Overnight Short Animation With Poetry: Common Room

The life that was mapped out for us
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Vimeo

The Common Room Animation Project is a collaboration between 13 animators, based on Talia Randall’s spoken-word poem ‘Common Room’. Each of the animators chose a segment of the poem that inspired them the most, and brought their own unique style, technique and interpretation to the poem.

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482 comments
1 bratwurst  Apr 3, 2014 9:05:09pm

Pat Buchanan wants to know if God is on Russia’s side!

As evidence, he offers:

In 2013, the Kremlin imposed a ban on homosexual propaganda, a ban on abortion advertising, a ban on abortions after 12 weeks and a ban on sacrilegious insults to religious believers.

I guess this godly man (who just happens to think Hitler was misunderstood!) will be relocating to a more pious county like Russia where he won’t have to endure SO MANY “sacrilegious insults” anymore.

2 Targetpractice  Apr 3, 2014 9:10:35pm

re: #1 bratwurst

Pat Buchanan wants to know if God is on Russia’s side!

As evidence, he offers:

I guess this godly man (who just happens to think Hitler was misunderstood!) will be relocating to a more pious county like Russia where he won’t have to endure SO MANY “sacrilegious insults” anymore.

We should be so lucky.

3 Killgore Trout  Apr 3, 2014 9:12:48pm

WTF Is… - Goat Simulator ?
Youtube Video

4 teleskiguy  Apr 3, 2014 9:15:11pm

The Onion nails it.

5 teleskiguy  Apr 3, 2014 9:21:01pm

theonion.com

“After all these years of tireless effort, it is deeply validating to see the Supreme Court come to its senses and give all money the freedom to engage in the political process,” said 80-year-old business magnate and lifelong currency suffrage proponent Sheldon Adelson. “Frankly, this ruling is long overdue. This isn’t the 1800s anymore; you can’t just leave major political decisions to limited groups of money—you have to hear from all of it. Over the decades, a lot of stubborn, resistant people have tried to rally against expanding the rights of money, but at the end of the day, those efforts to thwart the progress of money’s role in American government failed. Slowly but surely, the strength of cash prevailed. When you have enough cash working together for a single cause, no one can silence its voice.”

“I couldn’t be happier right now,” added Adelson, his eyes welling with tears of joy. “You have no idea what this means to me.”

6 freetoken  Apr 3, 2014 9:28:29pm

How subversive.

7 William Barnett-Lewis  Apr 3, 2014 9:32:06pm

re: #1 bratwurst

Pat Buchanan wants to know if God is on Russia’s side!

As evidence, he offers:

I guess this godly man (who just happens to think Hitler was misunderstood!) will be relocating to a more pious county like Russia where he won’t have to endure SO MANY “sacrilegious insults” anymore.

Pat you son of a biscuit eater, I pray that you are actually born again someday…

8 NJDhockeyfan  Apr 3, 2014 9:32:16pm
9 William Barnett-Lewis  Apr 3, 2014 9:33:15pm

re: #4 teleskiguy

The Onion nails it.

[Embedded content]

christ on a fucking crutch, why are they the only fucking people in media that DO get it???

10 William Barnett-Lewis  Apr 3, 2014 9:34:11pm

re: #8 NJDhockeyfan

[Embedded content]

I remember him here. I have no sympathy.

11 NJDhockeyfan  Apr 3, 2014 9:36:26pm
12 Kragar  Apr 3, 2014 9:38:33pm

Pat should go and confirm with God, then see about getting back to us.

13 Bubblehead II  Apr 3, 2014 9:41:34pm

re: #8 NJDhockeyfan

[Embedded content]

He’s looking at 5 years and with time served (3 years) he will be out in two tops. Hope the time he spent in the can got him off the drugs (heroine I believe).

14 Bubblehead II  Apr 3, 2014 9:49:40pm

Night/Morning Lizards. Sleep well and may the Deity of your choice smile down upon you

15 William Barnett-Lewis  Apr 3, 2014 9:51:39pm

As well, good night all. Take care of yourselves.

16 teleskiguy  Apr 3, 2014 9:52:11pm
17 freetoken  Apr 3, 2014 10:01:00pm

More on the latest victimization-porn to milk the wingnuts, first sneaked at CPAC:

Fred Thompson Thriller ‘Persecuted’ Nabbed by Millennium Entertainment

Millennium Entertainment said Thursday it will handle the national distribution of Persecuted, a religious-political thriller that stars former Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson as a priest and is co-produced by Gray Frederickson, who won a best picture Oscar for The Godfather Part II.

Persecuted is about a televangelist, played by James Remar, who is framed for murder after he refuses to publicly support a U.S. senator’s plan that would compel religious leaders to provide “fairness” and equal time to all faiths.

The cast includes Bruce Davison, Dean Stockwell, Raoul Trujillo and Fox News personality Gretchen Carlson, who plays a TV news reporter.

[…]

18 FemNaziBitch  Apr 3, 2014 10:09:06pm

youtube.com

must watch

19 Eclectic Cyborg  Apr 3, 2014 10:13:06pm

re: #17 freetoken

I like Stockwell. I had no idea he was a wingnut.

20 Dark_Falcon  Apr 3, 2014 10:13:23pm

re: #17 freetoken

More on the latest victimization-porn to milk the wingnuts, first sneaked at CPAC:

Fred Thompson Thriller ‘Persecuted’ Nabbed by Millennium Entertainment

I see a movie destined to win several Razzies.

21 Dark_Falcon  Apr 3, 2014 10:14:14pm

re: #19 Eclectic Cyborg

I like Stockwell. I had no idea he was a wingnut.

He might not be. He might just be in it for the payday.

22 Kragar  Apr 3, 2014 10:15:34pm

re: #17 freetoken

More on the latest victimization-porn to milk the wingnuts, first sneaked at CPAC:

Fred Thompson Thriller ‘Persecuted’ Nabbed by Millennium Entertainment

Fox News personality Gretchen Carlson, who plays a TV news reporter.

But what is she playing in the movie?

23 freetoken  Apr 3, 2014 10:26:18pm

Is America finally waking up from its long culinary nightmare?

Reports: Paula Deen Restaurant Closes

A wildly popular Georgia restaurant at the center of a lawsuit that left the reputation of famed Southern celebrity cook Paula Deen in shambles has reportedly closed.

[…] Uncle Bubba’s Seafood & Oyster House announced the closure on its Facebook page. […]

Deen co-owned the restaurant with her brother Bubba Hiers. Former restaurant manager Lisa Jackson sued them both in 2012, alleging sexual harassment and employment practices that were unfair to black workers.

The lawsuit was dismissed after lawyers reached a deal, but Deen’s reputation was seriously damaged after she admitted during legal proceedings that she had used racial slurs in the past.

It may have been “popular”, but it wasn’t very good:

Uncle Bubba’s, co-owned by Paula Deen and her brother, closes after 10 years

[…]

In Hiers’ deposition in 2013 he testified that he frequently viewed pornography on company-owned sites at work and had a history of cocaine use and alcohol abuse. He admitted taking money from the restaurant in 2010 — allegedly as much as $25,000 to $30,000 a month, a practice Deen eventually discovered. He said his sister was in control of the business but it was never a big moneymaker.

“The company had never shown a lot of profit,” Hiers testified.

The health department last inspected Uncle Bubba’s in February. It received a score of 83 with points deducted for repeated violations of proper hand-washing procedures and improper temperature holding of potentially hazardous foods.

[…]

Uh-oh, it looks like the nightmare will linger a while longer:

[…]

Earlier this year Deen signed a deal with Phoenix-based private investment firm Najafi Cos. worth between $75 million and $100 million. Called Paula Deen Ventures, the partnership will be the umbrella name for Deen’s many brands.

Its first major investment will be Paula Deen’s Family Kitchen, a $20 million, 20,000-square-foot restaurant and retail operation, scheduled to open in late summer in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., home of the Dollywood theme park.

A statement released by Najafi in February when the partnership was announced praised Deen’s The Lady & Sons as “one of the country’s most popular regional restaurants.”

It did not mention Uncle Bubba’s.

24 darthstar  Apr 3, 2014 10:29:30pm

re: #21 Dark_Falcon

He might not be. He might just be in it for the payday.

The guy is a fuckin’ Snicker’s bar.

25 Chrysicat  Apr 3, 2014 10:38:25pm

Lest you doubt that liberal useful idiots for Putin still exist:

26 Lidane  Apr 3, 2014 10:43:52pm

re: #20 Dark_Falcon

I see a movie destined to win several be ignored by the Razzies.

FTFY. The Razzies typically go for low hanging fruit like anything by Adam Sandler, or the Twilight movies, or shitty wannabe blockbusters like Battleship and The Lone Ranger. They ignore the religious films altogether.

IIRC the only really political film they’ve gone after lately was Atlas Shrugged, and it didn’t even win anything.

27 Chrysicat  Apr 3, 2014 11:00:48pm

OK, the newly-minted Quebecois (he’s a US expat) I was arguing with was apparently not calling for our USA to face embargo, but saying that even if the CSA had won the Civil War, it would have been forced to end slavery because no one would have traded with it. Still a questionable position, but not what I savaged him for here.

I gotta learn not to post in anger :”>

28 GeneJockey  Apr 3, 2014 11:02:11pm

re: #26 Lidane

FTFY. The Razzies typically go for low hanging fruit like anything by Adam Sandler, or the Twilight movies, or shitty wannabe blockbusters like Battleship and The Lone Ranger. They ignore the religious films altogether.

IIRC the only really political film they’ve gone after lately was Atlas Shrugged, and it didn’t even win anything.

Wait, Battleship wasn’t a good movie? How could an action movie, based on a slow-moving board game, and starring Liam Neeson not be good?
///////

29 GeneJockey  Apr 3, 2014 11:03:11pm

re: #27 Chrysicat

OK, the newly-minted Quebecois (he’s a US expat) I was arguing with was apparently not calling for our USA to face embargo, but saying that even if the CSA had won the Civil War, it would have been forced to end slavery because no one would have traded with it. Still a questionable position, but not what I savaged him for here.

I gotta learn not to post in anger :”>

Ooo, I hate it when I do that.

30 FemNaziBitch  Apr 3, 2014 11:07:12pm

nytol

31 Chrysicat  Apr 3, 2014 11:10:07pm

re: #28 GeneJockey

Wait, Battleship wasn’t a good movie? How could an action movie, based on a slow-moving board game, and starring Liam Neeson not be good?
///////

Well, the third part of that is probably uncalled-for. Neeson, after all, is what made even Darkman watchable, so yeah…

32 Amory Blaine  Apr 4, 2014 12:52:30am

Tonight I played Goat simulator and drank maibock. Baaa’aa’

a

33 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave to the waffle light)  Apr 4, 2014 1:42:08am

re: #32 Amory Blaine

Tonight I played Goat simulator and drank maibock. Baaa’aa’

a

don’t forget the mailblock

34 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave to the waffle light)  Apr 4, 2014 1:43:21am

re: #27 Chrysicat

OK, the newly-minted Quebecois (he’s a US expat) I was arguing with was apparently not calling for our USA to face embargo, but saying that even if the CSA had won the Civil War, it would have been forced to end slavery because no one would have traded with it. Still a questionable position, but not what I savaged him for here.

I gotta learn not to post in anger :”>

Partial true: one reason they lost is because nobody in Europe was about to support them because of slavery.

35 Justanotherhuman  Apr 4, 2014 2:20:18am

Two female journalists shot by an Afghan cop. It happened inside the police station, so no doubt the male officer took offense at 2 women of their caliber. Sickening.

Two foreign journalists shot in Afghanistan

bbc.com

Internationally acclaimed German photographer, Anja Niedringhaus, 48, named as the journalist killed in eastern Afghanistan - @AP
end of alert

21m
Canadian Embassy in Kabul confirms that Associated Press Special Regional Correspondent Kathy Gannon injured in Khost, Afghanistan - @NBCNews
end of alert

36 Justanotherhuman  Apr 4, 2014 2:27:56am

No, not irony. The headline is misleading. It’s not your father’s tobacco plant, but your decorative one.

Holy smoke: tobacco plant shows cancer-fighting potential

smh.com.au

Same genus. Different species.

37 wheat-doggha -- oo bird outside my window  Apr 4, 2014 2:42:29am

re: #22 Kragar

Fox News personality Gretchen Carlson, who plays a TV news reporter.

But what is she playing in the movie?

She’s an actress who plays a TV newscaster playing an actress who plays a TV newscaster in the movie.

38 Justanotherhuman  Apr 4, 2014 2:45:50am

Why I don’t jump out of planes. And this woman was a veteran of many jumps.

Skydiver Dies During Daring Record Attempt

An attempt to break a group skydiving record has ended in tragedy when a jumper’s parachute failed to open properly.

news.sky.com

“Diana Paris’s body was found between a half-mile and mile from the drop zone in the Arizona desert. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

“The 46-year-old, from Berlin, had completed 1,500 jumps in her skydiving career, her husband said.

“Skydive Arizona blamed the accident on a malfunctioning parachute that was released too low to the ground to allow a reserve parachute to fully open.” More

39 wheat-doggha -- oo bird outside my window  Apr 4, 2014 2:47:58am

Last night, I watched the latest two eps of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and this afternoon caught the 3D version of Captain America 2 in the the-ater. (Today was the premiere in my little corner of China.) Damn, I am impressed. They managed to correlate the events in the series with the revelations in the movie.

And Robert Redford still looks pretty good. I hope I look that trim and fit at age whatever he is.

I shall reveal no spoilers.

Trust no one.

40 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave to the waffle light)  Apr 4, 2014 3:00:16am

re: #38 Justanotherhuman

Nobody has been able to satisfactorily answer my question, “What happens if the parachute does not open?”

They tell me that there is a reserve parachute.

“Skydive Arizona blamed the accident on a malfunctioning parachute that was released too low to the ground to allow a reserve parachute to fully open.”

Not satisfactory.

Somebody might talk me into paragliding some day, it is not without danger, but the chute is already open before you jump.

41 Justanotherhuman  Apr 4, 2014 3:15:55am
Last night, I watched the latest two eps of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and this afternoon caught the 3D version of Captain America 2 in the the-ater. (Today was the premiere in my little corner of China.) Damn, I am impressed. They managed to correlate the events in the series with the revelations in the movie.

And Robert Redford still looks pretty good. I hope I look that trim and fit at age whatever he is.

I shall reveal no spoilers.

Trust no one.

I think he looks 77 in real life, but he’s very well off financially. And everyone can look better under the hand of a good makeup artist. Plus, some people have all 3—good genes, intelligence (or enough to surround themselves with those who do), and good fortune. This photo was taken last year. Redford obviously hit the jackpot and good for him.

Image: 385728_1.jpg

42 wheat-doggha -- oo bird outside my window  Apr 4, 2014 3:23:01am

re: #41 Justanotherhuman

Well, wealth can help pay for plastic surgery, but if Redford had any, it was either minimal or masterfully done. Some younger film stars have gone all in for plastic surgery and have come out looking like characters in a horror movie.

Stan Lee, who is in his 80s, made his usual cameo in Cappy 2, and he looks pretty good, too.

PS Scarlett Johansson хорошо!

43 Decatur Deb  Apr 4, 2014 3:33:34am

re: #40 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave to the waffle light)

Nobody has been able to satisfactorily answer my question, “What happens if the parachute does not open?”

They tell me that there is a reserve parachute.

“Skydive Arizona blamed the accident on a malfunctioning parachute that was released too low to the ground to allow a reserve parachute to fully open.”

Not satisfactory.

Somebody might talk me into paragliding some day, it is not without danger, but the chute is already open before you jump.

Main parachutes have a well-understood failure rate, that’s why there’s a rigger-packed reserve (which has an inherently lower rate). The chances of both failing is extremely small, if properly used. Playing with a malfunctioned main eats up the time the reserve needs to deploy. Our rule for decision to go on reserve was: “When in doubt, whip it out”. Since the jump was from above the 13,000 foot oxygen ceiling, FAA or other investigators will be looking at the possible effect of hypoxia on the decisionmaking.

One of my old jump buddies was the founder of that DZ. It is probably the best in the sport, and contracted for a lot of military high-altitude training.

44 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave to the waffle light)  Apr 4, 2014 3:36:25am

re: #43 Decatur Deb

you can talk about statistics all you want, but for me it is simply a psychological barrier, or to quote the guys from Band of Brothers, “What kind of idiot would jump out of a perfectly good airplane?”

45 Decatur Deb  Apr 4, 2014 3:45:08am

re: #44 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave to the waffle light)

you can talk about statistics all you want, but for me it is simply a psychological barrier, or to quote the guys from Band of Brothers, “What kind of idiot would jump out of a perfectly good airplane?”

It’s fun, and gives a lot of psychic payback. (That includes overcoming the psychological barrier.) The statistics are hard to compare, but it’s arguably a lot safer than commuting in a car. We used to say the dangerous part of the jump day was the drive to the DZ, and several of my friends contributed data points to that old saw.

46 Fairly Sure I'm Still Obdicut  Apr 4, 2014 3:47:06am

re: #44 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave to the waffle light)

you can talk about statistics all you want, but for me it is simply a psychological barrier, or to quote the guys from Band of Brothers, “What kind of idiot would jump out of a perfectly good airplane?”

Solution: Make the plane pretty unreliable.

47 Justanotherhuman  Apr 4, 2014 3:48:18am

re: #42 wheat-dogghazi

Well, wealth can help pay for plastic surgery, but if Redford had any, it was either minimal or masterfully done. Some younger film stars have gone all in for plastic surgery and have come out looking like characters in a horror movie.

Stan Lee, who is in his 80s, made his usual cameo in Cappy 2, and he looks pretty good, too.

Makeup, camera angles, lighting—all are useful, but regular photography tells more about people.

Here is RR from 2012 with his wife, who is 21 yrs younger; she looks pretty fit herself for 55 but hasn’t had her double chin lifted yet. So good for both of them.

dailymail.co.uk

I’m 73 and I don’t have much wrinkling as I usually stay out of the sun; it really is important for light skinned people if you don’t want a lot of sun damage. And you can tell Redford’s skin has sun damage in these photos, and I’d bet he has a maintenance routine far in excess of what a lot of us women do (I wash my face and moisturize it, but that’s all). But—when I lost 35 lbs, I was told I looked “sick” and that’s because that as you age, skin loses elasticity (you can’t “cure” that with anything except cutting it off) and muscle tone will deteriorate, no matter how much exercise you get, so I’ll never get down to the weight I was in my 40s (at 110 lbs I would look near death now). I think Redford looks a bit emaciated, even for his age, and I think he’s wise to keep most of his clothes on.

48 Decatur Deb  Apr 4, 2014 3:48:54am

re: #46 Fairly Sure I’m Still Obdicut

Solution: Make the plane pretty unreliable.

We did that by hiring an alcoholic pilot. “Just get us to 500 feet, and you’re on your own, Pete.”

49 wheat-doggha -- oo bird outside my window  Apr 4, 2014 3:59:15am

re: #47 Justanotherhuman

Uhh, yeah. I’m not suggesting Redford do any centerfold shots for Playgirl.

50 wheat-doggha -- oo bird outside my window  Apr 4, 2014 4:03:50am

re: #44 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave to the waffle light)

you can talk about statistics all you want, but for me it is simply a psychological barrier, or to quote the guys from Band of Brothers, “What kind of idiot would jump out of a perfectly good airplane?”

At an intellectual level, I can understand why it would be a real kick to jump out of a plane and then land safely. At a gut level, I’m not sure I’ll ever try it myself. I’m not especially afraid of heights, but the idea of jumping out into empty air doesn’t appeal to me much. But I might add it to my bucket list of things to do before I die of other causes.

52 Justanotherhuman  Apr 4, 2014 4:09:56am

re: #49 wheat-dogghazi

Uhh, yeah. I’m not suggesting Redford do any centerfold shots for Playgirl.

Just trying to point out the main point of the trade: illusion. That carries over into what we think of the actor in real life. Redford still has his image to maintain. Most of us don’t.

