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Psyche's Links: 2015 : 11,742 Links

123115

Freak storm pushes North Pole 50 degrees above normal to melting point - The Washington Post

Video: New Year fireworks: Dubai welcomes in 2016
Address Hotel in Dubai is completely engulfed in flames right now. : videos

Who Has Your Back? Government Data Requests 2015 | Electronic Frontier Foundation
- TIL Amazon, Google, Twitter, Snapchat, WhatsApp, Comcast and more don't tell their users when governments demand access to their private data
Microsoft failed to warn victims of Chinese email hack: former employees | Reuters - allowing the hackers to continue their campaign
The New WSJ Report on the NSA Has Some WTF For Everyone

How the battle against the Islamic State is redrawing the map of the Middle East - The Washington Post
- IS And Women. Part 2: Sexual Slavery And Rape of "Non-Believers")

Six more held over alleged New Year's Eve attack plot in Brussels | World news | The Guardian - Suspects detained after police raids in and around Belgian capital, bringing total number of people being held to eight

Response to Paris Attacks Points to Weaknesses in French Police Structure - The New York Times

Connecting the Dots Between Iran-Contra and Peyton Manning (Seriously)

Adventures in plutocracy - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Thanks to the No Billionaire Left Behind Act and other assorted legislative reforms passed under the wise reign of Bush the Younger, by 2012 this figure had fallen to 16.7%.
America's self-destructive whites (lemmings following Reagan off a cliff)
Obama's skin looks a little different in these GOP campaign ads - A new study shows that negative ads targeting President Obama in 2008 depicted him with very dark skin, and that these images would have appealed to some viewers' racial biases.

2015 Golden Duke Awards Winners Announced! (Republican superstars)

Marco Rubio's Miami Vice Problem - brother-in-law. Orlando Cicilia was a major drug trafficker at a time and in a place that has gone down in history in movies like Scarface and television programs like Miami Vice for being notoriously violent and destructive.
Two Top Carson Aides Resign From Campaign Over Internal Clashes (ponzi implodes)
As Campaign Crumbles, Christie Hit with Epic BridgeGate Docu Dump (Big Chicken runnin' out of gas)

Kentucky's New GOP Governor Kicks Off Obamacare Shake-Up - But Gov. Matt Bevin gave few details on how he plans to reshape the state's expanded Medicaid program. (Tea Party rules) ("So basically Kentuckians have given up health care so they can ban gay marriage. Well I guess that's sticking to your principles")

Hullabaloo - The Washington Post just dissed the single largest faction in the Democratic Party - Progressives are the single largest faction of the Democratic Party, roughly mirroring the Republican party's evangelical support. And yet, the Washington Post is firing the one columnist on their staff who writes about the issues that are energizing these millions of mainstream Americans. (Bezotic)
- Today in Fred Hiatt's Rag -- Fred Hiatt, who has no problem hiring 312 conservatives who all say the same thing, has fired Harold Meyerson, one of the paper's only liberal voices. Why? Hiatt told him he wrote too much on labor. (in case you had any doubt)
'The Washington Post' Fired Lefty Columnist Harold Meyerson | Peter Dreier

Ties that bind: how the bond between police and prosecutors impedes justice | US news | The Guardian - The fate of police officers who kill often rests in the hands of the prosecutors they typically work alongside. Amid calls for reform led by the White House, a Guardian analysis reveals district attorneys cleared colleagues in more than 200 cases this year

A Crisis of Confidence by Nancy LeTourneau | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - Making a Murderer
The big problem with Texas's newest gun law | Fusion (meanwhile, in the laboroties of democracy and Supreme Court psychosis)

This Family Drives 350 Miles For What Could Be A Common Addiction Treatment - The Huffington Post - To Beat Opiate Addiction, A Mother And Son Must Drive Across Three States For A Hard-To-Get Medication (as planned)


- Daily News Front Page He said-She-said-said-said-said-said
Bill Cosby: criminal case opens door for dozens of women to testify in court | World news | The Guardian - More than 50 women for whom the statute of limitations for sexual assault has expired could now be called by the prosecution to testify about their allegations
The New York Daily News Bill Cosby Cover Doesn't Pull Any Punches - latest issue follows the first criminal charges filed against Cosby.
- The Bill Cosby sexual abuse claims -- 57 women and the date they went public (Cosby rape timeline)
The Smithsonian's Cosby problem only gets worse




Best Florida Man Headlines 2015 - The Year in Florida Man

Good Artists Copy; Great Artists Steal | Quote Investigator
Asymmetric love, part one: I'm going to tell him how I feel | Life and style | The Guardian

The Devil is starting up a school teaching the seven deadly sins and needs to hire an instructor for each. Which individuals, fictitious or not, have the strongest resumes? : AskReddit
At the entrance of a New Year's party I attended. This is how you keep things running smoothly. : pics
Queen's Freddie Mercury "We Are The Champions" isolated vocal track is absolutely stunning : videos
Sure, our union will sue you so you can attend your own wedding. : labor



123015


Defense Experts Warn of Nuclear Threat's Return to Prominence - It's real and it's back again. (Obama wants cruise-nukes and who the fuck is in charge?)

How ISIS Replaced Ebola as the Great Fear of the Election Cycle - Stupidity has a knack of getting its way; as we should see if we were not always so much wrapped up in ourselves (any panic will do for a nation of panicky Republican bed-wetters +Trump, of course)

Exclusive: Islamic State ruling aims to settle who can have sex with female slaves | Reuters (their version of Supreme Court)


Germans claim Belgian nuclear reactors are "falling to bits" (slightly larger than New Jersey)
- Probe into Brussels lockdown orgy - Police and soldiers said to have engaged in group sex while Belgian capital was in lockdown

U.S. Spy Net on Israel Snares Congress - WSJ - National Security Agency's targeting of Israeli leaders also swept up the content of private conversations with U.S. lawmakers (win-win)
sy
TSA Sued By Miami Activist Over Mandatory Body Scans At Airports | Miami New Times (you are their porn star)

Secret Service Agents Involved In Deadly Car Crash In New Hampshire - four on-duty Secret Service agents have been involved in a head-on collision that killed the driver of the other car.


- Behind the Ronald Reagan myth: "No one had ever entered the White House so grossly ill informed" (until ...)


More Police Officers Facing Charges, but Few See Jail - The New York Times (license to kill and get paid for it)

Bill Cosby Charged In Alleged 2004 Sexual Assault - More than 50 women have accused Cosby of sexual assault or unwanted advances, but these are the first criminal charges filed against him ... charges relate to the alleged drugging and sexual assault of Andrea Constand in 2004.
Arrest Warrant Issued for Bill Cosby : news - The statute of limitations to charge Cosby runs out in January.

3 Big Stories From Al Jazeera's Doping Documentary That Don't Involve Peyton Manning - "The Dark Side" highlights serious questions about sports leagues' testing policies.


Bristol Palin's hateful hypocrisy: She's now a mother of two, but still the biggest child in the family - daughter Sailor Grace (they live in a cartoon)

This person posts book reviews in 100 words or less. : books
Big Bang Theory Producers Sued Over Soft Kitty Song
Animator shares his experience of getting ripped off by big Youtube gaming channels (such as only being paid $50 for a video which took a month to make). Offers words of advice for other channels : videos
Happening now. Should we go tell them? : funny

After A Decade Of Waiting For Verizon, Town Builds Itself Gigabit Fiber For $75 Per Month | Techdirt (coulda been you, Cambridge)
The Cable Industry's Response To A Banner Year For Cord Cutting? Massive Across The Board Price Increases For 2016 | Techdirt

122915

The Terrifying Storm That Will Melt the North Pole This Week - The Atlantic - But later this week, something extraordinary will happen: Air temperatures at the Earth's s most northernly region, in the middle of winter, will rise above freezing for only the second time on record.


Isis jihadi linked to Paris terror attacks killed in US-led airstrikes, says Pentagon

Couple found guilty of 7/7 anniversary London bomb plot | UK news | The Guardian - Mohammed Rehman stockpiled explosives and asked Twitter followers whether to target shopping centre or London Underground

2015: The Year in Charts - The New York Times (missing the one on Republican insanity)
We Are Astonishingly Safe From Terrorism | Mother Jones
Obama The Job-Killer - The New York Times
Obama's 'job-killing agenda' continues to impress | MSNBC
Obama's Economic Performance Is Even Better Than It Looks | Mother Jones (Bush was a real turd)
A Bad Day for Republican Lies by Nancy LeTourneau | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly

For the Wealthiest, a Private Tax System That Saves Them Billions - The New York Times - The very richest are able to quietly shape tax policy that will allow them to shield billions in income.

Ramadi Liberated - Will Cable News or the 2016 Candidates Notice? - Ramadi was liberated today, but will anyone notice? (winning the war on exteme fear by making everyone more scared)

No one will go to jail for shooting and killing Tamir Rice. | New Republic - No one will go to jail for shooting and killing Tamir Rice. That outcome was hardly unexpected, since the office of Cuyahoga County prosecutor Timothy McGinty actively sabotaged its own case with "expert" reports (American justice is very crooked)
Eschaton: Open Carry Of AK-47s For White People, Execution By Cop For Black Kids Carrying Toy Guns
Tamir Rice Shooting and Open Carry Laws - Ohio's Open Carry Law Does Not Apply to Everyone (they just followed "instructions")
The American criminal justice system is guilty of killing Tamir Rice - Salon.com - If, as the prosecutor said, officers followed policy in the killing of Tamir Rice something is horribly wrong (murder is their policy)
16 Numbers That Explain Why Police Reform Became An Even Bigger Story In 2015 - Many people said policing was plagued by serious systemic issues. Now we know just how right they were. (systemically rotten)

Ted Cruz Is Campaigning with the A-Team of Congressional Crazies - King? Gohmert? Brooks? Burgess? The gang's all here (team nuts)
At least 28 people holding BB or pellet guns were killed by police in US in 2015 | US news | The Guardian - The fatalities have prompted some lawmakers to push for tighter regulations on the design of non-lethal guns (but not lethal ones, of course)
Kansas: Couple Whose Tea Was Mistaken For Marijuana Loses Federal Suit Over SWAT Raid : news

Texas Strips Planned Parenthood of HIV Prevention Funding Without Warning : news

Dana Perino Has No Time For Y'All City Folk - In which the former Bush administration spokesperson reveals that she is Of The West ... "though I'd have to shed some of my big-city conveniences and haul my own groceries to my kitchen.

History for the Masses - Lawyers, Guns & Money (beyond A People's History)

Here Are the Rightbloggers' Top Ten Facepalms of 2015 | Village Voice


To Fall in Love With Anyone, Do This - The New York Times

- I was terrified when my mind detached from my body -- this is depersonalization

Rob Kardashian 'diagnosed with diabetes after being rushed to hospital' | Daily Mail Online - According to TMZ, the star has become 'so insecure and depressed about his appearance' that he opted out of the extravagant occasion to avoid being photographed. (when the product is hyper-femininity)


The Most Popular Online Course Teaches You to Learn - The New York Times
Learning How to Learn: Powerful mental tools to help you master tough subjects - University of California, San Diego | Coursera
Learning how to learn | Barbara Oakley | TEDxOaklandUniversity - YouTube
Khan Academy: Rethinking how we learn, David Hu at TEDxUFM - YouTube
The lesson you never got taught in school: How to learn! | Big Think
Why the Widespread Belief in 'Learning Styles' Is Not Just Wrong; It's Also Dangerous | Big Think

Girl films her progress learning the violin every week for two years : videos
What makes water such a good solvent? : askscience
What is a really inappropriate question you have always wanted to ask? (NSFW) : AskReddit
Women of Reddit, what is the female equivalent of being a "Tit man" or an "Ass man?" : AskReddit

Twitter cracks down on harassment with new rules to clarify what is abusive | Daily Mail Online - The new rules say no threats or promoting of violence, including terrorism, and there will be no harassing any other user via the platform No harassment geared towards race, gender, religion or sexual orientation Users can block, mute and report these types of abusive behavior

122815

- James Lovelock: "enjoy life while you can: in 20 years global warming will hit the fan" (so vote Republican)
No end in sight as repair work on California's sinking land costs billions | US news | The Guardian - Central Valley, the most productive US agricultural region, drives need for extensive infrastructure fixes

Refugee crisis creates 'stateless generation' of children in limbo | World news | The Guardian - Babies born to migrants may be ineligible for citizenship in any country because of biased laws and inadequate EU controls

Pentagon Thwarts Obama's Effort To Close Guantanamo - Pentagon officials have been throwing up bureaucratic obstacles. (yet they can invade a country and destabilize a region in a heartbeat)

Eschaton: Maybe Another 28 Friedmans - In private, top Afghan and American officials have begun to voice increasingly grim assessments of the resurgent Taliban threat, (and fail, again and again)
- A year of Taliban gains shows that "we haven't delivered" top Afgan official says (more freedom bombs and defense contracts needed)

Iraq declares Ramadi liberated from Islamic State | World news | The Guardian

North Korea's 'paranoid' computer operating system revealed | World news | The Guardian - Hamburg conference hears that Red Star intranet allows Pyongyang to control citizens' access to websites

Mystery of emergency landings of Qatari royal planes in Switzerland | World news | The Guardian

Israel's armed forces shocked at dismissal of missile defence chief | World news | The Guardian - Israel's armed forces shocked at dismissal of missile defence chief - grave breach of information security


Career opportunities - Lawyers, Guns & Money (education not the whole answer especially when it's super-expensive)
A Look Into the Future American Economy - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Lawyers, Guns & Money - 1) It's hardly surprising that health care is the fastest growing overall work sector, although it's also notable that the single biggest category of job growth is wind turbine technician


This Was One Of The Safest Years Ever For Police, So Let's Put That 'War On Cops' Thing To Rest - This is not what a "war" looks like.
No Indictment For Cop Who Fatally Shot 12-Year-Old Tamir Rice - The decision came more than a year after the boy was killed while playing in a Cleveland park. (cop felt "threatened" shooting "reasonable")
No One Was Indicted In The Tamir Rice Case. That Was The Plan All Along. - The prosecutor made it abundantly clear he wanted the two cops to walk.

Here's How Many People Fatally Overdosed On Marijuana Last Year (0 vs 25K for opiates but ban the devil's lettuce)


Irish DNA originated in Middle East and eastern Europe | Science | The Guardian - Genome analysis shows mass migration of Stone Age farmers from Fertile Crescent and Bronze Age settlers from eastern Europe was foundation of Celtic population

Gene Editing Tool Hailed As A Breakthrough, And It Really Is One : Shots - Health News : NPR - , CRISPR-Cas9 allows scientists to make specific changes to specific genes in living cells.


122715

Paris climate talks: George W. Bush merits some credit for upcoming climate change talks - POLITICO - The U.S. president who doubted global warming science merits a spot in the history books for the upcoming Paris climate accord. (we create our own history)


Theresa May wants to see your internet history, so the independent thought it was only fair to ask for hers | UK Politics | News : worldnews (but she said that would be "vexatious")

China Kicks French Journalist Out Of The Country Over Terrorism Coverage - China said Saturday that it will not renew press credentials for a French journalist, effectively expelling her following a harsh media campaign against her for questioning the official line equating ethnic violence in China's western Muslim region with global terrorism.




Political Dark Money Just Got Darker - The New York Times - Citizens United decision that legitimized the new spending frenzy (they had a "rosy" outlook)

Brent Budowsky: Hillary beats the bully | TheHill - If Jeb Bush were as tough as Hillary Clinton in dealing with Donald Trump the bully, the Bush campaign would not be on the verge of extinction.

You Draw It: How Family Income Predicts Children's College Chances

Pornographic email scandal roils Pennsylvania politics - The Washington Post (white guys hating everyone else)

U.S. Predicts Zero Job Growth For Electrical Engineers: "IEEE-USA said government estimate is probably accurate" : technology - Companies need to focus their energies on investing in their American workers and in America, not lobbying Congress for access to inexpensive foreign workers

NYPD Officer Arrested for Allegedly Framing Man in 2014 Altercation Captured on Surveillance Cameras | NBC New York
Cops Seized Over $107,000 From Couple, Didn't Charge Them With a Crime (cops stole more money than burglers)

Frontier of Physics: Interactive Map | Quanta Magazine
Algorithm Solves Graph Isomorphism in Record Time | Quanta Magazine
Livetweet of Babai's first Graph Isomorphism talk (with images) 7 ptwiddle 7 Storify
Why we can't get our obesity crisis under control -- In the United States, we consistently stop short of using our most powerful policy instruments: taxes and regulations. (that would impinge on corporate freedom to kill you)
Deep Into the Darkness On Pluto | Greg O'Brien
BetterExplained | Friendly lessons for lasting insight.


Playback.fm | #1 Song On Your Birthday
PolyRhythm

XiuathoTheWizard comments on Project Management seems a lot like cooking a banquet.
What's the female equivalent of a fedora? : AskReddit
The scene that made Clint Eastwood the legend he is today. An all time favorite. : videos (Trump is an Eastwood wanna-be)
Where's the most outlandish place you've had sex or masterbated? [nsfw] : AskReddit
What was that one post you made that surprised you with how much hate you got back? : AskReddit

Ex-suicidal people of reddit, what saved you? And what keeps you going now? : AskReddit

122615


The Year in Pictures 2015 - The New York Times

TIL 13 of the 20 most polluted cities in world are just in India. : todayilearned


The man who exposed the lie of the war on drugs | Books | The Guardian - Roberto Saviano already lives under armed guard after writing about the Neapolitan mafia. Now he is determined to uncover capitalism's complicity with the narco-lords of South America
The man who exposed the lie of the war on drugs - Roberto Saviano already lives under armed guard after writing about the Neapolitan mafia. Now he is determined to uncover capitalism's complicity with the narco-lords of South America.

U.S. Foreign Arms Deals Increased Nearly $10 Billion in 2014 - The New York Times - $36.2 billion in 2014 from $26.7 billion the year before, bolstered by multibillion-dollar agreements with Qatar, Saudi Arabia and South Korea. Those deals and others ensured that the United States remained the single largest provider of arms around the world last year, controlling just over 50 percent of the market. (manufacturing and profiting from death)


As Oil Money Melts, Alaska Mulls First Income Tax in 35 Years - The New York Times (oil moochers)

The Sanders campaign is taking its fight with the DNC to the next level (it has Dirty Debbie's fingerprints on it)

Anti-Muslim group wants Muslim sheriff's deputy fired

Republicans prefer politicians with deep voices | EurekAlert! Science News (and big dicks)
Centaurs as a hazard to civilization


[Serious] What was your first same-sex experience like, if you've had one? : AskReddit
Girl on my facebook was all excited about her GPA. What the hell kind of classes are these? : funny - Stuffin, Sally Alley Muffin
Funniest post I've ever read on Reddit about a guy who discovers prostate stimulation. : bestof
Guts | The Cult
[Serious]What's your in-laws from Hell story? : AskReddit
What is something that you USED to be obsessed about? : AskReddit

122515

Chinese farmers have overused pesticides since the early 2000s, and now its devastating crops, study says : science

What Jesus, Mary And Joseph Have In Common With Syrian Refugees - The original Christmas story has echoes of the journey thousands face today.

Behold: How the US blew $17 billion in Afghanistan | Public Radio International (could have just dropped the fucking money on their heads and had much better results)

The Black Chamber | The Economist - The man who made Edward Snowden inevitable

The Implications of Russia's Mafia State

Taliban Chief Rebuked by Religious Leaders in Sign of Turmoil - The New York Times


This Christmas, Tune It All Out | Rolling Stone - Americans are just about the safest people in the world, but we're more frightened than ever

Eschaton: Heckuva Job - Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump - Does everyone see that the Democrats and President Obama are now, because of me, starting to deport people who are here illegally. Politics! (Do the Dems have a brain? Why is Obama doing this?)
Tracking Obama's deportation numbers - Border patrol agents no longer just patrol the border; they scour the country for illegals to eject. The deportation machine costs more than all other areas of federal criminal law-enforcement combined (biggest Deporter-in-Chief by far (for what?)
Eschaton: Life - Most people in the US can't imagine themselves in that situation. For various reasons, I can. Deporting people who have been here awhile is a horrible, mean, punitive, pointless thing to do.

Went to a Donald Trump speech on acid SUPER BAD VIBES : Psychonaut

<em>Scientific American's</em> Top 10 Science Stories of 2015 - Scientific American
How Atlanta Hawks forward Thabo Sefolosha became a civil rights symbol - On an April night in New York City, the Hawks forward was injured and arrested by the NYPD. This is the exclusive story of how, in the aftermath, he became what he never wanted to be: a civil rights symbol.



Minneapolis councilwoman publishes personal info of people criticizing BLM protests : news(a real piece of work)

I built /u/ZachSka87's idea: a website that shows random verses from both Islam and Christianity and asks the user to choose whether the Bible or Quran said it. : Lightbulb

Is String Theory Science? - Scientific American - A debate between physicists and philosophers could redefine the scientific method and our understanding of the universe
Does Modern Physics Count as Science? - The Atlantic


Ban his books, Alexie says, and he sells even more | Idaho Statesman - That's "how it is supposed to be done," he said. "But what happens is a handful of parents that are angry are trying to determine what an entire school or an entire community gets to read. They are interested in controlling people's thought processes." (anti-education stormtroopers)
Parents call cops on teen for giving away banned book; it backfires predictably : books (and then it went viral)

Ellen Pao talks about her departure from Reddit. Please don't downvote because you hate her - have a read, and see what you think. : Foodforthought

Christmas dinner is ruined : funny

122415

How Close Are We to 'Dangerous' Planetary Warming? | Michael E. Mann (very, see Republicans)
Christmas Eve 1955 Was Much Warmer | Real Science
Storm pours 4.3 billion gallons into Lake Tahoe
Killer Tornadoes Sweep Across The South - The storms killed at least seven people and left several others missing.

Heavily redacted Benghazi emails released on Christmas Eve | TheHill

Internet Freedom Is Actively Dissolving in America | Motherboard - Broadband access is declining, data caps are becoming commonplace, surveillance is increasing, and encryption is under attack.

- Israeli PM condemns video of Jewish extremists celebrating toddler's death
Shin Bet: Jewish extremists seek to overthrow Israel's gov't and crown a king - Israel News - Jerusalem Post

Farsnews - Russia Asks Erdogan to Keep Promise of Resignation

Syrian crisis: Pakistan against any attempt to topple Bashar al-Assad - Pakistan - DAWN.COM
U.S. Pursued Secret Contacts With Assad Regime for Years - WSJ - Effort to limit violence and get president to relinquish power failed

Brazil declares emergency after 2,400 babies are born with brain damage, possibly due to mosquito-borne virus - The Washington Post

Grace Mugabe has taken over Zimbabwe, opposition leader claims | World news | The Guardian

U.S. plans raids to deport families who surged across border - The Washington Post

Rove: Obama Should React to Terrorism Like Bush -- NYMag (he did create his own reality)

How Our Corrupt Campaign Finance System Enabled Trump -- And Kneecapped His Rivals - While the rest of the field hopelessly chases megadonors and their unlimited dark money, Trump is having the last laugh.
Trump, Obama and the Assault on Political Correctness - The New York Times
Trump and the media, made for each other - Trump on Putin Killing Journalists - "That's the way it is!" (Joebro and Meat Puppet)

The quiet impact of Obama's Christian faith

Sorry, Conservatives, Obamacare Is Still Working -- NYMag (Ross Douthat has a very hard time with statistics and reality in general)


Kentucky's New Governor Strips Voting Rights For Felons And Lowers Minimum Wage In Sweeping Reforms - 140,000 former felons, he also reduced the minimum wage for some state employees from $10.10 per hour back to $7.25 (fuck yourselves, KY)

Talks break down between Wheaton College, suspended professor - Chicago Tribune - suspended for saying Muslims and Christians worship the same God (Christianity not an Abrhamic rellgion)

Mystery surrounds writer's name | Las Vegas Review-Journal (the sleeze deepens)

OVER THE LINE: Police shootings in Georgia - Nearly half the 184 Georgians shot and killed by police since 2010 were unarmed or shot in the back
Audio Of Laquan McDonald Shooting Released - Police radio recordings reveal officers repeatedly requested Taser backup.
Convicted of rape based on a dream, man relishes freedom after 28 years | US news | The Guardian

Americans are drinking themselves to death at record rates - Chicago Tribune - at a rate not seen in at least 35 years

Bank of America gets Twitter to delete journalist's joke, says he violated copyright

Feds seize over $1 million in cash hidden by disgraced Massachusetts politician | masslive.com - The money was seized this week by federal authorities as part of their investigation into John George Jr., the disgraced former state representative and selectman from Dartmouth

GUYS: What is the most awkward thing a girl has ever said to you? : AskReddit
GIRLS: What is the most awkward thing a guy has ever said to you? : AskReddit
Brain scans from nearly 200 adolescent boys provide evidence that the brains of compulsive video game players are wired differently. : news
Hawk brought down a drone : pics
Adventures in Twitter Censorship

122315

9 Maps That Show How Completely Bizarre Your Christmas Eve Weather Will Be
California's drought plus El Niqo increase the threat of a muddy disaster - LA Times

U.S.-Backed Iraqi Forces Launch Offensive to Retake Ramadi From Islamic State - The Atlantic - Iraqi government forces, backed by U.S. air strikes, have launched a ground offensive against the Islamic State in the Iraqi city ... U.S. intelligence estimates that only about 250 to 350 Islamic State fighters remain in Ramadi (against 10,000 Iraqi/coalition and US Air Force)

The Melting Away of North Atlantic Social Democracy - By J. Bradford DeLong (as we return to the Gilded Age of hereditary aristocracy)


In blockbuster poll, Sanders destroys Trump by 13 points | TheHill (and Hillary by 6, takes back House and Senate)

How Jeb Bush Enlisted in Florida's War on Black Voters | Mother Jones (no vote for you, ex-con)

America Is Becoming More Liberal - The Atlantic

Republicans are caught in a brutal demographic trap. But they can still win in 2016. - The Washington Post - To win, the report concludes, Democrats need to replicate something close to 2008 and 2012 levels of enthusiasm among the core Democratic voter groups that powered Barack Obama's two victories (the hopey/changey bank is empty)

The Republican Establishment Thinks Ted Cruz Can Save Them From Trump. There's One Big Problem. - return to the gold standard (which wacko neofascist do the elites support?)

Judge rules sexual orientation discrimination falls under purview of landmark Title IX law - LA Times

Kentucky bows to clerk Kim Davis and changes marriage license rules - LA Times - It's a great Christmas present for Kim Davis and for others like her" ("religious exceptions" to doing your fucking job)

Cafeteria Worker Fired After Giving Free Meal To Student Who Couldn't Pay (offered to pay the $1.70 herself, but no ... "Only in America does someone get fired for feeding a hungry poor child" +Idaho pro-lifers)

Texas Drops Planned Parenthood From HIV Prevention Program | The Texas Tribune

When Probable Cause Looks More Like 'Meh, Maybe?' Cause - A new ruling means tea leaves in the trash can be grounds for a drug raid. ("we don't need no steenking reasons)

- In the end, 2015 saw no "war on cops" andno "national crime wave"

The Typical American Lives Only 18 Miles From Mom - The New York Times (most of them in her basement)

An Unbelievable Story of Rape - ProPublica

FitzGibbon Media and the problem of sexual harassment in the progressive movement - Vox

A Christmas carol for the new gilded age - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Recently New York University, the real estate investment consortium disguised as the nation's most expensive undergraduate school, has been getting some bad publicity, for engaging in orgies of spending while some of its students are forced to turn to prostitution to make those pesky tuition and rent payments.

What if Sheldon Adelson buys your newspaper? Write about him, then leave | US news | The Guardian (mic drop +Adelson is a real slimeball)

Customers at McDonald's versus Chipotle - Business Insider - The niche interests of McDonald's customers' include watching movies at home, sleeping, and "sitting around doing as little as possible." Their typical professions involve the wholesale and retail industries, law, and consumer goods ... Chipotle customers' niche interests involve New York, dancing, sustainability charities, and going to restaurants and cafes. They tend to keep cats as pets, while McDonald's customers prefer fish.



122215

Higher Levels of Fukushima Cesium Detected Offshore : Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
The weirdest omission of the Democratic debate ("moderators" not interested in climate change; neither are candidates +Raddatz: "can we have a first gentleman? who will chose the flowers?")

More Than 1 Million Migrants And Refugees Enter Europe In 2015: IOM - The symbolic milestone is driven by war, poverty and persecution in the Middle East and Africa. (but mostly American foreign policy)


Calls for David Cameron to step in after US bars British Muslim family from trip | Politics | The Guardian - The prime minister is facing calls to challenge the US over its refusal to allow a British Muslim family to board a flight from Gatwick to Los Angeles, to visit Disneyland. (who's running this crap, anyway?)


Will the Republican Party Survive the 2016 Election? - The Atlantic - The GOP planned a dynastic restoration in 2016. Instead, it triggered an internal class war. Can the party reconcile the demands of its donors with the interests of its rank and file? (Frum, his monsters got away from him))

- How America's dying white supremacist movement is seizing on Donald Trump's appeal - " his support comes from people who are more like me than he might like to admit"

- For 55 officers involved in fatal shootings this year, it wasn't their first time (professional killers)

Grand Jury Decides Not To Indict Anyone For Sandra Bland's Jailhouse Death - The grand jury reached no decision on whether the trooper who arrested Bland should face charges.
First downtown homicides Saturday among 336 counted in Baltimore in 2015 - Baltimore Sun


Arizona GOP taps creationist chemtrail truther to lead Senate education committee - In March, Allen made national news when she derailed a discussion about gun legislation to suggest a law that forces Americans to go to church on Sundays.

Existential Riddles - The New Yorker

ELI5: The taboo of unionization in America : explainlikeimfive

Military Redditors, when you were in boot camp, what was the funniest thing you ever heard one of your Drill Sergeants say? : AskReddit - The rest of you should be lining up to suck his dick so you can remember what pussy tastes like!
Ping Pong Trick Shot : gifs

One of the most well-hidden Easter eggs I've seen in a video game to date (Battlefield 4) : videos
Holy mother of God I found the Sasquatch Peyote. : chiliadmystery

Researchers Report Possibility of Using Unused Human Pancreata to Build New Organs

122115


Safety Risks Contributed to Shenzhen Landslide, Chinese Reports Say - The New York Times - destroyed at least 33 buildings on Sunday was caused by the collapse not of a hillside but of a sodden mountain of dirt and construction debris in an industrial area. At least 91 people were missing

Snowden: Clinton's Call for a 'Manhattan-Like Project' Is Terrifying | Rolling Stone - Clinton's Big Brotherish proposal at Saturday's Democratic debate was both troubling and vague (not to mention stupid)



Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini banned from football for eight years by Fifa | Football | The Guardian


Cuomo Moves to Pardon Former Youthful Offenders - The New York Times - thousands of people who were convicted of nonviolent crimes as teenagers but have since led law-abiding lives. (dick apologizes for being dick)

Iranian Hackers Infiltrated Computers That Control New York Dam - The dam is a 20-foot-tall concrete slab across Blind Brook, about five miles from Long Island Sound ... after American spies damaged an Iranian nuclear facility with the Stuxnet computer worm (be very afraid)

Conservatives swallow this story whole! You won't believe what happens next!!! - Lawyers, Guns & Money : "At which point does society become utterly irrational? Is it the point at which we start segmenting off into alternate realities?" (become? ha-ha)

Today Among Our Benevolent Local Overlords - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Damn federal bureaucrats, trying to bully well-meaning local officials into interfering with the right of their local citizens to choose to drink carcinogenic water! Hopefully Larry Tribe can save us from this federal overreaching.

Silicon Valley's Homeless Population
An introduction to the geography of student debt - Equitable Growth - As median income increases in a zip code, so does the average loan balance, until income reaches approximately $140,000. After that, the relationship becomes flat. (don't take out loans in low-income/jobs areas)
Mapping Student Debt - Map 1: An Introduction - how borrowing for college affects the nation (Republicans have made education a liability)

Video raises questions over Chicago police account of fatal shooting | US news | The Guardian - Police say Cockerham pointed a gun, but moment does not appear in footage
Car Mows Down Pedestrians On Las Vegas Strip, Killing 1 And Injuring Dozens - It was just massacring people





122015

Miami is Flooding - The New Yorker - As temperatures climb, so, too, will sea levels. (tie Scott and Rubio to Miami Beach)
Eschaton: Acqua Alta - interesting that the regular flooding of Miami doesn't get covered. It doesn't take a storm. It just happens.

Debate Upshot: Democrats Are the Only Responsible Party by David Atkins | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - The GOP wants to drop more bombs on anything that moves in the middle east, cut taxes on every corporation and rich person it can, and make life miserable for almost anyone who isn't older, wealthy, white, straight and male.

Sanders outshone Clinton on foreign policy at the debate. But who watched? | Lucia Graves | Opinion | The Guardian - The senator from Vermont managed to draw clear distinctions with the Democratic frontrunner. It still might not be enough when the voting starts
Fact-Checking The Third Democratic Debate - The Saturday night showdown featured misleading claims on guns, the minimum wage and Wall Street.

Eschaton: Don't Blame the Voters - . This all came from an internet pie fight lens view of politics, where a few anguished Daily Kos Diarists somehow represented a giant movement of Leftists Against Obama who took their balls and went home and that's how we got Speaker Boehner. (great rant)

Your lies shall be revealed, anon. - Lawyers, Guns & Money (Loomis thinks CPP is "petulant")
Eschaton: That's Their Power - Journalists have, in the past, informed me that the ability to out sources who lie to them is their superpower that prevents sources from lying to them. Take that away, and you presumably get more lying sources.

When did state know kids in Flint were lead poisoned? - assertions that everything was fine. And all that time, data that would have shown what was happening was ignored. (they knew they were destroying kids' brains)

FBI snooped on singer Pete Seeger for 20 years | Music | The Guardian - Bureau amassed huge file from 1943 on writer of classic songs (your spy state has been around a long time)


Mast Brothers: taste-testing $10 chocolate bars as controversy boils over | Life and style | The Guardian - The Brooklyn company has been accused of melting down another company's chocolate

Welcome to Provincetown. Winter Population: Dwindling. - The New York Times



121915

- Obama: GOP is the "only major party in advanced world" to deny climate change (Party of Stupidity, Death and Destruction)
Eco-Authoritarian Catastrophism: The Dismal and Deluded Vision of Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway | GeoCurrents - Martin W. Lewis ... (inveighs against) doomsayers who think we must forsake democracy and throttle our freedoms if we are to avoid a planetary catastophe (what are you talking about?)

Media Has Symbiotic Ties with ISIS? Ignoring Other Terrorist Groups | Dr. Majid Rafizadeh (Iran is a big player)

South China Sea: US bomber angers Beijing with Spratly islands flypast | World news | The Guardian - US Navy says its B-52 plane had no intention of flying so close to the Chinese-claimed Spratly archipelago in the South China Sea (just a little miscalculation)

ANOTHER top Conservative resigns over bullying scandal: Thatcher foundation chief forced to quit over links to 'Tatler Tory' | Daily Mail Online (really bad Tories)


Anger: An American History - The New York Times (always a nation of haters)

The Big Short, Housing Bubbles and Retold Lies - Krugman (it was all those blacks lying on their mortgages)

It's Barbaric - Yep, 19% of Democrats also want to bomb a fictional Disney sultanate. (we need a national database of stupid white people)

Amid DNC dust-up, Sanders raises $1 million in a single day, campaign associate says - The Washington Post
Democratic debate: candidates to clash amid data scandal that hurts all involved | US news | The Guardian - The tale of campaign snooping that saw the Democratic National Committee bar Bernie Sanders's campaign from a voter database brings Hillary Clinton's electronic records to the fore once again (Debbie Do-Wrong)
Eschaton: Stories Behind Stories - the bigger story, from the perspective that those with the real power are what really matter, is that the DNC and Debbie Wasserman Schultz are not exactly neutral in this primary and they don't even feel the need to pretend.
Democratic National Committee Restores Bernie Sanders' Access To Voter Data - The deal doesn't end the Sanders vs. DNC lawsuit.
Axelrod: DNC putting 'finger on the scale' in favor of Clinton | Washington Examiner (and then there's the insane non-debate schedule)
Bernie Sanders campaign claims win after DNC hands back access to voter file | US news | The Guardian - but Democratic National Committee says move made only after Sanders complied with its requests (time to dump Debbie)

Totally Not Drunk New Mexico Governor Chastises Cops For Breaking Up Her Hotel Party - They were just eating pizza, you see - New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez (R) (Jeb!'s future VP!)

- Green light on $1bn St Louis Rams stadium still "fiscally irresponsible" a second publicly subsidized stadium for the Rams in two decades comes amid a particularly precarious time for the city of 300,000. (sportsbros rule with tax-exempt public bonds)

Kathryn Knott Verdict Is In | News | Philadelphia Magazine - On its third day of deliberation, the jury found her guilty on four counts of simple assault, conspiracy, reckless endangerment; not guilty of aggravated assault. Sentencing is scheduled for February 8th.

Judge in Adelson lawsuit subject to unusual scrutiny amid Review-Journal sale | Las Vegas Review-Journal - three reporters at the newspaper received an unusual assignment passed down from the newspaper's corporate management: Drop everything and spend two weeks monitoring all activity of three Clark County judges.

Star Wars Fans Can Bring Real Guns Into Marcus Theaters | Crooks and Liars - As crazy as it sounds, the Marcus Theaters' fake gun policy is stronger than their real gun policy!

Black Holes Only Go Truly Black if They're Really Big


121815

Haunted by Waters - The New York Times - It's a hoax, says Donald J. Trump, with all the practiced hucksterism of the swampland salesman. He may feel different when one of his resorts is below the sea.

Under Fire From G.O.P., Obama Defends Response to Terror Attacks - The New York Times - old a group of news columnists this week that sending significant ground forces back to the Middle East could conceivably result in the deaths of 100 American soldiers every month. (not the rich kids, for sure)

This BBC Reporter Just Trolled the Chinese Government - He flew into what the Chinese are calling their airspace (they're wrong).
Until Corbyn led the Labour party, we were all wonderfully polite | Voices | The Independent - If the Labour Leader had any decency he'd behave like a proper MP and go to a dinner with arms traders or offshore bankers
Eschaton - British politics/media coverage of politics reminds me of 2003 in the US. Sorry, Britain.

The U.S. Found The People Who Can Beat ISIS. The Only Problem Is Everyone Hates Them.

The New York Times Has a Source Pollution Problem - A certain kind of source has burned the paper more than once this year.
Systemic Change Needed After Faulty Times Article - The New York Times
The NYT Should Have Known This Would Get Streamed into the Primary Campaign

Bernie Sanders Campaign Threatens Legal Action Against DNC - Sanders' campaign manager said the Democratic committee is "actively attempting to undermine our campaign." (Dirty Debbie did the deed)
Why Did the DNC Let the Bernie-Hillary Tech Story Leak? - A better question: Would it have leaked if the roles were reversed?

Eschaton: Jayyuuuubb Creeeeaaashion - job creation policies aren't much use if the Fed is going to ensure that wage growth never happens. In other words, job growth policies, even if they're correct, just inspire the Fed to kill the job creation part. You can't create more jobs than the Fed wants you to.

Hate Crimes Against Muslims Have Tripled Since Attacks In Paris, San Bernardino - off the chart -- and I don't think we've seen the end of it
Schools in Virginia shut over anger at Islam homework - CNN.com - There is only ONE GOD and HIS NAME is JESUS!" (and what was His Dad's Name again?)
Poll: 30% of GOP voters support bombing Agrabah, the city from Aladdin | US news | The Guardian - 54% of the Republicans they polled support banning Muslims from entering the US, as Donald Trump has proposed

Class Differences in Child-Rearing Are on the Rise - The New York Times - The lives of children from rich and poor American families look more different than they have in decades.


It's Getting Harder To Deny That Strong Laws Have An Effect On Gun Violence - A new study finds that states with stricter regulations on firearms see a lower rate of shooting deaths. (MA A- but NH D and VT,ME F)

When Correctional Officers Carry Shotguns, The Result is Death And Mayhem - The Huffington Post

New Orleans Will Finally Tear Down Its Monuments to American Traitors - The city's statues honoring Robert E. Lee and other figures of the Confederacy will be removed.
4 Actual Excuses For Racism So Dumb That Nobody Is Buying Them


The Disturbing Story Of Widespread Sexual Assault Allegations At A Major Progressive PR Firm
Reviled Pharma CEO Martin Shkreli Resigns (they really did a lot of photo-ops)

-Cancer is political -- as the argument about its casues shows


121715

2016 set to be hottest year on record globally | Environment | The Guardian - UK Met Office estimates 2016 will be at least as hot as 2015, which would mean the three hottest years ever had occurred in a row


Jermaine Baker shooting: Met officer arrested in dramatic development | Crime | News | London Evening Standard - A Met firearms officer has been arrested over the fatal shooting of Jermaine Baker in north London, Scotland Yard has confirmed.

Tories rocked by new 'bullying' storm as MP Lucy Allan accused of 'vicious' abuse of sick staff member | Politics | News | London Evening Standard - Tories have a "culture of bullying" (comments priceless: "never seen such a fundamentally evil and dickensian/toff stereotypes as this current lot. Todays TP is full of full of flashman's (see Cameron, Javid, goldsmith, may), greedy useless bunters (johnson, pickles) evil empowered former faggs (schapps, Osbourne), and weasley stoats (apply last two names again) ...
Telford MP Lucy Allan defends adding death threat - BBC News - Mrs Allan responded to allegations that she had doctored the email

Putin admits Russian military presence in Ukraine for first time | World news | The Guardian

Congress adds contested cybersecurity measures to 'must-pass' spending bill | US news | The Guardian - ACLU criticizes inclusion of Cisa information-sharing rules in year-end omnibus spending package amid concerns over privacy

Congress' spending binge: $700 billion in unpaid tax cuts - politico - Budget austerity takes a back seat as lawmakers prepare to pass nearly $700 billion in unpaid-for tax cuts. (you need to die so the riches can have more riches)

Bernie Sanders Picks Up A Major Union Endorsement - It's his biggest one yet.

Fox Contributor Calls Out Carly Fiorina's Debate Lie | Video | Media Matters for America - Fiorina Falsely Claimed Fox Contributor Gen. Jack Keane "Retired Early" After Dispute With President Obama (Failurina makin' shit up again - "I think I heard it on Fox so shutup" )
Watch Ted Cruz Flub A Fox News Interview On Immigration - He struggled to defend confusing claims he made during Tuesday's GOP debate.

The Election and the Death of White Male Power -- The Cut - This is our country in an excruciating period of change. This is the story of the slow expansion of possibility for figures who have long existed on the margins, and it is also the story of the dangerous rage those figures provoke

Eschaton: The Real Issue - Of course Republicans don't care about the deficit, but the bigger issue is that the scolds in the media only care about the deficit when they can blame Democrats for it.
- I wonder where Crazy Eyes Larry got this idea? - Contractionary policy is contractionary

Gentlemen, To Evil! - Lawyers, Guns & Money : some of ALEC's most sinister members? (pull back the curtain and what do we see? #1 Phizer with a half a billion dollars of bought congresscrooks)
Trump as moderate: yes, and that doesn't make him any less appalling - Lawyers, Guns & Money : 2) This is only offensive if we treat moderation as a political virtue worthy of praise. (moderatiion is not a virtue when we're going off a cliff)

Strike Two for Pair of New York Times Reporters | Mother Jones - Schmidt and Apuzzo should be considered on probation. That's at least one big mistake too many. (Judy Millerville)

Police Fight Release Of Another Video Of Cop Fatally Shooting Unarmed Man - The slain man was mentally-ill and carrying a pen. The officer wore a body camera but did not turn it on ... Police later confirmed Nehad was unarmed and was holding a metallic pen at the time of the shooting. (put all the cops in jail)

Congress Poised To Keep Banning Gun Violence Research - The guy behind the ban says agencies should defy Congress and study it anyway. (we don't want none of yer stupid librul "facts")

Man engaging in legal theft also indulges in the illegal kind - Lawyers, Guns & Money (see pix if you haven't already)
CEO Who Price Gouged HIV Drug Arrested - Martin Shkreli was arrested by the FBI in New York on securities fraud charges. (pharmabro: muhahaha)
Martin Shkreli Arrested on Securities Fraud Charges - 32-year-old suspected of plundering Retrophin to pay debts
Pyrimethamine - (trade name Daraprim) is a medication used for protozoal infections.

Peak law school? - Lawyers, Guns & Money (peak law scam as the tuition curve goes hyperbolic)

This White Terrorist Plotted To Kill Innocent Americans, But You Probably Haven't Heard Of Him - Eric Feight wanted to blast Muslims with a death ray in upstate New York.


5 Things To Know About The Woman Whose Case Could End Affirmative Action As We Know It - Meet Abigail Fisher, the onetime University of Texas applicant who took her case to the Supreme Court. (affirmative action for dumb white chicks)

Guns are now killing as many people as cars in the U.S. - The Washington Post
Chicago Pays Millions but Punishes Few in Killings by Police - The New York Times - All the while, the city, which is in the middle of a fiscal crisis, has spent more than $500 million settling police cases since 2004. (taxpayers paid $1/2 billion to give cops immunity)

Flint's "toxic soup" polluted water worse for children than thought, doctor says (intended consequences)


Down From the Trees, Humans Finally Got a Decent Night's Sleep (no snakes helps a lot)



121615

- There is a new form of climate denialism to look out for (renewables not enough, so fuck the planet anyway)

Tory co-chairman claimed Obama sent pollster to UK to stop Miliband, book says | Discussion | The Guardian (sounds plausible)

The Anti-Terror Raid That Asked All The Wrong Questions - BuzzFeed News - Ten months before the deadly attacks in Paris

Eschaton: A Truly Great Partner - For our next bold humanitarian mission - Saudi Arabia has announced the formation of an "Islamic military alliance" (sorry, two dots too many to connect)

Conservatives: Same As They Ever Were by Martin Longman | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - the Republican Platform from the 1952 convention (tax cuts!)

Last Night's Debate Winner -- ISIS (Republican panic-babies wet their pants)
Rand Paul Didn't Win, But He Raised the Most Important Questions of the Debate - Namely, if we're willing to start World War III to look "strong" (how WWI started, also, but fuck history)
Watch The Best Moments From The December CNN GOP Debate - It was the last GOP debate of the year. (but there will be 37 after that)
Eschaton: I Can't Believe There's Still a Kiddie Table - The Republicans must be heard. All of them. Again and again and again and again.

GOP Candidates, CNN Debate Moderators Did Their Best To Make America Sh*t Its Pants - Everything is terrifying and we're all going to die.

University of Iowa president sorry for saying unready teachers should be shot - Omaha.com: Education (Trumpism spreads)

- As 640,000 L.A. kids are going home because of terrorism, thousands of Michigan kids don't have clean water (another generation of violent criminals so we can be tough on crime)

How AT&T Execs Took Over the Red Cross and Hurt its Ability to Help People - ProPublica - Red Cross CEO Gail McGovern, who was hired to revitalize the charity, has cut hundreds of chapters and thousands of employees ... A former AT&T executive who had taught marketing at Harvard Business School (executives need higher pay)

An Unbelievable Story of Rape | The Marshall Project

Forensic Science Has Revealed the Real Face of Jesus. - Forensic science reveals the most famous face in history (no, he didn't have long flowing blond hair and blue eyes, even if he did exist)

121515


Revealed: Prince Charles has received confidential cabinet paper It is a critical stage of life for half the population, yet women struggling with symptoms are confronted with conflicting advice. Why is so little understood about the menopause? s for decades | UK news | The Guardian - Revelation that heir to throne is routinely sent confidential papers comes after three-year freedom of information battle (yes, they really are lizards)

Setting the Record Straight on Clemency by Nancy LeTourneau | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - todays banner article at Politico - by Bill Keller titled: On Pardons, Obama's the Stingiest President Since John Adams. (noted because Keller is still a lying asshole)

Donald Trump Rally Turns Ugly: 'Light The Motherf**ker On Fire!' - "Kick his ass!" "Shoot him!" "Bitch!" "Sieg Heil!" (fascism alive and well in Amerika)

Los Angeles defends decision to close public schools over threat | US news | The Guardian
The Email That Shut Down LA Schools Came From An 'Internet Meme Sewer' - It's been traced back to a barebones email server that hosts thousands of accounts.
NYPD Commissioner Blasts LA's 'Overreaction' To Bomb Threat - "It's what they want, whether it's a prankster or a terrorist."

What science doesn't know about the menopause


121415

At This Point, If You Deny Climate Change, You Are a Traitor to Your Species - A landmark deal on the most important issue of our time -- just in time for the Republican debate. (the Necromongers)


Americans are twice as willing to distance Christian extremists from their religion as Muslims - The Washington Post

Spotlight Takes Place 14 Years Ago, But the Catholic Church Is Still Dealing with Sex Scandals

Will the History of White Supremacy Help Stop American Fascism? - Lawyers, Guns & Money (History?)

Trump hits new high in poll | TheHill - It has become abundantly clear that Trump is giving his supporters exactly what they want, even if what he says causes the GOP leadership and many Republican voters to cringe - national security is the most important issue to Republican voters, beating out the economy by 20 points ... survey of 385 registered Republican voters (what a bunch of panic-babies)

Marco Rubio, Master of Adjectives
Hullabaloo - The new litmus test - Also, Marco Rubio is a smarmy little creep.
Getting to Know Ted Cruz's Father, Fiery Rafael (evil didn't fall far from the tree of death)
2016 GOP contenders prep for loud, ugly holiday season - politico (the Grinch is coming for you)

Eschaton: The Partisan Trap - One game our pundits have loved to play for years is blaming democrats for politicizing anything that's a priority of... democrats

Gun deaths in your district: what have your elected representatives done? | US news | The Guardian


The Wall Street Journal Abandons Its Business Readers | Jeffrey Sachs - The Wall Street Journal has become the Fox News of print journalism (the fate of NatGeo)


Techno Viking and the curse of internet celebrity | Fruzsina Eordogh | Opinion | The Guardian - Finding yourself at the centre of a meme sensation should be lucrative


121315

How US negotiators ensured landmark Paris climate deal was Republican-proof | US news | The Guardian - White House officials at COP 21 helped craft a deal congressional Republicans would not be able to stop (the planet-destroying party)
Republican Lawmakers Vocal In Opposition To Climate Deal - The President should remember that the historic agreement "is subject to being shredded in 13 months," McConnell said. (The Party of Death and Destruction will Doom the planet)
The Climate Agreement - Lawyers, Guns & Money - The whole world has to deal with the mendacity of the Republicans. Christ.
Buying Climate Change Denialism - Lawyers, Guns & Money
Anti-Irish Know-Nothing Mob Burns a Charlestown Convent in 1834 - New England Historical Society

Eschaton: Is That It? - I know nothing about these things, but if attempts to take out oil infrastructure are this ineffective, it's probably because the powers that be don't want to blow up the valuable stuff. (this is from where 350 oil tankers, invisible to satellites, appear)

Heralded Iraq Police Academy a 'Disaster' - - A $75 million project to build the largest police academy in Iraq has been so grossly mismanaged that the campus now poses health risks to recruits and might need to be partially demolished, U.S. investigators have found. (2006: remember when the neo-cons ran everything?)

Maltese ships owned by Turkish president's son being implicated in ISIS oil trade (the kid bought a bunch of oil tankers?)


Ted Cruz Surges To First Place In Iowa - Cruz shows the largest gain any candidate has made in the last five Iowa presidential caucuses.


What The Hell Happened To Mickey Kaus - BuzzFeed News - How a godfather of Democratic political blogging became obsessed with immigration -- and came around to Donald Trump. (voted twice for Obama)


Despair Over Gun Deaths Is Not an Option - The New York Times

Mayor Swears In, But Not On the Bible - WLOS - ABC - I just don't think there's a place for any kind of religious doctrine in government, because we represent everybody."


A simple fix for quantum computing; quantum flux corrupts data but may be prevented using magnets and standard semi-conductor parts. : science

A US town has rejected a proposal for a solar farm following public concerns that solar panels 'suck up all the energy from the sun' : technology - You may not care, but giving attention to these articles simply incentivizes more news companies to keep creating this bullshit to play off of everyone's emotions. THAT should outrage you.

What's your favorite thing in your saved section? : AskReddit
Uncanny Valley : videos
Fuck English : AdviceAnimals - Yes, English can be weird. It can be understood through tough thorough thought, though


121215

Historic Climate Change Agreement Adopted In Paris - The accord "saves the chance of saving the planet," says one advocate.
Inside the Paris Climate Deal - The New York Times - Holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 20C above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.50C above pre-industrial levels, recognizing that this would significantly reduce the risks and impacts of climate change
Paris climate deal: nearly 200 nations sign in end of fossil fuel era | Environment | The Guardian - but already low-lying countries are worried
Legendary Climate Scientist Is Not Impressed With The Paris Talks - "There is no action, just promises," says James Hansen.
Speaking with One Voice to Solve the Climate Crisis | Al Gore

The World's Most Influential Voices of 2015 | Nathan Gardels - The 2015 Global Thought Leaders Index (Papa first, but Snowden #1 in Germany)

Saudi Women Vote In Election For First Time - Men and women are casting ballots at separate polling stations, and female candidates could not directly address male voters.

Saudi Arabia bombing Yemen's schools, Amnesty International claims | Middle East | News | The Independent - The UN has described the humanitarian situation inside Yemen as 'critical'
- Swiss prosecutors seek interviews with prince and Islamic affairs minister over alleged 2003 kidnap of Sultan bin Turki bin Abdulaziz al-Saud
Eschaton: But What About The Laser Beams That Shoot Out Of Their Eyes? - Silly Trudeau doesn't understand that all Syrians have super-terrorist powers.

The Gambia now an Islamic republic, says President Yahya Jammeh | World news | The Guardian

What Orwell can teach us about the language of terror and war | Books | The Guardian

A History of Violence: Part III by D.R. Tucker | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly (and it's gotten even worse)


CNN's Cuomo To Carly Fiorina: The Planned Parenthood Smear Videos "Were Edited. You Know That" | Video | Media Matters for America (Failurina has a melt-down)

Suspect In Cop Killings Found Dead Inside Mississippi Jail Cell - Homicide was ruled out, and investigators say suspect Marvin Banks may have died of natural causes.


Las Vegas Review-Journal Removes Questions About Newspaper's New Mystery Owner

Academia 2015 - Lawyers, Guns & Money (Scott Lemieux and other tenured profs fired: Univerities turning in high-priced trade schools)

What do Americans do without a second thought that would shock non-Americans? : AskReddit

I am the poet, painter, pacifist, publisher, defender of free speech, and owner of San Francisco's City Lights bookstore, Lawrence Ferlinghetti. AMA! (at 96)

Google Says its Quantum Computer Works, Is 100 Million Times Faster Than Traditional PC : technology (a computer simulating a quantum computer, anyway)
Shtetl-Optimized ; Blog Archive ; Google, D-Wave, and the case of the factor-10^8 speedup for WHAT?
Prof. Gil Kalai - What can we learn from a failure of quantum computers - YouTube
Why Quantum Computers Cannot Work: An Overview by Professor Gil Kalai - YouTube
Shtetl-Optimized ; Blog Archive ; Ask an unbounded question, get an uncomputable answer

https://xkcd.com/simplewriter/

121115

COP21: Climate deal final draft 'agreed' in Paris - BBC News
Paris Climate Talks To Run Past Deadline As Diplomats Struggle Over Disagreements
Environmental Change | Arctic Deeply, Focused Coverage of the High North - The Earth's global temperature for September 2015 was 0.9C (1.62F) above the 20th-century average, making it the warmest September in 136 years of record keeping. (will there ever be an accounting?)
Climate Change and the Arctic - Lawyers, Guns & Money
Climate change means days are getting longer, scientists find | Science | The Guardian - Duration of day has lengthened by a millisecond over the past 100 years as water from shrinking glaciers slows Earth's rotation and shifts position of poles

A Muslim American Veteran Was Widely Smeared With a Fabricated Story About ISIS Charges
At least he can still buy a gun - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Lawyers, Guns & Money - 95 percent of the suicide attacks were in response to a military occupation (vide Sam Harris)

ISIS Hits Kurdish Town With Triple Truck Bomb Attack, At Least 50 Dead - The three blasts, carried out by at least two suicide bombers, struck outside a hospital, at a marketplace and in a residential area.

Russia Accuses Mikhail Khodorkovsky Of 1998 Murder - The accusations come two days after Khodorkovsky said that President Vladimir Putin has driven Russia into a position when a revolution is "inevitable and necessary" and that that he will help to bring it about.

Former NYC Police Chief: U.S. Can't Win A Ground War Against ISIS - It was a ground war, after all, that gave rise to the group in the first place. (sorry, that's a dot too far)

- Former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's son "kidnapped" in Lebanon - Hannibal Gaddafi appears on TV to appeal for information about Imam Musa al-Sadr, who disappeared in Libya in 1978

Former Chilean soldier charged with murder after stunning radio confession | World news | The Guardian - Guillermo Reyes Rammsy, 62, admitted on live radio phone-in on Wednesday to participating in executions of 18 opponents of late dictator Augusto Pinochet (your CIA at work)

Eschaton: Some Employees - Volkswagen should become an un-company and every executive (let's stop pretending they didn't know) should have all of their income stripped.

Survey of Kentucky Residents on State Health Policy | The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation (so they elect people who are against what they want the most)

These Cliven Bundy Impersonators Took Millions in Government Handouts

House: Could Trump Lead to Apocalypse for Republicans? (End Times?)
Lindsey Graham: Trump Leading Because 40% Of GOP Voters Think Obama Is Kenyan Muslim - BuzzFeed News - I can promise you that Hillary Clinton will clean his clock, Graham added
A Contested GOP Convention Possible Next Year -- NYMag - The Republican Race Keeps Getting Weirder:

Rahm Emanuel Has No Acceptable Excuse by Martin Longman | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - we now know that his office was apprised of the fact that there was video footage at least two months before election day (resign, asshole)

Trust in Government to Protect Against Terrorism at New Low - About half of Americans say they worry about becoming a victim (Bumfuck IA is very scared)
Poll: Solid opposition to ban on Muslims entering U.S. - CBS News (well that takes care of the whole refugees-caused-by-US-bombs problem, doesn't it?)
Two Muslim women attacked in Tampa
Armed 'Three Percenters' Movement Now Confronting Muslim Americans - "We will interfere with every move they (Muslims) make towards taking over our country."

Gun linked to Paris attacks traced back to Florida arms dealer implicated in Iran-Contra scandal (some things never change)

US police shot more people dead last month than British officers did in 95 years | World | News | The Independent - A total of 1,063 people were killed by US police this year

Arkansas Supreme Court Halts Birth Certificates For Same-Sex Partners - The state Supreme Court said that "the best course of action is to preserve the status quo" (where have we heard that before?)

Chicago's "Black Site" Police Scandal Is Primed to Explode Again | Mother Jones - Homan Square detention facility is reportedly like something out of "Homeland." (his career has been consistent)
1
Daniel Holtzclaw: questions for police chiefs after officer is convicted of rape | US news | The Guardian - Attorney promises civil lawsuits against police officials as victims and their supporters ask: why wasn't caught sooner? (you know the answer to that)

Liberty University to allow guns in residence halls - The Washington Post

The Untold Story of the Texas Biker Gang Shoot-Out | GQ - Seven of the nine [dead] were head shots or chest shots. Who trains for that? Who? (and they covered up their murders with a blitz of indictments)
4 Bikers Shot In Waco With Same Rifle Type Police Use - It was not clear whether any bikers had similar guns to the police that day.

EXCLUSIVE: Bronx priest stole $1M for S&M romance: suit - NY Daily News

Women Like Being Valued for Sex, as Long as it is by a Committed Partner. - PubMed - NCBI - Women Like Being Valued for Sex, as Long as it is by a Committed Partner. (science at work)
Women Like Being Valued for Sex, as Long as it is by a Committed Partner. : science


121015

2015 summed up in one amazing illustration : pics

Climate change could leave Chesapeake Bay island uninhabitable in 50 years | Environment | The Guardian

Mina stampede deaths three times higher than acknowledged by Saudi authorities: report - Pakistan - DAWN.COM - The September stampede during the Haj in Saudi Arabia killed at least 2,411 pilgrims, a new Associated Press count shows, three times the number of deaths acknowledged by the kingdom three months later.

Three Senior ISIS Leaders Killed In U.S.-Led Strikes
A US military spokesman said Thursday that Islamic State extremists lost as much as half of their defending force after strikes in recent days in the city
- Turkey acts like ISIS ally, should not be EU member - Czech president (the obvious is getting more attention)

El Chapo tells ISIS his men will destroy them | New York Post - his narcotics cartel will wipe them off the planet.

Millennials Want To Send Troops To Fight ISIS, But Don't Want To Serve : NPR


How Cliven Bundy Changed Our National Politics - Things are wild, unhinged, and violent.
American Politics Is Turning into a Middle Ages Theme Park for Grown-Ups - And Congressman Steve King is king of the carnies.

Young Americans: The American Dream Is Dead | Republic 3.0 | The Washington Monthly - A new survey finds overwhelmingly gloomy views among youth. (Boomers killed their children's future)

Harry Reid Says Scalia Endorses Racist Ideas - "The only difference between the ideas endorsed by Trump and Scalia is that Scalia has a robe and a lifetime appointment." (ka-pow)

White House Finalizes Proposal To Expand Background Checks On Gun Sales
House Democrats Hijack House Floor For Gun Vote - Democrats are using a parliamentary trick to get a vote on the contentious legislation.
Connecticut Governor To Block People On Watch Lists From Buying Guns - "If Congress will not act, we in the states will."

Fear of Terrorism Lifts Donald Trump in New York Times/CBS Poll - The New York Times (one more attack and it's in the bag)
GOP preparing for contested convention - The Washington Post (the in-bro crowd)
The Crisis of Republican Authority - The New York Times
See How NPR Hacks Up Testy Interview with Ted Cruz

Kim Segal, Assistant Broward County, Florida Public Defender, says make America great again by honoring the Constitution - CBS News - We throw more people behind bars per capita than any other country in the world. There are 2.2 million Americans incarcerated and according to The Sentencing Project that's a 500% increase over the past thirty years.
Risk of being killed by police is 16 times greater for those with mental illness : news

At least 4 reported incidents of suspicious phone purchases across Missouri | Local News - Home - "You know, they could be using these phones for terrorist acts." ("suspicious" = too many, apparently no legal limit on the number of phones you can buy)

Psychiatric Drugs Are Being Prescribed to Infants - The New York Times (seizures and temper tantrums are not the same +Respiridol)

First plasma in Wendelstein 7-X | Max-Planck-Institut f|r Plasmaphysik - A successful start with helium plasma / hydrogen plasma to follow at the beginning of 2016
Electron lifetime is at least 66,000 yottayears - physicsworld.com - five-quintillion times the current age of the universe.

Reading Flannery O'Connor in the age of Islamophobia

Suleiman the Magnificent's tomb believed to have been found in Hungary | Science | The Guardian

Operator Error Investigated After Red Line Train Traveled Without One

Women of reddit: how often to you go on dates just to get free food? : AskReddit
We did it, Reddit. A positive DNA match was made on a 20 year old case because of posts on Reddit and Imgur. : bestof

Mysterious hackers attempting to bring down entire internet by DDoS-ing critical servers : worldnews

120915

Greenpeace exposes sceptics hired to cast doubt on climate science | Environment | The Guardian - William Happer, the Cyrus Fogg Brackett professor of physics at Princeton University ... Frank Clemente, a retired sociologist formerly at Pennsylvania State University Aging Nuclear Plants Fuel Concerns for the Industry's future

Human Rights Groups Criticize U.S. Arms Sale To Saudi Arabia : Parallels : NPR - The State Department has approved a $1.29 billion arms sale to Saudi Arabia, which includes as many as 13,000 precision guided weapons or smart bombs. The sale comes as Human Rights Watch charges that Saudi airstrikes in Yemen "have indiscriminately killed and injured civilians" (who's the boss, again?)

Authorities Identify 3rd Paris Concert Hall Attacker - A third man who attacked the Bataclan concert hall in Paris on Nov. 13 has been identified as Foued Mohamed-Aggad, a 23-year-old from Strasbourg.

German woman on trial for Neo-nazi murders breaks silence over attacks | World news | The Guardian

70,000 clerics issue fatwa against terrorism, 15 lakh Muslims support it - Times of India

Homeland Security's Unchecked Corruption at the Border - Want to run drugs, smuggle migrants and get away with it? Join America's biggest law enforcement agency.

Hiring Increased in October, Report Says - The New York Times
The American Middle Class Is Losing Ground | Pew Research Center - No longer the majority and falling behind financially (suck it up, whities, you fucked yourselves)

2016 National Republican Primary - Polls - HuffPost Pollster - This chart combines the latest opinion polls and is updated whenever a new poll is released. (Trump through the roof at 34% - 41%)
Netanyahu set to meet Trump, as MKs urge candidate be shunned | The Times of Israel (birds of a feather)
There's Nothing Donald Trump Can Say About Muslims To Make GOP Leaders Reject Him - Republican lawmakers still say they'll back him if he becomes their presidential nominee.
Trump's Incendiary Comments Throw GOP Into A Tailspin - One by one, Republican officials across the country lashed out at Trump's plan.
Bloomberg Politics Poll: Trump Muslim Ban Proposal - Nearly Two-Thirds of Likely GOP Primary Voters Back Trump's Muslim ban
It's time for Republicans to renounce Donald Trump's candidacy
NY Daily News Cover Shows Donald Trump Beheading Statue Of Liberty - "When he came for the Muslims, I did not speak out as I was not a Muslim." (they've really found their voice lately)
Joe Biden: If Donald Trump Is The GOP Nominee, Hillary Clinton 'Wins In A Walk' - Biden called Trump's Islamophobia "a very, very dangerous brew for America." (and so would Bernie, with more hope and change)
Trump Proves That Liberals Have Been Right All Along | New Republic - The left nailed the pathology of the conservative movement years ago. The Donald is just making that impossible to deny.
ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES: First Ban All Muslims? Donald Trump, Polls And Echidne Researches
Chinese Exclusion Act (1882-1943)

This is what good government looks like: Why Elizabeth Warren is the senator America needs - Salon.com - In an election year, no one cares about process, but the Massachusetts senator just showed how important it is


- Justice Scalia: minority students may be better off where "they don't feel pushed too hard"
Affirmative Action is back in court. Arguments against it made no sense | Scott Lemieux | Opinion | The Guardian - Fisher almost certainly would not have been admitted even if UT used strictly race-neutral admissions criteria.



US police killings are a public health concern, say Harvard researchers | US news | The Guardian - Essay drawing on Guardian data collected for The Counted investigation says killings by US police should be reported to government health authorities
Happiness is a warm gun - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Lawyers, Guns & Money - Gun rights groups say they will conduct a mock mass shooting this weekend at the University of Texas campus as they try to end gun-free zones.
- Why mass shootings don't convince gun owners to support gun control

A Texas town stands divided, after armed men in camouflage menace worshipers at a local mosque. Selk says the armed protesters aren't Irving residents. : news
We need to look after our own first, say people who would never help anyone


Diane Rehm To Retire From Long-Running Radio Show : The Two-Way : NPR


A fundamental quantum physics problem has been proved unsolvable - Factor - For the first time a major physics problem has been proved unsolvable, meaning that no matter how accurately a material is mathematically described on a microscopic level, there will not be enough information to predict its macroscopic behaviour.
Paradox at the heart of mathematics makes physics problem unanswerable : Nature News & Comment - (Godel's incompleteness theorems are connected to unsolvable calculations in quantum physics
A fundamental quantum physics problem has been proved unsolvable : science
computability - Why, really, is the Halting Problem so important? - Computer Science Stack Exchange

ELI5: How can the "deep Web" allegedly be so much larger than the surface Web if only a minority of people use the deep Web or hidden Internet. : explainlikeimfive


120815

Blueprint Planet
COP21 is too male dominated and has male priorities, says UN special envoy | Environment | The Guardian
Saudi Arabia accused of trying to wreck Paris climate deal | Environment | The Guardian - is getting in the way of a deal and making implausible objections, say delegates and campaigners
Texas Fracking Zone Emits 90% More Methane Than EPA Estimated | InsideClimate News - missions have been vastly underestimated, sweeping Environmental Defense Fund-backed study finds. (how could that have happened?)

Saudi court to review stoning sentence of Sri Lankan woman | World news | The Guardian - A Saudi court has decided to reopen the case of a Sri Lankan woman who was sentenced to death by stoning for adultery, a Sri Lankan government minister has said. (traditional Muslum values)

David Miranda in fresh challenge over Heathrow detention | World news | The Guardian - The hearing at the court of appeal in London is an attempt to overturn an earlier decision by a lower court that holding him under schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000 was lawful.

North_London_Gunner comments on Trump Dares Morning Host to "Go To Break" (Guess what happened)

Amnesty report: ISIS armed with U.S. weapons - CNNPolitics.com

5 Arab Israelis arrested for IS support, planning terror attacks | The Times of Israel - Nazareth family members purchased guns, trained for attacks in Israel, after becoming more religious, security service says

Icelanders flock to religion revering Sumerian gods and tax rebates | World news | The Guardian - Ancient Zuist movement enjoys revival as thousands join as part of protest against requirement that citizens pay taxes to state church


Trump calls for 'shutdown' of Muslims entering US | TheHill
'I. Don't. Care': Trump brushes off horrified reaction to his Muslim ban | US news | The Guardian - Trump brushes off horrified reaction to his Muslim ban
- How does Trump do it? Understanding the psychology of a demagogue's rally
Amazon Founder Offers To Send Donald Trump To Space - In a tweet, Jeff Bezos indicated Blue Origin will not discriminate against any American, even a xenophobic demagogue.
Dick Cheney: Donald Trump's Anti-Muslim Plan 'Goes Against Everything We Stand For'
This Neo-Nazi Response To Donald Trump's Anti-Muslim Plan Says It All - Sounds like he has their vote.

Laura Ingraham Suggests The US Should Shoot Deported Immigrants Attempting To Re-Enter The Country | Video | Media Matters for America

Eschaton: Prime Targets - An East Texas police chief is urging residents to arm themselves against terrorists after listening to President Barack Obama's Sunday night address to the nation.

The County: sexual assault and the price of silence | US news | The Guardian - How law enforcement officers in Kern County, California, secretly tried to buy off victims in sexual misconduct cases against the men sworn to protect them
Intense Car Chase and Gun Battle in Downtown Seattle Yesterday : videos
Chicago police commander on trial for putting gun in suspect's mouth | Reuters

No Child Left Behind: An Obituary : NPR Ed : NPR

(14) So simple, anyone SHOULD BE ABLE to understand... - Bonnie Greenfield Warren
Rockstar Dinosaur Pirate Princess | Tea, Dinosaurs and Feminism.

Stonehenge may have been first erected in Wales, evidence suggests | UK news | The Guardian
EHP - Flavoring Chemicals in E-Cigarettes: Diacetyl, 2,3-Pentanedione, and Acetoin in a Sample of 51 Products, Including Fruit-, Candy-, and Cocktail-Flavored E-Cigarettes
Chemical flavorings found in e-cigarettes linked to lung disease : science - Flavorings is plural, but the entire article is just about Diacetyl. - So eliquids have 10-100 times less DA/AP then regular cigs, yet no one has gotten popcorn lung from smoking either. (but more research needed)

Amazon's Prime members just got a new perk: Showtime and Starz, unbundled and cheap.
redneck ingenuity at its finest - Google Search
[Serious] Men of Reddit who have been raped by women, what happened, did you tell anyone, and did they take you seriously? : AskReddit

- Quantum Computers Explained
Controversial Quantum Machine Bought by NASA and Google Shows Promise | MIT Technology Review


120715

Will The World Reach An Agreement To Avert Climate Disaster This Week? - The next few days will decide the planet's future (comment: "The entire world comes together and committs in writting to hold it at 1.7 degrees C or face crippling economic sanctions or we collectely fail. We already know how this will turn out - FAIL"
Beijing Issues First-Ever 'Red Alert' Over Air Pollution (next: Infrared alerts)

Barack Obama Seemed to Be Talking to Some Other Country Last Night - One that is wiser, more rational, and would not buy the snake oil being peddled by Donald Trump.
2016 presidential candidates react to Obama's Oval Office address on ISIS - CBS News (Cruz: I will bomb the shit out of ISIS and kill and maim your kids)
Dear Islamophobes: Your Racism Is Putting Us All In Danger - There's one thing everybody can do to make the country safer.

Eschaton: Another 20,000 Should Do The Trick - I guess we need to buy more freedom bombs. Fortunately they're free. It's right there in the name. Nice things are very expensive, sadly ... leading to depleted munitions stockpiles and calls to ramp up funding and weapons production.
What's It All About Then -- So we're bombing Assad and the people who are trying to take down Assad.

A Majority Of Americans Support Sending Ground Troops To Fight ISIS - Nearly 7 in 10 Americans say the U.S. has not been aggressive enough in fighting the terrorist group. (cause meet effect)

The Doomsday Invention - The New Yorker - Will artificial intelligence bring us utopia or destruction? ("Dune" was prescient in many ways ...)
Information hazard - Lesswrongwiki (Nick Bostrom)

- Pearl Harbor and America's Colonial Legacy - December 7, 1941. Asian colonial power attacks U.S. colonial outposts in Hawaii and Philippines. Next 74 years sees no awareness by Americans that racist colonialism of Japan and racist colonialism of the United States have a lot in common.

The Environment in Which Trump Can Thrive - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Lawyers, Guns & Money - Growing up, I remember my parents never letting us have Asian food on December 7th. They were children of WWII.- Erick Erickson (yeah, those slant-eyes are all the same)

Donald Trump Calls For 'Complete Shutdown' Of Muslims Entering U.S. (goes full fascist)
Bernie Sanders, Other Presidential Candidates Denounce Trump's Anti-Muslim Proposal - .@realdonaldtrump removes all doubt: he is running for President as a fascist demagogue. -- Martin O'Malley
So I will try to explain why the Trump candidacy has been so confounding to our political press. ; Pressthink (boundaries of convention have vaporized)
Orcinus: Donald Trump May Not Be a Fascist, But He is Leading Us Merrily Down That Path (the potential was always there)
Marco Rubio Asked For Proof Of Islamophobia. Donald Trump Just Made It His Campaign Platform.
A Note on Trump: We Are No Longer Entertained | Arianna Huffington
What's a Journalist to Do With a Trump Campaign That Is Beyond Reality? ( on the one hand, you sanity and on the other, insanity - we report, you decide )

Problem Solved! - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Canadian Cruz: If I am elected President, I will direct the Department of Defense to destroy ISIS. And I will shut down the broken immigration system that is letting jihadists into our country. Nothing President Obama said tonight will assist in either case

The Shock Doctrine - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Allison Hantschel on the latest fusilade of dudebro wankery at Salon: (increase the contradictions! Don't vote for Hillary! Let millions suffer and die!)

San Bernardino Shooters Had Target Practice Days Before Attack, FBI Says - The FBI has said it's investigating the shooting as an act of terrorism.
After San Bernardino - The New Yorker
How Many Mass Shootings Are There, Really? - The New York Times - By our measure, there have been four "mass shootings" this year, including the one in San Bernardino, and at least 73 such attacks since 1982. (depends on how you define "mass")
ShootingTracker.com

Supreme Court Won't Hear Major Second Amendment Case From Illinois - Justices Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia fiercely dissented from the court's rejection of the case.

Four Bodies in Elmhurst - Why would an 82-year-old man kill his son, his daughter, his wife and himself?

Prosecutors Release Video Of Chicago Police Fatally Shooting Black Man (it was justified because he was running away and the officer felt threatened)

- The libido crash - Female sex drive has plummeted in our stressed-out world, but can we fix an epidemic of lost desire with drugs? ... giving antibiotics to pigs because of the shit they're standing in (well, no +monogamy)




- Everything Will Be Fine Until It Isn't - how these universities think everything will work out on these Qatar campuses (authoritarian regimes are really keen on free speech)

The Day The Earth Stood Still: 25 Years After America's Earthquake Panic



120615

VersoBooks.com - Jason W. Moore: Anthropocene or Capitalocene?
Do We Live in the Capitalocene? - Lawyers, Guns & Money (commenters miss the point)
- Activist says authorities have "handed a megaphone to the corporations and taken the megaphone away from the social movements"

Saudi must stop financing fundamentalist mosques abroad: Merkel's deputy - The Express Tribune (another cat out of the bag, tell us again, who is our enemy?)

Lynch: Obama Will Urge Americans 'Not To Give In To Fear' - The White House said Obama would also provide an update on Wednesday's shootings in San Bernardino. (epidemic of rightwing-driven fear)

Removing the gag: how one man took on the FBI for nearly 12 years and won | Law | The Guardian - After years of silence and secrecy, internet service provider Nick Merrill can reveal an FBI demand for confidential information and its attendant gag order (fuck you, Obama and your eternal gag orders)

This Is How London Police Deal With A Knife-Wielding Suspect - In the U.S., the same incident had a very different outcome. (U.S. cops would have turned him into swiss cheese because they "felt threatened)

CIA Admits Role In 1985 Coup To Oust David Lee Roth
Cold War's Cool Calculations - The Chronicle of Higher Education - The Cold War was fought not only with missiles and mines but also with oil paint and trumpet notes.

ISIS-Inspired Terrorism Makes Gun Control a Matter of National Security

Cognitive Therapy for the Country - The New York Times (there's your problem right there)

Time to Tell the Truth About Conservative Religious Extremism by David Atkins | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - The fact that Republicans in the Senate have just voted to deny healthcare to women by defunding Planned Parenthood while allowing individuals on the terrorist watch list to continue to buy guns should give us pause. (things are coming to the surface)

Surveillance must increase after terror attacks, say 2016 candidates | US news | The Guardian - Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump and others say new monitoring is needed following violence in Paris and San Bernardino

No human being is illegal - linguists argue against mislabeling of immigrants (well, we can think of a few)

The infantilization of American politics - Lawyers, Guns & Money : 45 deaths over 14 years in a country of 320 million people represents such a tiny risk that focusing on it as some sort of special threat is both absurd as a matter of statistics and, practically speaking, utterly perverse, since it's precisely that focus that gives what political power the perpetrators of such attacks gain by undertaking them.

- As with the previous and no doubt future Salon articles urging people not to vote for Hillary Clinton, Shane Ryan's article is so stupid its stupidity cannot be encapsulated by even a lengthy block quote. ("heighten the contradictions worked so well in 2000 +Salon is evil)

Police reports in Laquan McDonald case appear to contradict dashcam video | abc7chicago.com ("appeared" = definitely)

San Bernardino bloodbath born of bigots - NY Daily News - San Bernardino killers were radical, ISIS-loving monsters -- but one of their victims was just as bigoted (he forgot to bring his assault weapon)

Eschaton: Kinda Hard to Use More Than One at a Time - Gun gropers are often a bit obsessed. - A Rochester Hills man who owned 145 guns was arrested for allegedly shooting at his wife earlier this week.

The U.S. Policy Driving Rape Victims Worldwide To Undergo Grisly Abortions - The Huffington Post - Thousands of rape victims around the world undergo grisly and unsafe abortions because of U.S. policy. Obama could change this with a single executive action. Why hasn't he? (he will triangulate until the end)

Macy's Imprisons Minority Customers and Extorts Them for Bogus Fines: Suit - Midtown South - DNAinfo.com New York - rule in New York's General Business Law that allows retailers to detain customers they believe tried to shoplift and ask them to pay a civil penalty without proving them guilty.

DN Editorial: Footing bill, toeing line - EXCUSE US for being surprised by the news this week that the city will be picking up $8 million of the cost of the World Meeting of Families and the visit by Pope Francis in September. (Mayor "Lock Down the City" Nutter lied?)


Elsevier: Article Locator - High intensity interval training improves liver and adipose tissue insulin sensitivity

Carrie Fisher gives zero fucks on Good Morning America : videos

Jefferson Airplane - White Rabbit (HQ) ~ (ReEdit) - YouTube
Jefferson Airplane - White Rabbit (1967) [psychadelic/acid rock] : Music

What's the biggest lie the government have made and that the population is totally believing in? : AskReddit
What NSFW facts are not mentioned in history books? : AskReddit
ELI5: If Netflix offers unlimited movies each month, why does Audible cost more and only offer one audiobook each month? : explainlikeimfive

120515

Kerry: Exxon could lose 'billions' in climate change lawsuit | TheHill

Learning From Ebola: Was Quarantine Too Extreme a Response? - The New York Times (indefinite rendition to your room)

Eisenhower warns us of the military industrial complex. - YouTube


A Running List Of Shameful Islamophobic Acts Since The Paris Attacks

Leader of UKIP Nigel Farage blames immigrants and vote rigging for Oldham by-election defeat - Business Insider - (Monster Raving Loony) Sir Oink A-Lot &mdash 141 (0.51%)

- This Will Be the Ugliest, Most Leprous Presidential Campaign We've ever seen

Uber-Liberals Are Now Likening Hillary Clinton to Dick Cheney - Does anyone have a thermometer to take the temperature of this take? The professional hysterics at Salon ...
- 95,000 Words, Many of Them Ominous, From Donald Trump's tongue (dude sounds brain-damaged)
How Donald Trump Talks - The New York Times (fascism is trending in white America)
At Donald Trump Rally in North Carolina, the Protesters Just Keep Coming - First Draft. Political News, Now. - The New York Times

End the Gun Epidemic in America - The New York Times - ?It is a moral outrage and national disgrace that civilians can legally purchase weapons designed to kill people with brutal speed and efficiency. (necromongers)
Gun Debate Yields Page One Editorial - The New York Times - The New York Times is running an editorial on its front page on Saturday, the first time the paper has done so since 1920, calling for greater regulation on guns in the aftermath of a spate of mass shootings.

The Latest: Islamic State group praises California shootings
Investigators Piece Together Portrait Of Tashfeen Malik (Wahhabi)
The Latest: Islamic State group praises California shootings
- After San Bernardino Attack, Republican Candidates Talk "war" (that's half their campaign, the other half is convincing stupid white people to give tax-cuts to the rich)
How The San Bernardino Killers Exploited A Loophole To Legally Obtain Assault-Style Rifles In California - It's called the "bullet button loophole."
In Scotland, Unlike America, Mass Shooting Led to Stricter Gun Laws - The New York Times

This GOP Politician's Christmas Card Has a S***load Of Guns On It - Merry Christmas from Nevada Assemblywoman Michele Fiore (R)! As every Christian knows, "Enormous Stockpiles Of Deadly Weapons" are the reason for the season! (family tht shoots together ...)
Missouri Lawmaker Brilliantly Proposes Bill To Regulate Guns Like Abortions - "If the appetite is for more and more reproductive restrictions, then it makes sense to apply those to gun purchases." (pro-death)

- A Few Words About "prayer shaming" - Then the U.S. senator, Chris Murphy, came forward rather menacingly.
San Bernardino Was One of Three Multiple Shooting Events Yesterday in America - San Bernardino was just one of the mass shootings in America yesterday.

Rahm Emanuel's Next Scandal? Chicago's Public Housing

- Porngate morphs into a "hot ghetto mess" (no racism in Philly justice)

"Mx." - Did The Times Adopt a New, Gender-Neutral Courtesy Title?





120415

Republicans' Climate Change Denial Denial -- But the talks could mark a turning point, the beginning of the kind of international action needed to avert catastrophe. Then again, they might not; we may be doomed. And if we are, you know who will be responsible: the Republican Party. (the Party of Greed, Death and Destruction)
Huffpollster: Americans Sharply Divided On Climate Change, But Most Want U.S. To Lead - "A clear but declining majority of Americans say climate change is a serious problem facing the United States" Sixty-three percent of Americans say climate change is a serious problem facing the country, slipping from 69 percent in June (14% decline in government should do more to 47%, so 53% want to kill the planet)
Microsoft Word - Climate change statement addendum_Final_Template - Climate Change Statement Addendum 2013 Final.pdf
Vikings were not spurred to Greenland by warm weather, research shows | World news | The Guardian - New analysis casts doubt on theory that change in climate influenced Vikings to move to Greenland in 985, and posits it would have been relatively cold
Sky lights up over Sicily as Mount Etna's Voragine crater erupts | World news | The Guardian

Inquiry Into Paris Terror Attacks Widens to Eastern Europe - The New York Times - a Belgian federal prosecutor announcing Friday that one of the people suspected of terrorism traveled in September by car to Hungary, where he picked up two men now believed to have links to the carnage of Nov. 13.

Pentagon Task Force Spent Nearly $150M on Villas and 3-Star Meals in Afghanistan (why we can't have nice things at home)

Molotov Cocktail Attack On Cairo Restaurant Kills 16 - The attacker was an employee who had been fired from the restaurant, one official said.

Iran ready to present proof on ISIS oil trade to Turkey: Official - AhlulBayt News Agency - ABNA - Shia News

Israel Arrests Young Jews Suspected of Terrorism Against Palestinians - The New York Times

- Isis wants an insane, medieval race war -- and we've decided to give it to them

Canada to become first G7 nation to legalize marijuana: government - Yahoo News

If the FCC Loses in Court Today, It Could Be the End of Net Neutrality : technology

Tests on skull fragment cast doubt on Adolf Hitler suicide story | World news | The Guardian - Bone with bullet hole found by Russians in 1946 came from an unknown woman, not the German leader - Why Hitler's world may not be so far away

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard Says Obama Policies Could Trigger Nuclear War With Russia - The Hawaii Democrat has been a persistent critic of Obama's foreign policy.

Senate Passes Bill Repealing Key Parts of Obamacare, Stripping Planned Parenthood Funds - NBC News

Is Trump Fascist? - Lawyers, Guns & Money
theartfulcodger comments on GOP in panic over Trump - "They sow the wind and reap the whirlwind. The stalk has no head; it will produce no flour." - Hosea 8:7 (NIV) (read this)

How Delusional Nostalgia Is Killing the White Working Class | Alternet - Half of white Americans think the racial tables have turned against them ... The dashed hopes of white Americans in general, and working-class white Americans in particular, were built on a crumbling foundation of white privilege and supremacy ... But who needs the Tea Party when extremism has gone so mainstream? Racist and xenophobic dog whistles from the right in the 2008 election seem almost polite judged by the yardstick of today

If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs - Lawyers, Guns & Money : . . . maybe you don't quite understand the actual situation - Trump: 36% Cruz: 16% Carson: 14% Rubio: 12% Christie: 4% Bush: 3% Fiorina: 3%

Whiteness as Zero Sum Game - Lawyers, Guns & Money : The Tea Party has nothing on Donald Trump. I do think this gets at the fundamentals of the entire right-wing revolt of recent years, including the embrace of gun culture no matter how many Americans die and support for killing brown people abroad. Whites, and especially working class whites, long felt that any rights for black Americans or other racial minorities were direct attacks upon them.

San Bernardino Shooting: The Investigation So Far - The New York Times
What We Know About Female San Bernardino Shooter Tashfeen Malik - ABC News
San Bernardino shooting: Attacker pledged allegiance to ISIS, officials say : news
Law Enforcement Analyst Dumbfounded as Media Rummages Through House of Suspected Terrorists : videos
Feds probe possible terrorism links in San Bernardino massacre - LA Times
Rampage killers led secret life, hiding plans and weapons - LA Times
California Rampage Shocks Those Who Knew Shooters - "This was a person who was successful, who had a good job, a good income, a wife and a family. What was he missing in his life?" (looks kinda zomboid)

New York Daily News Slams 'Terrorist' NRA Boss Wayne LaPierre - Newspaper blasts "sick jihad against Americans in the name of profit."
Here's a map of all the mass shootings in 2015 | PBS NewsHour

Are Americans at high risk of getting murdered? - Lawyers, Guns & Money (depends where you live and what color your skin is)
Senate rejects a series of gun control bills - CBS News - By a vote of 52 to 47, the Senate rejected a proposal to strengthen treatment for mental illness and substance abuse disorders.

TIL Breast Cancer Cure foundation, Susan G. Komen, have been suing other many small charities for using the word "for the cure" in their names or the color pink. : todayilearned

The Green Lady of Brooklyn - The New York Times

The 10 Best Books of 2015 - The New York Times

The world's most popular banana could go extinct - that's the troubling conclusion of a new study published in PLOS Pathogens, which confirmed something many agricultural scientists have feared to be true.

- Textbook prices rise more than 1K percent since 1977

College Students/Graduates of Reddit, what's the craziest thing you ever witnessed in your dorm/residence hall? [NSFW] : AskReddit
79% percent of people don't know the opposite words for the following... : funny


120315

- Rival international negotiations in Geneva could outlaw subsidies for solar or wind power in "great climate change swindle" (why Obama loves secrecy)

Former Isis hostage says airstrikes on Syria are a trap | World news | The Guardian - French journalist Nicolas Hinin, who was held by Mohammed Emwazi, begs international community not to bomb Islamic State (when all you have is bombs, repeating history ad-infinitum)


Gitmo Prisoner Held For 13 Years Was Victim Of 'Mistaken Identity' - U.S. officials said Mustafa al-Aziz al-Shamiri was not a significant member of al-Qaeda as previously suspected. (the worst of the worst superterrorists, Obama knew this for years)

Sweden seeks emergency power to halt Danish bridge traffic | World news | The Guardian - Minister says Vresund road bridge between Copenhagen and Malmv may be shut in emergencies under proposed security legislation

Russian President Vladimir Putin: Turkey Will Regret Shooting Down Bomber Jet - Apparently Russia wants some payback. - "But if anyone thinks that having committed this awful war crime, the murder of our people, that they are going to get away with some measures concerning their tomatoes or some limits on construction and other sectors, they are sorely mistaken." "It appears that Allah decided to punish the ruling clique of Turkey by depriving them of wisdom and judgment," he said. (big mistake, Gollum)

U.S. Targets Islamic State's Baghdadi as Special Forces Gear Up - Bloomberg Politics

FIFA Corruption: Top Officials Arrested in Pre-Dawn Raid at Zurich Hotel - The New York Times - Some of the arrests took place at the same luxury hotel where other FIFA officials were arrested in May. (learn anything?)
Latest indictment in Fifa corruption scandal names 16 new officials | Football | The Guardian - All defendants were members of Concacaf and Conmebol

- Channel 4 News cancels Prince Charles interview due to "draconian" demands - including the pre-vetting of all questions and right to control editing. (lizards)

- New breaches revealed in report that says Secret Service is "in crisis" (too much porn and budget cuts)

Carter opens all military combat jobs to women - politico

Sandy Berger, former national security adviser, dies - politicosy

-Politico's Mike Allen Promised Positive Coverage of Chelsea Clinton

San Bernardino Massacre Is Deadliest Shooting Since Sandy Hook - At least 14 people were killed in San Bernardino. Twenty-eight died in Newtown.
They were a couple: The striking difference between the San Bernardino suspects and other mass shooters - The Washington Post
San Bernardino shooting: Carnage was 'unspeakable' - CNN.com - he'd gone to Saudi Arabia for several weeks in 2013 on the Hajj,
Police Search For Motive Behind San Bernardino Shooting - "I have no idea why he would do something like this," the brother-in-law of one of the suspects said. "I am in shock myself." - "he was very religious. He would go to work, come back, go to pray, come back. He's Muslim
Here's Everything We Know About The San Bernardino Attackers - Police identified the killers as Syed Rizwan Farook, 28, and Tashfeen Malik, 27.
- San Bernardino shooting suspects raised few red flags before "horrendous crime" - Sources say Syed Rizwan Farook communicated by phone and social media with people known to FBI, but his and wife Tashfeen Malik's motive is still unclear
There Have Been More Mass Shootings This Year Than There Have Been Days - 355 mass shootings in 336 days ... and counting.
No Way To Prevent This, Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens
Which States Have the Most Guns? | Republic 3.0 | The Washington Monthly - Nationally, guns outnumber both cars and people. (per capital, KY by far)
Congress still slow to address gun control despite series of mass shootings | US news | The Guardian - due to stiff opposition from Republicans (Party of Death and Suffering)
New York Daily News Skewers Politicians Refusing To Act On Gun Violence: 'God Isn't Fixing This' - Many lawmakers have offered prayers for victims of mass shootings but haven't backed policies to prevent gun violence. (your stupidity is yours to fix, is the contract)
San Bernardino Reminds Us How Many Tyrants - and Patriots - Must Die to Water the Tree of Liberty - After the mass shooting in San Bernardino, the 2nd Amendment and the rhetoric that swirls around it deserve an examination.

Lack Of Sound On Chicago Shooting Tapes Raises New Suspicions - "I've never heard of it before," one expert said. "It raises a red flag." Videos from three other cars that responded have not been released.
Laquan McDonald shooting puts Rahm Emanuel in battle over the truth | US news | The Guardian - Release of dashcam video now puts focus on Chicago mayor's attempt over 13 months to delay release of the footage - and why he did so (the Chicago gang)
Eschaton: Has Rahm Deleted His Account Yet? - There are a lot of "bad Dems" but Emanuel is probably about the most despicable elected official, period. We all heard the charming story about how Rahm's dream job was to be mayor of Chicago. I guess his dream activity was doing his best to cover up for cops who murder black people.
- Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel Is Throwing Anyone Within Arm's Reach Under the Bus - Over the past two decades or so, I've decided that there is no more inexcusable a figure in our national politics than Rahm Emanuel, who is, for the moment, the mayor of Chicago, but also someone who, throughout his entire career, has made it quite clear that he believes political power derives from being as much of a dick as possible to the people who ostensibly are on your side.



- Fertility clinics destroy embryos all the time. Why aren't conservatives after them? (because they aren't hiding in a woman's body)

School district backtracks on locker room access for transgender student | US news | The Guardian - approves use of private but not curtained areas "God does not make mistakes. God made man and then God made woman"

CEO who set $70,000 minimum wage: ex-wife's abuse accusations 'baseless' | Society | The Guardian (techbros)

New Airbnb Data Reveals Some Hosts Are Raking In Big Bucks | Meredith Broussard (in NYC, anyway)

What mobile app has actually had a legitimate positive impact on your life? : AskReddit

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This Is The Beginning Of The End Of The Fossil Fuel Industry - Oil and coal companies are either going to have to invest in renewables, or perish.
Earth has lost a third of arable land in past 40 years, scientists say | Environment | The Guardian - Experts point to damage caused by erosion and pollution, raising major concerns about degraded soil amid surging global demand for food
- David Cameron accuses Jeremy Corbyn of being "terrorist sympathiser" (learning from Donald)

Cameroon Says It Killed 100 Boko Haram Militants, Freed 900 Hostages - The country is part of a 8,700-strong task force comprising troops of Chad, Niger, Nigeria and Benin, aimed at destroying Boko Haram.

ISIS Sympathizers In The U.S. Are Mostly Young, Male And American - A new study by researchers at George Washington University sheds light on those accused of supporting the terrorist group.

Erdogan wants his precious : pics
Turkish doctor faces 2 years in jail for sharing meme that likens president Erdogan to Gollum in LOTR : worldnews

Pope Francis-Islamic State Plot: Four Arrested In Italy For Planning ISIS Attack On Pontiff Following Paris Terrorism

Challenging the Oligarchy by Paul Krugman | The New York Review of Books - Saving Capitalism: For the Many, Not the Few by Robert B. Reich


Former Professional Propagandist for White Supremacist and Torture Regime Decries Nazi Comparisons in Politics - Marc Thiessen (is a bad human and a dick)


- San Bernardino shooting: male and female suspects dead as 14 killed
San Bernardino shooting - LA Times
Authorities Respond to "20 victime Shooting" Incident in San Bernardino: Fire Dept.
- San Bernardino mass shooting: Police say - upwards of 14 people dead
Inland Regional Center: shooting target is community for disabled people | US news | The Guardian - Largest state-operated facility for those with developmental disabilities was holding event when shooters killed up to 14 attendees in San Bernardino
Politicians React To San Bernardino Shooting - Reports indicated there were 20 victims.
At Least 14 Dead In Shooting At Social Services Center In San Bernardino
Congress Is Still Giving 'Quiet Endorsement' To Murders
Shooting rampage at California social services agency leaves 14 dead, 14 wounded | Reuters
994 mass shootings in 1,004 days: this is what America's gun crisis looks like | US news | The Guardian

A White Terrorist Gunned Down A Cop And The #BlueLivesMatter Crowd Revealed Its True Colors
Deaths associated with law enforcement intervention rose 45% between 1999-2013. : science (while crime is down 30%)
The New Jim Crow - Lawyers, Guns & Money

Before Colorado shooting, a trail of allegations of violence against women - The Washington Post - At least two of his three ex-wives have accused him of physical abuse, according to court records. And in 1992, Dear was arrested and accused of sexual violence and rape.

Fetal abduction: brutal attacks against expectant mothers on the rise in US | US news | The Guardian - Experts fear easy access to news and information online has contributed to rise of the crime

First language wires brain for later language-learning | Newsroom - McGill University


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Bill Nye Explains The Connection Between Climate Change And Terrorism In Paris - "This is just the start of things." (Republicans call for War on Climate)
Here's All The Nonsense 2016 Republicans Have Spouted About Climate Change - Rubio: "America is not a planet." -- September 2015

- MSF hospital in Syria hit by "double-tap" barrel bombing - Seven killed in Homs attack, latest in apparent escalation of strikes on medical facilities in civil war (U.S. led the way)

Long-Hidden Details Reveal Cruelty of 1972 Munich Attackers - The New York Times (ISIS has been around for a long time)

White House Says Pentagon Plan To Close Gitmo Is Too Expensive, Rejects Proposal - The Pentagon estimate for closing the prison and building another one in the United States was as high as $600 million. (you see where they are going with this)



Senate Democrats Slam Obama Education Chief's 'Absurd' Logic - Sen. Elizabeth Warren and others are "profoundly dissatisfied" with the Obama administration's settlement with a for-profit college chain accused of cheating students and taxpayers. (Obama loves his for-profits)


Star-Ledger Editor Throws Shade On NH Paper's Christie Endorsement - As it turns out, not knowing anything about Chris Christie was the key factor in the New Hampshire Union Leader's decision. "The [Union Leader] knows almost nothing about his record as governor," wrote Moran. Cool, cool, the system works. (they have a history of not knowing anything)
Chris Christie Receives New Hampshire Union-Leader Endorsement - However, the U-L's fulsome endorsement caught the eye of Tom Moran, who runs the editorial page at the Newark Star-Ledger, which has been the go-to source for information on Big Chicken's crony-laden misfeasance as governor of that state


- The County: the story of America's deadliest police Police in Kern County, California, have killed more people per capita than in any other American county in 2015. The Guardian examines how, with little oversight, officers here became the country

Chicago Mayor Fires City's Top Cop In Wake Of Laquan McDonald Criticism - Rahm Emanuel said it was time for "fresh eyes and new leadership." (take your own advice, asshole)

A White Terrorist Is A 'Troubled Loner,' But Unarmed Black Teens Are 'Thugs' - Why does the media use loaded language in crime stories? (take a guess)
If The Anti-Abortion Movement Doesn't Condone Violence, How Do Republicans Explain These Remarks? - Ted Cruz and Mike Huckabee recently appeared with a pastor who once said a murdered abortion doctor got what he deserved.
- Ted Cruz cites reports that Planned Parenthood shooter could be "transgendered liberal activist" What?

The PP Attack Could Reverse Abortion Politics -- The Cut
Abortion opponents defend their movement after Colorado shooting | MSNBC

We can save atheism from the New Atheists like Richard Dawkins | Jeff Sparrow | Comment is free | The Guardian ("New" = Douchebag)

College coach with $18 million guaranteed contract regrets win at all costs mentality - Lawyers, Guns & Money (Sports Corp U)

Scientists overcome key CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing hurdle
New Diabetes Cases, at Long Last, Begin to Fall in the United States - The New York Times (peak cola)

People who got fired on the first day of the job, what happened? : AskReddit
oldbabies: babies looking older than they should.
How to Calm a Crying Baby - "Shake their little Booty" : videos (make them think they are superbabies)
People in your teens and twenties: Ask people in their 30s about life before the internet. No, seriously, do it. : bestof

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What You Need To Know About The Paris Climate Summit - It's do-or-die time for climate change efforts as world leaders converge on the French capital. (Republicans choose death)
Barack Obama optimistic of reaching climate change deal at Paris summit | Environment | The Guardian
The Devastating Consequences Of A 'Small' Rise In Global Temperatures - More Floods, More Drought Inevitable. How Bad Do We Want It To Get? (very, very bad)
'Our Major Cities Will Be Submerged': Climate-Change Threats (video) (party of death and destruction will be happy)
Tales of a Warmer Planet - The New York Times
Watch How Rising Sea Levels Could Swallow Coastal Cities - This could happen sooner than you might think. (goodbye New Orleans, Miami and Boston and half of Manhattan)
Surging Seas: Sea level rise analysis by Climate Central
What #ExxonKnew Back When | Climate Denial Crock of the Week
The Climate Deception Dossiers: Internal Fossil Fuel Industry Memos Reveal Decades of Corporate Disinformation (2015) - The-Climate-Deception-Dossiers.pdf

The National Security Letter spy tool has been uncloaked, and it's bad - No warrants needed to get browsing history, online purchase records, and other data. (thanks, Obama)
Surprise! The NSA Is Still Spying On You
How Washington's campaign against encryption could help terrorists | Washington Examiner - Senate Armed Services Chairman John McCain, R-Ariz., without specifying what the legislation could look like. He added that encrypted communication is "unacceptable." (your privacy is unacceptable to him and Barry too)
Internet Provider Gagged for Decade Reveals What FBI Wanted Without Warrant - US News (because your Constituion is useless against shit like this)

Former Military Chief: Iraq War Was A 'Failure' That Helped Create ISIS - "We strategically marched in the wrong direction." (that's helpful)

We Obtained Hillary Clinton's Confidential Memo To Obama. Read It Here. - "We must signal to our old and emerging allies alike that we remain serious about turning the page of GTMO and the practices of the prior decade."

ISIS' Grip on Libyan City Gives It a Fallback Option
Turkey Arrests Generals for Stopping Syria-Bound Trucks 'Filled With Arms' (schizo-Turkey hello Erdogan)
Erdogan challanges Putin to resign if he cant prove Turkey buys oil from Daesh - Daily Sabah
Russia hits back at Turkey by changing Syria 'game' - Al Jazeera English - Moscow's retaliation after Turkey downed its military jet could tie Ankara's hands in Syria - The deployment of S-400 anti-air missiles means Russia has effectively imposed a no-fly zone over Syria. (will support Kurds)

How the Paris Attackers Honed Their Assault Through Trial and Error - The New York Times



Eschaton: If It's Sunday - I think there's a pattern here. Anyone see it? Not quite sure I do... thinking... (they don't even pretend anymore)

Robert Dear, Suspect in Colorado Attack, Appears in Court - The New York Times
Searching for Answers and Comfort After Killings at Planned Parenthood - The New York Times
Planned Parenthood Shooter Killed More Than Any Supposed Refugee Terrorist - Remember this stat the next time someone denounces Syrian refugees.
Shooting Won't Affect Senate Planned Parenthood Efforts. - no reason to expect last week's shooting at a Colorado Planned Parenthood facility will alter the Senate's effort to block funding to the organization this week.
Harry Reid: Republicans Have Created 'A Frenzy Of Hate And Anger' Over Planned Parenthood - He implored the GOP to disband the committee probing "unsubstantiated allegations" against the organization. (Republicans support domestic terrorism especially agains women, sound familiar?)
Alabama Surrenders In Fight Against Planned Parenthood - The state will pay Planned Parenthood's legal fees after failed suit.
Eschaton: Shit Is Fucked Up And Bullshit - Thanks for informing your readers, New York Times. (their bias is so natural)
Eschaton: Pro-Life Murderers - You can understand why our media has problems with this stuff. Both sides, also, too.

Sheldon Silver, Ex-New York Assembly Speaker, Is Found Guilty on All Counts - The New York Times (how have the mightily corrupt fallen)

Algebra Scores Prompt Second Look at Revamped Regents Exams - The New York Times - But to devote so much time to algebra, ninth graders are no longer taking art, music and health.


Is "The Gospel of Jesus's Wife" a revelation or a hoax?
Is the Gospel of Jesus's Wife a fake? - Five questions about

Researchers find new phase of carbon, make diamond at room temperature : science - In addition, Q-carbon is harder than diamond, and glows when exposed to even low levels of energy.

Her incest story : videos


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Climate-Change Summary and Update - Updated frequently, and most recently 28 November 2015. The Central Valley is sinking: drought forces farmers to ponder the abyss | US news | The Guardian

Turkey's Erdogan Expresses Regret Over Russian Plane Downing - "We are truly saddened by this incident."
Top Kurdish Lawyer Shot Dead During Press Conference In Turkey - A "courageous defender of human rights."


Do Words Kill? Is Political Rhetoric Inciting Christians to Violence? | BJ Gallagher

- Source: Colorado shooter politically motivated, said - "no more baby parts" after attacking Planned Parenthood
Colorado Springs: a playground for pro-life, pro-gun evangelical Christians | US news | The Guardian
Planned Parenthood Shooting Suspect Made Comment About 'No More Baby Parts': Sources - NBC News
CNN Invites Right-Wing Rep To Slam Planned Parenthood During Active Shooting - Rep. Adam Kizinger used the shooting to bring up the widely debunked videos Planned Parenthood critics have used to attack the health care provider.
Planned Parenthood Shooting Suspect Robert Lewis Dear Has Unsettling Past - "If you talked to him, nothing was very cognitive," a former neighbor said.
Colorado Survivor Recounts Haunting Moment When Gunman Stared Him In The Eye - "I've never experienced anything like that before."
3 Dead After Gunman Opens Fire Inside Colorado Planned Parenthood - One officer and two civilians were killed, and nine others were injured, during a lengthy standoff.

2016 Republican Contenders Silent On Planned Parenthood Shooting - But they did have something to say about Black Friday gear and Obama's foreign policy.


Swedish court: "We cannot ban Pirate Bay" - After deliberating for almost a month on the closely-watched case, the District Court of Stockholm ruled that copyright holders could not make Swedish ISP Bredbandsbolaget block Pirate Bay.
BTDigg DHT Search Engine: Free Search Engine For Free Torrent Content
Read the Transcript of Silk Road's Boss Ordering 5 Assassinations | WIRED

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Bloomberg: Climate 'crazies' are being forced to accept reality - CNN.com - "You've got a guy like Ted Cruz, who I think (prominent American lawyer Alan) Dershowitz said was the smartest law student he ever had, and he says some of the stupidest things I've ever heard." (smart, in a really evil way)
Bloomberg: Cruz Says Some of the Stupidest Things I've Ever Heard on Climate Change (for the comments, which are frightingly stupid)
Paris climate activists put under house arrest using emergency laws | Environment | The Guardian - French police arrest activists for flouting ban on organising protests during climate talks next week

Paris Attacks Plot Was Hatched in Plain Sight - WSJ - Terrorists used tools of everyday modern life to plan attacks on French capital undetected (more spy powers!)

- Turkey putting Syrian refugees "at serious risk of human rights abuse" (in the news alot, Erdogan)

Commercial scale oil smuggling into Turkey becomes priority target of anti-ISIS strikes (yeah, just where were those 400 oil trucks going?

Suspected Boko Haram Bombing Hits Shiite Procession

Paris Attacks Plot Was Hatched in Plain Sight - WSJ - Terrorists used tools of everyday modern life to plan attacks on French capital undetected

Development From Below | Jacobin - Capitalists are interested in profit, not development. Only workers can empower the Global South. (class over race)

Poland Won't Extradite Roman Polanski To The United States

Swedish court: 'We cannot ban Pirate Bay' - The Local

Tighter Lid on Records Threatens to Weaken Government Watchdogs - The New York Times (Barry is anti-transparent)

Saudi king showered Obamas with $1.3 million in gifts in 2014

Eschaton: Debates - After years of hearing Democrats complain about how the news shows are wall-to-wall Republican crap, it's pretty weird to hear Democrats talking about how we need fewer debates - less airtime! Because what we really need is to hear Republicans all the time, just like the rest of the year. Martin O'Mally is right about this.

Supreme Court Justice Intervenes in Native Hawaiian Election - The New York Times

Online Polls Are Rising. So Are Concerns About Their Results. - The New York Times - One is the rise of online polling. The other is the decline of telephone surveys because of rising costs and possibly declining quality, tied to the fact that fewer Americans are willing to participate in a telephone poll.

Why one political scientist thinks Donald Trump might actually win - Vox - In an exchange with Paul Krugman, political scientist Alan Abramowitz made one of the best cases I've heard for, as Krugman put it, "thinking the Trumpthinkable."

Alan Grayson Is A Ted Cruz Birther (yeah, that got swept under the rug)
"It's Alive. It's Alive ..." - Read the editorial and news pages today and you'll find a mix of hand-wringing and demands about an uncouth and outrageous outsider who is threatening to wrest the Republican party from its rightful owners (quintessential apotheosis of the stupid, evil and insane)

False Alarms About a National Crime Wave - The New York Times - 1.5 percent lower in 2015 than 2014. (that's quite a "wave" and just who is sounding the "alarms?")

Suspect in Planned Parenthood shooting in custody in Colorado Springs - The Denver Post - Colorado Springs police spokeswoman says gunman fired at police officers inside the Planned Parenthood building
Active shooter in Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood parking lot. : news
At Least 8 Shot at a Planned Parenthood Site in Colorado - The New York Times - A gunman inside a Planned Parenthood center here was exchanging gunfire with the police, the authorities said on Friday, wounding at least eight people including four officers. (Republican-encouraged domestic terrorism)
Three officers injured in shooting near Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood | US news | The Guardian - Police spokeswoman says officers do not know where shooter is
Man Kills Waffle House Worker Over Smoking Ban, Cops Say - in Mississippi was shot dead after she asked a customer to stop smoking in the restaurant, police said.
Burger King manager told grand jury of gap in Laquan McDonald video of police shooting - Chicago Tribune - When the police left the restaurant almost two hours later, the video had an inexplicable 86-minute gap that included when McDonald was shot, according to Darshane.
Man Sentenced To Life In Prison For Killing Neighbor In Argument Over Loud Music
Mosque Protester Who Posted Muslims' Addresses: I'm Being 'Smeared' - for posting local Muslims' home addresses to Facebook earlier this week.

Black Tape at Harvard Law - The New York Times

100 Notable Books of 2015 - The New York Times
Iconic moments frozen in time from over 100 years of stunning photography - CNN.com - History-makers & risk-takers: 15 of the most compelling photos shot in the last century

When The Mountains Started Exploding: Devastation In Coal Country (VIDEO) - The clip takes viewers from the resplendent green of the forested mountains to the barren wastelands and lunar landscapes of the area after the coal industry has decimated it. (coal's war on you +keep voting for the Death Party, WVA)

Alzheimer's: newly identified molecular mechanism could lead to treatment - Medical News Today - Low NCAM2 levels found in brains affected by Alzheimer's
Scientists Unlock Mysteries Of World's Most Massive Volcano - Located approximately 1,000 miles east of Japan and 6,500 feet below the ocean's surface, Tamu Massif is about the size of New Mexico and nearly as big as the largest volcanoes on Mars. (60 Mauna Loa's)
Scientists get first glimpse of black hole eating star, ejecting high-speed flare
Earth might have hairy dark matter
'Material universe' yields surprising new particle - the type-II Weyl fermion in metallic materials. When subjected to a magnetic field, the materials containing the particle act as insulators for current applied in some directions and as conductors for current applied in other directions

Which author overuses certain words/phrases? : books (ideosyncratic tropes +what Reddit is reading)
'Man in the High Castle': Inside the Mindblowing Sci-Fi Drama | Rolling Stone - Amazon's new alternate-history series imagines: What if the Nazis won WWII and occupied the U.S.?
- Inside the Mindblowing Sci-Fi Drama - Amazon's new alternate-history series imagines: What if the Nazis won WWII and occupied the U.S.?

TIL Students who dated in Middle School are four times more likely to drop out of school and report twice as much alcohol, tobacco and marijuana use than their single classmates. : todayilearned


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Here's The Crazy Story About Thanksgiving -- especially the parts about Squanto the "friendly Indian."

- Among many climate scientists, gloom has set in. Things are worse than we think, but they can't really talk about it
The 5 mass extinctions : gifs
GOP Threatens To Disrupt Obama's Climate Agenda At Paris Summit - Republicans are working to prevent a deal, warning Obama they will use any tool necessary to block funding he has promised to help poor nations fight climate change. (Party of Death manuevers to end world)
Scientists: Ted Cruz Understands Less About Climate Than A Kindergartner
Scientists Slam Lamar Smith's NOAA Witch-Hunt - By Martin Longman - According to Open Secrets, the Oil & Gas industry has donated more than $630,000 to Rep. Lamar Smith during his illustrative career, including $10,000 in the last election cycle from Koch Industries.

Obama compares Syrian refugees to pilgrims on the Mayflower | TheHill (didn't work so well for the natives, though)

Russia Seeks Economic Revenge Against Turkey Over Jet - Turkey dismissed the threats as "emotional" and "unfitting."
Russia will pull out of Syria coalition if downing of jet is repeated, says Putin | World news | The Guardian
Turkish fighter jets violate Greek national air space | News | ekathimerini.com

Russians may have a strong case in Turkish shootdown | TheHill - The shootdown of the Russian Su-24 bomber by Turkish F-16s raises a number of critical issues under international law that the U.S. needs to carefully navigate. This is especially so since the result of the Turkish action was the apparently illegal killing by Syrian rebels of one of the Russian aircrew, as well as the possibly unlawful death of a Russian marine attempting to rescue the downed aviators.


A Post-Truth Party - President Bush weaponized the stupid, but it took McCain to deploy it.

Page 3 of America Is Too Dumb for TV News | Rolling Stone - Trump and others are proving it: we can't handle the truth ("we" = Republicans)
The Ecstasy of Donald Trump - Donald Trump's Campaign Takes a Darker Turn - The Atlantic - As the public's fear and loathing surge, the frontrunner's durable candidacy has taken a dark turn (into the dark heart of America's Republicans)
Trump draws scornful rebuke for mocking reporter with disability - The Washington Post - "Despite having one of the all-time great memories I certainly do not remember him" (he remembers his lies)
Trump Mocking Physical Disabilities Is Nothing New - The Republican candidate drew criticism for apparently making fun of a reporter's joint condition.
- A Definitive Debunking of Donald Trump's 9/11 Claims

The Carson Bubble Has Burst - Lawyers, Guns & Money : - A Quinnipiac University survey released Tuesday found Cruz essentially deadlocked with longtime poll-leader Trump in Iowa: Trump stood at 25 percent and Cruz at 23 percent,

Kochs Embedded In Major Rift On Bipartisan Criminal Justice Reform - The proposed reform could make much white-collar crime harder to prosecute. (especially oil and poisoning companies, in case you were wondering about motives)

Cop in dash-cam video to face murder charge - Chicago Tribune
If police shooting video had been released sooner, would Emanuel be mayor? - Chicago Tribune (no, +scrubbed the audio +"technical difficulties" inside cops' brains)
Laquan McDonald's Shooting Is Just The Latest Episode In Chicago Police's Brutal History - City officials have framed the cop who killed McDonald as one bad apple, but the department has been rotten for almost a century.
What Mayor Emanuel needs to learn from the killing of Laquan McDonald | Bleader | Chicago Reader (not to coverup for cop murderers)
The Race Gap in America's Police Departments
Chicago Just Fired An Investigator Trying To Hold Cops Accountable For Unjustified Shootings - "They're just an arm against the city to hurt people bringing complaints."
Beyond Burge | Better Government Association - Over the past decade, the City of Chicago has spent more than $500 million on police-related settlements, judgments, legal fees and other costs (the whole barrel is rotten)
Crime in the city - Lawyers, Guns & Money

Why Punish Drug Users at All? - The New York Times (because America is very moralistic and sadistic)

- Why a Georgia sheriff posted this "politically incorrect" sign (because people say "in God we trust" all the time)

Drive By by Matt Connolly | The Washington Monthly

cops rush to death threats and screams -- of spider-chasing man (it was probably the size of a small kangaroo)

End of daily injections for diabetes as scientists restore insulin production - Injecting billions of immune cells back into the body boosts insulin production, preventing the need for daily injections - the therapy is safe, and can last up to a year (Type 1)
Will we ever understand the beginning of the univers... - Cosmology has been on a long, hot streak, racking up one imaginative and scientific triumph after another. Is it over? - the Big Bang might have been a reaction to a contraction, a bounce, perhaps one in a sequence of bounces that extends deep into the past and maybe into eternity.
Smoking high strength cannabis may damage nerve fibres in brain | Science | The Guardian - Study suggests high levels of skunk use may affect the brain's white matter, making communication between the right and left hemispheres less efficient

Moral Dispute or Cultural Difference? - The New York Times

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Scientists Shocked (And Thankful) These Cyclones Missed Hawaii - The image is a stark reminder of a stronger than usual El Niqo.

Putin Sends Air Defense Missiles To Syria To Deter Turkey - The S-400 missile systems, which will be sent to the Hemeimeem air base in Syria's coastal province of Latakia, located just about 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of the border with Turkey, are capable of targeting Turkish jets with deadly precision. (slouching toward armageddon)

"I gave the order myself" - Turkish PM on downing Russian plane

U.S. cites errors and technical failures in report on Afghan hospital attack - The Washington Post - beset by "fatigue and a high operational tempo"

Hackers knock out ISIS's Dark Net propaganda site


SpikeDescending comments on Blast from the past: I just became aware of Reagan's address to the nation in which he admits that he lied to the public about trading arms for hostages. How did people let him get away with this bullshit? Was there outcry back then?
The Clothes Have No Emperor


Chris Christie Doesn't Recall Muslims In New Jersey Celebrating 9/11 - The New Jersey governor says he'd remember if it happened, "and I don't." (an historian)

CNN Looks More Like Fox Than 'Most Trusted Name In News' Post-Paris - One anchor just asked a Michigan mayor if she's "afraid" of the city's growing Muslim population.

CNN Polled Americans On Racism, And The Results Are Telling - More believe racism is a big problem than they did four years ago. (when the SC decided America was post-racial)

How Chicago tried to cover up a police execution | Chicago Reporter
Traffic halted, but few arrests, as hundreds march in Loop after video release - Chicago Tribune
Chicago Releases 'Chilling' Video Of Cop Shooting Teen 16 Times - The Cook County state's attorney said the officer "was on the scene less than 30 seconds" before opening fire on Laquan McDonald, 17.
A staggering moment for Chicago - Chicago Tribune - Those images are deeply disturbing. Chicago needed to know exactly what happened. (Rahm knew about this for a year)
Reporter Who Forced Release of Laquan McDonald Video Is Barred From News Event - The New York Times
Here's Evidence The Chicago PD Is Worse Than You Thought - The city's police department has a long history of failing to hold its officers accountable.
Chicago cop who injured driver in '07 is probed for shooting teen 16 times - Chicago Tribune - But he was never disciplined for any of the 15 complaints that have been resolved, including the one Nance filed after his run-in with Van Dyke, according to city documents obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request.
Missing Minutes From Security Video Raises Questions | NBC Chicago - 17-year-old shot 16 times by Chicago police officer (will they be prosecuted also?)
King: Chicago cop Jason Van Dyke's murder charge is too late - NY Daily News
Videos Show Masked Men Threatening Minneapolis Black Lives Matter Before Shooting - The recordings could offer clues to the identities of the men who shot black protesters on Monday night.

CNN Analyst "Shocked There's No Violence" During Chicago Protests | Video | Media Matters for America - CNN's Harry Houck: "Thugs Like To Use This As An Excuse To ... Riot, Destroy Property, [And] Fight The Police" (CNN is very racist)
- The Violent Legacy of Chicago's Police (April)

Judge rules on alleged gay-basher's tweets (live by the tweet ...)

Wedding Venue Owners Want To Be Able To Turn Away Same-Sex Couples - The owners of New York's Liberty Ridge Farm say their faith does not allow them to participate in a same-sex marriage. (what part of serving the public don't you understand)

- Humanism, Doubt, and Optimism - by Lawrence Krauss, 2015 Humanist of the Year 20 October 2015

That "alien megastructure" orbiting a distant star is probably just a bunch of comets ("probably")



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Turkey Shoots Down Russian Warplane Near Syrian Border - The New York Times
Turkey Shoots Down Russian Military Plane Near Syrian Border - This complicates an already complicated situation in the Middle East.
The Latest: Russia Pilot Killed by Groundfire in Syria - The New York Times - Russian news agencies reported the statement Tuesday by general staff spokesman Lt. Gen. Sergei Rudskoi, who also said that rebels in Syria fired on a Russian helicopter that was searching for the two pilots of the Su-24.
Russia deploys missile cruiser off Syria coast, ordered to destroy any target posing danger - The Turkish fighter jet made no attempts to contact Russian pilots before attacking the bomber, Rudskoy added. (which crashed in Syrian territory, so Turkey is really the bad actor here)
- Not Much Putin Can Do About This Turkey Situation - And Putin knows it
Russian Plane Incident Should Show War Hawks the Dangers of a No-Fly Zone Over Syria
The Cuban Missile Crisis Pilot Whose Death May Have Saved Millions - History in the Headlines - The Cuban Missile Crisis Pilot Whose Death May Have Saved Millions

Russia's Putin calls Turkey's downing of Russian jet 'stab in the back' | News , Middle East | THE DAILY STAR

Analysts Accuse CENTCOM of Covering Up Cooked ISIS Intelligence - The Daily Beast (crooked "intelligence" and no general will be canned)

West should learn from Iraq and Libya, says Russian envoy Vladimir Morozov - "We can remember Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. In both cases, it was said that if you remove the dictator, the country will prosper. The result as we can see is quite different," he said.

US air strike 'hits 238 IS oil trucks' in Syria - BBC News (oh, where did they all come from?)

"Severe Blow" - Al Qaeda suicide bomber takes out leadership of key ISIS brigade

Iran Sentences an American Journalist - The New York Times - American journalist Jason Rezaian, a Washington Post reporter held by the government for 16 months and charged with espionage, had been sentenced to prison.

Athens on edge after explosion severely damages buildings | World news | The Guardian - No injuries in timed blast in Greek capital, but it is feared anarchists angry at austerity policies may be launching wave of violence

Silent Arsenal: Israel's Nukes, by the Numbers - nuclear weapons arsenal includes 115 warheads

The Anonymous 'war on ISIS' is already falling apart | The Verge

Deadly Explosion Hits Military Bus In Tunisia - "I saw the bus blow up. There were bodies and blood everywhere."

Mr. Trump's Applause Lies ("Applause" = racist)
NYT Publishes Scathing Takedown Of Trump's 'Racist Lies'
Donald Trump Defends Racist Retweet: 'Am I Gonna Check Every Statistic?' - GOP front-runner refuses to back down after citing bogus crime statistics. (makin' shit up like he always does)
- Donald Trump on waterboarding: "Even if it doesn't work they deserve it" - Republican candidate endorses interrogation method that was scrapped by Bush administration because of torture concerns -- and ineffectiveness

Is Martin Baron the Best News Editor of All Time? - Most all of his colleagues, present and former, sure seem to think so.

CNN's Costello Asks Michigan Mayor If She Is "Afraid" Of Her "Majority Muslim-American" City Council | Video | Media Matters for America -- Carol Costello (of right-wing CNN is a bad human)

Georgia's Rejection of Obamacare Is Hurting the Rural Poor. The decision not to accept the free money and expand Medicaid was not made with Georgians's health in mind, but it has suffered as a result.

Kentucky Governor Restores Voting Rights To Nonviolent Former Felons - The state is one of a handful that was not already doing this. (Beshear on his way out)

City Releases 'Chilling' Video Of Cop Shooting Chicago Teen 16 Times - The Cook County state's attorney said the officer "was on the scene less than 30 seconds before shooting
Shaun King on Twitter: "Burger King came out publicly and stated that Chicago Police deleted their footage on the murder of #LaquanMcDonald https://t.co/VFA3unJWps"
Chicago Releases Dash-Cam Video Showing Teen's Fatal Shooting by Police : news
Missing Minutes From Security Video Raises Questions | NBC Chicago - 17-year-old shot 16 times by Chicago police officer
Cops: Boy, 17, fatally shot by officer after refusing to drop knife (the original lie by the murdering cops)
Chicago police officer who shot black teen 16 times charged with murder | US news | The Guardian - Officer Jason Van Dyke charged with murder one day before judge's deadline for releasing video of shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald (just kept pumping bullets into his prone body)
Chicago Cop Will Be Charged With Murder In Fatal Shooting Of Unarmed Black Teen: Report - Jason Van Dyke shot Laquan McDonald 16 times. - The judge ordered the dash-cam recording to be released by Wednesday after city officials had argued for months it couldn't be made public until the conclusion of several investigations. (investigatin' for a year)
3 In Custody For Minneapolis Black Lives Matter Protest Shooting - Two more men -- both white, ages 26 and 21 -- turned themselves in Tuesday afternoon.
Tulane medical student shooting suspect captured, NOPD says | NOLA.com

Why did my university allow a poker night with a gun giveaway? | Kelly Kenoyer | Comment is free | The Guardian - campus group Young Americans for Liberty
Ohio Man Shoots Neighbors, Young Son Dead - Columbus police said they are trying to determine why a man fatally shot a couple and their 7-year-old son and critically wounded their 12-year-old daughter.

A Car Dealers Won't Sell: It's Electric (84% don't give a shit about fuel efficiency)

Cystic fibrosis too 'white' for Ottawa fundraiser

watch: MIT Professor: Why 'Ghosting' Is Bad For Society (Turkle)

Man suffers from broken neck, missing teeth, and fractured face after e-cigarette explodes. : news
ELI5:If we get less Testorone and Estrogen as we age, why do we not get supplements to avoid as an example, decreased bone density. : explainlikeimfive

What's the biggest lie the internet has created? : AskReddit
I'm Jessamyn West, a famous librarian. AMA! : IAmA

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Charles: Syria's War Linked To Climate Change
Ronald Reagan's EPA chief mocks Republicans for ignoring climate science for political gain

Stop the anti-encryption propaganda now | InfoWorld

Report: Russian ground troops arrive in Syria in unprecedented military action - Middle East - Jerusalem Post

Emails show DOD analysts told to 'cut it out' on ISIS warnings; IG probe expands | Fox News (lying military)
Eschaton: Of Course They Make Themselves Look Better - But the more "hilarious" thing is that it's almost 2016, and we're still training Iraqi troops. I guess we gave up on painting schools, at least.
Army Colonel says he was retaliated against for blowing whistle on $43 million gas station - The Washington Post (down the drain)

John Oliver's excellent takedown of the fearmongering about Syrian refugees - Vox
Greenwald Goes After CNN's Coverage Of Paris Attacks While On CNN - Well, this is awkward.
The Road To The Paris Attacks Runs Through The Iraq War - So let's be cautious about advice from the invasion's cheerleaders. (sorry, too long ago)
Bashar Assad Likely To Outlast Barack Obama In Office - He's not going anywhere.

Video Appears To Show Greek Coast Guard Attempting To Sink Boat Of Syrian Refugees - The Greek coast guard has denied the allegations, and insists they were working with Turkish crews to rescue the boat.

Eschaton: There's Always Money For Killing Machines - Prime Minister David Cameron will announce plans Monday to boost Britain's military equipment budget by 12 billion pounds ($18 billion), the latest in a range of government commitments to fight terrorism and other security threats as Europe remains on a state of high alert. (yeah, that'll help)

Teenage suicide bombers kill at least 12 people in Nigeria and Cameroon | World news | The Guardian - Five girls detonate explosives in two attacks by Islamist militant group Boko Haram, say officials


Why Not Just Print More Money? - The New Yorker - A radical solution to the current economic malaise.

Beyond Distrust: How Americans View Their Government | Pew Research Center - Broad criticism, but positive performance ratings in many areas (Repubicans: party of cruelty)

Fact-checking Trump's claim that thousands in New Jersey cheered when World Trade Center tumbled | PolitiFact - "And I watched in Jersey City, N.J., where thousands and thousands of people were cheering as that building was coming down. Thousands of people were cheering" (familiar cadence +pants on fire +people of the lie)
The media has no idea how to deal with Donald Trump's constant lying - Vox (lies and the lying liars who believe the lies +media has no standard for truth)
Ben Carson 'Doesn't Stand Behind' His Own Remarks About American Muslims Cheering on 9/11 - ABC News (is that the new dissociative way to say "I lied?"
- Ted Cruz Proves There's No Longer Such Thing as a "Republican Fringe")
Republicans See No Repercussions for Extreme Rhetoric on Syria, Terrorism - a massive problem.
- TV networks unite to fight Trump's restriction on journalists' access (he's directing the show)
Donald Trump Tweets A Wildly Inaccurate Graphic To Portray Black People As Murderers - It falsely claimed that 81 percent of murders involving white people were committed by black people, when only 14 percent were in 2014. (party of lies and delusions)
Dear Media, Stop Freaking Out About Donald Trump's Polls

- Massachusetts drops Common Core, will develop own student evaluations:

16 People Injured In Shootout At New Orleans Playground

Letters demand $15 million, say Irving officials worked to smear Ahmed Mohamed after clock arrest | | Dallas Morning News (they lied)

Should The MTA Allow These Nazi Insignias On Subway Cars?: Gothamist

NPR is graying, and public radio is worried about it - The Washington Post

- University yoga class canceled because yoga represents "oppression, cultural genocide"

We did it Reddit! After 3 years, Wally Krauss has uploaded a new video! : videos


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Pentagon Expands Inquiry Into Intelligence on ISIS Surge - The New York Times - the Iraqi Army had not retreated at all. The soldiers had simply "redeployed" (your lying, corrupt military)

Authorities Missed Many 'Red Flags' Before Paris Attacks - Many point to Belgium as a weak link in European security. (not the smartest "intelligence)

Why do Islamist groups in particular seem so much more sadistic, even evil? | Kenan Malik | Comment is free | The Guardian - Jihadis view themselves as waging a war against the west that, in their eyes, is an all-encompassing monster, the source of all manner of horror and dread (couldn't have anything to do with having the shit bombed out of them)

ISIS Women and Enforcers in Syria Recount Collaboration, Anguish and Escape - The New York Times (women are commodities)

Russian sailor drinks half a litre of rum before crashing 7,000-ton ship at full speed into Scotland : worldnews

Nuns dress up as prostitutes to rescue sex slaves : news

Trump and Carson back use of waterboarding in fight against Isis | US news | The Guardian - Technique widely denounced as torture is "peanuts compared with what they are doing to us" says real estate mogul as he does not rule out independent run ("us")
Hullabaloo - Trump, eliminationism and the feckless Dems - The MSNBC reporter asked him why Muslims databases would be different than having Jews register in Nazi Germany. He replied, "You tell me" (they never learn)
- Protester gets punched at Trump rally. Trump: "Maybe he deserved to get roughed up"
daveweigel on Twitter: "Christie on refugees: "I AM concerned about widows and orphans -- the widows and orphans of my state, of September 11.""

John Bel Edwards beats David Vitter to become Louisiana's next governor | NOLA.com
Louisiana Just Voted to Give a Quarter of a Million People Health Care | Mother Jones - anti-abortion, pro-gun, West Point grad
John Bel Edwards Wins Louisiana Gubernatorial Election - A runoff election took place after neither candidate earned 50 percent of the vote in October.

Massachusetts's Rejection of Common Core Test Signals Shift in U.S.


DOJ Lawyers Will Fly To Minneapolis To Probe Jamar Clark Shooting - A key issue during their visit will be whether authorities should release to the public videos of the fatal shooting of 24-year-old Clark a week ago. ("confiscated" witnesses' cellphones, because)


- Addicted to chemsex: "It's a horror story" - An increasing number of gay men are taking part in multi-day, drug-fuelled orgies despite the health risks
Microsoft Word - ChemSex definition 19dec14 FINAL.docx - ChemSex-definition-19dec14-FINAL.pdf

Free Ottawa yoga class scrapped over 'cultural issues' | Ottawa & Region | News - But Scharf, a yoga teacher with the downtown Rama Lotus Centre, said the concept does not apply in this case, arguing the complaint that killed the program came instead from a "social justice warrior" with "fainting heart ideologies" in search of a cause celebre."(oppressed by disabled people doing yoga)

In California, Stingy Water Users Are Fined in Drought, While the Rich Soak - The New York Times - In Brentwood, one home listed for sale offers 12 bathrooms and a water slide that goes from inside the house to one of two pools. Another home under construction in Bel Air has been issued permits for five pools.

A temporary marriage makes more sense than marriage ... marriages should start with a five-year contract that either spouse could end or renew with a further 10- or 15-year contract and, if all still went well after that, a permanent contract.

English is not normal - No, English No, English isn't uniquely vibrant or mighty or adaptable. But it really is weirder than pretty much every other language (<-read this)

[Theory] Jar Jar Binks was a trained Force user, knowing Sith collaborator, and will play a central role in The Force Awakens : reddit.com


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- I believed we would face an antibiotics apocalypse -- until now -- a new approach to antibiotic development based on bacteriocins - protein antibiotics produced by bacteria to kill closely related species, and exquisitely narrow-spectrum

- NSA did keep its e-mail metadata program after it "ended" in 2011

Brussels in lockdown after terror threat level is raised to maximum | World news | The Guardian - Shops close, football is cancelled and people are urged to stay home


Anonymous Has Now Taken Down 20,000 ISIS Twitter Accounts, Promises to Go On

- Shock UK deficit figures dent George Osborne's economic plan - Gap between state spending and revenue is worst in October for six years with economists warning chancellor will need further austerity or miss annual target (six year of austerity fail, but the plan is really to destroy public services because the rich don't need them)

Ukraine's chief MH17 expert survives assassination attempt - watch on - uatoday.tv - Police suspect the attack could have been motivated by his professional activities (you don't say)

CNN Reporter Suspended for Opinionated Tweet - ABC News - CNN correspondent Elise Labott has been suspended for two weeks after tweeting that the Statue of Liberty "bows head in anguish" following House passage of a bill making it tougher for refugees from Syria and Iraq to enter the United States. (media decides what you're not allowed to think, especially anything logical)

- Clinton Slams Sanders' Free college By Invoking Donald Trump's Kids (because Trump's kids are going to go to a public university, plz Hillary)



Congressman Calls DEA Heads Firing | Video | C-SPAN.org - nt Obama to fire Chuck Rosenberg, acting administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration. Rosenberg recently called medical marijuana a "joke."
Alaska Marijuana Control Board votes to allow consumption in retail outlets | Alaska Dispatch News (coulda been you, MA)
Two months after Oregon legalization, pot saturation sends profits up in smoke | US news | The Guardian - over-saturation and shaky business plans mean that for some dispensaries business is not booming


Jenny McCarthy slams Charlie Sheen for not telling her he had HIV - The Washington Post - McCarthy, who waged a years-long war against vaccinations, is known for her, let's say, colorful interpretation of scientific and medical facts, so this gobbledygook about kissing Charlie Sheen would certainly seem in keeping with her brand ... Man, I'm guessing science wasn't her strongest subject in school


Our Dream State, REM Sleep, Influences Memory Consolidation During Other Sleep Phases -- DREADD - Designer Receptors Exclusively Activated by Designer Drugs.
A Cup Of Joe May Lower Risk Of Death From Disease; Benefits Of Drinking Coffee Extend Lifespan - further evidence that moderate consumption of coffee may confer health benefits in terms of reducing premature death due to several diseases
Taste comes from the brain, not the tongue, scientists discover - ScienceAlert - Everything we thought about taste is wrong... (it's all in your head)
Inflammation linked to weakened reward circuits in depression

A "dead" galaxy full of dark matter is lurking close to home
Dark matter is really dark, but not totally dark: Scientists are dialing in the darkness - The Washington Post - "But finally, dark matter seems to be doing something! It seems to care about the world around it." (hmmmm)
Is it possible to think of two entangled particles that appear separate in 3D space as one object in 4D space that was connected the whole time or is there real some exchange going on? : askscience
Quantum entanglement achieved at room temperature in semiconductor wafers : science



If you could write a warning label about your ex that their next SO would read, what would it say? : AskReddit
Has anything you've ever posted on reddit come back to bite you? If so, what was it? : AskReddit
dr_zevon comments on I had sex with a transsexual girl and was on the receptive end. AMA
Men and Women - What is the "sluttiest" thing you have ever done? : AskReddit
Looking for songs that say "everything will be ok." : Music
What is a sub-$100 gadget that everyone needs but few people may already have? : AskReddit


112015

Tom Steyer talks climate change and the 2016 election | Marketplace.org (hostile interview by Kai Ryssdal, aspiring very special person makes false equivalency with Kochbros and claims "both sides do it' of course ingnoring Citizens United entirely)
Antibiotic Resistance on the Rise Among Chinese Cattle - Out on the weekend, where the wingo di tutti wingnuts is unlikely to get too sciencey. (let's have more anti-factual Texas textbooks)

Deadly Siege Ends After Assault on Hotel in Mali - The New York Times
Paris and Mali Attacks Expose Lethal Qaeda-ISIS Rivalry - The New York Times
- The Mali Hotel Attack Is Not Paris, and That's on Us (what we don't know because media doesn't think it's important)

5 Killed in Tel Aviv and West Bank by Palestinian Attackers - The New York Times

Jonathan Pollard, American Who Spied for Israel, Released After 30 Years - The New York Times
U.S. Releases Jonathan Pollard - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that "the people of Israel welcome the release of Jonathan Pollard." (Obama's long game)

The Civilized and the Damned - The New York Times

How anxiety about terrorist attacks could change our politics - The Washington Post (America, land of fear)
- Trump, Carson and GOP in explosion of rhetoric over Syrians
Holocaust Museum Condemns Treatment Of Syrian Refugees In U.S.
Donald Trump Sets Off a Furor With Call to Register Muslims in the U.S. - The New York Times

How The White House Lost Democrats On The Syrian Refugee Bill
The House of Representatives Votes to Ban Syrian Refugee Settlement - This is where it starts. (only Charlie give us the names: Lynch, Keating, Murphy)

New York Police Form Counterterrorism Force With More Firepower and Training - The New York Times

Texas Man Shoots 6 to Death Over Land Dispute - ix people were shot to death over the weekend in a place called Palestine. - Did you read much about it? No. Because this Palestine is in Texas, and because it was just another example of the price we are expected to pay for our Second Amendment freedom

- The 20 Most Extreme Cases Of "The Book Was Better Than The Movie (interesting)
The Grantland Articles We Loved Most | FiveThirtyEight


A Virtual Reality Revolution, Coming to a Headset Near You - The New York Times
Yahoo Restricts Ad-Blocking Software for Some Email Users - The New York Times (Marissa getting desperate)

The yoyoing subreddit made an awesome community video : videos (don't miss)

Neko Case on Twitter: "Apple Music head Jimmy Iovine believes finding music is "very difficult" for women https://t.co/6oE3c7QfR2 BECAUSE HE IS A STUPID TWAT."
Surface Pro 4 Pen Demo - Photoshop Artist Time Lapse and 14 Pen Tips and Tricks! - YouTube

111915


Antibiotic resistance: World on cusp of 'post-antibiotic era' - BBC News (return to medieval death-rates)
Emergence of plasmid-mediated colistin resistance mechanism MCR-1 in animals and human beings in China: a microbiological and molecular biological study - The Lancet Infectious Diseases (invincible Staph)

- Paris attacks: suspected ringleader Abdelhamid Abaaoud killed in St-Denis raid

How French intelligence agencies failed before the Paris attacks | World news | The Guardian - Authorities knew of at least three of the Paris attackers but did not act - and ignored a warning about a potential attack (historically, intelligence hasn't been that smart)

Three Israelis killed in attacks in Tel Aviv and the West Bank | World news | The Guardian - Palestinian from Hebron arrested over attack outside shop where prayer service was taking place

The Internment of Japanese Americans Still Haunts the United States - The Atlantic - Seventy years after the mass internment of Japanese Americans was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, the ugly ideas at the core of its decision are resurfacing. - Tennessee legislator Glen Casada called for the state National Guard to "round up" all Syrian refugees in the state on Tuesday.
House Dems Back GOP On Bill To Pause Admittance Of Some Refugees - They supported the legislation despite White House opposition. Forty-seven House Democrats
Schumer: Refugee pause may be necessary | TheHill (Chuckie Fuckie again)

2016 Republican primary: Lindsey Graham mocks John Kasich's proposed Judeo-Christian agency: 'I think that was the Crusades' - politico - Graham mocks Kasich's proposed Judeo-Christian agency: "I think that was the Crusades" (he occasionally actually says the obvious, unlike the other clowns)

- ISIS Calls Anonymous "Idiots" as Cyber War Heats Up

Syrian man kills judge at ISIS Sharia Court for beheading his brother : worldnews


- More than 1 million civilian guns were stolen over the same period, according to FBI records. (why we can't let any Syrians into America)

Chicago Rarely Penalizes Officers for Complaints, Data Shows - The New York Times (thick blue line)

Texas: We don't need academics to fact-check our textbooks (+video) - CSMonitor.com (proudly anti-factual but influencing whole country's textbooks)

Reporters barred from Mass. college sit-in unless they support Black Lives Matter movement : news

Our Own Private Disaster | Boston Review - Terrible Schools Are Great for Business (golden opportunities!)

Airport commission approves a private LAX lounge for the rich and famous - LA Times

Dark matter might cause fundamental constants to change over time
- Dark matter might cause fundamental constant to change of time - r/science

Stop Playing Monopoly With Your Kids (And Play These Games Instead) | FiveThirtyEight

'Power Over Wi-Fi' named one of the year's game-changing technologies

37 [M4F] WI - Excellent boyfriend material (if a wheelchair isn't a deal-breaker) : r4r
NimbusArchon comments on [WP] You tell Death that you will never tire of living no matter how long you live. It makes you a bet that you will and thus grants you true immortality. You've just lived through the second death of the universe and show no sign of stopping. Death is baffled.
xkcd: A Bunch of Rocks

111815

October Obliterated Heat Records - The month was so hot that 2015 now has a 99.9 percent probability of being the hottest year on record.

A Helpful Primer on 13 Military Terms - Journos and pols may not understand them, but now you do.

Obama's drone war a "recruitment tool" for Isis, say US air force whistleblowers (another one of those obvious facts everyone ignores, see the Onion's prophecy)
We Need to Re-Learn the Lessons of the Iraq War | Mother Jones - Remember Fallujah? It took the better part of a year and nearly 15,000 troops to take a medium-sized city held by a few thousand poorly trained militants. Now multiply that by ten or so. And multiply the casualties by 10 or 20 or 30 too (Republicans are learning-disabled)

Timeline Of The Paris Attacks And Aftermath - From the first suicide bomb outside the Stade de France to a seven-hour standoff and raid that left two suspects dead. - French President Francois Hollande reiterated the government's commitment to helping Syrian refugees, promising to take in 30,000 people within the next 2 years. That's up 6,000 from France's previous pledge. (and 30,000 more than America, which caused the whole fuckup)

After Endless Demonization Of Encryption, Police Find Paris Attackers Coordinated Via Unencrypted SMS : technology

Paris attacks: The eight terror suspects named so far are not refugees and all have EU passports : worldnews (don't let facts get in your way, Americans)
Paris attacks: The eight terror suspects named so far are not refugees and all have EU passports | Europe | News | The Independent - Several of the suspects lived in the Brussels neighbourhood of Molenbeek

Suspected architect of Paris attacks is dead, according to two senior European officials - The Washington Post - The suspected ringleader of the Paris attacks was killed Wednesday in a massive predawn raid by French police commandos, two senior European officials said, after investigators followed leads that the fugitive militant was holed up north of the French capital and could be plotting another wave of violence.
French Police Unsure Of Attack Mastermind's Status After Deadly Raid - Starting around 4:30 a.m, local police, backed by the French National Police RAID Team, exchanged gunfire with the suspected terrorists, with police firing over 5,000 rounds,
Saint Denis Siege: Armed Police Storm Apartment In Hunt For Paris Attacks Mastermind Abdelhamid Abaaoud - Two killed in early morning armed raids - Including female suicide bomber who blew herself up
Exclusive: Suspects had planned attack on Paris business district - sources | Reuters
An ISIS Militant From Belgium Whose Own Family Wanted Him Dead - The New York Times
Diesel named as police dog killed in Saint Denis raids hunting for Paris attackers | Europe | News | The Independent - At least five officers suffered minor injuries in the raid
Paris attacks: deadly police raid in St-Denis - as it happened
Massive Police Raid In Paris Suburb Ends With 2 Dead, 7 Arrests - The seven-hour siege focused on Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the suspected ringleader of the Paris attacks.

Shafer: Myth of the Terrorist Mastermind - POLITICO Magazine - Why do we need to keep telling ourselves the plotters are special?

- Syrian Refugees Must Be Kept Out Because It's Too Easy to Get Guns in America alicublog: I'd Rather Be Right. - Obama said this about Republicans who are trying to protect America from pathetic refugees: ""At first, they were too scared of the press being too tough on them in the debates. Now they are scared of three year old orphans"
Scottish Newspaper Puts U.S. Governors To Shame With Refugee Welcome - "Welcome to Scotland."
Bloomberg Poll: Most Americans Oppose Syrian Refugee Resettlement - Bloomberg Politics - Americans agree with Republican presidential candidates on refugees, but are divided on whether to send U.S. troops to Iraq and Syria to fight the Islamic State, according to the poll - Fifty-three percent
Syrian Refugee Family Bound For Indiana Gets Sent To Friendlier State - Indiana officials pushed to move the mother, father and little boy elsewhere.

Boko Haram Actually Kills More People In Terror Attacks Than ISIS - Let's not forget the horrific terror group taking lives in northern Nigeria. (some other planet)

- On MSNBC, Muslim Refugee Advocate Slams Conservatives' Call For A "Christian Only" Refugee Policy (Jesus would be pround)
Eschaton: How About We Only Let In The One True Christian - Aside from the horrible bigotry, I just get a wee bit frustrated with tribal Christians who apparently know nothing about their own religion

Roanoke Mayor David Bowers: No Syrian refugees to Roanoke Valley until security assured - Roanoke Times: Roanoke News
Mayor Wonders If We Need WWII-Style Internment Camps After Paris Attacks - David Bowers, the Democratic mayor of Roanoke, said in a statement that he has asked local agencies to suspend any assistance to Syrian refugees "until these serious hostilities and atrocities end, or at the very least until regarded as under control by U.S. authorities, and normalcy is restored."
Virginia mayor: wartime internment of Japanese justifies ban on Syrian refugees | US news | The Guardian (sure got himself a little attention)
The Mayor of Roanoke is a Charming & Erudite Individual - Lawyers, Guns & Money : George Takei's reply began with a history lesson for Mr. Bowers ... but of Japanese Americans, two-thirds of whom were U.S. citizens. I was one of them, and my family and I spent 4 years in prison camps because we happened to look like the people who bombed Pearl Harbor (Mayor Bowers really stepped in it)

Eschaton: In The Beginning Were The Mushroom Clouds - For those of us who were alive at the time, the runup to the Iraq war was all about mushroom clouds and oceans don't protect us anymore and balsa wood drones of death and gotta fight them over there instead of fighting them over here and scary vials of weapons of mass destruction and we're all going to die unless we take out Saddam, basically

Daily News Compares NRA To Jihadists On Front Page - Do they have a point? - Setting a new record for lethal insanity, Washington's pro-gun absolutists insist that suspected terrorists must have an unfettered right to buy assault weapons rivaling those wielded by ISIS in Paris.

Emanuel's speed cameras issue $2.4 million in bad tickets

My white neighbor thought I was breaking into my own apartment. Nineteen cops showed up. - The Washington Post (white lawyer who called the cops told her to go fuck herself)

Ben Stein: Obama's "Hatred Of America" May Be "Because He's Part Black" | Video | Media Matters for America (said the racist asshole)

- Donald Trump: I should be President because "I can feel" terrorism ... "like a good location" for a casino or hotel

Ben Carson Is Struggling to Grasp Foreign Policy, Advisers Say - NYTimes.com - then failed, on national television, to name the countries he would call on to form a coalition to fight the Islamic State. (Repubicans: the stupider the better)
Ben Carson Lacks Foreign Policy Knowledge - Ben Carson Can't Grasp Middle East - ?Clarridge was pardoned (in the middle of his trial) by President George H.W. Bush in that historic exercise in ass-covering on the way out the door in 1992 (fuckers still out there fucking your country)

Bobby Jindal Drops Out Of The 2016 Presidential Race - "This is not my time." (another clown down)

The Regime Change Problem in American Politics - The New York Times (end of "party decides?"
The Party Decides and the 2016 Republican Primaries - Lawyers, Guns & Money : (durability of the clowns: who's the most serious clown?)

Some Wisconsin Water Is Comparable to a Third World Country (Thanks, Scott Walker) - We can't drink, brush our teeth, wash dishes, wash food; we can't use our water (keep voting Republican, Wississippi)

Eschaton: Hey, Dudes, Child Support is Real - Your uterus isn't about them, but they try to make it about them. I don't think they get that... it will be about them for a lot of money, for a long time.

California judge says ex-wife in divorce case cannot use frozen embryos | US news | The Guardian (but they are little frozen babies!)

Police Civil Asset Forfeitures Exceed All Burglaries in 2014 | Armstrong Economics (vast cop crime wave)
Forensic Pseudoscience | Boston Review - The Unheralded Crisis of Criminal Justice (of course cops would use fake "science")

The Scary New Science That Shows Milk Is Bad For You | Mother Jones - More troubling was Willett's finding that men who drank two or more glasses of milk a day were almost twice as likely to develop advanced prostate cancer as those who drank no milk

The University as a Capitalist Service Organization - Lawyers, Guns & Money :

World toilet day: from South Sudan to Russia, where not to get caught short | Global development | The Guardian (well well)

ZerothLaw comments on Former Monthly Magic Box Customers Beware - "Don't feed the trolls" is based on a few erroneous assumptions.
What is your #1 tip to improve your relationship with your SO, Reddit? : AskReddit
CucumbersScaringCats


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Appeals court lets NSA phone program continue - POLITICO - A federal appeals court has granted a stay that will allow a controversial National Security Agency telephone surveillance program to continue through its planned end on November 29. (of course)
Intelligence agencies pounce on Paris attacks to pursue spy agenda | Trevor Timm | Comment is free | The Guardian - CIA director John Brennan thinks privacy advocates undermine counter-terrorism work. But snooping on everyone won't protect us

This War Will Destabilize The Entire Mideast Region And Set Off A Global Shockwave Of Anti-Americanism vs. No It Won't - If you thought Osama bin Laden was bad, just wait until the countless children who become orphaned by U.S. bombs in the coming weeks are all grown up. (March 2003: but the VSP's were, like catastrophically stupid and wrong and evil)

France Searches For Second Fugitive Suspect In Paris Attacks - German official says Syrian passport may have been used as a false flag to stir fear of refugees. (hello, Michigan)
Elizabeth Warren Delivers Stinging Critique Of Efforts To Reject Syrian Refugees - "We are not a nation that delivers children back into the hands of ISIS murderers."
Look At These Photos Before You Say We Can't Take In Syrian Refugees
The West Is Giving ISIS Exactly What It Wants - Unfortunately, conservatives in the U.S. and Europe seem to want to do all the wrong things. (and they aren't the only ones)
CNN anchor blames French Muslims for failure to prevent attacks - The Washington Post - CNN anchors John Vause and Isha Sesay spent a good six-plus minutes blaming French Muslims either for not doing enough before the attacks or for not doing enough after the attacks (idiots and very bad people)
France's Le Pen urges 'immediate halt' to migrant intake - Yahoo News
- Paris attacks: arrests in Germany as France requests EU help
- Serbian police arrest man with Syrian passport matching Paris attacker's

Metrojet Crash In Egypt Was Result Of 'Terrorist Act,' Russia Says - A homemade explosive device blew up on the plane, Alexander Bortnikov said.
Russia's security chief says a "terror act" brought down Russian plane in Egypt killing all 224 people on board : worldnews
Exclusive: Egypt detains two airport staff in connection with Russian air crash - sources | Reuters
The Latest: US officials: Russia attacks IS stronghold
Syria 2015 - Footage of What is Claimed to be White Phosphorus Used in Idlib - YouTube - Published on Nov 13, 2015 (hell incarnate)

U.S. Airstrikes Destroy 116 Fuel Trucks Used By ISIS In Eastern Syria (oh, look, we just found 116 oil tankers we didn't know were there before)

To Defeat ISIS, We Must Call Both Western and Muslim Leaders to Account | The Nation - And that includes the Saudi kings whose funding of Wahhabi doctrine gave rise to the scourge of Islamic extremism. (barn door fell off long ago)

Fearing Fear Itself - The New York Times (macho whiny-ass titty babies are very stupid +guns are "destroying civilization")

Here's A Running Tally Of The Governors Who Want To Reject Syrian Refugees - Some of them are running for president. (they are never responsible for the problems they cause)

One Day Later, Anonymous Already Takes Down 3,824 Pro-ISIS Twitter Accounts : news



Roe in the Crosshairs - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Next June, the Supreme Court will determine whether Texas' draconian restrictions on abortion are constitutional. If the statute is upheld, Roe has been overruled whether Kennedy says it explicitly or not: (the patriarchy strikes back)





Eschaton: Placing the Right Bets - I'd bet a reasonable amount that the entire New Jersey pension fund is invested in beanie babies. All those seemingly empty transshipment buildings along 95 probably hold them. (yet another very bad decision by fat bully fuck Christie)


News About Ed Kilgore, Don't Freak Out -- I have some news to share: chief Political Animal blogger Ed Kilgore has accepted a new job, at New York magazine. Friday is his last working day here at the Washington Monthly.
No, Don't Freak Out By Ed Kilgore

Losing her mind and watching it go: the slow suffering of Lewy body disease | Society | The Guardian - It is the second most common form of dementia and yet very little is known about the disease that killed Robin Williams.

Scientists Just Spotted The Most Distant Object In Our Solar System - Astronomers have spotted what they believe is the most distant object in the solar system -- a dwarf planet floating some 9.5 billion miles from the sun. ("planet X")

What is the hardest thing you have ever said no to? : AskReddit

- Revealed: Germaine Greer's 30,000-word love letter to Martin Amis, a lover who left her "helpless with desire" - In 2013 the feminist author sold her lifetime archive to the University of Melbourne

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Ghosts of oceans past - ALREADY, the sea level findings indicate that it may not take much more warming to melt large parts of major ice sheets. (looking at 60' sea-level rise)

CIA Director Documentary: The Attacks Will Be "Spectacular" == An exclusive look at how the Bush administration ignored this warning from the CIA months before 9/11, along with others that were far more detailed than previously revealed.
No One in the Bush Administration Will Accept Responsibility for 9/11 - It should be clear to everyone save members of the Bush family who are running for president that C-Plus Augustus and his national security staff were criminally negligent in the summer of 2001.
Fighting Terrorism Was Dubya's Biggest Weakness -- NYMag - Chris Whipple's revelations about the CIA's urgent, ignored pleas to focus on the threat from Al Qaeda before 9/11

- Surveillance Hawk Stewart Baker Confirms Dragnet Didn't Work as Designed (yeah, it never does)

Karl Denninger uncovers the massive amounts of tracking that occurs with phone applications in his review of the Blackberry Priv : technology

France Seeks Unity To Bomb Islamic State - Amidst a manhunt for the mastermind behind the Paris attacks, France beefs up its war against ISIS.
All Paris Attackers Identified So Far Are European Nationals, According To Top EU Official | ThinkProgress - The majority of attackers were identified as French or Belgian nationals
The Return of Republican Islamophobia -- NYMag

Paris attacks | Reuters.com
Manhunt For Paris Attackers Nets Dozens Of Suspects, Arms - Police arrested 23 people and seized arms including rocket launchers in 168 raids overnight. (AKs and RPGs and munitions specialists easy to obtain in Europe)
Rocket Launcher Found In French Police Raids - The French interior ministry says 168 locations were searched across the country and 23 people taken into police custody.
French police are using new powers under the state of emergency to question people in the "radical jihadist movement". Over 150 searches executed, multiple arrests, and a rocket launcher discovered. : worldnews - "This is just the beginning... The response of the Republic will be total... The terrorists will never destroy the Republic, because it is the Republic that will destroy them
Turkey Says It Warned France Twice About Paris Attacker - The country says it told France to look out for the 29-year-old in December 2014 and June 2015. (see, not enought surveillance)
Jordan's King Abdullah II calls upon Muslims to lead the fight against terrorism
Three Syrians arrested in St.Maarten with false Greek travel documents | Times Caribbean Online
How Belgium Became a Terrorism Hotbed - The Daily Beast - Molenbeek, a multi-ethnic neighborhood in central Brussels.

Vowing to destroy terrorism, France seeks global coalition against Islamic State | Reuters - French President Francois Hollande called on the United States and Russia to join a global coalition to destroy Islamic State in the wake of the attacks across Paris, and announced a wave of measures to combat terror in France.
Exclusive: After Paris, Americans want U.S. to do more to attack Islamic State - poll | Reuters - 63 percent of Americans were fearful that a Paris-style attack could happen near them ... When asked about regular ground troops, the opposition grew stronger with 76 percent opposing deploying troops.
As Predicted: Encryption Haters Are Already Blaming Snowden (?!?) For The Paris Attacks | Techdirt

Putin: ISIS financed from 40 countries, including G20 members : worldnews

U.S. Warplanes Strike ISIS Oil Trucks in Syria - The New York Times (oh, look, trucks carrying oil we never noticed before)
Islamic State Threatens To Attack Washington

Paris attacks: David Cameron warns UK terrorist attack is 'highly likely' | UK Politics | News | The Independent - Mr Cameron vowed to 'wipe out' Isis and its ideology (big words from the mouth of failure)

U.S., China in South China Sea - U.S. Asserts International Law After China's Land Grab - Understanding the stand-off in the Spratly Sea.



Cornel West Stumps for Bernie Sanders in Iowa (best speech of them all)

- Donald Trump is playing with fire: How his ugly new bout of race-baiting could be the GOP's Undoing -- will attacks on Carson and Rubio spell doom for him? Maybe not, but any victory could prove pyhrric (still waiting for the mythical rational Republican we see)


TSA failed to catch man with loaded gun on airplane. : news

Chicago cops conducted unauthorized spying on protesters | Chicago Sun-Times

Inside small-town Louisiana feud that led to a 6-year-old boy's police killing (youngest kid killed this year was tradgic collateral damage in small town policing for profit turf war)

The free speech/p.c. argument we need to have, and which the right obscures: College kids are not the enemy, corporations and the government are - Salon.com - Free speech erupts every time there's debate on campus. We're arguing! The real repression comes from elsewhere ... Suzanne Nossel, the head of PEN America, an organization dedicated to the freedom of expression across the United States (is completely wrong and a bad person)
Dartmouth College Breaks Out in Violence After Black Lives Matter Protest on Campus : news
Black Lives Matter protesters berate white students studying at Dartmouth library : news

When scientists falsify data, they try to cover it up by writing differently in their published works. A study of 253 scientific papers retracted for fraudulent data identifies the writing patterns associated with obfuscation. : science
NASA scientists shocked by what they found on Pluto's surface - Could this mean that Pluto is still geologically active?

What's the worst thing that has happened to you during sex? : AskReddit
Vehlin comments on FCC: yes, you're allowed to hack your WiFi router - Because you ARE hacking it, per the actual definition of hacking. (for the riff)

Snapchat's valuation falls by 25%, and more big tech companies will follow - At the time of the Fidelity investment, Snapchat was said to be valued at a jaw-dropping $16 billion. Now it's only worth $12 billion, at least in the eyes of Fidelity.
Snapchat's valuation falls by 25%, and more big tech companies will follow
[NSFW] What's the biggest bullet you've dodged? : AskReddit
NSFW: Doctors and nurses of reddit, despite knocking before entering a patient's room, what's the strangest thing you've walked in on a patient doing? : AskReddit
Married men of Reddit, how often do you touch your wife's boobs? : AskReddit

Allen Toussaint, From A Whisper To A Scream - YouTube

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Today in the Sixth Extinction - Lawyers, Guns & Money :

There Is Only One Way to Defeat ISIS - A 242-ship Navy will not stop one motivated murderous fanatic from emptying the clip of an AK-47 into the windows of a crowded restaurant. - Tough talk in the context of what happened in Paris is as empty as a bell rung at the bottom of a well. We must hold accountable our Middle Eastern "allies" -- the states and bankers and political elites -- who persist in funding mass murder. (root causes too deep for most Americans)

Iraq Warned Of Imminent Attacks: REPORT - Senior Iraqi officials claim they had warned coalition countries of imminent assaults.
France Bombs ISIS Headquarters In Syria
Photos Capture Paris Reeling The Day After Terror Attacks
Passport trade raises doubts over Paris attackers' identities | World news | The Guardian - Trade in fake Syrian travel documents raises concerns that passport was carried to France by more than one person
ISIL - Calling the Shots? - Read the Islamic State's propaganda and you wonder if the followers might be getting ahead of their caliph.
Why A Backlash Against Refugees Only Helps ISIS - The more that happens, the more French Muslims feel alienated and are susceptible to extremist recruitment
Help Us Find The Paris Hero Who Saved This Woman At The Bataclan - "Please, I'm pregnant"
Bill Kristol Calls For 50,000 Troops To Fight ISIS - The pundit is a noted war hawk and heavily advocated for the Iraq War.
- Paris attacks highlight France's gun control problem (porous borders, too many guns everywhere anyway)

Paris Death Toll Rises As Officials Piece Together Information On Suspects - The death toll has risen to 129, with 352 injured and 99 in critical condition.
French Authorities Hunt For 8th Assailant After Discovering Suspected Getaway Car - One assailant has already been identified, and authorities believe one or more are still at large.
Suspected Getaway Car In Paris Attacks Found Abandoned In Suburb - Several AK-47 rifles were in the back seat.
CBS News on Twitter: "UPDATE: U.S. intelligence official tells CBS News Syrian passport recovered in #Paris attacks might be fake https://t.co/lnMCJ4x4dn"
Obama vows to help France hunt down perpetrators of Paris terror attacks - The Washington Post
The Latest: Italian woman, 28, among the dead in Paris hall
Manhunt Underway as Paris Investigation WidensAttackers in Paris
- The New York Times - The authorities had initially said there were eight attackers, but on Saturday night said that only seven attackers had died
Attackers in Paris Did Not Give Anybody a Chance
A Terrifying Account From A Survivor Of The Paris Concert Hall Massacre - You never think it will happen to you.
These Are The Lives Cut Tragically Short In Paris - 129 people have been confirmed dead.
Here's What We Know About The Paris Attackers - One French attacker was identified, and seven were detained in Belgium with links to the attacks.
Paris Gunmen Single Out Frangois Hollande, and Leave Him With Few Palatable Responses - The New York Times
Republican Candidates Urge Aggressive Response After Paris Attacks - The New York Times
Strategy Shift for ISIS: Inflicting Terror in Distant Lands - The New York Times
How ISIS Expanded Its Threat - The New York Times

Eschaton: What Would You Do, Hippies? - No simple cause and effect with these things, ever, but we've been blowing people up and arming other people to blow people up and toppling governments and siding with the "moderate rebels" and then siding with the new moderate rebels and then the new new moderate rebels and then sometimes reconsidering and siding with the people the new new moderate rebels were attacking because those moderate rebels suddenly didn't seem too moderate anymore. Hey, where did all of those weapons go? Better send some more! Also, too, more training. (sorry, way too complicated)


Beating Around the Bush: Part I by D.R. Tucker | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - Hard to believe how much has changed in a quarter-century. -- It was twenty-five years ago today that President George H. W. Bush signed into law the 1990 Clean Air Act, which implemented a cap-and-trade system to reduce the sulfur dioxide emissions that were causing acid rain

As Trump Surges to a Big Lead Again, the GOP Establishment Is In Deep Trouble by David Atkins | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly

Rivals at Democratic Debate Attack Hillary Clinton - The New York Times - instead found herself pummeled by rivals on Saturday over her ties to Wall Street and her foreign policy record.
The Best Moments From The Second Democratic Debate - National security and Wall Street were major topics of conversation.
Fact Check: The Second Democratic Debate - The New York Times



The Great Statistical Schism | Quillette - teach Bayes first.




111415

Paris Death Toll Rises As Officials Piece Together Information On Suspects - 129 dead. 352 injured, 99 critically.
Graphic Video Shows Concertgoers Escaping Paris Terror Attack - Unrelenting horror.
Three Teams of Coordinated Attackers Carried Out Assault on Paris, Officials Say; Hollande Blames ISIS - The New York Times
Belgium makes three arrests linked to Paris attacks | Fox News
Paris attacks: day after atrocity - as it happened | World news | The Guardian
Survivors Reveal Harrowing Details Of Paris Attacks - It was a bloodbath. It was a slaughter. Dead people everywhere
Horrifying Eyewitness Accounts From Paris Attack Survivors - It looked like a battlefield, there was blood everywhere, there were bodies everywhere.
Young Frenchman Identified As Possible Bomber In Attack On Bataclan Concert Hall - The young man had been flagged to authorities in the past.
Our terrorism double standard: After Paris, let's stop blaming Muslims and take a hard look at ourselves - We must mourn all victims. But until we look honestly at the violence we export, nothing will ever change (sorry, two dots too hard to connect and we can't remember yesterday)
Paris Terror Attacks May Prompt More Aggressive U.S. Strategy on ISIS - The New York Times (gotta bomb the shit outta somebody)
Scene of Carnage Inside Sold-Out Paris Concert Hall
Paris Attacks: Suicide Bomber Was Blocked From Entering Stade de France - WSJ - A suicide bomber had a ticket to the France-Germany soccer game, but his explosive vest was found during a security check at the gate
Deadly Paris Attacks Come Amid Rising Religious Tension In France - As violent incidents increase, so do claims of anti-Muslim laws and views in the nation. (according to plan)
Here Are the Most Horrible Tweets About the Paris Tragedy | Mother Jones
Watch Pianist Perform John Lennon's 'Imagine' Outside Paris' Bataclan | Rolling Stone

Mass Grave Of Yazidis Unearthed Near Iraq's Sinjar


How criminologists who study biology are shunned by their field | Quillette

After pot legalization could Colorado spearhead universal healthcare? | US news | The Guardian - Coloradans will vote next year on whether to become the first state to opt out of ObamaCare and set up a single-payer system similar to Medicare (coulda been you, Massholes, but Chawlie and Maarty hate pot)


New derivation of pi links quantum physics and pure math
What causes the repulsive force between atoms? : askscience - Pauli exclusion principle.

Was Ripon school gripped by mass psychogenic illness? | Science | The Guardian - What doctors used to call mass hysteria usually occurs among close-knit groups as anxiety weaves its way through, causing physical symptoms

People with high social skills. What's the biggest mistake that people often make in interactions with others? : AskReddit - Not realizing when another person is uncomfortable.
An Irish guy let his dad borrow his GoPro for his trip to Vegas. He had it turned around the wrong way the whole time, hilarious. : videos
A collection of rare photos. : pics
Intense zoom. : gifs
First time seeing 20/20 : aww

Security News This Week: Someone's Cutting Fiber Optic Cables in the Bay Area | WIRED - Even though authorities aggressively prosecuted Matthew Keys for his involvement in a 2010 hack of the LA Times' website, they apparently never bothered to charge the alleged real hacker (Obama's priorities: reporters are the biggest problem)

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Collapsing Greenland glacier could raise sea levels by half a metre, say scientists | Environment | The Guardian - Huge Zachariae Isstrom glacier has begun to break up, starting a rapid retreat that could continue to raise sea levels for decades to come (and then we have West Antartica, so tie Inhofe and Rubio to the beaches)
- Scientists say Greenland just opened up a major new "floodgate" of ice into the ocean (those librul science-scam climate-hoaxer guys are so funny with their doomsday predictions)
- Idea of slow climate change in the earth's s past misleading

Paris attacks: ISIS claims responsibility after hundreds killed | World | News | Daily Express Islamic State terror group has reportedly claimed responsibility for the co-ordinated shootings and bombings across Paris.
Paris attacked by shootings and explosions - in pictures | World news | The Guardian - Scores killed in French capital in apparently coordinated series of gun and bomb attacks
Paris attacks: shootings and explosions leave at least 158 dead | World news | The Guardian - Scores die in siege at Bataclan concert hall and at scenes of apparently coordinated series of gun and bomb attacks in French capital
Death tolls reach 158 in Paris. : worldnews - Can't believe they just massacred 100 people in the concert hall. That's unfathomable.
Paris attacks: More than 120 killed at Bataclan and restaurants - BBC News (game-changer)
'Shootings' reported in central Paris: Reports of shooting and casualties in central Paris : worldnews
How should France and the rest of the world react following the terrorist attacks? [Serious] : AskReddit
Two attackers killed as Bataclan police raid ends - ITV News
Paris attacks: France declares state of emergency after dozens killed - live | World news | The Guardian - At least 40 people reported to have been killed and scores taken hostage in French capital
Paris attacks: Dozens dead and hostages held at Bataclan - BBC News
Paris Under Assault: Dozens Dead In Multiple Attacks, Up To 100 Held Hostage - France has closed its borders in response to the attacks.
Multiple Attacks Hit Paris Area in Night of Deadly Terror - The New York Times - French television and news services quoted the police as saying at least 60 people had been killed and many dozens wounded in at least four attacks

Kurdish Forces Seize Iraq's Sinjar Town From Islamic State
Jihadi John 'dead': US officials believe Raqqa drone strike killed Mohammed Emwazi | Home News | News | The Independent
Jihadi John 'Probably' Killed In US Drone Strike - Britain said the death of the militant would strike at the heart of the Islamic State group.
Killing Mohammed Emwazi a significant blow to Isis, says US | World news | The Guardian< (or their "prestige" anyway) /a>
Beirut suicide bombings kill over 40 - CNN.com

A federal court has ruled that warrentless tracking of web histories is a violation of the Wiretap Act and other privacy laws : news



Americans Greatly Overestimate Economic Mobility | RealClearScience - Americans greatly overestimate social and economic mobility in the United States, and the effect is most pronounced among younger Americans, Conservatives, and those who perceive themselves to be in a higher social class.

Vincent Asaro, Accused in Lufthansa Heist, Is Found Not Guilty - The New York Times

CIA Director Documentary: The Attacks Will Be Spectacular - An exclusive look at how the Bush administration ignored this warning from the CIA months before 9/11, along with others that were far more detailed than previously revealed. (it's almost like ...)
George Bush Sr book reveals a more dangerous Dick Cheney than anyone knew | US news | The Guardian - Destiny and Power shows a VP with more authority than almost all his predecessors, making plain Bush Jr's administration could have been even worse (let's drop 17 nukes on Saddam insane and very, very evil, but WHOSE IDEA WAS CHENEY??)

- People Want DEA Chief to Resign After He Called Medical Marijuana "a joke" - Protestors point to scientific studies that show the medicinal benefits of marijuana on patients suffering from chronic pain (Obama still a hard-core drug-warrior)
- People Want DEA Chief to Resign After He Called Medical Marijuana "a joke" - No you are mistaken, the people want the DEA shut down, disbanded, the facilities liquidated, and the 2bn a year budget re-purposed to literally anything else.


US supreme court to hear biggest abortion rights case in two decades | Law | The Guardian

Poll Shows Hillary Clinton Maintaining Lead Over Bernie Sanders - First Draft. Political News, Now. - The New York Times - Mrs. Clinton has support from 52 percent of Democratic primary voters, while Mr. Sanders has backing from 33 percent, the poll found. In an early October CBS News poll, she led Mr. Sanders 56 percent to 32 percent.
How Gender Bias Plays A Role In Elections - Study finds women have to be more qualified than male opponents.

In new shock poll, Sanders has landslides over both Trump and Bush | TheHill - In a new McClatchy-Marist poll, Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) leads Republican candidate Donald Trump by a landslide margin of 12 percentage points, 53 to 41. In the McClatchy poll, Sanders also leads former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) by a landslide margin of 10 points, 51 to 41. (so much of the unelectable thing)

Time for GOP panic? Establishment worried Carson or Trump might win - The Washington Post
Why aren't conservative intellectuals disgusted with the GOP? (I pledge allegiance to the Stupid)

- Springfield Woman Goes Viral After Attending Trump's Speech (good job, Johari Osayi Idusuyi)

University of Illinois Pays $875,000 to Settle Salaita Case | The Academe Blog (read comments, may not really be a "victory")
A Million-Dollar Attack on Academic Freedom - Lawyers, Guns & Money

Bobo and the Ivory Backscratcher - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Lawyers, Guns & Money - The Maoists who edit the New York Times style and real estate sections and T Magazine turn to their best unintentional propagandist yet, Mr. David Brooks: (you are so far beneath him)

Eschaton: The Kids Today
Brown U. Disciplines Amy Carter on Protest - NYTimes.com - March 12, 1987 - Missouri student files complaint against professor who called for "muscle" (Melissa not very good a apologies)
Amherst students demand crackdown against free speech ("Free Speech" posters are offensive and should be banned)
A Plague of Racial Hoaxes on Campus | commentary - The two well-publicized incidents of racism on the University of Missouri campus, consisting of offensive slurs directed at African-American students, have not been independently confirmed. (in the Snapchat age, very suspicious)
Amid racial bias protests, Claremont McKenna dean resigns - LA Times
We Dissent | The Claremont Independent - First, former Dean Mary Spellman. We are sorry that your career had to end this way, as the email in contention was a clear case of good intentions being overlooked because of poor phrasing
Eschaton: If Only More German Children Had Been Like My Boy, There Would Not Have Been A Holocaust (WaPo digs out Alice Miller)
- Chris Christie: College unrest a product of "lawlessness" that Obama allows (we need more abusive Republican daddies)

Eschaton: Also, Too, Shut Off All The Plumbing Systems? - The Superbowl Committee has a cunning plan to destroy some of San Francisco's public transit system. (sportstocracy dismisses your public transit)

Protesters Confront Caitlyn Jenner: 'You're An Insult To Trans People' - Protestors used the hashtag #IAintCait. (rich Republican not representative)

Diabetes Now Kills More Than HIV, Tuberculosis And Malaria Combined - Experts: tax sugar to save lives and money.
My textbook says electricity is faster than light? : askscience
Stonehenge Begins to Yield Its Secrets - The New York Times - After the end of the grand construction phase of Stonehenge, around 2400 B.C., the monument was altered, but the era of megamonument building was over.
TIL scientists recreated a 9th century onion and garlic eye remedy from an Anglo-Saxon manuscript, and found that it killed 90% of antibiotic-resistant staph bacteria (MRSA). : todayilearned
Giant New Telescopes To Unlock Science's Greatest Mysteries - The world's largest mega scopes could find life outside our solar system.

Study Finds Quitting Facebook Makes You Happier and Less Stressed - "Remaining on Reddit nullified all the benefits"


Who would you rate as a 10/10 in looks? : AskReddit
Redditors who have given their SO's another chance after getting cheated on: How's your relationship now?
What do you spend too much money on? : AskReddit
Internet trolls, what's your worst troll that made you feel terrible afterwards? : AskReddit - like the story of Tom Sawyer, but with dicks


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111115

- Scientists confirm their fears about West Antarctica -- that it's inherently unstable - West Antarctica is estimated to contain enough ice to raise global sea levels by 3.3 meters, or well over 10 feet, were it all to melt. (so actually, their worst fear is that all coastal cities get wiped out)
California 6th grade science books: Climate change a matter of opinion not scientific fact: Textbooks from different major publishers give climate deniers equal weight as vast majority of climate scientists who cite scientific evidence of human-caused global warming -- ScienceDaily - Textbooks from different major publishers give climate deniers equal weight as vast majority of climate scientists who cite scientific evidence of human-caused global warming (what happens when Texas controls your fact-free science)
Nothing can compete with renewable energy, says top climate scientist | Environment | The Guardian - if countries implement their pledges made for Paris climate summit it will give huge boost to wind, tidal and solar power


Four hijackers and three Israeli PMs: the incredible story of Sabena flight 571 | World news | The Guardian

New Zealand female MPs thrown out of parliament after disclosing sexual assaults | World news | The Guardian - Women ruled out of order by Speaker for demanding prime minister John Key apologise for accusing opposition of "backing the rapists"


An Immigration Fight Gives Jeb Bush His Best Moment Of The Entire Debate Season - "Even having this conversation sends a powerful signal."
Republicans Have Trouble Making Case for Change -- NYMag

Young women living with parents, relatives at near-record level | Pew Research Center - A larger share of young women are living at home with their parents or other relatives than at any point since the 1940s ... you'd have to go back 74 years to observe similar living arrangements among American young women. (effect of Republicans on inequality)

Utah judge orders baby taken away from married lesbian foster parents | US news | The Guardian - Welfare official confirms there were no issues with April Hoagland and Beckie Peirce's care but judge ordered child be placed with a heterosexual couple

Missouri Lawmaker Seeks To Block Students From Studying Restrictive Abortion Law - One student is doing research for her dissertation. A state senator says that's illegal - The graduate student's research, Schaefer insists, is a "marketing aid" for Planned Parenthood using taxpayer dollars. (Republicans hate research)

The Supreme Court Just Made Police Shootings a Messier Problem - By undermining the Fourth Amendment. (officer "felt threatened" while standing on highway overpass with high-powered rifle, thanks, Repubicans)
New report: In tough times, police start seizing a lot more stuff from people - The Washington Post

E-cigarettes around 95% less harmful than tobacco estimates landmark review - Press releases - GOV.UK
KnockJohn on Twitter: "@BBCScotlandNews @WiseScot Let's restrict a healthier product by treating it like one that is 20 times as dangerous https://t.co/ieufHHgi3z"
Smears or science? The BMJ attack on Public Health England and its e-cigarettes evidence review + The counterfactual (attacks the attack, five stars, reveals deep politicization of elite British medical research)
Velvet Glove, Iron Fist: BMJ RIP
Why academic journal attacks on Public Health England e-cigarette report should be completely ignored
The Rest of the Story: Tobacco News Analysis and Commentary: Why are Anti-Smoking Groups and Agencies Lying to the Public About E-Cigarettes: A Political History Explanation - Ultimately, Burt comes to the conclusion that episodes of political hysteria occur when groups that previously enjoyed status experience a loss of their prestige. ("American hysteria")
BMJ Blogs: The BMJ ; Blog Archive ; Richard Smith: How public health moralists are promoting harm from tobacco and helping the tobacco industry - Almost every schizophrenic smokes and smokes heavily ... estimated that people with serious mental health problems, including chronic depression, account for 10% of cigarette consumption in the US, which amounts to sales of $10 billion a year. These people are self-medicating: nicotine helps with information overload and improves attention.
TIL, an extensive study by Public Health England has shown E-cigarrettes are 95% less harmful than normal cigarettes, while nearly half of the population are unaware of this. The study also showed that e-cigs do not act as a route into smoking for children and non-smokers. : todayilearned
British medical journal blasts e-cigarette safety study
rbutr - rbutls of E-cigarettes around 95% less harmful than tobacco estimates landmark review - Press releases - GOV.UK

A new study has found that dropping your systolic blood pressure from 140 to less than 120 can reduce the risk of cardiovascular events and death by more than 25% : science


Apple's Tim Cook declares the end of the PC and hints at new medical product - taking on the office PC with his new devices and keeping his customers safe from cyber criminals - "I think if you're ooking at a PC, why would you buy a PC anymore? No really, why would you buy one?"

Account suspensions: A transparent alternative to shadowbans : announcements

I followed signs for an estate sale for miles into the middle of nowhere. When I pulled up to the house, I saw that someone had painted over the window and the word "help" had been scratched into the paint from the inside. : pics (collective story-telling)
This woman Snapchatted the moment a small plane crashed into a building in Ohio. : videos
Legendary guitarist Slash performs for thousands of fans in Mumbai for the first time. 0:40 is where the Magic begins, Something every musician lives for! : videos
What was the most awkward thing you witnessed in a school classroom? (NSFW) : AskReddit

111015

100 Million More People Will Be In Poverty By 2030 Without Action On Climate, World Bank Says - The World Bank says climate change threatens the goal of eradicating poverty by 2030.

The Great Climate Change Hoax Has Reached a New Level of Deceit - ?The World Bank is warning us that the Great Climate Change Hoax has reached a new level of sophistication and deceit. Grant-fattened scientists will scour the globe, covertly impoverishing millions of people in furtherance of their anti-capitalist, anti-freedom agenda, and to make more money from George Soros and Tom Steyer. Wake up, sheeple!? - As many as 100 million people could slide into extreme poverty because of rising temperatures, which are caused by greenhouse gas emissions

Study: Dispersants did not help oil degrade in BP spill (but deflected the issue and made it look like they were doing something when it just killed more sealife)

Putin sends 4,000 troops to Syria as he steps up bid to wipe out the Islamic State : worldnews

This snooper's charter makes George Orwell look lacking in vision - The new surveillance bill renders the citizen transparent to the state, putting every one of us under suspicion. It would serve a tyranny well
- NSA phone records collection "likely violates constitution" US judge rules - Edward Snowden hails "victory" after federal judge rules agency must stop collecting defendants' information in a program aht is "likely unlawful" (ya think?)


Ebola - Lawyers, Guns & Money :- almost like coverage of Ebola in the United States was actually race-baiting to motivate the Republican base to vote against Democrats rather than actual coverage of the news! (remember all those infected Mexicans bringing in the plague? +racist zombie Obama - measure of rightwing insanity)

UK Police threaten to seize phones if officers are filmed on duty : worldnews (they never got the memo either)

Bill O'Reilly Is Right on Ronald Reagan's Battle with Alzheimer's (demented for his entire second term)

Appeals Court Upholds Delay Of Obama's Executive Action on Immigration

Math on Rubionomics Way Crazier Than You Think -- NYMag (basically, give everything to rich people)


Eschaton: New Jersey Dreaming - This will continue to be a disaster. (Christie favorite boondogle corporate giveaway)

Lawyer: Father had hands up as police killed son - A lawyer says body camera video shows the father of a 6-year-old autistic boy who was shot to death in his car had his hands in the air and did not pose a threat before police opened fire last week.
Body Cam Footage Leads To Arrest Of Police Officers Who Shot 6-Year-Old Boy : news - Birmingham, Alabama police department found a 38 percent drop in use of force cases and a 71 percent drop in police complaints, since putting 319 body cameras in operation. Use of force dropped by more than 50 percent in the Orlando Police Department in Florida. (let that sink in a little bit and you see epidemic cop violence)

Judge mulls constitutionality of child abuse reporting law - The Washington Post ("sacramental confession" or parents reporting their kid was abused?)

Fury and fear in Ohio as IT jobs go to India | Computerworld (you voted for them)

Is Education Reform the Solution to Poverty? - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Lawyers, Guns & Money - Arguing that education is the key to curing poverty is like saying swimming will prevent drowning. Of course, but could the best instructor in the world teach a child to swim if the student showed up for lessons wearing 20-pound weights on each arm?
Boston Charter Schools - Mayor Marty Walsh Reverses Position on 'School Reform' - Mayor Goes Full Scott Walker on Charter Schools - Mayor Marty Walsh has broken up with Candidate Marty Walsh. - Charterism is privatization on the public's dime, the worst of all possible worlds. It doesn't matter if the tap gets turned on slowly, or all at once. It's about corporations being allowed by law to get their mitts in the till

How Trigger Warnings Are Hurting Mental Health on Campus - The Atlantic - The Coddling of the American Mind - In the name of emotional well-being, college students are increasingly demanding protection from words and ideas they don't like (they need their safe spaces from reality)

The Halloween Costume Controversy at Yale's Silliman College - The Atlantic - A fight over Halloween costumes at Yale has devolved into an effort to censor dissenting views.
The kind of little pricks that American Universities are now turning out : videos
Yale administrators responds to safe space. Hands down well handled. : videos

- Why Is A Mizzou Communications Professor Telling Reporters To "Get Out?" - "I need some muscle over here!" -- a mass media professor identified as Melissa Click - She holds a Ph.D. in communications from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Her current research focuses on consumers of the 50 Shades trilogy of erotic novels and fan culture surrounding pop star Lady Gaga. (real deep thinker +she just fulfilled her eponymic destiny)
Reading "Fifty Shades" linked to unhealthy behaviors - at increased risk of engaging in binge drinking and having multiple sex partners
Melissa Click Issues Apology For Confrontation With Reporters - Melissa Click resigned her "courtesy appointment" in the School of Journalism on Tuesday evening. (that escalated quickly)
Missouri professor who blocked media at protest apologizes - Nov. 10, 2015
Dean David Kurpius Comments on Student's Coverage of Protest on Carnahan Quad - Missouri School of Journalism - Dean David Kurpius Comments on Student's Coverage of Protest on Carnahan Quad

Betty Bowers, Christine Flowers and the Philadelphia Media Network of Stupidity -PDQ (fire you real reporters, keep dimbulb conservative columnists)

Adolescent e-cigarette use is associated with respiratory symptoms. - JAMA Paediatrics : science
Dropping Systolic Blood Pressure Norm By 20 Points Could Save Millions

A new study has found that dropping your systolic blood pressure from 140 to less than 120 can reduce the risk of cardiovascular events and death by more than 25% : science


What was the most awkward thing you witnessed in a school classroom? (NSFW) : AskReddit

Chinese photographer came up with an interesting take on a gopro stand : videos
People who have been catfished, how did you catch on that you were being lied to? : AskReddit


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Eschaton: The Wet Prince Of Bel Air - These development projects include excessive numbers of pools and water features, says Levinson. She cites one instance where the city authorities have approved five massive pools for a single family dwelling. ("gigamansions")

Sharm El Sheikh horror: Russian jet bombers spoke with British accents | World | News | Daily Express - The success of the attack could inspire them to target British airports next, a former Special Branch officer warned last night.
Egyptian Airport Had Lax Security, Officials Reveal - Officials told the AP about broken scanners and bribes for looking the other way. (well, who would have thought?)


Jewish court names and shames man for denying wife a religious divorce | World news | The Guardian - naming and picturing John Abayahoudayan, who has refused to grant a religious divorce to his wife for the past 15 years.

Mystery light over ocean was missile test | SanDiegoUnionTribune.com - Nighttime flights into and out of the Los Angeles airport are to avoid passing over the Pacific Ocean just the west of the airport because the U.S. military has activated airspace there


"A turning point for Obama" : : How the president learned to love the national security state - NYT reporter Charlie Savage tells Salon the real reason why Obama has broken less from Bush than many hoped


Donald Trump gives 'SNL' its biggest ratings in years | EW.com
Kind of Dead As Trump Hosts Saturday Night Live - Bloomberg Politics - The dancing and Larry David may have been the best bit as most cast members seemed not to want to be there.
- Trump'sworry night on "SNL" : An overhyped bummer for us all (they bankrupted their credibility)

Marco Rubio's Use of Party Credit Card Reinforces a Picture of Messy Finances (very Dubio +no mention of the 17 speeding tickets)

Ben Carson's Past Faces Deeper Questions -- In harsh light of presidential politics, parts of his inspirational biography are questioned (lying liars and their lies)
Ben Carson Thinks You're the Crazy One - The real reason we should mock Ben Carson's pyramid theory? Because it reveals a very dim view of humankind. (from the dim to the dim)
Ben Carson's Psychology Test Story Gets Even Weirder

The Dying of the Whites - The New York Times - Amid the stresses of the dot-com bust and the Great Recession, it was only white Americans who turned increasingly to drugs, liquor and quietus) ("quietus" = cirroshis of the liver and Republican rich-take-all policies = Douthat is a genuine mouth of Satan)

- Artificial intelligence: "Homo sapiens will be split into a handful of gods and the rest of us" - Though it promises robot carers for an ageing population, it also forecasts huge numbers of jobs being wiped out: up to 35% of all workers in the UK and 47% of those in the US, including white-collar jobs, seeing their livelihoods taken away by machines. (academia safe, for now)

Text messages paint dark portrait of Illinois officer behind mysterious suicide | US news | The Guardian - Charles Joseph Gliniewicz, who investigators say killed himself to hide an embezzlement scheme, was accused of death threats and sexual harrassment (see pic)

Applebee's attack victim - "I'm scared for my life" (assault by crazy white lady who didn't want to hear no foreign languages)

Why some LAUSD teachers are balking at a new approach to discipline problems - LA Times - But many teachers say their classrooms are reeling from unruly students who are escaping consequences for their actions ... former Supt. John Deasy and which he supports, were poorly executed. He compared the implementation to the flawed effort to equip students and teachers with Apple tablets. (needs moar Officer Slam)

Missouri football players to boycott until president Tim Wolfe resigns (7% black students; 58/84 scholarships -- 84 fucking scholarships for the whole undergrad student body??)
- Maryland family faces harsh criticism after daughter is featured in "American Girl" magazine - they got a call Friday from a family friend saying there was online criticism from a group called One Million Moms. The group said it is an online project of the American Family Association, based in Tupelo, Miss. (a little non=collateral damage with their hate-bomb)

Prescription painkiller deaths fall in medical marijuana states | Reuters (coulda been you, Chawlie and Marty "Pot is a gateway drug to Hell" Walsh)

Is Egypt closer to unlocking the mystery of Queen Nefertiti in King Tut's tomb? | Culture | The Guardian - Infrared scans of the tomb of Tutankhamun could point to a hidden chamber - perhaps helping lead researchers to the mysterious queen

The Association of Cognitive Ability with Right-wing Ideological Attitudes and Prejudice: A Meta-analytic Review - Onraet - 2015 - European Journal of Personality - Wiley Online Library - The Association of Cognitive Ability with Right-wing Ideological Attitudes and Prejudice: A Meta-analytic Review (so that takes care of the stupid part)

Hwft! Beowulf Online - Medieval manuscripts blog

Why is exponential decay/growth so common? What is so significant about the number e? : askscience - Say you had a bank account which gave 100% interest per annum (instantaneous rate) but was continuously compounded. After one year, money you had put into the bank would have grown by e times.

what irrational fears did you have as a kid? : AskReddit
What childhood memory do you have that you just can't explain? : AskReddit

- Lib at Large: Preserving the Grateful Dead's "Bear" priceless music archive

The difference a few hours makes : conspiracy (the DVs)

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China emits nearly 1 billion tonnes more CO2 a year than it discloses, report claims - ScienceAlert (more than all of Germany)


Muzzled Canadian scientists now free to speak with media | Toronto Star - "Our government values science and will treat scientists with respect" (unlike America)


Hillary Clinton Proposes Reclassifying Marijuana As A Less Dangerous Drug - Doing so would allow more medical research, she said. (a little behind the curve)
Marijuana tax to pay for college scholarships | WTKR.com - Starting in 2017, high school graduates in one Colorado county will be able to turn to a college scholarship funded by marijuana tax. (coulda been you, MA, but blockheads ...)

US border patrol staff reject body cameras, citing cost and terrain | AL.com


Critics cite all-white jury for trial of ex-officer accused of raping black women | US news | The Guardian - Trial of former Oklahoma police officer Daniel Holtzclaw, who faces life in prison, comes amid growing scrutiny over the racial composition of juries

- Alabama Education Official Warns Of "Homosexualist" Common Core Takeover She also thinks coloring books are indoctrinating children to do "transgender stuff." (oh, lordy, and it's on tv too)

Adults Are Not Way Happier Than Teens Anymore: Study | TIME (they are growing up in dystopia, instead of causing it)

[Serious] Scientists of Reddit: What's craziest or weirdest thing in your field that you suspect is true but is not yet supported fully by data? : AskReddit
Fighting Obesity with Active Brain Stimulation? - The Latest News - Previous studies have shown that the prefrontal cortex, a region of the brain that's in charge of behaviour regulation and decision making, is more active in lean people.
Study finds no link between cycling helmet laws and head injury rates : science

TIL student loans have passed credit cards and auto loans to become the second biggest source of personal debt in the U.S., trailing only mortgages. : todayilearned - The world always needs more history. (original thought)
What strange fetish did your boyfriend/girlfriend have? How did it affect you, did you try it? : AskReddit
Normal day in the backyard : WTF
What is one reference you still don't understand on Reddit, and at this point, are too afraid to ask? : AskReddit
What don't you miss about being a teenager? : AskReddit
What have you witnessed a bride or groom do at a Bachelor/bachelorette party that you thought would ruin their marriage if their spouse found out? : AskReddit



More Nightmare Stories of Your Worst IT Jobs Ever

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Intercepted 'Chatter' Suggests Bomb Downed Russian Jet
Putin Agrees To Suspend Russian Flights To Egypt
Chaos As Egypt Slashes Number Of Flight Bringing Brits Home

Mammoth Trade Deal Confirms Advocates' Worst Fears - But Obama calls it the "highest standard trade agreement in history." (there's your problem right there)

The Keystone Pipeline and the Defeat of Faceless Corporate Power - It's like watching the biggest bully on the school grounds getting his nose bloodied. It's very gratifying" - But the real story of what happened on Friday begins years ago, and it begins with ordinary people, and it is a remarkable story of actual populism in action.
Obama Rejects Construction of Keystone XL Oil Pipeline - The New York Times
Obama Rejects Keystone XL Pipeline After 7 Years Of Review - Environmentalists praised the decision, which House Speaker Paul Ryan called "sickening."

Leaked Emails From Pro-Clinton Group Reveal Censorship of Staff on Israel, AIPAC Pandering, Warped Militarism (Jews run policy for elite Dems, Hillary's in the thick of it +Neera Tanden is an awful human being)
So Hillary Clinton Didn't Send Classified Material on Her Email After All - ?It's been quite a few milliseconds. Has someone yet written that James Clapper is part of the Obama hit squad? (your dark state)
Hillary Clinton's emails did not contain highly classified secrets, inquiry finds. - politico - The initial determination was based on a flawed process (there's a flaw in your thinking)




The Bush Family's Public Implosion Increasingly Resembles Greek Tragedy - The fall of the House of Bush.

America's White Working Class Is a Dying Breed - rising death toll should come as no surprise. (voted for the wrong guys and killed themselves)



Judge Orders Case Of 'Serial' Podcast Subject Adnan Syed Reopened - The order will allow Syed's defenders to introduce new evidence.

People Wrongly Blamed A 'War On Cops' For An Officer's Death. Here's What They're Saying Now. - Crickets.
Records Show Numerous Complaints Against Officer Who Staged His Suicide (career criminal with no job controls)

Tell It About Your Mother - The New York Times - Can brain-scanning help save Freudian psychoanalysis?

This Boy Has Outsmarted Us All With His Perfect Math Problem Answer - "I told him over 3 million people had seen his picture and he said, 'Wow! That's like the whole state of Georgia!'" she said.

Simpson's paradox - frequency data are unduly given causal interpretations.[3] Simpson's paradox disappears when causal relations are brought into consideration



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ELI5: Full text of TPP, what it means to the people and countries involved? : explainlikeimfive

Maybe We Should Stop Sending Weapons Where We Can't Keep Track of Them - Arming any side in a Middle Eastern civil war seems unwise ... They lost four Hueys? They lost a CN-235? A CN-235 is 70 goddamn feet long! Have they checked under the cushions of the sofa? This would all be funny if, you know, it were funny. (how to not learn anything from experience +the military is deeply corrupt)
Pentagon loses track of $500 million in weapons, equipment given to Yemen - The Washington Post (half a billion here, half a billion there, pretty soon we've armed everyone human in the ME)

How I Would Reaffirm Unbreakable Bond With Israel - and Benjamin Netanyahu (Hillz says "he's my daddy")
The United States takes offense at comments by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's new communications director accusing President Barack Obama of anti-Semitism and suggesting that Secretary of State John Kerry had the mental abilities of a 12-year-old, the State Department said : worldnews (so who is she loyal to?)
- U.S. calls Netanyahu's new media chief's commnets "offensive"

Doctors Without Borders Staff Shot While Fleeing Kunduz Hospital, Report Finds - "MSF doctors and other medical staff were shot while running to reach safety in a different part of the compound." (thanks, Obama)
European Union states have relocated just 116 refugees out of 160,000 | News | The Guardian - EU agreed in September to transfer 160,000 people from most affected states but so far just 86 have moved from Italy and 30 are due to leave Greece

VW Reveals It Misstated Emissions of Gas Cars - The New York Times (bye-bye VW)



Chris Hedges: Neoliberalism is not long for this world - Salon.com - The journalist and activist warns free market worship is slowly being replaced by something more dangerous still video - the false populism of the far right

Eschaton: The Cossacks Work For The Czar - My little boy was not in charge.
George H.W. Bush Criticizes Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld - He has harsh words for Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney, who are basically on Bush family retainer.

Wisconsin: State to Begin Drug Testing Welfare Recipients on Nov. 9 : news (Scott Walker/KochBros continue to fuck over Wississippi)

Texas Congressman Wants To Put Gay People On An Island To See If They Die Out (Louie Gumball and the constant beat of insanity)

Cops Aren't Worried About Marijuana, DEA's Own Report Finds - The federal government continues to crack down on weed despite locals' waning concern. (Obama hates drugs almost as much as he hates your privacy)

Jeb Bush Opens Up About Daughter's Drug Addiction: 'She Went Through Hell'

NASA Makes Major Discovery About Atmosphere On Mars - "What happened?... The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind."

Parents: First-grader suspended after pretending to be Power Ranger during recess : news (zero-tolerance war on drugs/terror/black people/kids pussyfies our youth big surprise +Meanwhile, violent movies and TV shows are hugely popular, violent sports are ingrained in US culture, and once kids graduate high school they'll be encouraged to join the armed forces or at the very least taught that our veterans are heroes and should be celebrated. That a lot of hypocritical BS to be throwing down on our kids.)

No, A Study Did NOT Find That Your Cat Wants To Kill You - "There is a difference between factors and traits -- so no, the most prominent personality traits [in cats and lions] are not dominance, impulsivity, and neuroticism. These are the three personality factors that describe each species -- but each individual will range along the spectrum of traits that make up each of the personality factors."
Personality structure in the domestic cat (Felis silvestris catus), Scottish wildcat (Felis silvestris grampia), clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa... - PubMed - NCBI
- he five factors have been labelled: openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. Acronyms commonly used to refer to the five traits collectively are OCEAN, NEOAC, or CANOE.
Great Ideas in Personality--Five-Factor Model (weak on Freud)
5FMPeerValidationCostaMcCrea.pdf - Validation o fthe five-factor model of personality across instrument and observer
Developing Measures of Psychopathic Personality Traits from the ... - Edward August Witt - Google Books
personalitytest.org.uk

New research suggests hallucinations can occur in relatively healthy people : science

- The orgasm no one talks about - The cervix rarely comes up in conversations about female orgasm. Here's why it should (the MDMA spot)

(NSFW) Whats a fucked up thing you secretly want to happen? : AskReddit
BigNavy comments on BoJack is spot on with why joining the military doesn't make you a hero
Religious kids are harsher and less generous than atheist ones, study says : science
Supermoon in radio telescope. : pics

Leak of Comcast documents detailing the coming data caps and what you'll be told when you call in about it. : technology (because they can, moo-ha-ha)

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Russian plane crash: U.S. intel suggests ISIS involved - CNN.com
Egypt flights on hold as UK says bomb may have caused Russian crash | World news | The Guardian - Flights from Sharm el-Sheikh suspended as David Cameron set to chair emergency committee meeting over Metrojet disaster

The Lessons of Chalabi | Ten Miles Square | The Washington Monthly - One way to look at the Syrian civil war is that we created the legitimacy for revolution there.

Money Flooding Out of Canada at Fastest Pace in Developed World - Bloomberg Business - as the nation's decade-long oil boom comes to an end and little else looks ready to take the industry's place as an economic driver.


- The first one is an old lesson, but one the party has yet to learn. Debbie Wasserman Schultz has to go, and she has to take her approach to building the party with her (Dems always fuck themselves)

Ohio Becomes Latest State To Vote Down Gerrymandering - On November 3, Ohio voters approved by a margin of 71% to 29% a constitutional amendment that will greatly reduce, or even eliminate, the gerrymandering of state legislative districts beginning in 2021.

Page 3 of The Case for Bernie Sanders | Rolling Stone - His critics say he's not realistic - but they have it backwards (your stupid media tells you what you can believe in)

- It used to be a simple question of stupid vs. evil, but I think we now need to add a third option, which is "afraid"

Matt Bevin Wins 2015 Kentucky Governor Race - Bevin, only the second Republican elected to Kentucky's highest office in 40 years, is best known for his tea party-backed challenge to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (and KY goes down the TP rabbit-hole)
What Will Happen to Kentucky's Medicaid Expansion? (poor people voted to kill even poorer people)

Donald Trump Takes A Jab At Megyn Kelly -- Again - On Sean Hannity's Tuesday night show, which airs right after Kelly's - "They've asked me some very negative questions, including your Megyn. They've asked me very, very disgraceful questions, frankly"

Ben Carson's Love Affair With a "Nutjob" Conspiracy Theorist | Mother Jones - A top GOP presidential contender has embraced the dark, paranoid, and crazy worldview of a far-right pseudohistorian. (deeper into the crazy)
Ben Carson's Strange Theory About The Egyptian Pyramids - "My own personal theory is that Joseph built the pyramids to store grain," Carson said, referring to the Old Testament. "Now all the archeologists think that they were made for the pharaohs' graves. But, you know, [something to store that grain] would have to be something awfully big, if you stop and think about it."

How Houston Was Lost: Prop 8 Redux as LGBT Rights Are Put on the Ballot | Michelangelo Signorile

Police Killings Surpass the Worst Years of Lynching, Capital Punishment, and a Movement Responds | Jerome Karabel (legalized distributed lynching by cop)

10 Of The Worst Moments From Morning Joe's Fawning Koch Brothers Interview (Squint and Meat-Puppet)

National Geographic lays off staff following 21st Century Fox merger | Media | The Guardian - National Geographic informed employees Tuesday it would lay off about 9% of its staff, months after announcing it would partner with Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox as part of an expanded joint venture. (it's not like he hasn't done this before)
Rupert Murdoch recently acquired National Geographic and has just laid off 10% of the staff. : worldnews - 10%... that's officially a decimation.

Bill Cosby could face charges after DA election in suburban Philadelphia | US news | The Guardian - Steele closely involved in new investigation of sex assault claims against star

Kim Davis Heads Back To Court - In a 126-page filing with the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals late Monday, Davis' attorneys called U.S. District Court Judge David Bunning's order that Davis license same-sex marriage a "rush to judgment" that trampled the clerk's religious liberty.

