Clinton Advisers on Email Scandal, Putin Praises Trump, Twitter Kills Off Vine: P.M. Links

• 

  Bruce R. Bennett/ZUMA Press/Newscom

  More internal emails released by Wikileaks suggest some advisors were not in the loop as to how extensively Hillary Clinton was using her private email server to handle communications and at least one thought doing so was "f—king insane."

• Russia's Vladimir Putin praised Donald Trump for energizing voters who are "tired of elites" but denied any attempt to interfere with the election.
• Amtrak has reached a $265 million settlement in its deadly Philadelphia train crash from 2015 that killed eight.
• Police in riot gear are forcibly removing Dakota Access pipeline protesters camping on private property (to be clear: without permission) in North Dakota.
• To make sure you don't get distracted from strangers screaming at you online by cute pet videos, Twitter is killing off Vine as part of its workforce reduction.
• The Department of Justice has charged dozens in a scheme where scammers pretended to be IRS or immigration officials calling people and threatening to fine or deport them unless they were sent money. The DOJ believes they had managed to scam at least 15,000 people out of more than $250 million.

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Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

...at least one thought doing so was "f?king insane."

...enough to work!

[Rufus The Monocled]

Hello.

Again with the emails. What's Assange's angle here Why does he hate Hillary? She's never be found guilty of NADA!

[DEG]

Hello, hello, hello... hello.

[Playa Manhattan.]

That's the problem.

[Zero Sum Game]

Hello, is there anybody in there? Just nod if you can hear me. Is there anyone home?

[C. Anacreon]

By the way, which one's Pink?

[bacon-magic]

Be careful with those lyrics, Eugene.

[Johnny Hit n Run Paulene]

Assange has a saucerful of secrets

[Half-Virtue, Half-Vice]

Assange is going to die bloody once Hillary takes office. Callin' it!

[AlexInCT]

Not taking that bet. Anyone that does will end up losing..

[Eternal Blue Sky]

Is, like Fist so competent at getting firsties that everyone who'd normally be trying to get First just given up and racing to get "First to tell Fist 'Hello'" instead??

[jesse.in.mb]

Fist uses blood magicks to get first so consistently. The days he misses are purely because he's bled the last virgin in his cellar dry.

[Pay up, Palin's Buttplug!]

I tried to beat him yesterday, but he was too quick for me. 🙁

Beaten by milliseconds!

[Chipper Morning Wood]

She is not guilty of NADA, but will be once she takes office and starts holding people indefinitely without charging them.

[Agammamon]

When the President does it, it is not a crime.

[Get To Da Chippah]

Hello. Is it me you're looking for?

[AlexInCT]

Got tired of doing the Peyton Manning commercials there Lionel?

[thom]

Wait! I'm supposed to side with an accused rapist over a dedicated public servant who's been publicly cleared by the FBI of any wrongdoing?

[A Cynic's Guide to Zen]

Police in riot gear are forcibly removing Dakota Access pipeline protesters camping on private property (to be clear: without permission) in North Dakota.

"You taxpayers are so presumptive! Dis here land tain't churs."

[JEP]

I know some people who were at the protests several weeks. They said that some of the ranchers were allowing protesters to use their land, but the police and paid enforcers were going around speaking for the land owners when they weren't present.

The property rights issues with the reservations and everything are insanely complicated. Apparently, the reservation used to contain a valley where a majority of the native americans lived, but the Army corp of engineers damned the river going through the valley and flooded it. Now instead of the native americans having fertile, useful soil, there's a recreational lake that they don't have access to. It's just used by people on family vacations for boating and other water sports (don't go there).

[A Cynic's Guide to Zen]

"Hi, sir, my friends and I, well, we'd like to put up a temporary patchouli stronghold, sing disharmonious chants into the wee hours, and piss off all the local wildlife with our "recyclable" protest signs, cigarette butts, and hempen clothing, ... on your land near that big pipeline that's going in."
"That all y'all be doing?"
"Well, also copious amounts of self-righteous ego stroking and pig-sex."
"Well, shucks, I guess you kids can knock yerself out then. Be smart."
"Thanks Mr. Ranch Man! You're the best!"

[JEP]

Close, but in this situation I believe it was to allow a film crew to get a better perspective of what was going on at the protests because law enforcement was going after anyone with a camera.

[B.P.]

Everyone in the ag industry is apparently Max Yasgur.

[Migrant Log Chipper]

Your people (and you) don't know jack about this. They dammed up the Missouri River in North and South Dakota. The Missouri is the lake they are referring to.Indians, like everyone else can boat, fish or whatever on Lake Sakakawea so thinking they don't have access is sheer stupidity.

It is definitely true the river bottoms were flooded. This was close to 70 years ago. Property rights, not so much as the Rez boundaries did not change when the lakes (Oahe and Sakakawea filled up).

Incidentally the Fort Berthold Rez upstream of this is floating in oil. The Standing Rock water pollution argument is bullshit, they (rather our tax dollars) are building a new water system with the intake 70 miles south of the river (lake) crossing and the pipeline will be buried 80 feet below the river bottom. The Fed agencies involved spent 2 years doing archaeology and other studies when routing the pipeline. and moved it in 140 places for various reasons. The Standing Rock chose not to weigh in on any of it. The land where they were arrested has been privately owned for over a century. (cont)

[Migrant Log Chipper]

Finally and perhaps most fitting (or hilarious) is their big camp of 1000 people is in bumfuck, North Dakota. The nearest town is 800 people and has one store, a convenience store/gas station. At least a couple hours from anything resembling a grocery store. Here's the punch line; guess who owns this only place to get gas and supplies in 100 miles? Dave Archambault, Standing Rock Tribal Chairman and one of the protest leaders. Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahhahaahah.

This is how shit works in Indian Country kids, the beltway grifters ain't got nuttin on 'ol Dave. Just discovered this last nugget this afternoon and can't stop laughing yet.

[Jerryskids]

It's a bold strategy Cotton. Let's see if it pays off for 'em.

[Juvenile Bluster]

I voted early today.

For only the second time in my life, I voted Republican in a non-local race. It was to vote against Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, so it's excusable, right?

[Mad Scientist]

I also voted for the candidate who was not Debbie Wasserman-Schultz. I then voted for the candidate who was not Hanna-Beth Jackson.

[John Titor]

To steal and paraphrase a quote from Tom Kratman about Hillary Clinton:

"If I had to choose between Wasserman-Schultz and Hitler, I'd be thinking "I'm only a quarter Jewish, how bad can Hitler be?"

[A Cynic's Guide to Zen]

Is it Florida policy to hyphenate names?

[RBS]

Better ask Florida-Hipster.

[Pay up, Palin's Buttplug!]

Hyphenated last name: Leftist

Hyphenated first name: Redneck

[perlchpr]

Hyphenated first and last name, Leftist redneck.

[Scott Foval, Jr.]

+1 Jim-Bob Moore-Piersall

[Playa Manhattan.]

There are still good people in this world.

[DEG]

I need more pictures of her to be certain.

[Certified Public Asshat]

She's supposed to pull those out after the officer approaches her.

[Citizen X]

Man, i bet that was a super awkward car ride home after her dad came to bail her out.

[Chipper Morning Wood]

Especially since she sent the picture to him.

[OneOut]

"No one was injured."

No one interviewed the father I see.

[sarcasmic]

Wood.

[Migrant Log Chipper]

Would...

[Scott Foval, Jr.]

Amtrak has reached a $265 million settlement in its deadly Philadelphia train crash from 2015 that killed eight.

And yet, Joe Biden is still alive.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Russia's Vladimir Putin praised Donald Trump for energizing vote[r]s who are "tired of elites" but denied any attempt to interfere with the election.

A regular revolution of the people!

