Hillary Clinton's Emails Discussed Planned Drone Strikes, #NeverTrump Won't Die, Ali Funeral Today: A.M. Links

• 

  Misty Pfeil / Dreamstime

  Emails sent to/from Hillary Clinton's private server reportedly dealt with planned drone strikes.

• But don't worry, the White House wants you to know that the president's endorsement of Clinton yesterday won't influence its Justice Department's investigation. 
• The #NeverTrump movement refuses to die, with more talk from Republicans of a contested convention. 
• Two Texas high school valedictorians have come out as undocumented immigrants. 
• 15,000 expected to attend Muhammad Ali's funeral, former President Bill Clinton to deliver eulogy.
• New study posits that "that modern warfare destroys the brain," meaning PTSD is more a physical than psychological maladay.

Comments

[Domestic Dissident]

hello.

[B. Woodrow Chippenhaus]

Why the new handle, FoE?

[Fist of Etiquette]

The day I sink low enough to participate in an Fisher-helmed AM Links...

[How You Like Me Now?]

More like Chilladelphia or, once we get to Suns-Out-Guns-Out summertime, Killadelphia.

Y U no like the Cradle of Liberty? Tyrant.

[Crusty Juggler]

God help us all.

[Citizen X]

If God was really interested in helping mankind, why did He let Mike M.'s mom drink so much when she was pregnant?

[Florida Hipster]

For the lulz?

[Conan the Libertarian]

Crom? What use to call on him? Little he cares if men live or die. Better to be silent than to call his attention to you; he will send you dooms, not fortune! He is grim and loveless, but at birth he breathes power to strive and slay into a man's soul. What else shall men ask of the gods?

[Rufus The Monocled]

Hello.

It's not an official 'hello' until I say it is.

Hello.

[Chipper Morning Wood]

That's right, Rufus. Protect your turf.

[Free Market Socialist $park?]

I thought you people were against the concept of IP...

[Citizen X]

Who, Canadians?

[Free Market Socialist $park?]

No, the bemonocled peoples.

[End Child Unemployment]

You can't say the bemonocled peoples are for or against anything. We would pride ourselves on being more contentious than Scotsmen, if we would even cop to there being a "we", which there isn't.

Fuck off slaver!

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Two Texas high school valedictorians have come out as undocumented immigrants.

But what bathroom do they want to use?

[Tonio]

[golf clap]

[Swiss Servator]

*slow clap*

[Chipper Morning Wood]

[Testicle clap]

[Cdr Lytton]

They can use the citizenship of the country they identify with?

[Just a thought not a sermon]

190) I've discussed before that I am a regular church-goer, finding that even if the Bible and the liturgy are ridiculous on a rational level, they are a kind of sublime ridiculousness that some part of me responds to. In light of that, what is the meaning of prayer?

As a pretty agnostic-ish believer, it seems kind of silly to think you're praying to a real omniscient person up in the sky. I've started thinking of prayer lately more as a form of dedicated meditation. It seems that by calming your thoughts and aligning your brain waves in prayer, you're able to access a part of your brain that's tough to reach: a higher, ego-less kind of thought.

I think this is where people get the idea that God is talking to them, because this part of the brain, operating without the normal bodily desires and petty emotions, is able to see your life from above, so to speak. If you could act without lust or jealousy or vindictiveness, without privileging your own ego above other people, what would you do? Would decisions you reach in this state not be purer and more ethical than normal, everyday decisions?

[Certified Public Asshat]

190) I've discussed before that I am a regular church-goer, finding that even if the Bible and the liturgy are ridiculous on a rational level, they are a kind of sublime ridiculousness that some part of me responds to.

So your wife makes you go.

[Pat (PM)]

It's no coincidence that a lot of psychological exercises are very similar to religious prayer and meditation when you strip out the ritualism. Say what you want, but a lot of religious practices aren't really the worst coping mechanisms you could come up with. Especially considering the state of the world when most of them were created.

[Chip Woodier]

People with the idea that God is talking to them, and that most everyone else just ignores Him (but totally could hear Him if they wanted)...and you see that as an example of being "ego-less"?

[Just a thought not a sermon]

I think you're failing to distinguish between those who say loudly they hear what God says--TV evangelists and other pearl-displayers of all stripes--and those who actually think so and live fervent but quiet lives as best they're able.

[Chipper Morning Wood]

A not insignificant portion of the population actually hear voices. These auditory hallucinations have a biological origin.

[GILMORE?]

one percent is not 'significant'

[Chipper Morning Wood]

It's more than one percent. I think it is around 7 percent, but the number is likely higher, because it is under-reported due to the stigma associated with it.

[GILMORE?]

I think it is around 7 percent

So you have confidence that the number is super-high, but "under-reported".

Which then goes back to why you have confidence in such a high number for what is basically "symptoms of schizophrenia". Tens of millions are crazy and just don't tell anyone?

[lap83]

finding that even if the Bible and the liturgy are ridiculous on a rational level, they are a kind of sublime ridiculousness that some part of me responds to

that reminds me of another popular area of debate

[Just a thought not a sermon]

abortion?

[Citizen X]

Hitler?

[Col. Chestbridge]

*loads sit-down gun*

[Certified Public Asshat]

Star Trek?

[SimonD]

Is a hot dog a sandwich?

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

As a pretty agnostic-ish believer, it seems kind of silly to think you're praying to a real omniscient person up in the sky.

This pretty much is where I fall. The other thought is that thinking that God is concerned about the trivial shit that makes me the man I am, takes a really outrageous amount of ego.

If he's there, his concern is about MAN as a whole and not about whether or not I think SugarFree's writings are entertaining (worst venial sin I could think of).

I think if you read the holy books as allegory, and not fact, that is the lesson to be gleaned.

[Chipper Morning Wood]

What if SugarFree is God trolling us? If there is a Deity out there, you know he has a wicked sense of humor.

[Lord at War]

"God is an Iron"- Spider Robinson

[Private Chipperbot]

This. I find praying for something personal completely ridiculous. I'm healthy, well off, have a sexy wife, and great kids. WTF would a god decide that yeah, Chipperbot needs some nice weather to hang out and drink this weekend when untold horrors are happening all over the world.

[Atanarjuat]

Pics?

[Chipper Morning Wood]

Of the wife or of the kids?

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

Untold horrors, obviously.

[Atanarjuat]

I agree with the sentiment in your post, btw, but there is this often quoted verse.

Matthew 10:29-31New International Version (NIV)

29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father's care.[a] 30 And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

[Private Chipperbot]

I have a hard time squaring an omnipotent being that can hear and answer all prayers, would say okay to my trivial needs, but turn away from truly awful things happening to others.

[Free Market Socialist $park?]

Think of it like an experiment that is testing for acceptance of God. Take one person and give them a life of complete comfort. Later in life, this person will be driven to ask "with all that I've accomplished for myself, do I really need God?"

Now take a person and give them a life of abject misery. Later in life, this person will be driven to ask "with my life being a living hell, do I need a God who has turned his back on me?"

From God's point of view, as can be inferred from the Bible, the answer in both cases better be yes. You just lucked out and got the easy test.

[Jerryskids]

If you can't understand how an omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent being might work you might, rather than conclude such a thing can't possibly exist, accept that you attempting to understand God is like a goldfish attempting to understand how a nuclear power plant works. It's why I'm a devout Jobist - whether or not God exists only God knows, and if He created the Universe and everything in it including me He probably don't need my pathetic little help in running the place so I'll just leave it to Him. And if you wanna sit there and tell me you know all about God and how He works and thinks and what He wants, you can go to Hell because you're either an idiot or you got some kind of pathetic God there if a mere human can know all about Him. (Seriously, you can go to Hell - that's literally His First Commandment you're breaking. "Remember who's God here".)

