U.S. Accused of War Crimes in Mosul, Military Plane Crashes in Mississippi, Solar Eclipse Spurs Sex-Trafficking Hysteria: A.M. Links

• 

  NASA……/UPI/Newscom

  A U.S. military plane crash Monday in rural Mississippi has left all 16 passengers dead. Marine Corps spokeswoman Capt. Sarah Burns said in a statement that the plane "experienced a mishap," but did not elaborate.

• A new Amnesty International report says Iraqi forces and the American-military coalition backing them may have committed war crimes in Mosul.
• What did Trump Jr. know and when did he know it? The Weekly Standard breaks it down.
• Not content to sell bullshit about Super Bowl-related sex trafficking, advocates are now warning about a sex trafficking spike during solar eclipses.
• In D.C., arrests for public use of marijuana tripled last year, with 400 people arrested—up from 142 in 2015.

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Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

...advocates are now warning about a sex trafficking spike during solar eclipses.

Darkness is scary.

[Aloysious]

Time to ban solar ellipses.

[Mickey Rat]

Copernicus tried to ban solar ellipses.

[Bob K]

Blow up the moon?

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

[Rhywun]

That strategy doesn't end well for most of us.

[Citizen X - #6]

Did you know about the forthcoming movie adaptation?

[Chipper Morning, Now #1]

So what are the seven races? One of them is cat people, isn't it?

[Entropy Drehmaschine Void]

One of them is cat people, isn't it?

Now that was a great movie adaptation ...

[Rhywun]

Sigh. I would much rather see adaptations of several other works but I guess that's why I don't get paid the big bucks.

[Citizen X - #6]

A Game of Thrones-style miniseries version of the Baroque Cycle would be incredible. I'm sort of glad SyFy's attempt at The Diamond Age fell through though.

[Rhywun]

I'm sort of glad SyFy's attempt at The Diamond Age fell through though.

How come? Was it going to suck?

[Citizen X - #6]

Yes. Development stalled out about a decade ago, long before SyFy was rolling in Sharknado money and able to afford talent and non-laughable special effects. Also, it was being produced by George Clooney's company, which, based on their press releases, didn't understand the book at all.

[Brandybuck]

If it comes out I'll go see it. But I can't imagine how they would film it. if it were me, i would film both halves of the book as two movies.

[BYODB]

I would pay through the nose to see the 'Belgariad' made into a film series, but I'm not holding my breath to see it any time soon.

David Eddings 'The Belgariad' Series.

[The Last American Hero]

Will it start Neil Dumbass Tyson and Hillary Clinton as themselves?

[Stormy Dragon]

I thought we were subsidizing solar eclipses to protect the domestic candle making industry?

[Scarecrow Repair & Chippering]

+ Bastiat

[Mickey Rat]

How else are you supposed to celebrate a solar eclipse?

[Citizen X - #6]

When that space giant starts taking bites out of the sun, sometimes you just need a little human warmth.

[Libertarian]

One would think a solar eclipse would improve our dire global warming prognosis.

[Rufus The Monocled]

Hello.

[Necron 99]

From the article,
"We just don't know what's going to happen," said Amy Leenerts. "But the thought is yes, it will definitely happen."

LOL.

Anyway, is any of the commentariat planning to travel to see totality? I will be headed to Kansas City and ready to travel in the direction of clear skies to see this, been planning for this event for over the last 15 years now. Told my son when he was about twelve he had to drive me to go see the eclipse, he is now 27 and will be driving me to see it.

[Rhywun]

If it was floating over NYC I would consider traveling away from it, but nope.

[KerryW]

I will likely be going from Iowa to northern Missouri.

[Cynical Asshole]

I'll be in Wyoming to see it.

[notJoe]

Me too, assuming I-25 isn't packed solid from NoCo north the day of the eclipse. Otherwise, staying home and savoring 93% totality.

[Chipper Morning, Now #1]

I will be here reading Tony's comments to observe totality.

[Citizen X - #6]

Tony is permanently lodged too far up his own asshole to notice an eclipse.