[Pat (PM)]

Sixth mass extinction? Two-thirds of wildlife may be gone by 2020: WWF

(CNN)More than two thirds of the world's wildlife could be gone by the end of the decade if action isn't taken soon, a new report from the World Wildlife Fund revealed on Thursday.
Since 1970, there has already been a 58% overall decline in the numbers of fish, mammals, birds and reptiles worldwide, according to the WWF's latest bi-annual Living Planet Index.

If accurate, that means wildlife across the globe is vanishing at a rate of 2% a year.
"This is definitely human impact, we're in the sixth mass extinction. There's only been five before this and we're definitely in the sixth," WWF conservation scientist Martin Taylor told CNN.

[Tonio]

Yeah, and we've heard so many gloom-and-doom predictions from the greenies before this, none of which came to pass.

[Ted S.]

As I said in another thread, it's amazing how pretty much every news outlet has groups like WWF in their rolodex. Any time the WWF puts out a report, the news outlets report it as if it's the gospel truth.

[C. Anacreon]

I liked the WWF better when they did pro wrestling.

[Chipper Morning Wood]

20% or pro wrestlers will be extinct by 2020. Especially the ones that staple themselves.

[flye]

WWF? I'm going to hold off until I hear what the Iron Sheik has to say.

[Acosmist]

Fackin boschitt?

[Suthenboy]

I have been hearing that shit for fifty years.

Let me guess, to avert disaster action must be taken. By action taken he means he wants money.

[Chip Woodier]

But not his money. (of course)

[bacon-magic]

Everyone knows the WWF is fake, unless your florida-man or a yokel.

[OneOut]

It is NOT fake.

It is staged though.

[Jerry on the sea]

It's basically a model which uses data from self reporting sources around the world. How would they pair decreases in the Guyanese nut poison frog population with increasing numbers of the Russian speckled bull rat?

[Tonio]

In surprisingly honest reporting this morning, NPR started an article with "Pipline protesters on private land..."

[Playa Manhattan.]

Right for the wrong reasons. They might have been under the mistaken assumption that police can only remove people from public land.

[Pope Jimbo]

I had to look up where Cannon Ball, ND was. Shit, I thought I was pretty savvy about ND geography, but I hadn't heard about that place.

Turns out it is on a res and isn't the best for hunting, so I think I can forgive myself.

Now if it had been around Beach, ND or Cartwright or even Sentinel Butte I would have been embarrassed to have not known it.

[Playa Manhattan.]

"Amtrak has reached a $265 million settlement in its deadly Philadelphia train crash from 2015 that killed eight."

How much would it cost to install "Positive Train Control", also known as a gas pedal?

[RBS]

So they can crash faster?

[Playa Manhattan.]

Eh... maybe the crazy ones. The problem now is that trains have a throttle similar to a boat. You can set it, and walk away. That's where these accidents happen

[Cy]

Look up what an 'alerter' is on a locomotive. It's amazing how safe trains are relative to other forms of travel. We move thousands of trains around the United States per day, some almost 30,000 tons,others over 15,000ft long, others loaded down with some ridiculously dangerous stuff. How often do you see or hear of derailments or collisions? PTC isn't whats being promised. It's funding was also gutted. It's becoming another layer stacked on top of a whole bunch of other layers of 'safety.' Automation is really what the future is. Not PTC.

[DEG]

Maybe consider replacing 'together' with 'encryption.'

I think "Don't let the mask slip!" would have been better alt-text.

[Jerryskids]

"We must all hang together or most assuredly we shall all hang separately."

[Scott Foval, Jr.]

The Department of Justice has charged dozens in a scheme where scammers pretended to be IRS or immigration officials calling people and threatening to fine or deport them unless they were sent money.

That's our racket, goddammit!

[Tonio]

Nice.

[dschwar]

Nonsense, everyone knows the Feds only use snail mail so that the letter carriers can sometimes dump it into a ravine and get you in trouble for not responding to a request you never saw.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

You can tell it's real when they don't threaten to fine or deport, they just do it.

[DJF]

See, deportations can pay for itself and maybe make a profit.

[pan fried wylie]

don't I recall a commenter asking about fake IRS demands they received a while back?

[Charles Easterly]

I know that I did some time ago, wylie.

Interestingly, someone was quick to point out (using different words) the same thing that Scott Foval Jr. did above ("That's our racket!").

[Pat (PM)]

Michael Massee, Actor Involved in Fatal Accident During Filming of 'The Crow,' Dies at 61

Michael Massee, the actor who unfortunately will forever be known as the man who accidentally shot and killed Brandon Lee on the set of the 1994 film The Crow, has died. He was 61.

Massee's death was first announced by actor Anthony Delon and confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter by a representative of his agent at Greene & Associates in Los Angeles. He and Delon recently worked together on the French TV series Interventions.

No details of his death were immediately available.

In just his second movie appearance, Massee was playing a character known as Funboy when he fired a revolver that had been improperly prepared by crewmembers at Brandon Lee, the son of famed martial arts star Bruce Lee. The round was live and struck Lee in the stomach, and he died after several hours of surgery on March 31, 1993. He was 28.

Massee was just following the script during filming at a studio in Wilmington, N.C. Shaken by the incident, he took a sabbatical from acting that lasted more than a year. "I don't think you ever get over something like that," he said.

[Chipper Morning Wood]

I remember that. That was fucked up. How do you screw something like that up? How do you accident tally put in live ammo and no one checks?

[perlchpr]

As someone who has made movies that had firearms in them, why the hell did they even have live ammo on set?

[notJoe]

IIRC, what'd happened was that live ammo was put into the gun for closeup shots, then removed and replaced with blanks for the gunplay. Unfortunately a piece (or all of) a bullet from the live ammo broke off during removal and remained in the barrel. It was later propelled out of the gun by the blank charge.

Yeah, fucked up enough to make you believe in curses.

[Azathoth!!]

Thing is, IYRC, that still doesn't really answer the question of why there were live bullets on the set at all.

Fakes could have been used for all those shots--and also, those shots were so close, they could have been shot separately.

So why?

Curse, my ass.

[Pope Jimbo]

Poor Lonnie Smith.

He fucked up 25 years ago and I bet he still wakes up some nights and can't get back to sleep because he wonders how he could be so dumb.

Fuck you Cub fans, 25 years ago was the best game 7 of all time.

[Derp-o-Matic 5000]

Fuck the Cubs and MLB's desperation for the ratings all of their new fans were bringing in. Totally fucked Washington's playoff schedule.

[C. Anacreon]

Geez, a team hasn't had a championship in 108 years and you're hating on them as if they're the evil empire? Huh?

[Derp-o-Matic 5000]

Yeah, I'm hating on all of the obnoxious fair-weather fans. I'm hating on their incessantly proclaimed "lovable loser" status, despite having the fifth highest payroll and one of the biggest markets in baseball. I'm hating on the fact that the Nationals and Dodgers didn't get a single primetime game during the NLDS and even had a game cancelled because a normal rain delay would risk interfering with coverage of the fucking Cubs game. That game was rescheduled for the next day, and then they had to fly to LA for another game the following afternoon.

Fuck the Cubs. I'm sick of fucking hearing about them.

[Ted S.]

It's baseball. Why give a shit?

[Chipper Morning Wood]

Should have let that goat into the stadium.

[thom]

I'm rooting for the Indians. Cubs fans are only slightly better than Packers fans in their weird self-righteous congratulation of themselves. You're a fan of a sports team, that doesn't make you special.

[TheZeitgeist]

I kinda feel sorry for actual Cubs fans getting associated with all the hipster douchery descending on their club like locusts now that its good times.

[Rufus The Monocled]

I agree.

[C. Anacreon]

I remember that game well, it was amazing, and certainly among the best Game 7s of all time, if not the best.
During my lifetime, I also remember the Cleveland-Miami Game 7 (1997?) was incredible as well.
Was the Mark Grace extra-innings winner for the D-Backs at Game 7, too? That was memorable.

Why the hate on Cubs fans? We've not had a memorable Game 7 in my memory, certainly not a good one.

[Rufus The Monocled]

I don't get it.