[Free Market Socialist $park?]

The fact that people think of God as some old man with a big flowing beard just shows how unimaginative most people are.

[Col. Chestbridge]

I'm an atheist, but I studied philosophy at a Catholic university. One semester out of curiosity I took a course that was purely about arguments against the existence of God (which, of course, the Catholic professor tried his hardest to refute).

Most of the semester focused on the Problem of Evil. It is truly astonishing how much has been written on the subject. Personally, I didn't find any of the counterarguments persuasive, and it's clearly a subject that a lot of people struggle with.

Fun fact: That was also one of the very few classes in which I vocally disputed a point a professor had made, and he couldn't manage a response. (He claimed the fact that the universe is capable of sustaining life, when changing any of the "variables" of physics even slightly would make life impossible, is small evidence that the universe was designed. I pointed out that it's begging the question to think of something like the speed of light as a setting on some cosmic dial.)

[Clich? Bandit]

Don't you EVER use "begging the question" properly on this board again. You here me? You better tow the lion or for all intensive porpoises you will be banned.

[Col. Chestbridge]

How many stars are there on your shoulder? None? Well there are three, no wait, TWO stars on mine. So I will use philosophy jargon correctly as I please!

[Clich? Bandit]

You keep it up Major, and I will call in Sylvester McMonkey McBean to give us ALL stars upon ars.

[Agent Cooper]

Private should change his username to Humblebragger.

[Azathoth!!]

untold horrors are happening all over the world.

flatterer

[Free Market Socialist $park?]

I find myself semi-regularly having a desire to seek a dark, quiet place where I can be alone with my thoughts. After attaining such a place and reaching a certain level of calm I am able to have an internal dialogue with a part of my consciousness that is generally drowned out by every day life. I don't know that I'd call it meditation and I certainly wouldn't call it prayer as I can easily identify the other voice as my own. I wouldn't say that this dialogue is more or less ethical or pure, just that it's less distracted by outside influences that shouldn't have any bearing on the conversation.

[R C Dean]

I can easily identify the other voice as my own

Maybe that's just what He wants you to think.

[Zeb]

That seems like a good way to look at it. I'm not a believer at all, but it does seem like prayer and religious meditation does some people a lot of good.

I do often want to ask the people who think that God is actually talking to them, or who have profound religious experiences why they would think that their experiences are external to them when their being internal is a much more obvious and explicable explanation.

[Pat (PM)]

California raised its smoking age to 21. That will likely save lives.

In California, you now must be 21 or older to buy cigarettes and other tobacco products. That's a bump up from the previous smoking age of 18 ? and a massive victory for public health advocates who are pushing for new restrictions on the deadly, addictive drug.

The law "will save countless lives, reduce astronomical costs to the health care system, and cost very little because it uses existing enforcement mechanisms," California Sen. Ed Hernandez, who authored the smoking age bill, said, according to CNN. "Today was an enormous victory for not only this generation, but also for many generations to come who will not suffer the deadly impacts of tobacco."[...]

Many people, citing their own experiences smoking and drinking before they were of legal age, are likely skeptical of the arguments for the law. But the research on this point is actually pretty clear: A higher minimum legal age for buying cigarettes really does save lives. Not only that, but the research shows that the logical comparison point ? the minimum legal age for buying alcohol ? saves lives, too.

[Just a thought not a sermon]

You know what else would save lives? Keeping all children indoors at all times until age 21. Do it California. Don't let kids outside. Or do you want children to die?

[Juvenile Bluster]

Given the progression of Lenore's stories, we're going to get there in the not too distant future.

[Pat (PM)]

I was thinking more along the lines of raising the legal age to 35. Or 60. Maybe tie it to Social Security benefits. Hmm, you know, come to think of it, if banning people from smoking until a certain age can save lives, just imagine how many more lives banning people of all ages from smoking could save!

[Rhywun]

That is the obvious end goal.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

The obvious end goal was laid out in that documentary Logan's Run

[Rhywun]

Jenny Agutter throwing herself at you?

[Doctor Whom]

If only one life is saved, it will all have been worth it. Anyone who disagrees is obviously a death cultist.

[Groovus Maximus]

You know what else would save lives? Keeping all children indoors at all times until age 21

The Ariel Castro Manoeuver.

*Spoiler Alert*: It Didn't End Well for him.

[Chipper Morning Wood]

Too soon

[BiPolarMoment]

Isn't a ManOeuver a testicle?

[Lord at War]

What was done, was seen.... lol

[Doctor Whom]

Has anyone ever thought about restricting access to any other addictive substance? Who would like to speculate about how that might have worked out?

[WTF]

Hey, that's how we eliminated drug use! So many lives saved.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

People aren't adults until they are 26 now anyways.

[Chipper Morning Wood]

I call it adolescenescence.

[Rufus The Monocled]

'Likely'.

[Injun, as in from India]

save countless lives

Another airbag politician using hyperbolic adjectives.

[Private Chipperbot]

Has any politician tried to pass a law to outright ban tobacco? Like a burn the fields type ban?

[WTF]

And give up that sweet, sweet tax money?!

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

Have you ever tried to count them?

[? Aggressor]

"countless" as in "we have no idea"

[SimonD]

-------save countless lives-------

Of course they neglect to mention that when you are discussing a discrete entity (the population of human beings in the State of California), the only countless number is zero.

However, it makes muh feelz all happy, so everyone must be made to obey.

[Tornado16nb]

How does this save lives exactly by making it 3 years later? How does it reduce costs? Never really understood the concept of saving lives as it just postpones the inevitable. However if you just smoke alot starting at 21 i think you will have the same result

"but also for many generations to come who will not suffer the deadly impacts of tobacco" - Um did they get rid of it?

[tarran]

Duh! 3 years later, their crushing college debt makes cigarettes an unaffordable luxury. Next time think before embarrassing yourself with stupid questions!

[Microaggressor]

But the research on this point is actually pretty clear

Not only that, but the research shows that...

The "studies have shown" argument is like progressive fairy dust. If you can dig up some junk science that somebody has interpreted to mean something, then progressives will believe it without even asking you to cite them. They lack the science literacy to evaluate the efficacy of the studies anyway, but they just want you to know they fucking love science.

[Domestic Dissident]

In Twitter news, Elizabeth "White Indian" Warren, aka Fauxcahontas, aka Lieawatha, tells Donald Trump to "Delete Your Account".

I think those two aren't going to smoke 'um peace pipe any time soon.

[PBR Streetgang]

Why are some folks acting like this is some incredibly clever retort? It seems pretty unimaginative to me

[Domestic Dissident]

The only people who seem to think it's clever are Millennials and Weigelian Journolists.

In other words, America's worthless retards.

[BiPolarMoment]

Can you baby boomers stop assuming all millennials are the same? I'm 'technically' a millennial according to the definition I've seen and I'm closer to 40 than 20.

[Zeb]

It's OK, Mike M is a moron.

[Agent Cooper]

You guys need to come up with another name for yourselves so you don't suffer the halo effect of retarded millennials.

[BiPolarMoment]

I don't call myself one because I hate labels in the first place. That's not to say I don't understand when someone else uses the term it [may] include me.

[Pat (PM)]

Part of the SJW ethos is to make the rhetorical equivalent of fart jokes, declare victory, and then run back to friendly territory and tell everybody how severely you rekt the bad guys so that everyone may bask in the glow of your splendiferous wit.

[PBR Streetgang]

That is an excellent summary.

[straffinrun]

I thought that's what we did.

[Pat (PM)]

We make literal fart jokes and dispense with the rest.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

I personally bask in the glow of my own splendiferous farts.

[R C Dean]

+1 half life

[Pope Jimbo]

Well that is basically what Dorothy Parker did. Of course she had to sit at the Algonquin Round table to post her comments.