[damikesc]

Anyway, is any of the commentariat planning to travel to see totality? I will be headed to Kansas City and ready to travel in the direction of clear skies to see this, been planning for this event for over the last 15 years now. Told my son when he was about twelve he had to drive me to go see the eclipse, he is now 27 and will be driving me to see it.

My area in SC is expecting to be inundated by folks trying to see it as we'll be in a "prime viewing location". Seems like it'll be more annoying to me than anything else.

[Dillinger]

article says Dallas gets a total in 2024...i'll try to live seven more years.

[Necron 99]

I will give living seven more years the old college try as well. I reside west of Fort Worth so I will have to drive a couple hours for that one, but it's on my to do list.

[Dillinger]

it rained the night we were prepped to see Halley's comet...i vowed to make it to 90 so i'd get another go around

[Briggie]

I live in Charleston, so don't have to travel. Which is pretty nice.

[Rat on a train]

Freedom dies in the darkness.

[Cynical Asshole]

And eclipses make people horny. I guess. I don't know what their "logic" is, I refuse to give them a click by reading the linked article.

[Zeb]

I believe that the logic is that when you have lots of people convening in a place, extra whores come to town to meet increased demand. And since to them prostitute=trafficked victim, that means lots of sex trafficking.

[Citizen X - #6]

Marine Corps spokeswoman Capt. Sarah Burns said in a statement that the plane "experienced a mishap," but did not elaborate.

It was motherfucking snakes.

[Jerryskids]

Loss of altitude. It's always loss of altitude with these things.

[Citizen X - #6]

It's not the malfunction that wrecks the plane, it's the sudden impact with the ground.

[MarkLastname]

Altitude inequality is increasing among planes.

[Fist of Etiquette]

In D.C., arrests for public use of marijuana tripled last year, with 400 people arrested?up from 142 in 2015.

Now that's a jobs program from our capital that works!

[Citizen X - #6]

A new Amnesty International report says Iraqi forces and the American-military coalition backing them may have committed war crimes in Mosul.

There are ways of killing and maiming folks that are fine, and there are ways of killing and maiming folks that are Not Okay.

[Fist of Etiquette]

What did Trump Jr. know and when did he know it?

He knew nothing but was on top of everything. Believe me.

[Mickey Rat]

So the US should have supplied the Iraqis wiyh more precise weapons?

[John DeWitt]

And apparently ones that don't kill your enemy as good:

"Even in attacks that seem to have struck their intended military target, the use of unsuitable weapons or failure to take other necessary precautions resulted in needless loss of civilian lives and in some cases appears to have constituted disproportionate attacks," the report said.

[Cyto]

This is a must read.

I fully support the goals of Amnesty International, but these folks are nuts.

In their own report they state that ISIS was rounding up civilians and summarily executing them, hanging their bodies in public places when they attempted to flee.

Soooooo..... don't intervene and you are guilty of crimes against humanity because you didn't stop them, and you are totally responsible for stopping them. Or intervene and you are guilty of war crimes because they hid among civilian hostages and you accidentally killed some civilians during the assault. And even if you didn't, killing the ISIS fighters might be disproportionate attacks.

They are completely incoherent.

[Cynical Asshole]

The important thing is, whatever happens it's totally our fault.

[Stormy Dragon]

and you accidentally killed some civilians

It wasn't accidental. The Shia controlled Iraqi government has been using the ISIS fight as a pretext for getting rid of Sunni and Kurdish Iraqi civilians wherever possible.

[Cyto]

Well, there is that. Killers gotta kill, yo!

[damikesc]

It wasn't accidental. The Shia controlled Iraqi government has been using the ISIS fight as a pretext for getting rid of Sunni and Kurdish Iraqi civilians wherever possible.

All cultures are equal. Who are we to say their preference for murdering all infidels is inferior to our preference for not doing so?

[ace_m82]

Quid est veritas?

[Ron]

There was a star trek episode where both sides would voluntarily be killed so that the kills by either side would be equal. is that what they would like to see

[Inigo Montoya]

"A Taste of Armageddon" -- excellent episode.