If they win, then I guess they will become insufferable like Red Sox fans, but until them, wtf?

Fucking team hasn't won in 108 years and 'fuck Cubs fans'? If anything, they're the best around for sticking with that franchise!

[Crusty Juggler]

They are very, very good, and they have a large fan base, therefore they are annoying and evil.

[Pope Jimbo]

I work with a bunch of Chicago-ites. Some of them are long time Cubs fans and I only find them moderately tedious. The ones I really hate are the ones who jumped on the bandwagon this year.

Also last year the drunken louts kept me up half the night after they won their playin game. No one fucks with my beauty rest.

[Ted S.]

I don't think you can possibly get enough beauty rest.

[Pope Jimbo]

That is why I have to drink myself pretty each night.

[Scott Foval, Jr.]

Beer goggles for yourself?

[jesse.in.mb]

It's the only way his right hand finds him tolerable.

[Chipper Morning Wood]

He puts goggles on his hand? Aww, how cute.

[Pope Jimbo]

You guys are a real bunch of h8ters.

I simply meant that I find that I am irresistible to the opposite sex after about 6 beers. I always attributed the attraction to my becoming even better looking than normal after drinking.

p.s. The proper term is a Beer Mitt when it comes to drunken masturbation. Goggles make no sense on a hand. Sheesh

[Rufus The Monocled]

If they win, it's all gonna be bandwagoners. You'll see a proliferation of Cubs caps too swearing they were die hards.

Sorta like how every Frenchmen claimed to be in 'la resistance'.

[RBS]

I just want to put this on the record: I've been a Cubs fan since little league, so like 20 something years at this point.

[Chipwooder]

Luis Gonzalez had the game winning hit for the D-backs. As a Yankee fan, I've unwillingly relived that moment thousands of times. Still can't believe Mo gave up a double to a pile of garbage like Tony Womack.

[Scott Foval, Jr.]

Luis Gonzalez 2001 MVP season...a decent player had a huge season because steroids who knows why, and caps it with a Game 7 World Series-ending hit off of the greatest closer of all time. I'll bet his dying memories are about that season.

[Derp-o-Matic 5000]

Cubs fans are annoying as fuck. They aren't Phillies, Yankees, or Sox fan bad, but they're annoying nonetheless.

Bandwagon Cubs fans are even worse.

[kinnath]

That's the fucking Wikileaks memo you choose to run with? Really?

Even fucking NPR is running with the Bill Clinton, Inc. story.

[bacon-magic]

What does political corruption have to do with a Libertarian website. Fake skandul.

[Fist of Etiquette]

...Twitter is killing off Vine as part of its workforce reduction.

Vine videos were the only thing timed out to the nation's attention span.

[jesse.in.mb]

TL;DR

[Derp-o-Matic 5000]

?Russia's Vladimir Putin praised Donald Trump for energizing votes who are "tired of elites" but denied any attempt to interfere with the election.

...which is exactly what someone attempting to interfere with the election would say!

[rts]

How Vienna maintains 8 times as much social housing as Vancouver

Hmm... let me guess...

The key difference is funding.

Ah. We just need to steal from Britain and Germany and we too will have social justice at last, I guess.

[Tonio]

WTF is "social" housing? You mean taxpayer-funded housing for poor people, right?

[Rhywun]

"Ultimately if the right to housing was in the Canadian constitution, we'd be in a different world now," he said, referring to Vancouver housing crunch.

Oh, Canada.

[John Titor]

Don't get us Canadian commenters started on the constitution. Jesus Christ it's a goddamn mess.

[jesse.in.mb]

I hope you've learned your lesson about repatriating things.

[John Titor]

The lesson learned is that we should have let these guys win.

[tarran]

Hah!

One of my ancestors participated in that. He emerged from a British prison ship with a terminal illness and died within weeks.

[jesse.in.mb]

A rebellion in "Upper Canada"?

is this some kind of euphemism for a white walker invasion? Abominable snowpersons maybe?

[John Titor]

Oh, the concept of 'Upper Canada' is ever dumber than that.

[Chipper Morning Wood]

More like uppidy Canada.

[jesse.in.mb]

Oh, the concept of 'Upper Canada' is ever dumber than that.

What the actual fuck?

[John Titor]

It's based on their location on the St. Lawrence River, (i.e. the historical trade river) so 'Lower Canada' is in the north at the estuary.

Yeah, it confused the hell out of us in elementary school.

[Pan Zagloba]

I'll give him this - that statement is 100% factually accurate!

[Playa Manhattan.]

What is social housing? Is that where all of the residents are really friendly?

[Ted S.]

It's the opposite of antisocial housing.

[Derp-o-Matic 5000]

What the fuck is a Vancouver?

[Rufus The Monocled]

It's a fancy van cover.

[Whahappan?]

You crazy Canucks with your extra u's.

[Whahappan?]

You crazy Canucks with your extra u's.

[Pat (PM)]

Why do Finnish pupils succeed with less homework?

How do Finnish youngsters spend less time in school, get less homework and still come out with some of the best results in the world?[...]

As the OECD think tank says: "One of the most striking facts about Finnish schools is that their students have fewer hours of instruction than students in any other OECD country."[...]

While children in England and Wales are still toiling away in school into the middle of July, the Finns have already been on holiday for six weeks, in a summer break that lasts 10 to 11 weeks.

And completing this picture of less is more, Finnish children do not in theory have to start school until they are seven - although most will have been in classes from an earlier age.

But when it comes to the international Pisa tests, Finland is in sixth place and the UK is 23rd in reading; and Finland is 12th and the UK is 26th in maths.

Another set of OECD global rankings last year put Finland in sixth place for maths and science.

So what's going on? How do the Finns seem to start later, have fewer lessons and then finish ahead?

[grrizzly]

*checks the rankings in the article, identifies even more with the Finns.*

[A Cynic's Guide to Zen]

No minorities?

[DEG]

So what's going on? How do the Finns seem to start later, have fewer lessons and then finish ahead?

Before reading the article, I'll say based on my experience in Catholic school the Finns concentrate on what is important and have high standards.

[DEG]

Oops. I should have read the article.

[PapayaSF]

It's almost as if different cultures and ethnicities are not statistically equal in every possible way. But that can't be true, because it contradicts what we are all supposed to believe, under threat of severe punishment.

[sarcasmic]

RACIST!

[Doctor Whom]

But they are. The Washington Post said it; I believe it; that settles it.

[Bra Ket]

No, the more diverse society is superior. Reading and math, and concepts like objective evaluation of ability, are racist.

[Certified Public Asshat]

Let's not get too excited about Finland, they have "free" universal daycare after all.

[Sir Digby Chicken Caesar]

B-b-but, METRICS!!! RANKINGS!!!

[Pope Jimbo]

There is some really bad pun about Finnishing their homework early, but I'm not going to work on it.

[Jerryskids]

I'm guessing their per-pupil funding is at least twice as much as the US' funding. That's the only thing that affects student outcomes, not anything as silly as a relatively small homogenous student population.

[Certified Public Asshat]

I think the United States spends the most per pupil.

[Doctor Whom]

US progs say mutually exclusive things about why Finnish schools are so good. I've heard that they tailor learning to each child's talents and that they certainly don't do anything so horrible. Oddly, culture never comes up.

[Robert]

Maybe they waste less time. Seriously, there are more & less time-efficient ways to teach & learn. Dave Cisar makes a big point about time efficiency in coaching kids in football. A heck of a lot of grade school looked like marking time to me; same with a lot of homework.

[Rhywun]

The Germans spend way less time in school than Americans, too.

[BigT]

Germany has free camp. No?

Well, they used to.

[Playa Manhattan.]

My new neighbors are Finnish. The kid is a little fuckwad.

And if the wife is so smart, why is she oranger that John Boehner and Trump combined? A smart person would know that it's ridiculous.

[Chipper Morning Wood]

So what you are saying is that you would have preferred for her husband to Finnish on her belly?