[Tonio]

A champion of free speech, that one.

[Certified Public Asshat]

I thought it was Hillary?

[Rhywun]

It was Hillary, or one of her socks. And the retort is supposed to be some witty internet meme the cool kids are all using these days.

[WTF]

Of course it's not even remotely clever. Jesus, these people are pathetic.

[Conan the Libertarian]

The subtle tongue, the sophist guile, they fail when the broadswords sing.

[Chipper Morning Wood]

User name checks out.

[bacon-magic]

Who are you Conan? I like your name.

[Juvenile Bluster]

But don't worry, the White House wants you to know that the president's endorsement of Clinton yesterday won't influence its Justice Department's investigation.

Next, come over here. I have a nice bridge to sell you.

[Citizen X]

Dude gots to get that legacy, homes. What even is rule of law?

[straffinrun]

IOW he had decided long before the endorsement to sweep it under the rug.

[Tonio]

Where is FoE?

[Just a thought not a sermon]

I think the Where's FoE version of the Where's Waldo books will be entertaining, what with looking across the zany double-page spreads of whorehouses, meth labs, and back alleys trying to find that little guy.

[Citizen X]

I would buy that book. Other possible locations: a rural compound in Idaho, Peter Thiel's floating city, an unregulated gun show, Somalia...

[Fist of Etiquette]

Uh, more like kicking up my heels down Main Street in Awesome City, USA. Just never anywhere in Filthadelphia or its whore next door neighbor, New Jerksey.

[Tonio]

He lives!

[WTF]

Jersey ain't no whore, it's a pimp. A pimp with 49 bitches.

[Pope Jimbo]

The problem is that FoE would always be located in the top left corner of the first page of every Where's FoE? book. No way he could let an artist ink in anyone else first.

[Chipper Morning Wood]

Lol. Well, it could be more of a How Many Libertarians Can You Find? book. To find OMWC, for example, you would look for a group of little kids. Once you found those, you got cytotoxic as well. Agile Cyborg would be somewhere among the clouds, SugarFree in the gutter, and John in front of the bathroom with a halberd.

[straffinrun]

*Snicker*

[Private Chipperbot]

Ha!

[Citizen X]

If there is no bathroom in the picture, look for the callipygian women to find John.

[Clich? Bandit]

John in front of the bathroom with a halberd.

Excellent choice of weapons. I find pole arms are underrated these days.

[R C Dean]

I disagree. Pole arms are best used outdoors. Less chance of fouling on walls and ceilings.

For indoor, erm, discussions, I favor the wakizashi or the gladius.

[Pat (PM)]

How millennial millionaires made their money

By some estimates, nearly a quarter of U.S. millionaires are millennials. But a recent study suggests that many of them had a head start, as nearly half grew up wealthy.

The "Insights on Wealth and Worth Survey," published last month by the U.S. Trust, found that 45 percent of millennial respondents (defined as ages 18 to 35), grew up wealthy. That compares with only 28 percent of Gen-X millionaires and just 18 percent of baby boomer millionaires.

Millennial millionaires aren't all living off their trust funds, of course. And for many, their age hasn't allowed them as much time as older generations to build their own wealth.

When asked how their wealth was accumulated, the millennials surveyed said about half came from "earned income." That was roughly in line with Gen X and boomers.

Yet 20 percent of millennials' wealth came from inheritance, compared with only 10 percent for Gen Xers and 8 percent for baby boomers. Those generations were more likely to supplement their income through investments.

Those millennials who did inherit money inherited a lot. Thirteen percent said that at least half of their wealth was inherited, versus 5 percent for the other generations.

[kbolino]

And what was the situation for Gen-X and Boomers when they were the same ages as millenials are now? Comparing a 50-year-old millionaire to a 25-year-old millionaire seems a little tenuous to me.

[Florida Hipster]

Shut up and say millennials are the worst already!

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

When BBs were 35, a million was a lot more money.

Adjust for inflation much?

[Zeb]

Thirteen percent said that at least half of their wealth was inherited, versus 5 percent for the other generations.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Clinton Foundation Donor Got Appointed to Intelligence Board Despite No Qualifications

Newly released State Department emails help reveal how a major Clinton Foundation donor was placed on a sensitive government intelligence advisory board even though he had no obvious experience in the field, a decision that appeared to baffle the department's professional staff.

The emails further reveal how, after inquiries from ABC News, the Clinton staff sought to "protect the name" of the Secretary, "stall" the ABC News reporter and ultimately accept the resignation of the donor just two days later.

Copies of dozens of internal emails were provided to ABC News by the conservative political group Citizens United, which obtained them under the Freedom of Information Act after more the two years of litigation with the government.

A prolific fundraiser for Democratic candidates and contributor to the Clinton Foundation, who later traveled with Bill Clinton on a trip to Africa, Rajiv K. Fernando's only known qualification for a seat on the International Security Advisory Board (ISAB) was his technological know-how. The Chicago securities trader sat alongside an august collection of nuclear scientists, former cabinet secretaries and members of Congress to advise Hillary Clinton on the use of tactical nuclear weapons and on other crucial arms control issues.

[Citizen X]

AT LEAST HILLARY'S NOT TRUMP

[B. Woodrow Chippenhaus]

Basically this. Hillary's long list of misdeeds involving actual deliberate action on her part just don't hold a candle to "YEAH, BUT TRUMP JUST SAID SOMETHING AWFUL ON TWITTER!"

[Tonio]

Rajiv K. Fernando's only known qualification for a seat on the International Security Advisory Board (ISAB) was his technological know-how

So, he's running their email server?

[Swiss Servator]

ZING!

[Injun, as in from India]

So, he's running their email server?

Well, Rajiv is an Indian name.

And as all of you know, Indians are either IT guys, doctors, taxi drivers, or convenience store owners.

[Agent Cooper]

THANKS HOLLYWOOD!

[Crusty Juggler]

"The true answer is simply that S staff (Cheryl Mills) added him," wrote Wade Boese, who was Chief of Staff for the Office of the Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, in an email to Mannina, the press aide. "Raj was not on the list sent to S; he was added at their insistence."

[You Sound Like a Prog (MJG)]

What!? Political patronage? Amazing.

[Crusty Juggler]

The existential despair of Hillary Clinton vs. Donald Trump

You know that Donald Trump is an unstable imbecile. But this knowledge doesn't oblige you to discover new qualities in the bottomlessly cynical, power-mad grifter Hillary Clinton. In your heart of hearts, you may suspect that if she thought it would get her four centimeters closer to the presidency, Hillary Clinton would devour your squealing grandchild, or her own, live on the set of The View. It's a terror to contemplate. But in no way should this terror obviate your equally credible suspicion that Donald Trump is rabies in human form, likely to drive our country into a feverish search for scraps in the neighbors' garbage only to get us run over by a truck.

By refusing to choose or ? more boldly ? refusing to care, you will be joining millions of people, who, in any given year, act as if voting for one of the two major parties is useless. They may not exercise their franchise, but they are decent, law-abiding people. They floss and keep their lawns tidy. They see their friends and family losing their minds on Facebook and spend five minutes clicking "Hide Post" through their timeline. This is the truly civic thing to do: Preemptively conceal a person's public embarrassment for them. There is nothing wrong with being a non-voter.

[Just a thought not a sermon]

"unstable imbecile"

He's not. He is a bullying tyrant, but he's not an imbecile. As long as people think this they're making it easier for him to actually win.

[Tonio]

^This. The embodiment of demagoguery.

[Citizen X]

Bernie Sanders, on the other hand...

[B. Woodrow Chippenhaus]

Great article.