53 Justanotherhuman  Apr 4, 2014 4:11:58am
54 Decatur Deb  Apr 4, 2014 4:12:22am

re: #50 wheat-dogghazi

At an intellectual level, I can understand why it would be a real kick to jump out of a plane and then land safely. At a gut level, I’m not sure I’ll ever try it myself. I’m not especially afraid of heights, but the idea of jumping out into empty air doesn’t appeal to me much. But I might add it to my bucket list of things to do before I die of other causes.

There is an aesthetic, these days:

Youtube Video

55 Justanotherhuman  Apr 4, 2014 4:17:26am

re: #54 Decatur Deb

There is an aesthetic, these days:

[Embedded content]

Did the film stop before (s)he hit the ground? : )

I’m such a coward, so I don’t care how “pretty” they make it look.

56 wheat-doggha -- oo bird outside my window  Apr 4, 2014 4:20:16am

re: #52 Justanotherhuman

Just trying to point out the main point of the trade: illusion. That carries over into what we think of the actor in real life. Redford still has his image to maintain. Most of us don’t.

Got it. Actors always want to look their best, and like you say, stage makeup, lighting and post-processing can work wonders. It’s SOP in the fashion world to “tweak” models into mannequin-like perfection for photo shoots — a trend that some in the industry say goes to excess.

57 Lidane  Apr 4, 2014 4:33:07am
58 Justanotherhuman  Apr 4, 2014 4:33:56am

re: #56 wheat-dogghazi

Got it. Actors always want to look their best, and like you say, stage makeup, lighting and post-processing can work wonders. It’s SOP in the fashion world to “tweak” models into mannequin-like perfection for photo shoots — a trend that some in the industry say goes to excess.

Yes, celebrities tend to be our secular “gods”. Well, for those who buy into it all, just like religion, IMHO.

I’m always impressed when watching British TV & movies how little looks seem to matter for British actors and what makes them popular. That could be changing, though, just as it did here.

Selena Cadell is one of my favorite actors, brilliant for the roles she’s in, and yes, I’ve watched everything of “Doc Martin” and “Midsomer Murders” that Netflix carries. I get so carried away with the acting, that looks become entirely irrelevant, male or female, and actually have found that some of the most attractive (to me) would not be considered such in the US where physical looks are too often promoted above talent.

dailymail.co.uk

59 Pie-onist Overlord  Apr 4, 2014 4:34:50am

re: #26 Lidane

FTFY. The Razzies typically go for low hanging fruit like anything by Adam Sandler, or the Twilight movies, or shitty wannabe blockbusters like Battleship and The Lone Ranger. They ignore the religious films altogether.

IIRC the only really political film they’ve gone after lately was Atlas Shrugged, and it didn’t even win anything.

It was that lame, huh.

60 NJDhockeyfan  Apr 4, 2014 4:44:04am

Good morning lizards!

Imagine taking the kids to a baseball game and seeing this…

61 goddamnedfrank  Apr 4, 2014 4:52:42am

In the #CancelColbert mentality intent really is utterly irrelevant. All that matters is the feels.

In this world all speech, especially satire, is held hostage to the subjective feelings of the listener. The most reactionary and/or least acute person in any audience now determines if a speaker should apologize for their speech.

And here I thought #CancelSwift was hyperbole.

62 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave to the waffle light)  Apr 4, 2014 4:54:34am

re: #59 Pie-onist Overlord

It was that lame, huh.

Atlas Shrugs lost money, so by Ayn Rand standards, it is a parasite that deserves to be exterminated.

63 Pie-onist Overlord  Apr 4, 2014 4:55:46am

re: #61 goddamnedfrank

In the #CancelColbert mentality intent really is utterly irrelevant. All that matters is the feels.

[Embedded content]

In this world all speech, especially satire, is held hostage to the subjective feelings of the listener. The most reactionary and/or least acute person in any audience now determines if a speaker should apologize for their speech.

And here I thought #CancelSwift was hyperbole.

During the 18th and 19th centuries, when a great deal of written material relied on offensive ethnic/religious/racial stereotypes, the targeted populations were too busy TRYING TO STAY ALIVE to complain about their fee-fees.

64 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave to the waffle light)  Apr 4, 2014 4:58:18am

re: #63 Pie-onist Overlord

During the 18th and 19th centuries, when a great deal of written material relied on offensive ethnic/religious/racial stereotypes, the targeted populations were too busy TRYING TO STAY ALIVE to complain about their fee-fees.

Stereoptypes are something that writers and various police departments understand…

65 wheat-doggha -- oo bird outside my window  Apr 4, 2014 4:58:40am

re: #61 goddamnedfrank

I hear that Asian-Americans who got the joke have been raking Park over the coals for her apparent cluelessness.

66 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave to the waffle light)  Apr 4, 2014 5:00:16am

The original version of the Beatles’ “Get Back” was supposed to be a parody of a British bigot telling Pakistanis to “get back” but they changed it to avoid this sort of Colbert-esque outrage.

67 Pie-onist Overlord  Apr 4, 2014 5:01:13am
68 William Barnett-Lewis  Apr 4, 2014 5:01:24am

Peachy. School district pulled the plug on the day. Number 6 of the year, only one for snow rather than cold. So it’s snowing & blowing & the boy is bouncing off the walls.

It’s going to be a long day. Good thing I got most of my real work done yesterday…

69 Pie-onist Overlord  Apr 4, 2014 5:02:24am

re: #66 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave to the waffle light)

The original version of the Beatles’ “Get Back” was supposed to be a parody of a British bigot telling Pakistanis to “get back” but they changed it to avoid this sort of Colbert-esque outrage.

I seem to distinctly remember some transphobic lyrics in “Get Back”

70 goddamnedfrank  Apr 4, 2014 5:10:32am

re: #61 goddamnedfrank

The biggest problem with this entire line of “reasoning” is that it serves to legitimize the conditional apology: “I’m sorry IF what I said offended anybody.”

That tired, hackneyed bullshit non-apology phrasing has been at the heart of so many disingenuous attempts to save face. And the entire reason for conditional apologies being unacceptable is that the rightness or wrongness of any speech is entirely independent of who it offends. If an apology is due, it should be because the content was objectively fucked up, ascribing the reason to some other person’s sensibilities is and has always been a weak cop out.

71 Romantic Heretic  Apr 4, 2014 5:13:55am

re: #9 William Barnett-Lewis

christ on a fucking crutch, why are they the only fucking people in media that DO get it???

Because satire doesn’t have to be respectable.

72 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave to the waffle light)  Apr 4, 2014 5:23:52am

re: #71 Romantic Heretic

Because satire doesn’t have to be respectable.

I also make a distinction between satire presented to us by a satirist, and “satire” presented to us by a news announcer, commentator or public office holder.

73 Justanotherhuman  Apr 4, 2014 5:24:53am

re: #69 Pie-onist Overlord

I seem to distinctly remember some transphobic lyrics in “Get Back”

No one even knew what “transphobic” was back then.

Or even when this came out years later.

google.com

I don’t care what people do and how they live as long as it doesn’t hurt themselves or others and I will champion a cause if it makes their life better. It makes life better for everyone, in the end.

I don’t like dishonesty, though. A person’s ideas or their self that aren’t revealed in their fullness to the person they’re seeking as “other” can fuck up other people’s lives, even if that’s not the intention. I’m not talking about the usual kind of lies, such as coloring your past a little bit, lying on a resume, etc., but life altering deception. A person should have the right to simply walk away.

To say otherwise is to engage in what’s going on right now on the internet. Total outrage where another person’s intent is distorted, and the reaction likewise.

74 Pie-onist Overlord  Apr 4, 2014 5:25:12am

This is a popular wingnut meme that gets retweeted over and over and over and over again.

HURR HURR TEH POORS (BLAHS) IS ANIMALS!!!!!!

75 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave to the waffle light)  Apr 4, 2014 5:27:32am

re: #74 Pie-onist Overlord

This is a popular wingnut meme that gets retweeted over and over and over and over again.

HURR HURR TEH POORS (BLAHS) IS ANIMALS!!!!!!

[Embedded content]

POORS MUST BECOME INDEPENDANT

76 Pie-onist Overlord  Apr 4, 2014 5:29:25am

re: #73 Justanotherhuman

No one even knew what “transphobic” was back then.

Or even when this came out years later.

google.com

I don’t care what people do and how they live as long as it doesn’t hurt themselves or others and I will champion a cause if it makes their life better. It makes life better for everyone, in the end.

I don’t like dishonesty, though. A person’s ideas or their self that aren’t revealed in their fullness to the person they’re seeking as “other” can fuck up other people’s lives, even if that’s not the intention. I’m not talking about the usual kind of lies, such as coloring your past a little bit, lying on a resume, etc., but life altering deception. A person should have the right to simply walk away.

To say otherwise is to engage in what’s going on right now on the internet. Total outrage where another person’s intent is distorted, and the reaction likewise.

Mel Brooks movies from the ‘60’s and ‘70’s contained a lot of jokes about homosexuality that today would be considered homophobic, but when “The Producers” was remade years later as a musical, they owned it.

77 NJDhockeyfan  Apr 4, 2014 5:31:42am
78 Pie-onist Overlord  Apr 4, 2014 5:35:18am

HURR HURR WE’RE BEING OPPRESSED!!!!! COME SEE TEH VIOLENS INHERENT IN TEH SYSTEM!!!!!!

79 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave to the waffle light)  Apr 4, 2014 5:40:08am

re: #78 Pie-onist Overlord

A “homofascist” being defined as “any gay who has come out of the closet and asserts his/her equal rights”…

80 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave to the waffle light)  Apr 4, 2014 5:40:47am

re: #77 NJDhockeyfan

Get Satan on to discuss possible date of Hades Freeze-over.

81 A Mom Anon  Apr 4, 2014 5:41:13am

re: #78 Pie-onist Overlord

Homofacists? OFFS. Me thinks Mr. Barber doth protesteth just a wee bit too much….

And I have to wonder if he thinks an awful lot about handcuffs and homofacists…..

82 Justanotherhuman  Apr 4, 2014 5:43:59am

re: #78 Pie-onist Overlord

HURR HURR WE’RE BEING OPPRESSED!!!!! COME SEE TEH VIOLENS INHERENT IN TEH SYSTEM!!!!!!

[Embedded content]

I suppose there are a lot of us who are “homofascists” and not even “homosexual”. OTOH, we think even “christians”, along with those of any other religion, or none at all, should have rights as well. The Constitution guarantees it, even if bigots won’t.

But that matters little to the propagandists like Barber.

83 Pie-onist Overlord  Apr 4, 2014 5:44:11am
84 Chrysicat  Apr 4, 2014 5:49:11am

re: #39 wheat-dogghazi

Last night, I watched the latest two eps of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and this afternoon caught the 3D version of Captain America 2 in the the-ater. (Today was the premiere in my little corner of China.) Damn, I am impressed. They managed to correlate the events in the series with the revelations in the movie.

And Robert Redford still looks pretty good. I hope I look that trim and fit at age whatever he is.

I shall reveal no spoilers.

Trust no one.

You think he looks good. I’d kill to be in as-good-a-condition-as-96-year-old-June-Foray-looks when I turn 80 or 85. Well, either that or they’ll have finally devised youth-prolonging treatments and I might finally look 50 when I’m 500 :-P

85 Lidane  Apr 4, 2014 5:49:13am

This is my shocked face:

86 A Mom Anon  Apr 4, 2014 5:54:11am

Alrghty, I am outta here. Appointments, chores and a disappointed canine overlord await (it’s raining, morning walkies aren’t happening, she’s not happy)…BBL.

87 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave to the waffle light)  Apr 4, 2014 5:58:13am

re: #85 Lidane

This is my shocked face:

Founding Father enthusiast Allen West ‘s book filled with fake Founding Father quotes

But they were all verified by Zombie Reagan!!!

88 Timothy Watson  Apr 4, 2014 5:58:29am

re: #85 Lidane

This is my shocked face:

[Embedded content]

I always find it funny when someone quotes Patrick Henry while ignoring all the other things he said, like opposing the Constitution, but later in his life denouncing the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions (i.e., nullification).

89 Chrysicat  Apr 4, 2014 5:59:12am
90 Bulworth  Apr 4, 2014 5:59:57am

re: #78 Pie-onist Overlord

And we have plenty of documented evidence of this, in the form of legislation approved by teh gay that would kill or inprison Christianists in countries around the….oh wait, no, sorry, that’s actually legislation approved by Christianists that would kill or inprison gays. But thanks for playing, Matt Barber.

91 Mattand  Apr 4, 2014 6:02:16am

re: #22 Kragar

Fox News personality Gretchen Carlson, who plays a TV news reporter.

But what is she playing in the movie?

I don’t LOL at the comments here as often as I do at Wonkette, but this one made my morning so far.

92 b.d.  Apr 4, 2014 6:04:53am

In non-plane related news from CNN:

U.S. adds 192,000 jobs in March, government says. Unemployment rate holds steady at 6.7%.

93 Bulworth  Apr 4, 2014 6:09:06am

cnn.com with more BREAKING NEWS!! that a robot and a “giant microphone” are joining the search for the missing plane. Wednesday’s shooting at Fort Hood could only keep them interested for so long.

94 wheat-doggha -- oo bird outside my window  Apr 4, 2014 6:10:02am

re: #92 b.d.

In non-plane related news from CNN:

U.S. adds 192,000 jobs in March, government says. Unemployment rate holds steady at 6.7%.

The lowest since fourth quarter of 2008, I think.

Thanks Obama

95 RealityBasedSteve  Apr 4, 2014 6:11:09am

re: #60 NJDhockeyfan

Good morning lizards!

Imagine taking the kids to a baseball game and seeing this…

[Embedded content]

Game canceled due to lack of replacement underwear

RBS

96 Bulworth  Apr 4, 2014 6:11:10am

re: #22 Kragar

Fox News personality Gretchen Carlson, who plays a TV news reporter.

But what is she playing in the movie?

Hearing no objections I will nominate this post for Win The Internet, applicable to both yesterday and today.

97 Lidane  Apr 4, 2014 6:13:12am
98 Pie-onist Overlord  Apr 4, 2014 6:17:05am
99 Chrysicat  Apr 4, 2014 6:17:27am

There is a special place in Hell for BoingBoing’s advertising department…

100 lawhawk  Apr 4, 2014 6:22:59am

re: #42 wheat-dogghazi

Well, wealth can help pay for plastic surgery, but if Redford had any, it was either minimal or masterfully done. Some younger film stars have gone all in for plastic surgery and have come out looking like characters in a horror movie.

Stan Lee, who is in his 80s, made his usual cameo in Cappy 2, and he looks pretty good, too.

PS Scarlett Johansson хорошо!

Scarlett Johansson is also appearing in another movie later this year that looks to be, well, visually astounding.

Youtube Video

She’s drugged, turned into a drug mule, and then the drug leaks into her system with unpredictable results.

101 Justanotherhuman  Apr 4, 2014 6:29:52am

US unemployment rate held steady at 6.7% as 503,000 joined the labor force, 476,000 found work - @jeffsparshott
see original on twitter.com

102 Dark_Falcon  Apr 4, 2014 6:32:24am

re: #99 Chrysicat

There is a special place in Hell for BoingBoing’s advertising department…

[Embedded content]

Here’s the story at a site that won’t badger you in that fashion:

FBI Smashes Alleged Radical-Right Terror Plot in Texas

FBI agents in Texas have arrested a man who allegedly was plotting to use C-4 explosives and weapons to kill police officers, rob banks and armored cars, and blow up government buildings and mosques, authorities announced today.

Robert James Talbot Jr., 38, of Katy, Texas, was arrested Thursday on federal charges of attempted interference with commerce by robbery, solicitation to commit a crime of violence and possession of an explosive material, the FBI said.

After setting up a Facebook page called American Insurgent Movement (AIM), Talbot allegedly sought to recruit five or six like-minded people who wanted “to restore America Pre-Constitutionally and look forward to stopping the Regime with action by bloodshed.” He wrote this year on the AIM page that he was seeking people interested in “walking away from your life … to stop the regime.”

The crimes Talbot was plotting to carry out — detailed in a six-page criminal complaint filed in the Southern District of Texas — sound eerily similar to a series of terrorist attacks carried out 30 years ago by members of an infamous neo-Nazi group called The Order, also known as the Silent Brotherhood (or Brüders Schweigen in German). There’s just one big difference: Talbot talked about some of his planned crimes on Facebook, the complaint says, while The Order committed murders, robbed armored cars, and carried out a number of other attacks.

103 wheat-doggha -- oo bird outside my window  Apr 4, 2014 6:37:25am

re: #102 Dark_Falcon

He laid out his plans on Facebook? That’s several orders of magnitude below stupid for someone planning to bomb buildings.

104 RealityBasedSteve  Apr 4, 2014 6:38:36am

re: #103 wheat-dogghazi

He laid out his plans on Facebook? That’s several orders of magnitude below stupid for someone planning to bomb buildings.

I remember that from a Page earlier. Apparently he doesn’t get the SOCIAL aspect of Social Computing.

RBS

105 NJDhockeyfan  Apr 4, 2014 6:41:23am

Meanwhile CNN is sending a crew to Saturn’s moon to search for Flight 370…

106 Feline Fearless Leader  Apr 4, 2014 6:44:47am

re: #93 Bulworth

cnn.com with more BREAKING NEWS!! that a robot and a “giant microphone” are joining the search for the missing plane. Wednesday’s shooting at Fort Hood could only keep them interested for so long.

They’ll cut soon to footage of Beck and two turntables being loaded into a transport.
//

107 Dark_Falcon  Apr 4, 2014 6:46:14am

re: #103 wheat-dogghazi

He laid out his plans on Facebook? That’s several orders of magnitude below stupid for someone planning to bomb buildings.

Well there’s been a spate of dumb terrorists lately. Maybe they’ve been disoriented by the change in seasons and the return of Daylight Savings Time:

A bomber in Dublin, Ireland, was caught in his own bomb blast Sunday and one possible theory is he forgot about Daylight Savings Time.

The bomber attached an explosive device to a Volvo SUV belonging to a local businessman. The bomb detonated and the suspect was caught in its blast. He was seen fleeing the scene “dripping in blood.” Some believe the device was set on a timer and the bomber failed to take into account the time change resulting from Daylight Savings Time, Mirror reports.

“This certainly was a high-grade explosive,” a source told the Mirror. “It would appear that the bomber got his timings wrong. It could be a case where he didn’t put his watch forward on Sunday [at 1am] and the timer went off too soon. However, it is more likely he didn’t realize just how powerful the explosives would be. If anyone had been in the car or walking near it at the time then they would have been killed.”

108 lawhawk  Apr 4, 2014 6:46:57am
109 NJDhockeyfan  Apr 4, 2014 6:47:28am
110 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave to the waffle light)  Apr 4, 2014 6:50:51am

re: #103 wheat-dogghazi

He laid out his plans on Facebook? That’s several orders of magnitude below stupid for someone planning to bomb buildings.

You see? Anyone that stupid must be a liberal false-flagger.

/

111 Feline Fearless Leader  Apr 4, 2014 6:51:43am

re: #110 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave to the waffle light)

You see? Anyone that stupid must be a liberal false-flagger.

/

A pretty dedicated one since doing something like that will get you put in the pokey for a good stretch.

112 lawhawk  Apr 4, 2014 6:54:33am

The key here is that the prosecutors introduced superseding indictments and changed the nature of the charges against him. It reduced the potential maximum time should he have been convicted on all the charges, and was quite possibly part of a plea deal that had been in the works.

Brown’s attorney, Ahmed Ghappour, won’t discuss the matter, due to a court-ordered gag, but another document filed by the government this week (.pdf) hints at the nature of the deal.

In the document, which supercedes two of Brown’s previous three indictments, the government charges Brown with two crimes: allegedly assisting the person who hacked Stratfor after the fact, and obstructing the execution of a search warrant targeting Brown.

The first charge is a new one and relates to assistance Brown allegedly gave the person who hacked Stratfor “in order to hinder and prevent [his] apprehension, trial and punishment.”

According to the government Brown worked to create confusion about the hacker’s identity “in a manner that diverted attention away from the hacker,” which included communicating with Stratfor after the hack in a way that authorities say drew attention away from the hacker. The hacker is not named, and it’s not clear if it’s convicted Stratfor intruder Jeremy Hammond, or an earlier hacker who’s known to have penetrated the company first.