- Family That Made a Fortune off National Oxycontin Epidemic Has Just Landed on Forbes' Richest List - Some drug dealers go to prison. Some get rich. Others get filthy rich.

All aspects of the brand experience - Lawyers, Guns & Money : I believe that the role of marketing is to represent the voice of the customer in strategic decisions affecting all aspects of the brand experience (high-paid "brand" marketers loot education)


Death Rates Rising for Middle-Aged White Americans, Study Finds - The New York Times - Unlike every other age group, unlike every other racial and ethnic group, unlike their counterparts in other rich countries, death rates in this group have been rising, not falling.

A Shocking Rise in White Death Rates in Midlife -- and What It Says About American Society - Drugs, alcohol, and suicide have taken an unparalleled toll on middle-aged whites, especially those with a high school degree or less.

An invisible catastrophe - All told, middle-aged WNHAs with high school degrees or less experienced 135 more deaths per 100,000 per year in 2013 than in 1998 ... the doubling of the homicide rate in the US between 1960 and 1990 -- a development that played a key role in the construction of the prison-industrial complex -- resulted in about four and half extra deaths per 100,000 Americans per year. At its peak in 1990, the AIDS epidemic produced about ten extra deaths per 100,000 per year.

- Mass killings and school shootings spread "contagiously" Not dependent on location, leading researchers to believe that national media coverage of a mass

2,000-year-old Maccabean-era fortress unearthed in Jerusalem after century-long search | The Times of Israel - The Acra fortress was used by his Seleucids to oversee the Temple and maintain control over Jerusalem. The fortress was manned by Hellenized Jews, who many scholars believe were then engaged in a full-fledged civil war with traditionalist Jews represented by the Maccabees.
Man Dies After Tapeworm Inside Him Gets Cancer - This is the first known report of a person becoming sick from cancer cells that developed in a parasite. : science

Scientist May Have Discovered Alternate Universes - The world as we know it may actually just be "a region within an eternally inflating super-region."
- Relativity versus quantum mechanics: the battle for the universe

Staring at computers at night is frying your brain. Here's one easy fix. - Vox
8 Ways To Use Your Gadgets At Night And Still Get A Good Night's Sleep

What's something Reddit has taught you? : AskReddit - People want overly simplistic answers to complex problems.

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Are We Reaching a Milestone in Clean Energy? - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Even with Europe clean energy investment lagging with its overall economy, on-shore wind now provides the cheapest electrons available in both Britain and Germany.

Keystone Pipeline Delay Could Make It a Huge 2016 Campaign Issue - TransCanada Asks for Delay on Keystone Pipeline Approval - TransCanada has cleverly sought to push the pipeline's approval timeline beyond 2016, at which time they may have installed a candidate of their choice through mountains of dark money.

Sinai plane crash: unusual sounds on cockpit recordings, says Russian news agency | World news | The Guardian - Interfax says transcripts show no distress call from pilots, while Egyptian president says claims of a terror link are propaganda
Infrared Satellite Detects Flash Near Site Of Russian Metrojet Crash - The new evidence suggests an onboard explosion may have downed the airliner, killing 224.


Ahmad Chalabi, Iraqi Politician Who Pushed for U.S. Invasion, Dies at 71 - The New York Times



Consider the Source, Obamacare Edition - The New York Times - So, for example, if The Hill is going to report Sen. John Barrasso's assertion that Obamacare may collapse this year, it would be a service to readers to note that Sen. Barrasso was one of the people claiming that more people would lose coverage than gain it under the Affordable Care Act - and who, when enrollments surged, declared that the administration was cooking the books.

The Low-Wage New Industrial Jobs - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Companies use the same strategies of employment obfuscation and opacity to protect themselves from having to treat employees with respect that they use in the global race to the bottom while the future of the American working class remains dire.

Corporations Are Your Judge, Jury, and Executioner - America: where a company-appointed arbitrator decides if you were sexually harassed by Gary in accounting.

How The Debate Debacle Could Backfire On Republicans - "We've just seen Hillary Clinton go through 11 hours of questioning, and these guys can't go a couple minutes of questioning?"
Eschaton: It's My Party the GOP presidential candidate said - They'll Cry When I Want Them To - Guess they're going to go with the Alpha Dog. (Trump will take over producing the debate events)

Republicans trust Trump on economy, nuclear weapons: Reuters/Ipsos poll | Reuters
Is Ben Carson Running for President? -- NYMag (or running a marketing scam? what's the diff?)

U.S. Public Becoming Less Religious | Pew Research Center - Modest Drop in Overall Rates of Belief and Practice, but Religiously Affiliated Americans Are as Observant as Before

In Religious Arbitration, Scripture Is the Rule of Law - The New York Times - Instead, his claim had to be resolved through a mediation or arbitration process that would be bound not by state or federal law, but by the Bible

Margaret Spellings must accept gays or resign from UNC | The Charlotte Observer - She won't address her previous animosity toward gays

- Number of Denver Trick-or-Treaters Dosed With Pot Edibles: Zero -- Again
Election 2015: Ohioans reject Issue 3 | www.mydaytondailynews.com - Ohioans cast a clear vote against pot legalization Tuesday, soundly rejected an amendment that would have legalized marijuana for recreational and medicinal use.
Ohio to vote on marijuana legalization : news

Microsoft drops unlimited OneDrive storage after people use it for unlimited storage : technology

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There's a Fire Burning in Indonesia So Big It's Releasing More CO2 Than the US Economy - It's a perfect storm for a true environmental catastrophe
- But this is also bad news. If the 0.27 millimeters per year of sea level rise attributed to Antarctica in the IPCC report is not really coming from Antarctica, there must be some other contribution to sea level rise that is not accounted for

Russian Airline Rules Out Mechanical Error In Egypt Crash - "The plane was in excellent condition."

- Someone Might Actually End Up Paying for the Crimes of the Iraq War - But it almost certainly won't be George Bush - There has been an outright brawl over when to release the Chilcot Report, which is the result of a 2009 decision by then-PM Gordon Brown to have a full inquiry into how Great Britain - under onetime Third Way heartthrob Tony Blair - came to join C-Plus Augustus in the excellent Mesopotamian adventure.

Covert radio broadcasts tied to China prompt US government investigation | US news | The Guardian


GOP debate revolt crumbles - Nov. 2, 2015

Eschaton: Private Line to the Big Guy in the Sky - Either Boehner should be hailed as some sort of new Prophet or mocked? I don't really understand how people can just claim God speaks to them without there being a bit more skepticism. Instead people just nod their heads. ("God told me ..." because God is a Republican)

Eschaton: Morning Thread - Interesting article about more and more companies forcing customers to go to arbitration instead of using the courts. Basically, privatizing the justice system. Guess who wins and who loses.

Rising deaths among middle-aged Americans could exceed Aids toll in US | Science | The Guardian - Though not fully understood, the increased deaths are largely thought to be a result of more suicides and the misuse of drugs and alcohol, driven by easier access to powerful prescription painkillers, cheaper high quality heroin and greater financial stresses.

Willie Nelson's Crusade to Stop Big Pot (monopolies)
On Ballot, Ohio Grapples With Specter of Marijuana Monopoly - The New York Times
Smoking Marijuana Might Have Some Surprising Health Benefits - Newsy Story - while cigarette smoke damaged lungs, moderate marijuana smokers showed greater lung capacities than non-users.


Last person jailed in Waco biker shooting to be released -- Nine people died and 20 were injured during the shooting -- no one has been charged with any of the deaths : news (Tom Ashbrook, good Republican, didn't believe the cops could have done it)


- approval of cancer-hunting virus signals new treatment era - Imlygic programs viruses to attack only cancer cells and gives patients more humane options

Yale study finds state youth e-cig bans lead to increased traditional cigarette smoking - Winston-Salem Journal: Local News (o rly?)


Reddit, What conspiracy theory has the best chance of being true? : AskReddit - The government keeps posting this question to see how close the conspiracy theorists are to the truth.

Colorado to Vote to Kill Protectionist Broadband State Law | DSLReports, ISP Information - one of more than 20 states where incumbent ISPs have effectively paid state legislatures to pass laws prohibiting towns and cities from improving their local broadband services.

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NASA Study: Mass Gains of Antarctic Ice Sheet Greater than Losses | NASA
Climate change: The Deniers - series on scientists who buck the conventional wisdom on climate science. Here is the series so far:
Rare tropical cyclone to bring eight years of rain in two days in Arabia | Stuff.co.nz - Eric Holthaus, a US meteorologist, estimates the storm will dump as much as eight times the annual rainfall of coastal regions of Yemen and Oman. These regions typically collect just 100-130 millimetres of rain a year.

- Russian plane "broke up in air" before Sinai crash - Russian aviation official says inspection of wreckage in Egypt shows plane broke apart but this does not necessarily indicate bomb


After vowing to end two wars, Obama may leave three behind - The Washington Post (wars, torture and spies)
16 times Obama said there would be no boots on the ground in Syria (it's not like he took a position or anything)
Obama's Foreign Policy Promises Then and Now - Boots are "on the ground" in Syria, and Gitmo is still open. (the end of hope and change)

Turkey To Return To Single-Party Rule After Sweeping Election Victory -


Microsoft Word - Pew Global Attitudes Muslim Report FINAL December 2, 2010.docx - Pew-Global-Attitudes-Muslim-Report-FINAL-December-2-2010.pdf - At least three-quarters of Muslims in Egypt and Pakistan say they would favor making each of the following the law in their countries: stoning people who commit adultery, whippings and cutting off of hands for crimes like theft and robbery and the death penalty for those who leave the Muslim religion


Ben Carson's Camp Wants Debates To Have 140 Minutes Of Opening And Closing Statements - It would take the debate out of debating!

And It Begins - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Eventually, a lot of money was going to be funneled to the actual politician acceptable to party elites who emerged as the most viable alternative to Trump and Carson. With Walker out and Jeb/\_(?)_// only formally not out, that person is Rubio. (Jebbietunes out, Dubio in)

The Dawn of Darkness by D.R. Tucker | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - This Wednesday marks the thirty-fifth anniversary of one of the great tragedies in American history, a moment of indelible shame, a choice that harmed so many in this country and around the world: the defeat of President Jimmy Carter at the hands of right-wing former California Governor Ronald Reagan. (as with all their lies, the inverse is true: "morning in America" as the darkness of Republican evil falls on the land +"piss-on-you" economics)
- Seeking America's "lost" greatness and finding Trump most appealing (when Daddy Reagan was raping and pillaging Democracy)



4 dead, including suspected gunman, after morning shootings in downtown Colorado Springs (CS Gazette disables comments because Colorado gunnuts)
Colorado police provide few details after shooting spree in broad daylight | US news | The Guardian - Man killed in gun battle with police after shooting three people (and so does the Graun)
Shooting at North Carolina's Winston-Salem State University leaves one dead | US news | The Guardian - University says suspected gunman is on the loose and counsels caution (moar guns is the obvious solution)




Hundreds Of Cops Kicked Off Force For Committing Sex Crimes - The number is unquestionably an undercount because it represents only those officers whose licenses to work in law enforcement were revoked, and not all states take such action. (heros given license to rape and murder, good pay with strong unions)

Conservatives Want to Bring Politics into Academic Hiring - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Lawyers, Guns & Money - I don't think there's a single more surefire way to draw attention to yourself than to claim that academia discriminates against conservatives. (academia discrimates against dumbfucks +no link to poopy-head NYT)

Texas Case Mulls if Home-school Kids Have to Learn Something | KRGV.com | Rio Grande Valley, TX - Parents are accused of not teaching their children, because they were waiting to be "raptured" -- "startling assertion of sweeping governmental power" (Freedumb)

The biggest family in the educational mafia - Exempt from paying taxes, from being transparent to public scrutiny and from truly resolving customer-service queries, ETS is seemingly untouchable ... Nonetheless, there is little about the nature of such expenses. ETS facilities are located on a 360-acre complex, with swimming pools, tennis courts, a heliport, a private hotel and a residence where the CEO lives rent free, according to the New York Times. (they pay themselves well as a non-profit)

Why the Salem witch trials still haunt the American imagination | Books | The Guardian - and with its combination of magic, religion, sexuality and the forbidden, it's no wonder (Hillary is the latest iteration)

Wives Take Problems to Heart, Husbands Get Frustrated | Clark-Garwood, NJ Patch (men don't have emotions)

Living on Earth: The Living and Dead in Good Company Massauchesett's Mount Auburn Cemetery is renowned as the final resting place for American luminaries including Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Fannie Farmer, and Charles Sumner.


What is the best thing you have ever heard a child say? : AskReddit ("Looks pretty bad, they said they're going to have to amputate.")


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Russian Plane Carrying 224 People Crashes In Egypt - "The plane split into two, a small part on the tail end that burned and a larger part that crashed into a rock. We have extracted at least 100 bodies and the rest are still inside."

Global warming: Lamar Smith's conspiracy ideations.
Global warming: Lamar Smith wants to tie NOAA in knots - To me, this stinks of McCarthyism.
Why We Can Stop Government Funding Of Science: It Doesn't Create Much Innovation - Forbes (from the dumbfuck dept of evil)
The Torquemada of the Republican Science Inquisition - Lawyers, Guns & Money (Republicans are the post-rational party)
The Spanish Inquisition - Mel Brooks - YouTube

Will the Trans Pacific Partnership Empower Polluters to Sue the United States? - Lawyers, Guns & Money : As Stiglitz states here, the TPP is barely about trade at all. It's an international corporate-rights document. (Luke turned Sith Lord)

US officials: troops to only fight Isis, Russia risks fueling Syrian quagmire | World news | The Guardian (while Putin is bombing the rebels +speaking of quagmires)

Innocent Gitmo Detainee Released After 14 Years - This man was captured by bounty hunters while doing charity work. He was never charged.

Bangladeshi secular publisher hacked to death - BBC News (no secular books for Muslims)

Netanyahu Retracts Assertion That Palestinian Inspired Holocaust - The New York Times (speaking of evil clowns)
The Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin - The New Yorker - When Yitzhak Rabin was killed, did the prospects for peace perish, too?




How 1994 Explains 2016 - politico Magazine - The year that stunned Jeb, battered Hillary and changed politics as we know it.

Springtime for Grifters - The New York Times (they love their pyramid schemes)

There's No Evidence In Clinton White House Documents For Clintons' Story On Anti-Gay Law - BuzzFeed News (and then there's the whole truth problem)

We Mapped the Uninsured. You'll Notice a Pattern. - The New York Times - They tend to live in the South, and they tend to be poor. (good job, states, you fucked your residents just like you said you would)

Eschaton: Empowered - I suspect the issue is that people are more likely to listen instead of locking them up in solitary? - If only blah people had known to call a legislator, how to advocate. Everything would have been different!

Braves Stadium Relocation Shaping Up to Be a Disaster | Streetsblog USA - After putting $400 million in public money into attracting the Braves, Cobb County officials are having an embarrassingly hard time getting the site ready for opening day. ("public money" and no public transit so no blahs can get there)

Harlem Success Academy "Got to go" list named undesirable students. (moar charters. thanks Ducan/Obama because support for teacher moochers teaching your moocher kids is unthinkable)
Alabama Teacher of the Year told she's unqualified, resigns : news (of course the system would purge highly-qualified teachers because they are moochers)


Effect of low-fat diet interventions versus other diet interventions on long-term weight change in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis - The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology - When compared with dietary interventions of similar intensity, evidence from RCTs does not support low-fat diets over other dietary interventions for long-term weight loss. (there goes 20 years of CW)

Cut out carbs, not fat if you want to lose weight, Harvard study finds - A study of more than 60,000 dieters finds those who cut back on bread, pasta and potatoes lost more weight than those who cut back on butter and cheese
A study of more than 60,000 dieters finds those who cut back on bread, pasta and potatoes lost more weight than those who cut back on butter and cheese : science


Coffee does not cause cancer; the WHO is wrong. - The World Health Organization's classification system is seriously flawed.
NASA Adds to Evidence of Mysterious Ancient Earthworks - The New York Times - High in the skies over Kazakhstan, space-age technology has revealed an ancient mystery on the ground - geoglyphs

ESPN Closing Grantland Is The Dumbest 'Smart' Business Decision - What it says about our society is troubling. Journalism and business do not mix

TitaniumDragon comments on Colin Powell: I will 'continue to be a Republican because it annoys them' - The actual reason is that the political parties realigned over the course of the 1960s to the 1990s.
ELI5: Why isn't 100% Humidity just pure water? : explainlikeimfive

Snapchat just reserved the rights to store and use all selfies taken with the device : technology (all your selfies are belong the them)

[NSFW] What were you better off not knowing/seeing? : AskReddit (don't look at this)

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Greece: Shipwrecks Kill 31 People In Aegean Sea

White House: We're Sending Troops To Syria For Who Knows How Long - Nothing to see here.

Truth Movie: Dan Rather's Missed Opportunity to Hold George W. Bush Accountable - On the story of Dan Rather and Mary Mapes' pursuit of the 43rd president's National Guard records, and a paralleleffort at The Boston Globe. (it immunized Bush against the truth)

America is changing its mind on Israel: How Netanyahu is alienating his most essential ally - Salon.com (a lot of years of propaganda squandered)

The story behind the five-year delay in freeing Shaker Aamer from Guantanamo | World news | The Guardian - Barack Obama has repeatedly stated his intention to close the offshore prison since but has lacked the political will or ability to overcome bureaucratic inertia

The Quiet Man Versus the Loud-Mouth by Ed Kilgore | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - all ten candidates endlessly and exhaustively and redundantly attacking government and everything government does

"Shell-shocked" CNBC staffers had long flight home (deep shaden)

RNC Suspends Partnership With NBC News For February Debate - Candidates complained about unfair questions during this week's Republican debate. (so unfair)

Eschaton: It's Fun To Kick Them When They're Down - I'm not going to waste my beautiful mind feeling sorry for Jeb Bush, but it's been interesting watching the discourse shift. All the cool kids in the press now mock the Jebster. He's gone from being the inevitable frontfunner to being the nerd the bullies pick on.

What Should We Believe: Marco Rubio or Math? -- NYMag (Republicans have never believed in math)

- horrifying Iowa surge: Why his campaign's rapid rise bodes ill for this election (Republican post-rational world)
Carly Fiorina Confronts New Post-Debate Factcheck - CNN asked the candidate about her claim that women fared poorly during Obama's first term.

Texas police officer wins immunity from prosecution over fatal shooting | US news | The Guardian - Judge rules Charles Kleinert was deputised by FBI and protected under federal law when he killed Larry Jackson Jr, saying afterwards it was an accident (deputised to kill with immunity)
Texas police prepare for open carry of handguns in January 2016 - Washington Times - This a huge concern for us. We are preparing for a significant increase in calls for carrying guns (what could and will go wrong?)

'Officer Slam' Threw Teen From Her Desk Over Cellphone, Lawyer Says - The lawyer for a 16-year-old girl slammed to a Spring Valley High School classroom floor this week by a sheriff's deputy said Thursday that the confrontation was over a cellphone and "she could have been left alone." (but authority! +pre-prison for future inmates in our incarceration society +"obnoxious" is a crime in the school penal code of Charleston)

Know your audience - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Lawyers, Guns & Money - From a letter requesting donations from University of California-Hastings law school graduates: (yeah, what planet, dude?)

- Louisiana Governor's Race Devolves into the Worst Spy Movie Ever - David Vitter is trying to shake a prostitution scandal, so he hired a private eye to dig up dirt on his opponent, who hired a private eye to follow Vitter's private eye.

New York Times Columnist Gets Schooled on Catholic Doctrine - I missed this over the last couple of days, but Ross Cardinal Douthat, Primate of the Archdiocese of Dorkylvania, has managed to get himself crossways with a whole passel of actual theologians


Top Documentary Films - Watch Free Documentaries Online

ESPN Is Shutting Down Grantland, 'Effective Immediately' - The news comes months after the departure of founder Bill Simmons. (bungled that)

SXSW: 'We Made A Mistake' Canceling Online Harassment Panels - The festival wants to compensate with a full-day summit on the issue. (dialectic)

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US science agency refuses request for climate records : Nature News & Comment - House of Representatives committee is demanding documents relating to a study that refuted a global-warming hiatus (Sciencegaaazzzhhhi!)

Air Strikes Hit At Least 12 Syrian Hospitals In Past Weeks: MSF - Russia and Syria had been intensifying their air offensives in west and northwest Syria. (war on doctors spreads)

Police use terror powers to seize BBC Newsnight journalist's laptop | Crime | News | The Independent - Exclusive: Secunder Kermani joined the show early last year and has produced a series of reports on British-born jihadis (your totalitarian fascist state is pretty much here)


- Death in shackles of elderly man stopped at Gatwick "shameful" - Home Office detention of Alois Dvorzac, 84, who was suffering dementia and heart disease, was on 'threshold of inhuman" (but he died of "natural causes")



Mexican soldier shoots one-year-old American girl at US border | World news | The Guardian - Toddler is being treated in Texas with non-life-threatening injuries after her family's car drove between military patrol and vehicle carrying suspects

Eschaton: Things We Can Afford
That runaway blimp is also running away with your tax dollars (don't miss great pic)
Seventeen years and $2.7 billion in, Pentagon's high-tech blimps fail to deliver on promise - Baltimore Sun (but we can't spend any money on schools because teachers are moochers)

More than 20 women detained in Texas immigration facility begin hunger strike | US news | The Guardian - Some of the women, who began protest by refusing dinner on Wednesday, wrote letters about fears of being deported, as well as inhumane treatment in facilities

The Republican Tax Plans Are All Basically Insane - They would cost trillions of dollars.
The CNBC Republican Debate Was A Total Trainwreck | ThinkProgress
Insiders: Bush bombed, Rubio won - POLITICO - In the third GOP debate, the consensus was clear: Jeb Bush blew it and Marco Rubio won the evening.
Fact-Checking The CNBC Republican Presidential Debate - There were quite a few questionable claims made during the event. FactCheck.org
GOP Presidential Candidates Talk About Their Wives Like It's A 1950s Sitcom - "My wife is down here in the front, and I'm sure, if you'd like to talk to her later, she can give you more than you'll ever be able to take care of."
Jeb Bush gives Marco Rubio his moment to shine after debate attack fizzles out | US news | The Guardian - Confrontation initiated by Bush failed in dramatic fashion by making Rubio appear the charismatic insurgent who could run away with the race
Megyn Kelly Knocks Debate Moderator Over Donald Trump Question - "Not Quick enough," she tweeted. (Megyn throws shade on Becky)
Flash And Fibs Were GOP Debate's Big Winners - The candidates kept dodging questions on policy -- or just made stuff up.
Here Are The Best Moments From The Third Republican Primary Debate
At Republican Debate, Fantasy Sports Got More Attention Than Wall Street - The New York Times
Ben Carson and Donald Trump Lack Electricity in a Charged Debate - The New York Times
- Jeb Bush's Mayday - veracity is for losers
Peace Breaks Out Among the Republican Candidates -- NYMag


Gov. Christie, Time to Go Home - The New York Times

Political Lies About Police Brutality - The New York Times
Good Guys with guns: how police officers became fixtures in US schools The 1990s-era "tough of crime" movement that encouraged police inside schools has expanded under Obama, despite the lack of consensus it improves safety
New York Times Editorial: Politicians Stymie Progress On Police Brutality - Some politicians "want to soft-pedal or even ignore police misconduct."

Texas campus carry law is a slap in the face of survivors of past shootings | Cindy Casares | Comment is free | The Guardian - At the University of Texas at Austin some still remember the 1966 mass school shooting. Their pleas for gun control have been ignored

Lesbian couple alleges Honolulu ??police officer harassed them over public kiss? | US news | The Guardian - Courtney Wilson and Taylor Guerrero say a police officer "punched" and harassed them because he disapproved of their public displays of affection in a store (they "lost" the video)

Praying Football Coach Suspended After Satanists Plan Invocation - "The school district needs to create religious opportunity for everyone or ban it completely."

The transformation of David Brooks - Columbia Journalism Review (so he's a Jewish Wasp)

Let there be light: Handwritten draft of King James Bible reveals the secrets of its creation - Salon.com - Every great work of literature is a product of meticulous editing and revision. The King James is no exception


The Sex Lives of College Students -- The Cut - Heirs to the Sexual Revolution

Sleep Paralysis Is an Inescapable Waking Nightmare | Motherboard


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The Greatest Threat to Campus Free Speech is Coming From Dianne Feinstein and her Military-Contractor Husband
New Senate Cybersecurity Bill Just Needs You to Trust the NSA - To the surprise of absolutely nobody, Dianne Feinstein was the principal Democratic senator whipping support for the bill and, make no mistake, this is a truly awful law. In brief, it not only opens the door to increased trawling through the lives of American citizens by the intelligence community, in many cases, it mandates it. (+Snowden was right)
Controversial Cybersecurity Bill Clears Senate In Bipartisan Vote (Obama, spies and corps win again)

American Amir Meshal can't sue FBI over abuse claims, federal appeals court says - CBS News - and tortured him for several months in Africa. (pretty much the definition of a totalitarian state)
A federal appeals court says a U.S. citizen can't sue a group of FBI agents he says falsely imprisoned and tortured him for several months in Africa. : news

Eschaton: What Could Go Wrong? - If only there were options other than "killing more people." Bueller? Bueller? - Obama's most senior national security advisers have recommended measures that would move U.S. troops closer to the front lines in Iraq and Syria, officials said, a sign of mounting White House dissatisfaction with progress against the Islamic State and a renewed Pentagon push to expand military involvement in long-running conflicts overseas.
U.S. boots on ground to fight Isis | MSNBC - Defense secretary Ash Carter told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the US military will put boots on the ground in a direct fight to attack Isis in Iraq and Syria. (having learned nothing, here we go again ...)

Toronto on brink of a mob war, Italy warns - Mobsters around Toronto are on the brink of armed warfare in a brewing feud between some of the world's most powerful and wealthiest gangster clans, according to wiretaps secretly recorded in Italy.


Top 100 CEO Retirement Savings Equals 41% of All U.S. Families Retirement Savings : politics

Boehner's Parting Gift: Two-Year Budget Deal Passes The House - All Democrats and 79 Republicans voted in favor of it. (the crazy caucus is strong)

alicublog: No Constitutional Right Not To Be Criticized (conservtive meltdown because Hillz criticized them)

Eschaton: Poor Dears - never been a fan of branding combat Vets as "warriors" but, pretty sure these guys arent' warriors - Kasich joins Bush and Rubio in being extremely open about their own frustrations with campaign and/or day job. No happy warriors right now

Arrest of Girl Who Texted in Class Prompts Civil Rights Case - ABC News
Arrest of girl texting in class prompts civil rights case : news
Sheriff to Announce South Carolina Deputy Ben Fields to Be Fired: Sources - NBC News - "He's known as Officer Slam"
Ben Fields, Officer Seen Manhandling Student, Has Been Sued Twice Before - Fields and other officers are in schools "to serve as role models," a deputy said. ("role model" = how to be a total asshole +repeat offender)
MoveOn Petitions - Charge Deputy Ben Fields with Assault! - Criminalizing the behavior of Black students in school does not help them or the school. This is not just about a bad apple, but a bad way of thinking about an entire segment of this society.
The Worst Moments From CNN's Awful Coverage of the South Carolina HS Classroom Arrest
- Lessons in Brutality - It's shocking to watch a black student violently arrested in school. What is more shocking is how common it is.
The Broader Context of Spring Valley - Lawyers, Guns & Money (school is pre-prison for black kids +Don Lemon is a real jerk, as usual, when it comes to black people)
FBI, Justice Dept to investigate video showing SC deputy tossing student to floor (the cop forum: here's the problem: obey ma authoritay! +"broken windows" policing in schools)

Police officers and their unions should face the same scrutiny as teachers | Jason Nichols | Comment is free | The Guardian - It is not acceptable to demand that teachers bear the burden of fixing the education system and yet allow our police departments to remain as they are
Police are searching black drivers more often, but finding more illegal stuff with white drivers - The Washington Post


SXSW's Astounding Ideals of Cowardice - stunning decision to cancel a panel dealing with online harassment is as embarrassing as it is unjustifiable and pathetic. By Chris Kluwe

Sorry, You Probably Can't Sleep Just 6 Hours A Night - Reading between the lines of a recent study on the sleep habits of indigenous people.

What are the best "get to know you" questions to ask on a first date? : AskReddit - Do talk F.O.R.D. Family, occupation, recreation, dreams - Do not Religion, Accounts, Politics, Exes
(SERIOUS) Former convicts of Reddit, what DID happen to pedophiles in prison? : AskReddit
Resigned /r/TumblrInAction Mod Describes The Subreddits Shift In Tone As It Grew In Size And What They Have Learnt : bestof
The Oatmeal trolled Huffpo UK yesterday when they got caught hotlinking : funny
Causing an avalanche : WTF

Marwencol: the incredible WWII art project created by a cross-dresser who was beaten up by bigots | Art and design | The Guardian


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The Great Climate Change Hoax Rumbles On! - research is under increasing fire by some Republican leaders in Congress, who deny or question the scientific consensus.

CISA data-sharing bill passes Senate with no privacy protections : news (Warren and Markey: "no")
Senate Passes CISA Bill : technology

Syria and Iraq Are Still a Disaster as U.S. Involvement Escalates - The mission creep parallels to Vietnam should be cause for concern.

- Chinese foreign ministry says Washington acted illegally when USS Lassen entered waters near disputed Spratly archipelago - the warship had passed within 12 miles of a Chinese artificial island.
US manoeuvre in South China Sea leaves little wiggle room with China | World news | The Guardian - presence in disputed waters sure to draw Beijing retaliation, which could worsen ties and spread to other regional rows
South China Sea: U.S. Sovereignty Challenge Provokes Anger In Beijing - "The Chinese side expresses its strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition."

Another Doctors Without Borders Hospital Hit By Airstrikes - "MSF facility in Saada Yemen was hit by several airstrikes last night with patients and staff inside the facility." (looks like a real fuckyou move)

Martin, A Quick Word | The Return of the Public - close to the epicentre of the Corbyn milieu (Martin Amis doesn't like Corbyn)


Verbatim: Donald Trump on the Rough Life, and Getting $1 Million From His Father - First Draft. Political News, Now. - The New York Times - Verbatim: Donald Trump on the Rough Life, and Getting $1 Million From His Father (speaks at 4th grade level to his audience)


TIL that the Seventh-day Adventist church teaches that the Anti-Christ will be the Pope, and the Catholic Church will cause the apocalypse. : todayilearned

The Median Rent for a San Francisco Two-Bedroom Hits $5,000/Month : news

How many guns are in America? A web of state secrecy means no one knows | US news | The Guardian - A majority of states actively restrict access to information on gun permits, the FBI must destroy background checks and Congress bans funding for research (hear no, see no, speak no)

Spring Valley High School Student Flung By School Officer On Video - The student had refused to leave class before the officer became involved.
SC Student 'Brutalized' by School Resource Officer, Lawyer Says - ABC News - At least three students caught the incident in the math classroom on video. The videos have since circulated on social media. (game has changed)
- Officer's forceful removal of student made sheriff "want to throw up" Federal civil rights investigation to determine if law was broken during incident captured on camera in which officer drags student from her desk
Learning while black: the latest offense that the police will get you for | Steven W Thrasher | Comment is free | The Guardian

FBI Director Says Videos, Hashtags Are Worsening The Citizen-Police Divide - "Of the explanations I have heard, it is the one that makes the most sense to me."
White House To FBI Director: No, Viral Videos Aren't Causing Crime - James Comey continues to argue the "Ferguson effect" is fueling the crime surge.

No charges against South Carolina police officer who shot and killed an unarmed teenage boy on a date last July. Family alleges that the child's body was left on the ground for several hours, during which some officers posed with and high-fived the corpse : news
Video Of Cop Fatally Shooting Zachary Hammond Released, No Charges Filed - The state of South Carolina released video Tuesday of a Seneca police officer shooting 19-year-old Zachary Hammond, and said no charges will be filed.
72-Hour Suspension For Trooper Who Ran Red Light, Killing Woman - Timothy Fagin ran a red light while chasing a driver who wasn't wearing a seatbelt.
- Quentin Tarantino has "destroyed his career" says rightwing host Bill O'Reilly - Fox News commentator blasts director for appearing at a New York rally to highlight police killings less than a week after an NYPD officer was shot dead

Nobody Understands the Internet | First Draft - Over and over, newspaper companies who now try to call themselves media companies make it clear just how much they hate their customers

School Testing and For-Profit Colleges: Both Declining? - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Lawyers, Guns & Money - There'S a useful slight reversal of position from President Obama and other Democratic politicians who have pushed a regimen of educational reforms, primarily constant standardized testing (or studying for those tests) that take much of the education and a whole lot of the joy of learning out of education

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and medical research - Lawyers, Guns & Money
The Faculty Lounge: No, It Isn't All in Your Head - Is Chronic Fatigue Syndrome an organic disease that should be addressed by biomedical research, or is it a only psychological condition best treated by some form of psychotherapy? (shrinks wanted another disease to "treat" -- "chronic lazyness -- but didn't know how to research)
Health threat of sugar is vastly underestimated, study claims | Society | The Guardian - US research says sugar causes high blood pressure and heart disease regardless of weight gain but critics doubt results

VStarffin comments on Can someone explain why it tends to be young, white men who have libertarian beliefs.
[Serious] People who performed sexual favors in school or in the workplace to get ahead, what was it for? What are things like now? : AskReddit
[Serious] What lie are you living? : AskReddit

Map of all the movies you must watch before you die! : movies
Cormac McCarthy's The Road May Have the Scariest Passage in All of Literature - The Atlantic

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Government's handling of Hurricane Patricia is a rare bit of good news for Mexico - The official death count from the strongest hurricane ever measured in the Western Hemisphere: zero.
Powerful Earthquake Hits Afghanistan, India, Pakistan
Deadly Heat Is Forecast in Persian Gulf by 2100 - The New York Times

Oh look. It's that CISA surveillance bill again. Didn't we defeat that? Not yet. One last chance (for real) to #StopCISA. Ask activists from Fight for the Future, Access, EFF, and Demand Progress anything about CISA. (fuckers never give up)
Unit That Called In Kunduz Airstrike Knew Hospital Was Functioning, Believed It Was Overrun By Taliban ("believed" "overrun" but "functioning" so kill them all)

Benjamin Netanyahu's Latest Rejection Of A Palestinian State - "You think there is a magic wand here, but I disagree," he told his political opponents, who have been pushing for peace talks.

- UK accused of doing China's bidding after police raid home of Tiananmen Square survivor over peaceful protest

Airlines Work Together To Declare War On Cyber Attackers

Saudi Prince Arrested in Beirut on Drug Smuggling : worldnews - two tons of Captagon pills and some cocaine

Rape Victims Are Being Jailed Under Extramarital Sex Laws in the UAE | VICE News


Anonymous hackers to reveal identities of 1,000 Ku Klux Klan members in #OpKKK

Tea Party Support Falls To A New Low - Only 17 percent of Americans polled say they support the movement - Meanwhile, a record 54 percent of Americans polled this month said they didn't have an opinion about the tea party either way. (their frankenstein ate them)

Prosecution Of U.S. Police For Killings Surges To Highest In Decade - A dozen officers have been charged with murder or manslaughter this year resulting from shootings.



World Health Organization: Processed Meats Cause Cancer - The average American consumes about 18 pounds of bacon each year.
WHO: Processed meats cause cancer. : worldnews

The Scale of the Universe 2
Physicists uncover novel phase of matter - not a conventional metal, insulator, or magnet, for example, but something entirely different. This phase, characterized by an unusual ordering of electrons, offers possibilities for new electronic device functionalities and could hold the solution to a long-standing mystery in condensed matter physics having to do with high-temperature superconductivity

Vox Media -"Hulu has overtaken Netflix to become the best streaming service" - but they fail to disclose that Comcast owns both Vox and Hulu.

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Jimmy Carter: A Five-Nation Plan to End the Syrian Crisis - The New York Times

Tony Blair makes qualified apology for Iraq war ahead of Chilcot report | UK news | The Guardian - but defends armed intervention in 2003 (took them 12 years, but at least they did a report)
Bergen: NY Times triples down on bizarre bin Laden tale - CNN.com

Iraq rescue: video shows US prison raid freeing 70 hostages from Isis | World news | The Guardian - Helmet-camera footage issued by Kurdistan government shows men running through compound in Hawija during operation in which US soldier was killed
NBC Obtains Video Claiming To Show Anti-ISIS Raid That Killed U.S. Operative - According to the McClatchy report, however, there were no Kurds among the rescued, and it is currently unknown if any Baathists were among them.

Tony Blair: 2003 Iraq Invasion Contributed To Rise Of ISIS - "It's not clear to me that, even if our policy did not work, subsequent policies have worked better," he said. (because you fucked it all up, dumbshit)

No, Really, Strange Things Are Happening at the Vatican - The food-taster jokes are no longer funny.


How Republicans saved Hillary Clinton. Again. - The Washington Post
Bob Woodward On The Benghazi Committee: 'It Clearly Is Partisan' - The legendary journalist says, accurately, that politicians mislead all the time. (so no big deal)
Why the Benghazi Hearing Was an Embarrassment to Representative Democracy - It's still unclear what Thursday's hearing was supposed to be getting at.
Because Benghazi Went So Well, We Have a New Planned Parenthood Committee - Because Benghazi Went So Well, We Have a New Planned Parenthood Committee - And it's chock full o'wingnuts
Megyn Kelly Flips Out Over Positive Hillary Clinton Benghazi Coverage From Media | Crooks and Liars (she's so cute when she's mad)
Transcript: Rachel Maddow interviews Hillary Clinton | MSNBC

Obamacare Foes Head To Supreme Court... Again - They say the law is "so unconstitutional in so many ways." (onward, Christian derpists)

Ben Carson Once Again Compares Something To Slavery, This Time Abortion - The insurgent GOP candidate says no to exceptions for rape and incest.
How Do You Explain Ben Carson's Success in Iowa? - The currency of crazy statements. Theoretically, democracy is a hell of an idea, isn't it? Can we just let the cows vote now?
- Donald Trump seeks a sharp contrast with Ben Carson's Seventh-day Adventist faith - Seventh-day Adventists are Protestants who observe the Sabbath on Saturday, unlike most Christians, including Presbyterians, who observe it on Sunday. The church also takes a very literal view of the Bible. (Trump continues to speak on a 4th-grade level)

The Real Effect of Citizens United on the GOP by Nancy LeTourneau | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - There are plenty of places to point when looking for the source of the chaos they're currently experiencing. But I think we miss a big one if we don't consider the impact of this Supreme Court decision that everyone assumed would simply be a windfall for them.

Eschaton: About The Last Seven Years Of My Education Policy - Maybe I can take some of it back? (your deeply conservative POTUS +his clown, Arne Duncan mumbles)

Chris Christie, Sipping a Smoothie, Was Kicked Off an Amtrak Car For Screaming on His Phone - 47 grams of carbs. Seriously?! Seriously?! indeed. (and a day and a half of sugar for the failed, state-destroying fat fuck bully)

The Disproportionate Risks of Driving While Black - The New York Times - An examination of traffic stops and arrests in Greensboro, N.C., uncovered wide racial differences in measure after measure of police conduct. (deeply racist cop system)
Why Did A Cop Shoot Robert Chambers In The Head? (Texas)

'Bathroom predator' spin on Houston equal rights bill puts Texans in hot seat | US news | The Guardian - Nietzsche: "The last Christian died on the Cross."

- Bill Cosby's "smoking gun" the chilling self-deception revealed in his book - In light of the allegations against him, Emma Brockes revists Cosby's Love and Marriage, published in 1989, and finds a dull book suddenly made fascinating (unconsciously honest)


102415

Hurricane Patricia weakens in Mexico; flood threat remains - CNN.com (mountains won)
Must We Choose Between Capitalism and Climate? -- NYMag (Chait's true colors)


Maldives Vice-President Adeeb arrested over 'bomb plot' - BBC News

The Unseen Threat of Capital Mobility | Boston Review

Friday Talking Points -- Hillary's Very Good Week | Chris Weigant

'The Daily Show' Covers Benghazi Hearing Number ... Ah, We Lost Count - They started another hearing while you were reading that headline.
/u/HuskeyG digs up a chilling video from 2004 of Elizabeth Warren recounting a story telling of how Hillary would likely be as President. : bestof

The Way of the Whigs? by Nancy LeTourneau | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly (the return of the Know-Nothings in the Tea Party and "Freedom caucus" +always characterized by extreme paranoia)
House Freedom Caucus Demands by Nancy LeTourneau | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly ... items 4 & 5 demand that members who oppose rule changes and/or vote their conscience not be punished.

Team Bush in a Fog
2016 Republican primary: George W. Bush unleashes on Ted Cruz - politico - "I just don't like the guy"
Trump jabs at Bush in Florida: Not ready to be president - Yahoo News

- Critics say air marshals, much wanted after 9/11, have become "bored cops" flying first class - Fourteen years later, the federal air marshal program is mired in budget cuts, allegations of misconduct and management turmoil, prompting some in Congress to question whether the multi-billion dollar experiment has outlived its usefulness.

FBI Director Blames Crime On Police Misconduct Videos - And officers should be trained to conduct themselves with professionalism regardless of whether a camera is recording them

Vince Wilfork Wants Justice For Friend Killed By Cop - 31-year-old Corey Jones had pulled over to tend to his failing car, was "confronted" by a plain-clothed police officer who never identified himself, was fired at five times and died shortly thereafter, with no dashboard or body cameras recording the incident. (license to kill)

Which States Have the Most Guns? | Republic 3.0 | The Washington Monthly - Nationally, guns outnumber both cars and people. (don't go to KY)

AskScience AMA Series: History of Science with /r/AskHistorians : askscience
Since a singularity is infinitely small, can 2 singularities be in the same place? : askscience
One of the oddest predictions of quantum theory,that a system can't change while you're watching it, has been confirmed in an experiment by physicists. Their work opens the door to a fundamentally new method to control and manipulate the quantum states of atoms and could lead to new kinds of sensors : science
- Sorry, Einstein. Quantum Study Suggests "spooky action" Is Real. - the existence of an odd world formed by a fabric of subatomic particles, where matter does not take form until it is observed and time runs backward as well as forward.


China's Ghost Movie Ban Imperils 'Crimson Peak' - The second-biggest film market is off-limits for movies that "promote cults or superstition."
; Yurei: the Ghosts of Japan - ghosts, called yurei ... humans have a god inside of them ... reikon or tamashi is held in check only by the meat-cocoon of the body.

What is the best lifehack you use during your everyday life? : AskReddit
Whats your "Then I noped the fuck out" story? [NSFW] : AskReddit


102315

Hurricane Patricia: What You Need to Know - The New York Times
?? 0 New Updates - Hurricane Patricia Strikes Mexico: Live Updates - The New York Times
Mexico Braces For Impact From Most Powerful Hurricane On Record - Hurricane Patricia barreled toward southwestern Mexico Friday as a monster Category 5 storm, the strongest ever in the Western Hemisphere.

Kurds give account of raid that killed American special operator | McClatchy DC - Dead soldier identified as Master Sgt. Joshua L. Wheeler, 39, of Roland, Okla.
Eschaton: What Could Go Wrong - The only thing that can stop a bad guy with an F-16...

Suspected Jewish Extremist Attacks Human Rights Rabbi On Video
- The Limits of Intervention: Coercive Diplomacy and the Jewish Question in the Nineteenth Century.

Dozens Of Elderly Tourists Killed In Fiery Bus Crash Near Bordeaux, France - According to local media, this is the worst road accident in France in more than 30 years.

Eschaton: Could Be - Who can say? I guess we'll have to investigate. Who knows what we might find? All very mysterious, really -- Volkswagen said on Thursday that it was investigating whether substantially more vehicles than previously disclosed were equipped with software intended to deceive emissions tests


The GOP blew it with the Benghazi committee, and conservatives know it
Even Conservatives Realize Hillary Clinton's Benghazi Committee Hearing Was Ridiculous
Clinton emerges stronger for next phase of campaign - POLITICO - Following her debate performance, the Benghazi hearing marked the second time in recent weeks that she made a difficult task look easy.
Hillary Clinton and the Benghazi Gang - The New York Times - Trey Gowdy of South Carolina, made it evident that he and his colleagues have squandered more than $4.6 million and countless hours poring over State Department records and Mrs. Clinton's email. They produced no damning evidence, elicited no confessions and didn't succeed in getting an angry reaction from Mrs. Clinton.
Long Twilight Struggle
- Conservative pundits were not impressed with the GOP's disastrous Benghazi hearing

Eschaton: The Grand Grift - But these politically charged appeals to conservatives around the country were often accompanied by a solicitation for money, and the ultimate beneficiaries, records suggest, are the consultants who created the campaigns rather than the causes they are promoting.

Jeb Bush Slashes Spending Amid Campaign Woes - as the one-time front-runner seeks to salvage his bid for the GOP nomination. ("Mother of mercy, is this the end of Little Rico?")

Insiders: Trump nomination looking more likely - POLITICO - Eighty-one percent of Republican insiders
Iowa Poll: Carson surges to 9-point lead; Trump slides

GOP Lawmakers Want To Make Gun Silencers Cheaper, Easier To Buy - They say it's about protecting people's hearing.
F.B.I. Chief Links Scrutiny of Police With Rise in Violent Crime - The New York Times - additional scrutiny and criticism of police officers in the wake of highly publicized episodes of police brutality may have led to an increase in violent crime in some cities as officers have become less aggressive. (from the guy who doesn't want any "statistics")

Maine Gov. Paul LePage Suggests Women Can't be Trusted with Money


Asimov - The Relativity of Wrong

The Incredible Moment A Black Hole Rips Apart A Dying Star - "This one is the best chance we have had so far to really understand what happens when a black hole shreds a star."
Gluten-free food database: the nutritional quality and cost of packaged gluten-free foods [PeerJ]
Benzodiazepine use may raise risk of Alzheimer's disease - Harvard Health Blog - Harvard Health Publications



102215

Climate change is not under siege in Utah middle schools. Evolution is. - The Washington Post

U.S. Soldier Is Killed in Raid to Free Prisoners of ISIS in Iraq - The New York Times

Israeli Soldiers Kill Jewish Man Mistaken For 'Terrorist' - "The soldiers had high suspicions that he was a terrorist." ("How to Stab a Jew")

- Benghazi Biopsy: A Comprehensive Guide to One of America's Worst Political Outrages (good research and excellent summary: closes every door in the Benghazi loony bin -- they really made up a lot of shit and subverted democracy and the media didn't call them on it, yet again)
GOP lands no clear punches while sparring with Clinton over Benghazi - The Washington Post
Benghazi Committee Fights Among Itself As Hillary Clinton Enjoys The Show - "It is time now for the Republicans to end this taxpayer-funded fishing expedition."
At Benghazi Hearing, Shouting Match Over Hillary Clinton's Emails
Hillary Clinton Benghazi hearing transcript (full text) - politico
Benghazi hearing: Poll: 3-in-4 say panel is political - CNNPolitics.com (so it didn't work and made Hillary look presidential, good job!)
Live updates: Hillary Clinton testifies before Benghazi committee - The Washington Post - Ironic that career kibitzer and conspiratorialist Sidney Blumenthal should be elevated to epic heights in GOP Benghazi conspiracy theory.
It's Getting Embarrassing - Listening to the questions from Republicans questioning Hillary Clinton, it's hard not to step back and ask what it is they're even trying to prove or what their point is
Stakes Are High For Clinton, GOP As Benghazi Takes Center Stage

- Maddow: Reporters Who Made False Biden Predictions "Rightfully Embarrassed" "I hope this whole saga can be a cautionary tale"


House Leadership: Ryan offers concession to House Freedom Caucus - POLITICO - He promises to delay discussions of overhauling a procedural mechanism to oust a sitting speaker.

Seventh in string of fires set at St. Louis area churches breaks pattern : News

Eschaton: Ammosexuals - Gun nuts get a bit, um, obsessed with their detachable death penises -- the average gun-owning household owned 4.2 guns.

These Inmates Got Years In Solitary Confinement For Making A Music Video - BuzzFeed News - Seven South Carolina inmates received a combined total of nearly 20 years in solitary confinement after a rap video they created behind bars made its way to WorldStarHipHop.com.

Planned Parenthood says Texas launches politically charged document hunt | Reuters

What U.S. Religious Groups Think About Science Issues | Pew Research Center - Highly religious Americans are less likely than others to see conflict between faith and science.

- Mediterranean diet "may slow the ageing process by five years" US survey shows older people who follow vegetable-rich diet have brain volume greater than those who do not (eat your veggies)

Final Kiss of Two Stars Heading for Catastrophe | ESO - The two stars in the extreme system VFTS 352 could be heading for a dramatic end, during which the two stars either coalesce to create a single giant star, or form a binary black hole.
What Americans know and don't know about science | Pew Research Center

BlackTeaLeaves comments on WikiLeaks obtains CIA chief's hacked emails, says will publish them 'shortly' - Theres a theory that WIKILEAKS has been turned into a FSB operation:

- If you want to understand the mindset that led to those "she can't consent while drunk but he can" posters, here's a video that explains how we got there. ("butchbutter")

Twitter CEO Apologizes For Shutting Down Sites That Save Politicians' Deleted Tweets - However, it's unclear if Twitter plans to reverse its decision.

102115

The math on staying below 20C of global warming looks increasingly brutal - Vox (Republican Cult of Stupidty and Death has already destroyed the climate)

Fox News Rewrites History To Blame Bill Clinton For The 9/11 Terrorist Attacks | Research | Media Matters for America (Bush kept us safe)

Netanyahu Says Muslim Leader Convinced Hitler To Kill Jewish People - "Hitler didn't want to exterminate the Jews at the time, he wanted to expel the Jews," Netanyahu said.

- Kunduz hospital attack: how a US military "mistake" left 22 dead - The US has said its airstrike on an MSF facility in Afghanistan was a mistake. For the 22 dead, the injured survivors and the casualties of fighting still going on in Kunduz, it was a tragedy (but these things happen)

New York Times Editor Dean Baquet Defends Controversial Osama Bin Laden Magazine Story - But he acknowledges the Washington bureau should have been consulted more.
NYT Magazine's Bin Laden Cover Story Sparked Controversy In The Newsroom - Washington reporters told top editor they worried the story gave oxygen to unsubstantiated claims about the raid.

Family Of Journalist Jacqueline Sutton Say No One Else Was Involved In Her Death At Turkish Airport - While the family was "deeply skeptical" of initial reports, they now believe she acted alone. - Sutton was found with two credit cards and "a large amount" of cash, IWPR said. There was no indication of theft or any missing belongings.
Istanbul Airport Video Raises Questions About Journalist Jacqueline Sutton's Death - The video shows Sutton with a full shopping bag, contrasting with reports she didn't have money for a ticket. (hung herself with her shoelace in a bathroom stall)

Proof That The Benghazi Investigation Is Totally Unlike Any Other, In Two Charts | ThinkProgress

WikiLeaks - CIA Director John Brennan emails - non-government email accounts. Brennan used the account occasionally for several intelligence related projects.
- WikiLeaks obtains CIA chief's hacked emails, says will publish them

Joe Biden Will Not Run for President in 2016 - The New York Times
Joe Biden Praise for Dick Cheney Is Bad Politics if He's Seeking Democratic Nomination - Biden Isn't Running, But Why Is He Praising Dick Cheney? - I actually like Dick Cheney, for real. I think he's a decent man. "Republicans not the enemy" (why he would have been a disaster) "
Hillary Clinton Bounces Back In New Hampshire - For the first time since August, polls show Clinton is moving ahead of Bernie Sanders in the Granite State.

Bill Kristol Is The Wrongest Person In The World Right Now

Commentary: Chris Christie nearly made thousands of disabled residents homeless NewsWorks

Why Pennsylvania Has a Serious Charter School Problem - It's apparently state law that the charter schools get money or nobody does.
Eschaton: First In Line - One cute feature of our state charter school law is that they are first in line for money. School districts have to pay them first. Wonderful!
Eschaton: More Shortages - I thought the invisible hand was supposed lead to increased wages and compensation to solve this shortage problem. Must be the fault of Obama and the communism.

Ahmed Mohamed And His Clock Are Moving To Qatar - But maybe it's not that far. "They even have Texas A&M in Qatar."

In U.S., 58% Back Legal Marijuana Use - Older generations more supportive than they were in the past
Canada's newly elected Liberals may legalize marijuana. That could impact US drug policy. - Vox - If marijuana were legalized in Canada, it would be a first among developed nations. In the US, four states and Washington, DC, have legalized pot, but it's still illegal at the federal level. The only other country to fully legalize marijuana is the tiny developing nation of Uruguay

[Serious] What is the most mysterious and unexplained video on the internet? : AskReddit
The Internet creates an illusion whereby people mistake access to information for their own personal understanding of the information. : science - Micromedex, Clinical Pharmacology, and DynaMed are my goto sources. There really is no better drug database than Micromedex. So easy to use and very informative. DynaMed pretty much gives you the diagnostic and treatment guidelines of any disease state you want to know about.

Many Antidepressant Studies Found Tainted by Pharma Company Influence - Scientific American - A review of studies that assess clinical antidepressants shows hidden conflicts of interest and financial ties to corporate drugmakers
Our evidence | Cochrane
Honey as a topical treatment for acute and chronic wounds | Cochrane - There is high quality evidence that honey heals partial thickness burns around 4 to 5 days more quickly than conventional dressings. There is moderate quality evidence that honey is more effective than antiseptic followed by gauze for healing wounds infected after surgical operations.
St. John's wort for treating depression. | Cochrane - The available evidence suggests that the hypericum extracts tested in the included trials a) are superior to placebo in patients with major depression; b) are similarly effective as standard antidepressants; c) and have fewer side effects than standard antidepressants.

What do you upvote on principle? : AskReddit

102015

Ohio River's Huge Algae Bloom a Warning for Water Suppliers - ABC News

Latest FBI Terrorist Bust Shows A Future So 'Dark' Some Eye Protection Might Be Warranted | Techdirt - Latest FBI Terrorist Bust Shows A Future So "Dark" Some Eye Protection Might Be Warranted y

Canada withdrawing fighter jets from Iraq, Syria, Trudeau tells Obama
Trudeau rides national desire for change to majority government - The Globe and Mail
Justin Trudeau elected new Canadian prime minister as Liberals return to power | World news | The Guardian - Conservatives and New Democratic party routed as Liberals surge to take parliamentary majority
Harper To Resign As Conservative Leader After Election Defeat
7 Ways Canada's Change Of Government Might Affect The World (the last Bush Republican)
For many Canadians, election is about one thing: more Stephen Harper? - CSMonitor.com - Mr. Harper has been prime minister since 2006, and has shifted overall Canadian politics to the right. Polls indicate that a majority of Canadians want to see a change.


Let us now blame George Bush: Trump and Jeb force a long overdue debate about 9/11 - Salon.com - For years, W. got a pass from his party. Questioning him meant questioning our foreign policy. Those days are over

Democrats are in denial. Their party is actually in deep trouble. - Vox (the Vox kids think Hillz and Bern are too leftish, need to be more Centric)


CBS has refused to run advertising for "Truth" the film starring Cate Blanchett and Robert Redford that revisits a painful episode in the network's past involving a discredited 2004 news story on former President George W. Bush's military service record.

What are Bill and Melinda Gates talking about? - The Washington Post - Bill and Melinda Gates do not understand teaching and learning, yet they comfortably assume an air of expertise.

NJ prison population down 26 percent since 2000, report finds NewsWorks - "What that tells us is that you can decrease incarceration while also decreasing crime (in fact ...)


The government is stifling medical marijuana research, major think tank declares - The Washington Post
Federal court tells the DEA to stop harassing medical marijuana providers - The Washington Post
- Marijuana industry drives Denver metro area's real estate recovery - One in 11 industrial buildings in central Denver now houses marijuana cultivation, CBRE report says (coulda been you, MA)

25 year old inmate dies in police custody while suffering withdrawals and dehyration. DA clears police of any wrong doong and declares death by "natural causes" : news

What is a free PC program everyone should have? : AskReddit
What do guys wanna hear a girl say as far as 'talking dirty'? : AskReddit
What are the best text-based subreddits to kill time reading? : AskReddit
What subreddit seems the most like a cult? : AskReddit
What was the best way that someone has hit on you? : AskReddit

The Cable Industry Thinks Cord Cutting's A Fad That Will End Once Millennials Procreate : television - Jokes on you cable industry, we can't afford kids.

Why Twitter's Dying (And What You Can Learn From It) - The problem of abuse is the greatest challenge the web faces today
Will Abuse Destroy Social Media? - Lawyers, Guns & Money : (no, a Loomis has a pretty narrow view of "comment sections" on the intarwebs)

Wired to fail - politico - How a little known agency mishandled several billion dollars of stimulus money trying to expand broadband coverage to rural communities. (money disappeared, another Program Designed to Fail)

101915


Canada Election 2015 Live Results CBC - CBC News projects a LIBERAL MAJORITY government (bye-bye Harper)
- Canada election: Liberals set to win majority government

News from The Associated Press - Hacker claims to have breached CIA director's personal email - An anonymous hacker claims to have breached CIA Director John Brennan's personal email account and has posted documents online, including a list of email addresses purportedly from Brennan's contact file ... also claimed to have breached a Comcast account belonging to Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, and released what appeared to be personal information.

Eschaton: Arab Spring - Just add mooooaarr weapons and stir. (recipe for another generation of disaster)
ISIL child training camp discovered in Istanbul: Report - LOCAL
Saudi Arabia Hajj Disaster Death Toll at Least 2,121 - ABC News
Saudi Arabia Hajj Disaster Death Toll at Least 2,110 : worldnews - Iranian sources claimed that over 4,000 people died. Saudi Vice Minister of Health Hamad bin Muhammad Al-Duweila supposedly at one point said that death toll had reached 4,173. It's not improbable.

China Tried To Hack American Companies Since Agreeing To Cyber Pact, Security Firm Says - CrowdStrike said it notified the White House of its findings but declined to identify the targeted companies.

- Japan furious at UNESCO listing Nanjing Massacre documents | Japan may halt funding for UNESCO over the organization's decision to include documents relating to the 1937 Nanjing Massacre in the latest listing for its "Memory of the World" project (history is a bitch, bitches)


British activist Jacky Sutton found dead in Istanbul airport | Media | The Guardian (something doesn't add up)

- Crack-Smoking Mayor Rob Ford Is Wreaking Havoc on Canada's Election
UN attempt to decriminalise drugs foiled - BBC News - A paper from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has been withdrawn after pressure from at least one country.


Hullabaloo - Prosecutor Gowdy faking the evidence? Why yes he is!
Top Dem Slams Benghazi Committee Chair For False Claim Against Hillary Clinton - Democrats have alleged that the committee is primarily focused on damaging Clinton.
GOP Congressman Already Floating Impeachment For Hillary Clinton
- GOP Congressman Wants to Impeach Hillary Clinton the"day she's sworn in" -- These really are the f*cking mole people.
Benghazi Committee Chair Thinks Criticism of His Committee Is a Pro-Hillary Media Conspiracy
In response to Rep. Cummings, Gowdy confesses he "redacted" document (so it meant something else entirely)
Jeb Bush Tries To Explain Why His Brother Isn't To Blame For 9/11, But Hillary Is For Benghazi - "Does anybody actually blame my brother for the attacks on 9/11? If they do, they're totally marginalized in our society."

House Republicans Return To Capitol To Face Leadership Mess - All eyes are on Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan.

Texas Eliminates Taxpayer Funding To Planned Parenthood Providers : news

- Homan Square revealed: how Chicago police " disappeared" 7,000 people Guardian lawsuit exposes fullest scale yet of detentions at off-the-books interrogation warehouse, while attorneys describe find-your-client chase across Chicago as "something from a Bond movie"

World of Life Church: couple charged in sons' beatings lived in 'abhorrent' home | US news | The Guardian
Raashanai's story: the dark side of home-schooling | US news | The Guardian

The Cosby Show Didn't Depict "Middle-Class" Life | Antonio Moore (Oprah thinks no Cosby no Obama)

Can ESPN Solve Its Grantland Problem? | Vanity Fair

How much alcohol is safe for pregnant women? US pediatricians say none | Life and style | The Guardian

Life on Earth may have begun 300m years earlier than previously thought | Science | The Guardian - Discovery, if confirmed, indicates that living organisms appeared on Earth 4.1 billion years ago, remarkably soon after its formation

101815

Exxon Should Be Prosecuted For Covering Up Its Knowledge of Fossil Fuel-Induced Climate Change by David Atkins | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly
5 Things You Need to Know About Climate Change - Explorer Video - National Geographic Channel

Yes. George W. Bush Failed to Protect Us on 9/11and Democrats Should Have Reminded the Nation of That Fact by David Atkins | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly (mostly because post-partisam Obama covered Bush's ass and subverted democracy)


There's Just One Problem with Those Bin Laden Conspiracy Theories

Emails reveal Tony Blair's deal with George Bush over Iraq war was forged before invasion started | Daily Mail Online - Bombshell document shows Blair preparing to act as spin doctor for Bush, who was told 'the UK will follow our lead' (he literally was Bush's poodle)
The Lies That Led Us Into Iraq Were Bigger And Earlier Than We Thought by David Atkins | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - The sensational leak shows that Blair had given an unqualified pledge to sign up to the conflict a year before the invasion started.

John Kerry Will Meet With Netanyahu And Abbas This Week - It is the first time Kerry has confirmed media reports of a meeting with both Netanyahu and Abbas.
Israel says more knife attacks thwarted, four Palestinians dead | Reuters
Street Violence Continues In Jerusalem And West Bank - Forty-one Palestinians and seven Israelis have died in the recent street violence.

Justice for Assange - By claiming that Mr. Assange must give up his asylum in order to receive medical treatment, the UK government is forcing him to choose between the human right to asylum and the human right to medical treatment. No one should ever have to face that choice.


Benghazi Panel Grills Huma Abedin For Six Hours

What is a democratic socialist? Bernie Sanders tries to redefine the name. - The Washington Post (he's a commie, duh)

It's Time To Admit: Nobody Knows Anything About The 2016 Campaign - The old "rules" of presidential politics no longer seem to apply. ("old rules" = let the pundits/media tell you what's going on)



US government will reportedly require all drone purchases to be registered | The Verge (much more dangerous than guns)




Here's What Ahmed Mohamed Has Been Up To Since His Clock Arrest


Fiverr: The marketplace for creative & professional services


101715

- Exxon's climate lie: "No corporation has ever done anything this big or bad"


Rich nations spend $250 bln on farm subsidies, hurting poor growers - study


- UK Politicians To Hold 'emergency debate" After Spy Tribunal Says GCHQ Is Permitted To Put Them Under Surveillance (your fascist chickens come home)


What Could Raising Taxes on the 1% Do? Surprising Amounts - The New York Times - Given the gains that have flowed to those at the tip of the income pyramid in recent decades, several economists have been making the case that the government could raise large amounts of revenue exclusively from this small group, while still allowing them to take home a majority of their income.


Democrats, Republicans and Wall Street Tycoons - The New York Times
Do Republicans think it will be easy to beat Hillary? - The Washington Post

Geraldo Rivera Calls Out Kansas GOP Official For Drafting A Voter ID Law Aimed At "Suppressing The Vote" | Video | Media Matters for America - Rivera: "This Is An Attempt ... To Restrict Voting By People Who Ordinarily Vote Democratic" (Kobach in KS)

Was George W. Bush President On 9/11? An Investigation Into The Controversy Tearing The GOP Apart | ThinkProgress (it was either Clinton or Obama, then Bush kept us safe)

Families Outraged After Illinois Fails to Pay Out $288 Million in Lottery Winnings - Yahoo News (suck it up, Greece)

These Things Happen From Time to Time | Ten Miles Square | The Washington Monthly - I don't want to sound like some kind of weeny liberal nag, but I'm having trouble understanding how we're supposed supposed to use our guns in these cases to act like the good guys who are getting the bad guys with the guns (deep within the psychotic deadly core of the gun-toting American psyche)
\
For Students Accused Of Campus Rape, Legal Victories Win Back Rights : NPR : news

- New Boston Exhibition Tackles Urban Renewal

Overselling Breast-Feeding - The New York Times - All too often, advocates cross the line from supporting a woman in her decision to breast-feed into compelling a woman to do so.

Google Translate: abandoned Soviet space shuttles

The Funny Thing About Adversity - The New York Times - Having known suffering in life usually heightens the compassion we feel for others, except when the suffering involves specific painful events that we know all too well. Here, familiarity really does breed contempt.

What pisses you off about your country? : AskReddit
HUGE jump. : woahdude (see Beamon)
woahdude: search results
What is the most ingenious way you have seen a parent punish their kid? : AskReddit
Age 35+ Redditors, what bad path do you see the teenage Redditors headed down? : AskReddit - Going into so much debt for school. Not mad at them, just feel bad for them.

Security flaw makes every Android device on AT&T and Verizon's wireless vulnerable

101615


Drivers describe long night on road as mudslides engulf nearly 200 vehicles - LA Times (if it isn't fire, it's mud)

Trump Hits W: "The World Trade Center Came Down During His Reign" (the unspeakable)

Drone Papers Reveal Weak Links In The Kill Chain - You may have heard that every drone strike begins with solid intelligence and strict oversight. Not so much! (or not at all; Obama is a murderer)
The Assassination Complex - Secret military documents expose the inner workings of Obama's drone wars (worse than Pinochet)

Turkey Shoot: The history of Obamas Down Drone At Border With Syria - The United States, Russia and the Syrian government all operate drones in the region.

- What Do We Really Know About Osama bin Laden's Death? The history of Obama's most important foreign-policy victory is still being written. (we know Obama murdered him and lied about it)

Fox News - "terror expert" Wayne Simmons arrested for lying about 27-year career as CIA officer

Nigeria Hit With Wave Of Deadly Suicide Attacks - No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks but they bore the hallmarks of the jihadi movement.

- The UK Inquiry into Westminster child-abuse has been hit by a "technical glitch" which has permanently deleted testimonies of child abuse victims. (oh yes, a well know "glitch")

Russian Hackers of Dow Jones Said to Have Sought Trading Tips - Bloomberg Business

Guess Who Else Is a Socialist? - The New York Times

Deficit shrinks by $1 trillion in Obama era | MSNBC (but the moochers!)
Deficit shrinks by $1 trillion in Obama era : news

- Wayne Simmons, Right-Wing Media's Benghazi Expert, Declared Fraud By Federal Prosecutors (Fox Liar and Crook)

Democrats Name Clinton The Debate Winner In HuffPost/YouGov Poll - More than half say they want Clinton to be the Democratic nominee.
Snowden Says Hillary Clinton's Bogus Statements Show a "Lack of Political Courage" Hillary Clinton twice this week has insisted, contrary to the facts, that former NSA contractor Edward Snowden could have accomplished his goals and avoided punishment if he'd raised his concerns through the proper channels. (calculatedly dense) Politifact labeled Clinton's claim as "mostly false" (that's gotta hurt)
Elizabeth Warren Won The First Democratic Debate - shaping the party's agenda.

Karl Rove Calls Bernie Sanders 'An Elderly Dyspeptic Bilbo Baggins' - Rude.
Karl Rove's election night melt-down over Ohio results on Fox News - YouTube (Megyn is hot)
Kicking Lincoln Chafee While He's Down - Looking at you, Wolf Blitzer.

Bloomberg Politics - Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz's autocratic ways in limiting the number of primary debates, insiders say, alienated many of her colleagues. And the problem may get worse. (bitch be fuckin shit up for years, fire her lame ass)
The Hardest-Working Scapegoat In Washington - DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz gets the blame for many of the party's problems. Does she deserve it? (please, yes)

A New York police officer who arrested a photographer on assignment for The New York Times on a Bronx street in 2012 was convicted on Thursday of falsifying a record to justify the arrest. : news

Oklahomans Are Suddenly Afraid of Fracking Themselves to Death - Oil barons insist on wreaking havoc on the planet, but the people have won a couple of victories.

Cops are asking Ancestry.com and 23andMe for their customers's DNA

New Hartford World of Life church beating victim wanted to leave - CNN.com (sadistic Christians)
New York teen beaten to death with a cord for wanting to leave his church : news

Two Gay Bashing Suspects Plead Guilty, But Not Kathryn Knott - Victims wanted the plea deal, prosecutor and friends say. (how "justice" works for white people from the suburbs)

Sale Raises Hopes for Reviving The Village Voice - The New York Times

Google's Massive Book-Scanning Project Is Legal, U.S. Court Rules - The Authors Guild had claimed that the effort violated copyright law. (fuck you, Authors)

Scientists produce clearest-ever images of enzyme that plays key roles in aging, cancer - images of telomerase in much higher resolution than ever before, giving them major new insights about the enzyme.

Scientists Put Shamanic Medicine Under The Microscope - The shaman's recommendations also included ayahuasca, a potent hallucinogenic brew, and kambo, the venom of a rain forest tree frog. (crohn's disease)

What's A Skoliosexual?
Asexuality Archive
ELI5: Why is penis size not necessarily proportional to height (unlike most other body parts) : explainlikeimfive
Who are some young and amazing penis/violinist/guitarist, etc. that we should know and listen too? : AskReddit
What non-sexual thing brings you the most pleasure? : AskReddit

'PewDiePie' Made $12M On YouTube Last Year
Elements - Lindsey Stirling (Dubstep Violin Original Song) - YouTube
YouTube Statistics, Twitch Statistics, Instagram Statistics - SocialBlade.com
Top 10 YouTubers Filtered by SB Score - Socialblade YouTube Stats | YouTube Statistics
Top 100 YouTube Networks filtered by Subscribers - Socialblade YouTube Stats | YouTube Statistics

Every type of tech product has gotten cheaper over the last two decades -- except for cable, satellite TV, and radio service.

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The Drone Papers - The Intercept has obtained a cache of secret documents detailing the inner workings of the U.S. military's assassination program in Afghanistan, Yemen, and Somalia. The documents, provided by a whistleblower, offer an unprecedented glimpse into Obama's drone wars. (he owns the atrocity)

The Drone Papers - Secret military documents expose the inner workings of Obama's drone wars.

Nearly 90 Percent Of People Killed In Recent Drone Strikes Were Not The Target - U.S. drone strikes have killed scores of civilians in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia. (the terrorists were collateral damage +Obama's signature drone war)
A Second Snowden Has Leaked a Mother Lode of Drone Docs | WIRED - the chain of authorization that goes up directly to the president ... "baseball cards" (Obama at the Hague in 10 yrs)
A Second Snowden Has Leaked a Mother Lode of Drone Docs : news
New Edward Snowden? Whistleblower leaks documents on drones and Obama's assassination program : worldnews
New Whistleblower Is Behind Latest Revelations About U.S. Drone Program - Jeremy Scahill says the source believes the public has a right to know how the U.S. government decides to assassinate people.
Hillary Clinton Is Wrong About Edward Snowden - The New Yorker
Hillary Clinton Is Wrong About Edward Snowden - The New Yorker : politics - "He broke the laws of the United States. He could have been a whistle-blower" (yeah, she's that stupid/disingenuous)

Why We're Not Leaving Afghanistan Any Time Soon - Time to throw all those campaign promises out the window. (and the money needed to make America better down the drain +trapped in stupidity and posturing)
Eschaton: Another 14 Years Should Do It - Another 14 Years Should Do It - We just can't quit you.

Isis Inc: how oil fuels the jihadi terrorists - FT.com - Jihadis' oil operation forces even their enemies to trade with them

- US tank enters ruined Afghan hospital putting "war crime" evidence at risk - forced entry by military vehicle ... caused stress and fear (if any other organization were as incompetent they'd be fired)
U.S. Analysts Knew Afghan Site Hit By Air Attack Was A Hospital - At least 22 patients and hospital staff were killed.

Anderson Cooper: Opposing Illegal CIA Wars Is Unelectable | Robert Naiman - But it's commonplace for big US media to badger politicians for opposing wars, even catastrophic ones. CNN journalist Anderson Cooper is a perfect example of this phenomenon. (more failed wars! more chaos and refugees! more innocent dead people!)

Could a simple mistake be how the NSA was able to crack so much encryption? | Technology | The Guardian - Most encryption software does the high-tech equivalent of reusing passwords, and that could be how the US national security agency decrypted communications - one single prime is used to encrypt two-thirds of all VPNs and a quarter of SSH servers globally


Death by 1,000 defamations: Brazil riven by slow-burn impeachment struggle | World news | The Guardian - in a chaotic and demeaning battle, the country faces economic crisis and endemic corruption

Lagging Behind the World on Paid Leave | Republic 3.0 | The Washington Monthly - DC's proposed paid leave benefit would lead the nation - but it still wouldn't match what the Slovak Republic already offers its citizens.

Donald Trump and Ben Carson threaten to pull out of next Republican debate | US news | The Guardian - Letter signed by Republican presidential frontrunners says they will not participate in 28 October debate unless running time does not exceed two hours

Ted Cruz Has the Look of a Dangerously Unhinged Charlatan - His rhetoric on the stump is irresponsible in the extreme. "we're seeing our freedoms taken away every day and last night was an audition for who would wear the jackboot most vigorously. Last night was an audition for who would embrace government power for who would strip your and my individual liberties" (what happens when you reward insanity)

- Fox Regular: Democratic Endorsement Of Black Lives Matter Is "Plantation Politics and whoring for votes"

Feds Arrest Fox News Commentator, Allege He Lied About CIA Past - Wayne Simmons allegedly claimed past criminal history was related to his work at the CIA. (oh, Fox News guy lied? was violent criminal? +"human terrain systems")

Budget Woes Are Forcing One State Lotto To Hold Off On Issuing Prizes (Illinois is a failed state)

Eric Garner and Tamir Rice among those missing from FBI record of police killings | US news | The Guardian - Only 224 of 18,000 law enforcement agencies reported fatal shootings in 2014 - Previously unpublished FBI data sheds new light on flawed voluntary system (FBI wants all the data except for most of it)

Concealed Carry In Maine No Longer Requires A Permit - Keeping a loaded pistol or revolver inside a motor vehicle is allowed as well

This study is forcing economists to rethink high-deductible health insurance - Vox - he new paper shows that when faced with a higher deductible, patients did not price shop for a better deal. Instead, both healthy and sick patients simply used way less health care.

Family sues Eaton County, Michigan over son's traffic-stop death - 17-year-old Deven Guilford was fatally shot 7 times after being pulled over for flashing his brights at the officer because he thought the offficer's brights were on : news
Obama's tank take-back ticks off some Florida law officers - Orlando Sentinel - Florida lawmen must turn in their tanks. And some Central Florida sheriffs are mighty ticked about it. (Obama endangering police who need tanks)

Pluto as we know it now: Nasa report unwraps enigma of dwarf planet | Science | The Guardian - Researchers present collection of New Horizons data, revealing water icebergs on "a surface unlike any planetary surface we've ever seen before"

Handheld DNA reader revolutionary and democratising, say scientists | Science | The Guardian - But it can quickly identify bacteria and viruses from their DNA, tell one strain from another, and spot different gene variants in sections of human genetic code. (Tricorder)

What's the most fucked up thing someone has told you about themselves after barely getting to know them? NSFW : AskReddit
What is the best Sc-fi /Fantasy novel you have ever read ? : AskReddit

Adobe confirms major Flash vulnerability, and the only way to protect yourself is to uninstall Flash : technology

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- Antarctic ice shelf collapse and unstoppable sea level rise "very likely" without tough climate action, say scientists

- Kunduz hospital patients "burned in beds even wars have rules" says MSF chief

Ebola nurse Pauline Cafferkey critically ill in deterioration that shocks experts | World news | The Guardian


Second GOP Congressman Admits Benghazi Committee Is All About Hillary Clinton - "Sometimes the biggest sin you can commit in D.C. is to tell the truth."
Trey Gowdy's Benghazi Committee and the Problem of False Equivalence - The Atlantic - When a congressional investigation turns into a partisan operation, the media need to treat it as such.
- Second Republican Congressman Admits Benghazi Committee Was "designed to go after Clinton"

Overnight ratings point to Democratic debate record - Oct. 14, 2015 - record 15.3 million viewers
Newly Released Democratic Debate Ratings Prove That Voters Want Substance | ThinkProgress
Democrats Can Stop Freaking Out About 2016 -- The Cut

- The Democrats Proved They're the Party of Sanity. But That's Not Enough -- They need to provide specific solutions without falling victim to Republican anti-intellectual rhetoric.
- Democratic Debate Turns Hillary Clinton's Way After Months of Difficulties (said the newpaper that has published to most anti-Clinton articles)
9 Issues Democrats Just Debated That Have Been Almost Completely Ignored By Republicans - Should it really have taken this long for someone to say "black lives matter"?

The candidate breaking through in the Democratic debate? Bernie Sanders. - The Washington Post
The CNN Democratic debate transcript, annotated - The Washington Post

The First Democratic Debate by Ed Kilgore | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - And that leads to the aspect of the debate that struck me apparently more than most observers: the exceptional hostility of the questioning from moderator Anderson Cooper, who seemed to be trying to defy expectations that he'd be less savage than Jake Tapper (dickitude comes naturally to old Anderson)

Adventures In Hagiography - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Apparently, the now-shelved ESPN documentary about Mr. Michelle Rhee was every bit as appalling as you might expect:

More Barbara Byrd-Bennett CPS Contracts Under Scrutiny | Chicago Tonight | WTTW - There are more questions about multimillion-dollar contracts Chicago Public Schools gave to firms that had previous associations with disgraced schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett. (totally Rahm's creation)

Here's What a Billion-Dollar Interchange Expansion Looks Like - So this road expansion will constrain Georgia's ability to invest in transit and other alternatives to driving long after it gets jammed with cars again (since more roadway space will generate more traffic). (almost like they planned it that way)

Wal-Mart Heirs See $9 Billion Vanish in a Day as Shares Plummet : news

People are getting shot by toddlers on a weekly basis this year - The Washington Post

The Most Mysterious Star in Our Galaxy - The Atlantic - Aliens should always be the very last hypothesis you consider, but this looked like something you would expect an alien civilization to build
Ode to Jupiter - The Atlantic - Jupiter Is the Best Planet - Not counting Earth
NASA shows off new 4K views of Jupiter | The Verge
Fossil teeth place humans in Asia '20,000 years early' - BBC News - Scientists working in Daoxian, south China, have discovered teeth belonging to modern humans that date to at least 80,000 years ago.
125-million-year-old mammal fossil reveals the early evolution of hair and spines - The discovery of a new 125-million-year-old fossil mammal in Spain has pushed back the earliest record of preserved mammalian hair structures and inner organs by more than 60 million years.
Study shows antioxidant use may promote spread of cancer
- The kilogram is the only SI unit still based on a physical object.

The Internet's Dark Ages - The Atlantic


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More Than 400 U.S. Cities May Be 'Past The Point Of No Return' With Sea Level Threats - But there are still cities that could be saved by reducing carbon emissions. (Dayton, Ohio may survive)

Former CIA Detainees Are Suing The Psychologists Who Developed The Torture Program - An ACLU lawyer representing the former detainees says the Senate torture report is "really why our clients are able to pursue this case."

Four Myths about the European Refugee Crisis (And Why You Need to Know the Reality) - Lawyers, Guns & Money

China's Imports Plunge 20 Percent In New Sign Of Economic Weakness - The fall defies stimulus efforts aimed at halting an economic slowdown.

Israel, Palestinian Territories Suffering Worst Period Of Unrest In Years - The attacks occurred on a "Day of Rage" declared by Palestinian groups.

Eschaton: Haven't We Been Here Before - Duck-n-cover drills will make their return next - With the enhanced insurgent firepower and with Russia steadily raising the number of airstrikes against the government's opponents, the Syrian conflict is edging closer to an all-out proxy war between the United States and Russia."
Julian Assange: police removed from outside Ecuadorian embassy : news - 10,493,673 meals for the needy - 62,962 children fully vaccinated.

Clinton crushes it - politico - Even Sanders defends Democrats' embattled frontrunner, saying let's shutup about her "damn emails"
Bernie Sanders: 'Congress Doesn't Regulate Wall Street. Wall Street Regulates Congress.'
Hillary Clinton Attacks Bernie Sanders Over His Gun Record

Good Evening from Las Vegas, Where Democrats Are People, Too - . I swear, DWS could screw up a two-car funeral if you spotted her the hearse. (little Debbie Fuckup continues to fuck up)

Clinton Emails Became the New Focus of Benghazi Inquiry - The New York Times
The Benghazi! Dominoes by Ed Kilgore | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly
The tide turns against the Benghazi committee - The Washington Post - No news outlet in America has been more fervent in its pursuit of Hillary Clinton than the New York Times, but take a look at this article on their front page today, about how the select committee has all but abandoned Benghazi to focus almost entirely on trying to find something damaging on Hillary Clinton:

The House Benghazi investigation is partisan sham: The GOP committee investigating Hillary Clinton has been completely discredited. - The House Benghazi investigation is now thoroughly discredited as a partisan sham.
The BENGHAZI!!!!!!! Scam - Lawyers, Guns & Money : In a rational universe, as Bouie says, the House Benghazi committee would be a punchline:
Kevin McCarthy Hillary-Benghazi comment is officially a gaffe.

The Families Funding the 2016 Presidential Election - The New York Times

Eschaton: Paul Ryan, Communist - Hilarious -- Now, as he agonizes over whether to answer the appeal of his colleagues to become the\ ir next speaker, the far right is trotting out a fresh concern: Mr. Ryan is too far left.
Booman Tribune ~ A Progressive Community - Dick Cheney for Speaker ... Dick Cheney? What, is Satan too busy?

"That Word Extremism, I Do Not Think...." - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Lawyers, Guns & Money - Michael Kinsley is, in 2015, being paid to write a column, and this month's insight is that Donald Trump is not qualified to be president. (centrists at work)
And now let us remember the worst economic prediction ever - The Washingt\ on Post - Everybody makes mistakes, but not all mistakes are created equal. Take writer Michael Kinsley's 2010 warning that hyperinflation was "our biggest ecomonic threat" that could be "a disaster sto\ ry on the level of Hurricane Katrina, if not 9/11 itself" (in 2010?)

LA Times "Millennial Pledge": Or Why Print Journalism Doesn't Equal Quality - NeoGAF - LA Times "Millennial Pledge": Or Why Print Journali\ sm Doesn't Equal Quality #1
The Whiny Generation - 10/31/93

Susan G. Komen "For the Cure" is wasting your donations - YouTube


Texas Cops Use Stun Gun On Councilman Outside Of His Home - The incident \ occurred in the same town where Sandra Bland died.

DNA Study Yields Big Surprise About The Tiny 'Molecule Of Life' - Forget about the static littl\ e ladder you heard about in biology class. DNA wiggles like crazy and keeps changing its shape.
Structural diversity of supercoiled DNA : Nature Communications : Nature Publishing Group


For 1st time, MIT's free online classes can lead to degree : technology - Worth clarifying: you still cannot build a degree out of free classes. It's just that now, some free classes can comprise a small portion of the degree. The Masters degree still costs $33,000.

This irritates me way more than it should : pics

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Scenario That Opens 'The Day After Tomorrow' Actually Not That Far-Fetched, Research Finds - Temperatures could plummet while sea levels spike. -- temperatures in Europe could drop and sea levels on the East Coast of the U.S. could rise up to 3 feet. (bye-bye Bloomhattan)
Global marine analysis suggests food chain collapse - A world-first global analysis of marine responses to climbing human CO2 emissions has painted a grim picture of future fisheries and ocean ecosystems. (doom impending on all fronts)

Christopher Columbus was a lost sadist. There shouldn't be a holiday in his name | James Nevius | Comment is free | The Guardian

Flood slams South Carolina's already shoddy infrastructure - US News - SC's poor spending may have made the problems from the flood even worse, the rushing water a final blow against crumbling structures, said Galloway, the Maryland professor. (reaping what you sowed, infrastructure-h\ ating abolish-government conservatives)

Spying Case Against U.S. Envoy Is Falling Apart, and Following a Pattern - The New York Times (stupid in service of fucking over someone's life because they "thought" they had "a case")
White Hat Hackers Would Have Their Devices Destroyed Under the TPP | Motherboard (Obama will have quite a "legacy")
DNA Study Yields Big Surprise About The Tiny 'Molecule Of Life' - Forget about the static little ladder you heard about in biology class. DNA wiggles like crazy and keeps changing its shape.
Structural diversity of supercoiled DNA : Nature Communications : Nature Publishing Group


For 1st time, MIT's free online classes can lead to degree : technology - Worth clarifying: you still cannot build a degree out of free classes. It's just that now, some free classes can comprise a small portion of the degree. The Masters degree still costs $33,000.

This irritates me way more than it should : pics

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Scenario That Opens 'The Day After Tomorrow' Actually Not That Far-Fetched, Research Finds - Temperatures could plummet while sea levels spike. -- temperatures in Europe could drop and sea levels on the East Coast of the U.S. could rise up to 3 feet. (bye-bye Bloomhattan)
Global marine analysis suggests food chain collapse - A world-first global analysis of marine responses to climbing human CO2 emissions has painted a grim picture of future fisheries and ocean ecosystems. (doom impending on all fronts)

Christopher Columbus was a lost sadist. There shouldn't be a holiday in his name | James Nevius | Comment is free | The Guardian

Flood slams South Carolina's already shoddy infrastructure - US News - SC's poor spending may have made the problems from the flood even worse, the rushing water a final blow against crumbling structures, said Galloway, the Maryland professor. (reaping what you sowed, infrastructure-hating abolish-government conservatives)

Spying Case Against U.S. Envoy Is Falling Apart, and Following a Pattern - The New York Times (stupid in service of fucking over someone's life because they "thought" they had "a case")
White Hat Hackers Would Have Their Devices Destroyed Under the TPP | Motherboard (Obama will have quite a "legacy")
Lord chief justice: security services cannot be above the law | Law | The Guardian - Media appeal against courtroom secrecy in Erol Incedal trial hears remarks from top judge that MI6 and MI5 must comply with public prosecution

Several In Aborted Moscow Bombing Plot Were Trained By ISIS, Police Say - Authorities say the group was planning an attack on Moscow's public transport system.
- Saudis tell Russia its actions in Syria will have "dangerous consequences"

Dutch Safety Board: MH17 Was Brought Down By Russian-Made Missile - But the board does not have the authority to apportion blame for deadly incident.

Eschaton: We Have To Arm Somebody - Aren't there any other ideas for spreading peeance and freeance? Giving more people the ability to kill people doesn't seem to have worked too well in the past ohjesusfuckingchrist twelve years. (funding "non-political" No-Labels Islamicists
Eschaton: Bullets From Heaven - This will solve everything. -- U.S. military cargo planes gave 50 tons of ammunition to rebel groups overnight in northern Syria, using an air drop of 112 pallets as the first step in the Obama Administration's urgent effort to find new ways to support those groups.

ISIS Is Prime Suspect In Attack On Peace Rally, Turkey Prime Minister Says - The explosions happened seconds apart on Saturday as hundreds gathered for a peace rally organized by pro-Kurdish activists and civic groups. (Erdogan in the basement with the Shadow State)

Clinton Emails Became the New Focus of Benghazi Inquiry - The New York Times

The Ungodly, Destructive Power of the Citizens United Decision - The decision prompted an oligarchical revolution in how we conduct the processes of democracy in this country, and that revolution has been financed almost completely by -- and almost completely for the benefit of -- the political right (otherwise known as "the crazies")


Trump, Carson, Bush all benefited from multilevel marketing schemes ... that prey upon the desperate and broke. (fit for the job)

Doctors pioneer pot as an opioid substitute | Boston Herald - Hundreds of opioid addicts are being treated with medical marijuana in Massachusetts, with advocates touting the new therapy as a life-changing alternative to a deadly epidemic -- and facing down critics who contend they are peddling junk science. (lookin' at you, Marty "I am not a scientist but I know addiction counselors" Walsh)
Hundreds of opioid addicts are being treated with medical marijuana in Massachusetts, with advocates touting the new therapy as a life-changing alternative to a deadly epidemic : news

How School Shootings Spread - The New Yorker - How school shootings catch on. (Gladwell: "thresholds" and a little spectrum disorder)

California Governor Vetoes Bill Calling For Minimum Punishments In College Sexual Assault Cases - The law would have been the first of its kind in the country.

Hawaii's Attempt To Control Telescope Protesters Is Invalid: Court - Construction of the $1.4 billion Thirty Meter Telescope has been on hold since April as a result of the protests.

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Exxon's Climate Concealment

Researcher: Children's cancer linked to Fukushima radiation - "This is 20 times to 50 times what would be normally expected" (Japan Gov lied, again)

muricabrb comments on The Final Leaked TPP Text is All That We Feared

Stephen Hawking says we should be more frightened of capitalism than robots - CNET - In a Reddit Ask Me Anything session, the physicist expresses more concern about economic inequality than about artificial intelligence. (at least it would be intelligent)

Blasts in Ankara, Turkey's Capital, Kill at Least 86 who had gathered for a peace rally and heightening tensions just three weeks before snap parliamentary elections. (lots of potential culprits but let's go with Erdogan)
- Turkey Imposes News Blackout on "Gruesome" Blast Images
Ankara Bombings Kill Dozens, Injure More Than 100
Turkey hit by protests over government response to suicide bombings | World news | The Guardian - Demonstrators in Istanbul accuse Recep Tayyip Erdogan of slow action after Ankara terror attack on peace rally, and of censoring press and social media ... murdurous mob-state (looking like Erdogan should be Erdogone)
- Ankara terror attack: Turkey censors media coverage of bombings as Twitter and Facebook "blocked" (authoritarian regime facing elections goes step too far as usual)

ISIS Makes Gains in Syria Territory Bombed by Russia - The New York Times (that's working)

The Times Backs Off on Temple Trutherism | Power Line - The question is where precisely on the 37-acre Temple Mount site the temples had once stood, not whether the temples had ever existed there.

38 Killed And 51 Wounded In Suspected Boko Haram Suicide Blasts

Study: Democrats Moving Left Faster Than Republicans Moving Right - The American Interest - some empirical evidence that Democratic Party's leftward drift is more pronounced than the GOP's rightward drift, at least at the state level. (centrist dems lost to wingnuts, purifying the survivors, while GOP destructive cult dove over the cliff of insanity)


Taxing the Polls - This artifact from Sumter, Alabama in 1932 acknowledges the receipt of a $1.50 poll tax or $26.09 in 2015 dollars (costs more now)

FBI data shows record number of September gun sales - National Instant Background Check System shows gun sales hit a record high for the fifth month in a row with 1,795,102 prospective gun owners processed in September (epidemic spreads)
Here's Everything The GOP Blames For Gun Deaths (Other Than Guns, Of Course) ... prayer, video games, violent movies, freedom, Democrats, gun control, gun-free zones and sin (and our Muslim/Kenyan Pres)

Today in the Systemic Persecution of Sex Offenders - Lawyers, Guns & Money : "I don't believe it" Oh, OK. I'm only a state legislator. How am I supposed to actually find out this information? Who can I ask, being so uninformed and powerless??? (RI Dem head)

Moms and Guns - The New York Times (phallic linkage)
Here's How Police Could End Up Making Body Cameras Mostly Useless - Will body cameras be a tool for police reform? Only if bad policy doesn't get in the way. (no, you can't see those videos)
Canada's History of Violence - Canadians kill 1.6 out of every 100,000 people in a year. Americans nearly triple that rate, killing 4.7 out of every 100,000 people in a year. And while Canadians long ago agreed to restrict gun ownership, Americans are far from reaching a similar consensus.
Round Rock High police incident caught on camera | KXAN.com - A Round Rock High School parent says he plans on pressing charges against a Round Rock police officer for allegedly using excessive force on his son.

Julian Assange: Snowden, I and Kim Dotcom all assigned same prosecutor in Virginia
I showed leaked NSA slides at Purdue, so feds demanded the video be destroyed | Ars Technica - Op-ed: Snowden confidante, a journalist, recounts recent tale at Purdue University.

The Bill Cosby Accusers Speak Out on Dateline - NBC News - Twenty-nine women who accuse the comedian of inappropriate sexual behavior tell their stories (America's Dad)

NASA shows where Matt Damon would have been stranded on Mars | The Verge

What is the RAREST thing you have ever seen or experienced? : AskReddit
Has anyone lived an actual porn scenario (plumber, delivery person, nanny, etc), what's your story? : AskReddit
Which company or brand no longer has the quality they were known for? : AskReddit
What is the worst movie you went to see in the cinema? : AskReddit
- What's the deepest, darkest secret you know that isn't your own?

If Your Wi-Fi Is Terrible, Check Your Router - The New York Times
The Best Wi-Fi Router (for Most People) | The Wirecutter

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History of flat earth theory: Orlando Ferguson's map of the flat earth. - A Bizarrely Complicated Late-19th-Century Flat-Earth Map (the mind of Conservative is bizzarrely complicated +evolved into climate denialism after jet planes)

- Wikileaks release of TPP deal text stokes freedom of expression fears - Intellectual property rights chapter appears to give Trans-Pacific Partnership countries' greater power to stop information from going public (Obama's super-authoritrian streak
TPP leaked: final draft of the intellectual property chapter, which some claim will destroy the internet as we know it, made available by Wikileaks : technology
The Final Leaked TPP Text is All That We Feared | Electronic Frontier Foundation
- Leave us in peace : Anti-gun control protesters greet Obama during Oregon visit
1 dead, 3 wounded in campus shooting at Northern Arizona University : news

Two Victims Shot On Texas Southern University Campus - This is the second shooting at TSU this week.

Eschaton: Wanker of the Day - Still it's probably an appropriate award for David Cameron. - This is a marvellous technique, to pretend your opponent said the complete opposite of what they actually said, and then get angry about the words they didn't say (another form of the insane Conservative mind)

Twice As Many People in Died in Last Month's Hajj Stampede Than First Thought\ - The Atlantic - A new tally of the those killed last month makes it the deadliest-ever disaster at the annual pilgrimage.

Eschaton: But They Were So Moderate And So Rebellious - All they needed was more death machines and some quiet Americans to tell them how to use them. - The Obama administration has ended the Pentagon's $500 million program to train and equip Syrian rebels, administration officials said on Friday, in an acknowledgment that the beleaguered program had failed to produce any kind of ground combat forces capable of taking on the Islamic State in Syria.

California's high court appears ready to allow voters to weigh in on Citizens United
New California law extends privacy rights to electronic data

The President Heads to Oregon, Where the Gun Nuts Are Waiting - It feels all too similar to Dallas in 1963. - "He's not wanted here. He's coming here purely to push his garbage, and we don't want it," said Michelle Finn

Why Democrats Bear Some Responsibility for the Republican Party's Madness - Therefore, given all this, if one of the parties goes as thoroughly, deeply, banana-sandwich loony as the present Republican Party has, the other party has a definitive obligation to the Republic to beat the crazy out of it so the country can get moving again. This is a duty in which the Democratic Party has failed utterly. (Charlie sees the basic issue: insanity in the American psyche)

Sure that Yelling Louder Will Work (Farley doesn't get it -- it's not about yelling louder, it's about calling a nut a nut)

The GOP sinks deeper into chaos. Can it still function as a party? - The Washington Post

The Kevin McCarthy Affair Rumors Could Be Destructive For Everyone - Here's some stupid for lunch.

Here's What Happens When You Complain To Cops About Cops - The internal affairs division usually decides the officer did nothing wrong. (move along, nothing to see here, FBI doesn't want to know)

Op-Ed: Philly's Charter School System is Falling Apart - Citified - Gym: The last thing this city needs is a top-down mandate to turn more public schools into charters. (someone tell Charlie Baker)

Oregon Pot Stores Sell More Than $11 Million in First 5 Days - ABC News (coulda been you, MA)

Immigrant workers or slaves? Textbook maker backtracks after mother's online complaint - "The Atlantic Slave Trade between the 1500s and 1800s brought millions of workers from Africa to the southern United States to work on agricultural plantations"

Air Force dental technician accused of being a witch - fired from a dental clinic at \ Fort Meade, Maryland, after complaining that her co-workers discriminated against her because she was Hindu. She claims they then accused her of being a witch. (same thing to demented Christian mind)

Kelsey Grammer Wears Bizarre Anti-Choice Shirt - The message -- "Would it bother us more if the y used guns?" -- asks if those who are pro-choice would still hold their beliefs about the issue if abortions were performed with guns. (douche-bag hall o' famer)

Elon Musk says Apple is the 'graveyard' for fired Tesla staff | Technology | The Guardian - "Did you ever take a look at the Apple Watch? ... You can't ust go to a supplier like Foxconn and say: 'build me a car'"

Mars lakes may have existed long enough for life to evolve, scientists say | Science | The Guardian - Nasa researchers believe some ancient lakes could have lasted for up to 10,000 years, which was enough time for life forms to take hold

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NOAA declares third ever global coral bleaching event - Bleaching intensifies in Hawa\ ii, high ocean temperatures threaten Caribbean corals


Amnesty Tells the US to Stop Selling Arms to Saudi Arabia | Mother Jones - The group cites "damning evidence" of war crimes involving American-made weapons in Yemen.

U.S. asks Toyota to explain why ISIS has so many new trucks : news - To destroy the tanks now bein\ g used by ISIS, the U.S. is sending the Iraqi military 175 M1A1 Abrams main battle tanks, 55,000 rounds of main tank-gun ammunition, $600 million in howitzers and trucks, $700 million worth of Hellfire \ missiles and 2,000 AT-4 rockets (which will promptly all defect to ISIS for the 10th time)

Eschaton: And Justice For All - MPs, a lord chief justice the royal family and public school headmasters all intervened to stop a bishop being prosecuted for sexual abuse 22 year ago, the Old Bailey has heard.
David Cameron on Ali Mohammed al-Nimr and Saudi Arabia - YouTube

JFK Assassination: The Spy Chief Who Lied - politico Magazine
JFK: declassified documents reveal a cunning and cagey president | US news | The Guardian

- Rupert Murdoch implies Obama is not "a real black person"
A Bit of Fry & Laurie- If Rupert Murdoch hadn't been born

McCarthy Drops Out Of Speaker Race, Throwing GOP Leadership Into Chaos : It's All Politics : NPR
The House GOP's historic implosion - politico - McCarthy's stunning move leaves the House with no apparent line of succession to power.
Kevin McCarthy's Exit Came After Personal Threat Over Affair Allegations - "Why not resign like Bob Livingston? (stabbed in the back by a radicon)
Kevin McCarthy Is Out For House Speaker. Who Else Wants It?

Ben Carson Has No Idea What the Debt Limit Is -- NYMag
- Am I the only one who remembers what a terrible presidential candidate the vice president was?

GOP Probe Into Planned Parenthood Funding Comes Up Empty - Jason Chaffetz says he's found no evidence of wrongdoing by the family planning provider.

Megyn Kelly Says She'd Have Donald Trump Back On Her Show - "We just wanted to forge forward and try to put it behind us."

- FBI director calls lack of data on police shootings "ridiculous" "embarrasing (yeah from the guy who didn't want more data)
South Carolina City To Pay $6.5 Million Settlement For Fatally Shooting Walter Scott - Video showed officer Michael Slager firing eight times as Scott ran.

The Ongoing Destruction of Public Education - Campbell Brown is just the latest semi-famous rich person to parachute in and tell teachers they're doing it wrong

Far-Right Idahoans Go Postal on University's Refugee Program Because Sharia Law - Why do local residents think a 30-year-old program is suddenly importing Sharia law and ISIS operatives into Idaho? Talk radio, of course.

20 New Lines from The Epic of Gilgamesh Discovered in Iraq, Adding New Details to the Story : books

My friend found his trail cam destroyed, as if someone had stabbed the lens with a screwdriver. Thi\ s was the last picture it ever took. : pics (riffs)
What movie is the greatest mindfuck? : AskReddit
What's a harsh truth you have for the opposite sex? : AskReddit
[Serious] How did you respond after your ex wanted you back after leaving you? : AskReddit
Identical twins, what's the craziest way which you've abused your powers of mistaken identity? \ : AskReddit

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Will the South Carolina Floods Change Lindsey Graham's Tune? - he wasn't too keen on disaster relief funds for New Jersey after Hurricane Sandy. (can't remember voting against it)

President Obama Apologizes to Doctors Without Borders Following Kunduz Airstrike - ABC News
Eschaton: But Our Bombs Are Smart! - They're like Mensa smart! So accidentally blowing up a hospital is unpossible!
- Top U.S. general in Afghanistan: Hospital was "mistakenly struck" (oh well then)
U.S. Commander Thinks Troops Didn't Follow Rules, Calls Hospital Bombing A Mistake - Defense Secretary Ash Carter said the Pentagon "deeply regrets" the loss of life.


- Emails show Qadaffi son offered talks -- but Clinton ordered toip general to "not take the call" (and that worked out really well for Europe, didn't it, Hillz?)

German channel in trouble after showing Merkel in hijab


The CIA Keeps (Accidentally) Legitimizing JFK Conspiracy Theorists - Now we learn that the CIA chief at the time did all he could to bury "incendiary" information

Shut Down the Benghazi Committee - The New York Times

Hillary Clinton Comes Out Against TPP - She criticized the trade agreement on Wednesday, saying there are too many "unanswered questions."

Biden and Reproductive Freedom - Lawyers, Guns & Money - Is there any reason to think he's a better candidate than Clinton? No. (sketchy policy history)

Washington Post Fact Checker Moves The Goalposts To Claim Obama "Exaggerated" By Including Gun Suicides In "Gun Death" Total | Blog | Media Matters for America (Glenn Kessler, Fred Hiatt's Factfucker)
Ben Carson Defends Controversial Comments About Oregon Shooting - "I want to plant in people's minds what to do in a situation like this."

U.S. to Release 6,000 Inmates From Prisons - The New York Times - as part of an effort to ease overcrowding and roll back the harsh penalties given to nonviolent drug dealers in the 1980s and '90s (hello, Reagan and Clinton)

We must despise our kids: Our ugly war on teachers must end now - Salon.com - Republicans and Democrats can agree on one thing: Demonizing teachers. It's the "reformers" doing the most harm
Oregon shooter then the internet struck back - Salon.com

House Republicans Create Special Committee To Harass Planned Parenthood - There's still no proof the family planning provider did anything wrong. (that's never stopped them)

For decades, the government steered millions away from whole milk. Was that wrong? - The Washington Post

Tennessee's first year of drug testing welfare recipients uncovered drug use by less than 0.2 percent of all applicants for the state's public assistance system


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Eschaton: Eat Your Own Shit, Lindsey - I hate these people : Graham was among the Republican senators who opposed a federal aid package in January 2013 to assist states hit by Hurricane Sandy, but now he doesn't remember why ... "I'm all for helping the people in New Jersey. I don't really remember me voting that way"

Doctors Without Borders airstrike: US alters story for fourth time in four days | World news | The Guardian - Commander of war in Afghanistan tells Senate panel that US forces had called in airstrike at Afghan request - "an admission of a war crime" says MSF
Doctors Without Borders Enraged Over 'Deliberate' Kunduz Hospital Bombing - "We are working on the presumption of a war crime."
Eschaton: What You Expect Us To Have Any Idea Who We're Bombing And Why? - Really, libturds, you expect too much from the Pentagon.

Nuclear Smugglers Shopped Radioactive Materials To ISIS And Other Terrorists - "In the age of the Islamic State, it's especially terrifying to have real smugglers of nuclear bomb material apparently making connections with real buyers."



VW Warns Staff Of Impending 'Massive Cutbacks' - "I will be very open: this won't be painless," the new CEO said.

Clinton Can Thank Obama for Her Benghazi Headache - Bloomberg View
Hillary Clinton: Obama's Deportation Strategy Didn't Work - She says she won't break up families while pushing for immigration reform.


Ten Commandments Monument Removed From Oklahoma Capitol Grounds - Workers removing the monument were protected by a heavy security presence.

When You Have Police In Schools, Kids End Up Getting Pepper-Sprayed (the South, Appalachia, and Wississippi)
The Congressman Who Restricted Gun Violence Research Has Regrets - Rep. Jay Dickey (R-Ark.) authored the controversial 1996 amendment that remains in place. He wishes Congress would change it. (we don't need your stupid libturd "research")

- Christian group predicts the world will be "annialated" on Wednesday - Over a week after blood moon doomsday forecasts were proven wrong, eBible Fellowship leader Chris McCann says "the world will pass away" on 7 October

Reddit Admits Its Front Page Is Broken, Is Working on an Entirely New Algorithm : technology
What website should everybody have bookmarked? : AskReddit
What is the scariest or most disturbing crime that remains UNSOLVED today? : AskReddit
The East Area Rapist AKA The Original Night Stalker
What is a secret that you know about someone that could ruin someone's life if it came out? [NSFW] : AskReddit
A student diversity officer who tweeted the hashtag #killallwhitemen has been charged by police with sending a threatening communication. : news

Experience the power of a bookbook - YouTube

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South Carolina floods: climate change intensified conditions, scientists say | US news | The Guardian - Once-in-a-thousand year storm (since the 500-yr flood caused by Floyd in 1999 +they don't believe in AGW and voted against Sandy aid)
- Eight dead as South Carolina hit by "once in a millennium" floods
The meteorology behind South Carolina's atastrophic, 1,000-year rainfall event

Edward Snowden: US has not offered me plea deal | US news | The Guardian - Whistleblower says he has offered to do time in prison as part of a deal to return to US, but "we are still waiting for them to call us back"

TPP deal: US and 11 other countries reach landmark Pacific trade pact | Business | The Guardian
Officials Reach Deal On Trans-Pacific Partnership

Doctors Without Borders calls US bombing of its hospital a war crime | Public Radio International
Doctors Without Borders calls US bombing of its hospital a war crime : worldnews

Air France workers rip shirts from executives after airline cuts 2,900 jobs | World news | The Guardian
Air France Execs run for their lives after they cut 2900 jobs : videos


Babysitter who had sex with 11-year-old boy gets suspended sentence | UK news | The Guardian

On Guns, Fear Is Winning - The New York Times
Hillary Clinton Goes Big On Gun Policy, Creates Contrast With Bernie Sanders
In fact, she shared it: In a series of online postings over a decade, Ms. Harper, a registered nurse, said she kept numerous firearms in her home and expressed pride in her knowledge about them, as well as in her son's expertise on the subject (same setup as Sandy Hook: Asberger's +gun-nut mom afraid of "people dropping by") the unlikely revelation that she used to read to her son a book by Donald J. Trump, the real estate mogul
Which States Have the Most Guns? | Republic 3.0 | The Washington Monthly - Nationally, guns outnumber both cars and people.

Dems release closed-door Benghazi testimony | TheHill - Democrats on the House Select Committee on Benghazi are going on offense ahead of Hillary Clinton's public testimony later this month.

The Supreme Court Is Back At Work, And Things Look Pretty Ugly Already - Affirmative action, public unions and legislative representation are all on the chopping block in the next nine months.


Ohio court upholds school suspension of 12-year-old black boy accused of staring at a white girl

Kasich's War on Ohio Minorities - By March 2014, six months into the new system, the six counties with the highest rate of terminating food stamps for able-bodied, childless adults were all counties populated mostly by minorities

Self-Refuting Actions of the Day - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Whole Paycheck: all supervisors in all departments were demoted to getting paid $11 an hour from $13-16 per hour and were told they were no longer supervisors, but still had to fulfill all of the same duties, effective immediately (experienced workers downgraded, laid off, WF "beyond" unions)

Crisis of Masculinity, 1987 Edition - Lawyers, Guns & Money :

What is the biggest "fuck you" in recorded history? : AskReddit
The Many Facets of Hamlet on Vimeo
I'm not very well read, and I just watched Much Ado About Nothing by Joss Whedon. Is Shakespeare really this witty and entertaining? : books

Eschaton: A Little More Evil Every Day (incremental evilism)

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I'm Wearing A Sweater Right Now It's Cold, Libturds ... And then we lit one trillion dollars on fire in Iraq and the Middle East ...

French floods: 19 feared dead after storms sweep French Riviera | World news | The Guardian - Violent storms and flooding send water cascading through Antibes, Cannes and Nice, inundating a retirement home and killing three people inside - More than 17cm (6.7in) of rain fell on the Cannes region in two hours
Record-Breaking Rainstorms Pummel Carolinas - South Carolina was hit 2.3 inches of rain Saturday, smashing the previous record of 0.77 inches set in 1961
The flooding here in South Carolina is insane : pics

"Unspeakable": An MSF Nurse Recounts the Attack on MSF's Kunduz Hospital | MSF USA - In the Intensive Care Unit six patients were burning in their beds.
Doctors Without Borders Denies Hospital Was 'A Human Shield' For Taliban - "In any case, bombing a fully functioning hospital can never be justified."
Doctors Without Borders Leaves Afghan City After Airstrike - ABC News
Death Toll in Hospital Bombing Climbs to 22 as MSF Demands Answers | VICE News
- Medical aid group Doctors Without Borders denied that Taliban fighters were firing from its hospital at NATO forces before a US air strike killed at least 19 people
Why Afghanistan Is Going To Fall To The Taliban Again. And It's Not Why You Think. - "I'm afraid I don't see how the U.S. can helpfully respond in Afghanistan, at this point."
Eschaton: Did We Win? - We started bombing Afghanistan almost 14 years ago.
Afghanistan: Another Nation That Should Be Grateful to the West - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Cass Sunstein is right once again. The West brings nothing but gifts wherever it goes, totally eliminating any claims from those nations for justice. And what nation has received more of these gifts than Afghanistan: (Sunstein is a real tool)

What Does Dylan Matthews Think The Worst New York Times Article Published in the Last Decade Is? - The chances that Matthews has ever read anything by Theroux, someone who knows far more about the developing world that Matthews sitting at his Vox desk could ever dream of, seems unlikely, although how I am to know.

Eschaton: Robust - I'm sure we'll make it work this time: Mrs. Clinton arguing for a more robust approach and Mr. Obama dismissing her ideas as campaign politics ... As secretary, she joined with David H. Petraeus, then the C.I.A. director, and Leon E. Panetta, then the defense secretary, to push a plan to arm and train moderate Syrian rebels. (all 5 of them; Hillz the hawk wrong again and again)

Four California students arrested for plotting mass shooting - Yahoo News
- Oregon shooting occurred in state that "actually forces colleges to allow guns" Amid 142 school shootings since Sandy Hook, states have moved to allow more guns on campuses. Oregon is one of a handful that allows concealed carry (next up: you must hae a gun at all times) - Trump: mass-shooting gunmen are "sick as hell and geniuses in a certain way" - At rally, Trump invokes Charles Bronson vigilante movie Death Wish
Many school shooters, one common factor: a warped view of masculinity - CSMonitor.com - As debate rages over gun control, media portrayals of shooters, and other factors, one topic doesn't get enough discussion, those who study mass shootings say: masculinity (see Trump)

Holocaust historians criticise Austria's jailing of Jewish author - Stephan Templ highlighted cases of Jewish property stolen by the Nazis but has now been punished for omitting an aunt's name in a restitution claim (Austria, same as ever)


Bernanke: Wall St execs should have gone to jail for crisis


Hail to the Pencil Pusher | Boston Review - American Bureaucracy's Long and Useful History (no, FDR didn't invent "big government)

The Historical Roots of American Domestic Worker Organizing Run Deep - Working In These Times - What was the legacy of slavery in the domestic labor sector, especially in the first half of the 20th century?



The hidden costs of funding prisons instead of schools - CSMonitor.com - As state incarceration rates continue to rise across the country, so are cuts in higher education funding.
Adjuncted to Death - Lawyers, Guns & Money : You may have heard about the Duquense University adjunct who died in dire poverty in 2013. Well, it's happened again, this time to a long-term adjunct at Seattle University.

25 Is the New 21 - The Atlantic - So, after we spent nearly a quarter of a million dollars on her college education ($125K/yr including $75K/yr for parties, clothes and iPhones)

Perfect Brown Rice Recipe | SAVEUR - brown rice looks and tastes the best when it has been boiled and drained like pasta and then steamed in the small amount of moisture that remains in the pot. The boiling cooks the rice, while the subsequent steaming allows the grains to retain their integrity and come out light and fluffy.

What is the most unbelievable coincidence you ever experienced? : AskReddit

NASA shows off a stunning new color photo of Pluto's moon, Charon | The Verge
- Over 8,400 images from NASA's Moon missions are now on Flickr in high resolution
Project Apollo Archive's albums (hi-res Flickr)

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Kasich On Climate Change: 'I Just Don't Know Enough About It' - "I think there are things we can do to protect the environment. We should. But we shouldn't worship the environment." (we should desecrate as much as possible +dude, can you think?)

Afghanistan: MSF Staff Killed, Hospital Partially Destroyed in Kunduz | MSF USA - MSF wishes to clarify that all parties to the conflict, including in Kabul and Washington, were clearly informed of the precise location (GPS Coordinates) of the MSF facilities in Kunduz, including the hospital, guesthouse, office and an outreach stabilization unit in Chardara northwest of Kunduz. (fire your blunderin army)
At Least 19 Killed After Airstrike Hits Afghan Hospital - The medical charity said its staff phoned military officials at NATO in Kabul and Washington during the morning attack, but bombs continued to rain down for nearly an hour. (fuckers wouldn't stop collateralizing humans ... "or, as a Bush would say, stuff happens..." )
U.N. rights chief says Afghan bombing may be war crime - Yahoo News - An airstrike that killed at least 16 people in hospital run by Medecins Sans Frontieres in the Afghan city of Kunduz on Saturday was "utterly tragic, inexcusable, and possibly even criminal," the U.N. human rights chief said.
NATO Strike Magnifies Divide on Afghan War - The New York Times
Why Afghanistan Is Going To Fall To The Taliban Again. And It's Not Why You Think. - "I'm afraid I don't see how the U.S. can helpfully respond in Afghanistan, at this point." (just GTFO, finally)

Oregon Shooter Died Of Suicide - The suicide occurred during a firefight with law enforcement officers.
Sheriff In Charge Of Oregon Massacre Probe Posted Sandy Hook Truther Video - Douglas County Sheriff John Hanlin posted a link to a YouTube video called "The Sandy Hook Shooting - Fully Exposed," which summarized conspiracy theories surrounding the shooting and quickly racked up millions of views, about a month after the massacre took place. The post was deleted or made private sometime after 2:30 p.m. Friday. (Obama staged a fake shooting to take away your gunz, irony comes home to roost like a vulture)
Oregon Sheriff Handling Massacre Fought the White House on Gun Control After Newtown | Mother Jones
Gunman in Oregon college shooting executed classmates, saying 'I'll see you soon' | OregonLive.com - "And then he would ask them if they were a Christian, knew God, or had religion. And it wasn't like it was stated on TV. It wasn't about that he was just trying to pinpoint Christians, no."
Families Remember Victims Of Tragic Oregon School Shooting
Jeb Bush Opposes New Gun Laws On Grounds That 'Stuff Happens' - The former governor has been making some pretty big gaffes lately. (see above for dead people that "stuff happened" to)
maniac_rn comments on The Oregon Shooter Obtained All His Guns Legally
After Oregon, Death By Gunfire Is a Natural Law in America - Nothing will change. Nothing will be different.
The Daily Show - Gun Control Whoop-de-doo - YouTube
John Oliver's 3-part Daily Show report on Gun Control, political suicide and The results of Australia's gun legislation : television

Like Clockwork by D.R. Tucker | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly there's a principal and a police chief in Irving that will likely think differently next time. But we badly need the same kind of focus on the long-lasting, underlying abuses of corporate might. As it happens, Exxon is based in Irving, Texas too. (Bill Maher is nutty about Muslims)

Tell-all peace prize book upsets Nobel committee | World news | The Guardian - Geir Lundestad, former secretary, accused of breaching Norwegian Nobel committee's code of silence in The Peace Secretary (yeah, Obama was a mistake, which was immediately obvious)

Stockton mayor was briefly detained on return flight from China - SFGate - The mayor of Stockton was briefly detained and had two of his laptops and a cell phone confiscated by homeland security agents at the San Francisco International Airport earlier this week after returning from a trip to China, according to a statement by the mayor.

Canada dead last in ranking for environmental protection - The Globe and Mail
Feds penny-pinched on science libraries while lavishing funds on religion and oil | National Observer (Canadian Conservatives: who needs your stupid science when we have the Bible to interpret any way we want?)
Marijuana is infinitely worse than tobacco, Harper says as he encourages pot debate to go up in smoke (don't bother me with your sciencey facts")

Eschaton: Morning Thread - Terrific article from the Guttmacher Institute: Prosecuting Women for Self-Inducing Abortion: Counterproductive and Lacking Compassion. Basically makes the point that outlawing abortion won't stop women from having abortions. It will just make it more dangerous, partly because she will be reluctant to seek medical treatment if anything goes wrong.
Fiorina makes distortion of Planned Parenthood a centerpiece - US News - Carly Fiorina has spent the last two weeks repeating an erroneous description of videos secretly recorded by anti-abortion activists. That seems bound to continue as she makes her opposition to Planned Parenthood a centerpiece of her 2016 campaign. (that'll work +the most anti-woman candidate is a ... woman!)


Handcuffing Little Kids May Not Be 'Reasonable,' Says Obama DOJ (on the other hand, it might be)


BBC - Culture - The mysterious origins of punctuation - Aristophanes' breakthrough was to suggest that readers could annotate their documents,

Island boulders reveal ancient mega-tsunami : Nature News & Comment - Massive prehistoric landslide of Cape Verde volcano unleashed waves 170 metres high. (head for the hills)


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Vladimir Putin wants Russia to have more influence in the Middle East. Good luck with that. - The Washington Post - At this point Russian-American diplomacy mostly consists of trolling each other, and Putin is better than anyone at trolling ... not a good sign for U.S. interests in the Middle East when Washington is surprised by Iraqi agreements with Russia. (Obama has totally failed in his war-making)
Rhetorical Entrapment and Syria: Let's Not Do Dumb Stuff - preventing Syria from being taken over by ISIS would be far worse and trying to instill life in our unicorn army of moderate rebels is a recipe for continued humanitarian tragedy in Syria with spillover effects on Europe that are very high.
Russia, Russia Burning Bright? (Spoiler: Not So Much) | Duck of Minerva - the world's fourth largest military budget ... by spending a larger percentage of its GDP on defense than does the United States, China, Britain, France, Japan, or Germany ... a smaller economy than the state of California (giant gas station is declining, can't really afford all those guns +warlord Putin is counting his days +Cali needs more missles)

Saudi Objections Halt U.N. Inquiry of Yemen War - The New York Times - In a U-turn at the United Nations Human Rights Council, Western governments dropped plans Wednesday for an international inquiry into human rights violations by all parties in the war in Yemen that has killed thousands of civilians in the last six months.

Authorities: Weapons Recovered In Oregon Shooting Purchased Legally - Some weapons may have been purchased by family members.
Oregon shooter was anxious and liked guns and target shooting, neighbors say - LA Times - "The Switzer Learning Center, also in Torrance, teaches students with special needs, emotional disturbances, autism, Asperger's" ... "conservative, professional, intellectual, introvert ... Not Religious, but Spiritual." ... (mother) circulated a petition to get the apartment owner to eradicate a cockroach infestation. Neighbors said she told them the insects kept her son awake at night ... " She would call him "baby" all the time. I thought it was strange because he was an adult"

994 mass shootings in 1,004 days: this is what America's gun crisis looks like | US news | The Guardian

Chris Harper Mercer, Oregon Gunman, Is Recalled as a Recluse Close to His Mother - The New York Times
Chris Mercer, Oregon Gunman, Hinted of Anger and Loneliness - The New York Times

Nancy Pelosi Calls For A Select Committee On Gun Violence - She said Congress takes "a solemn oath to protect and defend the American people." (again, who are the real terrorists?)
This just happened on CNN. Behold, the hypocrisy of the media (especially in regards to coverage of mass shootings) in one, succinct 30 second clip Seriously, WTF CNN? : videos
Guns Kill An Average Of 36 People Every Day, And The Nation Doesn't Even Blink - The shooting at Umpqua Community College is part of a steady beat of U.S. gun violence. (9/11 every day, and we haven't invaded the NRA)
Eschaton: Not Capable Of Learning - Once again the nation is shocked to discover the tools designed for killing people are used to kill people. (arm the moderate Americans!)

TIL the US Murder rate in 2014 is less that half of what it was in 1990, and far lower than the 70's and 80's. : todayilearned

Oregon college shooting is all the more reason to carry guns, say local residents | US news | The Guardian - Interviews with almost a dozen residents of the rural Oregon community on Friday yielded unanimity on their biggest threats: gun control and Barack Obama

Not a Dime's Worth of Difference! - Jeb Bush: "I think we need to reconnect ourselves with everybody else. It's very sad to see. But I resist the notion, and I had this challenge as governor -- look, stuff happens" (thanks Ralph, you really fucked the country)
Eric Boehlert on Twitter: "Can't wait for "context" debate over Jeb likening gun massacre to a kid drowning in pool.
A Day in Mass American Death - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Wayne LaPierre and his henchmen are as evil as Osama Bin Laden and his henchmen. And Frick and his fellow Gilded Age capitalists are as evil as the other two. But maybe we can lighten up our morning by discussing who is actually the most evil - Good times America. Good times.

Fifty killed in a knife attack at a Chinese colliery | MINING.com - Nine suspects are being pursued after they launched a coordinated knife attack and killed 50 workers at a northwestern Chinese coal mine, reports Radio Free Asia.

Coca-Cola calls for FIFA President Sepp Blatter to step down immediately.

For Corporations, Sticks, Not Carrots - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Lawyers, Guns & Money - Corporations simply cannot be trusted to self-regulate. It will never work because all the incentive is there for them to cheat. They want to profit and if the government isn't watching, they will cut corners to do so. The auto industry has shown this for decades. (de-regulate, destroy unions, pay their execs beyond your wildest dreams)

Voodoo Never Dies - The New York Times - that tax-cut enthusiasts have a remarkable track record: They've been wrong about everything, year after year (so? that never stopped them before?)

The Benghazi Investigation Is The 1990s All Over Again - The GOP spends millions investigating a Clinton for one scandal, and ends up uncovering another. Sound familiar?

Why the Washington Post's Attack on Bernie Sanders Is Bunk | Robert Reich (Fred Hiatt hates Bernie and public education)

Arne Duncan stepping down, returning to Chicago - Chicago Tribune - made his first signature initiative the Race to the Top program, in which states competed for federal grants ... encouraged states to adopt the Common Core, a controversial set of curriculum guidelines that to some have become symbolic of federal overreach
Arne Duncan Resigns Amid Legacy-Threatening Student Debt Crisis - The education secretary leaves behind 1 in 4 borrowers in distress. (moar charters! moar debt! +the only guy in the admin taller than Obama)
Eschaton: Where Did All The Teachers Go - Apparently there's a shortage. Who could have predicted that demonizing them, cutting salaries and benefits, and reducing job security might make it a slightly less attractive option for people. (America hates teachers) How will our great school administrators deal with this? Increasing teacher salaries is unpossible, because that might mean that the Viceroy For District Charterization and Martini Tasting might take small pay cut.


Record 94,610,000 Americans Not in Labor Force; Participation Rate Lowest in 38 Years
Affordable rent hampering about 1/3 of Florida residents - wptv.com - South Florida has the highest percentage of renters devoting at least half their income. (Rubio'd)


- The Decline of 'Big Soda' - The drop in soda consumption represents the single largest change in the American diet in the last decade ... Over the last 20 years, sales of full-calorie soda in the United States have plummeted by more than 25 percent. (liquid diabetes; no wonder Coke is worried)

- If the face fits: science of attraction is based on personal experience
?9-Tetrahydrocannabinol attenuates allogeneic host-versus-graft response and delays skin graft rejection through activation of cannabinoid receptor 1 and induction of myeloid-derived suppressor cells
- Inuit Study Adds Twist to Omega-3 Fatty Acid's Health Story -- the idea the Inuit adapted to eating fatty food was very plausible,
Study Finds Asteroid Ahead of Dinosaur Extinction Accelerated Volcanoes - The New York Times
IBM Scientists Find New Way to Shrink Transistors - The New York Times - a new way to make transistors from parallel rows of carbon nanotubes

Ch-ch-changes.. After many years and many server changes and finally landing here at Raw Story, which has taken very good care of us, it's time to say goodbye to Pandagon (Amanda Marcotte)

Cogent CEO: Interconnection Congestion Has Magically Disappeared | DSLReports, ISP Information - But after the FCC voted to approve new net neutrality rules and Cogent and Level 3 hinted they'd use the new rules to file complaints about this behavior, everybody is just getting along famously.

What is something that most women want that most men aren't willing to do? : AskReddit
What websites did you frequently visit in the past but no longer visit? What caused you to stop visiting them? : AskReddit
What are the most legendary posts from 4chan? : AskReddit
- Woman makes app that lets people rate and review you, Yelp-style. Now SHE's upset people are "reviewing" her (that didn't take long)
calafragilistic comments on Woman makes app that lets people rate and review you, Yelp-style. Now SHE'S upset people are 'reviewing' her
I met you in the rain on the last day of 1972 - m4w
I met you in the rain on the last day of 1972 - m4w : boston

Adblock extension with 40 million users sells to mystery buyer, refuses to name new owner : news

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9 in 10 scientists think climate change is real - One in four Americans believes climate change isn't happening - Nearly 92 percent of surveyed scientists, however, believe the world is warming and humans are to blame (all scientists, not just climate scientists)
Eastern U.S. Flood Threat to Continue No Matter Where Hurricane Joaquin Tracks (Forecast) | Weather Underground

- Bill Nye discusses how incredible it is that flowing water has been found on Mars... and the "Daily Show" proceeds to bring in ignorent panelists that disrespect him, his work, and declare that we shouldn't even give a fuck about this discovery. (we are all Martians)

Shooting in Oregon: So far in 2015, we've had 274 days and 294 mass shootings
Oregon College Shooter Identified As Chris Harper Mercer - Reports say the shooter had three handguns and an assault weapon.
A not very well regulated militia - Lawyers, Guns & Money
UCC SHOOTING RAMPAGE: At least 13 reported dead including shooter | NRToday.com
Mass Shooting At Umpqua Community College In Oregon, 13 Reported Dead - "We've become numb to this," Obama said. "This is something we should politicize, it is relevant to our common life together, to the body politic." (NRA warns not to politicize event)
Did The Oregon Shooter Warn Of His Plans On 4chan? - On 4chan, little is clear, and even less can be proven.
Active Shooter Reported at Oregon College : news
School Shootings in America Since Sandy Hook | Everytown for Gun Safety (45 this year)
Politicians Can't Pass Actual Laws To Stop Gun Violence, So They Tweet Prayerfully (Supreme Deity listens to Speaker John Boehner's prayers)

- State Department "Planted" Anti-Wikileaks Questions For 60 Minutes Interview With Julian Assange - from the nice-of-them dept

Eschaton: The Left Is Always Very Silly - Reasonably sure the UK doesn't actually need a nuclear deterrent, but expressing your unwillingness to vaporize a few hundred thousand people is Very Silly Indeed. So Utopian, unlike tax cut fairies and all that peeance and freeance spreading that Blair and Bush did in the Middle East. That was serious!

- US accuses Russia of "throwing gasoline on fire" of Syria's civil war - first major military action outside borders of former Soviet Union since cold war (Putin bombs US-trained "moderate" rebels, all 5 of them)


Eschaton: Instincts - OK then - An email involving passport applications was notable for the raw nerve the issue of gay rights seemed to touch. Clinton expressed anger that the application form had been changed from its reference to traditional parents, and she demanded to know who was behind it. - It's hard to get your back when you won't get your own. Crouch position is not a winning position. This was in 2011. Even Politico realized Palin was a joke by then. (it's in their DNA)

Newly released interviews show depth of Ted Kennedy frustration with Hillary Clinton and Bill Clinton approach to health care reform - The Boston Globe - "I think everybody understands now that that was a catastrophic mistake" ... "Was there any consultation about this strategy with people in the Congress?" "No," Kennedy said (naive, inexperienced and arrogant, even back then)
What Happened to Health Care Reform? - The Republicans enjoyed a double triumph, killing reform and then watching jurors find the president guilty. It was the political equivalent of the perfect crime ... Perhaps the fateful choice was the decision to design a proposal inside the White House and put the Clinton name on it. (1994, for the history)

Pelosi threatens to end Dem participation in Benghazi probe | TheHill - "It's just a stunning admission on the part of the Republican leader that the Benghazi Committee was created with a political purpose in mind. In fact, it's really an ethical question" Pelosi said

- A long-standing sycophant of Niall Ferguson and Henry Kissinger was commissioned by the NYT Book Review to review Niall Ferguson's hagiography of Henry Kissinger. (By the way, is there anything more pathetic than being a sycophant of Niall Ferguson?) The results may not surprise you:

John Oliver Doesn't Care About Donald Trump


Police use of chemical spray on Alabama schoolchildren violated civil rights | US news | The Guardian - Federal judge finds officers attached to Birmingham schools routinely used a military-grade pepper spray-teargas mixture to quell normal adolescent behavior (Republican war on America's black children)

Voter ID and driver's license office closures black-out Alabama's Black Belt | AL.com

- Investigation Continues After Man "Armed With Chapstick" Is Shot By Police
Orlando police officer Peter Delio, Sgt. Michael Faulkner fired for treatment of inmate - Orlando Sentinel

The spread of marijuana legalization, explained - Vox

Effectiveness of Talk Therapy Is Overstated, a Study Says - The New York Times - Medical literature has overstated the benefits of talk therapy for depression, in part because studies with poor results have rarely made it into journals, researchers reported Wednesday. Treatments like cognitive behavior therapy and interpersonal therapy are indeed effective, the analysis found, but about 25 percent less so than previously thought. (towards placebo range) manualized approaches, in which therapist and patient use a standardized manual to guide the treatment. (oh, there you go) "There's a sense of desperation out there because we do need something new and there's nothing on the horizon"

Short-term dynamic psychotherapy versus pharmacotherapy for major depressive disorder: a randomized, placebo-controlled trial. - PubMed - NCBI - This trial of urban MDD patients failed to confirm that either active treatment was better than placebo. Minority status and gender had significant and differential effects on outcome that warrant replication in future studies.
Antidepressant, Talk Therapy Fail to Beat Placebo--Really? | Psychology Today
Pornography users found to be more supportive of women and hold less sexist views than nonusers in representative US sample : science

Amazon to Ban Sale of Apple, Google Video-Streaming Devices - Bloomberg Business - latest example of the company using its clout to promote products that fit with its own retailing strategy

Would drinking "heavy water" (Deuterium oxide) be harmful to humans? What would happen different compared to H20? : askscience
Sorority Girls at a Baseball Game : videos
What are some common pieces of advice that you disagree with? : AskReddit
I have an inferiority complex, but it's not a very good one.
Conformity - elevator candid camera on Vimeo

Tennessee Voraciously Defends Its Right To Let AT&T Write Awful State Broadband Laws | Techdirt - completely within its right to let AT&T write shitty telecom law that ensures Tennessee remains a broadband backwater, and the federal government has no standing to intervene in this noble effort
Sofusbofus comments on How do I convince a co-worker (who says he used to have a job coding and modding games) that you don't need to spend $10,000 bucks on a gaming rig to get 60fps 1080?

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Many Conservative Republicans Believe Climate Change Is a Real Threat - The New York Times (but don't give a shit)

- An app which tracked US drone strikes through text notifications and maps has been removed from the App Store by Apple due to "excessively crude or objectionable content" (hope you like your walled garden)
Dronestream (@dronestream) | Twitter - Every reported covert US drone strike, 2002-2015 ("reported")

Did a Rogue NSA Operation Cause the Death of a Greek Telecom Employee? - Did a Rogue NSA Operation Cause the Death of a Greek Telecom Employee?

Russia Launches Air Strikes In Syria - They gave the U.S. a one-hour heads up.
- France hits out at Russia's claims of fighting Isis ahead of UN summit - French foreign minister says Russia's claims of fighting in Syria are exaggerated as leaders plan to meet at UN general assembly on fighting of Isis

Record 522K migrants arrive in Europe by sea in 2015

Military Backs Keeping U.S. Troops In Afghanistan Beyond 2016 - President Obama has promised to have all troops out before he leaves the White House. (Army loves to invade and destroy shit and then invade it again)

The Undying Evil of the Last Bush Administration - There are generous rewards for justifying torture. That would be Jay S. Bybee who, during his days as an assistant attorney general during the late Avignon Presidency, wrote the famous memo justifying the use of waterboarding as a technique of "enchanced interrogation" (now torturing the law)
Court Deals Huge Blow To NCAA Over College Athlete Pay (Jay Bybee at work)

Mob In India Allegedly Beats Muslim To Death Over Rumors That He Ate Beef - son is still in the hospital.

Argentina warns US to cooperate in heightened search for fugitive spy chief | World news | The Guardian - Antonio Stiuso, who reportedly fled to Miami soon after star prosecutor's mysterious killing

Librarian of Congress who made phone unlocking illegal retires today | Ars Technica - US could seek tech-savvy replacement for man who held post for three decades. (tech dumbass)

- Donald Trump says Syrian refugees are one of the greatest tactical ploys of all time. It could be a 200k army [of ISIS sleeper agents]

Elizabeth Warren Takes on Pay-for-Play in Washington - The Senator Professor don't play that

John Boehner's Replacement Has a Fever, and the Only Prescription Is More Benghazi - We put together a Benghazi special committee, a select committee (of very special select fever-brains)

Your Weekly van Loon - In which we learn that Popes used to swing a bigger crozier, as it were.
Pope Francis' Kim Davis Visit Is the Dumbest Thing He's Ever Done - Why, Frank? - and that he endorsed her current status as a faith-based layabout
Kim Davis, Clerk Who Refused To Issue Marriage Licenses To Gay Couples, Met The Pope (UPDATE) Vatican didn't deny the encounter took place but refused to comment on the topic.

Sophisticated behavioral economics experiment reveals elites prefer policies that benefit elites - Lawyers, Guns & Money

The Blackmail Caucus, a.k.a. the Republican Party - The New York Times

Ben Carson's Love Affair With a "Nutjob" Conspiracy Theorist | Mother Jones - A top GOP presidential contender has embraced the dark, paranoid, and crazy worldview of a far-right pseudohistorian.

- The Anti-Abortion Movement's Weapons: Shock, Lies, and Carly Fiorina
- The Latest Video Trying to Exonerate Carly Fiorina Just Proves She Didn't Tell the Truth
Center for Bio-Ethical Reform promotes illegally taped video of perineum and premature delivery | Dr. Jen Gunter
- Carly Fiorina's use of anti-abortion video is "totally irresponsible"
Fetus Video Referenced by Carly Fiorina Released in Full. : news
GOP Chair Repeatedly Interrupts Planned Parenthood Head At Hearing (VIDEO) - Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) repeatedly interrupted Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards as she tried to answer his questions Tuesday in front of the House Oversight Committee.
Watch Jason Chaffetz React As He's Accused of "Beating Up On A Woman" Over Her Pay - Don't mess with Carolyn Maloney.
Whatever you think of Planned Parenthood, this is a terrible and dishonest chart - Vox - During the hearing, Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) showed this chart to make the point about Planned Parenthood's activities:
Planned Parenthood Head Shuts Down GOP Chair Over Abortion Chart (VIDEO)

- Missouri Finds Planned Parenthood Didn't Mishandle Fetal Tissue - In addition to Missouri, officials in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Indiana, South Dakota and Massachusetts have found, after investigations, that Planned Parenthood was in compliance with state laws.

The Death of Evan Murray + This weekend, the sport killed another child. He is the third American child to die from injuries suffered in an American football game this month.

The Police Told Her To Report Her Rape, Then Arrested Her For Lying (and then got promotions)
Warren Jeffs' son, daughter allege sexual abuse - CNN.com - Warren Jeff's son, daughter allege sexual abuse


Caitlyn Jenner Walks Away From Fatal Crash a Free Woman - saying that the office would not be able to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Jenner was at fault.
What is an indicator for you that instantly makes you think someone is stupid? : AskReddit
What is the most fucked up family secret that you know? : AskReddit
What fetishes can you not understand the appeal of? : AskReddit
What's the most NSFW thing to happen within your workplace? : AskReddit

Google and Microsoft end all patent litigation | Ars Technica
Average Apple Watch Sells For $529, According To New Survey

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KGB defector: Russia killed spy - Business Insider - British spy found in a duffel bag
UK Spy Locked Himself Into A Gym Bag? - Business Insider - Furthermore, it's unclear how Williams would have been able to padlock the bag from the inside.

Generals Sought More Positive Coverage on Head Injuries, Document Shows - The New York Times ("more postive" = "more false")

In Swedens Ikea attack, two migrants, two slayings and rampant fear of refugees (head-choppers)

Labour has a membership surge. Now it has to build a mass movement | Owen Jones | Comment is free | The Guardian (will the "squander" their opportunity?)


FBI Releases 2014 Crime Statistics - The Atlantic - much statistical information about the U.S. criminal-justice system simply isn't collected (their fingers in your ears)


- The Conservative Media Myths Behind Jeb Bush's Claim That Democrats Use "Free Stuff" To Court Black Voters (tax breaks for the rich!)

- Amid outrage, Philly Mag apologizes for lack of diversity on schools guide cover (7 white kids from a "good" school with 47% blacks)

Official: No authority to make body cam video private - TwinCities.com - Minnesota police departments lost their bid Monday to classify most body-camera footage as private.

Massachusetts Court Rules Cell Tracking Requires a Warrant[*] | Electronic Frontier Foundation

Decide the Future (Moulton and Kennedy hate the internets)

Ylvis pranking cab passengers through the radio with live songs. : videos

092815
Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet: Consensus
Why Are Republicans the Only Climate-Science-Denying Party in the World? Of all the major conservative parties in the democratic world, the Republican Party stands alone in its denial of the legitimacy of climate science. The GOP is the only major democratic party in the world that opposes the principle of universal health insurance (they are the most stupid and evil)

We're NASA Mars scientists. Ask us anything about today's news announcement of liquid water on Mars. : IAmA
Nasa scientists find evidence of flowing water on Mars | Science | The Guardian - Researchers say discovery of stains from summertime flows down cliffs and crater walls increases chance of finding life on red planet (great filter time)
- Rush Limbaugh pans evidence of water on Mars as part of 'leftist agenda'

ELI5: What is IntelGate? : explainlikeimfive - The Administration has been altering all the intelligence reports about the fight against ISIS to make it seem like America is winning. They then gave these reports to Congress/the press and got exposed by the largest whistle-blower case in US history.

Taliban overrun Afghan city of Kunduz - BBC News
Iran President Hassan Rouhani Blames U.S. For Spread of Mideast Terror - NBC News - saying America's dual post-9/11 wars -- and alliance with Israel -- allowed extremist ideologies to flourish.
Helicopter attack kills 30 civilians in Yemen village: residents, medics | Reuters
Yemen conflict: Deadly attack on wedding party - BBC News

Venezuela, Guyana Set to Meet on UN Sidelines on Dispute - ABC News - Venezuela has long claimed about 40 percent of Guyana's territory that is rich in gold, bauxite, diamonds and other natural resources. It extended its maritime claims recently after a subsidiary of Exxon Mobil Corp. announced it made a significant oil discovery off Guyana's coast '

Eschaton: Central Bank Independence - It's a nice idea, perhaps we should try it sometime. (the stories we live by)

Eschaton: Recovery (with Bush, the rich took all the profits; with Obama, the poor got none of the gains)

Why is so much wealth hidden? Failed democracy. - Washington Center for Equitable Growth - eight percent of global financial wealth is held in offshore tax havens, with the majority of that hidden wealth held by wealthy people living in the world's leading economies

A theory of how American politics is changing - Vox - Voters have more information than ever before, and they are able to shape and choose the information they get in unprecedented ways. (elites have lost control)
- GOP brand is being damaged ("the base is leaving the party" because it isn't insane enough)

Why The Most Urgent Civil Rights Cause Of Our Time Is The Supreme Court Itself

Carly Fiorina endorses waterboarding (Republicans love torture)
Two Sides of Carly Fiorina - Lawyers, Guns & Money (the liar and the incompetent, actually they are the same side)

So Is the Christian Right Dead Yet Already? Not So Fast! by Ed Kilgore | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - they've won everything they can win without controlling the federal government and the courts. The former is within reach in 2016. The latter would then probably be just a matter of time

Every minute, someone gets arrested for marijuana possession in the U.S. - The Washington Post

FBI resists calls to reform voluntary reporting system for police killings | US news | The Guardian - Director James Comey said FBI "plans to collect more data about shootings" while retaining controversial self-reporting method for police departments (typical cop-think: collect more data by collecting less)
DEA agents kept jobs despite serious misconduct - despite internal investigations that found they had distributed drugs, lied to the authorities or committed other serious misconduct, newly disclosed records show

The Black Activists Who Helped Launch the Drug War -- the role of Harlem's residents in forcefully advocating for a tougher, more punitive approach to pushers and addicts

Let'ss be honest about the dishonest attack on Planned Parenthood (meanwhile sports-dude Boston Globe prints John Sununu's lies)
Poll: 69 percent oppose shutdown over Planned Parenthood - POLITICO - Even among Republicans, a majority of 56 percent to 36 percent opposes a shutdown due to Planned Parenthood.

How The Media Botched & Hyped The Columbine School Shooting | The Grade | The Washington Monthly - Columbine was less a successful school shooting than it was a failed school bombing.


The newly discovered tablet V of the Epic of Gilgamesh
AskScience AMA Series: BRAAAAAAAAAINS, Ask Us Anything! : askscience

A mindfucking movie of just 6 minutes long : videos
[NSFW] What's the worst thing that's happened at your family gathering? : AskReddit
Bored schoolboy : gifs (reddit riffs)

Pirate Bay Founder Finally Free After Three Years : worldnews (Sweden in bed with copyright oligarches)

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Sunday's lunar eclipse will also feature a 'Supermoon'

A Changed Climate In Washington - World leaders made both moral and practical progress in the debate on climate change this week. (we'll see)

Israel suspends officer over assault of AFP journalists on West Bank | Media | The Guardian - Severely damaged gear was returned to AFP on Saturday, though without the memory cards that had been inside. (you can tell they are so sorry)

American Cultural Imperialism: Racist Fashion Edition - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Anti-immigrant hooligans in Finland attacked a busload of immigrants last week. They did so while wearing their version of KKK outfits. The headpiece needs some work. (another cultural export)



Eschaton: Your Laws Are To Blame For My Lawbreaking - I've noticed this more and more among the glibertarianish set, essentially claiming that lawbreaking is the fault of laws.
Conservative Media Are Trying To Blame Air Pollution Limits For Volkswagen's Emissions Scandal | Research | Media Matters for America (if you didn't have these stupid anti-pollution laws, corps wouldn't have to break them)

Bernie Sanders Pulls Closer To Hillary Clinton In New Presidential Poll - He's gained ground since July.

Don't Cry For John Boehner - Alex Pareene - his bitterest opponents were too stupid to figure out how to oust him, and his likeliest replacements never wanted the job ... John Boehner was and is an unprincipled ward-heeler who simply couldn't weather the transition of the Republican Party from a corporatist party with a sizable conservative base to a purely conservative party.

Grand Unified Theory of Green Lanternism - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Eric Cantor is, believe it or not, making sense: (remember when Cantor was the radical?)

The Meritocracy - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Lawyers, Guns & Money - there's a pretty hard ceiling on just how high working kids can rise because the truly desirable and powerful positions are all held by the American class elite, often regardless of actual intelligence or work ethic.
Why are working class kids less likely to get elite jobs? They study too hard at college. - The Washington Post - Essentially, extracurriculars end up being a double filter on social class that disadvantages job applicants from more modest means both in entering the recruiting pipeline and succeeding within it. (it's who you know, not how hard you work)

Kim Davis Gets An Award For Breaking The Law To Discriminate Against Gay People - The Kentucky clerk was compared to Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks. (St. Kim!)

Adventists and Politics: "That is Not Their Thing" (Carson is a pre-millenialist kook)

Pennsylvania school districts feeling effects of budget impasse | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - Pennsylvania schools have a new source of disparity: A state budget impasse that has driven some districts to borrow while others expect no problems for months. (meanwhile, in PA)

Depths of heroin addiction: US sets record high for opium abuse : news
Doctor Convicted of Raping 8 Unconscious Patients and Possession of Child Porn Sentenced To 1 Year House Arrest and Probation. : news

HannasAnarion comments on Russian history in 5 words:

The rise of ad-blocking could herald the end of the free internet | Discussion | The Guardian (commenters disagree)

092615
Drought blamers: California conspiracists see government's hand in arid climate | US news | The Guardian - the US government is geoengineering the California climate (Obama is trying to destroy biggest Dem state, oh wait)

Profiled (Brits spy on everyone, everywhere, all the time)

Germany in a state of SIEGE after Angela Merkel opened floodgates to migrants | Daily Mail Online

U.S.-Trained Syria Rebels Hand Over Equipment To Al Qaeda Affiliate - The latest sign of trouble for the American effort to train Syrian rebels.
Eschaton: Nobody Could Have Predicted - Let's send a few more tankers full of gasoline to add to this fire. That'll put it out!
Boko Haram: Nigerian army claims surrender by 200 Islamists - n what is considered the largest surrender since Boko Haram militants launched their attacks in Nigeria in 2009, at least 200 extremists from the group surrendered to the Nigerian army on Friday,
- Inside The Islamic State's Apocalyptic Beliefs (see Mormons, below)

Eschaton - Who Will Take The Fall - All signs point to: "engineers and technicians involved in engine development" even though "key parts of the faked emissions tests had been overseen by VW executives based in the company's headquarters in Wolfsberg"

More women accuse Saudi prince after his arrest on sex crime charge, LAPD says - Al-Saud, 28, was detained by police for hours Wednesday afternoon

Soldier who attacked Afghan police commander for keeping child sex slave is SACKED | World | News | Daily Express - for keeping a child sex slave chained to his bed
Soldier who attacked Afghan police commander for keeping child sex slave is SACKED : news

- Stat check: No, women couldn't just "go somewhere else" if Planned Parenthood closed

John Boehner Resigns: Being a GOP House speaker might be the worst job in Washington - politico - The Cannibal Party
Speaker John Boehner Quits the Arena - The New York Times
It's Friday, and the Republican Party Is Out of Its Mind - The fallout from John Boehner's resignation on the electric teevee machine primarily has been an exercise in trying to avoid the obvious political fact that the Republican party is out of its mind.
Furious Boehner allies lash out | TheHill - "You just can't continue to have a super-ultra-minority continue to try to dictate what happens in the House of Representatives. It's a big problem
- Peter King: Boehner exit means "the crazies have taken over the party" (from one crazy to another)

The Republican Southern Strategy is Still Alive by Nancy LeTourneau | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly

Federal trial of Rand Paul aides could include father, sister and chief strategist | MSNBC
- Carly Fiorina's bogus "secretary to CEO" career trajectory (Fact Checker biography) (Carly Sneed Failuriana)
Fiorina's HP Record Not Getting Any Better By Ed Kilgor
The George Pataki Story - Lawyers, Guns & Money : There comes a point when his irrelevance becomes crystal clear even to him

50 Headlines That Reveal Wash. Post Reporter Chris Cillizza's Obsession With The Clinton Email Story | Blog | Media Matters for America (hack-hack-hack)

- Mormon church issues call for calm as "blood moon" sparks apocalypse fears - Sales are up at emergency-preparedness retailers ahead of a combination of a lunar eclipse and a supermoon, but church says not to get carried away

Fishing For Kim Davis - Lawyers, Guns & Money - Who will offer a contrarian defense of Kim Davis? Why, Mr. Stanley Fish, of course: (hacks will hack)

The Second Amendment's Actual Words - Lawyers, Guns & Money
Men Sentenced To Longer Prison Terms Than Women For Same Crimes, Study Says - The study found that men receive sentences that are 63 percent higher, on average, than their female counterparts

- Horrified Pope Calls Philadelphia Humanity's Greatest Sin Against God

Is Homo naledi just a primitive version of Homo erectus? 7 john hawks weblog (probably despite attention-seeking retrograde paleontologists)
Why are birds more capable of mimicking human speech as compared to mammals? : askscience - Some species of birds including corvids, songbirds and parrots have a syrinx instead of a larynx

What is the best example of a real life butterfly effect that you have experienced or heard of? : AskReddit
Reddit, what is your worst experience of waking up after a one night stand? : AskReddit
What is a sure sign of maturity? : AskReddit
The bedtime story is key to literacy, but the childhood tradition is in peril : books
sy
Massive patent troll suit seeks to tax USB hubs at Wal-Mart, Amazon, Best Buy : technology

092515
Elon Musk Says Climate Change Refugees Will Dwarf Current Crisis - Tesla's CEO says the Volkswagen scandal is minor compared with carbon dioxide emissions.
What Exxon Knew About Climate Change - The New Yorker

Snowden Treaty Launched: Effort To Get Countries To End Mass Surveillance | Techdirt
Edward Snowden: GCHQ collected information from every visible user on the internet - Home News - UK - The Independent
Forcing suspects to reveal phone passwords is unconstitutional, court says | Ars Technica - Demanding "personal thought processes" amounts to compelled self incrimination.


40% more people are homeless than when David Cameron swept into Number 10 : worldnews

Fifa: Sepp Blatter faces Swiss criminal investigation - BBC News


Eschaton: Nice Work - As I wrote, individual and firm incentives are not very well aligned. Cheat your way to riches, and leave the shareholders with the bill when you get caught. (and a platinum parachute)

The case against equality of opportunity - Vox - Equality of opportunity promises not just sufficient opportunities to all families, but equivalent ones. (they didn't think their empty phrase through)

House speaker John Boehner to resign from Congress in October | US news | The Guardian - Republican congressman from Ohio announces he will resign from his seat next month after four years in the top post in the US House of Representatives
- John Boehner left because Republicans' true faith is incompatible with governing - The real religion of Washington conservatives is that having a government at all is offensive to the market. No wonder leading a branch of it is thankless work


- Jeb Bush's "free stuff" emark echoes Romney's struggles with black voters - offers a message of hope and aspiration (just keep on hopin' and aspirin')

Obamacare Haters Freaking Out Over New Report -- NYMag - A new report yesterday from the Kaiser Family Foundation finds that premium growth for people with employer-sponsored insurance has continued to stay well below the pre-Obamacare trends:


Kentucky clerk in gay marriage dispute switches to Republican Party | Reuters

Ed Graf arson trial: Texas granted him a new trial. Would modern forensic science set him free? - A quarter of a century later, Texas granted him a new trial, one that pitted modern forensics against old-fashioned Texas justice. (good 'ol Southern justice)


Study finds tangible benefits for learners from Coursera's massive open online courses | InsideHigherEd - Specifically, the report corroborates previous findings that more learners are using MOOCs to further their careers than their education, and also that those from less-advantaged backgrounds are most likely to benefit from the courses.

Out With The Caraway, In With The Ginger: 50 Years Of American Spice Consumption | FiveThirtyEight

Reddit, what is your worst experience of waking up after a one night stand? : AskReddit

- Our Broken Patent System at Work: Patent Owner Insists the "Integers" Do Not Include the Number One (they are Republicans)


092415
Pope Francis electrifies Congress with speech laying out bold vision for US | World news | The Guardian - Republicans and Democrats united in praise for pope, who called on Congress to transcend division and act on climate change, immigration and poverty
Pope's climate push is "raving nonsense" without population control, says top US scientist - Paul Ehrlich writes in Nature Climate Change that Francis is wrong to fight climate change without also addressing the strain from population growth on resources

NSA director just admitted that government copies of encryption keys are a big security risk | VentureBeat | Security | by Mark Sullivan - The director of the NSA, Admiral Michael Rogers, just admitted at a Senate hearing that when Internet companies provide copies of encryption keys to law enforcement, the risk of hacks and data theft goes way up. (they want all your data to give to the Russians and Chinese)

Hajj pilgrimage: more than 700 dead in crush near Mecca | World news | The Guardian - Stampede in Mina valley, the site of a vast tent city of pilgrims, leaves more than 800 others injured

Eschaton: Freedom Bombing Our Way to Freedom - Freedom Bombing Our Way to Freedom -- Over this past year, analysts felt pressure to keep their assessments positive. -- Keep the good news coming.

Student accused of being a terrorist for reading book on terrorism | Education | The Guardian - Staffordshire University apologises after counter-terrorism student Mohammed Umar Farooq was questioned under Prevent anti-extremism initiative

South Park: Where has my country gone?

Volkswagen Begins Firing Execs In The Wake Of Pollution Scandal (heads are rolling)
VW scandal caused nearly 1m tonnes of extra pollution, analysis shows | Environment | The Guardian - roughly the same as the UK's combined emissions for all power stations, vehicles, industry and agriculture, a Guardian analysis suggests
CORRECTED-California car dealers sue Volkswagen over diesel-emissions scandal | Reuters
Draconian US copyright rules made it easier for Volkswagen to cheat - Quartz
UK, France and Germany lobbied for flawed car emissions tests, documents reveal | Environment | The Guardian

Eschaton: The Pope, Brought To You By Aramark - The city is doing everything wrong.

Eschaton: Stopping The Canadian Menace - Fair enough -- Failed Republican presidential candidate Scott Walker may feel some vindication in this number: 41 percent of Americans say that if a wall is built along the Mexican border, one should also be erected on the Canadian one. And yes, the same percentage favors a wall erected along the nation's southern border.

Trump Was Castrated In Last Debate, Says Rich Lowry On Fox News - Trump demands an apology and calls on FCC to fine the cable network. "Let's be honest: Carly cut his balls off with the precision of a surgeon, and he knows it," "What did you just say?" asked Kelly, who has been a frequent target of Trump's wrath. "You can't say that.



Copenhagenize.com - Bicycle Culture by Design - Is garbage sucking the perfect waste management solution for cities? It just might be.
Why Nonstop Travel In Personal Pods Has Yet To Take Off : NPR (mass transit without the mass)

How Alabama's Meth Lab Law is Unfairly Punishing Pregnant Women -- Take a Valium, Lose Your Kid, Go to Jail - In Alabama, anti-drug fervor and abortion politics have turned a meth-lab law into the country's harshest weapon against pregnant women.

- Maryland man fatally shot by police "after imitating gun with fingers" (any excuse will do)

CVS To Sell Overdose Reversal Drug Without A Prescription In 12 More States - CVS has already similarly expanded access to naloxone in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, meaning CVS pharmacies in 14 states now allow nonprescription purchases of naloxone. (and 36 who want people to just die)
Antidepressants plus blood thinners cause brain cancer cells to eat themselves in mice
Overweight and obese men more likely to father sons according to Peking University Hospital study | Metro News

ELI5: Why we have different blood types? : explainlikeimfive
AskScience AMA Series: BRAAAAAAAAAINS, Ask Us Anything! : askscience

Harvard employee accused of spending $80k of the university's money to buy Legos and iPads : news

- What does your SO's family do that's just plain weird?

Taxpayers are paying $60 for every pot plant the DEA destroys in Oregon - The Washington Post
People who have tried Marijuana for the first time due to recent legalizations, how has your opinion on Marijuana been affected? : AskReddit

Lenovo caught pre-installing spyware on its laptops yet again : technology

092315
Watching the Pope and the President Roll Up Their Sleeves - Instead, he is elevating poverty and the health of the Earth, and all of the shattered places where they intersect, above the more glandular concerns that have dogged the Church ever since Paul VI handed it the job of, as Garry Wills memorably put it, "the smithying of chastity belts."
- The new map launches as international researchers sound louder alarms about air pollution's profound health effects in China. (real-time)

Noam Chomsky on George Orwell, the Suppression of Ideas and the Myth of American Exceptionalism | Democracy Now!

Troops detail orders to ignore sexual abuse in Afghanistan, despite general's denial

China's Economic Problems May Be Worse Than We Think China's authoritarian leaders must enact deep reforms, not just stimulus. It is not clear if they are willing to do that.

- Iran nuclear talks: Claims Israeli secret service "bugged hotels" during decisive negotiations - The Israeli secret service is suspected of being behind a series of mysterious yet highly sophisticated cyber-spying attacks

Lottery bet bad for state - when you consider how much of the mess is due to Christie's actions. He took one of the nation's best-run state lotteries and turned it into a privately-run loser that punched a $136 million hole into last year's budget. (wrecked NJ so he could run for President on his conservative cred, lot like Walker without the KochBros)

Hey! I'm a dentist and I'm back with an analysis on the Republican's teeth. Here's the slideshow. : pics

Jeb Bush Proudly Promises To Axe Net Neutrality If Elected | Techdirt

This VW Diesel Scandal Is Much Worse Than a Recall - Everyone wondered how VW met emissions standards while foregoing urea injection. As it turns out, they didn't. It wasn't magical German engineering. Just plain old fraud.

- What Jeb Bush meant when he said the U.S. "should not have a multicultural society" (adopt our white views)


Johannes Reuchlin and the Campaign to Destroy Jewish Books - Oxford Scholarship - the attempt to confiscate and destroy all Jewish books in Renaissance Germany.

driftglass: Blessed are the Conservative Christopath Bedwetters
p.618-9. The Alienist and Neurologist - The evolution of a Christopath is plain enough to the student of psychology. A brain strained by the trials of life or disease or t)oth, to the verge of brain break and unstable psychical display, seeks relief in the study of the Holy Scriptures.
American Terrorists: Christopaths - The Christian Left Blog

How to get medical marijuana in Massachusetts - Health - Boston.com

Why does the right side of the brain process signals from and control movement of the left side of the body? This seems like more of a bug than a feature. : askscience (decussation)

TIL Blind people don't see black, they literally see nothing : todayilearned

What event in history deserves it's own HBO Series? : AskReddit

Huge iOS 9 security flaw lets anyone see your photos and contacts without enter passcode : technology
What Apple's Ad Blocking Could Mean for the Future of the Internet | Jeffrey Zeldman Apple just invented ad-blocking +battle of the big dick corps)

092215
The AP Just Adopted A Stronger Way To Describe Climate Change Doubters - those who reject mainstream climate science
- Steve King on Climate Change: "It's in Our DNA to Try to Change the Weather" and he's looked at the science (he's a congressman)

Hillary Comes Out Against the Keystone Pipeline for Not-Quite-the-Right Reasons

- How do you deal with a story like #piggate? A spin doctor's view
PGYC ft David Cameron - I F*@#ed a Pig (Explicit) - YouTube
xsy

- British Army "could stage mutiny under Corbyn, says senior sering general - would use whatever means possible, fair or foul

The SUPERGENIUS of Richard Dawkins, SUPERGENIUS: The Latest Chapter - Lawyers, Guns & Money (pig goes viral)

Eschaton: One Big Grift - Less than a year after being elected to lead the oldest state agency in Texas, Land Commissioner George P. Bush has dramatically remade the General Land Office by ousting a majority of its longtime leaders and replacing many of them with people with ties to his campaign and family.

Ben Carson: Big Bang A Fairy Tale, Theory Of Evolution Encouraged By The Devil - BuzzFeed News

Album: Teeth of Dem Candidates

How to navigate pope visit (schedule of Philly shutting down)

- Controversial drug CEO was accused of serious harassment

Demoted To Lunch: The Underbelly Of Grief | Laurie Burrows Grad

Apple Rejects Hinder, A Reproductive Rights App By 'The Daily Show' Creator - Even though the tech company explicitly allows apps focused on political satire.

What Do Education Journalists Make? | The Grade | The Washington Monthly (Campbell Brown)

- Stress Hormone May Contribute to Amyloid-Beta in Alzheimer
The Who- Behind Blue Eyes Lyrics Video - YouTube (My love is vengence that's never free)

092115
Shifting Gears on Climate Change | Daniel C. Esty (private interests must pick up the ball)
Climate Change Could Cost The World Trillions More Than We Thought - humanity could be saddled with a bill that adds more than $43 trillion to the already massive climate-related debt the world will rack up in the next two centuries. (send the bill to the KochBros and the Republican Party)
- El Niqo: a global weather event that may save California -- and destroy the tropics

Building the atom bomb: the full story of the Nevada Test Site | US news | The Guardian - The US conducted most of its early nuclear tests in the Pacific, but they became too costly to continue ...

George W. Bush Made Retroactive N.S.A. "Fix" After Hospital Room Showdown

Ignoring Sexual Abuse in Afghanistan - The New York Times - Boys screaming in the night as Afghan police officers attacked them. Three or four Afghan men found lying on the floor of a room at a military base with children between them, presumably for sex play.

- Fury after Saudi Arabia chosen to head key UN human rights panel Wife of imprisoned blogger Raif Badawi says move amounts to "a green light to flog him"

U.S. Considers Abstaining From UN Vote On Cuba Embargo - Merely considering an abstention is unprecedented.
Volkswagen has admitted to using software on VW and Audi branded cars to cheat U.S. diesel emissions tests, shares plunge more than 20 percent. : worldnews

- Revenge! Drugs, debauchery and the book that lays Dave bare: How PM's snub to billionaire who funded the Tories for years sparked the most explosive political book of the decade - PM once "put a private part of his anatomy" into dead pig, source claims (well then)
Cameron biography: Ashcroft makes new debauchery claims about student days | Politics | The Guardian

The Warnings About The Supreme Court's Dangerous Campaign Finance Ruling Are Now Coming True - the destruction of the contribution limits, whose principal purpose was to prevent corruption


Scott Walker Drops Out Of 2016 Presidential Race - The most recent CNN poll, released after last week's GOP debate, had him with less than 1 percent support.
Fired Walker Aide Explains Why Walker Bid Failed (KochBros candidate drops out; rare look inside campaign failure)
Catering to the 1 Percent Has Left Scott Walker at 1 Percent - And he's got some familiar legal trouble in the background, too.


Massive Survey Finds Harassment Is Common On Campus, Sexual Assault Widely Underreported - The research included responses from 150,000 students at 27 campuses. About 1 in 10 female students in a massive new survey say they have experienced sexual assault involving penetration, by force or incapacitation, while in college

This new, complete tree of life shows how 2.3 million species are related



092015
- Our seas are being degraded, fish are dying -- but humanity is threatened too (duh) - the amount of wildlife in our oceans has fallen by half in 45 years (we've genocided and holocausted the oceans)

A WikiLeaks document appears to show US plans to destabilize Syria back in 2006 | Al Bawaba - Another listed strategy was playing on "Sunni fears of Iranian influence," a description that seems to fit the militants who formed Daesh. (everything they did make it worse)
A WikiLeaks document appears to show US plans to destabilize Syria back in 2006 : worldnews

The US decision to send weapons to Syria repeats a historical mistake | Trevor Timm | Comment is free | The Guardian (half billion $ to arm "4-5" "moderate" rebels -- $100 milliion per rebel!)

Exclusive: This Is the ISIS Intel the U.S. Military Dumbed Down - The Daily Beast - The intelligence pros said killing certain ISIS leaders might not diminish the group and that airstrikes might not be working. The bosses didn't like that -- at all (Republican anti-factual bias)

U.S. Soldiers Told to Ignore Afghan Allies' Abuse of Boys "At night we can hear them screaming"

- Saudi official: We won't cooperate with Israel as long as Palastine is occupied


Nobody Could Have Predicted German Engineering Being Used For Evil Purposes - Lawyers, Guns & Money : accused the German automaker of using software to detect when the car is undergoing its periodic state emissions testing. Only during such tests are the car's full emissions control systems turned on ... allowing the cars to spew as much as 40 times as much pollution as allowed under the Clean Air Act,
The Justice Department Pledge To Prosecute White-Collar Criminals Is About To Face A Major Test - A week after promising to crack down on corporate crime, the Obama administration may have gotten its chance with Volkswagen.

Fear of Asymmetry - The New York Times - the entire Republican Party is controlled by climate denialists, and anti-science types more broadly. And in general the modern GOP is basically anti-rational analysis; it's at war not just with the welfare state but with the Enlightenment. (and sanity)


75% in U.S. See Widespread Government Corruption - Three in four Americans (75%) last year perceived corruption as widespread in the country's government. This figure is up from two in three in 2007 (67%) and 2009 (66%).
75% in U.S. See Widespread Government Corruption : news - Due in fact to the tremendous amounts of money flowing into elections, revolving door jobs from politician to industry leaders and vice versa and the media's terrible job on reporting facts and instead seneationalizing non-issues

Why Americans Still Think the Economy Is Terrible - The New York Times - The median American household in 2014 had a lower income, in inflation-adjusted terms, than it did in 2013. The $53,657 the household in the middle of the income distribution earned last year was down 1.5 percent from the year before,

Obama Administration Accused Of Violating Constitutional Rights Of Immigrant Detainees - A new report says conditions in immigrant detention centers are similar to those in prisons. (he's always been this way) )

Trump Refuses To Accept That Obama Was Born In U.S., Is Not Muslim - The master of spin is at it again. (Trumpster Dumpster)

Ben Carson Would Not Support A Muslim Running For President - "I would not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation." (but Fundamentalist jihadi Christians are perfectly fine)

What Is Hillary Clinton's Greatest Accomplishment? - POLITICO Magazine - Carly Fiorina dared Democrats to name it. 20 top Dems accepted the challenge. (she didn't destroy a huge company and get a $73 million award)
Why Carly Fiorina's big bet is failing - Fortune Classics -- 2005

Why 2016 is Different for the GOP: The Establishment is Divided, The Base is Mostly United by David Atkins | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - Party leadership no longer has the control of the moneyed establishment the way it once did; the Kochs and Adelsons fund whomever they please all the way to the convention.

- Teen prosecuted as adult for having naked images -- of himself -- on phone -- Cormega Copening, of Fayetteville, North Carolina, was prosecuted as an adult under federal child pornography felony laws, for sexually exploiting a minor. The minor was himself - the age of consent for sexual intercourse in North Carolina is 16. (fuck all you want, but don't take pictures of yourself)
- Teen prosecuted as adult for having naked images of himself on his phone (next, just being naked)


Chris Matthews Pretends He Was A Vocal Opponent Of Iraq Invasion | Crooks and Liars (lies and the lying assholes who lie)

Bill Maher Does Not Stand With Ahmed Mohamed : television (neither school admins or cops are trained to think +zero tolerance)
"Possibly wanted to be arrested?" -- I'm old enough to remember when Richard Dawkins wasn't widely viewed as an embarrassing crank. (what a dick)
- Richard Dawkins questions Ahmed Mohamed's "motives" and sparks backlash
Is Richard Dawkins destroying his reputation? | Sophie Elmhirst | Science | The Guardian - The scientist and bestselling writer has become the face of a new crusading atheism. But even his closest allies worry that his online provocations do more harm than good
WATCH: Megyn Kelly laughs at guest who blames "passive aggressive" teen for his own arrest (said the dude with a bomb on his wrist)
Native American Boy Pulled From Class Over Mohawk Hairstyle - "To ostracize him like that -- that's stuff from the '50s."

Salman Rushdie: 6 surreal masterpieces you should read | CBC Books | CBC Radio

New research on what people find "desirable" and "essential" in mates based on two of the largest national studies of mate preferences. It supports the long-held belief that people with desirable traits can be more selective, but it also challenges other commonly held mating beliefs. : science
3-D printed guide helps regrow complex nerves after injury -- ScienceDaily - Scientists have developed a first-of-its-kind, 3-D printed guide that helps regrow both the sensory and motor functions of complex nerves after injury. The groundbreaking research has the potential to help more than 200,000 people annually who experience nerve injuries or disease.

[Serious] Have you ever stumbled across pornography featuring someone you know? If so, who was it and how did you feel about it? : AskReddit
Boy takes down hate preacher in the most Scottish way possible : videos
Meltingteeth comments on Google translate now translates to Australian.

091915

Europe Lacks Strategy to Tackle Crisis, but Migrants March On - The New York Times


StupidDogCoffee comments on What false facts are thought as real ones because of film industry?
I've been re-watching The X-Files for first time in 10 years and the amount of recognizable and famous guest stars blew my mind. : television


091815
World court should rule on climate science to quash sceptics, says Philippe Sands | Environment | The Guardian - International Court of Justice ruling would settle the scientific dispute and pave the way for future legal cases on climate change, says high-profile lawyer (lock them up)
Cameron gives top environment policy job to oil man ahead of major climate talks | Environment | The Guardian

Europe Lacks Strategy to Tackle Crisis, but Migrants March On - The New York Times

Heads as well as hearts - Croatia says it can take no more migrants


Fed Keeps Interest Rate Steady, Giving Leeway To Job Market

House passes bills to defund Planned Parenthood amid shutdown threats | US news | The Guardian

George W. Bush Kept Us Safe! - Lawyers, Guns & Money
- Boy howdy, that's a serious burial job that the Washington Post did on the campaign of Scott Walker,
-
GOP Candidates to Keep Us As Safe As Bush Did -- NYMag
The Bush White House Was Deaf to 9/11 Warnings - The New York Times
Jeb Goes South, Perhaps In More Ways Than One by Ed Kilgore | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly
Is the GOP Establishment About To Dump Jeb Bush? by Ed Kilgore | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly
Jeb leaves a vacuum. Who fills it? (more vacuums, obviously)

America's deranged gun culture defined in one chart (Gun deaths since Reagain 836K : deaths in all wars since 1776: 656K combat deaths - NRA is terrorist organization
Court strikes down DC gun regs in mixed ruling | TheHill
On-duty police officers have shot and killed more than 700 people this year - The Washington Post (America's killer-cop epidemic)
- The tally of people shot and killed by on-duty police officers passed 700 on Wednesday
Americans and Guns - Lawyers, Guns & Money : In other words, if the USA treated guns as the average of those countries do, it would have saved more lives in the last 25 years than all the wars in our history. (keepin' America safe!)

Police Knew Ahmed Didn't Have A Bomb, Arrested The Teen Anyway (how you liking the national scrutiny, assholes?)
Ahmed Mohamed Will Not Return To MacArthur High School, Family Says (they will pay his tuition through graduate school)
"They didn't think he had a bomb." (when you're a pants-wetting rightwingnut pussy, everything looks like a bomb)
Will Irving Mayor Beth Van Duyne Sink Her City? - D Magazine - But to many, Van Duyne has turned up the crazy to a level that ventures into baffling and perhaps damaging. To them, she is not a transparency advocate and reformer, but instead someone using Tea Party austerity rhetoric to distract a fractious electorate while she consolidates power for her benefactors. (even before Ahmed won the internets)

Eschaton: Fear Is The Mind Killer - It was a fucking circuit board. They're in every goddamn piece of electronics we all own, at various sizes. It was not a bomb. He did not say it was a bomb. If you ripped open your laptop you would find something similar. A bomb requires something that goes boom, not some chips on a circuit board. It's 2015. We have all seen circuit boards. Circuit boards are not bombs. This is ridiculous.

- Black teenager arrested by nine California police officers after "jaywalking" (walking in the "bus lane") - Stockton police
The U.S. is at a 13-Year Low in Imprisonment | Ten Miles Square | The Washington Monthly

Carly Fiorina, World-Class Bullshitter - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Lawyers, Guns & Money - Nowhere was this more evident than in her lies about was on the Planned Parenthood tapes:
Carly Fiorina is wrong about the Planned Parenthood tapes. I know because I watched them. - Vox

alicublog: Conservative Outreach To Women Is Going Great, Part 4,287. - The Federalist A.D.P. Efferson tells us:

Maine's Governor Worries About Snowmobile-Riding Welfare Queens (Paul LePage, human bowling ball jacket)

Lawyer: Clerk may have interfered with order on gay marriage

Have Evangelicals Who Support Trump Lost Their Values? - The New York Times (values?)

Manchin - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Joe Manchin is as close to useless as a Democrat can get. (Sen. Tel Aviv and Big Coal)

Susan Brownmiller blames victims for rape. We need a different kind of conversation. - Today's case study in the importance of not having heroes: Susan Brownmiller. (don't drink and wear skimpy clothes, girls, you're just asking for it)

These are the people Dylann Roof stayed with before the Charleston church shooting | The Washington Post - Why do the friends Dylann Roof stayed with before the Charleston church shooting shrug about their inaction? (it's not that hard to understand unless you are rich)

Race and History in New Mexico - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Lawyers, Guns & Money

Cooper Union Alumni: We're Waking Up From A Bad Dream: Gothamist - Cooper Union spokesman Justin Harmon told us yesterday that the board supports returning to a tuition free model. However, the financial "hurdles" are still "large."

alicublog: This Used To Be My Playground -- A few people have asked me what I thought of Edmund Whites' NYT magazine essay "Why Can't We Stop Talking About New York in the Late 1970s?"

America's Most Admired Lawbreaker (Reperidal and children: J&J evil fucks)
Hewlett-Packard Is Laying Off Up To 33,300 Workers - This is just the latest huge culling. (Meg Whitman reincarnates Carly Failurina)

Fly over Pluto in this new video from NASA and New Horizons | The Verge

091715
- Chile earthquake: one million people evacuated after 8.3 magnitude quake
Summer 2015 Was The Hottest In Recorded History, NOAA Finds - It's time to do more to curb global climate change.


With 22.6 Million Viewers, CNN Debate Tops Network's Record -- But Doesn't Beat Fox News - The network also saw an impressive number of people streaming the debate online.

Facts Go on Trial at Second Republican Debate - How much of this bullshit is going to go unchallenged?
Donald Trump, Ben Carson Pander To Vaccine Deniers - Is this for real?
Jeb looked delusional, but he wasn't alone

"Somebody Is Running Against Hillary Clinton. To the Hackmobile!" - Lawyers, Guns & Money

President Obama on Twitter: "Cool clock, Ahmed. Want to bring it to the White House? We should inspire more kids like you to like science. It's what makes America great."
From Handcuffs To MIT: 14-Year-Old Ahmed Mohamed Gets Surprise Invite
Here's how a Texas school explained arresting a 14-year-old Muslim boy for making a clock - Vox
Shaun King on Twitter: "This is the ACTUAL STATEMENT from the Iriving Police on why they arrested Ahmed Mohamed. Worse than fiction. http://t.co/vVybxfIKMR" - Definitive proof that 9th grade engineering whiz Ahmed Mohamed is smarter than the police officers who arrested him
- Ahmed Mohamed is tired, excited to meet Obama -- and wants his clock back -- mayor Beth Van Duyne accused local mosque leaders of attempting to set up a shadow court system, following Islamic law. The imams said they were merely mediating minor disputes among adherents, not bypassing or contradicting American law.

Confederate flag rally at Virginia high school results in 20 suspensions | US news | The Guardian - Christiansburg high school


091615
- California wildfire gives residents little time to flee: "The house burned in 10 minutes"

Hitler's world may not be so far away - Timothy Snyder - Misunderstanding the Holocaust has made us too certain we are ethically superior to the Europeans of the 1940s. Faced with a new catastrophe -- such as devastating climate change -- could we become mass killers again?


Muslim 9th Grader Ahmed Mohamed Arrested For Bringing Homemade Clock To School - A modified pencil case landed the 14-year-old engineering hobbyist in juvenile detention. (clock, bomb, what's the difference? we stopped the little Muslim terrorist)


Hanging chad redux? US heading for 2000-style election catastrophe, report finds | US news | The Guardian


Why do US courts still shackle children accused of minor crimes? | David LaBahn | Comment is free | The Guardian - America continues to shackle children in juvenile courts, though few pose a flight or safety risk. This troubling practice must end

More Than A Dozen Cosby Accusers Speak Out In A&E Special - "Now it's not just me against the giant."

America's Most Admired Lawbreaker (Johnson and Johnson)



Record N.J. lottery sales are no windfall; worst returns in 40 years fuel vendor criticism - News - NorthJersey.com - sales and marketing was outsourced to a group that spent heavily on lobbying firms led by Governor Christie's closest allies. (fat bully fuck's legacy)


091515
The Success of Austerity in Spain: The Soft Bigotry of Incredibly Low Expectations | Beat the Press | Blogs | Publications | The Center for Economic and Policy Research

Vodafone under pressure over new leaked emails on 'hacking' of reporter | Business | The Guardian

Operation Naked King: U.S. Secretly Targeted Bolivia's Evo Morales In Drug Sting - A confidential informant says the DEA had its sights set on Bolivia's populist leader. (topple another democratically-elected president? of course)

- More Than Half Of Jeb Bush's Proposed Tax Cuts Would Benefit The Top 1 Percent: Report The poorest fifth of Americans would get just under 3 percent of the tax breaks. (too complicated for the media to cover)

Kentucky Clerk Kim Davis Suffers Yet Another Loss In Federal Court - The ruling is only procedural, but it adds to a string of losses for Davis at all levels of the federal judiciary.

The Institute for Justice - Documents: Feds Stymying State Civil Forfeiture Reform Efforts by Cutting Off Funds - IJ Calls on Federal Law Enforcement Agencies to End Their Efforts to Halt Civil Forfeiture Reform

ISP's (Comcast) don't have 1st Amendment right to edit Internet, FCC tells court FCC defends net neutrality rules against lawsuit filed by broadband industry. (they want to control what you can see and hear)


The States Where Women Are Most Likely To Be Murdered By Men - A new report offers a terrifying glimpse into domestic homicide in America. (SC, AK 1-2, Vermont Maine 8-9)


Wozniak: Nobody sacked him, Steve Jobs left Apple himself. Steve Jobs: I got fired : technology
What is something hilarious that you can't tell anyone about because it's too inappropriate? : AskReddit
What is your, "don't get me started on . . ." topic? : AskReddit

091415
California Wildfires: Thousands Flee as Valley and Butte Blazes Force Evacuations - NBC News
Massive Valley Fire spreads to Lake, Napa, Sonoma counties | abc7news.com
The Great Peshtigo Fire of 1871

CIA, FBI Leadership Complain That Nobody Trusts Them After Snowden - There seems to be a gathering sorrow among the unsung heroes of our intelligence community. They have noticed a distinct lack of incense surrounding their activities, and a distinct lack of their fellow citizens in prostration at their feet. What is wrong with this nation of ingrates anyway? (obey our au-tor-i-tay)
EFF Shows Evidence That AT&T, Verizon And Sprint Helped NSA With Mass Collection Of Phone Records

Syrian Refugees and the Presidential Contest | Ten Miles Square | The Washington Monthly - easy to forget that in 2007, the UNHCR reported that more than 1.2 million Iraqis were living in Syria as refugees from the post-U.S. invasion civil war in their country. So, President Bush really unleashed a bad form of hell on the region and now it's like a game of refugee musical chairs. (way to complicated for most Americans to understand)
Hungary Seals Its Border, As EU Meets On Migrant Crisis : The Two-Way : NPR
Hungary Ramps Up Crackdown On Refugees - "Authorities cannot be forgiving of illegal border-crossing," Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said.
Denmark says no to EU's 160,000 refugee plan - The Local
Closing the Border Is Voodoo Politics, and It Will Lead to Catastrophe | Sebastian Christ
Border-free Europe unravels as migrant crisis hits record day | Reuters (kind of ironic after what they did to Greece)

Airstrikes Take Toll on Civilians in Yemen War - The New York Times - Rather than turning more Yemenis against the Houthis, though, the strikes are crystallizing anger in parts of the country against Saudi Arabia and its partners, including the United States. (it literally never works out the way they think it will)
The UN Says US Drone Strikes in Yemen Have Killed More Civilians Than al Qaeda | VICE News

Macau is getting rocked by reports of a $258 million casino heist

Nations using child soldiers are invited to British arms fair | World news | The Guardian - British-made weapons could be used to target children in war zones

Malcolm Turnbull Defeats Tony Abbott In Leadership Spill To Become Prime Minister - "committed to freedom, the individual and the market". (buzzphrase for "Third Way")
Turnbull Needs A Stronger Case Than 'I'm Not The Other Guy' | Tory Maguire - Australian politics as we have always known it is irreparably changed. (maybe the climate will catch a break)

Tony Abbott is out of a job, and another leading climate-change skeptic may soon follow - The Washington Post (Harper is even worse)

Michael Moore's 'Where To Invade Next' Deserves The Nonpartisan Audience It Won't Find - The funny new documentary premiered at the Toronto Film Festival.


Clinton campaign put the "moron" in "oxymoron
Reports of Hillary Clinton's Demise Are Greatly Exaggerated (dunno, Charlie, you just told us she should fire everybody)

The Main Reason Trump Can't Be President Is Painfully Obvious When it comes to leading the country, political experience is what matters most.

Lazy idlers on the dole grilling up T-bone steaks instead of working for an honest wage - Lawyers, Guns &
Scott Walker Calls Food Stamp Drug Testing 'A Progressive Thing' - "We're trying to help people who are in need of our assistance to get jobs." (tnx, WI, for one of the dimmest dumbbulbs)

Kim Davis Says She Won't Authorize Licenses For Gay Couples Issued By Deputies - Davis stopped issuing licenses after the Supreme Court legalized gay marriage.

50 Years After the Moynihan Report, Examining the Black Family in the Age of Mass Incarceration - The Atlantic (TNC)(Moynihan)

Money isn't the only reason why police have ignored 80,000 rape kits | Jessica Valenti | Comment is free | The Guardian (rape-friendly law enforcement)
What Is a Rape Kit and Rape Kit Exam?
Chicago Sun-Times Writer Says Sex Workers Cannot Be Raped

Since marijuana legalization, highway fatalities in Colorado are at near-historic lows - The Washington Post (settles that question)

Poll: Public wants to avoid shutdown over Planned Parenthood | TheHill - The poll finds that 71 percent of adults say it is more important for Congress to approve a spending bill to keep the government open, compared to 22 percent who say it is more important to eliminate all federal funds for Planned Parenthood. (the 22% crazy are shutting you down)

Child victims partly to blame in priest sex-abuse cases, Syracuse bishop testified | syracuse.com

The mindblowing expense of mindfulness | Discussion | The Guardian (yogo pants)

Shaken Baby Syndrome: A Diagnosis That Divides the Medical World - The New York Times
New study shows that eating a Mediterranean diet supplemented with four tablespoons per day of extra-virgin olive oil reduces the risk of breast cancer by 68%. : science

Inside Ethel Kennedy's cruel neglect of her troubled kids


Important Win for Fair Use in Dancing Baby Lawsuit -- Appeals Court Affirms That Copyright Owners Must Consider Fair Use in Online Takedowns
Borg blacklist assimilates Cryptolocker domain name generators The Register

091315
Update: California emergency chief says fires spreading faster than any in 30 years
Gov. Brown declares state of emergency in Lake, Napa counties due to 50,000-acre Valley Fire | abc7news.com
El Nino set to be strongest ever - Al Jazeera English - The most powerful weather pattern of its type in the past 65 years will have huge impacts on weather around the globe.
Study Predicts 200 Feet Of Sea Level Rise If All Fossil Fuels Are Burned - "To be blunt: If we burn it all, we melt it all."

Obama Administration Accused of Ignoring Geneva Conventions in Refusal to Release 74-Pound Guantanamo Detainee

You'll Want to Read This (the war on terror scam goes on)

Refugee crisis: Germany reinstates controls at Austrian border | World news | The Guardian - Train traffic from Austria halted as EU prepares for refugee showdown in Brussels on Monday

The US Government Pressured a Small Local Library to Turn Off Its Tor Server | Motherboard - The Department of Homeland Security pressured a small New Hampshire library to turn off a Tor node it recently installed, according to Julia Angwin writing yesterday in ProPublica. (child porn is always the excuse for invading your privacy)

12 Mexican Tourists and Egyptians Killed After Security Forces Misidentify Them As Terrorists | Egyptian Streets

Police drop VIP Westminster paedophile ring murder probe over lack of evidence | Daily Mail Online

With Jeremy Corbyn Elected as New Leader, Britain's Labour Party Takes a Hard Left Turn (would he NYT ever describe a similar situation in the US as a "hard right" turn?)

Bwahahahaha - The New York Times (The Krugman Show)

The Next Genocide - The New York Times - The quest for German domination was premised on the denial of science. Hitler's alternative to to science was the idea of Lebensraum ... China today, like Germany before the war, is an industrial power incapable of feeding its population from its own territory (Timothy Snyder, Black Earth; science was a Jewish plot; sound familiar?) By polluting the atmosphere with greenhouse gases, the United States has done more than any other nation to bring about the next ecological panic, yet it is the only country where climate science is still resisted by certain political and business elites (i.e., Republican deathmongers)

G.O.P. Anti-Gay Bigotry Threatens First Amendment - The New York Times

Trump and Obama: A Night to Remember - The New Yorker - Trump's humiliation was as absolute, and as visible, as any I have ever seen: his head set in place, like a man in a pillory, he barely moved or altered his expression as wave after wave of laughter struck him.

Bernie Sanders and the Black Vote - The New York Times - An August Gallup Poll found that Hillary Clinton's favorability among African-Americans was 80 percent while Sanders' was only 23 percent. A full two-thirds of blacks were unfamiliar with Sanders.

- Trump Says His Deportation Plan Will Only Take "18 Months To 2 Years If Properly Handled" (swat teams and boxcars are ready +the "wall" will be wall-to-wall Trump resorts! in pro-business public/private partnership!)

The New York Times Blows ItAgain by Nancy LeTourneau | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly (their bias is always there)

Fuckin' Women, How Do They Work? (Jindal says LA doesn't need Planned Parenthood, plenty of dentists ready to do pap smears)

Inside The Duggars' Deep Ties With A Once-Powerful, Now-Scorned Ministry - the facility where Josh was sent in Little Rock is owned and operated by the Institute in Basic Life Principles, an insular and authoritarian evangelical homeschooling ministry whose charismatic founder, former followers say, sexually harassed female employees, blamed rape victims for provoking their attackers, and subjected young disciples to grueling physical labor for little or no pay. (sounds about right)

There Is No Theory of Everything - The New York Times (tl;dr: physical solutions for physical problems, psychological solutions for psychological ones and there is no way to connect them hence no theory of everything; +anti-Freud for all the wrong reasons)
Why "I could care less" is not as irrational or ungrammatical as you might think.

All Scientists Should Be Militant Atheists - The New Yorker - Lawrence M. Krauss (tl;dr: the arbitrariness of the sacred)

A Dying Young Woman's Hope in Cryonics and a Future
Reddit granted my dying girlfriend's final wish to have her brain frozen. NYT documents the journey. : videos

Homophobic attitudes have been linked with psychoticism, a psychological trait present in several severe conditions that can also contribute to heightened states of hostility and anger. : news
DNA from Neandertal relative may shake up human family tree | Science/AAAS | News - That would mean that the ancestors of humans were already wandering down a solitary path apart from the other kinds of archaic humans on the planet 100,000 to 400,000 years earlier than expected

What Ever Happened to Google Books? - The New Yorker
What Ever Happened to Google Books? - The New Yorker : books - So greed and litigation killed the online library of alexandria - shocking. (+Goog destroyed Usenet archives, talk about evil)

People of reddit who work in the medical field. What is something you have had to explain to your patients that was super ridiculous and should be common knowledge? : AskReddit
Shitty_Watercolour comments on Kid on a stuffed toy

091215
Climate change talks in Paris our 'last chance', say Pacific islands: 'This is not politics, it's survival' - Australasia - World - The Independent
Poor nations want U.S. to pay reparations for extreme weather (specifically, Republicans)
Explosive wildfire threatens California mountain towns as blaze intensifies | US news | The Guardian - Governor declares state of emergency as thousands prepare to evacuate

Deadly Twin Explosions Rip Through Restaurant In Central India - At least 89 people were killed at a restaurant in central India on Saturday when a cooking gas cylinder exploded and triggered a second blast of mine detonators stored illegally nearby, police said. (wtf?)

Egypt's Government Resigns Amid Corruption Probe - growing discontent but stops short of faulting President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, the former general who led the overthrow of an Islamist president two years ago.

Surprised that Syrian refugees have smartphones? Sorry to break this to you, but you're an idiot - Comment - Voices - The Independent - You don't need to be a white westerner to own a relatively cheap piece of technology (only one iPhone, if that)


Labour leadership: Jeremy Corbyn elected with huge mandate | Politics | The Guardian - Election of backbench MP and anti-war campaigner means party now has one of the most leftwing, anti-establishment leaders in its history
- Jeremy Corbyn wins Labour leadership race in stunning victory
Socialist Elected UK Opposition Labour Leader - Karl Marx admirer Jeremy Corbyn was elected leader of Britain's opposition Labour party on Saturday, a victory that may make a British EU exit more likely and which one former Labour prime minister has said could leave their party unelectable. - 59.5 percent of votes cast, winning by a far bigger margin than anyone had envisaged. (the elites are shitting their pants)
Jeremy Corbyn's team send a complaint to the BBC over its 'hatchet job' Panorama programme - UK Politics - UK - The Independent (BBC pawn of Conservatives now)
The day the Labour Party died - Labour members didn't want to keep the flame alive and fight. They wanted to see their party go out in a final blaze of uncompromising glory (Torygraph pov)

The outsider: how Bernie Sanders is winning over Democratic voters | US news | The Guardian (the American Corbyn)

Giddens defends third-way politics | Times Higher Education - "Socialist state control is out the window and we cannot leave control to the markets. We need a balance among three institutions: the market, government and civil society. If any one is stronger [than the others] it cannot work," he said.(1999: causes of poverty multivariate, escape easier; Blairism; history of an idea)
Third Way - In politics, the Third Way is a position that tries to reconcile right-wing and left-wing politics by advocating a varying synthesis of right-wing economic and left-wing social policies. (and there's the rub)

Poll finds almost a third of Americans would support a military coup | US news | The Guardian - Online survey shows 29% would support possible takeover while 41% said they could not imagine supporting such an event - 43% of Republicans would support a military coup in certain instances, while only 20% of Democrats and 29% of independents would. (treason has always been popular in the usual places)

Evidence comes under attack (Republicans hate reality)

Hillary Clinton Was Totally Free To Delete Personal Emails, DOJ Claims - Nothing to see here, says the government. (two accounts were too much for her ladybrain)

Eschaton: What's That In Your Pocket? - But months later, long after federal agents had led Dr. Xi away in handcuffs, independent experts discovered something wrong with the evidence at the heart of the Justice Department's case: The blueprints were not for a pocket heater. (doing science while Asian-American)

America's dark and not-very-distant history of hating Catholics | World news | The Guardian - Progressives and conservatives are in a rare unity welcoming Pope Francis to the US, but anti-Catholicism was rampant before John F Kennedy was president

Kim Davis Is About To Get A BIG Surprise In Her Hometown - Non-profit organization Planting Peace just erected the above billboard in Davis' hometown of Morehead, Kentucky. ("Dear Kim Davis -- the fact that you can't sell your daughter for three goats and a cow means we've already redefined marriage")

Subway Received A 'Serious' Complaint About Jared Years Ago - The company says it regrets that the complaint was not properly handled.

Mother Rejects Payout, Refusing To Stay Silent In Lawsuit Against Cops Who Killed Her Son - According to a Wall Street Journal analysis, the 10 cities with the largest police departments paid nearly a quarter of a billion dollars in settlements and court judgments in 2014, up almost 50 percent since 2010. Those same cities paid out over $1 billion over that five-year period in cases that involved alleged shootings, beatings and wrongful imprisonment. That money, like the rest of the police department's budget, comes from taxpayers. (call it the violent cop tax)

Officer Who Arrested James Blake Has History of Force Complaints - The New York Times (racist psychocop)

Being a 'victim' has become a badge of honor on campus, sociologists argue : news

eBay Totally Changed Shopping 20 Years Ago. Now Age Has Changed eBay. (comments interesting)


091115
When Words Fail Us
What we should never forget on 9/11 - Lawyers, Guns & Money : 1) The 9/11 hijackers were funded by rich people in Saudi Arabia, none of whom have been punished for it. 2) President Bush had ample and direct warnings that Al Queda was a threat yet failed to take them seriously. 3) One security technology could have prevented the hijackings -- secure and solid cockpit doors. The airlines fought FAA proposals for them for decades. 4) Iraq had nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks but more than 10 years later more than half of Republicans still believed it did.

Japan flooding - in pictures - BBC News - Massive flooding has hit central and eastern Japan, forcing tens of thousands of people to leave their homes.
French court confirms Monsanto guilty of chemical poisoning - Yahoo News

There's Still No Solution To The Real Cause Of The Refugee Crisis - There has been a lot of focus on ISIS, but little on Assad. (and none on Bush/Cheney, thanks, amnesiac media)
- US planned to oust Assad long before 2011 uprising - WikiLeaks founder reveals fostering Shia, Sunni tension (Israel pulling the levers of the neocons always pulling the levers of war)
- Karzai calls al-Qaida a "myth" and denies 9/11 attacks were plotted in Afghanistan - On the eve of the anniversary of the 2001 attacks, the former president of Afghanistan expressed doubt that the terrorist group was responsible (hello, Saudi Arabia; you know how fucked up this whole thing is? )
Chris hedges predicting the debacle of the Iraq war in 2003. shouted down with chants of USA USA : videos

Exclusive: 50 Spies Say ISIS Intelligence Was Cooked - The Daily Beast - It's being called a "revolt" by intelligence pros who are paid to give their honest assessment of the ISIS war -- but are instead seeing their reports turned into happy talk - "The cancer was within the senior level of the intelligence command" ... it used the word "Stalinist" to describe the tone set by officials overseeing CENTCOM's analysis (sounds about right)
Former CIA director under Obama: 'Someone needs to lose their job' if reports about ISIS intelligence are true - Yahoo Finance
- US spy chief's 'highly unusual' reported contact with military official raises concerns - James Clapper said to have frequent communication with military official who is said to be implicated in a Pentagon inquiry into manipulated intelligence (crapping up the intelligence and fucking your democracy)
The Directors Of The CIA, NSA And FBI Just Put On A Masterful Display Of Public Relations And Absolutely Nobody Bought It -

At Least 107 People Killed After Crane Collapses in Mecca's Grand Mosque - Middle East - Haaretz - Millions of Muslims are preparing to converge on the Saudi Arabia city for the annual Muslim hajj pilgrimage.

Texas man admits sending military technology to Russia | KXAN.com - A Texas man admitted Wednesday in federal court in New York that he acted as a secret agent for the Russian government and headed an operation over about 10 years to export military technology to that country.

Holy shit, the Colbert interview with Biden was incredible. : television

Judge rules on taxi industry lawsuit: Compete with Uber or die : news

NYPD Releases Video Of Cop Slamming James Blake To The Ground - The officer seen in the video has a lengthy list of complaints against him.
Cop Who Tackled James Blake Has Lengthy Civilian Complaint Record: Gothamist
Assembly rejects measure to limit police seizure of assets - LA Times - Facing intense opposition from law enforcement groups, a measure to limit police seizures of cash, cars and other property from people not convicted of a crime fell flat in the Assembly on Thursday. (keep the cops as crooks thing going)

Planned Parenthood not invited to congressional hearing on organization | US news | The Guardian - House judiciary committee will hear from "experts on the issues surrounding Planned Parenthood" (anti-Abortion activists, but not the experts themselves)

Heavily Armed "Christian Patriot" militia Vows to Stop Future Arrest of Kim Davis
States That Fought Same-Sex Marriage Owe Millions | Al Jazeera America - in legal fees (ha-ha)

Is Notre Dame's President A Liar Or A Fraud?

Monroeville woman sat next to blind man kicked off flight for guide dog | Allegheny Co. News - WTAE Home - a US Airways flight last Wednesday - "You're lying. I was with him the whole time." Rizzi and his guide dog were seated last, even though he was the first person at the gate ready to board
TIL a blind man was kicked off a US Airways flight after his service dog repositioned itself several times during a 2 hour delay. The passengers demanded that he be let back on and the flight attendant responsible be kick off instead. The flight was eventually canceled. : todayilearned

What is a secret you know about someone that they have no idea you know about? NSFW : AskReddit
/u/SirDackADoo gets overlooked by HR when his department gets closed : bestof
What is the sickest burn you have seen a teacher give to a student? : AskReddit - "You seem to be a bit of an intellectual snob. Your academic performance makes me wonder why". Whole class gasped ... [Student's name], you're my second favorite student of all time. Everyone else is tied for first.

Colbert's tilt-shift intro is incredible : television

Stunning New High-Res Images Show Pluto In Even Greater Detail
The Most Astounding Fact - Neil deGrasse Tyson : videos (atoms! supernovas!)

The New iPhone Is Set to Record You, Whether You Ask It To Or Not - Apple being Apple, it presented this opt-out-only automated surveillance system in different terms, as a newly enhanced feature, called Live Photos.

Once seen as bulletproof, 11 million+ Ashley Madison passwords already cracked : technology
Woman who lost Silicon Valley bias suit, Ellen Pao, is dropping appeal : news

091015
A giant ancient virus was just uncovered in melting ice -- and it won't be the last

Microsoft headed to court to protect Irish data from US DOJ search : technology

Effort To Kill The Iran Deal Dies In The Senate - The deal is safe -- for now.

TTIP controversy: The European Commission and Big Tobacco accused of cover-up after heavily redacted documents released - Home News - UK - The Independent

- Al Qaeda Leader Al-Zawahiri Declares War on ISIS "Caliph" Al-Baghdadi (Joe from Baghdad)


- 3D-printed TSA master keys put travellers' luggage at risk - Lockpickers took advantage of US Transportation Security Administration breach in which photos of its "approved" locks were posted online (all your luggage are belong to us)

Stop Comparing Donald Trump And Bernie Sanders | FiveThirtyEight

Taxpayers Have Spent A 'Staggering' Amount Of Money On NFL Stadiums - Taxpayers have spent nearly $3 billion on the 16 stadiums that will host NFL games

Tennessee Mom Calls Book On Cervical Cancer Cells 'Pornographic' - She thinks it could be told a "different way." A mother from Knoxville, Tennessee, believes the New York Times bestseller The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks has too much graphic information for her 15-year-old son and should not have been assigned as summer reading. (Jackie Sims, famous on the internets for all eternity for being really dumb)
Henrietta Lacks biographer Rebecca Skloot responds to US parent over "porn" allegation (ladyparts are inherently porno, even the cancerous ones)

Today in the American Meritocracy - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Lawyers, Guns & Money - I alluded to this earlier, but the new hire to be president of the University of Iowa is amazing: (the new business model of "education")

Eschaton: Mysteries - Shit pay, no job security, regularly being lambasted by senior government officials, wasting money outsourcing core functions? It's a total mystery why finding teachers is hard to do ... On Tuesday, the first day of school, it had filled only 11 percent of the jobs. That left 477 city classrooms without teachers.

- Federal seizure program that benefits cops called "legal robbery" - Local police who are part of federal task forces can seize money and assets without warrants. This has raised millions for those agencies, (license to steal)
Couple who were shot at by a police officer after knocking on the wrong house looking for New Years party receive $370k in settlement : news


Secrets of longevity may lie in long-lived smokers, a biologically distinct group with extraordinary gene variants
So what's the deal with Technetium? That random artificial radioactive metal in the middle of the late 30s of the elements. : askscience

Mystery surrounds hallucinatory chaos at German homeopathy conference | Life and style | The Guardian - Police unsure if the incident, where 29 homeopaths were found to be intoxicated with LSD-like drug, was an accident or experiment gone wrong ... Alarmed by the sight of so many grown men and women rolling around on the floor (we'll show you micro-doses)


090915
The simple statistic that perfectly captures what climate change means - The Washington Post - In a stationary climate, a climate where we don't have any trend or long-term change, we expect hot and cold records to be broken at almost the same rate ... But in the last 15 years, we see a dramatic increase in the frequency of hot records and the decrease of cold records

Refugee crisis: Juncker calls for radical overhaul of EU immigration policies | World news | The Guardian - European commission president calls for common asylum and immigration policy and says EU should accept 160,000 migrants and refugees

Hillary Clinton's Email Explanation Only Reveals Part Of The Story
Hillary Clinton addresses email "mistake" : The presidential hopeful has apologized for using a private email account while secretary of state, with her comments on the issue shifting since March (not very Presidential)

Big-Name Plan B's for Democrats Concerned About Hillary Clinton (Sanders is not one of them)

Did A Top Iran Hawk Think Tanker Go Berserk At The Cheney Speech? - Patrick Clawson, a top executive at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. While not formally affiliated with AIPAC, WINEP is widely and rightly seen as AIPAC's think tank

United C.E.O. Is Out Amid Inquiry at Port Authority - The New York Times (Fat Fuck Fallout)

Deputy to Kim Davis promises to continue issuing marriage licenses in Rowan County | State | Kentucky.com - Rowan County deputy clerk Brian Mason worked the marriage license counter Wednesday in Morehead.

The Threat Coming by Land - Bloomberg View - Landlords are eating the world. (you only rent a small room in their world if you'e lucky, welcome to the purpose of income inequality)


Autopsies reveal signs of Alzheimer's in growth-hormone patients - Brain plaques may have been seeded by contaminated hormone extracts from cadavers.

090815
Climate Change Could Shut Down the Gulf Stream, Leaving Northern Europe Freezing Cold - The environment is officially playing for keeps.
- What I Saw in a California Town Without Running Water - Thanks to the drought, many people in East Porterville can't cook, shower, or flush the toilet at home.

Shocker: The CIA Isn't Sorry For Torture - "We were fully transparent and deceived no one."
Guantanamo security clearance denied to lawyers of cooperating witness | US news | The Guardian - Katya Jestin unable to visit client, Majid Khan - Doctor barred from visiting another prisoner at camp in Cuba (sadistic fuckers to the core)

Eschaton: Benefit Scroungers - Sorry your country has been destroyed and you risk death at every turn, but we can't make things TOO nice for you here...
Eschaton: Once We Freedom Bomb The Underlying Causes There Will No More Refugee Crisis - Especially if we freedom bomb the refugees.

42 Democrats Back Iran Deal - ?Cantwell announced on Tuesday evening that she would support the deal, bringing the total number of votes to 42. With Cantwell's announcement, there are no undecided Senate Democrats left.
Here Are The Democrats Still Holding Out On The Iran Deal - If three of these four senators stick with the deal, it's done.
Dick Cheney Floats Military Action As Alternative To Obama's Iran Deal

First killing of Briton by UK drone signals mission creep in Syria | World news | The Guardian - Death of Reyaad Khan marks a significant departure for the UK, with ministers yet to rule out further targeted strikes

Conservative dissent is brewing inside the Vatican - The Washington Post
Vatican Says Transgender Man Cannot Become A Godparent - The church claimed it was not being discriminatory.