Its anti-war theme was handled very well, and the professional diplomat who thinks he knows everything gets very suitably put in his place.

[Citizen X - #6]

Do you ever get the feeling that the writers of the original Star Trek just didn't give a fuck?

[Crusty Juggler - Obama momma]

Deray McKesson Mocked After Being Offended Planet Of The Apes Character Wears A Vest Like His

Summary: The new War for the Planet of the Apes is mocking Black Lives Matter and one of its leaders.

Will we ever reach peak Twitter outrage?

[Fist of Etiquette]

Take my stinkin' vest off you damn dirty racist ape!

[Necron 99]

Maybe they could incorporate Nick's leather jacket in the next film.

[Citizen X - #6]

You mean The Jacket's leathery Nick.

[Necron 99]

I did not mean any offence to The Jacket. But the leathery Nick is optional, right?

[Citizen X - #6]

Well, sure. But The Jacket does need a host in order to maintain its extrusion into this plane of reality.

[Chipper Morning, Now #1]

The scowls are not what they seem.

[Rhywun]

"Wow. So wrong."

LOL

[Dillinger]

so *Deray* thinks they all look alike?

[Cynical Asshole]

Will we ever reach peak Twitter outrage?

No. It's the same as Peak Derp. Stupidity and being outraged over stupid shit are the only infinite resources in the universe. Even after the heat death of the universe, derp and Twitter outrage will endure forever.

[Unlabelable MJGreen]

Put me in for a LOL.

[Entropy Drehmaschine Void]

Well, if he wants to self-identify as a stupid monkey, who are we to stop him?

[LoneWaco]

you maniacs.

you blue it up.

[Crusty Juggler - Obama momma]

Due to Obamacare, 22% of Small Businesses Are Hiring Few Workers or Reducing Salaries

Professor Casey Mulligan of the University of Chicago, author of the study, says the Affordable Care Act has cost businesses roughly 250,000 jobs because of a penalty employers face if they don't provide mandated insurance.

"Thanks to the ACA, hiring the 50th full-time employee effectively costs another $70,000 a year on top of the normal salary and benefits," Mulligan said. "Nationwide, we estimate the ACA-inspired practice of keeping payrolls below 50 has cost roughly 250,000 jobs."

"This does not count jobs lost when businesses close (we didn't survey closed businesses) or shrink because of other ACA incentives," he said. "No doubt a few of the 250,000 lost jobs are replaced at businesses that weren't seeking to duck the 50-employee threshold."

The survey also finds more businesses report they would be better off if Obamacare were repealed.

[Citizen X - #6]

Who could possibly have predicted that increasing the cost to hire employees would result in less employees being hired?

[Crusty Juggler - Double Great]

in less employees being hired?

*Fewer* employees, neanderthal.

[Citizen X - #6]

Don't language-shame me, shitlord.

[Chipper Morning, Now #1]

Well, you are 3% neanderthal.

[Citizen X - #6]

I do tend to bury my dead with flowers and stone tools.

[Entropy Drehmaschine Void]

Do you wear Deray's vest when doing so?

[Chipper Morning, Now #1]

I told you the concrete dildo was a bad idea.

[Citizen X - #6]

You'd certainly tested it rigorously enough to know.

[Chipper Morning, Now #1]

You could have told me to stop much earlier, when I could have understood you more clearly.

[Citizen X - #6]

Not my fault you didn't notice i wasn't even in the building. You were, uh, preoccupied. Extremely.

[Entropy Drehmaschine Void]

Who could possibly have predicted that increasing the cost to hire employees would result in less employees being hired?

Seattle?

[Entropy Drehmaschine Void]

Who could possibly have predicted that increasing the cost to hire employees would result in less employees being hired?

I meant Hitler, dammit.

The answer is always HITLER!

[Fist of Etiquette]

...the Affordable Care Act has cost businesses roughly 250,000 jobs because of a penalty employers face if they don't provide mandated insurance.

