Dozens Killed in Orlando Shooting, Tusk Warns of End of Western Political Civ if UK Leaves EU, Pittsburgh Wins Stanley Cup: A.M. Links

• 

  Office of the Prime Minister of Poland

  About 50 people were killed by a gunman who opened fire in a gay nightclub in Orlando for which ISIS took responsibility. President Obama delivered remark about the massacre, saying it was a "reminder" of how easy it is for Americans to purchase weapons. Donald Trump tweeted that he didn't want congratulations for "being right about radical Islam" but "toughness" and "vigilance," and called on Obama to resign.

• The United States will likely not make a decision on U.S. troops in Afghanistan before the NATO summit in Warsaw.
• The Iraqi army says it has secured a safe passage for residents of Falluja to flee through.
• European Council President Donald Tusk said that if Britain votes to leave the European Union it could spell the end of th EU and Western political civilization.
• The musical Hamilton fell one Tony win short of the record of 12.
• Pittsburgh won its second Stanley Cup, defeating San Jose.

Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

Pens.

[C. Anacreon]

Pencils.
Yep, im prepared for a big day too.

[JW]

Paper? Yeah, I didn't think you were prepared.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

Scissors!

I win!!!!!

[Swiss Servator]

*readies rock*

Yeah, about that...

[Scarecrow & WoodChipper Repair]

Where is Mr Lizard when you need him?

[Mr Lizard]

I'm plugging my hot rock back in after one of you assholes tried to steal it

[Clich? Bandit]

Spock is ready

[Rufus The Monocled]

Hello.

[But Enough About Me]

D00d.

[Free Market Socialist $park?]

Isn't it a bit early for dick jokes?

[The Brakeless MAGA Train]

I just ordered some disposable fountain pens, and they are awesome.

[Anarcho-Woodchipper]

Pilot Varsity?

[The Brakeless MAGA Train]

YES!

[Anarcho-Woodchipper]

I picked some up as well. I have happily jumped ship to fountain pens now. Works better with my writing style.

[Domestic Dissident]

+1 hot dog with all the fixins for Phil Kessel.

[Elspeth Flashman]

Are mightier than swords.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

Penis mightier!

[Azathoth!!]

Psycho The Rapist!

[BigT]

And phones?

[Ken Shultz]

Just for the record, that means The Caps came in second.

[Scarecrow & WoodChipper Repair]

And the Pens came in next to last. Sad!

[Fist of Etiquette]

About 50 people were killed by a gunman who opened fire in a gay nightclub in Orlando for which ISIS took responsibility.

Well, at least there was accountability.

[WTF]

This has nothing to do with Islam! There's no proof he wasn't just a lone homophobe with a gun which are far too easy to obtain!

[Raven Nation]

Apparently it has to do with masculinity. I just read a blog post (to which I refuse to link) which argued it was all about the societal messages to men that they must be masculine, that being gay is not masculine, so we give men guns (enabled by Congress which is mostly white men) and, lo and behold, they have almost no choice as men but to shoot up an LGBT nightclub.

But, he's a prog, so he's smarter than everyone else so this analysis must be true.

[Raven Nation]

Oh, and throw in a standard criticism of those who worship God, you know, all people who worship God (not Allah).

[Tonio]

Allah is simply the Arabic word for "God," specifically the god of Abraham who is worshipped by Christians, Muslims and Jews. Arab Christians, of whom there are many, use the term "Allah" when referencing Abraham's god.

[UnCivilServant]

In arabic, true, but the loanword has entered English to refer specifically to the islamic form thereof.

[Raven Nation]

Tonio: yeah, I know. I should have been clearer. The entire purpose of the blog post I referenced was to generic-icize the incident. There was no mention of Islam, ISIS, etc. The point was to make the shooting about religious males proving their masculinity by killing gay people.

[Princess Trigger]

Toxic Masculinity FTW!

[Tonio]

Don't forget the ongoing humiliation of muslim men!

[Zeb]

I'm thinking it was probably a combination of Islam and being a lone homophobe with a gun. Unless, of course, it turns out that he was coordinating with some Islamic terrorist group.

[Gray Ghost]

Unless, of course, it turns out that he was coordinating with some Islamic terrorist group.

Related to that, here's his church. FTL:

The gunman...was a follower of a controversial gang leader-turned-bank robber who was released from prison last year despite warnings from prosecutors that he would recruit people to carry out violent acts...

...Omar Mateen was a radical Muslim who followed Marcus Dwayne Robertson, a former U.S. Marine known to his supporters at his Orlando-based Fundamental Islamic Knowledge Seminary as "Abu Taubah." a law enforcement source said.

"It is no coincidence that this happened in Orlando," said a law enforcement source familiar with Robertson's history of recruiting terrorists and inciting violence. "Mateen was enrolled in [Robertson's online] Fundamental Islamic Knowledge Seminary."

The gunman was at the Islamic Center of Fort Pierce with Imam Shafiq Rahman two days before the nightclub attack, according to The Washington Post. That mosque was frequented by American-born suicide bomber Monar abu Salha, who blew himself up in Syria in 2014, and the two knew each other, according to officials.

I'm curious whether the rumors are accurate that Mateen went overseas in the last few years for terrorist training.

[WTF]

"LALALALALALALA CAN'T HEAR YOU!"
-prog

[Tonio]

Oh, that's interesting. Three possibilities, none good for the FBI (etc): FBI was aware of all this and was trying to setup a sting but didn't spring the trap soon enough. FBI was aware of all this, but didn't think it was a credible threat. FBI was too busy going after counterfeit purses and shoes.

[Overt]

There is also a fourth possibility: FBI knew about this guy, but just didn't have the evidence necessary to charge or convict him of something. And I think this is the most likely.

As civil libertarians, we need to grapple with this. Every day there are thousands of people expressing sympathy for ISIS. They are not breaking the law, and have the right to express such despicable thoughts. The FBI should of course investigate those people, but at the end of the day, they don't know which of those thousands of people are going to actually take a gun to a night club.

The reason I bring this up is that I've already heard people asking about whether or not this guy was on the No Fly list, and whether or not they could have been prevented from buying a gun. As bad as it may be, we need to be willing to give the FBI a pass on this guy if in fact the worst they could find was that he had bad views and happened to know some other people who did bad stuff. The alternative is that we give the government the ability to persecute anyone who isn't thinking "appropriately".

[Zeb]

Yes, this is an important point to make. I don't want the FBI or anyone else to be in a position to find every terrorist and nasty person in the country. That would require massive surveillance, and even if it were tightly focused now, the apparatus would be in place for the next target. And it's also not that hard to plan some horrible attack without doing anything illegal that would give the FBI reason to arrest you.
It's easy to rip on teh FBI after something bad happens, but I think you just have to accept that in a free-ish society, you just can't stop every bad thing without losing a lot of freedom, privacy and due process.

[R C Dean]

Unless, of course, it turns out that he was coordinating with some Islamic terrorist group.

Well, he said he was, and they said he was. Do you need more than that?

And, of course, there's plenty of Islamonutter doctrine that gays need killing, so the attempt to divorce his homophobia from Islaminutterism is going to be difficult, to say the least.

[Zeb]

Well, he said he was, and they said he was. Do you need more than that?

Well, yes. Anyone can say "I did this for ISIS" and an ISIS spokesman can claim responsibility for anything. I'm not sure why anyone would take these assholes at their word. It may well be that ISIS in some way directed this, but it seems at least as likely that it was "inspired by ISIS" and the guy acted alone.

[R C Dean]

I'm not clear why anybody would refuse to take these assholes at their word, myself.

This is like the nutter in England who beheaded a soldier on the street in broad daylight while screaming "Allahu Akbar", and nobody can figure out why he did it.

[Zeb]

I'm not clear why anybody would refuse to take these assholes at their word, myself.

Because terrorists and their ilk often claim responsibility for attacks they didn't actually have anything to do with. I'm pretty sure that is a well known thing that happens. They are evil nasty people trying to appear as big and scary to the world as possible. It's not surprising in the least that they would claim responsibility for attacks they didn't actually plan or support. So I see no reason to assume that their claim of responsibility means anything other than that they approve.

I'm not saying it wasn't an Islam based/inspired attack. Obviously it was. What I don't assume is that he was in any way directed by an organized terrorist group. The guys who beheaded that soldier in London probably weren't taking direction from someone in Syria or whatever either. That doesn't mean no one knows why he did it. He told everyone why he did it.

[Azathoth!!]

Because terrorists and their ilk often claim responsibility for attacks they didn't actually have anything to do with. I'm pretty sure that is a well known thing that happens.

Well, yes, yes it is. But in this case, we have the terrorist, and the terrorist organization telling us that this was, in fact, a terrorist act.

They are evil nasty people trying to appear as big and scary to the world as possible

Yes, this is quite nearly a definition of 'terrorism'.

The mistake you make is in thinking the terrorist organization is ISIS, or Al Qaeda, or some other little group. It's not.

All those little groups work for the BIG group.

The big group is called "Islam".

Hence "Islamic terrorism' not " Al Qaedic terrorism".

See?

[Zeb]

You are completely missing the point of what I said. How do you read what I wrote as questioning whether it was a terrorist act? Is reading really that hard?
I didn't say it wasn't terrorism and I didn't say it wasn't connected to Islam. It clearly was both of those things. All I'm saying is that it seems somewhat likely at this point that he planned and committed the attack on his own and wasn't specifically directed by ISIS and that you shouldn't assume that it was directed or coordinated by anyone other than the guy who shot all those people.

[Timon 19]

This is what Azathoth!! does on every thread even remotely related to things like this. He waits until it peters out to only a few comments an hour and spews a bunch of shit, usually composed almost entirely of "Muslims BAD!"

[Pope Jimbo]

+1 Janet Reno

[Fist of Etiquette]

The musical Hamilton fell one Tony win short of the record of 12.

Well, anything can happen in game 7.

[Lord Humungus]

Noah's Ark Crashes Into Coast Guard Vessel

A 230-foot long replica of Noah's Ark collided with a Norwegian Coast Guard vessel as it arrived in Oslo, Norway on Friday, causing damage to both ships.

Media says the wooden replica, built by a Dutch carpenter Johan Huibers after he dreamed of a flood in his home town, was being towed into Oslo harbor when it somehow lost control and crashed into the moored patrol vessel Nornen.

[Rhywun]

Here's to the crazy ones, the dreamers.

[Rasilio]

I think I saw that movie, it has Steve Carrell and Morgan Freeman right?

[Florida Hipster]

OMG ITS RUSSEL CROWE!

[This Machine]

C'MERE AND FOIGHT ME, YEH SCROTUM!

[straffinrun]

Looks like he spilled his drink from the Holy Grail replica on Hillary's lap. Good thing Indy didn't choose it.

[Princess Trigger]

Those poor animals.

[Slammer]

I think I've heard of a biblical interpretation where Noah's Ark is planet Earth

[Tonio]

LOL.

[Tonio]

patrol vessel Nornen

Named after the Norns (Norse equivalent of the fates)? Seems legit...

[Private Chipperbot]

How did it lose control if it was being towed?