[Citizen X]

In the sacred sanctum of my heart, I'd rather die at the hand of a knife-wielding relative over a game of cribbage than by drowning in an inflated kiddie pool filled with ammonia. I've gamed both of these scenarios out at length, and one of them is certainly preferable to the other. But I'm not going to interrupt a pleasant November day to endorse either of them.

Wonderful.

[prolefeed]

I laughed out loud at several of the ascerbic comments in that article.

[GILMORE?]

this piece makes up for half the awful things they publish at The Week
(nods in direction of Shikha)

[Injun, as in from India]

WOW. What an article.

I thought 2012 was awful enough, but 2016 is turning out to be astronomically awful.

[Pat (PM)]

If antidepressants don't work well, why are they so popular?

Another day, another study casting doubt on antidepressants. The latest says that for children and teenagers, nearly all these drugs don't work. So why do prescriptions for antidepressants in the UK continue to climb?

Previous research suggests that for adults too, the Prozac class of antidepressants ? selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) ? is no better than a placebo, at least in people with mild or moderate depression.[...]

Despite much criticism, though, the number of prescriptions written for these medicines rises every year. In the poorest areas of the UK a staggering one in six people is taking them. While these medicines can be life-savers for those with severe depression, they are being dished out too easily for people with everyday sadness, say critics. If they do so little good, why are they so popular?

Family doctors, who write most of the prescriptions, may feel they have little else to offer a patient sitting in front of them. UK guidelines say that talking therapies should be the first option for people with mild depression, but waiting lists can be over a year long ? not much help for someone who is struggling today.

[Tonio]

Do-somethingism. Hysterical mothers who desparately want to "fix" little Jimmy/Suzy. Etc.

[Injun, as in from India]

If gun control doesn't work well, why is it so popular?

[Illocust]

Placebos have real effects on the person taking them. In the case of mild or moderate depression if the person being treated feels better and is more capable of handling their life with the meds than without why do you care if the effects are all in their heads?

[Feminist Killjoy]

Because placebos are kind of amazing. Even homeopathy works because placebo + quack doctor attention. Also related to the PTSD/ brain injury article linked, I have a friend who had a building dropped on him while in action who suffers from something like depression or apathy, but he's entirely too manly to consider a physiological therapy until he suffered a recent injury that confined him to his bed. And he hasn't noticed anything with an SSRI med. He's a wonderfully cynical bastard, so of course the poor guy is going to be immune to the placebo effect.

[Zeb]

I get the impression, based on some things I've read and personal observation, that antidepressant drugs work well for some people, not at all for others and make things worse for some others. So if a study just reports the effects on average, it would show up as no effect overall. So I wonder if the studies take into account that the drugs affect different people very differently or if that gets lost.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Meanwhile, in Russia...

A video shows the shocking moment a pretty young blonde girl stripped down to her underwear and covered herself in engine oil, despite other available options - in exchange for a new iPhone.

It was the culmination of a stunt by blogger Dmitry Shilov who approached several women on the streets of the city of Krasnoyarsk in central Russia's Krasnoyarsk Krai.

Together with two friends, he walked around the city centre asking women what they would be prepared to do in exchange for an iPhone 5S.

Mr Shilov told the women that their replies could be anything they liked - except sexual favours.

More than 10 women said they were unwilling to do anything at all for the high-end Apple phone, deciding they neither wanted one or needed one.

With options available that surely could have involved keeping her clothes on, it seemed slightly strange that this glamorous young blonde named Ksenia was prepared to do something as drastic as stripping to her underwear and covering herself with engine oil.

[Tonio]

something as drastic as stripping to her underwear and covering herself with engine oil

That's not drastic. And the oil was clean, not used, so basically no worse than rubbing mineral oil or vaseline on one's self - something people used to do all the time for skin care. Sure, a pain to shower off, and maybe ruins some clothing, but whatevs.

[Citizen X]

You also have to take into account that this happened in Russia, The Land Of Absolutely No Fucks Given, where bears are household pets, jet fighter antifreeze is a beverage, and a meteor hitting a city is no big whoop.

[Groovus Maximus]

You're not familiar with either the state of water or plumbing in Russia, yes? The engine oil refinery is also located in Chjornobyl, by the by... *grins*

[Tonio]

[mutters darkly]

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

Not for nothing, but used motor oil can have beneficial effects on skin. Works like 'coal tar' shampoo. Old remedy my FiL used on my dog when she had horrid skin problems, half bald and itching all the time. I was not gonna put oil all over my dog, and tried a lot of things that didn't work.

Went on vacation for a few days and he bathed her down. Said it was a real mess keeping her away from things, but by the time we got back, her skin cleared completely and she never had another issue.

[Krabappel]

I wonder if other oils would have worked just as well - like mineral oil or coconut oil.

[WTF]

Mr Shilov told the women that their replies could be anything they liked - except sexual favours.

Dumbass.

[Groovus Maximus]

He knows the, ahem, lay of the land; doesn't want to take a chance of his penis rotting off.

[Injun, as in from India]

doesn't want to take a chance of his penis rotting off.

Probably more likely to be a fear of the State. Getting tossed in prison for soliciting prostitution.

[Groovus Maximus]

That is a legitimate concern, yes. However, from what I understand, if one is connected or under the watchful eye of the local minor oligarch, those concerns tend to disappear.

The biggest problem with that stuff in both RUS and UKR is the high rates of STDs, (HIV and HEP C, in particular). Yes, there are Moral Crusades going on, but the the STD transmission (and importation rates of African migrants specifically) rates are really, really bad. And law enforcement is part of attempting to get a handle on it - the Oligarchs really don't care, TBH. Yet another "win" for Universal Medical Care. overall.

The safest sex in Moskva is probably with a CamGirl.

[Rich]

Good afternoon, Doc.

Hey, do people over there know the old "Rodger Kokov" joke?

[Groovus Maximus]

Nyet; it won't translate well into Russian, unfortunately.-(

[Clich? Bandit]

No but the "My wife is from Minsk." joke is great in any language.

[Illocust]

Looks like she had nothing to hide with the clothes off, so why not?

[GILMORE?]

^this

[GILMORE?]

I think people under-estimate people's unconscious desire to be 'dared' into doing something utterly bizarre and irrational and self-indulgent.

Meaning = she was probably very very bored with existence at the moment and simply used the opportunity to do whatever seemed 'dangerously interesting'. Not for the phone - just because it presented an excuse.

I've come across a lot of quasi-repressed women who were just a bare-suggestion away from agreeing to either a murder/suicide bank-robbery, or running naked through Times Square. Many people have a an unspoken, desperate need to escape themselves.

[MoriahJovan]

I'll admit it. There are precious few dares I've passed on. They were mostly benign, merely embarrassing, but I did them.

Why? Not because I was bored, but because the boys/men around me were pussies and backed out at the last moment.

[Mickey Rat]

Maybe she has an exhibitionist streak.

[lafe.long]

Amy Van Dyken: Hotel Apologizes to Former Olympic Swimmer After Employee Calls Her a 'Cripple'

Officials at the Gaylord Texan Resort apologized to Van Dyken after a hotel employee referred to her as a "cripple" on Wednesday. Van Dyken was paralyzed in an ATV accident in 2014.

[(((Renegade)))]

If she's not a cripple, toss her in the water and see how she swims.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

I thought that was for witches?

[straffinrun]

In a post on Instagram, Van Dyken said the remark left her "shaking," commenting, "We need to make that as bad as other slurs."

Sorry, but no Amy. The "cripple" slur is made by vile creatures. The others "slurs" going around are mostly baseless these days.

[WTF]

But, isn't she in fact crippled? Why is that a slur?

[straffinrun]

I assumed the guard had said something like, "Get this cripple out of here". If the guard had just been saying something to another guard like, "These bags are going to the crippled lady's room" it wouldn't necessarily be a slur. Need some context to make a judgement.