[lafe.long]

Related:
(Finnish schools/homework are mentioned)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqTTojTija8

[Chipper Morning Wood]

Finland already has the best music, and now they gotta out-school us as well?

[DEG]

Here's what a cop has to do to get fired

A New Boston police officer, fired after she complained about sexual harassment by a supervising officer who allegedly ranked female drivers on a "rapability" scale, has filed a federal lawsuit in U.S. District Court against the town and police department.

[Playa Manhattan.]

Question: Is the Rapability Scale based on hotness, or the lack of ability to defend oneself?

[Citizen X]

STEVE SMITH HAVE ANSWER, BUT PROBABLY NOT WHAT YOU WANT HEAR.

[Derp-o-Matic 5000]

Any worthwhile Rapability Scale would have an algorithm that adequately balances the two.

[Crusty Juggler]

Its like you're forgetting about being a heavy sleeper, or whether or not there are large dogs in the house.

[dschwar]

In the article, it's implied that the scale was only applied during traffic stops.

[Chipper Morning Wood]

I am not gonna joke about rape, you guys.

[Derp-o-Matic 5000]

Is she objecting because she received a high rating or a low one?

[Ted S.]

Used Boston is bad enough. Why did they have to create a new one?

[Citizen X]

Russia's Vladimir Putin praised Donald Trump for energizing votes who are "tired of elites" but denied any attempt to interfere with the election.

Troll game reco'nize troll game.

[Pat (PM)]

Two corrupt cops joined forces with drug dealers. Now, dozens of criminal cases could be in jeopardy

Four years ago on a sweltering afternoon, Bakersfield Police Det. Damacio Diaz was sitting in his car alongside informant Guillermo "Memo" Magallanes.

About $15,000 stuck out of Magallanes' shorts. When the informant left, the narcotics detective found just under $1,000 in the passenger-side door pocket.

"He told me to take my wife out on a date or buy my kids something," Diaz would later recall in court papers. "It is a day I truly regret and a decision that has changed my entire life."

That decision also rocked the Kern County criminal justice system, marking the beginning of an ugly police corruption scandal involving cash, drugs and protection. Diaz and his partner, Patrick Mara, later admitted to ripping off drug dealers of their methamphetamine during traffic stops. Diaz then began cooperating with federal investigators and named other cops he said were corrupt.

Now, local prosecutors say the scandal jeopardizes other criminal cases.

Kern County Dist. Atty. Lisa Green is sending letters to defendants in 64 potentially tainted criminal convictions after her office examined scores of convictions involving the work of the disgraced pair.

[Playa Manhattan.]

"Now, local prosecutors say the scandal jeopardizes other criminal cases."

Were these cases involving actual crimes? If not, GOOD, throw them out.

[Ted S.]

Twas ever thus in Kern County

[Fist of Etiquette]

The Department of Justice has charged dozens in a scheme where scammers pretended to be IRS or immigration officials calling people and threatening to fine or deport them unless they were sent money.

"THAT'S HORNING IN ON OUR SCAM!"

[Playa Manhattan.]

"he Department of Justice has charged dozens in a scheme where scammers pretended to be IRS or immigration officials calling people and threatening to fine or deport them unless they were sent money."

I've actually received several calls from these scammers. Turns out the the IRS doesn't call over Voice over IP with a thick Indian accent.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

I've actually received several calls from these scammers. Turns out the the IRS doesn't call over Voice over IP with a thick Indian accent.

Only because Obama hasn't done enough to address inequality.

[Homple]

Shikha Dalmia is working on this.

[Pat (PM)]

State of Georgia demands pastor turn over sermons

A lay minister who is suing the Georgia Department of Public Health for religious discrimination has been ordered by the state's attorney general to relinquish his sermons to the government, according to federal court documents.

"Please produce a copy of your sermon notes and/or transcripts," Attorney General Samuel Olens wrote to attorneys representing Dr. Eric Walsh.

Dr. Walsh said he will not comply with the request.[...]

Walsh, a Seventh-day Adventist lay minister had been hired in May 2014 by as a District Health Director with the Georgia Department of Public Health. A week later, a government official asked him to submit copies of his sermons for review. He complied and two days later he was fired.

His attorneys said the government was curious about sermons Dr. Walsh delivered on health, marriage, sexuality, world religions, science and creationism. He also preached on what the Bible says regarding homosexuality.

He has since filed a federal lawsuit charging state officials with engaging in religious discrimination.

"He was fired for something he said in a sermon," attorney Jeremy Dys told me. "If the government is allowed to fire someone over what he said in his sermons, they can come after any of us for our beliefs on anything."

[Pat (PM)]

State of Georgia demands pastor turn over sermons

A lay minister who is suing the Georgia Department of Public Health for religious discrimination has been ordered by the state's attorney general to relinquish his sermons to the government, according to federal court documents.

"Please produce a copy of your sermon notes and/or transcripts," Attorney General Samuel Olens wrote to attorneys representing Dr. Eric Walsh.

Dr. Walsh said he will not comply with the request.[...]

Walsh, a Seventh-day Adventist lay minister had been hired in May 2014 by as a District Health Director with the Georgia Department of Public Health. A week later, a government official asked him to submit copies of his sermons for review. He complied and two days later he was fired.

His attorneys said the government was curious about sermons Dr. Walsh delivered on health, marriage, sexuality, world religions, science and creationism. He also preached on what the Bible says regarding homosexuality.

He has since filed a federal lawsuit charging state officials with engaging in religious discrimination.

"He was fired for something he said in a sermon," attorney Jeremy Dys told me. "If the government is allowed to fire someone over what he said in his sermons, they can come after any of us for our beliefs on anything."

[A Cynic's Guide to Zen]

"Now where are we going to get our morality? Saul Alinsky?"

[dschwar]

Why can't the Georgia AG's office get the sermons from the Georgia Department of Health if Dr. Walsh offered them up as indicated in the story? This really is a fishing (and fishy) expedition.

[C. Anacreon]

The Department of Justice has charged dozens in a scheme where scammers pretended to be IRS or immigration officials calling people and threatening to fine or deport them unless they were sent money. The DOJ believes they had managed to scam at least 15,000 people out of more than $250 million.

Hey, those illegal immigrants seem to have a ton of cash on hand. I thought they were all desperately poor, needing our social services, schooling, food stamps, housing assistance etc, etc, because they were just seeking a better life for their families.

I guess they weren't telling us the truth all this time. Go figure.

[PapayaSF]

Yup. And that they have enough money to pay their way back home.

[Pat (PM)]

'Afghan Girl': National Geographic cover star arrested

An Afghan woman immortalised on the cover of National Geographic magazine in 1985 as a green-eyed 12-year-old has been arrested in Pakistan for holding fake identity papers, officials say.

Sharbat Gula could face a fine and up to 14 years in jail.

Officials say she was arrested by Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) after a two-year probe in Peshawar, near the Afghan border.

Pakistan recently launched a crackdown against fake IDs.

Mrs Gula allegedly applied for an identity card in April 2014, using the name Sharbat Bibi. If the fraud claims are true, she is one of thousands of Afghan refugees living in Pakistan who have tried to dodge its computerised system.

[Rufus The Monocled]

...These eyes (ta-na-na-na-na) are crying...

[John Titor]

I see you're making sure to have your required percentage of Canadian cultural content.

[Chipper Morning Wood]

Well, I guess we are not gonna be able to enjoy guilt-free Sharbat anymore.

[The Late P Brooks]

The world is a dangerous dangerous place.

On Tuesday, two reporters from The New York Times visited a car auction held in Queens by the New York City Department of Finance.

It was a lesson in how consumers can purchase cars that have deadly defects and how sellers have few obligations to disclose those defects to the public.

The department was auctioning 20 cars, which had probably been abandoned or towed, to a group of about 50 bidders. The vehicles were in various states of disrepair and no one had even bothered to remove trash from the interiors.