[Cdr Lytton]

Obligatory.

[Mike Laursen]

Meanwhile all the elephants and kangaroosies are impatiently standing two-by-two on an Oslo pier.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Pittsburgh won its second consecutive Stanley Cup, defeating San Jose.

Go sports! I'm not sure that's entirely accurate.

[Rufus The Monocled]

It is. The Blackhawks are totally like the Penguins.

[Swiss Servator]

GRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[The Last American Hero]

Except more racist, what with appropriating the name and logo of those poor people.

[DrZaius]

The hockey team is actually named after an infantry division, which was named after Chief Blackhawk (a real person), who was and adversary of the United States during the war of 1812.

The more you know (shooting star logo here)

[John]

And it was not their second consecutive cup. It was their second cup this century. The Blackhawks won it last year.

[Agent Cooper]

It's not even Robby doing the links.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

And did you see 9:00?

Krayewski is a master of time.

He obviously spent all that extra time thinking up the witty alt-text (this is how sarcasm is done).

[SugarFree]

The musical Hamilton fell one Tony win short of the record of 12.

Can we now, as a nation, move the fuck on?

[Rhywun]

Beat me to it.

[SugarFree]

It's just so constant. I swear Slate must run two Hamilton stories a day. And Gawker properties try to outdo them.

[Rhywun]

But what's-his-name read poetry during the show! That should be good for another couple weeks of swooning.

[Drake]

Please tell me that Hamilton is a Fast Times sequel. I'll buy tickets today.

[Juvenile Bluster]

It's not, but apparently there's a Heathers musical now. I totally want to see it.

[Florida Hipster]

That is a movie you know was written on quality 80's cocaine.

[WTF]

"What's your damage?!"

[Rhywun]

Well, fuck me gently with a chainsaw.

[C. Anacreon]

Both do include the line "That was my skull!"

[creech]

You know I might be interested in reading the script of Hamilton but the "music" done in hip-hop fashion is practically unintelligible. I actually can't understand half of what is being "sung." No, I don't need a hearing aid.

[Citizen X]

The rest of us do need to get off of your lawn, though, right?

[The Fusionist]

"NO, CREECH, I SAID WOULD YOU LIKE SOME MORE COFFEE, NOT TELL ME ABOUT YOUR GRANDCHILDREN."

[UnCivilServant]

I forgot what I did wrong, but I'm going to offer some reconsiliatory cake anyway. I hear a number of posters (or at least socks) want cake.

[Swiss Servator]

CAKE?! WHERE?!?!?!?!

[waffles]

CAEK!?

[WTF]

The cake is a lie.

[Bee Tagger]

Pittsburgh won its second consecutive Stanley Cup, defeating San Jose.

Ed is a time traveler, but at least he comes bearing good news unlike that stupid 12 monkeys guy.

[Juvenile Bluster]

This is not good news. This is bad news.

[waffles]

Stop it. The worst whiners are always the Flyers fans.

[Charles Easterly]

My observations at a Capital home game would suggest otherwise, however anecdotal they may be.

*prepares to drop gloves*

[Mickey Rat]

The problem is he comes from an alternate reality where the Penguins won last year's playoffs as well.

[Clich? Bandit]

Ya know, all that matters is:

BRONCOS WON THE SUPERBOWL!!!!!

BRONCOS WON THE SUPERBOWL!!!!!

BRONCOS WON THE SUPERBOWL!!!!!

[Lord Humungus]

This is a few weeks old and maybe already discussed but just in case:

Fuck You, Pay Me: Reparations for Fat Black Bitches and Everything We Provide

Real talk: I'm exhausted with the idea that fat Black bitches have to take care of everybody. Like, full stop.

I'm tired of everyone expecting something from me. Whether it's using me as inspiration porn, using me as dissuasion porn (read: someone to never look like or love/like/fuck), to people eating off my flesh for their own resilience, support or power: fuck you, pay me.

Let me be clear, though: when I say, "Fuck you, pay me," I mean, "FUCK YOU. PAY ME." Pay me a check, pay me consistently, provide me safe housing, offer me a job with benefits, run me those Beyonce tickets, finance my clothes and wigs and aesthetics, cultivate accessibility to spaces and provide seats that fit me, see and validate my humanity.

I know this may come as a shock, but my exposing of trauma and sharing of vulnerability as a Black fat femme is not for anyone but me.

[Aloysious]

Ashleigh Shackelford is a queer, agender Black fat femme writer, artist, and cultural producer.

While I deeply regret clicking that link, that sentence right there is.... something else.

[C. Anacreon]

How can you be a femme, a bitch, and agender all at the same time?

[Tonio]

Anyone can be a bitch. No idea about the other.

[Free Market Socialist $park?]

Agender? And queer? And femme? At the same time? I guess it's about time to start throwing out dictionaries anyway.

[Rhywun]

Well, "queer" doesn't mean anything anymore so yeah.

[Princess Trigger]

If she's not getting paid now - I'm seeing the problem in that sentence.

[PBR Streetgang]

What is a cultural producer? Someone who produces cultures, like a petri dish?

[Free Market Socialist $park?]

It's a very perverse point. If she's going to be a spokesmodel for retarded white people's pet causes...

[DEG]

I tried reading the article. I stopped part way through because I can't stand entitled whiners.

[The Brakeless MAGA Train]

"Ashleigh Shackelford is a queer, agender Black fat femme writer, artist, and cultural producer."

IOW, so mired in his/her own "identity" movement that s/he is permanently broken.

[Lee G]

Uhhhhh..... who's taking care of who in this scenario?

[Anarcho-Woodchipper]

She must be fun to party with...

[straffinrun]

or fuck with.

[Free Society]

Setting aside all of her victimology and entitlement, which I'm sure earned her an A in Africana Studies, she can't even string together a coherent argument. Among her litany of complaints are people using her for "dissuasion porn" and "eating off of [her]" or even some how dare to "yassss" her.

You can't invent this kind of stupid, it grows organically in the mind of simpleton with a superiority complex and is then cultivated and enabled by the social justice movement and proggy culture.

[Zeb]

How does one "yassss" another person?

[SugarFree]

Salad tongs and a strong stomach.

[WTF]

Okay, that's enough right there. No need to continue.

[Clich? Bandit]

*blows whistle*

SF, Two minutes in the penalty box for roughing!

[Groovus Maximus]

Which, oddly enough, is pretty much the pre-req for a difficult vaginal delivery.

[Roger the Shrubber]

I already ignore her and she wishes that you would, too.

[Zeb]

I know this may come as a shock, but my exposing of trauma and sharing of vulnerability as a Black fat femme is not for anyone but me.

So why are you writing about it on the internet?

[Mickey Rat]

Does not seems to completely grasp what "sharing" means.

[R C Dean]

my exposing of trauma and sharing of vulnerability as a Black fat femme is not for anyone but me.

So she wants to be paid for something that isn't for anyone but her?

[Suthenboy]

Mental illness takes many forms, but if you work with the mentally ill you notice right away that one thing they all have in common is that they are completely self-absorbed.

[Juvenile Bluster]

Ed Krayewski|Jun. 13, 2016 9:00 am

Liar.

[C. Anacreon]

Hey, he was in one of those time zones that's a half-hour difference from GMT.

[Citizen X]

I look forward to ENB throwing him under the commentariat bus later this afternoon.

[Slammer]

Qatar convicts Dutch woman held 'after being raped'

A court in Qatar has convicted a Dutch woman of having sex outside marriage after she told police she was raped.
The 22-year-old was handed a suspended sentence and fined $824 (?580). She will also be deported.
Her lawyer said her drink had been spiked at a Doha hotel in March and she had woken up in a stranger's flat, where she realised she had been raped.
Her alleged attacker, who said the sex was consensual, was sentenced to 100 lashes for having sex outside marriage.
He will be given a further 40 lashes for consuming alcohol.
The woman has been detained since making the allegation three months ago, but her case only came to light over the weekend when her family decided to go public.

[Juvenile Bluster]

Even if you could possibly ignore the estimated 4,000 migrant workers that are going to die building their stadiums, the Qatar world cup is going to be such a fucking disaster.

[UnCivilServant]

Is that what they're calling the slaves now?

[Swiss Servator]

To be beaten, raped and sent back to what ever miserable land from whence they came.

[Rhywun]

India, mostly.

[Tonio]

Well, South Asia. Particularly Bangladesh.

[Rhywun]

Ah.

[Princess Trigger]

The Netherlands?

[Swiss Servator]

Why do you think my family left there, to come here?!

[Groovus Maximus]

from whence

*narrows gaze*

/handwaves rest in goodprogfashion

[Rhywun]

I can't wait to see how the media is going to hand-wave away everything that goes on there.

[Free Society]

They'll probably take a cue from modern feminists who have extensive experience hand waving the cultural norms of Muslims at home and abroad.

[Tonio]

^this

[Tonio]

But this seems to be a specifically muslim-arab thing.

[Rhywun]

Non-Arab Muslim countries tend to be shitholes too. A lot of the cultural norms came with the religion as they imposed it on their conquered lands.

[Swiss Servator]

I did not notice much decent treatment of women...or anyone else, in Central Asian lands that were Islamic.

[CatoTheChipper]

Having actually been a migrant worker in Saudi Arabia, albeit of the Western expat variety, I find this criticism to be specious. On government infrastructure projects under contract with a global engineering & construction concern or major joint-venture projects with international partners, the safety standards are comparable with anywhere else in the world. I worked on three $1B+ projects, and our safety statistics were as good or better than the US average on every one. That includes the safety performance of local and regional contractors under our management. I'm sure that much of the World Cup infrastructure work in Qatar is not going to be directed by a global E&C firm. Even so, their safety standards will probably be an order of magnitude better than they were in the US back when, say, the Hoover Dam was built.

[CatoTheChipper]

That is not to say that everything is going to be swell for migrant workers in Qatar. They work long hours in unpleasant conditions and live in cramped conditions. The food isn't great, but is not bad and it is abundant. Their work contracts make it difficult to quit since they are on the hook for transportation costs back home if they don't complete the term of their contract. And, sure, there is probably some royal jerk who is using his political connections to get visas and work permits to exploit their willingness to work for low wages. But nobody puts a gun to their head to force them to work in Qatar, and they are banking what is, to them, the big bucks for their family back home. I knew quite a few who accumulating capital to start up a business back home after several years.

The wage and living conditions argument is similar to the sweatshop criticism of Adidas or Apple. The safety argument is probably even more specious.

The Middle East is one messed up society, and Qatar is a really, really stupid selection for the World Cup. The safety and working conditions surrounding the construction of facilities in Qatar should be pretty low in the list of reasons why.

[Timon 19]

I imagine that this will fall on extremely deaf ears. There's no doubt that there are aspects of the culture in that region which are absolutely terrible. There's also no doubt that some projects will be utterly detestable. But when large Western-based contractors are involved in large projects, it's generally done on the up-and-up, if for no other reason that they'd be the first to be hammered if shit started going sideways.

[Rhywun]

I'm reserving judgement on this until the full truth comes out - probably long after the World Cup. What I've read so far is mostly just speculation.