The obstruction charge relates to an attempt by Brown and his mother to hide a laptop from authorities during a search of her home in March 2012. Brown’s mother was separately charged with obstruction and given six months probation.

The two charges greatly reduce the amount of time he could face at a sentencing hearing, which previously had been estimated at more than 50 years.

Brown’s earlier indictments were poised to become a First Amendment test case. He was charged with 12 counts centered around a link he posted in a chat room that pointed to a file containing data stolen in 2011 from the intelligence firm Stratfor, or Strategic Forecasting. The data, stolen by Hammond, a member of the loosely affiliated Anonymous collective, included company emails as well as credit card numbers belonging to subscribers of Stratfor’s service.

Brown didn’t steal the data but simply copied a hyperlink from one public chatroom and reposted it to another.

Eleven of his charges accused him of aggravated identity theft for possessing and trafficking in stolen authentication features — which authorities identified as the three- and four-digit card verification value (CVV) printed on the back of the cards.

Last month prosecutors dropped these eleven charges against Brown, after his attorney filed a motion to dismiss on grounds that Brown’s alleged conduct did not violate identity theft statutes as written.

The twelfth charge, for access device fraud, had remained in place. That one accused Brown of illegally possessing the stolen cards — presumably cards that were found on his computer after he downloaded the Stratfor cache himself.

But that charge has disappeared from the superceding document the government filed this week, which replaced the indictment. In its place is the new charge for accessory after the fact.

All in all, these charges/developments couldn’t happen to a nicer person. He’s getting what he richly deserves. And he and his lawyers know it (which is why they’re going for the plea deal).

113 Dark_Falcon  Apr 4, 2014 6:54:41am

re: #109 NJDhockeyfan

[Embedded content]

It’s not a happy birthday, though. NATO, worn out from a long-duration peace-building mission in Afghanistan, now finds its confronted by a foe it thought it had tamed, a foe who is turning out to be more skilled and more deadly than anyone could have predicted. Now as Russia prepares for its next offensive, can NATO snap out of its fugue in time to act effective?

Did that just sound like the back cover blurb for a “military thriller” novel or what?

114 wheat-doggha -- oo bird outside my window  Apr 4, 2014 6:56:08am

re: #113 Dark_Falcon

It’s not a happy birthday, though. NATO, worn out from a long-duration peace-building mission in Afghanistan, now finds its confronted by a foe it thought it had tamed, a foe who is turning out to be more skilled and more deadly than anyone could have predicted. Now as Russia prepares for its next offensive, can NATO snap out of its fugue in time to act effective?

Did that just sound like the back cover blurb for a “military thriller” novel or what?

Yup. You nailed it.

115 NJDhockeyfan  Apr 4, 2014 6:58:36am
116 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave to the waffle light)  Apr 4, 2014 7:00:46am

re: #111 Feline Fearless Leader

A pretty dedicated one since doing something like that will get you put in the pokey for a good stretch.

He wants to get there early so he can become a capo at the FEMA camps…

117 darthstar  Apr 4, 2014 7:03:16am

164 favorites and 144 retweets…I had to put my phone on vibrate last night because the alerts were so annoying.

Mornin’ everyone.

118 Lidane  Apr 4, 2014 7:05:50am

Heh. Awesome.

119 Dark_Falcon  Apr 4, 2014 7:05:58am

re: #115 NJDhockeyfan

[Embedded content]

The shooter just walked up to them, shouted “Aloha Snackbar!” shot them, and then surrendered. It could he the Taliban threatened his family, because that isn’t typical ‘active shooter’ behavior.

Yes, I know he really said “Allahu Akbar!”, but I used the absurdist parody of that phrase to mark my disdain for a man who utters such words while violating the laws of both God and his nation.

120 wheat-doggha -- oo bird outside my window  Apr 4, 2014 7:06:18am

re: #117 darthstar

I thought the Internet evolved.

121 darthstar  Apr 4, 2014 7:08:09am

re: #120 wheat-dogghazi

I thought the Internet evolved.

It’s devolving.

122 NJDhockeyfan  Apr 4, 2014 7:08:50am
123 NJDhockeyfan  Apr 4, 2014 7:10:06am
124 The War TARDIS  Apr 4, 2014 7:16:20am

re: #123 NJDhockeyfan

Because they are part of NATO. And because they feel threatened by you.

125 Dark_Falcon  Apr 4, 2014 7:17:53am

re: #123 NJDhockeyfan

[Embedded content]

126 darthstar  Apr 4, 2014 7:18:50am

92, actually.

127 GeneJockey  Apr 4, 2014 7:23:04am

Morning, Lizards. Saw something interesting on TPM. GWB had painted a portrait of Putin, trying to capture the man. He described how Putin had ‘dissed’ Barney, the Bush’s terrier - ‘You call that a dog?’

Later, when bush visited Russia, Putin showed off his dog. ‘See? Bigger and stronger than Barney!’

That’s why the Right loves Putin. He’s just like they are, with the penis substitutes.

128 Varek Raith  Apr 4, 2014 7:23:33am

re: #126 darthstar

92, actually.

[Embedded content]

Youtube Video

129 GeneJockey  Apr 4, 2014 7:27:17am

re: #126 darthstar

92, actually.

[Embedded content]

I remember in ‘The Man Who Knew Too Much’, during the climactic sequence, when she’s trying to sing loud enough for her kid to hear her in a big embassy building….

QUE SERA, SERA!

with the people in the front row looking like they’d been walloped…

130 Feline Fearless Leader  Apr 4, 2014 7:27:53am

re: #125 Dark_Falcon

Si vis pacem, para bellum
en.wikipedia.org

I find some of the alternate variations mentioned in the Wiki link sort of interesting. First time I’ve seen them.

131 Dark_Falcon  Apr 4, 2014 7:29:37am

Why North Tonawanda, NY needs a SWAT team is beyond me. Perhaps they intended it to fight the evil scourge of “Canadian Socialism”, eh? But that threat hasn’t materialized, so the small city is sending its SWAT team after Bambi instead:

A New York SWAT team has been called upon to terminate North Tonawanda’s swelling deer population.

The bait-and-shoot program was first initiated in 2004 and was active all the way through 2008. The four-man SWAT team killed 231 deer within that time period, but the animals’ resurgence has demanded the program return once again, Niagara Gazette reports.

Residents have lodged many complaints to the council, claiming the rampant deer have caused property damage. The animals have also been the cause of dozens of vehicle accidents.

Pro Tip: Make sure you car insurance covers collisions with animals if you live anywhere with a notable deer population.

133 NJDhockeyfan  Apr 4, 2014 7:34:41am

re: #131 Dark_Falcon

Why North Tonawanda, NY needs a SWAT team is beyond me. Perhaps they intended it to fight the evil scourge of “Canadian Socialism”, eh? But that threat hasn’t materialized, so the small city is sending its SWAT team after Bambi instead:

Pro Tip: Make sure you car insurance covers collisions with animals if you live anywhere with a notable deer population.

I hope they are donating the venison to the needy.

134 Varek Raith  Apr 4, 2014 7:35:06am

re: #133 NJDhockeyfan

I hope they are donating the venison to the needy.

MMM, venison…

135 Feline Fearless Leader  Apr 4, 2014 7:36:13am

re: #131 Dark_Falcon

Why North Tonawanda, NY needs a SWAT team is beyond me. Perhaps they intended it to fight the evil scourge of “Canadian Socialism”, eh? But that threat hasn’t materialized, so the small city is sending its SWAT team after Bambi instead:

Pro Tip: Make sure you car insurance covers collisions with animals if you live anywhere with a notable deer population.

They’re afraid of all my relatives that live over on Grand Island.
:p

136 The War TARDIS  Apr 4, 2014 7:36:22am

re: #131 Dark_Falcon

Just spitballing here, but wouldn’t it be cheaper to just hunters do the work?

137 Romantic Heretic  Apr 4, 2014 7:36:38am

re: #100 lawhawk

Scarlett Johansson is also appearing in another movie later this year that looks to be, well, visually astounding.

[Embedded content]

She’s drugged, turned into a drug mule, and then the drug leaks into her system with unpredictable results.

Watched that trailer earlier. That looks to be a very disturbing movie, in a good way. The trailer suggests that being more than human may not be the wonderful thing it’s cracked up to be.

Will see in theatre.

138 Dark_Falcon  Apr 4, 2014 7:37:01am

re: #133 NJDhockeyfan

I hope they are donating the venison to the needy.

They are:

The SWAT team will hunt from October through March and all usable meat taken from the deer will be donated to the Food Bank of Western New York, according to Mayor Rob Ortt.

139 lawhawk  Apr 4, 2014 7:38:07am

re: #131 Dark_Falcon

“Why North Tonawanda, NY needs a SWAT team is beyond me”

Lackawana Six was a terror threat for the next town over. Add to that, the fact that Tonawanda is part of the greater Buffalo area.

But your larger point of why smaller towns/communities need SWAT is a good one - particularly because of the militarization of police forces nationally, and progressively arming those police departments with military surplus (whether its armored vehicles or heavier weapons). Some of that is due to the fact that there are school and mass shootings all over the country that don’t correlate with big cities (Aurora, Columbine, Binghamton, etc.) and you’ve got police departments getting DHS grants for upgrading equipment to deal with potential threats - and not just terrorism.

140 Feline Fearless Leader  Apr 4, 2014 7:40:08am

re: #136 The War TARDIS

Just spitballing here, but wouldn’t it be cheaper to just hunters do the work?

That’s how they handled it near Pittsburgh. Game Commission arranged for a limited number of licenses allowing bow hunters to take an unlimited number of does from a few parks in/near Pittsburgh. A co-worker got one of those and outside of rifle season (but still in archery season) he shot a dozen or so deer. And he donated most of the meat via whoever was butchering the deer for him.

141 Timothy Watson  Apr 4, 2014 7:41:26am

re: #131 Dark_Falcon

Why North Tonawanda, NY needs a SWAT team is beyond me. Perhaps they intended it to fight the evil scourge of “Canadian Socialism”, eh? But that threat hasn’t materialized, so the small city is sending its SWAT team after Bambi instead:

Pro Tip: Make sure you car insurance covers collisions with animals if you live anywhere with a notable deer population.

Most small departments like that dual-hat officers that have other duties as SWAT, (S)ERT ((Special) Emergency Response Team), etc. for situations where something hits the fan or for serving dangerous warrants, etc.

142 Dark_Falcon  Apr 4, 2014 7:41:47am

re: #136 The War TARDIS

Just spitballing here, but wouldn’t it be cheaper to just hunters do the work?

Perhaps, but there’s a concern about how might hunters who are not well trained and disciplined might act. The biggest cause of death while deer-hunting is getting shot by another hunter. I don’t really want anyone who hasn’t got a steady hand or who is over-eager shooting deer in a small city.

“Well, I missed the doe, but I did hit a poor person. And she was on Food Stamps too, so I was still doin’ what’s right for America.”

143 Varek Raith  Apr 4, 2014 7:42:35am

Flash sucks.

144 GeneJockey  Apr 4, 2014 7:44:33am

re: #136 The War TARDIS

Just spitballing here, but wouldn’t it be cheaper to just hunters do the work?

It’s not always about the expense. Sometimes it has to do with where the density of housing and such. You don’t necessarily want amateurs shooting deer where there are lots of houses.

145 William Barnett-Lewis  Apr 4, 2014 7:45:52am

re: #139 lawhawk

“Why North Tonawanda, NY needs a SWAT team is beyond me”

Lackawana Six was a terror threat for the next town over. Add to that, the fact that Tonawanda is part of the greater Buffalo area.

But your larger point of why smaller towns/communities need SWAT is a good one - particularly because of the militarization of police forces nationally, and progressively arming those police departments with military surplus (whether its armored vehicles or heavier weapons). Some of that is due to the fact that there are school and mass shootings all over the country that don’t correlate with big cities (Aurora, Columbine, Binghamton, etc.) and you’ve got police departments getting DHS grants for upgrading equipment to deal with potential threats - and not just terrorism.

As I’ve noted before, much of this goes back to the Posse Comittatus Act of 1878 that bans the use of US armed forces for “police” matters. This was revenge by the southern Democrats for the use of troops to suppress the Klan during Reconstruction.

Fast forward to the present. Most European nations would call in the military to deal with terrorists or the like allowing the police to remain police. Here we can’t so the police get militarized instead.

Repeal of the PCA would be a good place to start. Banning the use of SWAT teams after that would be even better.

147 Varek Raith  Apr 4, 2014 7:46:44am

re: #146 Killgore Trout

Lol, he’s a hack.

148 Killgore Trout  Apr 4, 2014 7:47:41am

re: #143 Varek Raith

Flash sucks.

With windows 8 it’s a nightmare. Cascading crashes every couple of minutes and I haven’t found a reliable way to stop autoplay ads and videos.

149 GeneJockey  Apr 4, 2014 7:47:48am

re: #146 Killgore Trout

Scarborough: Dems’ Anti-Koch Campaign ‘The Stupidest Strategy I’ve Ever Heard’
/#cancelScarborough

Oh, well, if Scarborough says so, we should by all means stop!
/////

150 Dark_Falcon  Apr 4, 2014 7:49:23am

re: #132 Varek Raith

When people get gunned down because they were simply standing nearby when the shooter was pissed off, we’re already in the worst parts of the Wild West.

151 Killgore Trout  Apr 4, 2014 7:50:09am

re: #147 Varek Raith

Lol, he’s a hack.

I don’t think it’s quite as stupid as he thinks. I’m sure the Dems have tested the Koch strategy with focus groups and it seems to be the best strategy they can come up with. It doesn’t appeal to me either but it will motivate/scare some people.

152 Dark_Falcon  Apr 4, 2014 7:52:47am

re: #145 William Barnett-Lewis

As I’ve noted before, much of this goes back to the Posse Comittatus Act of 1878 that bans the use of US armed forces for “police” matters. This was revenge by the southern Democrats for the use of troops to suppress the Klan during Reconstruction.

Fast forward to the present. Most European nations would call in the military to deal with terrorists or the like allowing the police to remain police. Here we can’t so the police get militarized instead.

Repeal of the PCA would be a good place to start. Banning the use of SWAT teams after that would be even better.

Not going to happen, for the same reason that other Anglosphere nations prefer specially armed police units for dangerous drug raids and counter-terrorist takedowns: The legacy of Oliver Cromwell and the New model Army left England and her daughter nations deeply suspicious of the use of the army on their own soil.

153 NJDhockeyfan  Apr 4, 2014 7:54:28am

Uh oh

154 Feline Fearless Leader  Apr 4, 2014 7:55:24am

Interesting. Compare the article initially linked:
guns.com

And the Niagara Gazette article it sources from:
niagara-gazette.com

The source article cites that four members of the SWAT team are going to do the hunting, not the full team. While the derived article refers to the 4-man SWAT team as if it’s the team doing the hunting not simply a sub-group of men who just so happen to also be on the SWAT team*.

* - Another example of membership in a group making one a de facto public face for the group through a simple transformation in the wording of the article. We’ve gone from member(s) of SWAT team who hunts deer to SWAT team that hunts deer.

155 Dark_Falcon  Apr 4, 2014 7:55:41am

re: #146 Killgore Trout

Scarborough: Dems’ Anti-Koch Campaign ‘The Stupidest Strategy I’ve Ever Heard’
/#cancelScarborough

It’s not “the stupidest strategy I’ve heard of” for me, but its not a very good one. It’s going after something other than the candidate or his policy proposals, and as such can be readily spun as a desperate tactic by a party whose recent ideas have gone sour and is returning to its old staple of class warfare.

156 Varek Raith  Apr 4, 2014 7:55:51am

re: #148 Killgore Trout

With windows 8 it’s a nightmare. Cascading crashes every couple of minutes and I haven’t found a reliable way to stop autoplay ads and videos.

Yeesh, Windows 8. Don’t get me started.

157 Pie-onist Overlord  Apr 4, 2014 7:55:59am

HURR HURR WHY DON’T THEY JUST USE THERE GUN PERMIT OR THERE EBT CARD!!!!!! EASY PEASY!!!!

158 Varek Raith  Apr 4, 2014 7:57:00am

re: #155 Dark_Falcon

It’s not “the stupidest strategy I’ve heard of” for me, but its not a very good one. It’s going after something other than the candidate or his policy proposals, and as such can be readily spun as a desperate tactic by a party whose recent ideas have gone sour and is returning to its old staple of class warfare.

Sorry but,
Youtube Video

159 William Barnett-Lewis  Apr 4, 2014 7:57:41am

re: #152 Dark_Falcon

Not going to happen, for the same reason that other Anglosphere nations prefer specially armed police units for dangerous drug raids and counter-terrorist takedowns: The legacy of Oliver Cromwell and the New model Army left England and her daughter nations deeply suspicious of the use of the army on their own soil.

I understand. That’s the core of the Militia fantasy of the FF’s as well.

So which are we more afraid of then? The Army or Militarized Police? One or the other is needed.

160 Pie-onist Overlord  Apr 4, 2014 7:58:57am

Referring to this:

161 Killgore Trout  Apr 4, 2014 7:59:46am

re: #155 Dark_Falcon

It’s not “the stupidest strategy I’ve heard of” for me, but its not a very good one. It’s going after something other than the candidate or his policy proposals, and as such can be readily spun as a desperate tactic by a party whose recent ideas have gone sour and is returning to its old staple of class warfare.

I think the biggest potential pitfall of the strategy is factual accuracy. Too many of the claims end up being factually flawed or outright untrue. If these ads end up being paranoid fantasies it can backfire with public opinion.

162 Dark_Falcon  Apr 4, 2014 8:01:17am

re: #159 William Barnett-Lewis

I understand. That’s the core of the Militia fantasy of the FF’s as well.

So which are we more afraid of then? The Army or Militarized Police? One or the other is needed.

Better to use specialized police units but regulate them carefully, which it sounds like North Tonawanda actually does. And if I’m honest, I have to admit I posted that article primarily to win approval and updings.

164 Varek Raith  Apr 4, 2014 8:02:58am

re: #162 Dark_Falcon

Better to use specialized police units but regulate them carefully, which it sounds like North Tonawanda actually does. And if I’m honest, I have to admit I posted that article primarily to win approval and updings.

Tsk, tsk.
:P

165 Feline Fearless Leader  Apr 4, 2014 8:03:57am

re: #159 William Barnett-Lewis

I understand. That’s the core of the Militia fantasy of the FF’s as well.

So which are we more afraid of then? The Army or Militarized Police? One or the other is needed.

Are European police forces already a bit more militarized in the larger cities than the US ones on average? Limited and anecdotal however since my main experience is airports (Frankfurt, London) with SMG-armed police about in force.*

* - And thinking about it post 9-11 there were obvious groups of M-16 armed military around US airport security exits for a few years.

166 Feline Fearless Leader  Apr 4, 2014 8:10:29am

re: #156 Varek Raith

Yeesh, Windows 8. Don’t get me started.

I thought that Win 8 was one of your more subtle plans for world destruction.
:p

167 Varek Raith  Apr 4, 2014 8:11:50am

re: #166 Feline Fearless Leader

I thought that Win 8 was one of your more subtle plans for world destruction.
:p

Nope.
But it has the same effect.

Dear MS,
DESKTOPS ARE NOT TABLETS.

168 Brother Holy Cruise Missile of Mild Acceptance  Apr 4, 2014 8:12:54am
169 Timothy Watson  Apr 4, 2014 8:13:11am

re: #167 Varek Raith

Nope.
But it has the same effect.

Dear MS,
DESKTOPS ARE NOT TABLETS.

They’ll take Windows 7 from my cold, dead hands.

170 kirkspencer  Apr 4, 2014 8:16:58am

re: #155 Dark_Falcon

It’s not “the stupidest strategy I’ve heard of” for me, but its not a very good one. It’s going after something other than the candidate or his policy proposals, and as such can be readily spun as a desperate tactic by a party whose recent ideas have gone sour and is returning to its old staple of class warfare.

I could swear class warfare was a major element in the recent presidential elections. The number 99 and 47 come to mind. I note which man became president in that situation.

Yes, there’s a risk crying Koch could join cries of Soros, Alinsky, and Wright. On the other hand the Kochs are demonstrably heavy spenders in a number of issues. The more anonymous donations get exposed, the more trails lead back to their wallets.