The NYT reporters overlook the much greater likelihood that cars abandoned on the streets of New York might defects more pressing and/or dangerous than a factory recall issue. Like, say, no brakes.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

Or engines!

[flye]

People who buy cars at public auction are often mechanics looking to fix and flip them.

A man in a Yankees sweatshirt asked The New York Times to leave because Mr. Z Towing, where the auction was held, was private property. The reporters then observed the proceedings on the nearby sidewalk through a fence.

Damn you NYT for making me like a Yankees fan.

[John Titor]

A couple years ago I was at a police auction with a friend. They brought up this weird press thing that the auctioneer was confused by, but he rolled on and the betting began. I was only half paying attention, and my friend came back from the bathroom and started laughing his ass off once the bidding was closed. I asked him what was so funny.

"The cops just sold a cocaine press."

[Half-Virtue, Half-Vice]

More internal emails released by Wikileaks suggest some advisors were not in the loop as to how extensively Hillary Clinton was using her private email server to handle communications and at least one thought doing so was "f?king insane."

He was never heard from again.

[Florida Hipster]

The Department of Justice has charged dozens in a scheme where scammers pretended to be IRS or immigration officials calling people and threatening to fine or deport them unless they were sent money. The DOJ believes they had managed to scam at least 15,000 people out of more than $250 million.

Happy Day! I got called by these assholes. They're pretty convincing. Luckily I told them to fuck off and talk to my lawyer, then latter found out it was a scam.

[Playa Manhattan.]

I remember you posting about that.

Yeah, super convincing.

*Mike Hihn Snicker*

[Crusty Juggler]

(giggles)

[Florida Hipster]

They use a white person for the voicemail, then minorities for the live call, just like FedGov!

[Ted S.]

You *are* talking to Florida Man, you know.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

Turns out the call originated from The Clinton Foundation.

[bacon-magic]

^Nice.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

More internal emails released by Wikileaks suggest some advisors were not in the loop as to how extensively Hillary Clinton was using her private email server to handle communications and at least one thought doing so was "f?king insane."

It wasn't insane. It was the smartest thing she ever did, and she'll be president for the next 8 years for her efforts.

[PapayaSF]

I doubt it.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

Slow down, remember all the posts earlier in the year about how the FBI "net was closing"?

I do.

[PapayaSF]

She's too sick to last eight years. And I still think Trump will win.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

I'll not take your money in that bet.

[PapayaSF]

Suell and I have a bet, but one's enough for me.

[Calidissident]

I'm still down for a $50 bet on the matter FYI.

[Calidissident]

Never mind, I saw your response to Paul. I hadn't pressed refresh.

[PurityDiluting]

crazy like a fox

[DEG]

World's busiest Rolls-Royce dealership is in Abu Dhabi

Warning: auto-play video

Middle Eastern economies are reeling from low oil prices but that hasn't put a serious dent in Rolls-Royce sales.

Some customers have postponed purchases over the last few months, but Abu Dhabi -- capital of the United Arab Emirates -- is still home to the luxury automaker's busiest dealership in the world, Rolls-Royce CEO Torsten Muller-Otvos told CNNMoney.

[Scott Foval, Jr.]

"And tell me, Mr. Habib - are you looking to seat four or six wives?"

[Rufus The Monocled]

Flagged! Trigger warning!

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

Middle Eastern economies are reeling from low oil prices

Huh, just like Venezuela!

[Agammamon]

Next time somebody says Venezuela's problems stem from a sudden sharp drop in oil prices you should make sure to ask them why the Gulf States, whose nearly entire economies rest on oil production, have managed to weather this drop just fine.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

I ask that every time, but it turns out NPR's broadcast is kind of a one-way deal.

[Crusty Juggler]

Marc Mezvinsky and Chelsea Clinton wanted to send Donna Karan's alternative doctors and money from their 'Soul Cycle community' to aid in Haiti disaster relief

New Clinton Foundation emails reveal that Chelsea Clinton and her husband Marc Mezvinsky wanted to get a plane down to Haiti with alternative doctors suggested by Donna Karan to help with disaster relief in the wake of the 2010 earthquake that killed over 100,00 people.

In an email sent to Mezvinsky on January 14, 2010, Jimmy Buffet's wife Jane writes: 'I got a call from donna karen's [sic] organization and they asked if my plane could fly some alternative care physician's down there. They want it quick.'

Jane goes on to write that it would cost 'about $25,000' while asking Mezvinsky, who at the time was engaged to Chelsea, if he thinks that would be the best use of the money.

[Crusty Juggler]

Chelsea in turn emails her mother Hillary's top aide Huma Abedin who shoots down the idea and explains why it would not be possible given the severity of the situation.

Abedin also explains that there are a number of medical doctors who are looking to travel down to Haiti, and that priority there is being given to surgeons and trauma doctors.

'I think trying to get alternative medicine doctors will be almost impossible in the near future, writes Abedin.

Huma is the normal one.

[Playa Manhattan.]

Nothing cures Cholera like acupuncture and powdered white rhino horn.

[grrizzly]

Huma is the normal one.

Indeed, she's my favorite in the Clinton criminal organization.

[Playa Manhattan.]

If it weren't for the horse teeth, I might be interested.

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

If it weren't for the fact that Anthony Weiner has been there...

[Playa Manhattan.]

He probably hasn't in a long time. Dude has trouble closing the deal, and I have what she REALLY needs.

[OneOut]

HILLDOG'S VaGayGay?

[Citizen X]

Jesus. You know you have problems when the most sensible person in your organization is the one who thought Anthony Weiner was a catch.

[PapayaSF]

Once you realize that Huma is an agent for the Muslim Brotherhood, everything she does makes sense.

[You ARE a Prog (MJG)]

Hey, for a while there, he was a catch. Even after the first scandal, he still had a good chance of becoming mayor.

[Ted S.]

Send a bunch of homeopaths. Maybe they can remove the impurities in the water supply.

[Playa Manhattan.]

Or maybe dilute them.

[PapayaSF]

That just makes them stronger!!!!

[flye]

Paging Sir Digby...

Homeopathic A&E (brit for ER)

[Sir Digby Chicken Caesar]

I'm here!

Very spot on, flye. So much so, that I can only respond with bad tv writing

[flye]

Just yesterday I was trying to relate the allure of reality TV to someone by way of M&W's 'Apprentice' sketch:

"So, it's coverage of idiots behaving idiotically for an audience of idiots?"

[Rufus The Monocled]

Fake doctor: We need more OREGANO OIL!

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

Wait, what's an "alternative physician"? An alternative to a physician?

[Mad Scientist]

It's a physician who's at one with the universe and with their body and with your body, man! Not some jerk who merely went to med school for several years.

[Scott Foval, Jr.]

OH ALL OF A SUDDEN CREDENTIALS MATTER TO YOU LIBERTARIANS!

[Playa Manhattan.]

They can heal you without even touching you! The master healers, anyway.

[Mad Scientist]

You might not believe this, little fella, but it'll cure you asthma too.

[Michael]

Shit, that reminds me. I'm way behind schedule on getting my holistic inpatient healing and wellness center for 18 to 24 year old women set up and registered.

[Get To Da Chippah]

A guy with a degree in baloney.

[The Late P Brooks]

Unlike new cars, used cars have no federal requirement that sellers disclose safety recalls or fix dangerous defects, although some state and local regulations offer consumers some protections.

But enforcing those protections can be tricky, and sometimes happens only after someone has been harmed, requiring lawsuits for wrongful death or negligence.

That is why safety advocates like Rosemary Shahan, the president of the nonprofit Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety, have been pushing for laws that specifically ban the sale of recalled vehicles in which repairs have not been made.

NEEDZ MOAR LAWZ!

Next up, a sob story about how prohibitively expensive cars are.

[DOOMco]

How do i check for recalls on a 40 year old car??

[Domestic Dissident]

Amtrak has reached a $265 million settlement in its deadly Philadelphia train crash from 2015 that killed eight.