[Free Market Socialist $park?]

When will people stop worrying about income disparity and start worrying about civilization disparity?

[Agent Cooper]

She will also be deported.

That's more reward than punishment, frankly.

[Swiss Servator]

"I want to leave and go home"

"You cannot leave, we are throwing you out!"

[Suthenboy]

Qatar sounds like a hoot.

*flips open vacation planner*

[R C Dean]

Her alleged attacker, who said the sex was consensual, was sentenced to 100 lashes for having sex outside marriage.

Since he's been convicted, he's not really "alleged" any more, is he?

[Tom Bombadil]

He's been convicted of "having sex outside of marriage".
The rape is still alleged.

[UnCivilServant]

He wasn't convicted of rape, so for that charge, it's alleged.

[Lord Humungus]

Goldsboro Man Charged After Slapping Woman with Chicken

A man is facing assault charges after investigators say he slapped a woman with a chicken.

Wayne County Sheriff's Office says 52-year-old James McCullen attacked the woman he lived with on Monday. McCullen repeatedly hit her with the bird and slammed her head into the floor.

Investigators say she fought back with a plastic mug and was finally able to run away.

McCullen is also charged with communicating threats.

[Free Market Socialist $park?]

Plastic mug vs chicken. Chicken always wins.

[WTF]

Slapping her with a chicken, or slapping her with his chicken?

[That's A Bingo!]

What's happening to the bird?

[Elspeth Flashman]

But not a rubber chicken.

[Spoonman.]

At least I have chicken.

[WTF]

Fried chicken?

[Tom Bombadil]

"Investigators say she fought back with a plastic mug"

Her face is made of plastic? This story doesn't make any sense.

[Citizen X]

"I understand that if any more words come pouring out your cunt mouth, i'm gonna have to eat every fucking chicken in the room."

[The Fusionist]

I would have led with "slammed her head against the floor." It's less clickworthy, but it highlights the most significant charge against him.

[Bee Tagger]

The United States will likely not make a decision on U.S. troops in Afghanistan before the NATO summit in Warsaw.

Just leave it for President Trumpary.

[Rufus The Monocled]

So. Did I get this straight? ISIS claims responsibility but Obama goes off on gun control?

Makes total sense.

Not a leader.

[Idle Hands]

So sad!

[Injun, as in from India]

He did the same thing after Charleston. The underlying problem in this case is Islamic supremacism leading to violence. Charleston was white supremacism leading to violence.

Obama orally defecated gun control nonsense after both incidents.

[straffinrun]

Islamic supremacism doesn't exist because they don't have any power. Or something like that.

[Tonio]

"vulnerable population"

[Zeb]

Well, obviously more gun control would stop this sort of thing. It worked great in Europe.

[WTF]

+ Anders Breivik

[FreeToFear]

And because suicide bombings are totally not as bad as mass shootings because... Uh... Reasons

[Tom Bombadil]

He really needs to go full monty and state:
"Just because ISIS claims responsibility doesn't mean they are responsible. They could just be trying to garner false credit".

[JD the elder]

Well, everybody already agrees ISIS is bad. It's not like he can score any political points off of blaming ISIS.

[DJF]

""""Why is it so dangerous? Because no one can foresee what the long-term consequences would be," Tusk said. "As a historian I fear that Brexit could be the beginning of the destruction of not only the EU but also of western political civilization in its entirety.""""

Civilization defined as over paid bureaucrats

Think of the bureaucrats children, think of the bureaucrats!!!!!!

[John]

A believer in central planning is rejecting something because of unforeseeable consequences. The irony burns.

[C. S. P. Schofield]

The EU was a hysterically funny idea from the get-go.

[WTF]

I believe they thought they were going to create the United States of Europe.

[Lord Humungus]

Japanese 'naked restaurant' to ban overweight diners

Following the lead of establishments in London and Melbourne, "The Amrita" -- Sanskrit for 'immortality' -- also has strict age restrictions, with only patrons between 18 and 60 allowed in, after they check in their clothes and put on paper underwear provided by the restaurant.

"If you are more than 15 kilograms (33 pounds) above the average weight for your height, we ask you refrain from making a reservation," a list of rules posted on the restaurant's website states, explaining that patrons could be weighed if they do not appear to be within the correct weight range.

Guests found to be "overweight" will be refused entry to the restaurant, which opens on July 29, and will not be entitled to a refund, its website points out. All payments must be made in advance on an online booking page.

The list of rules asks visitors not to "cause a nuisance to other guests" by touching or talking to fellow diners. Tattooed customers are barred from entry.

[Groovus Maximus]

Tattooed customers are barred from entry.

The Yakuza will be most displeased.

[UnCivilServant]

That is the reason most facilities in japan ban tattoos.

[Florida Hipster]

That's the reason for the ban.

[Groovus Maximus]

Sigh.

Must *everything* be /sarc'd in this world?

[Florida Hipster]

You also need a disclaimer

[Groovus Maximus]

"For a magazine called Reason...."

[Florida Hipster]

...we get an awful lot of supenas?

[Zeb]

I believe it's spelled "'sup penis".

[Florida Hipster]

Damn!

[This Machine]

Dammit, Groovus, it's too early to drink.

[Suthenboy]

It is?

[straffinrun]

And Americans that Kanji tattoos that make no sense.

[C. S. P. Schofield]

I never see a Chinese or Japanese ideographic character tattoo without feeling the sneaking suspicion that what it means is 'clueless roundeyes'.

[C. S. P. Schofield]

The Yakuza have their own naked restaurants, with much better 'crawl space' under the tables.

[Trigger Hippie]

Tattooed customers are barred from entry.

Drat! My dream of dining in a restaurant completely nude aside from paper underwear while fully erect has once more been foiled.

[SugarFree]

They are really just banning Americans and the odd Sumo.

[Groovus Maximus]

And, oddly enough, Mexicans are in their Nippon flavoured crosshairs...

But, that is disputable....From A Certain Point of View(s)...

[This Machine]

Didn't click the link, but isn't the fattest country Nauru or one of those other tiny countries in the South Pacific?

[SugarFree]

Tonga, according the link. 86% obese. Damn you, lamb flaps!

[Gray Ghost]

Tonga, I thought. But this article from the Daily Mail claims it's Kuwait.

[Groovus Maximus]

I did say, "From A Certain Point of View(s)...," yes?

PS

Different linky, albeit with a decidely Obi-Wan flair...

PPS

*spoiler alert* Their methodology relies almost exclusively on BMI, aka the *WORST* method of determining obesity.

[SugarFree]

Mutton Flaps!

[Lord Humungus]

Groovus missed the Great Mutton Flaps flap

[Groovus Maximus]

Indeed! (The "CPOV" reference linky also.)

This is also the same rationale that plagues the Native American indigenous peoples of North America... Essentially, consuming a diet, that, from an evolutionary POV, being sequestered and a small, discrete population, were/are not prepared to tolerate well.

Another way to put it is, "Metabolically Hyper-efficient."

[Clich? Bandit]

Damnit SF. I had blocked the imagery from my mind regarding that thread and now I just re-read it.

THANKS!

[Eternal Blue Sky]

Hey, if you had to live in a country surrounded by delicious food at all hours of the day, you'd be obese too.

[Rhywun]

Guests will fork out up to 80,000 yen (US $750) for tickets entitling them to eat food served by muscle-bound men wearing g-strings and watch a dance show featuring male models.

Reason meet-up!

[Clich? Bandit]

You and Jessie have a good time. Make sure Nicole doesn't scare off the simple-minded ones.

[The Fusionist]

No tattooed people, no fat people?

This sort of discrimination would be illegal in a Gary Johnson administration!

[Hamster of Doom]

Shoplifter hides in home, so police destroy it.

Cops gave him $5000 and walked away patting themselves on the back. The city demanded the homeowner build a new holding pond since he has to rebuild his house anyway. The homeowner has had to sue.

[Swiss Servator]

Thanks for the nutpunch.... 🙁

[Citizen X]

Government is just another word for the things we choose to do together, like punching a random bystander in the dick and then punching him in the dick again.

[Clich? Bandit]

Deja Vu!

I SWEAR that has happened before AND in the same town.

Like a year ago.

[Tonio]

9:00 AM? I don't think so, Krayewski. But if that helps you sleep at night...

[Swiss Servator]

A false time stamp, to salve a guilty conscience... or, "the guilty fake time stamps when no commentariat pursueth"?

[Free Society]

At least he gave us links. He's probably picking up Robby's slack so the young intern associate editor doesn't get scalped.

[Lord Humungus]

U.S. Doesn't Track if Millions in Biz 'Loans' to Refugees on Public Assistance Are Repaid

The U.S. government gives refugees on public assistance special "loans" of up to $15,000 to start a business but fails to keep track of defaults that could translate into huge losses for American taxpayers, records obtained by Judicial Watch reveal. The cash is distributed through a program called Microenterprise Development run by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Refugee Resettlement.

Since 2010 the program has granted thousands of loans to refugees that lack the financial resources, credit history or personal assets to qualify for business loans from commercial banks. Most if not all the recipients already get assistance or subsidies from the government, according to the qualification guidelines set by the Microenterprise Development Program. It's a risky operation that blindly gives public funds to poor foreign nationals with no roots in the U.S. and there's no follow up to assure the cash is paid back. The idea behind it is to "equip refugees with the skills they need to become successful entrepreneurs" by helping them expand or maintain their own business and become financially independent.

[Bra Ket]

Obviously they don't want to know. It's a welfare program in disguise. If there's one thing the govt knows how to do, it's track people and money.

[DJF]

The whole refugee program is a welfare program from top to bottom. And a jobs program for those who administer it, including the so-called charities who get paid for every refugee they help sign up for welfare.

[Bill Dalasio]

This report can't possibly be true. The enlightened crowd around here assured me that refugees weren't even given the cost of resettling in America. Surely they can't be being given "loans" to start businesses!

[Slammer]

Bid to Save Visa Program for Afghan Allies Blocked in Senate

An amendment to the defense bill that would preserve the U.S. refugee program for endangered Afghan military interpreters was blocked from a vote in the Senate late last week, prompting outrage from advocacy groups and military veterans.

The amendment to the defense authorization bill would authorize the State Department to issue up to 4,000 additional U.S. visas through the Special Immigrant Visa program. The program is designed to provide visas to Afghans who worked with the United States in Afghanistan and are now under threat from the Taliban.

The State Department has said it is on track to run out of its current allotment of visas, potentially stranding thousands of Afghan interpreters and their families who are still on the waiting list.

[The Brakeless MAGA Train]

well there's no hope for that program NOW

[Tonio]

It would be interesting to learn how the family of the shooter came to be here.

[(((Renegade)))]

Well, considering that Omar was born here 24 years ago, it probably wasn't because of the translator program.

[Gray Ghost]

And how much of the shooter's motivations came from his crazier-than-a-shithouse-rat Dad. FTL:

Orlando nightclub gunman Omar Mateen's father is an Afghan immigrant who hosted an anti-American TV show and once called the Taliban "our warrior brothers."