There’s also the rather large objection to Citizens United (1 and 2.0) with which this strategy gains synergy.

All together it’s not as bad as you make it.

171 Brother Holy Cruise Missile of Mild Acceptance  Apr 4, 2014 8:17:09am

re: #167 Varek Raith

I haven’t had too many problems with Win 8 or 8.1. It was annoying at first and I do miss my start menu but I keep most everything I use on my Desktop anyway so I don’t have to deal with the vomit screen.

Speaking of new gaming software goodness. Love the Diablo 3 expansion (the crusader character is total beast mode) and while I only spent a few hours on it I like what I see with Elder Scrolls Online.

For those playing world of tanks (or who have) they are working on integrating the havok engine, updating to HD graphics and finally exploiting multi-core processors in the upcoming updates. Oh and they now have an 8 bit tank (the Karl) and playfield. It seems to be an ongoing april fool’s joke but oddly enough people want to keep the Karl.

172 The War TARDIS  Apr 4, 2014 8:18:32am

re: #169 Timothy Watson

I like your thinking.

My Windows 7 is perfect.

173 makeitstop  Apr 4, 2014 8:20:28am

re: #155 Dark_Falcon

It’s not “the stupidest strategy I’ve heard of” for me, but its not a very good one. It’s going after something other than the candidate or his policy proposals, and as such can be readily spun as a desperate tactic by a party whose recent ideas have gone sour and is returning to its old staple of class warfare.

As opposed to the TPGOP’s ideas, which consist purely of making sure nothing gets done.

The old cliche of ‘class warfare’ won’t be as effective as it used to be, in light of the mountains of money the Kochs and Adelson have blown in the name of doing nothing at all. People have started paying attention, Dark.

174 kirkspencer  Apr 4, 2014 8:21:56am

Meh. We’ve had this discussion a number of times, almost as often as ‘Apple - Microsoft - no_LINUX_you - Which flavor’ wars.

I stand by my position. Microsoft was right, though very (and possibly too) early, to make a major change that focuses on touch.

I’ve made the comments before about how a lot of what I’m hearing sounds like what happened with XP. But I’ve got another echo going on. I remember the ridicule when Apple introduced the mouse.

“There’s a reason,” said the detractors, “that Xerox didn’t bother.”

It’ll probably be 8.2 or 8.3 (just like XP’s SP2) that crosses the divide of “finally they got it right” but I think the base concept is solid for the future.

175 William Barnett-Lewis  Apr 4, 2014 8:22:03am

re: #169 Timothy Watson

They’ll take Windows 7 from my cold, dead hands.

What is windows 7? My XP installation is doing just fine, thank you very much.

176 GeneJockey  Apr 4, 2014 8:22:39am

re: #175 William Barnett-Lewis

What is windows 7? My XP installation is doing just fine, thank you very much.

IIRC, they’re about to stop supporting it.

177 Dark_Falcon  Apr 4, 2014 8:23:20am

re: #165 Feline Fearless Leader

Are European police forces already a bit more militarized in the larger cities than the US ones on average? Limited and anecdotal however since my main experience is airports (Frankfurt, London) with SMG-armed police about in force.*

* - And thinking about it post 9-11 there were obvious groups of M-16 armed military around US airport security exits for a few years.

Not really. Police in the US have often had access to weapons heavier than pistols, but most often those are shotguns. In Europe, MP5s in the hands of police are acceptable, but shotguns are seen as unneededly brutal due to the sometimes horrific wounds anti-personnel shotgun rounds inflict.

The US is different in large part because shotguns are so common here. Even dense urban areas will have a fair number of people who own a shotgun for hunting target shooting, or home defense. So police armed with shotguns are seen as carrying normal weapons in the US, while submachineguns are seen as an escalation and mostly suited for SWAT.

Chicago has actually replaced some of its shotguns carried in patrol cars with semiauto versions of the M4 (the Colt LE 6920 Advanced Law Enforcement Carbine). This has been done as even top-quality Ar-15 variants are cheaper than the MP5, and because a good number of police have prior military experience and can use the LE 6920 without retraining.

178 lawhawk  Apr 4, 2014 8:23:27am

re: #165 Feline Fearless Leader

My primary experience is the NYC metro area, and the NYPD is the largest police force in the US (and world). 30,000 officers, and they’ve got ESU (comparable to SWAT). The NYPD also has an aviation unit and a harbor/scuba unit.

In addition, there are Hercules teams involved in counter-terrorism, and they’re the elite of the ESU.

They’ll often be stationed at high visibility locations (NY Penn, Grand Central, WTC, Times Square, etc., plus running vehicle checkpoints at different spots around the city.

That’s in addition to the National Guard that’s stationed at WTC, NY Penn, Grand Central, etc.

The PAPD also has their own ESU, with their own heavy weapons on display at WTC and airports.

NJ Transit has their own heavy weapons units. So, it’s not uncommon to see heavy weapons officers from PAPD and National Guard at the WTC (inside PATH); NYPD ESU outside WTC (jurisdictional turf war).

Or, ESU and National Guard and NJ Transit officers at New York Penn.

Don’t expect to see any of that to change anytime soon, especially for Port Authority related facilities since terrorists seem to have a hard-on for going after their facilities (airports, from which they’ve launched attacks, tunnels and bridges targeted in other attacks, and the WTC, which goes without saying).

179 makeitstop  Apr 4, 2014 8:25:45am

And in other news…

What do you get when you cross a goat and a sheep? A Geep!

Also…Parachutist nearly hit by falling meteorite! The video is pretty amazing.

180 Timothy Watson  Apr 4, 2014 8:26:52am

re: #175 William Barnett-Lewis

What is windows 7? My XP installation is doing just fine, thank you very much.

It took me building a new computer to update to Windows 7, and the first thing I did was install ClassicShell.

181 Decatur Deb  Apr 4, 2014 8:27:02am

re: #178 lawhawk

My primary experience is the NYC metro area, and the NYPD is the largest police force in the US (and world). 30,000 officers, and they’ve got ESU (comparable to SWAT). The NYPD also has an aviation unit and a harbor/scuba unit.

In addition, there are Hercules teams involved in counter-terrorism, and they’re the elite of the ESU.

They’ll often be stationed at high visibility locations (NY Penn, Grand Central, WTC, Times Square, etc., plus running vehicle checkpoints at different spots around the city.

That’s in addition to the National Guard that’s stationed at WTC, NY Penn, Grand Central, etc.

The PAPD also has their own ESU, with their own heavy weapons on display at WTC and airports.

NJ Transit has their own heavy weapons units. So, it’s not uncommon to see heavy weapons officers from PAPD and National Guard at the WTC (inside PATH); NYPD ESU outside WTC (jurisdictional turf war).

Or, ESU and National Guard and NJ Transit officers at New York Penn.

Don’t expect to see any of that to change anytime soon, especially for Port Authority related facilities since terrorists seem to have a hard-on for going after their facilities (airports, from which they’ve launched attacks, tunnels and bridges targeted in other attacks, and the WTC, which goes without saying).

Pffttt. Ya got no Art Squad:

en.wikipedia.org

182 jaunte  Apr 4, 2014 8:29:30am

re: #157 Pie-onist Overlord

That could be some of the worst political graphic design ever.

183 Dark_Falcon  Apr 4, 2014 8:29:48am

re: #175 William Barnett-Lewis

What is windows 7? My XP installation is doing just fine, thank you very much.

Not for much longer, since support for that is about to end. I upgraded from Windows XP to Windows 7, and was very happy with the change. But Windows 8 doesn’t strike me as a good idea.

It seems that Microsoft suffers from a reverse of the Star Trek movies curse: The odd numbers of Windows since Win 95 have been seen as relatively good: Win 95 (1), 2000 (2), XP (3), and 7 (5). By contrast, the even numbered versions have become known as problematic or pieces of drek: Win 98 (2), ME (4, and the worst of the worst), Vista (6, and ultimately made decent but too late to save its reputation.), and now Windows 8 (6).

184 Pie-onist Overlord  Apr 4, 2014 8:30:32am

re: #182 jaunte

That could be some of the worst political graphic design ever.

I’ve seen worse.

185 TedStriker  Apr 4, 2014 8:30:57am

re: #167 Varek Raith

Nope.
But it has the same effect.

Dear MS,
DESKTOPS ARE NOT TABLETS.

MS is supposed to bring back the Start Menu for real (slightly Metro-fied) in an upcoming update to Windows 8.1:

In addition to that, we’re supposed to get the ability to run Metro/ModernUI apps in windowed mode, baked right in to Windows without the need for 3rd party programs to enable it (such as Stardock’s ModernMix, which is what I use).

neowin.net

In the meantime, I just truck on with Stardock’s Start8 and ModernMix, because it works and it’s already paid for.

186 Decatur Deb  Apr 4, 2014 8:31:50am

re: #179 makeitstop

And in other news…

What do you get when you cross a goat and a sheep? A Geep!

Also…Parachutist nearly hit by falling meteorite! The video is pretty amazing.

When plummeting from 13,000 feet just isn’t enough.

187 Timothy Watson  Apr 4, 2014 8:32:20am

re: #183 Dark_Falcon

God, how I loathed Me. It came on a computer my dad bought and I was lucky if I could keep the computer on for three days without rebooting. Ended up getting Windows 2000 with a CD key from a friend and the same computer routinely ran for 14+ days without rebooting.

188 Feline Fearless Leader  Apr 4, 2014 8:33:06am

re: #186 Decatur Deb

When plummeting from 13,000 feet just isn’t enough.

They should have started worrying when they heard the loud voice from higher up say “PULL!” right before they jumped out of the airplane.

189 Dark_Falcon  Apr 4, 2014 8:33:43am

re: #181 Decatur Deb

Pffttt. Ya got no Art Squad:

en.wikipedia.org

The NYPD would kick the ass of any force from a Eurosocialist nation!

/Sorta kidding. An odd mixture of 1/5 semi-wingnut bravado and 4/5 genuine national pride.

190 Brother Holy Cruise Missile of Mild Acceptance  Apr 4, 2014 8:35:13am

re: #179 makeitstop

That video of the meteorite was freakin cool. I get a kick out of them laughing about the whole “if it had been half a second later you’d be cut in half” part.

191 GunstarGreen  Apr 4, 2014 8:35:28am

re: #159 William Barnett-Lewis

I understand. That’s the core of the Militia fantasy of the FF’s as well.

So which are we more afraid of then? The Army or Militarized Police? One or the other is needed.

Me, I’m just waiting for the Tank Police.

(Dominion: Tank Police is a little too NSFW for me to be linking to, unfortunately)

192 Decatur Deb  Apr 4, 2014 8:35:55am

re: #189 Dark_Falcon

The NYPD would kick the ass of any force from a Eurosocialist nation!

/Sorta kidding. An odd mixture of 1/5 semi-wingnut bravado and 4/5 genuine national pride.

Those guys are recovering about 150 million in stolen art each year, and deterring a lot more.

193 Feline Fearless Leader  Apr 4, 2014 8:39:00am

re: #191 GunstarGreen

Me, I’m just waiting for the Tank Police.

(Dominion: Tank Police is a little too NSFW for me to be linking to, unfortunately)

When they ban armored vehicles only criminals will have armored vehicles.

O_o

“Whoa whoa whoa, what do we have here gentlemen, the police have themselves an RV!”

194 makeitstop  Apr 4, 2014 8:39:14am

What, nobody likes the Geep? :)

195 William Barnett-Lewis  Apr 4, 2014 8:39:36am

re: #176 GeneJockey

IIRC, they’re about to stop supporting it.

Doesn’t mean it will stop working. It’s the last windows machine I have so it’s not a big deal.

196 Timothy Watson  Apr 4, 2014 8:39:48am

re: #192 Decatur Deb

Those guys are recovering about 150 million in stolen art each year, and deterring a lot more.

Bah, Detective Goren could do that in a single day!1!

197 Decatur Deb  Apr 4, 2014 8:40:02am

re: #190 Brother Holy Cruise Missile of Mild Acceptance

That video of the meteorite was freakin cool. I get a kick out of them laughing about the whole “if it had been half a second later you’d be cut in half” part.

Nice logbook entry: “Did no-contact relative work with a meteor.”

(Usually that might require a case of ‘milestone’ beer for the club.)

198 TedStriker  Apr 4, 2014 8:40:30am

re: #187 Timothy Watson

God, how I loathed Me. It came on a computer my dad bought and I was lucky if I could keep the computer on for three days without rebooting. Ended up getting Windows 2000 with a CD key from a friend and the same computer routinely ran for 14+ days without rebooting.

As many people as I’ve heard over the years with WinME horror stories, my own experience with it was rather pedestrian; AFAICR, I had no major issues, but I also didn’t stay on it very long, going to Win2000 as soon as I could get my hands on it.

199 Pie-onist Overlord  Apr 4, 2014 8:40:42am

WHAT RIGHT-WING RACISM? (Tweet not embedded)

200 jeffreyw  Apr 4, 2014 8:41:01am

re: #163 Killgore Trout

The Cellophane Winged Hummingbird

Believed to be a cross between a Ruby Throat and an unknown variety of dragonfly.

201 Chrysicat  Apr 4, 2014 8:41:03am

re: #148 Killgore Trout

With windows 8 it’s a nightmare. Cascading crashes every couple of minutes and I haven’t found a reliable way to stop autoplay ads and videos.

I’ve got a very beefy Haswell i7 and 16 GB of memory, so I don’t have to worry about it crashing my machine or even my browsers (especially not Chrome where Flash is its own separate process that I can actively kill in Task Manager if it pisses me off enough), but I hate talking ads. Web browsing, to me, is meant to be a silent experience unless I actively seek to run a video from an actual video site…

202 Justanotherhuman  Apr 4, 2014 8:41:26am

Corruption ran the gamut in Ukraine.

New Cabinet discovers major mess in own back yard

kyivpost.com

“As if corruption itself was not enough for the Cabinet, there is internal sabotage through attempts to change the system. Semerak [Minister of the Cabinet] says in one case, after the government took a decision to clean up the sector of evaluation services, the first phone call from a vested party requesting a meeting came just three hours after the first paper was signed. This indicates that there are plenty of agents still hovering around.

“Another problem is staff incompetence. Acting Foreign Minister Andriy Deshchytsia said that ambassadors-at-large, who represent a substantial chunk of his ministry of some 400 people, are not used to doing much work and when they produce strategy papers, they tend to be long, boring and lacking on specific recommendations and actions.” More

“Bilous [Deputy Finance Minister] estimates that it would take him up to nine months to make real, deep and visible changes to the tax system. Much of this cleanup can be facilitated or sped up with the help of technical assistance from the European Union. But the dialog between Ukraine and the EU is yet to be started, ministers and diplomats in Kyiv say.

No, you can’t change everything in mere months. But at least, they have started, esp in identifying where corruption existed—from the top down.

203 Eventual Carrion  Apr 4, 2014 8:42:42am

re: #123 NJDhockeyfan

[Embedded content]

And the answer should be “Fuck you, that’s why!”

204 Timothy Watson  Apr 4, 2014 8:43:13am

re: #201 Chrysicat

I’ve got a very beefy Haswell i7 and 16 GB of memory, so I don’t have to worry about it crashing my machine or even my browsers (especially not Chrome where Flash is its own separate process that I can actively kill in Task Manager if it pisses me off enough), but I hate talking ads. Web browsing, to me, is meant to be a silent experience unless I actively seek to run a video from an actual video site…

One reason I hate HuffPo so much.

206 Dark_Falcon  Apr 4, 2014 8:43:51am

re: #199 Pie-onist Overlord

WHAT RIGHT-WING RACISM? (Tweet not embedded)

And a black man who hit a white boy would have been at risk of being beaten to a pulp or killed at the hands of a white mob if one was to hand. It’s cross-racial violence with race being a key factor, but its certainly not something exclusive to black people. Yeesh! (That last was directed at the hater, not at you ma’am.)

207 Pie-onist Overlord  Apr 4, 2014 8:45:23am

re: #206 Dark_Falcon

And a black man who hit a white boy would have been at risk of being beaten to a pulp or killed at the hands of a white mob if one was to hand. It’s cross-racial violence with race being a key factor, but its certainly not something exclusive to black people. Yeesh! (That last was directed at the hater, not at you ma’am.)

It was his comment about “they should all be….” that went over the line.

Also, somebody who has the Confederate battle flag in his avi can’t be a patriot.

208 GunstarGreen  Apr 4, 2014 8:45:34am

re: #206 Dark_Falcon

And a black man who hit a white boy would have been at risk of being beaten to a pulp or killed at the hands of a white mob if one was to hand. It’s cross-racial violence with race being a key factor, but its certainly not something exclusive to black people. Yeesh! (That last was directed at the hater, not at you ma’am.)

Black kid plays his music too loud, white man shoots him dead and attempts to murder everyone else in the vehicle: STAND YUR GROWNED!!1!1!!11!!

White man runs over black kid with truck, black people beat him up: FILTHY SAVERGES!!1!11!!1!!

Hmm. I’m sensing a pattern here…

209 Killgore Trout  Apr 4, 2014 8:46:19am

re: #204 Timothy Watson

One reason I hate HuffPo so much.

ABC news stories seem to always have an autoplay video segment, at least with IE there are no controls, pause, mute feature with their video player, I may switch back to FF or Chrome just to get stronger script blockers.

210 Dark_Falcon  Apr 4, 2014 8:47:03am

re: #205 Killgore Trout

Read the article, Killgore. The author is suggesting that the furor aimed at Eich is overblown.

211 Eventual Carrion  Apr 4, 2014 8:49:29am

re: #131 Dark_Falcon

Why North Tonawanda, NY needs a SWAT team is beyond me. Perhaps they intended it to fight the evil scourge of “Canadian Socialism”, eh? But that threat hasn’t materialized, so the small city is sending its SWAT team after Bambi instead:

Pro Tip: Make sure you car insurance covers collisions with animals if you live anywhere with a notable deer population.

Took 4 deer collisions to finally “kill” my Buick station-wagon. I hit 2 and 2 hit me (one was airborne and never hit the ground alive, jumped right into my passenger side from a corn field next to the road). Last one set off the air bag and they said it would cost more to fix that than the car was worth.

So they totaled it and sent me a check. I bought the car back for $25 on a salvage title and sold it to a friend to use on his farm, it still ran fine, just no airbag installed.

212 kirkspencer  Apr 4, 2014 8:50:51am

If I may muse a bit, I’d like to explain my support of Microsoft’s decision that produced W8 by looking at both past and future.

The past first, of course. Back in 1983 I was one of those computer people saying that 48K was plenty for a computer. I, and most of my peers, were talking about business computers because really that’s what most computers were. When the Commodore 64 came out our response was “of course it has the extra, it needs it for all those graphics. But what business really needs all those graphics?” If you want to ridicule our lack of foresight that’s much more painful, though more nuanced as well.

What I learned, and what I’ve seen since over the past 20 years, is that pretty much every advance in the desktop computer world - and most of the advances for larger systems - have been driven by people wanting more out of their play. Someone makes something that’s neat or useful or amazing for gaming, and someone else says, “Hey, I can use that for my business.”

with that in mind, I want to point to two gaming nifty things. Motion capture and independent viewing. Colloquially ‘Virtual Reality’, though not really. Not as handwaves, specific.

Motion Capture has two competing technologies, both past beta but still exploding in development: Kinect and Leap. With both a set of sensors detect what you’re doing with your hands and bodies. Leap is much more sensitive, able to see what your individual fingers are doing, but it’s got significantly greater bandwidth requirements. Kinect may win with ‘good enough’ and bigger pockets. We’ve seen this before, see betamax vs VHS. whichever wins, however, we have the ability to do touchscreen without touching the screen. Add dongles and wireless pen-pointers and a half a dozen other little devices and the whole mouse and keyboard concept may be on its way to being specialized tools for narrow groups of professionals.

Independent viewing was the hard one, but that’s about to change. There’s a device called Oculus Rift. It’s currently designed as a game device. It’s light, comfortable, and resolves a lot of problems past systems have had. (A minor one being it works with those of us who wear glasses.) The thing is, it just got bought by Facebook.

I despise facebook for a number of reasons, but I cannot deny the advantage deep pockets provide, especially to a device that had reached the end of kickstarter funds with a working product. The deep money boost solves funding for manufacturing, sales, and distribution.