More than 107,000 sign UK petition for arrest of Netanyahu | Reuters - More than 107,000 people have signed a British petition calling for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to arrested for war crimes when he visits London this week for talks with Prime Minister David Cameron.

United Airlines CEO Out Following Federal Investigation - United began an about twice-weekly direct flight from Newark to Columbia that began after Samson became chairman and was canceled days after he resigned last year. (Christie Airways)

The Year Of The Know-Nothing Candidates - Especially on the GOP side, vague is good; ignorance is better. (stupid is ideal in voters)

Trump Is Right on Economics - The New York Times - For the issues the Bush campaign is using to attack its unexpected nemesis are precisely the issues on which Mr. Trump happens to be right, and the Republican establishment has been proved utterly wrong.
YouGov | Trump's GOP dominance continues (reaping what they sowed)

alicublog: LABOR DAY WEEKEND 'ROUND-THE-HORN. - Enjoy the annual celebration of the fruits of the labor movement -- the 40-hour week may be dead, unions are being crushed even in Harlan County, but at least they can't make your six-year-old work at the mill -- at least not till Scott Walker takes the oath of office, whereupon the NLRB will be packed with little Megan McArdles

An Exceptional Hostility to Labor by Ed Kilgore | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - Pretty much in every other country in Western Europe, Canada, even Australia and the U.K. (which share some labor-management features with the U.S.), the assumption is that unions are basic ingredient of liberal capitalism. (America hates its workers)

Kim Davis Released From Jail Before Defiant Crowd - She loves God, she loves people, she loves her work, and she will not betray any of those three
Voters Show Little Sympathy for Jailed Clerk in Gay Marriage Spat - Rasmussen Reports - But just 26% of Likely U.S. Voters think an elected official should be able to a ignore a federal court ruling that he or she disagrees with for religious reasons

Baltimore to pay Freddie Gray's family $6.4m in wrongful death settlement | US news | The Guardian
As police move to adopt body cams, storage costs set to skyrocket | Computerworld - Petabytes of police video are flooding into cloud services

When education becomes a business - Lawyers, Guns & Money
[Essay] | The Neoliberal Arts, by William Deresiewicz | Harper's Magazine - How college sold its soul to the market
Wall Street Sugar Daddies in the Board Room and Bedroom, Perverting Higher Education - New York University has devolved into a dystopian model of higher education reimagined by Wall Street knaves
The University of Iowa Hires the Boston Market Guy As President - And a whopping 3 percent of the faculty approve. (fuck your so-called education)

Ohio Planned Parenthood fights back at frontline of new conservative assault | US news | The Guardian (blond Christian white girls against abortion - 2.2mil pop Cincinnati with no abortion provider, thanks teahadis)

Why Isn't Anyone Getting Married? Hookup Culture, or Just College Math? - By Daniel Luzer - the true dating apocalypse, as stacks of social science show how dating and mating behavior is influenced by prevailing sex ratios. (it's almost always math, which is vary hard for moralizers)

We Don't Really Understand Autism In Girls, And That's A Problem - In the scientific study of autism, girls have been largely overlooked.
One in five kids with ADHD diagnosed by doctors improperly - The Washington Post

'True Size Map' Proves You've Been Picturing The Planet All Wrong


090715
EU Expected To Make Big Push To Welcome Refugees (meanwhile in the land of the free ...)
Eschaton: Think About All The Freedom Bombs That Could Be Built With That Money - Such a waste, really. - The German government will spend an extra 6bn to cope with this year's record influx of refugees, the ruling coalition said on Monday. State and local governments will receive 3bn to help them house the 800,000 refugees heading for Germany while the central government is planning to free up another 3bn to fund its own expenses, such as paying benefits for asylum seekers. (meanwhile, in the country that caused this mess ...)
Germany to Spend $6.6 Billion on 800,000 Refugees and Migrants : worldnews

George Bush Takes Questions After Meeting With 9/11 Commission - 4/29/2004... : videos - It is important to remember that Bush/Cheney initially appointed Henry Kissinger to chair the 9/11 commission, one of the administration's more transparent and totally laughable gestures of determination to lock out public access to an official inquiry into the attacks.

OIG: 300,000 vets died waiting for care | Government Health IT (meanwhile, in the land of support our troops and bombbombbomb)

- Business live: Chinese stock market falls 2.5% despite claim the worst is "almost over"

Israel plans to demolish 17,000 Arab buildings in West Bank, UN says | World news | The Guardian - UN finds only 33 of 2,020 Palestinian planning applications approved, with demolitions causing poverty and leaving families in state of chronic uncertainty (but Chuckie Schumer)

Mosul: Iraqi woman kills senior Isis commander after forcing her to act as sex slave : worldnews

Amanda Knox acquitted because of 'stunning flaws' in investigation | US news | The Guardian - Amanda Knox acquitted because of 'stunning flaws' in investigation (four years in prison for a corrupt Italian justice system)


A new skirmish in the battle for Malibu beach access - LA Times

- Sarah Palin says immigrants to the US should 'Speak America' The former vice-presidential candidate joins the debate over Donald Trump's call for a "unifying language" (Palin is everywhere these days)

Students' return to school is marred by renewed segregation across US | Education | The Guardian (post-racial America)

- California police killings database reveals 'clear racial disparities' - Black men have been killed at eight times the rate of others over past decade - Initiative signals changing tides on disclosing data about use of deadly force (they've been keeping the data secret for years so they could keep doing it and support our troops so no reporting)
Kids or Criminals? Lost childhoods for Texas kids in adult prisons - Offenders who enter the system as kids and come out as adults are often as ill-prepared for life on the outside as they were when they went in (dark sadistic heart of America)


The tragedy of Cooper Union | Fusion - How one of America's last free colleges screwed its students and betrayed its legacy (soulless president destoys Cooper, makes money)
Because It's Wreckable, Alright? - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Campbell, however, wanted a proactive, strategically dynamic Master Plan involving building new buildings nobody else particularly wanted. - Why would Campbell do such an extraordinarily stupid thing? (let sociopathic financial dudes run our education into the ground so they can profit, baby)
Protesters Call NYU "Cutting Edge Of Everything That's Wrong" In Higher Ed - Activists decried the financial management, real estate deals and lavish pay of the school, and other prestigious NYC colleges. (large real estate company with an educational sideline)
On the Suborning of Free Speech and Shared Governance at the University of Iowa | The Academe Blog (let's put rightwing idiots in charge, what could go wrong?)

Rentboy.com was closed because the government thinks I need to be saved | David | Comment is free | The Guardian - Women who choose to engage in sex work are often considered victims of the industry instead of rational actors. Now male sex workers are, too (DoJ priorities)
Mom and Me review: devastating study of motherly love in US's 'manliest state' | Film | The Guardian

New Zealand has just banned "Into The River", it's first book banning in 22 years. A book which one the NZ YA fiction of the year in 2013. : books

'Archaeology on steroids': huge ritual arena discovered near Stonehenge | UK news | The Guardian - Researchers find hidden remains of massive Neolithic stone monument, thought to have been hauled into position more than 4,500 years ago
The earliest phase of Durrington Walls with its line of megaliths. (90 giant stones, flattened and buried))
4,500-year-old megalithic super-henge found buried one mile from Stonehenge: Enormous row of 90 megalithic stones has been found beneath Durrington Walls earthworks. : news

[Serious] Redditors that caught a parent having an affair, what ended up going down? : AskReddit
Deep Space Nine: In The Pale Moonlight - the best hour of television you'll ever see : television
In the Pale Moonlight: How Garak started an interstellar war with nothing but one criminal, one data rod, and the self respect of one star fleet officer : DaystromInstitute
What popular fad crashed and burned the hardest? : AskReddit
This hilarious Cisco fail is a network engineer's nightmare
xkcd: Tech Support
yin-yang3 : gifs
Yin Yang Sun & Moon : gifs



090615
Everything in Moderation: Part II by D.R. Tucker | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - I was reminded of this Maddow monologue as I read David Roberts' recent outstanding pieces on the economic logic of taking action on climate change, and why such economic logic has been rejected by the right.
Everything in Moderation: Part I by D.R. Tucker | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - the Republican Party's devotion to derpitude is nothing new
Moral Derpitude - The New York Times - I feel for Barro; really I do. But he has no home in today's GOP, which simply has no room for the non-derpy, and to all appearances never will. (it's the fucking Party of Derp! +"meretricious innumerate discalculia mendacious weasel")

Pope Calls on All of Europe's Catholics to House Refugees
- UN agencies "broke and failing" in face of ever-growing refugee crisis - Damage will be impossible to reverse, warns head of UNHCR, after 10% fall in funding forces cuts to food rations and closure of clinics (response to crisis: cut funding)
- Netanyahu says will not allow Israel to be "submerged" by refugees (from the guy who wants to create millions more)

Iran Has Controlled Iraq For Years. Now It May Be Pushed Out. - Iraw's top ayatollah and its prime minister are subtly challenging widespread Iranian influence. (note, "subtly")

Colin Powell and top Jewish Democrat back Iran deal in triumph for Obama | US news | The Guardian
Colin Powell and top Jewish Democrat back Iran deal in triumph for Obama | US news | The Guardian - Debbie Wasserman Schultz, leader of Democratic National Committee and Florida's first Jewish congresswoman, says decision was her hardest yet
Fox News Embarrasses Dick Cheney On Iraq And Iran - The former vice president waved off numbers that showed Iran's nuclear capacity grew rapidly under the Bush administration.

Investigation into Mexico's 43 missing students dismisses official story | World news | The Guardian - Six-month investigation says government's story of protesters being incinerated at rubbish dump is impossible

From President to Prison: Otto Pirez Molina and a Day for Hope in Guatemala - The New Yorker (US has encouraged kleptocratic oligarchies to support corporate interests)


Bernie Sanders Leads Hillary Clinton by 9 in New Hampshire, Gains in Iowa: Poll - NBC News

Hillary Clinton Sets Up Another Misguided Defensive Crouch: Southern State Edition by David Atkins | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly (no firewalls against stupidity)

Last Hurrah For The Old, White, Angry Crowd | Joe Seldner - This has been a heady summer for old, angry, white men and women.

Kim Davis' Attorney Says Marriage Licenses Issued On Friday Are Invalid He also said Davis has no intention of stepping down.
Twitter Users Hijack #FreeKimDavis To Lampoon Jailed Kentucky Clerk - #FreeKimDavis She's like Rosa Parks if Rosa Parks was a bus driver who wouldn't let white people get on her bus and she crashed 3 busses (too stupid to know how stupid they are)
Parody Twitter Account Hilariously Skewers Jailed Kentucky Clerk - We all agreed that if #KimDavis falls in love and wants to marry her cell mate, we'll let her, but we're going to be dicks about it.
TN Judge Refuses To Divorce Couple, Blaming SCOTUS Gay Marriage Ruling - A judge in Tennessee told a married couple seeking a divorce that he could not grant one for them, arguing that the Supreme Court's same-sex marriage decision left him unclear as to when a marriage ends. (logic is not their friend)

For $525, You Can Learn How To Fight Terrorists (Muslims Need Not Apply) - The men sport earmuffs and digital camouflage cargo shorts bought on clearance, and their beer bellies hang over gun belts stocked with pistols and extra clips.

Kansas sperm donor fights back after state forces him to pay child support : news - Kansas doesn't [yet] recognize same sex parents. (Kansass)


Science AMA Series: We are authors of "Estimating the Reproducibility of Psychological Science" coordinated by the Center for Open Science AUA : science (psychology, especially social psychology is a statistics game)
Cheery Contrarianism About Reproducibility in Psychology - Lawyers, Guns & Money : In the investigation, a whopping 75% of the social psychology experiments were not replicated, meaning that the originally reported findings vanished when other scientists repeated the experiments.

Slate Voice: Why you should never, ever use two spaces after a period. (Farhad never used a typewriter)
Why two spaces after a period isn't wrong - But perhaps the worst offender in the promulgation of such nonsense is a particularly self-righteous piece in Slate from earlier this year.
Two Spaces After a Period

What video game was an absolute masterpiece? : AskReddit


090515
The European Migrant Crisis Is A Nightmare. The Climate Crisis Will Make It Worse. - Hundreds of thousands of migrants are seeking refuge in Europe, but millions more will be displaced as the climate warms.

Cheering German crowds greet refugees after long trek from Budapest to Munich | World news | The Guardian - politicians continue to bicker, desperate travellers are welcomed and fed as they arrive at German city

[Readings] | Modest Proposals, by Asma Ghribi | Harper's Magazine - From a list of rules the Islamic State has imposed within territories it has claimed since 2013. Translated from the Arabic by Asma Ghribi - The use of Apple devices is prohibited (not so dumb after all)

Snowden criticises Russia for approach to internet and homosexuality | US news | The Guardian - calls government fundamentally wrong as he accepts Norwegian prize

Clintons personally paid State Department staffer to maintain server - The Washington Post (what could go wrong? because she couldn't handle TWO email accounts)

Do black lives really matter to liberals? | Newsday - Really caring would require treating African Americans as fully capable citizens, and liberals have never been willing to do that. Feeling sorry for blacks is far more rewarding, especially at the polling place. (libs coddling the moocher blacks)

Photographer Wants To Open Your Eyes To The Brutal Realities Of The American Prison Complex (America loves torture)

In a dark corner of the Trans-Pacific Partnership lurks some pretty nasty copyright law - The Washington Post (Constitution rewritten by Big Content, "orphan works" belong to us forever!)

Some Thoughts on the Great APSA Baby Ban of 2015 | Duck of Minerva - OK, first of all, if the insurance company is the problem APSA needs a new insurance carrier. Any insurance policy that covers drunken political scientists but not their sober children is not worth its salt.

I Was Shaken Down by Wikipedia's Blackmail Bandits Dayramir Gonzalez faced threats if he didn't pay up for edits to his Wikipedia page. Now, his scammer and 380 other blackhat editors have been banned for blackmail. (is dumb a crime?)

090415
Donald J. Trump on Twitter: "The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive."

Migrants Can Enter Austria and Germany, Official Says - The New York Times
Shocking images of drowned Syrian boy show tragic plight of refugees | World news | The Guardian - Young boy found lying face-down on a beach near Turkish resort of Bodrum was one of at least 12 Syrians who drowned attempting to reach Greece (destroy their countries; drown their refugees)
The U.S. and the Syrian Refugees - Lawyers, Guns & Money : The United States has taken an embarrassingly small number of Syrian refugees. That is especially true given U.S. complicity in the rise of ISIS and right-wing pressure to arm the Syrian rebels without accepting any consequences into what that would lead to (although I realize Obama did not allow this to happen)
Christian politicians won't say it but the Bible is clear: let the refugees in, every last one (well, that's not the only thing they won't say)
Jordan has a population of 6 million, but have taken in 1.5 million refugees. All with little protest or mass global coverage. : worldnews
The Arab world's wealthiest nations are doing next to nothing for Syria's refugees
From "cockroaches" to campaigns: how the UK press u-turned on the refugee crisis
Exactly half of Germans are concerned that the strong increase in the number of asylum seekers is overwhelming them and German authorities, a survey showed on Thursday. : worldnews (they, personally, are overwhelmed)

The Iran Deal and the End of the Israel Lobby -- NYMag (no, but progress)
Dam Really Breaks on Iran Nuke Deal - Today three more previously undecided Democratic senators, Corey Booker, Mark Warner and Heidi Heitkampf, came out in the support of the deal (fuck you, Chuckie)
John Kerry, Confident The Iran Deal Will Survive Past Obama, Plots His Next Big Task - The secretary of state boldly predicts the deal will have a 90 percent approval rating by 2017.

2,000 cases may be overturned because police used secret Stingray surveillance | US news | The Guardian
FBI, DEA and others will now have to get a warrant to use stingrays : technology

Solitary Confinement Is Cruel and All Too Common - The New York Times (the sadistic dark soul of America)

Maine Voters Hope To Restore Their Revolutionary Election System (Radical Reactionary Supreme Court killed Clean Elections)

This Was to Be the Year of Bigger Wage Gains. It would never be allowed on the stage
Congress Is Coming Back, So The Government Could Be Shutting Down - Get ready for more pointless crap from your elected officials.

Trump's Image Up Sharply Among Republicans (he is their mirror image)
The Narcissist in Chief - The New York Times - narcissists, but not people with garden-variety high self-esteem, are prone to retaliating harshly against people who have criticized them.
Trump rips into Hugh Hewitt after terror gaffe - True to form, the real estate mogul tries to turn the tables by going on the attack.
- Republicans Are Obsessed With Islamic Terrorists. Just Don't ask them to name any (knowledge is hard)
Maddow: Trump Signing GOP Pledge Is 'A Giant Screwup' - The threat of running as a third-party candidate gave the reality TV star a lot of leverage.

Trump Tries To Shame Megyn Kelly Over 2010 Stern Interview About Breasts
Megyn Kelly Talks With Howard Stern: Breasts, Penises, Sex
Scott Walker, Martin O'Malley 2016: Lost the summer according to The POLITICO Caucus - 'He's been on all three sides of every two-sided issue,' one Iowa Republican insider said.

Carly Fiorina Thinks English Is The Official Language. It's Not. - Fiorina piles on speakers of other languages before launching into a call for border security. (Megyn would never make that mistake)

First Gay Couple Receives Marriage License At Jailed Kentucky Clerk's Office
Kentucky's Petty Orval Faubus Arrested By U.S. Marshalls - Lawyers, Guns & Money : A Kentucky judge fails to recognize Kim Davis' sacred right to get paid while refusing to do her job and obstruct the rights of the citizens she represents based on arbitrary whim:
Why The Kentucky Clerk's Last Stand Won't Make Her A Right-Wing Hero
Husband of rogue Kentucky clerk: "My wife jailed illegally" (bright people)

- Two alleged arsons at Planned Parenthood clinics reported in wake of "sting" videos"

Indian Grandfather Paralyzed By Alabama Cop Was Not Threatening, Colleague Testifies - The trial is underway for an officer caught slamming an Indian man to the ground.
Guards arrested a week after inmate died in California jail | US news | The Guardian
One killed and two wounded in shooting at Sacramento City College | US news | The Guardian - Campus on lockdown and classes cancelled on Thursday evening, as police hunt suspect in parking lot attack

Ride, hustle, kill, repeat: the underground cycle gangs of Los Angeles | Cities | The Guardian

- Necrophilia legislator on a crusade to outlaw loophole of arcane era - Massachusetts bans crimes against chastity, morality, decency and good order but does not include sex with a dead person

Why are the baby boomers desperate to make millennials hate ourselves? | Eleanor Robertson | Comment is free | The Guardian - New statistics from the Pew research centre show the youngest workers have totally internalised the messaging of the luckiest generation in human history (they were incredibly lucky to have boomer parents wreck everything)

The 12 Sickest NFL Burns From The 'Deflategate' Decision
Brady Freed, Shield Dented: The NFL Gets a Judicial Smackdown + - Thanks to Judge Richard Berman, Roger Goodell now has the cleanest clock in town ... It has exposed him as a faithless and arbitrary jefe presiding over a banana republic of his own mind.
The arrogance of Roger Goodell - Yahoo Sports - Deflate-gate was a case born of ignorance and lost through arrogance.
DeflateGate exposed Roger Goodell as unfit to serve his office - The Washington Post (and not the brightest bulb)

Mass Baptism Filmed At Football Practice Prompts Investigation

'History is Written By the Winners' -- But Who Gets to Dictate the Story of Trans History? | Dana Beyer

ELI5: What are the psychoactive effects of nicotine and what is the chemistry behind them? : explainlikeimfive

[Serious] Redditors who DON'T want to have children - why not? : AskReddit - I can't even take care of plants.
Earwolf: "The Wolf Dead!"

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Nepal Hasn't Spent Any Of The $4 Billion In Donations Since Earthquake - But it's not all gloom and doom.
Chris Christie Yells At Town Hall Attendee For Quoting His Own Comments On Climate - Republican presidential candidate denies saying "by breathing we contribute to" climate change. (she quoted his own words and the fat bully-fuck lied again ... and again)

Plane Debris Found on Reunion Island Definitely from MH370, French Investigators Determine

Turkish daily exposes transfer of weapons to ISIS : worldnews (and gets arrested)

Migrants Clash With Police After Budapest Train Station Reopens - An estimated 3,000 people have been camping outside the station, hoping to immigrate to Western Europe.
Using batons, Hungarian police push journalists out of station where migrant train stranded
Photos, Video Show Frantic Crowds At Budapest Train Station

ISIS believes that if they are killed by a woman, they will go to hell. Kurdish women have taken that as a challenge. (more pictures in comments) : pics

Unicef Warns of Lost Generation of War Children Out of School - The New York Times

His Town - The Huffington Post - Yousef Al-Otaiba (UAE lobbyist: how the riches live

The Democratic Republic of Congo has banned a film about Congolese surgeon Denis Mukwege, who has treated thousands of women raped during conflict. "There is a clear intent to harm and sully the image of our army." : worldnews

Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina Resigns Amid Scandal - Perez Molina is being investigated for bribery, fraud and illicit association. A judge on Wednesday granted a request from the attorney general for the president to appear in court for testimony.


The Reactionary Soul - The New York Times - as Corey Robin describes it: Conservatism is - a reactionary movement, a defense of power and privilege against democratic challenges from below, particularly in the private spheres of the family and the workplace.
alicublog: Rooting For Injuries. - In a truckload of Trump articles A-list conservatives have tried in vain to get B-listers-and-lower to abandon Trumpism.

Eschaton: Jeb "Anchor Babies" Bush - An actual paragraph appearing in the liberal New York Times ... "Republicans must become an inclusive, big-hearted party" ... Ask Michael Schiavo about that inclusive, big-hearted governor.

"State Officials Interposing Themselves Between Individuals and Their Rights is Deep in Our Heritage" - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Kim Davis, Kentucky county clerk firmly committed to the principle that marriage is between a woman and a man, and then another man, and then another man, and then another man*, continues to defy court orders on behalf of that most sacred of all rights, the right to refuse to do your job while still getting paid.

UPDATE: Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis found in contempt of court; - WDRB 41 Louisville News
Rowan County Clerk found in contempt of court; taken into custody : news

Man arrested for parodying mayor on Twitter gets $125K in civil lawsuit | Ars Technica - the local mayor, Jim Ardis - "We took every step in accordance with the law." (well, not that law but the one we invented in our heads +asshole using police force as his personal goon squad)


Brady beats NFL in 'Deflategate' court case, judge nullifies league's 4-game suspension



What is something you should never say to the opposite sex? : AskReddit
What's a lie you know you've been told your entire life? : AskReddit
What is a scam that most people don't realize? : AskReddit
What is something you should never say to the opposite sex? : AskReddit
What is the most terrifying photo on the Internet that will scare me shitless? : AskReddit
Youtuber reacts to videos of people explaining why the earth is flat. NSFW language. : videos

City-run ISP makes 10Gbps available to all residents and businesses | Ars Technica - A municipal Internet service provider in Salisbury, North Carolina, announced today that it is making 10Gbps service available throughout the city, to both businesses and residents. (coulda' been you, Cambridge, but no ...)
City-run ISP makes 10Gbps available to all residents and businesses : technology

090215

Obama's Iran Deal Will Survive As 34th Senator Announces Support - Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) gives the president the votes he needs to beat back legislation to kill the deal.

- On Monday Wang Xiaolu, a journalist from one of China's top financial publications, appeared on Chinese state television confessing causing "panic and disorder" on the stock market by reporting the news.

Britain takes in so few refugees from Syria they would fit on a subway train - The Washington Post

Dick Cheney Still Has 'No Apologies' For Going Into Iraq - "It was the right thing to do then."


- A theology professor explains that the Pope hasn't changed anything on abortion - Women who make the evil choice to have an abortion need to prove to a celibate male priest that she didn't know what she was doing and then perhaps she won't be exccommunicated. So that's nice


Romney Is Horrified by Trump

The True Cost of Gun Violence in America | Mother Jones - 750,000 Americans injured by gunshots over the last decade, and she was lucky not to be one of the more than 320,000 killed. Each year more than 11,000 people are murdered with a firearm, and more than 20,000 others commit suicide using one.

Eschaton: Rich Guys Can't Make Other Rich Guys Look Bad - It's the 1st Law Of Rich Guys or something. - In the end even Sony, which unlike most other major studios in Hollywood has no significant business ties to the N.F.L., found itself softening some points it might have made against the multibillion-dollar sports enterprise that controls the nation's most-watched game.

The Dream Team, episode #334 of Comedy Bang Bang: The Podcast on Earwolf - Later, Corny Grandpa and Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Zizek stop by to share some of the things the youngsters are putting out into the internet as well as play a game of Would You Rather!

Washington State announces it will not allow professors to ban words they don't like

Researchers Just Found The Easiest Way To Help You Lose Weight, And It's Something You Already Do Every Day | Details


Uber Drivers' Labor Lawsuit Granted Class Action Status In California (sharing economy unionized)
Amazon Prime Video now does what Netflix won't: offline playback : television

090115
"This is a holy shit moment." "It's not 'holy shit'; it's worse than that." Preview of HBO Vice: Our Rising Oceans with Eric Rignot - MirrorNinja
"This is a holy shit moment." "It's not 'holy shit'; it's worse than that." Preview of HBO Vice: Our Rising Oceans with Eric Rignot : videos
Scientists pinpoint Arctic warming hotspots behind severe northern hemisphere winters - Recent research suggests a warming Arctic could be the cause of a series of very cold winters in the US and Asia. Now, a new study picks out the exact areas in the Arctic circle where unusually high temperatures appear to be driving severe winters in mid-latitude countries.

A Heckuva Job - The New York Times - How many Katrinas has Mr. Obama had so far? By one count, 23. - since 9/11, former President George W. Bush had been posing as a strong, effective leader keeping America safe. He wasn't. But as long as he kept talking a bout terrorists, it was hard for the public to see what a lousy job he was doing. It took a domestic disaster, which made his administration's cronyism and incompetence obvious to anyone with a TV set, to burst his bubble.

US markets drop after bleak Chinese manufacturing report - after gloomy economic data out of China rekindled fears that the world's second-largest economy is slowing much faster than anticipated.

Petraeus: Use Al Qaeda Fighters to Beat ISIS - The Daily Beast (didn't they try something like that before?)
Raid on Koza Ipek Media Group comes after reports on transfer of weapons to ISIL (two-faced Erdogan)
'Isis' weapon shipment intercepted by Greek coastguard off Crete

Why Germany Will Undergo Radical Change This Year | Sebastian Matthes - even yelling at Angela Merkel during her visit to one of the shelters, calling her a "traitor to her people," an especially vile term of Nazi propaganda.

UN investigating British Government over human rights abuses caused by IDS welfare reforms - UK Politics - UK - The Independent - Last week, the Department of Work and Pensions revealed that 2,380 people have died within six weeks of being declared 'fit to work' by the government between 2011 and 2014 ... grave or systematic violations (fit to die, they meant)

N.Korea would have 'no chance' in a conflict with South: US - Yahoo News

West Point Also Apparently a Fifth Column in the War on Terror - Lawyers, Guns & Money : William C. Bradford (Army dude wants to execute academic critics, is a serial liar and wants a coup-d'etat in 2017 after Hillary takes office)
West Point Official Advocates Targeting Law Professors With Drone Strikes - William C. Bradford thinks anyone who questions the legality of American anti-terror tactics should be on the receiving end of those tactics ... The fact that said journal comes out of George Mason University should be the tip-off. GMU has been bought and paid for by various wingnut sugar daddies and is now a fount of bad conservative ideas ... It turns out that brother Bradford called in an artillery barrage on his own resume and is now without work.
West Point law professor who called for attacks on 'Islamic holy sites' resigns | US news | The Guardian - A law professor who published an inflammatory article urging attacks on law professors and "Islamic holy sites" and who has been dogged by accusations of misrepresenting his academic and military credentials has resigned from the US Military Academy at West Point, the Guardian has confirmed.

Canada officially in recession : worldnews (go, Harper)

Hugo Chavez daughter is the richest individual in Venezuela, report claims | Fox News Latino - Marma Gabriela Chavez has bank accounts in the U.S. and Andorra with assets totaling nearly $4.2 billion. (there's your socialist revolution)
Guatemalan Congress strips president's immunity - Al Jazeera English - Vote clears way for President Otto Perez to be prosecuted over allegations he masterminded a massive corruption scheme.

Megyn Kelly For President - Megyn Kelly 2016

McKinley Hot Takes - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Proving there is literally nothing President Obama can do that won't threaten their whiteness and send them into spasms of uncontrolled fury, conservatives are going ballistic over the official name of change of Mt. McKinley to Denali. (very angry crazy people)
The Completely Predictable Conservative Backlash to Renaming Mount McKinley - The Atlantic - Alaska's Great White Mountain - In renaming a peak that honored a Republican hero, President Obama stepped into the center of a fray over political correctness, American culture, and partisanship.


Trump Supporters Think Obama is A Muslim Born in Another Country - Public Policy Polling - 51% overall want to eliminate birthright citizenship. 54% think President Obama is a Muslim. And only 29% grant that President Obama was born in the United States. That's less than the 40% who think Canadian born Ted Cruz was born in the United States.
Republicans Support Outsider Presidential Candidates Over The Establishment, Polls Show
Amateur Hour Redux by Ed Kilgore | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly ("outsiders" at 65% - Republicans succeeded at making their voters hate their party)
Donald Trump Unleashes Controversial New Attack Against Jeb Bush - Trump takes a page from the infamous Willie Horton ad to smear Jeb Bush.


Judge Orders Clerk, Her Entire Staff To Court After Refusing Licenses Yet Again (jail her four-time married Christian ass) )
Kentucky clerk **defies Supreme Court**, refuses marriage license to gay couple : news

NRA Host Warns Parents Of Slain Virginia Journalists To Not "Become So Emotional" In Response To Shooting | Blog | Media Matters for America
US police act against federal guidelines with shootings into moving cars | US news | The Guardian (you must respect their au-thor-i-tay or die)
Video Appears To Show Man With Hands Up Gunned Down By Texas Cops - I've been in this position for 14 years, and I've seen anything like it (put your hands up so we can kill you)


Jersey Pays Subaru to Bring Another Parking Crater to Downtown Camden | Streetsblog.net - Camden, New Jersey, took home the 2015 Golden Crater award for the nastiest parking scar in the country, and it looks like state and local leaders aren't about to let the city rest on its laurels.
Children's Hospitals Cut Down On CT Scans To Prevent Cancer - A new study shows a major drop in uses of the risky procedure.
Double-blind study finds that only a third of subjects diagnosed with non-celiac gluten sensitivity experience adverse side effects when given gluten. : science


Ashley Madison Code Shows More Women, and More Bots - . Equally clear is new evidence that Ashley Madison created more than 70,000 female bots to send male users millions of fake messages, hoping to create the illusion of a vast playland of available women.

The man who sold Minecraft to Microsoft for #2.5 billion says it's made him miserable - The Independent (never heard of "charity")

083115
The Katrina disaster that hasn't ended - New Orleans is rebuilding, but the real destructive force involves Congress and the Army Corps of Engineers -- and it's owhere near fixed
What's Left To Say About Katrina? What's Left To Say About Katrina?
Wright Thompson on life, loss and renewal in New Orleans 10 years after Hurricane Katrina
For the first time ever recorded there were 3 major hurricanes in the Pacific simultaneously. : pics (almost, anyway)

Moscow furious over Norwegian TV show depicting life after a Russian invasion | Daily Mail Online - The 10-episode TV drama, which starts on October 4, has angered Russia - Claims show would scare viewers with a non-existent threat from the East

Figures show record influx of refugees into Europe - Al Jazeera English - Border agency says over 100,000 crossed EU borders in July, signalling sharp rise in arrivals amid humanitarian crisis.
Austria Inspects Trucks for Migrants, Creates 18-Mile Backup - ABC News

- Saudi Arabia is the Great ISIS
Child taken from British mother by Sharia court because she 'didn't obey her husband' : news
ISIS Damages Ancient Temple in Palmyra, Activists Say - The New York Times
School Poisoning? Dozens of Girls Fall Ill in Herat, Afghanistan - NBC News

Tony Blair 'tried to save Colonel Gaddafi' just before bombing of Libya - UK Politics - UK - The Independent (in case you forgot)

Man shot dead by police in north London | UK news | The Guardian - It is the first fatal shooting by British police this year. In September 2014 a man was killed by police in Islington after threatening a woman with a knife. That was the first shooting in the capital since the killing of Mark Duggan in Tottenham, which sparked the 2011 riots. (One.Per.Year)


- Clinton's private email address, hdr22@clintonemail.com, was revealed for the first time. The email address surfaced after Romanian hacker Guccifer broke into former White House adviser Sidney Blumenthal's AOL email account and leaked screenshots of his inbox. (oh, let's mix up terrorist attacks with recipes! two accounts would be too much technology! so once again wtfweretheythinking?)

The Way of the Doofus Warrior

What happened to Scott Walker? - The Washington Post (thud)
Booman Tribune ~ A Progressive Community - It's stuff like this that makes minority outreach so unsuccessful for Republicans. Because, you know, the rest of us can hear you when you think you're just talking to your base.

Feds fighting to keep cash seized from person never charged with crime | Fox News

A mathematician may have uncovered widespread election fraud, and Kansas is trying to silence her - americablog News
How to Rig an Election | Harper's Magazine - Part 4 - Their report asserted that anyone with $26 in parts and an eighth-grade science education would be able to manipulate the outcome of an election (definitely within reach of Republicans)
Rally for state secession falls flat - More than 300 people were expected at the Alabama Flaggers Secession Rally, according to AF co-director Freda Mincey-Burton and the event's Facebook page. On the steps of the Capitol Saturday, attendance peaked at 30 people
Kansas statistician suing the state to obtain election records, says voting results don't add up. : news (it's Kansas we're talking about +Bush/Rove stealing Ohio in 2004)

From Alabama to California: Family moves to obtain medical marijuana | AL.com - When the Southern culture is so closed-minded that they can't allow something because it might alter a personality, I take issue with that strongly. And I think you can feel that in the way that I'm delivering it to you at this moment (you're supposed to have life-threatening seizures all the time)


Alcohol sales get higher after weed legalization contrary to industry fears | US news | The Guardian - Alcohol businesses are seeing phenomenal growth alongside marijuana industry in Colorado, dispelling concerns that consumers prefer pot over booze (party on)

- Children May Not Actually "Grow Out" of ADHD After All - Brain changes and memory problems tend to persist into adulthood.
Association Between Eating Speed and Metabolic Syndrome in a Three-Year Population-Based Cohort Study



083015
The Reference Frame: The pleasant Cretaceous life - When the insanity of one climate fearmonger trumps the others (it was four degrees warmer in the Cretaceous period and there was life on the planet! Giant Lizards! +climate science apparently harder than theoretical physics)

- Bobby Jindal Insists We Ignore Climate Change, New Orleans' greatest threat (Piyush)
The Next Storm Will Come Despite Your Political Views - climate change is not a partisan issue. It's bigger than Bobby Jindal. It's bigger than all of us.
- Utah lawmakers speculate feds might've orchestrated toxic river spill, ask AG to investigate (they coming for your guns, golfs and mines +proud to be stupid)
17 Of The Best Things Ever Written About Hurricane Katrina - Ten years after the storm, read the survivors' stories.

- NASA Chief to Congress: Don't Make Us Hitch Rides With Russia (that boat done left)

Here Are The Wobbly Democrats Who Could Make Or Brek The Iran Deal - The White House still needs three senators to promise to protect the nuclear agreement.
Dems say party chair blocked Iran resolution at DNC meeting - The Washington Post - Debbie Wasserman Schultz prevented consideration of a resolution at the party's summer meeting here that praised President Obama and offered backing for the nuclear agreement with Iran, according to knowledgeable Democrats. (dual-loyalty Jew who puts Israel first)
Iran in the 60s and 70s : pics (ok for upper-class in Tehran, sucked for everyone else; revolution worked)

ISIS and the Curse of the Iraq War - The New Yorker - Even at the time, the Iraq War seemed like a very bad idea. Twelve years on, it has developed into a wretched curse on the civilizations whose foundations were laid in places like Palmyra and Mosul. (but your media thought war was great and Bush was terrific)

Gung-ho Americans, steady Brits, and a lack of French resistance - but was the story of the terror train really so clear? - A narrative straight out of the second world war changed every time you read it, and true or not, each re-mix added something delightful

Germany Wants Other European Nations To Take In More Refugees - "Germany and a few other countries are by far ... those that receive the most refugees." (they're really pissed at ... Ireland!)

Outspoken Indian scholar killed by gunmen - Al Jazeera English - MM Kalburgi died on his way to hospital after being shot by unidentified men in southern Karnataka state.

Claims that Welsh MI6 spy who was found dead in holdall hacked into secret data about Bill Clinton - Gareth Williams, from Anglesey, was found dead in a padlockled bag in his flat in 2010 and his death remains a mystery (ruled a suicide, of course)

Hobby drone flies within 50ft of LAPD helicopter, derails a suspect search | Ars Technica - Nabbed the amateur pilot in a Rite Aid parking lot; man faces further examination.



Artificial Unintelligence - The New York Times - In the early stages of the Lesser Depression, those of us who knew a bit about the macroeconomic debates of the 1930s, and realized how relevant the hard-won insights of Keynes and Hicks were to the post-financial crisis world, often felt a sense of despair. Everywhere you looked, people who imagined themselves sophisticated and possessed of deep understanding were resurrecting 75-year-old fallacies and presenting them as deep insights. (William Cohan is a tool and a bad person)
Show Some Spine, Federal Reserve - The New York Times (William Cohan pretends to understand economics)

Sanders Within Striking Distance of Clinton in Iowa - Bloomberg Politics - The latest Bloomberg Politics/Des Moines Register Iowa Poll shows concerns about Clinton, enthusiasm for Sanders and the possibility of Biden roiling the Democratic field. (first time Clinton under 50% at 37%, Sanders at 30%)
Iowa Poll: Clinton leads, but Sanders draws near
Iowa Poll: Trump blazes to lead; Carson quietly rises - Donald Trump has built up tremendous support in Iowa he's very wealthy, he loves the Bible and he'd be just terrific as president of the United States. And he's very handsome. (in a really weird sort of way)
Scott Walker Open To Building Wall Along Border With Canada - Walker said building a northern wall is a "legitimate" issue to look at. (keep out all those Canadian rapists, eh? +bunker America, Repubicans see threats everywhere)


Hillary Clinton Really Is Coming For Your Guns - The Daily Beast - Some politicians talk about gun control once in a while. Clinton has been pushing to curb firearms for decades. No wonder the NRA has vowed to bring her down.


Tell Us What You Really Mean By "political correctness" Conservatives (S.E.Cupp says liberals are to blame for the Trumpster)
Trigger Warnings Do Not Suppress Speech - Lawyers, Guns & Money

Evangelicals need to stop giving the rest of us Christians a bad name Tracey M Lewis-Giggetts | Comment is free | The Guardian - Some sects of American Christianity have stopped living by the Golden Rule. It makes the public think the whole religion is rotten - Many Americans seem to think the Duggars represent Christianity

Lockheed Martin Took Taxpayer Dollars, Spent Them Lobbying for More Dollars | War Is Boring - Defense giant gets off far too easy for illegal lobbying

Fox Host Complains That NYPD Officers Have To Justify Their Stop-And-Frisks | Blog | Media Matters for America (Fucker Carlson)
12-Year Report On NYC's Unconstitutional Stop-And-Frisk Policy Debunks Right-Wing Media Claims | Blog | Media Matters for America
Citizens Taking Video of Police See Themselves Facing Arrest - ABC News - Civil liberties experts say Demint is part of a growing trend of citizen videographers getting arrested after trying to record police behavior. (they somehow never get the memo)
Decomposed body found in McAllister Park - Searchers looking for the woman whose body was stolen from a North Side funeral home discovered the decomposed corpse of another apparent victim Saturday morning.

St Paul's trial leaves school community in disarray over 'toxic' sexual culture | US news | The Guardian - Victim's family blames New Hampshire prep school administration for being complicit in sexual traditions, as alumni react in light of Owen Labrie's verdict (they had to know, but "tradition")
Chrissie Hynde criticised over rape remarks | Society | The Guardian - Pretenders singer condemned after saying it can be a woman's fault if she is raped, and blamed herself for performing sexual acts under threat of violence - "If you're wearing something that says "come and fuck me" you'd better be good on your feet ... I don't think I'm saying anything controversial am I?"
"Django" actress gets community service after judge calls apology to LAPD "insincere and passive-aggressive"

Oliver Sacks, Neurologist And Author, Dies At 82
Oliver Sacks in The New Yorker - The New Yorker
CNNfyi.com - Hemingway - He would get on his knees and cry and beg his wife not to send him back for more shock treatments - Hemingway committed suicide on July 2, 1961, a day after his 36th shock treatment. He had earlier convinced doctors that he could return home (so, she destroyed his brain until he killed himself)

A nap a day could save your life, research suggests - Research suggests a daily nap could reduce blood pressure and stave off heart attacks
Dietary Magnesium Is Positively Associated with Skeletal Muscle Power and Indices of Muscle Mass and May Attenuate the Association Between Circulat... - PubMed - NCBI
Cocaine stops you from recognising other people's emotions : science
Mysterious Wooden Idol Found in Russia is 11,000 years old, The Shigir Idol is twice as old as the Pyramids and Stonehenge - and is by far the oldest wooden structure in the world. Covered in a code no one can decipher. : worldnews
Immune cells turn HIV into AIDS, not the virus itself
- Romantic opportunities appear to influence women's sexual identities, but not mens' (men are 100% gay or not gay)

FCC Rules Block use of Open Source

082915
- international syndicate that has been a subject of multiple criminal investigations, a leading European law enforcement official said Saturday.
Refugee Children Found In Critical Condition Inside Van In Austria - A third of a million people have crossed the Mediterranean seeking refuge in Europe this year.

Julian Assange 'told Edward Snowden not seek asylum in Latin America' | Media | The Guardian - WikiLeaks founder says he told the NSA whistleblower he could be kidnapped or killed, and that he was better off sheltering in Russia despite negative PR (looks like he was right about a lot of stuff)
Julian Assange 'told Edward Snowden not seek asylum in Latin America' because he could have been kidnapped and possibly killed there | WikiLeaks founder says he told the NSA whistleblower he could be kidnapped or killed, and that he was better off sheltering in Russia despite negative PR
- The Norwegian academy which gave Edward Snowden a free speech prize is planning to hold a "symbolic ceremony" for the whistleblower at the country's far-northern border with Russia.
West Point professor calls on US military to target legal critics of war on terror | US news | The Guardian - US military academy official William Bradford argues that attacks on scholars' home offices and media outlets - along with Islamic holy sites - are legitimate (you'e not supposed to see how they really think, see below) A Message to Our Readers: | National Security Law Journal - As the incoming Editorial Board, we want to address concerns regarding Mr. Bradford's contention that some scholars in legal academia could be considered as constituting a fifth column in the war against terror; his interpretation is that those scholars could be targeted as unlawful combatants.


Canada government suspends scientist for folk song about prime minister | World news | The Guardian - The song was written by Tony Turner, who worked at government agency Environment Canada and is a mainstay on the Ottawa folk music scene (no making fun of your dictator)
Stephen Harper Hates Me - YouTube

When the Bank Robs You: Wells Fargo Contractors Allegedly Stole Family Heirlooms Rescued From Nazis (you thought "banksters" was an exaggeration)

Unions Plot Major Push After Landmark Labor Ruling - obligations toward contract and franchise workers would help them organize manufacturers and e-commerce companies as well as fast food chains.

FBI Agent Pretended To Be An AP Reporter. Now AP Is Suing - "The FBI both misappropriated the trusted name of The Associated Press and created a situation where our credibility could have been undermined on a large scale." (you almost might think that was the plan all along +15yo superhacker)

Trumpalooza: We've seen this show before - Trump, the Boston Globe announced, "is forging a new path in American politics" (history is so last year)
The most damning part of Donald Trump's political rise Remember when the 2016 field of Republican presidential candidates was supposed to be so deep and talented? Then why si he said a reality TV clown beating all of them? (they were always clowns, duh)

Chris Christie Wants To Track Immigrants Like FedEx Packages - "We need to have a system that tracks you from the moment you come in," he continued. "And then when your time is up...then we go get you. Tap you on the shoulder and say excuse me, thanks for coming, time to go." (and after that, just explode +it's not about feasibility)

Glad That s Clear ; Balloon Juice - Ben Carson on the real battleground for the Republican War On Something To Do With Women: "They tell you that there's a war on women" he said. "There is no war on women. There may be a war on what's inside of women, but there is no war on women in this country" (elementary logic used to be a requirement for not appearing completely stupid)

How a Kentucky Clerk Became an Ultimate Symbol of Bigotry | Michelangelo Signorile (she thinks she works for the church in her state job)

Horror, live for all to see: another week in American gun violence | World news | The Guardian
Reconstruction and the National Park Service - Lawyers, Guns & Money :

CNN's Bizarrely Homophobic Coverage Of The Virginia Shooter | Blog | Media Matters for America
Ohio Cop Pulls Over Black Man Who 'Made Direct Eye Contact' With Him - "It's just awareness that this stuff still happens in 2015." (pulled him over for not signaling 100 ft in advance / driving an Infiniti while black but they name the ashole cop)

Workplace Violence - Lawyers, Guns & Money : After car accidents, homicide is the most likely way for women to die at work, representing 21 percent of workplace deaths (their killers know where to find them)

Planned Parenthood Goes To Court To Fight Funding Cuts In Alabama

Prep School Grad Acquitted Of Felony Rape, Guilty Of Misdemeanors - He admitted deleting 119 Facebook messages, including a boast that he "pulled every trick in the book" to have sex with her.

Quantum "Spookiness" Passes Toughest Test Yet - Scientific American - A cunning experiment plugs loopholes in previous demonstrations of quantum "spookiness," a concept that galled Einstein - final proof that quantum cryptography can be unconditionally secure
Subatomic particles that appear to defy Standard Model points to undiscovered forces - Yahoo News UK - The team working at Cern's Large Hadron Collider have found evidence of leptons decaying at different rates, which could possibly point to some undiscovered forces.
1303.0039v6.pdf - Quantum Impedances, Entanglement, and State Reduction
The Reference Frame: Stephen Hawking vs Leonard Susskind (Lubos)
Werner Erhard Foundation: Werner Erhard and the Physics Conference - For ten years the Werner Erhard Foundation produced an annual theoretical physics conference attended by the leading thinkers in the field. Some of the discussions later evolved into now-leading edge theories in physics, including Stephen Hawking and Leonard Susskind
Scientists Take Huge Step Toward Universal Flu Vaccine - The yearly flu shot could soon be a thing of the past.

- Tech nerds are smart. But they can't seem to get their heads around politics.



082815
NASA: Sea Level Rise Likely To Get Much Worse -- the people who caused this have yatchs and helicopters)
New Report Highlights Koch Brothers' Role In Hurricane Katrina Damage - Groups backed by the conservative billionaires helped to worsen the impact of the storm and hinder the recovery process. (hands of Satan sowing evil for a long time)
Extreme Arctic sea ice melt forces thousands of walruses ashore in Alaska | Environment | The Guardian - Survival of walruses threatened as they wash ashore on a remote barrier island just before Obama is due to visit region to draw attention to climate change (atrocities)
Mississippi River Mouth Must Be Abandoned to Save New Orleans from Next Hurricane Katrina - Scientific American - Three nationwide design teams reveal realistic plans to massively rebuild the disintegrating delta

Haunting Map Shows All Nuclear Bombs That Exploded Since 1945 - The visualization features 2,153 nuclear detonations that have taken place.

FBI demanded Scandinavian countries arrest Edward Snowden should he visit | US news | The Guardian - The whistleblower will not travel to Norway next week to accept award after national broadcaster released letters US sent in 2013 requesting extradition (Obama hates the truth +see Assange)

Hungarian police arrest driver of lorry that had 71 dead migrants inside | World news | The Guardian - Four detained after death toll in Austrian motorway tragedy is raised from initial estimate of about 50 victims - Austrian police said the lorry owner was a Bulgarian citizen of Lebanese origin (Death Truck)

Viral Photo Of Syrian Refugee Prompts Hundreds Of Strangers To Help Give Him "A New Life"
Eschaton: Remember When Libya Was The Good War? - Victorious rebels! I bet they were moderates, too. All the good rebels are moderate rebels.

'Vast social cleansing' pushes tens of thousands of families out of London | UK news | The Guardian - Data shows that the numbers claiming free school meals has dropped by almost a third in some boroughs, suggesting areas are becoming preserves of the rich

Japanese police bracing for gang war as Yamaguchi-gumi mafia group splits | World news | The Guardian - biggest crime syndicate is about split with potential outbreak of violence between breakaway group and those loyal to leader Tsukasa


Eschaton: Journalists Against Journalism (the elite very special kids know what they are doing)
Jorge Ramos Commits Journalism, Gets Immediately Attacked by Journalists

Eschaton: Why Is Lindsey Graham Always On My Teevee? (given more TV time by the very special serious elite press than anybody but McCain, and maybe that's why people hate him -disconnect-)

A Debt Ceiling Showdown Between Republicans Comes Into Focus - GOP leaders want to avoid it. But the base might not let them. (government itself is their enemy except for the federal money they take and the military bases)


Chris Murphy: Congress Giving 'Quiet Endorsement' To Murders
sy
Young black man jailed since April for alleged $5 theft found dead in cell | US news | The Guardian - Jamycheal Mitchell, 24, had been held in Virginia jail without bail for nearly four months, accused of stealing a Mountain Dew, Snickers bar and a Zebra Cake (no consequences)
George Zimmerman Calls President Obama An 'Ignorant Baboon'
3rd-Grader Brings Gun To School, Accidentally Shoots Classmate - The boy was looking for a toy when he found the gun.

The 9 Most Segregated Cities In America - 7. Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH ("city" = "multi-metropolitan area"

Nebraska Voters Gather Enough Signatures To Try To Revive The Death Penalty - Some voters want to reverse the state's recent ban on capital punishment (Republican NecroMongers)

Eschaton: Moar Taxes - I don't know Phoenix, but it seems like a somewhat unlikely place for people to vote to increase taxes to fund commie trains. But they did!

Rosie O'Donnell's Daughter, Chelsea, Opts To Live With Birth Mother - Chelsea O'Donnell made the decision after turning 18 this week. (something wrong there)

This Is What An Emotional Affair Is -- And What It Isn't - Are you guilty?


Study delivers bleak verdict on validity of psychology experiment results | Science | The Guardian - Of 100 studies published in top-ranking journals in 2008, 75% of social psychology experiments and half of cognitive studies failed the replication test (wonder why that is?)
Hubble Telescope Spies A Cosmic 'Butterfly' - Say hello to the stunning butterfly-like wings of the Twin Jet Nebula.
Man found to have been shedding virulent strain of polio for 30 years | Science | The Guardian - Weakened form of polio from childhood immunisations lived on in subject's gut mutating into a strain which could cause paralysis in the unvaccinated (like your special anti-vax snowflake)
ELI5: This quote from xkcd: "There will come a day when I'm either an ancestor to all living humans or to none of them" : explainlikeimfive ("In the future, if you ever question or don't immediately understand an xkcd comic, type the word "explain" before the URL.")

Ashley Madison CEO Noel Biderman resigns after third leak of emails | Technology | The Guardian - The chief executive of extramarital affairs website Ashley Madison has left the company after a third leak of emails and suggestions that he had affairs despite earlier denials. The third and latest data dump, posted at the site that first released the user database, appears to be a download of emails from Biderman's personal Gmail account ... the executive told the New York Daily News in 2014 that he had never cheated on his wife, but the hacked documents suggested otherwise. (my, my)
Top data security expert fears traumatic aftermath in Ashley Madison hack | Technology | The Guardian - Brian Krebs says public shaming culture could put lives at risk after the release of personal information from the infidelity website


082715
NYT - Tom Friedman - The World's Hot Spot - Here's my bet about the future of Sunni, Shiite, Arab, Turkish, Kurdish and Israeli relations: If they don't end their long-running conflicts, Mother Nature is going to destroy them all long before they destroy one another. Let me point out a few news items you may have missed while debating the Iran nuclear deal. (meanwhile, over in reality)
How companies make millions off lead-poisoned, poor blacks - The Washington Post

Stocks leap: Dow up 619, S&P 500 exits correction zone

Junaid Hussain: British hacker for Isis believed killed in US air strike | World news | The Guardian - Birmingham-born hacker, who adopted the nom de guerre Abu Hussain al-Britani, said to have been encouraging series of plots against western targets - Hussain, who was married to ex-punk rocker Sally Jones, is thought to have fled to Syria in 2013 while he was on bail in the UK. (and tweeted Garland shooters)

How we all became Thatcherites | Andy Beckett | Comment is free | The Guardian - Even on the left, Conservative values are subtly entrenched. To change this will require a decade of defiance (they moved the goal posts and buried them in your end zone)

Indian woman accused of killing daughter over affair with stepbrother | World news | The Guardian - Indian press abuzz with details of case after former media executive Indrani Mukerjea arrested for alleged "honor killing"

Up To 50 Refugees Suffocate In Back Of Truck In Austria, Local Media Says - The Krone newspaper reports they were found dead in a parked truck.

Trump Preaching to Shrinking White Electorate Creates Problems for GOP - NationalJournal.com - His anti-immigrant rhetoric and visceral stance on citizenship rights are forcing Republicans into opposing corners. (yeah, that pro-immigration "corner" sure has a lot of people in it"

Enough Is Enough - The New York Times - When Donald Trump's security escorted the Univision anchor Jorge Ramos out of a news conference on Tuesday, I decided that I was officially done. Maybe I should have been long before that. (199 vilest hits from the Trumpster Dumpster)
How Donald Trump's name wound up on a plane flying over the Mexican border
Donald Trump and the White Nationalists - The New Yorker - The Fearful and the Frustrated - nationalist coalition takes shape for now. (and the terminally stupid)
Kristof: Lessons From the Virginia Shooting - The New York Times - Data Points - More Americans die in gun homicides and suicides every six months than have died in the last 25 years in every terrorist attack and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq combined.
Epistemic Closure Comes Back to Haunt the GOP by Nancy LeTourneau | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly (they closed down their knowing until there was no room for the truth - the anti-thinking segment of the American Psyche ruled by psychotic processes of introjection and projection)

- Slain Reporter's Father Demands 'Coward' Politicians Take Up Gun Control Alison Parker's father says he doesn't want the country to sit back and let him grieve -- he wants action.
The Virginia shooting's 'reality show' paradox: people on TV don't seem real | Jonathan Jones | Comment is free | The Guardian - The Virginia shooting's "reality show" paradox: The on-air death of a news anchor is therefore something that can be replayed on screens or printed in newspapers with impunity ("impunity?") "The U.S. media has been pushing the race war story for a year now. He bought his gun the day of the Charlston shooting." (+he go-pro'd a FPS)
The blase acceptance that you might get shot is a fact of American life | Megan Carpentier | Comment is free | The Guardian (good history)
New York Daily News Shocks With Graphic Cover Of Murdered Journalists
Racist online groups demand sympathy after Virginia TV shooting | US news | The Guardian - Race hate groups have begun to use Wednesday's killings to say America's problem with racial violence is black-on-white and not the other way around


Ricochet killed San Francisco woman in controversial shooting, authorities say | US news | The Guardian - San Francisco sheriff Ross Mirkarimi said he was following city law when jailers released Lopez-Sanchez after a 20-year-old marijuana possession charge was dropped. But leading politicians, including top Democrats such as California senator Dianne Feinstein and presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton, said Lopez-Sanchez should have been detained.
Mississippi campus police arrest student whose threats sparked lockdown | US news | The Guardian - police arrested freshman after he made threats to kill himself, prompting alert at the 20,000-student university just after 10am on Thursday

Pennsylvania Court Releases Trove Of Pornographic Emails Sent By State Officials - They are connected to the perjury charges against Attorney General Kathleen Kane. (the entire state government a den of perversion)

'Arabic Terror Threat' Was Actually A Hebrew Welcome Sign

'Sting' Videos Of Planned Parenthood Are Totally Manipulated, Forensic Analysis Finds - Forensic Analysis Finds Even the supposedly unedited "full" footage is misleadingly altered, experts say. (as the night the day)

This Kentucky Clerk Vows To Die For The Right To Oppose Gay Marriage - Casey Davis promises to defy the Supreme Court's ruling, even if it costs him his life. (which would happen exactly how?)



The Puritanical Glee Over the Ashley Madison Hack
Ashley Madison Hack: All Fun and Puritanical Games Until Somebody Gets Dead - Slog - The Stranger
On the Ashley Madison Hack - Lawyers, Guns & Money

Why the tiger came to tea, and the cows typed | Emma Brockes | Comment is free | The Guardian


082615
New Orleans: What Climate Change Adaptation Looks Like - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Lawyers, Guns & Money - And not surprisingly, white people think New Orleans has recovered splendidly! African-Americans? Not so much. That's in no small part to the racialized response to this natural disaster that is part of most natural disasters and which will probably be the case for climate change exacerbated disasters as well.
Greenland Melting Prompts NASA Fears of Coastal Flooding : Discovery News
Here's what happens when you try to replicate climate contrarian papers - A new paper finds common errors among the 3% of climate papers that reject the global warming consensus (you find a lot of bullshit)
97% of climate science papers support the consensus. What about those that don't? The one thing they seem to have in common is methodological flaws like cherry picking, curve fitting, ignoring inconvenient data, and disregarding known physics. : science - These errors just so happen to be the things that many climate change deniers accuse everyone else of doing. (of course)

U.S. Stocks Soar To Have Best Day Since 2011

ISIS Brutalizes Boys to Create an Army of Child Soldiers, Victims Say. : worldnews

Israeli NGO accused of subsidizing Jewish extremists with US money : worldnews

John Oliver's lessons in geography : videos

Gun control is political. So is refusing to address the politics of gun violence | Scott Lemieux | Comment is free | The Guardian
What Will NRA Say After The Virginia TV Reporter Shooting? - Today's events are a horrifying example of the way we live now.
Reporter & Crew shot on live tv. WDBJ7. Video in comments. : news
Whatever you hear or read today, try not to learn anything about the gunman. If the start talking about him, turn it off. Don't make him the Star of this story. RIP Reporter Alison Parker (24) and Cameraman Adam Ward (27). : pics
The Reason You Saw The Virginia Shooting Video, Even If You Didn't want to -- A recent Twitter update is meant to force viewers to see video advertisements, but there's no opt-out button for violent content.

Trump Imitates Asians During Iowa Campaign Stop: 'We Want Deal' (video) (caricature caricuturizing in the Repubican hall of mirrors fun-house)

Why Fox News' Defense Of Megyn Kelly Is Going To Backfire
The Right-Wing Hate Machine - Twitchy is not just a popular conservative website. It's also a harassment tool used to target liberal writers. - Bossy women are treated, in conservative media, like the great Darth Vaders of the world who need to be harassed and resisted and abused at all costs. (interesting collision of internal contradictions +rightwing flying-monkey orcs attacking in cyberspace)
"Know Your Role And Shut Your Mouth": How Conservative Media Treated Women In 2013 | Research | Media Matters for America

Is Biden Running A Good Idea? (SPOILER: No.) - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Lawyers, Guns & Money - Joe Biden, in other words, is the Democratic face of the drug war. (major player in every atrocity including asset-forfeiture, crack/cocaine racial sentencing and more death penalties: the "liberal" approach +all this shit would come out and stain his "legacy")

This Kentucky Clerk Vows To Die For The Right To Oppose Gay Marriage - Casey Davis promises to defy the Supreme Court's ruling, even if it costs him his life. (now, how would that happen?)

- Curt Schilling suspended by ESPN after tweet comparing Muslims to Nazis: "It's said only 5-10% of Muslims are extremists. In 1940, only 7% of Germans were Nazis." How'd that go? ("Isn't he actually comparing Muslims to Germans?" +stats on Muslim identifications)
- Only 57% of Muslims worldwide disapprove of al-Qaeda. 58% of Muslim-Americans believe criticism of Islam or Muhammad is not protected free speech under the First Amendment. (and many more, like " twenty-eight percent of Americans believe that the Bible is the literal word of God and should be interpreted accordingly.")
Muslim Opinion Polls - Challenging the 'Tiny Minority of Extremists' Myth
"Only 10% of Germans were Nazis, so obviously Nazism wasn't supported in Germany." : badhistory - The Nazi Party got 17.3 million votes in the 1933 election that allowed Hitler to abolish democracy. That was actually only 44% of the votes, but he was supported by his coalition partner, the DNVP.

Ronda Rousey jabs Floyd Mayweather again: I earn more than you per second | Sport | The Guardian - UFC champion Rousey says of Mayweather: "I actually did the math so when he learns to read and write, he can text me"

- Officers remove activists tent after clash at Denver courthouse - Denver civil rights attorney asks court to hold police chief in contempt
Cops tear down jury nullification activists' tent after altercation less than 24 hrs after receiving a federal injunction allowing the protest : news - This feels like the cops thought they could get away with contempt of a federal court by veiling their actions very thinly in code violations. You stay classy, Denver PD
Police in North Dakota can now use drones armed with tasers | The Verge (which will eventually go autonomous)

Salads Are Overrated If You Ignore Most Salads - Lawyers, Guns & Money

Talking to ourselves: the science of the little voice in your head | Peter Moseley | Science | The Guardian (sub-vocalisation)
ELI5: Stephen Hawking's new theory on black holes : explainlikeimfive ("if you find yourself in a black hole, don't despair ..."
- U.S. scientists successfully turn human cancer cells back to normal in process that could "switch off" disease

Porn star reveals Duggar had affair while wife was pregnant : news

Where is all the content on Reddit? : OutOfTheLoop - Soft-capping limits have been raised, so popular posts keep the top positions longer now.
What was supposed to be "The Next Big Thing" but ended up becoming a flop? : AskReddit
What are some basic rules about Reddit a new user should know about? : AskReddit
TheSporkening comments on What are some basic rules about Reddit a new user should know about?
[Serious] Employees at mental health wards: what was the strangest, creepiest, or scariest experience you had there? : AskReddit
People who lived in Compton in the mid to late 80's, was it really as it is depicted by N.W.A? What are some crazy things that you witnessed? : AskReddit
TIL that in 2007 a married couple unknowingly met each other on a cheating site. They then went on a date and realized, horrified, they were both cheating - with each other. : todayilearned
What is easier to get into than it is to get out of? : AskReddit
What will begin the downfall of the human race? : AskReddit - Holodecks or really really good VR. When the artificial world becomes better then the real world people will just retreat into fantasy. (+"the finish line")


Boston Globe Pledges Columnist Will Stop Writing About Telecom Issues After Conflict Of Interest Criticism | Blog | Media Matters for America - The Boston Globe says columnist John E. Sununu will no longer write about cable and Internet issues because of his financial conflict of interest. Media Matters criticized the paper after it allowed the former Republican senator to complain about the "unnecessary regulation of the internet" without disclosing he has been paid over $750,000 by broadband interests. (Boston Globe: always the voice of undisclosed monetary interests +why do they hold onto Sununu despite his awfulness over the years? oh, sorry, Jeff Jacoby)

082515
World's fastest-melting glacier loses massive chunk in 2 days (Greenland is melting, Repubican are overjoyed)

Bets That the Fed Will Delay Interest Rate Rise Could Be Premature - The New York Times
U.S. Stocks Jump At Opening Bell After Global Markets Stabilize - U.S. stocks jumped at the open after China's central bank cut interest rates to support its economy.
U.S. Stocks Rebound, Then Drop At Close
Funny of the Day -- Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz has called on baristas to be extra patient with customers on Monday, given the dramatic stock market swoon that no doubt has left countless coffee addicts anxious about the state of their retirement holdings.

- Digital surveillance "worse than Orwell" says new UN privacy chief Joseph Cannataci describes British oversight as "a joke" and says a Geneva convention for the internet is needed (Tories say fuck your privacy)

Inquiry Weighs Whether Data on ISIS Was Distorted - The New York Times - Pentagon's inspector general is investigating allegations that military officials have skewed intelligence assessments about the United States-led campaign in Iraq against the Islamic State to provide a more optimistic account of progress, according to several officials familiar with the inquiry. (oh, they lied?)

Republicans are coming up short on the Iran deal. And they might be okay with that. - The Washington Post
Patty Murray, Top Senate Democrat, Backs Iran Deal - The deal is five votes away from being upheld in Congress.

Israel has 'right' to settle in West Bank: president - Yahoo News - includes the occupied West Bank where Jewish settlements are considered illegal under international law. ("God" gave them the land of Israel)

9/11 Survivor Captured In Iconic Photo Dies Of Cancer - Marcy Borders was working on the 81st floor of the World Trade Center's North Tower when the first plane hit. (at 41)

Bernie Sanders Surpasses Hillary Clinton In New Hampshire Poll - This is the second poll this month that shows him ahead of Clinton in the state.

Jeb Bush Clarifies What He Meant By "Anchor Babies": "Frankly, It's More Related to Asian People" - Jeb Bush Clarifies What He Meant By "Anchor Babies": "Frankly, It's More Related to Asian People" ("not Columba" -- Jebbietunes just lost the Asian vote)

- Meet The Members Of Donald Trump's White Supremacist Fan Club - The candidate has recently picked up a few endorsements he may want to throw back. (but they sure moved the goalposts)
Republican Pollster Frank Luntz Is 'Shaking' Over Trump's Numbers - In its perpetual campaign to cast Reagan in marble and set him atop a shining city on a hill, the "Republican establishment" has sancitified amiable duncehood, smiling deceit, and personal political nihilism presented as patriotism of the highest order. And now Luntz is nervous because people have taken this entire beatification process to heart and applied it to someone Frank Luntz thinks is an impure vessel? Honky, please. I mean, it's on his hat, man! Get with the program.
Donald Trump Kicks Jorge Ramos Out Of Press Conference - Donald Trump on Tuesday dismissively told highly respected television anchor Jorge Ramos to "go back to Univsion" before security physically removed the Mexican-American journalist from a press conference in Dubuque, Iowa. (no outrageous behavior too far)

Cutting Off Politwoops, Twitter Follows The Needs Of Politicians, Not Public Interest - In June, Twitter abruptly cut off access to Politwoops, a website operated by the Sunlight Foundation that preserved deleted tweets sent by elected officials in the United States. Then last weekend, Twitter dropped the hammer on Politwoops' sister services, cutting off access to Diplotwoops and Politwoops in 30 countries around the globe. (no free speech for you, just lies from politicians)
- Twitter shuts down 30 sites dedicated to saving politicians

- When federal agents looking into health care fraud searched the office of Florida eye doctor Solomon Melgen in January 2013, they found references to U.S. Senator Robert Menendez scattered all around. (Sen. Likud)

Chris Cross by D.R. Tucker | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - announcing that he would pull his state out of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a Northeastern-based cap-and-trade program, on the specious grounds that the program was ineffective. Several months later, investigative journalist Brad Friedman revealed that Christie made this decision shortly after meeting privately with Charles and David Koch. (Just a coincidence, I'm sure (evil for evil's sake, bye-bye fat-bully-fuck)

This City May Ban Chick-Fil-A Branch Due To Its Anti-Gay History - Chick-fil-A is having some issues getting approval for a new location in Denver, and it's all because of the restaurant chain's anti-gay past (present and future)

Kansas Public School Takes Down Portrait Of Jesus After Complaint - The display was called "an egregious violation of the First Amendment - Chanute is a very religious community with some 30 churches serving a population of 9,200. (supply-side Jesus is sad but Brownback says children don't need education anyway)

Massachusetts SWAT team raids wrong home, keeps woman naked for 10 minutes : news - police had already arrested the suspect the SWAT team was looking for at a different address. (those "best intelligence" guys who don't know what "intelligence" means -- District Attorney Joseph Early, especially)

Eschaton: MOOC'd - There's a reason largely self-directed learning doesn't work very well for most people. Also, too, they were simultaneously going to be free and make people rich. I never quite got how that one was going to work...
The MOOC revolution that wasn't (thanks, NYT for being stupid as usual)

- Duke freshmen refuse to read "Fun Home" class assignment because it goes against their Christian beliefs
About Those Duke Kids Who Refuse to Read - As part of the rise of Cultural Libertarians (thanks, Breitbart), Christian Duke students refuse to read Alison Bechdel's Fun Home due to its gay themes, which apparently go against their moral beliefs.

Anna Duggar's Brother Daniel Keller Rips "That Pig" Josh Duggar: He "Brought So Much Disgrace" to Family

H&R Block snuck language into a Senate bill to make taxes more confusing for poor people - Vox - the Senate Appropriations Committee has passed a funding bill covering the IRS whose accompanying report instructs the agency to at least quadruple the length of the form that taxpayers fill out to get the Earned Income Tax Credit.

Do you like salad? You're a fool | Life and style | The Guardian - Unless you live on an organic farm, chances are, the salad you eat comes from a supermarket, served in a plastic bag. No wonder so much of these nutrition-lite limp leaves end up in the bin

Stephen Hawking says he has a way to escape from a black hole - New Scientist
Stephen Hawking's New Black Hole Idea May Blow Your Mind The famed physicist reveals a new idea for how information might be able to escape a black hole.

Russia bans Wikipedia : news
What is your first memory of using a computer? : AskReddit
Who is the oldest person you've had sex with? : AskReddit

Flash is dying a death by 1,000 cuts, and that's a good thing | Technology | The Guardian - The one major hold out for dumping Flash wholesale has been advertisers. In June, over 100m adverts were displayed to users globally with Flash, while 84% of banner ads are still Flash, according to Ad Age.

082415
Premarket Stock Trading - CNNMoney - After 1,000-point plunge, Dow closes down 588
- Asian stock markets recover amid wild swings after Wall Street slump

Oil prices below $39 for first time since 2009 - Aug. 24, 2015

One murder every hour: how El Salvador became the homicide capital of the world | World news | The Guardian - A 2012 truce between the government and gangs has fallen apart, and a police offensive is under way to combat a murder rate 90 times greater than the UK's


kljaska comments on Caller Jason Defends Bernie: "You stick Bernie in the 1950's and he's called a socially liberal Eisenhower Republican. His views are not extreme, it's just extreme in 2015 after we've had 35 years of trickle down economics." [1:28]

Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders Are Calling for a Revolution - The equivalence being drawn between the two campaigns by much of the elite political press is the biggest incidence of journalistic malpractice of the 2016 campaign so far
Ken Burns Goes Big on the Confederate Flag - postulates, among other things, both films, that the Ku Klux Klan, which is a homegrown terrorist organization, was actually a heroic force in the story of the Civil War. So it's no wonder that Americans have permitted themselves to be sold a bill of goods about what happened, oh, it's about states's rights, it's about nullification ... (it's about anything but race)

Watch Chris Christie Get Confronted At The Iowa State Fair (fat bully fuck is history)

Bill Kristol Is Making Sense - Lawyers, Guns & Money : And there are distinguished conservative leaders from outside politics; Justice Samuel Alito (gettin' desparate)

Birmingham - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Lawyers, Guns & Money - Birmingham, Alabama is 73 percent African-American and of course a history of some of the nation's most notorious racial violence. The Birmingham News now has 0 black reporters.

Missouri judge withdraws Ferguson arrest warrants before 2015 | US news | The Guardian
SWAT Team Raids Wrong Worcester Home, Residents Say + CBS Boston - The DA's office released a statement saying "The search warrant was executed based on the best intelligence at the time." (that lying and stupid cops are capable of, anyway +Chawlie "waiting for report)
Alabama man with spoon killed by officer had a 'mental episode', police say | US news | The Guardian - Alabama man with spoon killed by officer had a "mental episode" police say (killer cop feared for his life because spoon)
Autopsy indicates officer shot unarmed teen William Chapman from distance | US news | The Guardian - Eighteen-year-old was not close enough to officer Stephen Rankin to pose a threat, says family lawyer, as report shows he was subsequently handcuffed (America's killer-cop epidemic)
Video evidence determined fate of Denver officer in excessive force dispute, fired after 6 years | FOX31 Denver - A Denver Police Officer was caught on camera using excessive force outside a city diner in 2009, but a game-changing decision was handed down by the Civil Service Commission just on Friday.
- The Shaun King story shows there's no bottom to right-wing harassment - This is just an onion of evil, with each layer just making you sicker and sicker to ponder how truly terrible these fuckwads are. so much of what motivates the modern conservative movement is just straight-up sadism, a bully's desire to hurt and destroy for its own sake
Suthers wants no sitting, lying on sidewalks and planters in downtown Colorado Springs

The Politically-Driven, Koch-Backed Campaign to Undermine Boston Transit | Streetsblog USA - has sown misinformation about the agency, which has then been picked up by politicians with Koch ties. In June, conservative groups won a major victory, passing a law that opened the door to privatizing some parts of the MBTA. (Chawlie's "report" funded by the Koch-suckers and is full of lies)
America's first protected intersection is open in Davis - and working like a charm ("Dutch" intersection)
The Family Contest to Become Times Publisher -- NYMag - The issue of succession is a difficult matter not just for family-run businesses but for the families that run them

The politics of sociological consciousness - Lawyers, Guns & Money : This weekend, the NYT ran an interesting article by a former waiter at one of New York's Michelin three-star restaurants, who is now a graduate student
Dinner and Deception - The New York Times - Serving elaborate meals to the super-rich left me feeling empty.

Who Won Science Fiction's Hugo Awards, and Why It Matters | WIRED
GamerGate a Year Later - Lawyers, Guns & Money
There Hugo Again, an After-Action Report + Unqualified Offerings
- Almost No One Sided with #GamerGate: A Research Paper on the Internet's Reaction to Last Year's Mob (the internets have spoken and everyone thinks they are misogynistic assholes, what a surprise)
#Gamergate discussion at SPJ event disrupted by bomb scare | Screenwriter - Whingeing about cinema and real life since 2009
File 770 | Mike Glyer's news of science fiction fandom
A Brief Comment on the Hugos | Whatever

PLOS ONE: Anticancer Effect of Ginger Extract against Pancreatic Cancer Cells Mainly through Reactive Oxygen Species-Mediated Autotic Cell Death
What It's Like to Have ADHD As a Grown Woman
Propylene glycol in e cigarettes might keep us healthy, says researchers - Decades before the e cigarette was invented, a study was conducted by Dr. Robertson of the University of Chicago's Billings Hospital in 1942 on inhalation of vaporized propylene glycol in laboratory mice.
ELI5: It said on BBC news that vapour pens are 95% better for you than cigarettes, what is the 5% that could be potentially bad for you? : explainlikeimfive

Why You can't Look Away From the Affleck Nanny Scandal
A Celebration of Ben Affleck's Nanny
Caitlyn Jenner could see misdemeanor manslaughter charge - CNN.com - "We did determine in the investigation that Jenner was going at an unsafe speed for the prevailing conditions, even though he was traveling under the posted speed limit"

acquisition of math skills than their performance on standard math tests.
Brain scans better forecast math learning in kids than do skill tests, study finds: Gray matter volume and connections between several brain regions better forecast 8-year-olds' acquisition of math skills than their performance on standard math tests.
Young children (aged 7-12) outperformed adults when producing creative ideas for smartphones. Ideas from children were more original, transformational, implementable, and relevant than those from the adults. : science

Ashley Madison: 'Suicides' over website hack - BBC News - Ashley Madison: "suicides" oer website hack - according to police in Canada
- Cheating website Ashley Madison subscribers include White House and US Congress officials
Ashley Madison Hack: Islamic preacher Hamza Tzortzis 'found' on leaked list - Yahoo News UK - Ashley Madison Hack: Islamic preacher Hamza Tzortzis found on leaked list (ha-ha)

082315
Watch The Transformation Of New Orleans 10 Years After Katrina - These powerful images show how things have changed over the last decade.
No Shelter from the Storm: Part I by D.R. Tucker | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - Next week marks the tenth anniversary of one of the greatest tragedies in American history
No Shelter from the Storm: Part II by D.R. Tucker | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - Not only did corporate media largely cover for President George W. Bush's incompetence, the mainstream press failed to note that this unnatural disaster was the sort of superstorm climate scientists had been predicting for decades, thanks to our reckless refusal to curb carbon pollution.
No Shelter from the Storm: Part III by D.R. Tucker | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - That moment occurred on September 2, 2005, during a nationally televised benefit concert for Katrina survivors. That moment occurred when Kanye West engaged in what the kids call "real talk" bout the George W. Bush administration:
What Katrina left behind: New Orleans' uneven recovery and unending divisions | US news | The Guardian - Tourism and entrepreneurship are up and a river of federal money has flowed in but places like the Lower Ninth Ward are still defined by absence and poverty
Is New Orleans in danger of turning into a modern-day Atlantis? | Cities | The Guardian - With roughly half the city below sea level and the Louisiana wetlands, which act as a buffer to storms, disappearing at a rate of one football field an hour, what can be done to limit the threat of further devastating floods?


- The Iran deal: An epochal moment that Congress shouldn't squander - Brent Scowcroft was national security adviser to Presidents Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush. (every single Republican congressperson plus a handful of Dems put Israel first)

Google ordered to remove UK search results POLITICO - U.K. data watchdog orders Google to remove links in right to be forgotten case.

The Constitution and the War on ISIS - The Atlantic - What happens when the legislature refuses to discharge its constitutionally assigned responsibilities? Inherent Resolve, the so-called war against the Islamic State.


Clinton team on alert for undercover sting | TheHill - One woman apparently asked how she could funnel additional donations to the campaign after she had already given the legal maximum. (their old slimeball tricks)

What Does Joe Biden Have to Lose by Jumping In to the Presidential Race? by David Atkins | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly
Joe Biden meets Elizabeth Warren in Washington as 2016 decision nears | US news | The Guardian

Trump Isn't Just Leading the GOP Polls. Most Republicans Now Think Trump Will Win the Nomination By David Atkins
- Trumpism, the data and interviews suggest, is an attitude, not an ideology ("ballsy" is leading among Republican women despite being called "fat pigs" "disgusting animals" )
Donald Trump 2016: Mobile, Alabama rally and the ghost of George Wallace - politico - The South rises for Trump, but only 20,000 of them.

2016 election: Chris Christie fades into darkness - politico - Sinking in the polls and struggling to gain traction in New Hampshire, the New Jersey governor could be relegated to the "kiddie table" debate next month (the brilliant darkness of his evil is fading, it was all for nothing excpt his narcissism and rich pals)

Abortion and the myth of 'protecting' women - LA Times - Abortion and the myth of "protecting" women (it's always for your own good)
Anti-Abortion Activists In Ohio Push To Ban Abortions For Down Syndrome - The ban would be difficult to enforce and likely violates Roe v. Wade, say its critics.

Sam Brownback's Kansas Disaster is Getting Even Worse - Exhibit A in the utter failure of conservative dogma is Sam Brownback's trainwreck in Kansas - Conservative policies are both a moral and practical disaster. (supply-side Jesus)

Repubican's deep hatred for teachers can't be denied and they're not trying (and anything related to thinking or facts)

Race, love, hate, and me: A distinctly American story

Shifting explanation of fatal shooting by San Jose police draws criticism - LA Times - Now, officials say Jacquez wasn't armed and didn't reach for his waistband. The officer shot at him first when his back was turned and again when he spun around

New rules tighten dementia ads by Mass. nursing homes - The Boston Globe - Centers must meet state standards to advertise "memory care"
Review: Many nursing homes not in compliance with dementia law - The Boston Globe - Says many homes in the state mislead public about extent of services
Nursing home dementia care rules falling short - The Boston Globe - State lags on checks of how nursing homes implement new rules


The looming calorie crisis - The Boston Globe - A by-the-numbers projection of a future where demand for proteins may outpace supply. (Soylent 2)

What makes people gay? (An update) - The Boston Globe - Returning 10 years later to one of the most-read Boston Globe stories, we find new evidence that the answers lie in the womb ... For the last four decades of the 20th century, genetic boys born in the United States with a severely inadequate penis or who had lost their penis during surgical accidents were typically castrated and their parents instructed to raise them as girls.

Lives transformed: do famous transgender people help the cause? | Society | The Guardian

Massive Human Skull Rack Found at Aztec Temple : Discovery News

Second Ashley Madison dump prompts more inside-job speculation The Register - Red-faced affair enabler says innocent customers were just excercising legal rights
Extortionists are targeting Ashley Madison users
State Attorney Jeff Ashton admits using Ashley Madison website - Orlando Sentinel - If I could have spared (my family) what happened in the last 24 hours, I would do it
The Ashley Madison Hack Should Scare You, Too -- The Cut - Gawker publishing details from Josh Duggar's profile that included his payment history, preferred sexual acts, and turn-ons.

Is There Any Right Way to Reject a Guy? -- The Cut - Ben Schoen (is a dick)

082215
Barak: Netanyahu wanted to strike Iran in 2010 and 2011, but colleagues blocked him | The Times of Israel - In recordings broadcast on TV, ex-defense minister says IDF chief Ashkenazi, and later ministers Ya'alon and Steinitz, doomed bids for attack (truely evil fucker)

American Who Helped Disarm Train Shooter Recounts Dramatic Scene - Three Americans and a British man tackled the gunman on the train from Amsterdam to Paris.
France train gunman identified as Islamist militant | Reuters - Fingerprint evidence shows that the gunman overpowered by passengers on a train in France is a Morrocan known to European authorities as a suspected Islamist militant, according to a source familiar with the case.

London schoolgirl 'radicalised' by parents' IS propaganda must be removed from home, judge rules : worldnews

Louise Mensch takes Twitter swipe at Corbyn campaign -- and hits herself (racist autocomplete was hers - pretty funny conservative derp fail)



Judge Rules U.S. Government Must Quickly Release Immigrant Children In Detention - Last year, more than 68,000 children traveling without a parent entered the country. (thanks, Obama)

Out on the Weekend: The Rough Current Shape of the Democratic Party - Reviewing some of the misfortunes that have caused the crisis in the Democratic farm systems, including the loss of legislative majorities, but all the blame can't fall on the president ... God, will we never stop hearing about how "white, working-class voters" are open to an expanded welfare state as long as the Democratic Party salves their wounded fee-fees for them

Corporate, Koch Money Dominates Early 2016 Senate Race Spending - Most early money comes from groups that don't disclose their donors (thanks, SC Republifucks)

Ornstein's Warning (this is the Repubican party they wanted, and it's too late)

Late Night Horrorshow Open Thread: Monsters from the Repub Id ; Balloon Juice - Guy at Alabama rally was hoping Trump would offer "$50 for every confirmed kill" along border (very sick people)
Donald Trump Just Stopped Being Funny | Rolling Stone - campaign threatens to unleash the Great American Stupid (that happened a while ago)
Does Donald Trump Really Do Best Among Less Educated Voters? | Cato @ Liberty - The short answer is: Yes, Donald Trump likely has greater appeal among less educated Americans.
Robert Costa on Twitter: "Here's the newsletter being handed out to each car by a neo-Confederate activist http://t.co/33CvKQfddA"
Here's Some Stupid for Lunch: New York Times Columnist Douthat Sees Trump As An Opportunity - ?His Eminence Ross Cardinal Douthat, primate of the Archdiocese of Dorkylvania, has become intrigued with the current Republican frontrunner ... the idea that Douthat and his fellow ideological Mouseketeers believe they can use Trumpism to control the future of modern conservatism is a very funny concept that I would like to see turned into a sketch one day.
Donald Trump Just Stopped Being Funny | Rolling Stone - Trump isn't really a politician, of course. He's a strongman act, a ridiculous parody of a Nietzschean superman. His followers get off on watching this guy with (allegedly) $10 billion and a busty mute broad on his arm defy every political and social convention and get away with it.

Mike Huckabee Embarrasses Himself In Israel - Evangelical Huckabee might be a fan of Israel due to messianic implications from the book of Revelations, but his fumbled press conference in Jerusalem, where Huckabee referred to Russia as the "Soviet Union" and suggested that the West Bank is bordered by a hostile state, rather than Jordan, might not increase his popularity among the Jewish people there. (history eluded him)

We are living in the End of Times. The apocalypse is truly upon us. : pics

This Week in the Laboratories of Democracy - In which gun rights controversy continues, Maine Governor Paul LePage threatens to leave office, and there are a string of sexual harassment cases in the Missouri House. (and Michigan lets you bring your concealed weapon to a parent-teacher conference at school +"I've waited my whole career to cover a story to which this could be the headline: Man Accidentally Shoots Self While Guarding "Muslim-free" Oktaha Sun Store")

Missouri legislators suggest an intern dress code, but speaker nixes the idea | The Kansas City Star - In recent months, dozens of women -- current and former interns, legislative aides, lobbyists and lawmakers -- told The Star sexual harassment in the Capitol is commonplace. (patriarchal Repubican deviants)


082115
Nasa says the world is not going to end in September | Science | The Guardian - Space agency kills off internet rumour by confirming an asteroid strike will not wipe out humanity in the next few weeks, or years, or decades
Obama declares state of emergency at site of out-of-control Washington fires | US news | The Guardian - Australia and New Zealand sending emergency workers to join thousands of firefighters in Washington, Montana, Oregon, Idaho and California

Dow drops more than 500 points as US markets plummet amid global sell-off | Business | The Guardian - Most major markets around the world suffer bruising losses as investors worldwide become increasingly concerned about Chinese economy
Oil recovers to end at $40.45, after hitting milestone - U.S. oil prices recorded their eighth consecutive week of falls, the longest losing streak since 1986, after a sharp drop in Chinese manufacturing increased worries over the health of the world's biggest energy consumer. U.S. oil futures fell below $40 a barrel for the first time since 2009

US Marines foiledterror attack on French train - Business Insider

Obama's Iran Deal Gains Democrats' Support Ahead Of Vote - It is looking like Obama will have enough Democrats supporting the deal to beat those Republicans' opposition

The Agency - The New York Times - From a nondescript office building in St. Petersburg, Russia, an army of well-paid "trolls" has tried to wreak havoc all around the Internet -- and in real-life American communities.

White House: ISIS No. 2 killed by US strike | Fox News

Eschaton: Crazy Talk - We can't possibly afford this. There are countries to bomb! Moderate rebels to arm and train!

- Carly Fiorina's Fuzzy Vaccine Claims Debunked (Stupidarina)
Carly Fiorina did a 4-minute riff on climate change. Everything she said was wrong. - Vox
The Carly Fiorina Leadership File - Bloomberg View (hasn't had a job in ten years after being fired for destroying HP)



New Analysis Shows Problematic Boom In Higher Ed Administrators | New England Center for Investigative Reporting - The number of non-academic administrative and professional employees at U.S. colleges and universities has more than doubled in the last 25 years, vastly outpacing the growth in the number of students or faculty, according to an analysis of federal figures.

Detection of gamma rays from a newly discovered dwarf galaxy may point to dark matter | News from Brown
Magnetic Wormhole Created in Lab - Scientific American - Device acts like a wormhole, as if the magnetic field was transferred through an "extra specal dimension"
Tiny fountain of atoms sparks big insights into dark energy | Science/AAAS | News
Physics - Synopsis: Neutrinos from the North - Using Earth as a neutrino filter, the IceCube neutrino experiment strengthens its claim that it has detected neutrinos from powerful astrophysical accelerators outside our Galaxy.
- Study of Holocaust survivors finds trauma passed on to children
passed on to children's genes -- New finding is first example in humans of the theory of epigenetic inheritance: the idea that environmental factors can affect the genes of your children
Feelings Without Memory in Alzheimer Disease : Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology

What should not be considered OK, but is often encouraged? : AskReddit

Hundreds Of White House And Congressional Workers Implicated In Ashley Madison Hack - Many federal customers appeared to use non-government email addresses
Ashley Madison hack: should you look up your partner's details? | Technology | The Guardian - Hackers have released the details of 33 million Ashley Madison profiles. People are now trying to decide whether to search for their spouses
Ashley Madison hack: five people on getting caught up in the data breach | Technology | The Guardian
Radio hosts tell woman live on air her husband had Ashley Madison account | Technology | The Guardian
Married people of reddit, did you search any of the Ashley Maddison data dump sites for your spouses name? If so what is your next move? : AskReddit

Google ordered to remove links to stories about Google removing links to stories | Ars Technica UK - f it does not comply with ridiculous recursion. (it's right to forget all the way down)

082015
- Study Finds Global Warming Has Made California's Drought Worse Researchers say warming trends are responsible for as much as 20 percent of the drought.
Another toll of the drought: Land is sinking fast in San Joaquin Valley, study shows - LA Times - Farmland near Corcoran in the southern San Joaquin Valley sank 13 inches in just eight months last year. To the north, near El Nido, the land surface dropped about 10 inches.

ISIS Enshrines a Theology of Rape - The New York Times - Claiming the Quran's support, the Islamic State codifies sex slavery in conquered regions of Iraq and Syria and uses the practice as a recruiting tool. (you dnn't have to go to heaven to rape the virgins)
The Truth About Islam and Sex Slavery History Is More Complicated Than You Think | Kecia Ali

Islamic State Claims Cairo Courthouse Bomb Which Wounded 30 - ncluding 8 policemen, near a state security building and courthouse in a Cairo suburb on Thursday.



- The Iranian Threat - Noam Chomsky

Voting for Jeremy Corbyn is deluded. For the love of Labour, pick Yvette Cooper - Voices - The Independent - To vote Jeremy Corbyn for leader is the work of a delusionist at best and a conscious saboteur at worst (they're panicking)


Obamacare Haters Are Getting Harder To Find - Polls show the health care law picking up support, ever so slowly.

- This Democrat sits in a blue seat -- and he wants to amend the constitution to ban same-sex marriage -- Illinois Rep. Dan Lipinski is one of the worst Democrats -- very possibly the worst -- in the House: (in a dark-blue district, too)

IA Radio Host Jan Mickelson: Enslave Undocumented Immigrants Unless They Leave | Blog | Media Matters for America - Mickelson, Who Recently Hosted Walker, Fiorina, Carson, And Santorum, Asked, "What's Wrong With Slavery?" (what will they come up with next?)

Eschaton: They're Going To Let It Fail - ith each passing day, the probability of the NE rail corridor collapsing goes up just a little bit. Cuomo travels by limo, and Christie by helicopter. I do not think they understand that most people have to use other means of transportation.

Booman Tribune ~ The Worst Governor in the World - Governor Paul LePage (his record will be more progressive)




8 Things You Should Know About The New Female Libido Pill (.05 increase vs .03 for placebo)

Glorious Tumblr Provides The Nudes Of Art History With The Vibrators They've Long Desired - Glorious Tumblr Provides The Nudes Of Art History With The Vibrators They've Long Desired

- Some Guy At A "Muslim-Free Gun Shop Accidentally Shot Himself - "It's like the Clampetts have come to town"
Gun Advocate John Lott Was The Real Author Of A Viral FoxNews.com Op-Ed Written From Perspective Of A Female Stalking Victim | Blog | Media Matters for America ("Mary Rosh")

The Science Of Love In The 21st Century - The Huffington Post - They reveal it over a two-day, $750-per-pair workshop called "The Art and Science of Love." (to 500 people x $750 = $375,000)





081915
Mitch McConnell Acknowledges Difficulty In Blocking Iran Deal - McConnell said he would be surprised if any Senate Republican supports the deal.
The Iran Deal, Now With Broader Language and Cruise Missiles! - Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey, previously indicted on federal corruption charges, discusses Israel and using any means necessary in his proposals for Iranian nuclear negotiations.

Thai Police Issue Arrest Warrant, Release More Info On Bombing Suspect - Authorities are hunting a man seen in a bright yellow shirt.




Donald Trump pulls clear of competition post debate - CNNPolitics.com - Trump with the support of 24% of Republican registered voters. His nearest competitor, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, stands 11 points behind at 13%. Just behind Bush, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson has 9%

Governor Bobby Jindal's official portrait revealed (Update)(hilarious+#bullshitfail
- The Truth About Carly Fiorina's Busyiness Record - While Donald Trump has stolen most of the spotlight, Carly Fiorina seems to have taken the top spot among the JV Republican candidates, but let's not forget her less than stellar corporate history.

From the Party of Lincoln to the Party of Calhoun, An Ongoing Series - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Mister, We Could Use A Chief Justice Like Roger Taney Again (5th Chief Justice, Dred Scott - African-Americans, having been considered inferior at the time the Constitution was drafted, were not part of the original community of citizens and, whether free or slave, could not be considered citizens of the United States

Lawyers, Guns & Money - And like basically every other awful thing corporations produce, 3M and Dupont delayed and delayed and delayed in admitting fault or taking precautions, sending workers to horrible deaths in order to make a few more dollars. It's the same strategy taken by tobacco companies and that the oil companies use today in order to undermine action on climate change. All these industries have full knowledge of what their products do to people and the planet. And they don't care. (corps are people not subject to llaws)
DuPont and the Chemistry of Deception - The Teflon Toxin
Teflon Toxin - The Case Against DuPont -


Jared Fogle Paid For Sex With Minors, Received Child Porn: Feds - Prosecutors say the porn was produced by the ex-director of his charity

Death of inmate ruled homicide: "Over a dozen inmate witnesses said that as many as 20 officers repeatedly kicked and punched him." : news

First Near-Fully Formed Brain Grown In Lab, Ohio State Scientists Say - The brain may accelerate research into diseases like Alzheimer's

Vaping: e-cigarettes safer than smoking, says Public Health England | Society | The Guardian - Worryingly for many of those behind the policy change, increasing numbers of people -- up to 22%, compared with 8% two years ago -- think e-cigarettes are equally or more harmful than tobacco -- almost all of the 2.6 million adults in the UK now thought to be using e-cigarettes are current or former conventional smokers, most using them to help them quit tobacco or to prevent them going back to smoking. (oh, vaping isn't a "gateway drug" to tobacco?)

? The Battle of the Diets: Is Anyone Winning (At Losing?) - YouTube
? The Food Revolution - AHS 2011 - YouTube


[interesting] Somehow we got Whatsapp Web support waaaaayyy before the iPhone. : windowsphone - I have unlimited text in my plan and I haven't sent one on over a year. Sms is the digital equivalent of writing letter.

081815
- UN deciding "how best to respond" fter AT&T helped NSA spy on headquarters - United Nations has said it expects member states to respect its right to privacy after AT&T helped NSA wiretap Internet communications
State Department Finds Thousands of Philippe Reines Emails It Claimed Did Not Exist - an estimated 17,855

Indonesian Passenger Plane Destroyed After Crashing Into Mountain; No Survivors - killing all 54 people on board

- Bibi's Cannon Fodder - the campaign of incitement and maliciously phony charges of anti-Semitism against the White House are "effectively turning American Jews into Netanyahu's cannon fodder" in the war on Obama
Hundreds Of Rabbis Urge Congress To Approve Iran Nuclear Deal - We, along with many other Jewish leaders, fully support this historic nuclear accord.

- Owen Jones talks to Calais migrants: "They forget we are human" (and this is just the being)


Jeremy Corbyn is the curator of the future. His rivals are chasing an impossible dream | George Monbiot | Comment is free | The Guardian


The Republican Party doesn't want to believe its voters agree with Trump. But they do.

Red Families vs. Blue Families: Which Are Happier? | Family Studies
Republicans Say They Are Happier With Their Marriages - The New York Times
Republicans Have Happier Marriages, According to a New Study by UVA Professor Brad Wilcox - The Atlantic - A new study suggests that couples in GOP counties are mildly more satisfied in their wedded lives. But does the state of your union really depend on how you vote?

Was Bernie Sanders really lying about the effect of budget cuts? - The Washington Post - That said, I think Glenn Kessler, the fact checker himself, graded Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Democratic presidential candidate, too harshly (WaPo, custodian of "the facts")

Republicans Say They Are Happier With Their Marriages - The New York Times

- The Tribune's Kristen McQueary takes a Katrina-strength pounding (metaphorically, of course and the commenters generally nail him for being an asshole)

- Report says Boston's Olympic bid would have been risky business


Covering Lolita - 210 book and media covers from 40 countries and 58 years

CERN measures antimatter with 10-100 times greater precision than before, finds perfect symetry with matter : science
How others see our identity depends on moral traits, not memory -- ScienceDaily (families troubled by immoral behavior more than memory loss)

We need to learn what 2,000 calories a day looks like to prevent diabetes | Ann Robinson | Comment is free | The Guardian

Mass grave reveals prehistoric warfare in ancient European farming community | Science | The Guardian - Shattered skulls and shin bones of 7000-year-old skeletons may point to torture and mutilation not previously observed in early Neolithic Linear Pottery culture
Major publisher retracts 64 scientific papers in fake peer review outbreak - The Washington Post - In the latest episode of the fake peer review phenomenon, one of the world's argest academic publishers, Springer, has retracted 64 articles from 10 of its journals after discovering that their reviews were linked to fake e-mail addresses.

US Patent Office Overturns Infamous Apple iPhone Design Patent, Samsung May Not Be Paying Apple Much After All : technology
US Patent Office Overturns Infamous Apple iPhone Design Patent, Samsung May Not Be Paying Apple Much After All
Apple suffers a blow in its patent war against Samsung | The Verge - A contested patent could mean less money will be awarded to Cupertino

Data from hack of Ashley Madison cheater site purportedly dumped online : news
Data from hack of Ashley Madison cheater site purportedly dumped online [Updated] | Ars Technica - Download said to include e-mail, member profiles, and credit card transactions.
Hackers dump stolen Ashley Madison data onto the Dark Web
The Ashley Madison Hackers Just Released a Ton of Stolen Data

081715
Hunt for Chinese Man in U.S. Fuels Political Intrigue - WSJ - There were tensions recently over Chinese security officers coming to the U.S. to find fugitives without following U.S. procedures, said people familiar with the matter. (rendited?)
Obama Administration Warns Beijing About Covert Agents Operating in U.S. - The New York Times
Tensions with China loom larger as Obama prepares to welcome Xi Jinping - The Washington Post

Jihad and Girl Power: How ISIS Lured 3 London Teenagers - The New York Times (from their devout Muslim families +Brit cops fucked up)

Bangkok bomb: at least 16 killed outside Erawan shrine | World news | The Guardian - At least 16 dead and 80 wounded after explosion near Hindu place of worship on main road through centre of Thai capital

Carson suggests Obama is 'anti-Semitic' with Iran deal - Jennifer Shutt - POLITICO - Carson suggests Obama is "anti-semitic" with Iran deal (because anything that opposes Israel's far-far right and AIPac must be "anti-semetic")

Price for TSA's failed body scanners: $160 million - How bad are the machines at catching threats? So bad that Sen. Ron Johnson suggests adding metal detectors.

- Lord Mandelson tried to persuade the three mainstream Labour leadership candidates to quit en masse to stop leftwinger Jeremy Corbyn and force the party to suspend the election.
David Miliband: electing Jeremy Corbyn risks creating one-party Tory state | Politics | The Guardian - Former foreign secretary joins senior Labour figures warning against Corbyn for party leadership, and says Liz Kendall is his first preference


Republicans Against Retirement - The New York Times (Republican solution: work until you die, give the riches more money)
Eschaton: There Might Even Be An Opportunity Here - Imagine if the Democratic party loudly united to expand Social Security benefits, highlighting the contrast between their very popular view and the very unpopular position of Republicans. (corp Dems want you to work until you die, also) On one hand voters would like it. On the other hand, Fred Hiatt might say mean things. So I guess it's complicated.

- Trump Mocks Warren's Native American Heritage Claim, But Falsely Claimed His Family Was Swedish - Trump's grandfather and great-grandfather were actually born in Germany. (figures)
Chris Christie's presidential run: Time to call it a day, Guv | Mulshine | NJ.com (bye-bye fat-fuck bully)
- Scott Walker's Lies at the Fairgrounds - He truly is a remarkable liar, already a far more remarkable liar than even Mitt Romney was, and I didn't think that was possible (Republicans specialize in being complete dicks to the right people)
- Trump Is the Republicans' Nightmare and They Won't Wake Up From It
Birthers Say These 4 GOP Candidates May Be Ineligible To Be President - The birther movement has come home to roost as the Republican presidential primary heats up. (Cruz, Piyush Jindal, Rubio, and Santorum, who is from another planet +Obama's mom doen't qualify because she was a child bride)

Struggle and Progress | Jacobin - Eric Foner on the abolitionists, Reconstruction, and winning "freedom" from the Right - Instead of denying, like the Right used to, that we've ever had inequality in this country, the Right says, "Well of course slavery was horrible, but we abolished it. We abolished slavery." We! We! Who's this "we," you know? ("states rights" = the "right" for states to have slaves)

A Good Chunk Of GOP Field Wants To Repeal The 14th Amendment - A position that was highly controversial in 2010 threatens to become more mainstream. (deport all the anchor babies)

Red Cross CEO Gail McGovern Tried to Kill Government Investigation - ProPublica - Despite public vows of transparency, CEO Gail McGovern lobbied a congressman to spike an inquiry by the Government Accountability Office.

John Oliver: Televangalists : videos

The Charges Against Ryan Reilly And Wesley Lowery Are So Dumb - "moved his belongings around in an inefficacious manner." (jounalists were committing domestic terrorism by not obeying the asshole cop's orders by not moving fast enought for the asshole cop)
Oath Keepers plan unique demonstration with assault rifles in Ferguson | Red Dirt Report - A Missouri Oath Keepers leader and his squad will test state law with a unique experiment by arming 50 blacks with AR-15 rifles while marching through downtown Ferguson, Mo.

Pam Bondi balks at paying full cost of Florida's fight against gay marriage | Tampa Bay Times - "It really is the height of hypocrisy to argue we shouldn't be entitled to fees when they put us through this"

Rape case puts focus on elite prep school's alleged sexual tradition | US news | The Guardian - Details of a practice called the "senior salute" Rape case puts focus on elite prep school's alleged sexual tradition | US news | The Guardian - were spelled out in stark terms by a former student at the New Hampshire school, who is charged with rape


Jeff Bezos Says Times Story Doesn't Describe "the Amazon I know" Over the weekend, the newspaper published a long, brutal piece about what it is like to work at the company. (sociopath turns out to be a good fit for WaPo)
- Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos responds to brutal New York Times story:

Medical marijuana laws taking root across the South | AL.com

FAFSA closes the door to college snooping - CBS News - The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) has been serving as a tip sheet to colleges by sharing with them the schools that a child was applying to, as well as the school order that a teenager listed on the aid application. Most students list their schools in order of preference, which some colleges have used to make admission and aid decisions. (they really did that)

The 100 best novels written in English: the full list | Books | The Guardian (in English by white men, that is)

Finding biomarkers for early lung cancer diagnosis - metabolomics - analyzing all the biochemical products of metabolism in cells and tissues at the same time.

MysticJAC comments on My [23 F] sister [27 F] has been dating a guy [27 M] for about a year, and he makes the entire family uncomfortable.

Comedy vs. The Fat Jew - Splitsider (internets caught up with him)
Top 50 Jokes @TheFatJewish Bogarted From The Internet. (with images, tweets) 7 KKelly 7 Storify
Comedy Central cancels "The Fat Jew" development deal follow joke stealing controversy : television
[Serious] Teachers of reddit: Did a student ever offer you sex to pass a class? If yes, how did you react and what were the further consequences? : AskReddit
Consumer groups have slammed Microsoft for its policy of forced updates for Windows 10, which is hitting customers in remote locations with massive bill shocks by blowing out their data caps. : news

081615
Chelsea Manning denied access to legal library prior to prison hearing, she says | US news | The Guardian - Imprisoned soldier faces potential solitary confinement after alleged violations including possession of unapproved reading material and expired toothpaste (sadistic fuckers to the core)

President Obama on Finding Openings by Nancy LeTourneau | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - That is an incredibly wise grasp of how history works - even for the most powerful person on the planet. It is a striking rebuke of much that we hear from would-be Republican leaders these days who presume that a President of the United States can control world events via military dominance. For those with some knowledge of history, it is especially important given that the discussion is taking place about a country where we tried that back in 1953 and paid the price for it via the Islamic Revolution in 1979. (history starts tomorrow in the Republican mind)

Syrian Government Airstrike On Market Kills At Least 80, Activists Say - This is a documented massacre.

- Bungling Beijing's Stock Markets - So if its leadership is really as clueless as it has been looking lately, that bodes ill, not just for China, but for the world as a whole. (crony capitalist control-freaks about to lose control, bad for everybody)

The village where men are banned | Global development | The Guardian - Umoja was founded in 1990 by 15 women who were raped by British soldiers. Photograph: Georgina Goodwin for the Observer



Here's The Funniest Thing Donald Trump Has Said Yet - Yet unlike serious candidates for president, he receives his military advice from armchair pundits on cable television. (maybe Scarborough can be his Sec. of State)

The Greatest Threat To Bernie Sanders Is His Supporters (is Bernie the anti-Trump?)

Huckabee Backs Denying Abortion To 10-Year-Old Raped By Stepfather - Does it solve a problem by taking the life of an innocent child? (the ultimate in reducing 10 yr old girls to baby-factories)

Missing transgender woman found dead in 'crude grave' in North Carolina | US news | The Guardian - Gang member charged with killing of 20-year-old Elisha Walker - Arrest comes amid reports of other murders of trans women


On Amazon - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Lawyers, Guns & Money - 1. People often praise these new tech leaders as heroes. Mostly they are sociopaths. That was the case with Steve Jobs and it is certainly the case with Jeff Bezos. These are terrible, awful human beings.


Is Tinder really creating a dating apocalypse -- Firstly for the first time ever, men are exposed to a situation where they know they are being judged entirely on their looks ... Yehm usually it's looks and the size of your wallet.

081515

AT&T Helped N.S.A. Spy on an Array of Internet Traffic - The New York Times (new Snowden docs)

Here Are The Wobbly Democrats Who Could Make Or Break The Iran Deal (Schumer and Menendez against absence of war)

Tianjin explosions: police order mass evacuation amid contamination fears | World news | The Guardian - Everyone within three kilometres of blast site in China urged to get out amid fears of poisoning by sodium cyanide as death toll rises to 104 (changing their tune)
Tianjin Blast Zone Evacuated Over Contamination Fears - The chemical explosion left over 100 people dead.

Kayla Mueller was raped by Isis leader before her death, say officials | World news | The Guardian - Hostage's family say they were told by US officials that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi took Mueller as his "wife" and sexually abused her repeatedly (it's halal)
The Fight To Document The ISIS Massacre Of The Yazidis - A year after the rampage, the difficult road to justice.

- Padraig O'Malley A two-state solution is dead

- Short Erickson: Be angry, but not at me. Sure I've been chumming the water for years, but I didn't expect sharks (when the angry far right is attacked by the even more angry farther right)
That is right, folks. To show unhappy they are, they are going to ask you to buy rock salt through their amazon store and mail it to Olympia Snowe. They don't call them the Red State Strike Farce for nothing. (it's grift, all the way down)

Time for Davis to do her job or resign || Kentucky.com - Herald-Leader Editorial (Liberty Counsel using her for marketing)

Eschaton: IVF - The lack of conservative opposition to IVF (there is some, but not much) demonstrates that it's just an anti-sex movement. If you really want to have a babby, anything is fine, but if you're a dirty hooooar who likes sex than you must be "punished."

Eschaton: Morning Thread - We had five banksters indicted over the Wilmington Trust debacle. While waiting for trial, one wanted to take a vacation to Ireland. The judge said no to that. BWHAHAHAHAHAHA.

Eschaton: I'm Not Sure If Andrew Cuomo Has Ever Actually Been To New York City - Not everybody wants to live in a place like New York, but places like New York can't exist without extensive functioning rail infrastructure. Take that away, and the hellscape awaits.

1. Massachusetts ... 4. New York : extremely high marijuana-related arrest rate, which was the highest in the country in 2013 at 577.24 per 100,000 people more than double the national rate. (Guiliani and Bloomfuck)

Fired Los Angeles Times cartoonist hits back at newspaper for siding with LAPD | Media | The Guardian - Department used inaudible recording against award-winning journalist Ted Rall after he drew cartoon alleging police misconduct in 2001 jaywalking incident (cops faked "evidence" to get LAT to fire Ted Rall for his anti-killer-cop 'toons)

California Highway Patrol officers, others eyed in killing: Three current and former CHP officers and a prominent criminal defense lawyer and five other people were arrested Friday in connection with the disappearance and killing of a Central Valley man and trying to mislead and cover it up : news
Miami Police Union Smears Woman Who Posted Video of Cops Beating Man : news

Why You Should Be Eating Carbs For Breakfast

The average American woman now weighs as much as the average 1960s man - The Washington Post - Today's American man weighs almost as much as 1.5 American women from the 1960s. At 195.5 pounds, put five American guys in a room and you've gathered roughly half a ton of manhood.

Clinical trials at Lurie of pot drug to help epilepsy show promise - Chicago Tribune


081314
Federal Experts: Current El Niqo Could Be Historically Strong - even if El Niqo were to bring huge amounts of rain, Central and Northern California, which supply much of the state's water demand, often don't benefit from the weather phenomenon. Most of the precipitation tends to fall on Southern California, which can suffer heavily from floods.

Chelsea Manning supporters condemn threat of indefinite solitary confinement | US news | The Guardian - Activists say charges of "disrepect" and "disorderly conduct" are a violation of Manning's free speech as army insists its behavior is "fair and equitable" (bunch of sadistic, lying assholes with Obama as their leader +expired toothpaste)

Firefighter Rescued From Blast Zone In China's Tianjin - A rapid succession of explosions late Wednesday - one equal to 21 tons of TNT - killed at least 56 people, injured more than 720 and left several firefighters missing.

Marie Harf on Twitter: ".@JohnKerry: Our Presidents made the courageous decision to stop being the prisoners of history. #USCuba" (prisoners of Republicans and Israeli rightwing warmongers)
Come Again, Haaretz? - Joe.My.God. "Gay Jewish U.S. Senator Al Franken endorses #IranDeal" - The tweet has already been deleted. As Mediaite says "If he WERE gay, why would that matter in regards to his support for the Iran deal?" - Haaretz is Israel's oldest newpaper (someone call Franni)

Sen. Schumer's illogical case against the Iran deal (Jews for War!)
Disqualified - Democratic senators who don't reconsider support for Schumer as the leader of their caucus are making a big, big mistake. He should be ruled out of consideration for the job.
Schumer - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Lawyers, Guns & Money - But it is worrisome that on major issues with enormous national and international importance the majority leader would take untenable and dangerous positions that could lead to war and thousands of dead Americans. That's just irresponsible and there's no good reason for Democratic senators to vote for him when they have many other very capable options, including Dick Durbin and Patty Murray to name a couple who would like to have the job. (dump the fucker)


Right to Buy: 40% of homes sold under Government scheme are being let out privately - Home News - UK - The Independent - Almost 40 per cent of former council homes sold on the cheap under the Government's Right to Buy scheme are now being let out on the hugely expensive private rental market, enriching a new generation of landlords.

In N.J., papal visit's impact will ripple far from BF Bridge (popepocalypse)

Hillary Clinton's Email Scandal Continues, Now With Drones - But is it still about issues of national security or more about crippling a presidential campaign? - one of these vital national-security documents was a written conversation about something in a newspaper.

Top Army General Ray Odierno: Jeb Bush Is Wrong About Iraq War - "I remind everybody that us leaving at the end of 2011 was negotiated in 2008 by the Bush administration." (Republicans count on you not to remember anything and not being able to think))
Jeb Bush Botches Iraq Question Again - Jeb (!) spoke about the toppling of Saddam Hussein and the U.S. invasion of Iraq again. He becomes less and less coherent every time. (he had eight years to practice his lies) - Jeb (!)'s biggest problem is that he can't seem to find the memory hole without which no Republican presidential candidate can thrive.
A Pretty Good Deal - Lawyers, Guns & Money : The sound you hear is the continuing implosion of Jeb Bush.
driftglass: Jeb Bush Keeps Forgetting - That outside the wingnut bubble (and outside the Beltway Media bubble when enfolds it) not everyone has agreed to go along with the fairy tale that history began on January 20, 2009.

The End of the Death Penalty in Connecticut: backlash against capital punishment continues across the country

- Chicago conservative "enviious" of Hurricane Katrina in the most appalling op-ed of the year -- Kristen McQueary ""can relate, metaphorically, to residents climbing onto their roof, begging for help" - envy because one of the greatest natural disasters in American history allowed the city to bust the teachers and overhaul city hall (never let a disaster go to waste)

Governors Of Different Parties Realize Redistricting Is Screwed Up - Maryland and Virginia's legislatures are just standing in their way of a fix.

Joint Employers - Lawyers, Guns & Money : There is potentially huge news coming out of the National Labor Relations Board that would reclassify temp workers as joint employees of the company where they are temping, thus stripping away much of the reason why companies want temp workers and making them part of potential union bargaining units.

- Was the Civil War fought over slavery? : Here's the video to show idiots who think the answer is "No" -- Col. Ty Seidule, head of the department of history at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point lowers the boom

This Man Is Serving More Than 13 Years In Prison For Two Joints' Worth Of Marijuana - "We live in a world where people who are living in disadvantaged environments face challenges and situations that seem to never turn out as they do for people in more privileged and un-challenged neighborhoods" (war on drugs poor/black people)
Martese Johnson to sue three Virginia officers involved in his bloody arrest | US news | The Guardian - In 2013, undergraduate Elizabeth Daly and two of her housemates were swarmed by six undercover ABC agents who thought they had bought a case of beer under age, when in fact they had bought cans of sparkling water.
Ferguson's Police Chief Was Suspended Three Times From His Previous Job - Andre Anderson, who is currently heading Ferguson's police department, was served with an order of protection after he allegedly hit a woman.
DNA Test Frees Man After 34 Years In Prison - He was among four men arrested in 1981 after a mental patient identified them under hypnosis as suspects. (sounds legit)


Check out these under-the-desk bike pedals, the newest tactic for surviving office life. - If you're slowly becoming one with your desk chair, you may want to try this wacky idea.

Think Your Conscious Brain Directs Your Actions? Think Again - Singularity HUB - Think your deliberate, guiding, conscious thoughts are in charge of your actions? The Passive Frame Theory goes like this: nearly all the decisions and thoughts that need to be made throughout the day are performed by many parts of the unconscious brain, well below our level of awareness.


Women who use tinder, what are you actually looking for? : AskReddit ("to get it in")
What is your weirdest sexual encounter? [NSFW] : AskReddit
What's the darkest joke you know? [NSFW] : AskReddit

081315
PLOS Science Wednesday: We're Jim Hansen, a professor at Columbia Jim Hansen, a professor at Columbia's Earth Institute, and Paul Hearty, a professor at UNC-Wilmington, here to make the case for urgent action to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, which are on the verge of locking in highly undesirable consequences, Ask Us Anything.

Pentagon blocking Guantanamo deals to return Shaker Aamer and other cleared detainees | US news | The Guardian - foot-dragging games (Obama apparently not commander-in-chief)

The Google Search That Made the CIA Spy on the US Senate | VICE News - By Jason Leopold - the central question behind the ongoing fight between the Senate Intelligence Committee and the CIA: Did the CIA mistakenly give the committee access to internal documents about the detention and interrogation program that the Senate was never supposed to see?

Hillary Clinton on the Sanctity of Protecting Classified Information - Manning was convicted and sentenced to 35 years in prison. At the time, the only thing Hillary Clinton had to say about that was to issue a sermon about how classified information "deserves to be protected and we will continue to take necessary steps to do so" because it affect[s] "the security of individuals and relationships" (bitch didn't even encrypt because she couldn't even figure out a fucking fax machine)

fairdreamer comments on Frontline: United States of Secrets - (2014) An in depth and deeply unsettling look into the past, present, and future of the American government and corporate surveillance state.

Julian Assange condemns Swedish handling of sexual assault claims | Media | The Guardian - I am extremely disappointed. There was no need for any of this," Assange said in a statement. (Sweden refuses to say they won't rendite him to US; rape allegation have 10 yr expiration; Sweden/US will keep him locked up)
Sweden Ends Part Of Its Investigation Against Julian Assange - Three of the four sexual assault allegations against Assange were set to expire within a week. The statue of limitations for most sex crimes is five years. Sweden still plans to pursue rape charges, which don't expire for another five years, according to Al Jazeera.
Sweden drops sexual assault probe against Julian Assange as deadline expires : worldnews

Railway_Pilgrim comments on ELID: The Trans-Pacific Partnership


A trolling so perfect that its mere existence disproves the laws of thermodynamics + Unqualified Offerings - Bill, you lovable scoundrel, you have just trolled the Republican Party in a way that nobody has ever trolled them before:

Former President Jimmy Carter reveals he has cancer

Obama Is Playing Hardball, and Guess Who Doesn't Like It? | Mother Jones - The Washington Post is unhappy with the "certitude" with which President Obama is defending the Iran nuclear deal. Normally, the Post would prefer more certitude in Obama's foreign policy, but whatever. Then there's this: (Fred Hiatt, always wrong)

Jeb Bush offered inaccurate version of Iraq war history | McClatchy DC - Foreign policy speech aimed at undercutting Hillary Clinton twisted facts - He omitted fact his brother set date for U.S. withdrawal - Is there any point to arguing now over who lost Iraq? (the word you are looking for is "destroyed" +won't be that easy for Jebb!ietunes)

Eschaton: Traction - suppose if we ignore all the polls and just repeat what highly paid GOP consultants tell us in gchat we can tell this story about how Carly Fiorina is the next great GOP hope? The NYT makes sure that everybody in the clown car gets their moment riding shotgun.

If Only the Supreme Court Had Saved Freedom Instead - According to the survey, just 9.2 percent of the population, or about 29 million people, had no coverage during the first three months of 2015. That's down from 11.5 percent in 2014, 14.4 percent in 2013, and 16 percent back in 2010. (those are people who shouldn't be voting anyway)

Herding the Cranks - Lawyers, Guns & Money : For example, less than one quarter of the likely Republican primary voters believed that Barack Obama had been born in the United States. (MO: Todd Akin is back, and wants to control your womb) In 2008, he claimed in a House floor speech that it was "common practice" for doctors to conduct abortions on women "who were not actually pregnant"


Kentucky Clerk Defies Federal Judge's Order, Refuses To Issue Marriage License To Gay Couple - Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis (thinks the church is paying her)

The problem with the police, in other words, is not that they have unions, but that they are police ... the labor movement has always had a very tenuous relationship with police because those police have happily busted the heads of workers for a very long time. (rightwing authoritarian racists have always hated unions, except for their own, and learned nothing from their own reprentative process)
Black Labor Organizers Urge AFL-CIO to Reexamine Its Ties to the Police
No Video Of A Police Shooting? That's Because Many Cops Still Don't Have Body Cameras. (Boston only major city without body cameras because "they would not increase the trust of the black community" said Marty Walsh)

Tinder - Lawyers, Guns & Money : The Tinder twitter feed's overwrought, whiny, self-important meltdown over the Vanity Fair article is amusing, but it's no defense of the piece itself, which is mostly lazy and content-free
Has Tinder Really Sparked a Dating Apocalypse? -- Science of Us (no)
Tinder Mercenaries | The American Conservative - The truth is, I think that far, far too many of our churches and Christian communities are involved in modernity and popular culture in ways we scarcely grasp, but that compromise us. I include myself in that critique too.
Why Straight Men Have Sex With Each Other -- Science of Us
Why can straight white men have sex with men without social consequences? | Zach Stafford | Comment is free | The Guardian - because to be straight and still be able to perform "gay sex" - while always remaining uninterested - is the height of white masculinity.
Three New Bill Cosby Accusers Come Forward, Attorney Gloria Allred Challenges Cosby's Lawyer (will he break 100?)

Kentucky high school removes gay basketball player from yearbook page : news

Under siege, for-profit colleges cry foul over new federal rules | McClatchy DC - Debt load high for for-profit college alumni

Fish oil pills may help teenagers stave off schizophrenia - New Scientist - When people with early-stage symptoms took omega-3 supplements for three months, they had much lower rates of progression than those who did not, according to one small-scale trial.

Sex does matter: Key molecular process in brain is different in males and females - scientists found that a drug called URB-597, which regulates a molecule important in neurotransmitter release, had an effect in females that it did not have in males. increased the inhibitory effect of a key endocannabinoid in the brain, called anandamide, causing a decrease in the release of neurotransmitters ... endocannabinoids activate the same neural receptors as the active ingredient in marijuana ... Currently, about 85 percent of basic neuroscience studies are done in male animals, tissues or cells.
Toddlers who chill in front of TV are at later risk of being victimized by classmates - For young children, the number of hours spent watching TV at the age of 29 months correlates to the likelihood he'll be bullied by sixth grade (due to bad social skills +"he?")
Trans fats, not saturated fat, linked to heart disease risk - New Scientist
Scientists record activity of central nervous system for first time -- and create these amazing videos - Connectomics draws scientists from engineering, physics, chemistry and computer sciences into neuroscience, where a variety of techniques using advanced equipment can generate images, called multimodal imaging
Analyzing stylistic similarity amongst authors
I analyzed the text of 12,590 books from Project Gutenberg and discovered 11 stylistic clusters of authors - help me interpret them? : books

The New Devil's Dicktionary
That Moon and Earth GIF is totally real: debunking Twitter's conspiracy theories | The Verge

What's the best accident in history? : AskReddit
What profession was once highly respected, but is now a complete joke? : AskReddit
If you're going 80 miles per hour... : videos

Fear of drones crashing into passenger planes is 'much ado about nothing' says airline pilot

081215
Arctic Ice Loss Is So Bad National Geographic Has To Keep Redrawing Its Atlas
'Tony Abbott's hubris is staggering" - UK's climate adviser on emissions target (Australia in the "don't give a shit if everyone dies" category": conservative idiot-assholes at work)
Oil at 6-year low, but OPEC keeps pumping more - Aug. 11, 2015

Swedish prosecutors slammed for 'victimising' Julian Assange of WikiLeaks - Yahoo News UK - A Freedom of Information request by the Hazel Press news organisation revealed that Sweden has been granted 44 requests to interview a witness or suspect in the UK since 2010. (but Julian is different so they are keeping him in jail in the Ecuadorean embassy)
Chelsea Manning may face solitary confinement for having Jenner Vanity Fair issue | US news | The Guardian - Expired tube of toothpaste and Malala Yousafzai memoir also among cell items that led to US soldier being allegedly charged with four violations of custody rules, lawyers say (sadistic to the core)
Pentagon needs to rethink calling war journalists 'belligerents', says watchdog | Media | The Guardian
Who Threatens America Most? - The New York Times ("threats" - NYT wants you to be afraid)

New Route to Conversion Challenges Israel's Ultra-Orthodox Establishment - At issue is the status of about 300,000 Israeli citizens, mostly descendants of immigrants from the former Soviet Union, who consider themselves Jewish but require conversion in order to marry because their lineage is not clear. (let's put the super rock-heads in charge of our state religion)

MH17: 'Russian missile parts' at Ukraine crash site - BBC News

Explosions in Chinese city of Tianjin kill at least 17 and injure hundreds | World news | The Guardian - Homes on other side of port city shaken by blasts after shipment of explosives goes up in flames just before midnight local time
China's currency devaluation could spark "tidal wave of deflation" - Western central banks advised to resist raising interest rates and told to prepare to ward off deflationary slump in face of cheaper Chinese exports
Eschaton: If It's A Day Ending in 'Y' - Charles Plosser wants the Fed to raise interest rates. (there you go)
China's Yuan Falls Further - Some fear the move could trigger a currency war.

Iran deal: Schumer working the phones - politico - He calls colleagues to explain his decision and assure them he will not be whipping opposition.
Head of Group Opposing Iran Accord Quits Post, Saying He Backs Deal - The New York Times - When the bipartisan advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran decided last week to mobilize opposition against the nuclear deal with Tehran, Gary Samore knew he could no longer serve as its president.
Dozens of retired generals, admirals back Iran nuclear deal - The Washington Post (Chuckie-Fuckie owned by AIPAC, so no)
Booman Tribune ~ A Progressive Community - Imagine if you will that there is a giant anvil hanging by a rope over your head and that the rope is on fire and the anvil will soon fall on you and kill you. Now, imagine that someone comes up with a plan to put out the fire before it burns through the rope and you die. Now imagine that some people are concerned that the rope might catch fire again at some future date and are therefore against putting out the fire right now and saving your life. (another America-sacrificing Jew; and Obama is "embittered and unfair")

New Diplomacy Seen on U.S.-Russian Efforts to End Syrian Civil War - The New York Times (Russians were right, Obama forced to admit it, the "JV' is taking over Syria)

Eschaton: The Plunger Protection Team - The Very Serious People think 25% unemployment signals a thriving economy ... The bailout deal doesn't "grant Greece" billions euros, it gives free money to the people who lent them money. It's a bankster bailout. It's debatable whether defaulting would be better for Greece, but it isn't a bailout of Greece. It's a bailout of the banks. (banksters can never fail and are never responsbile)

Why TPP Threatens To Undermine One Of The Fundamental Principles Of Science | Techdirt - The central problem with biologics in TPP is "data exclusivity,"

Number of Uninsured Has Declined by 15 Million Since 2013, Administration Says - The New York Times - or one-third (Republicans were spectacularly wrong, but no consequences)

Top Secret emails found as Clinton probe expands to key aides

Bernie Sanders Surpasses Hillary Clinton In New Hampshire Poll - Sanders leads Clinton in the state for the first time this election cycle.
CNN / ORC Poll: Trump tops in Iowa as Scott Walker drops - CNNPolitics.com - Donald Trump has a significant lead in the race to win over likely Iowa caucus-goers, according to the first CNN/ORC poll in the state this cycle. (unstoppable)

WorldNetDaily: God May Use Donald Trump To Usher In Second Coming Of Jesus | Right Wing Watch - The word "trump" appears twice in the King James Version of the Bible, both in the New Testament, referring to trumpet blasts being sounded at the Second Coming of Jesus and the resurrection of the dead. (he's the golden calf)

The Political Equivalent of Peaking in High School by Ed Kilgore | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - the slow but steady decline of Rick Perry

From "Broken Windows" To Black Codes ("broken windows" an excuse for "zero tolerance" and war on poor minorities - George Kelling helped invent "community policing" and is now unhappy with the outcome)

Scott Walker: Reverse Robin Hood - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Lawyers, Guns & Money - Tomorrow, Scott Walker will stand on a stage at State Fair Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and betray virtually every conservative economic principle there is by handing out up to $450 million in taxpayer money to wealthy sports owners to pay for private infrastructure at a time when public infrastructure is crumbling ... billionaire hedge-fund-manager owners, who threatened to move the team if they weren't give tons of taxpayer money (Wississsppi)
Scott Walker Signs Arena Deal, Handing $400 Million To Billionaire NBA Owners - The presidential candidate put taxpayer money behind the new arena despite criticism from economists and conservative allies.

Steal This School Segregation Story - school segregation story showing how poorly racially isolated elementary schools in part of Pinellas County have fared since the County abandoned its integration efforts


Judge's ruling allows open carry of guns in elementary school | MLive.com (Michigan: next: ok for kids to pack heat)
Judge's ruling allows open carry of guns in elementary school : news

Talladega Alabama Mayor is attacked with baseball bat by radio co-host outside of barbershop for allegedly being caught on camera having sex with co-host's wife. : news - Springer said he has seen at least part of the tape, and while he declined to go into explicit detail, he did describe the acts shown as "full blown" and added "it gives me hope for when I'm 70"/a>

New CNN Hire Jeffrey Lord Is An Anti-Immigrant Lynching Denier Who Compares Opponents To Nazis | Research | Media Matters for America
Pearson Unloads $731 Million Stake In The Economist - The proposed repurchase will strengthen the magazine's editorial independence, the company says.

Tinder and Hookup-Culture Promotion | Vanity Fair - setting up two or three Tinder dates a week and, chances are, sleeping with all of them, so you could rack up 100 girls you've slept with in a year ("Tinderellas")

A new way to treat pneumonia - CHCH - Your Superstation - using steroids along with traditional treatment significantly improved their outcomes
Attack on the pentagon results in discovery of new mathematical tile | Science | The Guardian



Oracle security chief to customers: Stop checking our code for vulnerabilities [Updated] | Ars Technica - she refers to security professionals as "security weenies" and describes the security research process thusly:

081115
Our Extinction Problem May Be Far, Far Worse Than We Think - New research suggests that 130,000 species are gone forever.

China Devalues Yuan After Poor Economic Data - Some suspect the move could be the beginning of a longer-term slide in the exchange rate.

Eschaton: More Weapons Should Help - Nobody could have predicted. (so they can say they're "doing something" ; nothing succeeds like repeated spectacular failure)

- Obama: Netanyahu only foreign leader "I can recall" forcibly interfering in US policy (classic in your face +jpost commenters hate Obama and want American kids to get blown up)
Chuck Schumer's The good senator from New York may be voting his conscience, but he's got the facts all wrong. (Chuckie's "conscience" is owned by AIPAC)
LOL. Anti-Iran Deal Farce Hits Crescendo - Joe Lieberman, storied Middle East hawk, has joined United Against Nuclear Iran as its new Chairman. UANI is one of several pressure groups now rolling out massive ad campaigns against the deal bankrolled by assorted billionaires. (Lieberputz returns)
Two Mississippi Residents Charged With Trying To Join Islamic State - The charge indicates undercover FBI agents interacted online with Young beginning in May about her desire to travel to Syria to join the group.

Here's Some Stupid for Lunch: Jeb Bush Set to Place Blame for Failed Peacekeeping in Iraq - Except on the figure that probably matters most
The Forgotten Story of America's Other Racist Flag - Richard Nixon invented the cult of the "POW/MIA" in order to justify the carnage in Vietnam in a way that rendered the United States as its sole victim. (and the rock-head bought it, becuase patriotism!)

Carly Fiorina Backs Maternity Leave Policy Worse Than Afghanistan's - So do most Republican lawmakers.
his brother and the man who started the war, George W. Bush. Really, Jeb?
Chris Christie Vetoes Bill That Would Have Allowed Transgender People To Change Their Birth Certificates

Anti-abortion hysteria: the new norm for Republican presidential candidates | Scott Lemieux | Comment is free | The Guardian - Would you really let a mother die rather than have an abortion, and with 83% of the American public in favor of a life exception, are you too out of the mainstream on this issue to win the general election? (yes, of course)
GOP Presidential Field Criticized For Courting Serial Sexist Erick Erickson | Blog | Media Matters for America (what a weird looking dude)
- How Roger Ailes Picked Trump, and Fox News' Audience, Over Megyn Kelly

Obamacare Appears To Be Working Everywhere But Texas - While their attorney general and former governor are under indictment, Texas is also the only state with an uninsured health care population over 20%. The list of problems just keeps growing, as does the list of Texas state officials who fail to cooperate with the law.

- Larry Lessig Believes Democracy Is Screwed. So He's Running For President To Save It. The Harvard legal scholar promised to quit if he passes his reform agenda.
- Little House On The Prairie Star Melissa Gilbert Is Running For Congress - Gilbert is a Democrat running in a Republican stronghold in Michigan.


Huffington Post, Washington Post Reporters Charged For Doing Journalism In Ferguson (the reporters sitting in McDonalds with their laptops last year because if they can fuck with you with taxpayer money, they will)
Woman Says Gas Station Strip Search Was Like Sexual Assault - They stuck their fingers up inside of her ("didn't come to full stop" "smelled marijuana" "resisting rape" "found 0.02 ounces of marijuana" taxpayers will pay big))

- One of the life's great mysteries is how many people want to entrust their children* for 6 hours per day to underpaid, undertrained, and resentful, given the current political climate (after years of hating on teachers, the teachers gave up)

In America, only the rich can afford to write about poverty | Barbara Ehrenreich | Comment is free | The Guardian

Academic Freedom at UIUC: Freedom to Pursue Viewpoints and Positions That Reflect the Values of the State
The Revelations in Phyllis's Wise's Emails -- Perhaps the key fact is that these emails existed at all. Using a personal email address to evade FOIA requests is clearly unethical and possibly illegal.
Inside UIUC's War on Academic Freedom - Lawyers, Guns & Money : We must destroy academic freedom in order to preserve our ability to get rid of economic regulations. Universities must reflect the values of the state government! ... Kennedy thinks that Salaita is comparable to Bill Ayers. Tweets that Christopher Kennedy disagrees with are pretty much like setting off multiple bombs, apparently. (bunch of assholes; never let fuckers like these near an educational system +RFK's kid)
Monstre Disacri by Garry Wills | The New York Review of Books - One finishes this long volume with the fear, page by page, that Bambi will show up in the final paragraph to lick Coke's cheeck (for the history)

The Roanoke Island Colony: Lost, and Found? - The New York Times


Fighting the fatbergs: how cities are waging war on clogged sewers | Cities | The Guardian - Fatbergs are the scourge of cities all over the world, and can grow to the length of a Boeing 747.




081015
Lawsuit could reveal secret Saudi connection to 9/11 | New York Post (the de-selected fact Bush and Obama and Netanyahu don't want you to know)


How Adolf Tolkachev Became a CIA Spy in the Soviet Union - The Atlantic

This chart shows sexist tweets to Megyn Kelly exploding since she questioned Donald Trump - Vox (really brought out the women-haters, watch who you vote for, ladies)
Trump: Listening to Fiorina causes headaches | TheHill (funny)

And Please Let the Door Hit You on the Way Out - Lawyers, Guns & Money : One very clear implication of Roberts' surprisingly forceful rejection of ACA trooferism was that a majority of the Supreme Court was uninterested in having any further frivolous lawsuits rise up from the fever swamps. The lower courts appear to have gotten the message:
- How ObamaCare's fiercest critic all but admitted the legal case against it was a scam

Going Bankrupt Like Trump Did Is for High Rollers, Not Homeowners - Donald Trump took advantage of the nation's bankruptcy laws four times in the last 24 years, and if ordinary Americans in this country were allowed to do the same, the country would be in markedly better shape economically, with a far stronger post-recession recovery. (bankruptsy only for rich assholes)

Sam Brownback's brother accused of terrorizing rural neighbors | CJOnline.com - Sam Brownback's brother accused of terrorizing rural neighbors - Parker farmer plays with fire, leans on family ties to suffocate criticism - He simply referenced a God-given bond with people sharing his surname -- individuals with the capacity to cool law-enforcement heat as effectively as water douses flames. (runs in the family)

Deep Thoughts, By And Curated By Maureen Dowd - Lawyers, Guns & Money - "Running for president is the new selfie" (Modo becoming a parody of Peggy Noonan +Kurt Andersen, never wrong)



Woman Claims She Had Miscarriage After Cop Used Stun Gun Against Her
Lawyer For Cop Who Killed Zachary Hammond Tries To Change The Story - Autopsies have shown that the officer began shooting at near point-blank range through the open driver's side window. (first, they said he was trying to run over the cop when he was shot in the back, now they reverse their story when logic fails)
Alleged Shooter Who Killed 8 Had Long History Of Domestic Violence
Ferguson Protesters DeRay Mckesson And Johnetta Elzie Arrested
Man Critically Wounded By Police In Ferguson Charged






080915
Wastewater Spill Turns Waters Yellow In New State - Towns were put on alert, and the water could reach Utah soon. ("New State" = New Mexico)


5 Women Accused Of Being Witches Beaten To Death In India - Dozens of villagers in eastern India beat to death five women Saturday, accusing them of practicing witchcraft and blaming them for a series of misfortunes in the village, police said.


The American Psychological Association Votes To Ban Members From Taking Part In Interrogations. : news ("medical professionals")

Hillary Clinton Emails Take Long Path to Controversy - The New York Times

- Trump's history of flippant misogyny
It's Like 10,000 Misogynists When All You Need Is A Knife - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Erick Erickson taking it upon himself to drum Donald Trump out of Republican respectability because of his sexism is pretty rich: Indeed, the fact that Erickson has some kind of kingmaker role really tells you much of what you need to know about the GOP circa 2015.
Erick Erickson, Noted Sexist, Slams Donald Trump For Being Sexist - The RedState editor-in-chief is fond of telling women to get in the kitchen and cook for him.
GOP leaders say erratic attacks hurt Trump, but he vows to fight and win - The Washington Post
- Donald Trump's fight with Fox News and Megyn Kelly, explained
- The Republican Party Created Donald Trump
Sources: Roger Stone quit, wasn't fired by Donald Trump in campaign shakeup - Marc Caputo - POLITICO - Trump says he fired his campaign adviser. His adviser says he fired Trump.

Carly Fiorina Opposes A Paid Maternity Leave Requirement - The GOP presidential hopeful says the question should be left to employers. (Failurina hates women too +scary looking lady)

Black Lives Matter protesters shut down Bernie Sanders; later rally draws 15,000 | The Seattle Times - "Why would they pick Bernie Sanders to do this to? He has stuck up for civil rights," said Diane Jerich-Domin, of Port Ludlow, Jefferson County, who added that she had attended Black Lives Matter protests after Ferguson. Marissa Johnson, one of two women protesters who deprived thousands of their chance to hear Bernie speak ... the fact that people booed them for hijacking an event was just proof that they were all "white supremacist liberals."
Protesters drove Bernie Sanders from one Seattle stage. At his next stop, 15,000 people showed. - The Washington Post
Bernie Sanders Shut Down By Black Lives Matter Protesters In Seattle
The racist protester that shut down the Bernie Sanders rally : pics (reddit tracks her down; she's a Palin supporter, wtf?)
Presidential Candidate Bernie Sanders at a sit in against segregation in the 60s : pics

Eschaton: America's* Most Popular Human - Chris Christie. - *America refers to "Real Americans" which of course means the people who inhabit the Green Rooms of various news programs. (NJ voters hate him, got what they voted for)


Suspect in custody identified after 8 people found dead in home (moar guns!)



The 30 Least Religious Cities In The United States (Boston #9 but Portlandia wins)



New York Times Reaches 1 Million Digital-Only Subscribers - The company also posts a profit even as print ad revenue plummets.
Cord-Cutting Gets Ugly: U.S. Pay-TV Sector Drops 566,000 Customers in Q2 | Variety

Reforming the way we learn and the future of the world's schools. A book by the founder of Khan Academy, Salman Khan. : books
Salman Khan: Let's use video to reinvent education | TED Talk | TED.com



080815
Massive toxic algae bloom reaches from California to Alaska - Yahoo News

John Kerry: Vietnam war was result of 'profound failure of diplomatic insight' | War is never something to rush to or accept without exploring every other available option, (lookin' at you, Senator from Tel Aviv)

Fears of Lasting Rift as Obama Battles Pro-Israel Group on Iran - The New York Times (AIPAC not in the best interests of America)
- The President Defends His Iran Plan -- Why is Barack Obama saying, "It's the deal -- or war?" He explains his thinking in a conversation with journalists. (Chuckie Boom-Boom Schumer and far right (let the American kids die) Israelis disagree)
Obama Won't Back Down From Linking GOP And Iranian Hard-Liners - "What I said is absolutely true factually." (except he forgot the Israeli red-liners)
Anti-War Donors Pledge To Withhold $8.3 Million In Potential Donations From Schumer, Iran Deal Opponents - More than 17,000 MoveOn members have said they won't donate to anyone against the deal. (Chuckie Fuckie will still be Dem Senate Leader)
- 29 Leading U.S. Nuclear Scientists Praise "unprecedented Iran deal" - scientists - among them 5 Nobel laureates - say deal can serve as 'guidepost for future nonproliferation agreements.'
Iran's Jewish community gets behind nuclear deal with U.S. - Jewish community gets behind nuclear deal with U.S.

'Almost quarter of a million people' dead in Syria war - Al Jazeera English - Almost quarter of a million people dead in Syria war - News of mounting death toll comes as UN Security Council backs resolution to probe chlorine gas attacks in the country.

Mali Hotel Siege Ends With 12 Dead - The attack, far to the south of the Islamist militants' traditional desert strongholds, was the latest in what appears to be a growing campaign against Malian soldiers and U.N. personnel by remnants of an al Qaeda-linked insurgency.

New Zealand Made Trolling Illegal Last Month - Law states that anyone who causes "harm by posting digital communication," a.k.a. trolling, is liable to conviction & could face up to 2 yrs in prison & be subject to $50,000 NZD ($32,570 USD) in fines. : worldnews - "harm by posting digital communication"

Indian Woman Who Was Married Off At Just 11 Months Old Fights Against Child Marriage - Though child marriage is technically illegal in India, the practice is still relatively common. ("crude and aggressive" "husband" showed up to rape her)
Pakistan's shame: Country's biggest child pornography ring busted - 400 videos have been confiscated featuring more than 280 children being sexually exploited.
Annulment the new hope for India's child brides - "If I was exploited and misused as a child, does it mean I should have to follow it through to the bitter end?" she asked.

Hyperinflation looming in Venezuela: nearly 82% say they can't afford food : worldnews (Chavez' policies come home to roost)


edroso on Twitter: "A visitor from six months ago would look and this and deduce that CNN had been won by a 10-year-old in a card game https://t.co/0kZOMfzukt"

Here Are All The Ugly Remarks Trump Has Made About Megyn Kelly - As if to prove her point, the reality TV star has continued to spew sexist vitriol after the presidential debate. (into the Trumpster Dumpster)
6 Reasons It Was So Frustrating To Watch The GOP Debate As A Woman - Oh, what a time to be alive and a lady. -- There's nothing like listening to ten dudes who will never need an abortion, talk about whether I should have a right to abortion (they're in charge of your ladyparts, ladies)

History of Abuse Seen in Many Girls in Juvenile System - The New York Times - As many as 80 percent of the girls in some states' juvenile justice systems have a history of sexual or physical abuse, according to a report released Thursday. The report, a rare examination of their plight, recommends that girls who have been sexually trafficked no longer be arrested on prostitution charges. (yeah, your legal system is really fucked up)

Young, Unarmed Black Man Killed By Cop Didn't Want To 'Die Too Young' - Young, Unarmed Black Man Killed By Cop Didn't Want To Die Too Young - Police said Miller had no experience prior to joining the Arlington Police Department. He has been placed on paid administrative leave.
- It's Almost Impossible To Tell If Police Camera Footage Has Been Edited = A slew of security features make it difficult for a cop to change a tape, but that doesn't mean you'll ever see the original video.

Anti-Vaxxers collecting signatures to recall California state senator Richard Pan : news

Why A Victory For The Voting Rights Act In Texas Feels More Like A Defeat (no evidence they actually meant to discriminate against blacks and latinos with their discriminatory law against blacks and latinos)

The Golden Parachute - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Lawyers, Guns & Money - Phyllis Wise is stepping down as chancellor of the University of Illinois, in no small part for her utterly disastrous handling of the Stephen Salaita firing, which Farley covered earlier today. She is really suffering as result: (not) U. of I. officials used personal email to hide discussions - Chicago Tribune (one reason they turned and ran)
Eschaton: "Culture of Respect, Collegiality, and Collaboration" - It's very collegial and respectful to pretend you didn't hire someone you hired after they quit their last tenured job, sold their house, and moved across the country.
- Chancellor Wise Forced to Release Emails From Private Account (it's always the coverup; she risked spoliation of evidence issues)


Fermilab Scientists Observe Neutrino Oscillations | Hacked - One of the objectives of the NOvA experiment is the observation of oscillations from muon neutrinos to electron neutrinos.
EmGate Wars Continue After Publication of Peer-Reviewed EmDrive Paper | Hacked
Scientists Advance Toward Single-Molecule Electronics | Hacked - a single-molecule diode that outperforms the best of its predecessors by a factor of 50.
How to Create a Secure Password | Hacked

In 1994 a human being was mutilated in the same manner as alleged UFO cattle mutilations, album with quotes from the autopsy report. : WTF


080715
Hiroshima - John Hersey - The New Yorker - August 31, 1946 Issue

- Royal Dutch Shell cuts ties with Alec over rightwing group's climate denial - Shell joins BP in corporate exodus from membership of the conservative, free-market lobbying group, which continues to deny the science of climate change
California wildfire evacuees return to destroyed homes: 'All of it is gone' | US news | The Guardian - California wildfire evacuees return to destroyed homes:

- Why I'm Supporting an Imperfect Iran Deal - Kirsten Gillibrand
You're Really Going to Miss Harry Reid - Lawyers, Guns & Money : New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, the chamber's third-ranking Democrat, plans to announce his opposition to the nuclear deal negotiated by the U.S., Iran, and five world powers tomorrow (bomb-bomb Chuckie, Senator from Israel) < White House warns Chuck Schumer: disapprove of Iran deal at your own peril | US news | The Guardian
Morning Plum: Schumer comes out against Iran deal. How much does that matter? - The Washington Post
Opposing Iran Nuclear Deal, Chuck Schumer Rattles Democratic Firewall - The New York Times
Just Chuck Off Already ; Balloon Juice - covering his ass with the AIPAC crowd at this point, and he knows he can get away with it.
Dead to Me ; Balloon Juice - So there you have it- on three of the biggest issues of the last decade, Chuck Schumer has trampled people to rush to microphones to be wrong. This is who we want leading Democrats in the Senate?
br /> Doctors who colluded in US torture vote to crawl 'out of the dark side' | US news | The Guardian - Doctors who colluded in US torture vote to crawl "out of the dark side" - American Psychological Association votes almost unanimously to ban members from being involved in Bush-era tactics of torture in wake of damning report ... voted to begin reversing its policy of collusion in torture ... 130,000 medical professionals among its members (oh, they gave themselves M.D.s)
- Psychologist's Work for GCHQ Deception Unit Inflames Debate Among Peers -- Mandeep K. Dhami (women can torture too))
Russia hacks Pentagon computers: NBC, citing sources (they want to spy on everyone but can't keep their own systems secure, so more spying)
- An Oakland shooting reveals how cops snoop on cell phones An undercover operation is going very, very wrong for local and federal authorities.

Muckraking Brazilian radio host slain on the air :: La Prensa :: America in English - A radio host who exposed corruption in a small town in the northeastern Brazilian state of Ceara was gunned down Thursday during a live broadcast, authorities said.

Al-Qaeda blow up 700-year-old mosque in Yemen | Middle East Eye - Al-Qaeda have grown in power as Yemen has been consumed with a fierce civil war spanning much of the Arab world's poorest nation

Federal appeals court: Drug dog that's barely more accurate than a coin flip is good enough

Record 93,770,000 Americans Not in Labor Force; Participation Rate Matches 38-Year Low

Video upload (CXrO) - vidme
sulaymanf comments on Stephen Colbert brings Jon Stewart to tears with his heartfelt Thank You
isaac2004 comments on Stephen Colbert's impromptu thank you speech to Jon Stewart on the Daily Show finale
How "Indecision 2000" changed everything for Jon Stewart and The Daily Show

Democrats jubilant after chaotic Republican debate | US news | The Guardian
GOP candidates: Ban abortion, no exceptions | MSNBC
From Trump on Down, the Republicans Can't be serious
Pro Wrestling Can Teach You Everything You Need to Know About the GOP | The New Republic - Donald Trump is the perfect heel, and the Republican Party has no face (the Asshole Party)
Donald Trump made one shockingly insightful comment during the first GOP debate - Vox - . He even said that he used donations to get Hillary Clinton to go to his wedding that his giving left her with "no choice."
Trump Trips In GOP Debate, But Trumpism Wins: Planet Politics - He came off as arrogant, thin-skinned and mean -- but his blustery pronouncements are taking over the GOP.
Post-Debate, Donald Trump Focuses His Ire On Fox News Hosts And Voters
The GOP Debates Showed How Fox News Enforces Republican Orthodoxy - Fox News won the debate.
The Trump Campaign Has Descended Into Civil War -- NYMag -- Even Ivanka Has Gotten Involved

- Arizona was the first state in America to implement a tax credit for private education 18 years ago. School choice advocates loved this idea because it would decouple education from the state and allow for more competition. (stealing taxpayer money for 18 yrs and it didn't work, of course) This is how to kill public schools

No, Affordable Care Act Paperwork Does Not Endanger Your Religious Rights (filing for an exemption to dodge their "entire administrative and financial burden" endangered their Jesus liberty; Gov said we can't give you an exemption unless you file a form) the holy war of the mind rages apace in the minds of half of our political system. Paperwork is the devil's playground.

Gov. Bentley says that every driver license office (except for three) would be closed under the new Alabama House budget, as well as laying off one-sixth of the Highway Patrol Troopers. : news - remember, now you have to have voter id in order to vote in alabama. of course, all but 3 offices are now going to close. (1. cut taxes 2. bankrupt state 3. eliminate voting)

U of I Chancellor Wise Steps Down; Judge Upholds Salaita's Lawsuit on 1st Amendment Grounds (she thought she was bigger than the Constitution and spent $2mil of taxpayer money defending her stupid decision)
On the One-Year Anniversary of the Salaita Story, Some Good News - in order to block discovery, which would throw open to public view the bad behavior of many actors behind the scenes
Chancellor Phyllis Wise: Biography | Office of the Chancellor | Illinois (ex-Chancellor Wise)
Phyllis Wise - In 2014 she admitted to irregularities in some of her publications (she had a history of cheating)
U. Illinois chancellor earns mega-correction for duplicate publication - Retraction Watch at Retraction Watch
Failed Efforts to Hide Behind Bureaucratic Formalism - Lawyers, Guns & Money : - Big win for Steve Salaita.
Eschaton: Screwing The Pooch - One doesn't have to have any position on Salaita (not ducking the argument, just saying Salaita actually isn't the issue here), to see the UIUC totally fucked this whole thing up and will pay and pay and pay....


New Urine Test Could Tell if a Person is Suffering from MDD or Bipolar Disorder - The Latest News
New Urine Test Could Tell if A Person is Suffering from MDD or Bipolar Disorder : science
Access : Nonmuscle myosin IIB as a therapeutic target for the prevention of relapse to methamphetamine use : Molecular Psychiatry
Scientists may have found a way to make addicts forget they're addicted to meth: Researchers in Florida have discovered a method of wiping away memories, using a specific chemical. The new procedure only suppresses memories associated with drug use. : science
Scientists may have found a way to make addicts forget they're addicted to meth: Researchers in Florida have discovered a method of wiping away memories, using a specific chemical. The new procedure only suppresses memories associated with drug use. : science - A drug that erases memories? What could possibly go wrong? ... Drugs and pedophilia are like the human rights gateway.

Scientists solve planetary ring riddle: Universal particle distribution of Saturn's rings -- ScienceDaily - In a breakthrough study, an international team of scientists has solved an age-old scientific riddle by discovering that planetary rings, such as those orbiting Saturn, have a universally similar particle distribution.
- MIT claims to have found a "language universal" that ties all languages together - within a sentence, words are grouped together by concept more closely than can be explained by chance. (well, duh)
Penn Scientists Identify Key Genetic Factor That Keeps Moles From Turning Into Melanoma - The BRAF mutation that stimulates the initial growth of moles also stimulates the production of a tumor suppressor protein, p15, which ultimately acts as a powerful brake on further cell division,

Bacteria that prevent type 1 diabetes | EurekAlert! Science News - microbiota protects against the development of type 1 diabetes


Dune: The Complete Saga (3 hour long fan cut with all existing footage in one single clip) : videos


080615
Summer Of The 4th Amendment: Appeals Court Says Mobile Phone Location Is Protected Under 4th Amendment | Techdirt - from the secure-in-their-persons,-houses,-papers,-and-effects dept (a small dent in your pervasive security state)
An Undead SOPA Is Hiding Inside an Extremely Boring Case About Invisible Braces | Motherboard

Obama To Turks: Don't Use The War On ISIS To Bomb The Kurds

- Israeli President Rivlin: Netanyahu's Anti-Iran Drive Isolates Israel "I have told him, and I'm telling him again, that struggles, even those that are just, can ultimately come at Israel's expense" (but Chuckie will still vote against it)
US Democrat Chuck Schumer says he will oppose Iran nuclear deal | World news | The Guardian - New York senator pays tribute to Barack Obama's work but says there is "the very real risk Iran will not moderate" (Chuckie and Bibi stand together in their quest for war)

Ted Heath: inquiry into alleged witness tampering to stop child abuse claims | Politics | The Guardian - Information handed to Wiltshire police and being investigated by IPCC centres on alleged persuasion of witnesses in Myra Forde brothel case (lizards and Brit pedo-culture)
Investigation into Edward Heath child abuse claims to go national | Politics | The Guardian - Nationally coordinated police inquiry to be set up by end of week, as former brothel keeper denies knowledge of any misconduct by former PM

Brazil's president has an approval rating of 8% most unpopular democratically elected president since a military dictatorship ended in 1985

Saudi king blamed Mossad for 9/11 - Middle East - Jerusalem Post - Former US ambassador to Kingdom: This had to have been an Israeli plot. The Mossad must have done thi,s (now king) Salman said.

Money, Lust and Kung Fu: Shaolin's "C.E.O. Monk" Is Under Fire -- owns a small fleet of fancy cars, has embezzled millions of dollars from a temple-run corporation and has funneled some of the cash to a mistress now living in Australia. (we are talking China, here)

- Republican debate: Donald Trump still focus of campaign after sprawling fight
Trump responds to Megyn Kelly's questions on misogyny The Trump Campaign Has Descended Into Civil War -- NYMag -- Even Ivanka Has Gotten Involved
The Undercard From Cleveland by Ed Kilgore | Political Animal | The Washington Month with more misogyny | US news | The Guardian
ly

- Appeals court strikes down "discriminatory" Texas voter ID law - Critics contend that voter fraud is a miniscule problem overblown by Republicans for political purposes.

Texas AG Faces Contempt Hearing Over Gay Marriage Rights - The New York Times - Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton must explain why he should not be held in contempt for enforcing state laws that impede gay marriage rights after the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark descision (Teaparty rebel traitor to America)

Breaking Down the Jade Helm Clusterf*ck - In which the Great State of Texas swallows itself whole. For all the talk about how Donald Trump has tapped into some general dissatisfaction with government and some ill-defined populist moment, the energy behind his campaign comes mainly from these sad and angry places, deep in the tangled underbrush of fear, hate, and profitable ignorance, where it's all funny until someone builds a bomb

An "unarmed" white teen was shot dead by police. His family asks: Where is the outrage? (shot in the side while running over the officer)

Scripps Florida Scientists Make Strides in Therapy Preventing Addiction Relapse by Erasing Drug-Associated Memories -- blocked relapse for at least a month in animal models of methamphetamine addiction ... the effect of this novel treatment approach was specific to drug-associated memories (not affecting other memories), and the animals were still able to form new recollections. (yeah, right. we're going to erase all your liberal memories)
Exercise during teen years linked to lowered risk of cancer death later | VUMC Reporter | Vanderbilt University
Inflammation, not telomere length, predicts healthy longevity of centenarians - "Centenarians and supercentenarians are different - put simply, they age slower. They can ward off diseases for much longer than the general population."
Scientists May Have Isolated The Secret To Staying Healthy Past Age 100 - Telomere length has generally been thought to be the strongest predictor of how healthy someone will be in their old age. However, the researchers found that once a person reaches 100, inflammation levels rather than telomere length better predict successful aging and cognitive ability.
New Nanotech Device Will Be Able To Target And Destroy Blood Clots - The Latest News

Frontiers | Fifty psychological and psychiatric terms to avoid: a list of inaccurate, misleading, misused, ambiguous, and logically confused words and phrases | Educational Psychology (good list)

TMZ About to Get Taste of Own Bitter Medicine From The New Yorker - Hollywood Reporter - Hollywood Reporter
Can We Stop Pretending The Publishing Industry Is Fair Now? (white men write clever and well constructed stuff, womens' are beautifully written but lacking substance)


What's the worst kind of Redditor? : AskReddit

080515

MH370: Malaysian PM confirms Riunion debris is from missing flight | World news | The Guardian - First official confirmation that part of wreckage of Malaysia Airlines flight, which disappeared in March 2014 with 239 people on board, has been found

ISIS or Al Qaeda? American Officials Split Over Top Terror Threat - The New York Times - American officials say that counterterrorism programs employ roughly one in four of the more than 100,000 people who work at the C.I.A. and other intelligence agencies, and account for about one-third of the $50 billion annual intelligence budget.
Controversial cybersecurity bill would do little to stop hackers, experts say | World news | The Guardian - The White House-backed Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act could actually harm US defenses by diverting needed resources, notes an industry leader

Israel ex-security chiefs urge Netanyahu to accept Iran deal - Yahoo News (but Chuckie Fuckie Schumer will vote against it, shows how rightwing he is)

- Turkey: Coalition To Start "comprehensive battle" Against ISIS Soon (Erdogan shadow play)


ISIS executes 19 women for refusing to practice sex with its fighters, says Kurdish official - Iraqi News - attributing the cause to refusing the practice of the so-called sexual jihad. (which is what again?)
7.5 years in prison sought for 18 Turkish journalists (for reporting on Erdogan's shipping arms to ISIS)

- Sir Edward Heath, Ex-Prime Minister, "raped boy age 12" In Latest Westminster Child Abuse Claim (Thatcher, Royals completely complicit in pedocracy +whoa, look at the pics of the lizard)

India Lifts Internet Porn Ban After Angry Backlash - Adult website Pornhub said last year India ranked fifth for daily visitors.

Eschaton: Throw Out The Voters We Don't Like - Such a farce. -- Labour MPs have been ordered to vet people who have applied to join the party, amid growing concern that Trotskyists and others are signing up to vote for Jeremy Corbyn in the leadership election. (Labour will toss too-liberal voters)



- Scott Walker has tens of thousands of dollars' worth of credit-card debt (should get together with Rubio; Republicans are great at spending other people's money)

Philly restaurants in Pope zone struggle with security plans: 'I stand to lose tens of thousands' - Philly restaurants in Pope zone struggle with security plans: (Philly shuts down for the Pope; wait 'til the DNC)

Abortion, the Planned Parenthood Videos, and the IUDs That Could Slash the Abortion Rate - The Atlantic - An activist group is trying to discredit Planned Parenthood with covertly recorded videos even as contraception advocates are touting a method that sharply reduces unwanted pregnancies. (Republican anti-women racist facists never let facts enter their heads)

Jeb Bush Redirected Planned Parenthood Money To Abstinence-Only Education As Governor - Yet he suggested it went to women's health organizations. ("suggested" = lied)

- Cops Gun Down un-Armed Journalist's Career -- LA Times fires Ted Rall -- evidence blows up in newpaper's face -- As an investigative reporter, I was astonished that the LA Times did not even bother to do an independent analysis of the tape. (cops doctor tape, Times believe cops are always honest)
Political Cartoonist Ted Rall Discusses Being Dropped by the LA Times
LA Times fires and publicly pillories Ted Rall, veteran journalist critical of LAPD violence, because of LAPD audio tape & transcript without conducting analysis of the tape. Subsequent analysis backs journalist. : news - Paul Pringle and Nicolas Goldberg should resign. They've demonstrated that they lack the integrity to be journalists.

Zachary Hammond autopsy challenges police account of fatal shooting | US news | The Guardian (killer cops always lie)
- Alabama deputy charged by feds in "revenge beatdown"
Chicago police detained thousands of black Americans at interrogation facility | US news | The Guardian - Guardian lawsuit reveals overwhelming racial disparity at Homan Square, where detainees are still held for minor crimes with little access to the outside word, despite police denials that site is an anomaly (black rendition site for black people)
Shots Fired, Gunman Dead In Nashville Movie Theater - Police said the suspect -- a 51-year-old male -- was inside the theater where the movie "Mad Max" was showing ... had at least one gun and a hatchet, and two backpacks

CVS banned tobacco. Now its sales are hurting | Money - KMBC Home - Now CVS is detailing just how much the tobacco ban is impacting the company. While prescription sales continue to rise, general merchandise sales tumbled nearly 8% last quarter on a same-store basis.

Widely Used Herbicide Linked to Cancer - Scientific American - The World Health Organization's research arm declares glyphosate a probable carcinogen. What's the evidence? (it kills you)
Frequent spicy meals linked to human longevity | World news | The Guardian - Seven-year study of adults in China matches regular consumption of spicy foods, such as chilli peppers, to 14% reduced risk of death (if you don't drink)
Chinese loses math face-off to U.S. - CNN.com - For the first time in 20 years, China has lost a world math championship to the United States -- and many in the world's most populous nation seem happy about it.

A list of every hidden journalism-related social media group I could find | Poynter. (and then the banhammer came down +Poynter comments are mixed, some journalists in favor of keeping secrets)
https://melodykramer.github.io/2015/08/05/why-I-made-a-list-of-hidden-journalism-groups-and-what-i-learned/ - Why I Made A List Of Hidden Journalism Groups And What I Learned (safe spaces and womens' exclusivity are hot topics +many commenters conflate knowing about something with being able to invade it)
Binders Full of Women Writers: can a secret Facebook group claim to be inclusive? | World news | The Guardian - Binders Full of Women Writers: can a secret Facebook group be inclusive? Can an online "safe space" be both selective and preoccupied with inclusivity? That's a question that Binders Full of Women Writers is trying to sort out after a member published an article about the Facebook group - "women, genderqueer, and non-binary identifying writers are all welcome, but cis men are not" ... Formerly an editor and subsequent CEO of ex-Gawker Media porn blog Fleshbot, Alptraum is now co-director at Out of the Binders, Inc, (inclusively superexclusive)

How I Gave Up Alternating Current | Mostly Harmless

What are some of the unwritten laws of Guy Code? : AskReddit
Teens of reddit, what are some new slang words the oldies won't recognize? : AskReddit

080415
World's Glaciers Melting At Fastest Rate Since Record-Keeping Began - "Globally, we lose about three times the ice volume stored in the entirety of the European Alps every year."
5 Ways Obama's Successor Could Undermine His New Climate Rules - The new regulations depend on the next president to enforce them.
Middle East heatwave: power failures and rotting rubbish as Beirut is overwhelmed | World news | The Guardian
Raging California Wildfires Drive 13,000 From Their Homes - Nearly 3,000 firefighters are battling the Rocky Fire that has burned over 60,000 acres.
Californians facing nights in wildfire evacuation shelters - AOL.com - The blaze grew to more than 101 square miles Tuesday

Cybersecurity bill could "sweep away" internet users' privacy, agency warns - Homeland Security admits Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act raises concerns while corporations and data brokers lobby for bill as it returns to Senate (Obama Inc. wants corps to spy on you)
FBI Sends Subpoena To Boing Boing Over Its Tor Exit Node, Gets Educated, Goes Away | Techdirt (Feebs not the brightest bulbs in the government chandelier)

Many Of The Biggest Opponents Of The Iran Deal Loved The Iraq War, Dem Says (oh look, Chuckie Schumer, Senator from Israel, voted for the biggest mistake ever and will do it again)

Top Taliban Official Quits Amid Leadership Tensions - He called the decision to conceal ex-leader Mullah Omar's death a "historic mistake."

Brazil police "killed hundreds" in Rio - Campaign group Amnesty International says Brazil's military police have been responsible for more than 1,500 deaths in the city of Rio de Janeiro in the last five years. (still lagging behind America)


Trump's Been Acting Presidential on the Teevee for Years ... "stranger, in fact, that people would want to vote for somebody like Ted Cruz who's never run anything be his mouth"

The Declining Marginal Value of Crazy - Trump is in many ways the logical end result of seven years - really two-plus decades - of Republican cultivation of anger and grievance as a method of conducting politics

Who Gets Into the Republican Debate: Rounding Could Decide - The New York Times (Huckabee is surging! Failorina stuck at 0.8% just ahead of Graham)

2 Men Open Fire On Soldiers At Jade Helm Training Site In Mississippi - A sheriff in Mississippi says authorities are searching for two men who fired gunshots from a vehicle at soldiers at a military facility. No injuries were reported. (money on anti-gov "rebels")

The Latest: Defense lawyer says Texas AG to plead not guilty - Questions about Paxton's financial dealings have shadowed the tea party conservative since he took office in January.

More Fights Ahead On Planned Parenthood After Senate Vote
Donald Trump: Shut Down Government If Necessary To Defund Planned Parenthood
Hillary Clinton on Twitter: ".@JebBush: You are absolutely, unequivocally wrong. https://t.co/a6O17dlEh4" (Jebbie wants to defund womens' health)

New Orleans, Louisiana - New Orleans Police Department brass failed to take action against three officers who gave false statements about a 2012 police shooting that killed an unarmed man during a drug raid


Why teachers can to hire unlicensed teachers to ease the shortage. (Let the irony sink in for a minute.) (uneducated white Repubican KA voters kill state's ed system because who needs intelligence?)

Drone's heroin delivery to Ohio prison yard prompts fight among inmates | US news | The Guardian - Nine clash after drone drops package of heroin, marijuana and tobacco, leading officers to use pepper spray and strip-search 205 prisoners

Eschaton: This Is Not Going To Be A Positive Development For Society - A dystopian future awaits. -- Can we reverse the ageing process by putting young blood into older people? A series of experiments has produced incredible results by giving young blood to old mice. Now the findings are being tested on humans. (you can see where this will end)

Harper Lee readers demanding refunds were expecting far too much from Go Set a Watchman | Books | The Guardian - The book was always doomed to be a disappointment both for those caught up in the hype and for fans of To Kill a Mockingbird (comments by those who have read it are interesting in terms of racial history in the South)
Ursula K. Le Guin: A Blog (2016) - Lee was a young writer on a roll, with several novels in mind to write after this one. She wrote none of them. Silence, lifelong. I wonder if the reason she never wrote again was because she knew her terrifyingly successful novel was untrue.

Teen marijuana use not linked to later depression, lung cancer, other health problems, study finds | EurekAlert! Science News - Study contradicts some prior marijuana research
Teen marijuana use not linked to later depression, lung cancer, other health problems, study finds : science

Teen's plight: From dating app to sex offender registry - CNN.com - In fact, Judge Dennis Wiley, who sentenced Zach, said he was angry that Zach had used the Internet to meet a girl. (hello, Judge Dennis Wiley, you are an idiot)

Thuderstrike-2: Two Mac viruses strike at the heart of the platform - a worm which moves from Macbook to Macbook using hardware, joins privilege escalation bug seen in the wild for the first time

080315
Stop burning fossil fuels now: there is no CO2 "technofix," scientists warn - Researchers have demonstrated that even if a geoengineering solution to CO2 emissions could be found, it wouldn't be enough to save the oceans (Republicans have already destroyed civilization as we know it; will there be consequences?)
Obama's clean power plan hailed as US's strongest ever climate action
Science AMA Series: Climate models are more accurate than previous evaluations suggest. We are a bunch of scientists and graduate students who recently published a paper demonstrating this, Ask Us Anything! : science

Hundreds of civilians killed in US-led air strikes on Isis targets -- at least 459 non-combatant deaths, including 100 children, in 52 air strikes (they have to kill the children to save them)

Settler Violence - Lawyers, Guns & Money : The 21st century version of the white colonialist settler state continues committing horrifying violence against the indigenous people in its way. Extremist Israeli settlers burned a Palestinian house, killing an 18-month old baby boy (reaping what they deliberately sowed)
Palestinian fury as "Jewish Settler" arson attack kills child
Relative of Arson Attack Victims: I Saw Two Masked Men Standing by as They Burned Diplomacy and Defense Haaretz Daily Newspaper Israel News

Candy Direct News Ex-British prime minister named in child sex abuse investigation | Candy Direct News - Britain's olice watchdog said Monday that it is investigating claims that authorities dropped a sex abuse case during the 1990s that contained an allegation against the former Prime Minister Edward Heath.
Ex-British prime minister named in child sex abuse investigation : worldnews
Sir Edward Heath abuse claims: IPCC investigates police - BBC News
What David Icke has said since 1998 about paedophile and child killing Prime Minister Ted Heath is backed-up here by barrister Michael Shrimpton, an Intelligence and national security consultant, from his own contacts and inside experience | David Icke - Thatcher's government and circle of associates and aides was alive with paedophiles

"So revealing and wacky" Hillary Clinton emails deride David Cameron - US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's contempt for David Cameron before he became prime minister has been revealed in the release of her private emails.

Iran nuclear deal: Growing signs Schumer will oppose it (Senator from Israel will screw the world)

Is the Supposed STEM Shortage a Myth Used to Serve Tech Companies Labor Policies? - Lawyers, Guns & Money : The high-tech industry then lobbies for more H-1B visas, allowing for immigration of high tech workers from nations like India. Is the reason a shortage? No, it's to flood the market and lower wages for all.

Chinese military paper warns a corrupt army does not win wars | Reuters


Eschaton: Nice Trick - Greatest trick the banksters pulled was convincing the world that it was unpossible to default on a loan. We'll see how this plays out -- Puerto Rico will miss a payment on debt due Aug. 1

Sam DuBose, Ray Tensing case: Coroner: Liquor bottle seized during DuBose traffic stop was air freshener - 10News.com KGTV ABC10 San Diego (like they didn't know that)
UPDATE: Former Madison Co. deputy indicted on civil rights charges - Huntsville News | WAAYTV.com and ABC 31: Appnews - The indictment also says Watson pointed an unloaded gun at the back of J.C.'s head. and pulled the trigger.

"Ever since the beginning of time, John Roberts has yearned to destroy the Voting Rights Act." - Lawyers, Guns & Money: Berman links the beginning of this campaign to the crucial 2000 election, which among other consequences led to a long-time enemy of voting rights being nominated chief justice of the Supreme Court. (thanks, Ralph)

He Seems Nice - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Mark Sanford - He knew bad writing when he saw it, except when he was the author (Asshole Spectrum Disorder with Obsessive Dickishness)

Judge: Idaho's Anti-Dairy Spying Law Is Unconstitutional - ABC News


DOI Assignments for Science AMAs : science
Subliminal learning and conscious thought reduce and enhance pain | Science | The Guardian

Accident waiting to happen: the Ohio village built on a crumbling dam | US news | The Guardian (Repubicans hate your infrastructure, so elect them and drown)

Rolling Stone Appoints a New Managing Editor - The New York Times

Caitlyn Jenner's Conservative Views Create Tension On 'I Am Cait' - Jenner's views on social programs don't go over so well with her friends. ("friends" = paid actors + Welfare Queens)

What social site or website with a comments section do you find the most toxic? : AskReddit

Hitch-Hiking Robot Who Relied On Strangers' Kindness Was 'Damaged Beyond Repair' In Philadelphia -- hitchBOT was found decapitated on Saturday, just two weeks into its American tour. After successfully traveling around Canada, Germany and The Netherlands, the hitch-hiking robot who relied on the goodwill of strangers to get around met an untimely and brutal demise in Philadelphia. (of course)
Fed-up customers are hammering ISPs with FCC complaints about data caps : technology

080215
Obama To Unveil Tough Emission Cuts As Part Of Climate Change Actions
The Climate Change debate is long over and there is nothing we can do The Newsroom - The EPA - YouTube - Everything is already over, given what's already on the table. A technology to actually reverse the impact of Co2 is all that can save us now. Or killing off most of the population of humans, and replanting the earth with trees and so on.
Japanese Heat Wave Kills Six, Leaves Over 3,000 Hospitalized / Sputnik International - People wait for a green light at a crossing as they use umbrellas and hats to shade themselveSeveral dozen children sought medical attention due to extremely hot weather in several regions of the country, while 18 people were found unconscious. - Three Dead, 12 Critically Injured in Japan
News - Iranian city hits record-breaking temps, feels like 70 C - The Weather Network

Anti-torture reforms opposed within psychology group after damning report | US news | The Guardian - Tempers rise within American Psychological Association, which independent review recently found was complicit in brutal military and CIA interrogation (pro-torture faction in APA gaining strength)
"A national hero" -- psychologist who warned of torture collusion gets her due Jean Maria Arrigo was largely ignored and the subject of a smear campaign for sounding alarms about psychologists' post-9/11 torture complicity but has emerged from the damning report as the story's hero -- and martyr -- a member of the APA board, Gerald Koocher (attacked her and is a Republican liar who loves torture)
Gerald Koocher and his bow-tie -- picture of a psychopath

Saudi Arabia Calls On World To Ban Criticism of Religion - The director for external relations at the Ministry of Islamic Affairs on July 25 called on all countries to ban criticism of religion.

Kurdish Militants Target Turkish Military In Suicide Attack - Tensions flare in Turkey.
Eschaton: Nobody Could Have Predicted - Must increase gasoline shipments to our firefighters. ("intelligence failure" could be America's motto)

Chinese shares are falling, but the real fear is that the economy itself is slowing | Business | The Guardian - Disastrous losses on the Shanghai exchange are leading to concern that the era of runaway Chinese growth is faltering at a critical time in the world economy

Prime Minister Tony Abbott expected to announce he's lost confidence in Speaker Bronwyn Bishop after weeks of standing by the embattled veteran MP, who has been under fire for abusing parliamentary entitlements, including hiring a $5000 helicopter ride for a Liberal fundraiser from Melbourne to Geelong.



Pro-Confederate flag rally at "south's Mount Rushmore" draw hundreds (hundreds! treason is a traditon!)

All eyes on Trump as Republican debate nears, but Fox will be the real winner | Media | The Guardian - Republican candidates will take the stage on Thursday, with ratings expected to soar as Americans tune in to see what the frontrunner has to say

The New Holy Grail Of GOP Primaries - Never have so many done so much to reveal so little than in the collected journalism about presidential nomination contests. The personality-driven trivia. The hokey generalizations. The bogs of conventional wisdom. The day-by-day scorekeeping that ends up worse than uninformative; it is anti-informative. (your media is stupid and wants you to be stupid too)

Chris Lehmann 7 The Candidates: Scott, Rick, Ted, Marco and Jeb 7 LRB 18 June 2015 - Of the dozen or so people who have declared or are thought likely to declare, every one can be described as a full-blown adult failure. These are people who, in most cases, have been granted virtually every imaginable advantage on the road to success, and managed nevertheless to foul things up along the way (vote for fuck-up)

Reporter expelled from public university "Black Lives" event for not being of "African descent" Rosa Clemente, a speaker and a doctoral student at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, suggested the recording was not allowed due to the presence of children at the rally.

Training Officers to Shoot First, and He Will Answer Questions Later - The New York Times - The driver was unarmed. -- A black motorist, pulled to the side of the road for a turn-signal violation ... Taking the stand at a public inquest, William J. Lewinski, the psychology professor, explained that the officer had no choice but to act. (they will always kill you first +"psychology professor"" William J Lewinski)

Authorities investigating after 48-year-old loses consciousness in Dallas County jail lobby, dies | | Dallas Morning News -- "He came in saying, 'Don't be scared of me, I just need some help' They just tackled him as if he'threatened their lives ... he didn't have a weapon ... he wasn't swinging at the officers, he just needed help" (so the brave warrior copsters killed him)
A teenager who spent nearly 40 days in custody before a judge cleared him of throwing a dangerous snowball is suing the Detroit school district, saying his rights were violated by a malicious prosecution. : news
The Man Who Burned the Confederate Flag Has a Gun Nearly Pulled Out on Him, a Police Officer Stops It : pics
WATCH: Missouri man still waiting for freedom after governor commuted his life sentence for pot - + KSHB.com - A Sedalia grandfather who's serving life in prison for non-violent marijuana offences

Man Fathers Daughter's Child, Arrested For Sexual Abuse - Danny Richard Minor, 40, of The Colony, was sentenced to life confinement without the possibility of parole for three counts of Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Young Child and life confinement for two counts of Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child
Woman accused of getting 13-year-old boy drunk, raping him: '"...He made me feel very happy, I felt like I was loved for once, but I don't think it was love. I think I was used," she wrote' : news
PIV is always rape, ok? | radical wind - Just to recall a basic fact: Intercourse/PIV is always rape, plain and simple.

Women's Anal Sex More Common And Still Taboo, Says Researcher -- anodyspareunia, pain during anal penetration

ELI5: Why are all the smarty pants worried about AIs rising up against humans? Why do they think Humans and their AI creations can't be friends? : explainlikeimfive
The AI Revolution: Road to Superintelligence - Wait But Why
Height paper--JAP published.pdf - The Effect of Physical Height on Workplace Success and Income: Preliminary Test of a Theoretical Model (tall women make moA woman can now aspire to lead the world re than short men)
Teenagers and young adults who identify as transgender have hormone levels consistent with their birth gender, according to a paper. : science
Brilliant dialect coach flawlessly transitions from an American accent to various British ones while giving a short lecture on understanding the different dynamics to speaking with these accents : videos
Grandmaster Dialectician - Upright Citizens Brigade Video Clip | Comedy Central

Do or dye: why women daren't go grey (unless they're re very brave or very young)

Anti-Web Blocking Site More Popular in the UK than Spotify & Skype - TorrentFreak(the Great Firewall of Cameron)
AntiVirus firm BitDefender hacked; Turns out stored passwords are unencrypted : technology
Vapor No More: Ethereum Has Launched | TechCrunch - But its scripting language is Turing-complete and full-featured, which vastly expands the kinds of smart contracts that it supports. Indeed, Ethereum is intended not as a new cryptocurrency, but as a massive virtual machine running atop a decentralized blockchain.
ISPs: Net neutrality rules are illegal because Internet access uses computers | Ars Technica - If it uses "computer processing," it isn't telecommunications, ISPs argue. (the internets not "telecommunication" -- let's go with deliberately evil)
Inside the sad, expensive failure of Google+ (FB competitor failed)

080115
Hundreds Flee California Wildfires as Governor Declares State of Emergency | TIME

Ridiculous 'Terrorist Reporting' Provision In Intelligence Authorization Would Undermine The First Amendment | Techdirt - require social networks to report to the government any "terrorist activity" they see on their systems (criminalizes terroristical thinking)

Some 260 PKK members killed in Turkey air strikes: report - Yahoo News UK (Edogan fighting for ISIS)

Syrian Kurds Accuse Turkey Of Attacks, Ask U.S. For Explanation - The Kurdish militia regularly coordinates with U.S.-led forces bombing the Islamic State.

Bin Laden plane crash: jet went down in near perfect conditions | UK news | The Guardian - Questions raised over why state-of-the-art jet carrying three relatives of Osama Bin Laden came down at end of long runway at Blackbushe airport

Child Marriages Form 15% of All Marriages in Egypt | Egyptian Streets
Three Girls Steal $3,300 from ISIS. : worldnews

U.S. Decides to Retaliate Against China's Hacking (which was due to extreme US stupidgy in outscouring OPM's IT contracts to someone in China)



Why Jimmy Carter Thinks The United States Isn't A Real Democracy Anymore | ThinkProgress -- "unlimited political bribery" (Repubican SC destroyed democracy)

Grand Jury Indicts Texas Attorney General, Ken Paxton, on Felony Charges - The New York Times - en Paxton, the Republican attorney general of Texas and a former state legislator, has been indicted by a grand jury on charges of securities fraud and of failing to register with the state securities board, officials said.

Racial segregation takes new forms, study shows | Cornell Chronicle - Recent research has shown that racial segregation in the U.S. is declining between neighborhoods, but a new study indicates that segregation is manifesting itself in other ways.

Kansas moves to implement $25 ATM withdrawal limit for welfare recipients | The Wichita Eagle (and $1 goes to the Kansas for spending your money and $3 to the bank) despite the possibility that the restriction might violate federal law. (and they scream about big government overreach) Kansas receives $102 million in annual grant funds from the federal government. (you saw that coming, right? +KA commenters are very negative towards any kind of "welfare")

National Center For Women and Policing - Two studies have found that at least 40% of police officer families experience domestic violence, (1, 2) in contrast to 10% of families in the general population.(3) A third study of older and more experienced officers found a rate of 24% (4), indicating that domestic violence is 2-4 times more common among police families than American families in general.
Report: Police Department In Massachusetts Gave Higher Points To Candidates Who Pledged Not To Arrest Fellow Officers For DUI : news (it even has a name: "professional courtesy" like with dentists)
Officer in Sandra Bland arrest warned of "unprofessional conduct" in 2014 - Brian Encinia given written counseling while a probationary trooper (so they hired him

Here Are The Fake IDs Anti-Abortion Activists Used To Film Planned Parenthood - Planned Parenthood and the National Abortion Federation claim that David Daleiden, the founder of Center for Medical Progress, used a fake ID displaying the name "Robert Daoud Sarkis" to circumvent their security precautions and gain access to the groups' annual meetings and facilities.
Huckabee Floats Plan To Deploy U.S. Troops To Stop Women From Getting Abortions | ThinkProgress - Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee said at a campaign stop on Thursday that he would consider sending federal troops or the Federal Bureau of Investigation to stop abortions. (Republifucks invading your wombs)

Fox News Warns Of New Threat To America: The War On Urinals | ThinkProgress

Police: Lesbian couple attacked at Six Flags New England | FOX CT - AGAWAM, Mass. Police say two western Massachusetts women attacked a lesbian couple from Rhode Island whom they saw kissing at Six Flags New England.

Text reveals Subway's Jared paid 16-year-old for sex : news

The National Review And Fascism - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Lawyers, Guns & Money - In 1955, National Review had employed a troubled young right-winger named George Lincoln Rockwell to sell subscriptions

New Study Finds A New Way To Detect Breast Cancer - The Latest News - Researchers canvassed cancer cells from breast tumors that can be found in international public databases and found that a molecule named IL13RA2 (IL13R alpha2) was abundant in metastatic or late-stage BLBC.
Antidepressant/NSAID Combo Linked to Brain Bleed Risk
Corpuscle comments on ELI5: Entropy. - So basically, entropy can be thought of as a way of quantifying just how likely or unlikely it is that a complex system will evolve in a particular way
Women's immune system genes operate differently from men's (regulome) < br /> Low levels of hormone linked to social deficit in autism | News Center | Stanford Medicine - In children with autism, low levels of the hormone vasopressin predict a social deficit that affects their ability to empathize with others. (vasopressin)

Salon.com Recognizes Union, Ending Monthlong Standoff With Editorial Staff

Kentucky man shoots down drone spying on 16yo daughter. : news
Dear parents of reddit, what is the most fucked up shit you've caught your kid doing? : AskReddit
Ip Man vs 10 Black belts : videos
Victoria Taylor Reflects on Her Time at Reddit and Life at the Center of a Media Maelstrom | Adweek

073115
Vaccine Success Holds Hope For End To Deadly Scourge Of Ebola - Ebola vaccine 100-percent effective in Guinea trial ... The vaccine could now be used to help end the worst recorded outbreak of Ebola, which has killed more than 11,200 people in West Africa since it began in December 2013.

Wikileaks Publishes Files It Says Shows The U.S. Government Spied On Japanese Officials, Companies - Wikileaks has previously released similar reports of U.S. spying on Germany, France and Brazil.

Obama Has A Plan To Protect The Iran Deal In August, His Least Favorite Month - The message being sent: In its importance, this vote "is comparable to the Iraq War resolution vote."

Map: ISIS has lost 9.4 percent of its territory this year - Vox
After Mullah Omar's Death, The Taliban Has Some Explaining To Do - Has the leader really been dead for years?
Bin Laden family's jet crashes into a car auction near Blackbushe Airport

Palestinian Child Killed, Several Others Injured In Fiery West Bank Attack - The incident was "nothing short of a barbaric act of terrorism." A sleeping toddler was burned to death when suspected Jewish assailants set fire to two Palestinian homes in a West Bank village early Friday, an attack that also critically wounded the child's 4-year-old brother and parents and outraged both Israelis and Palestinians. (reaping what they sowed)

Lord Sewel could be first peer expelled under new rules after 'snorting cocaine with prostitutes' -- "look sort of innocent but you know they're whores"

Eschaton: Unpossible - This never occurred to anyone before? -- Much of the previous bailout funds have gone to pay off Greek bonds held by private investors and other eurozone governments, rather than stoke growth. Within Greece, the money was supposed to help replenish banks' capital, to get them lending to revive the moribund economy. Instead, it sat in banks' coffers as bad debts piled up, and it bought time for Greeks and foreign investors to get their money out. (Merkel and Obama always had the banksters' backs)

Secret Service "Not us" closing businesses, limiting SEPTA (shutting Philly completely down)

Letter to the New York Times' Dean Baquet (sorching letter from the Hillary campaign (only one grammatical mistake): it was even worse than you thought - from the Aluminum Tubes desk of the NYT)

Hillary Clinton Burns Jeb Bush Over "Right to Rise" Hypocrisy - Bush's opposition to raising the minimum wage, Florida's ban on affirmative action in university admissions and state contracts during his time as governor and the controversial voter purge he oversaw ahead of the 2000 presidential election. (Right to Rise if you are a rich white Republican
Judge explodes over Hillary email delays - Rachael Bade - POLITICO - A district court judge says he can't understand why the State Department dragged its feet responding to Freedom of Information Act requests.

Bring on the Cattle Cars, the Police State! by Ed Kilgore | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - Trump's plan to round up brown people and deport them would cost $365 Bn (So Huckafuck wants to send in the Army to stop your abortions and Trump wants to go full Nazi on Hispanics and they're worried about "government overreach and having their guns confiscated - 2016 the Sanity Election)
25 years ago, Donald Trump suppressed this documentary made about him. The creator released is for free. Here's the trailer for Trump: What's the Deal. : movies (dude's got history, his whole life has been a sleazy reality show)

Mike Huckabee Won't Rule Out Using Federal Troops To Stop Abortions - "I will not pretend there is nothing we can do to stop this." (also, to make sure you aren't using birth control)

GOP Women's Group Posts Shareable Graphic Of A Lynching To Facebook (KKK formed by Democrats who now use welfare to lynch black people, literally)

Hullabaloo - Evil doers (sending in the troops to confiscate non-living fetal tissue so living people suffer more)
The latest anti-choice move: try to take custody of a woman's fetus | Jessica Valenti | Comment is free | The Guardian - Alabama sought to prevent a prisoner from getting an abortion by terminating her parental rights in utero. Come again?


Police Union Files Grievance To Get Ray Tensing His Job Back - The union's executive director says Tensing "hasn't been convicted of anything." ("we shoot black people all the time, what's the problem?)
No Charges For 2 Cops At Scene Of Sam DuBose's Killing -- One of the officers says "yes" to the question of whether he saw Tensing dragged. (lying is part of the job)
Gay Man Pulled From Home, Beaten By NYPD Officers Yelling "Faggot" In Horrifying Video
Police officer shoots and kills 5 month old dog in owners front yard. The owner of the dog is then charged with not having dog on a leash. : news (killer-cop virus outbreak)

How "Assembly-Line Justice" Victimizes Kids In St. Louis County A DOJ report finds the harsh treatment of black children in Ferguson-area courts "cannot be explained by factors other than race."

A Company Copes With Backlash Against the Raise That Roared - The New York Times - Two of Mr. Price's most valued employees quit, spurred in part by their view it was unfair to double the pay of some new hires while the longest-serving staff members got small or no raises

D.A.R.E. Accidentally Publishes Pro-Marijuana Legalization Post - Too bad they deleted it ... When I was in school dare stood for "drugs are really epic" (Dare to be scammed)


After Firedoglake | Firedoglake (Jane Hamsher passes baton to Kevin Gosztola and Brian Sonenstein, who will launch their own media organization called Shadowproof that will build on the success of FDL.)

ELI5: How are transgender individuals different from other dissociative identity disorders? : explainlikeimfive (comments on DID)
Which redditisms need to die? : AskReddit

Dark Patterns - User Interfaces Designed to Trick People - A Dark Pattern is a user interface that has been carefully crafted to trick users into doing things, such as buying insurance with their purchase or signing up for recurring bills.

073015
Washington Is Finally Getting What It Deserves As It Sinks Into The Sea - And the majority of candidates for the 2016 Republican nomination maintain that human activity isn't causing climate change and that people who say it is are "alarmists." (how about a climate-crimes bill that only takes effect if climate change actually happens)
Defense Department to Congress: Global warming is a "present security threat" (Repubican Congress to Defense Dept.: don't be so alarmist)
Mammoths killed by abrupt climate change - New research has revealed abrupt warming, that closely resembles the rapid man-made warming occurring today, has repeatedly played a key role in mass extinction events of large animals, the megafauna, in Earth's past

Obama Wants the US to Build the World's Fastest Supercomputer (first artificial brain: an so it begins
Next Big Future: US Navy will field 100 kilowatt or stronger lasers and ten shot per minute railguns by 2020

Congress' fix for high-profile hacks is yet another way to grab your private data -- Senator Ron Wyden

New Leak Confirms the Secretive Trans-Pacific Partnership Is a Horrorshow | Motherboard (even worse than you thought)

SCORCHING HOT Iran Take of the Day - Lawyers, Guns & Money : As a colleague observes, Leon Wieseltier has written an interesting critique of the Bush administration's decision to attack Iraq: (they really tie themselves into knots + Wieselfuck is one of the worst humans
Wieseltier on Iran: Laughable + LobeLog (just look at him)
Deranged Hasidic Jew goes on a stabbing rampage at an Israeli gay pride parade [NSFW] : WTF (just got out of prison for doing the same thing)
Pollard's Release Shows That Israelis Just Don't get America (cheering on their spy who wrecked relations with America for decades)

Senior Western official: Links between Turkey and ISIS are now "undeniable" (Erdogan's charade)
Afghanistan Investigates Claims Taliban Chief Mullah Omar Is Dead - The reclusive, one-eyed leader has been declared dead many times before.

IOC president: Boston failed to deliver on 'promises' to USOC - Sports - The Boston Globe - to USOC, IOC president says ... Walsh was having none of it (promises to bankrupt your city)
AP Investigation: Olympic teams to swim, boat in Rio's filth

U.S. Homeownership Drops To 48 Year Low; Median Asking Rent Soars To All Time High | ETF DAILY NEWS (as planned)

Lord Sewel "drugs" video: Peer resigns from House of Lords after prostitute scandal - It came on the day more lurid details emerged from the footage, including Lord Sewel's boast that he had sex with a married BBC presenter "in the attic". (rent-protected "flat" and was in charge of "standards" and "ethics")

State Department official charged with spying on D.C. women in their homes - The Washington Post - A senior State Department official facing charges of soliciting a juvenile for sex in Fairfax County was arrested in the District on Sunday and charged with taking videos of women through the windows of their homes, according to authorities.

The Republican Party Tried To Kill Its Demons In 2013. They're Still Alive.
Fox News Further Relaxes Republican Debate Criteria - Every candidate will get a chance. (Fox: you report, they decide)
Eschaton: Supreme Leader Trump - This both fun and frightening. - Trump's Trump's 20 percent is the largest tally for a Republican contender in any national poll by the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University. Behind Trump are Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker with 13 percent and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush with 10 percent. No other Republican tops 6 percent and 12 percent are undecided. (psycho party is psycho)

Trump lawyer's comments put spotlight on marital rape laws still on the books -- "you can't rape your spouse
Yes, there is such a thing as rape within marriage | Life and style | The Guardian

Philebrity.com ; Blog Archive ; ICYMI: Scott Walker Gets Trolled During A Campaign Cheesesteak Stop

Hillary Clinton Calls Planned Parenthood Videos "Disturbing" (same old Clinton triangushit
Anti-Abortion Group Can't Release More Sting Videos, Court Says -- The group is the same one that previously shot viral covert video of a Planned Parenthood leader discussing the sale of aborted fetuses for research.
Senate GOP Fast-Tracks Bill To Defund Planned Parenthood - The Senate could vote as early as Monday on a procedural motion to advance the bill.

High-speed police chases have killed thousands of innocent bystanders - Victims include small children, teenage drivers and the elderly. (their job is to kill you)

University of Cincinnati police officer who shot man during traffic stop charged with murder - The Washington Post - "senseless, asinine shooting"
The Shooting of Samuel Dubose - The New York Times
The Videos That Are Putting Race and Policing Into Sharp Relief - The New York Times (America's epidemic of super-predator killer cops)
The Native Tongue ; Balloon Juice - Gore Vidal: "It is no secret that American police rarely observe the laws of the land when out wilding with each other, and as any candid criminal judge will tell you, perjury is often their native tongue in court" (all the cops lied. will they be fired?)
Cops must stop lying to protect other cops, says attorney for Sam Dubose's family - A second officer, Phillip Kidd, also claimed in a police report that Tensing fired the shot after he was dragged. (fire his fucking ass)
Officers at Sam DuBose scene involved in death of another unarmed black man | US news | The Guardian - Five years before University of Cincinnati officers Eric Weibel and Phillip Kidd corroborated the seemingly false account of an officer now charged with murder, they helped as Kelly Brinson was shocked and shackled
The Sam Dubose Police Report Is Full of Falsehoods From Ray Tensing's Fellow Officers
vaguerant110 comments on University of Cincinnati officer charged with murder in shooting of Samuel Dubose during a traffic stop.

Teens Mistakenly Knock On Door Of Off Duty NJ State Trooper. Trooper Shoots, Massive Manhunt Ensues. Teens Arrested : news
The Counted -- People killed by police in the US (up to 670 so far this year (American's killer-cop epidemic)

The Supreme Court's Crucial Mistake About Sex Crime Statistics a commonly-cited statistic about sex offender re-offense rates is wrong. (2% re-offend, not 80% - "Justice" Kennedy is not a statistician, either)

New York Daily News Calls Bill Cosby "America's rapist"
Bill Cosby and the return of the repressed - Lawyers, Guns & Money (#cuckservative)
The Man Who Hated Women - Lawyers, Guns & Money (beside raping them Cosby loved destroying their careers)

Shia LaBeouf says he would have killed girlfriend Mia Goth if onlookers hadn't intervened

Let's Go Full Crocodile, Ladies
13 Tips on How To Speak While Female - The Washington Post (if you speak at all)

Remember All Those Other Times Colin Cowherd Said Racist Shit On ESPN? (COWHERD!)

Good morning, I thought I'd give a quick update. : announcements (spez speaks, doesn't say much)

Sweet revenge against superbugs -- ScienceDaily - A special type of synthetic sugar could be the latest weapon in the fight against superbugs
PLOS ONE: Soybean Oil Is More Obesogenic and Diabetogenic than Coconut Oil and Fructose in Mouse: Potential Role for the Liver
Soybean Oil Is More Obesogenic and Diabetogenic than Coconut Oil and Fructose in Mouse: Potential Role for the Liver : science
IamA Stanford trained sleep doctor, treated sleep conditions like apnea, insomnia, exploding head syndrome, restless legs syndrome, narcolepsy. AMA Part 2! : IAmA
The Cure For Snoring Is...Singing? Choir director Alise Ojay's vocal exercises have been shown to work throat muscles that help silence the snorer within

ELI5: Men can name their sons after themselves to create a Jr. How come women never name their daughters after themselves? : explainlikeimfive
This owl has no fucks : videos
TIL: Rather than building up, millionaires in central London are building down, creating mega-basements. Nicknamed "iceberg homes" because there's more square footage under the ground than above. : todayilearned
Transgender guest Zoey Tur threatens other guest Ben Shapiro during discussion on talk show. The entire group proceeds to ignore threat and continue berating Ben (it gets heated around 1:50) : videos

072815
Climate change: world's wealthiest understand, but only half see it as threat In every South American country, along with Mexico, India, Tanzania and Morocco, concern over climate change is above 90% (much smarter than your average Republican)


White House Dismisses Petition Asking for Edward Snowden's Pardon
NSA will stop looking at old US phone records

U.S. drops Boston's bid to host 2024 Olympic Games
Kevin Cullen on Boston 2024: USOC lacked understanding of local culture - Metro - The Boston Globe (Fish and the oligarches)

Iran Ceases Financial Aid to Hamas in Gaza, Official Claims
Turkey-Kurdish conflict: Every regional power has betrayed the Kurds so Turkish bombing is no surprise - The Independent - You would have thought that, by now, the Kurds might have learnt their lesson

China Rout Leads Stocks Lower as Dollar Drops, Treasuries Rise - Bloomberg Business - The biggest slump in Chinese shares in eight years led equities lower worldwide and selling spread to the dollar as the turmoil bolstered speculation the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates lower for longer.

Labour is now so passive, it might as well be led by an out-of-office email | Comment is free | The Guardian
The real Lord Sewel scandal is financial, not sexual | Suzanne Moore | Comment is free | The Guardian - Forget the salmon-coloured bra - what really shocks is the extent to which the peer's private life is subsidised by the taxpayer (they hate welfare for everyone else)

Provocative new study finds bullies have highest self esteem, social status, lowest rates of depression | National Post - bullying: that the behaviour is literally in the genes, an inherited trait that actually helps build social rank and sex appeal.
Provocative new study finds bullies have highest self esteem, social status, lowest rates of depression : science

Hedge funds tell Puerto Rico: lay off teachers and close schools to pay us back | World news | The Guardian - Report commissioned by 34 hedge funds says government had been "massively overspending" despite spending only 79% of US average per pupil (your Hedgie overlords say you don't need no education)
Billionaire hedge fund managers have called on Puerto Rico to lay off teachers and close schools so that the island can pay them back the billions it owes. It accused the island, where 56% of children live in poverty, of spending too much on education : worldnews (""Prostitution is the only job you can charge more for having no prior experience in the work")

$1 of every $5 spent in US will be on health care

Donald Trump's Attorney Defends Him Against Ex-Wife's Rape Allegation - "You can't rape your own spouse" (so, turns out Trumpster is a rapist, figures)
Donald Trump's lawyer threatens reporter over ex-wife's allegations: 'You cannot rape your spouse' | US news | The Guardian - Donald Trump's lawyer threatens reporter over ex-wife's allegations: "You cannot rape your spouse"

Under Jeb Bush, housing prices fueled Florida's boom. Then it all went bush bust - Florida owed a substantial portion of its growth under Bush not to any state policies but to a massive and unsustainable housing bubble -- one that ultimately benefited rich investors at the expense of middle-class families. (Jebbie!)

AP News : In New Jersey, Christie taps ex-classmates for plum posts (fat fuckup never left high school)
Eschaton: This Comes As A Complete Surprise - A New Jersey asshole whose entire schtick is yelling at people who voted for him isn't massively popular in other parts of the country? This is a complete surprise.
Chris Christie poll shows NJ wants him to resign - Business Insider - This poll is absolutely brutal for Chris Christie ("a lot" = 5%; 89% think he would make a terrible president)

Oklahoma's Top Court Says State Must Remove Ten Commandments Monument (the Satanists did them in)
Mississippi school district fined $7500 for opening assembly with prayer : news (Dumbassippi)

Boy Scouts Break Up with Mormon Church - The Daily Beast - Closely linked since 1913, the Boy Scouts of America royally pissed off the LDS Church this week. The reason? Allowing gay troop leaders.

Chief Blackwell on UC officer's body cam: I've seen the video, "it is not good")
University of Cincinnati officer kill man after traffic stop. Police Chief watches video and says "it is not good." Video won't be immediately released. : news
Seattle police officer faces firing over arrest of man carrying a golf club | The Seattle Times - Officer Cynthia Whitlatch will be given the chance to plead her case after she was notified Monday she faces termination over the arrest of a 69-year-old African-American man who was carrying a golf club as a cane but she accused of wielding as a weapon.
Video captured Medford detective's vulgar threat to driver - In the 2012 incident, LeBert approached a man who was filming him, according to a Boston.com report. (learned nothing)

NFL upholds Tom Brady's four-game suspension -- Brady directed that the cellphone he had used for the prior four months be destroyed. He did so even though he was aware that the investigators had requested access to text messages and other electronic information that had been stored on that phone ... Brady had exchanged nearly 10,000 text messages, none of which can now be retrieved from that device


Research news - Sleep makes our memories more accessible, study shows - University of Exeter - Sleeping not only protects memories from being forgotten, it also makes them easier to access
Anticancer olive compounds | Research News @ Vanderbilt | Vanderbilt University - olive metabolites act as topoisomerase II poisons. This activity may contribute to the cancer preventive properties attributed to the Mediterranean diet.
21 days of mammalian omega-3 fatty acid supplementation improves aspects of neuromuscular function and performance in male athletes compared to olive oil placebo. : science
Fish Oil - Scientific Review on Usage, Dosage, Side Effects | Examine.com
21 days of mammalian omega-3 fatty acid supplementation improves aspects of neuromuscular function and performance in male athletes compared to olive oil placebo. : science
Scientists Confirm 'Impossible' EM Drive Propulsion | Hacked - White proposes that the EM Drive's thrust is due to virtual particles in the quantum vacuum that behave like propellant ions in magneto-hydrodynamical propulsion systems, extracting "fuel" from the very fabric of space-time and eliminating the need to carry propellant. "Some damage to our theories of physics is an acceptable payoff if we get a working space drive,"
Science Ama Series: I am Stephen Hawking, theoretical physicist. Join me to talk about making the future of technology more human, reddit. AMA! : science

TIL that the Hindu religion states that science only offers a limited view of reality, but all it offers is right and correct, meaning that the religion by it's nature cannot contradict science, leading to the the majority of even highly religious Hindus accepting evolution as fact. : todayilearned
People who have been cheated on, how did you find out? : AskReddit
Reddit what do you know about your SO that they don't know you know? : AskReddit
Whats the most fucked up thing you have ever seen? [NSFW] : AskReddit
DCopperfield comments on "We didn't even know how you vanished the motherfucking marker." Penn&Teller S2.
Provocative new study finds bullies have highest self esteem, social status, lowest rates of depression : science

"Happy Birthday" Lawsuit: "Smoking Gun" Emerges in Bid to Free World's Most Popular Song - Hollywood Reporter

072715
Announcing the Uncertainty Handbook - Have you ever struggled with the communication of climate change uncertainties?
The Debunking Handbook: now freely available for download
AskScience AMA Series: I'm Stephan Lewandowsky, here with Klaus Oberauer, we will be responding to your questions about the conflict between our brains and our globe: How will we meet the challenges of the 21st century despite our cognitive limitations?
Musk, Wozniak and Hawking urge ban on warfare AI and autonomous weapons | Technology | The Guardian - More than 1,000 experts and leading robotics researchers sign open letter warning of military artificial intelligence arms race

China stocks plunge, suffer biggest one-day loss since February 2007 | Hong Kong Free Press - China stocks plunged more than 8 percent, their biggest one-day drop in more than eight years, as a government-triggered rebound petered out amid profit-taking, concerns over economic health and fears of an end to Beijing's inclination toward looser monetary policies.

How Berlin's Futuristic Airport Became a $6 Billion Embarrassment (Greek-like financial fiasco)

Boston mayor puts city's 2024 Olympic bid in doubt

Anti-abortion hackers attack Planned Parenthood, release databases, employee data
Anti-NYC hacker takes New York Magazine offline - On Sunday night, New York Magazine released a groundbreaking new cover featuring 35 victims of alleged assault from Bill Cosby. But you can't see it.
Spelman College Terminates Professorship Endowed by Bill Cosby - The New York Times

Hillary Clinton's Bernie Sanders Problem Is Bigger Than Anyone Realizes
Donald Trump And The Extraordinary Vapidness Of Political Punditry | ThinkProgress

Obama Slams Huckabee Over Iran Comments - "Ridiculous if it weren't sad."