33 million bucks a person? Were they all professional athletes or something?

[Ted S.]

How many were injured?

[Jerryskids]

A little over 13m each by my calculation. Asssuming they had lawyers.

[Crusty Juggler]

Bid to speed transplants with hepatitis C-infected kidneys

Some patients facing a years-long wait for a kidney transplant are jumping ahead in line thanks to a startling experiment: They're agreeing to an organ almost sure to infect them with hepatitis C.

Knowingly transmitting a dangerous virus may sound drastic but two leading transplant centers are betting the strategy will save lives ? if new medications that promise to cure hepatitis C allow use of organs that today go to waste.

Pilot studies are under way at the University of Pennsylvania and Johns Hopkins University to test transplanting kidneys from deceased donors with hepatitis C into recipients who don't already have that virus. If the research eventually pans out, hundreds more kidneys ? and maybe some hearts and lungs, too ? could be transplanted every year.

Looks like some people wants to hunt the homeless.

[Illocust]

If everyone knows what's going on, then I'm cool with it. If you were going to die anyway, getting a couple more years before dying of something else seems a pretty good option.

[Pat (PM)]

Better they should die on a transplant list than receive a kidney infected with a treatable disease. Or worse yet, purchase a health kidney from a willing seller.

[Scott Foval, Jr.]

I saw this one movie where they kidnapped people to take their kidneys out that's why we can't sell organs because then stuff like that will happen money is the root of all evil I am the smart

[Echo Chamber]

Anyone from the MN commentariat going to the GJ event at Canterbury tonight?

[Playa Manhattan.]

Tundra is probably drinking beer and watching his bug zapper.

[lafe.long]

Here's Why Gary Johnson's Poll Numbers Started Dipping In October

There are two main reasons why Gary Johnson's poll numbers are falling and why that fall started in October. Neither of which have anything to do with the media's attacks or his competitors. Nor is it a result of more people succumbing to the two-party fearmongering about wasting their votes. Trump and Clinton aren't magically becoming palatable in the last few weeks. If anything, they're getting worse with each passing day. No, the reason why Gary Johnson is slipping in the polls has to do with the polling methodologies themselves.

[PurityDiluting]

Let me guess, the polls switched from registered to likely voters and all the youthful support disappeared

[jesse.in.mb]

UWE BOLL is retiring from film making.

I have brought you the only good news you all should need to get you through the day.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

I've never seen any of his work. Should I?

[Crusty Juggler]

No, Paul, no you should not.

[jesse.in.mb]

How much do you like contemporary B D movies based on video games?

[Aloysious]

Yes, you should. You will never be the same.

[Eternal Blue Sky]

ESPECIALLY turn on director's commentary if you can. It's the most amazing, not-giving-a-single-fuck, answering-personal-calls- in-the-middle-of-the-commentary, thing you'll ever seen!! Most apathetic performance in history!!

[Aloysious]

+1

EBS gets it.

[Agammamon]

POSTAL

Its the only 'good' movie he's made. And its 'so bad its good'. Freaking hilarious. Best watched slightly drunk or stoned.

[Scott Foval, Jr.]

Aw, jeez! Which delusional medium talent can we turn to now??

[Crusty Juggler]

Joel Schumacher.

[Citizen X]

Careful. If you criticize his work on the internet, he will challenge you to a boxing match, and then he will actually come to your house and fistfight you.

[Scott Foval, Jr.]

As recently as two years ago, the same was true of Michael Hihn.

[Crusty Juggler]

Pictured.

[A Cynic's Guide to Zen]

A living pariah half-funded by the German Arts program.

Nothing says "art" like a guaranteed tax payer provided 50% return on investment.

[lafe.long]

Drinking vodka and Red Bull 'causes similar effects as a cocaine hit'

Mixing highly caffeinated energy drinks with alcohol has a mind-altering effect on teenagers which lasts into adulthood, scientists have claimed.

Drinks such as Red Bull and Monster contain as much as ten times the caffeine as soft drinks and are often marketed at adolescents.

A team of American researchers used young mice to monitor the effects of mixing the drinks after studies showed Red Bull could ease psychosis in young people.

[Ted S.]

That almost makes me want to try it.

[Derp-o-Matic 5000]

If you're past your early 20's, I don't recommend it. You'll get pretty jacked but the hangover is a motherfucker.

[Playa Manhattan.]

A can of Red Bull has 77mg of caffeine. That's about ten times the caffeine of a non-caffeinated soft drink.

[C. Anacreon]

Exactly. Or about half the caffeine of a cup of coffee.

Amazing how these reporters are so easily caught up in hyperbole.

Of course, none of them know their asses from a hole in the ground, so you can tell them just about anything. They don't fact check and wouldn't know how to do so if they did.

But once they write it, it becomes fact! Q.E.D.

[PapayaSF]

The first time I ever had Rockstar was in a cocktail with vodka. I know you're not supposed to mix uppers and downers, but the combination was very pleasant.

[Playa Manhattan.]

I'm at just under 500mg today, and I haven't lost my shit yet.

[Mickey Rat]

How sad it is when they move on to Irish Coffee!

[DOOMco]

Yeah, red bull is the same as a normal cup of coffee. I think monster has 200mg and rockstar is 240 per can. Venti starbucks blond is above 200

All that said, redbull tequila is a great drink. You have no clue how drunk you really are until you look in a mirror or try to navigate stairs

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

+1 Crunktini.

[A Cynic's Guide to Zen]

Cocaethylene be damned! I'm riding the Redbullet train to victory!

[Pat (PM)]

Drinks such as Red Bull and Monster contain as much as ten times the caffeine as soft drinks

Which means they have almost the same amount of caffeine as the Venti Mochaccino glued to the right hand of every Uggs and yoga pants clad white girl between the ages of 15 and 28.

[lafe.long]

The Yale Record Does Not Endorse Hillary Clinton

In particular, we do not endorse Hillary Clinton's exemplary leadership during her 30 years in the public eye. We do not support her impressive commitment to serving and improving this country?a commitment to which she has dedicated her entire professional career. Because of unambiguous tax law, we do not encourage you to support the most qualified presidential candidate in modern American history, nor do we encourage all citizens to shatter the glass ceiling once and for all by electing Secretary Clinton on November 8.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

+1 first amendment.

[Rufus The Monocled]

Fuck anyone who thinks this fucking bull shit that she's been in the public eye for 30 years means she gives a shit about people. The Clintons are about the Clintons, nothing fucking else. Clinton Inc.

Period.

No one who calls people 'deplorables' is a fucking humanist. It points directly to her mindset just like when Obama's bitter clingers line.

Faux fucking humanists.

/Fin rant.

[Pope Jimbo]

Please stop talking about Hillary's period.

[PapayaSF]

the most qualified presidential candidate in modern American history

I just threw up a little. What are they smoking?

[Sir Digby Chicken Caesar]

We do not support her impressive commitment to serving and improving this country?a commitment to which she has dedicated her entire professional career

Yeah, by trying to tell people how they may and may not live their lives. How did this concept ever become a positive thing? Especially to people who were, ostensibly, dedicated to not having the government tell them what to do?

[Derp-o-Matic 5000]

I'm sure the author of that piece believed he was being incredibly witty when he wrote that.

[tarran]

My anti-Hillary Yalie uncle is probably writing them out of his will as we speak.

[PapayaSF]

Please, let that be true.

[tarran]

I joke, but I think he's done with them. He is really pissed at the SJW sewer they've become.

[Derp-o-Matic 5000]

The Great Halloween Costume Panic of 2015 would have done it for me. But of course, I'm not a Yale grad, so what do I know?

[Playa Manhattan.]

My dad did.

Loves to yell at them when they call too.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

Uh, that was you he wrote out of his will.

[Playa Manhattan.]

I honestly don't know. I don't wipe asses for free, though.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

Serious aside, I never went to college so I have trouble understanding the desire to give your former school money. I mean, sure as a vanity thing-- like if you can give them enough to, you know, name a building after you- I at least get that people do that. I wouldn't do it, but I get it.