Running in competition of sorts is Google Glass. Again, independent viewing information. The difference is, well, OR is for full immersion (ie sitting at the desktop fully focused on the job) while GG is for augmented reality (such as GPS while driving or doing a quick check of your email while waiting for your table a the restaurant).

The thing is it’s all here. For the next few years - maybe one, maybe ten - all this will be game oriented. Then someone’s going to put it together. Nobody needs to reach out to a vertical touchscreen that’s at arm’s length (or slightly further) since the viewscreen is virtual. Raise the hand and see the virtual hand on the screen. Left-click/right-click? How about pinch and drag, push, and pull?

And Microsoft’s Win8 and its successors already handle ‘touchscreen’.

Yes, i think they made the right move. Maybe a bit early, but maybe not as fast as some of these are coming together.

213 Dark_Falcon  Apr 4, 2014 8:51:33am

re: #208 GunstarGreen

Black kid plays his music too loud, white man shoots him dead and attempts to murder everyone else in the vehicle: STAND YUR GROWNED!!1!1!!11!!

White man runs over black kid with truck, black people beat him up: FILTHY SAVERGES!!1!11!!1!!

Hmm. I’m sensing a pattern here…

With that guy? There’s clearly a pattern and he’s clearly a vile racist. I blocked him a while back after he responded to a fellow lizard with a stream of hate and vitriol. His use of “Robert E Lee” as his Twitter handle is deeply ironic, since Gen. Lee was a calm, polite and relatively decent man who had no use for hate spewing lunatics.

214 Eventual Carrion  Apr 4, 2014 8:53:42am

re: #151 Killgore Trout

I don’t think it’s quite as stupid as he thinks. I’m sure the Dems have tested the Koch strategy with focus groups and it seems to be the best strategy they can come up with. It doesn’t appeal to me either but it will motivate/scare some people.

Being told what is really going on can be scary at times.

215 Killgore Trout  Apr 4, 2014 8:54:37am

re: #210 Dark_Falcon

Read the article, Killgore. The author is suggesting that the furor aimed at Eich is overblown.

A Modest Proposal

216 Fairly Sure I'm Still Obdicut  Apr 4, 2014 8:56:32am

re: #214 Eventual Carrion

Being told what is really going on can be scary at times.

It’s just Killgore, it’s not meant to be taken as a factual statement. Of course the influence of the Koch’s and the various right-wing think tanks they and others help fund are important and have actual influence on politics. Only someone fatuously playing at being a contrarian would pretend otherwise.

217 Mattand  Apr 4, 2014 8:57:35am

Swear to Christ, it never ceases to amaze me how someone can look at a CEO who actively engaged in discrimination and go “Eh, whaddya gonna do?”; and then cast that CEO as the real “victim” when his bigoted actions bite him in the ass.

I just don’t understand how one be so at ease with discrimination and function as a human being.

218 jaunte  Apr 4, 2014 8:59:25am

re: #217 Mattand

Who could predict that trying to keep a group of people second-class citizens would backfire?

219 Fairly Sure I'm Still Obdicut  Apr 4, 2014 8:59:54am

re: #205 Killgore Trout

A modest proposal: Brendan Eich is just the beginning. Let’s oust everyone who donated to the campaign against gay marriage.

THe really stupid thing about that article is that it contains the solution to it’s own problem.

The next thing you’ll notice is that other companies, including other tech firms, substantially outscored Mozilla in pro-Prop 8 contributions attributed to their employees. That includes Adobe, Apple, Google, Microsoft, Oracle, Sun Microsystems, and Yahoo, as well as Disney, DreamWorks, Gap, and Warner Bros.

And yet, out of those, only the person who was a CEO was singled out as this being problematic for.

I also love the way it says:

Many of these employees gave $1,000 apiece, if not more. Some, like Eich, are probably senior executives.

So do the fucking research, reporter. Figure out if your claim is true. Factcheck yourself.

There’s few things sadder than people who think they’re Swift trying to be Swift.

220 Killgore Trout  Apr 4, 2014 9:00:10am

It looks like a lot of people aren’t familiar with A Modest Proposal. Do they not teach it in high school anymore?
Liberal Slate calls for ‘purge’ of those who support traditional marriage

221 wrenchwench  Apr 4, 2014 9:00:29am

I enjoyed the video at the top very much.

222 Killgore Trout  Apr 4, 2014 9:00:37am

re: #218 jaunte

Who could predict that trying to keep a group of people second-class citizens would backfire?

Indeed.

223 Timothy Watson  Apr 4, 2014 9:01:11am

re: #220 Killgore Trout

It looks like a lot of people aren’t familiar with A Modest Proposal. Do they not teach it in high school anymore?
Liberal Slate calls for ‘purge’ of those who support traditional marriage

You should know from #CancelColbert that satire is dead.

224 lawhawk  Apr 4, 2014 9:01:34am

re: #217 Mattand

Swear to Christ, it never ceases to amaze me how someone can look at a CEO who actively engaged in discrimination and go “Eh, whaddya gonna do?”; and then cast that CEO as the real “victim” when his bigoted actions bite him in the ass.

I just don’t understand how one be so at ease with discrimination and function as a human being.

I’ll go one better. Claiming that this is proof that the corporation has rights to impose its “morality” on employees - using the Mozilla case to bolster an argument that HL has the right to impose its religious beliefs on employees.

We’d just have to ignore that HL is operated by a bunch of hypocrites who have no problem sourcing product from China and who invest (directly and indirectly via the 401k options) in corporations that produce all manner of birth control products. The hypocrisy is astounding, but doesn’t get above background noise precisely because there’s so much of it going around, particularly on the right.

Tolerating intolerance isn’t showing tolerance. It’s showing a blind eye to intolerance and letting it spread and metastasize.

225 Mattand  Apr 4, 2014 9:01:37am

re: #218 jaunte

Who could predict that trying to keep a group of people second-class citizens would backfire?

The amount of effort it’s taking some people here to even acknowledge that is herculean.

I’m chalking some of it up to repressed homophobia.

226 darthstar  Apr 4, 2014 9:02:05am

Today’s Friday picture. Banjo with four off the…floor?

227 Fairly Sure I'm Still Obdicut  Apr 4, 2014 9:02:17am

re: #219 Fairly Sure I’m Still Obdicut

The paper also screws up when it says that EIch never discriminated against a Mozilla employee. Mozilla employees live in California. Eich donated money that would prevent gay Mozilla employees from marrying. How hard is it to figure out that yes, he did discriminate against Mozilla employees?

The accurate claim would be that he didn’t do it on the job, which I’m sure is a huge consolation to Mozilla employees.

228 Dark_Falcon  Apr 4, 2014 9:02:25am

re: #217 Mattand

Swear to Christ, it never ceases to amaze me how someone can look at a CEO who actively engaged in discrimination and go “Eh, whaddya gonna do?”; and then cast that CEO as the real “victim” when his bigoted actions bite him in the ass.

I just don’t understand how one be so at ease with discrimination and function as a human being.

Except in this case there has been no such allegation. Eich simply donated to a political cause that some people didn’t like. You can argue he was on the wrong side of that issue, especially since the courts ultimately overturn Prop. 8, but to have given Prop. 8’s supporters a $1000 contribution was not itself an act of discrimination.

229 wrenchwench  Apr 4, 2014 9:02:46am
230 Brother Holy Cruise Missile of Mild Acceptance  Apr 4, 2014 9:02:54am

re: #212 kirkspencer

Nintendo (I believe it was them) released an independent viewing game platform back in the 90’s it had a controller that plugged into the headset that had a small screen in front of your eye. Granted it was only in red and black but was ahead of it’s time. Atari came out with the Jaguar 64 long before nintendo had N64.

As for Kinect. Look at the new Dead Rising on XBox One. Not only can the Kinect be used but I was looking at a preview of the game and the microphone on the Kinect will pick up ambient noise. Have music playing while you play the game? It will be picked up by the Kinect and the noise could attract more zombies to attack you.

I have a 3d Monitor I got for xmas with 3d glasses from nVidia. It’s amazing to play games like Skyrim or world of tanks in 3d. It will be interesting to see what the future holds and gaming/entertainment is/will be a huge driver in innovations.

231 Killgore Trout  Apr 4, 2014 9:02:59am

re: #223 Timothy Watson

You should know from #CancelColbert that satire is dead.

Not dead, just pining for the fjords

232 Fairly Sure I'm Still Obdicut  Apr 4, 2014 9:03:04am

re: #228 Dark_Falcon

Except in this case there has been no such allegation. Eich simply donated to a political cause that some people didn’t like. You can argue he was on the wrong side of that issue, especially since the courts ultimately overturn Prop. 8, but to have given Prop. 8’s supporters a $1000 contribution was >not itself an act of discrimination.

What did Proposition 8 do, Dark?

233 darthstar  Apr 4, 2014 9:03:25am
234 Dr Lizardo  Apr 4, 2014 9:03:49am

re: #191 GunstarGreen

Me, I’m just waiting for the Tank Police.

(Dominion: Tank Police is a little too NSFW for me to be linking to, unfortunately)

Ah, Annapuma and Unipuma. Good times.

This one’s pretty tame. Image: puma1.jpg

235 jaunte  Apr 4, 2014 9:04:13am
In August 2010, Chief Judge Vaughn Walker ruled that the amendment was unconstitutional under both the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment,[6] since it purported to re-remove rights from a disfavored class only, with no rational basis.
en.wikipedia.org(2008
236 darthstar  Apr 4, 2014 9:04:32am

Making my dog happy makes me happy.

237 Justanotherhuman  Apr 4, 2014 9:05:32am

re: #228 Dark_Falcon

Except in this case there has been no such allegation. Eich simply donated to a political cause that some people didn’t like. You can argue he was on the wrong side of that issue, especially since the courts ultimately overturn Prop. 8, but to have given Prop. 8’s supporters a $1000 contribution was >not itself an act of discrimination.

Of course it was. It went to support a ballot proposition that would discriminate against a certain class of people and prevent them from marrying.

You think Eich just handed out money like candy to whoever asked? Nope.

238 makeitstop  Apr 4, 2014 9:07:49am

re: #228 Dark_Falcon

Except in this case there has been no such allegation. Eich simply donated to a political cause that some people didn’t like. You can argue he was on the wrong side of that issue, especially since the courts ultimately overturn Prop. 8, but to have given Prop. 8’s supporters a $1000 contribution was >not itself an act of discrimination.

Had Prop 8 succeeded, discrimination would have been the result.

Eich would have been complicit in that discrimination.

239 darthstar  Apr 4, 2014 9:08:36am
240 Mattand  Apr 4, 2014 9:08:43am

re: #228 Dark_Falcon

Except in this case there has been no such allegation. Eich simply donated to a political cause that some people didn’t like. You can argue he was on the wrong side of that issue, especially since the courts ultimately overturn Prop. 8, but to have given Prop. 8’s supporters a $1000 contribution was >not itself an act of discrimination.

Bull-fucking-shit.

From Wikipedia:

Proposition 8 consisted of two sections. Its full text was:[28]

Section I. Title

This measure shall be known and may be cited as the “California Marriage Protection Act.”
Section 2. Article I. Section 7.5 is added to the California Constitution, to read:

Sec. 7.5. Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.

Seriously, you’re way smarter than this.

241 Fairly Sure I'm Still Obdicut  Apr 4, 2014 9:09:29am

re: #238 makeitstop

Had Prop 8 succeeded, discrimination would have been the result.

Eich would have been complicit in that discrimination.

Prop 8 did succeed. It was eventually overturned, but it succeeded, and gay people were prevented from marrying.

242 Dark_Falcon  Apr 4, 2014 9:09:58am

re: #220 Killgore Trout

243 makeitstop  Apr 4, 2014 9:10:02am

re: #241 Fairly Sure I’m Still Obdicut

Prop 8 did succeed. It was eventually overturned, but it succeeded, and gay people were prevented from marrying.

I stand corrected.

244 darthstar  Apr 4, 2014 9:10:51am

re: #240 Mattand

Bull-fucking-shit.

From Wikipedia:

Seriously, you’re way smarter than this.

Prop 8 supporters will always qualify their positions.

245 Brother Holy Cruise Missile of Mild Acceptance  Apr 4, 2014 9:11:33am

re: #228 Dark_Falcon

Except in this case there has been no such allegation. Eich simply donated to a political cause that some people didn’t like. You can argue he was on the wrong side of that issue, especially since the courts ultimately overturn Prop. 8, but to have given Prop. 8’s supporters a $1000 contribution was >not itself an act of discrimination.

You’re splitting hairs. He donated to a cause/initiative that would discriminate against people. By doing so he contributed to discrimination and, if money is indeed speech (as the supreme court says it is) he did, in fact, discriminate with that donation.

246 TedStriker  Apr 4, 2014 9:12:11am

re: #240 Mattand

Bull-fucking-shit.

From Wikipedia:

Seriously, you’re way smarter than this.

Intellectual laziness at play.

247 wrenchwench  Apr 4, 2014 9:12:38am
248 Dark_Falcon  Apr 4, 2014 9:13:26am

Sorry but I stand by my statement. I don’t think an executive should be forced out because he donated to a political cause years ago that is unpopular in some quarters. What’s next, do I get banned from ever holding a high corporate position for having given money to John McCain’s campaign in 2008?

249 Fairly Sure I'm Still Obdicut  Apr 4, 2014 9:13:47am

re: #244 darthstar

Prop 8 supporters will always qualify their positions.

I have sympathy for a lot of Prop 8 supporters. Especially older people, out of touch, fed a steady stream of propaganda by Fox News, I can forgive people getting scared and weirded out and voting for, basically “No change!” If this guy had been a janitor or programmer or something, I would have thought firing him was shitty.

But he was the CEO. That’s what Killgore and all the others need to dodge all the time, that he was the CEO.

Would you trust a dude who gave money to an anti-miscegenation campaign that would forbid marriage between races, to really be equitable in his leadership of the company towards minorities? Would you expect any black dude to believe that he’d get treated fairly there? Of course not.

250 darthstar  Apr 4, 2014 9:14:15am

re: #220 Killgore Trout

It looks like a lot of people aren’t familiar with A Modest Proposal. Do they not teach it in high school anymore?
Liberal Slate calls for ‘purge’ of those who support traditional marriage

Updinged for recognizing what the Examiner obviously didn’t.

Satire is dead.

251 Mattand  Apr 4, 2014 9:14:38am

re: #244 darthstar

Prop 8 supporters will always qualify their positions.

If this were 50-plus years ago, these same people would be complaining about Rosa Parks and/or the lunch counter sit-ins, casting the bus company and Woolworth’s as the “real victims.”

Discrimination justified by one’s holy book of mythology is still discrimination.

252 Justanotherhuman  Apr 4, 2014 9:15:07am

re: #248 Dark_Falcon

Sorry but I stand by my statement. I don’t think an executive should be forced out because he donated to a political cause years ago that is unpopular in some quarters. What’s next, do I get banned from ever holding a high corporate position for having given money to John McCain’s campaign in 2008?

Come on Dark, WTF does “unpopular in some quarters” mean?

Why don’t you just come out and say you disagree about gays and lesbians marrying instead of beating around the damned bush?

It would be very much more honest than what you’re doing.

253 Dark_Falcon  Apr 4, 2014 9:15:24am

re: #245 Brother Holy Cruise Missile of Mild Acceptance

Splitting hairs is a normal thing for me. Given the personalities of so many of my family and friends, the surprising thing would be if I was NOT a hair-splitter.

254 Fairly Sure I'm Still Obdicut  Apr 4, 2014 9:16:16am

re: #248 Dark_Falcon

Sorry but I stand by my statement. I don’t think an executive should be forced out because he donated to a political cause years ago that is unpopular in some quarters. What’s next, do I get banned from ever holding a high corporate position for having given money to John McCain’s campaign in 2008?

Things that are wrong about what you’re saying:

You’re claiming he didn’t discriminate. Preventing people from marrying on the basis of liking people of their own sex is discrimination.

You’re now talking about being ‘banned’. He’s not banned. He was asked to resign from the board of one company. It will probably be hard for him to find work in Silicon Valley, where bigotry against gays is a large problem. There are plenty of corporations and organizations where that won’t be a problem—like in the many states it’s legal to simply fire people for being gay—and in addition, if he starts his own company, he will have no problem attracting talent.

255 Justanotherhuman  Apr 4, 2014 9:16:26am

re: #250 darthstar

Updinged for recognizing what the Examiner obviously didn’t.

Satire is dead.

The “Examiner” papers are firmly in libertarian/rightwing hands now.

Everywhere.

256 Mattand  Apr 4, 2014 9:16:28am

re: #248 Dark_Falcon

Sorry but I stand by my statement. I don’t think an executive should be forced out because he donated to a political cause years ago that is unpopular in some quarters. What’s next, do I get banned from ever holding a high corporate position for having given money to John McCain’s campaign in 2008?

Denial of discrimination and a shitty analogy.

Sorry to see you go down that route.

257 TedStriker  Apr 4, 2014 9:18:29am

re: #248 Dark_Falcon

Sorry but I stand by my statement. I don’t think an executive should be forced out because he donated to a political cause years ago that is unpopular in some quarters. What’s next, do I get banned from ever holding a high corporate position for having given money to John McCain’s campaign in 2008?

If you want to claim Eich, the Mozilla CTO-turned-CEO who became the very public face of Mozilla and the Mozilla Foundation, as a martyr, go right ahead, but don’t expect me to join you in your outrageous outrage. It’s one thing for Johnny Lunchpail to do what Eich did, because few people will even know about it, but for a C-suite employee to do it, that’s a whole ‘nother kettle of fish.

If Brendon Eich had made contributions to political causes that discriminated against blacks, Hispanics, women, or any other minority, what would you say then about all of this?

258 Killgore Trout  Apr 4, 2014 9:19:15am

re: #238 makeitstop

Had Prop 8 succeeded, discrimination would have been the result.

Eich would have been complicit in that discrimination.

If only he had launched internet campaigns to get gays fired from their jobs he’d be hailed as a hero of tolerance and diversity!
/

259 makeitstop  Apr 4, 2014 9:20:15am

re: #248 Dark_Falcon

Sorry but I stand by my statement. I don’t think an executive should be forced out because he donated to a political cause years ago that is unpopular in some quarters. What’s next, do I get banned from ever holding a high corporate position for having given money to John McCain’s campaign in 2008?

With all due respect, that’s a dumbass analogy.

260 Justanotherhuman  Apr 4, 2014 9:20:35am

re: #255 Justanotherhuman

And I can’t believe I called them “papers”—have they ever used newsprint in their history? Or just an online thing?

Habits really do die hard.

261 calochortus  Apr 4, 2014 9:21:28am

re: #248 Dark_Falcon

Sorry but I stand by my statement. I don’t think an executive should be forced out because he donated to a political cause years ago that is unpopular in some quarters. What’s next, do I get banned from ever holding a high corporate position for having given money to John McCain’s campaign in 2008?

There is a kernel of truth in there-but a tiny one. No, Eich shouldn’t be prevented from working for a company because he opposes same sex marriage. However, as CEO his position caused divisions within the company and probably would have affected their ability to hire top talent.

He was also the public face of the company and did a dreadful job of explaining his position. I believe he simply said that his personal actions were separate from the company and refused to discuss it further. While that might be fine for some techie in the company, it shows a lack of awareness of his role as CEO. I would have had far more sympathy for him if he had said something like “Yes, I contributed to the Prop 8 campaign because of my personal beliefs about marriage. Nonetheless, I will support this company’s commitment to fairness and the equality of all its employees.” But, he didn’t, so he may not have been up to the task of running the company.

262 Mattand  Apr 4, 2014 9:21:41am

re: #260 Justanotherhuman

And I can’t believe I called them “papers”—have they ever used newsprint in their history? Or just an online thing?

Habits really do die hard.

I still “tape” shows on our DVR.

Even the phrase “Dial a number” falls under that.

263 Dark_Falcon  Apr 4, 2014 9:22:02am

re: #252 Justanotherhuman

Come on Dark, WTF does “unpopular in some quarters” mean?

Why don’t you just come out and say you disagree about gays and lesbians marrying instead of beating around the damned bush?

It would be very much more honest than what you’re doing.