Measured against the 11 million or 40 million or however many more now have health insurance, I'm sure those scant few unemployed will gladly sacrifice themselves for the cause.

[Eek Barba Durkle]

Not to mention, that number doesn't even include the 750 million jobs created, saved, emboldened, encouraged, embiggened, hypothesized, imagined and memorialized by the stimmy.

[Citizen X - #6]

Hey, i got one of those jobs - managing compliance issues for a law firm that specialized in foreclosures and collections.

Business was booming.

[loveconstitution1789]

If only this exact scenario was foretold by certain Liberty-loving types.

[Domestic Dissident]

Justin Raimondo delivers an awesome takedown of Cathy Young and her terrible piece on Russia.

[loveconstitution1789]

Interesting read. Thanks.

[Domestic Dissident]

Indeed it is. I didn't even know until yesterday that Cathy Young is a Russian emigre' whose real birth name is Yekaterina Yung. That's kind of important information to see where it is that she's coming from on this subject!

And Raimondo asks a great question: why is it that Reason opposes economic sanctions on Cuba but apparently is now calling for economic sanctions on Russia? I don't see any Cuban emigrants claiming to be a libertarian writing for Reason making this kind of argument against the Castro regime, which by the way has been in power a hell of a lot longer than Putin has. Quite the contrary, they make the exact opposite argument in their case!

[Chipper Morning, Now #1]

Aaaaargh! Why is Reason making me side with Mikey? I feel dirty.

[Citizen X - #6]

Mikey making sense is one of those things your brain doesn't have a place for. It's like getting bit on the stomach by a horse.

[Fuck You - Cut Spending]

It's a bit of a stretch to say that since Cathy Young wants sanctions it therefore must be the public policy of the Reason Foundation. But the magazine shouldn't be allowing such drivel to see print.

My advice is to remember articles like Young's the next time Reason does their webathon blitz for donations.

[Domestic Dissident]

I don't think it's a stretch at all, and I don't believe that any writer would ever be allowed to have a piece published here that called for economic sanctions on Cuba under any circumstances. In fact, Reason has gone out of it's way for a long time now to make the exact opposite argument!

And by the way, we're not talking about some throwaway one-liner from Lizzie or Robbie in the Hit n' Run A.M. links, we're talking about one of the main featured pieces of the August/September 2017 digital edition, complete with that ridiculous fake picture of Putin dressed up like an orthodox priest.

Sorry, but I don't believe for a second that could ever happen without being cleared and approved ahead of time by the foundation. The old "they can't be responsible for every single word of content" argument may fly in many cases, but it doesn't fly with me in this case.

[Zeb]

Yeah, being exposed to ideas you disagree with is the worst.

[Unlabelable MJGreen]

It might be that Cuba is not Russia. One possibility.

[Zeb]

Yeah, Cuba's government is terrible, but they aren't a major power posing significant threats to their neighbors. I don't really care what else Russia is up to, but that shit is not good.

[Unlabelable MJGreen]

And the embargo against Cuba is often denounced in large part because it did not succeed in its goal of starving the regime. Young's argument is that targeted sanctions against Russia have been successful in the goal of limiting Russian expansion. You can think she's mistaken or that sanctions still aren't justified, but it doesn't take a genius to see that the two positions are not contradictory.

Granted, that may not be an appropriate phrase to use here.

[MarkLastname]

Does Reason actually support sanctions? I thought I read a piece by them a while ago actually criticizing the effectiveness of sanctions?

[Marty Feldman's Eyes]

Reason is large and contains multitudes.

[Unlabelable MJGreen]

Put me in for a LOL.

[Crusty Juggler - Obama momma]

Jim Acosta Leads CNN's Breathless Crusade against the White House

While the rest of CNN's reporters were presumably licking their wounds and listening to some spoken-word poetry following Trump's victory, Acosta broke out some of the network's hardest-hitting reporting, booking reservations at the Michelin-starred Jean Georges restaurant to stalk the then-president-elect at dinner with Reince Priebus and rumored secretary of state candidate Mitt Romney. At least 20 feet away from the dinner, Acosta live-tweeted all sorts of juicy scoops, such as "Trump crossing his arms for a good while now as Romney smiles and speaks" and "Fresh marshmallows are prepared as Trump, Romney, and Priebus dine." Acosta was promptly "#busted" ? yes, that's a direct quote from Acosta's tweets ? when Trump approached Acosta, but that didn't stop him from reporting later that "Trump, Romney, and Priebus have moved on to dessert."