[Illocust]

Yep, context is everything, and people forget that by focusing on the words. Referring to myself as a cripple literally means nothing (beyond a nice little tell that people don't need to worry about fucking up their language around me), but if a guard said "Get this lame (original meaning of the word, sorry couldn't think of another cripple synonym off the top of my head) bitch out of here" it would hurt like fuck emotionally.

Also to Straffinrun's point, disability insults are different than insults based on race or creed. If somebody has a disability either something bad and traumatizing happened to them to cause it or they've spent a lifetime dealing with the fact that they are physically inferior to those around them. It's an emotional sore point because it is something legitimately bad that happened to them. You don't poke fun at somebody that just lost a loved one, you don't poke fun at someone who just lost full use of their body (unless you know they've moved on to the acceptance phase. Still treat it like a "your dead mom" joke. Take cues from the person involved).

[WTF]

This is why context is needed, as straffinrun points out. Merely using an accurate term in proper context is not poking fun or intending insult. Using it as part of a personal attack or joke would be.

[DOOMco]

Well said.

[Pat (PM)]

I'll just leave this here

[WTF]

Classic.

[Rufus The Monocled]

TIMMEH!

[WTF]

"'Because she's sitting in a chair, she's not crippled. She's out there participating, She's in town for whatever reason just like anybody else traveling and why you would refer to her as crippled just because she sits in a wheelchair' is just ridiculous in my opinion," Stewart said.

lolwut?

crip?pled1
[?krip(?)ld]
ADJECTIVE

(of a person) unable to walk or move properly; disabled:

[This Machine]

I found this clip to be particularly relevant.

[Crusty Juggler]

Fox News officially boots Ed Henry from Hillary Clinton beat

Fox News announced on Thursday that Henry, the network's chief White House correspondent, won't be covering the Clinton campaign ? an assignment from which he was benched in early May after In Touch magazine reported that he'd carried on an extramarital affair with a Las Vegas hostess. "We recently became aware of Ed's personal issues and he's taking some time off to work things out," said the network at the time.

Those personal issues thus turned into professional ones. Instead of bringing Henry back to continue his work on Clinton, Fox News is assigning national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin to the task; she has been covering the campaign since May 31. Chief congressional correspondent Mike Emanuel subbed in for Henry immediately following his departure from the airwaves.

Poor Jennifer Griffin.

[Citizen X]

I initially read that as "Ed Hardy" and it made sense to me.

[Mr Lizard]

Ya me too, whatever happened to Ed Hardy skull-fucking-a-unicorn t-shirts?

[Citizen X]

They are still to be found adorning the torsos of the douchiest bros in the land.

[Mr Lizard]

I gotta get out more. Ain't seen one of them brochachoes in a long time.

[Citizen X]

I live in a Navy town. Apparently, the Navy issues Ed Hardy t-shirts as Goin' Out attire for enlisted men.

[Agent Cooper]

I am a proud owner of original Ed Hardy tennis shoes that are at least 12 years old. They were cool?before the brand started the douchepocalypse.

I still wear them occasionally. They have tigers and pistons on them.

[Bill Dalasio]

No, I'm thinking they're reserving Ed Hardy for the Biden beat.

[Grand Moff Serious Man]

Locals Up in Arms After Fetish Shop Opens in Quaint Illinois Town

A new business, a baby store for adults, is sparking outrage in suburban Mt. Prospect, Illinois, CBS Chicago reported.

Dozens of residents showed up at village hall Tuesday night, calling for the business to be shut down or moved.

However, officials said they had no legal basis to bar the business, Tykables, which includes features such as a seven-foot crib, an over-sized high chair and adult-sized playpen.

"Things for people to come and play, take pictures with. Not everybody has access to a nursery," the owner says in a YouTube video.

The owner of the store on Northwest Highway said the primary focus of the business is selling adult diapers for medical needs and for "ABDL" or "Adult Baby Diaper Lovers," some with baby or sexual fetishes.

Residents, however, said what's going on inside the store has no place near schools and homes.

"It's hard for us to swallow in this community," one concerned resident said at the village hall.

Uh, phrasing?

[Just a thought not a sermon]

Yet another indication that I'm not one of the normals. I simply can't conceive why somebody would care. Are town residents being forced to shop there or something?

[(((Renegade)))]

I simply can't conceive why somebody would care.

It attracts creepies from the entire Chicagoland area. NTTAWWT.

[SimonD]

If I had a small child, I could see an uncomfortable (and annoying) conversation involving why I had just spent two years fighting to get him OUT of diapers.

[That's A Bingo!]

Given that it isn't likely that business will remain solvent for very long, why bother complaining. Market will clean this up quickly.

[Cyto]

Funny, that was exactly my thought. What could the market for something this fringe possibly be? Unless they are the manufacturer with a mostly online clientele, I don't see how they could make a go of it from people in driving distance. But I've been wrong many, many times before.

[Enjoy Every Sandwich]

Mt. Prospect, IL? Do they still auction off old police cars to blues musicians so they can drive them through malls?

[Gilbert Martin]

"But don't worry, the White House wants you to know that the president's endorsement of Clinton yesterday won't influence its Justice Department's investigation. "

Of course not - the fix was already in long before Obama officially endorsed her.

[WTF]

Yeah, this. Why do you think Hillary has been so confident there will be no indictment no matter how much evidence kept piling up?

[Crusty Juggler]

EXCLUSIVE: Brooklyn rapper convicted of murder dies of synthetic marijuana overdose in federal prison

Michael Garrett, 40, the co-leader of a Brooklyn gang called Together Forever Mafia who also doubled as a hip-hop impresario, died at the Metropolitan Detention Center on Feb. 28.

A spokeswoman for the city medical examiner said Garrett's death has been classified as "accidental," due to cardiovascular disease with a contributing factor of an overdose of synthetic marijuana.

"I'm incredulous," said Garrett's former lawyer James Lisa after the Daily News informed him Friday of the autopsy results.

"He was in federal custody. That's not like Rikers Island or a county facility."

[Pat (PM)]

Sounds like a true renaissance man

[Tonio]

He was in federal custody. That's not like Rikers Island or a county facility.

LOL. The feds often pay local jails to house people on remand (awaiting trial).

[Agent Cooper]

impresario

Citation required.

[Crusty Juggler]

Woman fatally stabbed by flying umbrella was celebrating birthday at the Oceanfront

Suddenly, a strong gust pulled an anchored beach umbrella from the sand and hurled it toward Belk, police said. It struck her, penetrating her chest.

The blow would prove fatal.

Wow. Also, ban wind.

[Citizen X]

The Penguin WOULD kick off his next crime spree in Virginia Beach.

[Swiss Servator]

*narrows gaze*

[WTF]

Look for laws banning beach umbrellas once the wind gusts are greater than X mph. For the children.

[Princess Trigger]

No, an army of bureaucrats will spend three years writing 50 pages of regulations and advice on how to properly anchor said beach umbrellas [another 100 pages on how to manufacture them will take 5 years].

Jose, who puts the umbrellas out, won't read the regs.
But what'ja gone a do?

[Cyto]

Also, regulations requiring broad, blunt ends to umbrellas to spread the impact and reduce penetration risk.

Functionality be damned, we have to eliminate a 1 in 2 billion annual relative risk.

[Injun, as in from India]

Also, ban wind.

Ask the wives of the men here. I'm sure they concur.

[lafe.long]

The blackwashing of Hogwarts?

Angry Harry Potter readers tried to use Rowling's own words against her by pointing out that she had allegedly referenced Hermione's ethnicity when she wrote that her "white face" peered out from behind a tree in The Prisoner of Azkaban, but decided to ignore the context where the color was drained from Hermione's face because she was afraid. The girl just used her time-turner to save Buckbeak for crying out loud. That shit is scary!