Because I don’t disagree now, is the thing! But I supported Proposition 8 back when it was passed. Things change, I’ve changed, and I now admit I was wrong. But its not like I was abusive towards gay people back then, and neither was Brendan Eich. It just seems to me Eich got thrown out something he’d done years ago that a lot of other people did and that was done for non-hateful reasons. He was wrong to support Proposition 8 and so was I, but is it fair he should lose his job for it?

264 makeitstop  Apr 4, 2014 9:22:10am

re: #258 Killgore Trout

If only he had launched internet campaigns to get gays fired from their jobs he’d be hailed as a hero of tolerance and diversity!
/

Sorry, no.

265 Varek Raith  Apr 4, 2014 9:22:43am
266 Pie-onist Overlord  Apr 4, 2014 9:22:48am

re: #262 Mattand

I still “tape” shows on our DVR.

Even the phrase “Dial a number” falls under that.

When was the last time anyone listened to a “broken record”?

267 jaunte  Apr 4, 2014 9:23:20am
268 Mattand  Apr 4, 2014 9:24:03am

re: #263 Dark_Falcon

Because I >don’t disagree now, is the thing! But I supported Proposition 8 back when it was passed. Things change, I’ve changed, and I now admit I was wrong. But its not like I was abusive towards gay people back then, and neither was Brendan Eich. It just seems to me Eich got thrown out something he’d done years ago that a lot of other people did and that was done for non-hateful reasons. He was wrong to support Proposition 8 and so was I, but is it fair he should lose his job for it?

Given his position of power? Absolutely.

Calochortus explains it perfectly.

269 Brother Holy Cruise Missile of Mild Acceptance  Apr 4, 2014 9:24:27am

re: #266 Pie-onist Overlord

When was the last time anyone listened to a “broken record”?

or rewind something?

270 darthstar  Apr 4, 2014 9:25:08am

re: #249 Fairly Sure I’m Still Obdicut

CEO, CTO, Junior Administrative Assistant - Their titles are irrelevant to me. If they supported Prop 8, they deserve the derision they get.

271 Killgore Trout  Apr 4, 2014 9:25:43am

re: #264 makeitstop

Sorry, no.

How about a campaign to get supporters of gay marriage fired? Maybe just targeting those who want opponents fired for their political contributions? C’mon, I want some tolerance and Diversity too! Who can I get fired?
/

272 Pie-onist Overlord  Apr 4, 2014 9:25:53am
273 wrenchwench  Apr 4, 2014 9:25:58am

re: #263 Dark_Falcon

Because I >don’t disagree now, is the thing! But I supported Proposition 8 back when it was passed. Things change, I’ve changed, and I now admit I was wrong. But its not like I was abusive towards gay people back then, and neither was Brendan Eich. It just seems to me Eich got thrown out something he’d done years ago that a lot of other people did and that was done for non-hateful reasons. He was wrong to support Proposition 8 and so was I, but is it fair he should lose his job for it?

Voting to make or keep people unequal before the law IS abusive, imho. It’s good that you changed, your mistake should not haunt you, but don’t dismiss it.

274 Iwouldprefernotto  Apr 4, 2014 9:26:39am

re: #248 Dark_Falcon

Sorry but I stand by my statement. I don’t think an executive should be forced out because he donated to a political cause years ago that is unpopular in some quarters. What’s next, do I get banned from ever holding a high corporate position for having given money to John McCain’s campaign in 2008?

No. Your punishment is spending a week with Sarah Palin.

275 darthstar  Apr 4, 2014 9:26:48am

re: #248 Dark_Falcon

See my #244

276 Varek Raith  Apr 4, 2014 9:28:47am

re: #272 Pie-onist Overlord

[Embedded content]

NO U

277 Killgore Trout  Apr 4, 2014 9:28:49am

Maybe if we just put those who disagree with us in some sort of “Vacation Centers” where they can relax and reflect on their political views. Maybe just a little barbed wire to discourage them from going out and getting jobs.
/

278 makeitstop  Apr 4, 2014 9:29:24am

re: #271 Killgore Trout

How about a campaign to get supporters of gay marriage fired? Maybe just targeting those who want opponents fired for their political contributions? C’mon, I want some tolerance and Diversity too! Who can I get fired?
/

Knock yourself out.

279 Dark_Falcon  Apr 4, 2014 9:29:28am

re: #274 Iwouldprefernotto

No. Your punishment is spending a week with Sarah Palin.

The 8th Amendment prohibits cruel and unusual punishments, and being forced to spend a large amount of time with Princess Dumbass of the North Woods surely qualifies for any non-wingnut with a functional brain.

280 jaunte  Apr 4, 2014 9:29:37am

re: #271 Killgore Trout

How about a campaign to get supporters of gay marriage fired? Maybe just targeting those who want opponents fired for their political contributions? C’mon, I want some tolerance and Diversity too! Who can I get fired?
/

You can do that, but you have to develop an argument to remove rights from a disfavored class that has a rational basis.

281 Pie-onist Overlord  Apr 4, 2014 9:29:47am

HURR HURR!!!!!

282 lawhawk  Apr 4, 2014 9:29:48am

re: #248 Dark_Falcon

Sorry but I stand by my statement. I don’t think an executive should be forced out because he donated to a political cause years ago that is unpopular in some quarters. What’s next, do I get banned from ever holding a high corporate position for having given money to John McCain’s campaign in 2008?

Donating to a cause that is highly discriminatory? Absolutely, particularly since he hasn’t renounced said position. He’s in a position where that discriminatory outlook affects his employees directly, and could affect his company’s position to make deals down the line (again affecting his employees).

283 Varek Raith  Apr 4, 2014 9:31:28am

re: #281 Pie-onist Overlord

HURR HURR!!!!!

[Embedded content]

Obama is sure taking his sweet time.
Less than two years left!

284 Killgore Trout  Apr 4, 2014 9:31:48am

re: #280 jaunte

You can do that, but you have to develop an argument to remove rights from a disfavored class that has a rational basis.

The guise of tolerance and diversity seems to be sufficient.

285 Pie-onist Overlord  Apr 4, 2014 9:32:06am
286 Varek Raith  Apr 4, 2014 9:32:28am

re: #284 Killgore Trout

Yes, let’s all tolerate intolerance.

287 Dark_Falcon  Apr 4, 2014 9:32:43am
288 lawhawk  Apr 4, 2014 9:33:37am

re: #286 Varek Raith

289 Pie-onist Overlord  Apr 4, 2014 9:34:12am
290 Pie-onist Overlord  Apr 4, 2014 9:34:58am
291 Mattand  Apr 4, 2014 9:35:19am

re: #284 Killgore Trout

The guise of tolerance and diversity seems to be sufficient.

Thought Trayvon Martin may have had it coming? Check.

Practically giddy over OWS protestors being hurt by police? Check.

Past history of homophobic comments? Check.

Demanding that bigotry be tolerated and never called out? Check.

Starting to see a theme here…

292 William Barnett-Lewis  Apr 4, 2014 9:35:33am

re: #266 Pie-onist Overlord

When was the last time anyone listened to a “broken record”?

About a week ago. Lots of LP’s at the local public radio station … ;)

293 Pie-onist Overlord  Apr 4, 2014 9:35:53am
294 makeitstop  Apr 4, 2014 9:36:32am

re: #289 Pie-onist Overlord

In 30’s used hate to divide & empower.

A tactic that modern conservatives have relied heavily upon.

295 lawhawk  Apr 4, 2014 9:37:07am

re: #294 makeitstop

DARVO

296 Pie-onist Overlord  Apr 4, 2014 9:37:47am

HURR HURR!!!! DON’T YOU SEE IT!!!! BY TEH TIME UR KIND SEES IT WILL BE TOO LATE!!!!!

297 makeitstop  Apr 4, 2014 9:37:50am

Jesus, somebody rang the Bill Ayers bell this morning. One of my Facebook wingnuts is going off about the ‘unrepentant domestic terrorist’ as I type this.

I’m mocking the living fuck out of him.

298 Killgore Trout  Apr 4, 2014 9:38:47am

re: #286 Varek Raith

Yes, let’s all tolerate intolerance.

Maybe even support free speech for those who oppose free speech? Or how about the right to bare arms for those who support gun control? Maybe even the freedom of religion for those who oppose religion? We could make up a document and make it the basis for our society. It’s just so crazy that it might just work!

299 Pie-onist Overlord  Apr 4, 2014 9:38:56am
300 Pie-onist Overlord  Apr 4, 2014 9:39:32am

What a stupid putz.

301 Pie-onist Overlord  Apr 4, 2014 9:40:08am
302 Dark_Falcon  Apr 4, 2014 9:40:24am

re: #296 Pie-onist Overlord

HURR HURR!!!! DON’T YOU SEE IT!!!! BY TEH TIME UR KIND SEES IT WILL BE TOO LATE!!!!!

[Embedded content]

303 Pie-onist Overlord  Apr 4, 2014 9:40:32am
304 Targetpractice  Apr 4, 2014 9:40:41am

re: #299 Pie-onist Overlord

[Embedded content]

So when do we reach that point. Because the man only has a little over two years left.

305 Varek Raith  Apr 4, 2014 9:41:38am

re: #298 Killgore Trout

Hmm, gay rights seems to have struck a nerve with you.

306 Skip Intro  Apr 4, 2014 9:42:16am

re: #300 Pie-onist Overlord

For guy who really likes to use Nazi Gemany as his model, he really ought to study how it all came about. Richard Evans has two books about just that; it takes him around 1600 pages just to get to 1939.

307 calochortus  Apr 4, 2014 9:42:18am

re: #304 Targetpractice

So when do we reach that point. Because the man only has a little over two years left.

He’s diabolical, isn’t he? Leaving it all til the last moment.

308 Timothy Watson  Apr 4, 2014 9:42:52am

re: #281 Pie-onist Overlord

HURR HURR!!!!!

[Embedded content]

Numbnuts is aware that the first concentration camp was opened in Feb. 1933, right after Hitler became Chancellor, right?

309 The War TARDIS  Apr 4, 2014 9:43:07am

re: #303 Pie-onist Overlord

Should I point out that. as a Muslim, I fear people like her?

310 Dark_Falcon  Apr 4, 2014 9:43:31am

re: #300 Pie-onist Overlord

What a stupid putz.

BTW, the Greek “μολὼν λαβέ” he uses as part of his description is also rendered as “Molon labe”, which is a thing shouted out by people whose affections for guns exceed the bounds of sanity.

311 Feline Fearless Leader  Apr 4, 2014 9:44:05am

re: #217 Mattand

Swear to Christ, it never ceases to amaze me how someone can look at a CEO who actively engaged in discrimination and go “Eh, whaddya gonna do?”; and then cast that CEO as the real “victim” when his bigoted actions bite him in the ass.

I just don’t understand how one be so at ease with discrimination and function as a human being.

Easy. Raised that way.

312 Pie-onist Overlord  Apr 4, 2014 9:44:15am

re: #310 Dark_Falcon

BTW, the Greek “μολὼν λαβέ” he uses as part of his description is also rendered as “Molon labe”, which is a thing shouted out by people whose affections for guns exceed the bounds of sanity.

I call it MORON LABEL.

313 lawhawk  Apr 4, 2014 9:44:28am

re: #306 Skip Intro

A more concise take? Shirer’s Rise and Fall of the Third Reich

314 FemNaziBitch  Apr 4, 2014 9:45:42am
315 jaunte  Apr 4, 2014 9:45:48am
“…Let’s start with the obvious: It is literally impossible for Mozilla to violate Eich’s constitutional freedom of speech. At the risk of sounding pedantic, the First Amendment applies exclusively to state actors, like Congress or state legislatures, so a private corporation like Mozilla simply cannot infringe upon an employee’s free speech rights, even if it wanted to. There is no wiggle room around this point. It is a basic constitutional fact.”
slate.com
316 FemNaziBitch  Apr 4, 2014 9:46:27am

re: #313 lawhawk

A more concise take? Shirer’s Rise and Fall of the Third Reich

and a very readable account. Shirer was a journalist, so his writing is for the people, not for academics.

317 ericblair  Apr 4, 2014 9:46:29am

re: #288 lawhawk

Wait a sec. I’m supposed to be tolerant of intolerance? When did that happen?

It’s like the argument that the US did bad things in the world, therefore we have no right to oppose any other country doing bad things. It’s trying to get people with some morals to shut up and quietly sit in the corner so other people with no morals can do whatever they want.

318 Dr Lizardo  Apr 4, 2014 9:48:05am

re: #316 FemNaziBitch

and a very readable account. Shirer was a journalist, so his writing is for the people, not for academics.

Personally, I consider “The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich” one of the best English-language history books ever written. I read it when I was 11, and it had a lasting impact on me.

319 Pie-onist Overlord  Apr 4, 2014 9:48:08am

Squeaky is too lame to even get into a good fight with.

320 Dark_Falcon  Apr 4, 2014 9:48:12am

Facts are important, and I don’t believe in letting even the IRS get blamed for something they didn’t do.

321 The War TARDIS  Apr 4, 2014 9:48:31am

Headdesk.

9-Month-Old Baby Accused of Trying to Murder Police in Pakistan

Hoping Imran Khan’s party wins the next election there.

322 Pie-onist Overlord  Apr 4, 2014 9:48:46am

How it’s just getting weird.

323 Killgore Trout  Apr 4, 2014 9:49:19am

re: #305 Varek Raith

Hmm, gay rights seems to have struck a nerve with you.

Yes, the accusations of homophobia and racism are to be expected. Sorry, but I’m a long time supporter of gay marriage. Although I expect the accusation to be widely embraced and used repeatedly I’m confident enough in my support of gay rights that it doesn’t matter to me. It does, however, reinforce my opposition to campaigns to punish political opponents. People can easily start targeting their fellow supporters. as we’ve seen with Colbert, friendly fire is a concern.

324 Eventual Carrion  Apr 4, 2014 9:49:38am

re: #200 jeffreyw

The Cellophane Winged Hummingbird

Believed to be a cross between a Ruby Throat and an unknown variety of dragonfly.

I’ve had those kind of weekends …

325 makeitstop  Apr 4, 2014 9:50:21am

re: #322 Pie-onist Overlord

How it’s just getting weird.

[Embedded content]

Whoa. A few more tweets and you’ll have this dude totally flying the tinfoil flag. He’s halfway there already.

326 Killgore Trout  Apr 4, 2014 9:50:22am

re: #320 Dark_Falcon

[Embedded content]

Facts are important, and I don’t believe in letting even the IRS get blamed for something they didn’t do.

I’m pretty sure the donation list was published by the LA times. They requested it and got it legally.

327 Feline Fearless Leader  Apr 4, 2014 9:50:24am

re: #248 Dark_Falcon

Sorry but I stand by my statement. I don’t think an executive should be forced out because he donated to a political cause years ago that is unpopular in some quarters. What’s next, do I get banned from ever holding a high corporate position for having given money to John McCain’s campaign in 2008?

Yes.

328 Pie-onist Overlord  Apr 4, 2014 9:51:00am

HEY DUMB WINGNUTS: THE SAME GUYS ARE IN BOTH PICTURES.

329 calochortus  Apr 4, 2014 9:51:54am

re: #328 Pie-onist Overlord

As a liberal, I’m not worried either. ;)

330 GunstarGreen  Apr 4, 2014 9:52:12am

re: #317 ericblair

It’s like the argument that the US did bad things in the world, therefore we have no right to oppose any other country doing bad things. It’s trying to get people with some morals to shut up and quietly sit in the corner so other people with no morals can do whatever they want.

Well, actually, it’s more often than not along the line-of-reasoning of “If I were The Other Guys, I probably wouldn’t listen to people who had done the very thing they were demanding I not do within fairly recent history, so maybe we should rethink our policy of just expecting them to listen anyway”.

Just sayin’.

Edit: Fixed misquote. Odd.

331 Dark_Falcon  Apr 4, 2014 9:53:40am

re: #328 Pie-onist Overlord

332 Dr Lizardo  Apr 4, 2014 9:54:00am

re: #321 The War TARDIS

Headdesk.

9-Month-Old Baby Accused of Trying to Murder Police in Pakistan

Hoping Imran Khan’s party wins the next election there.

Heh.

On a positive note, the Punjab Chief Minister has ordered an investigation into the case, and he wants ‘stern action’ taken against the officers responsible.

WTF were the cops thinking? That Musa (the kid in question) was some kind of mini supervillain or something?

*smh*

333 Bulworth  Apr 4, 2014 9:54:43am

re: #322 Pie-onist Overlord

Is there an English translation of that tweet?

/

334 Dr. Matt  Apr 4, 2014 9:56:42am

re: #333 Bulworth

Is there an English translation of that tweet?

/

Benghazi

335 The War TARDIS  Apr 4, 2014 9:56:48am

re: #332 Dr Lizardo

Not quite:

The child’s father said police had registered a fake case against him, his son and the others, who were actually protesting, not trying to steal gas.

“Our crime is that we had protested against non-availability of electricity in our locality,” he said, according to the Times of India.

336 GeneJockey  Apr 4, 2014 9:57:05am

re: #333 Bulworth

Is there an English translation of that tweet?

/

Yes. Rendered in English, it says “I’m bugfuck insane.”

337 FemNaziBitch  Apr 4, 2014 9:57:15am
338 calochortus  Apr 4, 2014 9:58:00am

re: #333 Bulworth

Obama has too much melanin to have figured out how to do this. Presumably the Juice (or an equally dastardly group) are behind the scenes
//

339 Timothy Watson  Apr 4, 2014 9:58:08am

re: #328 Pie-onist Overlord

HEY DUMB WINGNUTS: THE SAME GUYS ARE IN BOTH PICTURES.

[Embedded content]

Can you elaborate?

340 Dark_Falcon  Apr 4, 2014 9:58:12am

re: #332 Dr Lizardo

Heh.

On a positive note, the Punjab Chief Minister has ordered an investigation into the case, and he wants ‘stern action’ taken against the officers responsible.

WTF were the cops thinking? That Musa (the kid in question) was some kind of mini supervillain or something?

*smh*

They weren’t thinking. They were just throwing charges at the families of those who opposed their paymasters. The main reason for non-availability of electricity in the Punjab is corruption.

341 lawhawk  Apr 4, 2014 9:58:37am

re: #322 Pie-onist Overlord

Here come the Merovingian, Neo, and the Illuminati.

342 GunstarGreen  Apr 4, 2014 9:59:12am

re: #339 Timothy Watson

Can you elaborate?

The Military and Teh Gayz are not mutually-exclusive groups. Not by a long shot.

343 Dr. Matt  Apr 4, 2014 9:59:22am

Teabagging gun festishits sure have a strange preserve obsession with wanting to have yet another Civil War. Apparently posting photos posing with their AR-15s isn’t exciting enough for them.

344 Pie-onist Overlord  Apr 4, 2014 9:59:43am

re: #339 Timothy Watson

Can you elaborate?

Wingnuts just assume that “manly military men” can never be gay, and that gays can never be “manly military men.”

345 Pie-onist Overlord  Apr 4, 2014 10:00:12am

re: #343 Dr. Matt

Teabagging gun festishits sure have a strange preserve obsession with wanting to have yet another Civil War. Apparently posting photos posing with their AR-15s isn’t exciting enough for them.

But they do enjoy looking at photos of gay men.

346 Dark_Falcon  Apr 4, 2014 10:00:34am
347 Timothy Watson  Apr 4, 2014 10:00:35am

re: #344 Pie-onist Overlord

Wingnuts just assume that “manly military men” can never be gay, and that gays can never be “manly military men.”

Ah.

348 Pie-onist Overlord  Apr 4, 2014 10:01:10am

HURR HURR!!!! ALINSKY!!!!!

349 Dr. Matt  Apr 4, 2014 10:01:57am

re: #344 Pie-onist Overlord

Wingnuts just assume that “manly military men” can never be gay, and that gays can never be “manly military men.”

See: SEAL trigger man on bin Laden is now transgendered.

350 ericblair  Apr 4, 2014 10:01:58am

re: #330 GunstarGreen

Well, actually, it’s more often than not along the line-of-reasoning of “If I were The Other Guys, I probably wouldn’t listen to people who had done the very thing they were demanding I not do within fairly recent history, so maybe we should rethink our policy of just expecting them to listen anyway”.