Confederate Monuments: Memorials to State-Sponsored Terrorism - Lawyers, Guns & Money

N.J. Transit Announces More Delays Amid Work - The New York Times (Christie-fucked)
Pension fund trustees seek billions in damages from state | NJ.com (yeah, more Christie-fucked)

For-profit juvenile detention facility "a disgrace to Florida" says grand jury - Jurors say Florida institution operated by controversial G4S security firm behind London Olympics is dilapidated and unsanitary while staff is undertrained (talk about globalization)

A Clinton Story Fraught with Inaccuracies: How It Happened and What Next? - The New York Times

Man Who Co-Owns Nails Salons Thinks They're Just Great, So (no, much better than the HRC reporting)

Tragedy of "golden" daughter's fall resonates with Asian immigrant children
The Story of Jennifer Pan : toronto

A kiss is not a kiss. In some cultures it's just gross, researchers find.

Cop caught on dash ca m while pulling over a driver who drove the wrong way at a traffic circle. threatening to blow a hole through driver's head - A Medford police detective has been placed on administrative leave

Science AMA Series: I'm Dr. Susan Hyman of the University of Rochester Medical Center. I've been studying Autism Spectrum Disorder and treating children with ASD for three decades. Ask me anything!

Marijuana can help treat opioid addiction, study shows - Smell the Truth ("gateway" drug turns out to be "off-ramp")
Scientists have developed an eye drop that dissolves cataracts

Gawker Fires Bill Arkin - Gawker Geithner article retrieved before removal by Archive.org:

072615
James Hansen's controversial sea level rise paper has now been published online

Nigeria Boko Haram crisis: Child bomber hits Damaturu - BBC News - The attack took place near a crowded market in the city of Damaturu in Yobe state. About 50 people were wounded.


A British deputy speaker in charge of upholding standards in the House of Lords has resigned after allegedly being filmed snorting cocaine with two sex workers. (classic)

Unprecedented Life Sentence Recommended for Peanut Executive, for knowingly shipping Salmonella-contaminated peanut butter : news

The 8 Biggest Disasters in U.S. Military History - (8) Disbanding the Iraqi Army, 2003

The M.I.T. Gang - The New York Times - Goodbye, Chicago boys. Hello, M.I.T. gang. (radical free market ideology, the economics of oligarchs)

Eschaton: Every Little Thing - Just stop treating people like crap. We don't even pretend to try to live up to our soaring rhetoric about ourselves anymore. "A federal judge in California has ruled that the Obama administration's detention of children and their mothers who were caught crossing the border illegally is a serious violation of a longstanding court settlement, and that the families should be released as quickly as possible." (Obama has always acted helpless to do anything about these horrible abuses)

Sandra Bland Death May Lead to Disciplinary Action, Sheriff Says - The New York Times (root causes not addressed)
Lousiana's Gun Problem - the 10 states with the weakest gun laws collectively have a level of gun violence that is more than twice as high -- 104% higher -- than the 10 states with the strongest gun laws

Eschaton: America's Worst Humans - Chris Christie (Amtrak's fault)(however) New Jersey Transit's payments mostly go toward operating costs, like train dispatching and inspections, and for electricity to run the trains, and that in the 2014 fiscal year, for example, only about $13.6 million was left for system upgrades.

Planned Parenthood Video To Be Investigated By California - The new investigation adds to scrutiny of both Planned Parenthood and the group behind the video.

Nearly No Consequences For Drunk Executives Who Poured Beer On Native American Children's Heads | ThinkProgress

Cosby Accusers Speak Out In Powerful NYMag Photo Series (35 of 46)

What the Times Got Wrong About Nail Salons (sorta like their Hillary criminal charges reporting)
How the New York Times Bungled the Hillary Clinton Emails Story - And to other reporters: Democracy is not a game. It is not a means of getting our names on the front page or setting the world abuzz about our latest scoop. It is about providing information so that an electorate can make decisions based on reality. It is about being fair and being accurate. This despicable Times story was neither.

Colin Cowherd Is Mad We Didn't Run His Full Racist Musings, So Here
The Great One Speaks - Lawyers, Guns & Money : let us explore some other reasons why Pedro Martinez is awesome

Farming May Have Started Way Earlier Than Scientists Thought - Researchers have found evidence of plant cultivation at a 23,000-year-old site.


072515
"Beepolalypse Not" -- Alec lobbyists abuzz in defense of pesticides amid die-offs (the same assholes that don't believe in AGW)

Amnest Blast "Staggering Iranian Execution Spree - Narly 700 people killed to far this year

Thailand's move to return Uighurs to China is a massive moral failure - Thailand should issue an immediate moratorium on deporting not only Uighurs but also anyone whose refugee status is pending. (don't look over here)

The Unanswered Questions From The NY Times' Debunked Clinton Emails Report | Blog | Media Matters for America (Clinton Rules rule at the conservative core of the NYT)

Trump Is the Poison His Party Concocted - The New York Times - But Trump is the brand, to a sizable degree. And the crazies have long flourished in the Republican media wing, where any amount of gaseous buffoonery goes unchallenged. (comments: "Trump shines a spotlight into just how far we've descended ... bullying, arrogant and narcissitic" (the American ideal)


On the Death of Sandra Bland and Our Vulnerable Bodies - The New York Times - Because Sandra Bland was driving while black, because she was not subservient in the manner this trooper preferred, a routine traffic stop became a death sentence.


The Singular Mind of Terry Tao - The New York Times - the Navier--Stokes global regularity problem, which has become, since it emerged more than a century ago, one of the most important in all of mathematics.
Terence Tao Proposes Fluid New Path in Navier-Stokes Problem | Quanta Magazine - in an alternative abstract universe closely related to the one described by the Navier-Stokes equations, it is possible for a body of fluid to form a sort of computer, which can build a self-replicating fluid robot that, like the Cat in the Hat, keeps transferring its energy to smaller and smaller copies of itself until the fluid "blows up"
Navier-Stokes existence and smoothness
fluid dynamics - Water explosion and Navier-Stokes global regularity problem - Mathematics Stack Exchange


072415
Australia's climate change stance attacked by UK MP - Australia's climate change stance is "incomprehensible" and "profoundly un-conservative", said a leading UK MP.
It's critical El Niqo hits Northern California. Why experts are growing optimistic.

New Photos Show Bush Administration Reaction to 9/11 Attacks : news

Turkish Warplanes Hit ISIS Targets In Syria - The operation comes a day after Turkey agreed to allow the U.S. access to a key Turkish air base.
How to think about Islamic State | Books | The Guardian - a horrific expression of a widespread frustration with a globalised western model that promises freedom and prosperity to all, but fails to deliver (nothing to do with all the dead people)
Kerry says Israeli action against Iran would be 'huge mistake' - NBC - Independent.ie

Russian austerity: Putin fires 110,000 officials - Jul. 24, 2015

How San Francisco's Progressive Politics Led to Its Housing Affordability Crisis - CityLab

How the American South Drives the Low-Wage Economy - Just as in the 1850s (with the Dred Scott decision and the Fugitive Slave Act), the Southern labor system (with low pay and no unions) is wending its way north.

Lafayette Theater Shooter Fan of David Duke, Neo-Nazis, and Antigovernment Conspiracies

Insiders: Donald Trump has peaked - Katie Glueck - Politico (but Dems say he's not going anywhere)

Manitou Springs woman cited on suspicion of arson for burning Confederate flag

Texas Supreme Court says city must repeal HERO or put it on ballot - Houston Chronicle - The Texas Supreme Court ruled Friday that Houston City Council must repeal the city's equal rights ordinance or place it on the November ballot. (because it's something you can vote on)
State Of Georgia Sues Carl Malamud For Copyright Infringement For Publishing The State's Own Laws | Techdirt
Judge Chastises Arpaio's Lawyers for Withholding Records - ABC News

Which of the 11 American nations do you live in? - The Washington Post

Ashley Madison was just the beginning: my dad's secret life of online infidelity (see betrayedone in comments)

Gawker.com Is Coming Back, But Gawker Media May Not Be - "There is a strong argument for a company name that is not the same as Gawker.co.m

Cannabis use among Swedish men in adolescence and the risk of adverse life course outcomes: results from a 20 year-follow-up study : science (possibly lower employment)
The number of sexually-active teenagers in the US is at its lowest point in a quarter of a century, and less than half as many 15- to 19-year-olds are having intercourse compared with those living during the 1980s : news
Galaxy Graveyard May Be Overflowing with Dark Matter - A vast cluster of dead galaxies roughly 300 million light-years from Earth may hold as much as 100 times more dark matter than visible matter, researchers say.

Oliver Sacks: My Periodic Table - The New York Times

TIL that although Jewish people make up only 0.2% of the world's population, they have won over 1/5 of the Nobel prizes since it first began. : todayilearned
What is the creepiest "glitch in the matrix" you have experienced? : AskReddit


072315
Martin O'Malley's Link Between Climate Change and ISIS Isn't Crazy (you know who's crazy?)


Poll Finds Most in U.S. Hold Dim View of Race Relations - The New York Times - Seven years ago, in the gauzy afterglow of a stirring election night in Chicago, commentators dared ask whether the United States had finally begun to heal its divisions over race and atone for the original sin of slavery by electing its first black president. It has not. Not even close.

Not Just the Flag - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Southern states didn't respond to the civil rights movement only by placing Confederate flags on their statehouses or integrating the Stars and Bars into their state flag. They also named public buildings after Confederate leaders during these years. Take the elementary schools of Austin: (they made black kids go to schools named for Confederate traitors who fought for slavery)

Bernie Sanders becomes the first candidate to speak out on Sandra Bland: "We need real police reform">
Blame the Police - Sandra Bland's arrest and death are a national scandal. The police are responsible
8 Shot in Lafayette, La., Movie Theater; Gunman Kills Himself - The New York Times
Teenage Brothers Accused of Killing Parents and 3 Siblings in Oklahoma - The New York Times

Pumped dry - How our roads came to depend on a broken tax scheme Washington can't fix (Repubicans hate infrastructure

On Trump, Murdoch Has Lost Control of Ailes, Fox -- NYMag
Donald Trump Is Not the Frontrunner. Smarter Polls Would Prove It. | The New Republic - Trump brings up the rear at 0.6, suggesting that he has few additional lurking supporters, and is close to maxed out.

Mainstream Republican Candidate Advocates Ending Medicare - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Lawyers, Guns & Money - call to end Medicare comes just as cost projections for Medicare have come down substantially. Jeb! is, of course, lying about wanting to end Medicare because it's fiscally unsustainable. He wants to end Medicare because Republicans are ideologically opposed to providing access to health care for the non-affluenct. (it's not a death panel, it's an execution squad)

On Day 3 of Delays, New Jersey Transit's Shortfalls Are Painfully Clear (good job, Chris Christie and NJ voters!)

Warrior Policing and Sandra Bland's Arrest (vs the "Guardian" model)

Unspinning the Planned Parenthood Video (lies, lies and more lies from the Death Party)

Scientists find first drug that appears to slow Alzheimer's disease - solanezumab, was shown to stave off memory loss in patients with mild Alzheimer's
Attaching Alzheimer's with Ultrasound
Marijuana compound may halt Alzheimer's disease
The potential therapeutic effects of THC on Alzheimer's disease
Marijuana fights Alzheimer's disease -- one in three elderly will die demented -- sixth leading cause of death in the nation, costing America about $203 billion in 2013.

Man found dead in car with 1,200 weapons at home thought he was a spy | US news | The Guardian

Rain is sizzling bacon, cars are lions roaring: the art of sound in movies | Jordan Kisner | Film | The Guardian
The Exorcist: The Sound of Silence (+El Topo)

The Nicki Minaj debate is bigger than Taylor Swift's ego | Music | The Guardian (but TS's giant ego broadcasted Minaj's point by missing the point)
Taylor Swift Apologizes To Nicki Minaj For "Missing The Point"

Jackie Fuchs Discusses Going Public About Her Rape, Joan Jett's Response And Her Message For Her Abuser

072215
Sea level study: James Hansen issues dire climate warning - glaciers in Greenland and Antarctica will melt 10 times faster than previous consensus estimates, resulting in sea level rise of at least 10 feet in as little as 50 years (Jeb, Scott and Marco will still be alive when it's 5 feet)

Mutant Flowers From Japan's Fukushima Nuclear Disaster Go Viral Online - weather.com

Obama's Plan for Guantanamo Is Seen Faltering

Tension in Kashmir after Hindu group burns Muslim flag - The Journal of Turkish Weekly

U.S. decides against publicly blaming China for data hack - The Washington Post - the Obama administration has decided against publicly blaming China for the intrusion in part out of reluctance to reveal the evidence that American investigators have assembled (which would make them look really, really stupid)

Flash - Thirty-seven killed in three days in Brazilian city - France 24 - one hypothesis being considered is a coordinated wave of attacks involving police, an official said.

32 boys dead in South African initiation season -The Tico Times - Of the deaths, 27 were in South Africa's rural and deeply traditional Eastern Cape province, where Ngcobo said over 150 had been hospitalised for burns, serious head injuries and one case of a partially amputated penis. - 400 boys died and half a million were hospitalised after attending the winter initiation schools between 2008 and 2013, with a major cause being complications such as infection after circumcision.

Italian police raids mafia gambling empire, seize assets worth 2 billion euros - Yahoo News Canada

Hacking Drones Close to Being Drawn up by Boeing and Hacking Team (fly a drone over your house and hack your wifi)

Zurik: $11 billion later, Louisiana's incentives fail to deliver - KSLA News 12 Shreveport, Louisiana News Weather & Sports - In 2011, the state approved a big incentive package for Cheniere Energy - over a 10-year period, a $1.5 billion package. The next year, 2012, Cheniere CEO Charif Souki received a large stock award, $49 million. His total income jumped from $6 million to $57 million. In 2013, he received an even larger payday, almost $142 million. In the two years following the incentives, Souki and five other executives took home $300 million in compensation.

chickclick comments on randians whose marriages didn't work out/are unhappy with it; what happened?


Sandra Bland Death: Texas to Look Into Alleged Edits of Dashcam Video : news ("look into")
Federal charges brought against officer in no-knock SWAT raid that resulted in maimed toddler (stun grenade in crib) : news
Federal monitor ordered for Newark police for civil rights violations - LA Times
Oklahoma Watch: Law enforcement seizures misspent, missing - Tulsa World: Homepagelatest
SergeantIndie comments on Hey I love you guys and all, but I'm not gonna stand outside a recruitment center with an AR. - The America I signed up to defend, the America I was willing to lay my life down for, isn't an America where people feel the need to parade around with assault rifles to "keep us safe." That isn't fucking America, that's Iraq. It's Afghanistan. It's third-world.

TIL that left-wing and right-wing got their names because during the French Revolution those in favour of the king sat on his right and those in favour of the Revolution sat on his left. : todayilearned

Easy DNA Editing Will Remake the World. Buckle Up. | WIRED
Evolution, not just mutation, drives development of cancer: Solving 'Peto's Paradox,' new model shows selection pressure of healthy tissue keeps cells with cancerous mutations in check -- ScienceDaily - A new article argues against the commonly held 'accumulation of mutations' model of oncogenesis in favor of a model that depends on evolutionary pressures acting on populations of cells.
DNA uncovers mystery migration to the Americas : worldnews
DNA uncovers mystery migration to the Americas - BBC News - The DNA of some native Amazonians shows significant similarity to indigenous inhabitants of Australia and Melanesia.
First Americans came from Siberia 23,000 years ago | Business Standard News
Visceral adipose tissue is associated with microstructural brain tissue damage. - PubMed - NCBI - Our data indicate that increased abdominal VAT rather than SAT is associated with microstructural brain tissue damage in elderly individuals.
How can an electron have the same, yet negative, force to a proton even though it is ~1800th the size? : askscience

Ashley Madison says 1 in 5 Ottawans subscribed to adulterer website | CBCNews.ca Mobile (which means, when you subtract the women, children and old men without internet, every guy in Ottawa has 1.7 AM accounts)

Diner Owner Defends Yelling at 2-Year-Old to Stop Crying : news
What's the most awkward wedding moment you've witnessed? : AskReddit
Reddit what will make you attracted to a person instantly? : AskReddit
What small subreddits deserve more attention? : AskReddit
What 'secret' does your SO think they are keeping from you? : AskReddit

Anonymous affiliate GhostSec causes foiling ISIS terror plots in New York and Tunisia : worldnews
HORNET: Researchers unveil high-speed anonymity network - The new tech is called HORNET: High-speed Onion Routing at the Network Layer.

072115
Former Top NASA Scientist Predicts Catastrophic Rise In Sea Levels - Science says it has happened before. projects sea levels rising as much as 10 feet in the next 50 years.
Republicans Are Upset That Martin O'Malley Cited Actual Science On Climate Change And Conflict (Republicans brains)

WikiLeaks: Steinmeier target of systematic NSA spying | News | DW.COM | 20.07.2015 - WikiLeaks has published evidence that the NSA systematically spied on German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, as well as other officials. The alleged spying reportedly predates the September 11, 2001 attacks. - Today's s publication indicates that the NSA has been used to help the CIA kidnap and torture with impunity. For years the CIA was systematically abducting and torturing people, with the tacit complicity of European governments," WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said in a statement.

The UAE introduces new law criminalising all forms of discrimination on the grounds of religion, caste, creed, doctrine, race, colour or ethnic origin. : worldnews

Why Republican promises to scrap Iran nuclear deal may not be met | World news | The Guardian - If Iran is complying with terms of the nuclear accord then any future Republican president may find dismantling it a very difficult task (the war maniacs will try)

Iran nuclear deal: Satirical website The Onion accidentally breaks story about the US offering missiles to Israel - Middle East - World - The Independent (rewarding bad behavior)

ISIS Transforming Into Functioning State That Uses Terror as Tool - The New York Times
Yemenis are terrorized by a weapon made in America, sold to the Saudis | Public Radio International - Cluster bombs have been banned by 116 countries. Yet one cluster weapon, made in America, is being used on the battlefield in Yemen, dangerously close to civilians.
Islamic State (ISIS) is now in Serbia and threatening to make Christian Serbs their slaves - Walid Shoebat

Economists Troll Germany, Telling It To Leave The Euro First - If one country should leave the eurozone, they argue, it's not Greece -- it's Germany.

NYT: Cell phone found with video of men being shot in the water at sea... : news

The reckless plot to overthrow Africa's most absurd dictator | Andrew Rice | World news | The Guardian - In December, a handful of middle-aged American immigrants attempted to topple the autocratic ruler of the Gambia.

Donald Trump Escalates Feud With "Idiot" Lindsey Graham In South Carolina - The real estate mogul gave the senator's personal cell phone number to supporters.
Donald Trump and the White Working Class by Ed Kilgore | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - new WaPo/ABC poll, though, shows Trump's suddenly inflated position in the Republican field being based very heavily on the white working class vote. He's at 33% among white non-college educated Republicans (Trump is their ideal fool)
162 Talking Heads Have Weighed In On Trump vs. McCain

National Review says Bernie Sanders is a national socialist - Vox - Kevin Williamson has a hot take on Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders -- he's a Nazi (Kevin is a very bad human)

One Simple Idea That Could Reduce Domestic Violence - Give victims free lawyers.

About The Washington Post's Campbell Brown Story By Alexander Russo

The old suburban office park is the new American ghost town - The Washington Post - There are 71.5?million square feet of vacant office space in the Washington region, much of it piled in office parks. That's enough emptiness to fill the Mall four times over, with just enough left to fill most of the Pentagon, the granddaddy of office buildings.

Time for a Blogger Ethics Panel ; Balloon Juice - Don't t know if you have been following the Gawker shitshow like I have, but today, two editors, Tommy Craggs and Max Read, both stepped down, and we are now officially in the pity party zone:

The 8 stupidest things Fox News' Brian Kilmeade has ever said live on national television (shark lasers and other dumb shit)

More U.S. Children Are Living In Poverty Than During The Great Recession

Science AMA Series: We're the OCD Research Team at New York State Psychiatric Institute/Columbia University Medical Center. We will answer questions about treatment and will demystify any misconceptions you have about Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder!
Yes, men gain weight when they become dads, study confirms - The Washington Post - a new, large-scale study that tracked more than 10,000 men over a 20-year period. Men who didn't become dads actually lost weight over the same time period.
Scientist warns against replying to ET signals | News24

What advice was valid 20 years ago, but today is no longer useful? : AskReddit

Hackers Remotely Kill a Jeep on the Highway : technology

072015
First Half Of 2015 Was Hottest Ever Recorded - The Earth is on track to beating 2014 as the hottest year ever recorded.


Iran deal isn't Netanyahu's worst defeat, it's proof of his greatest triumphIf the Iran deal proved anything, it is that the PM and his views have taken over political discourse in Israel.

U.S., Cuba Restore Full Diplomatic Ties After 5 Decades


What Donald Trump was up to while John McCain was a prisoner of war - The Washington Post
Donald Trump Is The World's Greatest Troll (sucking up the infowaves)

Planned Parenthood: Secret Video Part Of Years-Long Harassment Campaign

Man With Asthma Dies After Being Hogtied By Mississippi Police - "Video it, just in case he dies," said one bystander.

Intranasal oxytocin reduces caloric intake and has beneficial metabolic effects in men without concerning side effects : science

[Serious] Overthinkers of reddit, How do you control your thoughts or stop over thinking? : AskReddit
What's the biggest sexual mistake you have ever made? : AskReddit

What is the most infamous post in Reddit's history? : AskReddit
Grooveshark co-founder, 28, found dead in home : Music
Ashley Madison is hacked, and the popcorn starts popping as /r/news discusses the aftermath. : SubredditDrama
Ashley Madison's data breach is everyone's problem | The Verge - 37 million users of the adultery-themed dating site Ashley Madison got some very bad news.
AshleyMadison Confirms Hack, Purges Leaked Info From Internet

071915

Palestinian refugee girl allowed to stay in Germany after crying footage goes viral - World - Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News - Reem Sahwil is clearly "well integrated" minister says, after online derision showers Chancellor Merkel for stroking teen after reducing her to tears during immigration debate.

france 24 - Saudi Arabia arrests 431 suspected of links to IS group - France 24
ISIS Offensive in Al-Hasakah Ends Miserably: 1,200 Militants Trapped Inside the City

Eschaton: Spongeworthy - Doubt Prince Philip makes the cut. This time, he asked a group of East End women: "who do you sponge off" (because everyone, you know, sponges off somebody)
Royals told: open archives on family ties to Nazi regime | UK news | The Guardian - Historian urges that secret correspondence be made public to reveal the truth after Queen's Nazi salute footage released (more old evil coming to the surface)
Queen launches massive hunt to find source behind leaked footage of her doing a Nazi salute as a kid Queen launches massive hunt to find source behind leaked footage of her doing a Nazi salute as a kid - Daily Record

China Molds a Supercity Around Beijing, Promising to Change Lives - The New York Times - The planned megalopolis, a metropolitan area that would be about six times the size of New York

Flash - Top economist slams Greek handling of bailout showdown - France 24 - Nobel prize winning economist Paul Krugman, a vocal supporter of Athens in their long-running bailout saga, said Sunday that he "may have overestimated the competence of the Greek government."



Republicans plan new abortion push - Rachael Bade and Seung Min Kim - politico - They see a turning point following the release of a secretly filmed Planned Parenthood video. (it worked so well with ACORN)

Donald Trump Will Not Apologize To John McCain - Trump likes "people who weren't captured"

Scott Walker: ""I Don't Know" If People Are Born Gay Or If It's A Choice (he's not a scientist or even a college graduate)
Former Pastor Suggests Christians Should Fight Gay Rights With Guns


19 yr old saves woman from burning car as bystanders film incident. : news

India blocks Colgate patents for spices (Colgate tries to patent cinnamon, tumeric and bismati rice, among other spices -- the word is biopiracy - your food is their "intellectual property")

Cosby Said In Deposition He Was Good At Reading Women's Emotions - He also said in sworn testimony he paid off women to keep his infidelity from his wife.

Caitlyn Jenner's Rep Asked ESPN to Give Her Award in Exchange For PR plugs

Police arrest 29 at Auburn hotel "adult swingers party" after finding listing online (Massashusetts - 5 men and 24 women)

Marijuana can heal broken bones, says new study - Health News - Health & Families - The Independent - The study also found that bones treated with marijuana were stronger and less likely to fracture again
University of Maryland School of Medicine Scientists Identify Novel Compounds That May Treat Depression Rapidly With Few Side Effects - another neurotransmitter besides serotonin, an inhibitory compound called GABA.
Edge.org - 2006 : What Is Your Dangerous Idea?

spez comments on Can we ban this extremely racist asshole?
[NSFW] What is the scariest theory known to man? : AskReddit
bigpandamonium comments on Redditors who have been in a coma, what is it like? Did you dream? What was it like waking up?
Reddit, What are some of the most mysterious posts ever put on this site? : AskReddit
What is a popular trend among the gender of your attraction that you wish would just die already? : AskReddit

How Instagram closed my account and gave it to a football celebrity : technology

071815
Continued destruction of Earth's plant life places humans in jeopardy (rape, pillage and die)
'We prayed to God': California wildfire sweeps freeway, destroying vehicles | World news | The Guardian (highways of fire are the new normal)


In the end, the government's own incompetence turned the worst Snowden leaks fears into reality - US senator: SEAL Team 6 could be at risk after the massive Chinese hack of the US government's employee records : technology

The end of capitalism has begun by Paul Mason < Without us noticing, we are entering the postcapitalist era. : technology - The Internet lowers transaction costs like never before. The sharing economy is the capitalist economy; the jobs economy was the corporatist economy. The capitalist economy is the post-corporatist economy.

More than 200,000 Germans formally left the Catholic Church in 2014, accelerating the downward trend in the Catholic proportion of the country's population ("church tax" what a great idea +Lutherans and Catholics supported Nazis)
BlueHatScience comments on Percentage of Nazi votes in 1933, and percentage of Catholics in 1934 [OC]
? Stephen Fry Catholic Church is Not a Force for Good. - YouTube

Queen's Nazi salute footage is matter of historical significance, says the Sun - Edward, who later became King Edward VIII and abdicated to marry the American socialite Wallis Simpson, faced numerous accusations of being a Nazi sympathiser. (Sun: "Their Royal Heilnesses")

Japan: Elderly overtake teenagers in crime figures - BBC News - Police in Japan have dealt with more elderly crime than juvenile crime in the past six months (olds goin' gangsta)

Chattanooga Shooting Highlights FBI Concerns - In turning away from the grandiose bomb plots of al-Qaida, IS has encouraged followers to carry out smaller-scale gun attacks that cause less carnage but require less planning and are harder to detect.

Barack Obama's Long Game - A month of victories has transformed the president's second term. Second term may turn out better than first, which never happens (Republican heads are exploding)

Hullabaloo - Yes, Wes Clark really said what I said he said folks - "it's our right and obligation to segregate them from the normal community for the duration of the conflict." (concentration camps for Muslims; this from a Dem some peopole wanted to be pres)
Clark - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Remember the days when we Democrats were supposed to listen to Wesley Clark? Yeah..

Americans sharply divided on same-sex marriage after supreme court ruling | US news | The Guardian - 49% say officials with religious objections should be able to refuse licences - Republicans say religious rights should come first, Democrats say gay rights (their religious liberty to turn their state job into a church)

Silicon Valley struggles to hack its diversity problem - The Washington Post - Yahoo disclosed last week that African Americans made up just 2 percent of its workers, while Hispanics stood at 4 percent. Those revelations came days after Facebook reported that in 2014 it had employed just 81 blacks among its 5,500 U.S. workers. ("struggles" is not the right word there)

These Native American Tribes Legalized Weed, But That Didn't Stop Them From Getting Raided By The Feds

How to be a Hack, "Nixon was a Liberal!" Edition -- Our friend Freddie deBoer is self-immolating today


The Death of Reddit | Chuq Von Rospach Writing & Commentary (well, no)
Top Reddit Engineer Quits Saying Ousted CEO Ellen Pao Was Set Up to Fail
No One Wants to Admit It, but Reddit Can't Be Saved
Late Night Open Thread: Tragedy of the Reddit Commons ; Balloon Juice (they talk about a "reddit" they don't like)

Women of Reddit, where are places you want men to approach you? Where are places you don't? : AskReddit
Teachers of Reddit, what is the strangest thing a child has brought in for show and tell? : AskReddit
What was the most heartbreaking thing someone has said to you? : AskReddit
Found the coolest website! : Music - thenostalgiamachine.com

Malware discovered in the Stratfor email file dump provided by Wikileaks is not limited to torrents : technology
Kickasstorrents Disappears From Google After Penalty : technology
KAT - Kickass Torrents
Online pirates could face 10 years in jail - BBC News - Online pirates could face jail terms of up to 10 years under plans being considered by the government. (10 yrs in prison for "infringing a copyright")
DepthHub: A jumping-off point for deeply-involved subreddits
Jimbob0i0 comments on A look at what's on the horizon for LibreOffice
nottheprinceofwales comments on Are there any parallels to the Gnostic Gospels or the New Testament Apocrypha in other Abrahamic religions?
Toroidal Metaphysics - neoqabalism, Landian numogram, critical numerology, n-dimensional hypertorus

071715
Australia tops the world for climate change denial, study finds | Celsius - Nearly one in five Australians do not believe in climate change, making the country the worst in the world for climate sceptics, a study of almost 20,000 people has found.
Australia tops the world for climate change denial, study finds : worldnews
The California drought is even worse than you think - the current drought is California's worst in at least 1,200 years.
Hydraulic Fracturing Linked to Increases in Hospitalization Rates in the Marcellus Shale Region, According to Penn Study - PA residents in counties with high well density more likely to be admitted for suite of ailments

Mohammad Youssuf Abdulazeez: everything we know about the Chattanooga gunman | US news | The Guardian

Obama: Israel has yet to provide better alternative to Iran nuclear deal - Diplomacy and Defense : worldnews
Israel Requests 50% Increase in U.S. Military Aid, Up to $4.5B | Democracy Now! (please don't connect any dots)


The end of capitalism has begun | Books | The Guardian - Without us noticing, we are entering the postcapitalist era. At the heart of further change to come is information technology, new ways of working and the sharing economy. The old ways will take a long while to disappear, but it's time to be utopian


Scott Walker wants to drug test food stamp recipients. That shows why he'll never be president


Police shooting death of Georgia mom drawing national attention | www.ajc.com - But the story of what happened after her death and the legal process that cleared the officers had never been publicly revealed until an Atlanta Journal-Constitution/Channel 2 Action News investigation this month.

Colorado pot tax for schools hits record, exceeding 2014 total by May 2015 : news

Group Behind Planned Parenthood Sting Video May Have Tricked IRS, Donors - The IRS thought it was some kind of biomedicine charity.

Obese men have just a "1 in 210" chance of attaining a healthy body weight
Colorado board votes no on allowing medical marijuana for PTSD - The Denver Post - Colorado declines to become 10th state to to include condition in medical marijuana program
I'm Dr. Joel Salinas, a neurologist and researcher at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital. I have mirror-touch synesthesia -- a neurologic trait that causes me to physically feel everything the people around me physically feel.... AMA!
This Doctor Knows Exactly How You Feel - Pacific Standard - A rare condition causes Joel Salinas to experience other people's emotions and sensations. Is mirror-touch synesthesia a superpower or a curse?
Image generated by a Convolutional Network : MachineLearning
Choosing Altruism - Pacific Standard - Altruism has stumped researchers for years, but a new study finds that it may be as simple as choosing to be generous.
The 37 Best Websites To Learn Something New

Former Reddit CEO Ellen Pao: The trolls are winning the battle for the Internet - The Washington Post
Former Reddit CEO Ellen Pao: The trolls are winning the battle for the Internet : technology
Reddit's "decency" reckoning has begun. Why are trolls and racists still winning? (asks the "Guardian")
Meet Voat, the website that wants to be the anti-Reddit: As social news site Reddit tries to clean up its act by limiting some speech, an alternative has sprung up, and it promises to be more free-wheeling. : technology

youmightcouldsaythat comments on How do you sleep with your SO?
Drone flight over Beverly Park California shows you how the 0.05% live (7:30) : videos
Gawker Removes Controversial Post After Huge Backlash - "We all have secrets, and they are not all equally worthy of exposure."
Sons and Daughters of MILFs, how has your mom being super hot effected your life? : AskReddit

071615
Warming of oceans due to climate change is unstoppable, say US scientists | Environment | The Guardian - Seas will continue to warm for centuries even if manmade greenhouse gas emissions were frozen at today's levels, say US government scientists (another doom-datapoint)

Climate-Change Summary and Update - On a planet 4 C hotter than baseline, all we can prepare for is human extinction ... even Wikipedia accepts the evidence for near-term human extinction

Four US marines and gunman killed in "act of terrorism" in Tennessee - FBI identifies shooter as Kuwaiti-born Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez
Mass Shooting In Tennessee Leaves 4 Marines Dead

Merkel "gambling away" Germany's reputation over Greece, says Habermas - "Forcing the Greek government to agree to an economically questionable, predominantly symbolic privatisation fund cannot be understood as anything other an act of punishment against a leftwing government."

WikiLeaks Cables Show a Saudi Obsession With Iran - The New York Times (Sunni/Shiite wars)

Ireland passes law allowing trans people to choose their legal gender | World news | The Guardian - Gender recognition bill will eliminate need for medical or state intervention and comes months after the country voted for same-sex marriage

Never-before-seen footage reveals Russian-backed rebels arriving at the wreckage of MH17 : worldnews

Japan finally bans possession of child pronography. : worldnews (cleaning up their act for the 2020 Olympics


Aurora shooting verdict: James Holmes found guilty in theater massacre | US news | The Guardian - Holmes found guilty of first-degree murder exactly three years after gun attack that killed 12 people and injured 70 at a midnight film screening

Lawmakers Knew Of Planned Parenthood "Sting" Video Before Its Release - At least two members of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus admitted to CQ Roll Call that they had seen the video before its public release.

Eschaton: Complete Your Mission Well, Jade Helm - Once Texas is part of the United States, Oklahoma will be next.

The Myth of the Ethical Shopper - The Huffington Post - We're still trying to eliminate sweatshops and child labor by buying right. But that's not how the world works in 2015.

Unarmed Mississippi man died after 20-minute police chokehold, witnesses say | US news | The Guardian - one witness alleged that Herrington said he was "going to get that nigger"


Seattle Kids Have Lower Polio Vaccination Rate Than Rwanda | KUOW News and Information - After an outbreak of measles last fall, Washington state health officials hoped that a small subset of parents would change their minds about getting their kids immunized. But those parents weren't moved


Caitlyn Jenner takes ESPY's By storm: "Trans People Deserve Something Vitall They Deserve Your Respect"

A nine-year-old Calgary girl, suffering from severe seizures, will not have her medical marijuana prescription renewed despite its ability to stop her having 30+ seizures per day : news

10/10 creativity 10/10 execution : gifs


071515
Climate Change Seen as Top Global Threat | Pew Research Center - Americans, Europeans, Middle Easterners Focus on ISIS as Greatest Danger

Hacking Fingerprints by Ed Kilgore | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - The Office of Personnel Management announced last week that the personal data for 21.5 million people had been stolen. But for national security professionals and cybersecurity experts, the more troubling issue is the theft of 1.1 million fingerprints (you can't change your fingerprints) .

Iran Accord's Shows Impact of Bipartisan Letter
From fear of war to diplomatic accord: the steps to a nuclear agreement - The Washington Post
An Iran Deal, At Last - The New Yorker (which Republicans will try to fuck up because they want bombs)
Obama Makes His Case on Iran Nuclear Deal - The New York Times (oh look, Tom Friedman is a very serious person)
Why Republicans Are So Mad About Obama's Nuclear Deal With Iran - The Atlantic (not enough bombs and dead people)
How the nucler deal can keep Iran from "cheating" according to a formed U.N. inspector -- "This is a stunning accomplishment," said Shea, who is now a Vienna-based consultant, speaking to WorldViews in Washington. "I've been a part of this business for 40 years at this point and I've never seen anything that begins to approach the comprehensiveness of this agreement."
Obama: Iran nuclear deal debate is a choice between diplomacy and war | US news | The Guardian - US president stresses that critics of historic agreement, including Israeli PM Binyamin Netanyahu, have failed to provide honest alternative to the deal
Netanyahu slated in Israel for foreign policy failure over Iran nuclear accord | World news | The Guardian - PM heavily criticised for isolating Israel diplomatically after he was unable to block deal, while Philip Hammond claims Israel prefers "permanent standoff" (ticking time-bomb was always in Bibi's head; still thinks he owns US Congress)

NSA document: Israeli special forces assassinated top Syrian military official | World news | The Guardian - US intelligence describes how Brig Gen Mahmoud Suleiman, close adviser to Bashar al-Assad, was shot dead near Tartus in 2008 by Israeli naval commandos (connect the fucking dots)
Israeli Special Forces Assassinated Senior Syrian Official

Saudi Arabia borrows $4B as oil price reality hits home - Saudi Arabia has borrowed $4bn from local markets in the past year, selling its first bonds for eight years as part of efforts to sustain high levels of public spending as oil prices slump.

Angela Merkel doesn't believe in gay marriage (oh, what a surprise)
Greek crisis: Protests in Athens turn violent as Tsipras urges MPs to back him - live updates | Business | The Guardian

Narcos -Trailer- Netflix : television

9/11 First Responder - discovers that the medicine she's been paying $120/dose in the USA costs $.05 in CUBA. : videos

Drug Lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Drug Lord Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman's Escape Caught On Video (271 lorries of dirt
?US govt struck deal with Mexican drug cartel in exchange for info - report RT USA
No, Planned Parenthood Is Not Selling Aborted Fetal Body Parts - The Real Story Behind That Shady Video A pro-life group's viral video (by a friend of James O'Keefe)
3 Deceptive Edits In The Video Claiming Planned Parenthood Is "Selling Aborted Baby Parts" | Research | Media Matters for America
Secret Video of Planned Parenthood Employees Makes the Rounds - In which anti-choice supporters allegedly edit a false and controversial video of Planned Parenthood employees discussing the sale of tissues and parts from aborted fetuses.

In Texas, a Military Exercise Is Met by Some With Suspicion - The New York Times - "Martial law, basically. I try not to listen to all these conspiracy-theory-type people. All they're worried about is their beer and their guns"
Texas Finally Chooses The Brave Souls Who Will Monitor The Military Takeover - In his letter ordering the agency to monitor the exercise, Abbott called on the State Guard to ensure that Texans' civil liberties were protected.

Wisconsin Senate Votes To Give $250 Million To Billionaires - Just a few days ago, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker signed a state budget that includes cuts of $250 million to the University of Wisconsin system (priorities)
Maine Attorney General Agrees That Gov. LePage Massively Botched Vetos (Gov Dimbulb)

Trend? - At this point Sanford began filming the confrontation (apparently through the doorway?) while Kelly continued to ring the doorbell and expose her breasts and "with one breast in each hand [shake] them up and down" in the direction of the camera.

Graphic Video Shows Police Killing Unarmed Man Searching For Stolen Bike - The officers said they feared he was reaching for a weapon.
This is the video Gardena police didn't want you to see - LA Times
Videos of Los Angeles police shooting of unarmed men are made public : news
Questions surround woman's apparent suicide death in Waller County Jail | abc13.com - Bland was stopped just outside of the Prairie View campus for allegedly failing to signal while changing lanes

Whoopi Goldberg Draws Back Bill Cosby Support, Says Evidence "Points to Guilt" (also points to her complete dumb-assery)

Republicans want their lawmakers to keep resisting Obamacare - The Washington Post - But Republicans by more than 2-1, 63%-27%, say the campaign to overturn the law should continue.


Punishment Park - Lawyers, Guns & Money : - post-Kent State, Nixon has ordered the rounding up of all the nation's leftists and sent them to prison camps where they are tried by makeshift tribunals of squares and then forced into Punishment Park, a Mojave Desert training course for cops to kill hippies. (wingnut wet dream)

Men of Reddit who have found out their child isn't actually theirs, how did you react and how are things now? : AskReddit
graywolf0026 comments on Men of Reddit who have found out their child isn't actually theirs, how did you react and how are things now?
You Must Blow Reddit Up to Save It: "Users now know they were just increasing uniques and engagement numbers for, in part, one of the largest publishing companies in the world. Reddit is not a movement. It is not a public service. It is not a nonprofit. But maybe it should be." : technology
Former Reddit CEO Yishan Wong's latest big reveal: Reddit's board has been itching to purge hate-based subreddits since the beginning. And recently, the only thing stopping them had been... Ellen Pao. Whoops.
yishan comments on Content Policy update. AMA Thursday, July 16th, 1pm pst.
Reddit, Inc.: Board of Directors - Businessweek
Please give a warm welcome to our newest moderators: /u/yishan, /u/ekjp, /u/cat_sweaterz, and /u/Ragnar_OK! : circlejerk

Pluto pictures: Nasa reveals first high-resolution images of surface | Science | The Guardian - Mission culminates in images of former ninth planet that show mountain ranges of ice and suggest surface has recently been "paved over" by geological activiity
NASA Probe Passes Pluto Carrying Ashes of Man Who Discovered It - In which Clyde Tombaugh's ashes visit Pluto and we discover that space is still so cool.

071415
This Needle-Free Ebola Vaccine Could Change Everything

Iran Nuclear Deal Concludes In Historic Announcement
Tehran Celebrates After Historic Nuclear Deal Announcement
Republicans fume over Iran nuclear deal but hope of undermining accord is slim | World news | The Guardian - it remains unclear what options Congress has to block the agreement
Republicans hate the Iran nuclear deal because it means we won't bomb Iran | Trevor Timm | Comment is free | The Guardian (the Death Party wants more dead people and Bush is a complete idiot)
Let's Have a Toast for the Assholes - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Lawyers, Guns & Money - As we begin to delve through the details of the Iran deal, let's have a toast for the lying douchebags who've been jabbering away for the past twenty years that Iran was 18 months away from a bomb. (warJews and neocons) Benjamin Netanyahu Doesn't Need To Read The Iran Deal To Know He Hates It
Iranian diplomat: Iran, major powers reach historic nuclear deal. : worldnews

FBI Gives Weapons to Mentally Ill ISIS Sympathizer, Then Captures Him
Court asked to kill off NSA's "zombie dragnet" of American's bulk phone data - ACLU accuses government of continuing to collect Americans' call records until end of year on basis of law which federal court has ruled prohibits exactly this
Three senior officials lose their jobs at APA after US torture scandal | US news | The Guardian - American Psychological Association framed the departures of its chief executive officer, deputy CEO and communications chief as "retirements" and "resignations" - longtime executive officials Norman Anderson and Michael Honaker and Rhea Farberman (remember these names)

Anger after Harriet Harman says Labour will not vote against welfare bill | Politics | The Guardian - Interim leader says Labour should also not oppose child tax credit restrictions, adding party cannot tell public they were wrong after two election defeats


Confederacy and Neo-Confederacy on Stone Mountain by Ed Kilgore | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - The Atlanta chapter of the NAACP officially called for the elimination of all symbols of the Confederacy from Stone Mountain.

Eschaton: Time To Pacify The Restive Province Of Texas - Assholes - But Texas has other plans. In the last year, the state has refused to issue birth certificates to children who were born in Texas to undocumented parents.

Man Admits To Plotting To Massacre Muslims, Judge Sets Him Free Anyway | ThinkProgress

Ducan's children Will Enroll in Chicago Lab School (Diane Ravitch) - Duncan attended the prestigious University of Chicago Lab School. The teachers are unionized. President Obama sent his daughters there. Mayor Rahm Emanuel sends his children there.

Texas Judge James R. DePiazza Has Bizarre New Wedding Requirement - "I think it's an interesting innovation in trying to hold your nose and do your job by making everybody else hold your nose as well,"

Scott Walker Strips Wisconsin Workers Of 'Living Wage' In New State Budget - Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) signed the new state budget into law on Sunday with a last-minute change that strips the words "living wage" from state laws and replaces it with "minimum wage." (which you can't "live" on)
Oklahoma GOP Compares Food Stamp Recipients to Animals - In which we learn that some people may need to be in a cage themselves.

How "The Cosby show" duped America: The sitcom that enabled our ugliest Reagan-era fantasies
"The View" is on its deathbed -- and it's time to pull the plug -- Whoopi Goldberg just won't stop defending Bill Cosby. Despite the famed sitcom dad's now-public 2005 deposition, which gave credence to allegations that he drugged and sexually assaulted women, Goldberg has insisted on defending him.

Police: DNA Links Uber Driver to Sex Assault Spree - The Daily Beast - After a string of assaults on Boston's historic Esplanade went unsolved for almost a decade, police finally identified a suspect on Tuesday: an Uber driver.

An opportunity gamed away | The Washington Post - For a county in the Deep South that reaped millions from casino business, poverty is still its spin of the wheel

White Girl Blames Affirmative Action For Not Getting Into College - YouTube
Fuck Me In The Ass Cause I Love Jesus - YouTube - Finding Those Slippery Biblical Loopholes! (anal sex doesn't count on the virginity score)

theEnzyteGuy comments on Content Policy update. AMA Thursday, July 16th, 1pm pst.
One Way to Reform Reddit: Give Users a Share in Profits - The New York Times (but no idea how to actually do it)

Hadron collider discovers new particle the pentaquark : worldnews
Airway test reveals e-cigarette vapor produces similar result as air | EurekAlert! Science News - Six hours of exposure to cigarette smoke resulted in near-complete cell death, but the same exposure to e-cigarette vapor did not affect tissue viability.

071315
Germany doesn't want to save Greece. It seems to want to humiliate Greece
#ThisIsACoup: Germany faces backlash over tough Greece bailout demands | Business | The Guardian - Deal offered to Greece including measures such as handing over 50bn in public assets is strongly criticised on social media
Exclusive: Yanis Varoufakis opens up about his five month battle to save Greece - says the Eurogroup is "completely and utterly" controlled by Germany, Greece was "set up" and last week's referendum was wasted
Killing the European Project - The New York Times - The trending hashtag ThisIsACoup is exactly right. This goes beyond harsh into pure vindictiveness, complete destruction of national sovereignty, and no hope of relief (Merkel smash Greece

Germany to Greece: Drop Dead - Lawyers, Guns & Money
Economists React To Greece's Debt Crisis Bailout Deal - "return to gunboat diplomacy"
Greeks see "humiliation" in harsh terms of eurozone bailout

Obama Interrogation Adviser Vindicated In New Report - Dr. Susan Brandon, a former Bush White House official, currently directs the research unit attached to the Obama administration's elite interrogation force was not integral to the former's torture program despite ties to the perpetrators, according to a new report released Friday by the American Psychological Association.

ISIS Cruelty: Baby Blown Up for Demonstration - Middle East - News - Arutz Sheva - Arabic media reports say ISIS trainer taught recruits booby-trap methods by blowing up infant child.



Man arrested after charging iPhone on London Overground train | Technology | The Guardian - handcuffed and mailed for "abstracting electicity" and then de-arrested when everyone laughed at them

Texans monitor Jade Helm military training amid fears of government plot | US news | The Guardian (Chuck Norris is sure they "are likely" coming for his guns or his stupidity, he's not sure which and "two and two don't add up")

Flags in Dent County, Missouri, will be lowered to "below half-staff" for a one-year period of "mourning" the Supreme Court's June 26 decision to legalize gay marriage nationwide.

The thing Bernie Sanders says about inequality that no other candidate will touch - The Washington Post

This Study Should End The Debate About Whether Women Regret Having Abortions | ThinkProgress - These findings contradict the notion that women experience negative mental health effects after ending a pregnancy, as well as the idea that later abortions are more psychologically traumatic.


There have been 500 people shot and killed by police in the U.S. so far in 2015 - The Washington Post
New York City Pays Eric Garner's Family $5.9 Million Settlement To Avoid Lawsuit (in taxpayer money while the cops walked)

Babes In Toyland Bassist: The Jackie Fox rape disclosure shows we still have a lot to learn - Boing Boing - Ignorance about rape can tragically mute any instinct to protect or tell
Let's Stop Blaming Passive Bystanders -- And Start Holding the Actual Predators Accountable | Jackie Fuchs

What happened to you when you were young that you didn't understand until years later? : AskReddit
The Female Paedophile : videos

New Reddit chief won't reverse Ellen Pao's ban on controversial subreddits
Former Reddit CEO alleges co-founder Alexis Ohanian fired Victoria Taylor, not Pao : technology
Reddit alternative Voat knocked offline by DDoS cyberattack

Study: Google hurting users by skewing search results | TheHill - Google

071215
APNewsBreak: Diplomats: Iran announcement planned Monday

By day, at heart of counter-terror policing. And by night, preacher of extremism - The Government watchdog which inspects police forces' readiness for terrorism admitted that it employed one of Britain's most notorious Islamic extremists. (of course)

Lapdocs - Lawyers, Guns & Money : The Hoffman report on the APA's collusion with the DoD and CIA to enable psychologist's participation in torture has been released. I was particularly interested in the issue of motive: ($81 million and an outlet for their sadistic personalities)

Angela Merkel Facing Criticism Over Handling of Greek Crisis - WSJ - German chancellor faces backlash after appearing to be prepared to temporarily kick
Greece debt crisis puts Germany's Merkel under pressure - BBC News - Greece debt crisis puts Germany's Merkel under pressure - "She's not a politician with a vision for the next decade." (little people in big jobs)

Suicide Car Bombing Near U.S. Base In Afghanistan Kills 17 Civilians

Mexican Drug Lord 'El Chapo' Escapes From Prison - Security Commission Monte Alejandro Rubido says the tunnel was more than 1,500 meters (yards) long and had ventilation and stairs. Officials also found a motorcycle that was used to remove dirt, Rubido said Sunday.

Serbia's president condemns 'savage' attack on Aleksandar Vucic at Srebrenica | World news | The Guardian - The Balkans were torn apart by the series of wars that accompanied the collapse of the former Yugoslavia. The bloodiest conflict was in Bosnia between ethnic Croats, Muslims and Serbs, which claimed some 100,000 lives.


The Notorious RBG Speaks - Lawyers, Guns & Money : (Bush v. Gore radicalized the libs)

Voting Rights Legacy of the '60's Head to Court as North Carolina Law is Tested to determine whether recent, sweeping changes in the state's election laws discriminate against black voters. These changes were adopted by the Republican-dominated state legislature in 2013, immediately after the United States Supreme Court struck down the heart of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 when it ended a requirement that nine states with histories of discrimination, including North Carolina, get federal approval before altering their election laws. (and there you are)
The Dream World of the Southern Republicans - The New York Times - George C. Wallace who placed the flag on the Capitol dome in 1963 as a sign of contempt (your Southern "tradition")
The Next Battle for the American Swastika - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Lawyers, Guns & Money - Travis Waldron notes that a next likely battle over the Confederate flag is at the high school level, with so many southern schools adopting it as their team mascot. (treason is rooted in their "tradition")
Meet the Alabama judges who refuse to issue marriage licenses - gay or straight (they think they work for Fundamentalist Christianity)

Fired LSU Professor Teresa Buchanan Says She Still Doesn't Know What She Did Wrong - using a slang term for vagina that implies cowardice and telling a joke that the quality of sex gets worse the longer a relationship lasts." (2 months from retirement, any excuse will do in Jindalistan)

Hanging Pictures In Your Home Just Got Way Easier


Reddit CEO Ellen Pao's exit has users asking: who was responsible? | Discussion | The Guardian (Guardian behind the curve)
How Ellen Pao lost her job but survived Reddit's swamp of trolls | Technology | The Guardian (Chairwoman Pao-Pao took the fall, but Alexis Ohanian did the deeds)

OneNote for Windows 10 Preview Quick Start Guide

071115
Typhoon Chan-hom: Almost 1 million people evacuated in eastern China as powerful storm crosses coast - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

US torture doctors could face charges after report alleges post-9/11 'collusion' | Law | The Guardian - US torture doctors could face charges after report alleges post-9/11 "collusion" (you know who else "colluded?" - they can't go after the "heros" who did the torturing or the special people who ordered it)

WhatsApp, iMessage and Snapchat to be banned in the UK as part of Snoopers' Charter : technology

Afghan agency: ISIS leader killed in drone strike - CNN.com - U.S. Army Col. Brian Tribus said American forces conducted a strike in Achin on Friday against "individuals threatening the force." He did not elaborate.

Greece Financial Crisis Hits Poorest and Hungriest the Hardest - The New York Times


How Donald Trump Sees The Globe - A delusional billionaire's perception of a world map.


The Most Important Anti-Terrorism System in America Failed to Stop Dylann Roof by David Atkins | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly (tension between security and giving everyone guns because freedom)

20 Philly Cops Beat Him, Say He Injured Himself: Video shows officers attacking Tyree Carroll and calling him a "piece of shit." The district attorney says it has no plans to investigate yet. (he attacked their batons with his face and body)
Jonathan Sanders, Unarmed Black Man, Allegedly Strangled To Death By Mississippi Cop

Joan Jett Issues Statement On Runaways' Jackie Fox Rape Allegations - "If I was aware of a friend or bandmate being violated, I would not stand by while it happened."

Adolescent Intermittent Alcohol Exposure: Persistence of Structural and Functional Hippocampal Abnormalities into Adulthood - Risher - 2015 - Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research - Wiley Online Library - Adolescent Intermittent Alcohol Exposure: Persistence of Structural and Functional Hippocampal Abnormalities into Adulthood

Bill Cosby Sexual Assault Allegations Prompt Exodus Of Allies

Ellen Pao Steps Down As Reddit CEO
Reddit CEO Ellen Pao's exit has users asking: who was responsible? | Technology | The Guardian - Reaction ranged from celebration to dismay as some wonder whether company used Pao as a scapegoat, a theory rejected by a board member
Reddit CEO Ellen Pao Resigns - The Atlantic - embattled CEO, Ellen Pao, who lost a landmark gender discrimination suit earlier this year, resigned following a week of scandal.
I am Steve Huffman, the new CEO of reddit. AMA. : IAmA
Ellen Pao, CEO of Reddit, resigns : technology ("Pao Wow Out Now")
Ellen Pao Resigns as Reddit Interim CEO After User Revolt : technology
kn0thing comments on An old team at reddit (looks like it was really Alexis who fired Victoria and Pao was designed to take the heat of commericalizing Reddit)
Reddit cofounder drops r/technology mod status after censorship drama
shadow ban admins mods hell
am i shadowbanned
Best of the worst of Reddit's AMA posts


071015
How Exxon Mobil Lied About Climate Change - Yet the company kept funding climate-change denialists for nearly three more decades. Please tell me how doing something like this -- and there are plenty of people like the Koch Brothers who still are doing it -- won't one day be counted as a crime against humanity? (at the International Climate Court)
How Media Has Helped Advance Big Oil's Climate Deception Campaign
What will climate be like in 2100? Expect surprises, says new Met Office study (oh look, it's snowing!)
In the Race to Control the Arctic, the U.S. Lags Behind - he U.S. Navy predicts the entire Arctic Ocean may be totally ice-free in summers by 2050, with ships able to traverse the top of the North Pole.
Bumblebees Are Dying Out Thanks To Climate Change - Other animals are moving north to flee the heat, but bumblebees are not adapting -- they're simply dying out
China Evacuates Tens Of Thousands Ahead Of Super-Typhoon Chan-hom - nearly 60,000 people were evacuated from coastal areas. The country's railway service said more than 100 trains between the region's cities are canceled

Psychologists Shielded U.S. Torture Program, Report Finds - The New York Times (APA helped shield torture)


California's economy is large enough it could be admitted into G-8 - California's economy has surpassed Russia and Italy to become the eighth-largest in the world, according to the Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy.

FBI: Bring Us A Unicorn. Techies: They Don't Exist. Senator: Stop Complaining & Tell Us Where The Unicorn Is | Techdirt - Comey repeatedly admitted that he had no proposed solution to the question of how to do this. He admits that computer scientists say it's not possible, but he insists it's because they're "not trying hard enough" to figure it out.
Galileo, the leaked hacking software from Hacker Team (defense contractor), contains code to insert child porn on a target's computer. : technology (meanwhile, your government is a pedophile)
The FBI doesn't want to have to force tech companies to weaken encryption | Trevor Timm | Comment is free | The Guardian
A Detailed Look at Hacking Team's Emails About Its Repressive Clients - The Intercept (the kiddieporn injection hackerzz +everyone lies, almost all the time)
John McAfee: New York Stock Exchange was knocked offline by hackers linked to Anonymous - If these events were truly random and independent, then the frequency of all three of these events happening on the same day is once in a billion days (or if you prefer to count in years, almost 2.8 million years). (oh, they lied? really?)

What have young people done to Osborne to deserve such contempt? | Polly Toynbee | Comment is free | The Guardian - As if the chancellor hasn't monstered the young enough, he introduces a gratuitous cut to housing benefit and other exemptions that will cause misery (austerity for the non-elites as usual)

The quiet Social Security revolution: How Democrats learned to stop loving benefit cuts - Salon.com (Duncan Atrios Black)

Eschaton: Pope On A Rope - Most people have no idea just how horrible the church was in Latin America, and how strong the backlash against them was in some places, particularly Mexico. They were bad actors and this should be acknowledged.

Texas town tired of 'war on drugs' at the border sees push for legal marijuana | US news | The Guardian - Many in El Paso would like to see cannabis laws reformed not despite local cartel traffic, but because of it: a military-style border has fractured communities
600 Christian churches call for an end to the War on Drugs - Smell the Truth - A major group of churches throughout the Northeast believe that ending the War on Drugs is the Christian thing to do.

The quiet Social Security revolution: How Democrats learned to stop loving benefit cuts - Salon.com - For the first time in decades, dangerous myths about "insolvency" are fading away. Here's how it happened

Eschaton: Trumped - And the press generally focuses too much on the theater and not on the actual policies. Policies matter much more. Trump is an asshole, but he's really a typical Republican asshole, with just a bit more asshole.

Watch Jesse Ventura's Hilarious Takedown Of The GOP Presidential Candidates - "Nobody's told Mike Huckabee that sex is fun. Nobody's told Mike Huckabee that it's probably the most enjoyable thing men and women could do together," Ventura said. "You're a religious man, Mike. If it was only to produce children, why did God make it feel so damn good?"

Now Republicans Are Whining About Donald Trump, Too - In which respectable Republicans seek to kill their own monster. (Trump, the soul of the Republican Party)

Archdiocese Suspends Priest Who Waited Weeks To Tell Police About Hidden Camera - An Oregon priest waited more than three weeks to tell police about a hidden camera found in a church bathroom, and in the meantime falsely told parishioners there was an ongoing police investigation into the matter, the Oregonian reported Tuesday, citing recent court records.

Judge Throws 3 Kids In Juvenile Center For Not Being Nice To Their Dad - County Circuit Judge Lisa Gorcyca (sentenced to being infamous for all eternity on the internets for being an abusive jerk)
Michigan judge bullies children in open court for refusing to see their dad - The Washington Post - Her husband is David Gorcyca, the former Oakland County DA (where Lisa Gorcyca is a judge). Before becoming a judge, Lisa Gorcyca was a prosecutor in that same office. Last year, David Gorcyca was found personally liable for a $1 million judgment against the parents of an autistic girl. He had tried to prosecute her father for sexual assault. Oakland County paid out more than $6 million to settle the lawsuit. (abusive lying jerk judge and his abusive jerk wife Lisa are costing their county a lot of money)
Michigan judge bullies children in open court for refusing to see their dad : news - These three kids are being housed with kids who have committed crimes such as and not limited to, rape, torture, abuse, a few deadly assaults and many others. Sending the kids here is a complete waste of taxpayer money and is absolutely unthinkable. The judge should be disbarred/reprimanded not only for sending the kids but for acting in a completely unprofessional manner.
Michigan Judge Sentences Kids to Juvenile Detention for Missing Lunch with Dad - In which a Michigan judge drops by to spread some tough love. (oh look, Lisa Gorcyca went viral!)
Former Oakland County prosecutor Gorcyca liable for $1M court judgment
Judge to release "jailed" kids, send them to summer camp (says she's a really good judge)

Prosecutors Drop Ridiculous 'Fleeing Police' Charge For Cautious Driver. But Not Before Exposing A Bigger Issue. - But the fact that prosecutors tried to pressure Wallace into pleading guilty in a case they likely couldn't have won -- or perhaps never even intended to take to trial -- is a symptom of the broader problem with plea bargaining in the criminal justice system.




The big money behind the ongoing student loan disaster | The Bulletin - In the past three years, the number of colleges and universities charging over $50,000 per year for tuition has increased by 2400%. During the same time period, the average wage of the American worker grew by a paltry 2%. (privatise! give all the money to administrators! fuck the students, they're lazy slacker moochers!)

What website could you recommend that most probably haven't heard of? : AskReddit

Google Fiber Has Accomplished More For Broadband Than Our National Broadband Plan Ever Did | Techdirt (another of Obama's designed-to-fail fake "plans")
101 US Cities Have Pledged to Build Their Own Gigabit Networks | Motherboard (coulda been you, Boston, but blockhead mayors who can't use a computer fucked you over)
ESPN Tightens Its Belt as Pressure on It Mounts - WSJ
LPT: Gmail ignores everything after a + in the username of an email address, use it to register for websites : LifeProTips

070915

Greece debt crisis: Athens accepts harsh austerity as bailout deal nears | Business | The Guardian - Greek cabinet reportedly backs a package of reforms and spending cuts worth 13bn to secure third bailout and modest debt writeoff

Shanghai's Stock Market is Collapsing. Do Chinese People Care?
How the Greek and Chinese Crises Are Linked | Mohamed A. El-Erian - They have benefited from the ultra-loose experimental policies that have been pursued by major central banks around the world.

The day 69 children died - The Express Tribune - It is one of the worst incidents of the entire drones campaign, yet one of the least reported. A CIA strike on a madrassa or religious school in 2006 killed up to 69 children, among 80 civilians.

Zero for 40 at Predicting Attacks: Why Do Media Still Take FBI Terror Warnings Seriously? ("ISIL-inspired" Fourth of July attacks that didn't happen! be very afraid all the time!)
FBI, Justice Dept. take encryption concerns to Congress - Federal law enforcement officials warned Wednesday that data encryption is making it harder to hunt for pedophiles and terror suspects, telling senators that consumers' right to privacy is not absolute and must be weighed against public-safety interests. (it's always pedophiles)
Surveillance company loses control of flagship spy program: Hacking Team - "We believe this is an extremely dangerous situation" : worldnews
Senator: I Don't Believe the NYSE and United Failures Are a Coincidence
United Airlines flights grounded across the U.S. because of a computer system malfunction. : news
Surveillance company loses control of flagship spy program: Hacking Team - "We believe this is an extremely dangerous situation" : worldnews

The Embargo Cannot Fail. It Can Only Be Failed. - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Lawyers, Guns & Money - Shorter Marco Rubio: Obama's decision to end the Cuba embargo is awful. The lack of political freedoms in Cuba is proof positive of its immense value.

UN warns of children in peril in North Korea's "worst drought in 100 years"

Anti-Semitism in France: How Fast Is the Tide Rising? | Vanity Fair - How can anyone be allowed to paint a swastika on the statue of Marianne, the goddess of French liberty, in the very center of the Place de la Ripublique? (Netanyahu's plan to get all the Jews back to Israel)

Matt Taibbi: Eric Holder Back to Wall Street-Tied Law Firm After Years of Refusing to Jail Bankers | Democracy Now!

OPM Announces More Than 21 Million Affected by Second Data Breach - NationalJournal.com - The federal personnel agency finally announced Thursday the scope of a massive hack of security-clearance information first revealed last month.

S.C. House Approves Bill To Remove Confederate Flag From Statehouse - The rebel banner could come down within days.
Pelosi ambushes GOP with Confederate flag resolution | TheHill - Pelosi's resolution would have forced Mississippi's state flag, which includes the Confederate flag, to be removed from the House side of the Capitol. (Federal Government flies terrorist flag)
Rep. Jeffries just dropped ALL THE MICS on the Confederate battle flag - Lawyers, Guns & Money :

Jeb Bush says Americans "need to work longer hours" to earn more (for less pay - Jebaroonietunes)
Work More! - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Jeb Bush really is a man of the New Gilded Age. His beliefs about labor are truly Lochner-esque.
More on the Extremely Rich Man Who Hasn't Had Job In 8 Years Who Wants Other People To Work More - Lawyers, Guns & Money :
Jeb Bush Wants America's Workforce to Work Even Harder - And Scott Walker would like to tell us what to do with that time we used to call a weekend. (because otherwise socialism!)
Jeb Bush and longer working hours: gaffesplainer 2016 - Vox

Lindsey Graham Promises to Go to War if Elected - . For example, in Syria, which is the devil's own rat's nest of different groups who want to slaughter each other, Huckleberry would like us to fight...everybody.

YouGov | The GOP frontrunner: Donald Trump? - Trump leads the GOP pack this week, though few think he will win the nomination (star of the clown parade)
Donald Trump says he "will win Latino vote" despite calling Mexicans "rapists"
GOP leaders hear damage to party's image as Donald Trump doubles down (yeah, they have a great "image")
N.Y. Times keeps Cruz off bestseller list - POLITICO - despite the fact that the book has sold more copies in its first week than all but two of the Times' bestselling titles, the On Media blog has learned.

Florida Supreme Court orders new congressional map with eight districts to be redrawn | Tampa Bay Times - The Florida Supreme Court took a wrecking ball to Florida's political landscape Thursday, throwing out the state's carefully crafted congressional districts drawn by the GOP-led Legislature and ordering a new map within 100 days.

Obama's Workplace Safety Record - Lawyers, Guns & Money : They have pretty harsh words for President Obama: "Simply put, the Obama administration really isn't any better or much better than the Bush [administration]. I's not a good record" (Obama hates the American worker)

Firing of teacher in same-sex marriage roils Catholic school - The e-mail left many parents at the private Catholic school upset and confused. The well-respected director of religious education had just been fired.

Air conditioning energy: AC saves lives and causes less climate change than heating. (NYT: only really rich people should have AC, everyone else should just melt)

LAPD 'opens investigation' into allegations of sexual abuse by Bill Cosby | World news | The Guardian - Despite statute of limitations for criminal charges, Los Angeles police tell ABC News they will investigate the allegations no matter when crimes took place
"Bill Cosby lectured poor black girls about peer pressuring other girls into having sex." - Lawyers, Guns & Money :
Bill Cosby's Famous "Pound Cake" Speech, Annotated (conservative black folk ate up his bullshit, though)

The Lost Girls - The Huffington Post - One famous band. One huge secret. Many lives destroyed. (the Runaways and Joan Jett's dark history)

Is Caitlyn Jenner Dating Transgender Actress... - Rachel Pilcher

Smoking tobacco might increase risk of schizophrenia, say researchers | Society | The Guardian - Analysis of studies on smoking tobacco and psychosis, of which schizophrenia is most common type, suggests smoking may be causal factor in itself

Pubic hair has a job to do
It's 2015 -- You'd Think We'd Have Figured Out How To Measure Web Traffic By Now
Why We Shut Down Reddit's "Ask Me Anything" Forum (way to bury the lede)
stop shaving and leave it alone | Emily Gibson | Comment is free | The Guardian - Shaving pubic hair only removes a cushion against friction, leaves microscopic open wounds and exposes you to infections

070815
Exxon knew of climate change in 1981, email says - but it funded deniers for 27 more years

China's market crash dents nation's aura of invincibility
Shanghai stocks plunge, over 1,200 Chinese companies halt trading - The Economic Times
China's Plummeting Stock Market
China's Stock Market Plummets As Sell-Off Continues
China stock market freezing up as sell-off gathers pace | Reuters
China Bans Stock Sales by Major Shareholders for Six Months - Bloomberg Business

Greece crisis: Tsipras under pressure to submit reform blueprint to creditors | World news | The Guardian - Troika of bailout supervisors to receive proposals from Athens by midnight on Thursday, giving them 48 hours to examine them before summit on Sunday


3 Saudi Brothers Held in Kuwait Mosque Attack - The New York Times - Two of the suspects, Majed and Mohammed al-Zahrani, transported the explosives across the border into Kuwait in an ice cooler the day before the attack, Kuwait's Interior Ministry said, passing them on to another man
Isis Blows Up at 1000 year old Ancient Church in Mosul Iraq, ends up killing 4 Children playing near by : worldnews

Israeli Minister Says Reform Jews Are Not Really Jewish - The New York Times - inflaming internal discord over religious issues and underscoring tensions with American Jews, who mostly belong to the more liberal streams of Conservative and Reform Judaism.
The Washington Monthly - heightened tensions between the Netanyahu government and American Jews, who are dealing with constant accusations they are not "good Jews" if they don't back Bibi's foreign policy and/or fail to excoriate Barack Obama for pursuing a foreign policy that's independent of Bibi's

A scathing report also cited evidence that Anthony Batts had instructed officers to refrain from arresting rioters involved in looting during Freddie Gray protests

An Unpopular Man: Norman Finkelstein Comes Out Against BDS Movement | The New Republic - Norman Finkelstein was a rock star of the pro-Palestinian movement. Then he came out against BDS ... Finkelstein was unemployed for seven years after being denied tenure at DePaul University in 2007 following a campaign against him, led by Harvard's Alan Dershowitz

Argentina Rewards Programmer Who Exposed E-Voting Vulnerabilities With A Complimentary Home Police Raid | Techdirt


House votes to ban sale of Confederate flag in Park Service stores | TheHill
House votes to ban Confederate flags at federal cemeteries | TheHill

Why Bernie Sanders's Momentum is Not Build To Last

New York governor to name special prosecutor for killings by police - Yahoo News - o handle investigations when civilians are killed during confrontations with police, Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Tuesday.

Kansas governor: state can't punish religious groups over same-sex marriage objections (Brownback won't force Christian fundies to gay-marry each other)
The Prosecutor Who Says Louisiana Should "Kill More People"

The Jacksonian Democratic Party Could not be Revived Even if it was Desirable, Which it Most Certainly Isn't - Lawyers, Guns & Money

CVS Health Quits Chamber Of Commerce Over Tobacco Stance (Chamber of Death)

Dave Weigel returns to the Washington Post - POLITICO - Weigel, who had been tasked with writing about conservatives, was revealed to have disparaged some of his subjects in an off-the-record listserv called "Journolist."

Women Are Spending $1.4 Billion Less On Birth Control Due To Obamacare: Report

Brain abnormalities in people with schizophrenia identified -- ScienceDaily - Enhancing Neuroimaging Genetics through Meta-Analysis project (ENIGMA)

CNN investigates claims Sanjay Gupta misled viewers in Nepal report | Media | The Guardian



070715
Greece given days to agree bailout deal or face banking collapse and euro exit | World news | The Guardian - Athens told to present convincing details or EU leaders will hold emergency meeting in Brussels on Sunday to deal with Grexit
Rift Emerges as Europe Gears Up for New Talks on Greece Bailout - The New York Times
Now Europe Must Decide Whether to Make an Example of Greece - The New York Times
Greece's fight is for democracy in Europe. That's why we must support it
Greece Is Just The Beginning Of The Great Austerity Backlash
Austerity Has Failed: An Open Letter From Thomas Piketty to Angela Merkel | The Nation "History - will remember you for your actions this week"
"He's Right, Williamson Merkel." - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Some #realtalk from Thomas Piketty:
Eschaton: The Man Can't Tie His Own Shoes - Dear Greece, if there's anybody you should be ignoring more than you should be ignoring Fred Hiatt and the gang, it's George Osborne.

Chinese Share Sell-Off Spills Over to Hong Kong - The New York Times
Nearly 25% of Chinese stocks have stopped trading - Jul. 7, 2015

This Is How Much You Could End Up Paying to Fund Britain's Mass Surveillance Programme | VICE | United Kingdom




Iowa DOT Chief Says Overbuilt Road System Will Have to Shrink | Streetsblog.net

Rush Limbaugh: Photo Of Gay Youth Whose Story Went Viral From Humans Of New York Is A "Phony" | Video | Media Matters for America


Skin Trouble - Complexion in Jim Crow America could be a tricky thing. In the spring of 1955, Ebony magazine ran a curious story about the Platts (their noses were too wide)

Judd Apatow Had The Best Response To Bill Cosby's Admission He Drugged Women For Sex
Bill Cosby's Admission Could Aid Women's Cases, Lawyers Say
Here Are The Documents Bill Cosby Didn't Want You To Read [Updated]
Anderson Cooper 3600 on Twitter: "This is what #Cosby accuser Patti Masten says about newly obtained docs from 2005 case http://t.co/sNgeSpv0PF http://t.co/y3NgCTG9BA"

Colorado's Teen Birth Rate Fell 40 Percent Thanks To A Free Contraception Program

Parents force 14-year-old to live in woods after eating Pop Tart | WWLP.com

Helicopter parenting is increasingly correlated with college-age depression and anxiety. - The data emerging confirms the harm done by asking so little of our kids when it comes to life skills, yet so much of them when it comes to academics.
Flash - Molecule clue to memory decline: study - France 24 - The protein, dubbed B2M, is found in higher concentrations in the blood and cerebral spinal fluid of ageing humans, they said.

Reddit's fate hangs in the balance as revolt against CEO makes waves | Technology | The Guardian - While more than 200,000 Redditors want Ellen Pao to resign, readers are jumping ship to budding competitor sites as top brass pushes to go mainstream
[Recap] AMAgeddon : SubredditDrama
Petition 7 Ellen K. Pao: Step down as CEO of Reddit Inc. 7 Change.org - 209,263 supporters
Petition 7 Support Ellen Pao 7 Change.org - 18 supporters
What /r/science stands for, where we are going and why we support reddit : science

What are some of Reddit's inside jokes? : AskReddit

BNP Paribas says bitcoin's blockchain could make current securities firms 'redundant' - Business Insider
Encryption's holy grail is getting closer, one way or another. Working with encrypted data without decrypting it first sounds too goodt if they dono be true, but it's becoming possible.
Sales of the new Apple Watch have plunged by 90% since the opening week, according to a new market-research report : technology

070615

US jets intercepted Russian bombers off the California and Alaska coasts on July 4 - Yahoo Finance

German Line Hardens After Greeks Vote 'No' In Referendum (Merkel can never fail)
Greece's Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis Resigns After Referendum
Just Say No | Robert Kuttner - The No vote to austerity by a margin of 62 to 38 is a stunning vindication of Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras's tactical gamble and political savvy. However, the Greeks and the austerity-mongers, most notably in Germany, remain as far apart as ever.
Greece is less likely to get a deal after the referendum, but will get a better deal if it does get one - The Washington Post
interfluidity ; Greece - The Greek state has been a shady, opportunistic borrower, no doubt, the kind of character no one would lend money to with any great expectation of seeing it back. And yet, that's precisely what bankers in the relatively not-fucked-up Eurozone countries did! ... The choice Europe's leaders faced was to preserve the union or preserve the wealth, prestige, and status of the community of people who were their acquaintances and friends and selves but who are entirely unrepresentative of the European public. They chose themselves. (Merkel and her bankerpals killed the Greek economy: tiny, evil people)
Europe Wins - The New York Times - we have just witnessed Greece stand up to a truly vile campaign of bullying and intimidation, an attempt to scare the Greek public, not just into accepting creditor demands, but into getting rid of their government.


$2.2m in Mafia bribes to NSW judges alleged in top-secret police reports
Australian minister: 'Gay marriage could damage our cattle exports' - World - News - London Evening Standard - because it is seen as "decadent".




Jacob Remes on Twitter: "Well, this is delightful. Bill Kristol's merit shines right through. http://t.co/Y3IJPQeTjv" (Kristol can never fail because the is a very special person)





APNewsBreak: Cosby said he got drugs to give women for sex ('ludes)

Texas officials: Schools should teach that slavery was "side issue" to Civil War (warping young minds with Satanic lies

Goldie Hawn and Michael Eisner Discuss Sexism, Ageism, and Mindfulness at the Aspen Ideas Festival - The Atlantic - The Disney CEO and the Oscar-winning actress compare notes on Hollywood.
Just Words - Lawyers, Guns & Money
Former Google exec says this word can damage your credibility - Business Insider - A few years back I noticed something: the frequency with which the word "just" appeared in email and conversation from female co-workers and friends.
Just don't do it: No one writes articles telling men how the're damaging their career prospects by using the wrong words. With women, on the other hand, it's a regular occurrence. (speech-shaming)
NPR: TAL: 545 If You Dn't Have Anything Nice to Say, SAY IT IN ALL CAPS (vocal fry)


Bloomberg - Reddit users call for CEO Ellen Pao to resign : videos
SS - paosafe.space: TheSafe for reddit!


070515
Greeks defy Europe with overwhelming referendum "No" (now it gets interesting)
Official: Greeks say NO to austerity measures : worldnews
Greeks Reject Bailout Terms in Rebuff to European Leaders - The New York Times
Merkel's Leadership Has Failed in the Greece crisis: Angela's Ashes: How Merkel Failed Greece and Europe - Angela Merkel relishes her reputation as queen of Europe. But she hasn't learned how to use her power, instead allowing a bad situation to heat up to the boiling point. (Queen of Austerity and Failure)
Confusion Remains as Voting Begins in Greek Referendum - The New York Times
Greece: Only the 'No" Can Save the Euro
Greek banks prepare plan to raid deposits to avert collapse - FT.com
Euro a Burning Building With No Exits, Hague Tells Spectator - Bloomberg Business
Eschaton: What's It All About Then - Whatever it is, it ain't democracy. It's banksterocracy.
The Road To Grexit - Forbes
Greek Referendum Day live: the euro's day of reckoning arrives as divided Greeks head to the polls
How Iceland Emerged From Its Deep Freeze - The New York Times (jailed the banksters, duh)


Washington brought in $70M in taxes on legal pot in one year | TheHill (you could have paid for 1/2 an Olympic statium Boston)

Hillary Clinton accuses China of hacking "nto everything that doesn't move in America" (demonstrating her complete non-comprehension of how it all works as her metaphor goes off the cliff)

The Activist Roberts Court, 10 Years In - The New York Times (We, the Billionaires)


"By the People" and "Wages of Rebellion" (Packer review racist Murry and progressive Hedges, gives Murry 4 paras and Hedges 2 and himself 6)

alicublog: Hope For America's Future. - The Perfesser adds the perhaps unneeded gloss: that the idea that the Confederacy was a Southern thing is just another way we Northerners oppress Southern whites. I noted this on Twitter -- blaming the Confederacy on "Outside Agitators!

Trump opened this spring on the southeastern shoreline of the Bronx. Paid for by New York City, to the sum of $127 million (one of Bloomberg's gifts to the billionaires)



Teenager's Jailing Brings a Call to Fix Sex Offender Regiistries (another corner of the "tough on crime" industry, sexual paranoia division)

Boy, 7, shot to death, 29 others shot - Chicago Tribune

California, Camelot and Vaccines - The New York Times (anti-vaxxer Robert F Kennedy Jr)


Babies Can Form Abstract Relations Before They Learn Words | Anthropology, Neuroscience | Sci-News.com (like "same" and "different")


Reddit CEO Ellen Pao: "The Vast Majority of Reddit Users are Uninterested in" Victoria Taylor, Subreddits Going Private : technology
Reddit CEO Pao Under Fire as Users Protest Removal of Executive - Bloomberg Business
Reddit CEO Pao Under Fire as Users Protest Removal of Executive : technology
A list of all the Reddit alternatives that I use/keep an eye on as a community manager and a little explanation about them. : RedditAlternatives

What's a sexual fantasy that you enjoy but would never attempt in reality? : AskReddit
I did this and watching it right afterwards was a bit embarrassing. Every dumb comment you make that you think
What is the most legendary time that "OP delivered"? : AskReddit

070415
2 years ago this man sacrificed his livelihood to save the world. Happy Independence Day : pics (Happy Snowden Day)

The NSA and American Spies Targeted SPIEGEL - Spiegel Online

When Greece Forgave Germany's Debt - The 1953 agreement, in which Greece and about 20 other countries effectively wrote off a large chunk of Germany's loans and restructured the rest, is a landmark case that shows how effective debt relief can be. It helped spark what became known as the German economic miracle.
Greek Finance Minister Says Europe Can't Afford To Let Greece's Economy Crash
Exclusive: Europeans tried to block IMF debt report on Greece: sources - Euro zone countries tried in vain to stop the IMF publishing a gloomy analysis of Greece's debt burden which the leftist government says vindicates its call to voters to reject bailout terms (Europe's elite leaders can never be wrong)
David Attewell: Putting the Greek Referendum in Context - Lawyers, Guns & Money

Chinese stock market has lost #1.5 trillion in the last three weeks - Business News - Business - The Independent
Panic wipes #2tn off Chinese shares | Business | The Guardian - Promise by the stock market regulator to tackle concerns of market manipulation also failed to halt the slide

Afghanistan: Schoolgirls hurt in acid attack in Herat - CNN.com - Men throw acid into girls' faces for going to school
Meditating Portuguese actor mistaken for terrorist on Paris plane. He was released after 6 hrs of questioning during which police watched videos of him on the Internet showing that he is a theater and television actor, and checked his profile on Wikipedia, which states that he is a Buddhist. : worldnews

Calls grow for UN court on MH17 despite Russian opposition - Netherlands and Malaysia want international tribunal on who downed airliner over eastern Ukraine

Brazil probes Brazil probes currency market activity of 15 global banksurrency market activity of 15 global banks - Fifteen of the world's largest banks are under investigation on suspicion of rigging the Brazilian currency, antitrust watchdog Cade said on Thursday, the first such probe in one of the busiest foreign exchange markets globally.

ISIS Releases Video Claiming To Show Mass Execution In Ancient Palmyra - The video shows 25 men lined up on the stage of the ancient theater in front of the extremist group's flag. They are then shot dead by boys, who appear to be in their teens, before an audience gathered at the heritage site


Obama Plans Broader Use of Clemency to Free Nonviolent Drug Offenders - The New York Times - Sometime in the next few weeks, aides expect President Obama to issue orders freeing dozens of federal prisoners locked up on nonviolent drug offenses. With the stroke of his pen, he will probably commute more sentences at one time than any president has in nearly half a century.

Hullabaloo - QOTW: Tweety - Chris Matthews: "I'm starting to lose faith in Scott Walker as a reasonable person. He's aping the right wing." - Seriously? The guy who thinks forced ultrasounds are "cool" and unions are like ISIS? That guy is reasonable? (it's all about their status as "serious" people)

Jon Stewart Slams Donald Trump Supporters For Defending 'Mexican Rapists' Comments (Trump 2016: Somebody's Doing the Raping!)

This Is What The Average Gun Owner Looks Like In America - He's white, married or divorced, high income, and over 55 years old. (and a white supremicist +more guns=more deaths)

Views Clash Where Confederate Flags Fly - The New York Times - This video road trip from Columbia, S.C., to Jackson, Miss., makes it clear that there is still much disagreement about the role of the Confederate flag in the South.

"This decision will not stand" - Republicans seek common cause against same-sex marriage - After the supreme court made gay marriage legal in all 50 states, conservatives are united in opposition but divided over how best to pursue their cause (why don't y'all secede since you hate our Constitution?)


Swanky New York eatery kept workers' tips - CBS News - Critically acclaimed Manhattan restaurant Per Se will fork over $500,000 to settle claims it pocketed gratuities that should have gone to employees who worked at private-dining events. (how the riches do it)

Chart: Every possible emotional overlap in Inside Out (Spoilers? Link in comments.) : movies
Inside Out's Restricted Range - Bambi's mother dies. Charlotte dies. Dumbo is separated from his jailed mother for most of the movie. Kids can tolerate fiction where bad stuff happens. In Inside Out, on the other hand, Riley once lost a hockey tournament and now has had to move into a million dollar Victorian in San Francisco, poor lil snipy (+comment: As my own 11-year old put it: it was really funny, but the plot wasn't that interesting) Contrasting and categorization of emotions
Chart: Every possible emotional overlap in Inside Out (Spoilers? Link in comments.) : movies


[live] Victoria's Secret/AMAgeddon
David Frum tweet on Pao and the reddit blackout : Blackout2015 (says Pao was a bad hire +no one has noticed the center-of-drama genius of Pao)
Reddit in uproar after staff sacking - BBC News (who could have predicted extemely litigious borderline Chairman Pao-Pao would rekt Reddit?)
Reddit CEO sorry for 'letting down' users after popular subforums shut down | Technology | The Guardian
Reddit in uproar after staff sacking : technology
Calling for Reddit's CEO to step down reaches 14,000 (now 18,000 plus) (now: 90,000)
Petition 7 Ellen K. Pao: Step down as CEO of Reddit Inc. 7 Change.org
Moderator gives a concise summary of just how terrible reddit has been to moderators. : bestof ("unpaid interns")
Regarding today's Reddit drama : fountainpens
A message to our users : askscience
Reddit's ex-CEO, u/Yishan, gives his thoughts on the current situation : bestof
''Ellen Pao Talks About Gender Bias in Silicon Valley'' She sued the company she worked for because she didn't get a promotion, claims it was because she was female. Company says she just didn't deserve it. : videos
[AMA Request] Ellen Pao; Current Reddit CEO : IAmA
[AMA Request] Victoria, ex-AMA mod : IAmA
yishan comments on I am a former reddit employee. AMA.
[AMA Request] Dacvak continue his now deleted AMA where he talks about Reddit firing him for having leukemia and also discuss the community backlash from his subreddit /r/gaming becoming public again. : IAmA
[Megathread] Chooter, subreddits shutting down megathread : AskReddit
[Mod Post] A statement on yesterday's Chooting : AskReddit
Someone edited Hitler's Wikipedia page : funny (how about Mao Tse Tsung's?)
RIP to the beloved fallen admins /u/chooter and /u/kickme444 : pics
[AMA Request] kickme444 (former reddit SVP of product who left 2 weeks ago, and has toyed with the idea of doing an AMA) : IAmA

[Serious] Redditors who had sex with their teachers, what was it like? Did anyone find out? And if so what was the aftermath? : AskReddit
DuhTrutho comments on TIL Texas no longer offers a special "last meal" to condemned inmates. Instead, the inmate is offered the same meal served to the rest of the unit. (why our thirst for "justice" is childish and evil")
[SERIOUS] Redditors who are *actively* cheating on their partner - why? : AskReddit

Arianna Huffington's Improbable, Insatiable Content Machine - She did more than anyone else to invent the Internet news business. After a decade, despite setbacks, she is still setting the pace. (the Times commenters are enraged)

070315
Koch-Backed Group Calls For No More National Parks | ThinkProgress (hack op-ed reprinted by sportsball-owned Boston Globe)

WikiLeaks drops new set of secret TISA docs: Yep, no one agrees | Ars Technica - US: Any party can "undertake any action" to protect "essential security interests." (Obama is going to have quite a "legacy")

Obama administration spied on German media, government - CNNPolitics.com (no boundaries Obama)
Julian Assange, WikiLeaks founder, denied asylum in France - World - CBC News - Assange is living in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London to avoid extradition to Sweden

Arab tourist arrested under Terrorism Act in Brighton | Daily Mail Online - Nasser Al-Ansari was recording condolence video for Kuwait bomb victims
Meditating Portuguese actor mistaken for terrorist on Paris plane | Reuters - He was released after six hours of questioning during which police watched videos of him on the Internet showing that he is a theater and television actor, and checked his profile on Wikipedia, which states that he is a Buddhist. (do we see a pattern?)

This Is What The End Of European Democracy Looks Like
Angela Merkel Will Be Responsible For A Greek Exit From The Eurozone (Bavarian House Frau runs Europe like her home, doesn't listen to science or facts ... "Rumor has long held that Merkel, Thatcher, and Reagan are triplets, separated at birth....")
Europe's Many Economic Disasters (revenge of Germany though France is doing pretty well)
These Economists Are Calling For An End To Greece's Austerity Nightmare - "I can think of no depression, ever, that has been so deliberate and had such catastrophic consequences," wrote Joseph Stiglitz
Jamie McGeever on Twitter: "And you wonder why Greeks voted for change... Would deval & Grexit be any more catastrophic? - Chart

N. Korean scientist flees to Finland with info on inhumane experiments - The Korea Times - The 47-year-old left with 15 gigabytes worth of data and information regarding human experimentation, which he felt may have crossed ethical boundaries according to Yonhap News Agency.


3 reasons the American Revolution was a mistake - Vox

The Great Recession's Last Casualties - For many Americans who've been out of work long-term, there may never be a recovery. (Obama's unemployment strategy: get people to give up looking for a job)

Obama administration scales back deportations in policy shift - The Washington Post (Deporter-in-Chief could have done this years ago but he loves torturing brown people)

The Blatant Ignorance of Republican Presidential Candidates - In which conservatives continue to defend Ted Cruz and Donald Trump, endlessly perplexing Jonathan Chait. The symptoms of the prion disease are beginning to become so obvious that even some of our more prominent pundits are beginning to notice them. (Center for Immigration Studies cited by Rich "Sparkle Pants" Lowry is a white supremicist org, wow)
Surprise! Donald Trump is wrong about immigrants and crime. - The Washington Post (fact-immune asshole Republicans: native born Americans have highest crime-rate)

American Independence Myths: Lies May Comfort, But Facts Matter | The New Republic - Myths may comfort us, but facts are our best weapon against Tea Party perversions (who are immune to facts, duh)

In uphill 2016 bid, Jim Webb brings conservative bent to Democratic field - The Washington Post (just in time)

Hispanic Leaders Tell Republican Party To Stand Up To Donald Trump

Bobby Jindal administration will start issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples in downtown New Orleans | NOLA.com (Bobby Dimbulb)

Charleston Suspect Was in Contact With Supremacists, Officials Say - The New York Times

This Week in the Laboratories of Democracy - In which we examine grifting, large and small, among states like Texas, Mississippi and Wisconsin.

Oregon Bakery Fined For Refusing To Make Wedding Cake For Lesbian Couple - The owners of an Oregon bakery must pay a $135,000 fine for refusing to make a wedding cake for a lesbian couple, a state official ruled on Thursday.
Here's The Idiocy of Glenn Grothman - Some Stupid for Lunch: The Idiocy of Glenn Grothman: Inn which the stupid crown passes from Blake Farenthold to a new and deserving recipient in Glenn Grothman (R, WI, KochBros, Incredibly Stupid: thinks Civil War was faught against gay marriage)
Kentucky clerk sued for not issuing marriage licenses to couples | US news | The Guardian - Kim Davis said her Christian beliefs prevented her from complying with the decision, so she decided to issue no more licenses to any couple, gay or straight (she thought she worked for a church)
The quotes tht will follow Glenn Grothman forever: (among others:) "Of course, almost no black people today care about Kwanzaa," he said. "Just white left-wingers who try to shove this down black people's throats in an effort to divide Americans (they elected him knowing this and it's always an oral sex metaphor)

The Science of "Inside Out"

For a Better Steak, Cook Directly on Charcoal - The New York Times - this simple act demolished everything we thought we knew about cooking proteins (invented by Ike)


Go Set a Watchman: mystery of Harper Lee manuscript discovery deepens | Books | The Guardian - The legal representative of a woman who only ever published 1 book attends a meeting in her stead with a "rare book expert" from Sotheby's leaves that meeting to "run an errand" and then never enquires into what that meeting was supposed to be about??? Sounds likely..... A Johnnie Cochran moment.

Struwwelpeter, a German children's book from 1845 : WTF
Struwwelpeter: Merry Stories and Funny Pictures by Heinrich Hoffmann - Free Ebook
? Shockheaded Peter - The Tiger Lillies - YouTube

Reddit Is Tearing Itself Apart (Chairwoman Pao, who could have predicted?)
karmanaut comments on Why has R/Iama been set to private?
I had the pleasure of meeting u/chooter in person a few months ago. Letting her go is the biggest mistake reddit has made in years. : pics
What's the deal with the jesse jackson ama? : OutOfTheLoop (5 illegitimate children didn't like being asked real questions)
Why was /r/IAmA, along with a number of other large subreddits, made private? : OutOfTheLoop
Top mod of /r/IamA explains why it's been set to private. : bestof
In response to reddit firing Victoria and /r/iama going private : AdviceAnimals
Please stop Messaging Modmail Regarding going PRIVATE : WTF
Should /r/windowsphone go dark? : windowsphone
/r/ WindowsPhone will not be going private in protest. : windowsphone
[AMA Request] kickme444 (former reddit SVP of product who left 2 weeks ago, and has toyed with the idea of doing an AMA) : IAmA

Watching Terminator: Genesys with my father. (Some spoilers) : movies (don't miss this)
Dishy31983 comments on Going through my childhood diaries when I discovered that I bullied "Eddie" Snowden in the third grade. (or this)
Germany: Police confiscate WW2 tank hidden in cellar : worldnews (great pun)

The Internet Is Now Officially Too Big as IP Addresses Run Out - NBC News

070215
Oklahoma Court Rules Homeowners Can Sue Oil Companies Over Quakes - The New York Times

Leaked TPP paper shows US pushing drug company rights - Business - NZ Herald News (thanks, Obama)

US blocks attempts by Arab allies to fly heavy weapons directly to Kurds to fight Islamic State - Middle East allies accuse Barack Obama and David Cameron of failing to show strategic leadership in fight against Isil, as MPs could be given vote on whether to bomb Syria
Top ISIS Leader Killed by US Drone Strike in Syria - ABC News - The Pentagon confirmed Thursday that Tariq bin Tahar-Al-Awni-al-Harzi was killed in an airstrike in Syria on June 16, the day after his brother Ali was killed in another drone strike in Mosul, Iraq.

Eschaton: What's It All About Then - Sadists and sociopaths, basically. (letting Greece burn)
Eschaton: Do Not Disobey - Compromise means give Merkel everything she demands. Don't they understand that?
Merkel admitted in 2011 Greek debt unsustainable - Call intercepted by NSA and circulated by Wikileaks to media

Nigeria Female Genital Mutilation Outlawed - "More than 130 million girls and women have experienced female genital mutilation or cutting ..."

BP hit with record $18.7 billion fine over Deepwater Horizon Gulf oil spill - Business News - Business - The Independent

Saudi money floods India to promote Wahhabism - Daily Pakistan Global
Saudi government funding private Islamic schools in Canada, documents show - The Globe and Mail

U.S. seeks FIFA officials' extradition from Switzerland - CNN.com - seven high-ranking FIFA officials arrested in Switzerland in May. They are suspected of taking bribes worth over $100 million in connection with soccer tournaments.

Quebec bill calls animals "sentient beings" and includes jail time for cruelty - Agriculture Minister Pierre Paradis wants to change Quebec's infamous image as a haven for puppy mills


U.S. Adds 223,000 Jobs In June; Unemployment Rate Falls To 5.3% (recovery summer for the rich is finally here)
Economic Policy Inst on Twitter: "CEO pay has grown 90 times faster than typical worker pay since 1978
CEO Pay Has Grown 90 Times Faster than Typical Worker Pay Since 1978 | Economic Policy Institute (keep voting Republican, stupid white people)

Quietly, Congress extends a ban on CDC research on gun violence | Public Radio International (Republican war on facts they don't like to hear)

Kaiser Health Tracking Poll: Late June 2015 -- A Special Focus On The Supreme Court Decision (well, for starters, 61% don't know anything)

Bernie Sanders Gains on Hillary Clinton in Iowa, Quinnipiac Poll Says - Bloomberg Politics

George Takei: Justice Thomas "a clown in blackface"

Today in Racist History - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Lawyers, Guns & Money - Any number of racist sites refer back to Moynihan today; meanwhile this paragon of institutionalized racism became a respected Democratic senator without ever questioning his blaming of black people for their own poverty and ending his career as a big supporter of slashing welfare. Among other great things in this man's life was ensuring the UN did nothing to stop the Indonesian slaughter in East Timor when he was UN Ambassador during the Ford administration and opposed the Clinton health care plan.

Donald Trump Goes After Immigrants Again, Claiming To Have Facts - "Well, somebody's doing the raping, Don! I mean somebody's doing it! Who's doing the raping? Who's doing the raping?" Trump responded, according to the CNN clip. (56% white men, asshole)

Poll: Majority sees Confederate flag as Southern pride - CNNPolitics.com - The poll shows that 57% of Americans see the flag more as a symbol of Southern pride than as a symbol of racism, about the same as in 2000 when 59% said they viewed it as a symbol of pride. (uneducated stupid white people especially)
White Men Wave Their Butts in the Air for the Confederacy - Thanks to Vice co-founder and anthropomorphized subreddit Gavin McInnes, the terrible internet trend of our past is back. And this time, it's here to speak out against the atrocious shaming and reverse racism currently oppressing the country's white males, or something
No More Mister Nice Blog: But We Like Scolding People! - In the aftermath of the Supreme Court's ruling on same-sex marriage, David Brooks notes that social conservatives still seem determined to turn back the clock on sexual morality (+Rod Dreher: "I am recommending a strategy for resisting, enduring and thriving under the reality of occupation" - his head is "occupied" by immoral sex)
Obama Set To Legalize Dog-On-Boy Rape, Says Clinically Sane Tom DeLay | Wonkette
Polygamous Montana trio applies for wedding license

Antonin Scalia's Fraudulent "Textualism" - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Patterico argues that federal judges not abiding by the tenets of ACA tooferism is not merely wrong, it's an impeachable offense:

De Blasio Slams Cuomo for 'Lack of Leadership' (Cuomo's little dick problem)

Attorney General Paxton could face first-degree felony case - The criminal investigation against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has taken a more serious turn, with special prosecutors now planning to present a first-degree felony securities fraud case against him to a Collin County grand jury

This Bill O'Reilly piece on homeless people might be the worst Fox News segment ever

Museum of Christian Passive-Aggression (Hobby Lobby has a museum on the National Mall)

Violent crime against women massively understated, statistics agency told | Society | The Guardian - Crime Survey of England and Wales fails to account for nearly half the attacks on women, particularly those where victim knows the attacker, warns professor
More people than ever being convicted of violence against women, figures show | UK news | The Guardian
ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES: Short Posts 6/30/15. On Growing Income Inequality in the US, Fifty Shades of Gray and the Way To Write About Violence Against Women

Cruel and All-Too-Usual (how cops treat kids: trigger warning)
Police shootings: Distraught people, deadly results | The Washington Post - Officers often lack the training to approach the mentally unstable, experts say (well, "trained" to kill them)
Pasco police officers who shot Antonio Zambrano-Montes not questioned for months | US news | The Guardian - So much time had passed that two of the officers said they could no longer remember basic details relating to standard personnel issues, the documents show.

Elizabeth Warren Reams Private Accreditor Who Certified Corinthian College Up to Its End | naked capitalism

TIL of the Photon Sphere, a spherical region of space where gravity is strong enough that photons are forced to travel in orbits. If you were to stand in this region and look straight ahead you would see the back of your head. : todayilearned
"A Kugelblitz is a concentration of light so intense that it forms an event horizon" from Wiki. Light is made up of photons and photons do not have mass. How can a massless energy form a black hole? : askscience
The Spectrometer, one of the most important tools in science, has been miniaturized to a size that could fit on your phone. The revolutionary breakthrough is reported in the journal Nature. : news
US announces first death from measles in 12 years : news


070115

Leaked: What
FBI investigating 11 attacks on San Francisco-area Internet lines (CIA/NSA is testing infrastructure attacks)

More than 100 dead as militants, Egyptian army clash in North Sinai | Reuters
Leaked: What's in Obama's trade deal - Is the White House going to bat for Big Pharma worldwide? (he really has a dark side)

Saudi prince to donate $32bn fortune to charity - BBC News - He said he had been inspired by the Gates Foundation, set up by Bill and Melinda Gates in 1997. The money would be used to "foster cultural understanding", "empower women", and "provide vital disaster relief", among other things, he said.


Clinton emails: Obama aides knew of private address - CNNPolitics.com (well duh)
Clinton: Benghazi panel a "charade" The Benghazi Select Committee is spending $8,000 a day in taxpayer money to keep digging (you'd think she would have expected it)
Hillary Clinton emails: The dozen you must read - POLITICO - The 12 Hillary Clinton emails you must read - From Hillary's frustration with the White House to that epic battle with the fax machine
An Inside Look at How Hillary Clinton Plays the Media | Mother Jones - "Greta...is malleable." (like poop)

Cruz: Cuba embassy a "slap in the face" to Israel (because everything is about Cruz, Israel, or both +check out the picture this guy is really weird)

CPS set for $200 million in cuts; mayor says classes won't grow - Chicago Tribune - Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Wednesday laid out $200 million in cuts to staff and programs he said Chicago Public Schools needs to make after fulfilling a $634 million payment to the teachers pension fund.

Why do people believe myths about the Confederacy? Because our textbooks and monuments are wrong. - The Washington Post - False history marginalizes African Americans and makes us all dumber. (which is why Texas has control of America's textbooks)
The Confederacy Won the Peace - Lawyers, Guns & Money : in Kentuck.y Eventually, 90,000 Kentuckians would fight for the United States, while 35,000 fought for the Confederate States. Nevertheless, according to historian Thomas Clark, the state now has 72 Confederate monuments and only two Union ones. (they wrote the history)
Oregon Was Founded As a Racist Utopia
TV Land pulls Dukes of Hazzard episodes off its schedule (for the pic: The car is named General Lee just a traditional ha-ha)

How The Washington Post is examining police shootings in the U.S. - The Washington Post - The Washington Post is compiling a database of every fatal shooting in the United States by a police officer in the line of duty in 2015.
Since 1976, the FBI hasn't counted more than 460 fatal police shootings in a year. We've counted 462 already in 2015 (sorta like those rape kits)

Federal Judge: Alabama Judges Must Issue Same-Sex Marriage Licenses - NBC News
Episcopalians Vote to Allow Gay Marriage in Churches - NBC News
In a review of Hood County Clerk Katie Lang's emails obtained through an information request, her comments to staff were strident: "We are not issuing them because I am instilling my religious liberty in this office (you keep on instillin' Katie)
More than 26 million people have changed their Facebook picture to a rainbow flag. Here's why that matters

Rand Paul Sits Down With Cliven Bundy - In which Rand Paul has a nice chat with a freeloading white supremacist.

The Ascendance of Donald Trump - In which we see again that there is no actual Republican Party that might stop this. (becasue it's the party of Insanity)

Progressives Should Weigh In on de Blasio vs. Cuomo - Lawyers, Guns & Money : (Cuomo has a dick and an asshole problem)

Don't Believe In Evolution? Try Thinking Harder : : NPR - effects of cognitive style interact with cultural input. Creationism and belief in God might be "intuitive" for many Kentucky undergraduates not only because these beliefs align well with basic human tendencies, but also because these are the beliefs they grew up with and that dominate their communities. (or thinking at all in a culture of non-thinking)

Texas Town Is Charging Us $79,000 for Emails About Pool Party Abuse Cop


Alzheimer's Caregivers May Be at Risk for Dementia - Stress and Shared Lifestyle May Raise Risk of Mental Decline for Spouses Who Are Also Caregivers
Kids With ADHD Getting Wrong Drugs, Study Finds - NBC News - "What's especially important is the finding that around 1.5 percent of boys aged 10 to 18 are on antipsychotics, and then this rate abruptly falls by half as adolescents become young adults,"- The drugs, which include clozapine, Zyprexa, known generically as olanzapine, and Haldol, can calm agitated patients.

Duggars Facing Lawsuit From Nonfamily Molestation Victim - In Touch Weekly

Ethicist: Why Jim Carrey is Wrong About Vaccines - NBC News - The actor Jim Carrey is one of a small number of anti-vaxxers who is beside himself at the passage of the tough new law. (always look to entertainers for sciencey stuff)

TIL A mathematical equation that can accurately determine whether a married couple will divorce with a 90% success rate is almost completely identical to one that can accurately describe the relationship between countries and whether they will go to war at a very similar rate. : todayilearned - The most successful relationships are the ones with a really low negativity threshold. In those relationships, couples allow each other to complain, and work together to constantly repair the tiny issues between them. In such a case, couples don't end up being blown completely out of proportion.

Too damn high: Manhattan average apartment prices reach record of $1.87m | Business | The Guardian - Trend of renting over buying driving up real estate prices by 11% from 2014 (99% apts occupied)

Mom pranks are the best. : videos (sibling rank/birth order stories)

What's the most insane coincidence you've experienced? : AskReddit - Here one minute, gondola the next.
Did your high school ever have an "incident" or event? What was it? : AskReddit
TIL In the entire Lord of the Rings film trilogy, no two female characters ever speak to each other. : todayilearned

063015
Greece Floats New Bailout Proposal, Merkel Rules Out More Negotiations (her plan was always to destroy the EU, but what will history think?)
This Is The Terrible State Of Greece's Austerity Economy, And Now Things May Get Even Worse (Merkel destroyed Greece
Greeks, don't give in to the EU's austerity ultimatum
Argentina Shows Greece There May Be Life After Default | Joseph E. Stiglitz (EU inhumane, wanted to make a profit on Greece)
From Greece To France To China, Nationalism Is Back In A Big Way

Court Revives Defunct NSA Mass Surveillance Program - NationalJournal.com - The NSA's phone dragnet is back -- for now.
? SNOWDEN - Official Trailer #1 (2015) Joseph Gordon-Levitt Biographical Political Thriller Movie HD - YouTube
CIA Study Finds Low Minority Representation in Agency's Senior Ranks - ABC News

Cuba first to ?eliminate mother-to-baby HIV transmission | Society | The Guardian - World Health Organisation hails "one of the greatest public health achievements possible" five years into regional initiative

Majorities back Court rulings on marriage, ACA - CNNPolitics.com - 63% support the Court's ruling upholding government assistance for lower-income Americans buying health insurance through both state-operated and federally-run health insurance exchanges. Slightly fewer, 59%, say they back the ruling which made same-sex marriages legal in all 50 states.

Obama's approval rating grows following memorable week - CNNPolitics.com - for the first time in more than two years, 50% of Americans approve of the way Obama is handling the presidency. And his overall ratings are bolstered by increasingly positive reviews of his treatment of race relations and the economy.

In Alabama, One County Exits the Marriage Business - The New York Times
Several Kentucky county clerks defy same-sex marriage ruling, refuse to issue marriage licenses | Politics and Government | Kentucky.com

One in Three Americans Own Guns; Culture a Factor, Study Finds - NBC News - Most are white males over the age of 55, and a "gun culture" is closely linked with ownership, the team at Columbia University reports.

California vaccine bill SB 277 signed into law by Jerry Brown - ContraCostaTimes.com - In a historic decision that could reverberate nationwide, Gov. Jerry Brown on Tuesday signed a bill mandating that almost all California schoolchildren be fully vaccinated, regardless of their parents' personal or religious beliefs.
California Lawmakers Pass One Of The Nation's Strictest Vaccination Laws

10 Commandments statue must be removed from state Capitol, Oklahoma Supreme Court rules | Oklahoma City - OKC - KOCO.com - The 7-2 ruling overturns a decision by a district court judge who determined the monument could stay. It prompted calls by a handful of Republican lawmakers for impeachment of the justices who said the monument must be removed.

A simple twist of fate ; Balloon Juice (Joe Nocera looks pretty dumb)

Mexico Won't Be Sending Anyone To Miss Universe Pageant After Donald Trump's Comments

Who Set Jessica Chambers On Fire? The Internet Is Trying To Find Out - BuzzFeed News

Fox Guest: Alleged Charleston Shooter "Is The Product Of The Left Wing, He's A Product Of Their Education System" | Video | Media Matters for America - Kevin Jackson: Everything Dylann Roof Has Done "Absolutely Adds Up To Leftism" (there is no lie they won't tell)
Confederate Flag Truck Parade In Dalton, Georgia Ends With A Hilarious Bang - God don't like ugly




062915
New York state officially bans fracking | syracuse.com (which Obama says is perfectly safe except for the earthquakes and poisoning your water)


Neocons Urge Embrace of Al Qaeda | Consortiumnews (your enemy is now your friend according to the Bushies)
Is ISIS's capital city under threat? - Vox - S is in trouble: Kurdish forces have advanced to within 35 miles of the Syrian city of Raqqa, the Islamic State's capital
ISIS is in trouble: Kurdish forces have advanced to within 35 miles of the Syrian city of Raqqa, the Islamic State's capital. : worldnews

Angela Merkel Will Be Responsible For A Greek Exit From The Eurozone (disasterous policies imposed by elites can only be failed)
Greece Over the Brink - The New York Times - And this collapse, in turn, had a lot to do with the euro, which trapped Greece in an economic straitjacket. Cases of successful austerity, in which countries rein in deficits without bringing on a depression, typically involve large currency devaluations that make their exports more competitive. This is what happened, for example, in Canada in the 1990s, and to an important extent it's what happened in Iceland more recently. But Greece, without its own currency, didn't have that option

The Bloody Legacy of Indian Partition - The New Yorker - The violent legacy of Indian Partition.


U.S. Not Contemplating A Federal Bailout Of Puerto Rico, White House Says

Some States Are Still Trying To Resist Gay Marriage - Texas was one of 13 states that banned gay marriage before the Supreme Court ruled on Friday that those bans were unconstitutional, effectively legalizing gay marriage across the country. Therefore, it's not surprising that its lawmakers are trying to resist following the ruling.
A Photographer Lost A Client For Supporting Marriage Equality. His Response Shows Why #LoveWins - It's not that because you have a different view from us, but it's because, since you don't like and support gay marriage, no else should be able to have it. That's ike me not liking broccoli, and demanding that everyone else in the world should not have broccoli either! (rightwing Xtians controlling other people's lives)
The Trajectory of the Gay Rights Movement - Lawyers, Guns & Money : - The rise of the gay rights movement to popular acceptance is probably the most amazing political event of my lifetime, perhaps outside of this nation electing an African-American president

Ginsburg decision in Arizona case: Supreme Court rules against gerrymandering.

US supreme court refuses to let Texas close 10 abortion clinics | US news | The Guardian - Justices rule 5-4 to grant emergency appeal from clinics that will for now prevent state from enforcing restrictions that would have caused clinics to close (fuck Texas) 6

f execution by torture isn't "cruel and unusual" punishment, what is? (Republicans love torture)

Supreme Court Will Reconsider Affirmative Action Case - The New York Times (discrimination against whites, supposedly)

Restrict White Supremacist Hate Speech Online - NYTimes.com - One of these sites, Stormfront, has grown from 124,000 registered users in 2008 to over 300,000 today.

Donald Trump dropped by NBC over candidate's comments about Mexico | US news | The Guardian - NBC Universal says it will no longer broadcast Miss USA or Miss Universe pageants after businessman attacked Mexico for sending "rapists" to US (they're raping your white women, sound familiar?)

Scanning ultrasound removes amyloid-beta and restores memory in an Alzheimer's disease mouse model
Starve a Fever, Feed a Cold? Really? - Cold and Flu - Everyday Health - This bit of medical advice goes back to the 16th century, and it might even be true.
Oregon Is Celebrating Marijuana Legalization With Free Weed | Money.com (coulda been you, NH)

Years Of Pretending Netflix Cord Cutting Wasn't Real Is Biting The Cable Industry In The Ass | Techdirt

062815
A Prayer for Relief by D.R. Tucker | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - Cardinal Donald Wuerl's stirring defense of Pope Francis's environmental encyclical, Laudato Si, on last weekendand may have changed a few minds as well.
Misfit of Science - Mark Steyn after Steyn baselessly accused Mann of fraud and compared him to a child molester. Republican climate scientist (yes, some actually exist!) Barry Bickmore updates us on the latest bizarre turn in this case:
Smithsonian to improve ethics policies on research funding - WTOP - After revelations that a scientist failed to disclose his funding sources for climate change research, the Smithsonian Institution said Friday it is improving its ethics and disclosure policies to avoid conflicts of interest. after recent allegations that scientist Wei-Hock Soon did not disclose conflicts of interest in his research funding

Obama's Grace - The president delivers his single most accomplished rhetorical performance, and it's one you should eatch rather than read
President Obama: Emanuel AME 'a phoenix rising from the ashes' | MSNBC
Grace, Amazing - Lawyers, Guns & Money : I'm a tough sell when it comes to both the rhetoric of politicians and religious rhetoric, but Obama's eulogy on Friday really was quite extraordinary:

Spy Agency's Secret Plans to Foster Online "Conformity" and "Obedience" Exposed | Common Dreams | Breaking News & Views for the Progressive Community - Internal memo from secretive British spy unit exposes how GCHQ and NSA used human psychological research to create sophisticated online propaganda tools (wow, the 11 "D"s of Damnation : discredit, distrust, dissuade, deter, delay, disrupt, deceive, denigrate, degrade, deny, deleting

CIA photos of "black sites" could complicate Guantanamo trials The existence of the approximately 14,000 photographs will probably cause yet another delay (oh, *those* pictures)

One Step Closer to Grexit by David Atkins | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - More bad news on the Greece front in Europe: the Eurozone has refused to extend bailout provisions for Greece:
Greece To Consider Bank Closures And Capital Controls On Monday

Kuwait mosque attack: suicide bomber identified as Saudi citizen | World news | The Guardian - Fahad Suleiman Abdulmohsen al-Gabbaa named by interior ministry as suicide bomber behind Friday's attack in which 27 people died
africametro africannews - Jihad is not a video game; it is real life, with real consequences.Al Qaeda tells ISIS that there will be darkness for its perpetrator

Iran nuclear talks likely to miss Tuesday deadline | World news | The Guardian - Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to fly back to Tehran to finalise bargaining position on curbs to nuclear programme

Today's Court Ruling, Though Expected, is Still Shocking -- Especially for Those Who Grew Up LGBT in the U.S. (Glenn weighs in)
Eschaton: Keep Hate Alive - The asshole caucus. - There is a striking unanimity among the candidates who are running for the party's presidential nomination in 2016: Not one supports allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry
Supreme Court gay marriage: John Roberts' dissent in Obergefell is heartless (they have hearts?) Here's How 9 Predictions About Gay Marriage Turned Out (dutifully repeated by your media)
Scalia Is a Twitter Egg - Scalia is not just wrong. He is wrong in the same way that the thousands of anonymous conservative Twitter accounts with default egg avatars swarming liberal politicians and pundits are. He writes his dissents using the same jokes and the same arguments. (and a racist asshole)
Justice Scalia Is a Homophobe - Barney Frank - POLITICO Magazine
On Scalia's Showoff Dissents - Lawyers, Guns & Money :
Republicans Accuse Obama of Using Position as President to Lead Country - The New Yorker (leading while black)
Badass Bree Newsome Climbs S.C. Flagpole To Remove Confederate Flag

Just Secede Already and Give Us An Excuse ; Balloon Juice (Putin supports Texas' secession)



July 2015: Probably a Very Bad Month for Abortion Rights - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Now get back to fighting to preserve basic reproductive rights for women that are under severe attack from your Confederate-flag waving, gay marriage hating states.
Big Win in the Fight for $15 - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Big victory for home health care workers in Massachusetts.

Bristol Palin's pregnancy announcement is her coming out - It would be extraordinarily easy here to note that Candies really did not get their roughly one quarter of a million bucks worth of bang -- so to speak -- out of their ambassador for teen pregnancy prevention here ... she is now as effective a spokesperson for abstinence as Lindsay Lohan is for safe driving (it was always the grift)

Former Seattle police chief on Kurt Cobain's death: "I would reopen this investigation"

A 100-Year Debate About the Eardrum Comes to an End - Scientific American - Why does the membrane look remarkably similar in mammals and reptiles? - supporting the hypothesis that the similar anatomy evolved independently in mammals and in reptiles and birds.

12 Crazy Amazing Facts About The Clitoris | Pamela Madsen - Did you know that the word "Clitoris" is from the Greek work for "key"?

Dr. Jeff Bradstreet, who published research based on the medically disproved claim that vaccines cause autism, has been found dead in an apparent suicide in North Carolina. : news

What was the biggest bluff in history? : AskReddit

Mummified monk in Mongolia 'not dead', say Buddhists - BBC News - The monk was found as he was about to be sold on the black market

Reddit is selling ad space to a doxxing website : technology
Who Is Archiving the Internet? | Al Jazeera America

062715
This was the best week of Obama's presidency
Ten Days in June - The New Yorker
Liberal justices prevail in high-profile Supreme Court cases - Roberts has been on the same side in all these cases, but his single, momentous vote in 2012 to uphold the health care overhaul has altered perceptions of him. That was the first time that Roberts joined with the four liberals in a 5-4 ruling.
God and Marriage Equality - The New Yorker - The four dissenters in the case work themselves up, in varying levels of frenzy, in disagreement, but their position is also fairly simple to understand. They say that the issue of same-sex marriage should be left to voters, not to unelected judges.
What Scalia's "Jiggery-Pokery" Means
The GOP Gay Marriage Freakout - The Daily Beast - It is treasonous for public officials to defy the Supreme Court. Yet that's what Republican presidential candidates have promised. (treason is their thing)
Marriage Equality Is a Win for Single People Too -- The Cut - The fetishization of marriage as the inevitable endpoint of the revolutionary fight for gay marriage is something about which many critics have expressed anxiety.
Supreme Court -- Gay Marriage and Health Care Decisions Were Lawless| National Review Online - Let's Drop the Charade: The Supreme Court Is a Political Branch, Not a Judicial One (rightwingers are lacking in thoughtfulness and are totally immune to hypocrisy)
Parts of Alabama are refusing to issue marriage license to ALL couples, straight or same-sex, in defiance of legalization of same-sex marriage. : news



Tunisia launches security clampdown after Sousse attack - BBC News - About 80 mosques accused of "spreading venom" will close within a week, he said.
Kurdish recapture of Syria's Kobane reported - Al Jazeera English - Activists say ISIL fighters expelled from Kurdish town, a day after they killed hundreds in apparent act of vengeance.
Erdogan says Turkey not to allow Kurdish state in northern Syria
Syrian Kurds Claim Capturing 3 Turkish Special Forces in Kobani - AhlulBayt News Agency - ABNA - Shia News - The Syrian TV reported on Thursday that the ISIL managed to return to the border town of Kobani through Turkey. The report said that the terrorists reentered the Kurdish city through coordination with the Turkish intelligence-security apparatus. (Erdogan loves ISIS)
CNN's "ISIS Flag Spotted at Gay Pride Parade" consists of Butt-Plugs, Dildos, and Cock-Rings : funny

Christian event in Jerusalem? Only if rabbis approve - Israel Jewish Scene, Ynetnews - Jerusalem Municipality gives in to haredi uproar following major Christian conference held at city's multi-purpose sports arena last month. (about what you expect)

Thousands march in Honduras to demand resignation of president | Reuters - Thousands of angry, torch-bearing Hondurans marched on Friday to call for the resignation of President Juan Hernandez and demand an independent probe into one of the worst corruption scandals in the country

Police recommended the Labour Lord face trial on charges of six rapes and 16 sexual assaults alleged to have taken place between 1969 and 1998, but prosecutors decided the 86-year-old was unfit to stand trial. (Brit pedo-culture)

Holi color powder catches fire at Taiwan's water park concert, hundreds serverely burned... (omfg.) [NSFW] : videos (sulphuric acid prevents unions from forming and:
dart22 comments on I'm 85% certain that there is an adult actress in my philosophy class. - Isn't this putting Descartes before the whores?

Six Year Old Boy With Diphtheria In Catalonia Dies | The Spain Report - Eight other children were found to be carrying diphtheria bacteria.

Australian Government Contractors Will Now Go to Jail for Reporting Child Abuse in Detention Centers : worldnews


Baltimore County police fatally shoot unarmed black man in condominium | US news | The Guardian - An unarmed black man was fatally shot on Thursday by officers who thought he had a weapon when they were called to a home from which he was barred by protective order, police said. ("might have had")







Poppies provide missing piece of morphine biosynthesis puzzle | EurekAlert! Science News - Now that the biosynthetic pathway to morphine is complete, researchers can investigate more efficient, microbial-based approaches to opiate-based pain-relievers, which generate billions of dollars in sales each year. (serious competition for Afgan drug trade)
Earth's colossal crater count complete | Science/AAAS | News (only 128 nice number colossal craters)
Magnetic mirror holds promise for fusion | Ars Technica - The Polywell reactor arranges magnetic fields differently to that of a standard, traditional tokamak. In a tokamak, the fields set up a plasma that has a donut shape. The plasma is free to circulate around the donut but is squeezed to a thin, high pressure stream.
Lockheed Martin's Fusion Reactor To Go Live By 2020 : technology


How States Are Fighting to Keep Towns From Offering Their Own Broadband - ProPublica - North Carolina and Tennessee are the latest states to side with telecoms, which have long lobbied against allowing cities to become Internet providers. (big government controlling your town internets? no problem!)

062615
World's Aquifers Losing Replenishment Race
In California, Water Restrictions Above Ground and Leaks Below - The New York Times
Most California farmers ignoring water restrictions - CBS News

Documents - The Intercept (new release from Snowden Files)
GCHQ monitored own staff excessively | UK news | The Guardian (just a little "technical error" no one has to go to prison)
Hackers Stole Secrets of U.S. Government Workers's Sex Lives -- Infidelity. Sexual fetishes. Drug abuse. Crushing debt. They're in the hands of foreign hackers

Gay Marriage Backers Win Supreme Court Victory - The New York Times
A Profound Ruling Delivers Justice on Gay Marriage - The New York Times
In Supreme Court Case, a Couple Not Recognized in Life or Death - The New York Times
Americans face being "labeled as bigots" over gay marriage ruling, justice warns (sounds about right, and you too Scalia)
Gay Couples Celebrating Today Could Be Fired Monday for Being Gay | The New Republic - That, most likely, is the movement's next big fight: Most states don't prohibit workplace and housing discrimination against LGBT people.

June 26, 2015: The Day the Law Changed - In which the Supreme Court legalizes same-sex marriage Bonauto completely overmatching not only opposing counsel, but also those justices clearly in opposition to her position.

Supreme Court Legalizes Gay Marriage Nationwide (for the comments)

Eschaton: Why Do They Care - Watching some conservatives completely lose their shit over this Supreme Court ruling (including 4 Supreme Court justices) is entertaining but also just bizarre. I mean, why do they care so much? No one is making you get gay married. No one is telling your pastor he has to have God bless this legal arrangement established by the state. The only theory I can come up with is that they're running out of people who it's acceptable to hate, and when there's no one left to hate what will be the fun in life, really?
Scalia's Same-Sex Marriage Dissent Is Amusing - In which Justice Antonin Scalia (unintentionally) makes us laugh.
Antonin Scalia Dissent In Marriage Equality Case Is Even More Unhinged Than You'd Think - This from a justice who thought it was OK to stop democracy in counting ballots in 2000.
Supreme Court legalizes gay marriage : news

Memorial for a Leader Summoned to Pulpit and Politics - The New York Times - Obama Leads Charleston in "Amazing Grace")
Obama: Amazing Grace
Out On the Weekend - In which we are amazed by grace, by love, by the president, and by the agility of the dwarf mongoose ... No president, ever. Not like that.

Not the Confederate Flag - CGP Grey : videos

Barack Obama is officially one of the most consequential presidents in American history - Vox
Obama's Best Week Ever Summed Up In Hilarious Video

Democracy on the Retreat in Over 96 of the 193 U.N. Member States, Says New Study | Inter Press Service

Terrorist Attacks in France, Tunisia and Kuwait Kill Dozens - The New York Times
Tunisia Attack Kills at Least 37 at Beach Resort Hotel - The New York Times
British And Irish Tourists Die In Beach Horror - The gunman, disguised as a tourist, pulled out a Kalashnikov hidden in an umbrella before firing at holidaymakers on the beach.
Attack, Explosion At Gas Factory In Southeastern France Leaves 1 Decapitated, Several Wounded

Breaking Greece - The New York Times - what do the creditors, and in particular the IMF, think they're doing? (bankers take over your political system)

Vatican Formally Recognizes Palestinian State by Signing Treaty - The New York Times

The Long, Long Battle For Health Care Reform by Ed Kilgore | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - a token of how far our political system has drifted to the right that redeeming the vision of Teddy Roosevelt and Harry Truman and Richard Nixon strikes so many people as a horrifying lurch into socialism.

State Department Computer Glitch Creates A Visa Nightmare : NPR - Of the 50,000 visa applications received every day, only a handful of emergency visas are getting issued. (yeah, it's always a "glitch")


Scalia and the West - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Lawyers, Guns & Money - The most important part of Scalia's dissent is when he defines California as not part of the West. Because San Francisco and Hollywood no doubt. (no "western" state can be blue in dimbulb's mind)


Whole Paycheck - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Lawyers, Guns & Money - One has to wonder how deep into Whole Foods corporate culture ripping off consumers goes: (Republicans with their thumbs on the scale)

An interview with the Baltimore cop who's revealing all the horrible things he saw on the job




Physicists theorizes that Black Holes may not have an Event Horizon and may not even be a hole. Instead it's like a "FuzzBall" : science


An Advance May Double the Capabilities of Fiber Optics - The New York Times - a way to extend the range that beams of laser light in fiber-optic glass wires can travel and, in theory, achieve that dramatic improvement.
Facebook Is Still Overwhelmingly White, Asian And Male - Fifty-five percent of all employees are white and 36 percent are Asian -- both groups that are wildly over-represented in the tech industry. In addition, 73 percent of the company's senior leadership is white

062515
The truth about Nestle's business with water : videos

ELI5: What does the TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership) mean for me and what does it do? : explainlikeimfive
Landmark anti-BDS law passes final Senate legislative hurdle | The Times of Israel - The anti-BDS language, passed as part of the controversial Trade Promotion Authority legislation, is expected to be signed into law by President Barack Obama, who had pushed Congress to pass the trade bill as soon as possible.

State Dept. Gets Libya Emails That Hillary Clinton Didn 't Hand Over -- The emails that Mrs. Clinton did not give to the State Department were between her and her longtime confidant and adviser Sidney Blumenthal. He did not work for the department at the time, but was routinely sending her intelligence memos on Libya.

TIL that in the South Carolina Declaration of Causes of Secession, slavery is referenced 18 times. States rights is only referenced twice. : todayilearned - From Mississippi's, the second sentence: "Our position is thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery - the greatest material interest of the world." ("traditional values" = slavery and controlling women's reproductive systems)
Symbolism of the Confederate Flag and Other Forms of Racial Oppression - New Orleans (in which Charlie reminds us of certain forgotten episode of America's dark heart)

Supreme Court Allows Nationwide Health Care Subsidies - The New York Times
Obama Gains Vindication and Secures Legacy With Health Care Ruling - The New York Times
King v Burwell Ruling: Game Over, Obamacare Opponents | The New Republic
"Words Don't Mean Anything": Conservative Media React To Supreme Court's Health Care Decision | Research | Media Matters for America - "Words Don't Mean Anything": Conservative Media React To Supreme Court's Health Care Decision - Right-Wing Commentators Savage Chief Justice Roberts As "Scumbag," "Disgrace" For Preserving Affordable Health Care For Millions
Conservatives Unleash Fury at One-Time Hero John Roberts - Bloomberg Politics - "Has Supreme Court Justice John Roberts been blackmailed or intimidated? I would put nothing by the Obama administration that lives and rules by the Chicago thug playbook." ("thug" = n-word)

Supreme Court Rejects Obamacare Lawsuit, Preserving Insurance For Millions
Obamacare ruling: what about the 35 million people who are still uninsured? | US news | The Guardian - With the Affordable Care Act secured by the supreme court, Obama must now address gaps in a flawed system while pushing for universal healthcare in the US
Doom for a Cynical Assault on Obamacare - The New Yorker
2016 GOP Presidential Hopefuls: Now It's Up To Us To Repeal Obamacare
Here Are The Best (Worst) Lines From Antonin Scalia's Raging SCOTUScare Dissent

Justices Back Broad Interpretation of Housing Law - The New York Times - The Supreme Court on Thursday endorsed a broad interpretation of the Fair Housing Act of 1968, allowing suits under a legal theory that civil rights groups say is a crucial tool to fight housing discrimination.


Judge Blocks Kansas Law Banning Procedure Used In Most Second-Trimester Abortions

Chillicothe, Ohio: In a little over 1 year, Six women have disappeared from the town of only 21,000 town fears a serial killer is on the loose : news
Police charge woman for making up a rape after she was exposed by her own FitBit : news

Mandatory vaccination bill for public schools passes California legislature | US news | The Guardian - It is uncertain if Governor Jerry Brown will sign bill into law

Blood test for pancreatic cancer could catch disease in time - health - 24 June 2015 - New Scientist - The disease has one of the worst cancer survival rates, with less than 4 per cent of people living for five years or more after diagnosis. A major cause of this is that by the time symptoms start appearing, pancreatic cancer is often too advanced to treat successfully.



What's your deep web story? : AskReddit
Bat-Crocodile War : videos
TIFU by losing my phone (the epic phone chase) : tifu

IRS employees can use 'password' as a password? No wonder we get hacked | Trevor Timm | Comment is free | The Guardian
Samsung silently disabling Windows Update on some computers : technology

062415
Energy Insider: Solar Prices to Reach $1 per Watt Target 3 Years Early - Insider Monkey

Obama Administration On Plan To Take Away CIA's - Drones: Nevermind, Keep 'Em

Alabama Governor Removes Confederate Flag From State Capitol
Ann Coulter Attacks Gov. Nikki Haley As "An Immigrant" Who "Does Not Understand America's History" | Blog | Media Matters for America - Immigrant" Who "Does Not Understand America's History" - Fact: Governor Haley Was Born In South Carolina
White Supremacists More Dangerous To America Than Foreign Terrorists, Study Says - At least 48 people have been killed stateside by right-wing extremists in the 14 years since since the September 11 attacks -- almost twice as many as were killed by self-identified jihadists in that time
Homegrown Extremism: Deadly Attacks Since 9/11 | The International Security Program

Pelosi Stands Down On TAA, Clearing Way For Obama's Trade Agenda - Pelosi Stands Down On TAA, Clearing Way For Obama's Trade Agenda
Senate Fast-Tracks Trade Bill, Obama Gets His Way - In which we learn that most victories are temporary ... There is one thing that Barack Obama, Mitch McConnell, John Boehner, Nancy Pelosi and Chris Cillizza have in common. None of their jobs ever will be outsourced to a 12-year old Southeast Asian child making 85 cents a month. A real breakthrough, this is.


Former ambassador's bizarre attack on Obama lays bare strains in US-Israeli ties | World news | The Guardian - Michael Oren has suggested that the president is disloyal to his country and his "hostility" to Israel is motivated by issues with his Muslim father and stepfather - It's a peculiar feature of American relations with Israel that more than a few senior diplomats posted from Jerusalem to Washington were once US citizens (Obama not loyal enough to Israel, his boss)

The secret world of Isis brides: "U dnt hav 2 pay 4 ANYTHING if u r wife of a martyr" - What draws western women to Islamic State and it ends up costing her - The Washington Post

Jindal All the Way: Today in Abject Futility - In which delusions of grandeur stalk the Bayou.

Missouri newspaper criticized for naming possible sexual assault victim | US news | The Guardian - The St Louis Post-Dispatch published a story naming a woman who filed a police report saying she may have been sexually assaulted

Dwarf Planet Ceres: Just When We Needed It - First, there were mysterious bright spots on the surface. And, now, a pyramid?
Dwarf planet Ceres reveals pyramid-shaped mystery : worldnews
5 Findings From The First Major Analysis Of Medical Pot Benefits - The strongest evidence is for chronic pain and for muscle stiffness in multiple sclerosis
Tell It About Your Mother - The New York Times - Can brain-scanning help save Freudian psychoanalysis?
The Problem With the Grain Brain Doctor -- Science of Us (gluten myths)
Is there a maximum gravity? : askscience
Viagra Unlikely To Cause Skin Cancer, Study Finds - What our study results show is that groups of men who are more likely to get malignant melanoma include those with higher disposable incomes and education -- men who likely can also afford more vacations in the sun -- and who also have the means to buy erectile dysfunction medications, which are very expensive

What are some subtle body language signs that reveal a lot about someone? : AskReddit
Toledous comments on i will paypal you $50 if you can bring a lug wrench to the chevron at 1934 n cahuenga so i can change this fucking tire


062315
Huge solar storm hits Earth: power grid and GPS could be disrupted, but auroras might be seen - News - Gadgets and Tech - The Independent
Huge solar storm hits Earth: power grid and GPS could be disrupted, but auroras might be seen : worldnews
Health risks of shipping pollution have been underestimated: One giant container ship can emit almost the same amount of cancer and asthma-causing chemicals as 50m cars, study finds - Climate change threatens 50 years of progress in global health

Drive to call time on Confederate flag sweeps south - 150 years after civil war | US news | The Guardian - Charleston church shooting prompts wave of action across southern states on controversial symbol representing heritage for some, hatred for others (heritage of hatred)
The Confederate Cause in the Words of Its Leaders - The Atlantic - The meaning of the Confederate flag is best discerned in the words of those who bore it.
Wack Flag - The Daily Show - Video Clip | Comedy Central (Fox is Mouth of Satan)
Jon Stewart: Fox News Such Obvious Hypocrites on Rush to "Politicize"
Nikki Haley and the Confederate Flag of Treason - In which the self-congratulation continues.
Protests of Confederate Symbols Spread Nationwide - The New York Times
Confederate flag sales are skyrocketing - Business Insider
Council of Conservative Citizens Promotes White Primacy, and G.O.P. Ties - The New York Times ("nothing like the KKK" or anything)
6 Companies Ban Confederate Flag Sales

Which US States Imprison More People Per Capita Than Russia Or China? - Russia has 475 inmates per 100,000 residents as of 2013, according to data from the Sentencing Project. China has 121. Those numbers are much lower than states like Louisiana (893 per 100,000) Mississippi (717) and Alabama (650) based on 2012 statistics from the same report. Oklahoma (648) and Texas (601) are also significantly higher than Russia or China. (prison state America)

N.S.A. Eavesdropped on Last 3 French Presidents, WikiLeaks Says - The New York Times
U.S. government hack could actually affect 18 million - CNNPolitics.com - CNNPolitics.com - may be 4 times larger than the government originally said (NSA needs 4 times the spying to make up for 4 times the incompetence)
Why We Encrypt - Schneier on Security - Encryption should be enabled for everything by default, not a feature you turn on only if you're doing something you consider worth protecting.
NSA Has Reverse-Engineered Popular Consumer Anti-Virus Software In Order To Track Users : technology
NSA Has Reverse-Engineered Popular Consumer Anti-Virus Software In Order To Track Users | TechCrunch

Isis "crucifies children for not fasting during Ramadan" in Syria

Sickening new ISIS video shows caged prisoners lowered into a swimming pool and drowned, shot with an RPG and blown up with explosive-filled 'necklaces' : worldnews

A Victory for Privacy at the Supreme Court in Los Angeles vs. Patel - The Atlantic - Innkeepers may now challenge cops who want to spy on guests, but can still be jailed for failing to collect and store detailed information at check-in.

Can the Bacteria in Your Gut Explain Your Mood? - The New York Times (your six lb microbiome)
BPS Research Digest: Expert philosophers are just as irrational as the rest of us
Expert philosophers are just as irrational as the rest of us : science
BPS Research Digest: Is CBT for depression losing its efficacy? - One suggestion they have is that CBT is somehow losing its placebo effect over time:
News from The Associated Press - Evidence was weak for many other conditions, including anxiety, sleep disorders ... Side effects were common and included dizziness, dry mouth and sleepiness. (science!)

Will Book Publishers Ever Start Fact-checking? -- Vulture

What instantly ruins porn for you? : AskReddit
Guys of reddit: what is something you don't get told about moving in with your girlfriend? : AskReddit (hair)


062215
Society will collapse by 2040 due to catastrophic food shortages, says Foreign Office-funded study - Climate Change - Environment - The Independent
New Zealand scientists voice concern over gagging on climate change | GlobalPost - When 40 percent of scientists say they are being gagged and can't speak out on issues of public importance, it's clear evident something is wrong (KochBros bought NZ)
Giant toxic algae bloom off West Coast may be largest ever | CTV News - What may be the largest toxic algae bloom ever recorded on the West Coast is poisoning sea lions in Washington State and shutting down fisheries as far north as B.C.

Fracking poses "significant" risk to humans and should be temporarily banned across EU, says new report (but Obama says no problem, prefectly safe)

Julian Assange: The Byline Interviews, Part One - The God of Mass Surveillance
Australian senate passes controversial anti-piracy, website-blocking laws

White Supremacists Without Borders - The New York Times (what happens when you let old white Republican "Justices" decide there's no racism in America)
Slavery's Long Shadow - Krugman - Only one former member of the Confederacy has expanded Medicaid, and while a few Northern states are also part of the movement, more than 80 percent of the population in Medicaid-refusing America lives in states that practiced slavery before the Civil War
In Charleston, a Millennial Race Terrorist - The New York Times
White Supremacist Who Influenced Charleston Suspect Donated to 2016 G.O.P. Campaigns - The New York Times
South Carolina moves toward united front in battle over the Confederate flag | US news | The Guardian - Pressure to remove flag from state capitol intensifies as politicians and activists say it continues to inflame racial tensions in the wake of Charleston shooting
Nikki Haley Calls For Confederate Flag To Be Removed From South Carolina Capitol
Mississippi House Speaker Says Confederate Symbol Should Be Removed From State Flag
Wal-Mart Will Stop Selling Confederate Flag Merchandise
A Trip Down Heritage Lane... - Lawyers, Guns & Money : - I'm old enough to remember when Jason Zengerle of Even-the-Liberal-New-Republic thought the Confederate flag was all about the heritage:
"Meet the Press" Shows Anti-Gun Montage Of All Black Shooters Following South Carolina Rampage (Chuckie Todd is racist)
Walker v. Sons of Confederate Veterans: The Supreme Court confronts the ugly power of the Confederate flag. - The justices rule on a Confederate flag case as the nation once again grapples with the ugly power of that racist Southern symbol.
The American civil war then and now
Georgy_K_Zhukov comments on Is this AskReddit comment about the U.S. Civil War not being about slavery accurate?

Stop Fast Track! - These 8 Senate Democrats are the key swing votes for halting Fast Track for the TPP.

Taliban attacks Afghan parliament | Reuters
Taliban attack on Afghan parliament in Kabul ends - BBC News

The Saudi Cables - Over half a million cables and other documents from the Saudi Foreign Ministry. A total of 61214 published so far


Key Army commander accused of steering a contract to ex-classmates - The Washington Post

Tensions Build As U.S. Supreme Court Readies Blockbuster Rulings

The Surprising Reason So Many People Still Don't Like Obamacare (they are Reublicans and hate anything that works)
Republicans Take Aim at Poor Women - The New York Times (Uterus Police)

White House Takes Huge Step Forward In Fight Over Marijuana Research - to support research into the medical properties of marijuana, lifting a much-maligned bureaucratic requirement that had long stifled scientific research. (Obama finally gives in)


Billy Graham's grandson steps down from Florida megachurch after admitting an affair - He is the fourth Florida megachurch pastor to resign after having affairs, including the son of megachurch pastor Joel Hunter.

The Cooper Union Tragedy - The New Yorker (when hedgies take over and ruin everything)
President and five trustees quit amid bitter unrest at Cooper Union | InsideHigherEd - It was a matter of hours from when the resignations of five Cooper Union trustees rolled in until their names were erased from the college's website
2nd-degree murder charges sought in Boyd shooting | New Mexico News - KOAT Home - The two Albuquerque police officers accused of shooting and killing homeless camper James Boyd will face second degree murder charges.

I Fact-checked Alice Goffman With Her Subjects -- Science of Us
Taking the Measure of Sexism: Facts, Figures, and Fixes | ARTnews


Genetics and Pain - HowStuffWorks - Beyond this, scientists can only speculate why the gene may have an effect on pain. One explanation could be that the MC1R gene is also involved in hormones that stimulate pain receptors in the brain. The same mutation that inhibits the production of one pigment and increases another could also overproduce a pain-related hormone, making redheads more sensitive to pain.
An optometrist invented a lens that would give people 3x 20/20 vision in a simple 8 minute surgery. : technology
Extreme Exercise Can Poison the Blood - Scientific American - Even four hours of intense activity may be enough to let bacteria escape from the gut into the blood, setting off a chain of inflammation
US military admits it carried out secret race-based experiments to test impact of mustard gas on US soldiers - Americas - World - The Independent

Major internet providers slowing traffic speeds for thousands across US | Technology | The Guardian - Study finds significant degradations of networks for five largest ISPs, including AT&T and Time Warner, representing 75% of all wireline households in US (profiteering job-destroyers)

To the father that created a scene with my managers when I asked his daughter what movie they were going to see. : AdviceAnimals
What is the creepiest/ scariest unsolved mystery you have heard of? : AskReddit
Obese Americans now outnumber those who are merely overweight, study says : news
truthlesshunter comments on Dad catches home run while holding his baby (xpost from r/dadreflexes) - So, figuratively, "dropping the mic" means you've done something cool as shit and just walked away. Hence, if his baby was named "Mike," he could just drop it and walk away because that was alpha as fuck.
[Post Title] : heroesofthestorm

062115
UK Government-backed scientific model flags risk of civilisation's collapse by 2040
Mike Huckabee: Climate Science "Not settled"

Racism in the Obama Era: "You're Taking Over Our Country" (our white-supremicist country +entitlement")
"The home of racism" - Walter Scott and church shootings lay bare Charleston's original sin - The city's history and much of its wealth were born from the slave trade - the tension from which, many believe, lingers in race-tinged incidents to this day
The Silver Bullet That Will Create A Progressive South Doesn't Exist - Lawyers, Guns & Money : The brutal truth is that most of American political history is an experiment in seeing what will happen if national political elites agree not to offend white supremacist Southern white men. Republicans Tread Carefully in Criticism of Confederate Flag - The New York Times
Charleston Mayor Joseph Riley: Lack Of Gun Control Is "insane"
Huckabee, Santorum Say Confederate Flag Is A State Issue (so was slavery)
Detroit Newspaper Op-Ed: Start Burning Confederate Flags

Small Steps Towards Progress in Libya by Nancy LeTourneau | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - Qatar and the United Arab Emirates have been fighting a proxy war in that country.

Saudi Arabia tells citizens to ignore latest WikiLeaks release | World news | The Guardian - 61,000 leaked cables give rare insight into kingdom's habit of buying influence and monitoring dissidents

Wife of Israeli politician tweets racist Obama joke - Judy Shalom Nir Mozes quickly deleted the offending tweet and apologizes - but it was too late to avoid mounting criticism - "You'd better erase this") (too late, deeply racist state)


Greece is Europe's failed state in waiting - Lawrence Summers
Greece crisis: creditors aim to strike deal to include six-month rescue extension | World news | The Guardian - Deal may also include up to 18bn in rescue funds, and later debt relief, but EU officials stress Alexis Tsipras must make concessions

Texas Abortion Law Teed Up For Supreme Court Review - "In Texas, a uterus has more regulations than a fucking gun." (+"Y'all Qaeda")

FIFA's rot goes far beyond Sepp Blatter, insiders say

"Liberal Isn't a Bad Word Anymore -- Democrats are moving left. And America may be too. (but 49% believe government aid to the poor does more harm than good so stupid and evil)

Attackers open fire on child's birthday party in Detroit; 10 people shot - CNN.com
Los Angeles police shoot unarmed man in head - and then handcuff him



New sleep genes found | EurekAlert! Science News - Researchers discover that a protein called Taranis could hold the key to a good night's sleep
fimilestonethrowaway comments on If light is massless, how is a black hole able to prevent it from escaping? - The only way to really conceptualize this is that from its point of reference the entire universe is completely singular - there is no space, there is no time. There is nothing and that nothing happens all at once.

What villain lived long enough to see themselves become the hero? : AskReddit

Freedom of Panorama is under attack - On 9 July 2015, the European Parliament will vote on whether to abolish our right to freely take and share photographs, videos and drawings of buildings and works of public art. (no selfies in front of copyrighted public spaces (next they'll copyright your memories)
Australia bans more than 240 games in six months + Player Attack

062015
America's drone policy is all exceptions and no rules | Trevor Timm | Comment is free | The Guardian - the CIA has a new example to only extend its grip on extrajudicial killing

End Austerity Now: 250,000 people gather in London to protest against austerity measures | City A.M.

At least three killed in Austria after man drives into crowd before 'stabbing passers-by' in Graz - Europe - World - The Independent - The driver, identified by police as a 26-year-old Austrian man of Bosnian heritage, has been arrested. He works as a professional driver and is married with two children.

Dylann Roof Photos and a Manifesto Are Posted on Website - The New York Times
Racist Manifesto Purportedly Written By Dylann Roof Surfaces Online
Is it a good idea to try to shame conservative/white/southern Americans about the history and persistence of endemic racism? - Lawyers, Guns & Money
The Greatest Crime One Can Commit in The United States: Calling Racist Whites Racist - Lawyers, Guns & Money : " It's just gotten to a point where is there a fog of hate clouding the Capitol building, and I certainly do not understand the total dysfunction that exists" (Kansas has a lot of hatred and very stupid)
Charleston shooting: Confederate flag at heart of growing political storm | US news | The Guardian
FBI investigates website and manifesto linked to Charleston shooting suspect Dylann Roof | US news | The Guardian - Source: agency probing site filled with pictures and Confederate imagery
Juneteenth: The Black American Holiday Everyone Should Celebrate but Doesn't
14 and 88: Why white supremacists love the numbers. - What's up with 14 and 88? And what about the shaved heads and white tuxedos?
Slavery records will soon be easily searchable online
Charleston and the Age of Obama - The New Yorker - We want our country back!
11 myths about the future of gun control, debunked after the Charleston shooting | US news | The Guardian


Hundreds Attack China Police Station In Dispute Over Woman's Death - The violence reflects the public's deep distrust in the local government's ability to properly investigate and adjudicate disputes and increasing hostility toward local authorities.

061915
Major study confirms that Earth is currently witnessing the start of a mass extinction event the likes of which have not been seen for at least 65 million years. It is being precipitated by human actions over past 500 years. : science
Master-planned community at risk of losing all water within days - LA Times - But now, an upscale master-planned community of 15,000 residents in San Joaquin County is facing the loss of all water supplies within days prompting a frantic search for new sources.
ALARMING study show dangerous water along Barnett Shale - What's being called one of the most comprehensive groundwater studies ever done in the U.S. was published Wednesday, and, according to the lead scientist, some of its findings are incredibly alarming - a growing link between fracking and groundwater contamination (basically what CPPierce has been saying for years: they are poisoning the whole aquifer: you can't use your water because it will kill you: vote Republican and die)

Officials: Suspect in church slayings unrepentant amid outcry over racial hatred - The Washington Post
Dylann Roof Had A Rhodesian Flag On His Jacket -- Here's What That Tells Us (he was "taking his country back" where have we heard that before?
Rhodesia 1976 - Lawyers, Guns & Money :
Charleston Shooting: We Need to Talk About This - In which we confront the dark heart of America. Again.
"Blacks in America have lived with terrorism for centuries" : Monstrous history at the heart of the Charleston massacre - Many have noted how the church where 9 people were killed this week is full of history -- a history that runs deep (the half has never been told)
When John Roberts Said There Isn't Enough Racism In America To Justify The Voting Rights Act
An Emotional Jon Stewart Drops the Comedy to Talk Charleston: We Still won't Do Jackshit - No way to prevent this, says only nation where this regularly happens
NRA blames Charleston victims as the mass shooting reaction echoes Newtown | US news | The Guardian - Board member Charles Cotton, however, strayed from the script late on Thursday, when he posted a comment online blaming the pastor killed in the South Carolina shooting, Clementa Pinckney, for the death of his eight congregants. NRA Board Member Blames Murdered Reverend For Death Of His Congregants In Charleston Church Mass Shooting | Blog | Media Matters for America
The Charleston Suspect Is a Racist, But Republicans Claim His Motives | The New Republic
Wherever Someone Needs to Defend White Supremacy, the National Review Will be There - Lawyers, Guns & Money :
Eschaton: What To Do About The Guns
Dylann Roof and America's heart of darkness
Baker apologizes for remarks on Confederate flag - Politics - The Boston Globe
Baker's damaging remarks on the Confederate flag (Charlie's dark heart)

Read the TPP

A Glimpse Into the Black, Shriveled Hearts of the Republican Class Warriors - Lawyers, Guns & Money : (seriously)


Building for the Future, in California's Famously Failed City - The Atlantic


[Serious]What unexplained memories do you have from your childhood? : AskReddit


061815
Pope Francis Aligns Himself With Mainstream Science on Climate - The New York Times (Republicans align themselves with Satan and his minions, the Kochbros)

Metadata: Australians' phone and internet details accessed 334,658 times in 2013-14

Eschaton: Just a small country - The "centrist" push-back against the story of Iceland's recovery is that it doesn't count because it's such a small country. Of course, the same solution was tried in a much bigger country and worked fabulously well, making it the richest country in the world even though they were in the midst of a great depression.

Mothers of Isis recruits find healing and resolve through support network | World news | The Guardian - As young men from western countries are fighting and dying for jihadi groups, mothers work to counter their recruitment efforts through Mothers for Life


Democrats in the U.S. Shift to the Left - Democratic candidates for the 2016 presidential nomination face a significantly more left-leaning party base than their predecessors did over the last 15 years. (7% of Dems are really Republicans)

Texas can reject Confederate flag license plates, supreme court rules | Law | The Guardian - The Sons of Confederate Veterans had sought to put the flag, which is their logo, on vanity plates but 5-4 decision finds plates are not a forum for private speech - "We are certainly disappointed in the supreme court's decision to not allow us to honour our heroes" ("heros" = "racist terrorists" +four racist "justices" -Clarence, interestingly)
The supreme court is right: Confederate flag license plates aren't free speech - Justices find that First Amendment protections do not extend to having racist imagery on offer by the state of Texas - Let's not mince words: the Confederate battle flag originated as a symbol of treason in defense of slavery that was repurposed as a defense of apartheid during the massive resistance to Brown v Board of Education. It's about hate, not heritage
Clarence Thomas v. Sons of Confederate Veterans - The Atlantic - In every culture, certain things acquire meaning well beyond what outsiders can comprehend. That goes for both the sacred and the profane. I believe that cross burning is the paradigmatic example of the latter ... Cross burning is not "expressive activity" it is a "a signal of implending terror and lawlessness."
Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy Goes Out Of His Way To Denounce Solitary Confinement

Charleston Church Shooting Suspect Dylann Roof Captured In Shelby, North Carolina
Dylann Roof: the cold stare of a killer with a history of drug abuse and racism
Obama On Charleston Shooting: This Type Of Mass Violence Does Not Happen In Other Advanced Countries
South Carolina Has Permissive Gun Laws. Here's Why That Won't Change
Using Guns In Self-Defense Is Rare, Study Finds
Charleston Shooting: A Closer Look at Alleged Gunman Dylann Roof - ABC News
The Charleston shooter killed mostly black women. This wasn't about "rape"
Charleston killings leave US reckoning with race and guns amid "broken peace"
Take Down the Confederate Flag - The Atlantic - The flag that Dylann Roof embraced, which many South Carolinians embrace, endorses the violence he committed.
Fox News Twists Itself In Knots To Find An Explanation Other Than Racism For Charleston Shooting
Lindsey Graham: Charleston Shooter May Have Been "Looking for Christians to Kill" - "not a window into the soul of South Carolina"
Santorum Calls Charleston Shooting Assault On Religious Liberty
Queen Mikayla on Twitter: "Media: lol we don't know why he did it Dylann Roof: I did it because I hate black people Media: lol we don't know why he did it"

Prison Worker Joyce Mitchell Admits to Having Sex With Escapee in Tailor Shop, DA Says - ABC News


All 50 US states fail to meet global police use of force standards, report finds | US news | The Guardian - Amnesty International report describes "shocking lack of fundamental respect for the sanctity of human life" as nine states have no laws to deal with police force

The self-deception of the intentionally childless (another Damon Linker special)
Eschaton: They Really Get In The Way Of The Cocaine Parties And Orgies - Anyway, make up your minds. Having children is THE GREATEST THING EVER or it's a SELFLESS ACT THAT SELFISH NON-BREEDERS DON'T DO BECAUSE THEY'RE SELFISHLY SELFISH.

Georgia zoo flooding: what to do if you encounter a tiger | World news | The Guardian

Age of puberty predicts diseases in later life, find researchers | Society | The Guardian - Early developers at greater risk of diabetes and heart disease while late developers more prone to asthma, according to Cambridge University study
DNA analysis reignites fierce debate over fate of 9,000-year-old skeleton | Science | The Guardian - Genome sequencing indicates Kennewick Man is Native American, reopening the bitter battle over whether he should be reburied or studied
Yes, androids do dream of electric sheep | Technology | The Guardian - Google sets up feedback loop in its image recognition neural network - which looks for patterns in pictures - creating hallucinatory images of animals, buildings and landscapes which veer from beautiful to terrifying


In Turnabout, Disney Cancels Tech Worker Layoffs - The New York Times (little PR problem)
Today in the American Meritocracy - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Mark Penn apparently brought the same quality of ideas to Microsoft that he did to the Clinton campaign: Penn was the main driving force behind Microsoft's highly criticized Scroogled campaign

061715
Jeb Bush joins Republican backlash against pope on climate change | US news | The Guardian - I don't get economic policy from my bishops or my cardinal or my pope (I get it from the Koch Bros)
How The Earth Dried Up - It still beggars the imagination that, on Earth, water is going to become a scarcecommodity. Like gold. Or oil.

Congress warned that drones present 'a nightmare scenario for civil liberties' | Technology | The Guardian - House committee considering future of US airspace worries about unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) filming football games but silent on law enforcement use (throw them all in prison)

DuckDuckGo traffic soars in wake of Snowden revelations | Technology | The Guardian
The Guardian view on surveillance after Snowden: an outlaw rewrites the law | Editorial | Comment is free | The Guardian - Many called him a traitor, but now Capitol Hill has felt moved to act on truths that Edward Snowden exposed. Berlin is starting to move on, and yet Westminster remains in denial that there is any surveillance problem


Two-Thirds Of People Who Would Be Affected By Obamacare Ruling Live In Republican Districts

CBO: Debt to hit 101 percent of GDP by 2039 | TheHill

Third-grade teacher who read class same-sex fairy tale resigns after backlash | Education | The Guardian - Assistant principal who loaned teacher The King & King also resigned Teacher read story after class taunted student, calling him gay as an insult (empathy is a crime in NC)


AT&T just got hit with a $100 million fine after slowing down its unlimited Uber Driver Is An Employee, Not An Independent Contractor, Rules California Labor Official ("sharing economy" should get interesting)

061615
Naomi Oreskes, a Lightning Rod in a Changing Climate - The New York Times - approach has been to dig deeply into the history of climate change denial, documenting its links to other episodes in which critics challenged a developing scientific consensus.
Review: Merchants of Doubt, Separating Science From Spin
Jeb Bush: 'The Climate Is Changing' But We Don't Know Who's To Blame (Jebaroonietunes "I am not a scientist, either" Bush)
Senate Votes To Outlaw Torture (Obama will veto) (McCain didn't want anyone to know)

As Stress Drives Off Drone Operators, Air Force Must Cut Flights - The New York Times - After a decade of waging long-distance war through their video screens, America's drone operators are burning out, and the Air Force is being forced to cut back on the flights even as military and intelligence officials are demanding more over intensifying combat zones in Iraq, Syria and Yemen.

Eschaton: Don't Know Nothing (David Brooks and more non-factual "facts" this time about NAFTA - VSP Washington Consensus lies)
The Trans-Pacific Partnership: Questions and Answers - The New York Times


Why the FDA's new ban on trans fats may be most important change in our food supply ever (they lied for decades and killed millions of Americans but no problem +Bloomberg got this one right)
Obama Administration Cracks Down On Trans Fats
To Lose Weight, Eating Less Is Far More Important Than Exercising More - The New York Times


Medical Use of Marijuana Doesn't Increase Youth's Use, Study Finds (someone call Marty "I am not a scientist" Walsh)

061515
Nearly 400,000 Homeland Security Employees May Have Had Private Data Compromised

John Oliver Has Helen Mirren Read The Most Horrible Parts Of The Torture Report

Reporter Who Wrote Sunday Times 'Snowden' Propaganda Admits That He's Just Writing What UK Gov't Told Him | Techdirt

Pay low-income families more to boost economic growth, says IMF | Business | The Guardian(finds "trickle-down" doesn't work, 25 yrs later)


Bernie Sanders on Late Night with Seth Meyers : television

Open Thread: At Play in the Fields of the Lordly ; Balloon Juice (Mitt Romney, the empty heart of the Republican party)

The facts vs. David Brooks: Startling inaccuracies raise questions about his latest book - Salon.com
Joe Mitchell's Secret

Rachel Dolezal sued Howard for racial discrimination. Because she was white. - The Washington Post

Antonin Scalia is unfit to serve: A justice who rejects science and the law for religion is of unsound mind - Salon.com - The justice claims to be an originalist, but his real loyalty is to religion and a phony man in the sky


Notepad++ leaves SourceForge : technology
A Closer Look at IronSource Installation Tactics

061415

Sunday Times Snowden Story is Journalism at its Worst - and Filled with Falsehoods (thinking is hard for reporters: Russia and China "hacked" unbreakable encyption too hard for UK, Israel and US)
Edward Snowden Leaked Documents Have Been 'Cracked,' Glenn Greenwald Criticises Sunday Times Report: "Unsourced, unverifiable nonsense smears by a group that knows it's losing, the spying fascists.")
Ryan Gallagher | RJGallagher.co.uk: Questions About The Sunday Times Snowden Story
Snowden files 'read by Russia and China': five questions for UK government | US news | The Guardian - The government has an obligation to respond to the Sunday Times report that MI6 has been forced to pull agents out of live operations in hostile countries


Eschaton: What Could Go Wrong - Really can't think of anything. - In a significant move to deter possible Russian aggression in Europe, the Pentagon is poised to store battle tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and other heavy weapons for as many as 5,000 American troops in several Baltic and Eastern European countries, American and allied officials say. (dick-waving will be disasterous)

Libya Says Algerian Militant Belmokhtar Killed In U.S. Strike (AQ guy, helps ISIS, natch)


"In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial..." - Lawyers, Guns & Money - Kalief Browder, who was arrested and on the most threadbare of evidence charged with a minor theft. He was held at Riker's Island, sometimes in solitary confinement and sometimes subject to horrible abuse, for three years without trial. (America's internal war crimes)


How Utah Became a Bizarre, Blissful Epicenter for Get-Rich-Quick Schemes ("Because you have a population which has already demonstrated a propensity to believe in outrageous scams.")

Philae comet lander wakes up [After 7 months] : worldnews
Message to retirees: sit less, live better and longer - every hour a person over 60 spends sitting is linked with a 46 percent increased risk of being disabled -- struggling with activities such as bathing, eating, walking and getting in and out of bed. (3 hrs in chair = 138% chance of being disabled; math is hard for reporters)
Stanford study finds walking improves creativity - They examined creativity levels of people while they walked versus while they sat. A person's creative output increased by an average of 60 percent when walking.
Chronic SSRI stimulation of astrocytic 5-HT2B receptors change multiple gene expressions/editings and metabolism of glutamate, glucose and glycogen: a potential paradigm shift : science
How Dinosaurs Shrank and Became Birds

This cannot be hygienic. : WTF - Thought it'd be Ol Greeeeeeeg and his mangina.
[Serious]Redditors who have had to kill in self defense, Did you ever recover psychologically? What is it to live knowing you killed someone regardless you didn't want to do it? : AskReddit

061315
Hillary Rips GOPers in Campaign Rally: Why Don't You Start Listening to Scientists? (pretty much right on)
The Pollution Laboratory of the States: Wyoming Edition by David Atkins | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - Most recently in Wyoming literally made it illegal to collect data about pollution: (outlawing "data collection" is a Republican specialty)

Feds Who Didn't Even Discover The OPM Hack Themselves, Still Say We Should Give Them Cybersecurity Powers | Techdirt - from the really-now? dept (you'd almost think it was intentional)
Why The OPM Breach Is Such a Security and Privacy Debacle | WIRED
Security News This Week: The NSA Can't Stop, Won't Stop (Neither Will Israel, China, or Britain) | WIRED - Looks like Israel could be behind the attack,

ISIS Is Winning the Social Media War, U.S. Concludes - NYTimes.com
ISIS Is Winning the Social Media War, U.S. Concludes - NYTimes.com ("messaging working group" "not really coming togeter")

Bush: You need 'boots on the ground' | TheHill - The United States will need combat troops on the ground to defeat the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), former President George W. Bush suggested in a new interview.

Only two drug cartels left in Mexico and all others have splintered, top official says | Fox News Latino - Also, despite the arrests and breakdown of cartels, little has stopped the flow of drugs into the U.S. Seizures at the U.S.-Mexico border have fluctuated since 2010, when 2.7 million pounds were seized overall, to a high of 3.1 million in 2011 and down to 2.3 million pounds in 2014, (lbs of weed, presumeably? for this we destroy a country)


Democrats Just Shot The Hostage In Obama's Trade Deal Negotiations (hostage = the bone they throw you after feasting on the body of democacy +comments are interesting: " lost it before today.....today he was rightfully defeated by betraying the American people" )
Pro Fast Track Representatives took more money | Congressional Dish - Representatives who voted for fast track have taken 91% more money from corporations backing the trade deals
US trade bills seek to halt boycotts of Israel - Israel News, Ynetnews - Amendments to Obama's sweeping trade package would fight BDS, but Democrats opposed to other sections are holding things up.

Eschaton: Grift - It's cute how reporters pretend to not understand that the GOP primary is, for most, an audition for wingnut welfare and a Fox gig.


OU Study Lounge To Segregate Gay Students | The Daily Caller (if "segregate" means "opt-in")




What is the weirdest sexual thing you have been asked to do? did you go through with it? [NSFW] : AskReddit


061215
Climate Investigations Center (Koch funded Willie Soon)
Climate sceptic researcher investigated over funding from fossil fuel firms | Environment | The Guardian - Willie Soon from Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics probed over failure to disclose more than $1.2m from energy industry when submitting articles

DOC_0006184107.pdf (Obama releases completely redacted Saudi/911 report)
The CIA has finally released its report on Saudi ties to 9/11... and more than 29 out of the 30 pages has been redacted. : news

How Private Contractors Have Created a Shadow NSA | The Nation - A new cybersecurity elite moves between government and private practice, taking state secrets with them.
NSA Backdoor Searches Would End if House Amendment Survives
6 Hackers Likely Gained Access To Sensitive Data About Military, Intelligence Personnel (because they couldn't secure t heir own computers, you lose your civil rights and China is undeterred)

Six Drone Facts from New History "Sudden Justice" (if justice means the reverse of what it means)

We Wrote A Report On What The Red Cross Did With A Half Billion Dollars Donated For Haiti Relief. We are reporters from ProPublica and NPR. We're Joined By A Haiti Aid Expert And A Former Community Organizer in Haiti. Ask Us Anything. : IAmA (Red Cross always lies)

Isis's deadliest atrocity: 600 bodies confirmed found following 'worst massacre' by jihadists - Middle East - World - The Independent - Isis's deadliest atrocity: 600 bodies confirmed found following 'worst massacre' by jihadists
Far From The Battle Zones In Iraq And Syria, ISIS Is On A Rampage In Libya
How Isis crippled al-Qaida | Shiv Malik, Ali Younes, Spencer Ackerman, Mustafa Khalili | World news | The Guardian - The inside story of the coup that has brought the world's most feared terrorist network to the brink of collapse (mission accomplished, again)
PressTV-Turkey escorting ISIL into Syria: Video
The Worst of All Horrors | Foreign Policy - Psychologists in Iraq, a country long afflicted by violence, say they've never seen more terrible trauma than that caused by the Islamic State
U.S. Has No Idea How Long It Will Keep an ISIS Bride Locked Up - The Daily Beast

Breaking the taboo: the Moscow women taking a stand against domestic violence | Cities | The Guardian - When Anna Zhavnerovich wrote about a beating she received from her boyfriend, it triggered a huge reaction. Now there are signs of a political shift in attitudes regarding the campaign to identify domestic violence as a crime

Iowa Supreme Court affirms right to be drunk on front porch - The right to be drunk on the front porch of a private home was endorsed Friday by the Iowa Supreme Court, which said a woman can't be convicted of public intoxication while standing on her front steps.


What's Next in the Trans-Pacific Partnership Battle? - Lawyers, Guns & Money : After the stunningly large defeat of Trade Adjustment Assistance in the House, a move promoted by Democrats to torpedo fast track of the TPP, what is next? Time to turn to a real reporter. Dayen:
The President Gets Beaten on the Trade Vote - You can't really understand what happened -- or appreciate what may happen next -- without taking into account the transformative effect of the economic collapse of 2008 on our politics (Obama, playing like it's 2007)
Harry Reid Calls Trade Push By Obama And GOP 'Insanity'
Leaked trade deal terms prompt fears for Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme | Business | The Guardian - Documents on the Trans-Pacific Partnership revealed by Wikileaks have revealed draft rules for medicines provided by national health care schemes


The Iowa Straw Poll Is No More

North Carolina's Magistrates Now Can Legally Ignore Marriage Laws (free to discriminate)

911 caller in Texas pool party incident was convicted of torturing animals | US news | The Guardian - Sean Toon, who called police to complain about group of black teenagers trying to enter a party on Friday, was jailed for violent behaviour and animal torture (reality is getting very ironic)

Missing link found between brain, immune system -- with major disease implications | EurekAlert! Science News - Implications profound for neurological diseases from autism to Alzheimer's to multiple sclerosis - Vessels directly connecting brain, lymphatic system exist despite decades of doctrine that they don't

Sidewalk Labs, a Start-Up Created by Google, Has Bold Aims to Improve City Living - NYTimes.com (apps! energy efficiency!" )


Sidewalk Labs, a Start-Up Created by Google, Has Bold Aims to Improve City Living - NYTimes.com (this passes for "content")


Courtney Love sends Cease and Desist order to theaters playing Soaked In Bleach movie which makes a strong case that Kurt Cobain was murdered. Most theaters call her bluff and show movie anyway
What happened at the worst party you've ever been to? : AskReddit
Removing harassing subreddits : announcements
IAmAN00bie comments on CMV: Reddit was wrong to ban /r/fatpeoplehate but not /r/shitredditsays.
I respectfully resign from /r/koans : Koans
__the_operator comments on Imgur is deleting /r/FatPeopleHate images that hits its frontpage. News reaches /r/Undelete and people start arguing about the origin vendetta, extremism, and free speech.
Subs are getting banned for violating the new safe space policy. What should be the first to go? : AskReddit
/u/karmanaut shares his thoughts on the recent FatPeopleHate drama : bestof

ParanoydAndroid comments on France gives Google 15 days to expand right-to-be-forgotten worldwide or face sanctions

061115
Alaska just had its hottest May in 91 years - The Washington Post

U.S. May Create More Military Hubs In Iraq To Fight Islamic State (moar training! and moar free guns!)

Israel Won't Charge Anyone Over The Death Of Four Boys On Gaza Beach - BuzzFeed News - An IDF spokesman said Israel had closed its investigation into the deaths of the four children, who were killed when Israel's air force shelled a beach in Gaza.
Hackers Stole Every Federal Workers' Social Security Numbers, Union Says - BuzzFeed News - The hackers, who have not yet been identified, also stole information on federal workers's age, race, pay history, and health insurance (we maintain really shitty security even after being told multiple times over the years, so we can have a big problem that justifies further spying)

Co-Author Of Mike Huckabee Books Was Accused Of Child Molestation In Two Legal Cases - BuzzFeed News - Prominent Christian author John Perry, who has also co-authored a book with Alabama Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore, has been accused of child molestation in two separate lawsuits.

Disunion: The Final Q & A - NYTimes.com

Judge Finds Probable Cause To Charge Officer Timothy Loehmann With Murder In Tamir Rice Killing

O'Reilly: "Is There Going To Be A War Between The Police And Minorities In America?" | Video | Media Matters for America

'The Nightmare' and the science of sleep paralysis | Fusion - ALIENS AND DEMONS - Why people with sleep paralysis have supernatural visions

Female Scientists Respond Brilliantly To Biochemist Calling Women Distractions
Echidne Of The Snakes: Meet Tim Hunt, A Nobel-Winning Biologist With Opinions On Girls In Laboratories

Code | Bloomberg

Reddit Users Revolt After Site Bans "Fat People Hate" And Other Communities - BuzzFeed News (Chairman Pao)

Kaspersky Finds New Nation-State Attack -- In Its Own Network
We aren't the copyright cops, ICANN's president says

061015

Americans Still Say Liberties Should Trump Anti-Terrorism - 65% say anti-terror efforts should not violate liberties (30% are very afraid)
Justice Department Subpoenas Reason.com To Unmask Commenters - BuzzFeed News - The Justice Department made the classic mistake of reading the comments, and now it wants to know the identity of internet commenters who talked about putting a federal judge in a wood chipper.
Congress Didn't Notice the FBI Creating a "Small Air Force" for Surveillance - Excessive executive branch secrecy and the legislature's "oversight" failures

Between Iraq and a hard place President Barack Obama was elected on a promise of extricating the U.S. military from Iraq what he called a "clean break"
060515
Scientists Drop Science Bomb on Climate Skeptics -- NYMag
Making Sense of Climate Science Denial | edX - Climate change is real, so why the controversy and debate? Learn to make sense of the science and to respond to climate change denial.
Walmart Heirs Spending Millions to Undermine Solar Power - The Other 98% - The report finds that the Waltons have provided $4.5 million in funds over the last four years to organizations campaigning against cleane More than six years later, henergy.

Edward Snowden: The World Says No to Surveillance - NYTimes.com
Snowden: balance of power has shifted as people defy government surveillance | US news | The Guardian
US government responds to latest hack: give us more power over data collection | Technology | The Guardian - attack on high-level security clearance agency reignites push by Congressional leaders to hand federal government greater cybersecurity powers (oh, what a coincidence)

Secret 9/11 dossier said to implicate Saudi Arabia in attack | The Australian - Bob Graham, who was chairman of the US Senate Intelligence Committee, at the time, says an inquiry that he led uncovered evidence that the Saudis were the principal financier (of the attacks: there's a deselected fact for you)

Trade agreements like TiSA, TPP and TTIP will sideline national laws, Wikileaks says - Business News - Business - The Independent

Women fleeing ISIS areas throwing their black abayas when reaching safety checkpoints. - Album on Imgur
ISIS is turning US Humvees into Iraq's worst nightmare - Yahoo Finance - More than two-thirds of the Humvees the US supplied to Iraq to fight terrorists have ended up in the hands of Islamic State militants. (good job!)
More than two-thirds of the Humvees the US supplied to Iraq to fight terrorists have ended up in the hands of Islamic State militants : worldnews
Insurgent Offensive Bogs Down After Capturing US Humvees

Saudi-led naval blockade leaves 20m Yemenis facing humanitarian disaster | World news | The Guardian - Aid agencies say embargo imposed by US and UK-backed Arab coalition has had dramatic effect, with almost 80% of population in urgent need of food, water and medical supplies

The Red Cross, Haiti and the 'black hole' of accountability for international aid | World news | The Guardian - Experts said there is virtually no way to monitor how nonprofits operate, nor for governments or disaster victims to hold them accountable for mismanagement

A dark day for Fifa after claims of arms deals for World Cup votes | Football | The Guardian - Reports in Germany reveal Saudi deal in 2006 (where did they get that idea?)
Egypt Confirms Top FIFA Official Demanded Bribe for 2010 World Cup | Egyptian Streets - Former Egyptian Minister of Youth and Sports Aly El Din Helal claims that ex-FIFA Vice President Jack Warner had requested a $7 million bribe from Egypt to allow the 2010 World Cup to be hosted there.

Deutsche Bank probes $6 billion suspected money laundering: source | Reuters - some of its clients in Russia

Greece moves closer to eurozone exit after delaying 300m repayment to IMF | Business | The Guardian - Athens takes creditor by surprise, saying it will bundle together 1.6bn of debt payments due to International Monetary Fund and settle up on 30 June


Robert Reich Still Sees No 'Convincing Explanation' on Hillary Clinton Email - ABC News

U.S. Adds 280,000 Jobs In May; Unemployment Rises To 5.5 Percent
Lone Star Stumble - NYTimes.com - More broadly, conservatives have long held Texas up as a supposed demonstration that low taxes on the rich and harsh treatment of the poor are the keys to prosperity.

Kansas May Furlough 7,000 Workers Due To Revenue Shortfall

Rubios on the Road Have Drawn Unwanted Attention - First Draft. Political News, Now. - NYTimes.com - A review of records dating back to 1997 shows that the couple had a combined 17 citations: Mr. Rubio with four and his wife with 13. On four separate occasions they agreed to attend remedial driving school after a violation.

Sister Of Alleged Dennis Hastert Victim Approached Media In 2006
Sister of another alleged Dennis Hastert abuse victim says FBI questioned her | US news | The Guardian - olene Burdge said she told investigators that her brother, Stephen Reinbolt, said before he died in 1995 that the abuse lasted through all his high school years
Secrets - Lawyers, Guns & Money : According to this ABC story, Dennis Hastert sexually abused Steve Reinbolt, the manager of the high school wrestling team Hastert coached, throughout the four years Reinbolt was a student at Yorkville High School, where Hastert taught between 1965 and 1981

Most Americans Want Their State To Allow The Death Penalty (and starve all the moochers to death, also)

More on Lib-Bro-Tarians
CNN Poll: Rand Paul Not Popular With Republican Women | The New Republic - Rand Paul is polling terribly among women. His political philosophy might be to blame.

TIL a Queen's University Professor was banned from his own class and pushed to an early retirement when he used racial slurs while "he was quoting from books and articles on racism," after complaints were lodged by a TA in Gender Studies and from other students. (see Zizek vid in commnets +Chomsky "manufactured consent")

Cop in fatal wrong-way crash, who had a blood-alcohol content of .24, still on payroll : news

deFederalist - Lawyers, Guns & Money : The Federalist has gone feminist - And they are very concerned that Caitlyn Jenner is bad for feminism.
Rhonda Garelick Also Thinks Caitlyn Jenner Is Bad for Feminism - Lawyers, Guns & Money : She's too femme (thank you, NYT)
Caitlyn Jenner comes out, and social conservatives take an apocalyptic view - The Washington Post
US air force: being transgender is no longer grounds for discharge | US news | The Guardian - Eviction permissible if condition interferes with duties, statement said Pentagon still instructs recruiters to reject applicants with gender dysphoria

Megyn Kelly Interviews the Duggars on Fox News - Like many other suckerinterested Americans, I watched Megyn Kelly's televised Encounter session with Ma and Pa Duggar on Wednesday night ... Pa Duggar made the point that "parents are not mandatory reporters."
Echidne Of The Snakes: The Christian Family. On Megan Kelly Interviewing the Duggars.

Sean Fieler Is Out And Proud About His Anti-Gay Marriage Donations Even As The Country's Opinion Shifts - . He and his wife, Ana Fieler, have also started funding anti-transgender rights efforts across the country.

'Female viagra': FDA panel backs Flibanserin with safety restriction | US news | The Guardian

Emma, J.Law, and Scarlett's Older-Man Problem (nice infographics)

New Look At Pot-Smoking Pygmies Suggests Marijuana Helps Deter Parasites - "Non-human animals often consume plant toxins to kill their own parasites, and we thought maybe humans might be doing the same thing."

Study Uncovers Link Between Blood Type And Risk Of Cognitive Decline - The results, published in the Brain Research Bulletin, show that individuals with an O blood type have more gray matter in the posterior proportion of the cerebellum. In comparison, those with A, B or AB blood types had less gray matter in parts of the brain including the left hippocampus, which deals with the formation of long-term memories.
Cat parasite Toxoplasma gondii linked to mental illness, schizophrenia : science - Actually, contracting it directly from your cats isn't likely, unwashed vegetables and undercooked meat are the most common ways to get it
Toxoplasmosis & Brain Cancer: Cats Don't Give Disease To Owners After All, Study Shows
Congenital toxoplasmosis: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia - Congenital toxoplasmosis is a group of symptoms that occur when an unborn baby (fetus) is infected with the parasite Toxoplasma gondii.
Toxoplasma gondii

Which one quote changed your way of thinking? : AskReddit
MrStevetic comments on ELI5: Australia. Did it really start as a place to exile criminals and lepers and how did it become full of seemingly normal people and not a completely lawless society (larrikin, second chance and fair go)


060415
Possible artifacts of data biases in the recent global surface warming hiatus
Global warming 'pause' didn't happen, study finds | Environment | The Guardian - Reassessment of historical data and methodology by US research body debunks "hiatus" hypothesis used by sceptics to undermine climate science (onward to the apocalypse)
Solar cell sets world record with a stabilized efficiency of 13.6%


New Snowden Documents Reveal Secret Memos Expanding Spying - by Julia Angwin and Jeff Larson, ProPublica, Charlie Savage, New York Times, and Henrik Moltke, special to ProPublica, June 4, 2015, 11:01 a.m.
New Snowden Documents Reveal Obama Administration Expanded NSA Spying | TIME - The Justice Department was looking for evidence of computer hacking schemes

NSA's use of 'back-door searches' against hackers is reformers' next target | US news | The Guardian
House Overwehelmingly Passes Amendments Blocking Funding For Undermining Encryption | Techdirt - from the closing-the-backdoor dept

Chinese breach data of 4 million federal workers - The Washington Post
Federal Government Suffers Massive Hacking Attack - China-based hackers are suspected of breaking into the computer networks of the U.S. government personnel office and stealing identifying information of at least 4 million federal workers, American officials said Thursday

House Lawmakers To Force Debate On Withdrawing U.S. Troops From Iraq And Syria - In a surprise move, a bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced legislation Thursday to force a debate on whether U.S. troops should withdraw from Iraq and Syria in the war against the Islamic State.

Pamela Geller was target of alleged Boston terrorist, police confirm | US news | The Guardian - Usaama Rahim, who police shot dead, later decided to go after the "boys in blue")

In Search Of The Red Cross' $500 Million In Haiti Relief : NPR - The American Red Cross vowed to help Haitians rebuild, but after five years the Red Cross' legacy in Haiti is not new roads, or schools, or hundreds of new homes. It's difficult to know where all the money went.

Former FIFA Vice President Jack Warner Promises 'Avalanche' Of Secrets
They said no force is powerful enough to take down FIFA. They were wrong. : funny


Last Exit Before Chaos - NYTimes.com - odd summer-of-1914 feel to the current state of the Greek crisis

Hillary Clinton Calls For Automatic, Universal Voter Registration
HRC Goes All In On Voting Rights by Ed Kilgore | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - In a much-anticipated speech at an HBCU in Houston, Hillary Clinton today went a good deal farther than Barack Obama has gone in making national voting rights standards a national political issue
Joe Scarborough Ignores History Of Voter Suppression To Claim Improving Voter Access Is A Non-Issue | Research | Media Matters for America (paid big by MSNBC to lie like the fucker he is)

Scott Walker's Real Legacy (it ain't pretty)
Rick Perry Announces He's Running For President In 2016 Because Why The Hell Not (all aboard the clown train)
9 Completely Bonkers Things The Newest GOP Presidential Candidate Believes About The Constitution | ThinkProgress

Shocking new video shows unarmed Utah man was listening to headphones when killed by police [NSFW] : news

Maryland's governor thinks the Purple Line is too expensive, but wants to build a $10 billion maglev. Huh? - Greater Greater Washington - Maryland's governor thinks the Purple Line is too expensive, but wants to build a $10 billion maglev. Huh?

I Can't Even ... Four relatives who cheered their children at a high school graduation in Senatobia, Mississippi, have been served with arrest warrants
Why Were These Black Families Fined $500 For Cheering At A High School Graduation? | ThinkProgress (contact info goes viral)

Duggar Interview: 7 Crucial Facts They Didn't Tell You -- The Cover-Up Continues - In Touch
19 Excuses and Counting: Every Excuse the Duggars Made for Their Son
Michelle Duggar Doubles Down On ClaimsT Mr. Hundal said. hat Transgender People Will Molest Children - When Kelly implied that she had unfairly compared transgender people to child molesters given her son's recent admissions, Michelle doubled down on that stance.

A.I. Expert Sounds Alarm Over 'Killer Robots' - "Despite the limits imposed by physics, one can expect platforms deployed in the millions, the agility and lethality of which will leave humans utterly defenseless. This is not a desirable future."
Hormones: What Boys and Girls are Made of? | NeuWrite San Diego - When baby monkeys were exposed to either dolls or trucks, the males played more with trucks and the females more often reached for the dolls

[Serious] Ex-Cult members of reddit, how did you get involved, and why did you leave? : AskReddit
[Serious] Satanists of Reddit, what are some common misconceptions about Satanism that you would like to set straight? Non-Satanists, what questions do you have about Satanism? : AskReddit (" But every day I think about the things I said to her, the things that I id He said the subsidence could be caused d, and I wonder which of those things was the grain of sand that became the pearl of her death.")
Who can tell me a useless but cool fact? : AskReddit - Elvis never performed an encore.

PayPal responds to Internet fury over its new terms of service:

060315

Edward Snowden and the USA Freedom Act - In which we try to remember where real change comes from.
Terror prosecutors want Edward Snowden's name banned from trial | US news | The Guardian
Back from the dead: US officials to ask secret court to revive NSA surveillance | US news | The Guardian

Boston ISIS 'Social Media Plot' Leaves Many Questions - How did Usaama Rahim end up shot dead in the street?
Secret Aerial FBIP he said, before adding, rogram Uncovered By 23 -Year-Old Journalist + CBS Minnesota

FBII he said, before adding, he said, before adding, s Looking Into Russia And Qatar's World Cup Bids
How a curmudgeonly old reporter exposed the FIFA scandal that toppled Sepp Blatter - The Washington Post - Andrew Jennings

More Than 10,000 Islamic State Militants Killed During 9-Month Campaign, U.S. Says
Terrorism and Civil War: Rebel groups like ISIS who use terrorism almost never achieve their objectives. So why to they keep at it?

Chinese Cruise Ship Capsize Death Toll Rises As Families Demand Answers

How the Red Cross Raised Half a Billion Dollars for Haiti -and Built Six Homes - ProPublica - Even as the group has publicly celebrated its work, insider accounts detail a string of failures


Scott Walker: women only concerned with rape and incest in 'initial months' of pregnancy | US news | The Guardian
Wisconsin Abortion Ban Would Allow Father To Sue For Emotional Distress - regardless of his relationship with the woman having the procedure.
North Carolina approves 72-hour waiting period for abortions | US news | The Guardian

Four People Charged For Cheering At Mississippi High School Graduation - Foster (pictured on the right), who is white, pressed disturbing the peace charges against the attendees

Duggars Say Oldest Son Josh Molested Four Of His Sisters

Irritable Gestures - Freddie daBoer
Good Work, Kipnis Critics: You Made Your Enemy A Martyr -

060215
Twenty-Three Geniuses | KUNSTLER - If there is a Pulitzer Booby Prize for stupidity, waste no time in awarding it to The New York Times
The Population Bomb - Lawyers, Guns & Money
Eschaton: Too Many People, Too Little Planet

Sepp Blatter to resign as Fifa president live updatse plan they still won | Football | The Guardian

Nearing Possible Government Shutdown, Alaska Governor Issues Layoff Notices To 10,000 State Employees - Alaska is facing a $3 billion budget shortfall, worsened by a global oil price plunge, and lawmakers have been fighting for more than four months over how to fund day-to-day operations.

How your eyes betray your thoughts | Science | The Guardian - A series of recent studies suggest that eye movements may both reflect and influence the workings of the brain

060115
UN Climate Deal

US surveillance reform: what has happened and what happens next? | US news | The Guardian - Is the Patriot Act gone forever? What exactly is the USA Freedom Act? Can the government still monitor terrorist groups? HereÂ’s what you need to know
Daniel Ellsberg credits Edward Snowden with catalysing US surveillance reform | US news | The Guardian - Prominent US whistleblowers applaud SnowdenÂ’s Patriot Act revelation for inciting Congress to take action, though they doubt he can ever return to the US
The Elephant InT she said. he Room: Senators Finally Credit Edward Snowden For Role In Patriot Act Reforms - “Because of Edward Snowden, there’s a perception -- which is not true -- but there’s a perception that we’re invading people’s privacy,” Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), explained last month.

Ship With 457 People Reported Sunk in ChinaÂ’s Yangtze - NYTimes.com

Sepp BlatterÂ’s Top FIFA Deputy Is Said to Have Transferred Money Central to Bribery Case - NYTimes.com ("I know nothing")

That 1914 Feeling - NYTimes.com - A forced Greek exit from the euro would create huge economic and political risks, yet Europe seems to be sleepwalking toward that outcome. So Mr. Lew was doing his best to deliver a wake-up call. (austerity failed but we blunder on)


The Uncomfortable Truth About The Political Nature Of Fox News | Blog | Media Matters for America - It's Not "Entertainment," It's The Engine Driving The GOP Agenda

The Court and Online Threats - NYTimes.com - If you post violent thoughts about someone on Facebook, does it matter what you intended to convey when you wrote the words?

Banks Behind Hillary Clinton's Canadian Speeches Really Want The Keystone Pipeline
Challenging Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders Gains Momentum in Iowa - NYTimes.com

How Virginia paid more than $250 million for a road that never got built - The Washington Post - public-private partnership deals, a sharp shift in tone in a state that has for 20 years been a national leader in pushing such projects.


Surviving Child Sexual Abuse - NYTimes.com

Caitlyn Jenner, Formerly Bruce, Introduces Herself in Vanity Fair - NYTimes.com
'Call me Caitlyn': Jenner owns her identity in Vanity Fair interview | Television & radio | The Guardian - After months of speculation, the Olympic gold medalist reveals details of surgery and how life has changed. ‘Bruce always had to tell a lie’ - “I have high hopes that Caitlyn is a better person than Bruce. I’m very much looking forward to that,” said Jenner’s eldest son, Burt.


A Bad Voting Ban in Maryland - NYTimes.com - What is the logic behind state laws that deny the vote to people who have been convicted of a felony, even after they are released from prison? The short and easy answer is: there isnÂ’t any (voter suppression of non-Republicans cannot be stated)

The Counted: people killed by police in the United States in 2015 – interactive | US news | The Guardian
Black Americans killed by police twice as likely to be unarmed as white people | US news | The Guardian - Guardian analysis finds 102 people killed by police so far this year were unarmed, and that agencies are killing people at twice the rate calculated by US government
William Chapman: unarmed 18-year-old shot dead by officer who killed before | US news | The Guardian - Black teenager accused of shoplifting at Walmart killed in April by white officer Stephen Rankin, who had been suspended for shooting another unarmed man - Rankin, 35, a US navy veteran trained in martial arts, was once disciplined for posting violent remarks and Nazi images online.
Texas lawmakers approve bill to allow guns on college campuses | US news | The Guardian - The billÂ’s success after a surprise vote minutes before a midnight deadline shocked anti-gun advocates. The governor is expected pass it into law
Vince Vaughn: guns in schools will prevent mass shootings | Film | The Guardian - “We don’t have the right to bear arms because of burglars,” he said. “We have the right to bear arms to resist the supreme power of a corrupt and abusive government." (they really think this way)


Dinosaurs May Have Been Warm-Blooded After All - But now a new paper -- essentially a reanalysis of a 2014 study putting forth the mesothermy theory -- argue s Santorum added. that dinosaurs' metabolisms and growth rates were strikingly similar to those of modern-day mammals. In other words, they were warm-blooded after all.
Yes! Acquiring 'Perfect' Pitch Is Possible For Some Adults, Scientists Say
Hacking The Nervous System

What was momentarily the highest-voted article on /r/Feminism's frontpage has just been deleted, and I've been banned for my trouble : undelete

Lost a month in here ... stupid emacs
042215
Conservative Republicans Alone on Global Warming's Timing - Conservative Republicans not only decisively reject the notion that the effects of global warming will happen in this lifetime -- a position in sharp contrast to all other political identities -- but another 40% say global warming will never happen (the Death Caucus)
Obama in the Everglades to raise alarm on climate change | US news | The Guardian - US president expected to mark Earth Day 2015 by visiting Florida national park amid attack by climate-change skeptic Republican governor Rick Scott

Gamma International Leaked : Anarchism - And that's the end of the story until a couple days ago when I hacked in and made off with 40GB of data from Gamma's networks. I have hard proof they knew they were selling (and still are) to people using their software to attack Bahraini activists, along with a whole lot of other stuff in that 40GB (the Internets strike back against totalitarian surveillance, but media doesn't notice)
Features & Pricing - Feral Hosting

'Unrepentant' Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Gave Middle Finger To Police Security Camera
The Fatal Bird: How Dzhokhar Tsarnaev May Have Arranged His Own Death - U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz and her prosecutors really want to arrange to kill Dzhokhar Tsarnaev

NSA surveillance needed to prevent Isis attack, claims former intelligence chair | US news | The Guardian - Mike Rogers, former chairman of the House intelligence committee, says the NSA needs to preserve its wide powers in case of an attack on US homeland ("homeland")
European Rights Body Again Rejects Mass Surveillance | TechCrunch

IS group is 'Russia's greatest enemy', not US, says Lavrov - Yahoo News

Krautmas came two weeks early this year — Crooked Timber - Today is Charles Krauthammer day, the twelfth anniversary of the day when Charles Krauthammer opined: "Hans Blix had five months to find weapons. He found nothing. We’ve had five weeks. Come back to me in five months. If we haven’t found any, we will have a credibility problem." (and he's still on your electric teevee)
Ben Bradlee’s Not Such ‘A Good Life’ | Consortiumnews - Washington Post’s editor Ben Bradlee, whose memoir was entitled “A Good Life,” is remembered by many as a tough-talking, street-smart journalist. But that reputation was more image than truth as the real Bradlee was an Establishment insider who knew which secrets to keep,

ELI5: The Armenian Genocide. : explainlikeimfive

Nigerian Forces Invade Sambisa Forest, The Last Known Stronghold Of Boko Haram - Buhari also said he would do everything possible to rescue the Chibok girls, but could not promise to find them

French Police Foil 'Imminent' Attack On Churches, Officials Say - French police are holding a heavily armed man they suspected of planning an imminent armed attack on one or two churches in France, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said on Wednesday.

Pepf comments on India's government has asked YouTube to remove all links to a controversial documentary about the gang rape and murder of a woman in Delhi after banning its broadcast. (the Internets strike back against India's dumb censorship)

Mistaken identity: girl pulled screaming from Mexican school and sent to Texas | World news | The Guardian - DNA tests prove Alondra Luna Núñez, 14, is not woman’s daughter - Dorotea García claimed girl had been taken by her father years ago - Video of police seizing Alondra Luna Núñez, who can be heard screaming ‘I am not your daughter!’ (like they couldn't do the DNA test in MX)

Drone 'containing radiation' lands on roof of Japanese PM's office | World news | The Guardian - Traces of radiation reportedly detected on drone carrying camera and bottle with unidentified contents

Most migrants crossing Mediterranean will be sent back, EU leaders to agree | World news | The Guardian - Confidential draft from summit reveals that only 5,000 migrants will be allowed to resettle in Europe with at least 150,000 likely to be repatriated

'Land of rape and honey': Canada town reconsiders slogan after 55 years | World news | The Guardian - While many Tisdale residents take pride in town’s abundant rapeseed crop, officials wonder if motto could be interpreted as ‘insensitive’

The Supreme Court Just Made It Easier For People To Sue The Government - by ruling in favor of plaintiffs in two separate cases including one involving a Hong Kong woman who was strip-searched while in immigration detention in Oregon. (contra Obama)
‘Killing Jews is Worship’ posters will soon appear on NYC subways and buses - The Washington Post - Making the case all the stranger is that the posters are not the work of an Islamist group, but rather a pro-Israel organization.

The Chamber Of Commerce Is Fighting Fiercely To Stop The Scourge Of Corporate Transparency (dark money strikes back)

$70,000 promise brings flood of new clients and job applicants - Apr. 20, 2015

The Age Factor in 2016 by Ed Kilgore | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - speculation that Republicans can take advantage of HRC’s relatively advanced age (she would be, if elected, the second-oldest president, less than a year behind Ronald Reagan): the older major-party candidate has won 23 of the 40 presidential contests in that time ... (As an aside, if Jeb Bush faces Hillary Clinton, he’d be the first Bush seeking to win as the younger candidate!)
Rick Scott And Florida Republicans Are Throwing An Anti-Obamacare Tantrum
The Vacuous Cynicism of Florida Republicans Who Oppose the Medicaid Expansion - Lawyers, Guns & Money :

Hidden cameras show airport workers stealing from bags - CNN.com

Senate passes trafficking bill 99-0, ending long abortion fight | TheHill - The Senate on Wednesday passed legislation aimed at curbing human trafficking, ending a monthlong fight over abortion that bitterly divided the parties and held up attorney general nominee Loretta Lynch.

Pa. to eliminate asset test for food stamps - The controversial test, initiated by then-Gov. Tom Corbett in 2012, ties federal food-stamp benefits - now known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP - to people's bank accounts and car ownership. Corbett saw the test as a way to cut down on fraud and waste (and luxury cruises!)
Here's Some Leftover Stupid For Brunch - In which we discover that Rick Santorum lives in a state of conundrum. (literally +Because you can't have oxymorons without actual morons.)

Republicans in knots over gay marriage ahead of supreme court decision | US news | The Guardian - Republicans face a dilemma amid soaring public support for gay marriage: how to give tacit approval with one hand, but deny legislative approval with the other
Eureka Springs pastor in Repeal 2223 video is a convicted serial rapist | Arkansas Blog | Arkansas news, politics, opinion, restaurants, music, movies and art - The Arkansas Times has confirmed that a Baptist preacher in Eureka Springs who features prominently in a new video urging repeal of the city's Ordinance 2223, which protects LGBT people from discrimination, pleaded guilty to a series of violent rapes in Oklahoma in 1977.

White House Correspondents Association Spends More On Its Director's Salary Than On Scholarships - the association's executive director, Julia Whiston, earns $141,685 a year, while it spends $131,550 in grants and other program services (inside the beltway)

Freddie Gray in Baltimore: Another City, Another Death in the Public Eye - NYTimes.com - In Baltimore, police-community tensions date at least to 2005, when the Police Department, following a practice known as “zero-tolerance policing” made more than 100,000 arrests in a heavily African-American city of then roughly 640,000 people.
New Allegations Surface Against Reserve Deputy Who Fatally Shot Black Man - A 2009 internal review obtained by CBS News and publicized on Wednesday showed that superiors believed Bates received preferential treatment by the department. Bates, who became a reserve deputy in 2007, allegedly stopped drivers without authorization and reacted indignantly when confronted by co-workers in the deputy's office. (Deputy Dog was a loooose cannon)
A US Marshal Smashed a Woman's Phone Because She Was Filming Him in Public | VICE | United States
Woman Plans Civil Rights Lawsuit After Federal Officer Snatches Cellphone | NBC Southern California
Woman who was assaulted by Marshall for recording altercation plans lawsuit. : news
AsAm News | Guardian: Ex-Officer Enters Not Guilty Plea in Beating of Indian Grandfather
Thirty years in jail for a single hair: the FBI's 'mass disaster' of false conviction | US news | The Guardian - A ‘dirty bomb’ of pseudo-science wrapped up nearly 268 cases – perhaps hundreds more. Now begins the ‘herculean effort to right the wrongs’
Down and out in Beverly Hills, Missouri: the tiny town that runs on police tickets | US news | The Guardian - With almost no industry and a minuscule tax base, what makes civic initiatives possible in Beverly Hills is also what denies many their freedom: tickets. It’s been compared to nearby Ferguson, but town officials say that’s not fair
Frustrated man charged by police after shooting his uncooperative computer | US news | The Guardian - Colorado man Lucas Hinch cited for discharging a firearm within city limits after shooting his computer eight times in an alleyway ... “He took the computer into the back alley and fired eight shots into the computer with a handgun, effectively disabling it.”
Capitol Police: Lawmaker's AR-15 allowed | TheHill - A Republican lawmaker is allowed to have an AR-15 in his office as long as it isn't loaded, the U.S. Capitol Police said Tuesday after a photo of the rifle caught the attention of law enforcement officials in Washington, D.C
Pregnant Popeyes worker fired after armed robbery - A fast food restaurant is robbed and the shift manager says she got fired for refusing to pay the money back.

Pregnant restaurant worker fired after armed robbery after she refused to pay back money stolen : news
Obama is Infecting Christians with Ebola To Destroy Jesus and Start A New Age of Liberal Darkness • ChristWire
Former Border Patrol Head: U.S. Side Of Border Is Safer Than Washington - The border cities of El Paso, Texas, and San Diego, Calif., have in recent years routinely ranked two of the safest large cities in the United States, according to figures compiled by Congressional Quarterly.

Journalism in the New Gilded Age - Lawyers, Guns & Money : he admitted to a twinge of regret at no longer being a journalist, but he said it was too difficult to make ends meet at the newspaper while renting in the LA area. (how to get rid of pesky journalism)
Dog Bites Man (But the Details are Worth Reading About) - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Lawyers, Guns & Money - This current iteration finds that that 47% of Ph.D. students are depressed, and among the Ph.D. students, the highest rate of depression — 64% — was in the arts and humanities. These numbers are even more striking because they are current prevalence rates, not prevalence rates over the whole duration of their grad school tenure.

Neighbors of free-range kids: What do you do when you see a kid alone? - If your children are out and unsupervised, it’s reasonable to assume that other parents may intervene in ways you think unnecessary.

[ + - ] Author Affiliations
California vaccination bill likely to move ahead after amendment added | US news | The Guardian - The first change allows home-schooled children to avoid vaccinations even if they are not members of the same household or family, a stipulation in the previous version of the bill. A second amendment adds an “exemption for students who are enrolled in an independent study program”, according to a committee report on the bill.
c4sanmiguel comments on Measles Vaccine Still Doesn’t Cause Autism -- A massive study of 95,000 children finds no link between MMR vaccines and autism spectrum disorders
Cannabis consumers show greater susceptibility to false memories | EurekAlert! Science News - The chronic use of cannabis can accentuate age-related memory problems.
Dr. Oz to critics: My show and I 'will not be silenced' - Apr. 21, 2015 ("my religious freedom to be a quack!")
'None of it’s true': wellness blogger Belle Gibson admits she never had cancer | Australia news | The Guardian - Gibson, who built a wellness empire on the back of claims she cured terminal brain cancer through diet and lifestyle, has admitted deceiving her followers - She refused to show journalists medical records or any proof to back her claims that by shunning conventional medicine, her brain cancer had been kept in check.
Surgeon Finds 'Embryonic Twin' Inside Woman's Brain: Report - In 2009, The Telegraph reported that Gavin Hyatt, a 30-year-old plumber in England, stunned doctors when his abdomen suddenly ruptured, causing the remains of his embryonic twin to spill out. “It was like something from [the movie] 'Alien,'” his doctor, Joe Santos, told The Sun at the time.
This Study About Early Human Cannibalism Is So Awesomely Gross | Motherboard - Some 14,700 years ago, in a cave in southwest England, humans were dining on the flesh of other humans and drinking from their skulls. (ancestors of the Koch Bros)
I found out recently that the sun is not still, it is moving away from other stars. Is it fair to say nothing is standing still, or have scientists decided on a 'default' place that is 'standing still' so at least we can measure galactic speed against that? : askscience
Study: Anti-abortion views linked to sexist attitudes towards women - PsyPost - The study also confirmed its main hypothesis: that sexist attitudes were correlated to anti-abortion views. As individuals increasingly endorsed either hostile or benevolent forms of sexism, they also tended to increasingly endorse anti-abortion views

U-Va. Associate Dean Nicole Eramo blasts Rolling Stone in open letter - The Washington Post

Carson City Council Bypasses Public Vote, Approves $1.7 Billion Stadium

Original 'X-Men' Character Iceman Comes Out As Gay
An Oral History Of ‘Mad Men’ | ClickHole

Transgender teen wins right to wear makeup in South Carolina license photo | US news | The Guardian - Chase Culpepper, 16, was forced to remove her everyday makeup after DMV employees said she could not ‘misrepresent her identity’ on driver’s license

New Orleans Bars Issue Last Call for Smoking - NYTimes.com
Robert Downey Jr walks out of Avengers interview as questions get personal | Film | The Guardian - After being queried on politics and drugs, film star smiles and waves goodbye to UK Channel 4’s Krishnan Guru-Murthy: ‘It’s getting a little Diane Sawyer in here’
This was coming out of my neighbors window yesterday. : funny
Russia to close 40% of universities by the end of 2016 : worldnews - Just how big is the ~$650 billion the US Government will likely earn in interest on student loans over the next ten years? It's greater than the total profit of Walmart, Coca-Cola and McDonalds combined over the last 50 years.
For girls, what was your reaction for seeing a penis for the first time? For guys, what was your reaction for seeing a vagina for the first time? : AskReddit
The Great Escape : funny (the multimedia is the message)
Crow trolling the cat : videos
My friends sister is an elementary school teacher. She caught a 5th grade girl with this today. : WTF
[NSFW] What is the absolute worst relationship advice you can give in 5 words or less? : AskReddit
ELI5: How does the Wayback Machine store so much data? : explainlikeimfive

LED Bulbs Are Now Two for $5—Officially Too Cheap to Ignore | WIRED - It’s cheaper, in fact, than a two-pack of GE incandescent 60w bulbs that are roughly as bright and that last about one-tenth as long. Another fun point of comparison? The new Philips 60w has an estimated yearly energy cost of just $1.02, versus $7.23 for those same GE bulbs.
Report: Google Wireless cellular announcement is imminent | Ars Technica - Google's hybrid T-Mobile/Sprint/Wi-Fi cell service is reportedly coming April 22.
Wi-Fi hack creates 'no iOS zone' that cripples iPhones and iPads : technology
Networking flaw opens millions of iOS app users to data theft | Technology | The Guardian - Bug in open-source codebase found its way into at least 1,000 apps, leaving millions of users open to man-in-the-middle attacks
The Bot Bubble: Click Farms Have Inflated Social Media Currency | The New Republic
AdBlock Plus defeats German publishers in court - BBC News - The creator of software that stops adverts from appearing on websites has defeated two news publishers that want to prevent its tech being used on their pages. (no, you idiots, we're using it on OUR computers)

042115
Eschaton: Explanatory thread - Thus the American dream turned belly up, turned green, bobbed to the scummy surface of cupidity unlimited, filled with gas, went bang in the noonday sun.” - ? Kurt Vonnegut, God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, 1965
What would happen if 9/11 was proven to be a conspiracy by the U.S. Gov, and the public found out? : AskReddit

International Poll Shows Millennials Have Positive Opinion of Edward Snowden | American Civil Liberties Union - The American Civil Liberties Union today released the results of an international poll showing that majorities of millennials familiar with Edward Snowden around the world have an overwhelmingly positive opinion of him and believe that his disclosures will lead to greater privacy protections.

