. They don't want to understand, and even if you get them to nod their head and repeat it back to you, they'll be spouting the same leftist bullshit the next day. Sorry, John, but it's just not worth it.

[John]

I think I understand it pretty well. The problem is that even if it is true, we can't undo the past. So what difference does it make if this or that attack is the result of some past aggression? We can't undo that aggression. So, unless you think apologizing for it will solve things, it doesn't matter. We are still left with an enemy that is trying to kill us. Their reasons for doing that are really immaterial.

[sarcasmic]

We are still left with an enemy that is trying to kill us.

How are they doing at that? At killing Americans in America. I don't know about you, but I figure the odds of my getting killed by a member of ISIS are roughly equal to my odds of winning the lottery without a ticket.

[John]

Sarcasmic, of any individual person dying from any type of danger is pretty low. That, however, doesn't mean the government doesn't have a responsibility to stop some dangers. Suppose the North Koreans managed to lob a missile at Alaska every couple of months. The chances of any American being killed by such a thing, assuming it wasn't nuclear, would be minuscule. By your logic, the government would be obliged to just ignore it or maybe shoot down the missile where it could but do nothing else, lets we make the North Koreans really angry.

I don't care what my chances of being killed by ISIS are. I care about the right of Americans to live their lives without being in fear of ISIS attacking them and the right of any American not to be murdered by some foreign power. And in fact, I pay taxes in no small part because I want a government who can to the greatest extent possible prevent that from happening not just say "sure they are going to attack us but what are the chances any individual American gets killed?"

[sarcasmic]

And when ISIS attacks America, I will support attacking them.

[John]

Fair enough sarcasmic. But understand you are not the person I was talking about. A good number of people on the reason staff, including most likely Ed and almost certainly Richman, will not.

[sarcasmic]

I consider ISIS to be different from regular terrorism. They are taking territory and forming a state. They are the government in that territory. That is something you can do war with. But against a concept? No. Doesn't work.

[Hyperbolical (wadair)]

You're not the only American, Sacasmic. The odds of you getting killed by ISIS may be very small, but the odds of some American getting slaughtered in cold blood is considerably higher.

[sarcasmic]

Lefttards and warboners are peas in a pod when it comes to the absolute refusal to admit to the existence of unintended consequences.

[Hank Phillips]

Which ticker symbols should I watch for drone, bomb and rocket manufacturer outcomes? If the military-industrial complex Ike (but not Nixon) warned against is benefiting hugely, wouldn't share values reflect that?
I thought blowback had something to do with poking hornets' nests...

[Ken Shultz]

Syria and Iran have been in Russia's sphere of influence since early in the Cold War. Yeah, Putin has repeatedly outmaneuvered and made a fool of Obama in Syria--and continues to do so.

But the idea that we could and should incur on Russia's turf came with the end of the Cold War, when so much of what had been the Eastern Bloc became turned to the West. That momentum carried over through the First Gulf War and dovetailed nicely with Bush the Lesser's pro-Democracy reverse domino theory.

Putin made Obama look foolish over Assad's WMD, Obama's "red line", by contributing anti-aircraft batteries that could only be used against the U.S. or our allies, etc. But are we really worse off if Russia takes the responsibility for stabilizing Syria? We weren't willing to do what was necessary to remove Assad anyway--and for good reasons.

I wanted to see Assad fall because of the pressure it would have put on a nuclear Iran--I'd love to see what happened in Tunisia happen to Assad. But if that isn't in the cards, isn't it better if Putin and Iran take the lead in stabilizing Syria? One of the main reasons I opposed the Iraq War was because it helped Iran. I opposed Obama capitulating to Iran on the NPT. Obama has traded all our leverage against Iran for magic beans--and I opposed that every step of the way...

But now that he's done that, maybe letting Putin and Iran sort Syria out isn't the worst thing that could happen from an American security standpoint.

[Harun]

Yes. Once you've gone down the road of pull out, you should fully pull out. I guess that's hard to do.

Obama's current policy is edging to non-interventionist. Is it that bad? It might be.

I'm kind of enjoying watching Europe wait for us to do something.

Now..the real problem is what if France goes with Russia. If the Western alliance fractures, you could go back to multi polar Europe with bad effect.

[John]

When you are an atheist and you are such a noxious douche bag Richard Dawkins is telling you to shut up, you probably should shut up.

http://www.theguardian.com/wor.....rds-prayer

[Win Bear]

Well, atheists frequently stand up for free speech rights, if not for any other reason than in order to demonstrate how ludicrous and immoral theism is, you have to actually talk about it and expose it.

[John]

Lots of people stand up for free speech rights. I see no evidence the ones doing so are mostly or even likely to be atheists.

[Hank Phillips]

The largest category of dues-paying libertarians consists of people who are not superstitious at all--according to the LP website. Did I read that wrong?

[MSimon]

Extreme fundamentalist socialism is a murderous ideology.