Which might be valid if “we” were continuing to widely support the Bad Things we’ve done. Otherwise, it’s a guilt trip that allows more bad things to go on unopposed.

351 GunstarGreen  Apr 4, 2014 10:02:13am

re: #348 Pie-onist Overlord

HURR HURR!!!! ALINSKY!!!!!

[Embedded content]

“Saul Alinsky Playbook” is the wingnut version of “Paradigm Shifts”.

Or “Big Data” nowadays, I guess.

352 FemNaziBitch  Apr 4, 2014 10:03:03am

$9.8 Billion Dollar Industry in the US

What is it?

353 Pie-onist Overlord  Apr 4, 2014 10:03:08am

re: #349 Dr. Matt

See: SEAL trigger man on bin Laden is now transgendered.

HE DIDN’T WANT TO BE ASSASSINATED LIKE TEH OTHER SEAL TEAM SO HE DID TEH ONLY THING THAT WOULD KEEP HIM ALIVE!!!!!!!

354 Stanley Sea  Apr 4, 2014 10:03:19am

re: #348 Pie-onist Overlord

Squeaky has comic sans on their twitter background. Of course.

355 makeitstop  Apr 4, 2014 10:03:30am

re: #348 Pie-onist Overlord

HURR HURR!!!! ALINSKY!!!!!

So comes Alinsky #5. Guess that’s what happens when Hitler charge has already been taken.

Why are they all so scared of a dead guy?

356 Dark_Falcon  Apr 4, 2014 10:03:40am

re: #348 Pie-onist Overlord

HURR HURR!!!! ALINSKY!!!!!

[Embedded content]

357 William Barnett-Lewis  Apr 4, 2014 10:03:40am

re: #302 Dark_Falcon

[Embedded content]

Nice try but reality and their world will never intersect.

358 Dr. Matt  Apr 4, 2014 10:04:08am
359 jaunte  Apr 4, 2014 10:04:10am

re: #355 makeitstop

Handy scary totem-word.

360 Dr Lizardo  Apr 4, 2014 10:04:35am

re: #335 The War TARDIS

Not quite:

Ah…..harassment. Not cool. Pretty disgusting, in fact.

361 wrenchwench  Apr 4, 2014 10:05:39am

re: #355 makeitstop

Why are they all so scared of a dead guy?

He wrote the liberul bible

362 FemNaziBitch  Apr 4, 2014 10:05:50am

re: #358 Dr. Matt

NOT The Onion:

Pro-gun OK Republican can’t believe he shot another hunter: ‘I’m as safety as can be’

Sometimes the jokes just write themselves.

Always point the barrel in a safe direction.

363 makeitstop  Apr 4, 2014 10:05:52am

re: #359 jaunte

Handy scary totem-word.

Exactly. It’s been drilled into their little pea brains and they start frothing at its very mention.

Pavlov would be downright proud.

364 William Barnett-Lewis  Apr 4, 2014 10:06:19am

re: #303 Pie-onist Overlord

[Embedded content]

Silly idjit. If the President were (Hitler/Stalin/Mao/Pol Pot/Franco/Pinochet/any other 20th century tyrant) you’d already be dead.

365 Pie-onist Overlord  Apr 4, 2014 10:06:44am

LOLWUT

366 Pie-onist Overlord  Apr 4, 2014 10:08:41am

THIS IS SICK.

367 b.d.  Apr 4, 2014 10:09:04am

Whah!!!!!

368 Dark_Falcon  Apr 4, 2014 10:09:25am

re: #355 makeitstop

Why are they all so scared of a dead guy?

Because despite the errors in his world-view*, Saul Alinsky understood people and politics better than that crazy wingnut ever will.

*: Alinsky was hard left and I’m well to the right of center. So I do see Alinsky’s views on policy as mostly in error, but I don’t make a big, hateful deal about it.

369 Skip Intro  Apr 4, 2014 10:10:21am

re: #325 makeitstop

Whoa. A few more tweets and you’ll have this dude totally flying the tinfoil flag. He’s halfway there already.

Oh, no, he’s already there with the flag, and he’s wearing most of his tinfoil suit too.

370 Varek Raith  Apr 4, 2014 10:10:23am

re: #367 b.d.

Whah!!!!!

[Embedded content]

Glenn Greenwald, Expert at Falsely Smearing People.

371 wrenchwench  Apr 4, 2014 10:12:06am

re: #368 Dark_Falcon

Because despite the errors in his world-view*, Saul Alinsky understood people and politics better than that crazy wingnut ever will.

*: Alinsky was hard left and I’m well to the right of center. So I do see Alinsky’s views on policy as mostly in error, but I don’t make a big, hateful deal about it.

What part do you see as ‘hard left’?

372 b.d.  Apr 4, 2014 10:12:13am

The Intercept has not posted a new article since last Saturday?

Was is that staff of highly diverse, middle aged, white dudebros doing?

373 Feline Fearless Leader  Apr 4, 2014 10:12:21am

re: #358 Dr. Matt

NOT The Onion:

Pro-gun OK Republican can’t believe he shot another hunter: ‘I’m as safety as can be’

Sometimes the jokes just write themselves.

newsok.com

“A 12-gauge (shell) has like 500 BBs … so they’re going in every different direction when they go out of there, so, son of a gun, one of them hit him,” Vaughan said.

Uh, no. They are still generally going in the direction you pointed the barrel. You’re just damned lucky you didn’t shoot someone’s eye out (kid).

374 Dark_Falcon  Apr 4, 2014 10:13:26am

re: #367 b.d.

Whah!!!!!

[Embedded content]

From the article I linked to:

The Elbit Systems Hermes 900 medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) unmanned aircraft system (UAS) acquired by Brazil is expected to arrive there by early May and be operational by June.

One air vehicle was acquired by the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) Logistic Center as part of a USD8 million contract signed with Elbit Systems’ Brazilian subsidiary, AEL Sistemas, on 14 March, the FAB told IHS Jane’s on 1 April.

The aircraft is to be operated by Squadron Hórus from Santa Maria Air Force Base, alongside with the in-service Hermes RQ-450 UAS in monitoring nationwide borders and providing security for major events such as the 2014 FIFA World Cup in June and July.

That’s right, Brazil bought DROOONNEZ from Teh Juice.

375 Timothy Watson  Apr 4, 2014 10:14:01am

re: #372 b.d.

The Intercept has not posted a new article since last Saturday?

Was is that staff of highly diverse, middle aged, white dudebros doing?

Whole Foods got a new brand of hummus they’re trying out.

376 Dr Lizardo  Apr 4, 2014 10:14:49am

re: #375 Timothy Watson

Whole Foods got a new brand of hummus they’re trying out.

Ahahahaha Whole Foods Paycheck.

377 calochortus  Apr 4, 2014 10:15:30am

re: #365 Pie-onist Overlord

LOLWUT

[Embedded content]

I suppose they hit 65 and retired. Oh the horror!

378 b.d.  Apr 4, 2014 10:15:56am

Oh FFS

It’s true that anti-war movements of the last couple generations have not had much influence on mainstream discourse. Some of that, surely, is to be chalked up to poor organization and tactics on the part of leftists. But an equal or greater share lies at the feet of center-left liberals, who have repeatedly allowed cultural resentment of leftists to push them into joining conservatives in making disastrous strategic errors.

theweek.com

Of course President Obama was anti-Iraq but he is evil to these guys.

379 Timothy Watson  Apr 4, 2014 10:16:19am

re: #373 Feline Fearless Leader

newsok.com

Uh, no. They are still generally going in the direction you pointed the barrel. You’re just damned lucky you didn’t shoot someone’s eye out (kid).

No, he’s lucky he didn’t kill or give someone significant brain damage. If a shotgun pellet hits someone’s eye, it’s not going to stop there. (My grandfather died as a result of a shotgun pellet through the eye before I born. He survived with brain damage but later died from pneumonia.)

380 Dr. Matt  Apr 4, 2014 10:18:21am

re: #373 Feline Fearless Leader

“A 12-gauge (shell) has like 500 BBs … so they’re going in every different direction when they go out of there…..”

Incompetent politician and an incompetent firearm owner.

381 b.d.  Apr 4, 2014 10:19:01am

HIPPIE PUNCHERS!!!!1!!

382 Dr. Matt  Apr 4, 2014 10:19:09am

cnn.com: Soldiers killed in Fort Hood shooting ID’d as Sgt. Danny Ferguson, Sgt. Carlos Lazaney and Sgt. Timothy Owens.

383 GeneJockey  Apr 4, 2014 10:19:30am

re: #249 Fairly Sure I’m Still Obdicut

I have sympathy for a lot of Prop 8 supporters. Especially older people, out of touch, fed a steady stream of propaganda by Fox News, I can forgive people getting scared and weirded out and voting for, basically “No change!” If this guy had been a janitor or programmer or something, I would have thought firing him was shitty.

But he was the CEO. That’s what Killgore and all the others need to dodge all the time, that he was the CEO.

Would you trust a dude who gave money to an anti-miscegenation campaign that would forbid marriage between races, to really be equitable in his leadership of the company towards minorities? Would you expect any black dude to believe that he’d get treated fairly there? Of course not.

I have sympathy for the Prop 8 folks because I didn’t arrive at my current views on marriage equality all at once. For a long time I was in favor of civil unions for same sex couples, and in fact that was a fairly progressive position.

Then one day, I realized that the basic idea of civil unions instead of marriage for some kinds of couples was really just ‘Separate But Equal’.

People talk about Eich having made this donation long ago, but has he come out and said, “You know, I was wrong. That was a bad cause to give money to. I support marriage equality”? AFAIK, no.

384 Dark_Falcon  Apr 4, 2014 10:20:50am

re: #371 wrenchwench

What part do you see as ‘hard left’?

Let’s not get into that. My opinion of Saul Alindky’s views are tangential to my main point, which was that he was smarter and more observant than the crazy wingnut shouting his name in some sort of Pavlovian response. I posted the disclaimer to make clear my feelings on the matter, not as prelude to a detailed discussion about why I hold the views I do on the matter.

385 b.d.  Apr 4, 2014 10:21:46am

What happened to the OLD CIA?

Where is it? Is the old CIA the new NSA? If so, then where is the new NSA?

386 GeneJockey  Apr 4, 2014 10:22:05am

re: #358 Dr. Matt

NOT The Onion:

Pro-gun OK Republican can’t believe he shot another hunter: ‘I’m as safety as can be’

Sometimes the jokes just write themselves.

Jesus Christ! That guy’s a Sontaran!

387 wrenchwench  Apr 4, 2014 10:22:59am

re: #384 Dark_Falcon

Let’s not get into that. My opinion of Saul Alindky’s views are tangential to my main point, which was that he was smarter and more observant than the crazy wingnut shouting his name in some sort of Pavlovian response. I posted the disclaimer to make clear my feelings on the matter, not as prelude to a detailed discussion about why I hold the views I do on the matter.

Another time, perhaps.

He was a surprisingly reasonable man.

388 GeneJockey  Apr 4, 2014 10:23:13am

re: #361 wrenchwench

He wrote the liberul bible

You know, the one that Liberals only ever heard about from their crazy uncle on Facebook?

389 GeneJockey  Apr 4, 2014 10:25:07am

re: #377 calochortus

I suppose they hit 65 and retired. Oh the horror!

Lazy bastards. This is the New America, where you work till you drop dead in harness.

390 Kragar  Apr 4, 2014 10:25:48am

I love the blank looks and total lack of comprehension I get when I tell someone I don’t have a cell phone.

“You didn’t fill out the emergency contact roster properly. What is your cell number?.”

“I don’t have a cell.”

“We need to put something there.”

“I know, that is why I put ‘I don’t have a cell phone’ in the blank.”

“But how can we contact you in an emergency?”

“You mean asides from my home phone, instant messaging, 2 work email addresses and 2 personal addresses? Yeah, its a real puzzler.”

391 Killgore Trout  Apr 4, 2014 10:26:26am

hat tip: Gus

392 GeneJockey  Apr 4, 2014 10:27:06am
“A 12-gauge (shell) has like 500 BBs … so they’re going in every different direction when they go out of there, so, son of a gun, one of them hit him,” Vaughan said.

Yeah, if it fucking EXPLODES. Not if you FIRE IT in a gun.

393 Feline Fearless Leader  Apr 4, 2014 10:28:56am

And elsewhere in Oklahoma, pie ingredients fall from the sky.

newsok.com

394 Iwouldprefernotto  Apr 4, 2014 10:28:58am

re: #390 Kragar

I love the blank looks and total lack of comprehension I get when I tell someone I don’t have a cell phone.

“You didn’t fill out the emergency contact roster properly. What is your cell number?.”

“I don’t have a cell.”

“We need to put something there.”

“I know, that is why I put ‘I don’t have a cell phone’ in the blank.”

“But how can we contact you in an emergency?”

“You mean asides from my home phone, instant messaging, 2 work email addresses and 2 personal addresses? Yeah, its a real puzzler.”

I thought I had problems when I tell people that I don’t have a smart phone, just a cheap flip phone. It’s like living in the 1870s.

395 iossarian  Apr 4, 2014 10:29:24am

re: #389 GeneJockey

Lazy bastards. This is the New America, where you work till you drop dead in harness.

People used to take lunch breaks. Imagine that!

396 Feline Fearless Leader  Apr 4, 2014 10:30:05am

re: #392 GeneJockey

Yeah, if it fucking EXPLODES. Not if you FIRE IT in a gun.

Rumor has it the same group hunts groundhogs using Claymore mines.
;P

“There’s one in the wire! Trip a flare and hit the switch!”

397 lawhawk  Apr 4, 2014 10:30:34am

re: #386 GeneJockey

Jesus Christ! That guy’s a Sontaran!

Ha!

398 GeneJockey  Apr 4, 2014 10:30:52am

re: #396 Feline Fearless Leader

Rumor has it the same group hunts groundhogs using Claymore mines.
;P

“Cinderella story…guy came outta nowhere…”

400 GunstarGreen  Apr 4, 2014 10:32:56am

re: #373 Feline Fearless Leader

newsok.com

Uh, no. They are still generally going in the direction you pointed the barrel. You’re just damned lucky you didn’t shoot someone’s eye out (kid).

“Responsible Gun Owner” in action.

Well, I mean shucks, sometimes the laws of physics just decide that they don’t work, gosh dern, and one of them thar BBs from yer 12-gauge just decides to go all wibbeldy-wobbledy into your buddy’s face. No way to prevent it! Ah’m the veruh pic’cha o’ safety, with a cap-ee-tohl Tee!

The only thing that stops a Responsible Gun Owner with a gun, is an Even MOAR Responsible Gun Owner with MOAR GUNZ!!1!11!!11

401 Kragar  Apr 4, 2014 10:33:19am
402 FemNaziBitch  Apr 4, 2014 10:33:26am

watch it again:
Youtube Video

403 iossarian  Apr 4, 2014 10:33:49am

re: #401 Kragar

Unpossible!

404 GeneJockey  Apr 4, 2014 10:35:04am

re: #401 Kragar

[Embedded content]

“The problem with quotes on the internet is they’re often spurious.” - Abraham Lincoln

405 William Barnett-Lewis  Apr 4, 2014 10:36:23am

re: #382 Dr. Matt

cnn.com: Soldiers killed in Fort Hood shooting ID’d as Sgt. Danny Ferguson, Sgt. Carlos Lazaney and Sgt. Timothy Owens.

NCO hunting? Or they were protecting their troops? Or both?

406 Kragar  Apr 4, 2014 10:37:10am

I’m willing to risk it.

408 Eventual Carrion  Apr 4, 2014 10:38:32am

re: #272 Pie-onist Overlord

[Embedded content]

Wow, where was Squeaky during the Bush the Lesser years.

409 Feline Fearless Leader  Apr 4, 2014 10:39:28am

re: #398 GeneJockey

“Cinderella story…guy came outta nowhere…”

That, or the pheasant hunting scene from “The Magic Christian”.

410 GeneJockey  Apr 4, 2014 10:39:47am

re: #406 Kragar

[Embedded content]

I’m willing to risk it.

So, the guys piling up riches on Earth, often at the expense of others - they’re okay in God’s eyes.

But those folks who point out that there are guys piling up riches on Earth at the expense of others - they’re baaad?

411 GunstarGreen  Apr 4, 2014 10:40:24am

re: #406 Kragar

[Embedded content]

I’m willing to risk it.

If this is supposed to be “God’s Wrath”, he must be a pretty weak-ass god. I bet he gets picked last for celestial dodgeball.

412 Kragar  Apr 4, 2014 10:40:52am

re: #410 GeneJockey

So, the guys piling up riches on Earth, often at the expense of others - they’re okay in God’s eyes.

But those folks who point out that there are guys piling up riches on Earth at the expense of others - they’re baaad?

“When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why they are poor, they call me a communist.”

413 Justanotherhuman  Apr 4, 2014 10:40:59am

Why didn’t they have this kind of skills transfer to a better job when we women were coming up in the world?

Texas A&M’s vice president of student affairs to be new executive director of Texas Department of Transportation - @statesman
read more on statesman.com

414 Kragar  Apr 4, 2014 10:41:36am

re: #411 GunstarGreen

If this is supposed to be “God’s Wrath”, he must be a pretty weak-ass god. I bet he gets picked last for celestial dodgeball.

The Evangelical God is a whiny little bitch who throws temper tantrums.

415 Pie-onist Overlord  Apr 4, 2014 10:42:00am

re: #406 Kragar

[Embedded content]

I’m willing to risk it.

Wait, there a different Jesus than the one who said that thing about camels and needle?

i HAZ A CONFUSE.

416 GeneJockey  Apr 4, 2014 10:43:15am

re: #414 Kragar

The Evangelical God is a whiny little bitch who throws temper tantrums.

At the things He Himself created and controls.

417 calochortus  Apr 4, 2014 10:44:07am

BBL

418 Bulworth  Apr 4, 2014 10:44:14am

re: #415 Pie-onist Overlord

Those are just the Gospels, and they don’t matter. /

419 Pie-onist Overlord  Apr 4, 2014 10:44:33am

[tweet deleted]

420 GeneJockey  Apr 4, 2014 10:47:01am

re: #418 Bulworth

Those are just the Gospels, and they don’t matter. /

Right. The only parts that matter are the OT, especially Genesis and Leviticus (but only parts of the latter), and the notes SPaul scribbled about gay marriage.

421 Dark_Falcon  Apr 4, 2014 10:50:31am

re: #407 FemNaziBitch

Revealed: Rahm Emanuel cuts public pensions, diverts money to benefit campaign donors

GGT, that piece is by David Sirota, a dudebro who’s in tight with Glenn Greenwald. Sirota hates Barack Obama and would gladly publish a story damning Rahm Emanuel in order to attack someone close to the president.

Given that obvious motivation and Sirota’s past problems with the truth, I consider that article unreliable unless corroborated by a trustworthy source.

422 Pie-onist Overlord  Apr 4, 2014 10:51:13am

[tweet deleted again]

423 Bulworth  Apr 4, 2014 10:52:03am

re: #420 GeneJockey

And only a couple of verses in Levicitus. The other verses in Leviticus are the Old Testament. //

424 Justanotherhuman  Apr 4, 2014 10:52:34am

re: #413 Justanotherhuman

Why didn’t they have this kind of skills transfer to a better job when we women were coming up in the world?

Texas A&M’s vice president of student affairs to be new executive director of Texas Department of Transportation - @statesman
read more on statesman.com

ETA: The above link is a dead-end. Real story is here.

kbtx.com

425 RealityBasedSteve  Apr 4, 2014 10:52:54am

re: #167 Varek Raith

Nope.
But it has the same effect.

Dear MS,
DESKTOPS ARE NOT TABLETS.

AND PHONES ARE NOT DESKTOPS!!!! (Looking at you old Windows CE)

RBS

426 lawhawk  Apr 4, 2014 10:54:12am

re: #411 GunstarGreen

If this is supposed to be “God’s Wrath”, he must be a pretty weak-ass god. I bet he gets picked last for celestial dodgeball.

Puny god. /Hulk

Youtube Video

427 Brother Holy Cruise Missile of Mild Acceptance  Apr 4, 2014 10:54:27am

re: #399 FemNaziBitch

I am so tempted to get HBO, we just finished the first 3 seasons via netflix and I am completely addicted to the show. I saw a lot of parallels in some of it to how things actually went down in medieval times and I love it.