Experts: Powering your home with batteries is going to get cheaper and cheaper - The Washington Post
Outage hits pumps at Fukushima plant; toxic water leaks into ocean | The Japan Times - Tokyo Electric Power Co. on Tuesday reported that a power outage has shut down all eight water transfer pumps at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power station and that radioactive water is again leaking into the Pacific Ocean.

Isis leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi 'seriously wounded in air strike' | World news | The Guardian - Baghdadi no longer in day-to-day control of terror group as he recovers from injuries sustained during attack in March, according to sources
Isis leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi 'seriously wounded in air strike' : worldnews
'It's God's gift.' Isis fills coffers with Iraqi government cash | World news | The Guardian - Islamic State is growing rich by seizing government wages and ‘taxing’ businesses in the parts of Iraq and Syria it controls, according to a BBC investigation

Austria Recognizes Armenian Genocide - Armenian Weekly (Turkey has another fit)

Mexican cartel hitwoman 'La Flaca' found dismembered, stuffed in cooler - San Antonio Express-News

Economists have discovered how bad the economy really is - The Washington Post - Now if you add it all up, this shadow unemployment means our jobs hole is more than three times as big as it looks. (swept under Obama's rug)

The Day Political Journalism Died And The People Who Killed It - Got that? The book has credibility because the New York Times cut a deal with the author. Because of this, the author, and his curious resume, are washed in the blood of the Lamb. (It's God's own little joke that Judy Miller's out there shilling for her longform alibi at the same time that her old employers are touting this unique "arrangement.)

Scott Walker Tacks Far Right On Immigration - Republicans often rail about undocumented immigrants. But Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, an expected GOP presidential candidate, took it a step further Monday by sounding some critical notes about the number of those who immigrate to the U.S. legally.
Kansas lawmakers want the poor to pay for tax cuts for the rich - The Washington Post - It didn't work. Kansas's economy has kept expanding at more or less same plodding pace as the rest of the country. And now, according to official estimates released Monday, the state will have at least a $143 million budget shortfall in 2016, and likely more. Lawmakers are looking for a way to plug the hole.

The Core of Opposition to the ACA Is People Who Already Have Government-Provided Health Insurance - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Only a third of the country supports full repeal, and, like the Republican coalition itself, it is a very old third—comprised of the only people in the country with almost no stake in the law’s core costs and benefits. (selfish white geezers who already had government help pissing down)

Areas with Large Black Populations Have the Smallest Shares of Black Men - NYTimes.com - State by state, the largest disparities are evident in Alabama, New York, Illinois, Mississippi and Georgia: In each state there are fewer than 78 prime-age African-American men living in households for each 100 black women.
As Cities Raise Their Minimum Wage, Where's the Economic Collapse the Right Predicted? | Mother Jones

NRA may have systemically broken political spending law – report | US news | The Guardian - Gun rights organization allegedly ‘mixing’ corporate funds with Pac funds and solicitations, among other possible violations, report says

Language barrier turned hospital into prison / LJWorld.com - Mexican Indian who spoke rare dialect held for 12 years in Kansas mental institution (Kansas)

Supreme Court: Cops can’t hold suspects to wait for drug-sniffing dog | TheHill - The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on Tuesday that the Constitution forbids police from holding a suspect without probable cause, even for fewer than 10 extra minutes.
Baltimore officer suspended in Freddie Gray case accused of domestic violence | US news | The Guardian - Lieutenant Brian Rice, who led initial chase of man who died with a broken neck after his arrest, faced civil actions in Maryland courts in 2008 and 2013
U.S. marshal caught destroying camera of woman recording police
U.S. marshal caught destroying camera of woman recording police : news
Filming police officers? Not in this country. : gifs
A Judge Just Let A Cop Walk After A Deadly Shooting. Legal Experts Say The Reasoning Is 'Incredible.' | ThinkProgress
Judge acquits Chicago cop in fatal off-duty shooting, sparking anger - Chicago Tribune
Judge throws out charges against off duty cop that fired into an unarmed crowd, killing a woman, because the prosecutor accidentally charged the cop with the wrong crime. : news
Charges against Floyd Dent dismissed; Ex-Inkster officer charged with assault | News - Home - Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy announced Monday that now-former Inkster police officer William Melendez has been charged with one count of assault to do great bodily harm after the beating of Floyd Dent in a January arrest.
Skip Child Support. Go to Jail. Lose Job. Repeat. - NYTimes.com - “Every job he has had, he has gotten fired from because he went to jail because he was locked up for child support,” said Mr. Scott, whose brother was working as a forklift operator when he died. “He got to the point where he felt like it defeated the purpose.”

Bathroom Police Could Collect $4,000 Bounty Under New California Ballot Initiative | ThinkProgress - Anybody “whose privacy was actually violated” — presumably just by seeing a perceived-transgender person in the bathroom — or who decided not to use a bathroom because there was a perceived-transgender person inside would find relief under this claim. In other words, the law would place a bounty on transgender bathroom usage.

Study of 95,000 children finds no link between MMR vaccines and autism, even within high-risk populations : science
Mindfulness as effective as pills for treating recurrent depression - study | Society | The Guardian - Medical best practice is for people with history of depression to take antidepressants for two years – but cognitive therapy may be equally effective
Does "having girls" or "having boys" run genetically? : askscience
Charted: How history’s most creative people organized their days - The Washington Post

Frustration and Polarization Among Political Scientists by Ed Kilgore | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - As Azari notes, some of these arguments have to do with differences of opinion on human nature—but I’d suggest they extend to the human nature of political scientists as well, who sometimes over-compensate for being insufficiently listened to by doing exactly what frustrated people often do: exaggerating.
What Political Scientists Can't Get You to Believe - Bloomberg View
The Roots of Political Science Frustration | The Mischiefs of Faction

College student found guilty of non-consensual sexual conduct with former partner because "he sometimes awoke the accuser with a kiss" while in the relationship. : news

Peering Through the Haze - NYTimes.com - That is a 25 percent drop in a year, a nearly 42 percent drop since 2011—and the first time that teen smoking in America has ever hit single digits. That sure sounds like big news to me.

Drone runs out of battery over beach, owner catches it just above the water : videos


042015
China Adds Solar Power the Size of France in First Quarter - Bloomberg Business - China’s solar installations in the first quarter were almost equal to France’s entire supply of power from the sun.
The California town with no water: even an 'angel' can't stop the wells going dry | US news | The Guardian - East Porterville is the epicenter of suffering in drought-stricken California: with private wells dried up, people are leeching water from neighbors’ hoses, reporting those who water their lawns, and relying on bottled water for basic living. ‘There’s so many straws in the glass that sooner or later it’s going empty’

EU to launch military operations against migrant-smugglers in Libya | World news | The Guardian - Emergency meeting in Luxembourg also results in decision to boost maritime patrols in Mediterranean and broaden search-and-rescue mandate

Yemen conflict: air strikes on rebel arms depot kill 19 as US warship approaches | World news | The Guardian - Saudi-led attack on Iran-backed Houthi rebels cause explosions in Sana’ - USS Theodore Roosevelt to help intercept Iranian ships carrying weapons
ISIS, Taliban announced Jihad against each other - Khaama Press (KP) | Afghan News Agency
ISIS, Taliban announced Jihad against each other - Khaama Press (KP) : worldnews

Despite Victory, Netanyahu Is Struggling To Form Coalition - But after weeks of negotiations with potential partners, Netanyahu is finding the task harder than expected and is flirting with the idea of reaching out to his main dovish rivals to form a unity government. As he decides which path to take, he will seek an additional two-week extension to put his coalition together.

US journalist Jason Rezaian charged with espionage in Iran | World news | The Guardian - Charges against Washington Post reporter made public nearly nine months after his arrest, and include ‘propaganda against the establishment’ (otherwise known as "reporting")

Terror Arrests In Minneapolis, San Diego Made In Connection With Youth Allegedly Planning To Fight In Syria - Six people have been arrested in connection with a terrorism investigation in Minnesota, where authorities have been tracking youths who have traveled or tried to travel to Syria to fight with militants, including the Islamic State group, authorities said.

Hullabaloo - Yet another terrifying lesson in the perils of blowback - He was not really a religious fanatic at all. He was a top strategic thinker in Saddam Hussein's military. And he didn't plan to create an Islamic State per se, but rather a totalitarian state in the mode of East Germany using religion as the ostensible motivation and cover. (Bush/Cheney)
Boys in the Bubble - NYTimes.com - Imperial Life In The Emerald City - Inside Iraq's Green Zone. (2006)

Germany Plans to Recognize Armenian Massacre in 1915 as Genocide - Bloomberg Business

Mexican Federal Police Allegedly Killed 16 Unarmed People In January: Reports - in two separate attacks in January, appearing to contradict an account by the federal government that the deaths could have been caused by friendly fire.

The Ivy League’s favorite war criminal: Why the atrocities of Henry Kissinger should be mandatory reading - Salon.com - In an appearance at Yale last week, the Nixon official's horrific record was casually glossed over. But why?
When Bolivia Tried to Murder a US Folk Legend | Blogs | teleSUR - Phil Ochs had said that if a revolution were ever to be possible in the United States, it would require Elvis Presley to become Che Guevara ("Bolivia" = "CIA)

FBI agent testifies in Broadwell cyberstalking case - CNN.com - The FBI special agent who brought the David Petraeus-Paula Broadwell cyberstalking case to the attention of law enforcement recently testified that the FBI handled the case under political pressure because of the 2012 presidential election, "marginalizing" and making crude insinuations about the victim in the case, Jill Kelley, whom they cast as "some femme fatale."

Hair Of The Dogs: When The FBI Goes Bad - Dookhan fudged about 60,000 drug samples involving something like 3400 defendants. Over the weekend, we discovered that, compared to your Federal Bureau of Investigation, Annie Dookhan was a piker ... Essentially, though, no matter how many of these mistakes were made in good faith, the impulse in the country's law-enforcement culture has become poisoned at almost every level, and throughout almost every institution, by the fear-laden law-and-order Id to which too many people appeal in order to get elected, and of which the completely moronic "war" on drugs is only the most garish symptom

Views of Supreme Court Little Changed as Major Rulings Loom | Pew Research Center for the People and the Press - Currently, half of Americans (50%) have a favorable opinion of the Supreme Court, while 39% say they have an unfavorable view - A majority of liberal Democrats (56%) say the court is conservative; just 12% of conservative Republicans say the same. Nearly half of conservative Republicans (48%) see the court as liberal, compared with 8% of liberal Democrats. About four-in-ten conservative Republicans (38%) and 31% of liberal Democrats say the court is middle of the road.


Ruth Marcus, Budget Deficits, and the Meaning of "Whopping" | Beat the Press - It is also worth noting that if Ruth Marcus and the Washington Post are really concerned about budget deficits then they could support more expansionary policy from the Fed (Fred and Ruth telling you like it isn't)

With Obama nominees, GOP Senate moves slowly - POLITICO - The GOP slow-walks Obama’s nominees in the wake of changes to filibuster rules. (John McCain is a very angry man)

New York Times, Washington Post, Fox News strike deals for anti-Clinton research - POLITICO.com - The New York Times, The Washington Post and Fox News have made exclusive agreements with a conservative author for early access to his opposition research on Hillary Clinton, a move that has confounded members of the Clinton campaign and some reporters
Maureen Dowd's Advice For Hillary Clinton Is Full Of Sexist Tropes | Blog | Media Matters for America - The New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd advised Hillary Clinton "how to campaign as a woman," using a series of sexist tropes in-line with her more than twenty years of gendered attacks on the former secretary of state. "Let's hope that the hokey Chipotle Granny will give way to the cool Tumblr Chick" - of 195 of Dowd's columns written during her tenure at the Times, 72 percent painted Clinton in a negative light. In those columns, Dowd repeatedly accused Clinton of being an enemy to or betraying feminism (35 columns, 18 percent of those studied), power-hungry (51 columns, 26 percent), unlikeable (9 columns, 5 percent), or phony (34 columns, 17 percent). (Dowd is a terrible person)
The Many Wars Of Fred Hiatt: The Unique History Of One Man's Mongering - In which we learn that Fred Hiatt misses wars that never happened, and forgets one that did. (thanks, Bezos)


Republicans who limit what medical students can learn doom us to stupid doctors | Comment is free | The Guardian - Some legislators want to keep women from having abortions by prohibiting anyone from teaching doctors how to perform one - A North Carolina bill introduced this month would prevent state medical school departments from allowing employees to perform abortions or to “supervise the performance of an abortion” (Republicans consider outlawing "math" ... from the state that outlawed "sea" and "level")
Polls Have Been Misleading You About What Americans Actually Believe About Abortion | ThinkProgress - A large majority of respondents — at least 69 percent — said “yes” for each of those descriptors, suggesting there’s consensus about how Americans want women to be treated after they choose to seek an abortion.

1.5 Million Missing Black Men - NYTimes.com - For every 100 black women not in jail, there are only 83 black men. The remaining men – 1.5 million of them – are, in a sense, missing. (the Confederacy but also cities and most of East Coast)

Baltimore Launches Criminal Probe Into Death Of Man Injured In Police Custody - "What we know is that while in police custody for committing no crime, for which they had no justification for making an arrest except that there was a black man running, his spine was virtually severed, 80 percent severed in the neck area, and he died of those injuries," Murphy said.
Freddie Gray died after 'medical emergency' inside Baltimore police van | US news | The Guardian - Baltimore man arrested ‘without incident’ died with broken neck a week after being hospitalised because of something that happened while being transported ("something" = "murder by cops") (comments: "Cops conduct over 80,000 SWAT raids every year, mostly against minorities. By contrast, the US military conducts 6000 night raids a year in Afghanistan."
Whistleblower officer files lawsuit against Batts, BPD - Baltimore Sun - A former Baltimore police officer who blew the whistle on misconduct is suing the agency and its commissioner, alleging that they failed to protect him from retaliation. (and then more innocent people died)
Police, Officials Resign After Small Missouri Town Elects First Black Female Mayor - Some Parma residents say they aren't worried about safety now that the police force has shrunk. "I think it's pretty dirty they all quit without giving her a chance," resident Martha Miller told KFVS. "But I don't think they hurt the town any by quitting, because who needs six police for 740 people." (37 yrs of corruption by former mayor will be revealed)
Eric Harris shooting: Tulsa sheriff admits training documents missing for deputy | US news | The Guardian - Sheriff responsible for program in which a reserve officer shot and killed an unarmed man says he does not believe training records were falsified (but it's hard to tell since we "lost" them)
Detroit-area police officer charged with assault of black man at traffic stop | US news | The Guardian - Recently fired officer William Melendez punched Floyd Dent until bloodied - Charges against Dent for drugs and resisting police were dropped
Alabama police shoot woman after she shot home invader | US news | The Guardian - Woman’s estranged husband, police spokesman says - Officer opened fire when woman did not drop her shotgun when asked
Courtroom erupts after CPD detective found not guilty in fatal shooting of unarmed woman | Chicago - Cook County Judge Dennis Porter stared out across his packed courtroom Monday and offered a warning to anyone prone to emotional outbursts: “It might be a good time to leave right now.” No one moved. (the "gun" was a "cellphone")

The Cornel West-Michael Eric Dyson feud is petty. Black people are dying in the streets | Comment is free | The Guardian - As if on cue, Michael Eric Dyson, of Georgetown University, published a searing take-down of Cornel West, formerly of Harvard and Princeton and now at New York’s Theological Seminary, in The New Republic on Sunday bemoaning West’s “dramatic plummet from his perch as a world-class intellectual”.
Cornel West's Rise and Fall by Michael Eric Dyson | The New Republic - President Obama betrayed him. He’s stopped publishing new work. He’s alienated his closest friends and allies. What happened to America’s most exciting black scholar?
You Thought You Loved Monsanto Before? - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Monsanto. Everyone’s favorite chemical corporation. This is the first national advertisement ever placed by Monsanto, a 1939 campaign in Fortune. (racist much?)
What Did the Three-Fifths Compromise Actually Do? – Tropics of Meta - But if slaves were counted at this ratio for representation, how were they counted in terms of taxation? In other words, what taxes were ever levied on the basis of the three-fifths compromise?
What Robocop Tells Us about the Neoliberal City, Then and Now – Tropics of Meta - Ultimately, the original RoboCop offers an insightful and scarily prophetic take on the pitfalls of neoliberal urban governance
Baltimore police have used secret cellphone interceptors more than 25,000 times | The Verge - It's a massive number, representing an average of nearly nine uses a day for eight years (the BPD acquired the technology in 2007), and it doesn't include any emergency uses of the device, which would have proceeded without a court order. The agency had previously said they used the device only 4,300 times over that period.

It’s A Question Of ‘Character’ | On Point with Tom Ashbrook (Moral Guidance from David Brooks)

Sex And The Pity: A Case That Never Should Have Seen A Courtroom - I am much the same way about stories concerning Alzheimer's Disease, having long had a particularly nasty dog in that fight. That's how I came to learn about this tragic -- and, frankly, horrific -- case being played out in an Iowa courtroom. Someone on CNN said "Alzheimer's," and my body went to DefCon2 ... The fact is that this never should have gotten within 50 miles of a criminal courtroom.

You know where your tampon goes. It's time you know what goes into it, too | Comment is free | The Guardian - Millions of women will each use more than 16,800 tampons over the course of their lives. We have no data to tell us if that’s unequivocally safe
Poll: Would Americans vote for a presidential candidate who smoked pot? - CBS News - Fifty-three percent of Americans now say the use of marijuana should be legal, an all-time high in CBS News polling; 43 percent think it should not be legal.

Oldest fossils controversy resolved -- ScienceDaily - New analysis of world-famous 3.46-billion-year-old rocks is set to finally resolve a long running evolutionary controversy. The new research shows that structures once thought to be Earth's oldest microfossils do not compare with younger fossil candidates but have, instead, the character of peculiarly shaped minerals.
Astronomers discover largest known structure in the universe is ... a big hole | Science | The Guardian - Scientists searching for an explanation for an unusually cool area of sky instead discovered a supervoid: an empty spherical blob 1.8 billion light years across - “This is independent evidence, in case anyone doubts it, for the existence of dark energy,”
Astronomers have discovered what they say is the largest known structure in the universe: an incredibly big hole. The “supervoid”, as it is known, is a spherical blob 1.8 billion light years across that is distinguished by its unusual emptiness. : worldnews - “Supervoids are not entirely empty, they’re under-dense,”
ELI5: Are memories "physical" or "persistent" in the brain like in hard-drives? or when we die they just vanish like RAM memory after a computer lost its power? : explainlikeimfive
American College of Physicians officially recommends that e-cigarettes be regulated like traditional tobacco products. : science
Are neutrinos so abundant because antineutrino annihilations are rare? : askscience
Drugs stimulate body’s own stem cells to replace the brain cells lost in multiple sclerosis -- ScienceDaily - Scientists have identified two topical drugs (miconazole and clobetasol) capable of stimulating regeneration of damaged brain cells and reversing paralysis in animal models of MS.
Dark Matter May Feel a “Dark Force” That the Rest of the Universe Does Not: Astronomers watching galaxies collide found evidence of nongravitational forces that could suggest dark matter interacts with itself : science

What is the biggest scam in human history? : AskReddit
Comcast's towering ambition collides with Philadelphia's street-level reality | US news | The Guardian (evil corp is very evil)

041915
Why not enough people are working on climate change in India - The Economic Times - The problems of climate change, while being less fashionable, are more urgent and also quite difficult to solve. On their early solution might hinge the future of life on the planet, or at least the ability of the human race to avoid catastrophic changes.
Dutch Citizens Are Taking Their Government To Court Over Climate Change - A group of Dutch citizens headed to court this week in a bold effort to hold their government accountable for its inaction over climate change.
Solar Power Battle Puts Hawaii at Forefront of Worldwide Changes - NYTimes.com - The utility wants to cut roughly in half the amount it pays customers for solar electricity they send back to the grid. But after a study showed that with some upgrades the system could handle much more solar than the company had assumed, the state’s public utilities commission ordered the utility to begin installations or prove why it could not
Conflict Over Soil and Water Quality Puts ‘Iowa Nice’ to a Test - NYTimes.com - on, the utility, Des Moines Water Works, sued the leaders of three rural Iowa counties last month. Too little has been done, the lawsuit says, to prevent nitrates from flowing out of farm fields into the Raccoon River and, eventually, into the drinking water supply for roughly 500,000 Iowans.
The Big Idea: California Is So Over - The Daily Beast - California’s drought and how it’s handled show just what kind of place the Golden State is becoming: feudal, super-affluent and with an impoverished interior.
World's mountain of electrical waste reaches new peak of 42m tonnes | Environment | The Guardian - The biggest per-capita tallies were in countries known for green awareness, such as Norway and Denmark, with Britain fifth and US ninth on the UN report’s list

Edward Snowden Explains Why You Should Use Passphrases, Not Passwords

700 migrants feared dead in Mediterranean shipwreck | World news | The Guardian - Italian coastguard retrieves 28 survivors so far, and about 20 bodies, according to the interior ministry, after boat sinks 60 miles off Libyan coast
Up To 700 Feared Dead After Migrant Boat Sinks Off Libya - after a fishing boat packed with migrants capsized off the Libyan coast overnight, in what may be one of the worst disasters of the Mediterranean migrant crisis

Sale of U.S. Arms Fuels the Wars of Arab States - NYTimes.com - As the Middle East descends into proxy wars, sectarian conflicts and battles against terrorist networks, countries in the region that have stockpiled American military hardware are now actually using it and wanting more. The result is a boom for American defense contractors looking for foreign business in an era of shrinking Pentagon budgets — but also the prospect of a dangerous new arms race in a region where the map of alliances has been sharply redrawn. (one blunder after another; they could have just dropped the money on their heads and things would have turned out much better)

Iran supreme leader says US created 'myth' of nuclear weapons | World news | The Guardian - Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says US wants make Islamic Republic look dangerous when actually ‘the source of threat is America itself’
When did America forget that it’s America? - The Washington Post - I am afraid that the real reason for the U.S. stance is not its assessment, however incorrect, of the two sides’ respective interests but rather a tragic loss of moral self-confidence (Natan Sharansky, a human rights activist and former political prisoner in the Soviet Union, is chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel) (that explains that)
Iranian ship convoy moves toward Yemen, alarming US officials | TheHill - U.S. military officials are concerned that Iran's support for Houthi rebels in Yemen could spark a confrontation with Saudi Arabia and plunge the region into sectarian war.
Teju Cole: Slow violence, cold violence – Teju Cole on East Jerusalem | World news | The Guardian - Why the viciousness of modern Israeli law directed against Palestinians must be taken as seriously as the cruelties of war

Islamic State Files Show Structure of Islamist Terror Group - spiegel online - An Iraqi officer planned Islamic State's takeover in Syria and SPIEGEL has been given exclusive access to his papers. They portray an organization that, while seemingly driven by religious fanaticism, is actually coldly calculating.
ISIS Video Purports To Show Killing Of Ethiopian Christians In Libya - Islamic State militants in Libya shot and beheaded groups of captive Ethiopian Christians, a video purportedly from the extremists showed Sunday. The attack widens the circle of nations affected by the group's atrocities while showing its growth beyond a self-declared caliphate in Syria and Iraq.

Violence Rocks Mexico's Reynosa Near U.S. Border After Drug Cartel Leader Arrested - Gunfights and blockades of burning vehicles broke out Friday in the border city of Reynosa, across from McAllen, Texas, leaving at least three dead, Mexican authorities said. (chickens coming home)

Vaccination crackdown: Australia announces end to religious exemptions | Society | The Guardian - Remaining religious group, Christian Scientists, removed from exemption list and doctors incentive payments lifted under fresh push to lift vaccination rates (no, you don't have a religious exemption from disease)

Poland summons U.S. ambassador over FBI head's Holocaust remarks | Reuters - over an article written by a top U.S. intelligence official on Poland's alleged responsibility for the Holocaust during World War Two


Finance Officials: Threats To Global Economy On The Horizon - World finance officials said Saturday they see a number of threats on the horizon for a global economy still clawing back from the deepest recession in seven decades, and a potential Greek debt default presents the most immediate risk.
The “Jobs of the Future” Won’t Help the 42% of Americans Making Under $15/Hour by David Atkins | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - Both neoliberal and conservative politicians love to assert that with enough education and training, the math-heavy jobs of the future will save the economy and permit Americans to live in the American dream. - Quick newsflash for them: 42% of all workers in the United States make less than $15 an hour, and most of those are in the service sector (slave-state America)

Hullabaloo - A geyser of money worthy of Old Faithful - The breakneck pace of the 2016 fundraising, most notably characterized by former Florida Governor Jeb Bush's reputed aim to raise $100 million, is emblematic of how much the Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United decision unleashed an era of unfettered political spending by for-profit corporations and the rich, altering the financial calculus of campaigns.



GOP Rep: Obamacare Makes America More Like North Korea - Rep. David Brat (R-VA) on Thursday, during a conversation with Lars Larson at the “Hold Their Feet To The Fire” conference, blamed Obamacare for moving America away from a free market system and making the country more like North Korea. (yes, that make no sense, but he's a Republican, so thinking is hard)
How A Man Who Got His Start In Construction Became The Most Powerful Foreign Policy Voice In Congress - “I had almost no foreign policy experience and certainly did not major in political science or anything like that in college.”
The Rand Corporation by D.R. Tucker | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - Nothing I’ve seen out of Rand Paul’s mouth in the past five years has changed my view that in his heart, he is an old-school Southern segregationist who believes Negroes should know their place, and that the white man should be in a place above them. (thanks, KY)
Kansas Embarrasses Itself Again, This Time Over Marijuana by David Atkins | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - Apparently not tired of being the laughingstock of America and the world, Kansas seems determined to continue topping itself (detains kid, arrests mother for what kid in class)

Training Records Released For Tulsa Reserve Deputy Who Shot Unarmed Man - The records for Robert Bates include certificates showing what training he received, job evaluation reports and weapons training and qualification records dating to 2008.
Ohio police officer praised for restraint after refusing to shoot suspect | US news | The Guardian - New Richmond officer Jesse Kidder was charged by suspect in killing - Body camera captures suspect saying repeatedly ‘shoot me’
Memphis police could provide example for Cleveland officers on how to respond to mentally ill | cleveland.com - While Cleveland police take fire for failing the city's mentally ill, cops in Memphis, Tennessee continue to show their city, and the nation, the ideal way to respond to mental health crises.

FBI overstated forensic hair matches in nearly all trials before 2000 - The Washington Post - The Justice Department and FBI have formally acknowledged that nearly every examiner in an elite FBI forensic unit gave flawed testimony in almost all trials in which they offered evidence against criminal defendants over more than a two-decade period before 2000 - overstated forensic matches in ways that favored prosecutors in more than 95 percent of the 268 trials reviewed so far ... highlighting the failure of the nation’s courts for decades to keep bogus scientific information from juries (oh, the Feebs were corrupt liars?)

Echidne Of The Snakes: Sam Brownback Likes Some Government Handouts And Hates Others - The second issue with these laws is a moral one: We rarely make similar demands of other recipients of government aid. We don't drug-test farmers who receive agriculture subsidies (lest they think about plowing while high!) (all handouts not equal) (KS Christian morality)
Sneak Attack on Faculty Collective Bargaining Rights in Ohio!!! | The Academe Blog - If faculty are managers, then they are not employees, which means they are ineligible to participate in collective bargaining. (but they won't be paid like "managers" - nice move OH)
'More than just child's play': University of Alabama SGA blocks new president from picking own staff | AL.com - Political parties are illegal under SGA rules, but the Machine, an underground but well-known group of traditionally white fraternities and sororities, is thought to have controlled campus institutions for decades. (deeply racist white "machine")

Would You Want to Smell BBQ All the Time? - NYTimes.com - But that’s the thing about smells. One person’s putrid is another person’s pleasant, and local governments around the country are having a hard time regulating what’s in the olfaction of the beholder.
What A Small-Town Obituary Writer Can Teach Us All About Living

Ohio principal dumps school's Muslim headscarf day after online backlash | cleveland.com - Intense criticism has prompted an Ohio high school's principal to cancel a student event in which girls would celebrate diversity by spending a day wearing a Muslim headscarf. (terrorist clothing)
Ohio public high school hosting “A Covered Girl Challenge,” asking students to wear hijab for a day (stupid is stupid)
Jeffco board member apologizes for sharing link to “hate group” on Facebook | Chalkbeat - Jefferson County school board member Julie Williams said late Friday that she was “sincerely sorry” and that she would remove a link on her personal Facebook page that she shared that encouraged families to keep their students home Friday and “away from perverse indoctrination” of the“homosexual-bisexual-transsexual agenda.” (the tranny socialist mafia)
Mom, Boyfriend Charged With 2-Year-Old Delaware County Boy's Beating & Murder | NBC 10 Philadelphia - "Satan is living inside of them," said Carol Patterson, Mason's aunt. "They are not people, they are not human beings, they are animals."
Retrial opens in case of 'fed-to-dogs' farmer whose body was found intact | World news | The Guardian - Prosecutors stand by conviction of Rudolf Rupp's wife, children and a family friend despite presenting false claims at first trial
TIL in 2005 the family of a missing farmer confessed to having killed the man, hacked the body into pieces and fed those to the family's animals. Four years later, his body was found intact in a river behind the wheels of his car. : todayilearned
Guy Has Sex With Tree After Taking This Weird New Drug: The Q: GQ - There is a new synthetic drug sweeping the great state of Florida— it's called "flakka," and it's best described as a newer, more intense version of bath salts— because, apparently, the drug people think of when they think of someone eating another dude's face is still too mellow for some people.

Ben Affleck suppressed slave-owning ancestry, hacked Sony emails claim | Film | The Guardian - Film star’s request, revealed in unearthed messages, apparently troubled prominent professor Henry Louis Gates, host of Finding Your Roots television show

How The Forward, 118 years old, is remaking itself as the American Jewish community changes » Nieman Journalism Lab - The newspaper, first published in Yiddish, is facing all the familiar pressures of print, combined with a shifting base of potential readers.
Newsonomics: Are local newspapers the taxi cabs of the Uber age? » Nieman Journalism Lab - What kind of friction do your local (would-be) readers want removed from their experience? (not having your local paper owned by a cost-cutting hedge fund sports guy?)

An Interactive Map of Shakespeare's London - CityLab - The project brings 16th century London into the present.
The Library of Congress Is Uploading 75 Years of Poetry and Literature Recordings

Alzheimer’s: what the mice are really telling us | David Shariatmadari | Comment is free | The Guardian - The latest reports of a dementia breakthrough illustrate the dangers of overhyping cutting-edge research into drugs and disease
Clockmaker John Harrison vindicated 250 years after ‘absurd’ claims | Science | The Guardian - The pendulum clock of Longitude hero John Harrison is tested and declared a masterpiece
Douglas got it wrong the answer isnt 42 its 37 - General Discussion Chat - Seabreeze Forums! - scientists, investigated numbers in the genetic code and found some strange patterns. here's some excerpts
Background and methods - 1303.6739.pdf - The “Wow! signal” of the terrestrial genetic code

Who had the worst death in history? (NSFW) : AskReddit
What illegal thing should everyone try at least once in their life? : AskReddit
ELI5: If the vagina is only 3-4 inches deep, where does the rest of the penis go? : explainlikeimfive
Antidepressant Use in Pregnancy Linked to Anxiety in Offspring : science
What is a really morbid question you have always wanted to ask? (NSFW) : AskReddit
What is your instant porn turn-off? : AskReddit

Zuckerberg's Internet.org project bribes corrupt, non-neutral carriers in poor countries to exempt Facebook and other services of its choosing from their data-caps, giving the world's poorest an Internet that's been radically pruned to a sliver of what the rest of the world gets for free : worldnews (you've been zuckerfucked, India)
BuzzFeed Deleted Posts Under Pressure from Its Own Business Department - Smith identifies a third post deleted over concerns from the advertising department: A post “making fun of a Microsoft product, Internet Explorer” ... Buzzfeed Brews and Koch Brothers Americans for Prosperity.


041815
California drought water-use rules could force 36% reduction on Beverly Hills | US news | The Guardian - Officials introduce proposals for different cities and counties, backed up with heavy potential fines, in order to meet governor’s executive order
Gas-Line Blast Closes Major Highway, Injures Dozens - It was not clear what caused the explosion at the Fresno County Sheriff's gun range that brought traffic in the area to a halt. But authorities say it occurred while a county equipment operator was building up a dirt berm on the range alongside heavily travelled Highway 99.
Japan’s Maglev Train Hits World Record 590 Kilometers Per Hour - Japan Real Time - WSJ (366 mph - America falling behind in the train race)
Japanese population falls to 15-year low | World news | The Guardian - The total has shrunk for the fourth year running, falling back to a level it was last at in 2000, with more than one in four people now aged 65 or older

Twitter moves non-US accounts to Ireland away from the NSA
Twitter moves non-US accounts to Ireland away from the NSA: Twitter Inc is governed by US law, it is obliged to comply with NSA-driven court requests for data. Data stored in Ireland is not subject to the same obligation : news

NBC's Conduct in Engel Kidnapping Story is More Troubling than the Brian Williams Scandal - The Intercept
Germany is the Tell-Tale Heart of America's Drone War - the sprawling U.S. military base in Ramstein, Germany serves as the high-tech heart of America’s drone program.

Why aren't Americans ashamed to live in 'United States of Israel' -- leading Israeli writer's challenge
?‘Israel is racist and apartheid state’: Green Party candidate faces backlash — RT UK - “It needs to be pointed out that they [Israel] are a racist state and an apartheid state.” “South Africa got its act together after decades of campaigning and I hope Israel may eventually too. I think it is time to stand up to the myth that Israel and Palestine are both equal participants in this conflict.” (truth always generates "backlash")
‘Israel is racist and apartheid state’: UK's Green Party candidate faces backlash for telling the truth about Israel : worldpolitics
EU states renew call to label Israeli settler goods - Sixteen EU states have said products made by Israeli settlers should be marked in shops so that European consumers can decide whether to boycott them.
Noam Chomsky: Israel’s Actions in Palestine are "Much Worse Than Apartheid" in South Africa | Democracy Now!

Afghanistan President, Ashraf Ghani, Blames ISIS for Deadly Suicide Bombing at Bank - NYTimes.com - suicide bombing here on Saturday that killed 35 civilians. If responsibility is confirmed, it will suggest a major escalation of the group’s activities in Afghanistan.
Suicide Bomb At Afghanistan Bank Kills Dozens, Local ISIS Branch Claims Responsibility

Is Al Qaeda In Decline? (no, America keeps creating enemies and arming them)

Police arrest five over alleged Anzac Day terrorism plot | Australia news | The Guardian - Sevdet Besim, 18, of Melbourne, charged with planning terrorist act as four others are held after early morning raids


Germanwings Crash Exposes History of Denial on Risk of Pilot Suicide - NYTimes.com
Key Moments in Pilot’s Mental Health History - NYTimes.com


Neil deGrasse Tyson: Politicians Denying Science Is 'Beginning Of The End Of An Informed Democracy' | ThinkProgress (America can't think)

Gary Hart: Dare We Call It Oligarchy? | TIME - If the presidency were to pass back and forth between two or three families in any Latin American nation we would call it an oligarchy

Jeb Bush Proposes Requiring Medicare End-of-Life Directives - First Draft. Political News, Now. - NYTimes.com - , suggested on Friday that patients on Medicare should be required to sign advance directives dictating their care if they become incapacitated. A similar proposal by President Obama — that doctors should be paid to advise patients on end-of-life decisions — became a political firestorm in 2009 (NYT wrote that whole article and didn't use "death panels" once!)
Eschaton: Let Them Dumpster Dive - Few people have pensions or significant retirement accounts. Plenty of people, especially those with jobs that actually require physical labor, can't possibly be expected to be able to work until 69, or hold onto those jobs even if they are able.

Martin O'Malley's $15 Minimum Wage Puts Hillary on Notice | The New Republic - Speaking at Harvard University on Thursday night, former Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley cranked up the pressure on Hillary Clinton by calling for a $15 an hour minimum wage and voicing his opposition to President Barack Obama’s massive trade deal, the Trans Pacific Partnership.

Montana Poised To Expand Medicaid Under Obamacare - Montana is on track to join 28 states and the District of Columbia by expanding Medicaid to cover more low-income people.
Today in the Ad Hoc Legal War Against the ACA, Mr. Plow Conservatism Edition - Lawyers, Guns & Money : not only does Florida have a vested right to existing Medicaid funding even if it doesn’t accept the Medicaid expansion, it has a vested right to non-Medicaid federal spending even if it doesn’t accept the Medicaid expansion and even if that funding is set to expire. Even for people with a high enough tolerance for incoherence and illogic to defend the Sebelius Medicaid holding, this should be a neoconfederacy too far. (the anti-logic is strong)

Lower minimum wage for young Nebraskans gets initial green light : Politics - Lawmakers gave the initial green light Wednesday to a bill that would set a lower minimum wage for most high school-age workers in Nebraska. (next up: child slavery)

After Walter Scott Shooting, Scrutiny Turns to 2nd Officer - NYTimes.com - He did not fire a shot. He is black, not white.
Texas lawmakers poised to allow the open carrying of handguns | US news | The Guardian - Despite criticism from families and police who fear it will make the streets more dangerous, the bill is set for final approval in the state legislature (laboratories of stupidity)
Father Fatally Shoots Teenage Daughter’s Boyfriend During Argument - A 22-year-old man died late Thursday evening in Harris County, Texas, after an altercation between his teenage girlfriend and her parents got out of control.
Victim speaks out after Denver officer suspended for unreasonable force | Channel 2 News
Victim speaks out after Denver officer suspended for unreasonable force : news
BP gas station attack suspects appear in court - WMC Action News 5 - Memphis, Tennessee
BP gas station attack suspects appear in court - Nine teenagers were arrested after a group of students from Northwest Prep Academy attacked a man last Friday at a Memphis gas station as he helped a frightened woman to her car. At least four of them are being charged as adults. : news

An 'Uber For Weed' App Has Raised Over $10 MILLION On It's Startup Campaign, And Is Backed By Snoop Dogg - unilad

Functional role of frontal alpha oscillations in creativity - we found a significant improvement of 7.4% in the Creativity Index measured by the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT), a comprehensive and most frequently used assay of creative potential and strengths.
Kids with ADHD must squirm to learn, study says -- ScienceDaily - Excessive movement common among children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder is actually vital to how they remember information and work out complex cognitive tasks, a new study shows. The findings show the longtime prevailing methods for helping children with ADHD may be misguided.
What physical characteristic allows gold/silver coins to "ping"/resonate when struck while coins made from other metals with the same crystal structure do not? : askscience
Protosuns teeming with prebiotic molecules / News / SINC - Servicio de Información y Noticias Científicas - Complex organic molecules such as formamide, from which sugars, amino acids and even nucleic acids essential for life can be made, already appear in the regions where stars similar to our Sun are born. Astrophysicists from Spain and other countries have detected this biomolecule in five protostellar clouds and propose that it forms on tiny dust grains. (so where the fuck are they?)

Security guard in Georgia is caught playing piano when he thinks he is alone, doesn't know he's being recorded. : videos - Giorni Dispari (meaning 'odd days'), by Italian composer Ludovico Einaudi
What is one (or more) NSFW Secret that you would like to share about your self? : AskReddit
Found while doing a locker check : pics
Why is the derivative of a circle's area its circumference? : askscience

The Disturbing Photography of Sally Mann - NYTimes.com
Honey Badger Brigade | Nerds bite back! (extreme stupidity in comments)
Banned for not Damselling : videos
CalgaryExpo Megathread : KotakuInAction

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Flash - March was hottest worldwide since 1880 - France 24 - Last month was the hottest March worldwide since record keeping began in 1880, and the first three months of 2015 also set a new heat record, US government scientists said Friday.
Massive Sandstorm Causes Panic In Beijing - A massive sandstorm swept over Beijing on Wednesday, darkening the skies and causing mild panic among residents. (Officals call sand "unpatriotic" and threaten detention)

Posturing on Iran by Nancy LeTourneau | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - The reaction from Republicans and some pundits to the fact that President Obama is likely to sign a bill that allows Congress to weigh in on a final deal between Iran and the P5+1 countries has been a bit amusing to watch.

Horrifying Videos Shown at UN Display Carnage of Suspected Chlorine Attacks in Syria | VICE News

Iraqi Forces Battle ISIS At Gates Of Key Town Of Ramadi - Iraqi security forces fought Islamic State militants at the gates of the western city of Ramadi on Friday, and local authorities warned it was in danger of falling unless reinforcements arrived soon.
AP News : Hezbollah blames Saudi Arabia for spread of extremism - The leader of Lebanon's militant Hezbollah group launched his harshest criticism yet of Saudi Arabia on Friday, blaming the kingdom for the spread of extremist ideology in the Muslim world and the killing of civilians in Yemen.
Boko Haram gives South Africa 24 hours to end xenophobic attacks or face bombing - Boko Haram warned that if the South African government does not contain the situation, it will execute all South Africans living in Nigeria, Chad, Niger and other surrounding countries.

Iran: Putin Explains to Israel's Netanyahu that Air Defense Batteries are, like, Defensive | Informed Comment

France wants to fight terrorism by spying on everyone | The Verge - Prime minister says proposed surveillance law 'is not a French Patriot Act,' but civil liberties groups say it goes too far

Judge: FBI's Ruse to Catch Poker Champ in Vegas Hotel Room Went Too Far - NBC News.com - A federal judge in Las Vegas has ruled that FBI agents went too far when they shut off Internet service to a Las Vegas hotel room last summer, then posed as repairmen so they could get a peek into the room without a search warrant.

A Fundamental For 2016 Getting Stronger For Dems by Ed Kilgore | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - Americans are becoming more optimistic about the country’s economic prospects by several different measures. President Barack Obama’s handling of the economy is being seen more positively than negatively for the first time in more than five years, 49 percent to 46 percent—his best number in this poll since September 2009. (Americans are idiots who cannot connect dots, think Obama caused the recession)

‘Negative Partisanship’ Has Transformed Politics -- NYMag - Measured by self-identification, partisanship is actually declining — growing numbers of Americans describe themselves as “independent” rather than loyal to one of the parties. But measured by actual voting behavior, the opposite is happening: Straight ticket voting continues to grow. (and the mythical "swing voter" that the media will obsess on)

Today in the Ad Hoc Legal War Against the ACA - Lawyers, Guns & Money : The arguments don’t get any better: “We do not see how Sen. Johnson’s reputation could be sullied … by being offered, against his will, a benefit that he then decided to refuse.” (Ron Johnson R.Wisc is having his reputational liberty impinged!)

Man Bites Dog on Second Amendment by Ed Kilgore | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - “Well, we tried that once in South Carolina. I wouldn’t go down that road again,” Graham said, in an apparent reference to the Civil War. “I think an informed electorate is probably a better check than, you know, guns in the streets.”

Scott Walker's Approval Drops In Wisconsin - Forty-one percent now approve of Walker's performance, while 56 percent disapprove. In October, 49 percent approved and 47 percent disapproved ... @PollsAndVotes calls this "breathtaking." (well, the state was "breathtakingly" stupid in electing him, twice)
Jeb Bush Wants To Gradually Raise The Retirement Age (to around 200, suckers!)
Congressman dating lobbyist who lobbies committee that he leads - CNN.com - Congressman Bill Shuster is in a "private and personal relationship" with a lobbyist who works to influence the House panel that Shuster leads, the Pennsylvania Republican said Thursday.

Eschaton: Kicking The Poors - That renders the cards useless for major spending, such as paying the rent, but it does mean that users will pile up ATM fees at $1 per withdrawal, plus bank fees ...In other words, the Kansas Legislature and Gov. Brownback think it's scandalous that the state's poor would use TANF funds at a swimming pool, but it's OK with them if their funds are shamelessly drained by banks. There's also no ban on the poor buying guns. (meanwhile, in KS)

Oklahoma governor signs 'foolproof' nitrogen gas execution method | US news | The Guardian - The state is the first to approve nitrogen-induced hypoxia for use on death-row inmates, which supporters says is ‘painless’ despite lack of human testing ("we're not scientists, but we're sure this will work")

Troops referred to Ferguson protesters as 'enemy forces', emails show | US news | The Guardian - Documents detailing military mission during unrest over the police killing of Michael Brown designated ‘enemy forces’ to include ‘general protesters’ and “adversaries” to refer to citizen demonstrators.
Police: Warriors Or Guardians? by Ed Kilgore | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - The almost constant examples we are experiencing of police officers gunning down unarmed suspects of late—or treating the communities they patrol as enemy bastions to be approached with overwhelming military force—are a particular shock to those of us who thought the principles of “community policing” had taken deeper root in the culture of law enforcement agencies. (warriors! front line in the war against terroristic poor people!)
Tulsa officer who fatally shot Eric Harris ‘regrets’ using gun instead of Taser | US news | The Guardian - Robert Bates apologises to Eric Harris’s family, says ‘I still can’t believe it happened’ and denies that sheriff’s office forged his training records
150 cops, population 300: pay-to-play policing, from Tulsa to Kid Rock's town | US news | The Guardian - A slew of prominent people have asked to join Michigan village’s ‘no-show secret police’ as concern grows over fatal shooting by volunteer officer in Oklahoma - the motivation for paying to become an Oakley reservist was likely to be enhanced rights to carry a firearm in the state.
Dying On Tulsa Time: The Ballad Of Robert Bates
Man grabbed by police in Lawrence after video-recording them on a public sidewalk - The Bay State Examiner - On Tuesday, April 14, a man was grabbed and detained by police in Lawrence who were trying to stop him from exercising his First Amendment right to record them in public. (they never got the memo)
MA man arrested by police after video-recording plainclothes officers on a public sidewalk : news - the First Circuit - the Circuit Court that governs Massachusetts. The First Circuit considered a similar situation in Glik v. Cunniffe[1] (pdf opinion[2] ) and found that recording police in public, while they are in performance of their duties, is protected by the First Amendment (2011)
State seizes 11-year-old, arrests his mother after he defends medical marijuana during a school presentation - The Washington Post - On March 24, cannabis oil activist Shona Banda‘s life was flipped upside-down after her son was taken from her by the State of Kansas ... After her son spoke out about medical marijuana, police detained him and launched a raid on Shona Banda’s home. (bad even for you, KS)

Is This Justice? Charging an Eighth Grader with a Felony for “Hacking” | Electronic Frontier Foundation - The “hacking” in this instance was using a widely known password to change the desktop background of his teacher’s computer with an image of two men kissing. (zero tolerance for thinking)

Is This The Next Bundy Ranch? Militia Men And Oath Keepers Swarm To Oregon - A dispute between the Bureau of Land Management and gold miners in Southwestern Oregon drew immediate comparisons to the 2014 standoff at Cliven Bundy's Nevada ranch as word of the fresh conflict wound its way through the blogosphere this week. (seditionists and traitors)

Top doctors urge Columbia to sever ties with Dr Oz over 'quack treatments' | Television & radio | The Guardian - Letter from 10 prominent physicians says ‘we are surprised and dismayed that Columbia would permit Dr Oz to occupy a faculty position’ at Ivy League school
CBC apologises after report reveals Jian Ghomeshi 'consistently breached' policy | World news | The Guardian - Radio network bosses failed to rein in inappropriate behaviour – report - CBC ‘severed ties’ with two senior employees in aftermath of host’s firing
Britt McHenry Suspended By ESPN After Fat-Shaming Video Surfaces - ESPN has suspended Britt McHenry for one week, effective immediately, after a video surfaced of the Washington D.C.-based reporter berating a woman working for a towing company - “‘Cause they [the employee’s teeth] look so stunning … ‘Cause I’m on television and you’re in a fucking trailer, honey.” - “Lose some weight, baby girl.” (she's "on TV" AND on Youtube!)

E-Cigarettes Are Now More Popular With Young People Than Regular Cigarettes (e-cigs are "tobacco products" according to DumbPo)
Cognitive problems are common after cardiac arrest -- ScienceDaily - Half of all patients who survive a cardiac arrest experience problems with cognitive functions such as memory and attention.

livetweeting abstinance sex-ed · Storify - Alice Dreger live-tweets sitting in on her son's abstinence-based sex ed class ... Yes! Public school! In a liberal college town! (the stupid is strong)

[Serious] Dominatrixes of Reddit, what's the weirdest request you've gotten from a client? : AskReddit

This Could Cripple The Comcast-Time Warner Cable Merger - Attorneys at the Justice Department’s antitrust division are making moves that may halt a merger between Comcast and Time Warner Cable, Bloomberg reported on Friday. The attorneys could submit their recommendation as early as next week. (evil+evil=more evil)
Tulsa Roommates Stab Each Other Over Debate Between iPhone & And - KTUL.com - Tulsa, Oklahoma - News, Weather & Sports - Police did not respond when our photographer asked which phone is better.

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TSA’s secret list of suspicious behaviors revealed - The Washington Post - Arriving late or whistling as you approach a screening area can both earn you a point. Repetitive grooming gestures and tightly gripping a bag can earn you two points apiece, while appearing confused or disoriented can earn three points. (any excuse will do)
The DEA is spending millions of dollars on spyware | The Verge - The Drug Enforcement Agency has been spending millions on spyware tools to take over suspects' phones (everyone is a "suspect")
Dozens of US government online whistleblower sites not secured by HTTPS | Ars Technica - ACLU decries it as "serious cybersecurity lapses by numerous federal agencies." (just a coincidence)

WikiLeaks republishes all documents from Sony hacking scandal | Technology | The Guardian - Julian Assange says data ‘belongs in the public domain’ and says hacked files shed light on extent of cooperation between government and Hollywood

Lawmakers Unveil Secretly Negotiated Deal To Fast-Track Free Trade - The fast-track authority would likely pave the way for both the controversial Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership agreement with the European Union and the Trans-Pacific Partnership with a dozen Asian nations. Both deals are vastly larger than NAFTA,

Saguenay right-to-pray ruling: What it means for religious freedom in politics - Montreal - CBC News - Saguenay Mayor Jean Tremblay argued reciting prayer respects Quebec’s Catholic heritage Supreme Court rules

Iranian Ayatollah: Emancipate Islam's Holy Sites From Saudi Control, Hand Mecca To 'Men Of Piety' - “The current Saudi custodians however are the [descendents] of those who turned it to a house of idols and indulged themselves in drunken revelry,” he said, adding that the conditions of the holy cities’ custodianship should be reviewed with the aim of freeing them “from the servitude” of the Sunni monarchy.

President Vladimir Putin’s Dangerous Moves - NYTimes.com - President Vladimir Putin of Russia has added new, chilling nuclear threats to his aggression in Ukraine, where 6,000 people have been killed in a war with Russian-backed separatists. Mr. Putin wants to expand his country’s influence and standing, but his alarming behavior has estranged Russia from most other major powers, damaged its economy and narrowed its future options. (rootin' tootin' shootin')

Muslim migrants threw Christians overboard, police say - CNN.com - Muslims who were among migrants trying to get from Libya to Italy in a boat this week threw 12 fellow passengers overboard -- killing them -- because the 12 were Christians, Italian police said Thursday.
Italian police: Migrants threw Christians overboard | Muslims who were among migrants trying to get from Libya to Italy in a boat this week threw 12 fellow passengers overboard -- killing them -- because the 12 were Christians, Italian police said Thursday. : worldnews

Turkey eclipses centenary of Armenian massacre by moving Gallipoli memorial | World news | The Guardian - Change of date by Ankara, which leads to a clash of commemoration ceremonies, condemned as ‘indecent manoeuvre’

Supreme Court rules: Israel can confiscate Palestinian property in Jerusalem - National - Israel News | Haaretz - The justices said the controversial Absentee Property Law is applicable in East Jerusalem, but warned it should be used only rarely, and with explicit approval of the attorney general. (of course it will)

Italy calls for help rescuing migrants as 40 more reportedly drown | World news | The Guardian - Foreign minister says 90% of rescue effort has fallen on Italian navy in recent weeks as 40 more deaths reported after inflatable boat sinks off the Sicilian coast
Migrants killed in 'religious clash' on Mediterranean boat - BBC News

Mexico Issues Alert In 5 States Over Stolen Radioactive Material Iridium-192 - Mexico issued an alert late Wednesday for several of its states after potentially deadly radioactive material was stolen from a truck this week. Mexico’s interior ministry said iridium-192 had been stolen from a truck in the southern state of Tabasco.

How The World Bank Broke Its Promise to Protect the Poor
Former IMF chief ‘under investigation for money laundering’ | euronews, world news - Former chief of the International Monetary Fund, Rodrigo Rato, is under investigation for money laundering, government sources have told Spanish daily El Pais. (sounds about right)

Hillary Clinton leans left out of Iowa with bold progressive checklist | US news | The Guardian - Democratic presidential candidate ticks off several core liberal issues including low wages, gay marriage and healthcare reform in final day of successful road trip
Clinton’s statements on family history conflict with public records | TheHill - Buzzfeed reported that a Clinton spokesman said in response, “Her grandparents always spoke about the immigrant experience and, as a result she has always thought of them as immigrants.” (that ... makes ... not much sense)

House Votes To Repeal Tax On Richest 0.2 Percent Of Americans - Called the Death Tax Repeal Act of 2015, the bill would end the nearly 100-year-old federal estate tax. All but three Republicans voted in favor, while all but seven Democrats voted against. The legislation passed 239 to 179.

Woe of White Men, Again? - NYTimes.com - “the new Congress is 80 percent white, 80 percent male and 92 percent Christian.” So much for white Christian men being under attack

U.S. judge won't remove marijuana from most-dangerous drug list : news - US judge won't remove Marijuana from list of substances with no medical benefits after US (finally admits) studies show Marijuana has medical benefits.
Gov. Nathan Deal signs medical marijuana bill | www.wsbtv.com
Federal Judge Prevents Victims of General Motors' Faulty Ignition Switches From Receiving Billions In Compensation : news


Has Obamacare Turned Voters Against Sharing the Wealth? - NYTimes.com - With the advent of the Affordable Care Act, the share of Americans convinced that health care is a right shrank from a majority to a minority ... as inequality increases, so does ideological conservatism in the electorate. (makes perfect sense and had nothing to do with Fox)
Cliff Asness Struggles to Express Obamacare Rage -- NYMag - As evidence of Obamacare’s success continues to mount, hedge-fund manager and occasional right-wing crank Cliff Asness takes to The Wall Street Journal op-ed page to retrench on behalf of the doomsayers. (lies, lies and more lies)

Antonin Scalia Honors Ruth Bader Ginsburg: 'The High Court's Counterweight' ("but I weigh twice as much as she does, so muhahaha")

Josh Earnest Accuses Chuck Grassley Of Being 'Duplicitous' For Delaying Loretta Lynch Nomination - Last year, Grassley had urged Democrats to wait until Republicans took control of the Senate before beginning Lynch's confirmation hearings.
Republicans Use Abortion Fight To Jam Loretta Lynch Confirmation - Republican leaders have tied a vote on Lynch to the passage of an unrelated bill targeting sex trafficking. That bill, which normally would be bipartisan, has stalled for weeks because Republicans tucked an anti-abortion provision into it that Democrats won't support. As long as the bill doesn't move, neither does Lynch. (Republicans: fucking everything up, always)

The Land of the Free - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Six months after he was deported back to Mexico from the United States, Constantino Morales was shot and killed Sunday night. Morales, an undocumented immigrant who fought for immigration reform in Iowa, was twice denied asylum in the United States before he was found dead in the Mexican state of Guerrero. (Republicans kill another brown person)
Is Laurence Tribe Right That Liberals Should Like His Bad Conservative Arguments? (SPOILER: No.) - Lawyers, Guns & Money : I see Laurence Tribe is trying to argue that if you buy the argument that the willful misreading of the ACA by the King v. Burwell plaintiffs would produce an unconstitutionally coercive scheme then you’re also bound to buy his nutty, radical theories about the Clean Power Plan. You will be unsurprised to know that this argument doesn’t make any sense:

Voting machine password hacks as easy as 'abcde', details Virginia state report | US news | The Guardian - AVS WinVote machines used in three presidential elections in state ‘would get an F-minus’ in security, said computer scientist who pushed for decertification (oh, what a surprise)
This Week In The Laboratories Of Democracy - In which we learn what happens when you turn the spotlights off in Indiana.

Shop owner will deny ‘openly gay’ customers | WOODTV.com - Brian Klawiter, the owner of Dieseltec on Ottawa Avenue in Grandville, posted the statement to his company’s Facebook page on Tuesday because he says the voices of those who have Christian, conservative values are often overshadowed by those who do not. (opens gofundme page in 5 ... 4 ... 3 ..)

Top US lawmakers to discuss police killings as reform momentum builds | US news | The Guardian - Recent video of police killings of black men galvanises lawmakers into tackling issue as New York congressman asks: ‘What more does Congress need to see?’
Sources: Supervisors told to falsify reserve deputy's training records; department announces internal review - Tulsa World: Courts - The Tulsa County Sheriff's Office announced early Thursday it will conduct an internal review of the deputy reserve program. ("internal")
Tulsa Authorities Ordered Robert Bates' Training Record Falsified: Report - Multiple sources speaking on condition of anonymity told the newspaper that at least three of Bates' supervisors had been transferred after refusing to sign off on his state-mandated training. (will anyone go to jail? no)
Jon Stewart Tears Into Cable News For Turning Police Shootings Into 'Screensavers'
NJ legislator who sponsored anti-swatting bill gets swatted | Ars Technica - Moriarty had called for greater penalties to so-called "swatters" during the October incident, and again when a Jersey game store almost fell victim to a particularly dangerous-sounding swatting in March. He pointed out that current penalties for such false police reports only go so far as probation, and his bill amps the penalties up with both incarceration and a fine of up to $150,000.
The Walter Scott outrage nobody is talking about - Salon.com - As computed by a local newspaper in 2006, cops there used Tasers 201 times in an 18-month period, averaging once every 40 hours in one six-month stretch and disproportionately upon African Americans.

George Lucas Planning Payback With Massive Affordable Housing Project On His Marin County Land « CBS San Francisco - After George Lucas ran into a buzzsaw of opposition from his wealthy Marin County neighbors when he tried to expand his Skywalker Ranch studio, the filmmaker might be getting some payback with plans for one of the largest affordable housing projects in the Bay Area ... offering his own property in west Marin County off Lucas Valley Road near Novato for the project, with plans for a community of 224 homes right where neighbors said no to his studio expansion.
San Francisco’s Tiniest Closet-Like Condo Just Sold For $415K « CBS San Francisco - This 291-square foot studio condo in San Francisco’s SoMa neighborhood was on the market for $299,000 until a buyer snatched it for $415,000 in cash, according to CurbedSF.

California vaccination bill stalls after pushback over strict requirements | US news | The Guardian - Measure would bar parents from seeking vaccine exemptions for their children because of religious or personal beliefs. Vote postponed until next week - Opposing parents have told lawmakers that since vaccines come with risks, they should have the choice of whether their children should get such shots. Many said they would rather homeschool their children than comply with a vaccination requirement. (pariah children will also be stupid, like their parents)

The Stadium Grift Reaches Rhode Island - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Boston Red Sox CEO, co-owner of the Pawtucket Red Sox, and extremely poor man Larry Lucchino ... . Of course, they want to bilk Rhode Island taxpayers out of millions for it. The park is estimated to cost $85 million. The owners want the state to pay $120 million over 30 years for it. This is a state with a serious unemployment problem, terrible roads, massive pension payment problems, declining funding for higher education, etc. I hope Rhode Islanders flat out refuse this. Of course, since our politics are so incredibly corrupt, I’m sure a few bribes will take care of any meaningful opposition.

Car Jumps Sidewalk and Hits Woman in Front of Spruce St. School, Police Say - Financial District - DNAinfo.com New York - “[I] heard a bump and I looked over..[and] I just saw this woman somersaulting in the air and then she landed on the sidewalk,” said Ilana Fischer, 34, who was stuck in traffic at the time of the accident ... Witnesses said that Monday's crash was the latest instance of drivers going up onto the sidewalk to try to beat the morning rush-hour traffic on Beekman.

The Earth Has An Eerie Hum, And Now We Know What's Causing It - The researchers found that collisions between ocean waves generate some seismic activity, but it was mostly the movement and pressure of giant, slow-moving ocean waves that extend all the way down to the seafloor that cause the Earth to hum.
Reddit what's the weirdest fact that you know that can blow people's minds? : AskReddit
Is an eclipse described in the Odyssey? - the solar eclipse of 16 April 1178 B.C.E. was total over the Ionian Islands and was the only suitable eclipse in more than a century to agree with classical estimates of the decade-earlier sack of Troy around 1192–1184 B.C.E

Two Authors Withdraw Their Work From This Year's Hugo Awards
Connie Willis turns down the presenter role for this year's Hugo Award ceremony in protest : books

Philadelphia Judge Rejects Motions to Downgrade Charges in Center City Gay Bashing | NBC 10 Philadelphia - The two men and one woman accused of beating a gay couple on a Philadelphia street will go on trial.
LiveLeak.com - ESPN Reporter and former ABC News Reporter Britt McHenry Criticizing Lot Clerk (Potty Mouth Warning)
ESPN reporter Britt McHenry goes off on a parking lot attendant : videos
More Details From Britt McHenry’s Tow Truck Tirade Video (I'm on TV!)

Apple refuses to answer questions over 'homophobic' Russian Siri | Technology | The Guardian - Russian voice-assistant for iPhones and iPad accused of answering questions with homophobic responses, while company dismisses issue as ‘a bug’
Infographic: LAUSD ditching Pearson iPad program software, demanding multimillion dollar refund | 89.3 KPCC - Los Angeles Unified told Apple Inc. this week that it will not spend another dollar on the Pearson software installed on its iPads and is seeking a multimillion-dollar refund from the technology giant ... L.A. Unified's $1.3 billion iPad program has been fraught with problems (iCrap)
Netflix is now bigger than CBS - Quartz - he market value of the disruptive streaming TV company above CBS Corp, which, by most measures, operates the highest rating broadcast TV network in the US.
ALEC Threatens To Sue Critics That Point Out It Helps Keep Broadband Uncompetitive | Techdirt - ALEC's model legislation, clearly visible on ALEC's website, has been used as the framework for roughly twenty state-level protectionist broadband bills nationwide
Without exceding 100$, which monthly subscriptions (like Netflix) should everyone subscribe to? : AskReddit
creesch comments on Should Reddit’s powerful mods be reined in?.

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Everything you wanted to ask about the Guardian's climate change campaign | Environment | The Guardian - The Guardian is calling on the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Wellcome Trust to divest from fossil fuels. We explain here everything you need to know about the campaign and why we are doing it

Remembering Lincoln's Assassination and the War After the Civil War

NSA and FBI fight to retain spy powers as surveillance law nears expiration | US news | The Guardian - Debate reignites on Capitol Hill with Patriot Act section set to expire - Agency representatives secretly meet with members of Congress (and showed them their blackmail file)
U.S. to inform Americans whether they are on ‘no-fly’ list, and possibly why - The Washington Post (or probably not)

Iran leader: We are in talks with ‘the major powers,’ not the U.S. Congress - The Washington Post ("and especially not those dickhead Republicans")
Iran's President Rouhani Says Nuke Deal Depends On Lifting Sanctions - Iran said on Wednesday it would only accept a deal over its contested nuclear program if world powers simultaneously lifted all sanctions imposed on it.
After Last-Minute Changes, Iran Bill Sweeps Key Vote With White House Support - a controversial bill to increase Congress’ involvement in the Iran nuclear talks passed the committee Tuesday on a unanimous vote of 19-0. In a dramatic change from its stance only hours before the vote, the White House indicated that the president would not veto the legislation. (Corker put a cork in it, and proabably a fork)
Israel happy at compromise deal on Iran between Congress-Obama: minister | Reuters (if Israel is happy, the world is sad)

Congress Won't Approve Obama's Authorization of Force Against ISIS — The Atlantic - Congress won't approve President Obama's proposed authorization of military force, but it won't limit him either.

Iraq 'retakes over quarter of Islamic State territory' - BBC News
UN Yemen Envoy Resigns As War Escalates

[UPDATED] European Parliament Adopts Bill Urging Turkey to Recognize Genocide | Asbarez Armenian News

Survivors Say Hundreds Of Migrants Drowned When Their Boat Sunk In The Mediterranean

Gun Found In Probe Into Argentine Prosecutor Death - Nisman's former wife, Sandra Arroyo Salgado, said the discovery of the prosecutor's own weapon bolsters her contention that he did not take his own life since he wouldn't have needed to borrow the pistol that did kill him.

Revealed: former Bradford chairman linked to at least eight fires before Valley Parade disaster | Football | The Guardian - The blaze that killed 56 football fans at Bradford City’s Valley Parade ground in 1985 was just one of at least nine fires at businesses owned by or associated with the club’s then chairman, according to extraordinary evidence published for the first time ... The blaze that killed 56 football fans (serial arsonist killer)

Just when hope and courage are called for, Labour promises bean-counting | George Monbiot | Comment is free | The Guardian - Labour’s focus on cutting the deficit means progressive voters will have to look elsewhere for inspiration (failed austerity for evah!)

Globes English - Israel joins Chinese infrastructure bank - Israel is joining the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) despite US opposition.
Kim not Kosher: Kardashian airbrushed out of image by Israeli website | World news | The Guardian - Ultra-orthodox Kikar HaShabbat website removes Kim Kardashian’s likeness from photographs of her and husband Kanye West dining with Jerusalem’s mayor

65-year-old woman's IVF pregnancy branded irresponsible and inadvisable | World news | The Guardian - “From both the medical and ethical point of view this oversteps the mark,” he said. “We know from experience that artificial insemination at an older age brings with it a considerably higher risk of premature births and underweight babies, and with that a higher chance of lasting damage.”

Right-Wing Group Blamed In Leak Of U.S. Officials' Home Addresses: Report - The brief message read, in part: "LET THESE EVIL NWO SATANISTS KNOW THAT THERE WILL BE HELL TO PAY FOR THEIR 911 TREASON." NOW could be an acronym for New World Order, a term used by conspiracy theorists to refer to a totalitarian world government.

F.B.I. Cites ‘Persons of Interest’ in 2008 Times Square Bomb Case - NYTimes.com

How the states suck the fairness out of America's tax system - LA Times - Second, it ignores the effect of state and local taxes, which fall disproportionately on the working and middle classes ... "Contrary to popular belief," CTJ finds, "when all taxes are considered, the rich do not pay a disproportionately high share of taxes."
This Chart Shows How State Taxes Screw You | Mother Jones - In fact, several of the nation's most politically progressive states count among the worst when it comes to shoveling the tax burden onto low-income people and the middle

Hillary Clinton leans left out of Iowa with bold progressive checklist | US news | The Guardian - Democratic presidential candidate ticks off several core liberal issues including low wages, gay marriage and healthcare reform in final day of successful road trip
Things In Politico That Make Me Want To Guzzle Antifreeze - Tiger Beat On The Potomac seems befuddled as to why Hillary Rodham Clinton hasn't yet buried it in detailed policy briefs. After all, her campaign is more than 48 hours old!
Hillary Clinton Was Asked About Email 2 Years Ago - NYTimes.com - But Mrs. Clinton did not reply to the letter. And when the State Department answered in March 2013, nearly two months after she left office, it ignored the question and provided no response
More than 2 MILLION of Hillary Clinton's Twitter followers are fake or never tweet | Daily Mail Online - Two different online audit tools say no more than 44 per cent of Hillary's 3.6 million Twitter fans are real people who participate in the platform ... When she was secretary of state, her agency paid $630,000 to bulk up its Facebook likes, but pledged to stop after she left

Good Riddance To One Of Congress' Dumbest Rituals: The 'Doc Fix' - Over the past decade and change, the term “doc fix” became shorthand for a nearly annual process by which Congress, facing a big, unintended cut to how much Medicare pays physicians, would scramble to find some way to stop it, as doctors issued loud, mostly empty threats to stop treating Medicare patients. This happened 17 times between 2003 and 2014. Seventeen times.
Brownback To Sign Law Banning Welfare Dollars From Cruise Ships (and investing in hedge funds)
The First Great Debate: Amy Goodman Opens The Window

The Passion Of Big Chicken: Bad Ideas Come In Big Packages - In which we learn that Chris Christie has adopted granny-starving as a platform. (literally) Now, though, he's back, and promising to do for Medicare and Social Security what he's done to the pensions of thousands of New Jersey firefighters and police officers -- namely, hand them over to his gambler pals in the financial services sector.

Dean Skelos, New York Senate Leader, and His Son Are Said to Be Focus of Federal Inquiry - NYTimes.com - Federal prosecutors have begun presenting evidence to a grand jury considering a case against the leader of the New York State Senate, Dean G. Skelos of Long Island, and his son, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Protests For $15 Minimum Wage Are Heating Up - "It has defied a sense of hopelessness," she said.

Heald College Fined For Misleading Students About Job Prospects - Heald College, the jewel of a once-thriving chain of for-profit colleges owned by Corinthian Colleges Inc., misled students and accreditation agencies about graduates’ employment rates and showed a “blatant disregard” for the federal student loan program, the U.S. Department of Education alleged Tuesday.

The True Cost of Gun Violence in America | Mother Jones - "Compounding the lack of research funding," the doctors added, "is the fear among some researchers that studying guns will make them political targets and threaten their future funding even for unrelated topics." ($229 Bn/yr; there should be a 500% tax on all gun sales)

Walter Scott, Thomas Slager, and the Myth of Police Reform — The Atlantic - The real problem is the belief that all our social problems can be solved with force.

Sources: Supervisors told to falsify reserve deputy's training records - Tulsa World: Courts - Supervisors at the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office were ordered to falsify a reserve deputy’s training records, giving him credit for field training he never took and firearms certifications he should not have received, sources told the Tulsa World ... Bates said as he approached the scuffle, he thought he noticed Harris again reaching for his waistband. (idiots)
ASO investigating after video of armored vehicle traffic stop - The Independent Florida Alligator: Crime - In an 18-minute video sent to the Alligator, officers told Jewell they pulled him over for making an improper hand signal. They also repeatedly asked whether Jewell’s girlfriend was performing oral sex on him, based on what it looked like from outside the car.
Student pulled over by armored vehicle for flicking off police officers : news
Suspicious lawyer finds malware on external hard drive supplied by police lawyer in discovery - An Arkansas lawyer is seeking sanctions after his computer expert found malware on an external hard drive supplied in response to a discovery request. (oops, they didn't think he'd look)
Federal court rejects Third Amendment claim against police officers - The Washington Post - But in this case, a Nevada family claimed that local police had violated the Amendment by forcibly occupying their home in order to gain a “tactical advantage” against suspected criminals in the neighboring house. (they are only military when they want to be)
Thabo Sefolosha Blames The NYPD For His Broken Leg - Most of Sefolosha’s message is unremarkable, but the last sentence is key: “I will simply say that I am in great pain, have experienced a significant injury and that the injury was caused by the police.”
Ex-Douglas County deputy accused of sexual assault pleads to reduced charges - Omaha.com: Crime & Courts - The agreement means that Cooper, 31, won’t be a convicted felon, nor will he have to register as a sex offender.
Knight Oil Tools CEO Planted Cocaine On Brother Then Paid Police $100K To Arrest Him : news
Private Company Conspired With Police To Hold Poor People For Ransom, Lawsuit Charges | ThinkProgress - The suit, filed by the Southern Center for Human Rights, charges that Red Hills Community Probation conspired with local police in two small Georgia towns to jail poor people without any court approval or legal authority, effectively holding them for ransom. (in collusion with the cops, obviously: innovators!)

Aaron Hernandez, Ex-Patriots Star, Convicted Of Murder Of Odin Lloyd
Former New England Patriots star tight end Aaron Hernandez found guilty of 1st-degree murder : news

The Atlanta Schools Verdict: Sometimes The Judge Loses It Entirely - In which we learn what happens when an Atlanta judge goes off the rails with his schools verdict - The sentences are preposterous, but the sentences are not about the crimes involved. The sentences are a message that the power in this country is behind the "reform" grifting movement no matter what the cost to children or to public education in general. (but bankers walk)
» Newspaper reporter is ‘the worst job of 2015' jimromenesko.com - Newspaper reporter, which displaced lumberjack as the worst job of 2015, has a negative growth outlook of -13.33% and an average annual salary of $36,267. (that's one way to get rid of pesky reporters)
Our Adjunct Professors Are on Welfare by Daniel Luzer | College Guide | The Washington Monthly - In the last 20 years or so, even as college tuition keeps rising, schools are not spending more money on professors. (America hates education with a passion)

‘Free-range’ parents plan to file lawsuit after police pick up children - The Washington Post - “We must ask ourselves how we reached the point where a parent’s biggest fear is that government officials will literally seize our children off the streets as they walk in our neighborhoods,” he said ... the children were three blocks from their house when they were stopped by officers in three squad cars and “subjected to a terrifying detainment that no child should have to experience.” ... Police said an officer saw a “homeless subject” who was “eyeing the children.” (the new "reached for his waistband")
‘Free-range’ parents plan to file lawsuit after police pick up children: “We must ask ourselves how we reached the point where a parent’s biggest fear is that government officials will literally seize our children off the streets as they walk in our neighborhoods” : news

Scientists Scan 100,000 Galaxies And See No Signs Of Alien Life. What Do E.T. Hunters Say Now? - NASA's chief scientist recently predicted that we'd find signs of life beyond Earth within a decade or so, but a new study by researchers at Penn State -- one of the most exhaustive of its type -- isn't very encouraging.
Liquid Medical Marijuana Shows Promise Against Severe Epilepsy - Drugs.com MedNews - A liquid form of medical marijuana may help people with severe epilepsy that does not respond to other treatments, according to a new report. (throw the kid in prison for the rest of his life)
Alzheimer's disease study: caveats aside, the findings are encouraging | Society | The Guardian - Findings from the US bring us closer to understanding what causes this disease, but ‘Alzheimer’s mice’ are not a perfect parallel for what happens in human brains - There is now mounting evidence that by the time the plaques are visible, irreparable damage may have already been done to the brain: vital connections between brain cells will already have been severed, and neurons will have been lost for ever.
? BBC Louis Theroux - LA Stories Ep 3 - Among the Sex Offenders - YouTube
Why Do Nigerian Scammers Say They are From Nigeria? - Microsoft Research - . By sending an email that repels all but the most gullible the scammer gets the most promising marks to self-select, and tilts the true to false positive ratio in his favor.

s Females of Reddit, what makes a boyfriend "cool"? : AskReddit

Netflix subscriber gains: 4.9 million more cord cutters added | BGR
Editors Are Trying To Fix Wikipedia's Gender And Racial Bias Problem - Studies have shown that content on Wikipedia suffers from the bias of its editors -- mainly technically inclined, English-speaking, white-collar men living in majority-Christian, developed countries in the Northern hemisphere.

041415
Obama Yields, Allowing Congress Say on Iran Nuclear Deal - NYTimes.com
Iran Deal Reached In Senate; White House Hints Its Support - A tentative deal has been reached by senators on a bill to apply congressional oversight to a nuclear deal with Iran. And early signals from the White House suggest the president will drop his veto threat and sign the measure ... he bill would require the president to submit the final agreement to Congress. (Republicans/Israel desparate for WWIII)
Democrat Chris Coons Explains Why Democrats Are Bucking Obama On Iran - But Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) told reporters Tuesday that if Obama doesn't let Congress in on the delicate dealmaking process ahead of time, it will all but ensure that Congress torpedoes the agreement later. ("We take our orders from Israel")
The Other Iran Deal, And It's A Real Corker - There are now three Republican senators who have declared their candidacy for president, and none of them can be called entirely reasonable. This is not a good place for a democracy to be.

Edward Snowden Is In The White House, According To Google Maps - In addition to the Edward Snowden shop


Sexual Violence Becomes Favorite Tool Of Torture For Extremist Groups Like ISIS And Boko Haram: Report
A Yazidi captive's tale: Sold by ISIS as a sex slave - CNN.com

Obama to remove Cuba from list of state sponsors of terrorism | US news | The Guardian - White House says Obama has submitted required certifications to Congress indicating his intent to take Cuba off list, in latest move to normalise relations

CBS4 Investigation: TSA Screeners At DIA Manipulated System To Grope Men’s Genitals « CBS Denver

Obama’s Refusal to Play the Lame Duck Affects the Clinton Campaign by Nancy LeTourneau | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - And so it should come as no surprise that - as Chozick, Haberman and Martin point out - Hillary Clinton has decided to run on President Obama’s record rather than triangulate between he and Republicans.

Get to Know Marco Rubio, the Biggest Idiot Running for President
Mark Kirk Says People Drive Faster Through Black Neighborhoods - In a little-noticed interview last week, Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) described African-American neighborhoods as areas that people in his state try to avoid. ("We're doing everything to get rid of them," he said, "but you might want to avoid their ghettos until then.")

National Review - If you’re a particular kind of snot-nosed urban progressive

Idaho Is Not Fooled: Keep Your Sharia Money, Tyrannical Federal Government - Sen. Sheryl Nuxoll, a Cottonwood Republican, testified that federal regulations incorporated an international agreement regarding child support payments that would subject the state to Sharia law ... I am not aware of a single Republican presidential candidate, real or potential, who is not a Tenther in some way. (the persistence of the Confederacy)


John Legend launches campaign to end mass incarceration - "We have a serious problem with incarceration in this country," Legend said in an interview. "It's destroying families, it's destroying communities and we're the most incarcerated country in the world, and when you look deeper and look at the reasons we got to this place, we as a society made some choices politically and legislatively, culturally to deal with poverty, deal with mental illness in a certain way and that way usually involves using incarceration."

Best, Brightest — and Saddest? - NYTimes.com - Between May 2009 and January 2010, five Palo Alto teenagers ended their lives by stepping in front of trains. And since October of last year, another three Palo Alto teenagers have killed themselves that way, prompting longer hours by more sentries along the tracks. The Palo Alto Weekly refers to the deaths as a “suicide contagion.”

Tulsa Reserve Deputy Released On Bail After Turning Himself In
Islamic Extremists Have Seized Control Of U.S. Cities, Says NRA Seminar | ThinkProgress - Author Steve Tarani said during a presentation in Nashville on Sunday that he has witnessed the alleged “no-go zones” — areas where police cannot enter — while shadowing a friend who serves on the Detroit Metro SWAT Police on a drive in Dearborn, MI. He described pulling up to one of the alleged Muslim-controlled areas: (Zombie lie keeps popping up)
Baseball’s new metal detectors won’t keep you safe. They’ll just make you miss a few innings. - The Washington Post - We no longer need the terrorists. We’re now so good at terrorizing ourselves.
For downtown L.A.'s pedestrians, citations send a 'don't walk' signal - LA Times - $197 ticket. Over the next two hours, Lockhart will write up at least eight more pedestrians who violate "21456" — cop-speak for the vehicle code section that makes it illegal to step into a crosswalk after the red hand starts flashing and the countdown has begun.
Ex-drug officer says he stole cash, planted drugs many times
Chicago to pay reparations to police torture victims - CHICAGO — Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced Tuesday that the city has reached an agreement to provide a sweeping package of reparations to victims of a notorious Chicago police commander who for decades ran a torture ring against suspects.

Louis C.K.'s Crabby, Epic Love Letter to NYC: "Everyone's Dealing with the Same S— … Elbow to Elbow" - Hollywood Reporter

From Maryland Mom Danielle Meitiv’s Facebook Page | Free Range Kids - The police coerced our children into the back of a patrol car and kept them trapped there for three hours, without notifying us, before bringing them to the Crisis Center, and holding them there without dinner for another two and a half hours. We finally got home at 11pm and the kids slept in our room because we were all exhausted and terrified.
“Overzealous, dangerous patriotism”: School nurse refused to treat student who didn’t stand for Pledge of Allegiance : news

Room and Board Charges Rising Faster Than Inflation by Jill Barshay | College Guide | The Washington Monthly - 40 schools raised room and board charges by 50% or more

Turns Out, Tylenol Blunts Pleasure While It Relieves Your Pain - Acetaminophen seems to do more than just lower a fever or get rid of a nasty headache -- and some of its effects are pretty bizarre.
Dodo bird verdict given new life by psychosis therapy study | The University of Manchester - In this case, the research showed that it is the quality of the relationship between the therapist and patient which causes improvement and not the different techniques employed in the two therapies that were compared.
Alzheimer's breakthrough: Scientists may have found potential cause of the disease in the behaviour of immune cells - giving new hope to millions - Health News - Health & Families - The Independent - They observed that in Alzheimer’s, immune cells that normally protect the brain instead begin to consume a vital nutrient called arginine.

What CAN'T your SO ever find out about? : AskReddit
What's your go-to daydream? (NSFW) : AskReddit
This is a post that some of you are asking me about (copied word for word) : truecreepyPMs - I spent the day pretending to be a hot chick on the messaging app Kik

041315

Lawmakers Who Seem To Have Forgotten Iraq Insist They're Right About Iran - McCain argued that continuing a policy of deterrence against Iraq “would condemn Saddam's neighbors to perpetual instability. And once Iraq's nuclear ambitions are realized, no serious person could expect the Iraqi threat to diminish.” (dumbest of the dumb was spectacularly wrong and learned nothing, of course)
Cheney’s Ongoing Descent Clarifies Iran Debate -- NYMag -- The Bush administration has been out of power long enough to allow Obama’s critics to conveniently forget how the conservative Iran strategy actually operates in practice; Cheney’s comments offer a timely reminder.

Lawfare › The New York Times’s Latest Kill List Story - The New York Times this morning has a story on the internal debate within the administration over whether to capture or kill a U.S. citizen terrorism suspect now facing charges in federal court in New York: (and you know what Obama wanted to do)
NY Cops Used 'Stingray' Spy Tool 46 Times Without Warrant | WIRED (no steenking warrants)

Florida Ex-Senator Pursues Claims of Saudi Ties to Sept. 11 Attacks - NYTimes.com - “No. 1, I think the American people deserve to know the truth of what has happened in their name,” said Mr. Graham, who was a co-chairman of the 2002 joint congressional inquiry into the terrorist attacks. “No. 2 is justice for these family members who have suffered such loss and thus far have been frustrated largely by the U.S. government in their efforts to get some compensation.”
Saudi Arabia lawyers deny kingdom helped 9/11 hijackers : worldnews

US Blackwater guards jailed for Iraq deaths - BBC News

Saudi Arabia, Turkey Discussing Unlikely Alliance To Oust Syria's Assad - Turkey would provide ground troops, supported by Saudi Arabian airstrikes, to assist moderate Syrian opposition fighters against Assad's regime (what could go wrong?)

800,000 Children Have Been Forced From Homes By Boko Haram Violence - "Children have become deliberate targets, often subjected to extreme violence - from sexual abuse and forced marriage to kidnappings and brutal killings," the report says. "Children have also become weapons, made to fight alongside armed groups and at times used as human bombs."

U.S. Protests Intercept Of Reconnaissance Plane By Russia - The U.S. is protesting an intercept of a U.S. reconnaissance plane by a Russian fighter jet last week, calling it "unsafe and unprofessional" amid what it views as increasingly aggressive air operations by Moscow.

IDF soldier arrested for espionage, passing information to far-right settler... - Israel News, Ynetnews - Eldad Sela allegedly used his position in intelligence to alert activists to upcoming arrests following attack on local mosque.

What Can Mussolini’s Navy Teach Us About Chinese Naval Power? | The Diplomat - The history of the Italian navy offers great lessons why overestimating your enemy’s capabilities is dangerous.
Spies Helped the USAF Shoot Down a Third of North Vietnam’s MiG-21s — War Is Boring — Medium - The American pilots had to keep the NSA in the dark

?How To Fight Fire With Nuclear Bombs - In the 1960s and 1970s, the United States attempted to improve the image of nuclear bombs by using them for public works. This went about as poorly as you'd suspect.
Radiation measured at deadly 9.7 sieverts in Fukushima reactor | The Japan Times - Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Monday that radiation in the primary containment vessel of the No. 1 reactor of the Fukushima No. 1 power station gets as high as 9.7 sieverts per hour — enough to kill a human within an hour.


Man commits suicide in front of U.S. Capitol Building holding ‘Tax the 1 percent’ sign : news

Hillary Clinton Announces Her Candidacy — The Atlantic - After decades of centrist triangulation, the newly declared presidential candidate unexpectedly embraces a more liberal focus on domestic policy.

Hopefully the Supreme Court Will Solve This Problem - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Despite the best efforts of Republican statehouses and judges, more people have health insurance:
Uninsured Rate Falls Again for Random Reason Totally Unrelated to Obamacare -- NYMag
A chart that Obamacare's fiercest critics will have a hard time explaining - Vox - The share of Americans who lack health insurance coverage plunged again last quarter, according to Gallup, down to the lowest level since it started keeping track. An additional 1 percent of the American public — more than 3 million people — went from uninsured to insured over the past quarter - A year or two ago, people up and down the food chain from incredibly popular conservative media celebrities to incredibly obscure conservative think tank wonks were making the case that Obamacare wasn't expanding coverage.
It Takes a Party - NYTimes.com - For example, any Democrat would, if elected, seek to maintain the basic U.S. social insurance programs — Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid — in essentially their current form, while also preserving and extending the Affordable Care Act. Any Republican would seek to destroy Obamacare, make deep cuts in Medicaid, and probably try to convert Medicare into a voucher system. (tax cuts and start a ton of wars)
Art Laffer Foolishly Says Tax Cuts Will Give GOP a Lock on Washington | The New Republic - More importantly, Laffer’s economic theory is deeply flawed. He and other supply-siders are convinced that the only thing holding the economy back is tax reform; particularly reform that drastically lowers rates. But the academic evidence on this is thin. It’s hard to see any correlation, much less causation, between lowering taxes on capital gains and increased investment:

Dangers of a Hillary Clinton campaign: The disastrous centrism she desperately needs to avoid - Salon.com - Questions remain about how far to the left Hillary will run. One tip: Learn from your mistakes!
How I’m Going to Deal with Hillary Clinton’s Campaign. Because That’s How Feminism Works. | hecatedemeter - I’ve spent my life watching Patriarchy demonize smart, ambitious, aggressive women, although often subtly and from the shadows. Now, it’s all going to come out into the open. Bring it.

Carly Fiorina: Hillary Clinton Is 'An Inspiration' But 'Lacks Accomplishment' (she never destroyed a big company)

Indiana Hires PR Firm To Rebuild Image After 'Religious Freedom' Fiasco - The firm's task is to brand Indiana "as a welcoming place to live, visit and do business." (how about "Freedom to Hate and Be Stupid")

21st Century Policing - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Maybe it’s only a matter of time before police departments of the New Gilded Age start creating hunting licenses for rich people to shoot humans ... “There are lots of wealthy people in the reserve program,” he said.
Everything We Know About The Oklahoma Law Enforcement Killing Of Eric Harris - A white reserve sheriff's deputy in Tulsa County, Oklahoma shot and killed a black man who was on the ground being arrested on April 2. Law enforcement initially said the reserve deputy had mistaken his own handgun for a taser while trying to subdue the man and bring him into custody.
This Week In Law Enforcement - In which we learn that you can't tell the cops from the cops any more. - Something has gone permanently squirrelly with law-enforcement in this country. There is the change in attitude by which police increasingly feel and behave like an occupying army in American cities ... This is Kafka rewritten by Grover Norquist and Bozo The Clown
Why was a 73-year-old insurance company executive riding around playing cop? That’s the question many are asking a week after a Tulsa Police operation went wrong, and a white “reserve deputy sheriff” shot and killed an unarmed black man, apparently by accident. He has not been charged with a crime. : news
Video: ‘F*ck Your Breath,’ Says Cop to Man Who Has Just Been Fatally Shot : news
OldFatGod comments on Why was a 73-year-old insurance company executive riding around playing cop? That’s the question many are asking a week after a Tulsa Police operation went wrong, and a white “reserve deputy sheriff” shot and killed an unarmed black man, apparently by accident. He has not been charged with a crime.
Michael Slager, Cop In Walter Scott Shooting, Reportedly Heard Laughing Afterward - "They’re gonna tell you you’re gonna be out for a couple of days and we'll come back and interview you then," the senior officer is heard saying in the clip. "They’re not going to ask you any kind of questions right now. They’ll take your weapon and we’ll go from there. That’s pretty much it.”
Los Angeles To Pay $8 Million To Man Wrongly Convicted Of Murder - who spent 17 years in prison for a murder he didn't commit - a pimp who was a key witness had lied and prosecutors had not disclosed an agreement with him for a lighter sentence in exchange for his testimony. (no cops went to jail)
3-Year-Old Boy Shoots, Kills 1-Year-Old Boy In Ohio Home - "It's a sad day for Cleveland," he told reporters outside the home. "This fascination that we have with handguns, not just in this city but in this country, has to stop. This is a senseless loss of life." ... "It's a shame this had to happen." (well, it didn't if you didn't leave loaded guns around everywhere with kids in the house)

Why is NYU Law School giving Robert Kennedy Jr. a high-profile platform for his anti-vaxx nonsense? - Lawyers, Guns & Money : I don’t know, but it’s NYU so I have a guess . . .
California anti-vaccine movement: Politics, wealth, Bob Sears, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. - As states try to improve vaccination rates, anti-vaxxers rally.
The Robert Kennedy Jr. Anti-Vaccine Tour - Collide-a-Scape - “the principle of holding people accountable for saying misleading things is an important one.” (and seldom done in America)
Study finds cancer link for muscle-building supplements | News from Brown - A new study associates taking muscle-building supplements with an increased risk of testicular cancer.

What to do when the Express Lanes are slower than the regular ones - WTOP - What to do when the Express Lanes are slower than the regular ones

Nate Silver to Vox: Stop stealing our charts! - Politico.com
How Vox aggregates - Vox

What is universally hated? : AskReddit
Girls who have slept with rock stars; How was it? What was you perception of the person afterwards? What did your friends and family think (if you told them)? etc. : AskReddit
What is a non-sexual thing you like watching a member of the opposite sex do? : AskReddit
What small behavior or act is a warning sign of bigger problems? : AskReddit
What is the worst response to "I love you"? : AskReddit
What are your NSFW or slightly illegal life hacks? [serious] : AskReddit
temp4adhd comments on Well this is boring as hell. Me (32f) with my boyfriend (40m) of 1 year. - It's been said that there are four different types of partners-- soul mates, mind mates, play mates, and help mates -- and we tend to have preferences for one type or the other.

041215
California Delta's Water Mysteriously Missing Amid Drought - and the prime suspects are farmers whose families have tilled fertile soil there for generations. (we live by the resevoir, the water is ours!)

Difficult to Broach - The gist is that there are 10 U.S. military bases named after Confederate generals. At the risk of stating the obvious, these are men who broke their allegiance to the United States, fought against the United States and either directly or indirectly were responsible for killing numerous members of the United States Army (mainly Army, though Marines and Sailors too.)
The Dangerous Myth of Appomattox - NYTimes.com - Using its war powers to create freedom and civil rights in the South, the federal government fought against a white Southern insurgency that relied on murder and intimidation to undo the gains of the war. And yet the “Appomattox myth” persisted, and continues today ... And yet as late as 1869, President Grant’s attorney general argued that some rebel states remained in the “grasp of war.”

Empty Ebola Clinics in Liberia Are Seen as Misstep in U.S. Relief Effort - NYTimes.com - But after spending hundreds of millions of dollars and deploying nearly 3,000 troops to build Ebola treatment centers, the United States ended up creating facilities that have largely sat empty: Only 28 Ebola patients have been treated at the 11 treatment units built by the United States military, American officials now say.

Emails Show Discord Between F.B.I. and Justice Dept. Over Charges in Blackwater Case - NYTimes.com - As prosecutors put the finishing touches on the 2008 indictment of Blackwater security contractors for a deadly shooting in Iraq, the F.B.I. agents leading the investigation became convinced that political appointees in the Justice Department were intentionally undermining the case, internal emails show. (Bush) The machine-gun charge was contentious because it was written during the crack cocaine epidemic as a way to curb the use of automatic weapons. (war on drugz not meant to apply to white murderers)
How the FBI is whitewashing the Saudi connection to 9/11 | New York Post - “The 28 pages primarily relate to who financed 9/11, and they point a very strong finger at Saudi Arabia as being the principal financier,” he said, adding, “I am speaking of the kingdom,” or government, of Saudi Arabia, not just wealthy individual Saudi donors. (Obama covering up)

Kerry Says Iran Deal Critics Were Wrong Before And Are Wrong Now - Kerry didn’t take the bait to lash back at Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) after the Arizona Republican called him “delusional” for trusting Iran. Instead, he referred viewers to the comments made Sunday by President Barack Obama, who sharply criticized McCain and others for seeming to value the description of the deal being offered by Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei over the assurances of American officials.
Rand Paul Says There's 'Not A Place On The Globe' Where Hawks Don't Want U.S. Troops (out of the mouths of libertarians)

Nine-year-old Yazidi sex slave raped by 10 Isis militants is now pregnant – and could die delivering the baby - Middle East - World - The Independent - But Yousif Daoud, a Canada-based aid worker who has just returned from the region, told the Star the girl was “mentally and physically traumatised” after the abuse she had suffered, and there are fears she may yet not survive her ordeal.

Report: Islamists attack South Korean embassy in Libya - CNN.com - killing one embassy guard and wounding another, Yonhap news agency reported Sunday, citing a South Korean foreign ministry official.
Russian navy evacuates over 300 from Yemen: official | Manila Bulletin | Latest Breaking News | News Philippines - A Russian navy ship has evacuated 308 people of various nationalities from war-torn Yemen, a defence ministry official said Sunday.

Bangladesh hangs top Islamist leader - authorities have hanged a top Islamist leader for overseeing a massacre during the nation's 1971 independence war against Pakistan, officials say.

Pope Francis calls Armenian slaughter 'genocide' | World news | The Guardian - Pontiff’s comments are likely to anger Turkey, which denies that the killings 100 years ago during the fall of the Ottoman empire constituted genocide (the Turks were there even before the ADL)
Turkey Recalls Ambassador After Pope's Armenia Genocide Call - ABC News - Pope Francis on Sunday called the slaughter of Armenians by Ottoman Turks "the first genocide of the 20th century" and urged the international community to recognize it as such, sparking a diplomatic rift with Turkey at a delicate time in Christian-Muslim relations.
Turkey anger at Pope Francis Armenian 'genocide' claim - BBC News

Rape, child abuse and Prince Charles’s former school | Society | The Guardian - One of Scotland’s leading schools is facing claims by former students that they were abused by paedophiles. Alex Renton reveals how the country’s archaic laws are failing to bring them justice

Fukushima Robot Dies Three Hours After Entering Radioactive Reactor Vessel / Sputnik International - A robot sent to inspect a reactor' containment vessel at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant stopped responding three hours into the operation. (not a good sign)

An Example of How Dodd-Frank Is Working by Nancy LeTourneau | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - As this news points out, a lot of the proposals floating around about how to deal with “too big to fail banks” are misleading because many of these companies aren’t “banks” in the way we have typically thought of them. GE is a good example of that.

A New Phase in Anti-Obama Attacks - NYTimes.com - As Barack Obama’s presidency heads into its twilight, the rage of the Republican establishment toward him is growing louder, angrier and more destructive ... Try to imagine the outrage from Republicans if a similar group of Democrats had written to the Kremlin in 1986 telling Mikhail Gorbachev that President Ronald Reagan did not have the authority to negotiate a nuclear arms deal at the Reykjavik summit meeting that winter. (gearing up for Hillz)

Hillary Clinton: I'm running for president | US news | The Guardian
Hillary Clinton Launches 2016 Presidential Campaign
Hillary Clinton Set to Announce 2016 Presidential Bid - NYTimes.com
So Far, So Good. » Balloon Juice (good start)

What Divides Us by Nancy LeTourneau | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - . It was one thing when the rabble rousers in the Tea Party questioned his place of birth. But when Republican leaders like Cheney and Giuliani join the fray, it tears at the fabric of what is essential to our democratic processes.
NRA's Wayne LaPierre On Clinton And Obama: "Eight Years Of One Demographically Symbolic President Is Enough" | Video | Media Matters for America (Reagan, Bush, Bush, Bush)

Fight Or Flight: Rand Paul's Contentious History With The Press - The launch of Sen. Rand Paul's (R-KY) presidential campaign this week was quickly overshadowed by a string of spats with the media. (Randsplaining)
Fast & Fringiest: Meet the Top Cranks & Conspiracy Theorists in Rand's World


Report: Dems Pushing Alternative To Sestak In Pennsylvania Senate Race - In 2010 Sestak defied President Barack Obama and a number of other top Democratic leaders when he ran against —and defeated— then-Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA) in the Democratic primary. Sestak would go on to lose to Toomey in the general election. (Obama's "centrism")

Odds & Ends by Nancy LeTourneau | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - I suppose the good news here is that Republicans have finally found a group of immigrants that they like. - Republicans in Congress are advancing a bill to grant asylum to families who want to home school their children. But the same bill would also restrict granting asylum to migrant children fleeing violence and poverty in Central America. The bill’s provision would grant asylum for up to 500 individuals “fleeing home school persecution” in countries where home schooling is illegal. (freedom to be terribly stupid: Christians fleeing educational standards)

Fargo café praised after banning GOP lawmakers in fight for gay rights | US news | The Guardian - Owner Joe Curry’s spoof sign required legislators who voted against bill to be accompanied by an LGBT person: ‘I hope some of them giggled’

Bundy Ranch Marks Anniversary Of BLM Standoff With 'Liberty Celebration' - Family members and supporters of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy plan to mark the first anniversary of Bundy's standoff with the federal Bureau of Land Management with a "Liberty Celebration" beginning Friday. (sedition very much?)

Fatal shootings by on-duty police officers: An analysis | The Washington Post - Among the thousands of fatal shootings at the hands of police since 2005, only 54 officers have been charged, a Post analysis found. Most were cleared or acquitted in the cases that have been resolved. (a violent state-sanctioned cartel)
Walter Scott shooting: Former NYPD Chief of Department Philip Banks III on how to restore faith in the police. - The NYPD’s former chief of department talks candidly about what police need to do to win back the public’s trust.
Suspect beaten by police officers recovering in jail, lawyer says | US news | The Guardian - Francis Pusok’s violent arrest has led to an FBI civil rights investigation - Sheriff said video appeared to show an excessive use of force
South Carolina reflects on Walter Scott killing: ‘The flag of white supremacy still flies on our State House' | US news | The Guardian - South Carolina remains one of only two states to fly the Confederate flag over its State House. “We still carry that baggage from 1865 today,” says Randolph. “That flag of division, the flag of hate, the flag of white supremacy is flying on our State House grounds.”
How To Destroy A Black Life: A Step-By-Step Guide - Step 4: Handcuff The Body
Fairfax jail inmate in Taser death was shackled - The Washington Post - A mentally ill woman who died after a stun gun was used on her at the Fairfax County jail in February was restrained with handcuffs behind her back, leg shackles and a mask when a sheriff’s deputy shocked her four times
Video released of deadly police shooting in Tulsa - CNN.com - The reserve deputy who shot a suspect with his firearm rather than his stun gun, and another deputy who can be heard cursing at the suspect after he was shot, were not in their normal states of mind because of the elevated stress of apprehending the suspect
Sheriff's Office: Reserve deputy who fired fatal shot was among 'lots of' wealthy donors in reserve program - Tulsa World
Video released of deadly shooting in Tulsa after police chase : news - "Fuck your breath"
Attack on sisters in Trenton park caught on camera | 7online.com
Ellisville woman jailed for falsely reporting rape - WDAM-TV 7-News, Weather, Sports-Hattiesburg, MS - A false rape claim has landed an Ellisville woman behind bars. Abbigail Leggett, 23, was charged with false reporting of a crime.
throwawayjcms comments on Ellisville woman jailed for falsely reporting rape
Suspicion Arises Over How Blond Bombshell Teacher Got Unbelievable Plea Bargain For Sex with Minors - “…a deferred three-year prison sentence as long as she completes 90 days of mental health treatment.”
Suspicion Arises Over How Blond Bombshell Teacher Got Unbelievable Plea Bargain For Sex with Minors : news
Trying to prove reverse racism, Mindy Kaling’s brother uncovered actual racism - Vox - He's concerned about the "reverse racism" that he has no evidence actually benefited him as fake black person. But he's pretty much unbothered by what his experience validated about actual racism against black people.

Florida middle schooler arrested, charged with hacking cybercrimes. - Sheriff Chris Nocco said, "Even though some might say this is just a teenage prank, who knows what this teenager might have done."
Eighth-Grader Arrested, Charged With Cybercrimes For Changing Teacher's Desktop Wallpaper : technology

Curmudgucation: Arne's New History of CCSS on MSNBC - Kudos to Chris Hayes for pressing Duncan a tad harder than anybody else at MSNBC is ever inclined to, thereby adding to our gallery of ever-changing Common Core narratives. But this was still largely a baloney-delivering conduit for Arne, who should be limited to only so many stretchers per tv appearance, and he was once again over his limit. (one of Obama stupidest appointments)
The End of the Humanities Seminar - Lawyers, Guns & Money : I mean, that’s nice and all, but at least in the U.S., the small humanities seminar is disappearing fast ... They want to shift corporate training onto the universities to save themselves money. Their power over legislatures and representation on Boards of Trustees means they can do so. And thus we have the decline of the humanities and the skills small seminars teach. (more end of education in America the stupid)

Power to the people: bring on the superbattery | Comment is free | The Guardian - Efficient storage of electricity, especially from renewable sources, is the holy grail of the energy industry. And Elon Musk could have a gamechanger up his sleeve… - new battery technology that would make it possible efficiently to store the quantities of electric power needed to run modern homes. If he has indeed managed to do something like that, then it would be a game-changer on an epochal scale.

Darren Sharper May Have Penis Monitored As Part Of Probation, Report Says - Ex-NFL safety Darren Sharper may have his penis monitored as part of his probation after he serves at least nine years for drugging and raping several women, according to a report (the Dick App)

Behind the Death of Dr. Fredric Brandt, Cosmetic Dermatologist to the Stars - NYTimes.com

House That Wouldn’t Budge (or Float Away) Faces a Last Stand - NYTimes.com

How to Be Emotionally Intelligent - NYTimes.com (more like how to know you are emotionally stupid)

HBO still hasn't heard from Scientology lawyers for 'Going Clear' - Apr. 10, 2015 - "Everybody's entitled to their own opinion, but they're not entitled to their own facts," he added. "I think the documentary bears up very well to any kind of scrutiny."

Psychologists of reddit, what was the most disturbing story you have ever heard? : AskReddit
Who do you think are the most hated people in America? : AskReddit - Westboro baptist church or Scientologists. Possibly Congress.
This has been all over the news in Tampa. Man cries "discrimination" after trying to enter a movie with a bag. : videos
[NSFW] Men of reddit that have actually tried to get their hands on penis growth pills. What happened, what was the outcome, and how was your experience? : AskReddit
IAmJamieHyneman comments on Saw a guy at the car wash that looked like Jamie from Mythbusters
Yowski comments on Saw a guy at the car wash that looked like Jamie from Mythbusters - Yes... I have heard legends about the tard they call "neal" http://i3.minus.com/iSaEAJj28ZD13.png
What is the worst name you've seen given to a child? And do you know why? : AskReddit
Why are anti-particles shown as going backwards in time in Feynman diagrams? : askscience


041115
For Drinking Water in Drought, California Looks Warily to Sea - NYTimes.com - A $1 billion desalination plant to supply booming San Diego County is under construction here and due to open as early as November, providing a major test of whether California cities will be able to resort to the ocean to solve their water woes.
United States Forest Service investigates expired Nestle water permit | abc7news.com - The U.S. Forest Service is investigating an expired permit that Nestle has been using to draw water out of a national forest in Southern California for its bottled water business.

Remains From Lincoln’s Last Day - NYTimes.com - But beyond: Could the Republicans who control Congress in 2015, the party of no, ever pass a Homestead Act? That law, which went into effect the very day, Jan. 1, 1863, Lincoln’s wartime executive order to free slaves in the breakaway states did, carries a clause that very few Republicans would support now (the South is a cancer in America's body politic)

As encryption spreads, U.S. grapples with clash between privacy, security - The Washington Post - Why not, suggested Adm. Michael S. Rogers, require technology companies to create a digital key that could open any smartphone or other locked device to obtain text messages or photos, but divide the key into pieces so that no one person or agency alone could decide to use it? (and since we spy on everybody, problem solved!)
China weaponizes its Great Firewall into the GREAT FIRE CANNON, menaces entire globe • The Register - You've got censorship – you've all got censorship now
Google’s certificate change could hurt China’s e-economy : technology - "We now have evidence that points to the Chinese authorities being behind the recent DDoS attacks against our websites and against GitHub. We also had previous evidence pointing to the authorities being involved in the MITM attacks," Greatfire co-founder Charlie Smith told me by email.

Acknowledging Our History in Negotiations With Iran by Nancy LeTourneau | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - This was a pretty stunning statement coming from the President of the United States - “part of the psychology of Iran is rooted in past experiences, the sense that their country was undermined, that the United States or the West meddled in first their democracy and then in supporting the Shah and then in supporting Iraq and Saddam during that extremely brutal war. (Republican memory starts with Reagan's betrayal)

Reuters Iraq Bureau Chief Leaves Country After Being Threatened Over Story - The Baghdad bureau chief for Reuters has left Iraq after he was threatened on Facebook and denounced by a Shi'ite paramilitary group's satellite news channel in reaction to a Reuters report last week that detailed lynching and looting in the city of Tikrit.
Americans Stuck in Yemen File Suit Against Govt | Al Jazeera America - Hundreds of American citizens trapped in Yemen’s roiling violence have a legal right to be evacuated by the U.S. government, advocacy groups argued in a lawsuit filed Thursday that challenges the State and Defense departments' perceived inaction on a constitutional basis.

Raul Castro Says Cuba Blockade Not Obama's Fault - President Barack Obama declared his refusal to refight the Cold War battles of the past on Saturday while Cuban President Raul Castro rallied to his defense, absolving Obama of fault for the U.S. blockade in a stunning reversal of more than 50 years of animosity between the United States and Cuba. (Republicans want endless wars everywhere)
Obama and Raúl Castro Meet in Important Step in Thaw of Cuba Relations - NYTimes.com - The president cast his decision to seek normalized relations with Cuba after 50 years of estrangement in a bid to reverse a failed policy.

American Mohamed Soltan Sentenced to Life in Prison in Egypt After Protests - NBC News.com - Soltan was shot during the violent break-up of the protest, and was taken into custody along with his father, who was an active political opposition figure within the Muslim Brotherhood.

Russia refuses to hand plane wreckage to Poland - The Scotsman - Russia has refused to hand over to Poland the wreckage of a Polish government airliner five years after it crashed in western Russia killing Poland’s president, Lech Kaczynski, his wife Maria and dozens of the country’s political, military and civil elite. (it was full of holes)

South African Author ZP Dala Reportedly Taken to Mental Institution After Refusing to Renounce Salman Rushdie Comments | Books LIVE - Now, according to PEN America, the shocking news has come about that Dala has been put under “extreme pressure” by members of the Muslim community in Durban to “renounce her statement about Rushdie’s work” and “to make a public vow of religious loyalty to Islam”. When she refused, she was apparently admitted to a mental institution.


Middle class - Lawyers, Guns & Money : One of the themes of the series is that even very well off people in America generally identify as “middle class,” in part because there’s always somebody much richer nearby to compare themselves with. That point makes this statistical error at the end of the latest installment of the series especially unfortunate: (numbers are hard for the NYT when it comes to the riches)
The Salary Required to Be “Middle Class" in Every State (Alaska #2 after DC-area)

Here's A Look At The Most Ridiculously Long Judicial Vacancies The Senate Still Hasn't Filled - But Republicans slow-walking nominees through the Senate confirmation process is just one piece of a broader problem for the federal judiciary. Many district and circuit courts have judicial vacancies that don't even have nominees in the queue, and some spots have been open for an incredibly long time.

The Insiders: Republican Nutcase Check List - The Washington Post
The Insiders: The Democratic Whackjob Survey - The Washington Post (one of these these things is not the same)

Are Corporations Allies or Opponents? by Nancy LeTourneau | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - The truth of the matter is - as the NYT Editorial Board noted - the reason the laws designed to allow discrimination against LGBT people failed is because corporate America stood up against them. All of the sudden liberals found themselves allied, not only with traditionally liberal businesses, but with corporations like WalMart and NASCAR.
The Long Retreat in the Culture War - Pat Buchanan - Page full - Faced with a corporate-secularist firestorm, Gov. Mike Pence said Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act would not protect Christian bakers or florists who refuse their services to same-sex weddings. And the white flag went up again. (the view from Clownhall)
Joe. My. God.: Mormon Church To SCOTUS: Say No To Same-Sex Marriage Because It Will Deprive Us Of "Citizenship Rights" - To de­clare an unprecedented constitutional right to same-sex marriage would deny people of faith who support traditional marriage the liberty to participate as equal citizens in deciding which values and policies will govern their communities. (Mormons: liberty to hate! is our "citizenship" right)
Cabby facing fine for ordering women to stop kissing | New York Post - A cabby who claimed he had a “no-kissing policy” in his yellow taxi was hit with $15,000 in fines for ordering two female passengers to stop smooching — and then shouting vulgar epithets at them when they got out - Mohammed Dahbi became ­enraged.

Teaching witnesses of brutality how to shoot better video (your video on how to make videos is a failure)
WITNESS | Video As Evidence - Film It. Preserve It. Present It.

Walter Scott: county sheriff punished with trash collection after dog attack on suspect | US news | The Guardian - The highest-ranking law enforcement officer in the South Carolina county where Walter Scott was shot dead was punished with trash collection duty after his team of officers dragged a man from his truck, punched him and allowed a dog to bite him as he lay on the ground.
Cleveland officer facing trial in 137-shot barrage says he cannot recall standing on the hood of suspects car, shooting 15 rounds into the windshield and killing 2 unarmed men has only been charged with voluntary manslaughter : news - My favorite/worst part is how he talked about his leaping onto the hood and firing through the windshield at the station for weeks but now lies in court pretending he can't remember. Disgusting.
Civil asset forfeiture bill signed into law by Gov. Susana Martinez | Albuquerque Journal News - Gov. Susana Martinez does not like the term “policing for profit,” but she still signed into law today a measure aimed at barring law enforcement from seizing money, cars or other types of property from people on civil grounds during an arrest or traffic stop on suspicion the property was connected to a crime.

Lukimcsod comments on Florida has 47 mine-resistant vehicles and 36 grenade launchers: Police militarization state by state, in one map. [OC]

Sheriff: Hundreds watched 'gang rape' in Panama City Beach in broad daylight, did nothing to stop it | AL.com - Bay County (Fla.) Sheriff Frank McKeithen said he "will not back off" in seeking changes to tamp down spring break behavior in Panama City Beach Friday after two Troy University students were arrested in connection with a video that McKeithen said showed a "gang rape" that occurred on the beaches of Panama City Beach last month.
How Police Failed to Stop Former NFL Star Darren Sharper’s Cross-Country Rape Spree - ProPublica - Sharper typically chose victims who were white women in their early 20s, records show. He picked them up in pairs at nightclubs, and took them home to his hotel or residence. Sharper had drinks with them, sometimes lacing drinks he gave the women with drugs that rendered them unconscious. (the Cosby Model)

That safe-space room was actually well-done, please stop mocking it now « Now Face North - I’m not going to go deeply into the now-famous Shulevitz op-ed in the New York Times about how students are “hiding from scary ideas” and trying to “self-infantilize,” though I have many thoughts on it. I want to pull out a small bit of it and explain why the mockery of what’s described in that bit is off-base.

Report: Converting Metro's Orange Line to rail could cost $1.7 billion - LA Times - The Orange Line is the busiest bus route in the Valley, and it will soon be at capacity during morning and evening peak periods if demand continues to increase and the area's population grows, the report said. The route handles about 30,000 boardings per weekday.

A Cranky Blogger Crusades to Preserve the Ordinary in New York - NYTimes.com - For nearly a decade, Jeremiah Moss has been telling that story on his brilliantly dismal blog, Jeremiah’s Vanishing New York, a digital obituary column for the various mom-and-pop concerns that have fallen prey to the city’s endless search for higher rents.
Brick House 319 | Buying a Hoarder's House & Renovating…


Oral contraceptive pill use is associated with localized decreases in cortical thickness - Petersen - 2015 - Human Brain Mapping - Wiley Online Library - Oral contraceptive pill use is associated with localized decreases in cortical thickness - significantly lower cortical thickness measurements in the lateral orbitofrontal cortex and the posterior cingulate cortex. These regions are believed to be important for responding to rewards and evaluating internal states/incoming stimuli
Phase II Data for Celgene’s Investigational Oral GED-0301 for Patients with Active Crohn’s Disease Published in New England Journal of Medicine | Reuters - 65 percent of patients treated with GED-0301 160 mg once daily for two weeks achieved clinical remission at both day 15 and day 28, versus 10 percent of patients on placebo
Dogs trained to detect prostate cancer with more than 90% accuracy | Society | The Guardian - “Over the years, millions of pounds of NHS funding has been poured into the traditional test methods, and yet there has been little improvement in their reliability.” This had caused “a huge waste of resources”, Guest said, not to mention distress to individuals.
Triangles are rigid in 2D space, pyramids are rigid in 3D space. Are there structures that are rigid in 4D or n-D) space? : askscience
Marijuana kills cancer cells, confirms US government : news
Rotations in 4-dimensional Euclidean space

No Moods, Ads or Cutesy Fucking Icons (Re-reloaded) » Person of Interest

Ejaculation when in pre-dream/hypnagogic state : Meditation

041015
Yale Climate Opinion Maps
Science AMA Series: We are a group of researchers from Yale and Utah State, who created a tool to visualize public opinion on climate change, Ask Us Anything! : science
Activists Slam West Virginia Board Of Education For Watering Down Climate Change Guidelines - Science education advocates are once again railing against the West Virginia State Board of Education for approving amendments to proposed education standards that critics say treat climate change with unjustified skepticism.

A Guide to the 5+ Known Intelligence Community Telecommunications Metadata Dragnets | emptywheel
Stingray spying: FBI's secret deal with police hides phone dragnet from courts | US news | The Guardian - Non-disclosure agreement in Florida reveals chain of secrecy across US - Federal authorities maintain ‘totalitarian’ control over local law enforcement (which was the whole point)

Want to See Domestic Spying's Future? Follow the Drug War | WIRED
The Snowden Effect: The DEA Is Watching, Too - I remember that, back in the early days of the Edward Snowden caper, after we'd all agreed that Glenn Greenwald was a big doodyhead who never would get a Valentine's Day Card from us 4-evah!, we were told not to worry about the fearless, but curiously accident-prone, heroes of our surveillance state because they were spying on the bad guys and operating under strict oversight both from within their institutions, and from the tribunes of the people in the national legislature. And, besides, terrorism!

Losing the Peace - Lawyers, Guns & Money : We enjoyed celebrating the 150th anniversary of crushing treason in defense of slavery. Time to start bemoaning the 150th anniversary of losing the peace. ("150 years after the civil war and confederate thought still looms amazingly large in our politics, when it should have been stamped out completely long ago.")
Appomattox - Lawyers, Guns & Money : 150 years ago today, Robert E. Lee surrendered what was left of the Army of Northern Virginia to Ulysses S. Grant, who had on hand the Army of the Potomac and the Army of the James. The arc of history bent a little more towards justice that afternoon.
Appomattox: How did Ulysses S. Grant become an embarrassment of history and Robert E. Lee a role model? - The two men met at Appomattox. The loser would become a role model, the victor an embarrassment. (the fog of bullshit was always there)
After Appomattox, by Gregory Downs, reviewed. - How the military occupation of the former Confederacy helped strong-arm the South into line ... But in After Appomattox, Downs makes the case that the final end to slavery, and the establishment of basic civil and voting rights for all Americans, was “born in the face of bayonets.”

White House defends trolling Netanyahu | TheHill
The New Deal by Jessica T. Mathews | The New York Review of Books (will Republicans destroy the Iran deal?)
Times Of Israel Apologizes For 'Hoax Blogger' That Published Genocide Post - The article, posted earlier that day on the site's blogging platform, called for the "extermination" of Palestinian "cockroaches" and suggested performing grotesque medical experiments on survivors. (Menachem Begin)

10 doctors ‘shot dead’ after refusing to treat ISIS militants | New York Post
Refugees in Yarmouk reveal atrocities they have seen since ISIS took over | Daily Mail Online - 'I saw ISIS playing with a severed head as if it was a football. They killed children in front of their parents'

Brazil Police Arrest 3 Former Congressmen In Corruption Probe - Brazilian police arrested three former congressmen on Friday, broadening their corruption investigation beyond state-run oil firm Petrobras to state lender Caixa Economica Federal and the federal health ministry.

Daddy Issues by Ed Kilgore | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - So you think Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, Jeb Bush, and Hillary Clinton have problems with family members who might say or do things that complicate their presidential campaigns? They have no problems compared to Marine Le Pen (per a report from Reuters): Guess there’s an old guard that likes to get together and sing the drinking songs of the Vichy era.

General Electric Hands Dodd-Frank Its Biggest Victory Yet - General Electric said Friday it will sell off most of its banking operations, an acknowledgment that the company needs to transform itself in the face of Wall Street reforms passed five years ago
Eschaton: Unpossible - This is not how America is supposed to work. - San Francisco -- The California Public Utilities Commission has voted to penalize Pacific Gas & Electric Co. $1.6 billion for a deadly 2010 natural gas pipeline explosion.

Where Government Excels - NYTimes.com - Suddenly, it seems, many Democrats have decided to break with Beltway orthodoxy, which always calls for cuts in “entitlements.” Instead, they’re proposing that Social Security benefits actually be expanded. (the unthinkable has been thought)
How a Frustrated Blogger Made Expanding Social Security a Respectable Idea - Pacific Standard - Thanks to decades of stagnant wages and the Great Recession, more than half of American working-class households are at risk of being unable to sustain their standard of living past retirement. Duncan Black is trying to change that. (a true thought leader)

Exclusive: Hillary Clinton to launch 2016 campaign on Sunday en route to Iowa | US news | The Guardian - Former secretary of state scheduled to announce presidential run on Twitter (from her private server)
Wingnuts Just Asking: Is Hillary Clinton A Violent Spouse Abuser? And A Lizard Person? | Wonkette - Mr. Taylor grimly notes that Politico deliberately covered for Hillz by leaving out “Hillary’s alleged bloody attack on Bill.”
“Polarizing” Means “Well-Known” by Ed Kilgore | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly ("Democrat" means "Polarizing")
Hillary Clinton Loss Would Be Devastating to Democrats, Liberalism | The New Republic - . But it’s also the source of genuine anxiety among liberals, who worry she’ll enter the general election rusty and untested unless someone formidable dares to challenge her in the primary. (Dems need their own drama)
A New Chapter | Hillary Clinton - "Epilogue" from the paperback edition of HARD CHOICES by Hillary Rodham Clinton
Why Chafee for President actually makes sense | wpri.com

Ted Cruz is tired of the media making him look bad with accurately quoted remarks - Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) said that his reputation as a “wild-eyed lunatic” is an invention of the liberal media, which is bent on smearing him through the use of “yellow journalism called PolitiFact.”
Bully For Cruz by Ed Kilgore | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - Do you really want to have as your “chief strategic and logistics decision-maker” a guy who’s been associated—some would use the stronger term “implicated”—in the suicides of two Republican politicians in his own state?
WATCH: Rand Paul's short temper | TheHill - The exchanges with Guthrie and Evans aren't Paul's only media run-ins.
Rand Paul's leading a ‘Libertarianish’ revolution | The Washington Post - Rand Paul’s ideological heritage is his greatest asset — and his biggest challenge. ("Unleash the American Delusion")
Rand Paul walks out on live interview in third testy media exchange this week | US news | The Guardian - Republican presidential candidate abruptly ends live Guardian interview when pressed for details on white Republicans’ opinion of criminal justice reform (dude's got an anger problem)
Video Shows Rand Paul Walking Out Of Interview With Newspaper - Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) had yet another contentious interaction with the media on Friday when he reportedly walked out of an interview with The Guardian. (comments: spectacular crash and burn, one clown down)
Eschaton: One Thousand And One - Conservative bigots are so weird - "They're choosing him for his signature, which is religious bigotry and personal offensiveness, not because he's gay," Bozell said. "There are a thousand and one gay people they could have chosen."
Santorum To Iowa Legislators: You, Too, Can Become Pariahs! by Ed Kilgore | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly (religious liberty to be stupid and evil)

Jon Stewart: Kansas Is America's 'Welfare Queen' - Stewart pointed out, Kansas receives $1.29 from the federal government for every dollar residents pay in federal taxes, yet it's still closing schools, cutting funding to museums and and canceling much-needed highway repairs due to lack of funding ... "Maybe they'll motivate you to escape your culture of federal dependency," Stewart said. "But until then, let's see how you like being treated like the welfare queens you are."
Kansas Tries to Stamp Out Abortion - NYTimes.com - During the past four years, the state of Kansas has become ground zero in the war to criminalize all abortions, and in the process to remove a woman’s ability to control what happens in her own body.

States Vary Widely in Number of Tax Filers with No Income Tax Liability | Tax Foundation (Confederacy +Idahohoho)
The Surprising Facts About Mitt Romney's 47% Who Pay No Income Tax - DailyFinance (same moochers)
Are 97 of the nation's 100 poorest counties in red states? | PolitiFact
Better Dead and Red: How the GOP blocked health care for red state Americans

Rahm Emanuel re-election: Chicago crime, tickets, hassle, libraries, gangster rap. - The hassles and dangers of living in the new global city.

Interactive map: US police have killed at least 5,600 people since 2000 - Vox - . D. Brian Burghart, head of Fatal Encounters, estimates that his organization's collection of reports from the public, media, and FBI only captures about 35 percent of total police killings.
xs Officers in Vineland fatal arrest named by 'Anonymous'

One-Eighth Of South Carolina Inmates Were Jailed Over Child Support Payments. Walter Scott Was One Of Them.
Who is Michael Slager, the officer who shot Walter Scott? | US news | The Guardian - What details there are indicate the North Charleston police officer held a relatively exemplary training record, but as the tide has turned against him, the walls have come down around his private life
Why it’s finally catching on that “What about black-on-black crime?” doesn’t make sense - Vox - This is one of the most predictable reactions to conversations about police violence
Video Shows California Deputies Beating Man Fleeing On Horse - KNBC-TV said up to 13 deputies eventually surrounded the man, and some of them kicked, hit and punched him dozens of times over a two-minute period. (fire their asses)
10 San Bernardino deputies placed on leave after beating caught on video - LA Times
'Disturbing' video shows 11 deputies beating man after horse pursuit : news
How kicking a trash can became criminal for a 6th grader | Public Radio International - Kayleb was charged with disorderly conduct for kicking over a trash can and then with felony assault on a police officer because he struggled to break free when the cop grabbed him.
Virginia Beach Police investigating forceful viral video arrest | WTKR.com - Courtney uploaded the video to her Facebook page on January 27th and it has since been seen nearly 800,000 times. Virginia Beach Police say they were unaware that anyone had recorded the video until Thursday
Video: Police Officer Punches A 38 Weeks Pregnant Woman Repeatedly : news
The Continuing Adventures Of Florida Man: When Cops Go Bad - In which we learn that tolerating bad cops is a public safety issue - "All the defendants were black; all the cases were dropped because at least one of the officers was the principal officer involved in the arrest," ... And, as we know, this is not About Race, because nothing ever is About Race.

Eschaton: Not Gonna Last Long - Gonna be a post-apocalyptic nightmare soon - Revel, the $2.4 billion former casino hotel sold this week for $82 million, went dark - literally - Thursday afternoon. (Chris Crisco larding up the failure)
Dispute leaves Revel in the dark (put some Hunger Games in there)
The Passion Of Big Chicken: The Money Pit - In which we watch Chris Christie's career hit on 20 and go bust ... Big Chicken ... Anyway, the Revel is still sitting there, a gleaming plague ship, and its situation is getting even more hilarious. It can't pay its light bill and it seems to be owned by a very interesting person.

California approves bill banning child vaccine exemptions | MSNBC - California lawmakers approved a bill this week that would prevent most parents from opting out of vaccinations for their children enrolled in school, just months after the state was hit with the largest U.S. measles outbreak in decades.
US states face fierce protests from anti-vaccine activists | US news | The Guardian - Three states blindsided by activists - Oregon, Washington and North Carolina - pull back from or kill bills as battleground moves to California - “Innocent people will die,” she said tearfully. “Innocent children will be killed.”

David Brooks: ‘I’m paid to be a narcissistic blowhard, to be more confident about opinions than I really am’ | Books | The Guardian - David Brooks is aware there’s some irony in the subject matter of his latest book, which is a hymn to humility, and the importance of acknowledging how little we can ever truly know
David Brooks’ dream world for the trust-fund set - Salon.com - His buzzed-up new fiction/science amalgam had me leaping to my feet -- to yell, "Die, yuppie scum, die!"

Marijuana Taxes Won’t Save State Budgets - NYTimes.com - Colorado’s marijuana tax collections are not as high as expected.

B.C. teacher suing over ‘unimaginable hardship’ after false accusations of rape, torture | National Post - A Vancouver Island teacher falsely accused of sexual assault and torture by a Grade 9 student — accusations that were later shown to be ripped off from TV episodes of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit — is seeking compensation for more than two years of “unimaginable hardship.”
Boss in text: You’re fired because you refused sex | New York Post - The damning text — sent by former US Limousine manager Raymond Towns­end to pretty underling Geralyn Ganci — ended up costing him and his employer more than $700,000 in legal damages and fees, court papers show.

New Republic Exploring Identity Survey Results | The New Republic - How Do Our Readers Think About Personal Identity? (see TNR not be able to think of income inequality)
Large Hadron Collider proton beam reaches new record energy | Life & Physics | Science | The Guardian - After successfully circulating beams at lower energies on Easter morning, CERN is now into new territory again
Sex differences and vulnerability: how the male-female divide affects health | Science | The Guardian - Geary is the first academic to frame biological sex differences in terms of their vulnerability, and he believes this approach could transform science and medicine.
Psychology of smiling: can you tell a fake smile from a genuine one? | Science | The Guardian - Psychologist Richard Wiseman has devised a photographic test to check people’s empathy. Do you pass the test?
If the Universe keeps expanding at an increasing rate, will there be a time when that space between things expands beyond the speed of light? : askscience
Crowd Funding the Psychedelic Renaissance - LSD research is experiencing a renaissance, with an influx of financing coming from internet crowdfunding sites like Walacea, Indiegogo, and Reddit.

IAmA Vikings Expert Who Just Published A New Translation of the Norse Myths. AMA : IAmA
How AirBnB Became a Billion Dollar Company : Entrepreneur - I believe AirBnB used multiple gmail accounts to spam craigslist and grow their site to a one billion dollar valuation.
Street Art : pics
A giant boulder fell on the highway in Ohio. : pics
http://www.10tv.com/content/graphics/2015/04/10/boulder2.jpg
Women of Reddit, when did you first notice that men were looking at you in a sexual way? How old were you and how did it make you feel? : AskReddit

Judge: IP-Address Doesn’t Identify a Movie Pirate : technology
BuzzFeed Deletes Post Critical of Dove, a BuzzFeed Advertiser

040915
Massive Tornado Hits Northern Illinois, Reports Of Heavy Damage
Scott Walker Appointee Suggests Volcanoes Might Be Real Cause Of Global Warming - "You know, the elimination of essentially every automobile would be offset by one volcano exploding. You have to recognize the multiple factors that go into climate change."
The Last Time Oceans Got This Acidic This Fast, 96% of Marine Life Went Extinct | Motherboard

The Tsarnaev Verdict: What We Still Don't Know About Terrorism - In which we are reminded that we only have half the story about the Boston Marathon bombing.
In the Boston Marathon Bombing, a Verdict, but Few Answers - NYTimes.com

Microsoft: Feds are 'rewriting' the law to obtain emails overseas | TheHill - The Obama administration is abandoning decades of established law in order to force Microsoft to hand over data from a foreign server, the software giant claims.

White House Trolls Netanyahu Over Iran Agreement With Bomb Cartoon - The White House Twitter account took a less-than-subtle dig at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday afternoon, amid a continuing public spat between the U.S. and Israeli governments over nuclear negotiations with Iran.

Iraq: Yazidi girls 'raped in public' and sold to Isis fighters before release - Yazidi girls were snatched from their mothers, sold to IS fighters, tortured and even raped in public by more than two or three jihadists at a time before being freed by the Islamic State (Isis) in northern Iraq, according to harrowing details recounted after their release.
Yazidi girls 'raped in public' and sold to Isis fighters before release : worldnews
For Most People, There's No Way Out Of Yemen's Conflict - Airports are closed. Many roads are impassible. There is the ocean, but the crossing is dangerous and on the other side lie some of the poorest and least stable countries in Africa.

Gaza police seize door bearing Banksy drawing amid ownership dispute | World news | The Guardian - Original owner complained of being swindled into selling it cheap for $175 but the British street artist’s work usually sells for more than $500,000

Obama hints at Cuba breakthrough as he flies south for Raúl Castro meeting | US news | The Guardian - President set to remove Cuba from the US list of state sponsors of terrorism as he prepares for face-to-face encounter with Castro at Panama summit

Rise of deadly radon gas in Pennsylvania buildings linked to fracking industry - The Washington Post

Wall Street Fees Wipe Out $2.5 Billion in New York City Pension Gains - NYTimes.com - The Lenape tribe got a better deal on the sale of Manhattan island than New York City’s pension funds have been getting from Wall Street, according to a new analysis by the city comptroller’s office.

The G.O.P. Presidential Field Looks Chaotic. It’s Not. - NYTimes.com - The 2016 Republican candidates can already be sorted into roles that tell us a lot about their chances of winning the nomination.
CNBC Reporter Hammers Ted Cruz: Why Should Anyone Believe What You Say? - CNBC reporter John Harwood called out Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) for a number of statements he's made that appear to be factually incorrect.
Rand Paul Savannah Guthrie Skirmish Exemplifies His Greatest Weakness | The New Republic

Most Americans side with gays in religious freedom disputes: Reuters/Ipsos poll | Reuters - The poll found solid opposition to allowing businesses to refuse services or refuse to hire people or groups based on religious beliefs.

Kansas GOP Governor Sam Brownback Retreats on Tax Cuts to Close $600 Million Budget Deficit — The Atlantic - The state's budget problems didn't go away after Governor Sam Brownback's reelection—they got worse. Will the lesson of tax-cuts-gone-awry give Republican candidates pause in 2016? By Brownback's own description, the tax plan was a "real live experiment" in supply-side economics (and who could have predicted that?)

How Megan McArdle gets Social Security profoundly wrong - LA Times (her calculator is broken again)

Lee Surrendered, But His Lieutenants Kept Fighting - NYTimes.com - Appomattox veterans lamented that they had been compelled to surrender to a mercenary army — “German, Irish, negro, and Yankee wretches,” as Pendleton put it bitterly — of their social and racial inferiors.

Dashcam Video Shows Officer Pulling Over Walter Scott Moments Before Fatal Shooting
North Charleston Police Shooting Not Justified, Experts Say - NYTimes.com - Can a police officer legally shoot a fleeing suspect in the back?
Video of Walter Scott Shooting Reignites Debate on Police Tactics - NYTimes.com - While cameras frequently exonerate officers in shootings, the recent spate of videos has raised uncomfortable questions about how much the American criminal justice system can rely on the accounts of police officers when the cameras are not rolling
Witness Who Recorded Shooting Of Walter Scott Speaks Out: 'Police Had Control' (video)
Michael Slager, Cop Who Killed Unarmed Black Man Walter Scott, Had Prior Excessive Force Complaint
South Carolina Residents Say Police Shooting Reflects Racist Pattern
Phone Cameras and Apps Help Speed Calls for Police Reform - NYTimes.com - “A lot of times, until these videos show up, the officer is going to walk,” said Darren Baptiste, the creator of Cop Watch, an iPhone app that automatically begins recording when you tap its icon and automatically uploads the video to YouTube when the recording is stopped
Seeing Path to Justice in Video of Shooting on Bystander’s Phone - NYTimes.com
'Time' Takes On Walter Scott Shooting With #BlackLivesMatter Cover
GoFundMe Shuts Down Campaign For Officer Charged With Murder Of Walter Scott
Morning Joe: Where Are Charges for Second Officer in Scott Shooting? | Mediaite
Second officer in Walter Scott video sued over alleged attack on handcuffed man | US news | The Guardian - Clarence Habersham, who was with Michael Slager during shooting, is being sued by another black resident who alleges police stomped on his face
The Total Rejection of Michael Slager — The Atlantic - The South Carolina police officer who shot Walter Scott has found shockingly few supporters in the real or digital world.

Women To Be Sentenced For Role In Deadly Attack On Black Mississippi Man - JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Two young white women, part of a group who repeatedly searched Mississippi's capital city for black people to attack, are scheduled to be sentenced Thursday.
Teen mistakenly shot by LAPD officer seeks $20 million - LA Times - An attorney representing a 15-year-old boy who was mistakenly shot and injured by a Los Angeles police officer earlier this year announced Wednesday that he has filed a $20-million claim against the city on behalf of his client.

When a Plane Seat Next to a Woman Is Against Orthodox Faith - NYTimes.com - A growing number of airline passengers, particularly on trips between the United States and Israel, are now sharing stories of conflicts between ultra-Orthodox Jewish men trying to follow their faith and women just hoping to sit down ... But now the ultra-Orthodox Jewish population is growing rapidly because of high birthrates

U.Va | campus sexual assault | affirmative consent
Hugging without permission now ‘sexual assault’ at the University of Virginia : news

Sad Puppies' Hijacking of the Hugo Awards Won't Stifle Diversity in Science Fiction — The Atlantic

Sexual offending runs in families: A 37-year nationwide study - We report strong evidence of familial clustering of sexual offending, primarily accounted for by genes rather than shared environmental influences. (the rape gene)
Sexual offending runs in families, 37-year nationwide study finds : science
How Did The Moon Form? Scientists Finally Solve Pesky Problem With Giant Impact Hypothesis

Comcast refused to cancel customer's service after his house burned down - Comcast excels at disappointing its customers, but it rarely rubs salt in a wound this raw.
I found a BIG old bible whalst on a run, can anyone tell me anything about it? : books
Can particles other than electrons and protons orbit one another to form "atoms"? : askscience

040815
Oh, Happy Day: The Surrender Holiday - In which we celebrate our triumph over armed sedition. (victory over traitors day) s

For Some Wisconsin State Workers, ‘Climate Change’ Isn’t Something You Can Talk About - Bloomberg Business - Discussing climate change is out of bounds for workers at a state agency in Wisconsin. So is any work related to climate change—even responding to e-mails about the topic.
Very Serious Candidate Makes Very Serious Argument - Lawyers, Guns & Money : You may remember Carly Fiorina, who decided to follow up her track record of nearly ruining Hewlett-Packard with kicking some dirt on the grave of California’s Republican Party by becoming a dismal candidate. She is, for some reason, pretending to run for president, but her vision is as acute as it ever was:
California, by the Nuts - The Baffler - Listen up: California’s agricultural sector uses about 80 percent of the state’s water. As Mother Jones reported, it takes one gallon of water to grow a single almond, and nearly five gallons to make a walnut edible.
Getting in Touch With the Almond’s Desert Roots | TakePart - Using drought-tolerant rootstock could make the thirsty crop less environmentally damaging.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev found guilty in Boston bombing, could face death penalty | MSNBC
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Convicted Of Boston Marathon Bombing
A Verdict In Boston: What The Trial Is Still About - In which we confront what the Boston Marathon trial is really all about.
Jury Finds Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Guilty In Bombing Of Boston Marathon : news

Turns Out Feds Actually Tracked Most International Calls For Nearly A Decade Before 9/11 -- Didn't Stop The Attack | Techdirt - from the well,-look-at-that dept
Anonymous released a list of ISIS supporter websites and companies in UK and US that are hosting them : worldnews

"We Also Need to Solve the Pakistan Problem." - Lawyers, Guns & Money : The Bush administration in one memo. The fact that it was sent to the the fucking stupidest guy on the face of the earth is a bonus. Ah, for the days when the adults were in charge. (+let's put 25 yr old Republican interns in charge of Iraq!)

Iran’s Leaders Fall Into Line Behind Nuclear Accord - NYTimes.com
Tom Cotton Suggests We Could Take Care Of Iran With 'Several Days' Of Bombing (breathtakingly stupid and evil)

Israeli Fire Killed Spanish Peacekeeper in January, Israeli Official Confirms - NYTimes.com

Iraq Empties Mass Graves in Search for Cadets Killed by ISIS - NYTimes.com - Iraq Empties Mass Graves in Search for Cadets Killed by ISIS
ISIS severely weakened, unsuccessfully suing for truce with Pesh - He added that Peshmerga victories, coalition air raids and the ISIS rout in Tikrit at the hands of Iraqi forces and Shiite militias has severely erdoded the power of the religious radicals.

Chelsea Manning Shares Her Transition to Living as a Woman — Behind Bars


Eschaton: The Greatest Human Who Ever Lived - Our elites don't have insecurity issues, apparently. "The memoir by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will be called "The Courage to Act" and is coming out in October." - Making rich people richer might have been the only legal way to help the economy, but I'm not sure how courageous it was.
Populist Conspiracies - Lawyers, Guns & Money : The Populists were wrong about who was responsible for the conspiracy affecting their lives. But they were absolutely not wrong about the conspiracy itself. It was Hofstadter who was wrong in so blithely dismissing the Populists.

Good news on the horizon for Obama's immigration action | MSNBC

“No no no no no no no no: Listen!” He-man Rand Paul lectures a lady — again - Salon.com - The senator lectures NBC’s Savannah Guthrie on how to do her job. What's Paul's problem with female interviewers?
Meckler: Jeb Bush is ‘loathed’ by the tea party | MSNBC - Another factor is his support for a set of statewide school standards called Common Core. “He’s not bending on that position at all. For most people, that’s a litmus test. He’s just done,” said Meckler. (not quite insane enough for the baggers)
Indictments May Be Near in George Washington Bridge Scandal - NYTimes.com

Rahm Emanuel Survives Runoff Election And Wins Second Term As Chicago Mayor - won with 56 percent of the vote (will exict all the poors and cut education more)
Rahm the Screwup - James Warren - POLITICO Magazine - In fact, it is staggering that one of America’s smartest and feared politicians needed well over $20 million in both the general and runoff to keep his job against seemingly token opposition.

Wisconsin Re-elects Liberal Judge, but Opens Door for Conservative Chief Justice - NYTimes.com

Getting a (Slightly) Better Handle on Public Opinion About Abortion by Ed Kilgore | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - Everything else about the poll suggests that the more people find themselves identifying with women seeking abortions, the less likely they are to oppose its legality. And clearly, most people know woman close to them who are in effect “in the closet” when it comes to this remarkably common experience.

RIP Danny Schechter, "The News Dissector," Author, TV Producer, Made Six Films on Nelson Mandela | Democracy Now! - Known for his work chronicling the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa since the 1960s, Danny Schechter has died after a battle with pancreatic cancer at the age of 72.
Danny Schechter Was Our News Dissector | Common Dreams | Breaking News & Views for the Progressive Community - there was this news director on the coolest radio station in Boston, WBCN-FM, who started his daily show with the announcement “this is Danny Schechter, your news dissector.”

"Pity the poor Christian photographer" is a tactic - When asked by The Barna Group what words or phrases best describe Christianity, the top response among Americans ages 16-29 was “antihomosexual.” For a staggering 91 percent of non-Christians, this was the first word that came to their mind when asked about the Christian faith.

Ferguson voters elect two black candidates to city council - The Washington Post
Former Ferguson Court Clerk: Racist Emails 'Went Through The Whole Station' - “They would have had to shut the doors [if everyone involved was fired] because they went through the whole station, trust me,” Twitty said in an interview with St. Louis' KMOV. “It went on all the time.”

Officer Michael Slager Fired After Murder Charge; Chief 'Sickened' By Shooting Video
Everything The Police Said About Walter Scott's Death Before A Video Showed What Really Happened | ThinkProgress - But what was particularly remarkable in this case was, for at least two days, Slager was apparently unaware that video of the entire incident existed. This provides a unique opportunity to observe how one police officer sought to avoid accountability for his actions.
Video Shows Officer Michael Slager Shooting Unarmed Black Man In The Back In South Carolina - "He has four children, he doesn’t have some type of big violent past or arrest record. He had a job, he was engaged," a lawyer for Scott's family told the Times. "He had back child support and didn’t want to go to jail for back child support."
What we know about Michael Slager, the cop who shot Walter Scott | MSNBC - who was previously exonerated over a separate complaint about improper use of force, documents show.
North Charleston Mayor Announces All Officers Will Wear Body Cams
Demographics Of North Charleston Police Department Tell A Familiar Story - 80 percent white in a town that has only 37 percent white residents, based on 2007 data.
South Carolina Officers Cleared In 200 Shootings In Past 5 Years - Police in South Carolina have fired their weapons at 209 suspects in the past five years, and a handful of officers have been accused of pulling the trigger illegally – but none has being convicted, according to an analysis by The State newspaper.
A Death In South Carolina: No Video, No Crime - In which we learn that killing someone on camera is still wrong.

How Police Failed to Stop Former NFL Star Darren Sharper’s Cross-Country Rape Spree - ProPublica
Feds: No Civil Rights Charges in NY Football Player Shooting - Massachusetts news - Boston.com - the officer fired his weapon as he made ‘‘a split decision under conditions of extreme danger, conditions under which the law generally allows latitude to a police officer’s judgment.’’

Elizabeth Sedway, Cancer Patient, Kicked Off Alaska Airlines Flight - an airline worker insisted that she needed a doctor's note to fly. As a result, Elizabeth Sedway missed her chemotherapy appointment on Tuesday.
When one employee saw these onesies, he almost lost it. Here's how the store responded. - The NYU Bookstore responded almost instantly, pulling the "I hate my thighs" onesies off the sales floor. Commenters rushed to congratulate and thank Jason for sharing the photo.

My Conversation with a Success Academy Charter Teacher | Diane Ravitch's blog - I have sometimes wished it were possible to have a completely candid conversation with a teacher at a Success Academy charter school. Last week, with no advance planning, it happened. (let's find yet another way to fuck up education in America)
At Success Academy Charter Schools, High Scores and Polarizing Tactics - NYTimes.com (Failure Academy)

Mouthbreathing Machiavellis Dream of a Silicon Reich - The Baffler - Tunney was at one time a prominent and divisive fixture of the Occupy Wall Street movement. Lately, though, her views have . . . evolved. How does an anticapitalist “tranarchist” (transgender anarchist) become a hard-right seditionist?

Never Forget That Jann Wenner Has Standards - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Don’t let the fact that nobody will resign or lose their jobs because of the disastrously botched UVA story make you think that you can get away with just anything:
The Hootie & the Blowfish Review That Got a Rolling Stone Editor Fired

Signs of Alien Life Will Be Found by 2025, NASA's Chief Scientist Predicts - Yahoo News
Complex Organic Molecules Discovered in Infant Star System | ESO - Hints that the building blocks of the chemistry of life are universal
‘Mass Effect’ Solves The Fermi Paradox? | Life, Unbounded, Scientific American Blog Network

TIL that if you watched an object slip into a black hole, no matter how long you watched, you would never actually see the object enter it due to time dilation. : todayilearned

Burglurglrgulrgl : videos
ELI5:Why is a transgender person not considered to have a mental illness? : explainlikeimfive

The Apple Watch Reviews Are In, And They Are Mixed ("Apple could sell steaming piles of s&*t if they called it iPoop.")

040715
These Maps Show Which U.S. States Have the Most Climate Change Skeptics - CityLab
Carly Fiorina: Environmentalists To Blame For 'Man-Made' Drought In California - Former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina on Monday blamed environmentalists for what she called a "man-made" drought in California, which has led to the state's first water restrictions. (the enviro-hippies drank all the water +the stupidty of Republican candidatesxs)
California Sees Dismal Water Savings In February, Following Driest January On Record - statistics released Tuesday showed residents did less to curtail their water use in February than they had in any other month since officials began tracking conservation efforts.
Climate-change deniers are in retreat - The Washington Post - The latest attempt to deny denial comes from the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council, a powerful group that pushes for states to pass laws that are often drafted by industry.
Nestlé’s despicable water-crisis profiteering: How it’s making a killing — while California is dying of thirst - Salon.com - While California suffers through a historic 4-year drought, the corporate giant has made billions on bottled water

When Sociopaths Ruled The Earth: Here's A Rumsfeld Memo About It - In which we learn that, yeah, it was as bad as you thought it was, including Douglas Feith.

_JulianAssange comments on We are Julian Assange, Sarah Harrison, Renata Avila and Andy Müller-Maguhn of the Courage Foundation AUA - Edward Snowden has said that he was inspired by Chelsea Manning

How Russians hacked the White House - CNN.com
U.S. secretly tracked billions of calls for decades - The U.S. government started keeping secret records of Americans' international telephone calls nearly a decade before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, harvesting billions of calls in a program that provided a blueprint for the far broader National Security Agency surveillance that followed.

A Reminder About Netanyahu, Iraq, and Iran - just how spectacularly wrong Netanyahu has been on questions like this in the past:
Chuck Schumer is bucking the White House on Iran, and it's a big deal - Vox - Schumer's support is particularly relevant because he is set to succeed Harry Reid as the Democratic Party leader in the US Senate. That should undermine White House efforts to paint opposition to Corker as a matter of partisan loyalty.
The real reason Netanyahu and the GOP hate this Iran deal - Vox - The ink on the framework deal with Iran was barely dry when Sen. Tom Cotton began trying to tear up the agreement. "I'm going to do everything I can to stop these terms from becoming a final deal," the author of the now-infamous Senate Republican letter to Iran told CNN on Friday.

US-backed airstrikes on Yemen kill civilians and our hopes for peace | Baraa Shiban | Comment is free | The Guardian - America saw my country primarily through a counterterrorism lens, which was a mistake. Instead of fixing the problems, drone strikes only made them worse (drone-boy blunder)
Over 100,000 Have Fled Yemen Amid Intensified Fighting: UNICEF
xs
Pakistan court says former CIA station chief will face charges over drone strike | World news | The Guardian - Islamabad high court orders murder charges be brought against Jonathan Banks and former CIA lawyer John A Rizzo for 2009 strike that killed at least three


France's Hollande to declassify Rwanda genocide documents: source | Top News | Reuters - The documents from between 1990 and 1994 include minutes from secret defense meetings and files from advisers to then-president Francois Mitterrand relating to the genocide in the central African state, the source said.

Judge orders Prince Andrew sex allegations struck from court record | UK news | The Guardian - Virginia Roberts’s accusations about Andrew ordered to be struck from the record as judge denied her attempt to join a lawsuit against Jeffrey Epstein (whitewash)
Cameron’s unthinking policy on Syria has fuelled the rise of British jihadism | Peter Ford | Comment is free | The Guardian - The current focus on domestic politics and the election shouldn’t blind voters to the fact that this prime minister has been a foreign policy disaster (and every other kind also)
The Guardian view on Tony Blair’s speech: the message not the messenger | Comment is free | The Guardian (the collosus of lies)

A Deep Dive Into Party Affiliation | Pew Research Center for the People and the Press - Sharp Differences by Race, Gender, Generation, Education (Republicans are old white evangelical Protestants with less education, Dems are young Black/Asian atheist Jewish/Hispanic post-graduate women)

The quiet Social Security revolution: How Democrats learned to stop loving benefit cuts - Salon.com - For the first time in decades, dangerous myths about "insolvency" are fading away. Here's how it happened (geezers needed SS)

Corporations cannot muzzle whistleblowers with secrecy agreements any longer | Stephen M Kohn | Comment is free | The Guardian - This is the first time that a government regulatory agency has sanctioned a corporation for executing agreements that “chilled” an employee’s ability to report financial crimes to the Justice Department, to Congress, to the SEC and to other regulatory agencies. (they are trying to make illegal activities against the law)

YouTube’s copyright system has taken Rand Paul’s presidential announcement offline - The Washington Post - During his announcement on Tuesday, Rand Paul entered and left to the song, "Shuttin' Detroit Down," as Business Insider notes. The song is a twangy lament about the state of the economy that dates back a few years; the copyright stamp on the YouTube video reads "(c) 2009 WMG." WMG, of course, is Warner Music Group. (oh, irony)

Inside the Brian Williams Scandal at NBC News | Vanity Fair - Brian Williams’s fabrication was just the latest, and worst, of the debacles that have plagued NBC News since NBCUniversal was bought by Comcast in 2011. Who is to blame?

Hullabaloo - If liberals care about nothing else, they should at least care about education. We'll know tomorrow if Chicago Democrats do: (they don't)

North Charleston officer faces murder charge after video shows him shooting man in back - Post and Courier - Rivers said he was alarmed by the ease at which the officer shot Scott. He called it disturbing for the officer to show so little about “what life means.” He called it “sobering and evil.”
South Carolina Officer Is Charged With Murder in Black Man’s Death - NYTimes.com
Video Shows Officer Michael Slager Shooting Unarmed Black Man In The Back In South Carolina
Video shows South Carolina police officer shoot fleeing unarmed black man eight times in the back : news
Attorney: North Charleston police officer felt threatened before fatal shooting - Post and Courier (this was the story before the video came out)

Here are the 5 states that let you carry a concealed gun without a permit - Vox - Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback last week approved a law that will eliminate license and training requirements for carrying a concealed firearm starting on July 1,
Kansas anti-abortion law redefines certain procedures as 'dismemberment' | World news | The Guardian - New law bans dilation and evacuation procedure, commonly used in second-trimester abortions and cited by advocates as sometimes being the safest method - Republican governor Sam Brownback has signed legislation making Kansas the first state to ban a common second-trimester abortion procedure that critics describe as dismembering a fetus. (sorry, you meant "person" +voter turnout in KS: 50%)
In Iowa, Pastors Hold Major Sway 2016 Presidential Race - "In our local county, we control the Republican party pretty much - our church and another church." (tax the fuckers then)
Gay Student to Miss Prom After Louisiana School Says No Tux | TIME - The school's principal insists it's just a matter of dress code - “You can’t just go making up policies.”
New GOP Lie: Food Stamps on Cruise Ships - The Daily Beast - Kansas Gov. Brownback is poised to sign a bill that would, among other things, bar people on food stamps from using them on cruise ships—a fake problem. (welfare queens with private jets, also)

Cap'n Transit Rides Again: They can't go back to Ohio - They can't go back to Ohio. As Chrissie Hynde pointed out, their cities are gone. Even if they manage to find a reasonably safe place where they can walk to work and their kids can walk to school, there are hardly any jobs, and those jobs are an hour's drive out in the suburbs.

Where Do Americans See The Most UFOs? This Interactive Map Will Show You | GOOD
How not to talk to someone with depression | SE Smith | Comment is free | The Guardian - Why not just cheer up?
Nicola Sturgeon is right about retirement. You should stop working before you die | Frankie Boyle | Comment is free | The Guardian - Who wants to work past 65 anyway? At that age, every minute spent on pointless cruises counts

Is the Fermi Paradox/Great Filter hypothesis taken seriously in scientific communities? : askscience
A classic - wait for the punchline! : IDontWorkHereLady
What show do you hate that everyone seems to love? Why? : AskReddit
What do you HATE about Porn? : AskReddit
What is the weirdest subreddit? : AskReddit
A teen accused of raping 13 girls at a Pinal County High School is asking for social media records of 3 victims. Evidence has come forward that the three girls talked about "teaching him a lesson" by having him arrested. One of the girls even said "this is going to be so much fun <3". : news
Name me a book that ripped your heart out, then, when you thought it got better, ripped it out again and started stomping on it : books

StaffPad is a music handwriting app that’s real — and it’s spectacular
Dallas Buyers Club ruling: iiNet must hand over names of downloaders | Film | The Guardian - iiNet and other internet service providers lose bid to keep secret the identities of those who used file-sharing networks to download film

040615
California's wealthy lagging in water conservation - LA Times - Beverly Hills and other affluent cities use far more water per capita than less-wealthy communities, prompting some to cast them as villains in California’s water conservation effort.
Beneath California Crops, Groundwater Crisis Grows - NYTimes.com - In some places, water tables have dropped 50 feet or more in just a few years. With less underground water to buoy it, the land surface is sinking as much as a foot a year in spots, causing roads to buckle and bridges to crack. Shallow wells have run dry, depriving several poor communities of water.
This conservative group is tired of being accused of climate denial — and is fighting back - The Washington Post - Facing a loss of high-profile corporate sponsors, a conservative state-level policy group — the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) — threatened action in recent weeks against activist groups that accuse it of denying climate change (what denial?)
More Than 1 Million Californians Lack Clean Water | Al Jazeera America - More than 100 areas with fewer than 10,000 people had arsenic violations. Most are small, poor communities with a predominantly Hispanic population, some of whom are forced to spend up to 10 percent of household income on bottled water.
New discovery may be breakthrough for hydrogen cars - A team of Virginia Tech researchers has discovered a way to create hydrogen fuel using a biological method that greatly reduces the time and money it takes to produce the zero-emissions fuel. This method uses abundantly available corn stover - the stalks, cobs, and husks - to produce the hydrogen.

We are Julian Assange, Sarah Harrison, Renata Avila and Andy Müller-Maguhn of the Courage Foundation AUA : IAmA
There's a Massive, Illicit Bust of Edward Snowden Stuck to a War Monument in Brooklyn - ANIMAL
Why John Oliver Can't Find Americans Who Know Edward Snowden's Name (It's Not About Snowden) - The Intercept - That’s because a large number of Americans, by choice, are remarkably unaware of virtually all political matters. The befuddled reactions of the Times Square interviewees when asked about Snowden illustrate little about the specific surveillance issue but a great deal about the full-scale political disengagement of a substantial chunk of the American population.
Edward Snowden Explains How The Government Can Get Your 'Dick Pic' During Interview With John Oliver
Busted: Edward Snowden statue prompts cover-up at Brooklyn park | US news | The Guardian - Park rangers throw tarpaulin over bust of NSA whistleblower, installed by artists in Fort Greene Park ‘to laud those who protect the ideals they fought for’
Dog Sniffs Man - Lawyers, Guns & Money (LGM crowd still stupid about Snowden)
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Government Surveillance : television
Court mulls revealing secret government plan to cut cell phone service | Ars Technica - Feds: SOP 303 mobile-phone kill-switch policy would endanger public if disclosed.

CIA Employees Tried To Stop Arrest, Torture Of Maher Arar, Former Spy Says - aying multiple colleagues warned against it because they were convinced they were punishing an innocent man.

What Are the Alternatives to Obama's Nuclear Deal With Iran? — The Atlantic - More sanctions are unlikely to produce a better nuclear agreement.
Framework For Iran Nuclear Deal May Sideline Hard-Liners (oh, -those- hardliners)

Mass graves found in Tikrit - CNN.com - Up to 1,700 bodies may be recovered. ISIS claimed to have executed that many soldiers captured in June outside Camp Speicher, a fortified Iraqi base near Tikrit.
Kenya launches air strikes against al-Shabaab camps in Somalia | World news | The Guardian - Military says jets have bombed two camps in border region in response to massacre of students at Garissa University
French commandos free Dutch hostage in Mali, held for 3.5 years (update) - DutchNews.nl - A Dutchman kidnapped in Mali in November 2011 has been freed by French special forces soldiers, the French defence ministry said on Monday

Turkey bans Twitter in bid to block 'propaganda' pictures of kidnapping | World news | The Guardian - Turkish users of social media site mock court’s effort to suppress photographs of Mehmet Selim Kiraz, who died after being taken hostage by militant leftist group

Economics and Elections - NYTimes.com - Britain’s economic performance since the financial crisis struck has been startlingly bad ... Elections determine who has the power, not who has the truth. (which is why Republicans are killing the truth)

Why Is the GOP So Angry at Everything These Days? - The Daily Beast - Cruz, Walker, Kirk and—especially—Bolton are furious at the world. Their solution: Declare war on it. (Mike Barnicle)

Civil War 150th Anniversary: Confederacy Defeat Should Be Holiday | The New Republic (brilliant, if only Lincoln had lived to do this +museum of war criminals)

Cities, Counties Ask Appeals Court To Let Obama Immigration Programs Move Forward

A Case Study On Why The Obamacare Lawsuit Is Based On Mythical History
Obamacare Doomsday Cult Struggles to Adapt -- NYMag - The Republican Party in the Obamacare era is a doomsday cult after the world failed to end. Its entire analysis of the issue is built upon a foundation of falsehoods.
Selective Health Care Populism - Lawyers, Guns & Money : The position of most American conservatives on health care — i.e. that in 2009 too many people had insurance and the insurance that many people did have was too good — is not only morally barbarous but would make the ACA look more popular than free beer in comparison. (death cult Republicans)
A New Supreme Court Ruling On Medicaid Just Put 68 Million People At Risk (death-train coming right at you)

LGBT battle far from over as 'religious freedom' bills multiply across the US | World news | The Guardian - Even as marriage equality emerges a winner in the US, other hard-won LGBT rights are being attacked under the guise of religious liberty

WSU statistician sues seeking Kansas voting machine paper tapes | The Wichita Eagle The Wichita Eagle - A Wichita State University mathematician sued the top Kansas election official Wednesday, seeking paper tapes from electronic voting machines in an effort to explain statistical anomalies favoring Republicans in counts coming from large precincts across the country. (that would explain why the state is so stupid)

DocGonzo13 comments on Rahm Emanuel: Symbol of a Sick America "Rahm Emanuel is Mayor 1%. He speaks a politician's words to entice many Chicagoans to vote for him, but his actions are on behalf of his friends and colleagues in the business world" - TL;DR: Chuy Garcia would be a good mayor, sick of people holding their nose and voting for Rahm just because they think otherwise.
George Will Revives Tired Canard That Reagan Created One Million Jobs In One Month | Blog | Media Matters for America - In fact, according to The Wall Street Journal's Market Watch blog, the average monthly job growth during the Reagan administration was 168,000. (lying is what they do)

This Baker Refused To Bake An Anti-Gay Cake. Here's Why That's Not Discrimination. | ThinkProgress - The Colorado Civil Rights Division recently ruled that Azucar Bakery in Denver did not engage in illegal discrimination when it refused to make cakes with anti-gay messages on them ... As UCLA Law Professor Eugene Volokh predicted, Colorado law protects discrimination against people based on their belonging to certain classes, not based on their ideas and messages. (his religion involved anti-gay hate cakes as a sacrament)

Retraction - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Rolling Stone has officially retracted Sabrina Rubin Erdely’s story about campus rape following a fair but brutal Columbia Journalism Review report. Jann Wenner’s comments are not terribly reassuring:
Before Rolling Stone Ran With Jackie's Story They Fell for Billy's | Big Trial | Philadelphia Trial Blog - There's lots of irony here folks for readers of this blog. The writer of the story in question, Rolling Stone contributing editor Sabrina Rubin Erdely, is from Philadelphia. Before she ran with Jackie's story, she fell for a story told by a former altar boy dubbed "Billy Doe" by a grand jury. (she did it twice)

Number of NYC teens having sex is at an all-time low | New York Post - The percentage of adolescents who had sexual intercourse fell from 37.8 percent in 2011 to 31.2 percent in 2013, the federal Centers for Disease Control’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey found.

Graduate Students Start Movement To Unionize | News | The Harvard Crimson - In a move that could alter the working dynamic between Harvard and many of its teaching fellows and Ph.D. seekers, a group of graduate students has begun an effort to unionize, according to members of the movement.
Associate Professor Sues Harvard Over Tenure Denial | WBUR - Theidon believes her comments in the Crimson, followed by the advice she gave to the graduate student, led Harvard President Drew Faust to deny her tenure. (true colors dept)


Facebook use linked to depressive symptoms -- ScienceDaily - However, some users may find themselves spending quite a bit of time viewing Facebook and may inevitably begin comparing what's happening in their lives to the activities and accomplishments of their friends.

Whats the scariest theory known to man? : AskReddit
Any transgender redditors who transitioned and regretted it? : AskReddit
[Serious] Ex-homophobes of Reddit, what changed your mind? : AskReddit
I averaged out movie ratings from IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes, and Metacritic to get the ultimate top 250 best movies list. : movies

040515
Just don’t mention climate change | Doug Craig - Less than one month ago “a new Stanford University study found a link between global warming and California’s historic drought, which has parched farmland, strained cities and shuttered seven ski resorts in the region for lack of snow.” ... the three major cable networks are barely bothering to cover the drought at all.
California Gov. Jerry Brown Defends Farms’ Water Use, Warns Changes May Come - ABC News
California drought: governor tells climate-change deniers to wake up | US news | The Guardian - Brown: ‘With the weather that’s happening, climate change is not a hoax’ Feinstein plans emergency legislation to address ‘very serious problem’
Could Indoor Farming Help Address the Drought Crisis? by David Atkins | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - But the dirty secret of California’s water problem is that agriculture constitutes 80% of California’s water use ... Japan already has one prototype urban farm that is 100 times more productive than farmers’ fields…
Editorial: Blunt, McCaskill choose politics over addressing global warming : News - This latter group would include Republican Roy Blunt of Missouri, who introduced a particularly short-sighted amendment putting the Senate on record as opposed to a carbon tax. It passed, not that it makes any practical difference, with the help of four Democratic votes. Among them was that of Missouri’s Claire McCaskill.
Emitting Signals, Part II by D.R. Tucker | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - Perhaps climate hawks with the financial ability to build a “green noise machine” to explain to the American people how urgent the climate crisis is won’t grasp the need to do so until, as widely rumored, Chris Hayes is removed from MSNBC’s airwaves. Hayes has delivered day-in and day-out, despite an obvious lack of promotion relative to other stars on MSNBC. If he’s forced out, such a decision will be every bit as repugnant and immoral as the network’s decision to get rid of Phil Donahue in 2003 and Keith Olbermann in 2011. (big content wants you to die, as usual)
Earth: "You won't like me on Climate Change" | Informed Comment - US Environmental Protection Agency: “Climate Change Basics”

Islamic State Seizes Palestinian Refugee Camp in Syria - NYTimes.com - Reports of killings and even beheadings were beginning to circulate on Saturday, worsening what is already a longstanding humanitarian nightmare for the 18,000 residents of the Yarmouk refugee camp. (shit keeps getting worse)
The hidden hand behind the Islamic State militants? Saddam Hussein’s. - The Washington Post - They have brought to the organization the military expertise and some of the agendas of the former Baathists (still reaping Bush/Cheney's wild oats)
A U.S. Concession to Reality in the Battle Against Islamic State - NYTimes.com - American airstrikes and Iranian-backed ground assaults,
Yemen: Russia, Red Cross Demand halt to Bombing to Avert Humanitarian Catastrophe | Informed Comment - The Red Cross and the Russian Federation are both demanding a temporary cease-fire in the aerial bombardment of Yemen by a Saudi-led coalition, to allow delivery of needed humanitarian goods.
And What Was the Republican Plan for Iraq, Exactly? by David Atkins | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - But it’s more than a little precious to see the same people who spent the whole Bush Administration cheerleading the illegal and ill-advised invasion of Iraq and calling out as cowards and traitors anyone who opposed it, now blame the press and the Obama Administration for the violence there ... Republican foreign policy is a disaster. The existence of ISIS is directly on the heads of George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and everyone who supported the invasion of Iraq.
Sunni v Shia: why the conflict is more political than religious | World news | The Guardian - Across the Middle East, sectarianism has always been linked to the battle for power, resources and territory (oh, that explains Yemen)

Israel Prepares Lobbying Strategy Against Iran Deal ("lobby" = order their puppet state to bankrupt itself with another endless war)
What if US & UN Sanctioned Israel over its Nukes they way they did Iran? | Informed Comment - If Britain, France, Russia, China and the USA decided Israel would have to give up its nukes, as a means of ensuring non-proliferation in the Middle East, how would they proceed?
Netanyahu continues attack on Iran nuclear agreement: it's 'a very bad deal' | World news | The Guardian - Israel PM: deal did not do enough to dismantle nuclear infrastructure (oh, thought you meant YOUR nuclear infrastructure)

judith miller: No Apologies (comments)

Kenya says government official's son was among gunmen in Garissa attack | Reuters - The son of a Kenyan government official was one of the masked gunmen who killed nearly 150 people at a university last week, the interior ministry said on Sunday, as Kenyan churches hired armed guards to protect their Easter congregations ... Ali Roba, the governor of Mandera county, said Kenya had "massive radicalization problems, not only in the northern counties, but across the country." (the next Somalia)

Indonesia Frees 300 Men Found Enslaved on Island - NYTimes.com - More than 300 migrant fishermen who had been enslaved on trawlers for years rode those same vessels to freedom on Saturday after a daring rescue from a remote Indonesian island where they had lived in fear of being beaten or killed by their captors.

Francis Maude warned by scientists over 'chilling effect' of new media rules | Science | The Guardian - Letter to minister expresses fears that changes to the civil service code will effectively silence government scientists on important public issues (Tories doing their Tory thing)
UK to ban anonymous porn surfing? : technology

Saudi Princess Maha bint Mohammed bin Ahmad al-Sudairi and Her Multi-Million Dollar Shopping Problem | Vanity Fair - Saudi princess Maha bint Mohammed bin Ahmad al-Sudairi reportedly tried to stiff some of Paris’s most exclusive boutiques for $20 million and skip out on a $7 million dollar hotel bill. James Reginato follows her trail.

How Much Does Italy Owe Amanda Knox? A Lot. | Vanity Fair - As it turned out almost everything about the murder investigation that landed Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito behind bars for nearly four years was botched ... “In Italy it is not O.K. for a girl to sleep with more than one man. A man can sleep with more than one girl, but the reverse just isn’t acceptable!” ... Every year Italy pays around 12 million euros to those who have been imprisoned and then later exonerated, as CNN reported. ("multiple frequentations" is Italian for "slut" - Luciferina with an angel’s face)

You Botch Many Stories About One Disastrous War, And For Some Reason People Start to Question Your Competence - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Shorter Judy Miller: I’m not a liar, I’m a gullible rube and Bush administration lickspittle. There’s a subtle difference! Very subtle.

The Pentagon's $10-billion bet gone bad - Los Angeles Times - Trying to fashion a shield against a sneak missile attack, military planners gambled on costly projects that flopped, leaving a hole in U.S. homeland defense (Star Wars! Ronnie Reagan!)

Wall Street Executives Speak Out About the 2008 Financial Crisis | Vanity Fair (master fuck-ups of the universe, richer than ever)

Bob Menendez Corruption Case Reads Like An Indictment Of Citizens United Ruling, Too - The indictment of Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) on public corruption charges is the first bribery case involving the use of corporate political spending to support a candidate since the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United decision allowed corporations to do just that.

Lawsuits were stymied, but CFPB finally puts halt to rent-a-D.A. scheme - The worst part of this story? That the scheme worked only thanks to the complicity of hundreds of local prosecutors around the country, who were invited to join in profiting from the deceptions. You might even call it "rent a D.A." (how about "jail a D.A.?" )

Harvesting the Ripe Grain of Wingnuttery - Lawyers, Guns & Money : The voters of Kansas elected Sam Brownback governor. Then they reelected them. So now the reap what they sowed: (stupidity)
Kansas school districts to close early after tax cut 'experiment' | MSNBC - The economic fallout continues in Kansas, where Republican Gov. Sam Brownback recently signed a public school funding overhaul that cut millions in funding for the current school year. (end of pubic schools in KS, home-schoolin' is better)

Zion police shoot, kill teenager, officials say | abc7chicago.com
15 year old teenager shot and killed by police in Zion, IL : ABC 7 News : news
Black woman's 'lynching' charge: an unsettling tactic to punish activism? | US news | The Guardian - A woman who appears to be Hampton enters the street, carrying a bullhorn. She grabs the handle of a sign held by the protester being detained by police and attempts to pull it away from an officer who is also holding it. She is then pushed away by other officers. (cops lynch the law)
Michael Brelo, who fired 15 rounds into a car windshield, is charged with voluntary manslaughter in deaths of Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams (he thought he was riddling the car with his taser)
No charges for Phoenix officer who shot unarmed man - The announcement was made the same day that officials released Brison's autopsy, which confirmed that the 34-year-old was shot once in the back, near the right shoulder blade.
N.J. trooper offered to toss arrest warrant for sex, but wasn't charged, internal report reveals | NJ.com

The Real Reason College Tuition Costs So Much - NYTimes.com - The conventional wisdom was reflected in a recent National Public Radio series on the cost of college. “So it’s not that colleges are spending more money to educate students,” Sandy Baum of the Urban Institute told NPR. “It’s that they have to get that money from someplace to replace their lost state funding — and that’s from tuition and fees from students and families.” In fact, public investment in higher education in America is vastly larger today ... If over the past three decades car prices had gone up as fast as tuition, the average new car would cost more than $80,000 (oh, NPR peddled another Republican lie?)

Texas Bill Would Name Judges Who Give Minors Permission to Have Abortions | Mother Jones - "It's about punishing judges," one critic warns.

Apple: A Corporation of the New Gilded Age - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Building off the sociopathy of its founder, Steve Jobs, Apple is banning felons from working on constructing its buildings. (the Apple didn't fall far from the tree)

Hey Weekly Standard: Could you correct that Obamacare tax thing? - Obamacare lurks waiting to take a bite out of the unwary. And in this case, it’s the poor. (Weekly Standard of Lies)

Power and the Land - Lawyers, Guns & Money : The REA played a huge role in changing that. Public power was a justice issue. Naturally, Republicans largely opposed it (Republicans didn't want poor people to have electricity, either)

Suspect arrested after human remains found in bag near biotech building | US news | The Guardian - The neighborhood where the duffel bag was found includes Kendall Square, near the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard Square. (and the Boston Common and Mass General Hospital!)

Is 10% of the population really gay? | Society | The Guardian - For women in the age range 16 to 44, the proportion who report having had some same-sex experience has shown a dramatic rise over the past 20 years: from 4% in 1990 to 10% in 2000, and to 16% in 2010 (the gay plague)
Transgender kids: ‘Everyone was calling me Sebastian, but I knew I was a girl’ | Society | The Guardian

Rolling Stone and UVA: The Columbia School of Journalism Report | Rolling Stone - An anatomy of a journalistic failure
Rolling Stone's UVA Rape Story Was A 'Journalistic Failure' That Could've Been Avoided, Columbia Finds
Rolling Stone apologises and removes UVA 'rape' story after Columbia review | Media | The Guardian - Review finds ‘story of journalistic failure’ around controversial article - Managing editor apologises to ‘readers and all those damaged by our story’

Study finds being exposed to Buddhist concepts reduces prejudice and increases prosociality - PsyPost
Bill Maher accused of Islamophobia for comparing Zayn Malik to Boston marathon bomber | US news | The Guardian (all Muslims look the same)

What Your Astrological Sign Says About You, According To Tumblr

Cern restarts Large Hadron Collider with mission to make scientific history | Science | The Guardian - Physicists hope particle accelerator will explain dark matter, gravity and antimatter as it completes its test run following an upgrade
What is the Higgs boson made of? : askscience
Chinese docs behind 41 of 43 'fake' articles in British journal - The Times of India - A leading British medical journal has retracted 43 published articles after it was found that the authors had fabricated their peer reviews. As many as 41 articles were written by doctors who worked in Chinese hospitals.
Childhood ADHD Linked to Secondhand Smoke. Children exposed to tobacco smoke at home are up to three times more likely to have attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) as unexposed kids, according to a new study from Spain : science

[Serious] Redditors who have or know someone who claims to have experience with extra-terrestrials, what stories do you have to share? : AskReddit
ELI5: Why is social anxiety more common in men? : explainlikeimfive
Winner of AskReddit's originality contest and updated policy on novelty accounts : AskReddit

040415
Taxonomy of Conservative Denialism and Excuse-Making on Climate Change by Ed Kilgore | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - 3. The Deans of Denialism: the longest list with the most famous names: George Will, Charles Krauthammer, Fred Barnes, Paul Gigot, Benjamin Zycher, and Rupert Darwell. (James Inhofe)
What do conservative policy intellectuals think about climate change? | Grist (define "think")
Naomi Klein: ‘I always had a keen sense of right and wrong’ | Life and style | The Guardian

Obama: Iran deal blocks 'every pathway' to development of nuclear weapon | US news | The Guardian - President applauds ‘historic understanding’ in weekly address as Republican opposition to nuclear agreement remains strong
Obama fights to contain Republican rebellion over Iran nuclear deal | US news | The Guardian - President calls several top lawmakers to insist deal is good for America - Congress demands say over the fine print of the nuclear agreement
Obama's next step on Iran deal: Selling it - politico - The president vows to lead the charge on explaining the agreement to the American public. ("American public" = Republicans obsessed with getting other people's children killed)
Republicans have no interest in peace. The Iran talks proved that | Trevor Timm | Comment is free | The Guardian - Top Republicans have condemned the tentative deal, despite probably not having the first clue about what it entails (bomb-bomb party)
G.O.P.’s Israel Support Deepens as Political Contributions Shift - NYTimes.com - President Obama will make his case to a Congress controlled by Republicans who are more fervently pro-Israel than ever, partly a result of ideology, but also a product of a surge in donations and campaign spending on their behalf by a small group of wealthy donors ... But it is also true that Mr. Cotton and other Republicans benefited from millions in campaign spending in 2014 by several pro-Israel Republican billionaires (Sheldon Adelson just bought the Republican party, cheaply)
? LEAK: Netanyahu Lied About Iran Nuclear Threat - YouTube

Ethnic Tensions Between Israeli Jews Fuel Netanyahu Victory - Mizrahi, or Middle Eastern, Jews heavily backed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party, while Ashkenazi, or European, Jews mostly identified with the opposition Zionist Union ... Mizrahim far outnumber Ashkenazim in prison — and are far outnumbered in academia.

Al-Shabaab leader 'responsible for Garissa attack' is Kenyan | World news | The Guardian - Mohamed Mohamud aka Dulyadeyn reported to be mastermind of Somali-based Islamist group’s terror in Kenya and was linked to Westgate Mall atrocity
Brutal reality sets in for Kenyans after 'senseless' massacre at university | World news | The Guardian - As the world reacts to tragedy, a nation mourns and struggles to come to terms with deaths of loved ones murdered during 12-hour siege staged by al-Shabaab
Are the terrorists of al-Shabaab about to tear Kenya in two? | World news | The Guardian - Since colonial times the east African country’s north-east has been politically and economically disenfranchised. The killing of 148 people last week was part of a fresh attempt by al-Shabaab militants to exploit this inequality, copying Boko Haram’s success on the other side of the continent (why there were no cops within an hour drive)
Kenyatta says campus attackers 'embedded' in Kenya's Muslim community | Reuters - Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta said on Saturday that those behind an attack in which al Shabaab Islamist militants killed 148 people at a university were "deeply embedded" in Kenya, and called on Kenyan Muslims to help prevent radicalization.

Daesh group shot, hammered away Iraq’s Hatra |GulfNews.com - Foreign militant says the ‘idols’ were being worshipped ‘instead of God’

Guatemalans deliberately infected with STDs sue Johns Hopkins University for $1bn | US news | The Guardian - Lawsuit with 800 plaintiffs seeks damages for individuals, spouses and children of people deliberately infected with STDs through US government programme ... also names the philanthropic Rockefeller Foundation


No, Jeb Bush Does Not Have an Electoral College Advantage by David Atkins | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - Eric Ham, author of The GOP Civil War, argues in The Hill that Jeb Bush has an advantage over Hillary Clinton in the electoral college:

Gay marriage Supreme Court briefs and RFRAs: The arguments exclude gay people but conflict with one another. - The arguments against gay marriage can’t be reconciled with the arguments for religious freedom acts. (they've never been bothered by internal contradictions)
Huckabee: 'Militant gay community' to blame for backlash against Indiana law | US news | The Guardian - Former Arkansas governor and potential presidential candidate Mike Huckabee says there was more pressure ‘to put sanctions on Indiana than Iran’ (yeah, we 're not letting chemo drugs into Indiana or reality into your stupid head)
Out On The Weekend - Suddenly, all of the various oligarchs have noticed that the Bible-bangers that vote to pick their own pockets as long as they can bully The Other have become very bad for business. So operations like NASCAR and Walmart suddenly develop moral consciences out of thin air
Big Business and Anti-Gay Laws - NYTimes.com - If corporate leaders are serious in opposing discrimination, they should refuse to finance the campaigns of lawmakers who want to deny civil rights to gays and other minority groups.
Nevada’s ‘religious freedom’ legislation declared dead | Las Vegas Review-Journal - Nevada legislation criticized as giving businesses and corporations a license to discriminate against gay customers appears to have fizzled in light of nationwide outrage over similar “religious freedom” bills in Arkansas and Indiana.
Indiana 'Anti-Gay Law': Firms Criticizing Pence Funded Him As He Fought LGBT Rights - But from December 2011 to November 2012, as former Congressman Pence was opposing a federal bill to extend civil rights protections to gay workers, Oesterle donated $150,000 to Pence’s gubernatorial campaign ... Pence raised large sums of money from political action committees and employees of at least 30 companies that publicly support equal rights. (Angie's List - and others' - newly acquired conscience)
$828,000 raised for Indiana pizzeria that said it won't cater gay weddings : news
Owners of Indiana pizza parlor with ‘no gay wedding’ policy on course to be millionaires by Easter

Missouri Republicans are trying to ban food stamp recipients from buying steak and seafood - The Washington Post (next up: chicken and anything with protein in it) - Brattin admits that the language might need some tweaking. "My intention wasn't to get rid of canned tuna and fish sticks," he said.
This City Could Become The Next Detroit | ThinkProgress - Starting this week, 25,000 households in Baltimore will suddenly lose their access to water for owing bills of $250 or more, with very little notice given and no public hearings. (and their water)

Alabama man off death row after 28 years to jailers: You will answer to God | World news | The Guardian - Anthony Ray Hilton, 58, sentenced to death for crime he did not commit - Ballistics test was carried out by civil engineer with one eye (how about answering to justice?)
Alabama man off death row after 28 years to jailers: You will answer to God : news
San Francisco Police Officers to Be Dismissed Over Racist Texts - NYTimes.com - San Francisco’s police chief said Friday that he had moved to dismiss seven officers who sent or received text messages that spoke of lynching African-Americans and burning crosses.

You were saying something about best intentions - Lawyers, Guns & Money
Outside the Law School Scam: Guest Post by Prof. Michael Sycophant: I am not addicted to the satisfying, smooth, and flavorful taste of six-figure grants from the noble and highly-regarded tobacco industry. (the law school "industry" is imploding)
Law School Cafe » The Ethics of Academia

It’s not always easy to be a Joni Mitchell fan, but her illness devastates me | Linda Grant | Comment is free | The Guardian - Joni Mitchell is one of the greats, indisputably, and her increasingly frail health is, to a superfan like me, a terribly sad thing to see – however angry, bitter and paranoid she seems to have become
Joni Mitchell: 10 of the best | Music | The Guardian - Not simply a confessional singer-songwriter, Joni Mitchell skewers others – and herself – by exploiting the tension between cynicism and romanticism
BMC Dermatology | Full text | Exploring the association between Morgellons disease and Lyme disease: identification of Borrelia burgdorferi in Morgellons disease patient - recent studies indicate that MD is a true somatic illness associated with tickborne infection, that the filaments are keratin and collagen in composition and that they result from proliferation and activation of keratinocytes and fibroblasts in the skin (spirochetes)

My mother, the alcoholic: living with foetal alcohol syndrome | Society | The Guardian - Should heavy drinking in pregnancy be a crime? A recent test case in the UK was thrown out, but in the US hundreds of women have been imprisoned. We meet women and children affected by foetal alcohol syndrome

One giant map featuring every road in America | The Verge

Automakers Say You Don’t Really Own Your Car | Electronic Frontier Foundation - EFF is fighting for vehicle owners’ rights to inspect the code that runs their vehicles and to repair and modify their vehicles, or have a mechanic of their choice do the work ... John Deere even argued that letting people modify car computer systems will result in them pirating music through the on-board entertainment system (you just license your car)

The Cinmar discovery and the proposed pre-Late Glacial Maximum occupation of North America (probably didn't happen)
Dinosaur 'Romeo and Juliet' Found Buried Together : Discovery News - As for what happened to the pair in the desert...after whatever romance may have transpired, a large sand dune suddenly collapsed on top of them, preserving the pair for near-perpetuity.
TIL 16% of the world's population, 1.1 billion are atheists, agnostics and people who do not identify with any particular religion : todayilearned
What would happen to bacteria in a microwave? : askscience
Childhood ADHD Linked to Secondhand Smoke - Scientific American - Children exposed to tobacco smoke at home are up to three times more likely to have attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) as unexposed kids, according to a new study from Spain
Study Finds Evidence That the MIND Diet May Protect Patients From Developing Alzheimer's Disease Alzheimer's News Today - MIND is a mix of two other dietary modification plans that have previously been shown to lower the risk of cardiovascular conditions such as hypertension, heart attack, and stroke: Mediterranean and DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diets.

Wolf Hall on PBS: America, you need to see this brilliantly crafted drama | Television & radio | The Guardian - Forget Downton Abbey. The adaptation of Hilary Mantel’s Tudor novels, broadcast in the US starting Sunday, is among the best British TV shows in years

What have you been most tempted to do but never gone through with? : AskReddit

040315
Switching to Wind Power Would Save California 18 Billion Gallons of Water a Year | Motherboard
Northern fires caused almost a quarter of global forest loss, study shows | Environment | The Guardian - Forest fires destroyed vast areas of woodland in Canada and Russia between 2011 and 2013, greatly contributing to greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change, satellite data reveals
Climate Scientist: No, My Study Is Not A "Death Blow To Global Warming Hysteria" | Blog | Media Matters for America - Conservative media are grossly distorting a recent study on aerosols' climate impact as a "death blow to global warming hysteria." But the study's author himself stated in response that his research does not contradict the scientific consensus on global warming. (Tucker Carlson mouth of Satan)

GOP Steadfast On Passing Iran Bill Despite Obama's Plea To Stand Down - "If Congress kills this deal not based on expert analysis and without offering any reasonable alternative, then it's the United States that will be blamed for the failure of diplomacy," Obama said. "International unity will collapse, and the path to conflict will widen." ... "Neville Chamberlain got a better deal in 1938," Kirk said (Nazis! +Repubicans will fuck up the world)
Kerry dismisses critics of Iran deal: 'They don't have an alternative' | TheHill - "I think it would be very irresponsible to make politics trump facts, science and the realities of what is possible here," Kerry said of new potential congressional sanctions.
Iran’s Leaders Begin Tricky Task of Selling Nuclear Deal at Home - NYTimes.com - “We should say in a word that we gave a saddled horse and received a torn bridle,” the semiofficial news agency Fars quoted Hossein Shariatmadari, a vocal hard-liner
On Iran, Obama Gets His Breakthrough - The New Yorker
A Foreign Policy Gamble by Obama at a Moment of Truth - NYTimes.com - the possibility of a reconciliation after 36 years of hostility between Washington and Tehran now seems tantalizingly within reach, a way to be worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize that even he believed was awarded prematurely.
Iranian nuclear deal is a breakthrough: Why the agreement is the best option. - There are still questions to be answered, but the nuclear agreement with Iran is very good news.
Iran agrees to nuclear restrictions in framework deal with world powers - The Washington Post -
Iran Nuclear Deal Reached. After eight straight days of high-level diplomatic negotiations between the six world powers and Iran, negotiators announced an interim agreement has been reached on the principles for dismantling Iran's nuclear program in exchange for lifting heavy economic sanctions. : worldnews - "I will never apologize for the United States — I don't care what the facts are... I'm not an apologize-for-America kind of guy." - George Bush, Aug 2 1988 (for shooting down Iran Air flight carrying 290 innocent civilians)

Confirmed: The Hawks Were Wrong on Iran | The National Interest - Peace won. War lost. It’s as simple as that. Make no mistake, the framework agreement that was announced yesterday is nothing short of historic. A cycle of escalation has been broken – for the first time, Iran’s nuclear program will roll back, as will the sanctions Iran has been subjected too.
The Real Achievement of the Iran Nuclear Deal — The Atlantic - Details of the accord matter less than the potential end of Washington's cold war with Tehran. (replace the Saudi fuckers with the Iranians)
This is an astonishingly good Iran deal - Vox
On Iran, Obama Gets His Breakthrough - The New Yorker - The G.O.P. did everything that it could to scuttle this deal. Forty-seven Republican senators sent a letter to Iran’s Supreme Leader that will go down in the annals of diplomatic sabotage, and made it harder for American negotiators to demand a deal that the White House itself would find acceptable.
Iran, P5+1 reach 'historic' framework deal - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East - Iran will conduct uranium enrichment only at one site, Natanz; will cap its enrichment level at 3.5% (suitable for energy); reduce the number of its centrifuges for 10 years to 5,000; and dramatically reduce the size of its stockpile of low enriched uranium to
Iran, Cuba And China: Obama Steadily Builds Diplomatic Legacy
Peace with Iran Could Limit Ability to Bomb It, Warns McCain - The New Yorker

Netanyahu: Israeli Cabinet United In Opposition To Iran Nuclear Deal (stamps feet and sticks out tongue and commenters aren't sympathic anymore)
Angry Republicans condemn 'alarming' nuclear deal with Iran | US news | The Guardian - John Boehner among those who want Congress to alter the terms of the deal, while Jeb Bush says ‘I cannot stand behind such a flawed agreement’ (Republicans: an arm of Likud)
American Jews and Israel’s Future by Ed Kilgore | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - It was very common in the runup to the Israeli elections to observe that Bibi Netanyahu hadn’t just divided Israelis and divided Americans, but had divided the Jews of the Diaspora from the Jews governing Israel. That’s no one’s fault but Netanyahu’s
The Iran Countdown - The New Yorker - Netanyahu warned Congress not to be “fooled” into thinking that Iran could be a friend in this fight. “One calls itself the Islamic Republic. The other calls itself the Islamic State,” he said. “In this deadly game of thrones, there’s no place for America or for Israel.” (even a stopped cuckoo clock ...)
A better deal than we expected - Israel Opinion, Ynetnews - Despite glaring shortcomings of 'framework' deal with Iran – which allow Tehran ability to resume its nuclear pursuit with haste – Obama now offering Netanyahu an olive branch; the Israeli leader should embrace it and help seal loopholes in final agreement.
Hacker Group Anonymous Threatens Israel With ‘Electronic Holocaust’ - . “Our message to the foolish Benjamin Netanyahu and all leaders in the Zionist entities, we will continue to electronically attack until the people of Palestine are free.”

After Obama's cybersecurity order threatens Snowden fund, bitcoin donations spike | ZDNet - A new executive order is said to have made it illegal to donate to Edward Snowden's fund, which didn't go down so well with one good-spirited community. (donating to Snowden is terrorism)
Oregon man to Obama: 'Please come arrest me' for sending Edward Snowden bitcoin | OregonLive.com - An Oregon software programmer is publicly taunting President Obama to come arrest him after he openly defied an executive order that appears to prohibit Americans from supplying cyber-currency to Edward Snowden.
FBI Uncovers Another Of Its Own Plots, Senator Feinstein Responds By Saying We Should Censor The Internet | Techdirt (Feinstein)
Guys I'm Not Sure This Senator Knows How the Internet Works - Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Ca.) wants to remove The Anarchist Cookbook from the internet— you know, that notorious DIY bomb-making manual that has been around since the 1970s, is still available in print, the one you can buy on Amazon and find literally thousands of places online and offline for a pittance.

It's Been A Year Since Senators Voted To Reveal CIA Torture. What Do We Have To Show For It?


Long Read: “Just Say No” to GSAVE » Balloon Juice - Pardon my cynicism, but the “war on terror” (aka “war on violent extremism”) is reminding me more and more of the disastrous U.S. “war on drugs.” (really, they should have just dropped money on their heads but Republicans only spend money on death)
The Iraq War and Stubborn Myths - WSJ - Officials didn’t lie, and I wasn’t fed a line, writes Judith Miller ... Years would pass before U.S. soldiers found remnants of some 5,000 inoperable chemical munitions made before the first Gulf War that Saddam claimed to have destroyed. (that's it? her thinking ability doesn't seem to have improved +wsj)
Judith Miller: 'No senior official spoon-fed me a line about WMD' | Media | The Guardian - Former New York Times reporter pens Wall Street Journal essay standing by articles she wrote before Iraq war verifying Saddam Hussein’s WMD program
Karl Rove Won't Apologize To Veteran For The Iraq War

A Wave Of Looting And Lynching Follows Iraqi Forces Recapture Of Tikrit
China evacuates foreign nationals from Yemen in unprecedented move | Reuters - A Chinese naval frigate has evacuated 225 foreign citizens from strife-torn Yemen, its foreign ministry said, marking the first time that China's military has helped other countries evacuate their people during an international crisis.

Terror attack over, 147 dead at Kenya university : worldnews - "The police officers took more than an hour to arrive at the scene."- Holy shit that is insane.
Kenya Attack Survivors Say Campus Bloodbath Was Planned, Targeted Christians

Massive Gas Reserves Found in Tanzania by Statoil, Economy Expected to Boom -
China's Ex-Security Chief Zhou Yongkang Charged With Corruption, Leaking State Secrets
Russian ships in old Arctic NATO base set alarms bells ringing - Yahoo News - The rocky relations have led some to criticise the shutting down of Olavsvern Naval Base, a massive complex burrowed into a mountain near the northern town of Tromsoe, that has been closed since 2009.

Father Of Abducted Student: U.S. Aid To Mexico 'Being Used To Kill Ordinary People'
Thousands displaced by Mexico's drug wars: government is 'deaf and blind' to our plight | World news | The Guardian - Violence between Mexico’s warring crime gangs has forced hundreds of thousands to flee their homes. Now a group is pressing for the government to help them rebuild their lives

British student ordered to leave Russia as media speculate she was spying | World news | The Guardian - Laura Sumner, a history graduate from the University of Nottingham, officially told to leave because she held a commercial rather than a student visa

Obama’s claim the Affordable Care Act was a ‘major reason’ in preventing 50,000 patient deaths - The Washington Post (Kessler admits it's sorta/somewhat/maybe/mostly true)
Diffuse success, concentrated opposition » Balloon Juice - The Washington Post fact checks President Obama’s claim that 50,000 have not died in hospitals because of the Affordable Care Act and finds it largely true.
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Police Lacked 'Weapons Discipline' Amid Boston Bombing Manhunt, Report Says - In the mad scramble to catch the Boston Marathon bombers, police created a more dangerous situation by poorly using their weapons.

Hillary Clinton Campaign Signs Lease For Brooklyn Headquarters: Report

Power and Paychecks - NYTimes.com - Maybe it’s not that hard to give American workers a raise, after all
2016 Hopefuls and Wealthy Are Aligned on Inequality - NYTimes.com - When “government takes over the economy,” Mr. Cruz said, “it freezes everything in place. And it exacerbates income inequality.” He proposed lowering taxes and loosening regulations instead. (that'll help)
U.S. Adds 126,000 Jobs In March; Unemployment Rate Lingers At 5.5 Percent

US man survived on raw fish and rainwater after being lost at sea for 66 days : news

A rising insurrection against Obama - The Washington Post - If some red states were to openly defy the authority of President Obama in the exercise of his constitutional duties, would today’s Republican Congress side with him? Or would they honor the insurrection? (invade the fuckers and throw the traitors in prison)

Indiana controversy shows what a minefield 2016 GOP primary has become - The Washington Post - What we have now is one party, the Democrats, that is demographically diverse but ideologically unified, while the other party, the Republicans, is demographically homogeneous but ideologically divided.
Georgia leaders pull the plug on ‘religious liberty’ bill | Political Insider blog - A version of the legislation was swiftly approved by Senate lawmakers, but it was tabled in the House after three Republicans joined with Democrats to add an anti-discrimination amendment. And the uproar over similar bills in Arkansas and Indiana, along with growing pushback from iconic Georgia businesses, seemed to seal its fate.
Ted Cruz Is Pitching Hard For The Vital Easily Deluded Vote - "The Fortune 500 is running shamelessly to endorse the radical gay marriage agenda over religious liberty to say: 'We will persecute a Christian pastor, a Catholic priest, a Jewish rabbi,' " he said. "Any person of faith is subject to persecution if they dare disagree, if their religious faith parts way from their political commitment to gay marriage." (preaching stupid to the stupid and delusional)
The right’s made-up God: How bigots invented a white supremacist Jesus - Salon.com - As Indiana peddles its "religious freedom" garbage, it's time to call the religious right's trash what it really is
Jeb Bush flip-flop on Indiana law shows what a difference two days make | US news | The Guardian - The likely 2016 presidential hopeful went from support for ‘anti-gay’ legislation to championing non-discrimination after a backlash made the governor rethink
Gays Hate America And Other Right-Wing Talking Points On Indiana
Should Mom-and-Pops That Forgo Gay Weddings Be Destroyed? — The Atlantic - Conor Friedersdorf (by their columns you shall know them)
Indiana pizza restaurant collects over $800,000 - Chicago Tribune (profit!)
Carly Fiorina: Tim Cook Opposition to Indiana Religious Freedom Law Hypocritical - Washington Wire - WSJ
It isn't justice for Purvi Patel to serve 20 years in prison for an abortion | Jessica Valenti | Comment is free | The Guardian - When women are desperate to end their pregnancies, they will. The answer to this shouldn’t be punitive, but supportive
Yoga classes do not violate students' religious rights, Californian court rules | US news | The Guardian - Appeals court upholds ruling against lawsuit brought by family who claimed yoga promoted Hinduism and inhibited Christianity

Kansas Schools Will Close Early This Spring For Lack Of Funds (Kansas considers cancelling education and using the money for tax breaks)
Maine Gov. Paul LePage Ends Town Hall After Former Lawmaker Throws Vaseline At Him - "Sen. Jackson claims to be for the people, but he's the first one to give it to the people without providing Vaseline," LePage said in 2013. "He is bad. He has no brains, and he has a black heart."

Eschaton: Two Systems - The education grifters have been preying on urban schools for years, because they could because everybody "knows" those schools are horrible and nobody gives a shit about the poors. Then they started to overreach and extended the grifting into more affluent areas where people are actually quite happy about their schools thank you very much, and the grifters are now getting pushback. The solution? Go back to the "poors only" policies. They worked pretty well.
Merryl Tisch Suggests Firing A Lot of Black and Hispanic Teachers | Daniel Katz, Ph.D.

Eschaton: Logic - The cities are stealing all their money in an entirely new way: " Senate Republicans say the current system is unfair because rural residents are effectively supporting urban counties’ schools and services when they shop there." (yeah, logical)

Postal Banking: Charles Lane Edition | Beat the Press - Charles Lane doesn't want the Postal Service to get involved in banking. That much is clear from his column, even if his argument doesn't necessarily support the case. (if he's against it, it must be good)

Roger Ailes: Sullivan To Readers: You Are All Mindless, Soulless Subhumans - "I spent a decade of my life, spending around seven hours a day in intimate conversation with around 70,000 to 100,000 people every day, And inevitably, for those seven hours or more, I was not spending time with any actual human being, with a face and a body and a mind and a soul." Sullivan said. ("intimate conversations" with zombies is hard work, whine, try a real job someime)

Should Lawyers Be Held Accountable When Clients Sue Just To Punish Whistleblowers? – Consumerist - What follows is the story of Val, a California woman who was sued for defamation in 2010 simply because her boyfriend copied their elderly mother’s legal aid attorney on an e-mail to a nursing home

Alabama inmate free after 30 years on death row. How the case against him unraveled. - The Washington Post - Anthony Ray Hinton was one of Alabama’s longest-serving death row inmates, having spent more than half his life incarcerated. Now, after three decades of insisting that he is innocent in the 1985 murders of two men, the 58-year-old Hinton is finally a free man.
A tale of two killings: what happened when Idaho police shot a dog and a pregnant woman in one day | US news | The Guardian - Brinkmeier asked a nurse to hit a panic button, putting the hospital in lockdown, and then dialled 911 to pass the message onto Sandpoint police. “Boom. They showed up pretty fast,” Shane recalled. Jeanetta was dead within 15 seconds ... “I had the split-second thought that this dog is going to bite me,” Kelley said in a statement explaining his decision to fire a bullet through the window. (bite me through the fucking window)
Paedophile beaten unconscious by child's father handed 25 year prison sentence : news
Surveillance Video Shows Former Bethel Police Officer Slamming Man to Ground - The email says when the manger requested the return of the hard drive from Bethel Police the video had been deleted. The manager took the hard drive to someone in Bethel who was able to restore the video. It was then turned over to the attorney who shared it with KYUK.
Defense: Pinal County serial rape suspect may have been set up - Tucson News Now - CBS 5 News has uncovered a twist in the case against a 19-year-old Pinal County man accused of 30 counts of sexual assault and abuse against 13 different alleged victims.
U.S. Justice Department Says It Will Ignore Federal Law and Prosecute People for Medical Marijuana Despite Congressional Spending Ban | Drug Policy Alliance

The Business Tycoons of Airbnb - NYTimes.com

A Virus In Your Mouth Helps Fight The Flu : Goats and Soda : NPR - Young people infected with a type of herpes virus have a better immune response to the flu vaccine than those not infected, scientists at Stanford University report Wednesday. In mice, the virus directly stops influenza itself.
Cleaning with bleach linked to more childhood infections - The use of bleach to clean the home has been linked to a heightened risk of childhood infections.
Do I Have Exploding Head Syndrome? — The Atlantic - The name lacks a certain subtlety. But "explosions in my head" is exactly how sufferers tend to describe it: the perception of cacophonies while falling asleep or waking up, jerking a person into consciousness.
Earth receiving mysterious radio signals from outer space; alien life source a possibility, believe astronomers - The paper concludes that there is a five in 10,000 probability that the line-up of these signals is coincidental.
Are Aliens Behind Mysterious Radio Bursts? Scientists Weigh In - "This will either be new physics, like a new kind of pulsar, or, in the end, if we can exclude everything else, an E.T."
The Perfect Birth Control for Men Is Here. Why Can't We Use It? | Motherboard - Known as “the male birth control injection,” an application called RISUG (Reversible Inhibition of Sperm Under Guidance) was in?vented in India in the 1970s by Sujoy Guha,
Scientists create hybrid supercapacitors that store large amounts of energy, recharge quickly and last for more than 10,000 recharge cycles. : science
TIL that according to neuroscientist 'Sam Harris'; humans are just robots without real freewill, and that our brain activity can been used to predict our decisions up to 10 seconds before we become consciously aware of it. : todayilearned ('neuroscientist')
Science AMA Series: I'm Dena Dubal, a neurologist and neuroscientist. My group discovered that an anti-aging hormone could make you "smarter". My hope is that we can use this to "boost the brain" and treat diseases. AMA! : science
Drug-Resistant Food Poisoning Lands In The U.S. : Goats and Soda : NPR - Now the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says another nasty pathogen is hitching a ride to the U.S. with travelers: multidrug-resistant Shigella.
Steven Weinberg: the 13 best science books for the general reader | Books | The Guardian - The Nobel laureate on making science accessible – from Ptolemy to Darwin to Dawkins

send_me_boob_photos comments on Impossible to have a realistic conversation
skyskr4per comments on How I imagine the button pushers over at /r/thebutton
Riot = Rito : leagueoflegends
-The Truth About The 20,000 Usernames- : exmormon
I wonder what broke the talks between Snapchat and Microsoft : windowsphone
Snapchat sluts
There's No Such Thing as a Slut — The Atlantic - A new longitudinal study examined how college students slut-shame—and found that the practice is as illogical as it is damaging.
TIL that private investigator Tom Grant who was hired by Courtney Love to find missing Kurt Cobain days leading up to his death believes that Kurt Cobain was murdered by Courtney Love. : todayilearned

The Millions : Difficult, Dated, Frustrating, Prophetic: Teaching Thomas Pynchon

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The American West Dries Up - The Atlantic
More Americans Trust Fox News Than Obama On Climate Change, Poll Finds - 17 percent trust Fox News on climate change, while only 11 percent trust the president.

Russian Trawler Sinks In Pacific Leaving Dozens Dead - A Russian trawler sank in icy seas off Russia's far eastern Kamchatka peninsula on Thursday, killing at least 56 of the 132 crew, the emergencies ministry said on Thursday.


Iranians celebrate nuclear deal: 'This will bring hope to our life' | World news | The Guardian - Tehran residents rejoice and drivers honk their horns after the announcement of a landmark deal that will lift sanctions and avert the threat of war
Iran Nuclear Accord Hailed as Landmark After Marathon Talks - Bloomberg Business
Iran Agrees to Framework of Nuclear Deal - NYTimes.com - surprisingly specific and comprehensive general understanding about the next steps in limiting Tehran’s nuclear program, though Western officials said many details needed to be resolved before a final agreement in June.
Iran and world powers agree on parameters of Iranian nuclear deal - The Washington Post
Experts Unsure of Effect of Nuclear Deal on Iranian Politics - NYTimes.com
Initial Iran nuclear accord basis for "very good deal" - UK's Hammond
Details of Agreement to Limit Iran’s Nuclear Program - NYTimes.com
Iran And World Powers Agree On Framework For Nuclear Deal
A Major Step Toward a Nuclear Deal — The Atlantic - Iran and world powers have outlined a path toward a historic agreement.
Get Ready For the Munich Analogies - It's enough to know that 1) it was negotiated by Barack Obama's government, and 2) it's a deal with an adversary, which by definition must be weak and craven. But there's something else we're going to be hearing a lot: Munich analogies.
The Iran Nuclear Talks: Is the U.S. Negotiating With a Totalitarian State? — The Atlantic - The answer has consequences for U.S. strategy in nuclear talks with Tehran. And the fact that Iran hawks think it is helps explain why their strategy for stopping Iran’s nuclear program makes no sense.