[Sir Digby Chicken Caesar]

Second that, Paul.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

Cancel his subscription?

[John Titor]

we do not encourage you to support the most qualified presidential candidate in modern American history

God this is the dumbest talking point.

Who can seriously argue that Hillary Clinton is more qualified than the Supreme Allied Commander of the Second World War?

I mean, at least Eisenhower won his war. And he didn't laugh while Goring and Kaltenbrunner were sodomized with bayonets. He hanged them like a gentleman.

[Sterling's Gold]

Eisenhower? That was, like, a hundred years ago. He didn't even speak English!

[To: Trshmnstr From: Hrod [C]]

Dwight! D! Eisenhower!

[Suthenboy]

I have seen a lot of this going around. People throw away whatever respect or credibility they have and see just how far up Clintons ass they can get their nose. I have never seen it this bad.

[Rufus The Monocled]

Hang on. THAT WASN'T SATIRE?

Jesus Christ what a piece of shit school Yale is.

[tarran]

Sarcasmic.

Was thinking about you this afternoon. I think you are going to get through this OK. Focus on what a succesful meeting will look like and don't dwell on what an unsuccesful one will look like. Don't dwell on what might go wrong and what will happen afterwards. Dwell on what can go right.

I suggest you listen to this podcast tonight as well:

Negotiating techniques from an FBI hostage negotiator.

His recommendations are simply put to ask questions or encourage them feeling like they are connecting with you:
1) Mirroring: Repeat back what they say in a way that invites them to expound. e.g. "We want to ensure the child is in a safe environment." -> nodding, "a safe environment" and then stay quiet until they fill the air with more words.
2) Collaborative questions inviting an answer "no.". e.g. "Are removals of children usually permanent?"
3) Get them working on solving your problem usually asking "how?" e.g. "We want to ensure that the environment is safe." "How does a parent demonstrate an environment is safe?" (watch your tone; you have to appear collaborative and not confrontational
4) Say things that they will say "that's right" to. Say "that's right" when they say something you agree with. Never say "you're right".

Last but not least start off proactively: e.g. "I would like {son} to be able to come back home."

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

This is completely off your point, but this kind of stuff works both ways.

I've thankfully never been in a child custody fight, but I have been involved in a divorce, and in that process you can come across some stuff that unfortunately confirms every cliche that's rattling around in your (my) brain.

At one point, my ex-wife (who I was generally friendly with throughout the divorce process) had book that was something like... a woman's guide to divorce, and inside it was a chapter which was an instructional about how to leave the state with the kids and leave the husband high and dry. It had details all the way down to planning your argument in secret so when you spring it on him in court, he's caught flat-footed while you've had months of preparation and research on your side.

[To: Trshmnstr From: Hrod [C]]

an instructional about how to leave the state with the kids and leave the husband high and dry

My mom tried that... the court in Indiana didn't look too nicely on her doing that. Of course, my dad was smart enough to hire some of the best lawyers in town within 6 hours of when she took us and left.

I fucking hate family law. Hate it. I hope I never have to deal with it, either on a personal side or on the professional side. The number one rule about family law is that it's gonna be a miserable process. The number two rule is that the first phone call you make when shit goes sour is to the best divorce attorney in town.

[Nikkodemus]

Sarc is going through a custody battle? Damn, I feel for him. I had to go through that as well about 4 years ago. Luckily, my ex is the type of person that backs down when you show that you're the adult in the room.

[To: Trshmnstr From: Hrod [C]]

Good luck Sarc! Hopefully it goes well for you!

[John Titor]

In "Ayn Rand may have had terrible prose, but she nailed realistic villains, we have President Not-My-Fault explaining how we collectively create the technologies that improve human lives. With the proper motivation from on-high, of course.

Wesley Mouch is taking credit for Rearden Metal.

[John Titor]

*In "Ayn Rand may have had terrible prose, but she nailed realistic villains" news

[Eternal Blue Sky]

I genuinely hated Rand's writing style and general smugness.

But holy shit did she nail her portrayal of State actor villains.

[Crusty Juggler]

Flying for 10 Months Without a Layover

The common swift is a bird shaped by and for the air. In flight it looks like a crescent moon, with just a hint of head and a tail that, when spread, echoes the curve of its wings.

Scientists have now confirmed that it can spend up to 10 months in the air without landing. Only when it makes a nest does it need to come to Earth. It can even mate during flight.

[PapayaSF]

No food or water for 10 months? How is that possible?

[tarran]

I think they eat bugs. Maybe there's enough liquid in their food so they don't drink at all.

[Ted S.]

So it's a member of the Mile High Club?

[Mazakon]

Speaking of Putin...

The Hill: Media Rigging Election for Trump by Reporting WikiLeaks Reveals

[Illocust]

Doesn't seem like the commentators are buying it. Ignore the news because of its source alone is the last defense, and a very weak one. No one is even trying to claim the emails aren't legit.

[Derp-o-Matic 5000]

But the media is treating them as though they aren't, citing that they have not received confirmation from Hill's people that they are authentic. No shit!

[lafe.long]

The media's complicity in Russian hacking tilts the playing field in favor of Trump because we have no Republican documents to compare with the material contained in the hacked Democratic emails, which may or may not have been doctored.

The butthurt is delicious.

[GILMORE?]

Media Rigging Election for Trump by Reporting WikiLeaks Reveals

That's not a joke?

(looks)

holy @#*_+*(

[Derp-o-Matic 5000]

Every day we are reaching new frontiers of derp

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

According to the TV News Archive, Trump has received about twice as many television mentions as Clinton: 1.1 million for Trump as compared to 571,485 for Clinton.

AND THEY WERE ALL POSITIVE!

[The Late P Brooks]

Speaking of Tesla... some idiot was on Bloomberg this morning saying they could easily sell 250,000 cars a year.

Now I have to clean a giant coffee stain out of my carpet.

[Rufus The Monocled]

Use the cum from Elon Musk's dick. It's magical.

[Jerryskids]

How many fleet autos does the government have? About 250,000?

[yet another dave]

This by god they should be encouuraded to supply police with em, anybody with 1/4 tank of gas will get away...

[lafe.long]

Erica Garner blasts Clinton campaign over discussions staffers had about her father's death in WikiLeaks emails

Erica Garner, the daughter of police chokehold victim Eric Garner, ripped the Hillary Clinton campaign in a series of tweets Thursday after new campaign emails released by WikiLeaks showed how the Democratic nominee's staffers discussed the death of her father.

"I'm troubled by the revelation that you and this campaign actually discussed 'using' Eric Garner ? Why would you want to 'use my dad?" Garner tweeted along with a link to emails released by WikiLeaks. "These people will co opt anything to push their agenda. Police violence is not the same as gun violence.

"I'm vey (sic) interested to know exactly what @CoreyCiorciari meant when he said 'I know we have an Erica Garner problem' in the #PodestaEmails19," added Garner.

[PapayaSF]

One of the interesting things about this election is the black vote. Some people seem to think that Hillary will automatically get as many black votes as Obama got, but I think that's delusional. She's not black, she has no charisma, Obama fatigue is a thing, and Trump seems to be doing better with blacks than many recent GOP candidates.

[tarran]

Notice that the NY Daily News smeared Gardner.

He wasn't being arrested for selling loosies. He wasn't selling loosies. He just happened to be standing near a place where a fight had happened. When the cops rolled up, they had nothing to do, so they rousted him.

I've been issued speeding tickets (OK 1 ticket) in the past. Does that mean if the cops get confused on a car chace and try to pit my car instead of the one they are chasing and kill me that I was killed for speeding?

[Crusty Juggler]

I clicked that Corey fella's Twitter, and the first two Tweets are a link to Hill's anti-bullying plan.