428 Dr Lizardo  Apr 4, 2014 10:54:40am

re: #410 GeneJockey

So, the guys piling up riches on Earth, often at the expense of others - they’re okay in God’s eyes.

But those folks who point out that there are guys piling up riches on Earth at the expense of others - they’re baaad?

Isn’t that pretty much what Jesus said?

“Yea, I say unto you, the rich man has earned the pleasure of the LORD, whilst the beggar and the leper are clearly going straight to Hell. The poor are losers, while it is the wealthy that shall reap the bounty of the Hereafter; that is the word of God.”

- The Book of Wingnuts, 16:22

*headdesk*

429 Feline Fearless Leader  Apr 4, 2014 10:57:26am

re: #427 Brother Holy Cruise Missile of Mild Acceptance

I am so tempted to get HBO, we just finished the first 3 seasons via netflix and I am completely addicted to the show. I saw a lot of parallels in some of it to how things actually went down in medieval times and I love it.

When I read GoT I remarked to friends that it was one of the first times I saw a fantasy author get the dynastic middle ages mindset right. That it was following the rough path of the War of the Roses didn’t bother me since there is nothing wrong about building fictional stories around historical events.

430 Dark_Falcon  Apr 4, 2014 10:58:26am

BBL

431 GeneJockey  Apr 4, 2014 10:59:10am

re: #428 Dr Lizardo

Isn’t that pretty much what Jesus said?

- The Book of Wingnuts, 16:22

*headdesk*

But seriously, what it boils down to is an almost medieval attempt to use Christianity for social control of the downtrodden. In the Medieval era, the serfs were told that they had riches in Heaven to look forward to after their ‘nasty, brutish, and short’ lives, and that the social order was ordained by God.

Now, the TP are saying that questioning the social order puts your immortal soul at risk.

Isn’t it funny how the Bible always seems to support the current social order, even though JC himself was more of a disrupter of it?

432 Brother Holy Cruise Missile of Mild Acceptance  Apr 4, 2014 11:00:39am

re: #429 Feline Fearless Leader

When I read GoT I remarked to friends that it was one of the first times I saw a fantasy author get the dynastic middle ages mindset right. That it was following the rough path of the War of the Roses didn’t bother me since there is nothing wrong about building fictional stories around historical events.

to me, if it sparks an interest in actual history it’s a win/win. I haven’t read the books (probably should) but I love the show. There’s been so many times where I watched and was like “That’s fucked up” and you wind up rooting for some of those that initially were somewhat villainous.

The wedding feast was a total WTF moment. Then again people who’ve read the books tell me that i should get used to seeing characters I like killed off.

I will say I have a mental list of who all needs killing on that show and hopefully they will get what’s coming to them.

433 FemNaziBitch  Apr 4, 2014 11:00:52am

re: #421 Dark_Falcon

GGT, that piece is by David Sirota, a dudebro who’s in tight with Glenn Greenwald. Sirota hates Barack Obama and would gladly publish a story damning Rahm Emanuel in order to attack someone close to the president.

Given that obvious motivation and Sirota’s past problems with the truth, I consider that article unreliable unless corroborated by a trustworthy source.

Good to know.

434 FemNaziBitch  Apr 4, 2014 11:01:33am

re: #427 Brother Holy Cruise Missile of Mild Acceptance

I am so tempted to get HBO, we just finished the first 3 seasons via netflix and I am completely addicted to the show. I saw a lot of parallels in some of it to how things actually went down in medieval times and I love it.

It’s certainly as depressing as the medieval history.

435 Targetpractice  Apr 4, 2014 11:01:58am

Yeah, just like Social Security and Medicare will be repealed any day now..

436 FemNaziBitch  Apr 4, 2014 11:02:35am

I’m currently multi-tasking —listening to this hearing.

437 FemNaziBitch  Apr 4, 2014 11:02:57am

re: #435 Targetpractice

Yeah, just like Social Security and Medicare will be repealed any day now..

[Embedded content]

Pandering for votes and money?

438 Brother Holy Cruise Missile of Mild Acceptance  Apr 4, 2014 11:04:31am

re: #434 FemNaziBitch

It’s certainly as depressing as the medieval history.

yeah, it kinda is actually LOL.

439 Targetpractice  Apr 4, 2014 11:05:23am

re: #437 FemNaziBitch

Pandering for votes and money?

Pretty much. I expect to see this sort of rhetoric continue into 2016, as Republicans try to keep the base convinced that repeal is a real possibility, despite millions of people already benefiting from it and millions more set to do so between now and 2017.

440 Brother Holy Cruise Missile of Mild Acceptance  Apr 4, 2014 11:06:16am

I do see the two kids (Bran and the one stark girl who was learning to use a sword) being really important down the line and now that the targarien chick is hooking up with the assassin the girl befriended I have a feeling things are going to get even more interesting (at least I think it’s the same guy).

441 iossarian  Apr 4, 2014 11:06:27am

re: #431 GeneJockey

Isn’t it funny how the Bible always seems to support the current social order, even though JC himself was more of a disrupter of it?

Drive-by: Christianity has also frequently been used to argue against unfair societal arrangements. E.g., liberation theology.

442 Justanotherhuman  Apr 4, 2014 11:07:30am

re: #421 Dark_Falcon

GGT, that piece is by David Sirota, a dudebro who’s in tight with Glenn Greenwald. Sirota hates Barack Obama and would gladly publish a story damning Rahm Emanuel in order to attack someone close to the president.

Given that obvious motivation and Sirota’s past problems with the truth, I consider that article unreliable unless corroborated by a trustworthy source.

The DC “think tank” he’s quoting, BTW, is called “Good Jobs First” but I found their “research” on NC and its subsidies to corporations to be very shallow. I think they’re one of those groups who exist to feed upon themselves.

You can check your own state here: goodjobsfirst.org

goodjobsfirst.org

443 Romantic Heretic  Apr 4, 2014 11:07:42am

re: #399 FemNaziBitch

What does a medieval literature scholar read into ‘Game of Thrones?’

Nice.

Still not going to return to GOT though. Fantasy is an escape for me and GOT rubs my nose in how horrid humans are to one another.

444 Brother Holy Cruise Missile of Mild Acceptance  Apr 4, 2014 11:09:29am

re: #443 Romantic Heretic

Nice.

Still not going to return to GOT though. Fantasy is an escape for me and GOT rubs my nose in how horrid humans are to one another.

I think that’s what I like most about it. It’s a very cruel and biting setting and very much like how things were in Medieval times. It’s cut throat and spares nothing in that regard.

445 Romantic Heretic  Apr 4, 2014 11:11:09am

re: #426 lawhawk

Puny god. /Hulk

[Embedded content]

I don’t think I’ll ever stop laughing at that.

446 Bulworth  Apr 4, 2014 11:11:09am

re: #435 Targetpractice

Newly insured people will greet Ryan and Boehner as liberators.

//

447 Targetpractice  Apr 4, 2014 11:11:40am

re: #446 Bulworth

Newly insured people will greet Ryan and Boehner as liberators.

//

They shall throw roses at their feet.

448 GeneJockey  Apr 4, 2014 11:12:51am

re: #429 Feline Fearless Leader

When I read GoT I remarked to friends that it was one of the first times I saw a fantasy author get the dynastic middle ages mindset right. That it was following the rough path of the War of the Roses didn’t bother me since there is nothing wrong about building fictional stories around historical events.

I’ve long thought Henry VIII got a bad rap. Sure, he wasn’t somebody you’d want your sister to marry, but WRT divorcing Katherine of Aragon and getting rid of Anne Boleyn when they produced only daughters and stillborn sons - he was only king because his father had won after a long, bloody dynastic war, and the probability of a woman being able to hold the throne in those days was generally thought to be very low. Elizabeth I only managed to do it by being exceptionally good at it.

449 Feline Fearless Leader  Apr 4, 2014 11:14:07am

(chong the spider)
Dude! Smell the fumes! We gotta build the web here man!
(/chong the spider)

nbcnews.com

450 Varek Raith  Apr 4, 2014 11:15:07am

re: #449 Feline Fearless Leader

(chong the spider)
Dude! Smell the fumes! We gotta build the web here man!
(/chong the spider)

nbcnews.com

That’s weird as hell.

451 Pie-onist Overlord  Apr 4, 2014 11:15:19am

re: #448 GeneJockey

I’ve long thought Henry VIII got a bad rap. Sure, he wasn’t somebody you’d want your sister to marry, but WRT divorcing Katherine of Aragon and getting rid of Anne Boleyn when they produced only daughters and stillborn sons - he was only king because his father had won after a long, bloody dynastic war, and the probability of a woman being able to hold the throne in those days was generally thought to be very low. Elizabeth I only managed to do it by being exceptionally good at it.

Some time ago I read “The Other Boleyn Girl” and I’m like all WTF at how all these courtiers are literally PIMPING THEIR OWN DAUGHTERS.

I love C. J. Sansome’s Shardlake series, about a lawyer in the Tudor era.

452 Romantic Heretic  Apr 4, 2014 11:15:21am

re: #432 Brother Holy Cruise Missile of Mild Acceptance

to me, if it sparks an interest in actual history it’s a win/win. I haven’t read the books (probably should) but I love the show. There’s been so many times where I watched and was like “That’s fucked up” and you wind up rooting for some of those that initially were somewhat villainous.

The wedding feast was a total WTF moment. Then again people who’ve read the books tell me that i should get used to seeing characters I like killed off.

I will say I have a mental list of who all needs killing on that show and hopefully they will get what’s coming to them.

I made the mistake of wandering through a wiki about GOT. I wanted to see if that sick little prick got what he deserved. Not telling if he did.

Then I started reading up on the other characters. My reaction? “WTF? Jesus Christ! Nonononononono! Martin did what? to her? He’s now doing what, where? I’m done.”

The Walkers are going to win.

453 b.d.  Apr 4, 2014 11:16:24am

Meanwhile over at cnn.com

BREAKING NEWS: THE SEARCH FOR FLIGHT 370

TICK, TOCK, TICK …

What happens when pinger dies?

454 Pie-onist Overlord  Apr 4, 2014 11:16:26am

I could not read more than 50 pages of GOT.

455 Feline Fearless Leader  Apr 4, 2014 11:16:31am

re: #448 GeneJockey

I’ve long thought Henry VIII got a bad rap. Sure, he wasn’t somebody you’d want your sister to marry, but WRT divorcing Katherine of Aragon and getting rid of Anne Boleyn when they produced only daughters and stillborn sons - he was only king because his father had won after a long, bloody dynastic war, and the probability of a woman being able to hold the throne in those days was generally thought to be very low. Elizabeth I only managed to do it by being exceptionally good at it.

And England ended up moving from settling a dynastic war to getting embroiled into religious ones.

456 Feline Fearless Leader  Apr 4, 2014 11:18:38am

re: #451 Pie-onist Overlord

Some time ago I read “The Other Boleyn Girl” and I’m like all WTF at how all these courtiers are literally PIMPING THEIR OWN DAUGHTERS.

I love C. J. Sansome’s Shardlake series, about a lawyer in the Tudor era.

Having influence in court and getting profitable office appointments is how you got ahead in those days. And one way was marrying your daughters into influential families.

457 Kragar  Apr 4, 2014 11:18:50am

re: #454 Pie-onist Overlord

I could not read more than 50 pages of GOT.

I read the first 3 books and lost interest.

And I actually made it thru the entire Wheel of Time series.

458 Pie-onist Overlord  Apr 4, 2014 11:20:04am

re: #456 Feline Fearless Leader

Having influence in court and getting profitable office appointments is how you got ahead in those days. And one way was marrying your daughters into influential families.

And if they couldn’t arrange the marriage, the mistress/concubine slot was the next best thing.

459 Skip Intro  Apr 4, 2014 11:20:45am

re: #406 Kragar

[Embedded content]

I’m willing to risk it.

Enough with the April Fools jokes already.

What? You say it’s not an April Fools joke.

Just damn.

460 GeneJockey  Apr 4, 2014 11:21:36am

re: #452 Romantic Heretic

I made the mistake of wandering through a wiki about GOT. I wanted to see if that sick little prick got what he deserved. Not telling if he did.

Then I started reading up on the other characters. My reaction? “WTF? Jesus Christ! Nonononononono! Martin did what? to her? He’s now doing what, where? I’m done.”

The Walkers are going to win.

That would be almost as bad a killing off The Mother in HIMYM!
////

461 Kragar  Apr 4, 2014 11:21:36am

re: #456 Feline Fearless Leader

Having influence in court and getting profitable office appointments is how you got ahead in those days. And one way was marrying your daughters into influential families.

I’ve been watching both Borgia series on Netflix. I actually prefer the European one, but both are good.

462 Timothy Watson  Apr 4, 2014 11:21:54am

I’m in the process of reading “A Storm of Swords” (the third book) a third time, and I swear, the Red Wedding chapters are still hard to read. When I saw on TV, even knowing what was going to happen, I was nauseated by the end of it.

463 Timothy Watson  Apr 4, 2014 11:22:41am

re: #461 Kragar

I’ve been watching both Borgia series on Netflix. I actually prefer the European one, but both are good.

Borgias? Didn’t Ezio take care of those bastards? (Pardon the Assassin’s Creed reference.)

464 Skip Intro  Apr 4, 2014 11:24:36am

re: #435 Targetpractice

Yeah, just like Social Security and Medicare will be repealed any day now..

[Embedded content]

Ryan won’t be satisfied until he can repeal the ACA and make everyone who enrolled pay a penalty for all the money the 1% spent trying to repeal it.

465 GeneJockey  Apr 4, 2014 11:25:38am

re: #462 Timothy Watson

I’m in the process of reading “A Storm of Swords” (the third book) a third time, and I swear, the Red Wedding chapters are still hard to read. When I saw on TV, even knowing what was going to happen, I was nauseated by the end of it.

Part of what I like about GoT is that Martin seems to go to great lengths to show that virtue and honor don’t triumph against anyone sufficiently brutal. You see Ned Stark giving Cersie a heads up that she should pack her bags and keep her children safe - an honorable gesture - and what does he get for it? Joffrey gives him a heads OFF!!

466 Feline Fearless Leader  Apr 4, 2014 11:33:41am

re: #458 Pie-onist Overlord

And if they couldn’t arrange the marriage, the mistress/concubine slot was the next best thing.

Unfortunately, yes. It was a man’s world at that time and women in noble families were pretty much property to be traded in order to cement alliances and generate children. And if dear old father did not have the influence and/or money for the dowry the daughter was going to end up in that quasi-recognized position or in a nunnery. (And probably eventually in the nunnery anyways.) Plus the challenge of surviving childbirth.

I still do some roleplaying game playing with friends. King Arthur Pendragon is set in the Arthurian mythic period, but essentially it is a middle ages set-up where you are more running a noble family* than a single character. So I have done a bit more background reading on the period plus reading the supporting materials the author of the rules has written. It’s possible to do woman characters in the game, but unless you’re playing one as a female knight the scope of challenges and preferred skill set is quite different.

* - I base that statement on the fact I currently have about 6-8 character sheets. I started with three brothers; one is dead and the other two are in their early 60s and essentially retired from gallivanting about on adventures. So I have sons of these knights in play who vary in age from their mid-20s to early 40s, and another generation already on the way. Daughters have been married off, sometimes to the sons of other player characters. Younger sons have been left acting as stewards or squires, or sent into the priesthood. (Essentially not being played since they won’t inherit and beyond a point younger sons were usually not knighted.)

467 Eventual Carrion  Apr 4, 2014 11:33:45am

re: #406 Kragar

[Embedded content]

I’m willing to risk it.

Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.
- Matthew 19:24

468 FemNaziBitch  Apr 4, 2014 11:34:27am
469 GunstarGreen  Apr 4, 2014 11:35:12am

re: #462 Timothy Watson

I’m in the process of reading “A Storm of Swords” (the third book) a third time, and I swear, the Red Wedding chapters are still hard to read. When I saw on TV, even knowing what was going to happen, I was nauseated by the end of it.

Eh, it was no Eclipse.

Nothing will ever be as soul-shatteringly horrifying as the Eclipse Good times!

470 FemNaziBitch  Apr 4, 2014 11:36:18am

re: #451 Pie-onist Overlord

Some time ago I read “The Other Boleyn Girl” and I’m like all WTF at how all these courtiers are literally PIMPING THEIR OWN DAUGHTERS.

I love C. J. Sansome’s Shardlake series, about a lawyer in the Tudor era.

The very Rich and Powerful and the very poor and not powerful still do it.

471 William Barnett-Lewis  Apr 4, 2014 11:36:40am

re: #457 Kragar

I read the first 3 books and lost interest.

And I actually made it thru the entire Wheel of Time series.

I got halfway through GoT & never even bothered trying Wheel of Time. Best series I’ve read recently was The Fionavar Trilogy by Guy Gavriel Kay though he has his own … quirks.

472 FemNaziBitch  Apr 4, 2014 11:37:11am

re: #458 Pie-onist Overlord

And if they couldn’t arrange the marriage, the mistress/concubine slot was the next best thing.

Or you could win favor in heaven by sending her to the convent.

473 Timothy Watson  Apr 4, 2014 11:37:50am

re: #469 GunstarGreen

Eclipse?

474 Brother Holy Cruise Missile of Mild Acceptance  Apr 4, 2014 11:38:49am

re: #457 Kragar

I read the first 3 books and lost interest.

And I actually made it thru the entire Wheel of Time series.

You made it through the whole Wheel of Time series? Wow. I couldn’t make it past the 7th book.

475 GunstarGreen  Apr 4, 2014 11:43:19am

re: #473 Timothy Watson

Eclipse?

There is a manga (and a so-so ‘only covered the easy-to-cover part’ anime, and more recently better movies with odd animation style choices) called Berserk.

It is the tale of a man named Guts who fights horrible monsters and is pretty much a complete sociopath, and his traveling companions. Among them a mute and child-like woman named Casca.

Guts used to be a pretty upstanding guy, and Casca was a no-nonsense hardass of a mercenary knight. The Eclipse is how they got to where they are when the story opens, and after a couple of establishing chapters the story goes back in time to their mercenary company days to explain everything that led up to the Eclipse and then goes into brutal detail about what actually happened there. Pretty stomach-turning stuff, though it’s an excellent story.

476 Eventual Carrion  Apr 4, 2014 11:46:21am

re: #457 Kragar

I read the first 3 books and lost interest.

And I actually made it thru the entire Wheel of Time series.

I think I have 2 more to go in that series.

477 FemNaziBitch  Apr 4, 2014 11:54:17am

re: #443 Romantic Heretic

Nice.

Still not going to return to GOT though. Fantasy is an escape for me and GOT rubs my nose in how horrid humans are to one another.

I like the direwolves and the dragons.

478 Kragar  Apr 4, 2014 11:55:22am

re: #477 FemNaziBitch

I like the direwolves and the dragons.

Needs more bolters and chainswords.

479 GunstarGreen  Apr 4, 2014 11:58:03am

re: #478 Kragar

Needs more bolters and chainswords.

You can keep your carrion lord. I’ll be over here, with my Greater Good and plenty of RAILGUNZ!!1!!1!!1

480 Kragar  Apr 4, 2014 12:02:16pm

re: #479 GunstarGreen

You can keep your carrion lord. I’ll be over here, with my Greater Good and plenty of RAILGUNZ!!1!!1!!1

Its all fun and games till my Thunderwolf Cavalry outflanks you.

481 GunstarGreen  Apr 4, 2014 12:19:45pm

re: #480 Kragar

Its all fun and games till my Thunderwolf Cavalry outflanks you.

[Embedded image]

How do you outflank that which strikes from across the map and plays by Skimmer rules?

482 EPR-radar  Apr 4, 2014 12:38:26pm

re: #452 Romantic Heretic

I made the mistake of wandering through a wiki about GOT. I wanted to see if that sick little prick got what he deserved. Not telling if he did.

Then I started reading up on the other characters. My reaction? “WTF? Jesus Christ! Nonononononono! Martin did what? to her? He’s now doing what, where? I’m done.”

The Walkers are going to win.

I think George Martin’s master plan is to have readers rooting for the Walkers before they win.


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