Israel Dismisses Nuclear Framework As Detached From Reality - "the smiles in Lausanne are detached from grim reality in which Iran refuses to make any concessions on the nuclear issue and continues to threaten Israel and all other countries in the Middle East." (see comments: positive public opinion for Israel was destroyed by Netanyahu)
John Boehner in Israel: ‘The world is on fire’ - Jake Sherman - POLITICO - In an exclusive interview, the House speaker offers a blistering critique of U.S. policy in the Mideast. (on his Israeli victory tour)
This still exists in 2015 : videos (Israeli oppression +the tide of opinion seems to have turned)

Militants attack Kenya's Garissa University College - CNN.com
Yemen's Houthis seize Aden district, armed men land by sea | Reuters - Hours after the Houthis took over Aden's central Crater neighborhood, unidentified armed men arrived by sea in an area of the port city which the Iran-allied Shi'ite fighters have yet to reach.
Houthi Rebels Seize Presidential Palace In Yemen's Aden (game over)
Islamic State's self-declared capital Raqqa being wiped out by a FLESH-EATING disease | World | News | Daily Express - Efforts are reportedly being made to prevent the further spread of the Leishmaniasis skin disease, which is highly virulent, in the IS stronghold.
Nine Britons 'arrested' trying to cross into Syria from Turkey | World | News | Daily Express - POLICE have launched a probe into the British family who tried to take children as young as one into war-torn Syria, as it today emerged they are from Rochdale.

Reported al-Shabab Attack at Garissa University College in Kenya Leaves 147 Dead — The Atlantic - Gunmen stormed an East African college, killing 147—part of an uptick in terrorists targeting schools ... there had been warnings posted about an imminent attack on Wednesday, but that they were taken to be an April Fool's joke. (four guys, apparently, and shitty security)

Suicide Bombing Kills 16 At Anti-Corruption Rally In Afghanistan
The Pentagon Can't Account for $45 Billion It Spent in Afghanistan

One Of FBI's 'Most Wanted Terrorists' Confirmed Dead In Philippines - The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation said on Wednesday it has confirmed that Zulkifli bin Hir, one of its "most wanted terrorists," was killed in a raid in the Philippines in January ... he was killed in a gruesome raid that went awry and left 44 police commandos dead.

Mexico City estimates $24m loss due to James Bond shoot | Film | The Guardian - Closure of streets and malls has meant losses for a large number of small businesses in the Mexican capital, thanks to epic opening sequence for Spectre

The Future of World Religions: Population Growth Projections, 2010-2050 | Over the next four decades, Christians will remain the largest religious group, but Islam will grow faster than any other major religion - Four out of every 10 Christians in the world will live in sub-Saharan Africa (100 million Christians will quit)

Poll: Bush now tops GOP field; Clinton runs ahead of all Republicans - The Washington Post

Senator Says Critics Of Indiana Should Get 'Perspective,' Be Thankful State Doesn't Execute Gays | ThinkProgress - Appearing yesterday on CNN, Senator Tom Cotton (R) urged critics of Indiana’s “religious freedom” law to get “perspective,” suggesting the treatment of LGBT people in Indiana compared favorably to countries where gay people are executed. (at least we let you live on plantations)
Tom Cotton Says Discrimination Is All Relative As Long As Hanging Is Not Involved - In which we learn that there is no discrimination without strangulation. (these are really weird people stalking the halls of power)
Huckabee: Gay-Rights Movement 'Won't Stop Until There Are No Churches' (teh gays are coming for your crosses)
The Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) in Indiana and Arkansas — The Atlantic - Same-sex marriage supporters press their advantage, as the fate of statutes in Indiana and Arkansas remains uncertain.
Christie breaks silence on Indiana 'religious freedom' law | NJ.com - Gov. Chris Christie on Wednesday night said he believes the state's Republican Gov. Mike Pence will "fix the problem and move on."
Indiana Lawmakers Announce Proposed Religious Freedom Law Changes - The amendment to the Religious Freedom Restoration Act released Thursday prohibits service providers from using the law as a legal defense for refusing to provide services, goods, facilities or accommodations. It also bars discrimination based on race, color, religion, ancestry, age, national origin, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or United States military service.
Angie's List: 'Fix' To Indiana Religious Freedom Law 'Insufficient' - "Our position is that this 'fix' is insufficient," Angie's List CEO Bill Oesterle said in a statement, according to the Indianapolis Star. "There was no repeal of RFRA and no end to discrimination of homosexuals in Indiana."
Silicon Valley flexes political muscle in new US culture war over anti-gay laws | US news | The Guardian - Apple CEO Tim Cook set off an unprecedented backlash against ‘religious freedom’ laws this week, and showed why Republicans can no longer stay silent on civil rights
Indiana pizza joint pranked by Yelp users for backing religious freedom bill | US news | The Guardian - Owners of Memories Pizza in Walkerton, Indiana, said they ‘definitely agreed with the bill’ – and a few hours later, Yelp users had sprung into action
Memories Pizza In Indiana Receives Donations After Backlash Over Gay Weddings Stance - However, a GoFundMe page set up for Memories Pizza in Walkerton has raised more than $40,000 in just six hours - “That lifestyle is something they choose. I choose to be heterosexual," O'Conner told ABC 57. "They choose to be homosexual. Why should I be beat over the head to go along with something they choose?” ("beat over the head" with money)

Eschaton: Nobody Could Have Predicted - Except everybody - Instead, a lottery once ranked among the nation's top performers is now lagging for the second straight year, trailing its state income targets by $64 million seven months into the current fiscal year. Meanwhile, the company running it has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to hire lobbyists and a public relations firm with close ties to the governor. (Chris Crisco fucked everything up)
After Christie's privatization, NJ lottery missing targets - When Chris Christie privatized New Jersey's lottery two years ago, he said its new overseers would "modernize and maximize" the games.
Eschaton: America's Worst Governor - It's always 1985 for Christie. - Trenton — A portion of the money Gov. Chris Christie's administration is using to eke one more year out of a fading Transportation Trust Fund will be paid by calling in a loan from NJ Transit.

New Firm Will Dig Into Political Staffers' Social Media Past | ThinkProgress - The firm will analyze political staffers’ online media presence for offensive comments or other potential red flags.
Fox News, Paper Tiger - Jack Shafer - POLITICO Magazine - The network is better at employing presidential candidates than electing them.

Ice Cream: The Dessert of Revolution - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Somehow I came to this point in my life without knowing that Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman once owned an ice cream shop in Worcester, Massachusetts before failing miserably to assassinate Henry Clay Frick in the wake of the Homestead strike (+Double Chocolate With Emma And Sasha)

It's Almost Impossible To Find Data On Oil And Gas Spills In Most States (almost like they did that on purpose)

Justice Department Investigates Texas Truancy Courts - The Department of Justice is investigating whether truancy courts in Dallas County, Texas, deny due process to juveniles charged with failing to attend school by preventing access to lawyers and imposing large fines. Texas is one of two states where truancy is prosecuted as a crime in adult courts. (two words: "truancy courts")

Phoenix Cop Who Killed Unarmed Black Man Won't Face Charges - Police have said that Brisbon, 34, was shot and killed on Dec. 2 as he struggled with Rine, who suspected he was selling drugs and mistakenly believed that he felt the handle of a gun in the man's pocket. (gun, pill bottle, what's the difference?)
Heart Transplant Recipient Anthony Tremayne Stokes Dies In Crash During Chase - An Atlanta area teenager who said a heart transplant two years ago gave him a second chance at life died this week when he lost control of the car he was driving while fleeing police, according to police records.

Woman Recants Allegation That Ex-Alabama Football Player Jonathan Taylor Assaulted Her - Officers also "observed physical injuries" to the woman before making the arrest, Hart said.

Andrew Getty death: Heir to fortune died from ‘extreme rectal trauma’ | World | News | Daily Express

The Procrastination Doom Loop—and How to Break It — The Atlantic - (1) We delay action because we feel like we're in the wrong mood to complete a task, and (2) We assume that our mood will change in the near future

Intact Horse’s Skeleton Found at Roman Site - Archaeology Magazine - he skeleton of a horse estimated to have died 2,000 years ago has been unearthed at the construction site of a new biomedical campus


Max Headroom: the definitive history of the 1980s digital icon | The Verge
Five uncomfortable truths about the Ellen Pao verdict | The Verge
Apple Asks TV Networks to Supply Streams for Apple TV Service | Re/code - Apple wants the TV guys to provide their shows for its proposed streaming video service. But that’s not the only thing Apple wants from the TV guys: It wants them to provide the streams, too.

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California restricts water as snowpack survey finds 'no snow whatsoever' | US news | The Guardian - Governor Jerry Brown orders unprecedented and mandatory water regulations on residents to reduce statewide water use as drought stretches into fourth year
McConnell warns countries against UN climate plan | TheHill - Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told foreign countries to think twice before entering into the United Nations’ climate pact.

Inside the A320 - Exclusive: The final moments before the crash
'Germanwings passenger video' is authentic, says French magazine | World news | The Guardian - Paris Match and Bild describe ‘blurred and chaotic’ scenes in video said to show plane’s final moments, but French police say story is false - On the police and prosecutor’s charge that mobile phone evidence from the crash site had not yet been analysed, he said that would suggest there was a problem with the inquiry and it was high time the analysis of phone evidence began.
Germanwings crash: Not the full story? -- Puppet Masters -- Sott.net


'Kidnap Obama': Ukip candidate Jeremy Zeid replaced after outburst | Politics | The Guardian - “Once Obama is out of office the Israelis should move to extradite the bastard or ‘do an Eichmann’ on him and lock him up for leaking state secrets,” Zeid wrote in the Facebook post, according to a screenshot. (Israel will kidnap Obama)

Americans in Yemen fear they have been left behind as bombing escalates | World news | The Guardian - Despite having three navy ships in nearby waters, US has not evacuated civilians from Yemen, many of whom have travelled to port city of Aden seeking rescue

Boko Haram Fighters Murdered Captive Women: UN Human Rights Chief - The U.N.'s human rights chief said Wednesday his office has received reports that Boko Haram fighters retreating from advancing military forces in Nigeria murdered women and girls they had taken as "wives," along with other captives.

Palestine formally joins International Criminal Court - Al Jazeera English - Palestinians join The Hague-based International Criminal Court, setting scene for potential legal action against Israel.

The GOP’s Budget Hypocrisy | Ten Miles Square | The Washington Monthly - Few will mention that their budget resolutions pave the way for Congress to spend $355 billion more than federal revenues in fiscal year 2016, and far more when adjusted to eliminate accounting tricks. (oh, deficit? what deficit?)

Mike Pence Is Losing Friends By The Minute - In which everybody but Mike Pence bails out on the freedom to be a bigot.
Indiana governor backs down, calls for fix to religious law | TheHill - Indiana Gov. Mike Pence (R) on Tuesday backed away from his support for a religious freedom law and asked his state Legislature to immediately change it to ensure it would not discriminate against gays and lesbians.
Indiana law backs GOP hopefuls into a corner - Katie Glueck and Adam B. Lerner - POLITICO - Gallup polling confirms that the number of Americans who believe homosexuality is “morally acceptable” is at an all-time high at just under 60 percent, up from around 40 in the early 2000s. This support is even more pronounced among millennials. (generational divide is yawning)
Bills on ‘Religious Freedom’ Upset Capitols in Arkansas and Indiana - NYTimes.com - even as Indiana’s political leaders struggled to gain control over a growing backlash that has led to calls to boycott the state because of criticism that its law could be a vehicle for discrimination against gay couples
RFRA: First Michiana business to publicly deny same-sex service - ABC57 News - See the Difference Michiana - “We're not discriminating against anyone, that's just our belief and anyone has the right to believe in anything,” says O'Connor.
xs Indiana Pizzeria Vows To Never Deliver A Pizza To A Gay Wedding - "That's a lifestyle that you choose," Kevin O'Connor told WBND. "I choose to be heterosexual. They choose to be homosexual. Why should I be beat over the head because they choose that lifestyle?" (and my public business is a church)
Indiana Pizza Place -- Forced to Close Doors After Refusing to Cater Gay Weddings | TMZ.com - Kevin O’Connor tells TMZ he's had to temporarily close his business after he told a reporter he would refuse to cater a gay wedding under Indiana's new Religious Freedom Restoration Act. O'Connor says he was immediately flooded by threatening phone calls, and social media postings. (they discriminated against my right to be a pubic bigot)
[NSFW] Memories Pizza in Walkerton, IN, the restaurant which has stated they will refuse to serve gay couples, has had their website hacked : funny (gay mafia strikes back)
Arkansas Legislature Copies Indiana, Passes Controversial Religious Freedom Bill - But the bill's author, state Rep. Bob Ballinger (R), said its language was staying put, and that it would be too confusing to try to define what constitutes discrimination. (words are very confusing to Republicans)
Want Some Cheese With That Whine, Conservatives? by Ed Kilgore | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - The Church of the Day Before Yesterday—the identification of Christianity with the secular culture of the 1950s or earlier—remains a powerful force even if the demonic change being resisted morphs from race-mixing to legalized sodomy to baby-killing by uppity women.
Arkansas Legislators Amend Controversial Religious Freedom Bill - Arkansas legislators offered amendments to the state's Religious Freedom Restoration Act on Wednesday, revising the controversial legislation to resemble the federal RFRA.
Why Indiana's Religious Freedom Law Is Such A Big Deal - The goal is to give business owners a stronger legal defense if they refuse to serve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender customers and want to cite their faith as justification for their actions.
Jeb Bush Seems to Shift Tone in His Praise of Indiana Law - First Draft. Political News, Now. - NYTimes.com - telling a small group of potential supporters that a “consensus-oriented” approach would have been better at the outset. (flop-flip)
alicublog: RFRA ROFL: More Wreckage From The Indiana Crack-Up. - This is the real War on Women: dusting, rape, and gay cakes.

The Erroneous Premises of Third Party Curiosity - Lawyers, Guns & Money (follow the debate)
Lesser-Evilism We Can Believe In | The Nation - Should we put government in the hands of a party determined to subvert it, or a party—however flawed—that believes it still has a role to play in securing the common good?
The case for being unreasonable | - 2. The Dems remain wedded to dangerous meddling in the ME, indulging dubious allies like Israel and Saudi Arabia. Hillary in particular promises more unwelcome excitement on this front.

Dick Durbin, Chuck Schumer feud over whip position - POLITICO - “When Sen. Durbin took Sen. Schumer aside and told him that he would not run for leader, the two senators agreed to support one another,” said Ben Marter, a spokesman for Durbin. “Schumer as leader and Durbin as whip. And they shook hands on it.” (Chuckie is a little fuckie?)

US senator Bob Menendez indicted on corruption charges | US news | The Guardian - Menendez charged with misusing political authority to help friend and donor Salomon Melgen in exchange for gifts following months-long investigation

Indiana Shut Down Its Rural Planned Parenthood Clinics And Got An HIV Outbreak - Scott County, Indiana, the center of an exploding HIV outbreak, has been without an HIV testing center since early 2013, when the sole provider -- a Planned Parenthood clinic -- was forced to close its doors. The clinic did not offer abortion services (hoosier christofacist stupidity in the Laboratories of Democracy)
Texas measure cuts HIV funds, boost abstinence education | abc13.com

New Jersey Lottery Falls Short Of Targets After Chris Christie Privatizes Management - "Missing the mark so badly with all of these proven methods for generating lottery revenues is like spitting and missing the floor," said John Kindt, a professor emeritus at the University of Illinois who studies gambling policy and has been critical of lottery privatization. (Chris Crisco)

Cop who berated Uber driver is stripped of badge and gun | New York Post - Detective Patrick Cherry has been removed from the department’s elite Joint Terrorism Task Force and will be doing desk duty until he is officially transferred out of the prestigious division.
NYPD cop on modified duty after rant at Uber driver - NY Daily News - Det. Patrick Cherry was put on modified assignment and transferred from his post with the Joint Terrorism Task Force, Police Commissioner Bill Bratton announced Wednesday afternoon. (rageoholic psychocop shamed all over the internets)
NYPD officer disciplined after foul-mouthed rant at Uber driver | US news | The Guardian
Cop who berated Uber driver is stripped of badge and gun : news

Sprawl: Terrible in All Ways - Lawyers, Guns & Money : A new analysis authored by Todd Litman at the Victoria Transport Policy Institute concludes that sprawl costs the U.S. economy more than $1 trillion every year.

Andrew Ross, Outspoken NYU Professor, Barred From Entering Abu Dhabi
Good Job NYU - Lawyers, Guns & Money : NYU deciding to open an Abu Dhabi just gets more and more embarrassing for the school. You’d think the school would consider academic freedom and the protections of its faculty in the United Arab Emirates. But of course it didn’t. Because it was always about cashing checks.
Today in American Meritocracy - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is facing debts and liabilities of nearly $1 billion, and has seen a sharp decline in its overall net assets over the past 13 years, according to an analysis of the school’s tax returns by the the student newspaper, The Polytechnic (...wait for it ...) Jackson was paid $7.1 million in 2012, more than any other college president in the nation, and continues to be paid at that level.

Arizona Professor Received A Bunch Of Threatening Emails After Fox News Segment About His Class - The Arizona State University professor vilified in a Fox News segment in January for teaching a course called “U.S. Race Theory and the Problem of Whiteness” received dozens of hateful and threatening emails after the report, according to The Arizona Republic.


Acetaminophen 'does not work for lower back pain or osteoarthritis' Medical News Today
Need to Recover from a Workout? Fast Food Is Just as Effective as Supplements | RealClearScience
Is it strictly impossible for two human beings to have the exact same genetic code or is it just astronomically improbable? : askscience
What is the logical basis behind the multiverse theory? In other words, what does the multiverse theory attempt to prove or answer? : askscience
[Meme] AskScience Memes! The next generation in Science Education. : askscience

Parents of daughters who did hardcore porn, how did you find out and how do you feel about it? : AskReddit
HELP. Every pair of tights looks weird on me (photos) : femalefashionadvice
What is something a guest did at your home that shocked you? : AskReddit
What was your worst "Let's never speak about this ever again." moment? : AskReddit
You come home and find a second "you" dead on the floor. What do you do? : AskReddit
18 year old man overhears girl making fun of his looks at a party so he breaks in to her parent's house and stabs them. He told the detectives that he chose the biggest knife he could find as he thought it would cause the most damage. : WTF
KaiserAbides comments on The Cube : A 6 sided gadget that can perform everything from taking a selfie to self defense.

Judge rejects AT&T claim that FTC can’t stop unlimited data throttling | Ars Technica - AT&T can't escape the FTC's jurisdiction, despite "common carrier" status.
Judge rejects AT&T claim that FTC can’t stop unlimited data throttling : technology
Google kills 200 ad-injecting Chrome extensions, says many are malware | Ars Technica

033115
U.S. Commits To Slashing Emissions Up To 28 Percent By 2025

If this is what an anti-war presidency looks like to you, you're detached from reality | Trevor Timm | Comment is free | The Guardian - Despite what some Republicans and neo-conservatives claim, Obama is plenty militaristic. That’s part of the problem in the region, not the best solution (drone-boy)

U.S. Says Enough Progress Made In Iran Nuclear Talks To Extend To Wednesday
Iran militia chief: Destroying Israel is 'nonnegotiable' | The Times of Israel - Basij commander Mohammad Reza Naqdi also threatens Saudis, saying their fate will be like that of Saddam Hussein

White House Lifts Hold On Weapon Sales To Egypt Despite Lack Of Democratic Progress

Opposition Leader Buhari Wins Nigerian Election: Report - Cars honked and people waved brooms in the air — a symbol of Buhari's campaign promise to sweep out Nigeria's endemic corruption. (Badluck loses)
Nigerian election: opposition leader Muhammadu Buhari wins stunning victory | World news | The Guardian - 72-year-old former military ruler defeats incumbent Goodluck Jonathan in vote count
Nigeria's Vote Could Mark Turning Point In Country's History - The defeat of President Goodluck Jonathan, whose People's Democratic Party (PDP) has run Africa's most populous nation since it returned to civilian rule in 1999, was the first time a Nigerian head of state lost power to an opposition challenger through the ballot box.

14-year-old boy charged with terror offences in Austria | World news | The Guardian - Austria has charged a 14-year-old boy with terror offences after he researched how to build a bomb online and made contact with militants supporting Islamic State fighters in Syria, prosecutors have said.

Alexis Tsipras calls western sanctions against Russia 'road to nowhere' | World news | The Guardian - Comments come a week ahead of Greek prime minister’s controversial visit to Moscow but Tsipras insists country can be ‘a bridge’ between Russia and west

Turkish Prosecutor In Hostage Standoff Has Died - Kiraz was leading an investigation into the death last March of 15-year-old Berkin Elvan, who died after nine months in a coma from a head wound sustained in anti-government protests.

Barney Frank drops a bombshell: How a shocking anecdote explains the financial crisis - Salon.com - Ever wonder why we waited six years to get a decent economic recovery? This new revelation will disgust you (TARP: Obama's disasterous program designed to fail because Obama)
Generous welfare benefits make people more likely to want to work, not less -- ScienceDaily - "This article concludes that there are few signs that groups with traditionally weaker bonds to the labor market are less motivated to work if they live in generous and activating welfare states." (oh wait, this changes everything)

Hillary Clinton email controversy is back as Benghazi and iPad questions loom | US news | The Guardian - Leading Republican on House select committee demands formal interview to clarify handling of private email server after admission it was wiped clean

Arkansas passes Indiana-style 'religious freedom' bill criticised as anti-gay | US news | The Guardian - State ratifies Religious Freedom Restoration Act that critics see as a way to discriminate against gay and lesbian people under the guise of religious freedom
Indy Star Blasts Gov. Mike Pence Over 'Religious Freedom' Law: 'Fix This Now' (Pence: "you're intolerant of our intolerance!")
Advance America » Blog Archive » VICTORY AT THE STATE HOUSE! - Churches, Christian businesses and individuals deserve protection from those who support homosexual marriages and those who support government recognition and approval of gender identity (men who dress as women). SB 101 will help provide the protection! Christian bakers, florists and photographers should not be punished for refusing to participate in a homosexual marriage! (from the mouths of intolerant christofacists)
Mike Pence Dodges Criticism By Calling Critics 'Intolerant.' That Dog Won't Hunt.
Equality groups ready for counterattack against wave of anti-gay bills across US | World news | The Guardian - Republican-controlled legislatures have introduced more than 85 anti-gay bills
In Indiana, Using Religion as a Cover for Bigotry - NYTimes.com - Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana, who last week signed a religious-freedom law driven by bigotry against gays and lesbians, has been complaining that the law’s opponents — which include top business leaders and civil-rights groups — are spreading “misinformation.”
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence Either Confused Or Misleading Everyone About His Controversial Law
Mike Pence Promises To Fix Indiana Law So It Bars Discrimination - casting himself, the GOP-controlled General Assembly and the new Religious Freedom Restoration Act as victims of "mischaracterizations" perpetrated by the media and the law's opponents.

Foolishness Knows No Party - OK, so if you're keeping score at home, if you support this law, you are taking a political position that is to the right of NASCAR. This should give you great pause, I should think.
David Brooks Would Like You To Lower Your Voice - In which David Brooks would like gay people to lower their voices. - "Morality is a politeness of the soul"?
Indiana 'Religious Freedom' Gives Glimpse Into the GOP's Backwards Bubble - US News - Defending Indiana's anti-gay, 'religious freedom' law makes Gov. Mike Pence the face of GOP insularity.
"Smoking Doesn't Kill" And Other Great Old Op-Eds From Mike Pence - BuzzFeed News - The Indiana governor who is at the center of the debate surrounding the recently signed Religious Freedom Restoration Act in his state wrote some interesting op-eds 15 years ago. (dude is nuts AND stupid)
Kentucky: No one can marry gays, so gay marriage ban not biased - In an argument labeled absurd by gay marriage advocates, Beshear's lawyer says in a brief filed last week at the U.S. Supreme Court that "men and women, whether heterosexual or homosexual, cannot marry persons of the same sex" under Kentucky law, making the law non-discriminatory. (perfectly logical)
Ex-Boss Of California's 'Kill All Gays' Lawyer Speaks Out: 'Go After Him With A Knife And Fork' - The former boss of the mysterious California lawyer behind a state ballot proposal that would mandate executing gay people said on Tuesday that he hopes the public would show no mercy on his old employee.

Gap, Levi's Join Other Big Companies Protesting Anti-Gay Laws
Rahm Emanuel Wants To Capitalize On Controversy In Neighboring Indiana - "As Gov. Pence changes state law to take Indiana backwards, I urge you to look next door."
GOP 2016 contenders agree: Indiana's 'religious freedom' law is just that | US news | The Guardian - Jeb Bush, Ted Cruz and Bobby Jindal pile on in support of controversial law they say includes the right to discriminate against LGBT Americans
Mike Pence is too cowardly to defend his anti-gay law. He should be that ashamed | Comment is free | The Guardian - The anti-gay law was so blindingly obvious in its intent that it might not make the state’s intolerant citizens sound like simple religious folk besieged on all fronts
Stephen King Has Our Favorite Response Yet To Indiana's 'Religious Freedom' Law - Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration act is gay discrimination, pure and simple. You can frost a dog turd, but it's still a dog turd
The Indiana backlash - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Because right now “God told me to” and “gays are icky” are equally lawful reasons to discriminate against LGBT people in Indiana with respect to housing, employment, schools, public accommodations and insurance markets.
Audra McDonald Rips Indiana Governor Over Law | Advocate.com - The Broadway singer and actress tweeted her disgust with the newly passed Religious Freedom Restoration Act in Indiana.
corathus59 comments on Want Evidence of Hysterical Anti-Christian Bigotry? Look No Further than #BoycottIndiana (+Somebody get me the Rektlist)
Hurrah_for_Karamazov comments on Can someone ELI5 the controversial Indiana religious freedom bill and what it means and doesn't mean for Catholic people and their businesses/institutions? - This whole RFRA madness is the most hyperbolic thing in the world. I'll give you a brief history and rundown for religious freedom laws in the US.
Meet the Democrats Who Voted for the Defense of Marriage Act - Hit & Run : Reason.com (Chuckie Schumer. for instance)

Indiana Sentences Purvi Patel to 20 Years for Feticide - NBC News.com

David Brooks Ignores NYT's Reporting To Defend Indiana's "Religious Freedom" Law | Blog | Media Matters for America

Arizona Governor Signs Controversial Abortion Bill Into Law - The fiercely debated bill also requires doctors to tell women they could possibly reverse the effects of a drug-induced abortion, a claim that critics have called "junk science."

Destroying Workers Compensation - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Not surprisingly, in this New Gilded Age, this system, like the rest of American labor law, is under attack. That attack is being led by corporations such as Walmart, Lowe’s and Safeway.

Menendez Charges Could Come 'As Early As This Week' - Federal prosecutors are moving toward charging a Florida eye doctor over his dealings with New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez, according to a person familiar with a Justice Department investigation into their relationship. (Senator from Israel is corrupt)

Justice Dept. sues a university for firing a professor who switched gender - The Washington Post

Trevor Noah to replace Jon Stewart on The Daily Show: Offensive, yes, but also a giant dope. - Not since John McCain selected Sarah Palin as his running mate have the vetting capacities of a powerful political force been cast into such doubt.
Weinstein accused of molesting model | Page Six - Battilana was one of two models who witnessed one of Berlusconi’s infamous “bunga-bunga” orgies and offered testimony to Italian authorities.



Police Officer Screams At Uber Driver In Xenophobic Rant: 'How Long Have You Been In This Country?' (cop rage)
Taser fired by federal agents kills driver as car is engulfed in flames | US news | The Guardian - “For some reason, even though each of those cars had a fire extinguisher readily within reach, none of them used their fire extinguishers – or tried to used their fire extinguishers, or tried to help Alex – who was burning to death inside this car,” (let's barbeque this dude)
Inside St Louis's lurid crime tabloid: 'There's a callousness about the value of life here' | Media | The Guardian - The Evening Whirl has been cataloging St Louis crime for 77 years. The African American-run paper is generally pro-police, occupying an uneasy place in impoverished areas struggling with the question of who to trust
Ohio Girl, 10, Dies in House Fire Hours Before Rape Suspect's Trial Begins - NBC News.com - Gains said the cause of the fire had not been determined and the Youngstown Fire Department was investigating. "We have to wait," Gains said. "If it's natural causes, it's a hell of a coincidence," he added.
Ohio Girl, 10, Dies in House Fire Hours Before Rape Suspect's Trial Begins : news

A New Strain Of Enterovirus D68 May Be The Cause Of Recent Childhood Paralysis Cases - Scientists have linked a specific strain of the respiratory illness enterovirus D68 to the previously-unexplained rash of childhood paralysis and muscle weakness that struck dozens of children between 2012 and 2014 ... "Given that none of the children have fully recovered, we urgently need to continue investigating this new strain of EV-D68 and its potential to cause acute flaccid myelitis," said Chiu in a statement.
Real-Life 'Tatooine' Planets With Two Suns May Be More Common Than Previously Thought - So far, mostly gas giant planets have been observed orbiting twin stars. But a new study suggests that rocky Earth-like planets can form in binary star systems -- and are likely quite common in the universe.

Graham Dwyer and Elaine O’Hara: the master-slave relationship - Dwyer was drawn to alt.com because of his need to find a woman who was interested in submitting to his desire to spill blood.

'Mad Max: Fury Road' Final Theatrical Trailer : movies
Microsoft unveils new Surface 3, $400 less than Surface Pro, runs full windows. : technology (iPad killer)


033015
California drought goes from bad to worse as state grapples with heat wave | US news | The Guardian - Experts say fix requires global effort going into an era of climate change in which ‘the temperature is essentially always conducive to drought’ (bring the death-cult Republican party before the Climate Court)
Arctic ice: Maximum extent reaches record low. - Ever year around the end of February, after a long winter, Arctic ice reaches its maximum extent. This year that happened around Feb. 25, when it encompassed 14.54 million square kilometers of ice around the North Pole. (and tie them to a melting icecap)
RealClimate: What’s going on in the North Atlantic?
Living on Earth: Melting Ice Slows Down Ocean Circulation
Global warming and drought are turning the Golden State brown | Dana Nuccitelli | Environment | The Guardian - Another study finds that drought will hit California hard as the planet keeps warming (Republicans will outlaw the word "California")
How Growers Gamed California’s Drought - The Daily Beast - Consuming 80 percent of California’s developed water but accounting for only 2 percent of the state’s GDP, agriculture thrives while everyone else is parched.

NSA shooting: One dead after car rams security gate - BBC News - An unnamed official told the Associated Press that the men inside the car were dressed as women.
The NSA had considered ceasing mass surveillance before Snowden- The Inquirer - Well, that would have saved it a whole lot of trouble
California Legislators Pushing Warrant Requirement For All Access To Electronic Information, Including That Obtained By Stingrays | Techdirt
Google likely to prevail against Mississippi Attorney General's enormous subpoena, court says | The Verge
Feds Demand Reddit Identify Users of a Dark-Web Drug Forum | WIRED
Feds Demand Reddit Identify Users of a Dark-Web Drug Forum : news

Prosecutors: Germanwings Co-Pilot Was Treated Years Ago For Suicidal Tendencies

GitHub cleans up after cyber-attack | Technology | The Guardian - US coding site responds to flood of traffic following hacking attack, with reports claiming Chinese search engine Baidu was source

NYU has an Abu Dhabi campus, but the government still blocked professor Andrew Ross from doing research. - The United Arab Emirates blocked an NYU professor who questioned its policies. Is academic freedom at risk? (lie down with rich dictators ...)

Iran nuclear talks: brinkmanship in Lausanne as deadline looms | World news | The Guardian - The negotiations in Switzerland are stuck on two stubborn problems as the tension ramps up ahead of a 31 March cutoff date

Chinese court jails Muslim for 6 years for growing beard from 2010, wife gets 2 years for wearing veil : worldnews

Blogger hacked to death in Bangladesh | World news | The Guardian - Washiqur Rahman’s murder is latest attack on country’s independent writers following similar killing in February of American atheist blogger

Assassination of 4 Student Leaders in Honduras Prompts Protests | News | teleSUR

American People Should Hold War Lobby Accountable for Libya Debacle | Doug Bandow - Samantha Power, one of the most consistent advocates of a militarized foreign policy, complained that "one has to be careful about overdrawing lessons" from failed interventions. In her view the fact that America's constant wars have resulted in constant failures -- and constant pressure to intervene again to confront the new problems created -- is no reason to be more careful in the future.

Tory MP Enoch Powell investigated as alleged member of Westminster paedophile network - Crime - UK - The Independent - Enoch Powell, the Conservative anti-immigrant firebrand, is being investigated as an alleged member of a claimed Westminster paedophile network after his name was supplied to police by a senior Anglican bishop ... after a clergyman came forward with claims from the 1980s relating to ritual satanic abuse. (sounds about right)

White House examining leak of Obama passport details during G20 summit | US news | The Guardian - nformation sent to wrong person due to autofill error in Microsoft Outlook - a bureaucrat in the Australian Department of Immigration and Border Protection accidentally sent the passport numbers, visa details and other personal information of Obama and 30 other world leaders to organizers of the Asian Cup

More on the "Stop Hitting Yourself" Theory of Governance - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Josh Blackman raises the new theory that Democrats should pay the price for Republican obstructionism to a new level (if Repubicans are involved, you need a 60-80% "majority")

Supreme Court Rejects Obamacare 'Death Panel' Challenge - The plaintiffs, represented by the Phoenix, Arizona-based conservative Goldwater Institute

The Bobblespeak Translations: Meet The Press – March 29, 2015

Indiana Religious Freedom Restoration Act Allows Private Businesses to Discriminate Against Employees Based on Sexual Orientation — The Atlantic - The new statute's defenders claim it simply mirrors existing federal rules, but it contains two provisions that put new obstacles in the path of equality. (oh, those provisions)
GOP Mayor Of Indianapolis Signs Executive Order Protecting LGBT Community - The Republican mayor of Indiana's largest city is working to stem the backlash from a new "religious freedom" law, breaking with members of his own party in order to reassure companies that Indianapolis is still a good place to do business.
Indiana GOP Leaders Shocked Their 'Religious Freedom' Law Is Seen As Anti-Gay
Here Are 6 Major Companies Protesting States' New Anti-Gay Measures
Twitter's Policy Team Bashes Indiana's Religious Freedom Law
Leaders Of Indiana Companies 'Deeply Concerned' Over LGBT Discrimination Law
Mike Pence Has A Long History Of Fighting Gay Rights - Indiana Gov. Mike Pence's (R) decision to sign a controversial religious freedom bill has landed him in the crosshairs of gay rights proponents, both locally and nationally. But Pence's latest move is consistent with his background of opposing gay rights legislation and championing "traditional" marriage.
Indiana Lawmakers Try to Quiet Firestorm Surrounding New Law - ABC News
Eroding Freedom in the Name of Freedom - NYTimes.com
What will the Indiana religious freedom law really do? - The Washington Post

Indiana Republicans to amend 'religious freedom' law in face of backlash | US news | The Guardian - State legislators say law is not anti-gay and blame the reaction on a ‘mischaracterisation’. ‘What we had hoped for was a message of inclusion’ (LOL Indiana)
ABC's Stephanopoulos Grills Gov. Mike Pence On Anti-LGBT Discrimination After Indiana "Religious Freedom" Law Passes | Video | Media Matters for America (what a lying idiot)
State legislators say law is not anti-gay and blame the reaction on a ‘mischaracterisation’. ‘What we had hoped for was a message of inclusion’ (words are hard for Repubicans)
Gov. Mike Pence’s characterization of Indiana’s new religion law is wrong. (our discrimination is actually non-discrimination)
Connecticut Gov. Dan Malloy bans state travel to Indiana over anti-gay law - While the federal government and nearly 20 other states have similar religious freedom laws, Indiana's goes further by saying people and businesses cannot be "substantially burdened"
Indiana's Governor Further Explains Why He's Not A Nuisance - In which we discover that Mike Pence is the gobshite-ist gobshite there ever was ... This may have been the worst performance by a politician on a Sunday Show I ever saw. In fact, it may be the worst performance by a purported human being in he history of television. (wow, CPP, just wow)

Here's Some Stupid For Lunch - Carly Fiorina, who has failed spectacularly at business and even more spectacularly at politics, is now thinking of running for president based on her staggering career success ... This is the record on which she is running for president. Also, no porn at work, or she's going to outsource the Department of Agriculture to a sweatshop in Bangladesh.
Epic Failure Businesslady Carly Fiorina To Do For America What She Did For Hewlett Packard: Almost Kill It | Wonkette
Eschaton: Failure Is Proof Of My Ability To Succeed - I suppose it's actually smart. If Fiorina keeps talking about how awesome she was running HP then it will become truthy. Reporters won't bother to offer up any contradiction, and it will become a fact for the purpose of the campaign.
O'Reilly Cameraman Disputes Fox News Host's Falklands "War Zone" Story | Mother Jones - O'Reilly claimed he rescued his bleeding cameraman during a riot in Argentina. But the journo who shot O'Reilly's video says this didn't happen.

A 26-year-old MIT graduate is turning heads over his theory that income inequality is actually… — The Ferenstein Wire — Medium (... housing)
As Texas buildings crumble, repair price grows to $1 billion | The Star Telegram The Star Telegram (reaping what you sowed, infrastrucure-hating Repubicans)
Cap'n Transit Rides Again: NYCHA and the fetishized green space - And the city may "quietly sell off" some land to developers so they can build that senior housing. Oh, the scandal!

Arizona governor to rule on bill that delays release of officers' names in shootings | US news | The Guardian - The controversial bill mandates that departments not reveal the identity of an officer for 60 days after a person has been killed by the ‘use of deadly force’
How a traffic stop left a Michigan man beaten, bloodied and bitter at police | US news | The Guardian - A video with echoes of the Rodney King beating shows Floyd Dent pinned to the ground and punched 16 times by an officer with a history of citizen complaints
New York police officer in Eric Garner case sued over Staten Island car crash | US news | The Guardian - Daniel Pantaleo, who put Garner in a chokehold, allegedly hit another man’s car while on duty in June, causing ‘severe and permanent’ injuries - Pantaleo has previously been accused of misconduct, including carrying out a strip search in public as part of a search for illegal drugs. According to reports, he has been sued at least four times.
Trial set to begin for six accused cops – Metro - The trial of six former Philadelphia narcotics officers accused of robbing drug dealers in a 42-page indictment that read like a script for a Hollywood action movie is expected to begin in federal court Monday.
Pediatricians Say No to Random Drug Testing in Schools - Random drug testing programs in schools are costly and destroy trust, research shows.
Police All Over the U.S. Are Issuing Fewer Traffic Tickets | Money.com - That’s a dip of more than 21% over five years. The state court system’s budget relies on millions of dollars in funding from such citations, so when significantly fewer tickets are issued, it can wreak havoc on the court’s ability to do its job, and even just keep the lights on. (synergy)

After a story is published, a minimum wage worker loses her job - The Washington Post - Tippen says she was fired by her boss, hotel manager Herry Patel (Harry Patel, you've cemented your reputation as an asshole for all eternity)


Poverty shrinks brains from birth : Nature News & Comment - Studies show that children from low-income families have smaller brains and lower cognitive abilities. - Neither study explains the cause of the cognitive differences. Although the authors of both studies admit that genetic factors could be involved, they suspect that environmental exposures such as stress and nutrition are more important and begin even before the babies are born.
Quality vs quantity time: Spending more time with your kids may have little impact on their well-being ... "In fact, it appears the sheer amount of time parents spend with their kids between the ages of 3 and 11 has virtually no relationship to how children turn out,"
Body Maps Expose the Chemical Residue That Coats Our Skin | WIRED - The researchers found that of the roughly 20,000 molecules they measured, 80 percent of them didn’t have recognizable chemical signatures. That means no one knows whether those molecules are related to skin cells, bacteria, shampoo, or something els
WHO | Estimates for 2000–2012 - Cause-Specific Mortality (1. suicide 2. murder 3. war +really shitty presentation, WHO)
How does evolution work? : askscience
Science AMA Series: I'm Michael Eriksen, I study why people use e-cigs and other novel tobacco and nicotine products, as well as conventional cigarettes. AMA. : science

Baked Alaska: Surviving Aniakchak National Monument | Outside Online

Inside the Aspie Brain; Why social scenarios are so difficult... : aspergers
What innocent activity have you performed that turned out to look really suspicious? : AskReddit
T.I.L. that a 61yr. old U.S. Navy vet Michael Boatwright was found unconscious in a motel room. When he woke up he only spoke Swedish instead of his native language English. He also insisted that he was a swede named Johan Ek and threw up when he saw his own reflection, in a state of confusion. : todayilearned
What banned or censored things should we know about? : AskReddit
ELI5: My wife and I have type O blood, my kid has A. How is this possible? : explainlikeimfive

1,000-year-old onion and garlic eye remedy kills MRSA - BBC News - They were "astonished" to find it almost completely wiped out methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, otherwise known as MRSA.


032915
Global climate change: Highest temp recorded in Antarctica is 63 F - Antarctica may have experienced its warmest day ever recorded on Tuesday, with the temperature reading of 63.5°F, reports The Weather Underground. (but it's snowing somewhere)
Antarctica reaches 63F, highest temperature ever recorded. : worldnews
Yosemite Lookout Opens At Earliest Date In History - The road closes each winter blocked by snowfall, and last year the park reported an April 14 opening. In other years, the road remained closed until late-May.

A new chapter of TPP was leaked by WikiLeaks to Peruvian newspaper La Republica | The chapter specifies that companies will be able to sue the state when they lose profits, or the expectation of profits, due to social conflicts and changes in the public health or environmental codes of a nation. : worldnews (Obama's pet project)
Someone hijacked the Google of China to attack anti-censorship tools - The Washington Post - That sent a flood of traffic to two anti-censorship tools offered by the group GreatFire hosted on GitHub, a popular site used by programmers to collaborate on software development

A court case so secret, US Govt says it can't go on - NZ Herald News - A court case so secret, US Govt says it can't go on. Imagine that someone has wronged you, and you sue them. Then the Government magically appears in court and asks that your suit be dismissed because, for reasons it won't tell you, state secrets might be dredged up in the course of the litigation. You have no idea what they're talking about ... dismissing a defamation suit by Greek shipping magnate Victor Restis against a shady advocacy group called United Against Nuclear Iran. (oh, Israel)

The Confused Person's Guide to Middle East Conflicts — The Atlantic - Who’s friends with whom, in one simple diagram (just bomb-bomb them all back into the stone age +"No, Obama's foreign policy is a hairball and that's what this map captures")
Arab leaders agree to form joint military force to combat jihadis in region | World news | The Guardian - Leaders at Arab League summit also agree that Saudi-led air strikes in Yemen will continue until Shia Houthi rebels ‘withdraw and surrender their weapons’
US-led task forces continues air strikes as officials say 14 Isis targets are hit | World news | The Guardian - The attacks struck 14 targets in Iraq and one in Syria, including positions held by militants near the cities of Mosul, Tikrit and Fallujah

What to Worry About in an Iran Nuclear Deal — The Atlantic - A good deal makes the Middle East a safer place. A bad one makes matters worse. Here are some issues to keep in mind if nuclear talks lead to a provisional agreement.
Boehner: Iran has 'no intention' of keeping its word on nuclear deal | World news | The Guardian - Speaker slams Obama, says Iran has ‘never kept their word about anything’ Promises new sanctions will ‘come quickly’ if no agreement reached ("we will fuck everything up")
Netanyahu: Expected Iranian Nuclear Deal Even Worse Than Israel Feared (bomb-bomb)
Putin to Arab League: Palestinians have right to state with capital in east Jerusalem - International - Jerusalem Post - Putin also spoke on the importance of synchronizing the efforts of the Arab League with those of the United Nations, the United States, the European Union and Russia.
Iran nuclear negotiations: Benjamin Netanyahu warns Senate - politico ("We're the boss of you")
Maryland Senate race: Israel divides liberal Van Hollen and Edwards | US news | The Guardian - House Democrats Chris Van Hollen and Donna Edwards have support from progressive groups, but Edwards’ votes on Iran and Israel could sink her - In contrast, Edwards has long been close to J Street, the leftwing Jewish group which takes a very dovish view of the peace process (she's not enough of an Israel puppet)
White House to Benjamin Netanyahu: Your move - POLITICO - Netanyahu may not be able to wait longer than September, when the next U.N. General Assembly meets, to prove himself to the White House. So far, administration officials insist they’ve still made no decisions about what to do when Palestinians make the renewed push they’ve promised.

Echidne Of The Snakes - IS And Women. Part 3: The Western Female IS Militants - Meet Zahra and Salma Halane, seventeen-year-old twin sisters from Manchester, England who are not currently living the lives of typical British teenagers ... In the short time since then they have both been married to IS militants and they have also both been widowed. (nice burkas +guns +lots of rapey sex)
Thousands of Tunisians, leaders march after Bardo attack | Reuters

John Burns' Poetic War Zone Correspondence — The Atlantic - The people who we write about have none of these advantages.

Raffaele Sollecito reveals 'tears of joy' after Meredith Kercher murder acquittal | World news | The Guardian - Raffaele Sollecito said that he burst into “tears of joy” on being acquitted of the murder of British student Meredith Kercher on Friday, and that he now wants to build his future after more than seven years “living in fear”.

Hard Knox Life » Balloon Juice
Amanda Knox Goes Free: Italian Court Overturns Her Conviction for Murder of Meredith Kercher — The Atlantic - But the relatives of Meredith Kircher are no closer to learning the truth about her death.
The Monster of Florence — The Atlantic (how fucked up is Italian justice?)
Injustice in Perugia: Professional Opinion From FBI Agent Steve Moore on the Amanda Knox & Raffaele Sollecito Case
Is Amanda Knox guilty? - Business Insider

Headmaster David Tuohy who molested boys in the 1970s is found dead in the Thames | Daily Mail Online - David Tuohy was due to be sentenced next week for historic sex abuse - 83-year-old has been found dead in River Thames near to his Oxford home - Headmaster convicted of 15 counts of indecent assault against young boys - He was also said to be 'obsessed with spanking' and the prosecution said he had a 'particular deviant sexual fascination with the bottoms of very young boys.'

America’s Hinge Moment - Doug Sosnik - POLITICO Magazine - Presidential politics in 2016 will reflect the shifting reality of America. (whether America believes in reality or not)

Beef and the Doctrine of Government Speech in Walker v. Texas Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans — The Atlantic - The Supreme Court considers whether putting a Confederate battle flag on a license plate should be different than urging Americans to eat more beef. (so where are our Islamic Flag plates? +there is nothing Republicans can't fuck up)

Protesters rally against religious beliefs law in Indiana | The Salt Lake Tribune
Indiana Governor Mike Pence Seeks To 'Clarify' 'Religious Freedom' Law - Pence disputes the law allows state-sanctioned anti-gay discrimination, as some Indiana businesses, convention organizers and others have argued. He says he didn't anticipate "the hostility that's been directed at our state." ("almost dumb enough to be a cable-tv host")
Swarens: Gov. Mike Pence to push for clarification of ‘religious freedom’ law - Asked if that legislation might include making gay and lesbian Hoosiers a protected legal class, Pence said, “That’s not on my agenda.” (his presidential ambitions are toast)
31 states have heightened religious freedom protections - The Washington Post (including MA, apparently, which makes no sense)
NBA Promises 'Inclusion' In Face Of New Indiana 'Religious Freedom' Law
Indiana Governor: New Law 'Not About Discrimination' - ABC News - The definition of "person" includes religious institutions, businesses and associations.
NCAA Troubled By Indiana's New Anti-Gay Law
San Francisco Is First Major City To Boycott Indiana Over LGBT Discrimination Law
Apple CEO Tim Cook 'Deeply Disappointed' In Indiana's New Anti-Gay Law
Rally opposing Religious Freedom Bill draws thousands | Fox 59 - Opponents of the controversial Religious Freedom Bill signed by Governor Pence on Thursday gathered at the Statehouse Saturday to protest. Organizers say that “Hoosiers have suffered too long on this issue.”
Arkansas Senate Passes Religion Bill Called Anti-Gay - The Arkansas Senate overwhelmingly approved on Friday a Republican-backed bill whose authors say is intended to protect religious freedoms but critics contend could allow businesses to refuse service to gay people.

Why Reconstruction Matters - NYTimes.com
Revisiting Reconstruction by Nancy LeTourneau | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - This article is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand the backlash that is being unleashed by the conservative movement today and their Obama Derangement Syndrome.
   Mapping Occupation - Force, Freedom and the Army in Reconstruction

Weed Killer, Long Cleared, Is Doubted - NYTimes.com - Thirty years ago, an Environmental Protection Agency committee determined that the popular weed killer Roundup might cause cancer. Six years later, in 1991, the agency reversed itself after re-evaluating the mouse study that had been the basis for the original conclusion.

Onward to Revolution! - Lawyers, Guns & Money : I’m never quite sure why the New York Times writes about real estate and the lives of the rich in the way it does. (the trials of the riches and the deep corruption of the NYT)


Teens get jaywalking tickets in ER after de Blasio crackdown | New York Post - Brooklyn cops who said they were following Mayor de Blasio’s Vision Zero orders to crack down on reckless drivers and pedestrians gave two bleeding 16-year-old girls jaywalking tickets as they were being treated in an emergency room after a car hit them, their enraged parents told The Post ... A mayoral spokesman said: “There is no such thing as a ‘zero tolerance’ policy on jaywalking." (oh, cops lied, again)

Weather Underground bomber unmasked — as city schoolteacher | New York Post

Former SCGOP head accused of threatening his wife | The Battery | Charleston City Paper - Todd Kincannon says he was behaving erratically because of prescription medication ... Kincannon’s wife, Ashely Suzanne Griffith, who said that they “have a history of unreported domestic violence.” She said she was “extremely fearful” of Kincannon and described him as being “extremely ‘traditional’ and controlling ... He adds: “You’d think a guy with my IQ would know better" (dumbfuck chrisofacist)
South Carolina Republican Bravely Tweets Similarities Between Trayvon Martin, Super Bowl | Wonkette - Meet Todd Kincannon. This tall drink of water is the former executive director of the South Carolina Republican Party (yeah, that asshole)
California kidnapping case: Lawyers say woman's account not hoax | US news | The Guardian - Denise Huskins was reported missing but turned up 400 miles away and then she disappeared again and was located a day later – now she and her boyfriend are accused of staging a fake ransom demand
Drunk 'Frat Boy' Bites Hamster's Head Off At Spring Break Party
Woman makes up boy on Facebook to talk to her niece, who asks fictional boy to kill her aunt, uncle, cousin and dog | AL.com
Parole officer accused of raping woman during home visit: The victim said she recorded the incident on her phone not only so police would believe her, but so that he would not be able to write a false parole violation against her for reporting the rape : news
Arizona Lawmaker: Church Attendance Should Be Mandatory « CBS Las Vegas - “I believe what’s happening to our country is that there’s a moral erosion of the soul of America,” Allen said. Allen said more people may feel the need to carry weapons if a “moral rebirth” doesn’t occur in America

Cancer Patients Cured With Polio Virus In Duke University Trial, CBS Reports
The Effects of Tryptophan on Everyday Interpersonal Encounters and Social Cognitions in Individuals with a Family History of Depression | International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology - Repeated administration of the serotonin precursor tryptophan has previously been shown to increase agreeable behavior and reduce quarrelsome behavior in irritable people, who are also considered at risk for depression.
New study reveals main culprit for Alzheimer’s disease - ScienceAlert - Evidence suggests that abnormal tau then spreads from cell to cell, disseminating pathological tau in the brain's cortex. The cortex is the outer part of the brain that is involved in higher levels of thinking, planning, behaviour and attention - mirroring later behavioural changes in Alzheimer's patients. Amyloid, on the other hand, starts accumulating in the outer parts of the cortex and then spreads down to the hippocampus and eventually to other areas."
How Obesity Became a Disease — The Atlantic - And, as a consequence, how weight loss became an industry
Folic acid, a B vitamin, lowers stroke risk in people with high blood pressure - Harvard Health Blog - Harvard Health Publications - People on gluten-free diets who don’t eat foods made with wheat flour might also be a little low in folate,
Thorium, Why aren't we funding this! : videos
The Sex Appeal of Non-Conformity - "New research finds following your own path is a turn-on to potential romantic partners of both sexes." : science

Did ‘Sex and the City’ Spawn A Generation Of Women Who Are DTF? ("Down To Fuck")
MomentOfArt comments on What was your understanding of the Vietnam war growning up? As a 50 year old ...
Systemo comments on Can someone ELI5 this abstract
Fired Wawa Gas Attendant: 'I'm Overwhelmed' By Support | Brick, NJ Patch - But he took out his hibachi toy and started cleaning the mirror on the driver’s side door. The driver, a middle-aged woman, started laughing, he said. “But then the passenger, who I hadn’t seen at first, leaned over and said, ’That’s sexual harassment.’ “
Mike the Convenience store guy who was fired at a protest in his honor today in NJ to boycott WaWa : pics

ELI5: What's happening with Reddit's CEO and all of these posts being deleted? : explainlikeimfive
What "being an adult" skill have you most aggressively avoided learning? : AskReddit
Happily divorced people of reddit, when did you realize your marriage was over and it was time to file? : AskReddit
Have you ever disowned a family member?.. Why? : AskReddit
raisedbynarcissists: for the children of narcissistic parents
Every 28 days when the moon is full you transform into person of opposite gender. What are your plans for the night? : AskReddit
Leeroy Jenkins Ruins the Hostage Rescue : videos

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Mexico unveils plan to cap greenhouse gas emissions by 2026 | World news | The Guardian - Plan promises 22% greenhouse gas emissions cut by 2030 - Mexico one of first to submit national climate plan to UN before Paris talks
Are we ready for the next volcanic catastrophe? | World news | The Guardian - The largest eruption ever recorded, in Indonesia 200 years ago, wreaked havoc across the world, causing hunger, disease and death for years afterwards. When a volcanic event on that scale happens again – and it will – we should be prepared for serious disruption to our climate and food production (scary list)
Bird flu kills 22,000 Minnesota turkeys and infects tens of thousands more | US news | The Guardian - H5N2 strain, which has appeared in several states, prompts countries to ban Minnesota poultry imports as disease hits key bird migration route

Body Count - Body_Count_first_international_edition_2015_final.pdf (2.3 million dead killed by bomb-bomb Republicans so far)

Pilot Andreas Lubitz's ex-girlfriend says he shared chilling prophecy before Alps crash | Daily Mail Online - Andreas Lubitz told former girlfriend he was planning an act so horrifying his name would be remembered forever (and she didn't tell anyone)
What We Know So Far About Germanwings Co-Pilot Andreas Lubitz (he was right about being remembered)
Pilots on the Germanwings Murder/Suicide — The Atlantic - "When people start looking for whom to blame, the answer is simple: Joe-six-pack who wanted a $99 flight from New York to L.A." A veteran pilot on cost pressures in flight-crew training (how about one-pilot planes? +German austerity at work)
Airline pilots don't regularly have their mental health assessed - Vox
The Crash of EgyptAir 990 — The Atlantic - William Langewiesche Nov 1 2001 (Egypt covered up, of course)

The FBI used to recommend encryption. Now they want to ban it | Trevor Timm | Comment is free | The Guardian - For years, the agency recommended phone encryption as a defense against criminals. Now, that information has been scrubbed from public view - The FBI wants to make us all less safe. At least that’s the implication from FBI director Jim Comey’s push to ban unbreakable encryption and deliberately weaken everyone’s security. And it’s past time that the White House makes its position clear once and for all.

Iran, powers struggle to overcome disputes in push for nuclear deal | Reuters
The Reckless Man's Case for Bombing Iran — The Atlantic - Reading John Bolton's dangerously casual argument for yet another war in the Middle East - America’s wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have cost the United States more than $4 trillion. Over the coming decades, that number will likely rise by trillions more (America could have been a paradise +NYT loves giving voice to evil)
Obama's Mideast 'free fall' - Michael Crowley - politico - Mounting chaos in the region puts the administration on the defensive ... For years, members of the Obama team have grappled with the chaotic aftermath of the Arab Spring (not the aftermath of the Bush/Cheney jihad which Politico has apparently forgotten already)
Saudi-Led Coalition Bombs Yemen As Houthi Rebels Advance On Aden - Saudi Arabia's navy evacuated dozens of diplomats from Yemen on Saturday and the United Nations pulled out international staff after a third night of Saudi-led air strikes trying to stem advances by Iranian-allied Houthi fighters.
ISIS Denounces Saudi Airstrikes In Yemen - Supporters of ISIS have condemned the Saudi-led airstrikes on rebel Houthi fighters in Yemen, claiming in online forums and Twitter that the actions were a veiled attempt by the United States to interfere in the Middle East and propagate an American agenda. (it's too complicated for the bomb-bomb killers to figure out, so kill them all)
Police official: Attack on hotel by al-Shabab gunmen ended by Somali troops; at least 17 dead | World news | The Guardian - At least 17 people die and dozens more are wounded as military operation ends 12-hour siege that began with suicide bombing
These Obama administration quotes about Yemen are almost too cringe-worthy to read - Vox - Yemen is descending into chaos — and the Obama administration's response, at least in its public statements about the crisis, has been a total mess. (it was always a mess, Drone-boy)

Virginia State Bar boycotts Israel - The Washington Post (Bernstein has a fit)

Knox verdict: Italian justice system has failed, says Meredith Kercher's family | World news | The Guardian - Family of murdered British student makes statement after Italy’s top court annulled conviction of Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito
Amanda Knox is free because she's rich and American, says Patrick Lumumba | US news | The Guardian - Bar owner falsely implicated in Meredith Kercher murder says decision to quash convictions of Knox and Raffaele Sollecito was politically motivated - Knox’s claim – which Italian prosecutors alleged was intended to direct suspicion away from herself – was later proved to be false and Knox was given a three-year sentence for it. She has since admitted to struggling with guilt over the false accusation.

The GOP’s Repudiation of Bipartisan Precedents by Nancy LeTourneau | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly ("You will rule or ruin in all events." (AL at CU) politics as terrorism)

A President and a Prophet by Nancy LeTourneau | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - Now…imagine if the President of the United States sat down with such a prophet and started off by saying that he was a “huge fan of The Wire” and that it was “one of the greatest pieces of art in the last couple of decades.” Yeah, that happened

Trey Gowdy: Hillary Clinton wiped email server clean - Politico - Hillary Clinton wiped “clean” the private server housing emails from her tenure as secretary of state, the chairman of the House committee investigating the 2012 terrorist attacks in Benghazi said Friday. (she just can't help herself)
Leaked Private Emails Reveal Ex-Clinton Aide's Secret Spy Network - ongtime Clinton family confidante Sidney Blumenthal supplied intelligence to then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gathered by a secret network that included a former CIA clandestine service officer, according to hacked emails from Blumenthal's account. (shadow goverments with shadow armies)

Harry Reid Retires From the Senate — The Atlantic - With the bruised-and-battered Democratic leader's resignation, the Senate loses one of its toughest and most fascinating characters.
How Harry Reid Tapped Liberal Bloggers to Stop Bush's Agenda - Bloomberg Politics - Facing the apex of Bush's second term, it was clear to Reid that the Democrats could not come back to power unless they shifted the terms of debate. (without the dirty hippies we would have been even more screwed)

Warren Trolls Wall Street For Threatening To Withhold Donations From Dems - "I’m not going to stop talking about the unprecedented grasp that Citigroup has on our government’s economic policymaking apparatus," ("grasp")
Elizabeth Warren Fires Back After Wall Street Threats - "It will not work," Warren said in a statement emailed to The Huffington Post.

Indiana activists protest law amid concern over anti-gay discrimination | US news | The Guardian - Measure banning laws that ‘substantially burden’ religious freedom sees opposition across political spectrum as marriage debate heads to supreme court (christofacists)
Fierce Backlash Mounts Over Indiana's 'Religious Freedom' Law - A new "religious freedom" law in Indiana touched off a firestorm of criticism across the country Friday, after opponents warned that it could lead to legal discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals in the state's business establishments. (good job, business-friendly IN)
Indiana Officials Scramble To Contain Fallout From New Anti-Gay Bill - The heat over Indiana's new religious objections law spread Friday across social media and to the White House as many local officials and business groups around the state tried to jump in and stem the fallout ... Indiana University law professor Daniel Conkle, who testified in favor of the bill in Indiana legislative committees, said he was a supporter of gay rights (you can see the problem right there +religious freedom to hate people)
Why were 'religious freedom' supporters mostly silent? - Reaction to Indiana's new "religious freedom" law has come fast, hard and loud.
Angie's List halts expansion over Indiana law seen targeting gays | Reuters

Utah's firing squad law reveals crisis at the heart of US capital punishment | US news | The Guardian - Historically each new execution method is presented as more humane but with judicial killings having almost ground to a halt, the state is returning to the past

Attorneys: Sterilizations Were Part of Plea Deal Talks - ABC News - Nashville prosecutors have made sterilization of women part of plea negotiations at least four times in the past five years, and the district attorney has banned his staff from using the invasive surgery as a bargaining chip after the latest case. (wtf?)

Two new accusers say Bill Cosby drugged, sexually assaulted them - Yahoo News Canada (he's up to 39)

'Nail Salons Are More Regulated': A Gay Survivor Takes On The 'Troubled Teen' Industry


Ellen Pao Loses on All Claims in Kleiner Perkins Discrimination Suit | Re/code
Kleiner Perkins Sex-Discrimination Suit: Jury Rules Against Ellen Pao on 3 Counts, Confused on Fourth — The Atlantic - Ellen Pao's claim against top venture-capital firm Kleiner Perkins seems to have come up short, but it's brought heightened attention to gender discrimination in tech. (Except it was determined that there was no gender discrimination here.)
A tale of money, sex and power: The Ellen Pao and Buddy Fletcher affair - Fortune
Case builds against former NY hedgie ‘Buddy’ Fletcher | New York Post
What Is Silicon Valley’s Problem With Gender? | Re/code - I don’t recognize the place that has been described in the courtroom.
Disposable employees may be tech industry's greatest achievement | VentureBeat | Lifestyle | by Chris O'Brien - We throw out smartphones after two years. Replace our PCs every few years when they get slow. Why can’t we do the same with people?

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Republicans face dilemma as climate change rises up political agenda | US news | The Guardian - Candidate Ted Cruz’s comment likening climate change activists to ‘flat-Earthers’ begins election in which scientists suggest issue may receive much higher billing than before (election to be referendum on abolishing reality)
Top polluters to set own limits virtually penalty free, according to Direct Action policy paper - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) - Australia's 140 top polluters will set their own limits for future pollution virtually penalty free, according to the Government's latest Direct Action policy paper. (conservatives regulating themselves into profits)
China's coal use falling faster than expected | Reuters - Chinese thermal power plant use rate just above 50 pct - * Coal for power dipped in 2014, expected to drop again - * Analysts see demand downturn ahead as China restructures (Chinese war on coal will kill demand leaving WVA a big hole in the ground)

Details about Andreas Lubitz emerge following Germanwings disaster | World news | The Guardian - Possible mental-health problems at one time rendered Andreas Lubitz ‘not fit to fly’, but neighbours condemn rush to judgment
Germanwings investigators find torn-up sicknote in co-pilot's home - live | World news | The Guardian - “A German hospital said it had evaluated Mr. Lubitz twice in the past two months but added that he had not been there for assessment or treatment of depression.”
German Prosecutors: Germanwings Co-Pilot Andreas Lubitz May Have Hid Illness From Employers - Germanwings co-pilot Andreas Lubitz appears to have hidden evidence of an illness from his employers, including having been excused by a doctor from work the day he crashed a passenger plane into a mountain, prosecutors said Friday.
Andreas Lubitz: Knee-jerk reaction to 9/11 enabled mass murder - Comment - Voices - The Independent - The ill-thought reinforced cockpit door has had catastrophic consequences

Snowden Meets Swedish Lawmakers in Moscow - ABC News - Three Swedish lawmakers have met Edward Snowden in Moscow to discuss surveillance and privacy issues.
Exclusive: TSA’s Secret Behavior Checklist to Spot Terrorists - The Intercept - Fidgeting, whistling, sweaty palms. Add one point each. Arrogance, a cold penetrating stare, and rigid posture, two points. (and yawning excessively)
Leave Facebook if you don't want to be spied on, warns EU | Technology | The Guardian - European Commission admits Safe Harbour framework cannot ensure privacy of EU citizens’ data when sent to the US by American internet firms
25 Cutting Edge Companies Funded By The Central Intelligence Agency - Business Insider
Last night, GitHub was hit with massive denial-of-service attack from China | The Verge - Observers are speculating that the attack was meant to enforce Chinese web censorship, knocking out any way for Chinese citizens to circumvent the country's Great Firewall.

WikiLeaks Reveals TPP Proposal Allowing Corporations to Sue Nations : worldnews - WikiLeaks has released the "Investment Chapter," which highlights the intent of U.S.-led negotiators to create a tribunal where corporations can sue governments if their laws interfere with a company’s claimed future profits. - Truly scary.
TPP Investor Language Will Leave Taxpayers on the Hook | James P. Hoffa
A massive trade deal is marching forward. Can labor and Democrats improve it? - The Washington Post
TPP - Lawyers, Guns & Money : In this era where many congressional Democrats basically ignore labor and neoliberalism rules the day, we are stuck relying on a combination of Democrats who care more about the American working class than U.S. foreign policy advantages and Republicans who won’t vote for anything Obama supports

Proxy War: U.S. on Both Sides of Tensions Between Iran, Saudi Arabia - NBC News.com - The U.S. finds itself on both sides of a proxy war between Iran and Saudi Arabia (it's too complicated)
Bomb Bomb Bomb, Bomb Bomb Iran! - Lawyers, Guns & Money
Exposed: America Can't Blow Up Iran's Nukes | The National Interest (if you thought Bush and Cheney were insane ...)
Saudis pledge to continue Yemen bombing campaign | World news | The Guardian - Coalition says it has established air superiority over Yemen and accomplished initial goals of destroying air defence systems under Houthi control
As U.S. Bombs Tikrit, Some Iraqi Sunnis Are Stuck Between ISIS And Shiite Militias (fucked up and shit)
Nigerian military claims victory over Boko Haram - The Globe and Mail - here wasn’t clear photographic proof that the Nigerian troops had captured the town, and the timing of the news – the day before the close-fought election – was seen as suspicious.
Police find torture clips on refugee phones - The Local - The Police Immigration Service confirmed to the paper that people connected to terrorist groups such as Islamic State, Al-Shabaab and Boko Haram had all tried to come to Norway to claim asylum.

Bergdahl intended to walk to nearest base, report wrongdoing - CNN.com - Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl told the military he left his unit in eastern Afghanistan in July 2009 intending to walk to the nearest U.S. military outpost to report wrongdoing, believing he could not trust his own commanders to deal with his concerns

For G.O.P., Support for Israel Becomes New Litmus Test - NYTimes.com ("I pledge allegiance to Israel and the apartheid racist state for which it stands) s
Israel killed more Palestinians in 2014 than in any other year since 1967 | World news | The Guardian - More than 2,300 Palestinians killed and more than 17,000 injured, according to annual report by UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Secrets revealed of how Israel manipulates U.S. public opinion - Brett Arends's ROI - MarketWatch - “I know what America is,” Netanyahu boasted during a meeting that was caught on camera. “America is a thing you can move very easily, move it in the right direction.” You don’t, he told his listeners, have to worry about Americans forming their own opinions about the conflict in the Middle East.

Met Police sex abuse 'cover-up' inquiry extended - BBC News

Amanda Knox Acquitted of 2007 Murder by Italy’s Highest Court - NYTimes.com - Italy’s highest court acquitted Amanda Knox and her Italian former boyfriend of murder on Friday, throwing out all charges and ending a long-running courtroom drama over the killing of a British student in 2007 (Italian "justice")
Amanda Knox murder conviction annulled - live coverage | US news | The Guardian - Italy’s top court acquits American Amanda Knox and Italian Raffaele Sollecito of murder of British student Meredith Kercher
Meredith Kercher murder: Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito acquitted | World news | The Guardian - Italy’s highest court clears pair definitively, ending case that began in November 2007, when body of Leeds University student was discovered in Perugia (comments)
Amanda Knox and the Tragedy of Italian Justice — Atlantic Mobile - "Nobody here's good at their job," Frank Sfarzo, a local blogger who has followed the trial more obsessively than anyone, told Rolling Stone. "If they were, they wouldn't be in Perugia." ... "Prosecutors lacked a motive or any clear evidence linking Knox to the scene of the crime. Knox didn't know she was a suspect even as she was signing her confession."
True Justice For Meredith Kercher Front Page

Out of Debtors' Prison, With Law as the Key - NYTimes.com (catch-22)

Mornings in Blue America - NYTimes.com - Why can’t they handle the good news? The answer actually comes on three levels: Obama Derangement Syndrome, or O.D.S.; Reaganolatry; and the confidence con (reality is hard)

Senate Passes GOP Budget After Late-Night Debate - he Senate early Friday passed a Republican budget plan that would cut spending by $5.1 trillion over 10 years, raise military funding and repeal Obamacare.

Expanding Social Security: The Democratic Party Comes Home | Nancy Altman

Senator Harry Reid Announces Retirement
Senate minority leader Harry Reid will not seek re-election | US news | The Guardian - Democratic leader will not seek re-election: ‘He left a mark on this country’ Will focus instead on helping Democrats regain control of Senate
Chuck Schumer Will Run To Succeed Harry Reid As Senate Minority Leader (S.Israel)

Campaign Money Tests Wisconsin Justices’ Impartiality - NYTimes.com (Kochistan)

Indiana Law Denounced as Invitation to Discriminate Against Gays - NYTimes.com
Indiana is not protecting religious freedom but outright zealotry | Roxane Gay | Comment is free | The Guardian - Governor Mike Pence signed a bill into law that would allow business owners to refuse service to customers they disapprove of. Like the LGBT community
Mike Pence Makes Idiotic Argument to Defend Horrible Law - Lawyers, Guns & Money

Yelp Official Blog: An Open Letter to States Considering Imposing Discrimination Laws - Just as I said in my letter to Governor Brewer, it is unconscionable to imagine that Yelp would create, maintain, or expand a significant business presence in any state that encouraged discrimination by businesses against our employees, or consumers at large. I encourage states that are considering passing laws like the one rejected by Arizona or adopted by Indiana to reconsider and abandon these discriminatory actions. (We’re looking at you, Arkansas.)

Mike Pence | ThinkProgress - And I can tell you this about Mike Pence: he has no idea what he’s talking about. The man is a fool, who deserves to be laughed at. He’s almost stupid enough to work in cable television. (classic Yglesias 2008)
Same-Sex Marriage Pre-History - Lawyers, Guns & Money
WVa gov nixes 'In God We Trust' bill, cites technical errors - WVVA TV Bluefield Beckley WV News, Weather and Sports - Citing technical errors, Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin has vetoed a bill letting public entities accept private donations to display the phrase "In God We Trust" on their buildings. The bill would have required the State Building Commission to develop guidelines for displaying the national motto and the POW-MIA flag.
Anti-gay bill suffers near fatal blow in state House — Project Q Atlanta - McKoon (top photo) has opposed adding any LGBT protections to the bill despite claiming that it won't open the door to anti-gay discrimination. Nevermind his anti-gay ties.
How To Kill A Discriminatory 'Religious Liberty' Bill: Call The Bluff | ThinkProgress - As in Indiana, proponents of Georgia’s bill have tried to argue that it has nothing to do with discrimination. Rep. Mike Jacobs, an LGBT-friendly Republican, decided to test this theory by introducing an amendment that would not allow claims of religious liberty to be used to circumvent state and local nondiscrimination protections.
Missouri Governor Nixon is Putting Libraries in Peril - This approved budget allocated $3.5 million to public libraries. It also allocated $3.1 million for Internet and digital services for libraries. Of that $6.6 million, Governor Nixon has only release $724,000 and only to libraries serving communities of less than 40,000 people. (libraries dangerous repositories of non-biblical facts and knowledge; MO votes for stupidity)

BillTowne comments on ELI5: How did the Bible Belt come to be? In other words, why is there such a large concentration of conservative Christians in those states? (many ways Southern states are retarded)

Learning to See Data - NYTimes.com

Mapping Occupation - Lawyers, Guns & Money : The historian Gregory Downs and the historian and visual designer Scott Nesbit have put together a pretty fantastic visualization of the U.S. Army occupation of the South during Reconstruction (not enough to stop the terrorists)

Former Alabama officer charged with violating man's civil rights after beating | US news | The Guardian - Sureshbhai Patel, who came from India to visit family, remains in rehab after the February incident. Eric Sloan Parker is charged with using unreasonable force
Video shows Berkeley homeless man attacked by 'hospitality ambassador' | US news | The Guardian - The victim and another man shown in the video were charged in connection with the incident. Each pleaded no contest to a single count of misdemeanor battery. Alameda County prosecutors said they would review new evidence in the case.
Black Man Beaten By Police In Michigan Says Cop Planted Drugs - The officer who placed Dent in a chokehold, Officer William Melendez. is a former Detroit officer who was charged in 2003 by the U.S. attorney's office with planting evidence and falsifying reports, according to WDIV. A jury acquitted him of all charges.

Penn State fraternity scandal: women pictured on Facebook page go to police | US news | The Guardian - Some members of Kappa Delta Rho co-operating with investigation after women identify themselves from naked and semi-naked photos on site
University of Oklahoma calls fraternity video part of 'epidemic of racism' in US | US news | The Guardian - Report finds fraternity members learned racist chant at a leadership cruise - University president David Boren calls for ‘zero tolerance for racism in America’

Review of Rolling Stone's UVA rape story is long and damning - Politico.com - The highly anticipated review of Rolling Stone's disputed story about a University of Virginia gang rape was submitted to the magazine this week, the On Media blog has learned, and its contents are apparently quite damning.

Controversy over out of state photographers in McDowell Co. - WVVA TV Bluefield Beckley WV News, Weather and Sports - . You guys are making us out to be people that we are not,” says Marisha and Jesse Camp “Have you looked at yourself in the mirror? You all don't look like upstanding citizens," says Jennifer Adkins. (they were driving a Volvo and Jennifer Adkins is now famous on the internets for all eternity for her rendition of "Deliverance")
Catching Up With Jesse Camp | Rolling Stone

Lena Dunham faces criticism over article comparing Jewish men and dogs | Culture | The Guardian - While some of the comparisons Dunham makes are fairly innocuous (“We love to spend hours in bed together on Sunday morning”), with others, such as “he doesn’t tip” and “he doesn’t bring his wallet anywhere”, she has been accused of evoking historical stereotypes against Jewish people.

Massive Underground City Found in Cappadocia Region of Turkey - the site is nearly five million square feet (460,000 square meters).

Whoopi Goldberg: If you hit a man don't be surprised if he hits you back : videos - Seriously, the way that they all scream over each other is so irritating that I want to punch all of them but Whoopi. (The View is a bunch of girls screaming at each other, like middle-school, except for Whoopi; +Jenny Mccarthy will always be known as an idiot)

bringbackthe90s comments on LPT: The one thing that helped me finally quit smoking for good
redditors helping redditors to quit smoking
Alarmed_Ferret comments on Help me decode these creepy notes I found at Target
Which Sad and 'Very Famous' Actress Is Seeking Life Advice on Reddit?
Thousands more men have been duped by an international Tinder hack | The Verge - Catfishing men on Tinder is an international pastime - People have built Tinder bots before, but the scope of Catfi.sh’s hack is staggering: he claims to currently have multiple bots operating in London, Glasgow, Manchester, New York, Houston, San Francisco, and elsewhere.

Parents who were physically abused as kids don’t go on to abuse their kids | The Verge - Parents who had experienced neglect or sexual abuse as kids were more likely to have kids who experienced the same problems, according to the study.
What Marijuana Actually Does to Your Brain and Body
Learning to See Data - NYTimes.com

Silicon Valley Bias Claims Rejected; Jury Is Sent Back - NYTimes.com - Ms. Pao is married to Alphonse Fletcher Jr., a Wall Street financier whose hedge fund is bankrupt. Pension funds are suing to recover their money amid accusations of fraud. Kleiner tried to insert Mr. Fletcher into the case, which would have raised questions about Ms. Pao’s motives in bringing suit, but the judge, Harold Kahn, refused to allow it ... Mr. Doerr’s telling an investigator that Ms. Pao had a “female chip on her shoulder.”
Ellen Pao Loses 3 of 4 Claims in Blockbuster Gender Discrimination Suit
Ellen Pao loses landmark sexual discrimination lawsuit | Technology | The Guardian - Jury finds venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers did not discriminate against Pao, who now works for Reddit
Jury rejects gender bias in Ellen Pao case; still deliberating retaliation - LA Times
Jury finds Kleiner Perkins not liable in majority of claims in Ellen Pao's gender discrimination case | The Verge - Huge upset when Judge Kahn discovered a miscount at the last minute - Pao, now the interim CEO of Reddit, was seeking $16 million in lost wages and potentially $144 million in punitive damages. (lost on the retaliation count also)
Ellen Pao Loses Silicon Valley Gender Bias Case Against Kleiner Perkins : news (she started fucking with reddit as soon as she got there to boost her case, of course)
I wrote "How Reddit Was Destroyed" and it went viral. In under 48 hours, I have been site-wide SHADOW-BANNED. The admins sure are quick. Proof in post. : conspiracy (she's been very busy behind the scene)
How Reddit Was Destroyed (ver3.0) : conspiracy
Ellen Pao: Alphonse ‘Buddy’ Fletcher posts deleted, Reddit users claim - One user called the deletions “a f—ing embarrassment.”
The Unraveling of Ellen Pao and Her Husband, Buddy Fletcher | Vanity Fair

Silicon Valley gender-bias lawsuit is a setback for women—commentary - However, I think that regardless of the outcome, Ellen Pao's lawsuit is frivolous and moreover, a setback for professional women.
Elizabeth Weise on Twitter: "#EllenPao If the jury cannot get to a vote of 9 to 3, it will be a hung jury and the case must be retried on claim 4."
Reddit CEO Ellen Pao Accused Of Deleting Negative Posts About Her Husband

032615
Volume loss from Antarctic ice shelves is accelerating (doom-di-doom-doom)
Lindsey Graham Blames Al Gore For GOP's Inaction On Climate Change (he was so fat)

Germanwings Co-Pilot, Andreas Lubitz, Deliberately Crashed Plane, Prosecutor Says - NYTimes.com
Germanwings Pilot Was Locked Out of Cockpit Before Crash in France - NYTimes.com - said evidence from a cockpit voice recorder indicated one pilot left the cockpit before the plane’s descent and was unable to get back in.
Kamikaze Co-Pilot Commits Mass Murder - The Daily Beast - French officials say Andreas Lubitz purposely crashed the Germanwings plane after locking out the pilot.
Prosecutor: Germanwings Co-Pilot Appears To Have Crashed Plane Deliberately - "Only towards the end do you hear screams," he said. "And bear in mind that death would have been instantaneous ... the aircraft was literally smashed to bits."
German Pilots Cast Doubt on Blaming of Co-Pilot for Crash | TIME - the crew would tap an emergency code on the keypad outside the cockpit door, setting off a 30-second alarm inside the cockpit, until the door opens for just five seconds, allowing the person to enter.
Airlines change cockpit rules after co-pilot blamed for Germanwings crash | World news | The Guardian - Mystery of flight 4U9525 solved after prosecutor reveals Andreas Lubitz had locked pilot out of cockpit and activated descent into French Alps
Co-pilot has voluntarily crashed the plane, says investigation : news
6 Other Times Commercial Pilots Were Suspected Of Crashing Planes On Purpose

Ebola Virus in Latest Outbreak Does Not Show Unusual Mutations, Study Finds - NYTimes.com - the study indicates, while this outbreak has infected 24,000 people and killed about 10,000, its scale has to do with where the epidemic erupted — at the intersection of three vulnerable countries — rather than with any unusual characteristics of the virus itself

Trade Show: Today In What The Hell Is Going On With The TPP? - Thanks to our friends at WikiLeaks, we have now learned more about the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the trade deal from hell for which the president and all responsible people in both parties have a conspicuous case of the hots ... The best way to (in Barack Obama's 2008 words to Joe the Plumber) "spread the wealth around," is, Tamny argues, "to leave it in the hands of the wealthy." (Obama's corporate "legacy")
Google Joins Tech Giants to Call for Mass Surveillance Reform
Court Accepts DOJ's 'State Secrets' Claim to Protect Shadowy Neocons: a New Low - The Intercept - What “state secrets” could possibly be disclosed by suing a nice, little “not-for-profit, non-partisan, advocacy group”?
Passphrases That You Can Memorize — But That Even the NSA Can't Guess - The Intercept

Spookception: US spied on Israel spying on US-Iran nuke talks • The Register - 'I think the report is wrong, it is inaccurate' says everyone named in report ... “It is one thing for the US and Israel to spy on each other. It is another thing for Israel to steal US secrets and play them back to US legislators to undermine US diplomacy,” a senior US official told the WSJ.
Spookception: US spied on Israel spying on US-Iran nuke talks : worldnews
US Declassifies Document on Israel's Nuclear Power - News from America - News - Arutz Sheva - Obama revenge for Netanyahu's Congress talk? 1987 report on Israel's top secret nuclear program released in unprecedented move. (fuck you, Netanfuckyu)

Egypt Says It May Send Troops to Yemen to Fight Houthis - NYTimes.com (imagine, if we had never invaded)
3 Shiite Militias Quit Iraqi Siege of ISIS Over U.S. Air Role - NYTimes.com (they are not agents of western imperialism)
Iran-Backed Shiite Militias In Iraq Contradict U.S. About Their Role In Battle For Tikrit
washington: Analysts: Obama anti-terror plan likely a victim of Saudi push into Yemen’s war | Middle East | McClatchy DC - But the campaign is likely to plunge Yemen deeper into anarchy and sectarian strife and open more space for the very extremists groups the United States has been fighting there and in Iraq and Syria. (define "deeper")


Rotherham investigation expanded after 42 police named in abuse allegations | UK news | The Guardian - Independent Police Complaints Commission says it has complaints ranging from neglect of duty to suggestions of relationships between officers and offenders

DEA agents had 'sex parties' with prostitutes, watchdog says - John Bresnahan and Lauren French - Politico - hired by drug cartels in Colombia, according to a new inspector general report released by the Justice Department on Thursday. (hand meet glove)

East Village Explosion and Fire Leaves at Least 12 Hurt - NYTimes.com
New York fire crews rush to massive blaze at East Village building | US news | The Guardian - Local television stations reported 145 firefighters were at the scene of what was already a four-alarm fire in the East Village neighborhood

Report: DEA Agents Allegedly Hosted Cartel-Funded 'Sex Parties' With Prostitutes

FBI Arrests National Guard Soldier And Cousin In Alleged Terror Plot - A 22-year-old Army National Guard specialist was arrested by FBI agents on Wednesday while allegedly on his way overseas to join the Islamic State, federal authorities announced on Thursday. Authorities say the man and his cousin, who was also arrested Thursday, had been planning an attack on a U.S. military installation.

Blair’s Cash Lust Driven by Clinton Envy - The Daily Beast - Motivated by jealousy over Bill Clinton’s cash haul, Tony Blair has used his nomination as a Middle East peace envoy to enrich himself and JP Morgan, a new book claims. ("a colosus standing astride continents")

House Stuns Itself By Passing Bipartisan $214 Billion Medicare Package

The Supremes Are Just Messing With Us All - But Scott over at LGM points out that the majority that got cobbled together to produce this decision is a very funky one indeed.

Here's Yet Another Sober Reminder We're Not Living In A Post-Racial Society - In Wisconsin, the state with the highest annual African-American unemployment rate, nearly 1 in 5 black people are unemployed. (Kochistan: WI, the new KS)

Indiana Governor Signs Anti-Gay 'Religious Freedom' Bill At Private Ceremony - Indiana Gov. Mike Pence (R) quietly signed legislation Thursday that could legalize discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals. (nice, IN)
The Pence Is Mightier: The Right To Discriminate Against Your Own Economy - In which we discover that Indiana would rather discriminate than welcome you ... We should allow discrimination based on what "many people" feel. Lovely
Salesforce Cancels Programs in Indiana in Protest of Anti-Gay Bill
Salesforce CEO: "Today we are canceling all programs that require our customers/employees to travel to Indiana to face discrimination." : news
Indiana has officially passed the religious objections bill that allows businesses to not serve people if it opposes their religious beliefs : news
Real Courage In Ohio - The bill passed with "bipartisan" support. Were I Ms. Fedor, I'd engage some personal protection, because you never know with some people.
California attorney general to ask judge to halt 'shoot the gays' initiative | US news | The Guardian - Kamala Harris tells the Guardian the Sodomite Suppression Act ‘has no place in a civil society’, but experts caution it is unclear how court would rule

Police settle lawsuit over tear gas use during Ferguson protests : News - Three police agencies have agreed as part of a federal lawsuit settlement with Ferguson protesters to restrict use of tear gas and other chemical agents on crowds
Unarmed black man shot dead by police in Atlanta: witnesses question excessive force | US news | The Guardian - According to what multiple witnesses told to a private investigator, Olsen was approximately 180ft away from Hill when the two first made contact. (cop felt "threatened")

Gynecologist Calls Abortion Reversal Bill 'Downright Offensive' - The Arizona State Legislature passed a bill on Wednesday that requires doctors to tell women seeking abortions about an experimental "abortion reversal" procedure that has not been tested or studied by the mainstream medical community.

Chelsea Handler Says Bill Cosby Tried To 'Cosby' Her - In an interview with Esquire, Chelsea Handler said Bill Cosby once invited her back to his room while the two were simultaneously performing at an Atlantic City hotel. Cosby "tried to Cosby me," Handler said. (he's gone full meta)

Eschaton: Editorializing In The Headlines - Here's the thriving Seaport District with its thriving parking. Very thriving. Think I'll head down there and park and thrive for awhile.
As parking spaces vanish, Boston officials have lost count - Business - The Boston Globe - . “I’ve never seen space-savers in Fort Point before.” (city planners don't take the T)
Parking Madness 2015: Boston vs. Parkersburg | Streetsblog USA - Today we have two new eyesores for you to judge, as the biggest city in New England squares off against Parkersburg, West Virginia, representing Appalachia. (Boston Globe run by a hedge-fund baseball guy so ...)

If you want to be a free-range parent and avoid jail, having money helps | Victoria Bond | Comment is free | The Guardian - the divide between the attitudes and practices of rich and poor families hasn’t been this wide since the Gilded Age (solved by Uber for rich kids)

How often you should clean kitchen sponges, hairbrushes and more - Home - TODAY.com - cleaning the sponge daily in hot, soapy water, then pop it in the microwave wet for two minutes. (or bleach)

You have to say one sentence to prove you are INSANE. Any sane people will be killed. What do you say? : AskReddit - I felt the ashes of heaven, saw eternity, know about the "Tetrahedron of glowing darkness" and have an awesome tree painting.
Share your experiences from the psych ward

Jon Ronson Shames Shamers In 'So You Think You've Been Publicly Shamed' ... He had been reporting on disgraced journalist Jonah Lehrer’s plagiarism scandal when he watched Lehrer’s apology speech at the Knight Foundation. A giant screen behind Lehrer’s head, as well as a screen within his sightline, streamed live tweets reacting to his speech. (this could be a thing)

ELI5: How did the Bible Belt come to be? In other words, why is there such a large concentration of conservative Christians in those states? : explainlikeimfive

What is the worst NSFW thing you did in your teens? : AskReddit

What's the worst thing you've witnessed at a wedding ? [serious] : AskReddit
ELI5: What is the rainbow gravity theory and why it would destroy the Big Bang theory? : explainlikeimfive
Vapors produced by e-cigarettes induce toxicity, oxidative stress, and inflammatory response in lung cells : science

032515
Germanwings Pilot Was Locked Out of Cockpit Before Crash in France - NYTimes.com
What happened to Germanwings flight 4U 9525? | World news | The Guardian - Air accident investigation experts using information from aircraft-tracking sites rule out explosion or mid-air stall
Germanwings Pilot Was Locked Out of Cockpit Before Crash in France : worldnews

Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis Could Kill 75 Million Over The Next 35 Years - Over the next 35 years, multidrug-resistant tuberculosis will kill 75 million people and could cost the global economy a cumulative $16.7 trillion - the equivalent of the European Union's annual output, a UK parliamentary group said on Tuesday.
Consuming three alcoholic drinks a day may cause liver cancer – study | Society | The Guardian - Its assessment of 34 previous studies covering 8.2 million people, more than 24,500 of whom had liver cancer, revealed “strong evidence” linking intake of three drinks a day to the disease ... “Alcohol, like tobacco and asbestos, is a class 1 carcinogen and it is totally unacceptable that the public is not provided with such basic information”

H-Bomb Physicist Ignores Federal Order to Cut 5,000 Words From Memoir

Netanyahu's Spying Denials Contradicted by Secret NSA Documents - The Intercept - What is most striking about all of this is the massive gap between (a) how American national security officials talk privately about the Israelis and (b) how they have talked for decades about the Israelis for public consumption
Israel suspends E.Jerusalem settlement building plan - Yahoo News - As tension mounts with Washington, Israel's outgoing government has suspended a controversial plan to build hundreds of new settler homes in annexed east Jerusalem, a news website reported Wednesday.
The Official James Petras website » Netanyahu: He Came, He Saw, He Conquered. The Power of Israel over the United States - How is it that the ruler (Benjamin Netanyahu) of a puny country (Israel) of 8.2 million (6.2 million Jews) with the 37th biggest economy (GDP in current prices) in the world dictates war policy and secures the willing submission of the legislature of the largest economy and most powerful military empire in the world?

Defence pilloried by Senate test pilot - Civil Liberties Australia - If they don’t leave for their own sanity and safety, they face $400,000 fines and 10 years in jail just for sending an “inappropriate” email. Who decides “appropriate”? Big Brother, the Government. (Australia going full techno-facist)

U.S. Backing Iran With Airstrikes Against ISIS - The Daily Beast - Iran and the U.S. say they’ve been fighting parallel wars in Iraq. But those two campaigns appear ready to become one, American officials tell The Daily Beast.
US warplanes begin air strikes on Isis in Iraqi city of Tikrit | World news | The Guardian - Reversal from Pentagon puts American airpower close to a supporting role for the Iranian-backed militias on the ground, at request of Iraqi prime minister
Saudi Arabia Makes Its Move in Yemen — The Atlantic - With the country hurtling toward civil war, its larger neighbor has launched airstrikes against Houthi rebels backed by Iran.

Yemen President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi Flees Home As Rebels Close In ... Saudi Arabia warned that "if the Houthi coup does not end peacefully, we will take the necessary measures for this crisis to protect the region." (look at a map; why are we even there?)
US "Loses" $500 Million In Weapons Given To Yemen, Now In Al-Qaeda Hands | Zero Hedge (what could possibly go wrong?)
Yemen crisis explained - Al Jazeera English - As Yemen plunges deeper into chaos, Al Jazeera Hashem Ahelbarra explains who the key players are in the conflict. (US puppet state of the Saudis and Israel fucks everything up everytime)

Saudi Arabia: Genetic tests lead to 165,000 break-ups - BBC News - Saudi Arabia has one of the highest rates of genetic diseases in the world. Pre-marital health tests aim to prevent marriages between close relatives - a longstanding practice in Saudi Arabia - which can lead to serious medical problems in offspring.

'A revolution is impossible in Belarus' | World news | The Guardian - : A stymied opposition, turmoil in Ukraine and a lack of interest from the west have effectively ruled out prospects of an uprising, writes Siarhei Bohdan ... the government of Alexander Lukashenko – who has been in power since 1994.

Member of Vatican sex-abuse panel publicly calls for removal of Bishop Robert Finn | The Fast Pitch | The Pitch - Recently, Pope Francis appointed a bishop in Chile who is alleged to have helped cover up sexual abuse committed by his mentor, also a priest.



Obama Gives Interview to Gay Porn Outlet - BarbWire.com - The blog known as Huff-Watch has documented the publication’s “pathological, malicious incitement of hate against the U.S. military, Israel and Jews, the Tea Party and conservative individuals and organizations.”

University of Phoenix has lost half its students. Stock plunges 28% - Mar. 25, 2015 - Enrollment at America's largest for-profit university was about 460,000 students five years ago. Now it's 213,000.
Record Charter-School Defaults Underscored by Albany Closings - Bloomberg Business - The majority of the 400 students attending the middle schools will look to switch to the Albany district, which doesn’t have room, said Ron Lesko, a district spokesman. (grifters will grift as charters schools go under)

Reports Suggest Body Cameras Are Only Effective When Cops Can’t Turn Them Off | VICE News

Social & Political Issues | Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project - The number of people who view homosexual behavior as sinful has ticked up in the past year, from 45% in 2013 to 50% in the current poll.
Disciples of Christ threatens to cancel convention due to religious freedom bill - The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) has sent a letter to Gov. Mike Pence threatening to cancel its 2017 convention in Indianapolis if he signs controversial legislation that could allow business owners to refuse services to same-sex couples.
Gen Con Threatens To Take Popular Convention, And Millions, Out Of Indiana Over Religious Freedom Bill - out of Indiana if Governor Mike Pence (R) signs a controversial religious freedom bill into law. (Freedumb to discriminate in IN, home of the KKK)

Object Lesson - NYTimes.com

Tucker Carlson’s Brother Called de Blasio’s Spokeswoman “LabiaFace” - Did you know Daily Caller founder Tucker Carlson has a 44-year-old brother and his name is Buckley Swanson Peck Carlson? It’s true.
Phil Robertson Of 'Duck Dynasty' Reveals Bizarre Atheist Rape And Murder Fantasy - "And then they take his two daughters in front of him and rape both of them and then shoot 'em and they take his wife and then decapitate her head off in front of him. And then they can look at him and say, 'Isn't it great that I don’t have to worry about being judged? Isn't it great that there's nothing wrong with this? There's no right or wrong, now is it dude?' (this is how they "think")

Why Don't Animals Get Schizophrenia (and How Come We Do)? - Scientific American - Research suggest an evolutionary link between the disorder and what makes us human
Antidepressants have sexual side effects in teens, too | Reuters - Because the sexual side effects of SSRIs haven't been widely studied in teens, "we are essentially conducting an experiment on our kids," Lorenz added.
Researchers help create 'gold standard' method for measuring an early sign of Alzheimer's : Top Headlines : MD News Daily - the newly agreed-upon method for measuring hippocampal atrophy in structural MRI tests correlates with the pathologic changes that are known to be hallmarks of the disease -- the progressive development of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in the brain.
Obesity Can Increase Dementia Risk By Up To 80 Percent, Study Suggests -- ScienceDaily
Scientists may have identified a gene that causes severe autism in women | The Verge - They found that a gene called CTNND2 has more mutations than one would expect to see in someone without autism, which led them to conclude that the gene probably played a role.
Scientists Investigate How Pollution Affects Children's Brains - these airborne chemicals may damage the surface of the brain, potentially contributing to ADHD and other behavioral problems.
Autistic Children More Likely to Have GI Issues in Early Life 12/31/1969 | News | Mailman School of Public Health - Large Study Finds GI Symptoms Appear in Infancy and Persist Through Age 3

Study shows humans are evolving faster than previously thought | Science | The Guardian - Stefánsson describes this argument as a “crock of shit”. “The two sexes are inseparable,” he said. “It doesn’t matter how many women a man has children with – half of them will be boys and half girls.”
Researchers Predict ‘Imminent Collapse’ Of Universe After Period Of Rapid Expansion « CBS Sacramento - Physicists predict the universe is primed for a “cosmological collapse” that will cause the universe to stop expanding at its current rate and ultimately collapse in on itself to wipe away all known matter. (the big yo-yo)

Scientists have discovered a simple way to cook rice that dramatically cuts the calories : science
TIL: Mythbusters tested breast size and its correlation with cash tips received by a restaurant server - they found men tipped their large-boobed server 30% more, but women tipped her 40% more. : todayilearned
What major event can you guarantee will happen in the next 10 years? : AskReddit
Is there a way to tell which number is bigger without referring to a calculator? (p^e or e^p) : askscience - Longer answer: This question has a surprisingly cool answer, and contains some really cool math.

U.S. Now 27th Globally With Average Speed of 33.9 Mbps | DSLReports, ISP Information
A brilliant Tinder hack made hundreds of bros unwittingly flirt with each other | The Verge

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Climate denial is immoral, says head of US Episcopal church | Environment | The Guardian - Climate change is a moral challenge threatening the rights of the world’s poorest people and those who deny it are not using God’s gift of knowledge, says presiding bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori
Costa Rica is now running completely on renewable energy - Quartz

Germanwings Plane Crashes In South France, 150 Feared Dead
Germanwings jet didn't issue mayday: French aviation authority
Airliner crashes in French Alps : worldnews

Israel Spied on Iran Nuclear Talks With U.S. - WSJ - Ally’s snooping upset White House because information was used to lobby Congress to try to sink a deal (invade the fuckers)
Israel Denies Spying On U.S. Handling Of Iran Negotiations (of course they do) Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Israel didn't spy on the U.S., but obtained information through other participants. (and if you believe that ...)
Boehner 'baffled' by Israeli spying report - CNN.com - Members of Congress were both surprised by and dismissive of a Wall Street Journal story that the Israeli government spied on the U.S.-led negotiations and leaked information on the developing deal to legislators.

In Ottawa, Cuban ambassador says U.S. terror listing is 'nonsensical' | CTV News - The Cuban ambassador to Canada says Washington's "nonsensical" decision to list Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism is one of several impediments to his country normalizing relations with the United States.
Communication Security Establishment's cyberwarfare toolbox revealed - Canada - CBC News - Mexico, North Africa, Middle East among targets of cyber-spy hacking
Facebook data transfers "violation" of privacy rights - The European Court of Justice has heard that the alleged transfer of European personal data to US intelligence services represents an “indiscriminate general surveillance” that is “manifestly incompatible” with EU privacy rights.

Snowden should be allowed a public interest defense, say European lawmakers | Ars Technica - A call to extend whistleblower protection to those working in national security.

Russian Tu-95 Bomber Intercepted By Japanese Air Force Jets
Russian jets spotted off Sweden's east coast - The Local
Sweden intercepts Russian planes over Baltic amid regional tensions | Reuters - Swedish fighters intercepted four Russian planes flying in international air space over the Baltic sea with their transponders turned off, the country's military said on Tuesday.

Boko Haram Reportedly Kidnapped More Than 400 Women And Children In Damasak


Eschaton: Just A Few More Friedmans - And on and on... — The White House says the U.S. will keep its current complement of 9,800 troops in Afghanistan through the end of 2015, instead of cutting the number by about half as originally planned.
For Obama, Ghani Offers Hope of a Less Fractious Relationship - NYTimes.com - Mr. Ghani is a “Western-oriented” leader who would be comfortable rubbing shoulders with intellectuals at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, or the Aspen Ideas Forum in Colorado. “He’s a creature of Washington, a creature of Aspen and Davos,” he said. “He’s extremely comfortable moving in these circles.” (extremely reassuring)

'No Africans' Chinese restaurant owner arrested in Nairobi | World news | The Guardian - Co-owner Esther Zhao told the newspaper that Africans posed a security risk and needed to be kept out after 5pm. “We don’t admit Africans that we don’t know because you never know who is al-Shabaab and who isn’t,” she said, referring to the Somali-based terror group blamed for a number of attacks in Kenya in recent years.

State 'involved in mass murder on British soil, colluded with loyalist paramilitaries in 80 deaths between 1972 and 1978' - BelfastTelegraph.co.uk - "If what we say is right this is the biggest involvement of state agents in mass murder on British soil," he said.

Supreme Court strikes down Section 66A of IT Act which allowed arrests for objectionable content online - The Times of India - This section had been widely misused by police in various states to arrest innocent persons for posting critical comments about social and political issues and political leaders on social networking sites.

5 signs America is devolving into a plutocracy - Salon.com - One-percent elections. Congressional gridlock. An increasingly demobilized public. Our democracy is on life support (Republicans are celebrating)
Retirement Crisis: The Great 401(k) Experiment Has Failed for Many Americans - NBC News.com - You need to know this number: $18,433. That's the median amount in a 401(k) savings account (and everybody else is starving)

Republican States Are More Dependent On Government - The analysis found that red states, or those that voted Republican in the 2012 presidential election, were much more likely to depend on the government than blue states. That's somewhat ironic ... (drown your stupid states in a bathtub!)

Now the Hard Part: The Rate of Health Care Enrollment Seems Set to Slow - NYTimes.com
Pavlich: America isn’t better with ObamaCare | TheHill - First, it’s important to analyze this White House white lie. While more Americans do in fact have health insurance in the wake of ObamaCare, the administration fails to point out that citizens are required by law to do so or pay a fine. (let them die says Fox)

Ted Cruz's Presidential Campaign Had a Rough First Day Online - Yik Yak, domain names, fake Nigerian princes. Even for a presidential candidate with a Harvard Law School degree, the Internet can be a confusing, unpredictable place. (computers is hard for Republicans)
Rep. Peter King Threatens to Jump Off a Bridge if Cruz Gets GOP Nomination | Mediaite - when Wolf Blitzer asked him to explain his statement that compared Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) to a “carnival barker,” the Republican congressman opted not to walk back his comments but instead take about a dozen steps forward.
Cruz: I'm a natural born American | TheHill - as a legal matter, my mother is an American citizen by birth and it’s been federal law for two centuries, that the child for an American citizen born abroad is a natural citizen by birth, which is what the Constitution requires to run,"
Why Ted Cruz Is Such a Long Shot - NYTimes.com
Can Canadian-born Ted Cruz run for president? (Yes.) - Vox - The problem for Cruz is that there's actually nothing saying what does count as "natural-born." While it's common sense to assume anyone who's born a citizen of the US is a "natural-born" citizen, the law doesn't officially spell that out. And that's what creates just a little bit of doubt.

Racism’s sinister word games: What a white-supremacist talking point tells us about modern politics - Salon.com - How a neo-Confederate's bizarre self-justification helps explain the remarkable persistence of American racism (they rose again and destroyed America)
Texas drivers can show Lone Stars and Longhorns – but not the Confederate flag | US news | The Guardian - But none of the 400-odd speciality plates gives Texans the opportunity to display the Confederate flag on the front and back of their vehicles, much to the chagrin of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, who have brought a free speech case that is now before the US supreme court.

Chicago leads New York City in use of stop-and-frisk by police, new study finds « American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois (Rahmbo's racist super cop state)
Why the left hates this man: Rahm Emanuel’s sins against the progressive movement - Salon.com - With big election coming up, liberal groups have declared public enemy #1 -- but it's not a Republican. Here's why ... His crude dismissal of grassroots concerns was blatant. His contempt for anyone who disagreed with his centrist Blue Dog/New Democrat philosophy was palpable. While his wholehearted support for big money interests was seen as the ultimate in strategic brilliance by the beltway elites, it repelled Democratic activists everywhere.
Somewhere, Michael Bloomberg and Rudy Guiliani are Green With Envy - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Arbitrary police harassment of citizens in Chicago is remarkably pervasive: Chicagoans were stopped more than four times as often as people in New York (Thug City, literally)

A Man With A Plan And A Bomb - Last November, the Atlanta Police managed to catch a 67-year old whackaloon who planted bombs in a public park. We only now are learning what the very patriotic Michael Sibley's motivation was, and, boy howdy, it's a doozy. Turns out that the guy was a one-man Operation Northwoods. (and the army was going to blow up John Glenn and say Cuba did it so they could invade)
The Bundy Bunch Strikes Again - the supporters of freeloading moocher Cliven Bundy have brought forth a bill by which they seek to reverse the 20th Century.

Why Tenure Matters - Lawyers, Guns & Money : A former administrator at Chicago State University has accused its president and other officials of firing her in part because she refused their demands that she file a false sexual-harassment charge against a faculty member critical of the leadership.
Fired Administrator Says She Was Pressured to File False Charge of Sexual Harassment – The Ticker - Blogs - The Chronicle of Higher Education - I hope she gets compensated well for this. If you want to know what's wrong with higher ed in the US, ask yourself what you expect to happen when criminals are running universities. (oh, Chicago)

Why did Utah bring back the firing squad? How the US kills people in 2015 | World news | The Guardian - Gas chamber, firing squad and the electric chair have all been up for consideration in the wake of a European-led boycott of lethal injection drugs
Arizona woman cleared after 22 years on death row: 'This is not happiness' | US news | The Guardian - An Arizona woman who spent 22 years on death row after being convicted of conspiring to murder her son in a case that rested on the work of a detective with a history of misconduct says her release this week was vindicating but bittersweet.
The Higher Learning - The memo found that while the crime rate has dropped by 45% since 1990, incarceration rates have more than doubled, rising by 222%. (industry needs consumers)

Your stuff can kill you: How hoarding creates death traps - Salon.com - We now know, thanks to another two decades of studies, that hoarding is not a rare condition. Experts now believe that hoarding is twice as common as OCD, and that somewhere between 2 and 6 per cent of people in developed countries suffer from it: there could be as many eighteen million hoarders in the U.S., and 3.5 million in the UK. No wonder so many watch hoarding shows on TV ... The moment from unfortunate spark to murderous explosion is now between three and four minutes.

Catholic High School Insists On Pre-Approving All Prom Dresses, Prompting Controversy - For its part, Delone has defended its new prom dress policy, issuing a statement last week that said the school “has the responsibility to ensure that Catholic values and moral integrity permeate every facet of the school's life and activity.”

TIL that GOD killed over 2,800,000 in the bible. Satan killed 10. : todayilearned
How Many People Did God Slaughter in the Bible? Steve Wells Has Written a Book Documenting Every Kill
? God On Trial - YouTube

Best. Day. EVER. : gifs
Guys, that's not OP's grandmother. Here's the original uncropped version with the photographer's name intact. : pics
What web of lies have you been involved in that caused some serious shit when the truth came out? : AskReddit
Did your parents give you 'The Talk'? How was it? : AskReddit
Amazing illusion : funny
What is the weirdest thing you've seen while being on the road? [NSFW] : AskReddit
How to setup your own free* VPN server on the Amazon AWS Cloud in 10 minutes : technology
Announcing embeddable comment threads : blog

Jupiter Smashed The Super-Earth Version Of Our Solar System - Forbes - “One of the predictions of our theory is that truly Earth-like planets, with solid surfaces and modest atmospheric pressures, are rare,” he said.

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Gulf Stream is slowing down faster than ever, scientists say - Environment - The Independent (time to tie all the deniers to the beach)
Global warming is now slowing down the circulation of the oceans — with potentially dire consequences - The Washington Post
Global warming is now slowing down the circulation of the oceans — with potentially dire consequences : science
To The Gulf Stream Waters: Maybe Somebody Should, Like, Do Something - In which we learn something about the oceans that is probably not good.
Mitch McConnell has a plan to derail Obama’s climate agenda. It might actually work. - The Washington Post
Florida's unspeakable issue leaves climate change official tongue-tied | Environment | The Guardian - Emergency chief says anything but phrase ‘banned’ by governor - Fema to pull funding for states that refuse to address climate change (Republicans)
Journalists have to decide what to do about candidates who are climate change denialists » Pressthink - Claims that climate science is a hoax, that human action is not a factor: these are not defensible positions in a normal debate. They are ways of saying — and saying to the press — hey, the evidence doesn’t matter. (the Times has never sided with reality before)
Meet the climate deniers who want to be president | Grist

Hydrogen Bomb Physicist’s Book Runs Afoul of Energy Department - NYTimes.com
US to stop collecting bulk phone data if Congress lets law expire | US news | The Guardian - Current law allowing collection of metadata to expire on 1 June - Obama administration will not continue practice without Congress approval

Florida no longer safe haven for war criminals as US prosecutors take action | US news | The Guardian - Accused human rights abuser Carlos Eugenio Vides Casanova, 77, moves closer to deportation in likely precedent for future cases in Sunshine State (America, land of war criminals)

White House insists Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories must end | US news | The Guardian - Chief of staff Denis McDonough reaffirms support for two-state solution - Netanyahu remarks ‘raise questions’ about Israeli commitment to peace talks
Benjamin Netanyahu Says He Regrets Warning About Israeli Arabs Voting (sure he does)
White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough Says the Israeli Occupation 'Must End'
Ambassador Dan Shapiro Says U.S. Reevaluating Policy Toward Israel
White House chief of staff: 50 years of Israeli occupation must end- U.S. cannot pretend Netanyahu didn't say no Palestinian state would be established on his watch, Denis McDonough tells J Street conference in Washington. : worldnews

Britain's Terrible, No-Good Economic Discourse - NYTimes.com - Britain's Terrible, No-Good Economic Discourse - It was all about posturing, about influential people believing that pontificating about the need to make sacrifices — or, actually, for other people to make sacrifices — is how you sound wise and serious. Hence the preference for a narrative prioritizing tough talk about deficits, not hard thinking about job creation. (the rich always want to blame the poor for their fuckups +"analytical journalism")

U.S., Afghan Leaders Lay Groundwork For Postwar Relations - ncluding plans to seek American funding to maintain an Afghan security force of 352,000 and discussions about future U.S. troop levels as the war winds down.

If Boston 2024 becomes a ghost ship, does that sink USOC leaders? - Chicago Tribune
Dead Bid Walking - Lawyers, Guns & Money : The ridiculous attempt to put the Olympics in Boston in 2024 is dying on the vine. Hosting the Olympics is a terrible idea for any city. For a old, cramped, expensive city like Boston with no room to grow and huge traffic problems, it’s pretty much the worst idea imaginable.

California lawyer seeks to put 'shoot the gays' proposal on 2016 ballot | US news | The Guardian - Matt McLaughlin wants homosexuality punished ‘by bullets to the head’ State attorney general may be powerless to stop proposal going forward

'It's a disgrace': civil liberties groups in frantic bid to stop Wisconsin voter ID law | US news | The Guardian - ACLU files emergency motion to stop controversial new law coming into effect, after supreme court turned away challenge on Monday (Repubicans hate voting, love their poll taxes)

Obamacare Is Turning 5 Years Old, And The Debate Has Barely Changed (neither have crazy Republicans)

As Women Get More Power, Rightwing Pundits Get More Sexist - ‘Is it God’s highest desire, that is, his biblically expressed will…to have a woman rule the institutions of the family, the church, and the state?’”

Ted Cruz’s website poses unnecessary security risks for donors - Vox - For some reason, the SSL certificate for tedcruz.org lists nigerian-prince.com as another valid address for Cruz's website. (Update: the Cruz campaign appears to have removed nigerian-prince.com from the certificate around 11am.) (Republicans are techno-wizes)
Ted Cruz Just Laid Out The Most Anti-Woman Agenda Yet | ThinkProgress
Ted Cruz goes hard right – but has the Bible-thumping base lost its influence? | US news | The Guardian - The Texas senator went all in on courting the Christian right while announcing his presidential campaign. But with their influence in presidential elections waning, Cruz runs the risk of alienating millennials and female voters

Editorial: Unfair at any speed - NY Daily News - The new law criminalized failures to yield, with the possible 30-day imprisonment for a collision with a pedestrian. That’s wrong because: -It misuses criminal law as a tool for changing driving habits that are generally tolerated. (killing people is "generally tolerated" according to the NYDN ed board)

Reconsidering My August Post on Ferguson and ‘Conflicting Accounts’ - NYTimes.com

Police shooting of mentally ill woman reaches US supreme court. Why did it happen at all? | US news | The Guardian - Just last week, video footage went viral of Dallas police shooting dead a mentally ill man whose mother had called 911 for help; a month earlier, international attention focused on a 17-year-old shot dead on a visit to a Texas police station that her family described as a cry for help. (trained to kill)
Brawl outside Arizona Walmart leaves one dead and two wounded | US news | The Guardian - Officials said one suspect was shot dead just before midnight Sunday as police officers tried to break up the melee in Cottonwood, south of Flagstaff - “We don’t know who they are at this point,” Graves said. “They are not cooperating.”








032215
The Sounds of Science by D.R. Tucker | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - For nearly thirty years, climate scientists have been the targets of character assassination by the fossil-fuel industry’s hired guns. They’ve been mugged on the streets of public discourse, pounded by the fists of demagoguery and smear. Their lives have been upended in an effort to have their research suspended.
Top Billing by D.R. Tucker | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - Two thumbs up to Vice President Joe Biden for rebuking climate-change deniers such as Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) in an interview for HBO’s Vice earlier this month:
Climate-sceptic US senator given funds by BP political action committee | US news | The Guardian - Sen Jim Inhofe, who opposes climate change regulation, has received $10,000 from PAC funded by donations from US staff at oil group

UK Police Deem Snowden Leak Investigation a State Secret - The Intercept - British police claim a criminal investigation they launched into journalists who have reported on leaked documents from Edward Snowden has to be kept a secret due to a “possibility of increased threat of terrorist activity.” (someone might tell the truth, which would be terrifying / this is what your authoritarian state looks like, Britain)
US Threatened Germany Over Snowden, Vice Chancellor Says - The Intercept - “They told us they would stop notifying us of plots and other intelligence matters,” Gabriel said. (Obama keeping his moral center exiled)

Here's The Full Transcript Of Obama's Interview With HuffPost
Obama Details His Disappointment With Netanyahu In First Post-Election Comments
Obama Says He Told Netanyahu That Talk Before Election Hurt the Peace Process - NYTimes.com
Netanyahu Plays the Race Card - The New Yorker - Wasn’t it possible that Netanyahu, whose political biography was steeped in the intransigent nationalism of the Revisionist movement, was just the right politician to make a lasting peace with the Palestinians? It is amazing to recall how long this fantasy persisted.
J Street’s Ben-Ami tells Netanyahu: You don’t speak for us - Jewish World News - Israel News | Haaretz - In annual conference of liberal lobby, Reform leader Rick Jacobs blasts those who think J Street - and not Iran, Hamas or Hezbollah – poses greatest threat to Israel.
Netanyahu stoked primal fears. Now my country is divided as never before | Anshel Pfeffer | Comment is free | The Guardian - A fourth term for Bibi looked unlikely until he successfully demonised the left
Michael Oren: Obama's statement on the deterioration of democracy in Israel carries heavy price - Israel News - Jerusalem Post - Kulanu's Michael Oren addressed US President Barack Obama's Friday interview with the Huffington Post Sunday, saying that the President's statement "about the deterioration of democracy in Israel strategically damages Israel's standing in the world." (yeah, the "statement" was the problem, not your racist apartheid policies)
Netanyahu's Allies Blame White House Criticism On Misunderstanding (just a little misunderstanding about the meaning of "no")
Israel: Beware of Obama | New York Post (Murdock strikes back)
Republicans defend Netanyahu amid tension between White House and Israel | US news | The Guardian - John McCain brushes off Israel PM’s campaign comments on two-state solution, saying Obama ‘has his priorities so screwed up it’s unbelievable’ (said the traitor racist apartheid state supporter)
Rep. King Doubles Down On Asking How Jews Can Be Democrats (they should be traitors to America like him)
I Don't Think It Gets Any Better Than This - It really is true that for conservatives of a certain stripe, like King, Huckabee and others, Jews are little more than a kind of yahwistic lawnjockeys, mascots for a certain type of militant defense policy and museum pieces in the historical imagination of right-wing Christianity.
John McCain Tells Obama To Get Over 'Temper Tantrum' On Israel (said old explody-head)
Netanyahu's Allies Blame White House Criticism On Misunderstanding (they've really weakened the anti-Semitic card)

Leader of Iranian force fighting Isis is complicating US efforts, says CIA chief | World news | The Guardian - John Brennan says elite Quds Force leader Qassem Suleimani has been ‘very aggressive and active’ in advising Shia militias against Islamic State ... "destabilizing Iraq' (ha-ha, just let us fuck it up like we always do)
From Minneapolis to ISIS: An American’s Path to Jihad - NYTimes.com - Reading back over Abdi Nur’s Twitter feed, his chilling progression from the basketball courts of South Minneapolis to the battlefields of Syria is clear.

Russia Threatens To Aim Nuclear Missiles At Denmark Ships If It Joins NATO Shield

Ex-cop claims a ROYAL was in paedophile ring but inquiry was closed to shield Buckingham Palace from scandal - Mirror Online - A former Metropolitan Police officer said he was told a member of the Queen’s family and an MP had both been identified as part of a major child abuse inquiry ... national security reasons.
VIP paedophile files: The sick web of high-powered and well-connected child abusers - Mirror Online
Ex-cop claims a royal was in paedophile ring but inquiry was closed to shield Buckingham Palace from scandal : worldnews - A du Pont family heir who pleaded guilty nearly six years ago to raping his 3-year-old daughter was never put behind bars because a Delaware judge ruled he “would not fare well” in prison, court records show.

Kabul mob attack: Women help bury 'wrongly accused' Farkhunda - The coffin of a woman, killed by a mob in Kabul on an apparently false charge, has been carried by women, marking a break with Afghan funeral customs ... Footage of the attack, filmed on mobile phones, has been widely circulated on social media. (they tore her to pieces)

Solar eclipse: schoolchildren banned from watching on 'religious and cultural' grounds - Although headteacher Ivor Johnstone would not comment on what the ‘religious and cultural’ reasons were, some Hindu scriptures say that an eclipse makes believers impure. And fundamentalists believe that they need to bathe immediately after an eclipse and chant the name of God to overcome the forces of darkness.

Ukrainian Former President Yanukovych's Son Reportedly Found Dead in Lake Baikal : worldnews
Yanukovych ally Peklushenko in new Ukraine mystery death - A former regional governor has been found dead in Ukraine, the latest in a series of deaths involving allies of deposed President Viktor Yanukovych.
Serbia Asks People To Please Stop Throwing Their Grenades In The Garbage - The Serbian government asked people on Tuesday not to dispose of hand grenades and other munitions in the garbage, hoping to minimize accidents as it imposes tighter controls over privately held weapons.

The US economy is under threat because of its neglected infrastructure - Voices - The Independent - Public spending on roads, airports, bridges, railways and power grids is only half of Europe's, and some say the nation’s very prosperity is threatened - A World Economic Forum report ranking countries by infrastructure puts America 25th (Britain came 24th while the winner, you might have guessed, was Switzerland) (Repubicans destroying America)


Kaiser Health Tracking Poll: March 2015 | The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation - the gap between favorable and unfavorable opinions of the law has narrowed to the closest margin in over two years. A majority continue to say their family has not been personally impacted by the law, but for those who report an impact, roughly equal shares report being helped as report being hurt – also a closer margin than previously measured.
xs
Boston Globe Urges Elizabeth Warren To Run For President

Just How Nepotistic Are We? - NYTimes.com - THERE is a very real chance that the presidential election in 2016 will pit Jeb Bush against Hillary Clinton. According to oddsmakers, this is the likeliest outcome.
20 Republicans who are gearing up to run for president | TheHill - In 2011, as many as nine Republicans participated in one early debate. The field of declared candidates in that cycle was never greater than 10 at any one time. (clown car now clown caravan)
Ted Cruz To Announce Presidential Run On Monday
Cruz to Skip “Exploratory Committee,” Go Straight for the Grift Top Ticket » Balloon Juice
Jeb Bush’s Team Plots Vast Effort to Win Florida - NYTimes.com ("vast" and it has come to this)

Chris Christie’s Fair Housing Problem - NYTimes.com - The Supreme Court of New Jersey has finally run out of patience with Gov. Chris Christie’s attempts to nullify its groundbreaking, three-decades-old decision in the Mount Laurel fair housing case, which prohibits wealthy towns from excluding affordable housing and requires them to write zoning laws that allow such housing to be built. (what an asshole)
All kidding aside, why won't Christie push for a new tunnel to Manhattan? | Editorial | NJ.com - The urgency is clear. Salt left behind by Hurricane Sandy has eaten away at the tunnel walls, and the two, single-track tubes will need to be shut down for a year, one at a time, to repair all the damage. When that happens, rush hour train service will be a hellacious nightmare -- cut from 24 trains an hour to just six. (you really fucked yourselves, NJ)

Confederate Flag License Plate Case Reaches Supreme Court - A black Texas Democratic state senator, Royce West, said in 2011, "Ill-intended or not, why would African Americans want to be reminded of a legalized system of involuntary servitude, dehumanization, rape and mass murder?"
Bundyville coming to Carson City | Ralston Reports - Mark your calendars for March 31, when an Assembly committee will hear a bill sponsored by Cliven Bundy's biggest supporter, Fiore, and 14 other members of the GOP Ass. Caucus to essentially prohibit the federal government from owning land in Nevada (where it owns 85 percent) unless the state says so. (Yes, it's as crazy as it sounds.) (sedition now very popular)

In College and Hiding From Scary Ideas - NYTimes.com - KATHERINE BYRON, a senior at Brown University and a member of its Sexual Assault Task Force, considers it her duty to make Brown a safe place for rape victims, free from anything that might prompt memories of trauma ... safe spaces ... (for special-snowflake fee-fees; you just added this to your resume, Kathy)

Interviewing the NYU Prof Banned From the UAE -- NYMag - While trying to board a flight to Abu Dhabi on Saturday, NYU professor and labor expert Andrew Ross discovered that he was banned from the country for "security reasons." Though he's certainly not the first professor whose views have gotten him barred from the United Arab Emirates, he is the first NYU professor to be banned — an especially sticky situation considering NYU has operated a satellite campus in Abu Dhabi since 2010. (who could have predicted that getting in bed with an authoritarian regime would work out like this?)

What Happens To Enforcers When Hockey Uses Them Up? - How things have changed in a decade and a half. Hockey fans have watched a parade of tough guys die young; we've seen a series of star players fold up their careers early after one, or three, or 40 too many hits to the head

It’s Not Just the Drug War | Jacobin - Progressive narratives about what’s driving mass incarceration don’t quite add up - When it comes to uniquely American nightmares, it’s hard to beat our carceral state. Living in a country with 5 percent of the world’s population and 25 percent of the world’s prisoners, many are aware of the human rights catastrophe taking place around them ... rolling back punishments for violent offenses to their 1984 levels in 2004 would have done more to lower the incarceration rate — a cut in state prison rates of 30 percent — than simply ending the drug war. (Reagan and the War on Crime)

The slow death of the great American newsroom | Art and design | The Guardian

Arizona Senate Bill 1445 Would Keep Police Names Secret After Shootings - NBC News.com - Amid increased scrutiny over police-involved shootings across the country, Arizona lawmakers are poised to pass a bill that would keep secret the names of officers who use deadly force for 60 days.
Excessive force suspension overturned for Texas cop who slammed suspect onto squad car's hood | Fox News - A white east Texas police officer's suspension for slamming a black handcuffed suspect face first onto the hood of a squad car has been reversed by an arbitrator who determined the officer's actions were reasonable.
Police abuse : gifs (all force is "reasonable")
Florida Cops Fired Over Racist Texts, KKK Video - "I had a wet dream that you two found those n-----s in the VW and gave them the death penalty right there on the spot," one of the texts reads. Many of their extremely hostile and racially charged conversations can be read at the Sun Sentinel.
12-Year-Old Girl Accused of Trying to Poison Mother for Taking Away iPhone - ABC News - A 12-year-old Colorado girl has been detained for allegedly trying to kill her mother twice by poisoning her drinks with bleach, after her mother took away her iPhone, police said.

Judge Rules Ellen Pao Can Sue For Punitive Damages In Gender Discrimination Case - A California trial judge ruled Saturday that a woman suing a Silicon Valley venture capital firm in a high-profile gender bias case may seek punitive damages that could add tens of millions of dollars to the $16 million in lost wages and bonuses she is pursuing.

An Important Notice from Amazon - The New Yorker - For example, as you know, on Tuesday, February 10th, at 6:42 P.M., you used Uber to go to the Staples Center for an N.B.A. game between the L.A. Lakers and the Portland Trailblazers. You were accompanied by Jessica Goldstein, whom you met via OkCupid. Your Experian credit score; your electricity bill; last Thursday’s mu-shu pork and double-order of spring rolls, acquired via GrubHub from Panda Dynasty—IMELDA processes this information, and much, much more, to suggest to you the exact products you will need over the subsequent two-month period.

Do we need to end the 'war' on cancer? | Comment is free | The Guardian - We use so much militaristic language to describe cancer. It might be doing more harm than good (cut taxes and invade cancerland; bomb the little fuckers and put chemoboots on the ground)
Vitamin D may keep low-grade prostate cancer from becoming aggressive | EurekAlert! Science News

ELI5: How can Ted Cruz run for president when he was born in Canada? : explainlikeimfive
What is the most WTF secret you know of someone? [NSFW] : AskReddit
What did you do as a kid that probably made your parents think "that kid's not right"? : AskReddit

032115
California megadrought: It's already begun. - As California limps through another nearly rain-free rainy season, the state is taking increasingly bold action to save water.

The NSA's plan: improve cybersecurity by cyber-attacking everyone else | Trevor Timm | Comment is free | The Guardian - The NSA’s plan to protect America by starting cyberwars is absurd. Their argument that they need more power to do it is moreso
Jailed hacker Guccifer boasts, “I used to read [Clinton’s] memos… and then do the gardening” | PandoDaily - “I have the secret journal of the Rockefellers – I’ve taken it from a member of the Illuminati and ran a metadata analysis to verify it’s genuine.”

US must release photos of Abu Ghraib detainees, federal judge rules | US news | The Guardian - Ruling gives the government, which has fought the case for over a decade, two months to decide whether to appeal before the photos could be released
Judge orders release of military detainee abuse photos - The U.S. must release photographs showing abuse of detainees in Iraq and Afghanistan, a federal judge has ruled in a long-running clash over letting the world see potentially disturbing images of how the military treated prisoners : worldnews

Family Of Gunman In Tunisia Museum Attack Saw No Signs Of Radicalization
ISIS Urges Supporters To Kill 100 U.S. Military Personnel On 'Hacked' Hit List - WASHINGTON, March 21 (Reuters) - Islamic State has posted online what it says are the names, U.S. addresses and photos of 100 American military service members, and called upon its "brothers residing in America" to kill them.

Hullabaloo - Loyalty test - A congressional representative of a party which fetishizes the flag is saying that some citizens are being traitors by "following their president" instead of supporting the leader of a foreign country. Indeed, he's really saying that Republicans support this foreign country over their own president. Now that's exceptional.

Cardinal steps down over sexual impropriety allegations, a first since 1927 - The Washington Post - Catholics disagreed over whether or not O’Brien had been forced out after an internal investigation that one Catholic publication said was “hot enough to burn the varnish” off the pope’s desk.

Tom Cotton Wants To Punish Countries That Take Guantanamo Prisoners -- Including U.S. Allies - Cotton, apparently unbowed by the outcry over his recent open letter to Iranian leaders, introduced a bill on Wednesday that would cut U.S. funding to countries that receive former Guantanamo detainees who are later suspected of terrorism. He toured the prison March 13 with three other senators.

Conservatives seethe after attacks from allies of Boehner | TheHill - Conservatives are seething after an outside group aligned with Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) spent hundreds of thousands of dollars targeting a trio of Republican lawmakers over threats to shut down the Department of Homeland Security.

How to be a Hack, Fred Hiatt Edition - Lawyers, Guns & Money : There is a compromise out there that would work. Republicans aren’t actually offering this compromise, but nonetheless Democrats should agree to the bill anyway or they’re the obstructionists. I can’t explain High Broderism any better than that, ladies and gentlemen. (thanks, Bezos)

The counted: inside the search for the real number of police killings in the US | US news | The Guardian - State by state, town by town, cop by cop, a lack of transparency is halting police reform. But part two of a Guardian investigation reveals that a quiet revolution in crime data may be under way – and justice may be next (cops killing people usually off the record so no one knows how many because cops thought you really wouldn't want to know)
Protests over Martese Johnson’s arrest: You must understand UVA to understand the anger. - ABC officers swarmed a UVA student as she left a grocery store in her car. Guns drawn, they tried to detain the young woman, mistaking her bottled water for alcohol. She was arrested and charged with three felonies, all of which were dropped. Later, the student—Elizabeth Daly—sued the Virginia ABC, winning a settlement of more than $200,000.
Cameron Todd Willingham prosecutor John Jackson charges: Corrupt prosecution in Texas execution. - What happens in Texas when you get a man executed on the basis of bad testimony? (Perry said TX has never executed an innocent person, so nothing)

Hot plate sparks Brooklyn fire that kills seven children. (out of eight)

Scientists Confirm Institute of Medicine Recommendation for Vitamin D Intake Was Miscalculated and Is Far Too Low

Researchers are challenging the intake of vitamin D recommended by the US Institute of Medicine, stating that, due to a statistical error, their recommended dietary allowance for vitamin D underestimates the need by a factor of 10. : science
Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University - Vitamin D
Alzheimer's drug trial shows promising early results | Society | The Guardian - In the trial, conducted primarily to ensure the drug was safe and had no serious side-effects, brain scans showed a reduction of amyloid plaque. Accumulation of amyloid plaques is thought to be one of the major causes of Alzheimer’s.
This Diet Could Cut Your Risk Of Alzheimer's By Up To 50 Percent - MIND diet -- which stands for "Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay" -- is effective even if it is not followed rigorously,
Crystal with "Forbidden Symmetry" Found in 4.5-Billion-Year-Old Meteorite | IFLScience
Crystal with "Forbidden Symmetry" Found in 4.5-Billion-Year-Old Meteorite - Based on experiments with X-rays, the newly discovered quasicrystal has a structure that resembles flat 10-sided disks stacked in a column. This 10-fold symmetry is an impossible structure in ordinary crystals : worldnews


ELI5: Why do girls generally find it harder to achieve an orgasm despite having way more nerve ending than men in their privates? : explainlikeimfive
What experience made you grow the fuck up? : AskReddit
TIL the Bible Belt leads the United States in consumption of gay porn : todayilearned
Bible Belt leads the nation in consumption of gay porn
Red Versus Blue US States – Pornhub Insights - Assuming the porn consumption per capita is normally distributed for each state and that different states have independent distribution of porn consumption per capita, we can say with 99% confidence the hypothesis that the per capita porn consumption of democratic states is higher than the republican states. (MA #5)


032015
Arctic Sea Ice Hits Record Low Winter Maximum, Points To Evidence Of Long-Term Climate Change - Arctic sea ice this year is the smallest in winter since satellite records began in 1979, in a new sign of long-term climate change, U.S. data showed on Thursday. (Republicans have doomed the planet)
Guardian Editor Pledges To Bolster Coverage Of Climate Change : NPR - because I'm going to be stepping down in June. And just before Christmas, I was trying to think well, what regrets am I going to have as editor?

Petraeus: The Islamic State isn’t our biggest problem in Iraq - The Washington Post - the #1 long term threat to Iraq’s equilibrium — and the broader regional balance — is not the Islamic State, which I think is on the path to being defeated in Iraq and pushed out of its Iraqi sanctuary. The most significant long term threat is that posed by the Iranian-backed Shiite militias.
Defense lawyer rips Petraeus plea deal for ‘double standard’ in leak cases - Yahoo News - Attorney for convicted leaker asks for ‘release,’ says his client went to jail while ex-CIA director walked after leaking (too many skeletons)

CISA Security Bill: An F for Security But an A+ for Spying | WIRED
The Australian government just passed a bill that forces ISPs to store and allow police warrantless access to the internet browsing history of all Australians : worldnews

Graham threatens to withhold UN funding | TheHill - Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) warned Thursday that he would slash U.S. funding to the United Nations if the body decides to lift its sanctions on Iran as part of a nuclear agreement. (drama queen needs the spotlight for his stupid ideas)

Israel chooses the path to apartheid - Opinion - Israel News | Haaretz - It was once possible to argue that Israel's policies were not the same as apartheid because their stated goal, however imperfectly pursued, was to end the occupation. After Netanyahu's reelection, this is no longer the case ... The inevitable results will include even greater international isolation for the Jewish state, a boost to efforts to apply boycotts and sanctions, diminished support from American Jews and endlessly intensifying cycles of violence ("boycott" and "sanctions" in one sentence, you're almost there)
Netanyahu Tactics Anger Many U.S. Jews, Deepening a Divide - NYTimes.com - “My greatest thrill is that Netanyahu was able to pull off a feat that in my opinion was not only good for the morale of Israel and the security of Israel, but finally put Obama in his place,” said Rabbi Shoham (as Israel's butler and read the comments: " Something is rotten in the State of Israel" "apartheid" is a "taboo word" "pariah state")
The real winner in Israel's election: BDS - Opinion - Israel News | Haaretz - Netanyahu's reelection takes away pro-Israel students' most powerful tool: the existence of a government committed to peace. (hello, Hillel)
Jerusalem at boiling point of polarisation and violence – EU report | World news | The Guardian - Leaked report says city more divided than at any time since 1967 and calls for consideration of tougher sanctions over settlement building (oh, you used the "S" word; Hillel will have a fit)
How Many Times Has Bibi Backtracked On A Palestinian State?
Tom Friedman & funding ISIL: Falling victim to Israel/Iran Derangement Syndrome | Informed Comment - Being a liberal Zionist was always a tough thing to pull off, but it is becoming increasingly just impossible. The intrinsic contradiction between wanting social justice and equity at home and supporting a militaristic and Apartheid Israel abroad produces what psychologists call cognitive dissonance
Insert the Yiddish Word for Shameless » Balloon Juice - i watched Bibi give an interview to Andrea Mitchell today, and he is such a brazen liar that the only person I can think of who can sit there and authoritatively lie like that is Dick Cheney and his bionic heart.
Boehner's Epic Burn - It now seems clear that US efforts on the diplomatic front - blocking any pressure for a two-state settlement - has had no positive effect. It has only enabled a process of cowardly kicking the can down the road and further embedding the Israelis in the West Bank. It also makes any future settlement not impossible, as some wrongly claim, but just much more painful and damaging. That is bad for everyone. And continuing that makes no sense.

Tunis gunmen trained with Libyan militia, says security chief | World news | The Guardian - Two men who killed 21 people in attack on Bardo museum trained with weapons in neighbouring country in December, security secretary says
Deadly Suicide Bombings Hit Mosques In Yemen's Sanaa - unleashing blasts through crowds of worshippers that killed at least 137 people and wounded around 350 others in the deadliest violence to hit the fragile war-torn nation in decades.

More U.S. Troops Seen Staying in Afghanistan - NYTimes.com (why America can't have nice things)

MH17 disaster: Missile fragment 'found at crash site' - Dutch broadcaster RTL says it has new evidence that the Malaysia Airlines plane shot down over Ukraine last July was hit by a surface-to-air missile.

Nigerian Army Noticeably Absent in Town Taken From Boko Haram - NYTimes.com (fuck you, Bad Luck)

Katharine Viner Named Next Editor-In-Chief Of The Guardian - Viner, currently the editor in chief of the Guardian U.S., will succeed Alan Rusbridger when he steps down this summer. Rusbridger announced in December that he would be leaving his post after 20 years at the paper.

Trillion Dollar Fraudsters - NYTimes.com - By now it’s a Republican Party tradition: Every year the party produces a budget that allegedly slashes deficits, but which turns out to contain a trillion-dollar “magic asterisk” — a line that promises huge spending cuts and/or revenue increases, but without explaining where the money is supposed to come from ... What you’re left with is huge transfers of income from the poor and the working class, who would see severe benefit cuts, to the rich, who would see big tax cuts. (Republican fraudsters is an oxymoron)

Jon Stewart Brilliantly Shreds Fox News Over Its Benghazi 'Rage-gasm' - "The lesson Fox News is getting at is very clear," said Stewart. "Wouldn't it be nice if people who jumped to conclusions and peddled a false, divisive, anger-stoking narrative had to apologize for misleading America?" (BenghazzziiiiBurp / Megyn is the cutest mouth of Satan)

The Freakout From An Obamacare Ruling Could Be Unlike Anything We've Seen - Without that financial assistance, most of the people now buying insurance through healthcare.gov, the online marketplace run by the federal government, wouldn’t be able to pay for their coverage anymore.

Israel Election Result Complicates Life for Clinton - NYTimes.com - But if she criticizes Israel, she risks prompting an influential segment of more conservative Jewish Democrats to withhold their support from her presidential campaign, or even to defect to a Republican candidate in 2016. (she needs Sherman Adelson)

Andrew Cuomo: Bought and Paid For - Lawyers, Guns & Money : A terrible person ... An even more right-wing version of the Clintons is precisely what the Democratic Party needs!
9 Billionaires Are About to Remake New York’s Public Schools—Here’s Their Story | The Nation - A Nation investigation reveals how a group of hedge funders are about to get exactly what they paid for.
Say Goodbye to the Weekend in Wisconsin - Lawyers, Guns & Money : The next front in Scott Walker and the Wisconsin Republican Party’s war on labor is to abolish the state law that mandates one day off a week. I assume the chances of this bill passing is approximately 100 percent. (next: 5 yr olds in the factories working 7 days/wk +"right to slavery")
Portland Press Herald Contributors | Stephen King: LePage ‘full of the stuff that makes the grass grow green’ - Author Stephen King turned Gov. Paul LePage’s effort to kill Maine’s income tax into a horror show for the governor Thursday.

Marc Ambinder's Apology For Politico Magazine Piece Doesn't Run In Politico Magazine

Feds argue they had no duty under FOIA to search Hillary Clinton's emails - politico.com - "FOIA creates no obligation for an agency to search for and produce records that it does not possess and control," (ah, so ...)
Where’s Stalin When You Need Him? by Ed Kilgore | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - When you have suddenly been vaulted into a presidential campaign—as sort of a retirement hobby after a very successful career in another field—by expressing the unmediated Id of the Tea Folk, you have a tendency to say things that don’t bear much scrutiny. So it is with Dr. Ben Carson ... But you have to hand it to Carson: he’s not dodging the tough questions, although clearly he should. Is there some way to have a “two-state solution” without challenging Israel’s conquest of the West Bank? Sure: Let ‘em eat Egypt. (intelligence is not a Republican quality)
At the Flick of a Switch - Press Releases - Judiciary Committee (this is how they think and communicate)
US Congress publishes press release made of copyright-violating animated GIFs | ZDNet - The House Judiciary Committee, chaired by one of the sponsors of SOPA, shows its complete disregard for both good taste and copyright in a shocking display of GIF overload.

A Sour And Worthless Thing: Missouri Gives Us A Lesson In Modern Politics - (Only a cynic would point out that, when he was in the Senate, and the nomination of his protege, Clarence Thomas, to the Supreme Court seemed to be in trouble, Danforth was not quite so scrupulous in his approach to the women who accused Thomas of harassing them.) (Charlie remembered, of course)
Neverending Story: Feds' Bridgegate Probe Takes New Turn (Big Chicken still in the roaster)
Barney Frank Says Aaron Schock Should Be ‘Exposed’ - ABC News - But now, as rumors swirl alleging that resigning-Rep. Aaron Schock is gay, Frank said the Illinois Republican should be “exposed” if the gossip about his sexual orientation is true because of his voting record on gay issues. (that would explain the decorating thing)

West Virginia Governor Bucks Legislature, Vetoes Permit-Less Concealed Carry Bill - West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin (D) vetoed a bill Friday that would have eliminated the permit requirement for concealed carry, citing the concerns of law enforcement officers.
Federal probe launched after black Mississippi man found hanging from tree | US news | The Guardian - Local reports named the deceased as Otis Byrd, 54, who disappeared 10 days ago and whose body was found in the woods near his last known residence
University of Virginia student 'unbowed' after arrest that left him bloodied | US news | The Guardian - Martese Johnson stood with his mother and his lawyer who read a statement from the student: ‘The trauma of what the officers did will stay with me forever’ (cops assaulted him be cause they thought he had the wrong zipcode)
Two 15-year-olds to be charged with murdering dog walker : news
Mom Asks Cops To Teach Her Sons A Lesson On Stealing. Cops Then Arrest The Mom. - It all started one day last April, when the 29-year-old says she discovered that her youngest son, Keyshawn, had taken $10 from her purse. Wanting to teach him a lesson, she called 911.

The New York Times Terminates Contract With Razib Khan - The New York Times has quietly cut ties with Razib Khan, one of the paper’s 20 brand-new opinion writers, following our post highlighting Khan’s association with right-wing racist publications ... .@nytimes kicks @razibkhan off opinion page for having opinions, but allows overt racist nicholas wade daily space in science section ("log out bitch, bye, you done")
Eschaton - The interesting question is who thought he'd be a good hire in the first place? ... The "racial realists" and the people who hire them seem to be impervious to facts. (paging Margaret Sullivan and oh look, Charles Murray likes him)
None dare call it eugenics - Gene Expression (he had quite a paper trail +Freddie FTW)
Why Is the Times Quoting This Quack About the Danger of AppleWatches?
A Tech Column on Wearable Gadgets Draws Fire as ‘Pseudoscience’ - NYTimes.com - The Style section is an inappropriate place to analyze a topic like cancer risk. Style and technology reporters and editors are not qualified to report what is science and what is quackery (pseudoscience). (OMG he quoted Mercola!)

The Metro Areas With the Largest, and Smallest, Gay Populations - NYTimes.com (SF wins, west coast +Austin, NOLA and BOS +gays have left NYC)

Autism: does ABA therapy open society's doors to children, or impose conformity? | Society | The Guardian - Applied behavior analysis, widely used in the US, aims to boost communication and social skills but some critics say it ‘denies kids the right to be who they are’
The Case for Free-Range Parenting - NYTimes.com - A study by the University of California, Los Angeles, has found that American kids spend 90 percent of their leisure time at home, often in front of the TV or playing video games (eating chicken mcnuggets)

Supercomputer models one second of human brain activity - The most accurate simulation of the human brain ever has been carried out, but a single second’s worth of activity took one of the world’s largest supercomputers 40 minutes to calculate
Do you genes determine your entire life? | Julian Baggini | Science | The Guardian
Direct evidence for positive selection of skin, hair, and eye pigmentation in Europeans during the last 5,000 y - Our results provide direct evidence that strong selection favoring lighter skin, hair, and eye pigmentation has been operating in European populations over the last 5,000 y.
Revealed: the terrifying 9ft-long crocodile which walked like a human | Science | The Guardian (bears some resemblance to Ted Cruz)
YaleNews | Opening a window on quantum gravity
Monsanto weed killer can 'probably' cause cancer: World Health Organization | Reuters - glyphosate, the active ingredient in the Monsanto Co herbicide Roundup, was "classified as probably carcinogenic to humans".
Monsanto weed killer can 'probably' cause cancer: World Health Organization : worldnews
Apparently bedwetting (past age 12) is one of the most common traits shared by serial killers. Is there is a psychological reason behind this? : askscience
How to Tell a Sociopath from a Psychopath | Psychology Today - Psychopaths, on the other hand, are unable to form emotional attachments or feel real empathy with others, although they often have disarming or even charming personalities.
"A comprehensive beginner's guide to becoming a sociopath." Wtf am I reading? : WTF

Department Of Education Study Finds Teaching These Little Shits No Longer Worth It | The Onion - America's Finest News Source - "We remain committed to providing every student in the country with access to a high-quality education," said Education Secretary Arne Duncan, adding that good schools are a key component to the success of American democracy. "But to be honest, none of that matters. We're not talking about promising young scholars here—we're talking about a bunch of fucking animals."

What's the grossest thing you and your SO do together? NSFW : AskReddit
/u/duckvimes_ uncovers evidence that a "revisionist" (ie holocaust denier) is trying to manipulate reddit with a network of >20 accounts that moderate a ton of revisionist subs (proof included) : bestof
What are the cigarettes of today? What does everyone think is healthy, but is not? : AskReddit
That one time Pope Stephen VI was so mad at a previous pope that he disinterred his corpse and put it on trial. Oh man, that was crazy… : WTF
Historians of Reddit, What are some of the freakiest coincidences of history? : AskReddit

031915
Solar eclipse 2015: what you need to know | Science | The Guardian - Some Christian ministers have viewed the rare collision of three celestial events as the beginning of the end of the world. (solar eclipse, equinox and supermoon)

Obama Orders Cuts in Federal Greenhouse Gas Emissions - NYTimes.com
Employees group: Florida environmental manager was punished for uttering “climate change.” | Post On Politics

Here Are the Water Restrictions California Should Have Passed Today
Welfare Ranching: Guzzling the West's Water: Squandering a Public Resource at Public Expense - Overall, agriculture accounts for 83 percent of all water used in California
Bottled Water Comes From the Most Drought-Ridden Places in the Country | Mother Jones - Popular brands like Aquafina and Dasani source from catastrophically dry parts of the West.
Rich People Are Trucking Their Own Water Into Drought-Ridden California
The Dark Side of Almond Use — The Atlantic - A strong case could be made that almonds are, nutritionally, the best single food a person could eat ... each almond requires 1.1 gallons of water to produce

Greenwald - The Intercept - the U.S. government threatened to cease sharing intelligence with Germany if Berlin offered asylum to NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden or otherwise arranged for him to travel to that country. “They told us they would stop notifying us of plots and other intelligence matters,” Gabriel said. (that would be Obama)

Iran gathers power in Iraq as US further sidelined - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East - While the United States has invested trillions of dollars and thousands of lives since 2003 to bring Iraq into its orbit, today it is Iran that appears to have achieved that goal, albeit with far less costs in terms of money and lives, observers and analysts of Iraqi affairs agree. (good job, Republicans)

Benjamin Netanyahu Flip-Flops Just 2 Days After Winning Election | ThinkProgress - “I haven’t changed my policy,” Netanyahu told NBC’s Andrea Mitchell in an effort to clarify remarks he made on the eve of Israel’s election. (when I said never happen I meant sure, someday)
Netanyahu Back To Barely Pretending He Supports A Two-State Solution
Enraged by Netanyahu's rhetoric, White House officials believe Israeli-U.S. relations fundamentally changed - Diplomacy and Defense - Israel News | Haaretz - Three comments by the newly reelected Israeli prime minister left Team Obama fuming; officials in Washington say his stance on Palestinian statehood is forcing an American 'reassessment.' ... Top Obama officials loathed Netanyahu already. But three of his campaign comments drove them to new levels of fury ... . We, the Jewish people, control America, and the Americans know it." - Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, October 3, 2001,
Netanyahu’s Win Is Good for Palestine - NYTimes.com - IF anyone doubted where Benjamin Netanyahu stood on the question of peace, the Israeli prime minister made himself clear just before Tuesday’s election, proclaiming that there would never be a Palestinian state on his watch
Palestinian Leaders See Validation of Their Statehood Effort - NYTimes.com
Transformation of U.S.-Israel Alliance Coming -- NYMag - Liberals have a deep (and, in my opinion, correct) attachment to Israel’s founding ideals as a democratic haven for the Jewish people. They will have to adjust to a reality that is leaving them behind.
Never Mind: The Two States Of Bibi's Consciousness - The cynicism here is breathtaking. If it is entirely cynicism, and not a genuine concern that the current administration has had quite enough of his grandstanding.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Victory In Israel Elections Leaves Damage In Its Wake
Israel's shield no more? - Michael Crowley - politico - Officials say they are revisiting the U.S. stance in light of Netanyahu rolling back his support of a Palestinian state ... The U.S. has run critical interference for Israel on such measures in the past. Last November, the U.N. Security Council considered a draft resolution, pushed by the Palestinians and Arab countries, demanding an Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank within three years. The U.S. quietly quashed the effort.
From Tel Aviv to Turtle Bay | Foreign Policy - The White House hoped a new Israeli prime minister would resume peace talks with the Palestinians. With Netanyahu holding on, the administration is weighing a turn to the U.N. to help force a deal. (defund Israel and BDS)
Benjamin Netanyahu’s victory is a loss for Israel: The Israeli people will become even more isolated in the world ... The ICC could condemn Israel’s settlements in the occupied territories and even indict Israeli leaders for war crimes.
Why Netanyahu’s win isn’t that dramatic - The Washington Post - Rather than providing increased stability as expected by Netanyahu, the election results highlight the persistent deep divisions that characterize Israeli politics and society; divisions that are magnified by its political system. So, get ready to do all of this again in a couple of years.
A New Israeli Opposition by Ed Kilgore | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - . But Netanyahu has made it more difficult to take this nuanced position in the present, since our prime minister sees the Green Line as the border between where Arabs can’t vote and where they shouldn’t.

Netanyahu’s victory is a disaster for the peace process - Vox

Obama May Find It Impossible to Mend Frayed Ties to Netanyahu - NYTimes.com (shouldn't that be the reverse?)
Jon Stewart To Benjamin Netanyahu: 'How Dare You!'
Benjamin Netanyahu: I’m not a racist - Kendall Breitman - politico

ISIS Claims Responsibility For Tunisia Museum Attack In Audio Message
Tunisia Makes Arrests, Deploys Troops After Museum Attack
Warplanes Bomb Presidential Palace In Yemen's Aden - It was not clear whether the planes were flown by Saleh loyalists in the military or by Houthi rebels, who control several military and air bases in and around Sanaa.

Two killed and more than 10 injured in Swedish pub shooting | World news | The Guardian - Police suspect machine-gun attack in Gothenburg suburb of Biskopsgården is gang-related

The Making of a Christian Taliban in Ukraine - The Intercept - “We need to create something like a Christian Taliban,” he told me. “The Ukrainian state has no chance in a war with Russia, but the Christian Taliban can succeed, just as the Taliban are driving the Americans out of Afghanistan.” (good point)

Obama: Maybe it's time for mandatory voting - CNN.com - Less than 37% of eligible voters actually voted in the 2014 midterm elections, according to The Pew Charitable Trusts. That means about 144 million Americans -- more than the population of Russia -- skipped out.

Exclusive: Despite Hillary Clinton promise, charity did not disclose donors | Reuters - In 2008, Hillary Clinton promised Barack Obama, the president-elect, there would be no mystery about who was giving money to her family's globe-circling charities. She made a pledge to publish all the donors on an annual basis to ease concerns that as secretary of state she could be vulnerable to accusations of foreign influence. (let's think this through: she knew it was a very sensitive area, and knew -- because Benghazi -- it would be an issue for her campaign, so what were they thinking, exactly?)

Exclusive: Monica Lewinsky on the Culture of Humiliation | Vanity Fair - ‘How does it feel to be America’s premier blow-job queen?” (she changed the course of history with those bjs)

The Middle Class Has Gotten Smaller In Every State Since 2000 - Wisconsin, Ohio, North Dakota, Nevada, and New Mexico had some of the largest declines in middle-class households over the 13-year span, while Wyoming, Idaho, Alaska, and Hawaii suffered the least. (Kochistan FTW)

No, Mr. and Mrs. Newly Insured, I Expect You to Suffer (And Possibly Die)! - Lawyers, Guns & Money : In fact, the Republicans do have a health-care plan: It is to repeal Obamacare and replace it with what we had before Obamacare

Scott Walker Goes Back For Seconds - Three times in four years, Wisconsin had a chance to avoid being a lab rat for the coming conservative order. Three times in four years, it went for the cheese. The thing about lab rats is that, sooner or later, most of them end up dead.

There Is No Republican Middle - he's not a citizen; he could have been removed a long time ago...Ted [Cruz?] told me I've got to wait for the next election. I don't think the country will be around for the next election. Obama tried to blow up a nuke in Charleston a few months ago! And the three admirals, and generals. He has totally destroyed our military. He's fired all the generals and all the admirals that said they wouldn't fire on the American people. - The willingness of the Republican party to tolerate an almost limitless amount of sheer public lunacy has led us to this moment (America, land of the insane)

Chicago police commander resigns in wake of Homan Square revelations | US news | The Guardian - Resignation of Nicholas Roti, a veteran police officer who operated over the controversial police warehouse, comes as attorneys announce civil rights lawsuit
UN panel to consider US 'failure' to clear up racial murders of civil rights era | World news | The Guardian - A 2008 law ordered the Department of Justice to investigate pre-1970 unsolved cases but campaigners will tell the Human Rights Council it has not done enough
Homan Square: politicians push DoJ to investigate 'CIA or Gestapo tactics' at secret police site | US news | The Guardian - US congressman and Cook County commissioner hand-deliver letter to Eric Holder and demand an ‘immediate investigation’ into secretive police facility
New Times Op-Ed Writer Has a Colorful Past with Racist Publications - Today the New York Times announced its selection of 20 new op-ed writers who will contribute to the paper on a monthly basis ... Andrew Rosenthal ... selected ... science writer Razib Khan ... his willingness to treat black intelligence as a matter of debate (NYT keeps racism alive in their op-ed pages)
#RaceTogether is a debacle: The real reason why Starbucks, McDonald’s and Coke keep failing on Twitter - Salon.com - Dark irony: The massive institutions responsible for our isolation trying to fix it with a cutesy hashtag
Racial tensions flare at U-Va. after arrest of black student - The Washington Post - Why does using a fake ID deserve a beating for a black kid but not a white kid?

Texas set to allow college students to carry concealed weapons on campus | US news | The Guardian - State senate expected to approve bill on Thursday that would allow anyone with a license to carry a gun on public college and university campuses
Adult interrogation tactics in schools turn principals into police officers | Alexa Van Brunt | Comment is free | The Guardian - School administrators are being trained by the largest interrogation trainer in the world to extract confessions. This is only worsening the school-to-prison pipeline

Suspect in Arizona Shooting Spree a White Supremacist Skinhead | Hatewatch - Ryan Giroux, who allegedly murdered one person and wounded five others earlier today and was arrested after a frenzied manhunt, was released from prison in Arizona in 2013
Mesa shooting: Ryan Giroux confirmed as suspect - The biological protective suit is used on suspects whose clothing has been taken so that authorities may collect DNA evidence.
Pregnant Colorado woman stabbed in the stomach in 'tragic case' | US news | The Guardian - A 34-year-old woman was accused of stabbing a pregnant woman in the stomach and removing her baby, while the expectant mother visited her home to buy baby clothes advertised on Craigslist, Colorado authorities said.

As ratings plunge, MSNBC faces shakeup - Dylan Byers - politico - Its prime-time ratings are down 24 percent and 42 percent (dump schultz, Sharpton and Scarmika)

MIT Students' Deaths Prompt Soul-Searching And Lighter Workloads - Matthew Nehring, a freshman, died on campus on Feb. 28. Christina E. Tournant, also a freshman, died at home on Mar. 5 while on voluntary medical leave.

College Professor Bans Student From Class For His Views On Rape - BuzzFeed News - A 19-year-old was banned from the discussion portion of a humanities class at Reed College after students complained that his opinions on sexual assault made them feel uncomfortable. He doesn’t want to keep quiet ... “I just want to bring attention to the fact that this happens on colleges,” he said. “Right now, going to college is a terrifying experience if you are male.”
Did a Student's Non-PC Views on Rape Statistics Get Him Banned from Class? Maybe, Maybe Not. - Hit & Run : Reason.com
Arabic version of Pledge of Allegiance at Pine Bush High School ignites furor - News - recordonline.com - Middletown, NY - What began as an effort to celebrate national Foreign Language Week at Pine Bush High School has imploded into a raging controversy that has divided the school into angry factions. (there was a Russian translation, yes?)
White Parents On Fox News Condemn School's Black History Month Event - "We should have been notified as parents, and we were not," he continued, "There has been no apology. There has been no 'This will not happen again.' And that needs to be done."

Reaching Into the Past, the Police Dust Off a Photographic Trove to Rival Weegee’s - NYTimes.com

CBS soap reveals character is transgender

There Is No ‘Proper English’ - WSJ - It’s a perpetual lament: The purity of the English language is under assault



031815
Earth had warmest winter on record - Specifically, the Northern Hemisphere had its warmest winter on record, and the Southern Hemisphere had its fourth-warmest summer.

U.N. Orders Review of 1961 Crash That Killed Dag Hammarskjold - NYTimes.com - He recalled that on one frequency, he heard a voice saying: “We have the plane in sight. The plane is well lit. We can see it approaching.” Then he heard an accented voice on a different frequency saying, “The Americans shot down the U.N. plane.” (more surpressed criminal history bubbling up)

Obama Regrets Not Closing Guantanamo Prison 'On The First Day' - "But the politics of it got tough, and people got scared by the rhetoric around it. Once that set in, then the path of least resistance was just to leave it open, even though it's not who we are as a country and it's used by terrorists around the world to help recruit jihadists.
‘Unintended consequences’: Obama traces origin of ISIS to Bush-era Iraq invasion — RT USA - “Two things: One is, ISIL is a direct outgrowth of Al-Qaeda in Iraq that grew out of our invasion,” Obama said in an interview with VICE News. “Which is an example of unintended consequences. Which is why we should generally aim before we shoot.”

Administration sets record for withholding government files (so transparent)

Obama snubs Netanyahu and criticises Israeli PM's 'divisive rhetoric' | US news | The Guardian - President has yet to call Israeli PM to congratulate him on his election victory, as White House says it will have to re-evaluate its approach to peace talks
An Israeli Election Turns Ugly - NYTimes.com - Netanyahu’s outright rejection of a Palestinian state and his racist rant against Israeli Arab voters on Tuesday showed that he has forfeited any claim to representing all Israelis
Netanyahu Vows to Work Quickly to Form New Government - NYTimes.com
As Netanyahu Prevails in Israel, a Thorny Relationship Persists for U.S. - NYTimes.com
Netanyahu Reveals His Duplicity, Demagoguery and Deceit | Alon Ben-Meir

Likud's win: The 'second Israel' has spoken - Israel Elections - Jerusalem Post - The Ashkenazi immigrants from Eastern Europe were seen as having an unfair advantage over their Sephardic counterparts from North Africa and the Middle East. The people who are called "the second Israel" have complained since then that the "elites" in the Israeli Left, the media and academia have discriminated against them.
Palestinians Say Election Results Prove Israel No Peace Partner - Bloomberg Business

Netanyahu's Hard-Right Shift To Win Election Presents Troubles Ahead - With 99.5 percent of votes counted on Wednesday, Likud had won 29-30 seats in the 120-member Knesset, comfortably defeating the center-left Zionist Union opposition on 24 seats ($3bn/year for racist state)
Israel election: Bibi the magician pulls off a victory – but at what cost? | World news | The Guardian - Election result shows Israel is divided internally but Binyamin Netanyahu’s lurch to the right risks creating further divisions with an increasingly frustrated international community
Netanyahu’s election campaign of fear and loathing - Israel election 2015 - Israel News | Haaretz - Many analysts said that Israel's elections were superfluous from the outset, but no one predicted how ugly they would get ... He set fire to the tent in which the half of Israel that didn’t vote for him resides, by depicting them as pawns in some vast and ludicrous conspiracy that involves malevolent anti-Semites, nasty-minded NGOs, cigar-chomping tycoons, greedy Citizen Kane-type publishers and, inexplicably, sly subversives from Scandinavia ... Netanyahu even took a page from the GOP’s Southern Strategy ...
Bibi Deploys the Southern Strategy — The Atlantic - Benjamin Netanyahu, now and forever (it seems) Israel's prime minister, will do whatever it takes to keep his job, including renouncing his own positions.
Bibi’s Ugly Win Will Harm Israel - The Daily Beast - A desperate Netanyahu used fear to grab the most seats in the election, but his rejection of a Palestinian state will further isolate the Jewish state.
Netanyahu’s Vision for Post-Democratic Israel -- NYMag
Palestinians Want World Pressure On Israel After Netanyahu Win ... "Netanyahu's masquerade is over. Everything's clear now, we're talking about a man who has sworn allegiance to the right, not about a centrist," Oppenheimer said.
Eschaton: Shorter Tom Friedman - All this killing hasn't done much good in the Middle East, so what I suggest is... more killing.
Hullabaloo - Objectively pro ISIS - Tom Friedman just outdid himself. And that's not easy: Maybe some day it will occur to our Very Serious People that invading and/or "arming" people in complicated conflicts halfway across the world isn't really our strong suit.

Tunisia Museum Attack Leaves 19 Dead; 2 Gunmen Killed in Firefight - NYTimes.com
Women 'being passed' amid older jihadists at rate of 'one a week' in Syria

Germany riot targets new ECB headquarters in Frankfurt - "Blockupy" activists are expected to attend a rally later on Wednesday. (anti-austerian)

Sweden Says Russian Spies Pose Biggest Security Threat | News | The Moscow Times - Sweden's security services said on Wednesday that they feared possible Russian military operations against their country following an increase in espionage activity since the Ukraine crisis erupted a year ago. (Putin getting ready to invade everybody)

Noam Chomsky on the Roots of American Racism - NYTimes.com - “intentional ignorance” of what it is inconvenient to know ... “utter extirpation” (slavery and genocide: "Empire of Liberty" and American exceptionalism + T Jefferson's cotton picking machines and "The Half Has Never Been Told)

Cisco posts kit to empty houses to dodge NSA chop shops • The Register - Kit sent to SmallCo of Nowheresville to avoid NSA interception profiles
The Mall of America reportedly used Facebook to track activists | The Verge - The security team at the Mall of America may have created a fictitious Facebook account to surreptitiously compile information about Black Lives Matter supporters and track their plans. Citing documents it obtained, The Intercept says that the mall — which has its own counter terrorism unit — created a fictitious person named "Nikki Larson," who they used to befriend and monitor protesters on social network.

Schools Plan Massive Layoffs After Scott Walker Guts Funding | ThinkProgress - Governor Scott Walker’s proposed budget, which would slash about $300 million from the University of Wisconsin system over two years, funnel hundreds of millions to build a pro-basketball stadium, and cut deeply from funds for health care, food stamps and public media. (priorities; good job WI voters!)

Mich. House OKs bills on faith-based adoption refusal - The bills, which would allow the agencies to refuse service to same-sex or unmarried couples if that goes against their religious beliefs, are moving as the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to hear arguments next month on whether same-sex marriage should be legal in Michigan and several other states in the region. (the hater states)

House Republicans Just Let The Cat Out Of The Bag - "The House GOP budget enacts radical and extreme 'regulatory reform' measures that are better termed 'deregulatory reform,'"
Aaron Schock's mileage claims suggest long road to resignation for Republican | US news | The Guardian - The $39,517 the congressman claimed in expenses represent the equivalent of having driven 70,000 miles or from Washington to San Francisco 12 times (Republicans: just makin' shit up)

N.Y.U. Professor Is Barred by United Arab Emirates - NYTimes.com - The United Arab Emirates, where New York University opened a new campus last year, has barred an N.Y.U. professor from traveling to the monarchy after his criticism of the exploitation of migrant construction workers there. (nice little academic freedom you had there said the autocratic regime)
NYU's Sellout for Gulf Oil Money Looks Worse and Worse - Lawyers, Guns & Money : What do you think the response of NYU will be? Oh I think we all know the answer–cash another check. Be Sociable!

Rahm Emanuel's Housing Agency Sitting On Hundreds Of Millions Of Dollars With Massive Waitlist (oligarch much?)

Every Star Could Have at Least One Planet That Could Support Liquid Water - By considering how many exoplanets we know about and inferring the existence of others, scientists predict that the galaxy could be swimming in habitable planets (so where are they?)
The myopia boom : Nature News & Comment - East Asia has been gripped by an unprecedented rise in myopia, also known as short-sightedness. Sixty years ago, 10–20% of the Chinese population was short-sighted. Today, up to 90% of teenagers and young adults are. In Seoul, a whopping 96.5% of 19-year-old men are short-sighted. (go outside)
Tuberculosis Outbreak At Kansas High School Infects 27 - Twenty-seven people tested positive for tuberculosis infection at Olathe Northwest High School in Olathe, Kansas on Mar. 18, after a single case of tuberculosis disease prompted testing of the 300-plus community of students and staff.
The Lancet Global Health: Longer duration of breastfeeding linked with higher adult IQ and earning ability | EurekAlert! Science News
Comparative proteomics of human and macaque milk reveals species-specific nutrition during post-natal development - Journal of Proteome Research (ACS Publications)
Inside a Dying Mind: Can Science Explain Near-Death Experiences? - The Atlantic
Can watching porn make you better in bed? - A UCLA/Concordia study shows viewing erotic stimuli is associated with enhanced male sexual responsiveness

The Irrationality of Alcoholics Anonymous - The Atlantic - Its faith-based 12-step program dominates treatment in the United States. But researchers have debunked central tenets of AA doctrine and found dozens of other treatments more effective.

San Francisco Saint Mary’s Cathedral Drenches Homeless With Water To Keep Them Away « CBS San Francisco (Jesus pissing on the poor)
Utah Appears Set to Ban Bicycles From Drive-Thru Lanes - CityLab - Showdowns like this one stand to increase as car-reliance declines.
Conservative Pastor Bravely Warns Against Taylor Swift’s ‘Demon Songs’ | FreakOutNation - “They’re all riding the train and they start out with a benign Taylor Swift, Katy Perry and Miley Cyrus and before you know it they’re singing their demon songs and they’re making their attributions to their homosexual friends and that’s the way a national apostasy occurs,” Swanson bravely warned his audience.

20 People Have Been Shot In Chicago Over The Past 24 Hours – BB4SP
New York county sheriff must give up stingray records, judge orders | Ars Technica - Civil liberties group gets rare win, forcing disclosure of fake cell tower info. (your local cops illegally spying on you is "National Security")
Black UVA Student Martese Johnson Bloodied During Arrest By State Liquor Agents - one onlooker repeatedly shouts, "Yo his head is bleeding!" Johnson can be heard yelling, "I go to UVA. You fuckin' racists. ... How did this happen?" Johnson was charged with public swearing/intoxication and obstructing justice
African American woman faces jail in California over 'lynching' charge | US news | The Guardian - Maile Hampton charged for trying to stop the arrest of a protester by grabbing him away from police, defined as ‘lynching’ under California state law (logical)
Roaming Gunman Kills at Least 1 in Phoenix Suburb - NYTimes.com - The gunman was described as a bald, white man in his late 30s or early 40s, with tattoos on his neck and possibly his face, wearing a black T-shirt and black shorts. The police would not say if they knew his identity

Environmental Report Details Heat’s Costly Escape Through Elevator Shafts - NYTimes.com - According to the study, the amount of warm air lost in winter through the elevator shafts of the city’s 4,000 multifamily buildings that are at least 10 stories tall could fill 29,000 Empire State Buildings.

"I'm pretty sure that Anita is trying to prevent us from experiencing the joys of 2D women. The kind of joys many Japanese men who've rejected the pig disgusting ways of 3D women already have." : BestOfOutrageCulture
What would Jesus actually do? : AskReddit
Every creepypasta ever. : videos
Guys, whats the biggest turn-off in a girl? : AskReddit

In Kleiner Perkins case, only one side gets to discuss Ellen Pao’s motives - Fortune
The Pirate Bay's new network is making ISP blocks useless
FCC fines Verizon $3.4 million for not telling officials about a major 911 outage | The Verge - 750,000 people in California were unable to call 911 for hours

031715
California Water Anxiety Syndrome: Feel it yet? - Notes & Errata by Mark Morford
More coal plants are being cancelled than built | Carbon Brief
Junk Mail | NYU School of Law - Junk mail destroys 100 million trees a year—the equivalent of deforesting all of Rocky Mountain National Park every four months.
Vanuatu disaster: the island hit by an earthquake, a volcano then cyclone Pam | World news | The Guardian - The island of Ambrym has managed to escape the worst effects of the category five storm but its people will soon need help

mopecore comments on Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Drones (HBO)
NSA trying to map Rogers, RBC communications traffic, leak shows - The Globe and Mail

North Korea Web Outage Response to Sony Hack, Lawmaker Says - Bloomberg Politics - Representative Michael McCaul becomes the first U.S. official to publicly say the Web outage was retaliation. (US government a division of Sony)

Exit Poll Results From Israel's Election Suggest Close Vote
Deep Wounds for Netanyahu in Israel’s Bitter Race - NYTimes.com (he played the race card)
Apartheid Forever: Israel's Netanyahu rules out Palestinian Citizenship Rights | Informed Comment (racist, apartheid state confirmed, in case you had any doubts)
Netanyahu Fights For Right-Wing Vote As Israelis Go To The Polls - saying that high Arab voter turnout was endangering his right wing party's dominance.
Did Bibi's speech hurt his chances? - Michael Crowley - politico - On the eve of Israeli elections, Netanyahu allies debate whether his address to Congress backfired ... “He has three fewer seats in the polls headed into Election Day than he did when he got on the plane to come here.”
ISRAEL ELECTION LIVE BLOG: Voter turnout up 1.8%, polls close at 10 P.M. - Israel News | Haaretz - Live Updates: Netanyahu on election panel decision to ban his speech: 'No one will shut us up'; Election panel deems Netanyahu press conference 'illegal propaganda.'
Netanyahu appeals to backers to avert defeat Tuesday - "This is a fateful struggle, a close struggle,"
The Israeli Gilded Age - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Paul Krugman contextualizes Netanyahu’s troubles by pointing to what he calls “Israel’s Gilded Age,” as the free market devotee has pushed policies that has led to the same sorts of massive income inequality and concentration of extreme wealth among a very few people that such policies have created in the United States.
The Uniquely Awful Role of Sheldon Adelson in the Israeli Election - In America he's the biggest mega-donor. In Israel, he's the only one.
Chuck Norris endorses Benjamin Netanyahu - Kendall Breitman - politico
The Iran Letter: Explaining the Joke - The Baffler - But the letter isn’t just damaging because it propagates an idiotic and dangerous policy; it’s also damaging, specifically, for Senate Republicans. The letter undermines their group’s credibility in at least three significant ways: it’s technically flawed, it subverts Rand Paul’s non-interventionist bona fides, and it gives the appearance of Republicans being fair-weather friends to our allies.

Pentagon loses track of $500 million in weapons, equipment given to Yemen - The Washington Post (our military, arming terrorists around the world so they will have terrorists to fight)

Brazil in crisis mode as ruling party sees public trust rapidly dissolving | World news | The Guardian - Dilma Rousseff facing uphill battle as Petrobas scandal widens, economy falters and opposition looks to seize an opportunity amid widespread discontent - President Dilma Rousseff, who was chairwoman of the Petrobras board when much of the wrongdoing took place, has denied knowledge of the corruption. (we know nothing)

Child sex abuse allegations: Scotland Yard 'scrapped Cyril Smith undercover investigation in 1980s' - Crime - UK - The Independent - BBC Newsnight said it had been told that during a three-month secret inquiry, officers had gathered a substantial amount of evidence – including photographs and video taken from inside a London flat - of men abusing boys aged around 14 years old.
Three judges removed and a fourth resigns for viewing pornography at work | Law | The Guardian - Viewing pornography is not illegal but doing so on office equipment is considered a serious act of misconduct that undermines public confidence in the judiciary.

According To Dick Cheney, This Is Why President Obama Is The Worst President In His Lifetime | ThinkProgress

State: No record Hillary Clinton signed exit form - Josh Gerstein - politico - The State Department has no record that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton signed a standard form declaring that she surrendered all official records before leaving her post in 2013, a spokeswoman said Tuesday. (rules don't apply)

None Dare Call It Treason: Tom Cotton, Iran and Old GOP Ideas | Rolling Stone - The letter sent by 47 Republican Congressmen to the Iranian government is part of a long history of right-wing mayhem
Iranian Officials Ask Kerry About Republicans’ Letter - NYTimes.com
It Took Tom Cotton Less Than A Minute To Invoke Hitler In First Senate Speech - Cotton lamented that President Barack Obama was apologizing for America's actions, and accused the administration of being "harsh and unyielding to our friends" and "soothing and suffocating to our enemies."

The Loretta Lynch Confirmation Mess - NYTimes.com - What does the abortion issue have to do with the prevention of human trafficking? Nothing.

Aaron Schock Resigning From Congress Amid Spending Controversy - reports on the 33-year-old congressman's lavish spending habits. Subsequent reports detailed a taxpayer funded weekend in New York for his staffers, a dozen charter flights worth over $40,000 on donors' planes and $24,000 in campaign funds spent on concerts and events, including a sold-out Katy Perry concert. (Downtown Abbey Boy)

Poor Stories from Brooks and Douthat - The Baffler - It’s the usual neo-conservative pablum. The social revolutions of the 1960s and 1970s led to a devolution in “norms,” as Brooks puts it, wiping away “basic codes and rules.”

N.J. Senate condemns Christie's Exxon settlement | NJ.com - The Senate can't compel Judge Michael Hogan to heed its instructions, but several Democratic lawmakers said the resolution sends a strong message as he weighs his decision over whether to approve the deal.

Swarthmore Student Group Breaks With International Jewish Organization After Dispute Over Israel Policies - On Monday, the group’s board voted to drop “Hillel” from its name after Hillel International's legal counsel, Tracy Turoff, sent the school a letter earlier in the day threatening legal action over a speaker series the group planned. (they get to control your speech)

Oklahoma is making atheist marriages illegal | Metro News - In what has been described as a not-so-covert attack on gay marriage, a bill banning non-religious people from marrying and requiring all marriage licences be approved by a member of the clergy has been passed in Oklahoma. (OK going full Taliban)
Indiana House panel OKs religious freedom bill - An Indiana House committee today approved controversial religious freedom legislation that could protect business owners who don't want to provide services for same-sex weddings. (Freedom! to discriminate)
Indiana House passes religious freedom bill | "Senate Bill 101, or the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, is designed to allow Hoosiers the right to say no when it comes to providing services for same-sex weddings and other instances that violate their religious belief." : news
Son of Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore arrested for drug possession, blames the media - The Washington Post - according to the younger Moore, the charges are just a political scheme to further attack his father over gay marriage. (3-time offender)
Alumni won't leave millions to University of Alabama because of state's war on same-sex marriage | AL.com

Police don't ask: Why are we getting sued? | Marketplace.org - So, they don’t ask, for instance: Is there one group of officers who are getting us into trouble? (and they are never fired/prosecuted so they do it again)
Wisconsin police officer kills suspect on first day back after previous shooting | US news | The Guardian - Kenosha office Pablo Torres shoots Aaron Siler, 26, dead after car chase

Virginia nears passing shortest limit in US on keeping license plate data | Ars Technica - Senator: "I wasn't a criminal suspect, so why are they taking pictures of me?"
‘Hands up, don’t shoot’ was built on a lie - The Washington Post - In fact, just about everything said to the media by Witness 101, whom we all know as Dorian Johnson, the friend with Brown that day, was not supported by the evidence and other witness statements.
Ferguson home values have plummeted almost 50 percent since Michael Brown's death -- Fusion - Down nearly 50 percent since Michael Brown’s death, new data show.
Family releases video of Dallas police fatal shooting of mental patient | Dallas Morning News - moments that led to a mentally ill man’s death as he held a screwdriver.
Lt. Gov. Kinder Blames Feds for ‘Incitement of the Mob’ in Ferguson « CBS St. Louis - “There is more racism in the Justice Department than there is in anywhere I see in the St. Louis area,” said Kinder, who is a Republican.
Correction of the day: 71-year-old accused of murder not in Limp Bizkit
Family release graphic video of mentally ill man being shot by two Dallas police officers : news

Penn State fraternity suspended over nude photos of sleeping women | US news | The Guardian - Photos of women posted to two private Facebook pages - Pages also contained photos of hazing and drug sale

BLDGBLOG: American Mine (unhealable wounds in America's body-politic)

Council candidate Morales denies posting hateful Facebook messages - A Democratic party-backed city council candidate, accused of posting racist, anti-gay, anti-poor messages on Facebook, said his page had been hacked. (yes, the Philly Dems endorsed this lying teaparty asshole)

Scientists discover how to change human leukemia cells into harmless immune cells | News Center | Stanford Medicine - a method that can force dangerous leukemia cells in the lab to mature into harmless immune cells called macrophages.
ADHD and the relentless internet – is there a connection? | Technology | The Guardian - Hyperactivity disorders are now the second most diagnosed childhood conditions in the US behind asthma, with 20% of college students sufffering
Cholesterol-lowering drug shows promise, but may also affect the brain - Health - TODAY.com - Side effects remain a question, though, especially on thinking, confusion and memory — problems the FDA has already voiced concern about and asked the companies to track.

17 Words Invented By James Joyce | Paul Anthony Jones - Yogibogeybox - Joyce coined yogibogeybox in Ulysses to describe all of the equipment and paraphernalia that a spiritualist carries around with them.

Legal Marijuana In Colorado Has Already Generated $15 Million For Schools

Men of reddit, what are your creepy experiences from a girl? : AskReddit
What is something the opposite gender will just never understand? : AskReddit

031615
The melting of Antarctica was already really bad. It just got worse. - The Washington Post - A hundred years from now, humans may remember 2014 as the year that we first learned that we may have irreversibly destabilized the great ice sheet of West Antarctica, and thus set in motion more than 10 feet of sea level rise -- the glacier holds back a much more vast catchment of ice that, were its vulnerable parts to flow into the ocean, could produce a sea level rise of more than 11 feet
No Plan » Balloon Juice - Even if every single person left California, they would still have water issues, because 85% of their water goes to agriculture, and they basically feed the entire nation ... Sen. Ted Cruz thinks NASA should spend less time studying the planet and more time finding ways to go out into space.
Is California drying up? Nasa scientist warns there's only one year left of water | US news | The Guardian - As backup supply dwindles, Jay Famiglietti says state has about one year of water left and calls for a more ‘forward-looking process’ to deal with crisis (defund crazy NASA)
Cyclone Pam destroyed 90% of buildings on Vanuatu, says president – video | World news | The Guardian
Boston Breaks Seasonal Snowfall Record - The official measurement of 108.6 inches at Logan International Airport Sunday night topped a season record of 107.6 inches set in 1995-96, according to the National Weather Service in Taunton, Massachusetts.

Boat Where Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Hid Had 'Impressive' Number Of Bullet Holes - The boat where Dzhokhar Tsarnaev hid for hours in Watertown was damaged by at least 108 bullet holes (they wanted to be the heros who killed the terrifying terrorist)
How the FBI Created a Terrorist - The Intercept

Snowden: Mass surveillance won’t stop terrorism | New York Post - “They’re not going to stop the next attacks either,” he said. “Because they’re not public safety programs. They’re spying programs.” “But the question that we as a society have to ask, are our collective rights worth a small advantage in our ability to spy,” Snowden added

ACLU files new lawsuit over Obama administration drone 'kill list' | World news | The Guardian - Top civil liberties group calls for greater transparency regarding ‘targeted killing program’ and how officials handle possibility of civilian deaths
Petraeus leaks: Obama's leniency reveals 'profound double standard', lawyer says | US news | The Guardian - State Department contractor jailed for passing classified information to Fox News demands release and says leniency shown to retired general is hypocritical (Petraeus knew too many secrets)
Americans’ Privacy Strategies Post-Snowden | Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project - 34% of those who are aware of the surveillance programs (30% of all adults) have taken at least one step to hide or shield their information from the government. (not electing tyrants not on the list)
Judge to Government: 'National Security' Isn't a 'Magic Word' That Allows Constitutional Rights Violations | American Civil Liberties Union - Judge to Government: 'National Security' Isn't a 'Magic Word' That Allows Constitutional Rights Violations (unlikely to change, because America, land of pussies)
A Police Gadget Tracks Phones? Shhh! It’s Secret - NYTimes.com - A powerful new surveillance tool being adopted by police departments across the country comes with an unusual requirement: To buy it, law enforcement officials must sign a nondisclosure agreement preventing them from saying almost anything about the technology.
Data and Goliath: Bruce Schneier on the Hidden Battles to Collect Your Data and Control Your World

'It would be boring without gossip' – Putin makes first appearance in 11 days | World news | The Guardian - Russian president meets Kyrgyz head of state in St Petersburg after disappearing on 5 March amid speculation of ill-health, childbirth and palace coup
Rampant inflation means Russians are spending half of their incomes on food this year - Business Insider - Compared with those of advanced economies, the figures are eye-watering: The latest numbers suggest UK households spent about 11% to 12% of their incomes on food in 2012. Those in the US spent just 6.4%. (that can't get much worse)

Kicking the Iraq Syndrome On the Way to Tehran - It's been an entire 12 years since we started a war, and apparently the American people are getting a little antsy ... we're going to hear more and more Republican politicians coming out for what we might call a re-invasion of Iraq, and not just Iraq but Syria, as well. And as long as we're in the neighborhood, how about some military action against Iran? (Americans love killing other peoples' children and profitting!)

Tom Cotton: 'No Regrets At All' Over Letter To Iran
CBS' Schieffer To Tom Cotton: Will You Write A Letter To N. Korea Too? (VIDEO) - "Now the world has to live with the consequences of a nuclear North Korea," Cotton said. "I don't want the world to live with the consequences of a nuclear Iran."
Iranian nuclear talks resume in Lausanne as deadline approaches | World news | The Guardian - US secretary of state John Kerry meets Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif to negotiate curbs to Tehran’s nuclear programme
Putin Orders Northern Fleet to Full Alert for Combat Readiness Drills / Sputnik International - The exercises of the Russia's Northern Fleet will be held on land, in sea and air and will run for five days beginning March 16, Defense Minister Shoigu said. (he was plotting his next invasion)

Anonymous released 9,200 ISIS supporter Twitter account names to apply pressure on Twitter for suspending them - This time the hacker team has been teaming up with GhostSec and Ctrlsec (two other hacker teams) and released 9,200 Twitter account names as a part of #OpISIS ... “How is it that the US government, capable of coordinating a complex air campaign from nearly 6,000 miles away, remains virtually powerless against the Islamic State’s online messaging and distribution network? (good question)
'Jihadi John,' Islamic State executioner, still has access to U.K. bank account: 'incomprehensible' - Washington Times - The U.K. government’s independent investigator found that only six British jihadists have had their bank accounts frozen out of an estimated 600 fighting with the Islamic State group, The Telegraph reported Saturday.
Life under Isis: The everyday reality of living in the 'Islamic Caliphate' with its 7th Century laws, modern propaganda and merciless violence - BelfastTelegraph.co.uk - Inside 'Islamic State' - part one: Patrick Cockburn begins a groundbreaking series of dispatches which explore the creation of this so-called Islamic State. He talks to people living in the ‘caliphate’ to find out how they regard Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s merciless but powerful new state and how it treats them

New York Times World on Twitter: "PLO on Netanyahu's remarks today: “He has confirmed verbally for the first time what we have denounced for years"
Netanyahu: If I'm elected, there will be no Palestinian state - Israel election 2015 - Israel News | Haaretz - In a definitive disavowal of his Bar-Ilan two-state speech, prime minister makes last-minute attempt to draw voters from Bennett's Habayit Hayeudi. (in case you had any questions)
Israel’s Gilded Age - NYTimes.com - No, the real purpose of that speech was to distract the Israeli electorate with saber-rattling bombast, to shift its attention away from the economic discontent that, polls suggest, may well boot Mr. Netanyahu from office in Tuesday’s election ... Israel is now right up there with America as one of the most unequal societies in the advanced world. (rock-head conservatives always do this)
Is It Time for the Jews to Leave Europe? - The Atlantic - For half a century, memories of the Holocaust inoculated the Continent against overt anti-Semitism. That period has ended—the recent fatal attacks in Paris and Copenhagen are merely the latest in a mounting tide. Today, right-wing fascist strains of Jew-hatred are merging with a new threat from radicalized Islamists, confronting Europe with a crisis, and its Jews with an agonizing choice.
A Post-Netanyahu Republican Foreign Policy by Ed Kilgore | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - As Israelis prepare to go to the polls tomorrow, it’s dawning on a lot of American observers that a defeat for Benjamin Yetanyahu’s government—not exactly “likely,” but certainly a decent possibility—could represent a turning point in American as well as Israeli politics ... . If Israel’s no longer the measure of all good things in a “world on fire,” what becomes the organizing principle of U.S. foreign policy? Straight out Islamophobia? (that'll do)
If Netanyahu loses, will Republicans still be ‘pro-Israel’? - The Washington Post - the Republican Party has elevated “support for Israel” to a level of passion and consensus usually reserved for things such as tax cuts and opposition to abortion rights. But that happened during a string of conservative Israeli governments. If Israel is led by a Labor Party prime minister and begins to change some of its policies, will Republicans decide that “support” is more complicated than they used to think? (not unless they converted the whole country to socialism and Krugman says way too late)
Netanyahu warns supporters he may lose in Tuesday’s election - The Washington Post - A loss by Netanyahu — or a razor-thin win and the prospect that he would be forced to enter into an unwieldy “government of national unity” with his rivals — would mark a sobering reversal for Israel’s security hawks, in a country where the electorate has been moving steadily rightward for the past 15 years. (gee, sounds just like America)
Congressman Peter King Slams Iran Letter: "It Undermines The Office Of The Presidency" - BuzzFeed News - “This sounds patronizing, I don’t know if they fully thought through what they were doing,” King told the John Gambling Show last week. (they were never known for their long-range thinking)

Congo Detains U.S. Diplomat In Raid That Also Targeted Journalists, Pro-Democracy Activists - Congo's security forces detained a U.S. diplomat Sunday in a raid that also targeted journalists and regional democracy activists and accused them of posing a threat to stability, a government spokesman said.

Police watchdog to investigate claims Met covered up child abuse | UK news | The Guardian - IPCC launches inquiry into ‘high-level corruption of the most serious nature’ including suppression of evidence and halting of investigations involving MPs (will anyone go to jail?)
Met Investigated Over Child Sex Cover-Up Claims - Police and MPs were allegedly involved in child sex abuse - leading to high level cover-ups by Scotland Yard, it is claimed. "These allegations are of historic, high-level corruption of the most serious nature. We will oversee the investigations and ensure that they meet the terms of reference that we will set."

Joanna Dennehy: serial killer becomes first woman told by judge to die in jail | UK news | The Guardian - The judge revealed the 31-year-old had told a psychiatrist that she killed "to see if I was as cold as I thought I was. Then it got moreish and I got a taste for it".

Thailand warns women who post 'underboob' photos face five years in jail | Technology | The Guardian - Culture ministry says those posting selfies featuring partially-exposed breasts could face up to five years in jail ... “damage to the country’s security or causes public panic”

About That Obama Second-Term Popularity Collapse by Ed Kilgore | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - Remember when it was inevitable that Barack Obama’s approval ratings were converging with those of George W. Bush’s second term as voters permanently lost confidence in him and tuned him out? Well, the 44th president’s three-day job approval average at Gallup just turned positive (48/47) at a point in his presidency where W.’s was at 34% and about to plunge into the high 20s.
White House calling the shots - Edward-Isaac Dovere - politico - In the months since Republicans took charge of Congress, GOP divisions have given the upper hand to Obama.

Bush’s appearance Friday night was open to reporters, many of whom streamed the event using Meerkat. But for intimate political gatherings that exclude the press, it’s easier than ever for a bartender or caterer or any attendee to discreetly stream a candidate’s remarks to the public.
Fight Inequality: Abolish the Senate - he Senate and the House of Representatives are veto players because without their consent, no bill can become a law.") More than half of the twenty-three countries Stepan and Linz studied have only one veto player; most of these countries have unicameral parliaments. A few countries have two veto players; Switzerland and Australia have three. Only the United States has four.

A Christian Nation? Since When? - NYTimes.com - beliefs ("Christian Nation" anti-New Deal corporate PR campaign to undermine workers eaten up by workers)
The Origins of Modern Christian Symbolism in the United States - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Kevin Kruse excerpts his new book on how corporations created the public symbols of modern Christianity as part of their mobilization against the New Deal ... From this alliance between preachers and capitalists comes most of the ideas that right-wing Christians today cite about why this is an overtly Christian nation and why socialism is a sin. It’s toxic and it’s powerful. Kruse pushing the timeline of this alliance back from the 50s into the 30s is really important in understanding its deep roots.

All You Need to Know About Income Inequality, in One Comparison - NYTimes.com - The Wall Street bonus pool for last year is roughly double the total earnings of all Americans who work full time at the federal minimum wage. (Obama had his choice, and he chose the riches)
Eschaton: Old People Vote - The elderly are basically uninsurable and the current retirement crisis means a lot of them are going to experience the latter years of their lives in poverty. Promising them goodies would be a pretty smart thing to do. (after they all voted to kill themselves)

Ted Cruz backs unlimited campaign cash: 'Money absolutely can be speech' | US news | The Guardian - Texas senator and possible 2016 presidential contender says the super-rich should have the right to donate as much as they want to candidates (oligarchy is good for free speech)
‘Your world is on fire’: Ted Cruz scares the hell out of a terrified little girl in New Hampshire - Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) was forced to pause a speech in New Hampshire on Sunday after he reportedly terrified a little girl by shouting that her “world is on fire.”
GOP senators block Ted Cruz move to hold up Loretta Lynch vote - Seung Min Kim and Burgess Everett - politico - “Republicans have been complaining about Eric Holder for a long time; this is an opportunity to make that change,” said Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), who plans to vote for Lynch. “I don’t think we should delay it at all. I think we ought to get her over there and get her working.”

Why Congress' Obamacare Doomsday Cult Can't Admit It Was Wrong - But that's not how Capitol Hill’s gloomsday cult sees it. Indeed, try getting any of them to admit the Affordable Care Act jobs slaughter has not happened, and they sound like the punchline to the old joke where a spouse gets caught in the act cheating: “Who are you going to believe -- me, or your lying eyes?”
Obamacare triggers massive drop in Americans without health insurance | US news | The Guardian - More than 16m people have gained insurance through the Affordable Care Act - Data likely to strengthen efforts to prevent bill being rolled back

Rahm Emanuel Pulls Ahead In Chicago Mayoral Race, Garcia Gets Backing (angry midget will buy election)

NYPD Officers Who Edited Wikipedia Pages Will Not Be Punished: Report - The NYPD officers who allegedly edited Wikipedia pages on Eric Garner and other controversial examples of police force will be reprimanded, but face no other punishment, a new report said.
Oregon man facing no charges remains in jail 900 days after arrest | US news | The Guardian - Charges against Benito Vasquez-Hernandez have been dropped, but he remains held as a material witness in his son’s trial in a detention with little precedent ... Asked how many brothers he had, Moises answered: “We were 10 siblings, but they died. We were 11. Nine died.” Then he said: “And I have a small penis.”

Senate approves open-carry bill - Houston Chronicle - The state Senate on Monday gave preliminary approval to a bill that would allow Texans to openly carry holstered handguns with a license, after shooting down nearly 20 amendments that sought to restrict the legislation.
Florida concealed guns debate continues to divide college campuses | US news | The Guardian - State senate’s higher education committee to hear arguments Monday over proposed legislation to allow concealed weapons to be carried on campus (next: elementary school)

Another True Tale Of Privatization In Indiana - Mitch Daniels, the value-sized brainiac from Indiana. David Brooks loved him. Daniels was a "moderate" and he was seriously considered a man of ideas, despite the fact that his experience in government included working the federal budget for George W. Bush, which should have disqualified Daniels from working at a gas station. Central to Daniels's Indiana miracle was privatization. Daniels sold off as much of Indiana as he could. Central to the fire sale was the privatization of the Indiana toll road to an Australian company.

The Missing 43 - Book Excerpt - Truthdig - Below is the introductory essay to “A Narco History: How the United States and Mexico Jointly Created the ‘Mexican Drug War’ ” by Carmen Boullosa and Mike Wallace (OR Books, 2015). (done in your name drugwar)

Ohio Supreme Court To Decide If Sex Offender Label Can Be Unconstitutional Punishment | WCBE 90.5 FM - The Ohio Supreme Court will weigh in on the state's mandatory punishment for a 21 year old man convicted after what he said was a consensual sexual relationship with a 15 year old girl.
Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore's son arrested, charged with drug possession in Troy | AL.com - In January, Caleb Moore told AL.com that he has done things he isn't proud of and acted "young and immature," but "that's why God gives us salvation."

Oregon is first state to adopt automatic voter registration - Yahoo News - Seventeen years after Oregon decided to become the first state to hold all elections with mail-in ballots, it took another pioneering step on Monday to broaden participation by automatically registering people to vote.

Paleo isn't a fad diet, it's an ideology that selectively denies the modern world | Jason Wilson | Comment is free | The Guardian - Celebrity chef Pete Evans ‘won’t be silenced’ after his paleo book for children stirred up controversy – but paleo’s assumptions are only superficially plausible

Next Big Future: Ido Bachelet DNA nanobots summary with a couple of extra videos - DNA nanobots will soon be tried in a critically ill leukemia patient. The patient, who has been given roughly six months to live, will receive an injection of DNA nanobots designed to interact with and destroy leukemia cells—while causing virtually zero collateral damage in healthy tissue.
Researchers may have solved origin-of-life conundrum | Science/AAAS | News - The crash of meteors on early Earth likely generated hydrogen cyanide, which could have kick-started the production of biomolecules needed to make the first cells.
Ring brings ancient Viking, Islamic civilizations closer together | Science News - The inner surface of the Birka ring’s silver body shows virtually no signs of wear. Filing marks made in the final stage of its production are still visible. That suggests that the ring made by an Arabic silversmith had few or no owners before it reached the Viking woman, the researchers say.

What's the best medicine for a broken heart? : AskReddit
IamA man who lost 150 lbs in 11 months. AMA! : IAmA
TIL scientists once recruited theater students to drunkenly stumble into bars, to test whether bartenders over-serve patrons. They found that bartenders were more likely to over-serve drunk women than men. : todayilearned
Dude, we live in Canada : pics
If all humans were to suddenly die, which electronic machine/device would stop functioning last? : AskReddit
Daylight saving time could be axed in Michigan : news

AT&T continues to throttle internet speeds opposing FTC actions and the FCC’s rules - After a high profile suit against AT&T filed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) late last year, AT&T still has not decided to mend its ways as it continues to utilize legal loopholes to its advantage in its continued throttling of unlimited data customers. Last year’s FTC suit against AT&T was filed because it was alleged that nearly 3.5 million customers’ broadband speeds were throttled to speeds as low as 90 percent of what was promised to them in their plans.att-logo-brand (invade the Telcos and Cablefucks)

031515
March:- Global energy-related emissions of carbon dioxide stalled in 2014 - IEA data point to emissions decoupling from economic growth for the first time in 40 years
Cyclone Pam Destroys Vanuatu — The Atlantic - Pam, a Category 5 storm, has left most of Vanuatu's population homeless.
Vanuatu takes direct hit from Cyclone Pam, possibly worst in Pacific history
Boston St. Patrick's Parade To Include Gay Groups For First Time - Mayor Marty Walsh, who last year skipped the parade because of its exclusion of gay groups, plans to march on Sunday, becoming the first mayor to do so in 20 years.
Knights of Columbus Will Not March in St. Patrick’s Day Parade - Massachusetts news - Boston.com - “We deeply regret that some have decided to use this occasion to further the narrow objectives of certain special interests, which has subjected this occasion to undeserved division and controversy. ... Because the parade has become politicized and divisive, and because of the misrepresentation of our motive for participating, we will not be marching in this year’s parade. (convolute much?)
We Did It: Boston Breaks Its All-Time Snow Record - Massachusetts news - Boston.com

Speculation rife as world waits for Putin to reappear
Vladimir Putin's Absence Raises Questions About Russia's Future — The Atlantic - Even if the president reappears, his absence reveals the chilling degree to which he has consolidated power in the country.
Fox News Military Analyst Under Fire for Saying the U.S. ‘May Need to Kill Some Russians’ (Video) | Americans Against the Tea Party - “The only way the United States can have any effect in this region and turn the tide is to start killing Russians… killing so many Russians that even Putin’s media can’t hide the fact that Russians are returning to the motherland in body bags,” Scales asserted.
Putin was surprised at how easily Russia took control of Crimea - The Washington Post
Inside the Kremlin Troll Army Machine: Templates, Guidelines, and Paid Posts · Global Voices - allegedly produces thousands of pro-Kremlin posts and comments every day.
Turkish jets intercept Russian military plane near Turkey’s airspace - F-16 jets intercepted a Russian Ilyushin IL-20 plane flying parallel to Turkish airspace over the Black Sea on Sunday.

Kerry says Syrian transition would have to be negotiated with Assad | Top News | Reuters
US shuts down Saudi embassy amid security fears - In a statement, the embassy said consular services in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dhahran would not be available.

fuck_all_mods comments on C.I.A. Funds Found Their Way Into Al Qaeda Coffers
Mr. CIA Man And The Terrorist Occupation Of The American Mind - Because the United States itself has a long record of supporting terrorists and using terrorist tactics, the slogans of today’s war on terrorism merely makes the United States look hypocritical to the rest of the world.
13-Year-Old’s Rape Case Dismissed Because Her Body Is ‘Well-Developed’ - The Daily Beast - A Swedish court acquitted a 27-year-old man of raping a 13-year-old girl because she looked older. Add this to similar cases in the U.S. and U.K., and we’ve got a sickening problem. (but they're real hard-asses when it comes to Assange)
Edward Snowden issues 'call to arms' for tech companies in secret SXSW meeting | The Verge - Most surreal thing ever. A handful of us (about 20) were invited to have a conversation w Snowden this AM
Revealed: The names NZ targeted using NSA's XKeyscore system - National - NZ Herald News - Why did the GCSB intercept emails to and from Solomon Island officials? Nicky Hager and Ryan Gallagher report

VIP paedophile scandal: Police pinpoint 'dungeon' flat linked to abuse parties and child murder - Mirror Online - Officers have identified a luxuey flat in Pimlico, London, which is connected to a large cellar believed to have been used as a 'holding area' for abuse victims

Israel Chooses - NYTimes.com (Zippy-di-do-da is a bloodthirsty hawk)
Netanyahu's Legacy Is On The Line In The Upcoming Israeli Vote
Senate Panel Puts On Tinfoil Hats, Probes Whether Obama Working To Oust Netanyahu | FreakOutNation - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to rally rightists by casting his centre-left challengers as tools of a global campaign to usurp power. (90% of Bibi's money comes from a handful of Republican donors in cA and FL)
The West Bank Battle For Land ... And Water : Parallels : NPR - Rosenblum won't say exactly how much water he uses, or exactly where it comes from. "From wells," he says. "In the mountains." Then he changes the subject.

White House Issues Saturday Night Iran Deal Warning To Senate - The bill, he writes, would "likely have a profoundly negative impact on the ongoing negotiations -- emboldening Iranian hard-liners, inviting a counter-productive response from the Iranian majiles; differentiating the U.S. position from our allies in negotiations; and once again calling into question our ability to negotiate this deal." (deport all the Republican traitors to Iran or Israel)
Kerry: GOP Iran letter ‘absolutely calculated’ to interfere with talks | TheHill - “Not on your life. I'm not going to apologize for [an] unconstitutional, un-thought-out action by somebody who's been in the United States Senate for 60 something days,” he said, referring to freshman Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.). “That's just inappropriate.” (wingers blame Kerry for their sedition)

Leader of IS 'Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi': I met the “Prophet Muhammad” and he ordered me to leave Mosul - AhlulBayt News Agency - ABNA - Shia News - The fear is spreading among the militants in Mosul for the predictions of liberating Mosul especially the leaders, a newspaper information pointed out that the leader of the so-called Islamic State 'Abu Baker al-Baghdadi' had a dream when the prophet Mohammad ordered him to leave Mosul province without fighting. (how convienient)
Turkey sends teenagers back to UK after Syria attempt - Two boys aged 17 from north-west London and a man aged 19 were returned to the UK on Saturday night, the Met said.

Over 1 million people today march in 20 Brazil cities to protest the government of Dilma Rousseff and call for her impeachment : pics
Protests Grow Against Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff - WSJ - Nationwide marches planned for Sunday as public anger grows over faltering economy and alleged corruption

What's the worst lie you've seen a politician try to get away with? : AskReddit - Walter Ulbricht: "Nobody has the intention of building a wall"

Deadly Twin Bombings Hit Churches In Pakistan, Killing At Least 14
Fear and anger grow in India after gang-rape of elderly nun | World news | The Guardian - Prayers are said across India after brutal attack during convent robbery - Authorities said screening the documentary could have caused public disorder, but critics accused the government of being more concerned with the country’s reputation than the safety of its women.


Obama adviser behind leak of Hillary Clinton’s email scandal | New York Post - In addition, at Jarrett’s behest, the State Department was ordered to launch a series of investigations into Hillary’s conduct at Foggy Bottom, including the use of her expense account, the disbursement of funds, her contact with foreign leaders and her possible collusion with the Clinton Foundation. (says Murdock)
An Open Letter to hdr22@clintonemail.com - NYTimes.com - It has come to our attention while observing your machinations during your attempted restoration that you may not fully understand our constitutional system. Thus, we are writing to bring to your attention two features of our democracy: The importance of preserving historical records and the ill-advised gluttony of an American feminist icon wallowing in regressive Middle Eastern states’ payola.
You and I Change Our Minds. Politicians ‘Evolve.’ - NYTimes.com - (A spokesman for Hillary Clinton declared the issue to be “in a state of evolution” as far back as 2003, though Clinton herself did not achieve that state for another decade.)

New Doubts Raised Over Key Witness in Willingham Case | The Texas Tribune - More than a decade after Cameron Todd Willingham was executed for the arson murder of his three young daughters, new evidence has emerged that indicates that a key prosecution witness testified in return for a secret promise to have his own criminal sentence reduced. (TX has NEVER executed and innocent man)
Casey: Not-pot leaf gets 6th-grader in big trouble - Roanoke Times: Dan Casey - An 11-year-old boy at Bedford Middle School was suspended for 364 days after being caught with a substance that tested negative for marijuana.

The White Supremacist Origin of Right to Work Laws - Lawyers, Guns & Money : “From now on, white women and white men will be forced into organizations with black African apes whom they will have to call ‘brother’ or lose their jobs.” (Scott Walker)
The "We" in U.S. History - Lawyers, Guns & Money : That so many of the conservative critics of AP U.S. History standards are also deeply invested in exclusionary politics of other types–including repealing the meaningful sections of the Voting Rights Act–suggests that “we” is just as contested when talking about 2015 as it is about 1775.

Why Does Douthat Think the Poor Exist? - Lawyers, Guns & Money : You guessed it–too much sex! (poors have too many bathrooms, microwaves and ... sex! + This is the third NYT column in a week pooh-poohing the poors. Krugman must have touched a nerve . . .)

Billmon on Twitter: "Hmmm... GOP 95% white, 6% Latino, 1% black = 102%. I've heard people talk of "extra chromosome" conservatives before, but that's ridiculous." - GOP: 66% conservative, 28% moderate, 5% liberal http://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/nine-10-americans-agree-d-c-looks-out-its-own-n322086 … So it appears at least 5% of all Republicans are in permanent comas.