Seddique Mateen appears in scores of online videos, including one he posted to Facebook right around the time of his son's rampage. In it, he wears combat fatigues and salutes the camera.

In a video posted last year on YouTube, Seddique Mateen declared his candidacy for the Afghan presidency ? despite the fact that the election took place a year earlier, according to the Washington Post.

Dozens of YouTube videos show him hosting the "Durand Jirga Show" on a TV channel broadcast from California. The name of the show refers to the "Durand Line," the long-disputed border that separates Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The show is known for "its anti-US tirades" and "pro-Taliban" remarks, a former Afghan official told the Associated Press.

In one video, Mateen denounces the Pakistani government and speaks favorably about the Taliban, the Washington Post said.

"Our brothers in Waziristan, our warrior brothers in [the] Taliban movement and national Afghan Taliban are rising up," he says.

Of course, this may just be par for the course for Central Asian failed politicians.

[WTF]

See? No problem at all bringing people such as his dad into this country.

[The Fusionist]

What *was* the rationale for bringing him in?

[spqr2008]

Probably a mujahideen who was under threat from the Soviets in the mid 1980s.

[John]

You know what you call an Afghan who shoots at you? A Taliban. You know what you call an Afghan who offers to work for you? A smart Taliban.

[DJF]

So we fight a war to "nation build" Afghanistan and the Afghans who worked for us don't even want to stay in that country.

So who is suppose to occupy this new nation if all the people who worked for us are driving taxis in NYC?

[WTF]

OccupyDemocrats?

[Zeb]

the Afghans who worked for us don't even want to stay in that country.

I'm sure plenty of Afghans would like to leave, but I think those particular people might have more specific recons to want to leave.

[Injun, as in from India]

It didn't take a long time for the gun control crowd to come out of the woodwork and start whining about "assault" weapons.

The Gun Salesman of the Decade brought up guns right away, and I'm sure we're going to see another spike in background checks and sales.

And political Islam exposes its supremacist fangs yet again.

What pathetic times.

[Krabappel]

I don't know, I didn't start seeing the calls until at least 10 hours after the tragedy so I'd argue that they held off longer than they typically do.

[Free Society]

But presumably they began writing their articles as soon as they woke up that morning and only got them published and posted ten hours later. So they were pretty immediate about it.

[Injun, as in from India]

Twitter is faster. 140 characters don't take long to type.

[Krabappel]

I know better than to look at twitter. It's an unending stream of short sentence retardation.

[Mr Lizard]

Like 10 hours before this went down, I scored a sweet deal on an HK 45 USP.

[Florida Hipster]

Nice. Suppress it and make it your home defense gun.

[Mr Lizard]

Subtlety is for weak mammals who desire to live forever...Your Future Reptilian Overlords employ loudeners on all their weaponry to instill terror in the hearts of mammals....that and our 40 watt plasma rifles normally sound pretty nerdy out of the box

[Florida Hipster]

I was only thinking of your eyes since you can blink. Also, let me shoot that sum bitchin' plasma rifle.

[Florida Hipster]

Can't blink.

[UnCivilServant]

Turns out it's so badly designed it's only as powerful as a 30 watt human model.

[Mr Lizard]

Sigh, yes you are correct. Even Your Future Reptilian Overlords contract with Lockheed Martin for weaponry

[Swiss Servator]

"Hold my beer and watch this!"

BZZZZT!!!!!!!

[Slammer]

Pulse Rifle?

Too soon?

[Mickey Rat]

Are those the EZ Bake model plasma rifles?

[R C Dean]

Plasma rifle:

https://www.wetanz.com/blunderbuss/

[bacon-magic]

Pew pew hissssssssss.

[Rhywun]

Gun Salesman of the Decade

I hear they're giving them away down in Mexico.

[UnCivilServant]

Loss leaders.

[Zeb]

I guess I picked the right time to buy some SWHC stock.

[Bra Ket]

How the does the shooting say a damn thing about the ease or difficulty level of buying guns? His own federal agencies have already stated they could find nothing on the guy.

[Injun, as in from India]

He was a security guard for almost a decade. He had training. He passed background checks.

His company sent security personnel to guard even nuclear reactors. If this guy had been on a rotation to guard a nuclear reactor, he could have shot it up and taken engineers/scientists hostages.

[Tonio]

Or perhaps manage to wreck the thing, though I don't think it's possible to cause one to melt down unless you disable a lot of safeties.

[Injun, as in from India]

You would need technical knowledge to do something like that. But with 9/11, these bastards proved that they can get just enough technical knowledge to do the job, like steering planes after take off to crash them into buildings. (Screw lessons on landing a plane.)

[Gray Ghost]

G4S is, IIRC, the largest security firm in the world. While true they supply personnel to guard nuclear power plants and other sensitive sites, they also supply rent-a-cops to lots of other places. The fact he had a FL armed security officer firearms license doesn't imply that he'd have been assigned to guard something like a nuke plant, especially after two or three separate FBI interviews about things like him claiming to be a terrorist, and knowing a US-born suicide bomber who went off to Syria to blow himself up.

Then again, it's the Obama Administration: is there anything they can't fuck up?

[Tonio]

Quotas, don't forget quotas. "The security force isn't very diverse, we need more diversity to satisfy the government."

[Clich? Bandit]

HENCE molten salt reactors. If the damn politicians got out of the way, melting down a molten salt reactor would be nigh impossible...instead we have large, complex, Pressurize Water reactors.

[Lord Humungus]

ACLU lawyers blame 'Christian right,' GOP for Orlando terrorist attack

Christian conservatives are responsible for the mass shooting at a gay bar in Orlando because they "created this anti-queer climate," according to American Civil Liberties Union attorneys.

"You know what is gross ? your thoughts and prayers and Islamophobia after you created this anti-queer climate," ACLU staff attorney Chase Strangio tweeted on Sunday morning.

[Juvenile Bluster]

Remember when the ACLU was a civil liberties organization and not a progressive political organization?

Those were the days.

[Free Society]

Must have been before my time.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

How many days was that?

10, 15, or 20 tops?

[The Fusionist]

Roughly the time between 1940 - when they said that supporteres of foreign totalitarianism (i. e. commies) couldn't serve on their board - to that time in the 1970s when they said, OK, commies *can* serve on our board, and what's more, we will make a grovelling apology for excluding them previously.

[Free Society]

They're just sorry they didn't ally with Cultural Marxism sooner.

[C. S. P. Schofield]

The ACLU was always a Progressive political organization, but there was a time when that did not also mean 'a collection of prattling idiots'.

[Injun, as in from India]

Give them some credit. At least he didn't blame global warming.

[Mr Lizard]

The week just started, I bet my claws that we'll see an article before the 1 week mark

[Swiss Servator]

I'd lay odds that piece is already hitting the webz, somewhere.

[WTF]

Yes, because Islamists always follow what Christians have to say on anything. It has nothing to do with the hatred of gays contained in the Koran. That is so stupid it seems as if ACLU must have been hacked or something.

[Free Society]

Say what you will about Christianity, and as an atheist I often do, but it's provides a decent bulwark against the expansionist inclinations of Islam that atheist social philosophy and associated politicians seem unprepared to provide.

[Eternal Blue Sky]

"It has nothing to do with the hatred of gays contained in the Koran."

It's more to do with what's contained in the Hadiths. That's where the death sentence part is.

[Tonio]

Yo, fuck Chris Strangio.

[Rhywun]

I almost feel sorry for people who are that brain-damaged.

[Zeb]

Yeah, there was never an anti-gay environment in Islamic communities before the Christians made them do it.

[Groovus Maximus]

European Council President Donald Tusk said that if Britain votes to leave the European Union it could spell the end of th [sic] EU and Western political civilization.

Importation of Islamo-Mohammedans already did that for you; and Londonstan agrees.

[Rufus The Monocled]

A bit hyper since Britain never was really deep into the EU as were the the founding members choosing to have one foor in and one foot out so to speak. Moreover, recall de Gaulle didn't even want the UK in the original group.

Nonetheless, the overall point stands. Other factors could arguably bring the whole thing down; including a technocratic system.

[UnCivilServant]

If you haven't done so yet, might I suggest watching "Brexit the Movie", it's free online. Has a great segment on hisorical economics.

[straffinrun]

The Regulated Man part is depressingly excellent.

[This Machine]

I prefer The Celery Man.

[straffinrun]

Have a rule that I never turn off a song until the end. Made that over 25 years ago. Bastard. Time to start over.

[Tom Bombadil]

The end of Western political civilization? Just coz the limeys wont a bit of the old in-out, in-out?

Hyperbole much?

[Lord Humungus]

do it! do it!

Brexit fear factor sends stocks spinning

With growth looking shaky, worries that the "Brexit" vote could tip Europe back into recession have moved to the head of a list of concerns for investors which includes banks' problems with negative interest rates and dangerous imbalances in China.

A poll late on Friday gave Britain's "Leave" camp a 10-point lead, knocking sterling back by almost 3 full cents against the dollar and driving the worst losses for Asian stock markets in four months. European shares .FTEU3 fell 1.5 percent and Wall Street was set to open 0.3 percent lower.

Other polls have been tighter, but money markets have now abandoned expectations, high just weeks ago, that the U.S. Federal Reserve could raise official borrowing costs on Wednesday, just 8 days before the UK vote. Instead, the worry is that the Fed could use language that quells expectations of a move this year at all.

[Lee G]

The Fed isn't going to raise rates because that could put China into a tailspin.

[straffinrun]

See what happens when you stick it in crazy, Britain?

[Swiss Servator]

*rises to begin thunderous ovation*

*throws garlands*

[Rhywun]

If they brexit, I sincerely hope it begins to lead to a reversal of the endumbening that has infected every other part of their existence.

[DEG]

I stumbled on response to an Oregon government official's request for access to land. I hope it is real and not a hoax.

[Tonio]

That is beautiful.

[Krabappel]

*standing ovation* That is fucking incredible. Also, if they are looking some endangered yellow-fuck frog they are looking to violate your property rights. "Your land is now an endangered wet land habitat and you can't do anything with it anymore"

[Rufus The Monocled]

Could you imagine if they found something on his property? They'd move to kick him off his land.

[Free Society]

That's my first thought. Almost any government personnel are a direct threat to your life, liberty and especially your property.

[Lee G]

That's absolutely stunning in its beauty.

[Charles Easterly]

Nice.

Thanks, DEG.

[Injun, as in from India]

"However, all fees can be waived if you can verify Native Indian tribal rights and status."

LOL. That was epic.

[R C Dean]

Awesome. I particularly liked the class in self-defense strategies for frog attacks.

[Slammer]

Thanks! Shared

[Citizen X]

Excellent.

[Drake]

Although he expressed hope that the EU would survive in the event of a Brexit, Tusk said the price would be high.

Maybe that's because the Brits pay ?13 billion into the EU and get ?6 billion back?

[Tom Bombadil]

"You brexit, you buy it"

[Tonio]

OMG, derpbook was a total shit-show yesterday. Here's what I learned: that muslims in America are a "vulnerable population," that we shouldn't attribute this to radical islam because...something, that right-wing nutjobs think the shooter had a right to carry that scary "assault weapon" into a nightclub, that the Lt. Gov of Texas (he of they they got what was a coming to them tweet) is an asswipe.