Keep fighting the good fight, Jimbo.

[loveconstitution1789]

Give him credit, he has been out of practice for 8 years.

[Unlabelable MJGreen]

"Fresh marshmallows are prepared as Trump, Romney, and Priebus dine."

Laugh all you want at this guy's antics, but that was a good tweet.

[Crusty Juggler - Double Great]

Dublin brothel rents out 32E SEX DOLL for ?80 an hour?and 'Passion Dolly' gets scores of visitors every week

A bit like a buxom Barbie doll, the blonde android has massive boobs, an hourglass figure and eerily lifelike facial features fixed into a sexy pout.

Described as "Ireland's most realistic sex doll", Passion Dolly arrived at the Dublin brothel less than a month ago and dozens of punters have already had their way with her.

Weighing eight stone with 32 E boobs the doll imported from America has a metal skeleton covered in silicone and responds to vibrations moving like a human.

She is being leased out by two Eastern European sex workers who allow men to pay to spend time with her ? but not remove her from the premises.

I like dead eyes as much as the next guy, but those breasts just ruin her for me.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Way to body shame.

[Libertarian]

"I like dead eyes as much as the next guy, but those breasts just ruin her for me."

When you weigh eight stone, you've got to pack those stones wherever you can.

[Meh.]

Belfast-born Noel Sharkey, a professor of artificial intelligence and robotics at the University of Sheffield, and Dr Aimee van Wynsberghe, assistant professor in ethics and technology at a Dutch university, said governments need to introduce legislation to stop abuses of this technology.

"Some say it's better to rape a robot than a person, but others think it would encourage rape," states Noel.

... what exactly constitutes robot rape? Sounds like a whole new wave of lawsuits.

[MarkLastname]

"Some say... but others think..."
There's an argument from an expert logician.

[Dillinger]

who and/or what cleans it?

[Crusty Juggler - Double Great]

Someone not getting paid enough.

[Chipper Morning, Now #1]

"We ask that customers please bus their own table."

[lap83]

A Mexican sex robot?

[Citizen X - #6]

This is Ireland, so the equivalent would be a Polish sex robot.

[Chipper Morning, Now #1]

Yeah, but how long before customers are asking to fuck the Polish cleaning robot? And then who cleans the cleaning robot?

[lap83]

You know who else left a mess for the Poles to clean up?

[Citizen X - #6]

The Turks at Vienna in 1683?

[Mock-star]

+1 winged hussar

[Dillinger]

like Rosie from the Jetsons

[Half-Virtue, Half-Vice]

Those lips are the deal breaker -- though some of those clothed standing up pictures are uncanny.

[Crusty Juggler - Double Great]

The eyes of the world will be on Hopkinsville next month when a total solar eclipse brings tens of thousands of people to the small city. But law enforcement and activists are warning everyone of sex trafficking, a dangerous threat they hope does not become a reality.

"We just don't know what's going to happen," said Amy Leenerts. "But the thought is yes, it will definitely happen."

Leenerts is the founder of Free 2 Hope, a non-profit agency dedicated to preventing sex crimes. She was invited in early July to speak at a conference in Hopkinsville on the unexpected topic.

"We have groups that travel around Kentucky and several other states, kind of in a track around," Leenerts said. "And it's a human trafficking ring. And we expect that to probably end up in Hopkinsville, Kentucky."

[Crusty Juggler - Double Great]

From the Free2Hope website:

Think human trafficking doesn't happen in Kentucky?

Kentucky is a "pass through state" meaning that women or men who are trafficked tend to come from other cities, but come through Kentucky on their way from one point to another. Traffickers prefer to make the victim leave the area they are from to lessen the chance they would run.