[Rhywun]

Turnabout is fair play.

[The Fusionist (aka Eddie)]

She saved Buckwheat? Good for her!

[Yusef Adama]

Thats what I read 🙂

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

Ohh-Tay!

[Domestic Dissident]

Some good news for once: some senators including Mike Lee are working on a bill to try to stop Block Yommoma, Loretta Lynch, and their ilk from shaking down banks to fund their favorite shady lefty nonprofits and shell corporations.

[Injun, as in from India]

Yay!

[WTF]

Obama still has his veto pen.

[Crusty Juggler]

FAA Warns of GPS Outages This Month During Mysterious Tests on the West Coast

Starting today, it appears the US military will be testing a device or devices that will potentially jam GPS signals for six hours each day. We say "appears" because officially the tests were announced by the FAA but are centered near the US Navy's largest installation in the Mojave Desert. And the Navy won't tell us much about what's going on.

The FAA issued an advisory warning pilots on Saturday that global positioning systems (GPS) could be unreliable during six different days this month, primarily in the Southwestern United States. On June 7, 9, 21, 23, 28, and 30th the GPS interference testing will be taking place between 9:30am and 3:30pm Pacific time. But if you're on the ground, you probably won't notice interference

My guess: Hillary will be communicating with her space alien brethren.

[Pope Jimbo]

I'm sure the guvt. will take responsibility for any hikers who may be out in the desert when the gps goes out.

Fuck that is stupid.

[Juvenile Bluster]

It's above ground, so it's less cars and hikers and more planes.

As AVWeb points out, Embraer Phenom 300 business jets are being told to avoid the area completely during the tests. The FAA claims that the jamming test could interfere with the business jet's "aircraft flight stability controls."

Not that it makes that a good idea, mind you.

[Tonio]

Well, it does underscore the problems with relying on the government for essential services - the government giveth and the government taketh away not for the good of the people, but for the good of government.

Also, while GPS is useful for telling you where you are, you should never rely solely on GPS for back-country navigation. If you don't know how to tell direction from the sun, if you don't have a compass and map, you don't belong there.

[Pope Jimbo]

Agreed. I have an old compass that I always throw into my backpack and my kids giggle.

I bet they won't giggle when I leave them in the back country when their gps breaks down.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

If you don't know how to tell direction from the sun, if you don't have a compass and map, you don't belong there.

What the hell man!?! Buzzards gotta eat, same as worms

[bacon-magic]

+1 for a Clint Eastwood quote.

[Timon 19]

Same with aviation. You never want to fully rely on GPS (which, admittedly, is still not fully mature in most areas of aviation). Lord knows that GPS is great for nav and weapon delivery in a military aircraft, but it sure as shit ain't the only way to navigate - not nearly - by design.

[WTF]

the US Navy's largest installation in the Mojave Desert.

Wait, wut?!

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

China Lake is the asshole of the Navy. Just northwest of the asshole of the Army, FT Irwin. The asshole of the USMC is another 90 miles away (29 Palms).

[Atlas Slugged]

great place to test missiles & other armaments. If it makes you feel better, Navy Personnel Command is in Millington TN thanks to the Gores.

[Injun, as in from India]

FAA Warns of GPS Outages This Month During Mysterious Tests on the West Coast

Translation: I don't always test my code. But when I do, I do it in Production.

[lafe.long]

Google's Larry Page Is Secretly Investing in Flying Cars

Bloomberg Businessweek reports that Larry Page, cofounder of Google, is personally funding two startups, Zee.Aero and Kitty Hawk, both dedicated to developing a flying car.

[straffinrun]

No Lord H or FoE. Is this what a reverse rapture looks like?

[Fist of Etiquette]

Yet has anyone cared enough to call 911?

[Pat (PM)]

We suspected you might be dead, we didn't want to ensure it.

[Fist of Etiquette]

I'm always in a superposition.

[straffinrun]

Oh. I see Satan belched you up.

[Groovus Maximus]

I notified INTERPOL... expect contact shortly.... Fist of Disapperance.

[This Machine]

Groovus! The other day you said you almost got shot in Donet'sk. Scary stuff, man. But I couldn't help but think of this particular guy. Granted, he's apparently the leader of a pro-Russian militia, so the comparison likely isn't adequate, but still.

[Swiss Servator]

Fortunately Groovus carries a Holtzman shield and stays away from all lazgun activity.

[This Machine]

Ah, so I suppose he's closer to this characterization, then.

[That's A Bingo!]

5,000 expected to attend Muhammad Ali's funeral, former President Bill Clinton to deliver eulogy.

How much is Clinton getting paid?

[Rufus The Monocled]

How many women will he hit on? Everyone knows funerals are the best place to meet vulnerable women.

[Injun, as in from India]

+1 Wedding Crashers

Anyone seen the movie? I highly recommend it.

[Private Chipperbot]

Damn you, Roger!

[paranoid android]

I remember thinking most of the movie was pretty weak (Rachel McAdams' smoking hot body notwithstanding) but the part where Will Ferrell shows up made it all worth it.

[Agent Cooper]

No love for Isla Fisher?

[Pope Jimbo]

Coming soon to a courthouse near you

A guy is being rung up on a charge of first degree criminal sexual conduct for an online relationship with a 13-year old Minnesoda gal.

"The defendant never met the victim, but this is the computer age," Washington County prosecutor Imran Ali said in court.

"I think it's revolutionary," Stillwater police Sgt. Jeff Stender said of Foster's conviction, noting a sharp rise in internet sex crimes. "This is the future of prosecution."

[WTF]

So, convincing someone, using only words and no force, to sexually abuse themselves while you are many miles away is now rape? We have truly descended into madness.

[Mr Lizard]

You guys missed this gem:

"Public defender Nathan Sosinski described the diminutive Foster as intelligent but "socially inept," using the internet to establish social contacts after spending most of his youth in home schooling."

Warm up your ban hammers, this one's and oldie but a goodie.

[WTF]

"HOME SCHOOLING CREATES INTERNET RAPISTS!!!11!!!!!"

[Crusty Juggler]

Forget Manipulative Editing ? Katie Couric's Team Likely Violated Federal Law

During a recent television interview, Soechtig claimed indignantly that she had sent a co-producer from Colorado into the state of Arizona, where he made contact with a private gun seller and purchased three handguns and a "Bushmaster" rifle. According to Soechtig, that these transactions were "perfectly legal" demonstrates that the laws need changing. The problem for Soechtig ? and for her broader argument ? is that these transactions weren't in fact legal. Not even close. Under existing federal law, one may obtain firearms outside of one's state of residence only from a federally licensed firearms dealer. Moreover, at least until Mance v. Lynch is resolved, one may legally obtain a handgun only in one's own state of residence. If, as Soechtig claims, a Colorado resident purchased three handguns and a rifle from a private seller in another state, he broke federal law at least four times.

That mangy Brit does a great job covering Second Amendment issues.

[WTF]

I'm sure the co-producer will be prosecuted for this. Any day now. I'm sure.

[Tonio]

Wasn't there something similar about a decade back where a teevee reporter knowingly bought a gun illegally (in DC) and waved it around on the air saying "see how easy this was?" He was never prosecuted, either.

[Agent Cooper]

Was it Lawrence O'Donnell who had one of those incredibly more evil and deadly high-capacity magazines?

[Agent Cooper]

Oops. David Gregory, listed below.

[Injun, as in from India]

If, as Soechtig claims, a Colorado resident purchased three handguns and a rifle from a private seller in another state, he broke federal law at least four times.

What she did was goodthinkful. She and her employee won't get prosecuted.

[commodious spittoon]

When they came for David Gregory, I said nothing, because that never happened either.