[Krabappel]

I've also seen some twists and turns to blame it on Christianity somehow.

[Injun, as in from India]

I stay away from Derpbook. Just about everytime a shooting is in the news, there's some smug leftist saying "Yup... guns again."

And I always wonder if it would make them happier in a creepy way if the tool used was something else, like say, arson. Would they blame gasoline or the match?

Do you remember these Tonio?

UpStairs Lounge arson attack
Gothenburg discoth?que fire

[kbolino]

You would think they would have given up on gun control after the Paris attacks.

[Free Society]

Leftism never stops, it never sleeps, it never says "mission accomplished", they will always seek more concessions, more control more power. Under any and all circumstances, by any means necessary, all of the time.

[kbolino]

I just mean that it's blatantly obvious their proposed policies don't work at their stated aims. And even if what they really mean is "China-level total confiscation", then we get to enjoy mass knife attacks which can still kill dozens.

[WTF]

Or how about this?

[Tonio]

Had forgotten about those until you mentioned it.

[lap83]

You guys perform a valuable service of making me glad that I'm no longer on FB

[Citizen X]

Ditto. I love my friends and family; i don't need to be reminded that most of them aren't all that smart.

[Lord Humungus]

Bold bet on a 727-hp Mustang

Watching Reynolds' character wheel his 1977 Pontiac Trans Am during wild chases took Watson back to a time when old-school muscle cars were powerful without a lot of added flash or technology.

"Back in the day, it was just a man and his car," Watson said. "It had a big engine, it had tons of power and it was all fun. It wasn't about the fancy body kits, the heated seats and the touch screens and all this other craziness. It was just a lot of power and a lot of fun."

That night, as he lay awake in bed, a thought struck him, an idea for a marketing promotion that would end up turning a small dealership in southwestern Ohio into a destination for performance enthusiasts around the country.

The deal, announced in a Jan. 30 blog post, was simple: a base 2016 Mustang GT -- fitted with a Roush Phase 2 supercharger that gives its 5.0-liter V-8 727 hp -- for $39,995. Yes, including the car.

[DEG]

Did the dealer change anything else besides the engine?

I remember an episode of Top Gear from a couple of years ago where they tested some aftermarket Mustang variations. They pointed out that the stock suspension, steering, and differential are shit, and the versions Top Gear liked best (and if I remember correctly did best on their track) had new suspensions, differentials, and modifications to the steering.

[Lord Humungus]

Many years ago I modified an '86 Monte Carlo SS - minty Tennessee car - replacing the 180hp 305 with a 370hp 355. I also replace the transmission with an upgraded unit with a 2500 stall converter. It was a fast car for the time - 3400 pds with a strong engine.

The added hp made the SS a real beast to drive - as in a smatter of rain and it felt like the car wanted to spin out at anything above 35mph. Not enough tire. The stock suspension and brakes just couldn't keep up with the new drivetrain. And the 7.5" rear was always close to being grenaded.

It was a real lesson on how a vehicle - at best - is a whole package, not just an engine.

[DEG]

One of my uncles had a Monte Carlo of that vintage when they were new. I remember him talking with my dad about all the computer controls in the car. I think it might have been the first car of my uncle's that he didn't tune up himself.

Despite not liking many GM products, I do have a soft sport for those vintage Monte Carlos.

And yes, cars are a system.

[Lord Humungus]

The previous owner of my SS disconnected the computer... probably after they installed the headers with no oxygen sensor - which made the carb go full rich... which led to 12mpg.

I got better mileage with the 355 and a non-computer Edelbrock carb.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

The Mustang has been recently upgraded with much better suspension than previously available.

I'd suspect that most people are at least getting the 'GT performance' package added (~$2500) which adds bigger brakes and some additional bracing in the suspension.

[Clich? Bandit]

There was ONE year and ONE model in recent times that wasnt shit in exactly those three categories.

The 1999 Cobra had all wheel independent suspension, a 355 rear end with a 10.5" SVO kevlar clutch, an all AL block and heads (which were huge due to being 4 port), and a very stiff steering. That car was balls for a 4.6 right from the factory.

p.s. I won a big bet on the suspension thing once. Dude was positive it was a solid rear axle...he made the bet, bent down to look and saw a large gas tank in his way. I laughed.

[Clich? Bandit]

ohh and 4 wheel vented disk brakes
4 piston calipers...god I loved that car.

I first saw it in GT3, immediately started saving to buy one. Got a dentist whose wife said "its the wrong color" so I picked it up with less than 5k on it.

[Mazakon]

About 50 people were killed by a gunman who opened fire in a gay nightclub in Orlando for which ISIS took responsibility.

I was watching the news last night and one of his co-workers had said that he was virulently racist against black people.

[Tonio]

Why, that can't be. We are regularly assured by Muslim leaders in America how Islam is the only Abrahamic faith which believes in treating black people as equals.

Seriously, though, this is going to be really hard to spin.

[Groovus Maximus]

Seriously, though, this is going to be really hard to spin.

"Calypso" Louie Farrakhan is up to the task...

[Mr Lizard]

"virulently racist against black people."

Chris Rock said something about this back in the 90's

[Bra Ket]

That would only matter if there was some kind of "single standard" in this country regarding racism.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

If you're white, you're racist?

That's a pretty clear standard.

[Drake]

Well, the Arab slave trade imported sub-Saharan blacks into the Middle East for a thousand years, yet there are no black people there. That's pretty indicative.

[Free Society]

Indicative of the fact that Islamic societies didn't have the moral wherewithal to not cull and mutilate their population of slaves once they'd outlived their usefulness, a fate that was specifically reserved for the African slave population. They also took many many more slaves out of Africa for many many years longer, just so there's no mistaking the scale of the genocide.

[Lord Humungus]

Did the Clinton Foundation raise 'hundreds of millions of dollars' for a hospital in Haiti that was never built?

There's real frustration among Haitians over failures in progress promised to them, not just by the Clintons but from the international community at large. In 2015, Haitian activists protested outside the Clinton Foundation in New York, claiming the Clintons mismanaged hundreds of millions in taxpayer money through the Interim Haiti Reconstruction Commission.

But there is no evidence that Hillary Clinton, through the Clinton Foundation, raised "hundreds of millions of dollars" for a hospital that was never built. We consulted groups that have been critical of recovery delays in Haiti, but they could not point to a specific Clinton Foundation-funded hospital project, either.

"We've tried to figure out what he might be citing as well, but we can't provide you with a source of his claim because one doesn't exist," said Craig Minassian, a Clinton Foundation spokesman. "The Clinton Foundation never committed to build a hospital, nor did it accept, raise, or spend funds for that purpose. His claim is false."

[Injun, as in from India]

Monica: "Bill, is that a giant hospital in your pants or are you just pleased to see me?"

[DJF]

Their proof that this story seem to rely on the fact that the Clinton Foundation does not seem to have promised or accomplished much of anything so there for they are not guilty of raising hundreds of millions for a hospital that was not built.

They did not raise money on anything specific

And they did not spend money on anything specific

[SugarFree]

"There ain't no subject I can't spread my magic sauce all over," Donald said, idly swirling a finger in his anus while reading Twitter on the toilet. He grunted, piggish and low, while the hat watched impassively from his perch on the bathroom faucet.

"Don't call it that, Donald," said his hair. "What if you called it that in public?"

"No one cares what I say, they'll all cheer whatever it is," he snarled.

"Good observation," the hat said. "You're really catching on, Donald."

"Some bitch called me a bitch on Bitch Twitter and some darkie called me a racist on Black Twitter and some wetback called me a Mexiphobe on Undocumented Twitter and some little twink called me a self-hating self-tanner victim on Fag Twitter. I'm going to destroy them all!" Donald screamed.

"Isn't all of Twitter just Fag Twitter?" the hat asked philosophically.

The hair laughed despite himself. "Stop it. Some of our country's finest GOP politicians and their hairpieces have been homosexuals."

"You would know," the hat grumbled.

"Like you don't have an adjustable strap into the back."

[SugarFree]

"Would you two shut up? I'm trying to make my magic sauce!"

"Donald?" the hair began.

"Out! I want both of you out!" He snatched the hat off the faucet and lumbered toward the bathroom door.

"Oh, god. He's touching me with the finger that was in his ass," the hat moaned.

"Donald, wait. It doesn't have to go down like this, man," the hair said.

Donald awkwardly opened the bathroom door with his ass play hand and threw the poopy hat into the hotel room filled with advisors waiting for him. His tiny, startled penis had forgotten they were there.

"Take this too," he yelled at them, ripping the hairpiece away.

"Not the shit finger!" the hair gasped.

Donald slammed the door and retreated to his porcelain turd dungeon to Twitter forevermore.

[(((Renegade)))]

porcelain turd dungeon

I used to play guitar in that band.

[This Machine]

I used to actively avoid reading SugarFree's prose. Now I absorb it as readily as I can. I believe the intense mental and emotional scarring will blunt me to the lurking horrors of the world that I have yet to experience in the dark years to come.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

The actual translation of anything he writes starts off with "In his house at R'lyeh, dead Cthulhu waits [or lies] dreaming. And SugarFree is out in the kitchen, banging the pots and pans."

[Citizen X]

SugarFree's body of works is the answer to the question, "What's the worst that could happen?"

[Azathoth!!]

meh.

not your best.

I didn't even feel any nausea.

sad!

[Tonio]

Thanks, Sug, for giving us hope and laughter in these dark times.

[SugarFree]

I wonder how many commenters rubbed themselves raw over Orlando yesterday.

[Crusty Juggler]

Sunday is a big day for some of us...

[Tonio]

You ask the most disturbing questions.

[Swiss Servator]

Hope and Laughter?!

More like "Imma no gonna have lunch now"...

[Charles Easterly]

I didn't make it past through the first sentence.

[Krabappel]

He's helping us lose weight.

[(((Renegade)))]

The musical Hamilton fell one Tony win short of the record of 12.

If they'd had muskets, they would have made the record.

[chipper me timbers]

it could spell the end of th EU and Western political civilization

What the hell is "political civilization"?

[Tonio]

Statism.

[Injun, as in from India]

^THIS.

[UnCivilServant]

An enclave in brussels where the eurocrats stay isolated from the plebs.

[Free Society]

European Council President Donald Tusk said that if Britain votes to leave the European Union it could spell the end of th EU and Western political civilization.

Wut?

[tarran]

He can't conceive of a civilization that doesn't involve the proles shoveling their hard earned cash to his tax collectors so that he can dine on sumptuous meals on fine china.

[But Enough About Me]

"Don't terk r jerbs!"

[straffinrun]

So he's advocating for the Brexit. Not so confusing.

[Slammer]

Thanks, NRA

Because of the NRA's opposition to an assault rifle ban, terrorists like lunatics can legally buy a killing machine and perpetrate the worst mass shooting in U.S. history.

Fuck you.