Our interstate highway system along with high profile sporting events like the Kentucky Derby have made the state part of the trafficking pipeline.

The Facts

It's a fact that ?Human Trafficking is a crime of "epidemic proportion"according to the FBI.

[Citizen X - #6]

Group Whose Funding Depends On Making Problem Seem Worse Makes Problem Seem Worse; Film at 11

[Zeb]

I wonder if there is any organization out there trying to put together some honest figures on how many people are coerced into prostitution. I'm sure it happens, but I have no idea to what extent. I don't believe a word that these "anti-trafficking" groups say. They are clearly trying to do as much as they can to portray anyone involved in prostitution as a trafficked victim. Government and law enforcement sources aren't any better.

[Rhywun]

The FBI does stings all the time; they never capture more than 1 or 2 actual "traffickings" among the hundreds of voluntary hookers and johns they sweep up.

[Entropy Drehmaschine Void]

Gotta fight for those Progtard Hysteria dollars ... otherwise, they all end up at the Southern Poverty Law Center ... and Morris Dees' pocket.

[Necron 99]

The Facts

It's a fact that ?Human Trafficking is a crime of "epidemic proportion" according to the FBI.

Yes, it is a fact the FBI makes that inane claim.

[Rat on a train]

Our interstate highway system along with high profile sporting events
Time to seal the border and cancel all events. It is the only way to be sure.

[Cynical Asshole]

And tear up those Interstate Highways.

In fact, ban all travel by anyone except to and from work and home.

[Cynical Asshole]

"We just don't know what's going to happen," said Amy Leenerts. "But the thought is yes, it will definitely happen."

Oh, FFS...

"We don't know what's going to happen, but this bad thing is definitely going to unless you give us a shitload of money."

On some level I guess I'm just jealous that I didn't think of this business model first. Seems like a sure fire way to get filthy rich without actually doing any real work.

[pan fried wylie]

you say that like scaremongering is effortless.

[Incomprehensible Bitching]

Now, that's common sense about solar eclipse sexslacery:

[Incomprehensible Bitching]

"We just don't know what's going to happen," said Amy Leenerts. "But the thought is yes, it will definitely happen."

Couldn't have said it better myself.

[Crusty Juggler - Double Great]

The Trumps Are America's Most Easily Duped Family

The no-longer-secret meeting with a Kremlin-connected lawyer last June stands out for a number of reasons.

First, because of how treason-y it sounds, even with Junior's new explanation.

Second, because it makes Junior sound like a real chump.

Third, because it makes a person wonder how many other people were able to fake out the Trump apparatus, get access, and then yank the football away at the last minute, Lucy-to-Charlie-Brown-style.

"I was tricked!" has become such a fallback excuse that it practically should be on the Trump family crest.

Not fair.

[Sevo]

Not only THAT, but:

"Donald Trump Wears His Watch Way Too Tight"
https://www.thecut. com/2017/06/donald-trump- watch-band-too-tight-photos.html
How are we as a nation to be taken seriously if the POTUS wears a wrist watch with a band which is too tight?!

[Cynical Asshole]

And, he eats fried chicken with a knife and fork! And his hands are freakishly small! And he uses tape to keep his ties down instead of a tie tack!

All real examples of "hard hitting news stories" about Trump.

[Entropy Drehmaschine Void]

Plus marshmallows.

Don't ever forget the marshmallows.

[LoneWaco]

America's Most Easily Duped Family > The Smartest Woman in America > Erin Gloria Ryan

[Unlabelable MJGreen]

I was going to comment earlier that Junior really seems to be an idiot. It now looks like he's posted his emails regarding this straight to twitter, in order to beat a NYT story to the punch. Holy fucking shit this guy is dumb.

[Citizen X - #6]

He inherited his dad's weird hairline too, the poor bastard.

[Crusty Juggler - Double Great]

He is an idiot, and the article does a good job showing how the Trump family are essentially idiots, and then manage to absolve themselves of responsibility.