[John]

It is. But it means well and that makes it okay. I wonder if this is why so many lefties seem to have such a soft spot for radical Islam. The radicals are just trying to create a more just world. So what if they go a little overboard sometimes? If they do, it is most likely just a reaction to some evil capitalist or imperialist oppression of them anyway.

[Win Bear]

I wonder if this is why so many lefties seem to have such a soft spot for radical Islam.

Sure. It's also why so many lefties have a soft spot for Christianity. After all, Christianity, Islam, and socialism really all just say they want justice for the downtrodden, government-sanctioned sexual intercourse, and less materialism.

[John]

They only have a soft spot for some forms of Christianity and in some circumstances. Leftism is for a lot of people mostly a positional good. It is a way to feel superior to other Americans. So most of the other side is Christian, having a soft spot for Christianity, reduces the positional value of being a leftist.

So they only have a soft spot for Christian ideals. They are always happy to talk up the ideals as a way of feeling superior to their hypocritical opponents. Actual Christians and Christianity, they don't have much use for.

[sarcasmic]

So they only have a soft spot for Christian ideals.

No they don't. Christianity says nothing about using government to force people to pay for "charity" programs that they neither want nor support. And leftists only trot out their supposed support for Christian ideals when they defend these types of programs. So they really don't support those ideals in the slightest. It's just another one of their dishonest arguments.

[John]

Yes. You are right about that. They have a soft spot for what they think Christian ideals are. My mistake for not making that clear.

[Hank Phillips]

But policy-wise, altruism for Jesus and altruism for The Political State both send men with guns out to take stuff by force, ostensibly to hand over to bureaucracies that pay themselves to see about redistributing whatever's left over. So how am I to distinguish between the one side and the other side?

[NoVAHockey]

I think it's simply a calculation of "who's up vs. who's down" and western liberals think that Muslims as rule are oppressed and/or victims. You saw this with Garry Trudeau's punching down comments. throw in some hate of weternern imperialism or some nonsense and they strip Islamists of their agency and say "we made you this way"

[John]

I was being a smart ass. Yes, that is exactly what it is. The more I see the more I am convinced that the entire point in life for most Progressives is to feel superior to other Americans. Progressivism is for most of its followers a positional good. Picking on Islam does nothing to differentiate Progs from non Prog Americans. In fact, it makes them more similar since most non Prog Americans think Islam is a problem.

[NoVAHockey]

"entire point in life for most Progressives is to feel superior to other Americans"

5 years ago i wouldn't have agreed. today i think that's it.

[sarcasmic]

The more I see the more I am convinced that the entire point in life for most Progressives is to feel superior to other Americans.

You got it.

[Hank Phillips]

By "extreme" and "radical" don't mystical altruists mean "sincere" or "non-hypocritical?" Doesn't this tell you that to be a true believer you have to be dead?

[Win Bear]

Chris Christie is not willing to challenge the claim by Donald Trump that he saw Arabs in New Jersey celebrating 9/11 on television.

Well, Trump can step into the proud Clintonian tradition of sophistry: "That depends on the meaning of 'in New Jersey'. Indeed, I was in New Jersey when I saw Arabs on TV celebrating 9/11."

[Drake]

Pretty hard to prove a negative. I was in NJ on 9/11 but didn't hang around Paterson to see how the local Muslims were reacting.

[John]

I was in Charlottesville, Virginia and saw several Muslims celebrating it. How typical they were I have no idea. Certainly, at least some or maybe most of the "Muslims celebrating 9-11" stories are urban myths. It did however happen. Indeed, Muslims in Europe and Palistine were very public in their celebration. It is difficult to believe at least some of them in America didn't do the same.

Hell, some non Muslim Americans celebrated 9-11. I remember some lefty college professor making the news for blogging about how awesome it was that they hit the Pentagon.

[Krabappel]

UVA students?

[John]

Not sure. They were at the Barracks Road shopping center. Were young, in their 20s and making quite a display of how awesome they thought the whole thing was. They were the right age to be students but I couldn't tell you for sure if they were. All I can say is they looked middle eastern and claimed to be Muslims and very happy about things.

[Hank Phillips]

I recall seeing many 9/11 celebrations reported in media outside the US, in particular a sand castle of the WTC with an airplane stuck in it surrounded by gap-toothed grins. I also recall being at a military convention when Desert Storm intervened on the other side of the planet to "save" Kuwait. Two years later bombs went off in the WTC. What's Kuwait done for "us" lately?

[Harun]

"Chris Christie does not remember the 9/11 attacks the way Donald Trump remembers them."

Doesn't equal "Chris Christie is not willing to challenge the claim..."

In fact, it kinda sounds like a challenge.

[salliewilson514]

I just got paid $6784 working off my laptop this month. And if you think that's cool, my divorced friend has twin toddlers and made over $9k her first month. It feels so good making so much money when other people have to work for so much less. This is what I do,

http://www.OnlineCash9.Com

[Hank Phillips]

Leaving Greece? Didn't they elect a socially-conscious altruist to make the place into a paradise with free stuff for everyone? What's the deal? Next thing ya know there'll be migration outta Syria! There's no pleasing some folks...