[Injun, as in from India]

I saw a snarky comment somewhere about how if the shooter was a Christian and yelled "Yeah, Jesus!" instead of "Allah-u-Akbar", the Left would have still blamed the NRA.

[Lord Humungus]

I would like to buy a killing machine - like an old T34 tank to restore. What does that make me?

[Injun, as in from India]

A racist misogynist homophobe?

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

But that has nothing to do with you wanting to buy a tank.

[UnCivilServant]

A pinko commie sympathizer, that's a Soviet Death Machine.

[Mr Lizard]

A glutton for punsishment?...

[Tonio]

Awesome?

[Citizen X]

Hitler?

[bacon-magic]

Someone who over posts PUA shit?

[Citizen X]

I already said "Hitler."

[Lord Humungus]

don't confuse me with Longtorso

[Glide]

Is "killing machine" going to be the new cliche catchphrase? Good, I was getting sick of "common sense" and "gun safety" and "military-style".

I mean, technically a mechanical pencil is a killing machine if used in a certain way, but hey,

[Zeb]

Yeah, no way the attack could have been done with a shotgun or handgun.

[John]

http://www.bloomberg.com/polit.....-terrorism

Thousands more jihadist on the FBI radar. But until they actually start plotting and or killing people, there is nothing the FBI can do to stop them.

[Ken Shultz]

Isn't that awful, John?

If only the FBI could arrest people for what they say and believe, instead of just for what they do, then maybe we'd be safe.

[John]

It is pretty awful if you are one of the people they kill. It is pretty clear you don't care much about that but the people who die do.

[Ken Shultz]

Yeah, if only the FBI could arrest people for what they say and believe, those of us who say and believe things would be so much safer.

[Crusty Juggler]

I wonder if the ATF could spare a few agents from their cigarette smuggling investigations. Maybe Homeland Security Investigators could spend a little less time arresting gang members in the Bronx. I mean, the FBI is overwhelmed and they need the help from somewhere.

[John]

Gee I wonder. Maybe we should get out of the drug war business and the copyright enforcement business and such and worry about actual threats. That would be a start for sure.

Again, there is only so much LEOs can do. You guys think I am making some smart ass remark. I am pointing out reality. All of these promises to "put cops on the streets" and "connect the dots" are bullshit. It is not going to stop this or do much good. The only way to stop this is to keep radicals from being here in the first place. Once they are here, you likely are not going to stop them from doing real harm absent very good luck.

[Crusty Juggler]

Again, there is only so much LEOs can do. You guys think I am making some smart ass remark. I am pointing out reality. All of these promises to "put cops on the streets" and "connect the dots" are bullshit. It is not going to stop this or do much good.

The article you posted seemed like it was lamenting the fact that the Constitution and those pesky rights was partially to blame for the shootings.

You apparently want to make this all about Muslim immigration, and hey, have yourself a good time with that, but I was responding to the article.

[John]

We have three choices Crusty, ignore these attacks and just let them happen as one of those things, effectively repeal the Constitution and put the screws to people, or take steps to limit the number of Muslims in our society. It is simple but brutal math. A certain non zero number of Muslims are going to engage in mass murder and there is no way to tell who they are or do much to stop them once they decide to do it. So the number of attacks is going to in large measure correlate to the number of Muslims in your society.

So really it is about Muslim immigration. If you don't want to restrict it, fine. Just be honest and understand there is a price to be paid for that and no amount of "we will vet them and only let the good ones in" or "the FBI will protect us" bullshit is going to change that.

I am not telling you your answer is the wrong one. I am just saying everyone should be honest with themselves about what that means.

[Zeb]

There is another choice. Don't ignore the attacks, but accept that if you want anything like a free society, that sort of thing can happen.

I'm not interested in arguing about restricting immigration right now except to point out that this guy was a US citizen. Maybe restricting immigration helps a bit, but there are plenty of people already here that you can't get rid of that way (assuming it is desirable to do so).

[(((Renegade)))]

Remember who you're dealing with- an apparatchik of the worst government agency this side of DEA.

[Drake]

Yeah, it is a dilemma.

Apparently his ex who he beat up, the local cops, and his employer all looked the other way and never pressed charges against him - so he walked into a gun store with a clean record.

Not that I like those FBI stings... but this was a poster child for one.

[Crusty Juggler]

Yeah, it is a dilemma.

No, it really isn't. You make the assumption that more government power, and fewer rights, would have prevented this or any other attack. That is absurd.

[John]

I wish they had pressed charges against him. He was apparently a piece of shit who beat the hell out of his wife. That, however, would not have prevented this. Gun control never stops determined criminals from getting guns and the prohibition against wife beaters buying guns would not have stopped this guy.

No question PC fears caused a lot of people to let this guy slide. That is a bad thing but I don't think they would have stopped him even if they hadn't been restricted by PC.

[Drake]

No, I really don't make that assumption. If I did, it wouldn't be a dilemma.

I know that if I beat up my wife, got myself on the radar of the local cops, and generally acted like an asshole, there's a good chance that I would have a police record before long. Which would make it tough to buy firearms legally. I'm guessing he got a pass for being Muslim and by people who were just plain lazy.

The Navy Yard and Gabby Giffords shooters were similar - guys who should have had records but didn't.

[Crusty Juggler]

I know that if I beat up my wife, got myself on the radar of the local cops, and generally acted like an asshole,

Did she even ever go to the police?

people who were just plain lazy.

Or inept, which is modus operandi for law enforcement.

[Crusty Juggler]

"Law enforcement is following hundreds of people and there are thousands of people that have come on their radar," Shawn Henry, a former FBI executive assistant director, said in an interview. "The complexity of trying to navigate our laws and Constitution while trying to maintain optimal security is a really difficult challenge. You just cannot protect against everything."

Ugh. The Constitution is such a dick.

[Crusty Juggler]

That effort is compounded in a country like the U.S., where free speech and the ability to buy guns are considered fundamental rights. "Just making statements isn't enough to arrest somebody," Republican Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, a member of the Intelligence Committee, said on CBS News.

Stupid US.

[Crusty Juggler]

Stopping lone-wolf attacks in the U.S. is "extremely difficult" because law enforcement and intelligence officials are limited by laws in terms of how much internet surveillance they can do of suspects, as well as by the resources they have, King said.

"In many ways it's searching for a needle in the haystack," King said. "The FBI doesn't have the personnel to keep tabs on everybody."

Yeah. There are not enough federal agents.

[straffinrun]

He does a great job of selling the other guy's point.

[R C Dean]

law enforcement and intelligence officials are limited by laws in terms of how much internet surveillance they can do of suspects

Since when?

[John]

There is no way to tell who is actually going to do something and who won't. So the price of having Muslims in our society is that every few months a few dozen people or more are butchered in furtherance of the jihad.

That is just how it is. You either kill off the constitution and start rounding people up on suspicion but not for actually doing anything or you have a steady stream of incidents like we had this weekend.

I am not saying your choice to accept the terrorism is a bad one. I am just saying that is the choice you are making. And the more Muslims you have in your society, the higher the price of that choice is.

[straffinrun]

Or you could just stop subsidizing the migration from war torn middle eastern countries and let the free market fix it. Of course that would also mean you probably should stop bombing the shit out of them and killing their leaders.

[John]

This guy didn't do this because we were bombing shit. And not subsidizing immigration is certainly not a bad idea. It at least admits the nature of the problem and the difficulty in solving it.

[straffinrun]

His parents came from Afghanistan and that certainly was being bombed. It would take a long time to solve this problem the correct way and that means not trampling the right not to be spied on by your government. If the US respected property rights and wasn't so goddamned busy shuffling other people's money around, a sustainable equilibrium would eventually emerge. Take the guns! More Agent Smiths! No thanks.

[John]

If he had shot up a recruiting station, then you could say the bombing had something to do with it. But that is not what he did. He shot up a gay bar because he hated guys and couldn't stand the fact that they lived openly in this country. Our bombing of Afghanistan had nothing to do with any of that. This guy's parents came here in 1986. Had 911 never happened and we never bombed Afghanistan, he still would have hated gays and felt it was his religious duty to murder them. This was about his religion and gays not about bombing.

[straffinrun]

I'm not saying it wasn't about his religion. I'm saying take what you want and pay for it. In a society absent of state coercion, you'd be able to form communities that would be much better at handling nutcases like this than some shiny, imperial city a thousand miles away. Don't pay for them to come to the US, but if they have the means and the community decides to accept them, then I can't object. As for the bombing, he probably would've killed gays in Lahore if the US hadn't gotten involved in the first place. Tragic, but that certainly wouldn't be my problem.

[John]

In a society absent of state coercion, you'd be able to form communities that would be much better at handling nutcases like this

That is just naive to think that. If I am a typical Muslim living in the US, what reason to I have to confront the radicals? They are not going to target me as a fellow Muslim, at least not yet, and confronting them is dangerous. If I am a Muslim and I go pick a fight with some radical Imam and tell him that Islam doesn't condone murdering gays or beating your wife, I am liable to get myself killed. So why would I do that? The rational thing to do is just shut up and stay out of it.

[straffinrun]

Why does it have to be the typical Muslim confronting the radicals? Be a badass society where if you come in and start threatening people, you're shown the door with extreme prejudice. If it does come to war after that, well, you've done the right thing and you've still maintained your principles. Or you could sell them out and get into war anyways. If Muslims are incorrigible, then we're arguing a moot point because war then is inevitable. I'll go this far: Deport or lock up any Imam advocating violence.

[John]

Why does it have to be the typical Muslim confronting the radicals?

Because it is their community. What, do you think Muslims are going to listen to you or me tell them what their religion actually means? The only people who can make Islam less radical are Muslims.

And you are the one talking about how communities could solve this if only the government would allow it. Well who the hell is the "community" if not other Muslims? Again, I don't think this guy or any other Muslim is going to be too interested in being lectured by some well meaning non Muslim about what their religion really means.

[straffinrun]

John, I've just spent the last day and half arguing with idiots on FB that indeed Islam is extremely oppressive of gays. The opinion that gays are immoral isn't held by a few, but by majorities in every country across the Islamic world. We're arguing strategy not about whether or not I could change what a Muslim thinks. I'm not willing to give up my right or anyone's who hasn't committed or is under suspicion of committing a crime. I watched what you were arguing with CJ above and was trying to find a common ground. Immigration patterns have been so screwed with by the government that it's almost impossible to see what our demographics would look like if the market had handled them. It's a Gordian knot now.

[Free Society]

Immigration patterns have been so screwed with by the government that it's almost impossible to see what our demographics would look like if the market had handled them.

I would think the domestic population would have a higher birthrate and would be decidedly more European in their ancestry. Something tells me that a third worlder with no valuable skills would have a difficult time moving across the world to an alien culture with an advanced economy and a high cost of living without the aid of free healthcare, free education, housing subsidies, cash handouts and food stamps to support their 9 children.

Immigration as we have it with a welfare state, is just another government program that aims to knock whites down a few pegs.

[Swiss Servator]

24 years ago...being bombed by....each other. One of the bouquet of assholes, Hekmatyar Gulbuddin, Najibullah, Dostum, et al.

Shit, I would want to leave to.