[Mr Lizard]

Me thinks there is some decent hardware floating around right now

[commodious spittoon]

My favorite part is their insistence that they had these evil talismans (talismen?) destroyed immediately by AZ cops. I'm sure.

[Zeb]

It's always tough to decide if I should want someone to be prosecuted under a law that I don't think should exist because I don't like them.

I'm going to go principled today and say that if she were convicted it would be an injustice, even though she is a terrible person. If it's wrong to lock someone up for something, then the person's intentions in doing that something are not relevant to the appropriateness of punishment.

[Enjoy Every Sandwich]

Me too. It doesn't offend me that she wasn't prosecuted, it offends me that other people without her connections are being prosecuted. I would think that the "progressives", for all of their talk about "standing up for the little guy", would have a problem with this kind of disparity. But for that to happen the progs would have to have principles, and we all know better than to expect that.

[bassjoe]

Ginsburg and Thomas (weird combo) stated in a concurrence yesterday that it's time to revisit the "double sovereignty" exception to the Double Jeopardy Clause (the exception allows a state government and the federal government to prosecute somebody for the same crime).

[Juvenile Bluster]

Ginsburg and Thomas (weird combo)

Pretty sure SugarFree's already written that one.

Hopefully the other justices agree at some point. Double sovereignty to get around double jeopardy has no constitutional basis. Not like that generally stops government, mind you.

[WTF]

Constitutional basis? Hell, the 9th circuit just decided that the right to keep and bear arms does not actually entail the right to bear arms. Because FYTW.

[colorblindkid]

"Two Texas high school valedictorians have come out as undocumented immigrants." I only read about one, but she's so insufferable and ungrateful to America that it's like she's trying to make people how illegal immigrants even more.

[colorblindkid]

to make people *hate* illegal immigrants even more...

[WTF]

Hey, she came here in violation of our laws and still took full advantage of everything the country has to offer including free education where she became valedictorian. Why wouldn't she hate America?

[Crusty Juggler]

From Grand Moff's ABC News link, a game of: Caption This Photo

"Huma always gets to loofah her stretch marks."

[Injun, as in from India]

"Loretta's got my back, b****. Go pound sand."

[Lyanna Mormont]

Bear Island knows no king but the King in the North, whose name is Stark.

[Citizen X]

NO SPOILERS.

[Ken Shultz]

No spoilers, but a girl with no name?

I'm speculating--just speculating . . .

It wasn't her at the end of the episode last week.

I'm guessing it was the head assassin, who had taken on her face.

She didn't have Needle. How could it be her if she didn't have Needle?

[Citizen X]

It is known.

[WTF]

They are both Arya; and Arya is fighting with and trying to kill off her former self, a la Fight Club.

[Ken Shultz]

That explanation is too Fight Club.

Either the head assassin took on her face to make the other girl assassin think Arya was dead (remember, he can come back to life), or maybe it was the girl assassin, who had taken on her face and was booking passage to go chase down Arya, wearing Arya's face, and that was the head assassin who took her out.

Maybe Arya has learned to switch faces and come back from the dead.

Anyway, Arya dying would serve no purpose in the plot at this point. Gratuitous nudity is never truly gratuitous, but gratuitously killing Arya after she's explored the assassin's guild for nothing?

[Citizen X]

Possibly the acting troupe is involved somehow - either they helped Arya with the special effects to fake a grievous stab wound, or the "Arya" who was stabbed is actually the young actress who took out the hit on Lady Crane.

[Ken Shultz]

Arya may have escaped with the acting troupe, that would be my base assumption.

She could end up back in Winterfell doing a play within a play to reveal herself to Snowand her sister.

That would be awesome.

[Citizen X]

Or the Freys might hire an acting troupe to celebrate their retaking of Riverrun.

[Private Chipperbot]

Arya has been a test for the Waif, not the other way around. He told the Waif to dispatch Arya quickly, no pain. She gut stabbed her, and failed the test. Plot armor protects Arya who returns to Westeros, finds her wolf, and kills everybody.

[Citizen X]

"There is one god, and His name is Death; and there is one thing we say to Him: 'Not today.'"

[Citizen X]

Bran never woke up after his fall, and everything that's happened since the end of the first episode is a dream he is having.

[Ken Shultz]

That's J.R. Not J. R. R. Martin.

[Feminist Killjoy]

GoT has become Lost, where the fan speculations are much more fun and logical than what the show will actually do. I stopped watching not because of rape outrage (though plot and character stupidity to arrange the Sansa ordeal was a factor) but because the show lost all sense of timeline, theme, character development and the feminist pandering got cranked up to -11. Last episode had what appeared to be an awesome lesbian moment for awesome woman in charge where I guess the writers forgot that sex slavery means rape. Whoops. And it was made possible by sea travel warp speed.

[WTF]

Yeah, this whole season seems to be one big GRRL POWER! fest so far.

[Citizen X]

Just wait till Cersei burns down King's Landing, as both Bran and Danaerys have foreseen.

[GILMORE?]

the feminist pandering got cranked up to -11

meh. Martin writes women like men. it doesn't come across as feminist pandering so much as gender-neutral.

which isn't necessarily bad or good. i thought the greyjoy-dyke thing was a little stupid. it would have been more provocative to show her 'womanhandling' a man-whore.

[Private Chipperbot]

She did let Theon finger bang her.

[Mickey Rat]

As I recall the book-character likes men and being dominated a little.

[Zeb]

I don't really see feminist pandering. There are some strong female characters. I think it's fine.

I'm not sure that sending Asha instead of Victarion to the east makes a lot of sense. But we'll see how they manage.

[commodious spittoon]

Seems like a long journey for so little payoff. What's the point of sparing her in King's Landing all those seasons ago if she's going to get dispatched in Bravos for no reason? (basing what I know on the books)

[Ken Shultz]

+1

She survives.

And she probably is my favorite character. Spoke truth to power even when her father was alive. Resourceful as hell. She keeps a list.

Awesome!

The dwarf is awesome, too, but the Mother of Dragons is gonna be super pissed when she finds out he's been making compromises on slavery.

Oh, and has anybody noticed that kid with no use of his legs aged about five years in two weeks? He looked about 12 at the end of season five. By the beginning of season six, he looks like he's 17.

I'm guessing he finally got laid between seasons--like 20 times even--and it triggered a growth spurt.

[commodious spittoon]

Probably a couple spurts.

[Citizen X]

+some tits and dragons

[Mickey Rat]

Has Dany told the Dothraki hordes that slaving is out from now on yet? Might be a iittle dissent if we were not magically passing plot points.

[Zeb]

People do change quickly at that age.

[GILMORE?]

The 'tell' IMO was not the absence of needle (tho a good observation), but the swagger she had when dealing w/ the ship captain.

it was uncharacteristic

[You Sound Like a Prog (MJG)]

Yeah, very likely Jaqen as Arya, testing the Waif.

[Juvenile Bluster]

DAKINGINDANORF!

[Ken Shultz]

Holdoor?

Holdoor.

HOLD Da DOOR!

[WTF]

Bran's a dick.

[Jerryskids]

Gordie Howe is gone? I would have lost that round of "Dead or Alive".

[lafe.long]

RIP
Got to see him, Marty AND Mark play in Whalers games - 77-80

[Ken Shultz]

"5,000 expected to attend Muhammad Ali's funeral, former President Bill Clinton to deliver eulogy."

He was black. He was a Muslim. He was against the Vietnam War.

Thrice blessed according to progressives.

So he's being canonized.

[Domestic Dissident]

I only wish that Joe Frazier had lived long enough to dance on his grave.

[Atlas Slugged]

New find at Petra!

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-36498234

Any guess how long it will take to excavate? I'm been wanting to see the temple there for years.

[Injun, as in from India]

Any guess how long it will take to excavate?

Better question to ask would be:

"Any guess how long it will take to destroy? Faster than the Bamiyan Buddhas or Palmyra?"