It is all shit, of course, but the last paragraph:

Creating a national initiative around suicide prevention across the lifespan that is headed by the Surgeon General. As part of her comprehensive agenda on mental health, Clinton will move toward the goal of "Zero Suicide" that has been promoted by the Department of Health and Human Services. The initiative will encourage evidence-based suicide prevention and mental health programs in K-12 schools and provide $500 million in federal support for suicide p

We can't even write out prevention?

[esteve7]

"evidence-based", lol

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

"I'm troubled by the revelation that you and this campaign actually discussed 'using' Eric Garner ? Why would you want to 'use my dad?"

I take it Erica Garner doesn't get out of the house much.

[lafe.long]

WikiLeaks: Team Hillary Feared Clinton-Cosby Comparisons

Political operative Ron Klain in January sent an "urgent" email to Hillary Clinton's campaign staff warning of possible questions she might face, including how her husband's sexual indiscretions might compare to disgraced comedian Bill Cosby.

Klain, who served as chief of staff to Vice Presidents Al Gore and Joe Biden, wrote that the campaign needed to set aside time to discuss the political questions, which now seem to be really owning the coverage."

Klain had several under the heading "WJC Issues."

One was particularly harsh: "How is what Bill Clinton did different from what Bill Cosby did?"

[Rufus The Monocled]

But Trump's locker room is WORSTESTEST!

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

"How is what Bill Clinton did different from what Bill Cosby did?"

Cosby was funny?

[esteve7]

well Bill Clinton is a GOOD Democrat.

Crosby left the SJW hive of victimhood and went towards personal responsibility and self-determination, so he is a BAD Democrat.

So there you go

[Enough About Palin]

Stonger Together anagrams:

Greeters Thong Rot
Renegers Goth Trot
Genre Trotters Hog
Regents Retort Hog
Regret Hens Grotto
Regret Rotten Hogs
Greets Retro Thong
Thereto Stern Grog
Gee Strength Or Rot*

* my favorite

[PapayaSF]

I'd vary one of them to: "Rotten hog regrets."

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

Regret Rotten Hogs wins.

[The Fusionist]

You can rearrange the letters in "A Teacake Grainier Magma" to spell "Make America Great Again."

What are the odds?

[The Fusionist]

Is it too late to use the joke about how William Weld has done downhill since he did Police Squad?

[The Fusionist]

*gone* downhill

[Enough About Palin]

So you meant to write William Weld has done gone downhill since he did Police Squad??

[The Fusionist]

sure

[Bobarian (Would Chip Her)]

Race Bannon hasn't aged a day?

[The Fusionist]

I Googled, and the Internet is comparing Race Bannon to Mike Pence.

[The Fusionist]

But you can rearrange the letters in "William Floyd Weld" and get "Fowl Wailed Mildly."

[AlmightyJB]

You can also get "I sucked Hillary's dick"

[Ken Shultz]

Is anybody out there playing Civ VI?

[Eternal Blue Sky]

I'm waiting for the expansions to come out. After Civ V, which was worse than Civ IV when released and only got good after expansions came out, I trust Civ VI won't be worth it until they have an expansion to sell.

[Heroic Mulatto]

Yes.

[John Titor]

No, recent Civs tend to suck until the first or second expansion pack. And the A.I.'s garbage for at least a few months if Civ 5 was any indication.

[You ARE a Prog (MJG)]

The game looks dope, but I haven't paid $60 for a game in a long time. A long time.

And like others have said, it's always nice to wait for the bugs to be worked out and some of the content that should've been included released in an expansion.

[Agammamon]

Yes.

Don't buy it.

Its 'streamlined' even further than CIV 5. You have to create an exception for it in Windows Defender or it can take over a minute to start.

Loading a game takes 2 minutes even on an SSD and the turns *start out* at 30 seconds and get longer as you go on.

Then add in things like unskippable splash screens, the animated leader stuff is slow, you can't interact with any options while they're yammering on, often interrupt you to spout some opaque bullshit that you have no idea what they're talking about. I get guys telling me its bad that I'm going in debt when I have a huge stash-o-cash and a 100gold/turn income. Its insane. Its inane.

Diplomacy has had more options axed. The AI is pretty close to random and no matter what you do they will all hate you if you have the slightest lead.

Some games I'd reccommend you get on sale (Mad Max) - this one is a complete skip.

[commodious cam't contmpla..]

Mad Max was surprisingly good. I say this having paid something like sixteen bucks for it.

[Rhywun]

I got into some of the older Civ games but I don't have the patience any more.

[Sir Digby Chicken Caesar]

For those who care: The Conchords show was quite excellent last night.

[You ARE a Prog (MJG)]

I saw them in July. I really hope the songs are for a new album. I'd like to put "Let's Fuck on the Ceiling" in my rotation.

[Sir Digby Chicken Caesar]

Hmm...that one definitely didn't make the playlist. The newer ones they played were great.

[You ARE a Prog (MJG)]

Huh, apparently they were playing it as far back as 2012, so maybe it was not a 'new song' that they were still testing.

[Stormy Dragon]

to be clear: without permission

Since there is eminent domain involved in this, does "without permission" mean without permission of the rightful owners or without permission of the people the court says are the owners?

[Trigger Warning]

Vine was the dumbest shit in a world of dumb shit. Good riddance.

[Pat (PM)]

Another possibility that we shan't mention is that perhaps there's a genetic propensity in that relatively homogeneous country toward smarter people.

[Playa Manhattan.]

You lost Kirby AND Prince.

[Pope Jimbo]

Jump on my back Tundra!

[Citizen X]

Ya dere hey!

[PapayaSF]

He's also gone back to his prediction of a Trump landslide.

[jesse.in.mb]

A few days old? He's been stumping for Trump for months...

[DEG]

He doesn't seem too impressed with Hildog's peeps.

No, he's not. He accurately describes them.

[grrizzly]

He keeps changing his "endorsements" every couple of days or so.

[jesse.in.mb]

I guess it's good that he's keeping flexible.

[PapayaSF]

Not really. IIRC he did not endorse anyone, then mockingly endorsed Hillary "for his personal safety," then GJ for a short time, then Trump. That's over the course of some months.

[DEG]

Dream big.

[flye]

So... all three of those women are over the age of 50. Still lookin' good, sure, but just sayin' you might have a better chance than you think.

[Crusty Juggler]

This guy gets it.

[Heroic Mulatto]

Indeed! The Finns are so intelligent that people get smarter just by immigrating to Finland!

Sahlberg argues that although there are well-founded concerns over the capacity of the education system to cope with its rapid and uneven diversification
(Sahlberg notes that Finland has had the fastest rate of diversification in Europe since
the 1990s and that the proportion of foreign-born citizens in Finland has tripled since
2000) "the level of student performance has continuously increased and student
performance variance has decreased, while Finnish society has become more
culturally diverse and socially complex."(p. 97) A key factor in this development is
the provision of individual support for all students based on their educational needs:
a third of students receive special education support at some point in their schooling,
and all students are entitled to educational support in their native language.

[Pope Jimbo]

The Finns are smart enough to get really pissed when you try to call the Scandinavian. Who wants to be lumped in with Norwegians and Swedes after all?

[Heroic Mulatto]

Again with the Fennoman vs. Svecoman shit.

That's what got Biggie and Tupac killed.

[Rhywun]

Who wants to be lumped in with Norwegians and Swedes after all?

Large numbers of American Democrats?

[Pope Jimbo]

Uffda! I had forgotten about that shit. But you are right, it lingers on like the smell of lutefisk in the house in winter.

[Pat (PM)]

You can get as passive aggressively snarky about it as you want, it's actually a good example of why it's impossible to ever discuss the subject. I'm sure it's the same coincidence/one-of-a-kind education system/water supply responsible for the higher average achievement of Jewish and East Asian students.

[Azathoth!!]

There are around 300,000 foreign born people in Finland--most of theses are from The former USSR, Sweden, Russia and Estonia.

When people celebrate Finland for becoming more diverse, it's because their major city just got a black guy.