[Domestic Dissident]

We should both stop bombing the crap out of them, and keep them from coming here at the same time.

Let these primitive animals stay over there and keep on killing each other in their own disgusting shitholes until they decide they're tired of it. If we're really lucky, maybe in about 100 years or so they'll finally be ready to join civilized humanity, though I have my doubts even that will be enough time.

[Citizen X]

Ain't it a shame when due process stands in the way of swift justice?

[Injun, as in from India]

Shall-issue in all states.

50-state reciprocity.

That should even out the balance of power between Islamofascists and the public.

[John]

Would likely not help. It would help some in that it would turn nightclubs into harder targets. But, having to be armed and on guard every time you go out into public is not a very free society. And once people were armed, the jijadists would just change their tactics and start using bombs or other means that that being armed would not help you stop.

Your idea is a good one for a lot of reasons but it isn't going to help much with this.

[Injun, as in from India]

I'm not saying anything abou _having_ to be armed at all times. It's not an individual mandate.

[John]

I didn't say you did. But, you would probably want to be. And if you were not, then what good does it do? I get the idea that the threat of someone being armed and shooting back would have made this attack a lot harder and likely a lot less deadly. I am just saying that it would only mean that these guys change their tactics not that they stop murdering people.

[Mr Lizard]

Funny how this guy did not like gays and black people. Given the choice of venue to invade in Orlando (or anywhere in Florida) I would say he chose wisely.

And yes I'm being stereotypical but hip hop type club attendees tend to have a non-zero experience with clubs getting shot up, and returning fire.

[John]

Yes. I have no doubt he would have met a few he didn't want to meet had he tried this at a hip hop bar. But that makes my point. These guys are always going to seek out the soft target. So hardening targets, while not a bad thing, doesn't solve the problem since you can't harden them all.

[The Fusionist]

It may help with the hardened targets.

A few years ago, I read about how the South African government thought it was unfair that some people could afford to protect their property and others couldn't, meaning that crime would be unfairly distributed in society, with the poor getting hit more.

[John]

There are a million good reasons for society to be armed. I just think it won't help us much in dealing with assholes like this.

[Warty]

The fact is that it's just not that difficult to murder a bunch of people. The hardest part is overcoming a person's natural reluctance to murder a bunch of people that they don't know. Once you're past that, the means they use to do it are almost an afterthought.

[Lord Humungus]

So much this - a few gallon of gasoline, especially if set at all the exits, would have been an even greater tragedy.

[Drake]

I was thinking the same thing - chock or chain all the doors and burn it to the ground. Basically what they did by accident in that Great White show in Rhode Island.

[straffinrun]

My friends and I used to play a game over drinks where you'd have to come up with an idea to kill as many people as possible with the objects the other guys gave you. For example, you get a bag of candy corn, a broken bicycle pump and 10 sparklers.

[Swiss Servator]

Murderous McGuyver?

[straffinrun]

Sounds like a Neilson buster.

[Tom Bombadil]

In your example I would beat the person to death with the pump.

In other scenarios, I imagine I would beat the person to death with whatever was made available.

If no good "beating" objects were available, I would beat the person's head against the ground while grasping the "not good beating" objects (to be in compliance with the game).

btw, game seems boring.

[John]

No Warty it is not. Give everyone an AR 15 and the guy would just have rammed a car full of explosives into the place and killed just as many people. A well armed populace won't solve the problem of people who not only want to kill but are willing to die in the process.

[Gray Ghost]

Give everyone an AR 15 and the guy would just have rammed a car full of explosives into the place and killed just as many people.

Thankfully, they're still really bad at the whole bomb making thing, both in the States and abroad. And of course, this guy didn't manage to get his device(s) to detonate, assuming he even had any to begin with.

Dunno why, as their compatriots in ISIS have no problem with constructing effective, gigantic VBIEDs and getting brainwashed idiots to drive them at opposing forces. Count our blessings, I guess.

The Tsarnaevs could have killed a lot more people than they managed if they knew how to make even the most basic of high explosives. Still managed to do a hideously effective job, of course.

[John]

And we can't depend on their incompetence to last forever. Bomb building while not easy is not that hard either. Give them time and they will eventually figure it out, especially with the internet and the ease of communication.

[Rhywun]

The hardest part is overcoming a person's natural reluctance to murder a bunch of people that they don't know.

It's beginning to look like Dad had that covered.

[Drake]

The sight of two men kissing gave him funny feelings...

[Rhywun]

"I think it moved."

[R C Dean]

But, having to be armed and on guard every time you go out into public is not a very free society.

I would say that the ability to be armed and responsible for your own safety when you go out in public is pretty basic to a free society.

[Free Society]

Otherwise stated: Having the ability to be armed everytime you leave the house is a prerequisite to a free society, while needing to be armed because things are that out of control is probably an indicator that it's a broken society.

[R C Dean]

Well put.

[John]

Sure RC. But the point of that is so that you don't have to be on guard all the time. The point of being armed and having the right to self defense is so that you can live in peace not so that you get to shoot people. You miss the point.

[Injun, as in from India]

Look at the verbiage in the article. It's written to push an AWB ban.

killed 50 people using an assault weapon and a handgun. Mateen, who called 9-1-1 as he began the assault to claim allegiance to Islamic State

Why do you need an "assault" weapon? Who are you going to assault with it?

The strategy is simple.

1) Come up with a very narrow category of weapons.
2) Ban them, and let them pass judicial tests.
3) Expand the category definition.
4) Rinse, repeat.

The NY "SAFE" Act expanded the definition of "assault" weapons to include semi-automatic shotguns too.

That's where the Left wants to go. It needs to be fought tooth and nail.

[John]

And it won't do a damned bit of good. Meanwhile, they will continue to import as many Muslims into the country as possible because Muslims are the new favorite victim group. They are insane.

[Ken Shultz]

"European Council President Donald Tusk said that if Britain votes to leave the European Union it could spell the end of the EU and Western political civilization."

Leonard Bernstein!

It's the end of the world as we know it
and I feel fine.

[Lord Humungus]

Jenn Redd ?@IntelliJennce 7m7 minutes ago

@CarmineZozzora Can someone please explain that #HomicideRates are going down as #GunOwnership goes up? @DLoesch
Graph

[Lord Humungus]

The case against Big Oil
Industry dismisses comparisons to tobacco litigation

Energy industry lawyers, however, dismiss comparisons to tobacco litigation, seeing a futile attempt by environmentalists to upend decades of case law. Courts have traditionally ruled that to hold defendants liable, their actions or products must be directly linked to damages caused to plaintiffs, said Kevin Ewing, an attorney with the Houston law firm Bracewell.

"Tobacco was shown to cause specific harm to specific individuals," he said. "Not so with climate change, where we cannot yet discern the factual connection between a company's conduct and individual harm, even though we can observe the global effects of climate change at large."

Environmental lawyers have argued for years that governments and companies are obligated to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the interests of protecting mankind from rising oceans, severe storms and the other effects of climate change. They had little success. The U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 2011 that the federal government alone has the power to control carbon emissions, which are legal are under air pollution laws all over the world.

[Tornado16nb]

It is telling the alarmists never go after the people who actually use the products of big oil...which is pretty much everyone including liberals.

[Warty]

Clinton Calls for 'Dedicated Team' to Track Lone Wolf Terrorists
ABC News - ?51 minutes ago?
Hillary Clinton told "Good Morning America" that she plans to establish "a dedicated team" that is "exclusively" tasked with tracking and preventing lone wolf terrorists, such as the shooter who attacked patrons of a nightclub in downtown Orlando

And that's about the time when I had to stop reading and vomit.

[DEG]

Jobs program for drone operators?

[Private Chipperbot]

Shillery Team Six?

[Tom Bombadil]

Cankle Force Five.

[SugarFree]

I have to wonder what her cut will be.

[Crusty Juggler]

It will be comprised of the same individuals who liberated Libya.

[Princess Trigger]

Isn't that from the opening credits of 70's action show?
You know they'll be betrayed by the Government and have to live in the Los Angeles underground.

[Col. Chestbridge]

The H Team.

[Col. Chestbridge]

Damn, someone beat me to it. Should have scrolled down first....

At any rate, they wouldn't hold a candle to the greatest team history has ever seen: Danger 5.

[John]

It is nothing but magical thinking. Notice no one ever explains what the FBI could have done differently that would have stopped this guy. The bottom line is Clinton doesn't want to talk about the problem or face any of the realistic solutions. So, she is peddling an imaginary solution that sounds good but is in fact completely worthless.

[creech]

So she is endorsing a "step one - infiltrate all mosques and profile those who seem prone to violence."

[WTF]

I like how she's still pushing the "lone wolf" line in spite of some information suggesting that it's not really the case.

[Slammer]

Hopefully she will track down the terrorists' private servers.

[Citizen X]

That's a key part of her experience, you know.

[Juvenile Bluster]

In 2016, a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn't commit. These men promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade to the Washington DC underground. Today, still wanted by the government, they survive as soldiers of fortune. If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire... The H-Team.

[Col. Chestbridge]

But can they kill Hitler?

[GILMORE?]

TOP PEOPLE

the argument always suggests we've just been assigning retards to handle the issue when not handing out parking tickets.

[Lord Humungus]

Vox: It's time to talk about gun control as a way to stop terrorism

So we're already gearing up for the "terrorism debate" post-Orlando, given suspect Omar Mateen's alleged pledge of support for ISIS. You can hear it everywhere, from conservative reporters to Sunday talk shows to Donald Trump's Twitter feed.

This whole state of affairs is absurd. The truth is that, in both the terrorism and guns debate, we're asking the same question: What can be done to make this less likely to happen again? Part of the answer is, in both cases, "make it harder to get guns."

We don't have two separate problems, a gun problem and a terrorism problem. We have a terrorism problem that feeds on our gun problem. And the more we treat terrorism as something totally separate from, and scarier than, our gun problem, the more we help terrorists seem stronger than they are ? which is exactly what they want.

[Tornado16nb]

Like the attacks in Paris eh Vox? France is a beacon of gun ownership!

[straffinrun]

They got them from Belgium. Where the Belgium's get them from? Probably North Carolina.

[That's A Bingo!]

Fact: If we had gun control, 9-11 wouldn't have happened.

[Ken Shultz]

For me, freedom is a qualitative preference.

Even IF IF IF trading our freedom in gave us more security, I'd generally prefer more freedom anyway.

I'm not convinced a world with less freedom and no 9/11 would be a better world.

Meanwhile, there's this thing called cowardice. Among other things, it means that one is willing to sell his principles short because he's scared.

I'm not sure how reasonable it is for the average person to be afraid of being the subject of a terrorist attack, but even is someone is afraid, that doesn't necessarily mean they need to sell their principles short.

Freedom of religion is a pretty awesome principle--it's an integral part of why America is awesome. It's gonna take a lot more than this shooting in Miami before I'm willing to sell freedom of religion short. And I feel the same way about the Second Amendment, too.

[Injun, as in from India]

Alternative Headline: "We ought to give up Liberty for an illusion of Security, even though we know we will lose both by doing so."