[Atlas Slugged]

sigh. now I don't have to worry about being happy today....

[The Fusionist (aka Eddie)]

Too bad Harrison Ford is SPOILER ALERT dead, we could have sent him in to check for traps.

[Atlas Slugged]

Putting CO2 into rock.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/scie.....t-36494501

3,2,1.... until the watermelons tell me this is still an insult to Gaia.

[Injun, as in from India]

Drill, Baby, Drill!

[tarran]

Actually, it is stupid. Do date the extra CO2 in the atmosphere has been a benefit, improving agriculture.

Below 150 PPM, modern plant life will start dying off because of diminshed photosynthesis.

The earliest recorded CO2 concentrations in the pre-industrial era had CO2 levels at 250 PPM.

We've doubled the safety margin between current carbon dioxide concentrations and ecological disaster.

[Injun, as in from India]

You heartless capitalist bastard. Why do you stand in the way of "progress"?

[arbitrary wavefunction]

Way too lazy to dig up the Science article. But....

Only something like 5% of the mass sent underground is CO2.

Yeah, see... That's going to take A LOT of energy. Where does energy come from? BURNING SHIT, primarily. EVEN IF you assume the climate change hypothesis is correct, this doesn't help. It is incredibly inefficient. It's the electric car thing. Where does the electricity come from? Just more evidence that the greenies just want to jack themselves off on some feel-good nonsense, no matter the practicalities or actual science involved.

[Private Chipperbot]

Look. I covered this yesterday. We put the volcano on top of the coal plant. Problem solved.

[This Machine]

I think we've got our new dead-animal outrage.

The animals were part of a pride of around 20 lions which had crawled under a perimteter [sic] fence of their home at the famous wildlife reserve in South Africa.

It is understood that local farmers had complained about lions eating their cattle and the MTPA had been drafted in to look for the culprits.

After putting down a carcass as bait, it is understood the MTPA waited, and when the pride appeared and began feasting on the flesh, the mother and cubs were shot causing the other lions to flee.

The killings have sparked a backlash with nature lovers demanding to know why the lions were killed instead of being tranquilised.

And a petition has also been launched, calling for the immediate dismissal of those responsible.

[Injun, as in from India]

After putting down a carcass as bait

They used the wrong bait.

I'm sure one of the "nature lovers" would have loved to volunteer to pet some oversized kitty cats.

[This Machine]

"Does my leg have to be chained to a stake in the ground?"

"Yes, it's for the, uh, safety of the lions, so um, you don't, uh, spook them with an aggressive advance."

"Oh, makes sense. Thanks!"

[commodious spittoon]

GO 'WAY, BAITIN'

[commodious spittoon]

The killings have sparked a backlash with nature lovers demanding to know why the lions were killed instead of being tranquilised.

'Cuz they'd wake up. Duh.

[Pope Jimbo]

And letting them go can be problematic

[Ken Shultz]

No, it isn't against Gaia. It's worse!

Any whiff of a solution that doesn't involve huge sacrifices in our standard of living is fundamentally denialist.

How dare you suggest that there's any solution that doesn't involve a zero child policy, rationing of energy, and huge sacrifices in our standard of living--all for the benefit of animals that will be born long after we're dead?

What are you, a redneck or something?!

[DEG]

Tesla responds to reports of suspension problems

Warning: auto-play video

In a lengthy blog post titled "A grain of salt," Tesla said there was no problem with the suspension. It also pushed back on claims it was asking car owners to sign non-disclosure agreements to thwart customer complaints to safety regulators.

Federal regulators at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Thursday they were looking into reports of a flaw in some Tesla models that could cause the driver to lose control of the car.

They also said they were probing reports that Tesla (TSLA) had been asking owners to sign non-disclosure agreements before the automaker would pay for repairs.

"NHTSA learned of Tesla's troublesome nondisclosure agreement last month," said Bryan Thomas, NHTSA director of communications said in a statement. "The agency immediately informed Tesla that any language implying that consumers should not contact the agency regarding safety concerns is unacceptable, and NHTSA expects Tesla to eliminate any such language."

[DEG]

The agreements, which Tesla refers to as "Goodwill Agreements," did not mention NHTSA. But they did say that customers agreed not to discuss the problem or the repairs in general with anyone.

Some owners have complained both to NHTSA and on discussion boards about front suspension components failing on Tesla Model S cars. These parts help attach the wheel to the car and could cause the driver to lose control if they fail.

[GILMORE?]

former President Bill Clinton to deliver eulogy.

boooo. do you have to exploit the man in death? let farrakhan or paul mooney do it.

[The Fusionist (aka Eddie)]

According to Wikipedia, Ali shifted to regular Islam, leaving Farrakhan's outfit.

[The Fusionist (aka Eddie)]

Farrakhan said some nice things about him after he died

[GILMORE?]

Ali shifted to regular Islam,

(millions of sunni and shia perk up and draw knives, determined to kill whomever declares their brand 'irregular')

[Injun, as in from India]

Farrakhan's Islam would also be given the same treatment as Ahmediyas, Ismailis, and Sufis.

[GILMORE?]

No doubt. they play friends from afar though.

i read a piece a while back about the occasionally-uncomfortable relations between ISIS & Al Q.... and their respective fellow-travelers in the 'Umma' from various parts of the world like South Asia or Africa.

they loved to send each other messages of spiritual comraderie and congratulate one another for their hideous acts of terrorism in the name of Islam. but when it came down to the personal views of the the Arabs.... non-arab muslims were all second-class citizens in the eyes of god, allowed to technically *be* muslims - or at least carry a card saying so - but not really 'represent' islam, which was the exclusive purview of the Arabs themselves.

"They (the arabs) invented it", was more or less the view, "so they get to dictate its interpretation & practice and have the last word on all matters"

There was a similar conflict between the Taliban and the Al Q arabs in the days before and after 9-11. Mullah Omar and his buddies were on the point of kicking Osama out of the country (even aside from Western pressure) because the freaking Arabs were perpetually lording over them and insulting their practices and telling them they were "doing Islam wrong".

[Zeb]

I was reading some stuff about NOI recently. I didn't know much about them, I guess. Somehow I missed that they pretty much blatantly assassinated Malcolm X. And their beliefs are really something (though I think they're more mainstream Suni now). It's like Islam's version of Mormonism with some Scientology mixed in.

[Troy muy grande boner]

Imagine you were doing the application to take the bar or get your nursing degree, or an employer And you put down on your application that you had an ongoing possible multple felony criminal felonies. I'm pretty sure that the State Bar would put your application on the back burner if not out right deny it. Same thing with the nurse's board. And an employer could think of a nice way to say no thanks.

But now to become the president, you can have an investigation going on, and have they guy in charge of the investigation give you a thumbs up.

I'd give this a Banana Republic score of 910. It would be hard to beat this.

[Injun, as in from India]

Nicely written. Banana Republic it is.

Just remember to pay your taxes by shipping bananas to the IRS on April 15, 2017.

[Rhywun]

And then you have to jump over barrels for the rest of the year to get some of them back.

[Juice]

Man. If Condoleeza Rice was under the same investigation and George W. Bush endorsed her for president there would be a media shitstorm (and deservedly so). With Obama and Hillary it's crickets.

[fieryscribe]

Gawker files for bankruptcy

[Krabappel]

Is it Christmas?! What a delightful gift.

[Injun, as in from India]

Turd floats.

See Chapter 10, Road to Serfdom "Why the Worst get on top".

[Private Chipperbot]

Damn. i played against him when I was a kid in a Wings legends fundraiser. I was 8 or 9 at the time. Fucking Ted Lindsey took a slapshot from center ice and broke my goalie stick.

[Chip Woodier]

crunchy vs creamy