[loveconstitution1789]

Man, you are really going to be bummed when Trump wins a second term as president.

[Sevo]

"?What did Trump Jr. know and when did he know it?"

What difference does it make?

[Cyto]

At this point?

[Robespierre Josef Stalin]

When did HRC update her security software on her Blackberry? What difference does it make?

[colorblindkid]

In D.C., arrests for public use of marijuana tripled last year, with 400 people arrested?up from 142 in 2015.

Like the hate crime rise two years ago, some people will find a way to blame this on Trump, a man so powerful he set policy before he even entered politics.

[loveconstitution1789]

I caught that too.

The story implies because of timing that its Trump's fault (as in he is anti-marijuana) except that it's arrest numbers are from Obama's Administration. Slick and biased media as usual.

[Rhywun]

I didn't catch that implication. Just the usual "poors and minorities hardest hit" nonsense.

[loveconstitution1789]

Texas Teen electrocuted by Facebook!!!!!
Darwinism at work here.

[Zeb]

This is why you don't buy cheap chargers. That really shouldn't be possible.

[Crusty Juggler - Double Great]

In D.C., arrests for public use of marijuana tripled last year, with 400 people arrested?up from 142 in 2015.

The law is the law, and if a person breaks the law, they should face the consequences. If they don't like it, then they should lobby their representatives to change the law.

It's simple.

[Scarecrow Repair & Chippering]

Talking 'bout cops are yee?

[Cynical Asshole]

Not content to sell bullshit about Super Bowl-related sex trafficking, advocates are now warning about a sex trafficking spike during solar eclipses.

*facepalm* Is there anything that doesn't cause a spike in sex trafficking?

[Rat on a train]

No. You can only distinguish between things that increase third party trafficking, like eclipses, and events that do their own, like the Olympics.

[Cyto]

C'mon. They put out a checklist that totally handles this.

Be on the lookout for:

Kids, adults showing signs of abuse

Minors with multiple cell phones

Kids, adults afraid to speak or respond on their own

Hotel guests with little luggage

'Do Not Disturb' sign used constantly on a hotel room door

Housekeeping services refused for many days

Adults loitering in hallways or monitoring rooms

Many guests staying in one room

Adults with large amounts of cash, credit card swipes, multiple lap tops, pagers, cell phones

A male significantly older than female companions

A person is vague about his/her profession

That is totally specific and should make it easy to spot interstate trafficking.

[Rhywun]

I expect that exact list will be used in the near future for the training that all hotel staff will be required to take before the state will grant them a license to do hotel stuff. Oh, and failing to report anything suspicious to the police will not be recommended.

[Dillinger]

Hajj?

[Sevo]

"*facepalm* Is there anything that doesn't cause a spike in sex trafficking?"

Huge new potassium nitrate mines?

[Entropy Drehmaschine Void]

President Rock?

Hadn't heard that it had gone this far yet ...

[Cynical Asshole]

The re-make of Back to the Future where Marty travels back in time from 2025 to 1990 in a time traveling Tesla is going to be really short:

Doc Brown: "So who's president in 2025?"

Marty: "A former WWE wrestler named Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson."

Doc Brown: "A wrestler!?"

Marty: "Yeah!"

Doc Brown: *places gun to temple and pulls the trigger*

*roll credits*

[Chipper Morning, Now #1]

They already made a movie about a guy traveling to the future where the president is a wrestler.

[pan fried wylie]

Just 'to' The Future

[Alan Vanneman]

1979 solar eclipse? BEST F*CK EVAH!

[Crusty Juggler - Double Great]

Literally everything about this comment is ridiculous.

[Chipper Morning, Now #1]

Especially the year, which indicates the statute of limitations has finally run out.

[Citizen X - #6]

Jesus. I don't even know if i LIKE sex anymore. I gotta take stock.

[Chipper Morning, Now #1]

Another oil, glitter, and orange slices escapade with Crusty might do the trick.

[Citizen X - #6]

You joke, but i'm serious. Anal Van-Man's enthusiastically self-censored comment is morally and existentially troubling on any number of levels.