[Spoonman.]

How'd that work in France, rocket surgeons?

[Rhywun]

Why am I not seeing this anywhere else?

Nightclub shooter's dad hosted anti-American talk show

[Domestic Dissident]

That's a no-brainer.

My question is: why hasn't this piece of crap been deported? If you hate America so much, go the fuck back to Afghanistan, bitch.

[Tonio]

He's a grieving parent, you want to deport a grieving parent you monster? (shouldn't be necessary, but - SARC)

[lap83]

I read somewhere he was blaming his son's mental illness on Pakistan. Yeah, it probably came from somewhere...but I'm thinking not so much a country, maybe a particular person...?

[Tonio]

They will only be able to hide that for so long.

[(((Renegade)))]

I'm sure that this is an accurate take. That's always the case in the immediate aftermath of high profile killings. Calm, sober, objective, and in-context analysis.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

Nightclub shooter's dad hosted anti-American talk show

His dad was John Stewart?

[Lord Humungus]

Some random thoughts:

The shooter's ex-wife is a pretty hot

Also: so I'm glad the NSA was able to detect and stop this incident before it could happen /snark. Which reminds me of Snowden when he said - to paraphrase - when you try to capture everything to only end up capturing nothing.

[DEG]

Whoa... what do I see in the headline?

"Orlando terrorist's internet bride tells how he beat her: Ex-wife says gunman was abusive, mentally unstable and took steroids - but dreamed of being a COP"

Someone over the weekend, Playa maybe, said, "I guarantee he applied to the NYPD".

[Rhywun]

He's wearing NYPD garb in multiple douchebag selfies.

[Injun, as in from India]

If a hot wife can't make you a happy and centered man, nothing will.

[DEG]

If the hot wife is crazy...

[This Machine]

Don't let crazy stick it in you.

[Injun, as in from India]

He would just come home and start beating me up because the laundry wasn't finished or something like that.

Did she report him to the cops? If she did, and got a restraining order, this would apply.

Scroll down to the table on "Standard Gun Control Laws in Florida".

Who May Not Own - 7. Person subject to injunction against committing acts of domestic violence.

At the federal level, there's 1117. Restrictions on the Possession of Firearms by Individuals Convicted of a Misdemeanor Crime of Domestic Violence.

[Tom Bombadil]

Well finish the damn laundry. What part of "submit" don't you understand?

[Tonio]

I suspect that if she had reported him he'd have either lost his job, or had his gun permit yanked (which would effectively end his job), which would have angered him further. You see this a lot with cops, who IIRC, are prone to domestic violence but rarely get reported.

[simplybe]

All Arabs aren't Muslin. A lot of Muslims don't practice their faith like many other religions. Devout Muslims believe in Sharia law and some sects want to return to a 17th century interpretation of the Koran. Without getting into the merits or shortcomings of any religion; Sharia law and Wahabism is simple not compatible with western culture. Wahabism is the dominant sect in Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Both those countries along with Turkey sponser most of the world's terroism. Lots of questions with one simple answer. The Mosque that spew this hate should be closed and the clerics should be sent back to Saudi Arabia. All diplomatic ties to the 3 countries above should be ended. Any American caught dealing with them in any manner should have their citizenship revoked and all properties and monies confiscated and given to the families of terro victims. Why won't this work, because our Federal government is completely bought and paid for by the Saudi government and won't do anything that might offend them. May the Orlando victims rest in place while the true criminals go along their merry way

[UnCivilServant]

You'd run into a 1st amendment challenge on shutting down wahabbi mosques due to this being "preventing the free exercise of religion".

[Tonio]

That's some quality derp, right there. Wipe the drool off your chin.

[(((Renegade)))]

Why won't this work, because our Federal government is completely bought and paid for by the Saudi government

Bullshit, our government is bought and paid for by the Zionists.

[Tom Bombadil]

Gavin McInnes explains the real problem with Jews.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9tN04NYj_k

[The Fusionist]

"My attorney, Mr. *Cohn,* will now explain why all Jewish dogs should be excluded from my jury."

[The Fusionist]

I pity Mr. Cohn for trying to explain this to his mother.

oops, I mean to his *parents.* Didn't want to invoke any stereotypes.

[The Fusionist]

Seriously, though, zealous advocacy. It's what lawyers are supposed to do. Even if their mothers stop speaking to them.

[John]

Consider this. Afghanistan was while a backward country, a fairly moderate Muslim country. Kabul was a pretty progressive place in the 1970s. The Afghans fought a ten year war against the Soviets that every Muslim religious authority in the world agreed was a proper jihad and not once did the Afghans engage in suicide bombing.

After the Soviets left Bin Ladin and the fucking Saudis showed up with their money and bought off all of the Mosques and replaced the Imams with people who preached their brand of barbarism. And look how Afghanistan is now.

Yeah, the Saudis are the problem. There are places all over the world, Chechnya, Malaysia, Afghanistan just to name three where Muslims managed to live for hundreds of years without being murderous barbaric animals but now increasingly are just that thanks the Saudis showing up and funding schools and Mosques. Saudi Arabia is a boil on the ass of civilization.

[Injun, as in from India]

Saudi Arabia is a boil on the ass of civilization.

You're being too charitable.

[Raven Nation]

Re: Saudi Arabia - apparently they bribed the UN to remove their name from a list of countries committing what are essentially war crimes via their involvement in Yemen.

[John]

It makes you think maybe Obama stumbled onto the right idea letting the Iranians have nukes. Let the Iranians exterminate the whole lot of them.

[The Fusionist]

John, you generally start with an excellent point, but sometimes you follow out the logic so far that I'm like WTF.

[Domestic Dissident]

And they're probably the world's biggest donors to the criminal enterprise known as the Clinton foundation. Basically, her campaign is being largely bankrolled by terrorists.

[Injun, as in from India]

Saudi Arabia is a boil on the ass of civilization.

Except that it's a boil that oozes light, sweet crude oil instead of pus.

[UnCivilServant]

The oil would still be there if the Iranians bombed the saudis out of existance.

[Warty]

Turkey sponser most of the world's terroism

Erdogan is a retrograde sack of shit, but I'm not aware of him sponsoring terrorism, unless you're counting their long war against the Kurds.

And for what it's worth, all the Turks I know are Muslim in the same way that most Americans are Protestant - in name only. They might go to the mosque once a year to make their grandmas happy, and that's about it.

[Rhywun]

ll the Turks I know are Muslim in the same way that most Americans are Protestant

Same here but I keep hearing about a religious "revival" always simmering just below the surface there.

[Warty]

I mean, there's a selection bias, since all the Turks I know are professors or graduate students. But still.

[Injun, as in from India]

Same here. The Turks I know are educated and secular.

They were mostly alarmed about Erdogan. I thought their fears were misplaced, but time has shown they were right.

[Injun, as in from India]

Same here. The Turks I know are educated and secular.

They were mostly alarmed about Erdogan. I thought their fears were misplaced, but time has shown they were right.

[Timon 19]

The Turks you know are likely either young or still remember the echoes of the founding of the Republic. That's the same group I have most of my acquaintances from. They had Erdogan pegged, big time. They saw this coming from the time he was mayor of Istanbul.

The under-30s and the over-60s are almost all pretty live-and-let-live and never go to mosque and generally are cool with nearly everyone around them - Iranians, Syrians, Greeks, Iraqis...everyone except Kurds, but even then they tend not to wish them any specific harm.

Now, I have a Lebanese friend who's been in the States since shortly after the Bosnian War (Lebanon sent several groups to fight there) who insists that the Turks are barely any better than the Arab Sunnis - who are the absolute scum of the earth - mostly due to the Armenian genocide and tacit alliance with the Saudis. Evidently, there are tons of familial ties between Lebanon and Armenia, most of which had to do with Lebanon being a chief refuge of the expelled and escaped Armenians.

[Timon 19]

In my observation, there seems to be a deepening generational rift, which is pretty strange, given how almost universally-revered is the secularism of Mustafa Kemal even now. People under 30 and over, say, 60 seem to lean very much toward more liberalism than the original principles of the Cumhurriyet, while those in the middle, and especially non-Kurds in the south and east appear to be trending toward an Arabist Sunni Islamism - which is pretty unusual for the region historically AFAIK.

'Course tarran probably will correct the shit out of me, since I'm going mostly on selection-bias tinged interactions with the youngins and those closest to the military.

[Ken Shultz]

"Without getting into the merits or shortcomings of any religion; Sharia law and Wahabism is simple not compatible with western culture."

We need to keep in mind that Sharia represents the rule of law to many of these people--and the governments they want to replace with Sharia are/were horrifically corrupt governments run by the whims of dictators rather than the rule of law.

Across North Africa and into Central Africa through the Middle East and into Central Asia, we're talking about regions that have been dominated for more than a hundred years, first by unaccountable colonial administrations and then by corrupt dictatorships.

To such people, Sharia represents a law that isn't subject to the whims of corrupt governments and dictators. It's sort of what the framers meant when they were talking about "god given rights". They didn't necessarily mean that God actually gave us these political rights--they knew all about the Magna Carta, Peace of Westphalia, etc. and where those rights came from. By "god given rights", they simply meant that our rights were not granted by government and couldn't be taken away by government either (although the government could violate them).

[Ken Shultz]

If you lived in a society with unaccountable government, you might like the idea of the rule of law coming from God, too. One that everyone already agrees is legitimate and isn't subject to the whims of dictators. That is what many Muslims across the Muslims world mean when they talk about Sharia. Yeah, the punishments and logic are medieval, but everyone knows what they are, believes in their legitimacy, and they represent what we mean when we say "rule of law".

[John]

Sure Ken. But the ones who live in the west want it implemented there too. It is not just some "well its the only alternative" position of a few people living in autocratic countries. Sorry, it is a bit more complex and problematic than that.

[Illocust]

Draconian law was a good thing when it first came about. The punishments were laid out ahead of time for everybody to see and they applied to everyone.

[Azathoth!!]

If you lived in a society with unaccountable government, you might like the idea of the rule of law coming from God, too. One that everyone already agrees is legitimate and isn't subject to the whims of dictators

What the hell are you talking about? They've had sharia since the beginning. It's not a response to dictatorial whims. It is the will of Allah, as expressed through the Prophet.

Sharia is intended to make them live lives closest to the way Allah commands.

[invisible finger]

All Arabs aren't Muslin.

I'd bet their magic carpets are.

[Glide]

European Council President Donald Tusk said that if Britain votes to leave the European Union it could spell the end of th EU and Western political civilization.

He makes a good case for leaving.

[Injun, as in from India]

Tarek Fatah regularly roasts Islamism and has had death threats made against him in the past.

He is the author of the books 'The Jew is Not My Enemy' & 'The Hindu is Not My Enemy'.

Pakistan newspaper celebrates #OrlandoShooting. Main headline screams: "Afghan youth ROASTS fifty Americans"

[Col. Chestbridge]

You truly have a way with words, anonbot.

[The Fusionist]

All right, I used the "report spam" button for the first time!

[The Fusionist]

On anonbot, not the colonel.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

I used it on all three of you.

HA!