Our view: Sweet Briar board should resign - Roanoke Times: Editorials - If the Sweet Briar trustees are so absolutely convinced that closing is the only responsible option, here’s what they could do: Resign. (grifters looking for big payout)

Robert Durst Arrested Ahead Of 'Jinx' Finale - arrested in New Orleans on a murder warrant issued by Los Angeles County, the Orleans Paris Sheriff's Office said.

Dolce & Gabbana Face Outrage After Controversial Comments About Gay Families - According to translations, the pair -- who dated for 23 years and broke up in 2005 -- stated that children born through IVF are "children of chemistry, synthetic children. Uteruses for rent, semen chosen from a catalog."
Medieval WTF: A monk exchanges fish for a penis carried by a cat. : WTF

Studio 54: the ultimate den of vice | Art and design | The Guardian - Deserted by the middle class, New York was near-bankrupt but its danger and squalor suited the mobs of noctambulists who clamoured to gain entry to Studio 54.

Steve Jobs: Man in the Machine first look review – Apple founder's sour side | Film | The Guardian - Yet this man, whose belief in his own righteousness was unshakeable, also terminated Apple’s philanthropic programmes, presided over huge corporate tax evasion, paid Chinese workers making iPhones a pittance, and only stumped up maintenance for his first daughter after dragging his ex-girlfriend through the courts, claiming that she was promiscuous and he was infertile, until a DNA test proved otherwise. Finally, he agreed to pay $500 a month – he was worth $200m at the time. (all the stuff Isaacson left out)

[Serious] Those who lost their virginity very very late (30's, 40's etc), how did it happen? : AskReddit

Science Communication: Where Does the Problem Lie? | Telliamed Revisited
? Charting culture - YouTube
Laniakea: Our home supercluster - YouTube
Killing Pigs and Weed Maps: The Mostly Unread World of Academic Papers - Pacific Standard - According to one study, which was presumably read by more than three people, half of all academic papers are read by no more than three people.
Mathematician's anger over his unread 500-page proof - physics-math - 07 January 2015 - New Scientist
Astrobiology Has Not Made the Case for God - The New Yorker - Recently, the Wall Street Journal published a piece with the surprising title “Science Increasingly Makes the Case for God.” At least it was surprising to me, because I hadn’t heard the news. The piece argued that new scientific evidence bolsters the claim that the appearance of life in the universe requires a miracle, and it received almost four hundred thousand Facebook shares and likes (science is hard)
Dienekes’ Anthropology Blog: Bottleneck in human Y-chromosomes in the last 10,000 years. - Most human mythologies contain stories of "first men" and eponymous founders of nations; these were often ridiculed in recent times as invented stories whose purpose was to engender social cohesion through a story of shared descent. But, now it seems that these stories were at least in part true, and such ultra-prolific patriarchs do indeed stand at the beginning of many later lines of descent.
Why do cells rush to heal a wound? Mysteries of wound healing unlocked -- ScienceDaily - Researchers at the University of Arizona have discovered what causes and regulates collective cell migration, one of the most universal but least understood biological processes in all living organisms.

TIL, reddit is now ranked by traffic in the top 25 in the world and top 10 in the United States. : technology
The Church of TED - NYTimes.com - But if you don’t make the cut and shell out the $8,500 fee for general attendance, no matter. The real action and measure of TED’s reach is online
Ars tests ExoNet, the personal VPN that takes you home | Ars Technica - The technology behind ExoNet and ExoKey is called VPEx, or "Virtual Private Exonetwork." It creates a direct tunnel back to a local LAN, with the ExoNet acting as a gateway on the local network and the ExoKey as a remote client.
Koalas to the Max dot Com

031415
U.N. Fears 'The Worst' As Typhoon Batters Pacific Island Nation Of Vanuatu [UPDATE] - "It felt like the world was going to end," (Cat 5)
California has about one year of water left. Will you ration now? - LA Times (la-di-la)
Record-Breaking Heat Hits Southern California | KTLA

What Happened To Putin? - Ukrainian children produced a cartoon showing Putin abducted from the Kremlin by aliens.
This is why it’s impossible for the Kremlin to lie about Putin’s weird disappearance - The Washington Post - The president's carefully cultivated image rests on never showing weakness ... It’s been more than a week now since anybody’s seen Russian President Vladimir Putin.

C.I.A. Funds Found Their Way Into Qaeda Coffers - NYTimes.com - While refusing to pay ransoms for Americans kidnapped by Al Qaeda, the Taliban or, more recently, the Islamic State, the United States has spent hundreds of billions of dollars over the last decade at war in Iraq and Afghanistan, some of which has been siphoned off to enemy fighters. (CIA funded bin Ladin; stupid is as stupid does)
CIA money from secret fund ended up in hands of al-Qaida – report | World news | The Guardian - Money used to pay a ransom for an Afghan diplomat reached al-Qaida in 2010, according to Afghan and Western officials, but CIA declined comment

Edward Snowden: Without change, future surveillance will be in the hands of countries, companies and criminals - Factor
New Zealand Used NSA System to Target Officials, Anti-Corruption Campaigner - The Intercept (there you go)
iSpy: The CIA Campaign to Steal Apple's Secrets - RESEARCHERS WORKING with the Central Intelligence Agency have conducted a multi-year, sustained effort to break the security of Apple’s iPhones and iPads, according to top-secret documents obtained by The Intercept.
Stuxnet leak probe stalls for fear of confirming US-Israel involvement | Ars Technica - Obama admin wants to prosecute leakers but doesn't want to admit Stuxnet role.
Congress won't protect us from the surveillance state – they'll enhance it | Trevor Timm | Comment is free | The Guardian - There are still programs aimed at Americans that the Obama administration is keeping secret from the public. They should be a scandal, not line items in bills - the Obama administration is still keeping more spying programs aimed at Americans secret, and it seems Congress only wants to make it worse.
US Senate committee advances cyber-surveillance bill | US news | The Guardian - Bipartisan group of senators vote 14 to 1 on Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act as lone dissenter calls measure ‘a surveillance bill by another name’ - Wyden declined to comment to reporters, saying as he left the meeting: “You guys know I like talking about this stuff but I can’t say anything.”
'Patriot Act 2.0'? Senate Cybersecurity Bill Seen as Trojan Horse for More Spying | Common Dreams | Breaking News & Views for the Progressive Community - Framed as anti-hacking measure, opponents say CISA threatens both consumers and whistleblowers

ISIS and Islam by Nancy LeTourneau | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - A few weeks ago Graeme Wood garnered a lot of attention for his article in The Atlantic titled: What ISIS Really Wants. Conservatives (like Peggy Noonan) used it to attack President Obama for his unwillingness to call ISIS “radical Islamists.” - Sageman points out that it was the brutality of Maliki against the Sunnis in Iraq that led to the ISIS insurrection in that country.Sageman points out that it was the brutality of Maliki against the Sunnis in Iraq that led to the ISIS insurrection in that country ... Sageman points out that it was the brutality of Maliki against the Sunnis in Iraq that led to the ISIS insurrection in that country. (remember, Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld/Powell were surprised there were more than one kind of Muslim; reaping what we were to stupid to know we were sowing)
How Islamic Is the Islamic State? | The New Republic - What The Atlantic got wrong about ISIS
Ambassador: Bush Didn’t Know There Were Two Sects of Islam - James Joyner · Saturday, August 5, 2006

ISIS spokesperson: We want Paris and Jerusalem - Israel News, Ynetnews - In new recording, Abu Mohammad al-Adnani rejects claims group suffering setbacks, vows attacks on White House, Big Ben, and Eiffel Tower.
How does ISIS try to recruit Canadian girls? By using same tactics as pedophiles, TV special says | National Post


Iran Negotiators Face Late Obstacles to a Deal - NYTimes.com - serious last-minute obstacles, including when United Nations sanctions would be lifted and how inspections would be conducted, American and European officials said.

Flagging as election looms, Netanyahu ramps up rhetoric | Reuters
Exclusive: Netanyahu Canceled Intel Briefing for U.S. Senators on Iran Dangers | TIME - Israeli spy chief warned Congress might blow up talks on Iranian nuke program (he was going to tell them about the ticking bomb)
Israeli Election Turning Into Referendum On Netanyahu
Netanyahu Blames Flagging Poll Numbers On Global Leftist Plot (Obama's fault)

Child sex abuse is 'woven into the fabric of British society', claims Theresa May  | Daily Mail Online - Home Secretary says new inquiry will uncover more shocking allegations - Warned the public that they are yet to grasp the full scale of the scandal - institutional child abuse as 'the darkness in our midst' - the allegations so far amounting to the 'tip of the iceberg'.

Robbers Gang Rape Elderly Nun Who Tried To Protect Convent School In India - A nun in her 70s was gang-raped by a group of bandits Saturday when she tried to prevent them from robbing a Christian missionary school in eastern India, police said, the latest crime to focus attention on the scourge of sexual violence in the country. (cut off their dicks)

U.S. running out of room to store crude | Toronto Star - If the amount of oil in storage continues to climb it could send the price of crude — and probably gasoline, too — plummeting.


Criticism, Some From The Right, Builds On GOP Letter To Iran - Some of the 47 senators, however, are taking heat back home from editorial pages that have supported them.
So That Happened: With Iran Letter, GOP Senators Basically Say 'Don't Trust America' (+Hillz not the brightest bulb)
Sen. Tom Cotton’s letter to Iran is plainly stupid: The Arkansas freshman and his Senate Republican colleagues have embarrassed themselves badly. - The letter 47 Republican senators sent to Iran is one of the most plainly stupid things a group of senators has ever done.
Tom Cotton and Mutiny - The president is the commander-in-chief of the US armed forces. He’s not commander-in-chief of the United States. He’s not even commander-in-chief of US foreign policy.

The Answer Is Always War: The Four Traits of Neoconservatism - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Wherever there’s a non-ally of the United States not being invaded by the United States, Fred Hiatt is there to find a crackpot to advocate just that: ("War with Iran is probably our best option" - WaPo loves killing other peoples' kids)
Iran Letter Is Perfect Neoconservative Fiasco -- NYMag - And, then, finally, there is the stubborn refusal to concede the plan has backfired even in the face of overwhelming evidence. (never phased them before)
One of Our Major Newspapers Says: What the Hell, Why Not Start Another Unwinnable War? — The Atlantic - On the bright side, Tom Cotton now seems statesmanlike (Joshua Muravchik - what rock did Fred Hiatt find this bloodthirsty asshole under? - lookin' at you Bezos)
Hullabaloo - War is always the answer - You do have to love the idea that it's "no biggie" if we have to "bomb repeatedly." After all, it's not as if there's ever been any blowback from doing such things.

The U.S. is about to hit the debt limit (again) - The latest suspension expires Sunday, resetting the new debt limit at the current level of about $18.1 trillion. (Republican traitors take country hostage, again)

GOP: A Party in Disarray by Nancy LeTourneau | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - It’s almost hard to remember that time four months ago when Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Speaker John Boehner were writing op-eds in the Wall Street Journal reveling in their success in the 2014 midterms and promising to prove the skeptics wrong with all they were going to accomplish

California Prosecutor Falsifies Transcript of Confession | Observer - Court of Appeal slams Attorney General Kamala Harris again

How Schizophrenia Became a Black Disease: An Interview with Jonathan Metzl | Psychology Today - When did you first suspect that diagnostic patterns with schizophrenia had become heavily racialized? (another Chicago rendition/torture system: disappear "aggressive" black people into "hospitals for the criminally insane" - the case for reparations is so huge it can't be grasped)
The Victoria, Texas Police Officer that tazed an elderly man over expired registration stickers will not be indicted. : news - Video here. Unbelievable what the police get away with, even when there is video of the abuse.

Susan Berman and The Jinx: did the HBO series help solve a 15-year-old murder? | US news | The Guardian - In February, a grimly fascinating documentary series began airing on HBO in the United States, presenting compelling arguments pointing to Durst as Berman’s killer. It has also unearthed a startling piece of evidence – apparently unknown to law enforcement until now – that has already stirred police and prosecutors at both ends of the country to renewed activity.

Televangelist Dollar's plea for $65M to buy jet now offline - After a huge social media backlash, a web page from Creflo Dollar Ministries soliciting $65 million for a new Gulfstream G650 jet has apparently vanished. (properity gospel: Jesus rewards you with money)

A New Life for Dead Malls — The Atlantic - Developers have had to to get creative when it comes to salvaging America's failing shopping centers, turning them into hospitals, churches, and even parks ... there are about 1,200 enclosed malls in the United States, and about one-third of them are dead or dying ... “The malls died for a reason,” she told me. “We were way over-retailed.”
The Sexism of Startup Land — The Atlantic - Women are now the majority of college students and about half of all managers in the broader workforce, but in the startup world, they number comparatively few.

Scientists May Have Discovered How to Stop Your Peanut Allergies for Good - Mic - The team found that young children overexposed to antibiotics were at greater risk of developing food allergies. Thankfully, though, they also discovered a way to combat the impact of antibiotics, which, theoretically, could potentially cure people of their food allergies.
This Is What's Ruining The World's Sleep -- And It's Not Our Technology Addiction - But it turns out stressing about money and work takes the sleep deprivation-causing cake, according to a new survey.
ELI5:I saw a documentary (the illusion of time) that said that physically and mathematically there is nothing that says time (and events) should flow only forward. But doesnt this condradict thermodynamics? : explainlikeimfive (Susskind)

Science AMA Series: We are Teri Krebs & Pål-Ørjan Johansen. Our studies on mental health of psychedelic users and LSD for alcoholism have been in Nature News. Our non-profit (EmmaSofia) will give out MDMA + psychedelics for free. AMA! : science
Four years after the Fukushima nuclear disaster, one man is still living in the exclusion zone in order to feed the animals left behind when their owners fled. : UpliftingNews
Netflix is winning the war against cable TV: Video on-demand services now in 40% of homes : television
Has anyone ever challenged you to something you are an expert at without them knowing it? If so, how did it turn out for them/you? : AskReddit
Of course it's a bold statement. But if I wasn't bold, I wouldn't have started ... | Hacker News
Asked my girlfriend if we could have a threesome. She sent me this in response. [NSFW] : funny
People who drive large trucks with Confederate flags and/or truck nuts: what was your relationship with your mother like growing up? : AskReddit
[NSFW] There is currently a karaoke app out there, which films you while you're singing and it uploads the video on youtube... without people knowing : videos
What's the worst date you've ever been on? : AskReddit
What is the dumbest conspiracy theory somebody has tried to convince you about? : AskReddit

Twitter Takes Steps To Ban Revenge Porn - "You may not post intimate photos or videos that were taken or distributed without the subject's consent."

031315
How Drought Is Producing Tensions in Texas - NYTimes.com - Conservatively, this would make for the fifth consecutive year of drought in Texas. Meanwhile, today, the average American uses 100 gallons of water a day. (keep voting Republican, TX)

Putin Has Vanished, but Rumors Are Popping Up Everywhere - NYTimes.com (bad case of the Moscow Flu)

ISIS Still on the Attack, Despite Internal Strife and Heavy Losses - NYTimes.com - There are reports of dozens of executions and imprisonments of Islamic State fighters trying to flee the group
Laughing at Isis: Syrian video artists go beyond fear to ridicule jihadis | World news | The Guardian - “Our main aim was to support the revolution against Assad,” he explains. “But then the entire world’s attention shifted to Isis. Suddenly they were all the media talked about, making everyone blind to Assad’s crimes.”

Obama: 'I'm Embarrassed' For Republicans Who Sent Letter To Iran
Tom Cotton picked apart by Army general over ‘mutinous’ Iran letter - The Washington Post - “I would use the word mutinous,” said Eaton, whose long career includes training Iraqi forces from 2003 to 2004. He is now a senior adviser to VoteVets.org. “I do not believe these senators were trying to sell out America. I do believe they defied the chain of command in what could be construed as an illegal act.” Eaton certainly had stern words for Cotton.
politico Caucus: Iran-letter backlash spreads to early states - James Hohmann - politico - 'Policywise, the deal Obama is trying to cut is a bad one. Politically speaking, however, the letter has been a disaster.' (dude is so weird)
GOP Goes Ballistic Over Plan to Take The Iran Nuke Deal to the U.N. - The Daily Beast - The latest move in the nuclear negotiations with Iran could be to take them to the United Nations. And that will trigger a Republican hatefest for the ages.
A.B. Stoddard: A big mistake on Iran | TheHill - Torpedoing a bipartisan, veto-proof majority to cement Congress’s role in a deal with Iran, undercutting pledges of the new GOP majority in the Senate to govern and undermining a future Republican president — these probably weren’t freshman Sen. Tom Cotton’s (R-Ark.) goals with his open letter to the leaders of Iran.
The true scandal of the GOP senators’ letter to Iran - The Washington Post - The true scandal of the Tom Cotton letter to Iranian leaders is the manner in which the Republican Senate apparently conducts its affairs.
Israeli Opposition Party Takes Solid Lead In Last Polls Before Election ... No party has ever won an outright majority in Israel's 67-year history, making coalition-building critical to the formation of a government ... Netanyahu's much-criticized speech to the U.S. Congress on March 3 also appears to have marked a turning point. Rather than giving him an electoral boost, with his face on primetime TV, polls turned against him shortly after the event.
Major Nations Hold Talks On Ending U.N. Sanctions On Iran: Officials
Ayatollah Khamenei Slams Republican Letter On Iran, Says U.S. Known For 'Backstabbing' - Mehr quoted Khamenei as saying: "Of course I am worried, because the other side is known for opacity, deceit and backstabbing."

Swedish Prosecutors Offer To Question Julian Assange In London About Alleged Sex Crimes - Lead prosecutor Marianne Ny explained the change in position by saying some of the crimes the 43-year-old Australian is accused of will reach their statute of limitations in August ... "I think it's absolutely outrageous that it took the Swedish prosecutor 4 1/2 years to come to this conclusion after maintaining that she couldn't come to London because it would be illegal to do so," he said. "Obviously that was a bogus argument." (they were always controlled by Obama) "We have to worry about the ongoing criminal investigation in the United States," he said.
Vísir - The Pirate Party is now measured as the second biggest party in Iceland (avast, ye maties)

In Germany, High Court Overturns Headscarf Ban For Teachers - Germany's highest court on Friday struck down a state law banning teachers from wearing headscarves as unconstitutional, saying it violates the right to religious freedom.

Bride Walks Out Of Wedding After Groom Fails Her Math Test - "The groom's family kept us in the dark about his poor education," said Mohar Singh, the bride's father. "Even a first grader can answer this." Most marriages in India are arranged by the families of the bride and groom. Except for brief meetings, the couple rarely gets to know each other before the nuptials. (women are commodities)

Quebec rushes to vaccinate against measles in Joliette | CBCNews.ca Mobile - School and health officials said at a news conference late Thursday afternoon that 93 of the 114 unprotected students at École Intégrée de St-Pierre in Joliette, about 75 kilometres north of Montreal, have now been vaccinated.

Biden Worries Legalized Weed In D.C. Will Cut Into His Business | The Onion - America's Finest News Source - Biden sells a dime bag of Super Lemon Haze at his favorite spot for moving buds.

President Obama Reading Mean Tweets Is Your American Dream Come True
Altar Call: The National Review And The President's Faith - The initial reaction to the questions raised about the president's Christianity by the longtime white-supremacist journal National Review is to wonder where in the fk these people get off even raising the question (this, from the Church of Satanic Capitalism)

How a Confused Mom Drove Through a White House Checkpoint and Ended Up Dead | Mother Jones (complete with coverup)

Strength Is Weakness - NYTimes.com - Actually, the strong dollar is bad for America. In an immediate sense, it will weaken our long-delayed economic recovery by widening the trade deficit. In a deeper sense, the message from the dollar’s surge is that we’re less insulated than many thought from problems overseas. In particular, you should think of the strong dollar/weak euro combination as the way Europe exports its troubles to the rest of the world, America very much included.
Here's How Long It'll Take To Close The Gender Wage Gap In Each State (WY: 2158)

Vague Email Rules Let Federal Agencies Decide When to Hit Save or Delete - NYTimes.com (deliberately vague)
Gawker v. Department of State - The backstory: Gawker first reported in 2013 that as secretary of state, Hillary Clinton was using a private, off-the-books email account (hdr22@clintonemail.com) to conduct government business.
Hillary email flap exposes gaps in State Department records - politico - The email traffic of senior officials was not automatically or routinely archived.

Morning Plum: Chaos in Congress is about to get a lot crazier - The Washington Post - “We really don’t have 218 votes to determine a bathroom break over here on our side. So how are we going to get 218 votes on transportation, or trade, or whatever the issue?”
Glenn Beck Threatens To Leave NRA | The Daily Caller - Talk radio host Glenn Beck is up in arms over his belief that National Rifle Association board member Grover Norquist is a Muslim Brotherhood sympathizer and says he may end his membership with the gun rights group if Norquist is re-elected.

Tom Cotton Loves Child Labor - Lawyers, Guns & Money : The man who makes Ted Cruz look sane loves him some child labor in agriculture and from the beginning of his political career has advocated repealing child labor law.
Hullabaloo - Tom Cotton's tough love: rolling back the clock on child labor laws (and time to re-think that whole slavery thing)
Arizona Defunds Community College - Lawyers, Guns & Money : I know Arizona is run by a bunch of loons, but even I was surprised by the state completely defunding several community colleges. Although actually the real story is not the defunding from $7 million in 2015 to $0 in 2016, but from $45 million in 2011 to $6 million in 2012. The upshot of this is not the closure of the community colleges but rather their semi-privatization, as they move directly to serving the specific whims of corporations. (Bumphus and Dufus Glasper)
Did An Arizona University Try To Fire This Teacher After Pressure From Neo-Nazis? - Poe held an informal debate about the course, called a “teach-in," that prompted white nationalist groups to launch email campaigns against him and the university. (AZ reallly sucks)

Hard to Argue - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Cops kill black person: "Let's not paint all police with same brush." Cop gets shot by unknown person: Millions of protestors responsible
Texas Bill Would Make Recording Police Illegal - A bill introduced to the Texas House of Representatives would make it illegal for private citizens to record police within 25 feet.
Edits to Wikipedia pages on Bell, Garner, Diallo traced to 1 Police Plaza | Capital New York (cop thugs mugging your truth aren't very smart about internet)
The NYPD may be editing the Wikipedia pages of people it killed | The Verge - Computers linked to the department made numerous edits to pages on high-profile deaths
NYPD caught red-handed sanitizing police brutality Wikipedia entries : technology
NYPD edits (@NYPDedits) | Twitter (cool: the internet reacts with an edit monitor)

Rep. Aaron Schock benefited from donor projects - Chicago Tribune - Illinois Rep. Aaron Schock has built much of his personal wealth over a decade through real estate investments with political donors, an Associated Press review found. His relationships with other contributors, which afforded him flights on private planes and other expenses, are already under scrutiny. (Downtown Abby boy at work)

Making Overseers into Advocates | The Marshall Project - A social worker’s take on the misery of probation. (Philly fired him for this story)

Letter From Chicago: How Do You Solve A Problem Like Rahm? - Ridiculed by opponents as "the tiny dancer" for his short stature, early promise in ballet and quick pivots, Emanuel is also known for his prodigious fund-raising and foul mouth. (says he 5'7" so he's really 5'2" without the lifts)

Sadly, No! » R4CIZM HOW DUZ IT W3RK
Oklahoma Rep. Emily Virgin Suggests Businesses Post Notice Before Discriminating Against Patrons - "That way, a straight couple that wouldn’t have been turned away would be notified that they’re doing business with bigots and might want to find an alternate vendor as well."
Racism and Frat Culture - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Who is this Devotie? That is Sigma Alpha Epilson founder Noble Leslie DeVotie. It should be noted that the frat’s homepage proudly states that of its 376 members that fought in the Civil War, 369 fought for the Confederacy.
Let's be fair to SAE - Lawyers, Guns & Money : ….if my calculations are correct SAE comprises roughly 3% of the total collegiate population of fraternities. Since 2006, they account for 15-20% of fatalities associated with hazing and other fraternity rituals.

More Seattle restaurants close doors as $15 minimum wage approaches - Of course, restaurants close for a variety of reasons. But, according to Seattle Magazine, the “impending minimum wage hike to $15 per hour” is playing a “major factor.” That’s not surprising, considering “about 36% of restaurant earnings go to paying labor costs.” Seattle Magazine,

Who’s To Blame For Godly Justin Harris Dumping His ‘Demonic’ Kids? People Like You | Wonkette - So which people, according to Arkansas Secretary of State Mark Martin, are BAD people, while the guy who dumped his adopted daughters (after “trying” to save them, through reported exorcisms and also locking them in their rooms with only a video camera for a pal) is GOOD? Basically, all the people who fund PBS. You know: “people like you.”
School Sends Home Student Over 'Unnatural' Hair Color - West County High School in St. Francois County, Missouri (it's always the small gubment freedom people)

The Milky Way May Be More Enormous Than We Ever Imagined - If you think of our galaxy as a 9-inch dinner plate with us two-thirds of the way out, unable to see far through the plate's disk, we now learn that the plate was really 12 inches across."

Is It Still Cheating If Your Spouse No Longer Recognizes You? | Ann Brenoff - "Listen," he told her, "this has been really great but I need to run. Give me your number and I'll call you."
The author should have actually read the Lancet study. The intervention group altered not only diet but also underwent cognitive training and exercise. It is not possible to separate out any possible effect of diet. Further, the statistical significance is borderline (P < 0.03). It is also interesting to note that there were more adverse events in the intervention group. Diet may or may not have an effect on cognitive decline but this study does not and could not show it.
Kleiner Attacks Pao on the Stand as Resentful and Greedy | WIRED ... Kleiner pledged to pay Pao her regular salary of $33,333 per month for a six-month period ending in March 2013 (is she an entitled rich bitch, or are they big dicks? or both? +“ an unseemly sideshow.” ruled out)
Ellen Pao was “resentful” and dismissive, Kleiner Perkins lawyers say | Ars Technica - Pao's discrimination claim gets microscope treatment from former employer.
The assassination of Ellen Pao’s character by the venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins | The Verge

Steve Jobs rejected liver transplant offer from Tim Cook | Technology | The Guardian - Although what he did was legal, the fact remains that he “cut” in front of a Tennessee resident who most likely did not have the option of registering with another OPO. Jobs is not the first and will not be the last high status personality to exploit this loophole in the UNOS system. (hello, Tim, you only have one liver and Steve knew he could buy his way to the front of the line)

This Is Your Brain on Heartbreak | Greater Good - “We have shown for the first time that acetaminophen, an over-the-counter medication commonly used to reduce physical pain, also reduces the pain of social rejection, at both neural and behavioral levels,”

Sid Meier's Starships review – deep-space exploration with a nod to the past | Technology | The Guardian
Google Code is closing down because developers aren't using it | The Verge - Programmers prefer GitHub and Bitbucket

031215
El Niño: It's here, and it will boost global warming to record highs.
Climate change is already affecting Alaska’s weather.
Study says the Anthropocene, or Age of Man, began in 1610. - “The Anthropocene”
Ban On 'Climate Change' Widespread Across Florida Government Under Rick Scott (vote yourselves underwater, FL)

FCC Release Net Neutrality Regulations : technology (no blocking, no throttling, no paid authorization, no fucking around with the tubes, and also, Verizon sucks)

The Snowden Digital Surveillance Archive
Snowden's NSA Leaks Catalogued In First Searchable Database Of The Surveillance Documents - The database is still a small fraction of the nearly 50,000 documents Snowden gave to journalist Glenn Greenwald and filmmaker Laura Poitras in 2013.
Mass Surveillance: Intelligence Staff Sacked - The revelation is disclosed in a report by MPs on the mass surveillance techniques exposed by Edward Snowden. (not in America)
Court overturns Dutch data retention law, privacy more important - DutchNews.nl - justice courts legal systemInternet providers no longer have to keep their clients phone, internet and email details because privacy is more important, a Dutch court ruled on Wednesday.

China’s Tensions With Dalai Lama Spill Into the Afterlife - NYTimes.com - Chinese Communist Party leaders are afraid that the Dalai Lama will not have an afterlife. Worried enough that this week, officials repeatedly warned that he must reincarnate, and on their terms ... “Decision-making power over the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, and over the end or survival of this lineage, resides in the central government of China,” (their authority includes the afterlife, which they may invade, if necessary)

Euro spirals toward 1:1 parity with USD — RT Business

German diplomat: Iran letter 'not helpful' - Michael Crowley - politico - Diplomats say GOP letter to Tehran strengthens Iran’s hand in nuclear talks, doubt March deadline. (rethinking desuetude: they really did fuck everything up)
Sen. Tom Cotton, author of the Iran letter. His Harvard thesis was based around the idea, and contained the assertion, that: “National officeholders have an enlarged ambition and mental acuity that distinguishes them from all other sorts of men.” : politics
Iran: “The letter by American senators indicates the collapse of political ethics in the United States” : worldnews (w/full list of treasonous Republicans)

Netanyahu's Main Challenger Widens Lead In Israeli Pre-Election Poll
Netanyahu warns of 'real danger' he won't be re-elected | The Times of Israel - Likud leader claims ‘foreign governments’ seeking to oust him; Herzog says he’s ready to be PM; Lapid: March 17 must be Netanyahu’s last day in power
The 'Perfect Storm' That's Hitting Bibi's Campaign – J.J. Goldberg – Forward.com - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s reelection campaign, deemed a sure thing just days ago, has run into a “perfect storm” from which it may not recover. “It has been a steep and precipitous fall since those glory moments on the podium before the U.S. Congress,”
Yes. Netanyahu is Suddenly in Real Trouble
Second ex-Mossad chief joins chorus criticizing Netanyahu | The Times of Israel - Shabtai Shavit and other former defense officials say PM driving US and Israel apart, botched summer war against Hamas - “You and only you turned the United States from an ally to an enemy,” former Mossad head Shabtai Shavit said of Netanyahu
Brent Budowsky: GOP, Bibi hurt Israel, USA | TheHill
An open letter to 47 Republican senators from Iran’s hard-liners: We have so much in common. - You have opened our eyes. We are brothers.
Republican Idiocy on Iran - NYTimes.com - After helping to ignite a firestorm over a possible nuclear agreement with Iran, Senator John McCain, a former Republican presidential candidate, is now sort of acknowledging his error. “Maybe that wasn’t exactly the best way to do that,” he said on Fox N
Iran letter blowback startles GOP - Burgess Everett - politico - John McCain: 'It was kind of a very rapid process. Everybody was looking forward to getting out of town because of the snowstorm.'
Four Questions About the Israeli Election | Mideast Matrix

How a Lindsey Graham Joke Turned into a Coup Plot Against the Government - Bloomberg Politics - Lindsey Graham says he would deploy military against Congress
Lindsey Graham: Fascist - Lawyers, Guns & Money : It used to be that to call a Republican politician a fascist was rank hyperbole, even if they were right-wingers. But in the 2016 Republican primary, fascism is evidently Lindsey Graham’s strategy: Bloomberg that when Graham said “I would literally use the military to keep them in if I had to,” that statement was “not to be taken literally.”

Nonprofit contractor sent government $1.1 million bill for parties and retreats - The Washington Post - during the height of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (Bush years were good times)

New Iran laws reduce women to "baby-making machines" - Amnesty
Afghan artist in hiding after 'iron underwear' stunt

A 42-year-old woman running for mayor in a violent southwestern Mexican state has been kidnapped and decapitated. : worldnews (meanwhile in fucking Mexico)

Nigeria Drafts Foreign Mercenaries To Take On Boko Haram - "It appears to be a desperate ploy to get some sort of tactical success up there in six weeks for the electoral boost," the diplomat added. The numbers of soldiers involved were in the "low hundreds," the diplomat added. (Jonathan Badluck for Nigeria)
British Girls Crossed Into Syria Helped By 'Spy' From Anti-ISIS Coalition: Turkish Minister - Cavusoglu said he shared this information with his British counterpart, who had replied "as usual."

Americans Name Government as No. 1 U.S. Problem (only 31% happy)

Lawyers Try To Rescue Anti-Obamacare Lawsuit By Comparing Justice Kennedy To Confederate Slaveholders | ThinkProgress - Pro tip: if you want to win a Supreme Court case, it’s probably not a good idea to compare a swing justice who could single-handedly decide the case’s outcome to Confederate slaveholders.

The media s**t-show is back: Why coverage of Hillary Clinton has been an embarrassment - Salon.com - Hillary Clinton has a reputation for hating the media. The past week shows why that's so easy to understand
TIME Cover Gives Hillary Horns | The Weekly Standard

On Bobo's Victim-Blaming - Lawyers, Guns & Money : As a long-time admirer of the passive-aggressive responses required by NYT conventions, I can’t not link to this Krugman post, which gets perilously close to the line by linking to a direct critique of Brooks:
When Values Disappear - NYTimes.com
David Brooks Argues Poor People Need Morals Like Rich People | The New Republic - What David Brooks doesn't understand about poverty (yeah, that is pretty close)

Progressives: We’ve Never Heard Of This “Progressive” Group Backing Obama’s Trade Deal - BuzzFeed News - The “Progressive Coalition For American Jobs,” run by former Obama campaign staffers, purports to represent the progressive left on the trade deal that the progressive left hates.

A Brief History of the Secret Service's Drinking Problem - Bloomberg Politics - The history of the Secret Service shows that alcohol and keeping the president safe don’t mix. (go home, SS, you're drunk)

David Dow suspended by Texas court: Death penalty defense lawyer’s conflicts with appeals court. - Texas’ brazen attempt to silence one of its most effective death penalty defense lawyers.

The Declining State Commitment to Higher Education and Its Consequences by Ed Kilgore | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - In 2012 college costs were 2.3 times higher than in 1975 (in constant 2012 dollars)… ... The shift in payment sources from state and local governments to students and parents has occurred at the same time that costs have risen dramatically and in a period where average wages have been static or declined in constant dollars. (the destruction of the American educational system)
Taking That Careers and College Thing Too Damn Far by Daniel Luzer | College Guide | The Washington Monthly - The Arizona Department of Education Web site, asks kindergartners to “check out scholarships” for college, start a college savings account and “read picture books about careers and select the jobs I like.”
As fight to save Sweet Briar ramps up, senator asks: Do donors have rights? - The Washington Post - “The college’s decision to close Sweet Briar without giving alumnae, faculty and students the opportunity to help develop a viable plan to save the collage is unconscionable.

Uber, Lyft employment cases: Juries could decide the legal fate of the sharing economy. - On Wednesday, U.S. district judges said in two rulings that they could not determine whether Uber and Lyft drivers should be classified as independent contractors and that the question in each case would have to be resolved by a jury ("sharing economy" = you do the work, we get the money)

Utah Passes Antidiscrimination Bill Backed by Mormon Leaders - NYTimes.com ("Utah Compromise")

MGM National Harbor says public buses won’t have access to casino site - The Washington Post - MGM asserts that its guests won’t be using public transportation and that the number of employees using transit to get to work will be “almost non-existent.” Therefore, the company says, “there are no expectations that public buses will be able to access the site.” (casinos only for the rich, what could go wrong?)

Australian firm to assume Indiana Toll Road lease, pay $5.73 billion - South Bend Tribune: News - An Australian company has reached a $5.73 billion agreement to buy the bankrupt business that holds the lease to the Indiana Toll Road. (that worked out, didn't it?)

Harper Lee’s Condition Debated by Friends, Fans and Now State of Alabama - NYTimes.com

The "Blurred Lines" Verdict Is Bad News, Even If You Hate Robin Thicke
Dan Reitz Dot Com :: Analyzing the case against "Blurred Lines."

Chemical Exposure Linked to Billions in Health Care Costs - Researchers conclude they are 99 percent certain that hormone-altering chemicals are linked to attention problems, diabetes, other health problems.
Queensland scientists in Alzheimer’s treatment breakthrough | The Australian - The drug-free treatment uses ultrasound waves to break apart the neurotoxic amyloid plaques that cause memory loss and cognitive decline.
Alzheimer's breakthrough: ultrasound successfully treats disease in mice | Society | The Guardian - Rodents found to have improved memories after ultrasound treatment, without any apparent damage to brain tissue
Network theory sheds new light on origins of consciousness | Research News @ Vanderbilt | Vanderbilt University - global changes in how brain areas communicate with one another during awareness. Their findings, which were published March 9 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, challenge previous theories that hypothesized much more restricted changes were responsible for producing awareness ... consciousness appears to be an emergent property of how information that needs to be acted upon gets propagated throughout the brain.
Teen cannabis users have poor long-term memory in adulthood | EurekAlert! Science News - Heavy use of drug linked to changes in hippocampus, poor memory for life events

Terry Pratchett, author of the Discworld series, dies aged 66 | Books | The Guardian - The author of more than 70 books died at his home “with his cat sleeping on his bed, surrounded by his family” earlier on Thursday.

iPad is the weakest link in stagnant tablet market: IDC | ZDNet - IDC has scaled back its five-year forecast for the tablet category, while also giving the iPad a dismal market share forecast - The only tablet maker whose dreams are not totally squashed by the report is Windows. Despite modest adoption to date, IDC expects Windows tablets to gain significant share over the next four years, growing from 5.1 percent in 2014 to 14.1 percent in 2019.
iPad is the weakest link in stagnant tablet market: IDC : Surface
Netflix Continues To Crush Cable TV : technology - 1/10th the cost, all on demand programming, and no commercials. Tough decision.

"To all the men who turned their misogyny into a game" | MetaFilter
Portraits of the artists as women - To mark International Women’s Day we’ve created an antidote to the all-male Irish Writers poster of bars and student bedrooms

Reddit: can anyone clean up the mess behind 'the front page of the internet'? | Technology | The Guardian - Reddit: can anyone clean up the mess behind 'the front page of the internet'?
Reddit: can anyone clean up the mess behind 'the front page of the internet'? : technology
[BRDCAST] Can anyone clean up the mess behind 'the front page of the internet'? Guardian article includes interviews with SRS mods :) : ShitRedditSays
...If you say so, Washington Post. : funny - The Onion is now the new Washington Post.
What is the most inappropriate question you've been asked at a job interview? : AskReddit
What's the biggest culture shock you've ever experienced? : AskReddit - In iceland it's a thing to let babies sleep in the cold, helps their immune system develop or something. So when babies are going for a nap they'll be left in a stroller on the balcony or whatever. Or if you're out at a cafe leave them outside. It's pretty cool.
The babies who nap in sub-zero temperatures
Let Your Baby Sleep Outside - Surprising parenting wisdom from Denmark
What's the first picture that comes up when you Google image your username? : AskReddit
My PSN account got hacked this morning. Sony support has given me only two options: eat $450 in fraudulent charges and be unable to use my account for 6 months, or dispute the charges with my bank and have my account banned forever. : gaming (burn your playstation)
All Trans* Inclusive Space
Transpassing: a place to see how well you pass
mypartneristrans: Stop wearing my clothes and buy your own!
Myths About Transition Regrets | Brynn Tannehill
asktransgender: questions and comments
Transgender Positive

031115
Welfare with an Ocean View by Theodoric Meyer | The Washington Monthly - The federal government spends billions replenishing beaches for the affluent. The bill will soon skyrocket thanks to climate change.
Beaches Are Going to be a Hot Political Topic by Martin Longman | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly
Cape Cod photographer captures images of large ice chunks washed ashore | US news | The Guardian - The beached icebergs, which are at least 5ft tall, are a conspicuous reminder of a record-breaking winter in Massachusetts

New smoking gun further ties NSA to omnipotent “Equation Group” hackers | Ars Technica - What are the chances unrelated state-sponsored projects were both named "BACKSNARF"?

Boko Haram in Hot Water, Surrounded on All Sides by Military Forces - The military forces of Nigeria, Niger, Chad, and Cameroon are uniting to liberate all Nigerian territory from the grip of Boko Haram: a group of Islamic insurgents attempting to establish a caliphate in northeastern Nigeria.
Iraqi forces beat ISIS in Tikrit, reach city center - Al Arabiya News - Iraqi military forces and Shitte militias entered central Tikrit, declaring it “liberated” from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) on Tuesday, following 10 days of a major offensive on the hometown of former president Saddam Hussein.
Iraqi Forces Enter Tikrit In Offensive To Take Back The ISIS-Held City - U.S. Gen. Martin Dempsey described the militias as "Iranian trained and somewhat Iranian equipped."
ISIS 'Manifesto' Spells Out Role for Women — The Atlantic - The doctrine envisions an education system in which girls complete their formal schooling by age 15. "Most pure girls will be married by sixteen or seventeen, while they are still young and active." (teaching 8 year-olds to have jihadi babies and over the hill at 18)
'Dirty Brigades': US-Trained Iraqi Forces Investigated for War Crimes - ABC News
ISIS sympathizer arrested after plotting to bomb U.S. consulate in Toronto: CBSA | National Post

Statism: The Most Dangerous Religion (feat. Larken Rose) - YouTube

alicublog: GULF WAR III - THIRD TIME'S THE CHARM! - I found this charming video via the (so-far) single-tweet account of the American Security Initiative, which Ryan Cooper of The Week informs me is basically Saxby Chambliss, Evan Bayh, and Norm Coleman trying to sabotage a deal with Iran. (Jennifer Rubin refers to it as a "bipartisan group," which pretty much proves it's bullshit.) (if after all that, they are still like this, you can see why that happened, and will again +very evil people)

TIL The Finnish military once repulsed a massive invasion by the Soviet Union, with a million men and thousands of tanks. The Finnish had just a few dozen tanks and only 114 airplanes, but destroyed more than 3,500 of the Russian tanks, and caused 323,000 total casualties to the Russian force. : todayilearned - Only three European capitals remained uninvaded in the course of WW2 - London, Moscow and Helsinki. (the Winter War changed the course of WWII)

The main suspect in the murder of Nemtsov says he confessed under torture : worldnews
Russian military shelled Ukraine from mid-July, report says | World news | The Guardian - Moscow’s involvement in conflict has been on such a scale that strain on its military is starting to show, according to report by Royal United Services Institute

Week before election, new poll puts Zionist Union ahead of Netanyahu's Likud - National - Israel News | Haaretz - Knesset Channel poll gives Zionist Union the lead with 24 seats, 3 more than Likud; Yesh Atid now the third largest party at 14 seats.
As Israel vote looms, centre-left pulls ahead of PM Netanyahu's Likud - Yahoo News

Americans' Views of Netanyahu Less Positive Post-Visit

GOP senators appear set on their own breakaway nation - The Washington Post - But Republicans aren’t exactly subverting the United States. It’s more as if they’re operating their own independent republic on Capitol Hill. Call it the State of Republicania. (Wingnuttia, Insanistan)
The Republican Party Is A Party Of Subversives - Republicans are actively working to undermine the American union - The Republican party is a mechanism for the subversion of the federal republic..
Tom Cotton's Iran Letter Was Reckless But Not Treason | The New Republic (not really a letter and a bad idea to call it treason)
John Kerry Hammers GOP Senators' 'Irresponsible' Letter To Iran - The letter -- which actually features a number of errors regarding the Constitution -- has been widely seen as an attempt to sabotage the ongoing talks by eroding Iranian leaders' trust in the United States.
Immediately After Launching Effort to Scuttle Iran Deal, Senator Tom Cotton to Meet with Defense Contractors - The Intercept (they really want to destroy the world)
GOP senators’ letter to Iran is dangerous and irresponsible - The Washington Post - Indeed, they could use the Senate GOP letter as a rationale for abandoning aspects of the deal they find too constraining. That would force the United States to consider military action. The casus belli, bizarrely, might begin with an argument made by Senate Republicans. “I think it’s somewhat ironic to see some members of Congress wanting to make common cause with the hard-liners in Iran,” Obama told reporters. (no crazy too far)
Republicans Admit: That Iran Letter Was a Dumb Idea - The Daily Beast - A day after releasing a letter that potentially threatened the administration’s negotiations with Iran, some Republicans who signed on are realizing it was a bad call. (didn't see a problem with treason)
Republicans Blame Obama For Tom Cotton Letter (his Jedi mind-control powers)

Sources: State Dept. hack the 'worst ever' - CNN.com - Overlooked in the controversy over Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server, is the fact that suspected Russian hackers have bedeviled State Department's email system for much of the past year and continue to pose problems for technicians trying to eradicate the intrusion. (Putin didn't get Hillary's recipes)
No Classified Emails by Clinton? Some Experts Are Skeptical - NYTimes.com
Hillary Clinton's Email Problem Is Unsolvable - "Raised More Questions Than She Answered."
Hillary Clinton Reveals She Didn't Save Trove Of Personal Emails (Condi used a gov account)
5 Questions Hillary Clinton Ducked - NationalJournal.com - This is not about her personal email. It's about why she seized control of documents that were supposed to be on a government server.
AP sues State Department, seeking access to Clinton records
Hillary's Email Server Traced To NYC Government Building | The Daily Caller - The rest were emails about her daughter Chelsea’s wedding, recipes, and yoga routines, she said. (32,000 messages about yoga, recipes and Chelsea's wedding)

Why Inequality Persists in America - The New Yorker - Between 1947 and 1968, the U.S. Gini index dropped to .386, the lowest ever recorded. Then it began to climb. (oh look, Raygun)

Electoral College-Rigging Bill Makes Comeback in Michigan - Bloomberg Politics - The plan that would have given Mitt Romney most of Michigan's electoral votes, despite losing the state. (dismantling democracy, state by state)

These 9 Graphs Show The Sad State Of Child Poverty In America (Republicans hate children and education)
Republican Amendment Could Force Underage Rape Victims To Carry Their Pregnancies To Term | ThinkProgress

Rahm's Chicago - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Get rid of public institutions where rich white people might have to see people who make them feel uncomfortable, replace them with private institutions where rich white people will only see other rich white people and maybe just enough people of color (i.e. 1) to make themselves feel diverse and hip. That’s Rahm’s New Gilded Age Chicago in a nutshell. (turned a mental health clinic for poor people into a gourmet mac and cheese shop)

Waka Flocka Flame Didn't Make OU SAE Frat Boys Chant Racist Slurs | The New Republic - "Morning Joe" host Mika Brzezinski reserved her outrage not for the two expelled students but Atlanta rapper Waka Flocka Flame, who backed out of an encore performance at the fraternity chapter over his disgust at the video.
Stop blaming white racism on black rappers - The Washington Post
Morning Joe Blames Racist Fraternity Chant On Rap Music | Video | Media Matters for America (Mika sold her soul, if she ever had one)

Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson To Resign - Jackson is the sixth and most high-profile Ferguson city employee to resign after the release of the Justice Department report, which critically examined the practices of the police department and municipal court system.
Ferguson City Manager John Shaw Resigns - There was an audible gasp at the announcement of Shaw's resignation. Some people cheered, while others shook their heads in disapproval.

How Chicago police used pot to disappear young people at Homan Square | US news | The Guardian - Marc Freeman and ‘Stephanie’ detained for hours inside so-called ‘black site’ so they would confess and implicate others

Heroin Overdoses Are Killing Four Times As Many People - Crackdowns on prescription painkillers may be to blame

EXCLUSIVE: California profs 'unequivocally' endorse American flag ban - An online letter supporting students at UC Irvine who wanted to ban national flags, including the American flag, from their organization's lobby, has over 1,200 signatures. Over 60 signatures appear to come from professors.

Ark. Rep. Justin Harris Had Daughters’ Demons ‘Exorcised’ Before ‘Rehoming’ Them With A Rapist | Wonkette (you can't get much more twisted than this good Christian)
Casting out demons: why Justin Harris got rid of kids he applied pressure to adopt | Cover Stories | Arkansas news, politics, opinion, restaurants, music, movies and art - Rep. Justin Harris blames DHS for the fallout related to his adoption of three young girls, but sources familiar with the situation contradict his story and paint a troubling picture of the adoption process and the girls' time in the Harris household.

Senate Bill Would Effectively End The Federal War On Medical Marijuana (and Massachusetts will still drag its feet)
Old Research Begets New Findings On Humans' Capacity For Evil - The results suggest that perpetrators of great evil, from Nazis to modern terrorists, are unlikely to be soldiers mindlessly following orders, but rather participants in a cause they feel is just. Haslem concludes: “We should be wary not of zombies, but of zealous followers of an ignoble cause.” (there's a difference?)
Saturn's Moon Enceladus Has a Warm Ocean, Could Have Life - One of the most promising places to look for life beyond Earth just got even more tantalizing
Archaeologists condemn National Geographic over claims of Honduran 'lost cities' | World news | The Guardian - Open letter says announcement ignores decades of research and says of indigenous peoples there: ‘It is colonialist discourse which disrespects them’
American Millennials are among the world's least skilled - Fortune - Not only do Gen Y Americans lag far behind their overseas peers by every measure, but they even score lower than other age groups of Americans.

What is a social norm you feel is outdated? : AskReddit

Ellen Pao was “resentful” and dismissive, Kleiner Perkins lawyers say | Ars Technica
Guardian backtracks, says Whisper doesn’t spy on its users after all | Ars Technica - Newspaper decides that IP address information is minimally useful for tracking locations.
Chromebooks: How Paid For? Why Before All-Day K? | East Greenwich News - chromebookSome parents have raised questions over the Chromebook budget line item: Was that $60,000 coming out of the Technology Fund Balance being used to pay for repairs of uninsured devices? And, how did the high school get Chromebooks before all-day kindergarten was implemented?
Florida Apartment Complex Threatens Tenants With $10,000 Fine For Bad Reviews Online - management forced new tenants to sign a "social media addendum" that threatened a fine of $10,000 if they gave the place a bad review online, Ars Technica reports. The addendum, which went viral Tuesday after the Windermere Cay complex in Winter Garden (needs a remedial course in the internets)

031015
Earth entering period of fastest climate change seen in last 1,000 years
Florida Bans the Term "Climate Change" - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Florida banning its state employees from using the term “climate change” might be a short term political advantage for conservatives. But burying your head in the sand next to the ocean might not be a very good idea when that climate change you don’t want to admit is happening leads to rising oceans that drown you in your sandhole. (tie Scott and Rubio to the beach)
Oil Train That Caught Fire In Illinois Was Using Supposedly Safer Cars | ThinkProgress - Though several miles from Galena, the crash occurred near the home of former President Ulysses S. Grant, which has made the area a tourist attraction.

GOP Letter to Iran: Breathtaking Attempt to Sabotage U.S. Foreign Policy, Stampede U.S. Into War | Robert Creamer - Unbelievably, these GOP senators are actively discouraging Iran from signing such a deal by arguing that the United States cannot be trusted to keep up our end. That is shocking. (definitely in treason territory, but what else is new?)
NY Daily News Blasts GOP Senators Over Iran Letter, Calling Them 'Traitors'
GOP letter to Iran is 'dangerous,' says Biden, other Dems - NY Daily News
Republican Moves Imperil Democratic Cooperation on Iran - NYTimes.com - Republicans’ extraordinary moves to undermine Mr. Obama’s efforts to reach an agreement are weakening their resolve to cross party lines and challenge their own president.
Hawkish Republican Congressman Uneasy With GOP Senators' Letter To Iran - Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.), a frequent critic of President Barack Obama's foreign policies, expressed his disapproval Tuesday of a letter that GOP senators sent to Iran trying to undermine the president's nuclear negotiations.
Joe Biden Goes Ballistic On Senate Republicans: Iran Letter Beneath 'Dignity Of An Institution I Revere'
Senate Democrats denounce Republican letter to Iran as call for war | US news | The Guardian - Republicans’ attempt to ‘sabotage’ negotiations between western nations and Iran could escalate into military response, senators say
Republicans want to stop a nuclear deal with Iran. They may have ensured Obama gets one | Comment is free | The Guardian - Sending a letter to Iranian leadership warning them that conservatives will try to kill any deal Obama negotiates may not have had the effect Tom Cotton and colleagues wanted ... It was left to Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif to explain to the Senate Republicans, in an epic bit of trolling, that though a deal may be struck without Congressional approval, it would still carry the force of international law. (Republicans are dimbulbs)
Tom Cotton Doesn't Give A Sh** About Iran Talks Protocol. But A Lot Of Others Do. - To underscore his point, Lugar noted that one of the most powerful Senate Republicans on matters of foreign policy was absent from Cotton's endeavor (line them up against the wall)
Petition seeking treason charges for Iran letter hits 100,000 signatures | Sun-Times National
Lawfare › The Iran Letter and the Logan Act
White House petition wants senators charged with treason for Iran letter : news
Guess Who? - Lawyers, Guns & Money : ('s building atomic power plants!)

Wikipedia Is Suing The NSA - The lawsuit, to be filed on Tuesday, alleges that the NSA's mass surveillance of Internet traffic in the United States — often called Upstream surveillance — violates the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment, which protects freedom of speech and association, and the Fourth Amendment, which protects against unreasonable search and seizure.
CIA hacked iPhone, iPad and Mac security – Snowden documents reveal extent of privacy invasion
CIA hacked iPhone, iPad and Mac security – Snowden documents reveal extent of privacy invasion : worldnews
The NSA Has Taken Over the Internet Backbone. We're Suing to Get it Back. | American Civil Liberties Union
Philip Hammond: time to 'move on' from Snowden surveillance revelations | World news | The Guardian - Foreign secretary says debate sparked US whistleblower Edward Snowden ‘cannot be allowed to run on forever’ (very sorry, we're turning off your debate)

FBI testimony in Boston Marathon bomb trial pulled apart by defence | US news | The Guardian - Agent misidentified Twitter account photo of Grozny as Mecca - Tweets revealed to be jokes from Comedy Central TV shows and pop lyrics (Feebs at work)
FBI released surveillance video shown to jurors in the Boston bombing trial : videos

Boko Haram child captives 'forgot names' - He said the children had spent so long with their captors, being indoctrinated in jihadist ideology, that they had lost track of who they were.
Lebanese TV presenter cuts short interview with Islamist scholar | World news | The Guardian - A video has gone viral of a Lebanese television presenter who cut short an interview with a London-based Islamist scholar after he told her to “shut up”. (Sheikh Fucknut didn't look good)

Britain's divided decade: the rich are 64% richer than before the recession, while the poor are 57% poorer - Home News - UK - The Independent (cause recession. profit!)

Mrs. Clinton Meets The Press: A Trip Back In Time - Hillary, of all people, shouldn't be amazed at modern media's ability to make something out of nothing.
Hillary Clinton addresses State Department email controversy – live | US news | The Guardian - Likely Democratic candidate for president addresses the dispute over her private email server after she speaks to UN women’s empowerment event.


The white Confederates defending the south's honor in Selma | US news | The Guardian - As civil rights campaigners marked 50 years since Bloody Sunday, elsewhere in Selma a small band of southerners were mourning the loss of the Confederacy ("small band" = most old white racist dudes)
The Song That Drove Sherman Crazy - NYTimes.com - Published in February 1865, “Marching Through Georgia” arrived just in time to become one of the North’s two primary victory anthems. Along with “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” it became a mission statement for Northerners at home and in the ranks — defining why they had fought and what they had achieved.

The Generation Gap and the 2012 Election | Pew Research Center for the People and the Press (white dumb geezer problem)

Politics was once about beliefs and society. Now it’s a worship of money | Comment is free | The Guardian - Remember when elections were about society, health, literacy, welfare? All bow now to the god of business

Missouri Supreme Court takes over cases in Ferguson; judge resigns : News - Ferguson municipal Judge Ronald J. Brockmeyer resigned his position Monday afternoon. Dellwood Mayor Reggie Jones said Brockmeyer also resigned Monday as prosecutor there. (corrupt judge gone, at least a start)
Ferguson judge behind aggressive fines policy resigns as city's court system seized | US news | The Guardian - Ronald J Brockmeyer, accused in a scathing report of aggressively using the municipal court to raise revenue for the city, has stepped down

Anthony Hill, Unarmed, Naked Black Man, Fatally Shot By Police Near Atlanta - Dekalb County police has already faced protests after an officer shot dead a black man who had called 911 when his girlfriend was stabbed by an attacker in his apartment late last year, according to local media.

American gun ownership and hunting rates at record lows, survey says | US news | The Guardian - Only 32% of Americans live in a household with at least one gun - FBI database shows background checks on the rise, however

Two University of Oklahoma students expelled over racist chant | US news | The Guardian - University president says two students identified as leading racist chant at fraternity event were dismissed for creating a ‘hostile learning evironment’
OU President David Boren expels two students for involvement in racist video : news
No, it’s not constitutional for the University of Oklahoma to expel students for racist speech [UPDATED in light of the students' expulsion] - The Washington Post
San Francisco 49ers fullback Bruce Miller arrested for domestic violence | Society | The Guardian - Veteran fullback Bruce Miller arrested for domestic battery

For Some in Transgender Community, It’s Never Too Late to Make a Change - NYTimes.com
Finding Equilibrium in Seesawing Libidos - NYTimes.com - He asked about our frequency of sex. I told him nine to 12 times a week. “Oh,” he said. “I didn’t realize the severity of the problem.” He wrote me prescriptions for all the drug options and told me to let him know which worked best.

Washington Judge To Florist: ‘Relationship With Jesus’ Not Good Reason For Being A Bigot | Wonkette
Fundie Indiana Cake Bakers ‘Forced’ To Close Due To Gays Wanting Cake | Wonkette - Don’t you wish you had a Spiritual Investment Cake for your wedding, instead of the dumb regular cake you had? It’s unclear how they hide the Jesus message inside the cake, maybe it’s like a Mardi Gras King Cake with a little baby Jesus charm inside, and you win special salvation points if you get that piece.

Autism risk genes also linked to higher intelligence -- ScienceDaily - Genes linked with a greater risk of developing autism may also be associated with higher intelligence, a study suggests.
If there is no absolute position or speed, and both can be measured only in relation to something else, how can there be a maximum speed (light speed) and in relation to what is that measured? : askscience
Psychoactive Plant May Hold Key to Reversing Diabetes - A chemical found in ayahuasca has the potential to regenerate pancreas cells that have been lost to diabetes.

The Apple Watch is an overpriced gadget and an underwhelming luxury product - Vox
Nine reasons only a tool would buy the Apple Watch | Technology | The Guardian
ICANN, copyright infringement, and “the public interest” - The Washington Post - Could ICANN really be getting into the business of policing the world’s domains for copyright infringement? (if the big contest has its way)

030915
Here's Some Stupid For Lunch - After Florida Governor Rick Scott took office, state environmental officials were told not to use the term "climate change." - Regular visitors to this shebeen will recall that the newly insane state of North Carolina pioneered this technique of wishing away the rising tides. As the Situation Which Must Not Be Named gets worse, I suspect Florida Man subsequently will ban the use of the words "flood," "deluge," and "drowned," as well as the phrase, "Sank forever beneath the waves."
Florida Officials Were Barred From Using The Term 'Climate Change' Once Rick Scott Took Power - When asked by the Tampa Bay Times in 2010 whether he believed in climate change, Scott simply replied, "No."
Bjarke Ingels on the New York Dryline: 'We think of it as the love-child of Robert Moses and Jane Jacobs' | Cities | The Guardian - After the High Line park, and the planned underground Lowline, comes the Dryline: an uncompromising seawall cum green space.

Hellhounds On Our Trail: The President Makes It Sing In Selma - The President sings a redemption song.
In Selma, GOP Lawmakers Explain Why They Don't Support John Lewis' Bill To Restore Voting Rights Act | ThinkProgress - A Senate version was introduced several weeks ago, and currently has zero Republican sponsors. (Republicans hate voting rights)
This Weekend in Republican Minority Outreach - Lawyers, Guns & Money : That no one in the House Republican leadership was going to go to the Selma commemoration until people called them out on it in the Washington Post and other publications says all too much about the racial politics of the conservative movement.
Rename the Edward Pettus Bridge - Lawyers, Guns & Money : “It had been named after a Civil War General and Grand Dragon of the Alabama Ku Klux Klan who served in the United States Senate from 1897 until his death in 1907. He was the last Confederate General to serve in the Senate.”
NYT To Conservatives: No, We Didn't Crop George W. Bush Out Of Selma Photo - Among the scores of average Twitter users, Sean Spicer, communications director for the Republican National Committee, sniped at the paper on Sunday for leaving Bush out of the front-page splash.

The CIA's torturers and the leaders who approved their actions must face the law | Chelsea E Manning | Comment is free | The Guardian - Even the most junior level intelligence officers know that torture is both unethical and illegal. So why didn’t our political leaders?

Islamic State appears to be fraying from within - The Washington Post - “Ultimately, they are only attracting people on the margins of society, without much education or useful skills,” she said. “It’s not exactly bolstering their military capability.”
Soldiers From Chad And Niger Enter Nigeria, Launch Offensive Against Boko Haram - Forces from Chad and Niger opened a new front in the regional military fight against the Islamic extremist group Boko Haram, as army vehicles full of soldiers crossed the border into northeast Nigeria, officials and witnesses said Monday.

Republicans are beginning to act as though Barack Obama isn’t even the president - The Washington Post - Republicans are embarking on an entirely new enterprise: They have decided that as long as he holds the office of the presidency, it’s no longer necessary to respect the office itself. (none dare call it treason)
Outrage over GOP's letter to Iran | TheHill - Earnest said Republicans have a “long and rather sordid history" of putting military options ahead of diplomatic ones, and called the letter, signed by 47 GOP lawmakers, “the continuation of a partisan strategy to undermine the president’s authority."
G.O.P. Senators Write to Iran on Nuclear Pact - NYTimes.com - “It’s somewhat ironic to see some members of Congress wanting to make common cause with the hard-liners in Iran,” Mr. Obama told reporters. “It’s an unusual coalition.”
Sedition in the Name of Patriotism by Ed Kilgore | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly
Lawfare › The Error in the Senators’ Letter to the Leaders of Iran - The letter states that “the Senate must ratify [a treaty] by a two-thirds vote.” But as the Senate’s own web page makes clear: “The Senate does not ratify treaties. Instead, the Senate takes up a resolution of ratification, by which the Senate formally gives its advice and consent, empowering the president to proceed with ratification” (they don't even know what their job is)
Republicans Warn Iran Against Nuclear Deal With Obama (these are very dangerous people)
Republican Senators Write To Leaders Of Iran, Attempt To Sabotage Nuclear Deal | ThinkProgress
The White House on Monday sharply rebuked nearly four dozen Republican senators who sent a letter to Iranian leaders just as nuclear negotiations reach a pivotal moment, characterizing the correspondence as an illegitimate interference in President Obama’s foreign policy. : worldnews - The Iranian foreign minister said it best: In our view, this letter has no legal value and is mostly a propaganda ploy. It is very interesting that while negotiations are still in progress and while no agreement has been reached, some political pressure groups are so afraid even of the prospect of an agreement that they resort to unconventional methods, unprecedented in diplomatic history.

How the White House Learned to Be Liberal -- NYMag
xs Booman Tribune ~ A Progressive Community - But they wavered. They might have cut a deal that we would all regret if their terms had been unexpectedly accepted.

Supreme Court revives Notre Dame's Obamacare contraception objections | Reuters - throwing out a lower court decision in favor of the federal government. (here we go again)

California court says cops need warrants to get phone location data

Portland Press Herald Contributors | Maine state Senator apologizes for Facebook post saying Obama’s family tied to ISIS - State Sen. Michael Willette apologized Monday for sharing a Facebook post criticizing President Obama’s handling of the terrorist group ISIS and suggesting that its members are family members of the president.

Narcissism increases the chance you'll be seen as a leader, but only if you're a man | Emily Grijalva | Comment is free | The Guardian - Specifically, narcissism is composed of three different sub-dimensions: exploitative/entitlement, leadership/authority and grandiose/exhibitionism. Men tend to report higher levels of both the exploitative/entitlement and leadership/authority sub-dimensions.
Do Parents Nurture Narcissists By Pouring On The Praise? : Shots - Health News : NPR

Teen Girl Kicked Out Of Prom So Her Dress Wouldn't Lead Boys To 'Think Impure Thoughts' | ThinkProgress - A 17-year-old high schooler from Virginia says she was kicked out of her prom because the parental chaperones were worried she was inspiring “impure thoughts” among the boys in attendance. Even though her dress adhered to the “fingertip length” dress code requirement, she was asked to leave.

Radical Vaccine Design Effective Against Herpes Viruses | HHMI.org - A new way of thinking challenges standard notions about what a herpes vaccine should look like.
Did a Human or a Computer Write This? - NYTimes.com
False memories implanted into the brains of sleeping mice | Mo Costandi | Science | The Guardian - Artificial memories implanted into sleeping mice influence the animals’ behaviour when they wake up

[SERIOUS] People who have had amnesia and recovered, what was it like not knowing who you were? : AskReddit
[SERIOUS] Men of Reddit who are victims of sexual/physical abuse from their wives/girlfriends, what has your experience finding help been like? : AskReddit
What was your biggest "Fuck OP" moment on reddit? : AskReddit
steelicarus comments on [WP] A new invention enables people to remember their dreams with absolute clarity. It turns out we were forgetting them for a very good reason.
Reminder. Cities: Skylines, everything that SimCity should have been, releases in under 24 hours. : gaming
City Worker goes to Jail for taking out the garbage before 7 am in a rich Atlanta neighborhood. : videos
What fact did you learn at an embarrassingly late age? : AskReddit
[Serious]Reddit, what's the closest you've ever come to dying? : AskReddit
ROAR_BEAR comments on Dallas Morning News today.
Do you prefer your sexual partners shaven, trimmed, or fully natural? Why? : AskReddit

U.K. Parliament says banning Tor is unacceptable and impossible - Just months after U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron said he wants to ban encryption and online anonymity, the country's parliament today released a briefing saying that the such an act is neither acceptable nor technically feasible.
Jeb Bush believes net neutrality rules are the 'craziest ideas'

030815
How will everything change under climate change? | Environment | The Guardian - It is our great collective misfortune that the scientific community made its decisive diagnosis of the climate threat at the precise moment when an elite minority was enjoying more unfettered political, cultural, and intellectual power than at any point since the 1920s - Naomi Klein
See No Climate Change, Hear No Climate Change, Speak No Climate Change by David Atkins | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - We already knew that Republicans like to live in their own alternate version of reality, sanitized of any inconvenient truths that might interfere with their ideology. But Florida (as usual) is pushing even the GOP’s incredible willful suspension of disbelief: Florida Department of Environmental Protection ordered not to use the words "climate change" and "global warming" ... For state officials in Florida to ban the words “climate change” from even being uttered for ideological reasons verges perilously on death cult territory
What we can learn from Dr. Evil’s attack on Obama’s carbon rules | Grist - But in another sense, he is merely an inevitable result of the cascade of money. If he did not exist, someone else would do what he does. The machine also makes cogs.
Wealthy Jeb Bush Supporter Aims to Push Him to Combat Climate Change - Washington Wire - WSJ - At least one wealthy Republican donor who supports Mr. Bush, Andrew Sabin, aims to push the former Florida governor to adopt a platform that would take steps to combat climate change and environmental degradation if elected president.
Report: Solar Will Dominate World Energy Supply in Just 15 Years | Alternet - We should really feel for those poor fossil fuel barons....not! (Kochfuckers hate the sun)
Wolf Reintroduction Changes Ecosystem | Yellowstone National Park

Documents Shine Light on Shadowy New Zealand Surveillance Base - The Intercept
NSA Global Spy Stations Revealed: 'Sniff It All, Collect It All, Know It All, Process It All, Exploit It All' | Common Dreams | Breaking News & Views for the Progressive Community - Latest documents leaked to journalists by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden offer new insight into mysterious 'domes of Waihopai' and the global spy network of which they represent only a part
Don’t trust your phone, don’t trust your laptop – this is the reality that Snowden has shown us | Comment is free | The Guardian - Edward Snowden’s astute revelations show that no electronic communications device – from hard disks to sim cards – is trustworthy
Exclusive: TSA Issues Secret Warning on ‘Catastrophic’ Threat to Aviation - The Intercept - Thermite — a mixture of rust and aluminum powder — could be used against a commercial aircraft,

The Cartoonist Has No Idea How Net Neutrality Works | Techdirt (wingnut propaganda machine based on lies, as usual)
Lindsey Graham: I've Never Sent an Email - NBC News.com - He's been a U.S. senator for 12 years, and was a Congressman for eight more before that, but South Carolina Republican Lindsey Graham says he has never sent an email.

News from The Associated Press - the battery of the locator beacon for the plane's data recorder had expired more than a year before the jet vanished on March 8, 2014.
Shipment containing lithium ion batteries not screened before loading on MH370: Report - South-east Asia News & Top Stories - The Straits Times - A shipment containing 221kg of lithium ion (Li-ion) batteries on Malaysia Airlines (MAS) Flight MH370 was not screened before being loaded on the plane that disappeared a year ago.

Netanyahu in 1993: Iran will have bomb by 1999 - Israel News, Ynetnews - The prime minister has been warning for over 20 years that Tehran is close to achieving its pursuit of nuclear weapons.
Netanyahu Says Israel Won’t Cede Land to Palestinians | TIME - Appearing to rule out the establishment of a Palestinian state (permanent apartheid)
Israel fires at Gaza boats, kills Palestinian fisherman: hospital officials | Reuters

One million expected to flee from Libya to Europe (the outer periphery is falling apart)
Young Canadian’s conversion to radical Islam leaves family devastated | Toronto Star - A father has given up hope of changing his son, who has become a cheerleader for the Islamic State terrorists and has landed himself on the radar of CSIS.
Hackers Claiming to be ISIS Attack Somerville’s Backbar Website - Massachusetts news - Boston.com

Two Are Charged in Killing of Boris Y. Nemtsov - NYTimes.com - Two Chechens, one a police officer who fought Islamic insurgents and the second a security guard, were charged in a Moscow court on Sunday in connection with the killing of Boris Y. Nemtsov, a leading Kremlin critic, while three other suspects were jailed pending further investigation
Suspect in Russian Politician’s Killing Blows Himself Up, Report Says : news - Church Lady Voice : "Well isn't that convenient?"
2 Charged In Death Of Putin Critic Boris Nemstov, 3 Others On Trial
Support for Putin Among Russian Voters Doubles | News | The Moscow Times
Germany Concerned about Aggressive NATO Stance on Ukraine - spiegel online - The German government is alarmed. Are the Americans trying to thwart European efforts at mediation led by Chancellor Angela Merkel? Sources in the Chancellery have referred to Breedlove's comments as "dangerous propaganda." Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier even found it necessary recently to bring up Breedlove's comments with NATO General Secretary Jens Stoltenberg. (the "superhawk" leading NATO)

Thatcher 'Turned Blind Eye' To Paedophile MPs - As for Thatcher this is a big stain on her Premiership as this makes her as reviled as those who committed sexual abuse of children as no decent person would turn a blind eye to the abuse of children.

Adult movie shot near Pyramids sparks outrage in Egypt - Emirates 24|7 - During the footage, the actress is seen to complain several times about how 'unfinished' the pyramids look and that she does not want to return to the Sphynx for more filming.

Nobel peace prize committee chairman Thorbjørn Jagland demoted | World news | The Guardian - Former Norwegian prime minister, who drew criticism for awarding prestigious prize to Barack Obama, to be replaced by deputy in unprecedented move - “This can be interpreted as an attempt by the rightist government to exert more political control over the committee than has been customary,” Nobel historian Asle Sveen told AFP. (they are considering Ted Cruz)


(Actually) True War Stories at NBC News -- NYMag - The trouble didn’t start with Brian Williams ... “There’s no adult supervision,” one senior NBC executive tells me. “If you don’t manage, it turns into a bad version of Ron Burgundy,” says another ... But Lack is outsize and then some. “I am America’s news leader,” he once boasted to the New York Times. (Comcast and the news primadonnas)

Charter School in Miami Fails, but Proves Useful on Jeb Bush’s Résumé - NYTimes.com (Bushes can only be failed)

Guess What? Yet Another Christie Scandal ... - an eleven-year-long case against ExxonMobil that Chris Christie’s administration is trying to settle for $255 million. That sum, announced today by acting attorney general John Hoffman, is less than 3% of the $8.9 billion New Jersey officials had long sought (business=friendly)
N.J.'s deadline for releasing psych patients draws controversy | NJ.com - In a move that would cut the population of New Jersey's three publicly run psychiatric hospitals by 30 percent, the Christie administration has given community mental health providers an ultimatum: Find new places to live for 430 patients by March 16, or the state won't pay you. (R.Asshole)
Tim Huelskamp Staffer Arrested On Child Sex Charges - Huelskamp is a Republican representing Kansas' 1st Congressional District.

Sanitation Worker Jailed for Starting Work Too Early - WSPA.com - McGill doesn't apologize for locking sanitation workers up. He says 9-1-1 lights up when trash haulers come before 7 a.m. McGill, who didn't have an attorney with him when he was sentenced, is serving his time on the weekend. (black man driving a garbage truck annoys the richs by picking up their garbage so they call 911)

13 maps about America worth bringing up at dinner parties and/or first dates - Vox

TheMac394 comments on How our model of atoms has changed over number of times since we first conceived it
xs Two quantum properties teleported together for first time - physicsworld.com - The values of two inherent properties of one photon – its spin and its orbital angular momentum – have been transferred via quantum teleportation onto another photon for the first time by physicists in China ... To transfer the two properties requires not only an extra entangled set of particles (the quantum channel), but a "hyper-entangled" set – where the two particles are simultaneously entangled in both their spin and their OAM. (China will own the teleportation system)
Psychedelic drug use 'does not increase risk for mental health problems' Medical News Today - An analysis of data provided by 135,000 randomly selected participants - including 19,000 people who had used drugs such as LSD and magic mushrooms - finds that use of psychedelics does not increase risk of developing mental health problems .. the study "assures us that there were not widespread 'acid casualties' in the 1960s." (but they are gateway drugs to sanity so must be illegal)
The ‘war on drugs’ consistently ignores its greatest enemy: over-the-counter painkillers - Comment - Voices - The Independent - More than 32,000 people are addicted to codeine alone in the UK
Neuroscientists find that different parts of the brain work best at different ages ... “We were mapping when these cognitive abilities were peaking, and we saw there was no single peak for all abilities. The peaks were all over the place,”
Brain structure varies depending on how trusting people are of others, study shows -- ScienceDaily - "Another finding that we observed was for a brain region called the amygdala. The volume of this area of the brain, which codes for emotional saliency, was greater in those that were both most trusting and least trusting of others. If something is emotionally important to us, the amygdala helps us code and remember it."
How Reading Transforms Us - NYTimes.com - The genre of the text — fiction or nonfiction — didn’t matter much; what mattered was the degree of perceived artistry. Those who read a story or essay that they judged to be artistic changed their personality scores significantly more than did those who judged what they read to be less artistic.
Soon You’ll Be Able to Turn Your Brown Eyes Blue for $5,000 | Money.com - “The fundamental principle is that under every brown eye is a blue eye,”
starstarstar42 comments on I'm very short-sighted and these are what my glasses look like.
ELI5: Why/how is it that, with all the incredible variety between humans, practically every body has the same healthy body temperature of 98.6° F (or very close to it)? : explainlikeimfive
Giant tomb of Iron Age prince discovered with ‘exceptional’ treasures – The Connexion - The major find so far has been a one-metre diameter giant bronze cauldron, with four circular handles decorated with the head of Acheloos, the horned Greek river-god, and eight lioness heads. Inside, a ceramic oinochoe wine jug is decorated with black figures and there is a drawing of Dionysos stretched under a vine.

Two California Tourists Arrested For Engraving Their Names In Rome's Colosseum And Taking A Selfie : worldnews
What is one thing that if someone on the street said to you would tell you they were a reddit user instantly? : AskReddit
googlion comments on What is something every redditor should do?
Wives of reddit, what are you too afraid to tell your SO? : AskReddit
Children and Hallucinogens : WTF

Scarfolk Council
Scarfolk Council


030715
California farmers resign themselves to drought: 'Nobody's fault but God's' | US news | The Guardian - Despite efforts to dig deeper into the earth to get at diminishing groundwater, the spectre of desertification may cost Central Valley farmers too much to carry on ("God" = Republicans)
Climate activism is doomed if it remains a left-only issue | Jonathan Freedland | Comment is free | The Guardian - Faced with collective catatonia, environmentalists need to learn from successful political campaigns
"Chasing Ice" captures largest glacier calving ever filmed - official video - YouTube

Col. Wilkerson: If Americans Want Ground Forces To Fight ISIS, Let's Have A Draft | Crooks and Liars (someone else's kid's boots on the ground)
Is the “Iraq Syndrome” Dying? by Ed Kilgore | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - We’re all aware that public opinion has gotten notably more hawkish in the days since IS started beheading people on YouTube. But at the Prospect today, Paul Waldman makes the very good and important point that encouraged by this development, a Republican administration taking office in January of 2017 might be emboldened not only to re-invade Iraq but to also invade Syria, and for dessert, wage war on Iran (America very bloodthirsty with other people's children)
Republicans Hankering for Ground War Against ISIS. What Could Go Wrong? - We're going to hear more and more Republican politicians coming out for a re-invasion of Iraq. And how 'bout a strike on Iran while we're at it? (chest thumping Republicans love war waged by people not in their social class)

Read the full transcript of Obama's rousing, emotional speech in Selma - Vox
Obama in Selma: Ferguson report shows civil rights 'march is not yet finished' | US news | The Guardian - President delivers passionate speech on 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday
America still hasn’t built racial justice in the years post-Selma | Steven W Thrasher | Comment is free | The Guardian - Governments say they aren’t responsible for the violence they visit upon black people, schools remain segregated and voting rights aren’t a given
Barack Obama Marks 50th Anniversary Of 'Bloody Sunday' With Powerful Speech In Selma - Obama also took direct aim at Congress for failing to reauthorize the Voting Rights Act, one of the major achievements of the civil rights movement that arguably owes its existence to the confrontation in Selma. Republicans on the Hill stand broadly opposed to renewing the law, with no signs of bringing it up for a vote. (Republicans hate black people voting, of course)
The Faces of Selma, 50 Years Later - Bloomberg Politics
Selma's 'Bloody Sunday' 50 years on – video | US news | The Guardian
Billboard honors KKK founder near historic Selma bridge - NY Daily News
The GOPs Conspicuous Absence from Selma - On the 50th anniversary of the historic march for civil rights, Republicans are largely no-shows. (but they all clapped for Netanyahu ... kinda makes you wonder ...)

NASA’s chief confirms it: Without Russia, space station lost - Houston Chronicle (good 'ol American can-do know-how defunded by the Republicans, leaving us dependent on ... Putin!)

Free exchange: Forget the 1% | The Economist - It is the 0.01% who are really getting ahead in America

Boko Haram Pledges Allegiance To ISIS In Audio Message
International Outcry After ISIS Reportedly Destroys Nimrud Archeological Site
Iraq's Nimrud before it was destroyed by Isis - video | World news | The Guardian

Former Mossad Chief: Netanyahu Lied to Congress ... "The missiles cannot reach the U.S.," Dagan said. When asked if Netanyahu does not know that, Dagan replied: "He knows. So what?" (that's ok, they'e all liars too)
Tens Of Thousands Attend Anti-Netanyahu Rally In Tel Aviv - The rally's keynote speaker is former Mossad chief Meir Dagan who recently slammed Netanyahu's conduct and called him "the person who has caused the greatest strategic damage to Israel." (invade Netanyahu)
Third Israeli Poll: No Help For Bibi - It shows ZC/Labor with a two seat lead over Likud, identical to the margin a week ago before the speech. 25/23 last week, 24/22 this week.

The Coming Chinese Crackup - WSJ - Mr. Xi’s anticorruption campaign is more sustained and severe than any previous one, but no campaign can eliminate the problem. It is stubbornly rooted in the single-party system, patron-client networks, an economy utterly lacking in transparency, a state-controlled media and the absence of the rule of law. (authoritarian regimes are stressed everywhere)
Move Over Mao: Beloved ‘Papa Xi’ Awes China - NYTimes.com (but Xi and his reforms are very popular)
Flash - Smog documentary blocked by China after becoming viral hit - France 24

Russia detains two men in Boris Nemtsov murder inquiry | World news | The Guardian - Two men from North Caucasus region detained in connection with February killing of Russian opposition leader ... In 2013, he said as much as $30bn of the estimated $50bn funding for the Winter Olympics in Sochi had gone missing – a claim the Kremlin denied. (Putin with the contract killing)

The Coming Chinese Crackup - WSJ - The endgame of communist rule in China has begun, and Xi Jinping’s ruthless measures are only bringing the country closer to a breaking point

Bangladesh seizes $1.4 million in gold from North Korean diplomat | Reuters - "We recovered the gold both in the form of bar and ornaments from Son Young Nam, the First Secretary of the North Korean Embassy in Dhaka," said Moinul Khan, the Director General of the Custom Intelligence department, adding the gold weighed about 27 kilograms in total. (60 lbs of gold in his carry-on)

Scott Walker gets a crash course in foreign policy - The Washington Post - The reason for Walker’s crash course was urgent: He has not impressed many leading Republicans with his grasp of foreign affairs. He drew mockery from members of both parties last month for refusing to talk about foreign policy on a trip to London and then for comparing his experience battling labor protesters to taking on Islamic State terrorists. (the clown train)
Rand Paul says same-sex marriage 'offends' him and others - Potential 2016 Republican presidential candidate Rand Paul said on Friday affording the distinction to marriage to same-sex couples “offends myself and a lot of other people.” (he's for "gay contracts" with no benefits)

Jeb Bush Sounds Off On Obamacare 'Monstrosity' In Iowa - "We've created a monstrosity of consolidating power in Washington, D.C., suppressing wages, making it uncertain for investment. In fact, the greatest job suppressor in the so-called recovery that we've gone through is Obamacare," (Jebbie isn't that bright)

Hiatt's Gonna Hiatt - Lawyers, Guns & Money : David Broder is smiling from the grave. The only good Democrat in Beltway wisdom is the one in the pocket of Wall Street, the one who busts unions, the one who declares war on the poor while claiming to be representing them.
Rahm Emanuel allegedly screams at mental health activists — after running ad admitting he “can rub people the wrong way” - Salon.com - Running neck-and-neck with progressive challenger, hot-headed mayor reportedly loses his cool (he's always had an anger/entitlement problem)
Eschaton: Fuck You, Lewis - I'm certainly not one to fall on to the fainting couch over a bit of profanity, but thinking "fuck you" was a debate winning phrase was something I got over at about age 14. The problem isn't that Rahm's a rude hothead, it's that he's a crass asshole who isn't very bright. Also, bad man. boo
Study Shows Red Light Cameras, Shorter Yellow Light Times May Cancel Out Safety Advantages: Chicagoist - The Tribune followed that story with one showing the combination of cameras and short yellow light times could be a contributing factor to increasing the chances of rear-end crashes on the city’s streets. At three seconds, Chicago already has the shortest yellow light time of major cities with red light camera networks ... the cameras may have actually increased the number of crashes. (another of Rahm's bright ideas)


Today On The Jersey Corruption Beat: Bob Menendez

American Exceptionalism and White History - Lawyers, Guns & Money : In the Oklahoma version of the attack on AP U.S. History standards, the bill (now withdrawn) read: “founding documents of the United States that contributed to the foundation or maintenance of the representative form of limited government, the free-market economic system and American exceptionalism.”
Denver-Post-6-March-1915.pdf (here's some exceptionalism for you)
Update: Will UCI student officials veto U.S. flag ban today? - The Orange County Register - The resolution states that the American flag has been flown in times of “colonialism and imperialism” and could symbolize American “exceptionalism and superiority.”
White Christians Are No Longer The Majority In 19 States | ThinkProgress - “Hawaii and California have the smallest white Christian populations of any state—20 percent and 25 percent, respectively,” Joanna Piacenza, an editor and communications associate at PRRI, noted in a blog post.

Kid-Dumper AR Rep Justin Harris So SO Sorry … That DHS Screwed Him And His Family (Video) | Wonkette (Republican Christians re-gifted their adopted girl to a pedophile)
Child-Abandoning Justin Harris Explains Why He Regifted Unwanted Children | Wonkette - Like just about anyone who’s ever dropped off a dog at the pound because they didn’t need it anymore, Harris explained that he had a very good reason for dumping the two girls with the Francis family:
Hullabaloo - "Re-homing" children like pets - the Harrises "gave their adoptive children to a family" and "that family in turn gave the children to another family" and that they had "continued to accept adoption subsidy money even after giving the children away." I think this is what's known in the trade as "family values."
A child left unprotected | Cover Stories | Arkansas news, politics, opinion, restaurants, music, movies and art - State Rep. Justin Harris and his wife adopted a young girl through the state Department of Human Services. How did she, six months later, end up in the care of a man who sexually abused her?
AR Rep Justin Harris In The Middle Of 'Re-Homing' Paedophile Nightmare | Crooks and Liars - I've covered many horrible stories over the years on C&L and this one is right up there with anything I've seen ... Republican state Rep. Justin Harris's case, a family values candidate (Repubican "family values")
Arkansas State Rep Probably Had Good Reason For Giving Adopted Daughter To Guy Who Raped Her | Wonkette - Arkansas state Rep. Justin Harris seems like a pretty godly kind of guy ... Coincidentally, Harris and his wife, Marsha, happen to run a preschool called the “Growing God’s Kingdom Preschool,” where they teach kids how to be good and godly.
Growing God’s Kingdom - West Fork, AR | Yelp - This preschool is owned by Arkansas State Rep. Justin Harris, who is the Chairman of his legislature's Subcommittee on Children and Youth - The owner of this business takes nearly $1MIL in State and Federal funds to run this 'childcare.'
Reuters Investigates - The Child Exchange - Part 1: When a Liberian girl proves too much for her parents, they advertise her online and give her to a couple they’ve never met. Days later, she goes missing. The practice is called "private re-homing," a term typically used by owners seeking new homes for their pets. Based on solicitations posted on one of eight similar online bulletin boards, the parallels are striking.
Hana Williams: The tragic death of an Ethiopian adoptee, and how it could happen again. - An adoptee's tragic fate, and how it could happen again ... the family called “Chinese torture” that may have been a form of “holding therapy,” a widely discredited treatment for attachment disorders that has gained popularity among some adoptive parents (Pat Robertson approved)

Bill Cosby sexually assaulted me. I didn’t tell because I didn’t want to let black America down. - The Washington Post

Eric Holder Prepared To Dismantle Ferguson Police Department If 'Necessary'
Ferguson Mayor Rejects Department Of Justice Report, Says There’s ‘No Proof’ City Has A Race Problem (looks like it's "necessary")
Why “No New Taxes” Guarantees There Are More Fergusons | Ten Miles Square | The Washington Monthly - White supremacy in America has always been a vehicle for transferring resources from typically poor black communities to richer white communities. Slavery was a direct robbing of the wages of labor. Jim Crow allowed for robbery with impunity, as black communities were taxed without receiving many of the resulting governmental benefits. (slavery instead of taxes!)
Two Ferguson police officers resign over racist emails uncovered in federal report | US news | The Guardian - The second-highest ranking commander in the beleaguered police department of Ferguson, Missouri, was one of two veteran officers to resign on Friday over racist emails uncovered by federal investigators ... Mudd, 64, was linked to an email sent in November 2008 which suggested Barack Obama “would not be president for very long because ‘what black man holds a steady job for four years?’,” (racist fucks)
Wisconsin Police Fatally Shoot Black Teen, Prompting Protest - Madison Police Chief Mike Koval told reporters that an officer responded to a disturbance around 6:30 p.m. local time and later forced his way into an apartment that the 19-year-old, who was also suspected of a recent battery, had gone into.

Bill Maher Torches 'Blatant Bald-Assed Liar' Bill O'Reilly (video) - Bill Maher called on the media to treat Fox News anchor Bill O'Reilly's history of false statements with the same "ferocity" as it treated now-suspended NBC's Brian Williams for inaccurately claiming he was on a helicopter shot down in Iraq.

Miami Mayor’s Economic Fix: Build America’s Biggest, Tackiest Mall | Streetsblog USA - the project site is in the “most flood prone and sea level-rise prone areas of Miami-Dade County” — lowland areas by the Everglades.

Campaigners against Daylight Saving Time cite increased risk of heart attack | US news | The Guardian - As Americans prepare for clocks to move forward an hour overnight, several states battle to end the practice that means less sleep

Dear Men, Stop Telling Me 'Real Women Have Curves' | Bustle (comes with "trigger warning")
Planet Fitness drops member after gender identity complaint - WNEM TV 5 - Cormier said she understands that some men self-identify as women and some women self-identify as men, but said the person looked like a man and that caught her off guard. Cormier lost her membership for violating the company's no judgement zone policy.

Post Recession, ‘Intense Demand’ for New Developments in Watertown - Communities - Boston.com - More than 700 new apartments have been built in the Pleasant Street area over the past few years; new projects include Repton Place, Riverbend on the Charles, Alta at the Estate, and Acadia on the Charles.

Scientists Identify ‘Big Brain’ Gene in Humans, Neanderthals | Genetics | Sci-News.com - “All these results suggest that the gene ARHGAP11B plays a key role in the evolutionary expansion of the human neocortex,” the scientists said.

This is the punishment that a 6 year old boy in Oregon received for being late after his mother's car wouldn't start. : pics
You are being held at gunpoint and receive a phone call from a family member. You are ordered to answer but will be shot if you let them know what is happening. What do you say to let them know something is wrong without getting shot? : AskReddit
[Serious] Cheaters of Reddit, why are you currently cheating on your SO? : AskReddit
[Serious] What's the creepiest story you've ever read/heard, true or not? : AskReddit

030615
Biden: Denying Climate Change 'Like Denying Gravity' - Reacting to members of Congress who deny climate change is real, Biden said, "It's almost like denying gravity now... the willing suspension of disbelief can only be sustained for so long." (don't count on it)
Senator Who Cited Snowball In Climate Change Debate Cites Scripture To Back Himself Up - Inhofe is not some backbench member of the upper chamber, but is in fact the chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, with jurisdiction over the allegedly non-existent climate problem. And so it may have been deeply disturbing for a man with so much power over the fate of the planet to display such stunning ignorance ... "The arrogance of people to think that we, human beings, would be able to change what He is doing in the climate is to me outrageous," he said.
Don't look away now, the climate crisis needs you | Naomi Klein | Environment | The Guardian

The "Snowden is Ready to Come Home!" Story: a Case Study in Typical Media Deceit - The Intercept - Most sentient people rationally accept that the U.S. media routinely disseminates misleading stories and outright falsehoods in the most authoritative tones
Snowden says U.S. not offering fair trial if he returns | Reuters
Snowden says he'd like to return to Geneva | Reuters
Snowden says he'd like to return to Geneva. Edward Snowden has made a public appeal for Switzerland to grant him asylum, saying he would like to return to live in Geneva, where he once worked undercover for the Central Intelligence Agency. : worldnews
Snowed-in.. : funny

Where Terrorism Research Went Wrong - NYTimes.com - only 3 percent of articles from peer-reviewed sources appeared to be rooted in empirical analysis, and in general there was an “almost complete absence of evaluation research” concerning antiterrorism strategies.
The President’s Weak Privacy Proposal - NYTimes.com (apparently now "computer" = "Apple logo")

Republicans’ “Internet Freedom Act” would wipe out net neutrality | Ars Technica - Internet providers need the freedom to block and throttle Internet traffic. (they need the freedom to take away your freedom)

ISIS Bulldozing of Ancient Nimrud Site in Iraq Stirs Outrage - NYTimes.com - “This is yet another attack against the Iraqi people, reminding us that nothing is safe from the cultural cleansing underway in the country,” (beheading history)
Dutch jihadists should die before returning to Netherlands: Prime Minister Rutte - NL Times - “Because what do these people who travel to Syria and Iraq do? They go there to commit the most horrible attacks, to learn how to build bombs, how to take away a lot of lives. Then they come pack to commit those attacks in our society.” Rutte stated that he would prefer to stop jihadists traveling to those countries, but if he had to choose, he would rather they die there.

Netanyahu enters never-never land - The Washington Post - But when describing the alternative to it, Netanyahu entered never-never land, painting a scenario utterly divorced from reality. Congress joined him on his fantasy ride, rapturously applauding as he spun out one unattainable demand after another. (he sure is consistent)
After Netanyahu Speech, Congress Is Officially High School | Rolling Stone - Israeli Prime Minister's visit inspires bitchy barbs and insults, and nobody came out of this week looking good - This in turn led to more social media avalanching and a cartoonish response from South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, who told a donor at a fund-raiser: "Did you see Nancy Pelosi on the floor? Complete disgust. . .If you can get through all the surgeries, there's disgust!" ... Put it all together, and the Republicans' big rollout this week had to be the most self-defeating political pincer move since the Judean Peoples' Front sent their Crack Suicide Squad to the rescue in Life of Brian.
Netanyahu's Speech Adds Injury to Insult | Alon Ben-Meir - The notion that President Obama will settle on a bad deal only to score a major foreign policy success is obscene. No one knows better than Obama that under any circumstance, the U.S. will bear the responsibility and suffer the consequences of any bad deal. (invade Israel)
CNN’s Christiane Amanpour: Netanyahu Speech Was ‘Strangelovian’ | Mediaite - The Israeli prime minister’s remarks contained nothing new, she said, and were mostly evocative of a dystopian world on the brink of nuclear apocalypse.

Anna Duritskaya, Lone Witness In Slaying Of Russia's Top Critic, Gets Death Threats - since returning to her family home in Ukraine.

Accused Rapist Dragged From Prison And Lynched By Mob In India - Several thousand people stormed a prison in northeastern India, where they dragged away a man accused of rape and then lynched him, police said Friday.
Mob breaks into Indian prison, drags out rapist and beats him to death | Daily Mail Online

CIA to make sweeping structural changes with focus on cyber operations | US news | The Guardian - Spy agency will incorporate digital innovations into intelligence gathering and create new units within CIA to focus on specific challenges or geographic areas

First on CNN: Feds prepare criminal corruption charges against Senator Bob Menendez - CNN.com (corrupt Senator from Israel New Jersey)
Conservative theory about Bob Menendez and Iran - Business Insider

Conservative Justices: If we gut Obamacare, Republicans will fix it! (No, they won’t.) - The Washington Post

U.S. Economy Added 295,000 Jobs in February; Unemployment Rate at 5.5% - NYTimes.com
U.S. Adds 295,000 Jobs In February; Unemployment Rate Falls To 5.5 Percent ... The strong job gains weren't enough to boost wages by much. The average hourly wage rose just 3 cents in February to $24.78 an hour.
The Job Market Is Still Hurting, In 2 Charts
This Chart Shows How Labor Force Dropouts Mask The Unemployment Rate (it would be almost double)

GOP leaders to skip Selma event - Anna Palmer and Lauren French - politico - ‘They’ve lost an opportunity to show the American people that they care,’ one black lawmaker says. (well, they don't)

Did Jeb Bush Go Far Enough to Try to Save Terri Schiavo to Save His Iowa Chances? - Bloomberg Politics - His actions in the Schiavo case were supposed to help him with evangelicals—but some of them wish he'd done more. (that you can even ask that question)
Jeb Bush’s Complicated Legacy -- New York Magazine - “He’s become increasingly agoraphobic,” this person adds of the former president. “He looked startled by the whole thing. But he doesn’t like people, he never did, he doesn’t now.”
Here's Some Stupid For Lunch - Suffice it to say, the Kennebunkport Medicis are a strange bunch. (The portrayal of former president C-Plus Augustus leads you to believe that he might be on the way to Howard Hughes territory. Kleenex boxes for loafers and all.) However, Jeb (!) does have what appears to be the inherited family trait of being genetically incapable of being A Regular Guy.

Eschaton: Special Interest Groups - For America's Worst Editorial Board, the poors, schoolkids, and the mentally ill are "special interest groups." Charter school operators are, of course, The Real Americans. (WaPo, voice of the elites)

Why did Hillary Become the Obama Administration’s Bête Noire This Week? One Word: Iran – Tablet Magazine - Hint: It starts with an ‘I’ and ends with an ‘n,’ and it’s ‘Iran.’ ... in the space of three days from a two-year-old non-story to an immediate threat to American national security and a probable violation of criminal law, or at least a very serious violation of “protocol.”
The White House Knew About Hillary Clinton's Private Emails In August: Report - The White House was alerted in August 2014 to the potential problem of Hillary Clinton's use of a private email account during her tenure as secretary of state, Politico reported Friday. (Barry never looked at the "from:" line)
Clinton private email violated 'clear-cut' State Dept. rules - Josh Gerstein - politico - The policy warns against routine use of personal email accounts. (Hillz is above the rules)
Jeb Bush aides used private domain for public business - CNN.com - Like Clinton, though, Bush had set up his own home server with a private address during his time in office (hypocrisy, thy name starts with an "R")
Democrats clamor for credible Clinton challenger in wake of email revelations | US news | The Guardian - Hillary Clinton is 44 points clear of Joe Biden, but some Democrats are starting to worry an untested primary would leave her vulnerable, since ‘We don’t do coronations’

States Weigh Legislation to Let Businesses Refuse to Serve Gay Couples - NYTimes.com
Alabama’s Dangerous Defiance - NYTimes.com (the South is always revolting)

Rep. Don Young: Wolves would solve homelessness - The Washington Post - Alaska Republican Rep. Don Young, famous for his salty tongue and brusque demeanor, suggested Thursday that if he let loose wolves in some congressional districts, they “wouldn’t have a homeless problem anymore.”
The rise and fall of Aaron Schock - Anna Palmer and Jake Sherman - politico - He was once the GOP's golden boy. Now, a spending scandal threatens his career — or worse ... “caviar congressman in a meat-and-potatoes district.” (very corrupt Downtown Abbey boy is a ... Republican!)
GOP Congressman Aaron Schock Has His Glass Closet Shattered - Schock, who he claims has been caught by a journalist in the shower with his male roommate as well as in gay bars by TMZ. (and gay!)

Silence in Ferguson, and defiance elsewhere, in wake of DOJ report : News - A day after the Department of Justice slammed Ferguson’s police and court systems for discriminatory practices that prey on the city’s black population, there was silence from the city and officials in nearby courts were either defiant or said they hadn’t read the report.
The Ferguson Report - The Atlantic - Darren Wilson was innocent. If only the city's cops offered their own citizens the same due process he received. (TNC)
Ferguson judge behind aggressive fines policy owes $170,000 in unpaid taxes | US news | The Guardian - Ronald J Brockmeyer, who is accused of fixing traffic tickets for himself and associates, was a driving force behind using fines and fees to generate revenue ... whose court allegedly jailed impoverished defendants unable to pay fines of a few hundred dollars, has a string of outstanding debts to the US government dating back to 2007 (figures)
Ferguson clerk fired over racist emails also accused of fixing traffic tickets | US news | The Guardian - Senior court official Mary Ann Twitty, who lost her job after scathing Justice Department report was released, accused of dismissing tickets for acquaintances
Some in Ferguson Who Are Part of Problem Are Asked to Help Solve It - NYTimes.com - The emails uncovered by the Justice Department included a cartoon portraying President Obama as a chimpanzee and a joke about giving a black woman a crime-prevention award for having an abortion.
Ferguson’s government was run like a racket - The Washington Post - When the police chief reported that revenue from fines “beat our next biggest month in the last four years,” the city manager replied, “Wonderful!” As Coates suggests, this is a kind of legalized plunder. His scathing analysis recalls Charles Tilly’s classic article on “War-Making and State-Making As Organized Crime.” Tilly:
How municipalities in St. Louis County, Mo., profit from poverty - The Washington Post
How Incarceration Infects a Community - The Atlantic - Disease-based models help researchers understand how prison-admission rates are linked to the health of a neighborhood.
DNA evidence clears Nevada woman who spent 30 years in prison | US news | The Guardian - Prosecutors drop charges before re-trial begins for Cathy Woods, who had been convicted in the fatal 1976 stabbing of Michelle Mitchell

Minnesota House Votes to Reduce Seniority as Teacher Layoff Factor | KSTP TV - Minneapolis and St. Paul (Republicans hate education and are destroying America)

Rahm screams at mental health activists, “YOU’RE GONNA RESPECT ME!” | Fred Klonsky - Now off camera, Rahm’s voice raised, his demeanor changed, in no time he was shouting in Matt’s face, nose-to-nose “YOU’RE GONNA RESPECT ME!” ... “If you close my clinic I will die” only to die a month after he ignored those shouts. (dump the rich asshole bully, Chitown)
Karl Gabby: Rahm is a slasher and a privatizer. | Fred Klonsky - Rahm is a slasher and a privatizer. His program is first of all classic AUSTERITY. CUT! CUT! CUT….! Impoverish and starve public services and assets. Then sell cheaply those valuable public services and assets that belong to you and me to unaccountable individuals and corporations.

Pepperoni Turns Partisan - NYTimes.com - Democrats are, not too surprisingly, the party of Big Labor (or what’s left of it) and Big Law: unions and lawyers are the most pro-Democratic major interest groups. Republicans are the party of Big Energy and Big Food: they dominate contributions from extractive industries and agribusiness. And they are, in particular, the party of Big Pizza ... Pizza Hut gives a remarkable 99 percent of its money to Republicans (wingnut pizza making America fat because freedom!)

Radio host: Black lawmakers should be ‘hanging from a noose’ for boycotting Netanyahu’s speech - “Stupid, stupid people! Our lives are on the line and all they can think of is skin color!” she insisted. “You know, all of us are going to turn black if we end up in a cage on fire!”

Go Ahead and Call Bill O'Reilly What He Is: A Pathological Liar | Rolling Stone - The Fox News mouthpiece leapt on Brian Williams with a predatory recognition of common weakness - A good rule of callout culture is to never target someone for the same things you do ... This constant churning of preposterous shit runs through O'Reilly's career like discarded picnic food through geese, a steaming heap of compensatory fantasy meeting defensive wish fulfillment
A Note on Call-Out Culture – Briarpatch Magazine
Rachel Maddow Mocks Bill O'Reilly Over His War Reporting Controversy - But according to Maddow, when she asked Fox News to comment on the Florida suicide story, all the network gave to her was information on O'Reilly's high ratings.
In Wake Of Ben Carson Comments, Don Lemon Asks CNN Panel If Being Gay Is A Choice - "Can you choose to be gay?" CNN's Don Lemon posed the question to his guests, Ben Ferguson, Sally Kohn and HuffPost Live host Marc Lamont Hill, over and over again Wednesday night ... comments Ben Carson made to CNN's Chris Cuomo earlier that day, suggesting that homosexuality is a choice because people "go into prison straight -- and when they come out, they're gay."
Ben Carson on Prisons and Homosexuality as a Choice - The Atlantic - Ben Carson's simplistic approach to homosexuality reflects an impoverished understanding of human behavior ... The neurosurgeon turned presidential hopeful, Americans' sixth most admired man, engaged in the following exchange with journalist Chris Cuomo:
USA Today Columnist Cal Thomas: Gay Marriage Is A Sign of the 'End Times' (no, Republicans are a sign of the end of the world)

Anti-Vaccine Haven Digs In As Measles Outbreak Hands Science Crusaders An Edge - oday, a lack of vaccination is still at crisis levels. While fewer than 2 percent of children nationwide have skipped vaccinations, communities with high opt-out rates are scattered across the country, including the liberal enclaves of Berkeley, California, Ashland, Oregon, and Vashon Island.
I Used to Be an Anti-Vaxer - The Atlantic - I’m ashamed that it took me 15 years to realize that pretending there was a connection between vaccines and autism didn’t let me control whether my son would be autistic or not. It just put him in another kind of danger—a preventable kind.

What Schools Should Teach Kids About Sex - The Atlantic - "There is probably no subject that has posed greater headaches to teachers than sex education," While every state engages in some form of sex education for public schoolchildren, only 13 of them have laws requiring that, if such a curriculum is offered, it must be medically accurate and based on scientific evidence ... 19 states require that school-based sex education emphasize the importance of abstinence until marriage. (abstinence!)
Scarleteen | Sex Education For The Real World

Redefining Gender in Mexico City - NYTimes.com - In Spanish there is no gender-neutral pronoun. Whenever you speak, you have to give yourself a gender
Trans Women Are Not Agents of the Patriarchy
TEF-LON and transmisogyny: about that Terry MacDonald piece in the New Statesman - In case you haven’t paid attention for the last two years, a clique of UK writers connected via skeptic groups and the New Statesman – Suzanne Moore, Sarah Ditum, Gia Milinovich, Helen Lewis, Caroline Criado-Perez, Martin Robbins and Julies Bindel and Burchill – periodically say unhelpful things on trans women’s issues.
Are you now or have you ever been a TERF? - The term TERF - "trans exclusionary radical feminist" has become internet shorthand for "transphobic bigot". The odd thing is that most people hold beliefs which could see them labelled a "TERF".
The Dispute Between Radical Feminism and Transgenderism - The New Yorker - The dispute between radical feminism and transgenderism ... Reviewing “The Transsexual Empire” in the Times, the psychiatrist Thomas Szasz called it “flawless.”
Here is Julie Burchill's censored Observer article – Telegraph Blogs - a bunch of dicks in chick’s clothing ... a bunch of bed-wetters in bad wigs.
Linda V. Shanko, AKA GenderTrender’s GallusMag | The TransAdvocate - Standing well over 6' tall, she was said to be known for biting off obstreperous sailor’s ears, which she kept in a pickle jar behind the bar.
Sex Essentialism: TERF patriarchy and smelly vaginas | The TransAdvocate - TERFs battle over who has the correct vaginal odor in order to determine female validity.
Chinese Advocate of Sexuality Opens Door Into Her Own Private Life - NYTimes.com - After a blogger accused her of being a closeted lesbian, Professor Li shot back with a blog post announcing that her partner of 17 years, although born a woman, is a transgender man.
Here's Everything You Need to Know About What's Going on With Bruce Jenner in One Sentence | Noah Michelson (comment: "Bruce could be getting an operation to become an alpaca, and he would still be the most normal one in that family.")

Bigger Booties, Smaller Chins: Trends in Plastic Surgery - The Atlantic - Not only has demand for breast augmentation increased by 35 percent since 2000, the number of butt implants nearly doubled in the past year

Cancer-Stricken Girl's Make-A-Wish Playhouse Stalled by Homeowner Association - ABC News

Jumpers - The New Yorker - The fatal grandeur of the Golden Gate Bridge ... “I instantly realized that everything in my life that I’d thought was unfixable was totally fixable—except for having just jumped.” ... another wrote, “Absolutely no reason except I have a toothache.”

Comparison of select analytes in aerosol from e-cigarettes with smoke from conventional cigarettes and with ambient air - Analysis of the smoke from conventional cigarettes showed that the mainstream cigarette smoke delivered approximately 1500 times more harmful and potentially harmful constituents (HPHCs) tested when compared to e-cigarette aerosol or to puffing room air ... Thus, the results of this study support previous researchers’ discussion of e-cigarette products’ potential for reduced exposure compared to cigarette smoke. (you're polluting my air with your second-hand air; ban that air and don't let people air near public parks)
Why you should ignore the recent study, which apparently states: "That E-Cigarettes Generate Virtually No Toxins", if you haven't already. : electronic_cigarette

5 Things Long-Lasting Couples Do Differently
10 Tricks To Appear Smarter In Meetings

TIL the first time Reddit was mentioned in the New York Times, it was described as "foolish collectivism" that "grinds away the Web's edges and saps it of its humanity". (June 10, 2006) : todayilearned - The fact that they refer to it as the Wikipedia how's how dated that article is. Makes some good points though.
So Many Airfares, So Much Data - New York Times - The Trouble With Wikis There is nothing wrong, per se, with Wikipedia, writes Jaron Lanier, the computer scientist, artist and author, in a provocative essay on the Web site Edge: The Third Culture (edge.org). Rather, he says, the problem is how Wikipedia is used and the way it has been elevated to such importance so quickly.
Astronomers Watch a Supernova and See Reruns - NYTimes.com
Astronomers Observe Supernova and Find They're Watching the Same Star Explode Over and Over Again : worldnews (veers off into consciousness and Dennett)
The Fermi Paradox - Wait But Why - The Great Filter theory says that at some point from pre-life to Type III intelligence, there’s a wall that all or nearly all attempts at life hit. There’s some stage in that long evolutionary process that is extremely unlikely or impossible for life to get beyond. That stage is The Great Filter. . Depending on where The Great Filter occurs, we’re left with three possible realities: We’re rare, we’re first, or we’re fucked.
TIL that finding evidence of even microbial life on Mars could be very bad news for humanity. One of the most popular solutions to The Fermi Paradox is that there exists a "Great Filter" for life. Finding evidence of life elsewhere would mean the the filter is most likely still ahead of us. : todayilearned
? Nick Bostrom on the Fermi Paradox - YouTube (bad news at 6:30)
Autism is largely down to genes, twins study suggests - Genetic influences on autism are estimated to be between 74-98%, a Medical Research Council study of 258 twins suggests.
Get Ready For "Nosewitness" Testimony - at least one study suggests that traditional eyewitness lineups are only 45 percent to 60 percent accurate.

The New Wired.com Is Here: Why It Took 8 Years For A Redesign And Why Now?
Study examines how political reporters interact on Twitter — and Twitter erupts - Columbia Journalism Review - The proportion of journalists on Twitter is roughly three times that of internet-using adults.
Apple Will Replace AT&T In The Dow Jones Industrial Average
Comcast May Be Infringing Net Neutrality With Shady HBO Go Deals | Motherboard - It appears, however, that Comcast blocking HBO Go on certain devices is a violation of the new net neutrality rules, experts say. (Comcast, the fuck you company)
Tor Users Must Now Provide A Phone Number To Open A New Twitter Account | TechCrunch - Twitter last week announced plans to begin tracking troublesome users via their mobile phone number. Along those lines, it has begun forcing users of anonymous web browser Tor to provide a number in order to open a new account.

030515
China vows to fight pollution 'with all our might' | Environment | The Guardian - Chinese Premier Li Keqiang renews pledges to tackle the country’s chronic pollution but does not announce any significant new environmental measures

Top al-Qaida leader killed in air strike, says militant group in Syria | World news | The Guardian - US-led coalition spokesman denies air strikes were conducted in past 24 hours - Nusra Front announced that Abu Humam al-Shami died in bombing - a blast targeting a high-level militant meeting.

Watch David Carr’s Final Interview with Glenn Greenwald, Edward Snowden | Mediaite

New Zealand spying on Pacific allies for 'Five Eyes' and NSA, Snowden files show | US news | The Guardian - Secret papers show NZ spy agency GCSB is collecting calls and internet traffic in bulk and sending it to the US National Security Agency

Israeli voters unmoved by Netanyahu speech to US Congress | World news | The Guardian - Binyamin Netanyahu’s speech to the US Congress this week has won him only a marginally increased level of support before Israeli elections on 17 March, with more than 90% of participants in one poll saying the speech failed to inspire them to change their vote. (so, that 10% is pretty important)
Iran nuclear talks 'very close' to a deal, as Netanyahu brings negotiators together | World news | The Guardian - American and Iranian diplomats find common ground rejecting Israeli leader’s combative approach to negotiations, but also agree serious hurdles remain to meeting March deadline (Iran's chance to stick it Israel, will they wait until after the election?)

India’s Daughter: BBC brings forward airing of Delhi rape documentary | Media | The Guardian - Film on brutal attack on Jyoti Singh broadcast in UK on Wednesday night despite being banned by Indian authorities - The television channel also broadcast what it said was Udwin’s last interview before she left India. “I’m very frightened what’s going to happen next -- I predict the whole world will point fingers at India now,” Udwin said. “It’s a tragedy -- you’re shooting yourself in the foot.”

Family of Alberto Nisman say Argentinian prosecutor was murdered | World news | The Guardian - Nisman shot dead day before he was due to testify that Cristina Fernández had conspired to cover up Iranian involvement in 1994 Jewish centre attack

Will #SisiLeaks be Egypt's Watergate for Abdel Fatah al-Sisi? | World news | The Guardian - Recordings allegedly implicate Egypt’s president in judicial interference, secret bank transfers from other countries and a conspiracy against Mohamed Morsi (Erdogan has the same problem with leaks)

Denmark wants to rebrand part of Sweden as 'Greater Copenhagen' | World news | The Guardian - a vision of Greater Copenhagen as a European metropolis, with the “international clout” to become a magnet for investment and innovation. Not since 1675 has there been such tension on the border. When Denmark’s King Christian V launched a bloody conquest of Skåne,

Court Orders Army To Stop Referring To Chelsea Manning As A Man - Nancy Hollander, Manning’s lead attorney, applauded the court's decision. “This is an important victory for Chelsea, who has been mistreated by the government for years,"

Budowsky: Roberts will uphold ObamaCare | TheHill - If I am wrong, and Roberts and the other Republican justices overturn the subsidies and destroy ObamaCare in a party-line vote, the Supreme Court will become another Washington institution that loses legitimacy with a large number of citizens and falls into widespread public disrepute.
Obamacare Will Probably Survive Its Second Trip To The Supreme Court | ThinkProgress
Did John Roberts Tip His Hand? - The New Yorker - Chief Justice John Roberts, usually among the most active questioners on the court, scarcely said a word throughout the highly anticipated clash.
Strict Deconstructionism: Republican Legal and Political Values in 2015 - Lawyers, Guns & Money : The first main point is that unlike many smart observers I’m not really much more optimistic than I was yesterday. And second, it’s like how much more hackish could Scalia be? And the answer is none. None more hackish:

Democrats See a Familiar Pattern in the Clinton E-mail Story - Bloomberg Politics
Clinton State Department Ousted Ambassador Using Private Email | The Weekly Standard - In other words, State Department policy was very clear. Using a private email outside the State Department's secure system was completely unacceptable. If this applied to ambassadors, one would think it was sensible policy for the Secretary of State as well.
How Unsafe Was Hillary Clinton's Secret Staff Email System? (very)
Republicans accuse Clinton of 'scheme to conceal' emails from public view | US news | The Guardian - State Department officials do not expect 50,000 pages of email to be released for several months, as Clinton – a lone tweet aside – chooses to stay silent
Ron Fournier Is Very Concerned: A Continuing Series - Fournier's poignant thoughts on why maybe it's best Hillary Clinton doesn't run for president - Ron Fournier, a breezy conversationalist and one-time father confessor to Karl Rove, has waded into the Hillary Clinton E-Mail blogswarm with a take so hot it could melt cold steel. Maybe Clinton doesn't want to run. Maybe she shouldn't.
Scott Walker Hits Clinton On Private Email Account, Dems Cry Hypocrite! - "It was Scott Walker who had a secret email system that was used in his office to avoid public scrutiny when he was Milwaukee county executive. Walker routinely used a campaign email account himself to discuss official business and to email county staffers also using private email addresses,"
Hillary Clinton Responds To Email Controversy: 'I Want The Public To See My Email' (but they weren't archived on State's servers, so, too bad)
Hillary Clinton breaks silence on email controversy - Gabriel Debenedetti - politico (watch Tiger Beat: "breaks silence" = one tweet)

The Demolition of Workers’ Compensation - ProPublica - Over the past decade, states have slashed workers’ compensation benefits, denying injured workers help when they need it most and shifting the costs of workplace accidents to taxpayers. (Republicans continue to dismantle America)

Chris Christie Makes Nice With Exxon - He hasn't been in the spotlight much as part of the race for 2016, but luckily, Chris Christie's still filling his time as governor of New Jersey, facilitating corporate settlements and the like.

I Was Alabama’s Top Judge. I’m Ashamed by What I Had to Do to Get There. - politico Magazine - How money is ruining America’s courts. (for-sale elected judges)
Kris Kobach: 'Not A Huge Jump' To Think Obama Could Ban Criminal Prosecution Of Black People | Right Wing Watch (it's always projection with these people)

DOJ Report Vindicates Ferguson Protesters As Police Department Faces Uncertain Future
The Problem Is Way Bigger Than Ferguson, Justice Department Report Reveals - It was billed as an investigation of the Ferguson Police Department. But a hard-hitting report released Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Justice also reads as an indictment of cities and towns across the St. Louis region. (don't stop there)

The New York Times Rebuilds Media Desk After Buyouts - The New York Times made a series of internal moves Thursday to strengthen its media desk following several buyouts in late 2014 and the recent death of columnist David Carr.

Jennifer Kaya Thompson, Jane Doe In 2005 Cosby Case, Sheds Anonymity - more than 30 other women who have accused Cosby of drugging them, assaulting them or coercing them into sex. It's been 14 years since the first woman publicly accused Bill Cosby of assaulting her.xs


Early Homo at 2.8 Ma from Ledi-Geraru, Afar, Ethiopia - The Ledi-Geraru discovery has implications for hypotheses about the timing and place of the origin of the genus Homo.
Nasa finds evidence of a vast ancient ocean on Mars | Science | The Guardian - A huge primitive ocean covered one-fifth of the red planet’s surface, making it warm, wet and ideal for alien life to gain a foothold, scientists say
What came first, the chicken or the egg? The definitive answer | Science | The Guardian (chicken egg, semantically)
What is the average penis size? Find out with this interactive graphic | News | The Guardian

Reddit CEO Ellen Pao to testify at sexual discrimination trial | Technology | The Guardian - Ellen Pao is suing for $16m she says she lost when she was passed over for promotion at legendary tech investment firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. Pao claims she was not promoted because of her gender. (incompetency aside)



030415
Commentary: A critical assessment of the policy endorsement for holistic management
Allan Savory’s TED talk is wrong, and the benefits of holistic grazing have been debunked. - Why Allan Savory’s TED talk about how cattle can reverse global warming is dead wrong ("There’s no such thing as a beef-eating environmentalist.")
So this guy figured out how to solve climate change, world famine, and impending overpopulation, all in one solution. And it's hilariously simple. All backed up with 30+ years of research/testing he's been doing. So yeah, kind of an important video : videos
Apple, Kaiser Permanente solar investments: Renewable energy is finally a threat to coal. - Renewable energy finally makes sense as a utility—and that’s why it’s becoming a threat to coal.

National (US) Poll - March 4, 2015 - U.S. Voters Back 2-1 Sending T | Quinnipiac University Connecticut - March 4, 2015 - U.S. Voters Back 2-1 Sending Troops To Fight Isis, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Voters Say 3-1 Keep Un-Vaccinated Kids Out Of School (well, we've sure learned nothing about invading in the Middle East)

U.S. On The Sidelines In Key Battle Against ISIS In Iraq - Pentagon spokesman Army Col. Steve Warren said this week that the U.S. is not providing air power in the Tikrit operation "simply because the Iraqis haven't requested us to."
Jihadi John family has cost taxpayers up to £400k to house them | Daily Mail Online - Mohammed Emwazi's family granted asylum in 1996 after leaving Kuwait - One landlord described the family as ‘parasites’ and ‘tenants from hell’ (ingrates)

Jon Stewart Blasts Benjamin Netanyahu Speech, Republican's "Blowjob" Response - The Hollywood Reporter - The 'Daily Show' host calls the Republican standing ovation to the Israeli Prime Minister's remarks "the longest blow job a Jewish man has ever received."
U.S., Iran Say 'Some Progress' Made On Nuclear Talks

Sex Gangs May Have Abused Hundreds Of Girls - Nearly 400 girls may have been sexually exploited in Oxfordshire over a 16-year period, according to a report that has criticised authorities for failing to protect victims. The Serious Case Review said a paedophile ring was able to rape and abuse six victims for five years because the girls' complaints were not taken seriously ... One victim described how she turned up at a police station covered in blood in the early hours, but was ignored ... However, it found no evidence of "wilful professional neglect" by police and social workers

The Secret Talks - Lawyers, Guns & Money : The secrecy revolving around the Trans-Pacific Partnership continues to disturb those who are interested in fair trade. Noting that this agreement isn’t really even about American exports since the world is already basically fully globalized already, Robert Reich and Richard Trumka express their concerns over the TPP’s secrecy. (another Obama Secret)

Court Pesters: Why Elena Kagan May Have Saved Health Care
King V. Burwell: The Supreme Court Case That Could Destroy Obamacare
Supreme Court Appears Sharply Split in Case on Health Law - NYTimes.com
Behind Supreme Court’s Obamacare Case, A Secretive Society’s Hidden Hand - ProPublica - For more than 30 years, the Federalist Society has worked behind the scenes to shape Supreme Court outcomes to a conservative agenda. In King v. Burwell, its influence could eliminate health insurance subsidies for millions of people.
The Supreme Court hears an Obamacare fairytale - That is fiction. Provable fiction. (Republicans have always been liars)
The Twisted, Tortured Path Obamacare Took Back To The Supreme Court
Overturning Obamacare Would Change the Nature of the Supreme Court - NYTimes.com - Overturning Obamacare Would Change the Nature of the Supreme Court (that happened 15 years ago)
A Cynical Challenge to the A.C.A. - The New Yorker - But, in contrast to other landmarks in Supreme Court history, the King case is notable mostly for the cynicism at its heart. Instead of grandeur, there is a smallness about this lawsuit in every way except in the stakes riding on its outcome.
An Obamacare 'Replacement?' Don't Believe The Hype - Congressional Republicans want Americans -- especially the nine on the Supreme Court -- to think the GOP can do in less than five months what it took Democrats decades to achieve: enact comprehensive health care reform legislation

House committee to subpoena e-mails from Clinton’s personal account - The Washington Post
Using Private Email, Hillary Clinton Thwarted Record Requests - NYTimes.com
Hillary Clinton Ran Homebrew Computer System For Official Emails - The computer server that transmitted and received Hillary Rodham Clinton's emails — on a private account she used exclusively for official business when she was secretary of state — traced back to an Internet service registered to her family's home in Chappaqua, New York (all your emails are belong to her because she's very special)
Clinton’s E-Mail System Built For Privacy Though Not Security - Bloomberg Business
Why Clinton's Private Email Server Was Such a Security Fail | WIRED - For a secretary of state, running your own email server might be a clever—if controversial—way to keep your conversations hidden from journalists and their pesky Freedom of Information Act requests. But ask a few security experts, and the consensus is that it’s not a very smart way to keep those conversations hidden from hackers - : the possibility that an unofficial, unprotected server held the communications of America’s top foreign affairs official for four years, leaving all of it potentially vulnerable to state-sponsored hackers. (not just the NSA, but foreign governments knew)
Is the Mysterious ‘Eric Hoteham’ Actually Longtime Clinton Aide Eric Hothem?  | Washington Free Beacon
Top Biden backer: Hillary Clinton will ‘die by 1,000 cuts’ on e-mail story - The Washington Post - "There’s always another shoe to drop with Hillary," Harpootlian said

Darren Wilson Is Cleared of Rights Violations in Ferguson Shooting - NYTimes.com

'Christian' philosophy removed from school job ad, apology offered after ACLU complaint | MLive.com - A consultant helping a rural Northern Michigan school district with its superintendent search apologized for suggesting that candidates have "a strong Christian background and philosophy" and has removed the criteria from the job description. (good Christian Republican wanted)
Fox Guest: With Obama There's More 'Rape' Than Ever Before In Modern Times - under the Obama administration there has "been more genocide, more rape, more enslavement" than at any other time in "modern history.

America’s student loan boycott: How 15 students took on the government — and just may win - Salon.com - Saddled with predatory loans, students are striking and confronting Arne Duncan. Here's what it means for all of us (Mr Charter Schools, thanks Obama)
Eschaton: Maybe That's Not Such A Good Job After All? - Who would have thought that years of demonizing teaches, removing worker protections, reducing salaries and benefits, and telling people that it's really only something 22-year-old Ivy grads should do for a couple of years out of college might start to convince people that maybe it isn't such an awesome career?
Where Have All The Teachers Gone? : NPR Ed : NPR - In California, enrollment is down 53 percent over the past five years. It's down sharply in New York and Texas as well. In North Carolina, enrollment is down nearly 20 percent in three years. "The erosion is steady. That's a steady downward line on a graph. And there's no sign that it's being turned around," (Republicans hate education and America is paying the price of being stupid)
Teacher hangs self in classroom - Students arriving at El Dorado High School found Jillian Jacobson's classroom door locked, Placentia police Lt. Eric Point said. Thinking she was late, they went next door to get another teacher, who returned with them and opened the door. Jacobson was found hanging from the ceiling.

Raped on Campus? Don’t Trust Your College to Do the Right Thing - Commentary - The Chronicle of Higher Education - In January, a rape survivor sued the University of Oregon for mishandling her sexual-assault case. Through the campus judicial process, the university found the three male students responsible for gang-raping her (not the technical term). They were kicked off the varsity basketball team and eventually out of school. But there is a lot more to the story, including the ways that the university delayed the investigation of the students long enough so that they could finish up their basketball season. The story is long, and it might destroy your faith in humanity, even if the university did drop its counterclaim against the survivor last week. (shocking, and HIPAA doesn't apply: never use your univ. counseling center! for anything)
U. of Oregon Amends Its Response to Sexual-Assault Lawsuit – The Ticker - Blogs - The Chronicle of Higher Education - The University of Oregon on Thursday dropped a counterclaim it had filed as part of its response to a lawsuit by a student who contends that the university mishandled her sexual-assault complaint against three basketball players, The Register-Guard reports.
University of Oregon, Dana Altman counter lawsuit against them by alleged sexual assault victim | OregonLive.com

Baton Rouge police arrest 2 men using unconstitutional sodomy law | NOLA.com - After contacting the DA's office, Coppola said Chief Dabadie sent a memo to all officers saying the crimes against nature statue was no longer constitutional. Coppola says the chief apologized to both men for the mistake that was made. (they didn't get the memo )

How WWI Should Be Taught. : funny - And then germany woke up, went home, went nazi, and plotted his revenge

Dangerous Passage and Multiplying Fines as Ice Is Left Uncleared - NYTimes.com - And while New York City authorities have issued tickets to the buildings’ owners, the city will not clear the ice. (time to ticket abandoned houses but not clear; not their dept)

Stylish Low-Cost Houses Designed for Singles | WIRED
6 Reasons Gray Hair Is White Hot Again - Now ditch the bottle! (GMILFs)
How Do You Season Cast Iron? | PureWow (kosher salt and elbow grease)

The Weird Quantum Behavior of Light, Captured in a Lab | WIRED - both wave-like and particle-like behavior in one shot.
Absurd Creature of the Week: The 16-Foot-Tall Reptilian Stork That Delivered Death Instead of Babies | WIRED - Quetzalcoatlus
A Symphony for Cats - The Atlantic - Felines aren't keen on human music, so scientists created special songs for them.

Finger length indicates how nice men are to women - The study, published in Personality and Individual Differences, notes that a lower ratio "indicates greater androgen exposure"; in less scientific-speak, it means the longer a man's ring finger compared to his index finger, the more male hormones (chief among them testosterone) he was exposed to in the womb.
Women’s Voice Pitch Changes Depending on Their Attraction To a Man | Psychology Today - Women’s voice pitch is used as a sexual signal.

A man's thoughts vs A woman's thoughts : funny
Mini Tornado rips onto sand, blowing people away : WTF
Reddit, have you ever had Sleep Paralysis? If so, what was it like? : AskReddit
I am a cow and I am overjoyed today. AMA. : india - Yes. My relatives are being happy. But I have dream. One day I want see ban of cow holocaust and throwaway of Kerala hitler, so I can make softcow movies in Kerala induztry like a shageela aunty. (Indian cow does AMA)

Chappie Is Loud, Messy, and Surprisingly Radical | WIRED - Chappie takes those centuries of intellectual history and hits them with a missile, building a world in which body and mind—or soul, or something resembling a soul—become modular and malleable.

You Can Now Easily Send Encrypted Texts to Anyone, and the NSA Is Gonna Hate It | Motherboard - So chances are, NSA and co. are not going to like Si?gnal, a cross-platform app that now lets you send encrypted text, picture and video messages to virtually anyone with a smartphone.
“FREAK” Security Flaw Discovered Lurking In Many Computers For Decades, Apple Promises Fix Next Week | TechCrunch
Tracking the TLS FREAK Attack (M.I.T. you so stupid)

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Strong Link Between California Drought & Climate Change Revealed Today | CleanTechnica - climate change is occurring 10 times faster now than at any time in the past 65 million years. He has also said that at its current pace, climate change will involve a 5- to 6-degree Celsius rise by 2100
Even at $10/barrel, oil can’t match solar on cost. The report from the National Bank of Abu Dhabi says that while oil and gas has underpinned almost all energy investments until now, future investment will be almost entirely in renewable energy sources. : technology

Breaking: House Judiciary Committee Tells FCC It's Going To Block Net Neutrality Rules | Techdirt (Republifucks never give up)

Netanyahu's Real Targets: President Obama, and the Israeli Swing Voter - The Atlantic - In an impassioned speech, Netanyahu makes the case that Iran is ruled by very bad men. But we got that.
The Central Question: Is It 1938? - The Atlantic - If today's world resembles Europe on the eve of invasion, carnage, and the Holocaust, then Prime Minister Netanyahu's warnings are prudent and wise. But what if that's a bad description of today's world? - Over the years Benjamin Netanyahu has very explicitly said, "It's 1938 and Iran is Germany."
Nancy Pelosi: Netanyahu speech ‘insulting to the intelligence of the United States’ - Lauren French - politico - House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi dismissed a speech Tuesday by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as full of “condescension” and an “insult to the intelligence of the United States.”

The complete transcript of Netanyahu’s address to Congress - The Washington Post
Why Netanyahu’s speech didn’t do his American allies any favors - The Washington Post - (and let’s not forget that Netanyahu was an enthusiastic supporter of the Iraq War, which dramatically increased Iran’s power and influence in the Middle East).
Benjamin Netanyahu Tells Congress Current Deal Guarantees Iran Nuclear Weapons - Despite the boycott of nearly 60 members of Congress, the House floor was nearly full.
Obama: Netanyahu Offered No Viable Alternative To Iran Nuclear Talks
Obama: Netanyahu offers no viable alternative to Iran talks : worldnews
Lawmakers Impressed But Unmoved By Bibi Speech
The Circus Leaves Town - Netanyahu's speech was nothing more than a performance piece. The president will continue to do what he planned to do.
The Mystery of the Netanyahu Disaster, and a Possible Explanation - The Atlantic - At face value, this speech makes no sense. But there may be a deeper logic to the Israeli prime minister's determination to speak to Congress.

Benjamin Netanyahu's Long History of Crying Wolf About Iran's Nuclear Weapons - The Intercept (Fuckyu has been lying for 20 years)
The Nuclear Talks With Iran, Explained - NYTimes.com
Netanyahu, in Speech to Congress, Criticizes ‘Bad Deal’ on Iran Nuclear Program - NYTimes.com
Netanyahu tells Congress: nuclear deal 'paves Iran’s path to the bomb' | World news | The Guardian - Despite boycott by prominent Democrats, Israeli prime minister received loud applause when pleading for block to any lifting of economic sanctions on Iran

ISIS loses more than 20 villages in Syria | News , Middle East | THE DAILY STAR - Syrian regime forces and Kurdish militia fought separate battles with ISIS militants in a strategic area near the Iraqi and Turkish borders, a monitoring group said.
Christian militia in Syria defends ancient settlements against Isis | World news | The Guardian - Fighters try to protect last pockets of Assyrian Christians after Islamic State kills dozens, captures 300 hostages and forces thousands into exile
ISIS Burns 8000 Rare Books and Manuscripts in Mosul - Yahoo Finance
Afghan army suffers heavy combat losses: US - Yahoo News - Afghan security forces are suffering heavy casualties on the battlefield and large numbers of troops are resigning or deserting their units, a new report said Tuesday.

Some 12,000 Russian soldiers in Ukraine supporting rebels: U.S. commander | Reuters

Exclusive: Obama sharply criticizes China's plans for new technology rules | Reuters - urging Beijing to change the policy if it wants to do business with the United States and saying he had raised it with President Xi Jinping.

UK Media Regulator Again Threatens RT for "Bias": This Time, Airing "Anti-Western Views" - The Intercept

Passenger planes dodged Russian bombers | Irish Examiner
Passenger planes dodged Russian bombers in Irish controlled airspace : worldnews

New Delhi Gang Rape Convict Blames Victim For Attack: 'She Shouldn't Have Fought Back' - "Then they would have dropped her off after 'doing her,'" he said in the 2013 interview for a documentary being released Sunday.
India outraged by interview with man convicted of gang-rape of student | World news | The Guardian - Mukesh Singh, convicted of brutal rape of Jyoti Singh in 2012, told British documentary victim would not have been killed if she hadn’t fought back
India: 400 men cut off their testicles to 'get closer to God' following advice from 'guru' - He has previously been questioned over the murder of an investigative journalist in 2002 and has also been accused of sexual assault by female followers but has never been charged. (cut off his balls)

Snowden ready to go to US if he gets fair trial - whistleblower's lawyer — RT News (Obama chuckles in the drone room)
Kim Dotcom Dubbed A 'Fugitive' So The US Can Keep His Money | Gizmodo Australia - Kim Dotcom is not entitled to fight to get his assets back because he is a “fugitive”. It’s a particularly troubling claim, because it means the US can seize money and assets in other countries and not give them back (Feds ramp up global asset forfeiture)
Feds Admit Stingrays Can Disrupt Cell Service of Bystanders | WIRED (is that legal?)
PayPal stops accepting payments for Kim Dotcom ' s Mega service because it uses encryption : worldnews

Ending Uncertainty, House Approves Year’s Funding for Homeland Security - NYTimes.com
Today in the World's Most Farcical Legislative Body - Lawyers, Guns & Money : House Republicans reiterate their demands for the administration’s TOP-SECRET PLAN to mitigate the damage should the judicial arm of the Republican Party decide to wreck a majority of the country’s health insurance exchanges:
The terrible, horrible, no good start for GOP | TheHill - The opening weeks of the 114th Congress have been nothing short of a disaster for Republicans, who declared upon taking control of both chambers last fall that the era of governing by crisis and fiscal cliffs was over.

Hillary Clinton Used Personal Email Account at State Dept., Possibly Breaking Rules - NYTimes.com - Mrs. Clinton did not have a government email address during her four-year tenure at the State Department. Her aides took no actions to have her personal emails preserved on department servers at the time, as required by the Federal Records Act (what were you hiding, Hilz, and didn't anyone else notice the hotmail account?)
Hillary Clinton May Have Broken Federal Record-Keeping Law By Only Using A Private E-Mail As Secretary Of State (Barry never noticed)
What Hillary Clinton's Private Emails as Secretary of State Mean for the White House - The Atlantic - Her violations of public records rules indicate little regard for the people's right to information.
This Is Hillary Clinton’s Secret Email: HDR22@ClintonEmail.com

Ex-CIA Chief David Petraeus Enters Guilty Plea in Paula Broadwell Leaks - The Atlantic - The retired general will pay $40,000 and get two years' probation. Not all leakers are so lucky.

Ex-US Senator Calls Out Missouri GOP Leader During Funeral: 'Words Can Kill' - Eulogies are a celebration of the life of the deceased. But in his remembrance of Missouri Auditor Tom Schweich (R) on Tuesday, former U.S. Sen. John Danforth (R-MO) combined high praise for the dead with forcefully harsh words for the state GOP chairman who has been linked to Schweich's suicide ... Danforth addressed head-on an alleged anti-Semitic "whisper campaign" that preceded the death ... Danforth said that contentious intra-party climate was proof that "politics has gone so hideously wrong," adding that "the death of Tom Schweich is the natural consequence of what politics has become." ("politics" = Republicans)

Alabama Supreme Court Blocks Same-Sex Marriage - The Alabama Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered probate judges in the state to stop issuing same-sex marriage licenses.
Lawyer In California Proposes Killing Gays With 'Sodomite Suppression Act' - The act outlines seven measures relating to those who engage in same-sex sodomy, "a monstrous evil that Almighty God, giver of freedom and liberty, commands us to suppress on pain of our utter destruction even as he overthrew Sodom and Gomorrha." (how about an idiocy suppression act?)
Texas lawmaker married five times files error-filled complaint against gay marriage - San Antonio Express-News - Tony Tinderhol (o rly)

Police Routinely Violate Rights Of Blacks in Ferguson, U.S. Says - NYTimes.com - Black motorists were twice as likely as whites to be searched but were less likely to be found in possession of contraband such as drugs or guns. (no racism there)
Inside Chicago's legacy of police abuse: violence 'as routine as traffic lights' | US news | The Guardian - Ordinary Chicagoans say Homan Square facility, where suspects are interrogated and detained without legal access, fits within a broader tradition of police abuse (who are the terrorists?)
In Chapel Hill, Suspect’s Rage Went Beyond a Parking Dispute - NYTimes.com - Before the shootings, the students took concerted steps to appease a menacing neighbor, and none were parked that day in a way that would have set off an incident involving their cars.
LAPD Shooting Update: Two Body Cameras, And A Gun Malfunction | KBIA (another cop malfunction)
No-knock warrant bill draws debate in Georgia - Georgia legislators are currently debating bills that would restrict police use of no-knock warrants. But some believe those bills would actually have the opposite effect. But the bills have critics who make this point: Georgia law currently does not technically allow these warrants at all. These bills, by restricting them, would actually make them legal. (cops will break an illegal law more often)
Electrical engineer tased at his housewarming party sues Madison County deputies | AL.com - "The suspect was arrested for obstructing my investigation," wrote Dejong. (which was illegal, of course)
Lacey Spears Found Guilty Of Killing Her Child With Salt - A woman who blogged for years about her son's constant health woes was convicted Monday of poisoning him to death by force-feeding heavy concentrations of sodium through his stomach tube.
Police chief was kissing cop's wife in car, divorce complaint states | Local News | Times Free Press - Maddux demoted, to stay at department as captain

‘Unsubstantiated’ child neglect finding for free-range parents - The Washington Post - The Maryland parents investigated for letting their young children walk home by themselves from a park were found responsible for “unsubstantiated” child neglect in a decision that has not fully resolved their clash with authorities over questions of parenting and children’s safety. (guilty of lack of evidence)

North Idaho senator objects to Hindu prayer - Spokesman.com - March 2, 2015 - Sen. Steve Vick, R-Dalton Gardens, said, “They have a caste system. They worship cows.”

'I Am a Kennedy, Google Me!': RFK Jr.'s Teen Daughter Allegedly Pitches Fit at Nightclub | BDCwire

Three to five cups of coffee a day may prevent heart attacks, says study | Society | The Guardian - Research highlights potential link between coffee consumption and lower risk of developing clogged arteries
The results are in: study reveals average penis size | Science | The Guardian - The enduring question now has a scientific answer: 13.12 centimetres (5.16 inches) in length when erect, and 11.66cm (4.6 inches) around, according to an analysis of more than 15,000 penises around the world.

New research shows that cigarettes kill 2 out of 3 of its users, more than previously thought. Study looked at 205,000 people over 45 years : science
[Serious][NSFW]What is the single freakiest unexplainable experience you've ever had in your life that to this day you are still unable to figure out a logical explanation for what you believe happened? : AskReddit
What is the most fucked up secret somebody has ever told you? : AskReddit
The length of the average erect human penis is 13.12 cm (5.16 inches). : science
Crowd dynamics test : gifs
What is something you have seen that will forever scar you? (Serious)(NSFW) : AskReddit
Looked up from my desk at work and saw this... : funny
TIL There is no proof of photographic memory : todayilearned
This is what a photographic memory looks like [:49] : videos

Google Slams MPAA Censorship Efforts After Court 'Victory' | TorrentFreak - The MPAA and Hood want Internet services to bring website blocking and search engine filtering back to the table after the controversial law failed to pass.

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Even at $10/barrel, oil can’t match solar on cost : Renew Economy - One of the biggest banks in the Middle East and the oil-rich Gulf countries says that fossil fuels can no longer compete with solar technologies on price, and says the vast bulk of the $US48 trillion needed to meet global power demand over the next two decades will come from renewables.
An extreme event of sea-level rise along the Northeast coast of North America in 2009–2010 : Nature Communications
Climate Change Helped Fuel The Syrian Conflict, New Paper Finds - An unprecedented climate change-fueled drought contributed to the political unrest in Syria, a new paper published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences concludes.

You Can Watch 'Citizenfour' Online Right Now For Free

Family of Chechen shot dead during interrogation sues FBI for $30m | US news | The Guardian - bragim Todashev was being questioned about links to Boston bomb suspect - Agent Aaron McFarlane had history of misconduct complaints as police officer (crooked cop, good Feeb material)

Lure of the Caliphate by Malise Ruthven | NYRblog | The New York Review of Books - The parallels between this ideology and the beliefs adopted by Christian fundamentalists known as “premillennial dispensationalists,” who expect all born-again Christians to be “raptured” or physically transported to heaven while others perish in earthly mayhem, are so strong that it is hard to escape the conclusion that they draw on the same ancient reservoir of Near Eastern myth.
Isis 'fed murdered kidnap victim to his own mother' | Daily Mail Online - But when she demanded to see her son, the extremists began to laugh - They told her they had murdered her son, chopped him up and fed him to her
Mohammed Emwazi received MI5 warning in 2009, tapes reveal | UK news | The Guardian - Isis militant known as ‘Jihadi John’ gave interview to advocacy group Cage in 2009 in which he claimed that MI5 said they would keep ‘a close eye’ on him
Twitter Is Investigating Alleged ISIS Threats Against Its Employees - Islamic State supporters, in online posts on Sunday, called for attacks against Twitter and its "interests," including death threats, according to the online news media company Buzzfeed as well as the NBC news network.

Saudi Arabia Is Building a 600-Mile Wall Along the Iraq Border - Saudi Arabia is building great wall — or rather, a great chainlink fence with razor wire — to "protect against ISIS" in Iraq. And it's not the only country investing in very expensive walls right now, even though they probably won't work. Why? Because walls aren't just about security. They're also powerful symbols. (of inequality boundaries)

Elizabeth Warren, Al Franken Join Growing List Of Democrats Skipping Netanyahu Speech - According to The Hill, more than 50 congressional Democrats have said they are skipping the controversial speech. Among those boycotting are Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). Vice President Joe Biden is also missing the speech due to overseas travel.
Huffpollster: Netanyahu Visit Polarizes Americans - In the latest poll, 49% of Republicans said they had a positive view of Mr. Netanyahu, up from 36% in August. Democrats’ view of him has stayed fairly consistent, down to 12% from 13% in August." (Republicans love their Israeli overlords)
Netanyahu's Favorable Rating Improves in U.S.
Netanyahu’s Visit Bringing Uninvited Problems for Jewish Democrats - NYTimes.com
Benjamin Netanyahu’s Iran Exaggerations Now Clear for All To See – Forward.com - Massive Mossad Leak Contradicts Bibi Ticking Tale
Netanyahu Tells Aipac He Intends No Disrespect to Obama - NYTimes.com
Netanyahu's Takeover Bid | David Bromwich - Netanyahu has continued to hold this theory against the opposing testimony of many leaders of Israeli intelligence and state security. That they have publicly disputed his judgment on Iran shows how reckless they consider his adventurism to be. (+"American defense experts" terrified of AIPAC)
There Is No Constitutional Obligation to Listen to Speeches - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Imagine Alan Dershowitz wrote an op-ed demanding that every last Democrat attend Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech before Congress. Now imagine that it’s even dumber than you expected. Not easy, I know. Amazingly, you’re still underestimating how dumb it is (but is Dershowitz a pedophile?)
The Toughest Job At AIPAC: Selling Iran Diplomacy - Selling nuclear diplomacy with Iran was perhaps the toughest job at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's annual conference this year (because American lives are the preferred job)
Far-Right Pundit: Hang Officials Who Skip Netanyahu's Speech To Congress | Right Wing Watch - King said on her radio program last month that such officials shouldn’t just “pay with their jobs” but should also “pay with their lives.”

Facebook posts from U.S. land Pinellas contractor in Arab jail | TBO.com and The Tampa Tribune - Frustrated with his employer in the United Arab Emirates, Ryan Pate, a civilian helicopter mechanic from Belleair Bluffs, criticized the company and made a rash, derogatory comment toward Arabs on Facebook while back home in January. Last month, when he returned to the UAE to work out his employment issues, Pate received a call from the Abu Dhabi police directing him to come in

The 5 Most Lethal Drones of All Time | The National Interest

Some of the CCTV Cameras at Nemtsov Murder Site Were Shut Off – Media / Sputnik International

Steve Bell on Rupert Murdoch and Rebekah Brooks – cartoon | Comment is free | The Guardian - Unconfirmed reports suggest that the former Sun and News of the World editor is to head Murdoch’s new social media news organisation

Senate Democrats Put DHS Funding Pressure Back On John Boehner
Democrats block Republican attempt to force negotiations over DHS funding bill | US news | The Guardian - Republicans fail in latest attempt to wield threat of partial government shutdown as leverage against Obama’s immigration policies

In King v. Burwell, the Plaintiffs Misread Obamacare - NYTimes.com - In King v. Burwell, the Plaintiffs Misread Obamacare (they can read?)
Is Supreme Court's chief justice ready to take down ObamaCare? | TheHill (you betcha)
The Tell: What This Week's Attack On Obamacare Is Really About - In anticipation of the Supreme Court's hearing of King v. Burwell, regarding the Affordable Care Act, on Tuesday.

SCOTUS Rejects CA Dispute Over Disclosing Donors To Anti-Gay Marriage Initiatives - The Supreme Court has turned away an appeal from same-sex marriage opponents in California who want to keep the identities of their campaign donors secret.
U.S. judge rules Nebraska same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional | Reuters - a decision that could allow same-sex couples to marry in the state within a week.


American democracy is doomed - Vox - America's constitutional democracy is going to collapse.
Is America Heading For a Constitutional Breakdown? by Ed Kilgore | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly

Fewer Women Run Big Companies Than Men Named John - NYTimes.com - Among chief executives of S.&P. 1500 firms, for each woman, there are four men named John, Robert, William or James.
Warren Buffett Says Elizabeth Warren Is Too 'Angry' And 'Violent' With Rich People | ThinkProgress - “I think that she would do better if she was less angry and demonized less,” he responded. “I believe in hate the sin, love the sinner, and I also believe in praising by name and criticizing by category.”
Signs of Intelligent Life in Economics Profession | Al Jazeera America - “The core problem is that there aren't enough jobs,” said the former Treasury Secretary under Bill Clinton and top economics adviser to Barack Obama. “If you help some people, you could help them get the jobs, but then someone else won't get the jobs. Unless you're doing things that have things that are affecting the demand for jobs, you're helping people win a race to get a finite number of jobs.” (now he tells us)

Wolf strips Green of SRC chairmainship - Days after Bill Green defied Gov. Wolf by voting to approve new charter schools, the governor has stripped Green of his chairmanship of the Philadelphia School Reform Commission. ("reform" = "privitise")
Charter Members: A School Reform Nightmare - If you run a modern school like a modern American corporation, you'll likely be treated accordingly. Proof: Why education should be run like Comcast. (stupids wrecking American education)

Landscape Architecture Magazine | The Magazine of the American Society of Landscape Architects - Rahm Emanuel, the mayor of Chicago, has said he will move “heaven and earth” to bring the Barack Obama Presidential Library and Museum to his city. As has become apparent in a rather tacky local drama, Emanuel, a former White House chief of staff for President Obama, is not going to let Frederick Law Olmsted get in his way, either.

City: Tamir Rice Caused His Own Death (Take 372) | Scene and Heard: Scene's News Blog | Cleveland Scene - Tamir died because he did not "exercise due care," according to the city. The answer marches in lock step with declarations from police representatives and city leaders over the past three months.
LAPD officers shoot and kill homeless man after street altercation | US news | The Guardian - A video taken by a passerby appears to show police officers wrestling the man to the ground before shots are heard
LAPD fatal shooting of man caught on tape - LA Times
Three Houston-area children in four days accidentally shoot themselves | US news | The Guardian - Six-year-old boy in critical condition on Monday after Codrick Beal, four, and unnamed three-year-old fatally shot themselves in earlier incidents ... Ryan Welch was shot in the face by a .40-calibre Smith & Wesson pistol found in a closet in the master bathroom of his home next to a BB gun and a machete (guns everywhere, who could have predicted this would happen?)

Jehovah's Witnesses silencing techniques are as terrifying as child abuse | Comment is free | The Guardian - Elders in my congregation knew that there was a predator in our midst. But they threatened to punish those who spoke out

Transgender Veterans Need To Correct Military Records, And Hope Ashton Carter Can Help - There are more than 134,000 transgender veterans or retirees from Guard or Reserve service, according to a 2014 Williams Institute report.

New Audio, Video Cast Doubt On Bill O'Reilly's Reporting Claims - As embattled Fox News host Bill O’Reilly continues to fend off allegations of embellishing his reporting experiences, two new recordings have recently emerged calling his accounts into even greater question.
Fox News forced to backtrack again over Bill O'Reilly's reporting claims | Media | The Guardian - Channel admits O’Reilly did not witness bombings in Northern Ireland or murders in El Salvador in wake of questions over TV host’s reporting experiences

Rasheed Sulaimon at center of sexual assault allegations prior to dismissal | The Chronicle - Separate allegations of sexual assault by Sulaimon came from two female students in the 2013-14 academic year
Jameis Winston and me: The pain of covering the scandal | Tampa Bay Times - Will any good come from all the pain?

DEA warns of stoned rabbits if Utah passes medical marijuana - The Washington Post - Utah is considering a bill that would allow patients with certain debilitating conditions to be treated with edible forms of marijuana. If the bill passes, the state's wildlife may "cultivate a taste" for the plant, lose their fear of humans, and basically be high all the time (terror rabbits)
DEA warns of stoned rabbits if Utah passes medical marijuana : news

Painter says he included Monica Lewinsky's dress in Bill Clinton portrait

The happiness conspiracy: against optimism and the cult of positive thinking - Pessimism gets a bad press, but compulsory positive thinking can be brutally enforced.
Forbidden quantum leaps possible with high-res spectroscopy | University of Michigan News - A new twist on an old tool lets scientists use light to study and control matter with 1,000 times better resolution and precision than previously possible. Physicists at the University of Michigan have demonstrated "ponderomotive spectroscopy"
Ultra-cold mirrors could reveal gravity's quantum side - physics-math - 02 March 2015 - New Scientist - It could give us a glimpse of quantum gravityMovie Camera and so lead to a "theory of everything": one that unites the laws of quantum mechanics, governing the very small, and those of general relativity, concerning the monstrously huge.
Zombie simulator lets you plan your own apocalypse - physics-math - 02 March 2015 - New Scientist (28 days to extinction)

Google wants to rank websites based on facts not links - 28 February 2015 - New Scientist - The trustworthiness of a web page might help it rise up Google's rankings if the search giant starts to measure quality by facts, not just links
Apple Pay: a new frontier for scammers | Technology | The Guardian - Apple’s mobile payment system has provided a method for US criminals to make fraudulent transactions – and banks are rushing to stem the tide

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What to do with all that snow? Boston cleanup a brutal chore and it's not over | US news | The Guardian - Record-setting snowfall has taken a heavy toll as dump trucks head to farms and the mayor has considered dumping snow into the Boston Harbor
Space Savers: Boston Parking is Musical Chairs Gone Very, Very Wrong - Massachusetts news - Boston.com - Askari did just that Thursday night. On Friday morning, she found all four tires on her car slashed, and the driver’s side window smashed, and the front windshield broken. (Eastie thugtown)

Glacial Melting In Antarctica Makes Continent The 'Ground Zero Of Global Climate Change'
Sea level “jumps” 5 inches. Probably nothing to worry about | Grist - For a while now, climate models have projected incidents of “extreme sea-level rise,” when changes in ocean currents and weather patterns cause the oceans to claw their way quickly inland and swamp seaside communities — but this is the first time scientists have documented this actually happening. (it's all a big conspiracy and mother Nature is in on it)
The Siberian crater saga is more widespread — and scarier — than anyone thought - The Washington Post - So, to recap: Siberia is warming. Permafrost thaws and spews methane, and blasts out a burst of highly flammable gas. Who could have guessed global warming would do all of that? (yeah, who could have guessed?)

Netanyahu’s address to Congress will be most important speech of his life - The Washington Post (Israel is the boss of you)
Nearly Half of Voters Disapprove of GOP’s Netanyahu Invite - Washington Wire - WSJ - while 30% said congressional Republicans should have done so. Just over a fifth said they didn’t know enough to say. (same old 30% of rightwing authoritarians who want Israel to be your boss)
Netanyahu Takes Campaign Against Iran Deal To Jerusalem Holy Site - His rare pilgrimage to one of Judaism's holiest sites was highly symbolic -- and political -- an apparent attempt by Netanyahu, two weeks before a national election, to portray a U.S. visit, that has brought relations with Washington to a new low, as crucial to Israel's survival. (the ticking bomb in Bibi's head)
Feinstein: 'Arrogant' For Netanyahu To Say He 'Speaks For All Jews' (VIDEO) - "I think it’s a rather arrogant statement. I think the Jewish community is like any other community. There are different points of view," Feinstein said. "I think the arrogance does not befit Israel."
Pants on Fire - It has been an open secret for years that very, very few of Israel's top military and intelligence leaders see eye to eye with Netanyahu on the Iran question
'Obama Threatened to Shoot Down IAF Iran Strike' - Middle East - News - Arutz Sheva - Kuwaiti paper claims unnamed Israeli minister with good ties with the US administration 'revealed the attack plan to John Kerry.' - According to Al-Jarida, the Netanyahu government took the decision to strike Iran some time in 2014 soon after Israel had discovered the United States and Iran had been involved in secret talks over Iran’s nuclear program and were about to sign an agreement in that regard behind Israel's back (!) Brzezinski was a top candidate to become an official advisor to President Obama, but he was downgraded after Republican and pro-Israel Democratic charges during the campaign that Brzezinski’s anti-Israel attitude would damage Obama at the polls. (that worked out really well)
Retired Israeli veterans warn against speech - The Washington Post - a group of 180 retired Israeli generals and former top security officials warned that his upcoming address to a joint meeting of Congress on Iran’s nuclear program will cause more harm than good.
Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu Heads To Washington For Congress Speech

Terrorists using eBay and Reddit to send coded messages: Mossad | New York Post - Besides eBay, messages are often hidden in the “X-rated pornographic pictures which conceal documents and orders for the next target,” said one intelligence source. (they're coming for your p0rn)
Terrorists using eBay and Reddit to send coded messages: Mossad : worldnews

Russian opposition leaders allege Kremlin links to Nemtsov slaying - The Washington Post
Thousands March In Moscow To Mourn Slain Boris Nemtsov
Fear Envelops Russia After Killing of Putin Critic Boris Nemtsov - NYTimes.com - “Another terrible page has been turned in our history,” Mikhail B. Khodorkovsky, the exiled former political prisoner, wrote in a statement about the killing.
Thousands march to remember slain Putin critic - The Washington Post
Killing of yet another journalist in Ukraine a gruesome reminder of alarming safety situation for journalists, OSCE Representative says | OSCE - OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatovic today said that the death of Sergei Nikolayev, a photojournalist with the Ukrainian newspaper Segodnya, in eastern Ukraine shows the need for urgent efforts to ensure journalists’ safety in conflict zones.
Over 73 percent of Russians admit crisis in Russia | Russia Beyond The Headlines - Responding to a question about the causes of the crisis, 49.3 percent spoke about "the external pressure from the West to stop Russia being a global superpower"

'Charlie Hebdo' now has 25 times as many subscribers as before deadly attack - On Wednesday, some 2.5 million copies of the latest issue hit stands, and Charlie Hebdo has more than 200,000 subscribers.
Crowd Kills Girl Suspected to Be Suicide Bomber in Nigeria | TIME - A crowd beat to death a teenage girl accused of being a suicide bomber and then set her body ablaze Sunday, according to police and witnesses at a northeastern Nigerian market.
London schoolgirls among 60 female Britons thought to have joined Isis | World news | The Guardian - On 24 February, a week after the girls left their homes, Scotland Yard said they were believed to have entered Syria. It is thought they were smuggled into the country, large swaths of which are controlled by Isis, near the Kilis border crossing.

Venezuela's Maduro Cracks Down On American Visitors - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said on Saturday his government had captured American citizens involved in "espionage activities," and said U.S. citizens in the future will have to seek visas to come to the OPEC nation.

Egyptian court rules Hamas a terrorist organisation - Politics - Egypt - Ahram Online - The relationship between Egypt and Hamas, the de facto rulers of the Gaza Strip, has been tense since the ouster of Morsi in 2013

News Corp. Set to Rehire Rebekah Brooks, Acquitted Executive - NYTimes.com - Ms. Brooks will probably take an executive role in which she will seek ways to expand News Corporation’s digital endeavors, particularly user-generated and social media. That will include working with Storyful, a company that monitors social media for newsworthy material, which was acquired in 2013.

4 More Victims Come Forward From Chicago Secret Prison, Man Tortured Over Weed - Four more victims of incarceration at Chicago’s Guantanamo Bay style secret detention/torture center, known as Homan Square, have come out and spoken to The Guardian about their experience being essentially treated like cattle. They are four black males, Brock Terry, Kory Wright, Deandre Hutcherson and David Smith ... They were kicked in the genitals while helpless and bound, put in ‘kennels for humans’, and they heard the bloodcurdling screams of other helpless victims while they thought they would never see the light of day again. (no one will ever pay for these crimes)

Deconstructing ‘Uncle Tom’ Abroad: The Case of an American President - U.S. Studies Online - In 2008, when Barack Obama was selected as the Democratic presidential candidate over Hilary Clinton, a German leftist newspaper headlined an article ‘Onkel Barack’s Hütte’ – ‘Uncle Barack’s Cabin’ – accompanied by a picture of the White House

This is the best explanation of gerrymandering you will ever see - The Washington Post - How to steal an election: a visual guide (how Republicans cheat and screw democracy)
This Supreme Court Case Could Make Elections Even More Undemocratic - In a reversal of the usual worries about political influence on electoral map-making, the Supreme Court is being asked to let raw politics play an even bigger role in the drawing of congressional district boundaries. (like so)

VA Refuses to Recognize Veteran’s Wife and Child | Advocate.com - The Department of Veterans Affairs has frozen the disabled veteran’s benefits until she pays back the full amount the VA mistakenly awarded for her wife and child. (scumbag VA)

The Phony Legal Attack on Health Care - NYTimes.com - On Wednesday, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in one of the most anticipated cases of the term: King v. Burwell, a marvel of reverse-engineered legal absurdity that, if successful, will tear a huge hole in the Affordable Care Act and eliminate health insurance for millions of lower-income Americans — exactly the opposite of what the law was passed to do
Obamacare threatens to end John Roberts’s dream of a nonpartisan Supreme Court - The Washington Post (you so funny, WaPo)
Republican fears grow over court challenge to ObamaCare | TheHill

G.O.P. Race Starts in Lavish Haunts of Rich Donors - NYTimes.com - They had little choice, according to one Republican who attended, and who asked for anonymity so as not to offend any of the donors. “This is going to be the super PAC election,” he said

"Because I Will Sign a Right to Work Bill, I Could Personally Have Defeated the Nazis" - Lawyers, Guns & Money : At one time, I was really worried about Scott Walker becoming president. But with each passing day, it’s increasingly clear that this is a person not ready for prime time. Instead, this is Sarah Palin in a tie. Just one of many examples:
On the meaning of de-tenure | parezco y digo - President Joe DiPietro and the UT Board of Trustees voted yesterday to make the tenure process, tenured compensation, and de-tenuring a key element of its plan to cut costs and expand revenues in the wake of reduced state support for higher education. The governor and state legislature, over the course of the last 10 years, have failed to fully fund the state’s own formula that determines its contributions to the university system (the Republican oligarch of NC is destroying education)

Memorializing Slavery - Lawyers, Guns & Money : The fact that a wealthy white man would buy an antebellum Louisiana sugar plantation and turn it into a no punches pulled museum on slavery, the first museum dedicated wholly to slavery in the United States (the U.S. has the Holocaust Museum despite no appropriate museum dealing with its own genocidal projects) is remarkable ... In addition to the United States museum there are holocaust museums in Florida, Illinois, Dallas, Los Angeles and Boston. (Jew are much more important people)

Georgia judge jails Muslim woman for wearing headscarf to court | Law | The Guardian

Wisconsin high school opens new, $662,000 locker rooms - Extra Mustard - SI.com - It's been said that a town with money is a little like a mule with a spinning wheel: No one knows how he got it, and danged if he knows how to use it. (coulda bought computers)
South Carolina college denounces homosexuality after two volleyball players come out as gay - The Washington Post - Erskine College in Due West, S.C., describes itself as a “liberal arts” institution, but as far as that freedom applies to the hearts and minds of its students, it seems limited.

But for the video… - The Washington Post - Seven witnesses backed up the police account that Dendinger had assaulted Cassard. (oh, they were all cops? and cops never lie)
Video Exonerates Man Set Up By Louisiana Cops And Prosecutors - Yahoo News - If not for cell phone video, 47-year-old disabled veteran Douglas Dendinger could be going to prison — because of an apparent coordinated effort by Washington Parish, La. cops and prosecutors who falsely accused him of battery and witness intimidation.
West Monroe Police Officer Jody LeDoux has pleaded not guilty in the shooting death of Raymond Keith Martinez
Joint enterprise murder: ancient law jailing hundreds, say FOI reports | Law | The Guardian - Use of law which enables defendants to be found guilty of killing even if they did not deliver fatal blow sparks widespread concern
Florida Shooter: I Shot A Pregnant Woman. Don't Jail Me. - The Daily Beast - in Florida, an accidental discharge of a firearm that kills someone—even if it is the result of gross negligence—cannot be prosecuted. (like in NYC but with guns instead of cars)
Man with 41 driver license suspensions pulled over again in New York - The Washington Post - A 36-year-old man with a traffic record that includes more than three dozen license suspensions was taken into custody again Saturday after an officer noticed his erratic driving in New York state.
While some rape kits sat untested, suspects committed more assaults - Houston Chronicle - As Houston officials Monday trumpeted the completion of DNA testing on a three-decade backlog of sexual assault kits, they also acknowledged that while the DNA of some alleged rapists went untested, the suspects committed other sexual crimes. (who could have predicted?)

CNN's Reliable Sources Airs New Audio Disproving O'Reilly's JFK Story | Blog | Media Matters for America - CNN's Brian Stelter On Higher Quality Recording Of O'Reilly Phone Call: "Clearly This Tape Shows He Was Not There" (drip, drip)
Fox: O'Reilly Didn't See Bombings In Ireland, But He Saw Photos Of Them - Fox News issued a clarification on Friday on behalf of its star host Bill O'Reilly, saying that he said he'd "seen" bombings in Northern Ireland because police showed him photos of them. (or maybe he saw them on tv)

Why you should stop giving your kid a bath every night - The Washington Post - the medical community has worked relentlessly (and well-meaningfully) to remove as many microbes from our bodies as is possible without living in a plastic bubble, and the overuse of antibiotics, antiseptics, antihelminthics, and pesticides today has the potential to do our bodies more harm than good ... Puerperal fever took the lives of high numbers of women giving birth in maternity institutions, sometimes reaching as high as 40 percent, all caused by the doctors who attended births with unwashed hands (often right after performing an autopsy in the next room).
Overuse of Antibiotics Caused Infections by Bug That Killed 29,000 in 1 Year - Scientific American - A newly released CDC report focused on the Clostridium difficile bacterium, which can cause deadly diarrhea
Many California bird species host Lyme disease bacteria, study finds - LA Times - Ticks carrying the bacterium responsible for Lyme disease are infesting Northern California’s birds and may be hitching rides on them into suburban settings, according to a new UC Berkeley study.
Google’s artificial intelligence breakthrough may have a huge impact on self-driving cars and much more - The Washington Post - Google researchers have created an algorithm that has a human-like ability to learn, marking a significant breakthrough in the field of artificial intelligence.
How hunting with wolves helped humans outsmart the Neanderthals | Science | The Guardian - “But then we formed an alliance with the wolf and that would have been the end for the Neanderthal.”
20-year-old Military Weather Satellite Exploded in Orbit - A 20-year-old military weather satellite apparently exploded in orbit Feb. 3 following what the U.S. Air Force described as a sudden temperature spike.
Googled "common core math" to try to explain it to my boyfriend. This was the first image result : funny

Booman Tribune ~ A Progressive Community - Even devout Christians on the left begin to see “Christians” as a shorthand term for those folks who believe in Bill O’Reilly’s War on Christmas. They’ve begun a process of conceding control of the branding of their own religion to wingnut charlatans.

School apologizes to boy’s parents, changes public ‘shaming’ after outrage on Facebook | Q13 FOX News
How to be a man in 2015 | World news | The Guardian - Being a guy used to be easy. Now it’s just confusing. Are you an ultra dad or a lumbersexual? And who’s the better role model – David Beckham or Louis CK? Max Olesker asks what’s happened to masculinity, and if it has a future (sorry, no)
Sexual Paranoia Strikes Academe - The Chronicle Review - The Chronicle of Higher Education - When I was in college, hooking up with professors was more or less part of the curriculum
In Defense of Drunk Sex - Reason.com - They warned us for years, "Don't drink and drive." Now it's, "Don't drink and fuck."
The Stanford Undergraduate and the Mentor - NYTimes.com

Ex-police chief inadvertently reveals misgivings about JonBenet Ramsey investigation - The Washington Post - Mark Beckner, who retired last spring, spoke about the case in an “Ask Me Anything” session, or “AMA,” for a Reddit forum devoted to “Unresolved Mysteries,” unaware that the comments would be online for anyone to read.
Sikh boy records being bullied by racists on school bus : videos
What did you do wrong the first time you had sex? : AskReddit
Bill Nye debated GMOs with /u/Hexaploid in his AMA 3 months ago. In a video on Wednesday he said he had changed his mind and would be updating his book. : bestof
Notes on watching "Aliens" for the first time again, with a bunch of kids : movies
What is something that somebody can do that automatically makes them more attractive in your eyes? : AskReddit
What's the TL;DR of your most embarrassing story? : AskReddit
meghanholiday comments on /r/Tinder recommended I post this here..
TumblrInAction: Actually Not That Bad
> Reddit, what in your opinion, is the most attractive profession a member of the opposite gender can have? : AskReddit
[Serious] What is the actual scariest photo on the internet? : AskReddit

Google Tells Cities To Greet Google Fiber With Open Arms Or 'Enjoy Your Time Warner Cable' - What’s frosting Google Fiber is that even the cities that are glad to receive Google Fiber are making the process slow by being inflexible when it comes to red tape (could been you, Cambridge, but no ...)
Paypal Cuts Off Mega Because It Actually Keeps Your Files Secret | Techdirt - ayPal has advised that MEGA's "unique encryption model" presents an insurmountable difficulty. (Paypal hates encryption)
Man who made thousands posting women’s stolen nudes goes after news sites that posted pictures of him - The Washington Post - Revenge-porn impresario Craig Brittain is learning the hard way that karma is a real witch.
Samsung copies Apple's strategy for new Galaxy S6: no SD card slot and battery is locked into device : news

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Glacial Melting In Antarctica Makes Continent The 'Ground Zero Of Global Climate Change'

Russian opposition leaders see Kremlin links to Nemtsov slaying - The Washington Post
Boris Nemtsov allies fear killers of Russian politician will escape justice | World news | The Guardian - History of opposition to Vladimir Putin seen as most likely reason for death of former deputy prime minister
Boris Nemtsov, Putin Foe, Is Shot Dead in Shadow of Kremlin - NYTimes.com - the highest-profile assassination in Russia during the tenure of President Vladimir V. Putin.
World leaders condemn murder of Russian politician Boris Nemtsov | World news | The Guardian - Former deputy PM and critic of Vladimir Putin who was due to lead major rally on Sunday was killed near the Kremlin
Nemtsov planned to reveal Russian links to Ukraine conflict - Poroshenko - Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said on Saturday Russian opposition politician Boris Nemtsov was murdered because he planned to disclose evidence of Russia's involvement in Ukraine's separatist conflict.
World leaders condemn murder of Russian politician Boris Nemtsov | World news | The Guardian - Former deputy PM and critic of Vladimir Putin who was due to lead major rally on Sunday was killed near the Kremlin ... The committee, which reports to Putin, said the killing could be linked with events in Ukraine or have been carried out by radical Islamists
Russia Mourns Murdered Opposition Leader Boris Nemtsov - A former deputy prime minister who had feared he would be murdered, Nemtsov was the most prominent opposition figure killed in Putin's 15-year rule.
Killing Hope In Putin's Russia - BuzzFeed News - Boris Nemtsov’s shocking murder just outside the Kremlin didn’t just silence a once-formidable Putin critic. Now it’s harder than ever to imagine a Russia where the truth will out and these things don’t happen

The Isis war resolution debate resounds with doublespeak | Comment is free | The Guardian - Neither Congress nor the Senate is preventing the War Powers Act and the Constitution from being twisted by an administration willing to enter into a ‘Forever War’
Pentagon Struggles To Downplay Disclosure Of ISIS War Plan - McCain dismissed the idea that the president and defense secretary didn't know about the briefing's content. "It was sort of an immaculate conception?" he scoffed. "One then wonders about the chain of command." (bomb-bomb John)
Security officials suspect US drone strike killed three al-Qaida militants in Yemen | World news | The Guardian - The US has launched several strikes in recent weeks, reflecting Washington’s resolve to keep fighting militants despite Yemen’s political paralysis
Isis killer Mohammed Emwazi had link to 2005 London bomb plot | World news | The Guardian - Key figure in Mohammed Emwazi terror cell talked to 21/7 attacker who was later jailed for life over failed attack at tube station

White House Offers Rebuttal Before Netanyahu’s Speech - NYTimes.com - Just four days before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to a joint meeting of Congress, the Obama administration sought on Friday to refute the Israeli leader’s expected critique, arguing that he has failed to present a feasible alternative to American proposals for constraining Iran’s nuclear program. (bombs and invasions, what Israel want US to do, which worked out so well last time, apparently not "feasible")
Netanyahu’s Congress speech scuppers bipartisan unity on support for Israel | World news | The Guardian - Israeli PM is accused of ‘conspiring’ with Republicans to condemn Obama’s policy on Iranian nuclear talks
Netanyahu's 'scaremongering' will not stop nuclear deal, says Iranian official | World news | The Guardian - Mohammad Javad Zarif said Israeli leader’s speech to the US Congress next week will not undermine world powers’ efforts to reach final nuclear deal
Obama, Netanyahu On Collision Course 6 Years In The Making

#Gitmo2Chicago: protests target police 'black site' | US news | The Guardian - Homan Square abuse allegations encircle mayor Rahm Emanuel as Anonymous, Occupy and Black Lives Matter take to social media and streets beyond Chicago (Rahm loves torture, of course)

Rand Paul wins CPAC straw poll, with Scott Walker right behind - Ben Schreckinger - Politico
Heads on sticks at CPAC: who do real conservatives want for president in 2016? – video | US news | The Guardian (gearing up for the sadistic clown convention)
The 'War on Women' is the latest war that Republicans at CPAC want to win | Comment is free | The Guardian - Their game plan involves more (opposite-sex) marriage to undo the harm caused by the sexual revolution (that will so work)

House Republicans Call One-Week Timeout On DHS Shutdown Drama
House chaos on DHS funding leaves GOP senators fuming | TheHill
John Boehner allies fret coup attempt - politico - Conservatives warn the speaker’s fate could be determined by how he handles the next seven days.
Shutdown of Homeland Security averted as Pelosi comes to rescue | TheHill
Peter King: ‘I’ve Had It with This Self-Righteous, Delusional Wing’ of the GOP | Mediaite (and when Peter King calls you delusional ...)

Scott Walker, God's Gift to the Democratic Party | Rolling Stone - Walker's ISIS comments might help him in the short term, but in the end his Party will suffer - Walker is surging thanks to his performance at this week's Conservative Political Action Conference, where the union-busting governor inspired raucous applause with his "I was a dick in Wisconsin, and I can be one in Washington, too!" stump speech.

Child Poverty Would Be Almost Twice As High If Safety Net Programs Didn't Exist: Report

Wolf seeks Obama's help in boosting oil-train safety - Gov. Wolf on Friday joined a chorus of officials pressuring the federal government to improve oil-train safety, and urged the government to reduce the volatility of North Dakota crude oil, which has been implicated in several recent fiery accidents (they will blow up Philly)

Missouri shooting rampage: details of alleged gunman's past emerge | US news | The Guardian - Authorities still searching for answers to why dead suspect Joseph Aldridge may have killed seven relatives as victims are identified
City of Cleveland responds to Tamir Rice lawsuit by saying boy's death was caused because of his own actions | cleveland.com - n its filing, the city, as it has done before, denied having knowledge of problems in Loehmann's past police employment history. (well, that makes sense)
Cleveland Police Union Blames 12-Year-Old Tamir Rice For Being Some Kind Of Monster | Wonkette - “Tamir Rice is in the wrong,” he said. “He’s menacing. He’s 5-feet-7, 191 pounds. He wasn’t that little kid you’re seeing in pictures. He’s a 12-year-old in an adult body.
Fatal Shooting of Cleveland Boy Tamir Rice Was Caused by His Own Actions: City : news
Protesters question investigation of fatal police shooting in New Jersey | US news | The Guardian - Jerame Reid was killed two minutes into traffic stop in December - New lawsuit filed against one of two officers involved in shooting - On Thursday, Days was accused in a federal lawsuit of raping a 22-year-old woman, Bridgeton resident Shakera Brown, for months while threatening to send her to jail, and continuing to so after the alleged abuse had been reported to his superiors. The suit said Brown complained in summer 2014. (so they did nothing)
Jessica Hernandez, Teen Killed By Denver Police, Had 4 Gunshot Wounds: Autopsy - "These facts undermine Denver Police Department's claim that Jessie was driving at the officers as they shot her," Mohamedbhai said in a statement. "The wound path and trajectory of the bullet that likely killed Jessica Hernandez undermines the version of events as indicated by the Denver Police Department."
Florida police chief arrested in prostitution sting, blames job 'stress' | cleveland.com - A South Florida police chief has been arrested after he was accused soliciting a prostitute.
The Rise and Fall of RedBook, the Site That Sex Workers Couldn't Live Without | WIRED - Then, on June 25, 2014, visitors to RedBook got a rude shock. Instead of a directory of links to sexy ads, forums, and reviews, they saw a dire-looking alert from the Department of Justice, FBI, and IRS stating that RedBook's domain had been seized.

Here's Every Claim Made Against Bill O'Reilly So Far

How NFL stadium promoters are snowing the city of Inglewood - LA Times - In this case, the money includes the nearly $120,000 in campaign donations the stadium's developers have given to elected city officials since 2006. Mayor James T. Butts Jr., the project's chief municipal cheerleader, has received $90,000 from Hollywood Park Land Co., the project developer. The dirty little secret of stadium deals is that most of them don't pay their own way. - Neil deMause, Fieldofschemes.com

Hubble at 25: the cosmos at its most breathtaking – in pictures | Science | The Guardian - The Hubble telescope was launched in April 1990. Ever since, it has been providing astronomers with breathtaking images of the cosmos
The Science Behind Anti-Depressants May Be Completely 'Backwards' - I would suggest that the attempt to pharmacologically reduce depressive symptoms is not likely to produce lasting effects. You can get these temporary effects, but they're not likely to be lasting effects, and they can cause a whole lot of problems. (SSRIs work in 30% of cases often with bad side-effects +weed, man)
The Science of Why No One Agrees on the Color of This Dress | WIRED
#TheDress Was Actually A Mother-Of-The-Bride Dress (And P.S. It's Black And Blue)
I don't get it - Lawyers, Guns & Money

Safety evaluation and risk assessment of electronic cigarettes as tobacco cigarette substitutes: a systematic review - Currently available evidence indicates that electronic cigarettes are by far a less harmful alternative to smoking and significant health benefits are expected in smokers who switch from tobacco to electronic cigarettes.

Predestination (2014) A time travel movie that handles paradox and causality extremely well. : movies

Snapchat tells underage teens to stop sexting - Business Insider
Is Google’s Latest TLD Purchase a Game-Changer? | WIRED - This week, the Silicon Valley giant paid $25m for exclusive rights to the .app domain. The purchase dwarfs the $5m that Amazon paid for the rights to .buy last year.

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Net neutrality activists celebrate internet victory with grumpy cat parade | Technology | The Guardian - Open internet supporters fly plane with banner reading ‘Comcast: don’t mess with the internet’ after FCC voted to approve strict rules to keep the internet free

Watch Jim Inhofe Throw a Snowball on the Senate Floor - NationalJournal.com - "Do you know what this is? It's a snowball," he said to freshman Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy, who being from Louisiana may not be familiar with snow. "It's just from outside here, so it's very, very cold out, ... very unseasonable." "Mr. President, Catch this," Inhofe said (he's a funny guy)

Leonard Nimoy: Star Trek's Mr Spock Dies - A former smoker, he had been suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Russian opposition politician Boris Nemtsov shot dead in Moscow | World news | The Guardian - Former deputy PM and critic of Vladimir Putin who was due to lead major rally on Sunday was killed near the Kremlin (latest fad in authoritarian rule: just shoot your opposition)
Russian Opposition Leader Boris Nemtsov Shot Dead In Moscow ... They love his decisive leadership style. "That's what you call a leader" - Rudy Gulliani

Avijit murdered by extremists: Family - bdnews24.com
Bangladeshis protest after atheist writer Avijit Roy hacked to death | World news | The Guardian - Hundreds rally against fundamentalism in Dhaka as Islamists claim responsibility for murder of prominent US-Bangladeshi blogger - Ajoy Roy, Avijit’s father, told the Guardian. He criticised the police for failing to act despite being allegedly just metres away from the scene of the attack.

First Adult Picture Of 'Jihadi John' Emerges - Emwazi had completed a degree in Information Systems with Business Management. (not exactly computer science)
PM Defends MI5 After 'Jihadi John' Named - The Prime Minister defends the security services as questions are raised over what MI5 knew about Islamist militant "Jihadi John".
First Photo Of 'Jihadi John' As Adult Revealed
Pittsburgh Pirates: picture of militant in team's hat 'absolutely sickening' | Sport | The Guardian - “The classic gold P stands for Pittsburgh and is worn by our players, coaches and fans with a great sense of pride.” (well, pirates)
U.S. Northern Command: Loose Llamas Had No Connection To ISIS - Hours after two llamas wreaked havoc on the streets of Phoenix, Arizona Thursday, the United States Northern Command answered the questions on everyone's minds: Who were the llamas working for? And do they have connections to the so-called Islamic State in Syria?


Chicagoans detail abusive confinement inside Homan Square police 'black site' | US news | The Guardian - Four black men recall prolonged shackling and off-the-books interrogation - Lawyers: ‘majority of abuse’ at Homan Square focuses on minority Americans
Chicago 'Black Site' 'Not First Time' Anti-Terror Tactics Allegedly Used On Americans - At least one man was pronounced dead after he was found unresponsive inside an interview room at Homan Square.

House Can't Even Agree To Fund DHS For 3 Weeks (so we have two more years of this?)


CPAC Officially Goes Off The Rails With Phil Robertson's Rant On STDs, 'The Revenge Of The Hippies' (so they have this white taliban-looking guy)
Governor's Islamist terror comparison shocks Wisconsin protesters | US news | The Guardian - compared his handling of the peaceful demonstrations to his stance on Islamist terrorism were he to become president (union protesters are terrorists cutting off the heads of capitalists)
Scott Walker Says He Can Take On ISIS Because He Took On Labor Unions


Aaron Schock reimburses US for $40,000 Downton Abbey office remodel | US news | The Guardian - Schock is under scrutiny for using an office expense account to pay for the redecorating, as well as taxpayer and campaign funds for flights on donor-owned planes and concert tickets.

Bill O'Reilly's LA riots 'bombardment' stories disputed by former colleagues | Media | The Guardian - Fox News host, whose stories of past reporting exploits are under renewed scrutiny, claimed ‘we were attacked by protesters’ when covering the 1992 riots
Only 35 Percent Of Americans Still Think Bill O'Reilly Is Trustworthy (only 8% above the hard-core rightwing insane)

Eight dead in Missouri shooting rampage at multiple crime scenes, police say | US news | The Guardian - Sheriff’s department says gunman upset at the death of his mother killed seven people in a shooting rampage before turning gun on himself - Tyrone, where Aldridge lived, has a population of about 50, the AP reported. “There’s not even a stop sign there,” xs
Texas Serial Shooter 'Won't Stop' (when everyone has a gun)

Heidi Thomas, Former Model, Accuses Bill Cosby Of Assaulting Her In Reno In 1984 - More than 20 women have come forward with similar claims.

The Millions : A Bloodletting: On Mark Doten’s ‘The Infernal’ - the reader has the sense that all the lies and deceit of the last dozen years, the courage shown and the suspicion that it meant little, have been brought together in one place, between the covers of a single book. Here’s hoping that people open it.

STFU Parents: Should Parents Get Special Treatment At Drive-Thrus?

This Super Slo-Mo Video Of An Exploding Rubber Band Ball Will Blow Your Mind - It's not hard to guess what happens when a firecracker stuffed inside a rubber band ball blows up--but it sure is fun to watch.

What do you think about electronic cigarettes? : AskReddit
TIL the Basque language is an absolute isolated language: It has not been shown to be related to any other language despite numerous attempts : todayilearned
ahalenia comments on Why do native populations (e.g. Native Americans, Inuits and Australian aboriginals) appear to have such high rates of substance abuse? - The impact of the widespread child abuse and sexual abuse that took place at residential schools cannot be overstated. In Canada, the United States, and Australia, children (sometimes as young as four years of age) were removed from their families and home communities and sent to remote boarding schools, with the stated goal of assimilating the children into mainstream society.

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Scientists confirm amassing CO2 heats Earth’s surface | Science News - Increase in incoming thermal energy bears signature of greenhouse gas
São Paulo – anatomy of a failing megacity: residents struggle as water taps run dry | Cities | The Guardian - many paulistanos are hoarding water in their apartments – and some are even drilling homemade wells – as they prepare for possible rationing

The Necessity of ‘Citizenfour’ | The Nation

The FCC approves strong net neutrality rules - The Washington Post - “This is no more a plan to regulate the Internet than the First Amendment is a plan to regulate free speech,” said FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler.
Net neutrality activists score landmark victory in fight to govern the internet | Technology | The Guardian - FCC says ‘we listened and we learned’, and passes strict broadband rules that represent ‘a red-letter day for internet freedom’
Why Everyone Was Wrong About Net Neutrality - The New Yorker
Aggressively Neutral: The FCC Drops The Hammer - The FCC has announced that it hereafter will regulate the internet as a public utility. (job-destroying Obamacare for the internets wins)
FCC overturns state laws that protect ISPs from local competition | Ars Technica - Municipal broadband networks could expand because of FCC's controversial vote. (it's always the monopoly thing +bought lawmakers)
FCC approves net neutrality rules, reclassifies broadband as a utility : technology

India calls for UN Security Council reforms this year | Latest News & Updates at Daily News & Analysis - arguing the most-powerful body of the United Nations itself embodies the undemocratic stranglehold of the privileges of a few, forged by a wartime alliance that no longer exists. (good points)
China submarines outnumber U.S. fleet: U.S. admiral | Reuters - China is building some "fairly amazing submarines" and now has more diesel- and nuclear-powered vessels than the United States, a top U.S. Navy admiral told U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday, although he said their quality was inferior.

Bibi's Latest Lie - But in the course of his scorched earth campaign for reelection, he's done something as yet little noticed in the US. He's run a campaign ad which not only hugely distorts history but also managed to libel the US.
Netanyahu’s Latest Falsehood: The US Didn’t Support the Establishment of Israel | The Nation - Benjamin Netanyahu’s new campaign ad rewrites history.

How ‘Islamic’ Is the Islamic State? | The Nation - Those, like Giuliani, who insist on speaking of “Islamic terrorism” want to shape our language so as to imply that the Islamic tradition authorizes the deployment of terrorism

ISIS losing ground to Kurds - World - CBC News - Fears for 150 Christians abducted by the group grow as an ISIS supply line cut
Numbers Of Christians Abducted In Syria By Islamic State Rises To 220, Monitor Says - Islamic State militants have abducted at least 220 people from Assyrian Christian villages in northeastern Syria during a three day offensive, a monitor that tracks violence in Syria said on Thursday.
‘Jihadi John’: Islamic State killer is identified as Londoner Mohammed Emwazi - The Washington Post
UK man behind Isis beheadings named as Mohammed Emwazi | World news | The Guardian - Emwazi, a 26-year-old west Londoner and university graduate, was given the moniker ‘Jihadi John’ by a group of his hostages
IS militant 'Jihadi John' named as Mohammed Emwazi from London : worldnews
Jihadi John defender was filmed calling for jihad outside U.S Embassy | Daily Mail Online - CAGE broadcast was on Sky News for 58 minutes without interruption and the BBC showed it for 52 minutes
At 15, off to behead belt - Britain is witnessing a disturbing phenomenon - schoolgirls as young as 15 telling their parents they are "out for the day", bunking class and then sneaking off to Syria via Turkey in pursuit of fun, adventure - and the possibility of becoming brides of the behead brigade ... of the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, a London research organisation that studies extremism. As the radicals see it, " a 15- year- old makes a good wife", he said. " A 14- yearold male is less useful as a combatant."

Quote of the Day - Kerry: "The prime minister was profoundly forward-leaning and outspoken about the importance of invading Iraq under George W. Bush. We all know what happened with that decision." (two knuckleheads got together and planned disaster: always listen to Israel on US foreign policy)

Russia's Khodorkovsky: Putin is a 'naked king' facing economic ruin | Reuters - presiding over an economy that will weaken further, eventually provoking a battle between rival clans in Moscow.
Ukrainian military pulls back heavy weaponry from eastern front | World news | The Guardian - Withdrawl of artillery and creation of buffer zone is second step after ceasefire in 12-point agreement agreed in truce talks

Argentina votes to dissolve intelligence agency after Alberto Nisman's death - World - Israel News | Haaretz - President Kirchner had proposed the move. Government had said a renegade spy was linked to AMIA prosecutor's death. (un-huh)

SwissLeaks - the HSBC money laundering machine | All media content | DW.DE | 24.02.2015 - The bank is accused of systematic involvement in tax evasion and money laundering to the tune of more than 100 billion euros. Jan Fritsche discusses how the tax evasion and money laundering practices worked.
One in three Germans say capitalism to blame for poverty, hunger | Reuters - and a majority think true democracy is not possible under that economic system,

Quebec minister quits after strip-search comments - The Free Press - Last week, Bolduc said strip searches were permitted in Quebec high schools as long as they were conducted in a manner that was ``very respectful'' to the student.


Held for hours at secret Chicago 'black site': 'You're a hostage. It's kidnapping' | US news | The Guardian - Protester Vic Suter was shackled to a bench and denied access to a lawyer - Suter claims officer told her: ‘You’re going to get a tour of hell inside Homan’ (time to rendite and torture Rahm)
'Gestapo' tactics at US police 'black site' ring alarm from Chicago to Washington | US news | The Guardian - Shocked politicians and rights groups call for inquiries into Homan Square - Rahm Emanuel faces questions as top supporters examine ‘outrageous’ abuse

The Inside Story Of How Citizens United Has Changed Washington Lawmaking (gunz, money and the end of democracy)

A 2-Day Revolt at a Texas Private Prison Reveals Everything That’s Wrong with Criminalizing Immigration | The Nation - Now administrators are beginning to transfer the 2,800 prisoners—undocumented immigrants, most serving time for low-level offenses—to other facilities, because the protest made the center “uninhabitable.” But reports suggest that Willacy has been uninhabitable for years


Right-to-work bill passes Wisconsin Senate on way to desk of Scott Walker | World news | The Guardian - 2016 Republican hopeful expected to sign bill if it passes Assembly - Opponents case bill as assault on organised labour and blue-collar workers (a lot of whom voted Republican, because)

CPAC’s ‘ask a speaker’ hashtag campaign backfires before the conference even begins - What's the easiest way to incorporate my uterus and then move it overseas to avoid taxes? #CPACQ
Republicans propose declaring Idaho a 'Christian state' - Yahoo News - Members of a county Republican Party in Idaho are to take up a measure on Tuesday evening that would declare the state a Christian one to bolster what the proposal calls the "Judeo-Christian bedrock of the founding of the United States."

Pasco Police Fired 17 Shots At Unarmed Mexican Migrant For Throwing Rocks At Them - “They were just spraying bullets everywhere,” Rios told The Huffington Post. “That shows no concern for the public. ... These are highly trained officers, as we’ve been told over and over again. They were probably no more than 15 feet away from him.”
40 complaints against 1 Denver officer who may cost city over $1M; DPD says 'the department failed' - 7NEWS Denver TheDenverChannel.com (taxpayers in hock for over a million)

Jon Stewart Pulls Out The Big Guns, Unveils '50 Fox News Lies In 6 Seconds' (network of lies)

Jill Abramson signs $1m book deal – but won't settle scores with New York Times | Media | The Guardian - Simon & Schuster wins bidding war for book by former executive editor that will focus on news media remaining relevant in the digital age

My Undercover Expose Of Ashley Madison | Charles J. Orlando | YourTango

CDC investigates deadly bacteria's link to doctors' offices - CNN.com - The bacteria, C. difficile, is typically found in hospitals, but a study out Wednesday reports a substantial number of people contracted the bug who hadn't been in a hospital, but had recently visited the doctor or dentist.

Woman parks in Handicapped zone at school and has no handicapped children : videos - The fuck is a wooga-muffin?
[NSFW] What is the most fucked up act of humanity that you know of? : AskReddit
Cosplayers, what's the creepiest thing that has happened to you at a convention? : AskReddit

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Seventeen people hurt in 75-vehicle Maine pile-up | US news | The Guardian - State police said the crashes in Etna, near Bangor, happened at about 7.30am in heavy snow and involved cars, a school bus and a tractor trailer - “It was almost surreal, something you see in the movies,” Kent said. “giant pile of metal”

Radioactive Fukushima Water Leak Was Unreported for Months: Official - NBC News.com - The operator of Japan's tsunami-stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant admitted it failed to report a radioactive rainwater leak from the facility for about 10 months. (TEPCO will always be TEPCO)

I am Under “Investigation” | The Climate Fix - Congressman Grijalva doesn’t have any evidence of any wrongdoing on my part, either ethical or legal, because there is none. He simply disagrees with the substance of my testimony – which is based on peer-reviewed research funded by the US taxpayer, and which also happens to be the consensus of the IPCC (new Republican tactic: persecute scientists for their sciencey stuff)

F.C.C. Net Neutrality Rules Clear Hurdle as Republicans Concede to Obama - NYTimes.com - And Republicans on Capitol Hill, who once criticized the plan as “Obamacare for the Internet,” now say they are unlikely to pass a legislative response that would undo perhaps the biggest policy shift since the Internet became a reality.
Net Losers: The Debate Over Net Neutrality Gets Utterly Weird - From claims that the White House will gain control of the internet to the idea that the FCC's new regulations will threaten First Amendment rights, conservative resistance to net neutrality is still in full effect ... Rios claimed that net neutrality will give government bureaucrats the power to determine who can start a website, even though that claim is completely false. (they specialize in complete insanity)

U.S. and British Agencies May Have Tried to Get SIM Encryption Codes, Gemalto Says - NYTimes.com - Gemalto, a French-Dutch digital security company, said on Wednesday that it believed that American and British intelligence agencies had most likely hacked into the company’s networks in an attempt to gain access to worldwide mobile phone communications - The F.C.C. plan would let the agency regulate Internet access as if it is a public good. (Republicans hate public goods)
It's time to break up the NSA - CNN.com - By Bruce Schneier (or say your nice little democracy bye-bye)

Terrorism poses no existential threat to America. We must stop pretending otherwise | John Mueller and Mark Stewart | Comment is free | The Guardian - President Obama and other top officials are backing away from this absurd assertion. But others are resisting reality (boots on the ground and bombs the only solution)
Al-Qaida planning kamikaze attacks on ships in Mediterranean, cables claim | World news | The Guardian - Leaked document from Russian intelligence agency claims north African branch wants to extend its range to Europe with marine unit
Three New York men charged over alleged attempt to join Isis in Syria | US news | The Guardian - Two suspects Uzbek, one Kazakh; two intended to fly to Turkey - Bratton: Isis ‘a new, significant addition to the terrorism threat’ (see what he did there?)

Chicago 'black site': former US justice officials call for Homan Square inquiry | US news | The Guardian - Two ex-senior Justice Department officials say allegations about police operation are ‘very disturbing’ and raise serious questions about constitutional violations - difficult to disentangle the “dark history” of interrogation by Chicago and other law enforcement agencies from a post-9/11 militarization of domestic policework (Rahm's "warehouse of horrors" black-site torture chamber)
This Is Not America, Cont'd - This is what can happen when the concept of torture is normalized in the public mind.
Chicago Police deny report of secret interrogation compound at Homan Square site | Chicago

Kerry Blasts Netanyahu: He's 'Wrong' On Iran Deal Like He Was On Iraq War
Susan Rice: Netanyahu Visit 'Destructive' To U.S.-Israel Relationship - there has now been injected a degree of partisanship, which is not only unfortunate, I think it's destructive of the fabric of the relationship," Rice told PBS' Charlie Rose. (Boehner fucking with democracy)
Binyamin Netanyahu criticised for Israel's housing crisis as election nears | World news | The Guardian - Highly critical report published by state watchdog takes aim at the Israeli government’s inaction over the overheated and dysfunctional housing market - – comes only three weeks before Israel goes to the polls in a closely-fought election in which Netanyahu appears increasingly vulnerable.
Netanyahu Invites Arab Ambassadors to His Speech to Congress—and Gets Rejected - The Atlantic - In other news, the Israeli national security advisor tells his American interlocutors that he wishes the prime minister's address to Congress weren't taking place.

Sec. of State John Kerry: Russia is lying ‘to my face’ about having troops in Ukraine - “Russia has engaged in a rather remarkable period of the most overt and extensive propaganda exercise that I’ve seen since the very height of the Cold War,” Kerry told US lawmakers. (Putin is big fat liar)
U.S. military vehicles paraded 300 yards from the Russian border - The Washington Post - U.S. military combat vehicles paraded Wednesday through an Estonian city that juts into Russia, a symbolic act that highlighted the stakes for both sides amid the worst tensions between the West and Russia since the Cold War.

Bishop accuses Turkey over Syrian Christians - MIDEAST - A prominent bishop on Feb. 25 accused Turkey of preventing Christians from fleeing Syria while allowing jihadists responsible for their persecution to cross its border unchecked.
Most British Muslims 'oppose Muhammad cartoons reprisals' - Almost 80% said they had found it deeply offensive when images depicting the Prophet were published.
Austria passes controversial reforms to 1912 Islam law - The bill, which is partly aimed at tackling Islamist radicalism, gives Muslims more legal security but bans foreign funding for mosques and imams.

Exclusive: China drops leading technology brands for state purchases | Reuters - Smartphone and PC maker Apple Inc (AAPL.O) has also been dropped over the period, along with Intel Corp's (INTC.O) security software firm McAfee and network and server software firm Citrix Systems (CTXS.O). "The Snowden incident, it's become a real concern, especially for top leaders,"

State Department official arrested, suspected of soliciting sex from minor - LA Times - senior State Department official who oversees counter-terrorism programs has been arrested on suspicion of soliciting sex from a minor, authorities in Virginia said late Tuesday.

Police identify Chelsea fans involved in racist chanting in London | UK news | The Guardian - Incident at St Pancras station came hours after abuse of black man on Paris Métro by Chelsea supporters

Feds raid Texas secessionist meeting - San Antonio Express-News - In the end, at least 20 officers corralled, searched and fingerprinted all 60 meeting attendees, before seizing all cellphones and recording equipment in a Valentine's Day 2015 raid on the Texas separatist group.

The GOP’s Non-Interventionist Moment Passes by Ed Kilgore | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - Today Greg Sargent notes the steady drift of rank-and-file Republican sentiment towards more “muscular” forms of intervention overseas, settling particularly on the use of ground troops to fight IS.

Abercrombie & Fitch case: justices set to side with Muslim woman over headscarf | Law | The Guardian - US supreme court hears arguments in religious discrimination case involving woman who was not hired because she wore a black headscarf to interview
Poll: 57% Of GOPers Support Making Christianity The National Religion (with apostasy punishable by death)

West Virginia GOPers Want To Make Enforcing Obamacare A Felony

In Mayoral Runoff, Rahm Emanuel’s Corrupt Governance Has Finally Caught Up With Him - In These Times - It’s become increasingly clear to Chicagoans that Rahm Emanuel is out for himself and his rich friends, not for us. an Election Day exposé that appeared in the British paper the Guardian by investigate reporter Spencer Ackerman. “The Disappeared” revealed the existence of Homan Square, a forlorn “black site” that the Chicago Police operate on the West Side.
Chicago: An Electoral Blow To Rahmbo by Ed Kilgore | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - In a distinct upset, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, despite a massive financial advantage and the backing of the country’s most famous resident of his city, was knocked into a runoff by voters yesterday ... the first mayoral runoff in the city’s history. (close moar schools!)
Progressives Celebrate Rahm Emanuel's Surprise Setback in Chicago - Bloomberg Politics - Progressives versus the mayor in Chicago.
How To Sell Off a City - In These Times - Welcome to Rahm Emanuel’s Chicago, the privatized metropolis of the future. (some would say "corrupt")

Thank you for your service? - Lawyers, Guns & Money : On Sunday the Times had a piece about how some (many?) military veterans don’t like to be “thanked” for their service by civilians: “I pulled the trigger,” he said. “You didn’t. Don’t take that away from me.”

Report: 'Stop-and-Frisk' problems linger - The Philadelphia Police Department's use of stop-and-frisk still has "serious flaws," according to a report filed today in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
LAPD officers won't be charged in fatal shooting of Corvette driver - LA Times - Prosecutors have declined to file criminal charges against three Los Angeles police officers who shot and killed an unarmed man at the end of a televised pursuit in 2013.

Hullabaloo - He was "jostled" at a street protest once. As I've said before, the idea that this liar took Brian Williams to task for his exaggerations shows just proves what a pathologically dishonest hack he is
O'Reilly Lied About Suicide Of JFK Assassination Figure, Former Colleagues Say | Blog | Media Matters for America - Fox Host's Dallas TV Colleagues Tell Media Matters Of Another Fabrication
Bill O'Reilly Lied About Witnessing Suicide Of JFK Assassin's Friend, Former Co-Workers Say
Jon Stewart Calls Out Bill O'Reilly: 'No One's Watching Him For The Actual Truth'
Bill O'Reilly's "Combat Situation" Reporting, In His Own Words | Research | Media Matters for America - O'Reilly On The Falklands War: "I've Seen Combat Up Close And Personal"
Another Fabrication: O'Reilly Never Witnessed The Murder Of Nuns In El Salvador | Blog | Media Matters for America - O'Reilly's Claim To Have Seen Nuns "Shot In The Back Of The Head" Contradicted By His Own Timeline
Why Has Fox News Stopped Defending Bill O’Reilly?
Another Round Of Prestone For The House: Dylan Byers Is Buying - Why Bill O'Reilly isn't in the same boat as Brian Williams ... Truth, as Himself wrote, is an odd number, but, my Lord in heaven, lad, have some pride. (Himself = Flann O'Brien
May cable news ratings spare no one - politico.com - O'Reilly had his lowest month since 2001 in the key demo, with 308,000 viewers. Yes, O'Reilly is still the No. 1 program in cable news in both total and demo viewers, averaging 2,136,000 total viewers in May. But the majority of those viewers are over the age of 55. In fact, the median age for O'Reilly is now just over 72 years old. The average Fox News viewer overall is 68.8, while the average ages of MSNBC and CNN viewers were 62.5 and 62.8, respectively.

Bowser: Legal pot possession to take effect at midnight in the District - The Washington Post - “We believe that we’re acting lawfully,” Bowser said, offering a direct retort to House Republicans who late Tuesday urged the mayor — and even threatened prison time — to reconsider moving forward with legalization.
Jamaica Passes Act Decriminalizing Small Amounts of Pot - US News - Jamaica passes act decriminalizing small amounts of pot, paves way for medical marijuana. (anti-drug cartel unraveling)
Lab In Berkeley Accidentally Discovers Solution To Fix Color Blindness « CBS San Francisco - Enchroma CX sunglasses.

University of Colorado settles with student accused of sexual assault | WashingtonExaminer.com - When John brought up these lies to campus investigators, the school justified Jane’s actions on her behalf, according to the lawsuit.

Woman's newly cleaned car flies onto three at dealer - "That's one of the pictures you see on the Internet and say, 'How did you do that?' " said an employee at the car wash who asked that his name not be used ... police do not suspect a "mental episode."