[Crusty Juggler - Double Great]

BEST F*UCK EVAH!

[Dillinger]

succinct.

[Citizen X - #6]

[vomits]

[Chipper Morning, Now #1]

[cries]

[Dillinger]

>>>In D.C., arrests for public use of marijuana tripled last year

Why did the O Administration hate its people?

[Juice]

In D.C., arrests for public use of marijuana tripled last year, with 400 people arrested?up from 142 in 2015.

Because public use has skyrocketed. Damned near every corner and bus stop has someone toking up.

[Stormy Dragon]

How the world ends:

Google is training robot spiders to parkour: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hx_bgoTF7bs

[mad.casual]

I like how pretty much all of the challenges were solved by going faster and/or actuating harder. Also, I can only assume the ongoing 'trombone arms' and 'steal sign'/arm circles are to ensure that those not paralyzed with fear, collapse from laughter.

[Robespierre Josef Stalin]

Vice President Mike Pence, who earlier this year denied that anyone in the Trump campaign "had any contact with the Russians," declined through a spokesman to modify that statement. "The Vice President was not aware of the meeting," said Pence's press secretary, Marc Lotter, in an email to THE WEEKLY STANDARD. "He is not focused on stories about the campaign, particularly stories about the time before he joined the ticket."

Yep, nothing to these allegations. We should go back to HRC's BENGHAZI!! investigations.

[The Last American Hero]

HRC running guns out of Benghazi and getting Americans killed while showing dictators that giving up your nuclear ambitions means regime change = "smart power done right"

What exactly are the allegations about Russia? That Donny Jr. met with a Russian hired by a DNC consulting firm that claimed they had opposition research? Who died, how was the world made less stable, and what laws were broken?

[Citizen X - #6]

I hope you're not expecting serious engagement with the commenter formerly known as american socialist. It's a troll with no intention of being more than a minor annoyance, as the username ("hur hur, sadistic murderers are funny to reference") should immediately indicate.

[Robespierre Josef Stalin]

My nom de Reason is more a hur hur at the concept that one must believe carte Blanche in pop-Austrian right-wing economic theories to be part of the Libertarian Club. Also, I believe there should be an income tax and that income tax should not be onerous for working class people... Golly-- I'll just stop there-- I'm totally out of the loop, aren't I?

[Citizen X - #6]

My nom de Reason is more a hur hur at the concept that one must believe carte Blanche in pop-Austrian right-wing economic theories

How so?

I'm totally out of the loop, aren't I?

Yes, but you should be used to it by now.

[MarkLastname]

Actually neoclassical, monetarist, and market monetarists also tend to lean libertarian. In fact, the most important New Keynesian economist, Greg Mankiw, is a libertarian.

And if you want more taxation than we endure right now, you're not much of a libertarian.

[Robespierre Josef Stalin]

What laws were broken?

Do you want a list? I love how thefashionable libertarian critique of investigating Dear Leader has fallen on such hard times that one must wield the "well, it wasn't illegal." Time will tell on that one, but you certainly have to admire the naked right-wing apologia necessary to wield such an argument-- by someone who calls themselves a libertarian-- with a straight face. Yeah, it's unethical, morally indefensible, and potentially reveals national security information to a foreign power but it's not illegal

LOL. Jesus Christ! Get a fucking job with the Trump Administration. They need MOAR drones like you.

[MarkLastname]

"Investigating" and "speculating" aren't synonymous.

[Azathoth!!]

It's 'wielding' to point out that no crime was being committed, that nothing illegal was or is being done?

That, given that no crimes were committed, maybe investigating that lack of crime for a reason to impeach the president might be a fool's errand?

That, given that we know that no crimes were committed, all these stories about how what Trump is doing would be really bad if we made these legal things illegal and then investigated and prosecuted them are pretty pointless?

[SQRLSY One]

"A person is vague about his/her profession"...

Listed as being indicative of being a sex-slave abductor!!!

Will this finally put a crimp in the endless legions of CIA and NSA spooks and spies?!!??