Season of the witch: why young women are flocking to the ancient craft | World news | The Guardian - Rapper Azealia Banks brought witchcraft back into the mainstream by tweeting ‘I’m really a witch’. But women in the US have been harnessing its power for decades as a ‘spiritual but not religious’ way to express feminist ambitions ... Embracing the witchiness – deciding you can know something about your life by looking at tarot cards and listening to your hunches, or trying to affect a situation by focusing your will on it (ok)

Daily pill Truvada cuts spread of HIV by 86%, study shows | Society | The Guardian - Study looking at transmission among men who have sex with men recruited 545 participants at high risk of contracting HIV
Omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D may control brain serotonin, affecting behavior and psychiatric disorders -- ScienceDaily
Tobacco 'kills two in three smokers' - Smoking 10 cigarettes a day doubled the risk, while 20-a-day smokers were four to five times more likely to die.
First full body transplant is two years away, surgeon claims | Science | The Guardian - Doctor plans to graft a living person’s head on to a donor body using procedures he believes will soon be ready
Black hole breaks records, swallows up scientific theory. Supermassive black hole at centre of a quasar is 12 billion times more massive than the sun : science
Interactive wormhole & black hole : interstellar
How do black holes overcome the Pauli Exclusion principle? : askscience
The Largest Black Hole In the Known Universe — Starts With A Bang! — Medium - And those two galaxies, the nearby (and small) NGC 1277 and the ultra-distant OJ 287, house what we know of as the largest black holes in the Universe. There are surely larger ones out there, but it will take both serendipitous configurations and time?—?and better radio-and-X-ray telescope equipment?—?to help us find them!
This Colossal Black Hole Is 12 Billion Times As Massive As The Sun, And It Has Astronomers Baffled
Stone Age Skull Reveals Astonishing Human Diversity - The 22,000-year-old skull is not a new species and is clearly that of an anatomically modern human, but is markedly different from similar finds from Africa and Europe from the same time, the researchers said ... Only a handful of human burials around the world date from about 12,000 to 30,000 years ago, Ambrose said. But the new findings suggest that during this early period of human history, Africa may have supported even greater human diversity, with small, offshoot lineages that no longer exist today, Tryon said.
Trail of Tools Reveals Modern Humans' Path Out of Africa - Early Homo sapiens lingered in a lush Arabia before encountering Neanderthals in the Levant.
Google's Game-Playing Algorithm Could Be the Future of AI (SkyNet is here)

The 100 best novels: No 64 – At Swim-Two-Birds by Flann O’Brien (1939) | Books | The Guardian - Jorge Luis Borges who, in 1939, described Flann O’Brien’s masterpiece in the following terms: “I have enumerated many verbal labyrinths, but none so complex as the recent book by Flann O’Brien, At Swim-Two-Birds…

[Serious] Has Anyone ever Committed Suicide Because of You, or Blamed You in a Note? : AskReddit
What seems to be a huge deal on Reddit, but not so much in real life? : AskReddit
Redditors what is the weirdest thing you have heard of someone not believing in? : AskReddit
City attorney says Grand Rapids police broke no laws when stopping to fingerprint and photograph innocent blacks and Hispanics without IDs because there are "no constitutional issues with taking photos of people in public" and that "fingerprints are left on surfaces all day long" : news
Why does evolution not weed out morality? What stops psychopaths from outcompeting the rest of us? : askscience

Apple Ordered To Pay $533 Million For Patent Infringement - Apple Inc has been ordered to pay $532.9 million after a federal jury in Texas found that its iTunes software infringed three patents owned by patent licensing firm Smartflash LLC ... patents related to accessing and storing downloaded songs, videos and games. (basically, the internet) The trial was held in Tyler, which over the past decade has become a focus for patent litigation. Smartflash's registered office is also in Tyler. (TX "justice")

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Eschaton: The only official to go to prison in connection with torture... - ...wasn't one of the torturers. (Obama has always protected the torturers)
CIA Torture Whistleblower: US Government Lacks "the Guts" to Face Its Crimes | Common Dreams | Breaking News & Views for the Progressive Community - John Kiriakou's advice to future national security whistleblowers: 'Get a lawyer first.'
The disappeared: Chicago police detain Americans at abuse-laden 'black site' | US news | The Guardian - Secret interrogation facility reveals aspects of war on terror in US - ‘They disappeared us’: protester details 17-hour shackling without basic rights - Accounts describe police brutality, missing 15-year-old and one man’s death (Chicago cops: training for rendition and torture - no consequences)
Chicago’s Homan Square 'black site': surveillance, military-style vehicles and a metal cage | US news | The Guardian - This building looks innocent enough. But those familiar with the secretive interrogation and holding facility describe a shocking display of police abuses
Behind ‘the Disappeared’ of Chicago’s Homan Square - The Atlantic - A criminologist dissects the so-called black site, where military interrogation techniques allegedly substituted for questioning.

How Crazy Am I to Think I Know Where MH370 Is? -- NYMag
Live-Chat With Jeff Wise on MH370 Theory -- NYMag

Africa is new ‘El Dorado of espionage’, leaked intelligence files reveal | World news | The Guardian - Continent emerges as the focus of international spying, with South Africa becoming a regional powerhouse and communications hub
British spies don wigs and makeup to testify at US trial of al-Qaida suspect | US news | The Guardian - Five surveillance officers appear as witness in Brooklyn-based trial of Abid Naseer, who is accused of plotting to blow up a British shopping center
US offers highest-ever cybercrime reward for arrest of Russian hacker | US news | The Guardian - State Department and FBI announce $3m reward for information about Evgeniy Bogachev, accused of running computer attack network - Bureau officials said on Tuesday they believed Bogachev was still in Russia. He could not immediately be reached for comment. (good luck with that)

On ISIS - Lawyers, Guns & Money
The ISIS Theater of Cruelty - NYTimes.com
This stupidity needs to end: Why the Atlantic & NY Post are clueless about Islam - Salon.com - Pundits claiming that ISIS is emblematic of Islam ignore the intellectual traditions at the heart of the religion
ISIS Islamic Credentials Spark Public Debate | The New Republic - The pitched battle of religious legitimacy.
In Defense of Islam - NYTimes.com - By Ross Douthat
The Atlantic’s big Islam lie: What Muslims really believe about ISIS - Salon.com - Trolling the Internet with stories dressed up as sober, centrist scholarship -- it's what the Atlantic does best
What The Atlantic Gets Dangerously Wrong About ISIS And Islam | ThinkProgress
What The Atlantic Left Out About ISIS According To Their Own Expert | ThinkProgress ( “it’s a long piece,” he joked) (he's a "scholar") (and yes, it's all Bush's fault)
Who was more Catholic: St. Francis or Torquemada?
The framework of fundamentalist propaganda distorts how we view every religion - When it comes to the meaning of religion, Wood sometimes sounds like he works in the recruitment offices of Bob Jones University.

Salon earnings: revenue plummeting, losses growing - Talking New MediaTalking New Media | The digital publishing website - Revenue for the legacy web property falls over 20 percent as the pioneering website, and now entering its 20th year of publishing, now possibly entering its last

How the Killing of a Trans Filipina Woman Ignited an International Incident | VICE | United States - He told Rose he got so angry that he choked "it" from behind ... "I think I killed a he-she," Pemberton said. xs


Republicans split on DHS funding, edging closer to partial agency shutdown - The Washington Post
Obama blocks Keystone pipeline in rare veto of Republican bill | Environment | The Guardian - Republicans vow to continue fight after president rejects legislation to approve pipeline from Canadian tar sands to refineries along Gulf coast

There's A Startling North-South Divide When It Comes To Health Care - The states with the highest uninsured rates in 2014 are pretty much all found in the South, the Gallup poll found. Not coincidentally, all 10 of the states with the highest uninsured rates have refused to carry out two key parts of Obamacare. (keep voting to fuck yourselves. southeners)
If SCOTUS kills Obamacare subsidies, Republicans don’t have an exit strategy - Vox - a win for Obamacare challengers is no walk in the park for Republican legislators. A positive outcome would make Congressional Republicans the dog who caught the car: they've managed to eliminate a huge part of Obamacare, but don't have a great exit strategy for what happens afterwards. (consequences of actions is hard)

Ron Paul: Congressional Black Caucus opposes war because they want food stamps (not racist at all)

Union members protest Wisconsin right-to-work bill ahead of likely passage | World news | The Guardian - In scene reminiscent of 2011 collective bargaining protests, opponents of the bill call legislature’s extraordinary session ‘an attempt to circumvent democracy’

Trayvon Martin's family 'heartbroken' over outcome of federal investigation | US news | The Guardian - US attorney general Eric Holder says 2012 killing of Florida teen by George Zimmerman did not meet standard for hate crime prosecution
Robert Meyers Doubts Wife's Slaying Was Road Rage
Video shows deputy dragging mentally incompetent woman by shackled feet - Sun Sentinel - Christopher Johnson, who joined the department in 1988, will not have contact with inmates until an Internal Affairs investigation is complete, the Sheriff's Office said.
Officer Victor Ramirez Slaps Alleged Trespasser Who Wanted To Use Restroom (Raw Video)
850 DNA Matches In FBI Database After Houston Clears Rape Kit Backlog

Secrets of the right-wing “brain”: The hilarious wingnut scheme to pretend Jeb Bush is a squishy liberal - Salon.com - A regular Fox News circus clown is now attacking Jeb Bush. His angle is transparent -- but perhaps effective

The Humbling of Rahm - Carol Felsenthal - politico Magazine - All signs point to a second term for the Chicago mayor. But at what cost?

Bill O’Reilly and Fox News Redouble Defense of His Falklands Reporting - NYTimes.com - During a phone conversation, he told a reporter for The New York Times that there would be repercussions if he felt any of the reporter’s coverage was inappropriate. “I am coming after you with everything I have,” Mr. O’Reilly said. “You can take it as a threat.” (dumb lying bully is a bully)
CBS Has Released The Falklands Protest Footage Bill O'Reilly Asked For. It Doesn't Support His Claims. | Mother Jones - And he insisted, "I told it exactly the way it was." Referring to the controversy about his Falklands claims, he said, "I want to stop this now. I hope we can stop it."

The South’s true face of hate: Oozing nonsense from demented and influential corners of religious right - Salon.com - Celebrating the anniversary of Lincoln's assassination? Disturbing people are pushing sick alternative history (your neo-Confederacy at work)
Nevada Lawmaker Says Cancer Is A Fungus, Recommends Simply Washing It Out | ThinkProgress - Nevada Assemblywoman Michele Fiore (R) wants to reform the rules of end-of-life medical care so that more cancer patients can simply flush out their disease using baking soda ... Fiore, who is also CEO of a healthcare company ... removed from her position as Republican Majority Leader over allegations of more than $1 million in tax liens, Fiore made news last Wednesday for her assertion that “young, hot little girls on campus” need to be armed with guns to prevent themselves from being raped
Wasilla enacts strict new pot rules as legalization dawns | Alaska Dispatch News - On in the eve of marijuana legalization in Alaska, Wasilla’s city council on Monday banned making pot brownies at home. (Sarah strikes back)

Keith Olbermann Taken Off Air After Tweet Calling Penn State Students 'Pitiful' - I apologize for the PSU tweets. I was stupid and childish and way less mature than the students there who did such a great fundraising job. (Keith drunk-rage tweets)

Quiz: The 36 Questions That Lead to Love - NYTimes.com
To Fall Out of Love, Do This - The New Yorker

Toronto mystery tunnel: Rexall Centre discovery prompts dig for clues | World news | The Guardian - A CBC News report said “the sophisticated bunker with tunnel” ran for about seven metres (23ft) and was large enough for an adult to stand in.
Toronto mystery tunnel: #terrortunnel, drug lab or something else entirely? | World news | The Guardian - “What does that tell you?” a reporter asked. “That tells me that this was nailed inside the tunnel on a wall,” the officer responded.

Nobody is immune from resisting science they wish weren’t true. Even liberals | Oliver Burkeman | Comment is free | The Guardian - Many believe that conservatives have a strange relationship to the truth. But we may all be more concerned with shoring up our beliefs than objective reality - argue that this might be why we’ve evolved to be reasoning creatures in the first place: not to get at facts, but because it’s evolutionarily adaptive to be able to win others to your cause. (Fox is very evolved)

Windows And Linux More Secure, Mac OS X And iOS Top List Of Most Vulnerable Operating Systems : technology

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The Great Lakes freeze – in pictures | US news | The Guardian - It isn’t just Niagara Falls, Boston Harbor and the Hudson and East Rivers in New York – as arctic air continues to hammer the US, the Great Lakes in the midwest of the country are more than 80% frozen over
Understanding variations in the rate of global warming - Met Office - Finally it is entirely possible that once the current slow-down finishes, it may be followed by a period of accelerated global surface warming. Understanding this better is one aspect of managing the risks and opportunities associated with future climate variability and change.
Climate science literacy unrelated to public acceptance of human-caused global warming : Top Headlines : MD News Daily - Disagreement did not diminish, however, as the study subjects' climate-literacy test scores increased. On the contrary, "those with the highest scores were even more politically polarized," Kahan said.
Why Genghis Khan was good for the planet | Environment | The Guardian - Laying waste to land scrubbed 700m tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere - His murderous Mongol armies were responsible for the massacre of as many as 40 million people.
USGS Release: Coping with Earthquakes Induced by Fluid Injection (2/19/2015 2:15:00 PM) - Large areas of the United States that used to experience few or no earthquakes have, in recent years, experienced a remarkable increase in earthquake activity that has caused considerable public concern as well as damage to structures. This rise in seismic activity, especially in the central United States, is not the result of natural processes.

Lobbyist dubbed Dr Evil behind front groups attacking Obama power rules | Environment | The Guardian - Richard Berman routed funding for at least 16 studies and five front groups attacking Environmental Protection Agency rules on power plant emissions

Stephen Hawking Warns That Aggression Could 'Destroy Us All' - “The human failing I would most like to correct is aggression,” Hawking told contest winner Adaeze Uyanwah, according to the Independent. “It may have had survival advantage in caveman days, to get more food, territory or a partner with whom to reproduce, but now it threatens to destroy us all.”

We are Edward Snowden, Laura Poitras and Glenn Greenwald from the Oscar-winning documentary CITIZENFOUR. AUAA. : IAmA
SuddenlySnowden comments: Edward Snowden writes an impromptu manifesto on how citizens should respond "when legality becomes distinct from morality", gets gilded 13 times in two hours
Yes, That Was Edward Snowden’s Girlfriend at the Oscars | Vanity Fair (suck it up, liberal bloggers)
Edward Snowden Releases Statement Following 'Citizenfour' Oscars Win

Oscar Winners List For 2015 Includes 'Birdman,' Julianne Moore, Eddie Redmayne & More
This Was The Least-Watched Oscars Ceremony In 6 Years
Microsoft correctly predicted the top Oscars winners | The Verge - Overall, Microsoft successfully predicted 84 percent of the 24 results, with only four incorrect predictions.
Irina Shayk And Rita Ora Lead The Sheer Dress Pack At The Vanity Fair Oscar Party (Heidi K wins +Jane Fonda)
Sean Penn's 'Green Card' Comment May Have Ruined The Entire Oscars - “Who gave this son of a bitch his green card?," Penn said right before announcing the winner.
Oscar Night Hijinx From The Right
Patricia Arquette takes up equal pay – an issue that has long plagued the US | US news | The Guardian - The US has to start at the bottom with minimum-wage jobs if it wants to fix its gender wage gap problem – not in an Oscars acceptance speech
Graham Moore Gives The Oscars' Most Moving Acceptance Speech - "I tried to commit suicide at 16 and now I'm standing here," he said. "I would like for this moment to be for that kid out there who feels like she doesn’t fit in anywhere. You do. Stay weird. Stay different, and then when it's your turn and you are standing on this stage please pass the same message along."

How We Decide To Make War In A Place - The decision and debate to create war should be heated and extensive. If the last Bush taught us anything, it is that convincing the country to make war in a place should not be easy and bipartisan.

CIA attempted to contact Hamas despite official US ban, spy cables reveal | US news | The Guardian - Leaked files show US ‘desperate to make inroads’ into Gaza as well as Barack Obama’s alleged threat to Palestinians over statehood
NSA director defends plan to maintain 'backdoors' into technology companies | US news | The Guardian - Mike Rogers mounts elaborate defense of Obama’s cybersecurity strategy and seeks to calm doubts about built-in access to companies’ data (what's wrong with this picture?)
NSA chief declines comment on spyware reports, says programs lawful | Reuters
Chip Maker to Investigate Claims of Hacking by N.S.A. and British Spy Agencies - NYTimes.com - Gemalto, a French-Dutch digital security company, said on Friday that it was investigating a possible hacking by United States and British intelligence agencies that may have given them access to worldwide mobile phone communications

? Al Jazeera Investigates - The Spy Cables promo - YouTube - The largest intelligence leak since Snowden. Cover ups, closed door deals and the secret world of espionage, revealed. The Spy Cables.
There's a massive new leak of confidential spy files from MI6, Mossad and the FSB | Business Insider India - Al-Jazeera has obtained hundreds of confidential "spy cables" from some of the world's top intelligence agencies, in what the news channel is calling "the largest intelligence leak since Snowden."
Leaked cables show Netanyahu’s Iran bomb claim contradicted by Mossad | World news | The Guardian - Gulf between Israeli secret service and PM revealed in documents shared with the Guardian along with other secrets including CIA bids to contact Hamas - The disclosure comes as tensions between Israel and its staunchest ally, the US, have dramatically increased ahead of Netanyahu’s planned address to the US Congress on 3 March (Nutanfuckyu's ticking time-bomb)
Leaked Documents Reportedly Reveal Mossad Less Worried About Iran's Nuke Program Than Netanyahu (I'd be worried about him too)
Russia offers to sell anti-aircraft missiles to Iran | World news | The Guardian - Tehran said to be considering offer, which could have an impact on nuclear talks approaching a deadline next month
Mossad contradicted Netanyahu on Iran nuclear programme - Al Jazeera English - Spy Cables reveal Mossad concluded that Iran was not producing nuclear weapons, after PM sounded alarm at UN in 2012.
Palestinian groups face $218m Israel attacks fine in US - A US court in New York has found the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority liable for attacks in Israel over 10 years ago.

For Egyptian Survivors Of Islamic State Raid, The Nightmare Continues

France - New Charlie Hebdo issue marks return to business as usual - France 24
Turkey criticises UK over three schoolgirls who flew to Istanbul | World news | The Guardian - Deputy PM, Bülent Arinç, says it was a ‘condemnable act’ for Britain to inform it so late about girls, who were possibly en route to join Islamist miltants in Syria ... “It is an condemnable act for Britain to let three girls ... come to Istanbul and then let us know three days later ... They haven’t taken the necessary measures,”
School reaction to 'Syria-bound' schoolgirls: 'it doesn't make sense' | World news | The Guardian - Parents and pupils at school attended by Amira Abase, Shamina Begum and Kadiza Sultana speak of shock at news girls may have fled to join Isis
Female ISIS captives endure ‘brutal and abnormal’ sex | New York Post - The supposedly ultra-conservative Muslim fundamentalists have been forcing women in the city of Raqqa to marry them and engage in savage sex acts that result in hospital treatment, the report says.

China to credit Ukraine for $3.6 bln to reduce dependence on Russian gas | Info-News (another player enters the game)
China to credit Ukraine for $3.6 bln to reduce dependence on Russian gas : worldnews - This is a geopolitical move to try to promote China's alternate to the IMF and western development banks. That is why it is such a large number.
In China, millions make themselves at home in caves - Los Angeles Times - More than 30 million Chinese people live in caves, many of them in Shaanxi province where the Loess plateau, with its distinctive cliffs of yellow, porous soil, makes digging easy and cave dwelling a reasonable option. The thriving market around Yanan means a cave with three rooms and a bathroom (a total of 750 square feet) can be advertised for sale at $46,000.

Measles death in Germany prompts calls for mandatory vaccinations | World news | The Guardian - Death of 18-month-old boy is the first fatality among 574 reported cases in the country’s worst measles outbreak in more than a decade - “If that doesn’t work, mandatory vaccination for infants should be the next step,” (sorry, can't do that)
Spokane Board Of Health Member Standing Up For Anti-Vaxx Rights Of Tinfoil Hat Community | Wonkette - This weekend, Fagan, a proud anti-vaxxer who somehow got appointed to the Spokane Regional Board of Health, rallied like-minded paranoids to oppose Washington’s proposal to repeal a provision in state law allowing parents to opt out of mandatory vaccinations for their kids on the basis of “personal belief.”

Victoria removes time limits on civil claims over child sex abuse | Australia news | The Guardian - State’s attorney general says the legal change will remove previous limits that were too complex and discouraged victims from making claims in court - “It’s a crisis. The biggest law-and-order challenge is unfolding in our homes,”
Shakespeare's antisemitic lines must be censored at times, says Rylance | Stage | The Guardian (Guardian censors telling you like what?)

HSBC apologizes as CEO's private bank accounts revealed - Business - CBC News - Bank has disappointing earnings as it deals with scandal over private Swiss accounts
Revealed: Swiss account secret of HSBC chief Stuart Gulliver | Business | The Guardian - Leaked files covering 2005-2007 show bank chief executive sheltered £5m of his own money at Panamanian company with Swiss HSBC account (nothing will ever land these guys in jail)
Banks Face Hit From CFPB on $30 Billion in Overdraft Fees - Bloomberg Business - “Despite recent regulatory and industry changes, overdrafts continue to impose heavy costs on consumers who have low account balances and no cushion for error,” (banks steal $30Bn from poor people)

Funding Fight Over Homeland Security Poses Dangers for the G.O.P. - NYTimes.com - nasty partisan impasse over funding for a vital agency would probably damage the party’s brand
Republican governors support DHS shutdown in immigration battle | US news | The Guardian - Congressmen threaten to shut down department funding - Utah governor tells Congress to ‘get off your fanny and get something done’ (terrorists not as scary as brown immigrants)
Immigration standoff intensifies as White House stages emergency legal challenge | US news | The Guardian - White House mounts legal challenge to Texas court injunction - Obama tells governors that stopping DHS paychecks will hurt their states (they are experts in hurting their states, so that won't help)
Deporting Beneficiaries Of Obama's Immigration Action Would Cost $50.3 Billion: Report (totally worth it, Republicans say, pay for it with tax-cuts)

Secrecy around police surveillance equipment proves a case’s undoing - The Washington Post - Rather than show the equipment, the state offered McKenzie a plea bargain.

David Axelrod: Rudy Giuliani Is A 'Fading Politician Lighting Himself On Fire' - "This was more about Rudy Giuliani, a fading politician, kind of lighting himself on fire and trying to get some attention, and he was successful in doing that," Axelrod said. (worse than Trump?)

Anti-abortion lawmaker gets anatomy lesson – women cannot swallow camera for exam | World news | The Guardian - Idaho representative Vito Barbieri asks if a woman can swallow a camera for remote gynecological exam before medical abortion — the answer is no ... Madsen replied that would be impossible because swallowed pills do not end up in the vagina. “Fascinating. That makes sense,” Barbieri said, amid the crowd’s laughter. (ladyparts, very complicated)

Prosecutors: Not Enough Evidence Cops Who Shot Unarmed Man 16 Times As He Lay In Bed Acted With ‘Malice’ - Hit & Run : Reason.com - A judge recently ruled the Washington man's lawsuit could move forward, but prosecutors say they aren't impressed by the evidence.
Four-year-old Alaska boy shot in leg when mother's gun falls from holster | US news | The Guardian - Family was leaving pickup when .357 caliber handgun fired - Bullet went through boy’s leg and lodged in a building

Patriot Games » Balloon Juice - Actually bringing up Starship Troopers as an example of a voting society and implying in the next paragraph that maybe having voting and citizenship be earned somehow by “patriots” is so ridiculously and completely peg-the-needle fascist that I honestly believe Reynolds is pulling our leg here, but there’s not anything in the rest of the column that makes me think this is satire or parody.

Eric Engberg Fires Back At Bill O'Reilly On HuffPost Live Over Falklands Controversy: 'He's Completely Nutty' ... O'Reilly is still "bitter" that CBS News told him weeks after the night in question that O'Reilly "wasn't going to make it as a correspondent." (backstory city)
Everyone Who Knew Bill O’Reilly In 1982 Is A Vicious Lying Pinhead | Wonkette

A Time to Heal: Chrono-chemotherapy Tunes In to Body's Rhythms - Recent studies have clearly demonstrated that administration of chemotherapy agents at the ‘right time,’ cued to the biological rhythms of the host, can improve treatment outcomes and reduce drug induced toxicity and side effects.
Large Hadron Collider scientists gear up to discover new particle - A senior researcher at the Large Hadron Collider says a new particle could be detected this year that is even more exciting than the Higgs boson.

Judge OKs cops’ decision to seize Letroy Guion’s cash, truck | ProFootballTalk - A judge has ruled that there is probable cause for police in Starke, Florida, to seize $190,028.21 in cash from Packers defensive tackle Letroy Guion, and to seize the new truck Guion was carrying the cash in.

Alaska becomes 3rd state with legal marijuana – The Korea Times - Smoking, growing and possessing marijuana becomes legal in America’s wildest state Tuesday, thanks to a voter initiative aimed at clearing away 40 years of conflicting laws and court rulings. (coulda been you, MA, but the Globe had hysterics and now you have no public transportaion in the winter)
Marijuana may be even safer than previously thought, researchers say - The Washington Post - New study: We should stop fighting marijuana legalization and focus on alcohol and tobacco instead (the research the government didn't want to happen, happened)
CU researchers find no correlation between cannabis and brain changes (this is your brain on pot; oh, wait ...)
11 Wesleyan Students Hospitalized With Symptoms Of Overdosing On Molly
Mixmag | Molly: Everything But The Girl

Schism Emerges in Bikram Yoga Empire Amid Rape Claims - NYTimes.com - The first complaint was filed two years ago. As more surfaced, and more women spoke publicly about accusations of assault and harassment, their accounts have created fissures in the close-knit world of yoga students and teachers who have spent thousands of dollars to study with Mr. Choudhury; opened studios bearing his name; and found strength, flexibility and health in his formula of 26 yoga postures in a sweltering room. (the Bill Cosby of yoga)
Lawsuits’ Lurid Details Draw an Online Crowd - NYTimes.com - Leigh Goodmark, another Maryland law professor, said the online boom of gender-related court documents was a harbinger of a future in which virtually no legal document — an eviction notice, a divorce pleading with embarrassing details — would be safe from public consumption.

The P**sy Test: How to Know If You're With the Right Person | Jenny Block - This test is about real intimacy and real pleasure and real connection between two people.

What was the greatest length you went to just to fuck with someone? : AskReddit
What is one thing you thought existed but it actually doesn't? : AskReddit

Apple’s ‘Project Titan’ could reshape the auto world | New York Post - Currently, at a secret location near its Cupertino, Calif., headquarters, Apple is said to be working on a car design — code-named “Project Titan” — at breakneck speed. While auto companies can take as long as seven years to develop a car, Apple is said to be hoping to start shipping its vehicles in five years — as early as 2020. Liquidmetal. It is known for Moldable Metal — “Nanophosphate metal” — which can be shaped like plastic. (Apple will claim they "invented" the iMobile, a new luxury brand)
Lenovo slapped with lawsuit over dangerous Superfish adware | PCWorld - against Lenovo and Superfish, which charges both companies with “fraudulent” business practices and of making Lenovo PCs vulnerable to malware and malicious attacks by pre-loading the adware.
FCC Republicans launch last-ditch effort to sink net neutrality plan | Ars Technica - Vote scheduled for Thursday, but Pai and O'Rielly want at least a month's delay.
Ellen Pao Suit Against Kleiner Perkins Heads to Trial, With Big Potential Implications - NYTimes.com - The couple first had sex “at a work event,” the papers say ... An anonymous Reddit employee sent a letter to Kleiner’s legal team, asking them to subpoena Reddit employees “for information regarding conflicts with Ellen Pao.”
Reddit's interim CEO, Ellen Pao heads to trial against her former employer Kleiner-Perkins. "An anonymous Reddit employee sent a letter to Kleiner’s legal team, asking them to subpoena Reddit employees for information regarding conflicts with Ellen Pao." : news
reddit CEO Ellen Pao takes on former VC firm in gender discrimination case | Ars Technica - Jury will hear Pao vs. Kleiner Perkins, a case that should have settled by all odds.
Total Wipes Decides The Word 'Download' Means Infringement, Issues DMCA Takedown Loaded With Non-Infringing URLs : technology
The SSD Endurance Experiment: Two freaking petabytes - The Tech Report - Page 4

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Hudson River is frozen as photos show New York in deep freeze - in pictures | US news | The Guardian

Kochs Paid Massive Money to Intellectual Whores Willing to Lie About Climate Change - A Harvard scientist has been accepting cash from the energy industry, namely the Koch brothers, in order to push junk science that claims to refute man-made climate change, reported The New York Times. This is the most recent case of Koch-purchased science, but it’s hardly the first.
Leading Climate-Denier Harvard Scientist Caught Accepting Bribes from Fossil-Fuel Corporations as well as the Koch Brothers. : worldnews
The Underwater Industrial Revolution Is Driving Ocean Life to Extinction | Motherboard - "We are setting ourselves up in the oceans to replay the process of wildlife Armageddon that we engineered on land,” McCauley said in a UCSB statement.
Rajendra Pachauri to miss key meeting due to sex harassment complaint | Reuters - Delhi police said Pachauri, 74, chairman of the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), is accused of sexually harassing a 29-year-old female researcher from his Delhi-based thinktank The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI).
Climate Skeptics: Trying to see through the alarmism
OMG Alarmists! Scientists are dumb.

With Earth’s population now at 7 billion, how many people have ever lived? - The Washington Post - The story starts sometime in the 1970s, when a notion came into common conversation that the population was growing so fast that 75 percent of the people who had ever lived on Earth were currently alive. The origin of the idea is murky, but it came amid new fears of a “population explosion”; the organization Zero Population Growth had been founded in 1968 ... His total count of everyone who has ever lived: 108 billion.

Modi bets on GM crops for India's second green revolution - But allowing GM crops is critical to Modi's goal of boosting dismal farm productivity in India, where urbanisation is devouring arable land and population growth will mean there are 1.5 billion mouths to feed by 2030 - more even than China.
Filthy India air cutting 660 million lives short by 3 years - US News
China Used More Concrete In 3 Years Than The U.S. Used In The Entire 20th Century [Infographic] - Forbes - China produces and consumes about 60 percent of the world’s cement
Fresh nuclear leak detected at Fukushima plant in Japan - IBNLive - The higher-than-normal levels of contamination were detected at around 10 am (local time), with sensors showing radiation levels 50 to 70 times greater than usual, TEPCO said.

MERS virus toll rises to 385 in Saudi Arabia - The Hindu - Some 57 people have contracted MERS in the kingdom since the start of February.

Sydney Siege: 18 Warning Calls Before Attack - Australia's Prime Minister admits "the system let us down" as the government releases the first report into the Sydney siege.

ISIS seizes U.S.-made arms in Iraq’s Anbar - Al Arabiya News - Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants have reportedly seized armored vehicles and American-made weapons from Iraq’s western Anbar province, CNN reported on Saturday. (America: arming extremists since 2004)

Ukraine crisis: Deadly bomb blast hits rally in Kharkiv - A bomb has killed at least two people, including a police officer, and injured at least 10 more people at a rally in Ukraine's second city Kharkiv.

Mall of America Heightens Security After al-Shabab Threat - ABC News
Al-Shabaab mall threat 'all the more reason' to avoid shutdown, says homeland security chief | US news | The Guardian - Somali terror group releases video threatening US, Canada and UK malls - DHS funding will end Friday if immigration impasse is not solved
ISIS threatens to throw gays off the Leaning Tower of ‘Pizza’ · PinkNews - “#We_Are_Coming_O_Rome, we will conquer and establish the justice of #shariah. We will use your leaning tower of pizza to throw off homosexual

Report: ISIS leader gunned down in Mosul - A group of unidentified gunmen has reportedly assassinated a prominent ISIS leader in the militant-held city of Mosul.
Inside the Islamic State ‘capital’: no end in sight to its grim rule | World news | The Guardian - US air strikes have damaged morale in Raqqa, Syria, but a local anti-Isis activist says no one is expecting the group to be driven out
ISIS Militants Claim Attacks On Iranian Ambassador's Residence In Libya - two days after the group claimed responsibility for a double suicide bombing that killed more than 40 people in the eastern town of Qubbah, one of the worst attacks on civilians since a 2011 uprising toppled Muammar Gaddafi.
Turkish Military Enters Syria To Evacuate Soldiers Guarding Tomb - dozens of besieged soldiers guarding an Ottoman tomb and remove the remains amid fears the shrine was threatened by Islamic State militants.
Nigerian forces retake border town of Baga from Boko Haram | Reuters
Young Girl Bomber Kills At Least 5, Wounds Dozens In Nigeria - A young girl with explosives strapped to her killed five people and wounded dozens at a security checkpoint outside a market in the northeast Nigerian town of Potiskum on Sunday, witnesses said. Both witnesses described the bomber as a "small girl," estimating that she could not have been more than eight years old.

A simple world view and the promise of paradise - Salafists in Germany have been on a recruitment drive for quite some time: handing out flyers and free copies of the Koran in city centres. They are also targeting young people at schools, on the Internet and anywhere where young people meet. How can young people be protected? By Arnfrid Schenk
ELI5: What's with these desperate teenage girls trying to join ISIS? : explainlikeimfive

Benjamin Netanyahu Hires Top Defense Attorney For Possible Corruption Case - a "specialist in white-collar crime" to represent him and his wife if they face criminal corruption charges.

Father was 'informer' on Bali nine - National - theage.com.au - Mr Lee Rush claims the Australian Federal Police refusal to warn his 19-year-old son Scott has exposed him to the death penalty under Indonesia's tough anti-drug laws.
Turkish men wear skirts in protest for victimized women
xs
Taibbi: After Laundering $800M In Drug Money, How Did HSBC Executives Avoid Jail? | Crooks and Liars - "You can do real time in jail in America for all kinds of ridiculous offenses," Taibbi says. "Here we have a bank that laundered $800 million of drug money, and they can’t find a way to put anybody in jail for that. That sends an incredible message, not just to the financial sector but to everybody. It’s an obvious, clear double standard, where one set of people gets to break the rules as much as they want and another set of people can’t break any rules at all without going to jail."
Only Obama and Wall Street Criminals will Love Loretta Lynch as AG

Loretta Lynch: Not Enough Evidence to Charge HSBC Banksters | emptywheel - As part of her Questions for the Record, Attorney General nominee Loretta Lynch was asked about her role in the HSBC handslap in 2012.

As many as 2,800 inmates to be moved from Texas prison - As many as 2,800 federal prisoners will be moved to other institutions after inmates seized control of part of a prison in South Texas, causing damage that made the facility "uninhabitable," an official said Saturday.
Even as Many Eyes Watch, Brutality at Rikers Island Persists - NYTimes.com - The brutal confrontations were among 62 cases identified by The New York Times in which inmates were seriously injured by correction officers between last August and January, a period when city and federal officials had become increasingly focused on reining in violence at Rikers.
Police seize cash, property from Michigan residents in raids - Police seized more than $24 million in assets from Michiganders in 2013, under asset forfeiture laws. In many cases the citizens were never charged with a crime but lost their property anyway.
Jail report details recordings of attorney/client consultations | WINK NEWS - WINK News is learning more about the Charlotte County Jail recording conversations between an attorney and his client. The chief public defender in the county believes the conversations protected by the attorney-client privilege are in the hands of the prosecution.

Throw the Truth Out the Door: President Obama Has to Pass a Trade Deal | Beat the Press - Wow, this stuff just keeps getting worse. Apparently anything goes when the big corporations want a trade deal. Otherwise serious people will just make stuff up, because hey, the big campaign contributors want a trade deal to make themselves richer. The latest effort in creative myth-making comes from Third Way, which tells us that post-NAFTA trade deals aren't job losers like NAFTA. (Obama's corporate heart)
President Obama's cyber pitch misses mark in Silicon Valley | TheHill - some wondered why the platform wasn’t used to better explain Obama’s stance on encryption and privacy, the divisive issues causing strain between D.C. and Palo Alto.

Jeb Bush’s Brainless Trust - NYTimes.com - Maureen Dowd (well, this one is pretty good)

Democratic Party Losing Numbers, According to Internal Report - We all know that the Democratic Party has weakened in recent years, but it’s gotten really bad now. An internal report from the McClatchy Washington Bureau noted that “Democrats have become a confused political party with a muddled message and an inability to turn out enough of its loyal voters.”

Speaking Freely About Politics Can Cost You Your Job - NYTimes.com (basically, Republicans)

Embattled Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel courts voters in race to avoid election runoff | US news | The Guardian - Support for challenger Jesus ‘Chuy’ Garcia and controversy among black voters about schools policy have the former White House chief of staff fighting hard

'We are not anti-science': Mothers defend right to not vaccinate children | US news | The Guardian - She says she now chooses to build her son’s immunity naturally, through diet, while avoiding shots or other medication. (their kids are so pure)

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz calls out Rudy Giuliani for 'offensive' Obama comments - Feb. 20, 2015

Bill O'Reilly's CBS Colleague Says Buenos Aires Was Not A 'Combat Situation' After Falklands War - Buenos Aires was neither a “war zone” nor a “combat situation” after Argentina surrendered to Britain in the Falklands War, says one of Bill O’Reilly’s former colleagues at CBS who was with him in the capital at the time. “It was an ‘expense account zone,’” (O'lielly)

Jacqueline Alexander, Tennessee Mother, Allegedly Beat Son Because She Thought He Was 'Too Feminine' And Gay
Jessica Dutro, Mother Who Allegedly Thought Young Son Was Gay Before Murdering Him, Convicted
Photo Series Explores The Intense Relationship Between Little Girls And The Color Pink - "pinkification" that so many young girls face. Although pink itself is seemingly innocuous, the inundation of the ultra-feminized color supplants a child's agency and personal choice at such a young age.
Everything You Know About Corsets Is False | Collectors Weekly - this undergarment of centuries past is not nearly as evil or confining as modern folks have come to believe.
In 5 Minutes, This Student Destroys Our Double Standards For Men And Women
How to put a bitch in check - YouTube

New HPV vaccine is effective against 9 strains of the virus | Ars Technica - And boys should be vaccinated as well as girls.
Deconstructing mental illness through ultradian rhythms -- ScienceDaily - Might living a structured life with regularly established meal times and early bedtimes lead to a better life and perhaps even prevent the onset of mental illness? That's what's suggested by a new study.
Evolving a bigger brain with human DNA | EurekAlert! Science News - Crucial DNA difference between humans and chimps boosts brain size in mice
US regulators try to tame 'wild west' of DNA testing : Nature News & Comment - Experts, regulators mull how to foster technologies without posing undue risk to patients.
Disc dark matter in the Galaxy and potential cycles of extraterrestrial impacts, mass extinctions and geological events - A cycle in the range of 26–30?Myr has been reported in mass extinctions, and terrestrial impact cratering may exhibit a similar cycle of 31 ± 5?Myr.
Rust Never Sleeps - The Atlantic - America’s losing fight against the insidious enemy within - Report Card for America’s Infrastructure. The latest, from 2013, gives the country a D+ (Republicans love rust)

States Smoking the Most Smuggled Cigarettes - 24/7 Wall St. - In 2013, 58% of all cigarettes consumed in New York were smuggled — by far the highest such share nationwide — and up 22.2 percentage points from 2006, which was the second largest increase.

Kirk Cameron's 'Saving Christmas' Tops 2015 Razzie Awards

Gnome liberation movement strikes Boulder - Boulder Daily Camera - Gnomes in gardens everywhere in danger - The location of Smith's faithful lawn guard is currently "ungnome." The bandit did not leave a ransom "gnome." "Thousands of gnomes are enslaved in gardens across America," Department of Gnomeland Security?

Presidents of the United States (POTUS) - President Adams regularly swam nude in the Potomac River. Anne Royall, the first American professional journalist, knew of Adams' 5 A.M. swims. After being refused interviews with the president time after time, she went to the river, gathered his clothes and sat on them until she had her interview. Before this, no female had interviewed a president.

Why You Should Consider Booking a Trip Through BJ's, Costco or Sam's Club | U.S. News Travel - Offering deals on everything from cruises to rental cars, wholesale retail clubs are quickly becoming a one-stop shop for members' travel needs.

Guy does EVERYTHING 4chan says when they raid his stream : videos
Atheism vs Theism may seem like a battle of wits involving only science, and debate. The real truth is far deeper and darker than this, and anyone who considers discussing atheism with a "person of faith" should consider this: : atheism - The emotional side of religion is by far a larger and darker obstacle than any other that would stand in the way between someone's freedom from delusion and accepting reality.
Which subreddit would you like to shake some sense into? What would you say to them? : AskReddit
Chaperones of middle school dances, what's the most shocking thing you've witnessed? : AskReddit
TIL In Old English, 'man' was a gender neutral term. Males were known as 'wermen' and females were known as 'wifmen'. : todayilearned
IBM's Watson Memorized the Entire 'Urban Dictionary,' Then His Overlords Had to Delete It - The Atlantic - You don't even want to know, they should have explained.
Suddenly_a_Scene comments on TIL that to prepare IBM's Watson for Jeopardy, researchers inputted the entirety of Urban Dictionary. Unfortunately, this had the side effect of Watson adopting profanity. In one test, it even used the word "bullshit" to respond to a researcher's query.
What Is Your Worst Experience With A Home Owners Association? : AskReddit
Reddit, what is the WORST wedding ceremony you have attended? Why was it bad? : AskReddit
ELI5 Why Queensland Australia has different age of consent for anal and vaginal sex? : explainlikeimfive
Where is the worst place you can go for a first date? : AskReddit
ELI5:What is the difference between regular soap and shampoo? Is that long list of chemicals actually doing a better job of cleaning my hair? : explainlikeimfive
Star Wars Ring Theory: How George Lucas used an ancient technique called “ring composition” to reach a level of storytelling sophistication in his six-part saga that is unprecedented in cinema history. Regardless of how you feel about the Prequels, this is an amazing read. : movies - Lucas himself has described the concept of balance in the Force as keeping the light side and the dark side in check
Maps To The Stars - Official Redband Trailer - Julianne Moore, Robert Pattinson (NSFW) : movies

Cord cutters on net neutrality: 'It would be the end of wild wild west of the internet' | Technology | The Guardian - The ‘awe-inspiring’ FCC internet protections leave cord cutters wanting. Their main complaint? Lack of competition among internet providers
'Overnight, everything I loved was gone': the internet shaming of Lindsey Stone | Technology | The Guardian

Researcher Discovers Superfish Spyware Installed on Lenovo PCs - NYTimes.com - Researcher Discovers Superfish Spyware Installed on Lenovo PCs
U.S. urges removing Superfish program from Lenovo laptops - The U.S. government on Friday advised Lenovo Group Ltd customers to remove "Superfish," a program pre-installed on some Lenovo laptops, saying it makes users vulnerable to cyber attacks.
The Superfish problem is Microsoft's opportunity to fix a huge problem and have manufacturers ship their computers with a vanilla version of Windows. Versions of windows preloaded with crapware (and now malware) shouldn't even be a thing. : technology

022115
Deeper Ties to Corporate Cash for Doubtful Climate Researcher - NYTimes.com - For years, politicians wanting to block legislation on climate change have bolstered their arguments by pointing to the work of a handful of scientists who claim that greenhouse gases pose little risk to humanity. One of the names they invoke most often is Wei-Hock Soon, known as Willie, a scientist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics who claims that variations in the sun’s energy can largely explain recent global warming ... Dr. Soon is employed by the Smithsonian Institution, which jointly sponsors the astrophysics center with Harvard. (Willie be takin' bribes)
Work of prominent climate change denier was funded by energy industry | Environment | The Guardian - Willie Soon is researcher at Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics - Documents: Koch brothers foundation among groups that gave total of $1.25m
Senator Edward Markey to investigate energy companies on climate science funding - Nation - The Boston Globe - Senator Edward J. Markey will send letters to fossil fuel companies, trade organizations, and others with a stake in carbon fuels.

Massachusetts Senate reluctantly passes Gov. Charlie Baker's transportation funding cuts | masslive.com
Baker’s role in Big Dig financing process was anything but ‘small’ - The Boston Globe - The documents show that Baker was the chief architect of a financing plan to sustain the project during its peak construction years, just as federal support was diminishing substantially. (usual Republican strategy +Chawlie has always hated the T and the debt he took on to build the central artery is killing public transportation in MA)
Editorial: The Excuse Express | Boston Herald - n 2000 a total of $3 billion in transit-related debt was transferred to the MBTA, making it the agency’s responsibility to pay it down. About $1.7 billion was for those Big Dig obligations. So yes, some of the T’s current debt — which in all eats up a quarter of its annual budget and, along with massive personnel costs, crowds out funds for much else — is “associated” with the Big Dig.
Big MBTA Woes For Weather-Weary Commuters | WBUR - And it was Governor Baker who, as Secretary of Administration and Finance for Governor Weld and Governor Celluci, let them keep their "promise" of financing the Big Dig "without raising taxes, fees, or tolls" by simply piling BILLIONS of dollars in debt on top of the T.
The MBTA's long, winding, infuriating road to failure - Metro - The Boston Globe

Hong Kong’s Umbrella Revolution Isn’t Over Yet - NYTimes.com - A democracy movement ponders its next move.

Libyan chemical weapons 'seized by extremists' | The Times of Israel - Sources tell Arab newspaper arms could reach Islamic State, as group gains foothold in war-torn country
Families of Missing British Schoolgirls: 'You Belong at Home With Us' - ABC News - The three school friends from East London’s Bethnal Green, ages 15 to 16, left their homes before 8 a.m. local time Tuesday and met at Gatwick airport in London where they boarded a Turkish Airlines flight, according to a police news release.
CNN claim ISIS is luring women with kittens and Nutella | Daily Mail Online - 'They have learned our secrets': CNN ridiculed after ludicrous claim
The new ISIS "special forces" training video looks like a cross between a Monty Python sketch and a Bollywood movie. [album in comments] : gifs

Have We Got ISIS All Wrong? - Neither is ISIS authentically Islamic, nor is it in any meaningful sense not Islamic. It is a bizarre interpretation of Islam yoked to a political agenda which is very modern. If we just stop fretting about the relationship of ISIS to the religious base of its ideology and accept that it's a bunch of extremists who come out of a tradition that they manipulate to justify their crimes and their ambitions, it’s not so complicated. (contra Graeme Wood's this is what Islam is)

There's no way of knowing if the NSA's spyware is on your hard drive | Computerworld - 'Equation group' spyware likely only targeted specific hard drives and SSDs
FBI digital search-warrant plan a 'monumental' constitutional threat, says Google - Washington Times

Ukraine prisoner swap under way on frontline - Yahoo News

Moody's Cuts Russia Credit Rating To Junk

For Immigrants, Fear Returns After a Federal Judge’s Ruling - NYTimes.com (Republifucks, literally)

Lynching Mexicans - Lawyers, Guns & Money : When that great study detailing the numbers of African-Americans lynched in the South came out last week, I noted that its weaknesses included that lynching was not confined to the South and that lots of non-blacks were lynched. Those stories are often forgotten about, as is so much about American racial history that is not black-white.
When Americans Lynched Mexicans - NYTimes.com

BarbWire Pundit: Obama Will Create A 'North American Caliphate' As His 'Final Solution For The USA' | Right Wing Watch | "Obama and the Islamo-Nazi new world order" (zombie ideas inhabiting empty brains)
Microsoft Word - Christie2016Feb2015.doc - Rutgers poll: Christie in a word? Bully (fatfuck bully is perceived as bully)
XXL: Wisconsin pipeline dwarfs Keystone and affects every waterway in the state | Wisconsin | Wisconsin Gazette - Smart, independent and revealing. News, opinion and entertainment coverage (why the Kochs bought Wisconsin)

Defendant allegedly asked about hit man to kill child witnesses - The Washington Post - A former Falls Church Democratic Party chairman, charged with molesting two young girls, talked about hiring a hit man to kill them before they could be witnesses at his March 4 trial, according to court documents - Robin Gardner, Gardner’s wife, is a former mayor of Falls Church.

NYC, Orthodox Jews in talks over ritual after herpes cases - The Orthodox Jewish tradition known as oral suction circumcision reaches back to biblical times but it has created a modern-day dilemma for New York City health officials, who have linked it to 17 cases of infant herpes since 2000. Two died and two others suffered brain damage.

Vegas 'Road Rage' Shooting: Suspect Vowed to 'Come Back for You and Your Daughter,' Teen Says - ABC News (ambiguous situation generates 2000+ comments -- range of critical thinking and analytical ability -- as people try to figure out what the fuck happened)
Las Vegas 'Road Rage' Shooting: How Timeline Has Changed Since Arrest - ABC News (story keeps changing, commenters are on it)

Minneapolis Officer Wounded in Apparent Targeted Attack - ABC News - Minneapolis police arrested someone Saturday in the early-morning wounding of an officer who investigators believe was shot because he was a member of the police force. (sovereign citizen?)
Judge decides not to fine two top cops from Hollywood who deleted I.A. files - Sun Sentinel - Two high-ranking Hollywood cops under investigation for deleting Internal Affairs files won't be paying a fine after all, a judge decided Wednesday.
Lawyer: Video of police shooting differs from official account - But what's clear, Mildenberg said, is that Tate-Brown's shooting didn't mirror police accounts of the incident.
Kansas City police officer indicted in connection with 2014 shooting | The Kansas City Star The Kansas City Star - Various law enforcement and legal sources said Friday that they could not recall the last time a Kansas City officer was indicted after a shooting.
Madison, Wis.: Female inmate in Wisconsin ordered to do jumping jacks during strip search | MCT National News | McClatchy DC - Corrections officials forced a female inmate to perform naked jumping jacks last year because they believed - wrongly - she had hidden a bottle of urine in her vagina so she could falsify a drug test.

Two House Bills Would End Federal Prohibition Of Marijuana - effectively ending the U.S. government's decadeslong prohibition of the plant.

Mother Jones Urges Bill O'Reilly To Apologize For 'Violent' Remark After Falklands War Claims Scrutinized

Echidne Of The Snakes: Ban Them Books! (ISIS in America: ideas are dangerous to ideologies)
The Crackdown on Little Free Library Book Exchanges - The Atlantic - All over America, people have put small "give one, take one" book exchanges in front of their homes. Then they were told to tear them down. (a box of books = "unattached free structure" +And people like Jeb Bush, who want government so small, it can fit in a bedroom. Specifically, your bedroom.)

<i>Charlie Hebdo</i> and the First Amendment | Geoffrey R. Stone
The progressive ideas behind the lack of free speech on campus - The Washington Post - By Wendy Kaminer
5 Ways to Use White Privilege as an Ally | Jordan Houston - Assuming the role as a moderator between the four Smith panelists, among them being lawyer and social critic Wendy Kaminer '71, President McCartney sat in on what turned from a civil discourse on the idea of "free speech" vs. "hate speech" into an explicit act of racial violence. (Wendy might have reported on herself a little better)

Dinesh D'Souza's Anti-Black Racism is Rooted in 'National Review' | The New Republic - Dinesh D'Souza's racism and the shame of immigrant self-hatred (D'stupid)
Oklahoma Lawmaker Wants To Test Everybody For Syphilis Before Marriage - As recently as 1980, there were 34 states that demanded a premarital blood test, but virtually every state has repealed that requirement since. Today, only Montana still has it on the books.

XKCD's "Fundamental Forces" isn't funny, it's sad. Can you do better? : askscience
Winds From This Massive Black Hole Pack The Energy Of More Than A Trillion Suns - Artist's illustration showing a supermassive black hole blasting out radiation and ultra-fast winds.
Popular soda ingredient, caramel color, poses cancer risk to consumers -- ScienceDaily

Nicotine, the Wonder Drug? | DiscoverMagazine.com - To Quik, the upside is clear. “People have tested all their favorites to help treat Parkinson’s and other neurological disease,” she says. “Now nicotine’s time has come.”
Monoamine Oxidase Inhibition Dramatically Increases the Motivation to Self-Administer Nicotine in Rats
Monoamine oxidase inhibitors allow locomotor and rewarding response... - PubMed - NCBI - Our data suggest that MAOIs contained in tobacco and tobacco smoke act in synergy with nicotine to enhance its rewarding effects.

A high school student who had his senior picture go viral a few months back, has passed away from suicide. Rest in peace Draven. : pics
Reddit, What is the dumbest thing YOU have done as a teenager? : AskReddit
[Serious] What link do you regret ever clicking on? : AskReddit

Lenovo committed one of the worst consumer betrayals ever made : technology
The biggest takeaway from 'Superfish': We need to push for "No OS" buying option. : technology (links to places to buy clean systems)

022015
Boston’s Winter From Hell - NYTimes.com
Friday Morning Open Thread: Boston Strung » Balloon Juice - Fights are breaking out on the trains, trolleys, and buses, as too many people relying on too few cars see their commuting times doubled or tripled even when the system isn’t shut down entirely. (And our new CEO-friendly governor Charlie Baker is a Pioneer Institute tool. Thanks for endorsing him, Globe, you giggling hipster jagoffs!) (Globe one of Boston's worst institutions)
Of SNOWTRON and Snowzilla: How Boston Removed Snow From its Streets Throughout History - Massachusetts news - Boston.com (try the Sununu hot air machine)
Bostonians Become Territorial Over Parking Spots | BDCwire
Space Saver Saga Part 3: Avenger Unmasked - Weather - Boston.com - All is forgiven. Uber is “awesome.” #Boston2024, not so much.

Global Warming Could Make the Super-Rich Jealous of Rowhouse Residents - NYTimes.com

Fire rips through Dubai skyscraper - A fire has swept through the Torch skyscraper in Dubai, one of the tallest residential buildings in the world. ("the Torch")
Fire rips through Torch skyscraper in Dubai, one of the tallest residential buildings in the world : worldnews

DHS intelligence report warns of domestic right-wing terror threat - CNN.com - Some federal and local law enforcement groups view the domestic terror threat from sovereign citizen groups as equal to -- and in some cases greater than -- the threat from foreign Islamic terror groups, such as ISIS, that garner more public attention.?
Arrest made in Colorado Springs bombing, NAACP may have not been target - Investigators are looking into the possibility a tax preparation business may have been the target of the bombing as opposed to the NAACP.

U.S. urges removing Superfish program from Lenovo laptops | Reuters - . He said the vulnerability was "inadvertently" introduced by Israel-based Komodia, which built the application described in the government notice.

Drums Along The Potomac: How This Country Never Learns Anything - The country seems to be sliding down some very familiar tracks into a military engagement in the Middle East. (mission creep +Barry will leave Hillary the war she always wanted)
John McCain Promotes Sending 10,000 US Troops To Fight ISIS | Crooks and Liars (and Assad and who knows who else)
Brutal ISIS Videos Show Potency of Shock Value - NYTimes.com - Broadcast specifically to frighten and manipulate, the Islamic State's flamboyant violence consumes the world's attention while more familiar threats, like the Syrian government’s barrel bombs, kill far more people but rarely provoke widespread outrage.
Exponential Rise In War Crimes In Syria, UN Panel Warns
Human Rights, Blah Blah Blah — Crooked Timber - Never underestimate the murder and mayhem men will make, just to escape their boredom. Every enthusiasm, though, has a shelf life. Even imperialism.
Gen. Wesley Clark: 'ISIS Got Started With Funding From Our Closest Allies' - OpEd - Eurasia Review - So is the insider, Gen. Wesley Clark, informs us that our closest allies in the Middle East have helped create ISIS — the organization we are spending billions of dollars to fight.
UK police launch hunt for London schoolgirls feared to have fled to Syria | World news | The Guardian - Counter-terrorism police open international search for three girls who left their homes in east London last week and caught a flight to Turkey (enjoy being gang-raped)
Italy Fears ISIS Invasion From Libya - The Daily Beast - As ISIS makes inroads into Libya, officials in Rome are panicking about an Islamic State just across the sea—but have no idea how to combat the crisis. ("death cult" sorta like the Bush family)

Chelsea fans' Paris Métro victim: what happened has left me really afraid | World news | The Guardian - In an interview in Paris, Souleymane recalls his shock at his treatment during his evening commute and says it is important that the injustice has been publicised
Indonesia says 'nothing whatsoever' will stop execution of two Australians | World news | The Guardian - Indonesia has reaffirmed its intention to execute two Australian drug smugglers, despite continuing high-level diplomatic efforts from Australia to prevent their deaths.

Greece Reaches Deal With Creditors - Euro zone finance ministers reached an agreement on Friday to extend heavily indebted Greece's financial rescue by four months, officials on both sides said.

Russian expansionism may pose existential threat, says Nato general | World news | The Guardian - British general Sir Adrian Bradshaw says Nato needs to develop fast-reacting conventional forces and capacities to counter Russian propaganda (Putin will invade Poland next)

The Plot to Kill Health Care - NYTimes.com - But none of that matters to at least four justices on the court who would rule in favor of a ham sandwich, if it meant overturning the health care law. If they get a fifth vote, more than eight million people in 34 states could lose their health coverage. Premiums for several million more would rise enough to make insurance impossible. Thousands of people, lacking basic care, may even die prematurely

Russ Feingold Is Leaving The State Department. Is A Senate Run Next? - Russ Feingold will soon deliver his final speech as United States Special Envoy for the Great Lakes Region of Africa, closing one chapter of his career and inevitably sparking speculation about the next. (go Russ, kick the teaparty thug out)

How a powerful rightwing lobby is plotting to stop minimum wage hikes | US news | The Guardian - American Legislative Exchange Council combines litigation and legislation in two-pronged attack on ‘new battleground’ of workers’ rights, documents reveal
Nicholas Kristof’s pathetic mea culpa: Why the columnist’s union U-turn is so unsatisfying - Salon.com - The Times columnist says he was wrong to disdain organized labor. But is he now right for the wrong reasons? (you can see where he is coming from)
Kristof on Unions - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Of course one can also ask how a leading columnist at the nation’s paper of record can miss all the obvious evidence that unions are good for an economy–and miss that evidence for years and years. But then Kristof should have been fired over the Somaly Mam incident and it’s hardly news that Times columnists have lifetime sinecures no matter what idiotic columns they write.
Nicholas Kristof knows better: A shameful addition to the Syria hawk club - Salon.com - The New York Times columnist's logic on Syria makes no sense at all, especially considering his previous reporting (9/13: more context)

800,000 Using HealthCare.gov Were Sent Incorrect Tax Data - NYTimes.com - About 800,000 taxpayers who enrolled in insurance policies through HealthCare.gov received erroneous tax information from the government, and were urged on Friday to hold off on filing tax returns until the error could be corrected.

Awarded Stolen Wages, Workers Struggle to Collect - NYTimes.com - labor advocates call for changes in New York’s laws that they believe will give workers a fighting chance to recover stolen wages. “Our research identified at least $125 million in judgments and orders, providing a glimpse into the scope of the wage collection problem in New York,”

Two Demographic Trains by Ed Kilgore | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - One is minority voters, and the other voters over 50. Both are increasing as a share of the electorate in all 11 states, but at different rates ... Democrats have been over-performing among older white voters in Rust Belt states like Ohio; if they now falter, they’ve got a problem.

Some Chris Christie Supporters Now Turn Their Backs - NYTimes.com - He does not return phone calls. He does not ask for support. He arrives late for meetings. And he acts as if he has all the time in the world.

White House Spokesman: 'I Feel Sorry For Rudy Giuliani' - "It's sad to see when somebody who has attained a certain level of public stature, and even admiration, tarnishes a legacy so thoroughly," Earnest said. "I don't take any joy or vindication or satisfaction from that."
Wayne Barrett- What Rudy Giuliani knows about love - NY Daily News ... no doubt to the parenting prowess of Harold Giuliani, who did time in Sing Sing for holding up a Harlem milkman and was the bat-wielding enforcer for the loan-sharking operation run out of a Brooklyn bar owned by Rudy's uncle. (911 Fooliani)

Scott Walker Doesn't Care - The Wisconsin governor's budget shows just how petty and small-minded he can be. (a good Republican)

Staffers Quit Tea Party News Network, Say Site Sees Readers As 'Unsophisticated Simpletons' (sounds about right)
The Tea Party’s Own World Star Hip-Hop - The Daily Beast - Two and a half years after the Tea Party News Network launched to give voice to the revolution, it’s trolling party stalwarts with stories that ‘wouldn’t have made the cut at TMZ.’ (grifters ... )

The Cafe Takes On A Strange Glow - The mixing of Human Embryos with Jellyfish cells to create a glow in the dark human, we say not in Georgia. Tom Kirby is right! Georgia needs no glow in the dark humans. Leave that stuff for California, where it will further liven up the nightlife.

Ideology Seen as Factor in Closings in University of North Carolina System - NYTimes.com - While many here take pride in its carefully cultivated rise to the top tier of American public education, conservatives have long groused about some campuses, particularly the flagship school at Chapel Hill, as out-of-touch havens of liberalism (Republicans destroying education in America)
Oklahoma educators fear high school history bill will have 'devastating' impact | US news | The Guardian - Proposals sweeping American south have pitted students and teachers against legislator who thinks course over-emphasises ‘what’s bad about America’ (Oklahoma, where the stupid blows free)

Chilling report details how Elliot Rodger executed murderous rampage | US news | The Guardian - Sheriff’s office report reveals plan was months in the making in 2014 attack that left six people dead, not including Rodger, and 14 people wounded
'Road Rage' Murder Suspect Caught, Lived Block Away From Tammy Meyers: Police
This Florida Man Got a Free Pass for Shooting a Pregnant Woman To Death - The Daily Beast

These Are the Questions Bill O'Reilly Won't Answer | Mother Jones - Why won't the Fox News host address the evidence he mischaracterized his wartime reporting experience? (but Fox is the liars' network)
David Corn hits back at Bill O'Reilly - politico.com - David Corn, the lead author of a new report alleging that Bill O'Reilly lied about his Falklands War experience, says the Fox News anchor is hiding behind name calling and refusing to account for legitimate discrepancies in his statements.

Rent-stabilized tenant evicted after cashing in on Airbnb | New York Post - But his landlord scoffed at the claim, and sources said the family actually lives in a million-dollar-plus home in Jamaica, Queens, while Ikezi used the 46th-floor apartment as a revolving door for paying tourists. (nice place)

10 Surprising Things You Never Knew About Infidelity

When the apocalypse comes, preppers will be ready. But you won't | US news | The Guardian - At the National Preppers and Survivalists Expo in Florida, survivalists are ready to bug out (or in) with everything imaginable – from bowie knives to chainsaws ... My son is too possessed, and my wife is totally mind-controlled by the programs on the TV, the fluoride she’s drinking – because fluoride... ” (zombies with weapons)

Sunlight May Cause Skin Cancer Even Hours After You've Left The Beach - The general process (known as chemiexcitation) routinely occurs in plants and gives fireflies their glow. But this is the first time that it has been observed in advanced mammals.


021915
Arctic outbreak shatters records in eastern U.S., coldest yet to come - The Washington Post

The Great SIM Heist: How Spies Stole the Keys to the Encryption Castle - AMERICAN AND BRITISH spies hacked into the internal computer network of the largest manufacturer of SIM cards in the world, stealing encryption keys used to protect the privacy of cellphone communications across the globe, according to top-secret documents provided to The Intercept by National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden - “The news of this key theft will send a shock wave through the security community.” - In all, Gemalto produces some 2 billion SIM cards a year. Its motto is “Security to be Free.” (all your firmwares are belong to spies)
Hacker Claims Feds Hit Him With 44 Felonies When He Refused to Be an FBI Spy | WIRED - “Fundamentally this represents the FBI trying to recruit by indictment,” says Salinas’ lawyer Tor Ekeland, who took the case pro bono last year. “The message was clear: If he had agreed to help them, they would have dropped the charges in a second.”
Hacker Claims Feds Hit Him With 44 Felonies When He Refused to Be an FBI Spy : news
Lenovo Caught Installing Adware On New Computers : worldnews - This is a big deal, and not just because it is adware. It is installing a "certificate" which is what your computer uses to tell what websites, software and drivers to trust and what not to trust
The Superfish certificate has been cracked, exposing Lenovo users to attack | The Verge
Lenovo PCs ship with man-in-the-middle adware that breaks HTTPS connections [Updated] | Ars Technica - Superfish may make it trivial for attackers to spoof any HTTPS website.

Ideological tensions overshadow Obama's call to combat extremism | US news | The Guardian - As US president calls on Arab world to reject notion there’s a clash with west, critics say ‘unwavering’ military intervention a factor in radicalisation (we invaded the Muslims but we aren't at war with them, only the ones we really pissed off)

How Chicago police condemned the innocent: a trail of coerced confessions | US news | The Guardian - Before his interrogation tactics got supercharged on detainees in Guantánamo, Richard Zuley extracted confessions from minority Americans in Chicago – at least one leading to a wrongful conviction. (the cop-torture nexus)
Australian David Hicks, Former Guantanamo Detainee, Wins Appeal - "What he was doing there was not at that time illegal," said Stephen Kenny, his Australian lawyer. "He wasn't doing anything that was a breach of Australian, international or U.S. law. That is what this decision today confirms." (no one accountable as usual)

Mecca and Medina are main ISIS target, says Hassan Nasrallah - Iraqi News - (IraqiNews.com) Secretary-General of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah said that Mecca and Medina are the main targets of ISIS, not Jerusalem, pointing out that its caliphate cannot prevail without the Two Holy Mosques, and that the Iraqis had prevented the terrorist group from accessing the Gulf.
U.S. Won’t Back Egypt’s Attacks on ISIS - The Daily Beast - Two longtime allies are attacking ISIS—and growing frustrated with one another. That’s good news for the so-called Islamic State.
Turkey, US Sign Deal To Train, Arm Syrian Rebels: US Embassy
Once a top booster, ex-U.S. envoy no longer backs arming Syrian rebels | World | The State - Ford said the latest U.S. approach of ditching the old rebel model to build a new, handpicked paramilitary to focus on the Islamic State was doomed; Syrian rebels are more concerned with bringing down Assad than with fighting extremists for the West, and there are far too few fighters to take the project seriously. ... And if those steps can’t be achieved, said the man known for advocating greater U.S. involvement, “then we have to just walk away and say there’s nothing we can do about Syria.” (learn anything?)

Georgia condemns Russia, South Ossetia deal as step toward annexation | Reuters - accusing Moscow of moving closer to annexing a territory it supported in a five-day conflict in 2008.
RAF scrambles jets after Russian bombers spotted near Cornwall coast | Politics | The Guardian - David Cameron says Moscow ‘trying to make a point’, while Kremlin hits back at defence secretary’s warning over threat to Baltic states

Americas - Thousands rally in Buenos Aires over prosecutor's death - France 24

Benjamin Netanyahu's campaign hit by expenses claims | Daily Mail Online - Netanyahu humiliated after he tries to play down wealth with video recorded in his decrepit home... which is revealed to be his servants' quarters
Netanyahu humiliated after he tries to play down wealth with video recorded in his decrepit home... which is revealed to be his servants' quarters : worldnews (Putin wins)

Pentagon Actually Spent $41.6 Million on Viagra Last Year, Not $500K | Five by Five - Then there’s this: And since 2011, the tab for drugs like Viagra, Cialis and Levitra totals $294 million — the equivalent of nearly four U.S. Air Force F-35 Joint Strike Fighters (why we're losing all our wars)

Do Americans want to send ground troops to fight ISIS? - CBS News - For the first time, a majority of Americans (57 percent) favor the U.S. sending ground troops into Iraq and Syria to fight ISIS (stupidity + American bloodlust + fear + no memory = tragedy)
Boots On The Ground, Drums In The Air » Balloon Juice - Super awesome. We have learned a grand total of absolutely goddamn nothing over the last 13 years, so let’s just have another decade of boots on the ground and see if that fixes things. I’m sure it will. The last 13 years? Didn’t happen.

Why the Supreme Court's big Obamacare case never should have been filed - LA Times - Now there's evidence that it was never even properly filed. Pressure is growing on the Supreme Court to drop the case because of doubts that its plaintiffs have any standing to sue: "It would be highly improper (and embarrassing) for the Court to decide the merits of such an important case" when there are such doubts, writes Gerard Magliocca of Indiana University school of law
King v. Burwell Obamacare Challengers Expose Absurdist Argument | The New Republic - But its credibility sustained a further hit this week, when reports in the Wall Street Journal and Mother Jones revealed damaging information about at least three, and possibly all four, of the King vs. Burwell petitioners. (their stupidity and delusionality eventually catches up with them, but Roberts has their back)
Dems gloat over ObamaCare numbers | TheHill - The administration announced on Tuesday that 11.4 million people had signed up ahead of Sunday's deadline, a figure that puts the administration on track to beat its goal of 9.1 million enrollees. Republicans have been largely silent on the numbers. (or why their golf courses are still there)
A Supreme Court decision against Obamacare could cost states billions and billions of dollars - The Washington Post (Florida, Texas and NC suffer the most, how ironic)

Wisconsin to Skip Debt Payments to Make Up for Walker’s Tax Cuts - Bloomberg Politics - Since taking office in 2011, Walker has steered more than $2 billion in tax cuts through the Republican-controlled legislature. (he robbed the bank and gave the money to his buddies and destroyed education and WI voters loved it)

‘NBC Nightly News’ loses 700K viewers after Brian Williams scandal | New York Post
Bill O'Reilly Has His Own Brian Williams Problem | Mother Jones - The Fox News host has said he was in a "war zone" that apparently no American correspondent reached. (but he's always been a big fat liar)
MSNBC Cancels 'The Reid Report,' 'Ronan Farrow Daily' (commenters like Reid, find Farrow boring)

Everest College shut down in Ontario, 14 schools closed - Business - CBC News - Ottawa student says '6 months ago, we were advised by our campus president that all is well' (the great for-profit education ripoff is crumbling)

Washington Florist Illegally Refused To Provide Flowers For Same-Sex Wedding, Judge Rules - Robert Ingersoll and his partner, Curt Freed, had bought flowers from the shop for nearly a decade, the Tri-City Herald reported in 2013. So the couple was surprised when owner Barronelle Stutzman told them she wouldn't provide wedding flowers because of her "relationship with Jesus Christ." (there's gratitude for you)
Pediatrician wouldn't care for baby with 2 moms - . After "much prayer," she decided that she couldn't treat their baby because they are lesbians.

Fox Gives Giuliani A Safe Space To Explain Why Obama Does Not Love America | Blog | Media Matters for America - "I do not believe, and I know this is a horrible thing to say, but I do not believe that the president loves America," Giuliani said
Here's Some Stupid For Lunch - Where Rudy Giuliani tells us President Obama doesn't love America.
Wayne Barrett: What Rudy Giuliani knows about love - NY Daily News - Ask Regina Peruggi, the second cousin he grew up with and married, who was "offended" when Rudy later engineered an annulment from the priest who was his best man on the grounds, strangely enough, that she was his cousin. Or ask Donna Hanover, the mother of his two children, who found out he wanted a separation when he left Gracie Mansion one morning and announced it at a televised press conference. Or ask Judi Nathan, his third wife ... (what an asshole)
Giuliani: Obama Had a White Mother, So I'm Not a Racist - First Draft. Political News, Now. - NYTimes.com

Feelings Journalism Feeds Off Jessica Williams 'Daily Show' Tweets | The New Republic - A condescending article about Jessica Williams is part of an unfortunate media trend (+"whitesplaining")
Tucker Carlson Blames 'Hungover' Editor For 'Kill All The Jews' Headline (first they came for the Jews, and then they killed all the Christians and Pagans)

In Fairfax, Va., a different, no-less-scary police shooting - World - CBC News - 18 months ago John Geer was shot by police while standing at his front door with his hands raised - That should not have happened. The killing of John Geer is probably the clearest and most compelling example of what amounts to police impunity in recent American history.
New York police union chief under fire for 'exploiting' deaths of two officers | US news | The Guardian - As the photos of Lynch appear, the video states: “He has brought back pride to the PBA” and “unmatched dedication to the members” and “re-elect team Lynch in 2015”.
Biased Seattle police officers can 'go someplace else', says union chief | US news | The Guardian - Seattle police were found to have ‘engaged in a pattern of excessive force’ by a 2011 Justice Department investigation

Sorry, Oklahoma. You don't get to ban history you don't like | Steven W Thrasher | Comment is free | The Guardian - Just last month, Education Week gave the state a D- on education and ranked it 48th in the nation. Clearly, Oklahoma could move up from being third dumbest, fourth most incarcerated, and sixth fattest state if it just ignored its unpleasant history, right?
History Is Bunk: The America You Learn About In Oklahoma - Where AP History gets tangled up with issues surrounding Common Core as well as the Second Amendment ... This is Clio, Muse Of History -- also known by her Marvel Comics superhero name, The Proclaimer (!). (the Black Robe Regiment)

Businesses don't live in fear of animal rights activists. Why charge them as terrorists? | Comment is free | The Guardian - The American Legislative Action Council, who brought us the stand-your-ground law, are pushing for more “anti-terror” legislation that will muzzle free speech (any excuse will do)

Superbug at LA hospital linked to two deaths and 179 potential infections | US news | The Guardian - Antibiotic-resistant bacteria strikes at Ronald Reagan UCLA medical center following endoscopy procedure that used infected medical devices - Carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae, called “CRE”
Sex and STD-HIV Education State Laws - spib_SE.pdf - 39 states require that abstinence be included . 27 states require that abstinence be stressed . 12 states require that abstinence be covered .

Oliver Sacks on Learning He Has Terminal Cancer - NYTimes.com - Oliver Sacks on Learning He Has Terminal Cancer

Why don't women respond to my online messages? | Life and style | The Guardian (profile/behavior advice)

Student Banned from Areas of Campus for Resembling Classmate’s Rapist : news

Corpse or model? Outrageously skinny model featured in the latest issue of Danish fashion mag COVER : WTF
Sony releases $160 64 GB SD cards marketed for 'Premium Sound', claiming it will produce 'less electrical noise'. Storage media can not change sound quality, but people are spending over $100 more to buy it. : technology
What is a hygiene tip every person should know that may not be common knowledge? : AskReddit - Wash behind your ears. It prevents the "old person smell".
4chan raids a Christian man's twitch stream. This is my new favorite video. : videos
The truth about the leaking of Velox 2. : jailbreak (WakeUpToChrist pwnd)
What do you do in private that would be weird in public? : AskReddit
What is one question that reveals a lot about someone? : AskReddit
World's Worst Driver caught on Dashcam : WTF
Clinically obese to ripped (part three) : Fitness


021815
Boston Has Reached Peak Snow Mess - Massachusetts news - Boston.com
Icy Storm Pummels Eastern United States, More Cold To Come

New York City Could See Up To Six Feet Of Sea Level Rise This Century: Report - About 400,000 New Yorkers live within the current 100-year flood plain, which is more than any other U.S. city, including New Orleans. (the great climate hoax will drown Wall St)

Whistleblower: Government Lacks The 'Guts' To Charge U.S. Leaders With Torture - "I don't think our government, no matter who is president, would ever have the guts to charge someone at the level of a Dick Cheney or of a CIA director ... with crimes against humanity," Kiriakou said.
How The Administration Destroyed A North Korea Expert For No Reason - The Obama administration destroyed the life of a mid-level bureaucrat for doing what countless other government officials do on a daily basis, The Intercept is reporting in a new investigation out Wednesday.
Stephen Kim Spoke to a Reporter. Now He’s in Jail. This Is His Story. - The Intercept - Stephen Kim Spoke to a Reporter. Now He’s in Jail. This Is His Story. (when all is said and done, this is Obama's "legacy")
Watch: The Surrender - The Intercept

Guantánamo torturer led brutal Chicago police regime of shackling and confession | US news | The Guardian - Longtime detective’s tactics exported from Chicago to Guantánamo - Minority Americans allege catalogue of abuse and coercion similar to detainee - Officials examining complaints after innocent man spent half his life in prison (stunning: they used torture experts: Chicago cops)
Bad lieutenant: American police brutality, exported from Chicago to Guantánamo | US news | The Guardian

Google warns of US government 'hacking any facility' in the world | Technology | The Guardian - Google says increasing the FBI’s powers set out in search warrants would raise ‘monumental’ legal concerns that should be decided by Congress
Google Calls FBI's Plan to Expand Hacking Power a 'Monumental' Constitutional Threat - NationalJournal.com - Any change in accessing computer data should go through Congress, the search giant said.

Today's Top 7 Myths about Daesh/ ISIL | Informed Comment
In Fight Against “Extremists,” the Enemy Proves Elusive - The Intercept - The White House is holding an international summit this week to shore up domestic and global support to fight “extremists,” but who those extremists are is difficult to say. (certainly not the Saudis)

Fear of Israeli Leaks Fuels Distrust Over U.S. Talks With Iran - NYTimes.com (oh, where did that distrust come from?)
Report: Netanyahu Might Have Leaked Details Of U.S.-Iran Nuclear Talks - U.S. officials suspect Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu authorized leaking details of U.S. nuclear negotiations with Iran to Israeli journalists, according to The Washington Post's David Ignatius.

Civilian Casualties In Afghanistan Topped 10,000 In 2014, UN Report (no one is responsible, least of all Obama and the military) s

Why I have resigned from the Telegraph | openDemocracy - The coverage of HSBC in Britain's Telegraph is a fraud on its readers. If major newspapers allow corporations to influence their content for fear of losing advertising revenue, democracy itself is in peril.

President Obama: Our fight against violent extremism - LA Times

Obamacare-Hater Can’t Find Single True Fact -- NYMag


No, The Rich Have Not Gotten Poorer Since The Financial Crisis - The headline of a recent New York Times piece by The Upshot’s managing editor David Leonhardt is eye-opening and not at all subtle: “Inequality Has Actually Not Risen Since the Financial Crisis.” Unfortunately, the article that follows does not back up the sweeping conclusion of the headline. (Times has the riches back; Upshot can't be trusted)

Immigration Standoff May End With A Congressional Punt

Failed Theory Posed by Wall Street Dems Puts Hillary Clinton in a Bind - I would prefer they go farther and follow my advice, but first they need to go beyond mid-1990s Clintonism. To have any credibility, Hillary Clintonism will need to do better than this.

Jeb Bush’s foreign policy team is eerily familiar, in one Venn diagram - The Washington Post (superset of tragic stupidity and failure)
Jeb Bush backs brother's NSA surveillance program to keep America safe | US news | The Guardian - Presidential contender says of NSA dragnet ‘this is a hugely important program’, in sharp contrast to Republican rivals for the White House
Things In Politico That Make Me Want To Guzzle Antifreeze, Part The Infinity - From Sister Souljah moments to Jeb World to big brother George, Politico's take on his master plan.

How Andrew Cuomo Gets His Way - The New Yorker - How Andrew Cuomo gets his way.
Buy Governor Cuomo's Former Queens Mansion for $2.68M - Monday Mansion - Curbed NY (you can see where he's coming from)

How rich conservatives bilk the rank and file into making them richer - The Washington Post - the little old lady in Tupelo who sends in $50 thinking that she’s striking a blow against Barack Obama, the couple in Topeka who hopes Mike Huckabee’s biblical cancer cure can save their daughter’s life, the man in Toledo who thinks that the group with “Tea Party” in its name is going to have an impact on his state’s races. What none of them know is that their money is just going to make somebody who’s already rich a little bit richer.

Investment Riches Built on Subprime Auto Loans to Poor - NYTimes.com - Across the country, there is a booming business in lending to the working poor — those Americans with impaired credit who need cars to get to work.

In Bid to Allow Guns on Campus, Weapons Are Linked to Fighting Sexual Assault - NYTimes.com (that'll really work)
Michigan Republican official fatally shoots self in eye while adjusting gun in her bra holster
The Myth Behind Defensive Gun Ownership - Evan DeFilippis and Devin Hughes - politico Magazine - Guns are more likely to do harm than good.

Millennials ditching their TV sets at a record rate | New York Post - This season’s steep slide means there are almost 20 percent fewer young adults watching their TV sets in primetime than four years ago.

The Question | Brooklyn Spoke - If you accept that philosophy — that in order to keep buses moving on New York City Streets people are going to die every once in a while — then you should have to answer a rather serious question: If the occasional death or serious injury is the inevitable cost of keeping the city running, how many of your family members would you be willing to lose? (another piece of Bloomfuck's legacy)

These Google-Owned Nest Smoke Alarms Could Make Anyone Go Crazy - Softpedia - “They false alarm and are unhushable pieces of [expletive]. Please spread the word. Watch this horror video of me trying to quiet mine. You can stop or mute this video if it's annoying, but you cannot stop an actual Nest protect. This went off in my house all day, annoying my neighbors,” he posted.

Your Brain Is Primed To Reach False Conclusions | FiveThirtyEight - Indeed, famous anti-vaxxer Jenny McCarthy has said her son’s autism and seizures are linked to “so many shots” because vaccinations preceded his symptoms. (correlation is not causation +other cognitive biases)
New Artificial Lighting Tricks Human Brain into Seeing Sunlight | Urbanist - this new form of artificial light is able to dupe humans, cameras and computers alike using a thin coating of nanoparticules to simulate Rayleigh scattering, a natural process that takes place in Earth’s atmosphere causing diffuse sky radiation
How A Single, Simple Guideline Could Help You Lose Weight - researchers say that there’s only one thing to keep in mind: Eat more fiber.
Alessandro Volta: a welcome but misleading Google doodle | Charlotte Connelly | Science | The Guardian
Teen brain scans reveal a key to weight loss - Specifically, they measured activity in the pre-frontal cortex where a process known as “executive function” resides. Executive function is the ability to process and prioritize competing interests.

Behind the Scenes of Elgin Park, a Retro City of Optical Illusions Photographed by Michael Paul Smith | Colossal

Woman stalks couple — posting fake ads for parties and sex services — after they outbid her on dream home | National Post - Kathy Rowe waged an escalating campaign of abuse, signing the buyers up to magazine subscriptions and sending them $1,200 worth of adult diapers before posting ads for fake parties at their home and leaving their photographs on sex websites.

Reddit, Why DON'T you smoke weed? : AskReddit
First time tripping on an eighth of shrooms. *long but a good read* : Psychonaut
What's the longest train of gilded comments in a Reddit thread? : AskReddit

What is HTTP/2 and is it going to speed up the web? | Technology | The Guardian - Biggest change to how the web works since 1999 should make browsing on desktop and mobile faster
What is the oldest page on the internet that you can find? [SERIOUS] : AskReddit

021715
The Great Snow Of 2015 - Weather Wisdom - Boston.com - Part of the reason it’s so incredible is because we don’t have anything officially in the record books to compare this to. We’ve had more snow than any other 14,20 or even 30 day period since the late 1800s and there is still more snow in the forecast.
Bostonians Need To Quit Leaping Out Their Windows, Mayor Says - “This isn’t Loon Mountain, this is the city of Boston, where we’re trying to remove snow off of the street and it becomes very dangerous,” Walsh said.

São Paulo Water Crisis Linked to Growth, Pollution and Deforestation - NYTimes.com - São Paulo Water Crisis Linked to Growth, Pollution and Deforestation

Why does ISIS keep making enemies? - CNN.com - The mistake some make when viewing ISIS is to see it as a rational actor. Instead, as the magazine documents, its ideology is that of an apocalyptic cult that believes that we are living in the end times and that ISIS' actions are hastening the moment when this will happen.
Islamic State militants 'burn to death 45 in Iraq' - Jihadist militants from Islamic State (IS) have burned to death 45 people in the western Iraqi town of al-Baghdadi, the local police chief says.
Double-layered veils and despair … women describe life under Isis | World news | The Guardian - Islamic State has imposed a strict dress code in areas it controls in Iraq and Syria, with punishments of fines or beatings for those who do not comply
Saudi cleric rejects that Earth revolves around the Sun - Al Arabiya News - A Saudi cleric has appeared in a recent video rejecting the fact that the Earth revolves around the Sun and claiming the opposite holds true, prompting a wave of social media remarks.
U.S. Intensifies Effort to Blunt ISIS’ Message - NYTimes.com - At the heart of the plan is expanding a tiny State Department agency, the Center for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications, to harness all the existing attempts at countermessaging by much larger federal departments, including the Pentagon, Homeland Security and intelligence agencies (that'll work)
State Dept Spokeswoman Marie Harf: We Can’t Beat ISIS Just by Killing Them | Mediaite - nstead, she said, we must use a combination of military force and an exploration of the reasons why so many young people keep joining up with the Islamic State to fight against the West. (yeah, that "exploration" will help a lot; maybe Bush should've thought of it)

Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu Faces New Scandal Over Alleged Lavish Expenses - Israel's government watchdog released a report into alleged financial malfeasance at the prime minister's residence, while his wife faced criticism for pettiness and possible security breaches after complaining in a video about the shabbiness of the kitchen at their official Jerusalem residence. (HuffPo commenters pretty united against Nutanfuckyu)
CNN/ORC poll: Majority of Americans oppose Netanyahu invite - CNN.com - 63% of Americans say it was a bad move for congressional leadership to extend the invitation without giving President Barack Obama a heads up that it was coming. Only 33% say it was the right thing to do.

Russian-Backed Rebels Claim To Capture Debaltseve, Key Ukrainian Town

Peter Oborne resigns, saying Telegraph's HSBC coverage a 'fraud on readers' | Media | The Guardian - Ex-chief political commentator launches blistering attack on paper, saying it put bank’s interests before readers to save ad contract - “the most important conservative-leaning newspaper in Britain”

Destroying your hard drive is the only way to stop the super-advanced Equation malware - Kaspersky Lab released a report Monday that said the tools were created by the “Equation” group, which it stopped short of linking to the U.S. National Security Agency.
Western Digital Claims to Be Unaware of Alleged NSA Spy Program / Sputnik International
Ban on Government License Plate Cameras Nears in Montana - Hit & Run : Reason.com - The legislative move comes after a stream of revelations of local, state, and federal tracking and databasing of Americans' movements by car, without cause or warrant.

Poll: Blame for DHS shutdown would fall to GOP - CNN.com - 53% of Americans would blame the Republicans in Congress if the department must shut down, while 30% would blame President Barack Obama. Another 13% say both deserve the blame.
The Political Genius Of John Boehner: An Expedition Into The Unknown - The Speaker of the House and his fellow Republicans are refusing to fund the Department of Homeland Security unless the president agrees to reverse himself on immigration. Clever strategy, isn't it? ... Once again, he evinces the political acumen of an andiron.

This Supreme Court Decision Could Encourage One Of The Worst Forms Of Racism - Such a decision would effectively defang the law. It would also shed a disturbing light on how this court believes the law should react to entrenched discrimination.
Judge Temporarily Halts Obama's Immigration Actions
Bid to halt Obama's immigration plan likely to fail, legal experts say | US news | The Guardian - Federal judge Andrew Hanen issued an injunction late Monday, but analysts say courts tend to side with presidents and could overturn ruling soon

Millions at risk of losing coverage as justices take up challenge to Obamacare - The Washington Post

Koch Group Claims California Endangers Donors by Demanding Names - Bloomberg Business - who might face “grotesque threats” if identified. (heads on pikes)

Obama wants to 'counter violent extremism'. He should look beyond Muslims | Deepa Iyer and Linda Sarsour | Comment is free | The Guardian - After so many hate crimes against Muslim Americans, why is our government focusing exclusively on Muslim communities as the problem?

Activists suspect cover-up after files into 1946 Georgia lynching destroyed | US news | The Guardian - All records from a grand jury inquiry into America’s last mass lynching have disappeared or been destroyed, US government lawyers have disclosed, reigniting allegations from civil rights activists that the perpetrators have been protected by an establishment cover-up.

North Carolina Republicans Battle UNC's Gene Nichol, Poverty Center | The New Republic - North Carolina conservatives are ousting the state's anti-poverty advocates (what poverty?)

Oklahoma Lawmakers Vote Overwhelmingly To Ban Advanced Placement U.S. History | ThinkProgress - Fisher is part of a group called the “Black Robe Regiment” which argues “the church and God himself has been under assault, marginalized, and diminished by the progressives and secularists.” The group attacks the “false wall of separation of church and state.” (keep it up, OK)

Jason Rapert Wants To Nuke ISIS - The state legislator from Arkansas thinks nuclear weapons are the answer to wipe them out.

Homeopathic vaccine warning labels not enough, doctors tell Health Canada - Health - CBC News - Ineffective homeopathic alternatives to vaccines should be taken off the market because they are a dangerous distraction, public health officials urge as infectious diseases such as measles make a comeback.

Rest in Peace, Lesley Gore » Balloon Juice - … Women, let’s rise up. Our vote alone can win this election. A vote for Obama is a vote for your health and your right to choose. It is a vote for equal pay and equal rights ... (read it)

Roman Polanski to attend Polish hearing to consider extradition to US | Film | The Guardian - The filmmaker will appear in Krakow court on 25 February over a US extradition request related to his 1977 child sex crime conviction, says his lawyer

Is therapy worth it? Seven personal stories about the price of mental health | Money | The Guardian

Molecular inhibitor breaks cycle that leads to Alzheimer’s | University of Cambridge
Scientists uncover marvel molecule that could lead to treatments for inflammatory diseases -- ScienceDaily - The finding could meet a major unmet clinical need by inspiring new non-invasive treatments for arthritis, multiple sclerosis and Muckle-Wells syndrome, among a myriad of other inflammatory diseases.
DijonPepperberry comments on Randomized clinical trial finds 6-week mindfulness meditation intervention more effective than 6 weeks of sleep hygiene education (e.g. how to identify & change bad sleeping habits) in reducing insomnia symptoms, fatigue, and depression symptoms in older adults with sleep disturbances. (how to analyze a "scientific" study)
What is this dog thinking? Scientists now have some fascinating answers | John Bradshaw | Comment is free | The Guardian - From the myth of the ‘guilty look’ to the exciting discovery of dogs evolving an inbuilt affection for humans, canine psychology is finding out more all the time - dogs can discriminate between human faces that are expressing different emotions, even when they can only see half the face, and the person in the photo is completely unfamiliar to them.
Geologists solve the mystery of what tectonic plates float on | Cosmos - They found a 10 kilometre thick channel of lubricating jelly-like rock, which they say allows the plate to slide above it, according to a report in Nature.

Why Tesla's battery for your home should terrify utilities | The Verge - "One can imagine a day when battery storage technology or micro turbines could allow customers to be electric grid independent," the report said, likening the speed of the coming transition to the one from landlines to cellphones 10 years ago.

Vermont Could Be Next State To Legalize Recreational Marijuana (coulda been you, MA ... hope you like your decrepit transportation system)
Stoned Drivers Safer Than Drunk Drivers, Claims Federal Study : science
Ex-smokers, how did you quit? : AskReddit

Couples Play 'Truth Or Drink.' And Yes, Things Get Awkward

I'm getting sick and tired of dinosaurs being forced on our children | Mumsnet Discussion - I'm getting sick and tired of dinosaurs being forced on our children - (1000 Posts) (Christians against Dinosaurs)

What is the funniest Wi-Fi name you've come across? : AskReddit
EthErealist comments on My father passed when I was 4, but people always told me that I looked like him, a lot

021615
Of SNOWTRON and Snowzilla: How Boston Removed Snow From its Streets Throughout History - Massachusetts news - Boston.com - (While then-mayor James Curley suggested using flamethrowers in 1948, that method does not appear to have ever been used, probably for the best.)
theaudaciouskay on Instagram: “This is what happens when you steal a spot in Boston. My friend (not on IG so I can't tag her) posted this pic. Saturday night a woman came home to find that someone had stolen her spot. The woman rang door bells, honked, but no one claimed the car. She spent hours shoveling snow onto the offender's car. She sprayed water over the car to let ice set in. On top of that, the car was hit with a foot of snow from Saturday night's storm. This person isn't going to get their car out until spring.”
Boston Using Prison Labor To Shovel Heaps Of Snow In Frigid Temperatures For Pennies | ThinkProgress - The median wage for state prisoners across all trades is 20 cents per hour ...

A third of Sierra Leone's Ebola budget unaccounted for, says report | World news | The Guardian - Auditors criticise ‘inadequate controls’ over distribution of funds, suggesting mismanagement slowed the government’s fight against the virus (who could have ...)

Huge fire in West Virginia after oil train derails, sending tanker into river | US news | The Guardian - A train carrying more than 100 tankers of crude oil derailed in southern West Virginia on Monday, sending at least one tanker into the Kanawha River, igniting at least 14 and sparking a house fire, officials said. (so cut your regulations some more)

Libya and Egypt launch air strikes against Isis after militants post beheadings video | World news | The Guardian - President Sisi had vowed to ‘avenge the criminal killings’ after release of video purporting to show killing of 21 Christians, believed to be kidnapped Egyptians
Egypt Launches Airstrikes On Islamic State In Libya After Video Of Mass Killing - "What will be a relief to me is to take a hold of his murderer, tear him apart, eat up his flesh and liver," said Bushra Fawzi in el-Aour village, as he wept over the loss of his 22-year-old son Shenouda. "I want his body back. If they dumped it in the sea, I want it back. If they set fire to it, I want its dust."
64 ISIS Members Killed As Egypt Launches First Foreign Strikes In 24 Years | Egyptian Streets - The airstrikes, Egypt’s first foreign strikes since the Gulf War in 1991, come after ISIS released a video depicting the decapitation of 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians that had been abducted in Libya.
flynavy88 comments on Egypt warplanes strike IS targets in Libya after video of mass killing of Christians - Egypt acknowledging they're bombing IS targets - and likely other Islamist targets in Libya - is a huge development.

C.I.A. Is Said to Have Bought and Destroyed Iraqi Chemical Weapons - NYTimes.com

Get ready for the return of the Global War On Terror - The Washington Post - Are you ready for a revival of the Global War on Terror? Not that it ever really went away (even if President Obama retired the term), but the increasingly complex situation with ISIS is moving America toward a return to the days of fear and loathing, when no threat was too minimal to hype and no policy response was too ill-considered.
What ISIS Really Wants - The Atlantic - The Islamic State is no mere collection of psychopaths. It is a religious group with carefully considered beliefs, among them that it is a key agent of the coming apocalypse. Here’s what that means for its strategy—and for how to stop it. ("Adnani also referred to Secretary of State John Kerry as an “uncircumcised geezer.”) (they are playing their own armageddon game)
On the Impossibility of Fighting ISIS - The Atlantic - "I have come to the conclusion that there is no military solution to this issue that can be generated by the U.S. But I believe there is a political solution." How to think about the next war, as we consider getting into it. (Fallows: "because Americans "honor" their military but don't really take it seriously, we repeatedly send our forces on missions at which they're destined to fail.")

Copenhagen suspect 'was released from prison two weeks ago' - Copenhagen terror attack suspect named as 22-year-old Omar el-Hussein, who 'had violent past'
Copenhagen attacks: Danish police charge two men | World news | The Guardian - Two men ordered to remain in custody after being accused of helping man suspected of carrying out shootings in the Danish capital at the weekend

Ukraine Truce 'Broken 139 Times' On First Day - Heavy fighting continues in the town of Debaltseve 24 hours after an internationally brokered ceasefire came into effect.
"Life News" exposed Russian Federation Army's 136th Motorized Rifle Brigade in Debaltseve
Major war likely in Ukraine thinks Prime Minister - Articles - Rádio RSI English - The ceasefire in eastern Ukraine that has been agreed upon in Minsk will soon be broken, and this may be followed by all-out war, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said on RTVS's Saturday talk show. According to him, "strange games" are being played in Ukraine, and there will soon emerge offers on the sale of arms to Ukraine.
Investor: Putin could be world’s richest man with stolen $200B fortune | New York Post (Putin stole Russia)

Boehner: Didn’t Want White House Screwing up Netanyahu Invitation with Their ‘Animosity’ | Mediaite
A perfect storm brews in the Middle East - The Washington Post - Mistrust between the Obama administration and Benjamin Netanyahu has widened even further in recent days because of U.S. suspicion that the Israeli prime minister has authorized leaks of details about the U.S. nuclear talks with Iran. (Israel is the boss of you)
Piers Morgan asks 'Why does Netanyahu want Jews to run away from Europe?' | Daily Mail Online - Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, says his country is in imminent danger of being nuked off the face of the earth by Iran. But he wants every Jew to flee terror attacks in the rest of the world…and come to live in Israel? Makes perfect sense, right?

Turkey's rate of murdered women skyrockets - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East - In 2010, the Ministry of Justice revealed the numbers on murdered women: From 2003 until 2010, there has been a 1,400% increase in the number of murdered women. The AKP government came under harsh criticism after the release of this information, so in a last-ditch effort to save its reputation, it started altering the numbers. (you voted him in, Muslims)

Weimar on the Aegean - NYTimes.com - The point is that now, more than ever, it is crucial that Europe’s leaders remember the right history. If they don’t, the European project of peace and democracy through prosperity will not survive. (Merkel laying the conditions for the rise of Fascism, having learning nothing from science or history)
Playing Games With Europe’s Future? by Ed Kilgore | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - After all sorts of reports of progress, the negotiations between the new Greek government and Eurozone finance ministers were at least temporarily blown up by a statement from the latter basically saying Greece must live up to its past commitment—you know, the ones decisively repudiated by the winning party in the recent Greek elections
Yanis Varoufakis: No Time for Games in Europe - NYTimes.com

Germany Maintains Hardline Stance In Greece Debt Talks - Debt-laden Greece and EU paymaster Germany struck hardline postures ahead of a crucial meeting of euro zone finance ministers on Monday on the future of an unpopular international bailout for Athens (Merkeltron's Deutschland revenge)
Japanese economy emerges from recession | Business | The Guardian - Analysts say lower-than-forecast growth of 2.2% highlights a fragile recovery and underscores challenges facing Tokyo
$1.75 Million in Bitcoin Stolen from Chinese Exchange Bter - Even as Bitcoin is starting to shake things up in the US, all is not well in the cryptocurrency world. China-based Bitcoin exchange Bter was hacked on Valentine’s Day and $1.75 million worth of Bitcoin was stolen.

U.S. Embedded Spyware Overseas, Report Claims - NYTimes.com - The United States has found a way to permanently embed surveillance and sabotage tools in computers and networks it has targeted in Iran, Russia, Pakistan, China, Afghanistan and other countries closely watched by American intelligence agencies, according to a Russian cybersecurity firm.
Experts call for ‘return to human intelligence’ after Snowden | Technology | The Guardian - Security agencies need a ‘real cultural shift’ including protection for whistleblowers and citizens as part of its oversight body (NoBama)
Former CSIS officer warns new federal anti-terror bill will ‘lead to lawsuits, embarrassment’ | National Post - “I find it a little convenient that in the past few years that these radicalized people are the biggest threat to ever hit us,” he said. “There are more people dying because of drunk drivers or because of gang violence.”

KKK crucial to building the South’s enduring Republican majority, study finds - The Ku Klux Klan played an active and enduring role in steering southern white voters away from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party, according to a new study.

Kansas Tax Cuts Deplete Budget, Brownback Proposes More Cuts | The New Republic (Republican voters impervious to emperical data)

Pedestrians With the Right of Way Should Always Have Protection of the Law | Streetsblog New York City - a $250 fine and up to 30 days in jail if convicted (a sentence with jail time for a first-time offense would be nearly unheard of, however). (Bloomberg's NYC: $250/dead pedistrian and the law shouldn't apply to bus drivers because they will eventually kill someone)

AP Exclusive: Many sex offenders killed in California prison - Male sex offenders made up about 15 percent of the prison population but accounted for nearly 30 percent of homicide victims

Lawmaker Who Lamented 'Welfare Crazy Checks' Insists He's Not Racist - After Mississippi lawmakers criticized Republican state Rep. Gene Alday's remarks about "welfare crazy checks" for blacks, Alday insisted that his remarks were taken out of context. "I'm not a bad person, and that makes me look like an evil person,

Randolph Linn, Indiana Man, Drank 45 Beers, Got 'Riled Up' By Fox News Before Mosque Arson (VIDEO) - “Every day you turn on the TV, you see Muslims trying to kill Americans,” he said, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. When asked whether he thinks all Muslims are terrorists, Linn reportedly responded, “I’d say most of them are.” ("TV" = Fox)

Texas Fireman Responds To Houston Islamic Center Fire: 'Let It Burn' - A man who claimed to be a firefighter in Houston, Texas responded to a massive fire at a Houston Islamic Center with a controversial tweet that read, “Let it burn ... block the fire hydrant.” (watches Fox)

FBI investigates claim suspects in 1946 Georgia mass lynching may be alive | US news | The Guardian - Federal authorities look into notorious Moore’s Ford Bridge deaths of four African Americans which have long been linked to the Ku Klux Klan - the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) published last week found at least 700 more lynchings than had previously been recorded in southern states, renewing calls from campaigners for any suspects still at large to be brought to justice before it is too late. (hire Israel)
Judge Indicted for Alleged Racist Attack on Mentally Disabled Man - This week, a Mississippi grand jury indicted Justice Court Judge Bill Weisenberger for felony assault on a vulnerable adult after he allegedly struck a mentally disabled black man and yelled, "Run, nigger, run." ... Weisenberger arrested and jailed her client, who is African American, on the nonexistence charge of "roaming livestock."
South Carolina Inmates Get Solitary Confinement for Using Facebook
Police dash cam shows part of contested arrest – until St. Louis officer turns camera off : News
Police hunt suspects in road-rage murder of mother teaching daughter to drive in Las Vegas | Daily Mail Online
Today In Texas Justice - Lawyers, Guns & Money : As improbable as it might seem that Texas might be preparing to execute an innocent man, they very likely are:

The Fartknocker Report: Sarah Palin Moves Lips About Abortion, Lies Ensue. Surprise! | Wonkette - Unfortunately, this was one of those weeks when the Tundra Grifter couldn’t be bothered to do more than one take for a single two-minute-long video.

Double Crap: Fifty Shades of Grey Stars Can't Fucking Stand Each Other
50 Shades of [Sigh]: The Disastrous 50 Shades of Grey Press Tour
6 real quotes from 'Fifty Shades' that could make you rethink how you feel about it

He's Not Chevy, He's an Asshole: A History of Chevy Chase's Horrific Behavior

What is the oldest city in the world? | Cities | The Guardian - Crocodilopolis

Mainly 1940s and 50s movie posters - Album on Imgur
History, Sugar and Sex: Why Mixed Drinks Were Terrible for 30 Years
Unbelievably Dumb Restaurant Customers, Part One

Women are more likely to cheat on their partner if they carry the 'infidelity gene' | Daily Mail Online - Scientists have found variations of a gene are linked to 'extrapair mating' Variants of 'infidelity gene' make women more likely to cheat on partners - AVPR1A gene only has an impact on women - associated with promiscuity and ruthlessness
Hubble's Law: How do we distinguish an expanding universe from an increasing speed of light? : askscience
What's the dumbest conclusion you can draw from statistical correlations? : AskReddit
10 stupid questions about pregnancy and their brilliant answers : funny

What book was so intense/hardcore (fiction or nonfiction) that you had to put it down and never return to it? Also, why? : books
What are some unspoken rules of sex? : AskReddit
What state do you often forget exists? : AskReddit
ELI5: Asshole doesn't understand transsexualism : explainlikeimfive
Surely Morgoth, Sauron, and Saruman had to know that they were no match for the other Ainur and that they would not go unchecked and unchallenged. They had to know if was futile and they were doomed, rite? : tolkienfans
What's something you firmly believed to be true for a long time, but later found out was false? : AskReddit
Forwards From Grandma

AT&T to match Google Fiber speeds, prices in Kansas City and suburbs | The Kansas City Star The Kansas City Star

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Boston this morning. : funny
Snow, dangerous winds, cold strike New England again - Weather - Boston.com
Boston Now At Third Snowiest Winter On Record - Weather Wisdom - Boston.com - This puts Boston at 89.7 inches for the season, most of that in the past three weeks. The next snowiest winter is 96.3 set back in the winter of 1993-94. It would take another 18 inches to break the all time snowiest winter. In this pattern, that's certainly possible
Snow, Dangerous Winds, Cold Strike New England Again - Before it is all over, southern New England could get several more inches and Maine could see up to 2 feet, weather forecasters said.

Spy agencies fund climate research in hunt for weather weapon, scientist fears | Environment | The Guardian - US expert Alan Robock raises concern over who would control climate-altering technologies if research is paid for by intelligence agencies

Copenhagen shootings: suspect was 'known to authorities' – live updates | World news | The Guardian
Police Kill Man Believed To Be Behind 2 Shootings In Copenhagen
Terror Attacks By a Native Son Rock Denmark - NYTimes.com - Omar Abdel Hamid El-Hussein, but the Copenhagen police did not confirm his name. They identified him only as a 22-year-old, born and raised in Denmark, whom they knew for gang-related activity and for several criminal offenses linked to weapons violations and violence
Inside the ISIS plot to attack the heart of Europe - CNN.com - What happened next around 5:45 p.m. January 15 was the biggest firefight Belgian commandos have faced since World War II, captured for the world to see on a home movie shot by one of the town's residents.

Snowden Leak: NSA Flagged Israel as Leading Espionage Threat - “Israel has not conducted any espionage operations in the United States, period. Full stop,” Netanyahu said in a May interview with Bloomberg. (and you can always believe him)
The National Security Agency listed Israel among a handful of nations considered to pose the “greatest threat” to American government, military and industrial secrets, classified documents leaked by Edward Snowden reveal. : technology (bomb them)

Guantánamo Diary by Mohamedou Ould Slahi review – the global war on terror has found its true witness | Books | The Guardian - An extraordinary account of rendition, captivity and torture reveals the radicalisation of the US military-intellectual complex

Eschaton: Maybe We Should Go Back To Painting Schools - All we have to do is keep training... But at the same time, Iraqi commanders, soldiers and police officers who could play a central role in any offensive are raising doubts about the readiness of Iraq’s ground forces. The army has struggled to recapture even smaller towns that pose less of a challenge than Mosul — Iraq’s second-largest city, which is still full of civilians and heavily defended by the militants, they say. ... Another 10 years should do the trick.

Cover-Up Allegations Against Argentina President Cause Turmoil - after a state prosecutor said he would keep investigating accusations that she tried to cover up Iran's alleged involvement in a 1994 bombing.
New test reveals there were no traces of gun residue on Argentinian prosecutor's hands | Fox News Latino - a second test released yesterday revealed that that no gunpowder was found on his hands – once again leading many to theorize that the 51-year-old lawyer could have been murdered to cover-up his knowledge of the 1994 bombing a Buenos Aires Jewish center.

Turks boycott schools, protest to demand secular education - Yahoo News (the Islamifcation of Turkey will continue)
Turkey rallies over murder of woman who 'resisted rape' - The driver allegedly tried to rape her. She reportedly fought him off with pepper spray, but was then stabbed to death. She was also hit on the head with an iron pipe

Islamic State Video Shows Beheadings of Egyptian Christians in Libya - NYTimes.com - A video released Sunday night by the Islamic State appeared to show the mass beheading of at least a dozen Egyptian Christians by fighters in a recently formed Libyan arm of the militant group
ISIS video claims to show 17 Kurdish fighters in caged procession | Daily Mail Online - 'to be burned alive' like Jordanian pilot:
'Anonymous' hacking group shuts down over 800 Islamic State Twitter accounts - Washington Times - Hackers say they exposed or destroyed nearly 800 Twitter accounts, 12 Facebook pages and over 50 email addresses linked with Islamic State supporters, CNN reported.

Chinese Patrol Ships Enter Disputed Waters / Sputnik International - Japanese officials cried alarm on Sunday as Chinese patrol ships entered the waters of the Japanese-controlled Senkaku Islands, and Chinese officials vowed to increase their presence in the area.
70th postwar year statement in works / Japan, U.S. to stress stronger alliance - The Japan News

'Nut rage' prompts South Korea to consider law against high-handed conduct | Reuters - Resentment has mounted so much in South Korea against what has come to be known as "gabjil", high-handedness by the rich and powerful, that parliamentarians are proposing legislation to punish some of the worst abuses.

Greece pledges to shut immigrant detention centers | Reuters - "I'm here to express my shame, not as a minister but as a human being," he said. "I couldn't believe what I saw. I really could not believe it. This must change and it must change immediately." (but austerity!)

ACLU sues for records on Border Patrol's 'roving' agents - According to the ACLU, federal law allows the Border Patrol to make warrantless stops and seizures within a "reasonable distance" of the border. Regulations have defined that distance as 100 miles from land and sea borders, which encompasses about two-thirds of the nation's population and nine of the country's 10 largest cities.

Netanyahu Urges ‘Mass Immigration’ of Jews From Europe - NYTimes.com - reopening a contentious debate about Israel’s role at a challenging time for European Jews and a month before Israel’s national elections.
Boehner: I Didn't Want 'Interference' From Obama In Netanyahu Speech - Boehner invited Netanyahu without consulting the White House, leading numerous congressional Democrats to boycott the speech. ("interference" ha-ha)
McConnell Is Blowing It…Big Time by Nancy LeTourneau | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - McConnell’s initial strategy was to paint President Obama as the new obstructionist by forcing him to veto legislation that would otherwise undo his agenda. But that is getting all gummed up by either the Democrats in the Senate standing strong or the lunatic caucus in his party making compromise impossible
Republicans haven't quite worked out a foreign policy beyond 'not Obama' - LA Times

Obama Calls for New Cooperation to Wrangle the ‘Wild West’ Internet - NYTimes.com (20 years too late; does he even know how to type?)
Feds Unveil New Surveillance Tool Developed by DARPA that Could Kill the ‘Dark Web’ | Independent News - And now, DARPA, the Pentagon’s secretive Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, has developed a surveillance tool known as “Memex” that can be used to reveal what is hidden on the dark web, and pursue criminal groups of interest – and perhaps control or even kill the dark web for good.
Bank Hackers Steal Millions via Malware - NYTimes.com - Kaspersky Lab says that the scope of this attack on more than 100 banks and other financial institutions in 30 nations could make it one of the largest bank thefts ever — and one conducted without the usual signs of robbery.

West Coast seaports largely shut down amid labor dispute - CBS News

New York Republican's terror registry looks to track where offenders live | US news | The Guardian - Thomas Croci is proposing a bill that would require convicted terrorists to register with the state and if they fail to do so they could face a felony charge - A New York state senator wants to expose the terrorist next door ... “This legislation will send a clear message to all terrorists: stay out of New York,” he said. (oh, a bullshit Republican)

Obamacare Lawsuit Set For Supreme Court Decision Despite Plaintiff Obstacles (the clowns will destroy America)
O-Care fans: SCOTUS case 'unraveling' | TheHill - The standing of the four plaintiffs in the case has come under intense media scrutiny, with at least three of the challengers now facing claims they are not personally harmed by the law and therefore do not have standing to sue. (Scalia could give a shit)

As Dynasty’s Son, Jeb Bush Used His Connections Freely - NYTimes.com

Echidne Of The Snakes - Fox News' Stuart Varney explains how the president buys votes with food stamps. (instead of letting people starve like Republican)_a) the highest percentages of people on food stamps tend to be found in Republican-voting states and b) because the poor are much less likely to vote than the more affluent.

Judge Challenging Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore On Gay Marriage: 'We're On The Right Side Of History' - "what this Harvard professor who is president of our United States does not understand is that a trial court's decision on the constitutionality of a federal question is just that, it's an opinion." (white people voted for the Confederacy)

And Don't Kid Yourself, King and Lincoln Would Have Praised Shelby County... - Lawyers, Guns & Money : From the party that brought you the Martin Luther King whose public career consisted of a one-sentence speech, I guess “Abraham Lincoln: Neoconfederate” isn’t that much of a stretch.
Obama Depicted as Rape Suspect in Fox 5 News Graphic Error - Times of San Diego - At 10:04 p.m., viewers heard anchor Kathleen Bade say: “The only suspect in a sex assault at SDSU will not be charged.” At the same time, a picture of Obama appeared with the legend “NO CHARGES.” (just an honest mistake)

Columbia, S.C.: South Carolina senator says sexist remarks were just jokes | Politics | The State - A South Carolina senator says he was only joking with a female colleague when he referred to women as a "lesser cut of meat" while they dined with others near the statehouse Tuesday. But she says the remarks are sexist and upsetting and that she's frequently asked him to stop. (what's that stuff on the top of your head, Sen. Tom Corbin?)

Jehovah’s Witnesses use 1st Amendment to hide child sex abuse claims | Reveal - The leadership of the Jehovah’s Witnesses – one of the world’s most insular religions – for 25 years has instructed its elders to keep cases of child sexual abuse secret from law enforcement and members of their own congregations, according to an examination of thousands of pages of documents in recent cases. (confiscate all their assets)

Police Beating Led To Miscarriage: Lawsuit - The suit claims that in May, 2011, Harris came to the Albany Police department after her son was arrested. She waited five hours to pick him up, but then told Jenkins she needed to leave to tend to her other children at home. Jenkins said if she made that request again he would take her head and "'put it to the floor."
Lawyer: Missouri fake kidnap plan was 'born of intense and sincere love' for boy | US news | The Guardian - When the victim – referred to as “JD” in court documents – would not stop crying, Firoved brandished a handgun and a packet of bullets, and told him he would be harmed if he didn’t stop. At one point, JD told investigators, he saw a police car – but was too scared to try to seek help.
Following photo complaint to mayor, police investigate citizen | WBRZ News 2 Louisiana : Baton Rouge, LA | - "They told me they were going to press charges for me emailing the photo of the cop sleeping to the mayor's office," he said. The man told WBRZ, he was contacted via email and told he could be charged with defamation. Police were able to identify him by securing a search warrant, gaining access to his computer IP address, phone records, and place of residence.
Framingham man faces assault with bagel charge - News - MetroWest Daily News, Framingham, MA - Framingham, MA - A Framingham man is charged with assaulting his infant son on Thursday with a bagel, authorities said.

Dementia hits women hardest – study | Society | The Guardian - Research finds disease now leading cause of death in British women; many are also carers before succumbing themselves - the condition has not only become the leading cause of death among British women but that women are far more likely to end up as carers of sufferers than men – suffering physical and emotional stress and job losses in the process. (or maybe not, read comments)

Gentrification in San Francisco is supplanting culture, not creating it | Shaquina Blake | Comment is free | The Guardian - If you lose a Pandería and gain a Panera, is that really a mark of sophistication?

Colorado’s legal weed market: $700 million in sales last year, $1 billion by 2016 - The Washington Post (coulda been Massachusetts and fixed the T but Boston Globe would have hysterics)
Schools Start Treating E-Cigarettes as Drug Paraphernalia - ABC News - Some schools are getting tougher on e-cigarettes, even punishing possession of the devices more harshly than regular cigarettes.

Meat Puppets by Kukula Glastris | The Washington Monthly - The result is a fascinating, detailed, and highly readable investigative history of how some of America’s most trusted scientific institutions went off the rails. The tale involves a small group of ambitious and influential scientists, a credulous media, crusading politicians, a public desperate for easy answers to complex questions, and the largely hidden hand of industry. It is, in short, a very Washington story.

Scientists just discovered 2 never-before-seen particles, and they're refining our understanding of fundamental physics | Business Insider India
ELI5: New theory says that the Big Bang might not have happened? : explainlikeimfive

SentientCouch comments on Visiting a friend in what seems like rural china, does it offer a pleasant expierence as much as bigger cities does??
Are you banned from any subreddits? If so, why? : AskReddit
unholy88 comments on Are you banned from any subreddits? If so, why?

A new Tow Center report looks at how news outlets help spread (or debunk) false rumors online » Nieman Journalism Lab - “Lies, Damn Lies and Viral Content,”
Troll toll: Tablet is now charging its readers for the right to comment » Nieman Journalism Lab - a relatively reasonable $2 a day or a whopping $180 a year (that'll work)
µBlock for Firefox - An efficient ad-blocker that is "easy on CPU and memory". Potential Ad-Block Rival? : technology

021415
One dead and three injured in Copenhagen 'terrorist attack' | World news | The Guardian - Niels Ivar Larsen, one of the speakers at the event, told Denmark’s TV2: “I heard someone firing with automatic weapons and someone shouting. Police returned the fire and I hid behind the bar. It felt surreal, like in a movie.”
Shooting Reported At Copenhagen Synagogue

Islamic State Sprouting Limbs Beyond Its Base - NYTimes.com - The Islamic State is expanding beyond its base in Syria and Iraq to establish militant affiliates in Afghanistan, Algeria, Egypt and Libya, American intelligence officials assert, raising the prospect of a new global war on terror.

RajaRajaC comments on Protests across Pakistan to denounce Taliban.
Boko Haram Attacks Nigeria's Gombe, Prompting Fierce Battles With Military

Netanyahu trip to Congress provokes harsh reaction from US Jewish leaders | World news | The Guardian - Israeli prime minister’s decision to instigate a high-level confrontation with the White House is not winning favor in the Jewish community - The Forward said Netanyahu was embracing a political party whose values were at odds with the vast majority of American Jews. (Netanfuckyu)
Meet The Man At The Center Of The Unprecedented US-Israel Rift - When Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appointed Ron Dermer as Israel’s ambassador to the United States in 2013, the move was seen as so provocative that aides to the PM were reportedly worried that the White House would balk at the choice. Dermer came with a lot of baggage. An American by birth, he had worked as a Republican operative, helping to draft Newt Gingrich’s Contract with America in 1994, before emigrating to Israel. There, he eventually became a close political adviser to Netanyahu, while remaining deeply connected in Republican politics in America. (well, that explains a lot)

Fears for Ukraine’s ceasefire as clashes with Russia-backed rebels intensify | World news | The Guardian - Neither side seems to expect an end to the conflict, and both were trying to shore up their positions before the deadline
Multicolored Snow in Russia? No Worries, Officials Say - NYTimes.com - In Russia, where it is a bit more familiar, there is typically no fear, unless the snow on the ground happens to be blue, as it was in Chelyabinsk this week, or orange, as it was earlier this month in Saratov on the Volga River.

78 more swine flu deaths in 24 hours | The Indian Express - In the last 24 hours, the government said 78 more deaths from swine flu were reported across the country, even as the Health Ministry held its first official H1N1 briefing of the year. Additional Secretary A K Panda said there is no cause for panic and there are enough medicines in stock.

Thabo Mbeki slams Jacob Zuma over brawl in South Africa parliament | World news | The Guardian - Former president says successor should have answered opposition questions about use of taxpayers’ money to upgrade private residence

'Anonymous' Hackers To Expose Child Sex Abusers - It says it will collect and then publish mass information on abuse scandals in the UK and around the world in the hope of ensuring people are fully aware of "paedo-sadist" abuse.
'Operation Death Eaters': Anonymous Wade Into Child Sex Abuse Scandal And Threaten To Expose High Profile Abusers : worldnews

Bill Clinton Apologizes To Mexico For War On Drugs - Former President Bill Clinton apologized to Mexico during a speech there last week for a backfired U.S. war on drugs that has fueled spiraling violence. (sorry I ruined your country, Mexico)

Canadian man and American woman charged over foiled mass shooting plot | World news | The Guardian - the suspects used a “chat stream” to communicate and were apparently obsessed with death and had many photos of mass killings.

Muslim American caught up in post-9/11 sweep gets an apology - LA Times - He spent the next 16 days in three jails without criminal charges on a warrant as a potential witness in a terrorism-related case. He was shackled, strip-searched and confined in a cell. The government's case eventually fell apart, but not before the husband and father had lost his family and livelihood.
Quba Islamic Institute Fire Probe Arson Possibility - In a video on the institute's Facebook page, Ahsan Zahid, son of the imam, said fire officials told him the fire appeared intentional.

2015 World Press Freedom Index US #49 out of 180 (thanks, Obama)
U.S. Drops to 49th in World Press Freedom Rankings, Worst Since Obama Became President - The Intercept

A Thief, a Dirty Politician, and a Suicide Bomber Walk Into a Bar … by Paul Pillar | The Washington Monthly - Dirty Entanglements: Corruption, Crime, and Terrorism by Louise I. Shelley

Feds Investigate Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber - looking into the influence-peddling scandal that led to the abrupt end of a four-decade political career.

Arkansas House Votes In Favor Of LGBT Discrimination - “I am singled out as a politician. I am singled out because I am married to one woman … I want everyone in the LGBT community to have the same rights I do. I do not want them to have special rights that I do not have.” (sorry, Bart Hester (R) you are specially stupid)

States Consider Increasing Taxes for the Poor and Cutting Them for the Affluent - NYTimes.com - A number of Republican-led states are considering tax changes that in many cases would have the effect of cutting taxes on the rich and raising them on the poor. (what did you expect?)

Jeb Bush On Iraq And Afghanistan Wars: 'I Won't Talk About The Past' (Obama set the example)

The Foolish, Historically Illiterate, Incredible Response to Obama's Prayer Breakfast Speech - The Atlantic - Using religion to brutalize other people is not a Muslim invention, nor is it foreign to the American experience.
Fighting the Extremists Within by Nancy LeTourneau | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly

Maureen Dowd's Greatest Misses, Part II - Lawyers, Guns & Money : The fact that Dowd has been given large amounts of money to ostensibly write about politics by the nation’s best newspaper for more than two decades says a lot, and none of it is good.
Tom Brokaw warned for a year that Brian Williams’ Iraq story was a big fib - Salon.com - NPR reports that Brokaw raised concerns well before Williams' exaggerations came to light - Brokaw, who anchored the broadcast from 1982 to 2004, sees Williams as “more of a performer than an anchor,”

Police in Pasco brace for more protests over shooting of Mexican national | US news | The Guardian - Antonio Zambrano-Montes was not carrying a gun or knife - His death marks fourth fatal police shooting in Pasco, Washington

Row over Marlboro-funded research that undermined plain cigarette packs | Business | The Guardian - In both papers, which were not peer-reviewed, Kaul and Wolf acknowledge that PMI provided funding. However, they do not reveal that the company demanded sight of the study before publication and the right to put forward suggestions.

Someone Needs a Good Lawyer - Congressman who told his communications director that she had semen on her skirt and that she "could show her nipples whenever she wanted to" provides formal response to sexual harassment claims. (they just can't help being themselves)
Republican in Montana yoga pants obscenity uproar explains: it was a joke | US news | The Guardian - Stories on his yoga pants remark also obscured the nuanced voting history of the Montanan – he is the only Republican in the state to be endorsed by the National Association to Repeal Abortion Laws (Naral) and is carrying the state house’s annual attempt to repeal the death penalty.
Why Don't Kids Walk to School Anymore? - The Atlantic - "Kids need to walk to school so they learn about active transportation," says University of Utah professor Elizabeth Joy. "When you have to go two, three, or four blocks, that doesn't mean you get in the car. You can actually walk." (look down. feet.)

When a black German woman discovered her grandfather was the Nazi villain of 'Schindler's List' - Jewish World Features - Israel News | Haaretz - An odd series of events led Jennifer Teege to discover that her grandfather was none other than the notorious Nazi Amon Goeth ... He asked me what I intended to do with them, and I offered them to him as a present. He ordered one of the soldiers to take the puppies, and sent me to the side with those who would remain alive.”

Alec Falkenham, Dalhousie student, develops tattoo removal cream - Nova Scotia - CBC News - Falkenham's topical cream works by targeting the macrophages that have remained at the site of the tattoo. New macrophages move in to consume the previously pigment-filled macrophages and then migrate to the lymph nodes, eventually taking all the dye with them.
Interstellar's true black hole too confusing - physics-math - 13 February 2015 - New Scientist - too confusing for audiences, and some of the science had to be toned down.

Subreddit no longer accepts submissions, due to President Obama thanking himself in yesterday's Buzzfeed video, thus making the joke unable to be topped. : bestof
GAME OVER FOLKS : ThanksObama
TIL that America was once constructing a Superconducting Super Collider (SSC) that would have dwarfed the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. It now sits abandoned in the Texas prairie. : todayilearned (because Republicans hate science)
[NSFW] What's the darkest place on Reddit? : AskReddit
What are some of the best trolls in internet history? : AskReddit
HELP reddit turned spanish and i cannot undo it! : AskReddit
CompMolNeuro comments on What is your most cringe worthy moment from your teenage years?


021315
Blizzard Warning Declared for Eastern Massachusetts - Weather - Boston.com - from 7 p.m. Saturday until 11 a.m. Sunday, the National Weather Service announced Friday.

U.S. 'Megadroughts' Are Likely Later This Century, Study Finds - As bad as recent droughts in California, the Southwest and the Midwest have been, scientists say far worse "megadroughts" are coming — and they're bound to last for decades.
California's Almonds Suck as Much Water Annually as Los Angeles Uses in Three Years | Mother Jones - What was a $1.2 billion market in 2002 became $4.8 billion market by 2012 (see above)
There's a Horrifying Amount of Plastic in the Ocean. This Chart Shows Who's to Blame. | Mother Jones (China by far, also Indonesia, Phillipines, Vietnam and fucking Sri Lanka)

White House warns tech world that Sony-style hacks 'could become the norm' | US news | The Guardian - Obama speaks at Stanford University and says ‘There’s only one way to defend America from cyber threats – government and industry working together’ ("norm" for companies with really shitty security +do you see what he did there?)
WhiteHouse.gov screwed up its security on the same day as the cybersecurity summit | The Verge (speaking of ...)

Eschaton: How Does This Keep Happening - Maybe the only way to win is not to play? - Nick Rasmussen, who directs the National Counterterrorism Center, told the Senate intelligence committee that Yemen's American-funded army failed to oppose advancing Houthi rebels in the same way the U.S.-supported Iraqi military refused to fight Islamic State militants last year. - Let's just keep adding weapons, arming whichever "side" John McCain thinks are the good guys who want guns. It always works!
Obama Wanted To Stop Endless Wars. He'll Leave Office Waging One.
CNN.com - Transcripts - In fairness, we did invite Senator Clinton and Senator McCain to join us, on this, the fourth anniversary of the start of the Iraq War. They declined. (2007, before the CIA and military told him they owned him)
Confronting Terrorism Without Another American Ground War | Sen. Barbara Boxer - Sen. Barbara Boxer

Is Jordan Facilitating ISIS' Grand Strategy? | Alastair Crooke - Saudi Arabia and Israel bear much of the responsibility for bringing Jordan into this war with ISIS by pushing so hard on the Syrian issue and entangling the kingdom more and more in their efforts to overturn the government of its close neighbor, Syria (all the major players, especially the US, continue to make the worst possible decisions. ISIS is succeeding with their caliphate, just like AQ destroyed American democracy)
The Ultimate Guide to Womanhood, According to the Female Jihadis of ISIS | Mother Jones - It's not bad, as long as you're okay with getting married at age nine.
How ISIS uses catchy, violent tunes for propaganda | Public Radio International
Isis: Eight suicide bombers killed at Iraqi base HQ for US Marines - The Islamic State (Isis) has launched an attempted suicide attack against an Iraqi air base in Anbar province where hundreds of US marines are training Iraqi troops, according to reports.
ISIS Beheads Cigarette Smokers: Islamic State Deems Smoking 'Slow Suicide' Under Sharia Law

Al Jazeera Journalists Reunite With Family After More Than A Year In Egyptian Prison

Minsk ceasefire in balance as fighting escalates in eastern Ukraine | World news | The Guardian - EU leaders sceptical about ceasefire due to begin on Sunday, while Ukrainian and pro-Russia forces jostle for advantage (oh look, Aspie used the "ceasefire" to "invade moar")

Probe Into Role Of Argentina's President Cristina Fernandez In Cover-Up Moves Forward - Prosecutor Gerardo Pollicita's decision to go forward with the case was significant because it sets the stage for a close examination of the investigation that prosecutor Alberto Nisman was building before he was found dead Jan. 18. The next day, Nisman was scheduled to elaborate his accusations to Congress.

UMass Amherst Tells Iranian Students They Need Not Apply To Certain Programs - Iranian national students will not be admitted to several programs in the university's College of Engineering and the College of Natural Sciences. After the policy received criticism and circulated on Twitter Thursday evening and Friday morning, UMass removed all references to it from its website. (no science allowed)

About 700 Migrants Rescued Off Coast Of Libya

House Begins Passing Series of Deficit-Hiking Tax Cuts (oh, we were so worried about deficits we could resists give rich people tax-cuts)

Republicans seize on HSBC scandal to hold up Loretta Lynch's confirmation | News | The Guardian - Republicans believe leak ‘throws a monkey wrench’ into Lynch becoming the next attorney general as questions swirl over her role in $1.9bn bank settlement in 2012 (always looking for a scandal)


At least 43 of Alabama's 67 counties are now issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples (the other 24 ponder armed resistance)
Bleeding Kansas returns: Gov. Brownback reinstates LGBT discrimination - LA Times - Those who remember their high school U.S. history classes will recognize "Bleeding Kansas" as a reference to that territory's violent fight over slavery in 1854-61, during the run-up to the Civil War. (America's Confederate cancer continues to eat away at the body politic +stupid)
Virginia House Blocks Changes To Abortion Clinic Regulations - The amendment, introduced by Del. Bob Marshall (R), was aimed at halting Gov. Terry McAuliffe's (D) push to ease existing regulations on abortion clinics. Advocates for abortion rights often refer to those rules as TRAP laws, or targeted regulations of abortion providers.

Why Scott Walker's Views On Evolution Are Totally Relevant
Sandy Rios: 'The Real Experts' Know Evolution Has Been 'Disproven' | Right Wing Watch - The truth of the matter is that the evolutionists like George Will, waving their evolutionary theory, have become as rabid and unreasoned as what they accuse the Scopes monkey religionists of doing to Darwin during that time. It has become a religion. Science has disproven so much of evolution…. These guys are wrong, Scott Walker is right.”

Mississippi Learning: A History Lesson From The Judge - His entire statement is worth burning into your brain, but the most moving part to me was this one. In the church of my birth, this is what we call walking the stations of the cross.
Analyzing The Rise Of The Lone Wolf - But Chief Acevedo's concern for his officers doesn't count as much as does Napolitano's inexcusable cowardice in not standing by her department's report, a sorry episode of epic bureaucratic chickenshit that the SPLC report documents thoroughly.

Governor Charlie Baker and New England Snow (instead of appropriate public policy and 21st century investment Chawlie wants underfund the T and cut employment costs. You've done it again, Ma)
News Details - Today, Governor Tom Wolf announced a moratorium on the death penalty in Pennsylvania that will remain in effect until the governor has received and reviewed the forthcoming report of the Pennsylvania Task Force and Advisory Commission on Capital Punishment (death-cult Republican Corbett would never have done this)
Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber Resigns - amid allegations of corruption
Oregon governor John Kitzhaber to resign over 'surreal' corruption scandal | US news | The Guardian - Kitzhaber, accused of steering government contracts to his fiancee’s consulting firm, will be replaced by secretary of state Kate Brown
Governor John Kitzhaber announces his resignation | OregonLive.com
This woman will soon become the first openly bisexual governor in American history - The Washington Post (so that accidentally happened)

David Carr, Influential New York Times Media Columnist, Dead At 58 - Thursday night after collapsing in the paper's midtown Manhattan newsroom. He was 58.
David Carr, RIP | Dave Weigel - Look, I hate it as much as you hate it when some beloved person dies and some less beloved person tries to ride the hem of his garments. Gimme a pass on this one. (read)

U.S. Now Seems To Be Exporting Measles To Other Countries - A spike of measles infections in Berlin has been traced to unvaccinated refugees, but at least two cases appear to have come from the United States, authorities in the German capital said Friday.

Utah House Approves Bill Allowing Executions By Firing Squad
Cop Charged With Assault After Unarmed Grandpa Left Paralyzed
Suspect In Chapel Hill Killings Had At Least 12 Guns, Huge Stash Of Ammo
Police Involved In Controversial Death Of Alejandro Nieto Will Not Face Charges - They believed the stun gun was a firearm, and they shot Nieto from about 75 feet away, police said. The medical examiner's report noted 14 to 15 gunshot wounds.
Their Crime: Walking Into Their Own Home | Voice of San Diego - “You’ve got several cops standing by the door telling the family, through an open door, that they believe they are burglarizing their own store and nobody told them, ‘Wait a minute, officers. This is our store’? Who’s going to believe that?” said Hamud, the family’s attorney.
These 15 Black Women Were Killed During Police Encounters. Their Lives Matter, Too

Outrage as Shirley MacLaine asks were Holocaust victims paying for sins in past lives? | Daily Mail Online - She also suggests Stephen Hawking gave himself motor neurone disease - Holocaust victims may have been killers in previous incarnations, she says - Miss MacLaine once insisted that she lived on Atlantis in an earlier life

Two More Women Come Forward With Accusations Against Cosby - Nation - Boston.com - Two former models who met Bill Cosby decades ago said at a Los Angeles press conference Thursday that the comedian lured them to his hotel room and then drugged them in separate incidents. One of the women also said Cosby raped her.

More teenagers trying e-cigarettes than tobacco, US study says | Science | The Guardian - Some experts concerned that vaping may be pathway to nicotine addiction, but others say it is less dangerous than smoking

The convergence of the twain - Lawyers, Guns & Money : And as the smart ship grew / In stature, grace, and hue, / In shadowy silent distance grew the Iceberg too.
When People Stop Being Polite... - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Orwell on Burnham. (always going with the winner of the moment)

Boobs, Booze, and Black People Hair: A Very Thorough Review of Black or White - Film - The Stranger

The Lost History of Fifty Shades of Grey | GalleyCat - Blogger Jane Litte used the Turnitin plagiarism detection program to measure similarities between the two books. She reported: “According to Turnitin, the similarity index was 89%. There are whole swaths of text wherein just the names were changed from MoTU to 50 Shades.” (that explains a lot, actually)
The most atrocious quotes from 50 Shades of Grey, illustrated : books - "Me, with my strange choice of adjectives. You, with your muscular teeth and clockwise vagina."
Today Australia's Lisa Wilkinson's review destroys 50 Shades of Grey - with her crew hyping her up in the background : videos
Katrina Passick Lumsden (Charlotte, MI)'s review of Fifty Shades of Grey
What You Won't Learn About Bondage In 'Fifty Shades Of Grey'
Hilarious 'Fifty Shades Of Bae' Parody Might Just Be Better Than 'Fifty Shades Of Grey'
Today Australia's Lisa Wilkinson's review destroys 50 Shades of Grey - with her crew hyping her up in the background : videos

Anita Revel - Inner goddess is a concept used in popular psychology and women's circles to denote the feminine aspect of a woman's psyche. When a woman is able to transcend inhibitive social expectations or perceived behavioral requirements and instead act in a way that is right for her, she is said be honoring her inner goddess. Anita defines the inner goddess as "... the beautiful, sassy, intuitive, lovable, sacred and authentic Self that we were born to be."

Google boss warns of 'forgotten century' with email and photos at risk | Technology | The Guardian - Digital material including key historical documents could be lost forever because programs to view them will become defunct, says Vint Cerf

021215
Washington: Government wonders: What’s in your old emails? | National Security & Defense | McClatchy DC - Little known to most Americans, ambiguous language in a communications law passed in 1986 extends Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable search and seizure only to electronic communications sent or received fewer than 180 days ago.

Terrorist Claims Return Sept. 11 Suit to Spotlight - NYTimes.com - In 2002, Mr. Motley sued in federal court on behalf of the families of Sept. 11 victims against the government of Saudi Arabia and the Saudi elite, including banks, charities and even members of the royal family, accusing them of financing Al Qaeda. (Obama sitting on 22 pages of smoking guns)

Qaeda Fighters Gain in Yemen as United Nations Warns of Country's Freefall - NYTimes.com
After Yemen's coup, who controls the US-provided arms? | The New Republic - Where are all the weapons we gave Yemen? - $400 million worth of military equipment provided to Yemen over the last decade (well, that worked out really well)
Yemen Is On The Brink Of Civil War, Says UN Envoy
U.S. Closing Embassy In Yemen

Boko Haram Could 'Destabilize' The African Continent, Nigerian Archbishop Says (may invade US)

Ukraine: 50 Russian tanks and 40 missile systems rolled into the country while Putin talked peace - Business Insider (Aspergers guy stikes again)

Cho Hyun-ah, Former Korean Air Executive In 'Nut Rage' Case, Sentenced To 1 Year In Prison

Vísir - Iceland jails former Kaupthing bank bosses (never in America, land of liberty! for bankers)

In Chapel Hill Shooting of 3 Muslims, a Question of Motive - NYTimes.com

President Obama really really really really hates Maureen Dowd - Vox
Maureen Dowd's Greatest Misses - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Her columns leading up to an election that would result in hundreds of thousands of people being dead all over the world and Sam Alito with a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court involved a multi-part series of columns in which Al Gore had an imaginary dialogue with his bald spot.

Republicans Eye Changes to Food-Stamp Program - WSJ - House Lawmakers Want Revision After Plan’s Sharp Expansion During Recession

Federal Judge Orders Alabama Official To Stop Denying Marriage Licenses To Same-Sex Couples - Their defiance is due to instructions from Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore (R), who sent an order to the state's probate judges Sunday night not to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. He argued that they were not bound to follow the federal ruling. (you can see where they are coming from)
‘Redneck News’ correspondent looks for evidence that gay marriage is destroying Alabama - “This pile of brush is still here, and there are no homosexuals layin’ on top of it, doin’ homosexual things,” Addaway said.

Crazy old man rants in Central Park about young black men committing 95% of all murders - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Wait, did I say in Central Park? I meant at the Aspen Institute: (Bloomberg overestimates young black murderers in NYC by 400% the implications of which are staggering)

Judge Weighs Whether U.S. Marijuana Law Is Unconstitutional | TIME - A federal judge hearing a case of nine men charged with illegally growing marijuana on federal land in California said Wednesday she was considering arguments that the federal government has improperly labelled marijuana as one of the most dangerous drugs. (oh, they lied? and sent millions of mostly non-white mostly-men to prison?)
We are the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), a non-profit research and educational organization working to legitimize the scientific, medical, and spiritual uses of psychedelics and marijuana. Ask us anything! : IAmA

Madison officer charged with assault for use of force incident - Huntsville News | WAAYTV.com and ABC 31: Appnews - MADISON, Ala. (WAAY) - The police officer placed on leave after an incident that left an Indian man hospitalized last week has been charged with third-degree assault.
Disturbing Report Finds New York's Female Prisoners Illegally Shackled During Labor (because sadistic fuckers)
New York City sets new record: no murders for 10 days | US news | The Guardian - NYPD says 10-day stretch breaks 2013 record and shows crime is falling but criminologists urge caution and say crime swings are cyclical (and no cops shot any either)

Mom Accused Of Threatening To Blow Up School After Daughter Fails Test

Dogs know that smile on your face | EurekAlert! Science News - The discovery represents the first solid evidence that an animal other than humans can discriminate between emotional expressions in another species, the researchers say. (thanks, science!)
Aggressive form of HIV uncovered in Cuba: HIV to AIDS in three years -- ScienceDaily - One such recombinant variant observed in patients in Cuba appears to be much more aggressive than other known forms of HIV. Patients progress to AIDS within three years of infection -- so rapidly that they may not even realize they were infected.


Net Neutrality Opponents Go To War (Repubicans, naturally, want to destroy your internets)
Broadband Competition in the US: 12.1% Only Have Access to 1 Wired Provider - In 2010, the FCC reported to Congress that “broadband is not being deployed to all Americans in a reasonable and timely fashion.” [1][2]
After $3.3B Spent, more than 39 Million Americans Still Only Have Access to 1 Wired Broadband Provider : technology

021115
Letter from the President -- Authorization for the Use of United States Armed Forces in connection with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant | The White House
Obama Seeks an Expansive War Authorization to Combat ISIS - NYTimes.com - While indefensibly late, the move is nonetheless welcome if it triggers the long-needed substantive debate about the goals, scope and justification of a military intervention that was launched with the claim of authority from laws passed more than a decade ago to allow the use of force in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Obama sends Congress draft war authorization that says Islamic State ‘poses grave threat’ - The Washington Post

Judge Rules You Can't Sue the NSA for Secretly Spying on You Unless You Prove You're Being Secretly Spied On | Mother Jones - A federal court raises the bar for challenging the NSA's surveillance programs.
The CIA's Secret Psychological Profiles of Dictators and World Leaders Are Amazing | Mother Jones - Psychoanalyzing strongmen, from Castro to Saddam.

Conservatives Dance On Grave Of ISIL Hostage: 'Jew-Hating, Anti-Israel B**ch' - "No tears for the newly-departed Kayla Mueller, the ISIS hostage whose parents confirmed today that she is dead," conservative blogger Debbie Schlussel wrote on Tuesday, under the headline, "Kayla Mueller: Dead ISIS Hostage Was Jew-Hating, Anti-Israel Bitch ... (another fucktard) ... describing the International Solidarity Movement, a group opposing the Israeli occupation, as "pro-terrorist."

Official: Houthis take U.S. vehicles, weapons in Yemen - CNN.com - Houthi rebels took all U.S. Embassy vehicles parked at the Yemeni capital's airport and wouldn't let departing U.S. Marines take their weapons with them, a top Sanaa airport official said about the latest evidence of unrest in an Arab nation long seen as key in America's fight against terrorists.

Eschaton: Because Rich People - Ministers were under increasing pressure to explain why they did not take earlier action against massive tax evasion involving HSBC’s banking in Switzerland. A document unearthed by the Evening Standard shows that ministers were aware in 2010 that large numbers of wealthy customers were hiding money from the UK tax authorities in accounts at the HSBC branch in Geneva. - But some poors have an extra bedroom, so we gotta kick them.
Mexican Political Family Has Close Ties to Ruling Party, and Homes in the U.S. - NYTimes.com - The Murats’ real estate holdings stand in contrast to the Everyman image that José Murat, renowned for his political might and booming personality, worked to project as governor.

Chapel Hill police: Parking dispute may have led to triple shooting :: WRAL.com
3 Members Of Muslim Family Murdered In Chapel Hill, Sparking #MuslimLivesMatter Campaign
Chapel Hill shooting: Craig Stephen Hicks condemned all religions on Facebook prior to arrest for murder of three young Muslims - The Independent

Lynching as Racial Terrorism - NYTimes.com - hangings, burnings and dismemberments of black American men, women and children that were relatively common in this country between the Civil War and World War II were often public events. They were sometimes advertised in newspapers and drew hundreds and even thousands of white spectators, including elected officials and leading citizens who were so swept up in the carnivals of death that they posed with their children for keepsake photographs within arm’s length of mutilated black corpses. (oh, sounds like ...)

Randomgate is why politicians are so boring - Vox - In Vox's interview, Obama contended that terrorism is "absolutely" over-hyped compared to a threat like climate change or epidemic disease. This is something Obama said, as far as I can tell, because he thinks it's true.

David Axelrod has a lot to say about Hillary Clinton - Business Insider - "The conversation seemed to begin calmly enough, as Hillary spoke and Barack listened. Then, when Barack responded, Hillary became very agitated, jabbing her finger at him and speaking in an animated fashion

Warren's not-so-subtle shot across Rand Paul's bow | MSNBC - “Is there any scientific evidence that vaccines cause ‘profound mental disorders’?” (not unless you already have one)
Scott Walker When Asked About Evolution: 'I'm Going To Punt On That'

Montana GOP Legislator Wants to Ban Yoga Pants | Mother Jones - Montana Republican state Rep. David Moore has a plan to guide America out of the darkness—ban yoga pants ... Moore elaborated that he also believes Speedos should be illegal ... Just last December the Republican-controlled legislature issued new dress-code guidelines for the state capitol, advising women that they should "should be sensitive to skirt lengths and necklines." (Sharia Law comes to Montana)

In Some Alabama Counties, Same-Sex Marriage Licenses Denied Despite Court Order - "I don't want Alabama to be seen as it was 50 years ago when a federal law was defied. I'm not going to do that," Bentley said. "I'm trying to move this state forward." (good luck with that)
New Jersey judges rules 'gay conversion therapy' is consumer fraud | World news | The Guardian - a case involving the Jersey City-based Jews Offering New Alternatives for Healing (Jonah) that those claims are illegal based on the state’s Consumer Fraud Act. Bariso also said it’s fraudulent to offer “success statistics” because “there is no factual basis for calculating such statistics” ... forced to do activities including being made to strip naked while standing in a circle with other men and to be naked with their fathers at bathhouses. (that'll work)

This Was Jon Stewart's Best Moment | Mother Jones - Jon Stewart is leaving the Daily Show later this year. Here is the time he went on Crossfire and destroyed, well, Crossfire. ("hurting America" 101504!)

Brian Williams Suspended From NBC for 6 Months Without Pay - NYTimes.com (tap on the wrist)

4-Methylcyclohexanemethanol, It’s Got the Electrolytes We Need! » Balloon Juice - This reads like an article from the Onion. The Republican response to the one year anniversary of the Elk River chemical spill is to weaken regulations, block new regulations, cockblock federal regulators, and then, for shits and giggles, make it impossible for citizens who have been poisoned to sue for redress. - These people are fucking sociopaths.

Study Shows Heavy Adolescent Pot Use Permanently Lowers IQ - Forbes - Marijuana smokers have long been characterized as dimwitted and slow. (+EQ)

Needed: More Bourgeois Buses for the Middle Class | Mother Jones - according to a 2009 report from the Federal Transit Administration, is that "Bus-based public transit in the United States suffers from an image problem." But what if transit agencies tackled that image problem head on? (Emily Rooney would never ride a "bus")

Grandfather visiting Alabama from India stopped by police while taking walk, left partly paralyzed | AL.com - "This is broad daylight, walking down the street. There is nothing suspicious about Mr. Patel other than he has brown skin,"
Family Asked Cops To Check On 74-Year-Old Vet After Surgery… They Broke In and Killed Him Instead - a “decision was made to enter the house, concerned that he may be inside in need of emergency assistance,” (to die)
Jurors In Lacey Spears Trial Shown Graphic Video Of Boy Suffering Before He Died Of Salt Poisoning - "This mother was intentionally feeding her child salt at toxic levels," prosecutor Doreen Lloyd said at Spears' arraignment last month. Garnett suffered a swollen brain, seizures and death as a result, they said.
Ohio Girl, 11, Charged With Murder In Death Of 2-Month-Old Zuri Whitehead - An 11-year-old suburban girl has been charged with murder in the beating death of a 2-month-old who was staying overnight with her and her mother to give the baby's mom a break.
Kyle Kraska, San Diego TV Sports Anchor, Shot Outside His Home - A San Diego television sportscaster was shot and wounded outside his home, and the man suspected of shooting him surrendered to a SWAT team after a manhunt of several hours, police said.
Advocates Join Fight To Eliminate Detroit's Rape Kit Backlog : NPR - In Detroit six years ago, 11,000 untested rape kits were found in an abandoned police storage unit. - Since then, most of those kits have been sent to crime labs for testing. Prosecutors say the initial results point to at least 188 serial rapists.

Doulas, a Growing Force in Maternity Culture, Seek Greater Acceptance - NYTimes.com

Shakespeare's Sonnets - With the commencement of the so called 'Dark Lady' sonnets, there is a marked change of tone from that of serene reflection on a love that has been almost eternized, to a slightly disturbed analysis of a passion which is at times close to frenzy
xs The Dark Lady Sonnets (127 - 154) by William Shakespeare - Famous poems, famous poets. - All Poetry

How often do you shower per week on average? (Survey Results) [OC] : dataisbeautiful (men shower more than women) ("That smelled like flowers compared to some of the things I've had to clean up in women's bathrooms.")
YouTube Flags Cat Purring as Copyright Infringing Music | TorrentFreak - “Phantom is currently independent, but looking to sign on with an indie label. Phantom’s lawyer filed a complaint, looking for 10 lbs of catnip in damages,” Digihaven says.
YouTube Flags Cat Purring as Copyright Infringing Music : nottheonion
Chinese students were kicked out of Harvard's model UN after flipping out when Taiwan was called a country : nottheonion
gofigureskate comments on Missoula lawmaker: Yoga pants, Speedos should be illegal in public

Smartphone Theft Plummets In Major Cities Thanks To 'Kill Switches'

021015
The Great Snow Of 2015 - Weather Wisdom - Boston.com - Meteorologcially it’s fascinating to see records being shattered. But the records only go back 130 years or so
Winter's Coldest Yet to Come for Northeast; Next Arctic Blasts Could Reach Florida - weather.com

The FBI Is Making House Calls to Keystone XL Opponents | ThinkProgress - Tar sands activists in several states have been getting visits from the FBI, and no one knows yet exactly why. (because they are terrorists, duh)
Anti-Oil Sands Activists Getting Visits From The FBI - Esquire

The careless, astonishing cruelty of Barack Obama’s government | George Monbiot | Comment is free | The Guardian - The US, it seems, couldn’t care less if it causes a humanitarian crisis in Somalia, one of the world’s poorest countries (no-moral-center Obama)

Julian Assange 24hr guard leaves London police with £10m bill | Media | The Guardian - Metropolitan police commissioner says preventing escape of Wikileaks founder from Ecuadorian embassy is ‘sucking resources’
Twitter transparency report: US among biggest offenders requesting user data | Technology | The Guardian - According to latest report from July to December 2014, government requests for specific users’ information rose 40% on the previous six months to about 2,871

Family of Isis hostage Kayla Mueller confirms aid worker has been killed | World news | The Guardian - Family ‘heartbroken’ after receiving confirmation that 26-year-old aid worker held hostage since August 2013 has been killed
Isis war to extend far beyond Iraq and Syria under Obama's proposed plan | US news | The Guardian - Sources say White House plan will bless anti-Isis war for three years and ensure that Obama, like George W Bush, will hand over two wars to his successor - Asked if the anti-Isis AUMF opens the US to a second worldwide war against a nebulous adversary, one congressional aide answered: “Absolutely.” (Osama: mission accomplished)
20,000 Foreign Fighters Flock To Syria, Iraq - as many as 150 Americans have tried and some have succeeded in reaching in the Syrian war zone

Netanyahu: speech to US Congress about 'the very survival of my country' | World news | The Guardian ("my country" = "me and my political future pandering to the far, far right")
Patrick Leahy: Netanyahu Address To Congress 'A Tawdry And High-Handed Stunt' (he's just showing you who's boss, which probably is a mistake)

Second Person's DNA Found In Apartment Of Argentine Prosecutor Nisman
Argentina investigates mystery DNA found at dead prosecutor's home | World news | The Guardian - Conspiracy theories abound about Alberto Nisman, who had accused president of whitewashing a 1984 terrorist bombing and was found shot dead in bathroom
What Happened to Alberto Nisman? - The New Yorker

Methodology change sees Indian economy grow faster than China's | Reuters - Under the new method, the economy expanded 7.5 percent year-on-year during the last quarter, higher than 7.3 percent growth recorded by China in the latest quarter.

Strauss-Kahn’s Strange Sex-Party Math - The New Yorker - Many people would consider four orgies a year a rather high toll. Perhaps it is just as well that D.S.K. is no longer making decisions that affect quite as many lives—it sounds as though he got very tired.

Does Scandinavia Have it All Figured Out? - The New Yorker (well, basically, yes)

Robert Samuelson Is Unhappy that Seniors Get Social Security and Medicare | Beat the Press - Yes, it's Monday morning at the Washington Post and Robert Samuelson wants to raise the retirement age and cut Social Security and Medicare benefits. How else would one begin the week?

HSBC files: why the public should know of Swiss bank’s pattern of misconduct | Business | The Guardian - Scores of clients of lucrative operation are already under criminal investigation amid claims of their involvement in drug smuggling, frauds and terror financing
Clinton foundation received up to $81m from clients of controversial HSBC bank | US news | The Guardian - Leaked files reveal identities of wealthy donors with accounts in Geneva - Hillary Clinton expected to make inequality a key issue of any 2016 campaign

David Axelrod Describes The No Good, Very Bad Minefield Of Obama's Early Presidency - The one person that Axelrod describes as actively gunning for the treasury job was former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers. But when the title went to Geithner, Emanuel had to sweeten the pot to get Summers to accept a lesser post.
Racial fear has infected US politics, former Obama adviser Axelrod says | US news | The Guardian - There was no doubt there was a core of hostility motivated by race’ Former adviser laments continued questions about Obama’s citizenship (and who prompted the delusion?)
16 Times The Obama Administration Lied About The President's Position On Same-Sex Marriage (c'mon, he was evolving)
Eschaton: HAMP'd - Rightly or wrongly, a lot of the bad stuff of the Obama era can plausibly be blamed on political constraints. The failures of HAMP are on his administration entirely. (Obama's program designed to completely and utterly fail ... meanwhile, bankers!)

NY prosecutor Preet Bharara disputes Gov. Cuomo's corruption claim | MSNBC - Cuomo set up a commission to investigate political corruption in New York, the Moreland Commission, and then disbanded it in March 2014. Bharara seized its files and began a review of its closure, setting off a clash between two of the most powerful Democrats in New York.

New Questions Swirl on an Affordable Care Act Challenger - WSJ - Plaintiff Listed Motel as Her Address, Which Was Basis for Her Legal Grounds (Roberts will still buy the scam)
The Wind Comes Sweeping Down The Plaintiffs - Esquire - This is the ultimate crossroads for the institution of the Supreme Court. Legacy moment, Chief Justice Roberts. The ghost of Roger Taney awaits your decision to see if he's finally off the hook. (nail, meet CPP)

Federal Appeals Judge Compares People Who Say Bush Lied To Rise Of Nazis - A federal appeals judge wrote in a column published on Sunday that people who accuse former President George W. Bush of lying about the Iraq War are peddling myths like those that led to the rise of Hitler ... . "It is quite another to make the horrendous charge that President Bush lied to or deceived the American people about the threat from Saddam." (planet stupid wants you back, dumbfuck)

To Save Money on Building Rail, Spend Money on Marketing Buses - NYTimes.com - “Bus-based public transit in the United States suffers from an image problem.” (Emily Rooney would never ride a "bus")

Occupy Burning Man: Class Warfare Comes to Desert Festival - Bloomberg Business - Move over, Google Bus. There's a new symbolic fight over tech money, class, and privilege
Hullabaloo - Talk about missing the point - And it wasn't just them, it was the board of Burning Man too which went out to find rich patrons and you know what happened next. This is the world in which we now live: everything is a toy for rich people and the rest of us are just supporting players, servants and slaves to their needs and wants.

Meet the Unusual Plaintiffs Behind the Supreme Court Case That Could Destroy Obamacare | Mother Jones - One has called Obama the "anti-Christ." Another didn't realize her case might wipe out health coverage for millions. (good enough for Roberts)
Court concludes firing a woman for breastfeeding isn’t sexist because men can lactate - The Mommy Files - Instead of a ruling in her favor, the Supreme Court rejected her petition to overrun the trial court’s decision that included the amusing finding “that breastfeeding-related firings aren’t sexist because men can lactate, too (and if they can think that ...)
Governor Tom Wolf Launches Medicaid Expansion in Pennsylvania

Gay Marriage in Alabama Begins, but Only in Parts - NYTimes.com - up to 52 of Alabama’s 67 counties, according to the gay rights group Human Rights Campaign, declined to process the required paperwork.

History of Lynchings in the South Documents Nearly 4,000 Names - NYTimes.com - under the gaze of hundreds of soda-drinking spectators, were castrated, stabbed, beaten, tied to a plow and set afire in the spring of 1922. (ISIS in America: "Southern Justice")
Remembering Lynching - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Leaving these incidents out of the history of lynching is problematic because it reinforces the idea of racism as a southern problem and covers up a lot of horrible crimes committed in left-leaning places today. There are some attempts to alleviate this loss of public memory, such as this walking tour of lynching sites in downtown Los Angeles (Americans like to string non-white people up; this is the same impulse that drives IS)

NYPD Officer Indicted In Death Of Akai Gurley, According To Reports
NYPD officer indicted over fatal shooting of Akai Gurley, lawyer says | US news | The Guardian - Nature of charges against Peter Liang, who claimed to have fired his gun accidentally in Brooklyn stairwell, as yet unclear, says lawyer of Gurley’s partner
Ferguson police arrest wheelchair user at Michael Brown anniversary protest | US news | The Guardian - Several photographs taken outside the department and posted to Twitter showed De Mian on the ground beside her wheelchair.
Corey Fallen Jailed 6 Months Despite Alibi Showing Him Nowhere Near Murder - The only problem was that Fallen, now 33, was working hundreds of miles away on the night witnesses say he was in the New Jersey club with Ramsey. Ample evidence, including time sheets from the Atlanta restaurant where Fallen was a cook, proved his whereabouts. Still, for six months, Fallen sat in jail. His letter to the judge finally spurred prosecutors to check his alibi and free him.

Stanford, the swimmer and Yik Yak: can talk of campus rape go beyond secrets? | Society | The Guardian - When word of an alleged public assault went viral, students turned to the private world of anonymous apps – and feared for their Silicon Valley careers. Now the most transparent high-profile rape case since the White House launched a taskforce is at risk of vanishing into digital thin air

Israeli film breaks ultra-Orthodox taboo on masturbation | World news | The Guardian - Filmmaker Ori Gruder explores how ultra-Orthodox Judaism requires boys and men to go against their natural urges in the name of religion - In the documentary, one rabbi explains how young boys are taught to urinate without physically touching themselves, and how, from the age of 13, they wear special underwear that lets them pass water freely.

Scott Walker’s hilarious screwup: How he messed with University of Wisconsin — and infuriated his state - Salon.com - This guy is seriously the best the Republicans have? Here's why he's backtracking on a lame new education "reform"
“Play-It-Forward” Bill Would Allow Pennsylvania College Students and Grads to Gamble Their Debts Away | Raging Chicken Press - “Play-It-Forward” Bill Would Allow Pennsylvania College Students and Grads to Gamble Their Debts Away (education in America)
App Alerts Parents if Their Kid Skips a College Class : Free Range Kids - There’s a new app, Class120, that pings parents when their kids don’t show up for their college classes.

How the New York Times Bestseller List Works | Love, H - the official site of author Heather Maclean

Earth's Inner Core Found To Have A Core Of Its Own

020915
Heavy Snow In Pockets Into The Afternoon - Weather Wisdom - Boston.com - “Yes, the weather is bad, and if I were dealing in weather it is not the brand that I'd put up in cans for future use.” the snowiest 17 days in modern day record keeping in this area.
Boston sets 30-day snowfall record during latest storm - Weather - Boston.com - The National Weather Service said Boston had received 61.6 inches in the last 30 days by 7 a.m. Monday, breaking the record of 58.8 inches in one 30-day period ending in February 1978.
Snowstorm cancels London mayor's stop at Harvard - Weather - Boston.com - Johnson instead planned to deliver a speech at midafternoon at the British Consulate in Cambridge. (who knew?)

Citi: Oil Could Plunge to $20, and This Might Be 'the End of OPEC' - Yahoo Finance - The recent surge in oil prices is just a "head-fake," and oil as cheap as $20 a barrel may soon be on the way, Citigroup said in a report on Monday as it lowered its forecast for crude.

How the ACLU, Ron Paul and a former EFF Director helped jail a CIA whistleblower | PandoDaily - The story behind the 1982 law used to jail Kiriakou fills in some of the blanks about how the modern secrecy apparatus was first put together beginning in the Reagan-Bush years. It also reveals the complicity and collaboration of our leading civil libertarians in creating the secrecy-and-censorship leviathan that these same civil libertarians claim to be fighting today on our behalf ... the percentage of Americans who distrusted government rose from 22 percent in 1964, to 62 percent in 1974.

Leaked Data From 30,000 Swiss Bank Accounts Reveals Mass Tax Avoidance - A slew of 30,000 leaked Swiss HSBC bank account details—what the Guardian calls the "biggest banking leak in history"—lays bare the practices of the organization and its customers. And it doesn't look pretty.

Paul Krugman on Greece: “There will be no consolation prizes for failing conventionally” - Salon.com - Greece will never be held in high esteem by "the Davos set," argues the economist in the New York Times (it was always about the failure of "elite" opinion)
“It’s complete horse sh*t!”: Watch an Ivy League professor dismantle GOP’s austerity lie - Salon.com - Mark Blyth tells Salon why German Chancellor Angela Merkel's neoliberal nonsense is threatening the entire eurozone (dimbulb sadistic Bavarian hausfrau goes 50 shades on Europe)

Anonymous hacks hundreds of ISIS emails, twitter and Facebook accounts. : worldnews

Merkel and Obama hold White House news conference on Ukraine strategy – live | World news | The Guardian - German chancellor and president hold urgent Ukraine talks - Counter-terrorism and Iran nuclear negotiations also up for discussion
Twitter says Russia repeatedly tried to erase tweets by critics of Putin. : worldnews
Putin’s Way | FRONTLINE | PBS
? Complete History Of The Soviet Union, Arranged To The Melody Of Tetris - YouTube

Pentagon spent $504,816 on Viagra last year | Fox News - Last year DoD also ordered $3,505 worth of Levitra, and $14,540 of Cialis, other popular erectile dysfunction drugs. The contracts were filed under "Troop Support."

Cash pilgrims and bricks of money: HSBC Swiss bank operated like cash machine for rich clients | Business | The Guardian - Cache of leaked data show how throughout 2005, scores of account holders arrived in Geneva, often emerging with currency foreign to Switzerland
Senate leader calls for US government's explanation in wake of HSBC leaks | News | The Guardian - Sherrod Brown, leading Democrat on Senate banking committee, asks for full explanation upon learning of allegations in biggest leak in banking history

Deluded and dysfunctional, the Republicans have lost the plot | Gary Younge | Comment is free | The Guardian - They may have won Congress, but an instinct for obstinacy means the party is now fighting itself (the party of obstruction is obstructing itself)

GOP’s anti-school insanity: How Scott Walker & Bobby Jindal declared war on education - Salon.com - It's come to this: To appeal to the party's far-right base, GOP leaders want to gut public education. Here's why (stupid loves stupid)

Ryan Visited a Bookstore — Guess I Misjudged Him -- NYMag - Paul Ryan recently attacked the Obama administration’s economic policies for, supposedly, exacerbating income inequality. (that's pretty funny, but ...) New York Times reporter Jonathan Weisman (is even funnier)

Missouri cities sued over municipal court practices - The Washington Post - Civil rights lawyers filed federal lawsuits Sunday night accusing authorities in Ferguson and Jennings, Mo., of running the equivalent of debtors’ prisons by illegally jailing hundreds of mostly poor, black residents for unpaid debts, many of them from traffic tickets.

In Alabama, Judge Defies Gay Marriage Requirement - NYTimes.com - “only issue marriage licenses and solemnize ceremonies consistent with Alabama law and the U.S. Constitution; namely, between one man and one woman only, so help me God.” ... His argument has deep resonance in a place where a governor, George Wallace, stood in a doorway of the University of Alabama in 1963 in an unsuccessful bid to block its federally ordered integration. (bomb the rebels into submission)
Supreme Court Refuses To Stop Gay Marriages In Alabama - Roy Moore, chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Clown Court, sent an order to state probate judges Sunday night telling them not to issue marriage licenses to gay couples, according to the AP. The Supreme Court justices ruled 7-2 Monday morning that same-sex weddings could start in Alabama, making it the 37th state where gay marriage is allowed ... Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia dissented (Confederate traitors)
Alabama same-sex couples get marriage licenses as legal confusion swirls - LA Times - “Right now we’re not going to do it,” said Probate Judge Jerry Powell. “We have direct orders from the state Supreme Court here in Alabama, and I’m going to adhere to it.”
Justice Thomas objects: Court shows support for gay marriage - Salon.com

Brian Williams' Story About Rocket Fire In Israel Comes Into Question - Another Brian Williams tale has come under scrutiny. (serial misrememberer)
Ronald Reagan’s wartime lies: The president had quite a Brian Williams problem - Salon.com - Reagan spent WW II in Hollywood. He told the Israeli prime minister he was at the liberation of Nazi death camps
I’m a U.S. veteran, and “American Sniper” is rife with lies - Salon.com - And let’s focus our anger and our organizing against the authorities and the institutions that craft the lies that the Chris Kyles of the world believe, that have created a trail of blowback leading from dumb war to dumb war, and that have sent 2.5 million veterans to fight a “war on terror” that persists in Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, Syria and Pakistan.

Lessons From Vaccine Trooferism - Lawyers, Guns & Money : The logic here is straightforwardly akin to the predominant corporate attitudes of our day: The anti-vaxxers are trying to privatize profit (their pure and uncontaminated child) and socialize the risk (the outbreak of an epidemic is someone else’s problem). (“cui bono”) (+"Seriously – I do wonder if we would have been at war with Iran sometime in the past few decades had Hussein not decided that he needed to “reclaim” Kuwait.")

6ynth God on Twitter: "Kanye West told a nigga who plays like 14 instruments that he needs to respect the artistry of a woman who needs 4 writers for one song" - Kanye West told a nigga who plays like 14 instruments that he needs to respect the artistry of a woman who needs 4 writers for one song
Kanye West Interviewed by E! Following Stage Invasion: "Beck Needs to Respect Artistry and He Should Have Given His Award to Beyoncé" : Music - Fact check: Beck is actually credited for 16 instruments on his album (plus orchestral arrangements). Beyonce's album had one song with 9 writers and 6 producers.
Kanye pulls a Kanye : videos

Louisville Cop Arrested for Allegedly Assaulting Two Children; Previously Commended for His Work With Youth - Hit & Run : Reason.com - Cop had multiple commendations for working with youth. Psychologist says she was kicked out of clinical program after reporting kids's allegations against him.
Louisville Cop Arrested for Allegedly Assaulting Two Children: he hit one student with a closed fist, knocking him to the floor, and choked another student until he lost consciousness. Both students were 13 years old : news
Domino’s Delivery Woman Kidnapped, Raped At Gunpoint After Antioch Delivery « CBS San Francisco - After the attack, the woman called police. At 1 p.m., Antioch police officers arrested the suspect at the same home where he had asked for the pizza to be delivered.
Suspected meth lab turns out to be sweet maple syrup - WLOX.com - The News for South Mississippi - "I think my neighbors on their way to church see the buckets and stuff and think we've got a meth lab operation going on here. I just want to put their minds at ease, and let them know it's maple syrup. And that they're all welcome for pancakes if they want to come on over." (well played)

Blood type can affect brain function - Salon.com - A new study finds that people with AB blood type are at higher risk for age-related cognitive decline - People with O blood type may be more likely to have depression and intense anxiety; children may be at a greater risk of attention-deficit disorder.
The ‘Sapiens’ Story | On Point with Tom Ashbrook - Homo sapiens may be in their last few hundred years, he says. Ready to merge with machines.
Hairless_Talking_Ape comments on The nuclear test Operation Teapot's effects on houses
If one black hole falls into another black hole will the first black hole be pulled apart and cease being a black hole? : askscience
No Big Bang? Quantum equation predicts universe has no beginning
No Big Bang? Quantum equation predicts universe has no beginning : science

Slate’s podcast audience has tripled in a year, and its bet on audio over video continues to pay off » Nieman Journalism Lab - According to Bowers, Slate’s 14 or so podcast shows get about 6 million downloads a month, and its audience has tripled in just the last year. (because you don't have to watch a fucking video)

Bruce Jenner not texting while driving at moment of fatal car collision | US news | The Guardian - Jenner was driving a black Cadillac Escalade when he rear-ended a Lexus sedan that slammed into a Toyota Prius that had slowed down or stopped on the highway, sheriff’s sergeant Philip Brooks said ( 'Karcrashian' )
How not to write about the Bruce Jenner car accident - Salon.com - An uninjured celebrity trumps a tragedy

Boston Uber Driver Charged with Sexual Assault - News - Boston.com - An Uber driver sexually assaulted a 30-year-old Boston woman early Sunday morning en route to the North End, according to Boston Police.

One year later, has Michael Sam been frozen out of the NFL? - Outsports (National Homophobic League)
Texas frat told partygoers to wear Western gear, but everyone showed up in racist Mexican costumes - However, many of the attendees dressed as construction workers bearing hard hats with Latino-sounding names like “Pablo Sanchez” written on them — and many of the decorations consisted of individuals in stereotypical Mexican attire.

Never tried BDSM? Go on, it’s good for you | Brad Sagarin | Comment is free | The Guardian - Fifty Shades of Grey is opening people’s eyes to the joys of BDSM. And it isn’t just a bit of bedroom fun – it has serious benefits for you and your partner - But not far below were fantasies about being dominated sexually (present in 65% of women and 53% of men), dominating someone sexually (47% of women, 60% of men), and being tied up for sexual pleasure (52% of women, 46% of men). This altered state, often referred to as “subspace” within the BDSM community, aligns with psychologist Arne Dietrich’s “transient hypofrontality hypothesis”, an explanation for a diverse set of altered states from runner’s high to daydreaming to hypnosis.
What every man (and woman) needs to know about cunnilingus - Salon.com - Long ignored by popular culture, women's needs are finally getting the special treatment they deserve ... n “because our culture is so dominated with the sexual pleasure of straight men, anything that doesn’t feature a penis getting pleasured is radical and counterculture.” (don't miss " The Art of Cunnilingus")
The anti-Pick Up Artist’s Guide: A new graphic novel teaches teen boys how to form healthy hook-ups - Salon.com - Sex educator Colin Adamo is working on the illustrated guide to healthy and enjoyable sex for young straight guys
Teens Who Get The HPV Vaccine Don't Have Riskier Sex - That contradicts what right-wing groups have been saying (right-wing groups always lie, duh)

Jennifer Logan dies after drinking 'tobacco purge' tea in Peru - Toronto - CBC News - Cleansing ceremony at rainforest retreat ends in tragedy for Canadian woman
South Korean woman's hair 'eaten' by robot vacuum cleaner as she slept | World news | The Guardian - The woman was sleeping on the floor of her home when the robotic cleaner ingested her hair leaving her in agony ... a peek into a dystopian future in which supposedly benign robots turn against their human masters.
Who knew a short film about building a bridge could be so moving? | The Verge

Females of reddit, how did you react the first time you saw a penis in real life? : AskReddit
My 9 year old son (who is the middle of being tested for autism), has always HATED to read, no matter what awesome books I plied him with. This melted my heart and gave me hope: he read the whole thing. : books
The One Ring Explained. (Lord of the Rings Mythology Part 2) : videos
No Big Bang? Quantum equation predicts universe has no beginning : science
TIL they detected a particle whizzing about at 0.999 999 999 999 999 999 999 9951 times the speed of light - with energy *20 MILLION* times more than the highest energy measured in radiation emitted by an extragalactic object! They call this the "Oh-My-God Particle". : todayilearned
xkcd: Diamond

Watch out: Samsung's TV is watching YOU as you watch it • The Register - Please be aware that if your spoken words include personal or other sensitive information, that information will be among the data captured and transmitted to a third party through your use of Voice Recognition. (Big Samsung is always watching)
Imgur Pro features now free for all users : technology
Net Neutrality Saves Pornland - Eros Media - Porn is still the number one most searched thing on the internet. It generates $25 billion dollars a year in revenue in the US alone, and pioneers new technology (an irony, then, that the streaming speeds it had a hand in developing could be used against it).
Time Warner Cable's High-Speed Internet 97 Percent Profit Margin is a Big, Bright Red Flag; Critics Rebuked. | Bruce Kushnick (Big Predators)

020815
Almost 2,500 now killed by covert US drone strikes since Obama inauguration six years ago: The Bureau’s report for January 2015 | The Bureau of Investigative Journalism - Almost 2,500 now killed by covert US drone strikes since Obama inauguration six years ago: The Bureau’s report for January 2015 - Of the total killed since Obama took his oath of office on January 20 2009, at least 314 have been civilians, while the number of confirmed strikes under his administration now stands at 456.

Sweden Tells the UN that Indefinite Detention Without Charge is Fine - Sweden fell under fire at the UN over its decision to insist on the detention of Assange for more than 1,500 days without charge. It aborted its own press conference after pointed questions from journalists, and explicitly stated that it had no problem with indefinite detention without charge, not just for Mr Assange, but as a principle. Most countries place strict limits on detention without charge. In the UK and Australia, and in the US (except for Guantanamo Bay), a matter of hours. (you can see where their priorities are)

Ukraine conflict: four-nation peace talks in Minsk aim to end crisis | World news | The Guardian - Planned summit in Belarus capital on Wednesday comes after intense diplomacy between France, Germany, Ukraine and Russia

Explore the Swiss Leaks Data | International Consortium of Investigative Journalists

Jordan: Approximately 7,000 IS members killed in strikes | The Times of Israel - AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — Approximately 7,000 Islamic State group fighters have been killed since Jordan began participating in coalition airstrikes, the country’s air force chief claimed on Sunday.
Isis has reached new depths of depravity. But there is a brutal logic behind it | World news | The Guardian - Murder in public is the new signature of the Isis conflict - One of the most prominent of those jihadi texts is a book called Idarat al-Tawahush, or Management of Savagery, by an anonymous jihadi ideologue who calls himself Abu Bakr Naji.
ISIL burns 16 Iraqis to death for not pledging allegiance - Members of the ISIL Takfiri terrorist group have burned to death sixteen people in Iraq’s violence-ridden northern city of Mosul.

Nigeria Postpones Elections, Citing Boko Haram Violence - Nigeria's election commission on Saturday postponed presidential and legislative elections for six weeks due to security concerns.
Malala Yousafzai criticises ‘weak’ effort to free girls kidnapped by Boko Haram | World news | The Guardian - The joint Nobel peace prize-winner said much more would have been done to win the girls’ release had they come from a more privileged background.

At Least 14 Dead In Egypt Soccer Riot, State TV Reports - A riot broke out Sunday night outside of a major soccer game in Egypt, with a stampede and fighting between police and fans killing at least 25 people, authorities said.

Anti-Defamation League Urges Benjamin Netanyahu To Cancel Congress Speech (those optics look very bad, and when you've lost Abe Foxman ... )
Even Abe Foxman ... - Think the Netanyahu speech lead up is going well? Now even Abe Foxman, head of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), one of the oldest and most respected institutions of American Jewry, is saying the speech should be canceled. Foxman has run the ADL for almost thirty years.
Iranian Officials Say Now Is The Time For A Nuclear Deal

Greek Leader To Reject Austerity, Lay Out Hard Leftist Program

Experts question Mexican investigation of 43 students' disappearance | World news | The Guardian - Argentinian forensic team hired on behalf of students’ parents says government presented biased analyses of the scientific evidence

Troops fathered 400,000 children in post-war Germany | News | DW.DE | 06.02.2015 - They resulted from widespread rapes as well as love affairs.

The Needle Trauma | in February 1995 the police cleared Zurich's drug hell once and for all. On the occasion of the historical anniversary the Tages-Anzeiger presents a web documentary about one of Switzerland's greatest social disasters.

Conservatives want to rewrite the history of the Crusades for modern political ends | David M Perry | Comment is free | The Guardian - One of history’s lessons is that any ideology, sacred or secular, that divides the world into ‘us versus them’ can and will be used to justify violence - To compare the Jordanian pilot who was burned to death by Isis militants to the public burning of Jesse Washington in Waco, Texas does not make one un-American.

Aaron Swartz stood up for freedom and fairness – and was hounded to his death | Comment is free | The Guardian - On Monday, BBC Four screened a remarkable film in its Storyville series. The Internet’s Own Boy told the story of the life and tragic death of Aaron Swartz, the leading geek wunderkind of his generation who was hounded to suicide at the age of 26 by a vindictive US administration. On Monday, BBC Four screened a remarkable film in its Storyville series. The Internet’s Own Boy told the story of the life and tragic death of Aaron Swartz, the leading geek wunderkind of his generation who was hounded to suicide at the age of 26 by a vindictive US administration

Anchors Aweigh - NYTimes.com - THIS was a bomb that had been ticking for a while. NBC executives were warned a year ago that Brian Williams was constantly inflating his biography. ("Facebooked")

Booman Tribune ~ A Progressive Community - Al Franken Isn't Joking Around (well played, Al)

Kansas Gov. Brownback's Budget Hits Cherished Highway System - Kansas voters who re-elected a Republican governor known for aggressive tax cutting are learning that the state won't solve its serious budget problems without putting a normally sacrosanct asset in the crosshairs — its state-of-the-art highway system. (having already destroyed education and health care, keep it up Kansans)

Empire State of Mind by D.R. Tucker | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - Let’s be honest: if the convention is held in Columbus or Philadelphia, would that not symbolize, on some level, yet another desperate attempt to get the “Reagan Democrats” back?
Eschaton: Um, What? - I do not think Philadelphia is what you think it is. - Not that it's the only measure of diversity, but Philly is 44% black/37% white. Brooklyn is 55% white, 34% black.

The Dangers of Vaccine Denial - NYTimes.com - At the Waldorf Early Childhood Center in Santa Monica, Calif., 68 percent of the children had “personal belief exemptions” to avoid vaccination requirements, according to The Hollywood Reporter (the school declined to comment). That suggests that kids in some wealthy areas are as well vaccinated as children in, say, Somalia ... the measles vaccination rate in 2013 stood at 91 percent in the United States — lower than in Zimbabwe or Bangladesh.
Eschaton: But We Are Awesome - Great White Father Kristof is shocked to discover that countries with a lot of people sometimes do things better than we do!
This Anti-vaxxer children’s book is getting destroyed in Amazon troll campaign - Salon.com - "Melanie's Marvelous Measles" was written to teach children the "benefits" of having the disease
This Anti-vaxxer children’s book is getting destroyed in Amazon troll campaign : books

Police: 5 Dead In Georgia Shooting - A man shot six people Saturday afternoon, killing four of them, including his ex-wife and several children before turning the gun on himself on a quiet, suburban street west of Atlanta, police and neighbors said.
Teen Accused Of Pennsylvania Mall Shooting That Wounded 3 - The Monroeville Mall went on lockdown Saturday evening after the shooting. The gunman managed to escape but police say they were able to identify him by matching surveillance video with images on social media.
snopes.com: FBI Admits Sandy Hook Hoax? - Claim: The FBI has revealed that no murders occurred in Newtown, Connecticut in 2012, inadvertently admitting that the Sandy Hook massacre was an elaborate hoax. (they are really incapable of thinking)
One pill, 10 years: Ky. high court reviews vet's sentence - An injured Gulf War veteran with no prior felony record, Kidd was convicted of drug trafficking in a controlled substance in 2009 for selling a single pill and sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Depression and the fragility of the strong, silent male | Yvonne Roberts | Comment is free | The Guardian - Suicide is the single biggest cause of death among men under 50. That truth must be faced

Bruce Jenner -- Cops To Get Search Warrant for Cellphone -- Was He Texting? | TMZ.com - A Hummer struck the Lexus, killing the Lexus driver.
Bruce Jenner Okay Following Deadly Car Crash [comments]

Bill Cosby cancels two Boston shows which were set to attract protests | World news | The Guardian - Comedian accused of sexual assault was to perform at Wilbur Theater - Theatre owner said: ‘I can’t wait for Sunday to be over. I’m done with it’

Don’t go to art school — I. M. H. O. — Medium - The traditional approach is failing us. It’s time for a change ... the cost of a four year education at RISD is $245,816. As way of comparison, the cost of a diploma from Harvard Law School is a mere $236,100.
The 7 Keynote MBA: How to Save 2 Years and $100,000 | Jonathan Fields

Antibiotics that target mitochondria effectively eradicate cancer stem cells, across multiple tumor types: Treating cancer like an infectious disease | Lamb | Oncotarget

Tixati.com - Tixati is a New and Powerful P2P System
Tixati - Software Informer. Tixati is a powerful alternative to other BitTorrent clients.
Game Recreates Entire Galaxy, 1,000 Players Determined To Explore It
How long WOULD it take to explore the entire galaxy? (Math Included_) : EliteDangerous

020715
2013 record heatwave 'virtually impossible' without climate change, Climate Council of Australia report says - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) - to be the hottest year in the country's record without man-made emissions in the atmosphere.
There’s No Doubting Climate Change Anymore by David Atkins | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - The “debate” is over. Climate change is not only real, it’s the biggest crisis mankind has ever faced. Among conservatives it’s apparently not a matter of debate that ISIS represents an existential threat to freedom, but climate change does not. Truly reasonable people know it’s quite the other way around.
Climate Change’s Bottom Line - NYTimes.com - But inside the offices of Cargill, the food conglomerate, Greg Page, the company’s executive chairman, felt compelled to talk about global warming.

In Latest Vindication of Snowden, Court Rules UK Mass Surveillance Illegal | Common Dreams | Breaking News & Views for the Progressive Community - 'We must not allow agencies to continue justifying mass surveillance programmes using secret interpretations of secret laws,' said Privacy International director Eric King.
Top UN Official Says 'Global War on Terror' Is Laying Waste to Human Rights | Common Dreams | Breaking News & Views for the Progressive Community - Battling terrorism shouldn’t justify torture or mass surveillance, says Zeid Ra’ad Al-Hussein (thought that was the whole point)

New Allegations Renew Old Questions About Saudi Arabia And 9/11 - For years, some current and former American officials have been urging President Barack Obama to release secret files they say document links between the government of Saudi Arabia and the Sept. 11 attacks. (Obama thought he could get away with this, and he may still)
‘A Line in the Sand’ in Fight to Release Thousands of Prisoner Abuse Photos - The Intercept - A federal judge is demanding that the government explain, photo-by-photo, why it can’t release hundreds, and perhaps thousands, of pictures showing detainee abuse by U.S. forces at military prison sites in Iraq and Afghanistan. (Obama has covered this up for so long he now owns it)

"We will enter Bahrain by arms not passports, and we will behead the King" - AhlulBayt News Agency - ABNA - Shia News - Bahraini ISIS respond to striping their nationalities:
Girls can marry aged nine, says new Islamic State guide for women - World - News - London Evening Standard - A UN report today said that IS was systematically killing, torturing and raping children and families of minority groups in Iraq.

Dems lining up to skip Netanyahu | TheHill - One Democratic aide lamented that the debate has evolved in such a way that lawmakers risk the perception of being forced to choose between their support for Israel and that for the White House. (they pledged allegiance to the racist state of Israel)
Explosion rocks Gaza in apparent assassination attempt | The Times of Israel - Vehicle of senior Hamas official blown up by Palestinian assailants in sign of increasing instability in the Strip

Ukraine leader shows off captured Russian military IDs - Yahoo News - "How much evidence does the world still need to recognise the obvious fact there is a foreign military" within Ukraine's sovereign territory, he asked.

Eschaton: Maybe That Wasn't Such A Good Idea After All - We're not quite responsible for everything that happens Iraq the way we arguably were a few years ago, but the consequences of W's grand Middle Eastern adventure continue.

Why I Heart King Abdullah | The Nation - He was an old-school monarch who made America feel good about itself again. (well done, Katha)

Pope says it’s okay to smack your children ... as long as dignity maintained (dignified whooping)

Jeffrey Epstein accuser: video exists of underage sex with powerful men | UK news | The Guardian - New affidavit alleges ‘physical abuse’ and ‘major cover-up’ Virginia Roberts: ‘I didn’t know whether I was going to survive’

U.S. sisters arrested for nude photos at Cambodia's sacred Angkor site | The Japan Times - Lindsey Adams, 22, and 20-year-old sister Leslie were discovered taking “nude pictures” inside Preah Khan Temple at the World Heritage site on Friday, the Apsara Authority — the government agency managing the Angkor complex — said in a statement.
Two American sisters have been arrested in Cambodia for taking naked photos of each other inside the country’s famed Angkor temple complex, officials said Saturday — the latest nude stunt by tourists to spark anger. : worldnews

Immunity for Politicians! - Lawyers, Guns & Money : A new bill proposed by Oklahoma State Representative Kevin Calvey (R) would prohibit district attorneys from prosecuting state elected officials, legislators, district court and appellate judges, and appointees to state commissions for public crimes, The Oklahoman reported.

Cartoon Villains Deny Health Care to Large Numbers of Poor People - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Tennessee, despite being given concessions by the Obama administration that won the governor’s support, says no: (America has its own sadistic religious death cults)

Germany is battling a measles outbreak that is 10 times worse than the one in the U.S. - The Washington Post - 254 new cases emerged in January, primarily in Berlin. "There are several communities in the United States with close ties to countries with circulating measles and low vaccination rates, and these are certainly at risk. Since 2001, outbreaks in the US have been sparked by disease acquired in Romania, Kenya, Switzerland, and many more,"
Rand Paul on defensive in Iowa after comments about vaccination dangers | US news | The Guardian - The trained ophthalmologist said on Monday he had heard about “many tragic cases” of children who got vaccines and ended up with “profound mental disorders”.
Flu Jab Found To Work In Just 3% Of Cases - The flu vaccine issued this winter is estimated to work in just 3% of cases, Public Health England (PHE) has revealed. (i.e. useless)
2014 - 2015 flu shot only 3% effective against currently circulating stains. It is usually 50% effective. : news
? The Flu Vaccine is Effective - YouTube

Stream of Foreign Wealth Flows to Elite New York Real Estate - NYTimes.com - About $8 billion is spent each year for New York City residences that cost more than $5 million each, more than triple the amount of a decade ago, according to the website PropertyShark. Just over half of those sales last year were to shell companies.
Eschaton: The Big Money - One thing that's maddening is that if individuals, without shell companies, try to move large amounts of money around they're going to get noticed. Quickly. Corporations aren't just people, they're very special people.

Inside NBC News | Public Relations - In the midst of a career spent covering and consuming news, it has become painfully apparent to me that I am presently too much a part of the news, due to my actions.

He’ll Rot For Pot: 55 Years For Weed - The Daily Beast - A father of two was sentenced to 55 years in jail for selling pot. The Koch brothers want to help set him free and make him the face of their new campaign for criminal justice reform.

Anti-Tesla Motors states win 2014 Luddite Award - TSLA AMZN - Investors.com - The states blocking Tesla received 34% of the vote. Coming in second with 27% of the vote was the National Rifle Association for its opposition to smart guns ... . The worst offenders are Arizona, Michigan, New Jersey and Texas,

Cambridge Journals Online - Psychological Medicine - Abstract - Course of cannabis use and clinical outcome in patients with non-affective psychosis: a 3-year follow-up study - Course of cannabis use and clinical outcome in patients with non-affective psychosis: a 3-year follow-up study
"Cannabis use in patients with a psychotic disorder has a long-lasting negative effect on illness outcome, particularly when persistent. Treatment should focus on discouraging cannabis use. : science

415.full.pdf - Symptomatology of the initial prodroma phase of schizophrenia
'Darwinian' test uncovers an antidepressant's hidden toxicity -- ScienceDaily - Males exposed to Paxil were about half as likely to control a territory. They also lagged behind control males in body weight throughout the weeks of competition and were more likely to die. Exposed males produced 44 percent fewer offspring

60 years of law school tuition increases in the context of American family income - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Harvard’s tuition had by that point already quadrupled in real terms over the previous 30 years.
Wow that is depressing. Even though the federal income tax is 4% lower for our modern hypothetical minimum wage earner, they're still earning thousands less than in 1970. (see correction for $1.60 minimum in 1968)

Dad refuses to give up son with Down syndrome after wife’s ultimatum - National | Globalnews.ca - In Armenia, it’s reportedly common for families to abandon children born with disabilities.
Samuel Forest has raised over $450k on GoFundMe to help raise his son with Down Syndrome after his wife asked for a divorce in the delivery room. : news

Serial: Maryland special appeals court grants rare hearing to Adnan Syed | US news | The Guardian - Appeal seeks new trial for man convicted of killing high-school girlfriend or allow witness testimony to be heard in lower court - The power of podcasts

In Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Room for a Baby - NYTimes.com (perfect)

The Gunfighter on Vimeo
The Gunfighter - a hilarious short film about a lone Gunslinger who walks into a saloon. However, the people in this saloon can hear the narrator (x-post from r/shortfilms) : videos

Man awakens after 12 years in coma, says he was aware of ‘everything', including his mother wishing he would die. : WTF - The story is from Invisibilia, an NPR/ Radio IQ show
IWasSurprisedToo comments on [WP] A father and son sit down for a serious talk. The father is going to tell the son he is the last of an ancient race, and must carry on the bloodline. the son is coming out to the father. neither knows what the other has to say. - If you liked this story, you might like to read about how Nazis fight time-travelling assassins, what might happen if the Antichrist found himself in the wrong Apocalypse, how hard it is for a super-spy to explain being late at his day-job.. If you like more serious things, maybe you'd like to meet Death in an elevator, free an innocent prisoner as a death-row cook, or to wake up to a duplicate of yourself every morning.
A light-hearted moment from a children's bible : WTF - Reading the Bible was like reading the recipe on the back of an oatmeal box.
What's the slimiest thing you've ever done to "get ahead" in life? : AskReddit
Oregon judge: taking photos up girl's skirt not illegal : news
Mom charged with attempting to sell teen daughter's virginity for $400 : news
What is the scariest fact that you wish you could unhear? : AskReddit

Psychosis
NoEnd House – Creepypasta Wiki
Abandoned by Disney – Creepypasta Wiki

Youtube Ditches Flash, and it Hardly Matters: Meet the New Boss, Same as the Old Boss | Electronic Frontier Foundation (Netflix is the new boss and owns both your browser and your computer)
Gamer gets swatted while streaming before thousands of viewers : news
Gamer gets swatted while streaming before thousands of viewers | Ars Technica - Incidents of so-called swatting pranks appear to be increasing - Joshua Peters, aka Koopatroopa787
Alleged swatting prankster “Famed God” arrested in Las Vegas | Ars Technica - Teen's computers point to swatting incidents nationwide, authorities said.

020615
BP's Deepwater Horizon spill has left tons of oil on the Gulf's floor - Business Insider

In Historic Ruling, UK Surveillance Secrecy Declared Unlawful - The Intercept - The United Kingdom’s top surveillance agency has acted unlawfully by keeping details about the scope of its Internet spying operations secret, a British court ruled in an unprecedented judgment issued on Friday. In its 15-year history, the tribunal has never before upheld a complaint against any intelligence agencies.
Hullabaloo - And they don't even have a Bill of Rights - Somebody should inform some of our resident intellectuals who believe that the Snowden revelations meant nothing and that nobody with any sense cares about it.

Russian Inflation Soars to Staggering 15 Percent | Business | The Moscow Times (nice little economy you have there)
U.S. and Europe Working to End Ukraine Fighting - NYTimes.com

Burning Victims to Death: Still a Common Practice - The Intercept - In addition, because the Hellfire missiles fired from drones often incinerate the victims’ bodies, and leave them in pieces and unidentifiable, traditional burial processes are rendered impossible. (Obama: incinerating people since 2009)
Boko Haram has up to 6,000 ‘hardcore’ fighters, claims US intelligence | World news | The Guardian - Dozens of Boko Haram fighters thought killed by Niger and Chadian forces after attacks on Bosso and Diffa, near Nigerian border
Boko Haram, and Massacres Ruled by Whim - NYTimes.com - “They were parking” — imprisoning — “young girls and small, small children, parking them in the big houses,” said Bawa Safiya Umar, 45, whose 17-year-old son was killed when her town fell under Boko Haram’s control. “They parked 450 girls in four houses.”
Boko Haram Attacks Town Inside Niger After Cameroon Assault - On Wednesday and Thursday, Boko Haram fighters attacked a town inside Cameroon, leaving nearly 100 people dead and some 500 others wounded, according to Cameroonian officials.
American Hostage Killed In Retaliation For Immolation Of A Jordanian Pilot - Esquire - There is one thing we know about the band of barbarians we now apparently call "The Islamic State" and that is that they all missed their true calling as executive producers of cable news networks
ISIS Declares Airstrike Killed A U.S. Hostage - NYTimes.com - Kayla Mueller’s name remained a closely guarded secret, whispered among reporters, government officials and hostage negotiators — all fearing any public mention might imperil her life.
Justice Department Charges 6 With Terrorism - The six are Bosnian natives living in Missouri, Illinois and New York. Five of them were arrested in the United States and charged with conspiring to provide material support and resources to terrorists. The sixth person is overseas, the department said in a statement.

Supreme Court of Canada strikes down ban on doctor-assisted suicide | National Post

Uruguay demands to know why Iranian had fake bomb near Israel embassy | World news | The Guardian - Uruguay expels Iranian diplomat and summons explanation - Convincing-looking dummy bomb detonated outside offices 8 January

Dems lining up to skip Netanyahu | TheHill
Consuls in U.S. warn: Israel's friends fear Netanyahu's speech to Congress will harm ties - Diplomacy and Defense - Israel News | Haaretz - Despite the extensive criticism, Netanyahu tells group that he has no intention of backing out of the speech. (always in your face)
Benjamin Netanyahu’s side strikes back - Edward-Isaac Dovere and Jake Sherman - politico - Now comes the backlash to the Bibi backlash
The Blame Game Over The Israeli Leader's Visit Has Commenced - Esquire - I'm sure that Boehner and his colleagues in the monkeyhouse leadership thought inviting Benjamin Netanyahu to come over here and submarine the president and the administration on the negotiations with Iran was a brilliant idea when they thought it up. Once Operation Suckup went into effect, however, almost nothing went right and now, of course, everybody's blaming everybody else.
Joe Biden skipping Benjamin Netanuahu’s speech - politico - Joe Biden won’t be there to welcome Benjamin Netanyahu to a joint meeting of Congress — or even shake his hand.
Israeli official suggests Boehner misled Netanyahu on Congress speech | Reuters (Orangeman assured Netanfuckyu it would be bibi-partisan)

A Game of Chicken - NYTimes.com - Germany to Greece: Nice banking system you got there. Be a shame if something were to happen to it. Greece to Germany: Oh, yeah? Well, we’d hate to see your nice, shiny European Union get all banged up. (Merkel's germanic sadism can't let up)

2,089 billionaires in the world: This is who they are, where they live and how they made their fortunes - BelfastTelegraph.co.uk

This Is a Great Jobs Report Across the Board - NYTimes.com - But the beauty in this report was in the more subtle indicators it offered. That uptick in the unemployment rate? It happened not because fewer people had jobs, but because the size of the labor force rose by a whopping 703,000 in January after annual population adjustments. That was enough to drive upward the proportion of Americans in the labor force and the proportion holding a job

Critics pounce after Obama talks Crusades, slavery at prayer breakfast - The Washington Post - “And lest we get on our high horse and think this is unique to some other place, remember that during the Crusades and the Inquisition, people committed terrible deeds in the name of Christ. In our home country, slavery and Jim Crow all too often was justified in the name of Christ.”
Obama, slavery, Jim Crow, and Christianity - The Washington Post

Wyoming turns down Medicaid expansion - Rachana Pradhan and Sarah Wheaton - politico - Wyoming has become yet another state where a Republican governor’s effort to expand Medicaid has been defeated by his own Legislature. ("staunch" Republifuckups)

Federal Government Set To Crack Down On Drug Courts That Fail Addicts - The federal government is cracking down on drug courts that refuse to let opioid addicts access medical treatments such as Suboxone, said Michael Botticelli, acting director of the White House’s Office of National Drug Control Policy, on Thursday. (instead of sending them to Christian 12-step programs)

Rep. Alcee Hastings Says Old Texas Dildo Law Shows The State Is 'Crazy' - "One of their cities has a law that says that women can only have six dildos, and the certain size of things," Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.) told CNN. "And if that ain't crazy I don't know what is."
Another GOP Lawmaker Wades Into Rape Debate - A Republican state lawmaker said Thursday that women who become pregnant from sexual assault should not be exempt from an anti-abortion measure, because childbirth resulting from rape is "beautiful."
S.C. Mayor: Objection To Changing Segregated War Memorial May Be 'Racism Hiding Behind History' - Along Main Street in a small South Carolina city, there is a war memorial honoring fallen World War I and II soldiers, dividing them into two categories: "white" and "colored."

Kansas Gov. Brownback announced $45M in cuts to Kansas public schools and higher education : news (the goal all along)
As Jindal’s G.O.P. Profile Grows, So Do Louisiana’s Budget Woes - NYTimes.com - On Monday, Moody’s Investors Service, the credit ratings agency, noted a number of warning signs about the state’s credit outlook, including the plunge in oil prices, “muted job growth” and “a structural deficit.” John Kennedy, the state treasurer, a Republican, pointed to the report as evidence of how “fiscally irresponsible” the state had been for the last seven years. (Republicans at work)

Federal subpoena seeks travel records of former Port Authority Chairman David Samson - News - NorthJersey.com (drip ... drip)
Investigations Might Sink Christie After All - According to an insider, Samson referred to the briefly-lived and lightly-used Newark-Columbia route as “the chairman’s flight.” (he had his own airline route)

Police Reform Is Impossible in America - In a country that has identified black people as its criminal element, public safety (and perceived security) is more tied to the suppression of blacks than it is to the suppression of crime. And as long as the public insists on its myth of black criminality—almost as an article of faith—police practices will be impossible to reform.
San Francisco Public Defender Files Complaint About Her 'Rough' Arrest (VIDEO) - Tillotson maintains that police were wrong to try to separate her from her client, an African-American man, as he was questioned and photographed by police.

Mississippi: Number One in Vaccinations by Ed Kilgore | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - Mississippi backed its mandate with policies that made vaccinations available to all, regardless of income, race, or location. The head of the state’s Department of Health, Alton Cobb, made vaccination accessibility a top priority, and he held his post for 20 years, from 1973 to 1993
Insane Anti-Vaxxer Children’s Book Will Make Every Kid Want Measles | Wonkette - And a note on the author: Stephanie Messenger is an Australian anti-vaxxer who claims that vaccines killed her one-year-old son 30 years ago (doctors reportedly attributed the boy’s death to a rare genetic disorder, Alexander Disease; it is not caused by vaccines). The book has been widely condemned for suggesting that disease is fun and wonderful;

New System Seen As 'Promising' Alternative To Mandatory Reporting Of Campus Sexual Assaults - Sexual assault victim advocates who are pushing against a mandatory reporting bill in Virginia are paying closer attention to a "promising" new third-party reporting system called Callisto, which would let victims choose when their report of sexual assault is submitted and who receives it.
Upskirt Photos Of Teen In Oregon Store Is Not Illegal - An Oregon judge has ruled that a 61-year-old man did nothing illegal when he crouched in the aisle of a Target store and snapped photos up a 13-year-old's skirt. It was lewd and appalling, but not outlawed, Washington County Judge Eric Butterfield said.

This Is The Ultimate Routine For A Perfect Work Day
Hellmann’s mayonnaise different texture: Has something changed in Unilever’s recipe? - Something is different about Unilever’s signature spread, but it’s not clear what.
My 10th-grade English teacher changed my life. I got to say “thank you” before he died. - Sidwell Friends

NBC News anchor Brian Williams' comments about dead bodies, Hurricane Katrina starting to gain attention, draw scrutiny | News | The New Orleans Advocate — New Orleans, Louisiana

Fewer Top Graduates Want to Join Teach for America - NYTimes.com - The group, which has sought to transform education in close alignment with the charter school movement, has advised schools that the size of its teacher corps this fall could be down by as much as a quarter and has closed two of its eight national summer training sites, in New York City and Los Angeles. (oh, it turned out to be an abusive, exploitative scam?)

Out On The Weekend - Esquire - Because this is no longer about politics, it seems to be about civility in someone's outside writing. Having been whacked on similar grounds by my previous employer, I am uniquely sensitive to these kind of cases ... I believe that because I learned it at Marquette University's College of Journalism. I'm not entirely sure that John McAdams would have lined up behind me when I got knuckled for calling Christine O'Donnell "a sideshow freak," but that doesn't matter. Right is right. I learned that there, too.
Marquette to Fire John McAdams for His Blog | The Academe Blog

Missouri Family Allegedly Kidnaps Boy To Teach Him Lesson About Strangers - Three Missouri women were arrested on Thursday and charged with kidnapping after they allegedly arranged for a man to kidnap their six-year-old relative because he was "too nice" and he needed a shock lesson in the dangers of the world family. (FTFY)

Canadian student has "out of body experiences" whenever she wants - After attending a lecture on "out of body experiences," a 24-year-old student from the University of Ottawa approached her professor saying, "I thought everybody could do that." She can apparently do this at will — making her the first person with this condition to be studied.
Shots of brain cells restore learning, memory in rats | Science News - Technique may someday ease radiation-related side effects for cancer patients, study suggests

If You Like _____ I Recommend ______ : Music

The internet is full of men who hate feminism. Here's what they're like in person. - Vox - All of it breeds a certain paranoia, one I encountered in all the men I spoke to
More Violent Video Game Research Says Real World Violence Link Is Crap | Techdirt - there is simply no link between violence and gaming, it's worth highlighting, particularly considering the antagonistic approach new, younger researchers are taking against the old guard and their reaching methodologies.
Anthem Hackers Tried To Breach System As Early As December - The hackers who stole millions of health insurance records from Anthem Inc. commandeered the credentials of five different employees while seeking to penetrate the company's computer network — and they may have been inside the system since December.

020515
Hijacker Claims Possible Involvement Of Saudi Government In 9/11 - Esquire - The kerfuffling centered around why the United States must constantly protect the delicate fee-fee of one of its most revolting allies, a retrograde society that combines all the worst aspects of monarchy and theocracy, and a governing elite that covertly funds extremism all over the Middle East so that reform doesn't come to Saudi Arabia, one way or the other ... And then, of course, there are those 28 pages that were redacted from the Senate report that, as recently as a month ago, Graham was demanding be released to the public. (the official version of history is fraying at the edges)
U.S. considers declassifying report on Saudi funding of al Qaeda | Reuters - White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters that following a congressional request last year the intelligence community was undertaking a review of the decision to classify the secret section. He did not say when it might be completed. (they've been "reviewing" it since 2002)

Say It! Say It! by Ed Kilgore | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - Peter Beinart addresses an issue that’s been rattling around in the back of my mind for a good while: the incessant conservative demands that Obama say the word “Islam” in describing the source of terrorist threats. It makes no real sense.
Is America at War With Radical Islam? - The Atlantic - Critics insist that Obama's reluctance to say so robs the struggle of moral clarity, but such attacks reflect a muddled understanding of the fight.

Female jihadis publish guide to life under Islamic State | World news | The Guardian - “The model preferred by infidels in the west failed the minute that women were ‘liberated’ from their cell in the house,” it says. (yeah, "cell")
Fox News Hosts Disagree Over Network's Decision To Post ISIS Video On Website - "I disagree with the Fox decision," Kurtz said. "Here's why: I fear that many of us in the media are helping ISIS spread its propaganda using its fear tactics."

Two Israeli diplomats recalled after tweets criticising Netanyahu | World news | The Guardian - Ambassador to Switzerland and official in Delhi face a hearing over posts targeting prime minister’s policies as he prepares for US visit - “Every time one thinks Netanyahu has taken the relationship with the White House to the lowest point ever, he manages to take it even lower,”
Israeli officials fail to quell Democratic revolt - Edward-Isaac Dovere - politico - Israeli Ambassador Ron Dermer and Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein rushed to meetings on Capitol Hill on Wednesday trying to calm a furor created by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s planned speech to Congress next month and quell a Democratic revolt that has dozens threatening a boycott. (Likud owns both parties; and we give THEM the money)

Argentine Former Spy Called To Testify About Dead Prosecutor: Report - For years, Stiusso had been one of the most powerful and feared men in the SI. The agency played an important role in the military government's "dirty war" against suspected Marxist rebels, union leaders and other leftists in the 1970s.

Merkel and Hollande’s surprise Moscow visit raises hopes of Ukraine deal | World news | The Guardian - Summit announcement spawns suspicions that Putin is seeking to split Europe and America as US officials hint at military aid to Kiev

Gary Glitter found guilty of child sex offences | UK news | The Guardian - Former Glam rock star Gary Glitter faces spending the remainder of his life in prison after being found guilty of a series of child sex offences on three young girls, aged between 8 and 13 ... a “voracious” appetite for child abuse images. He was convicted in 1999 of building up a library of 4,000 such images, some involving children as young as two.

D-squared Digest -- FOR bigger pies and shorter hours and AGAINST more or less everything else - The D-Squared Digest One Minute MBA - Avoiding Projects Pursued By Morons 101 (2004, more relevant than ever)

An Elite That Has Lost the Impulse to Police Itself - The Atlantic - In fact, he believes that the DEA's behavior was egregious enough that the public's failure to respond more forcefully calls the value of transparency itself into question.

Overturning Obamacare Would Change the Nature of the Supreme Court - NYTimes.com - Overturning Obamacare Would Change the Nature of the Supreme Court (Roberts has higher ambitions)

Anthem Hacked, Millions Of Records Likely Stolen - Health insurer Anthem Inc, which has nearly 40 million U.S. customers, said late on Wednesday that hackers had breached one of its IT systems and stolen personal information relating to current and former consumers and employees ... names, birthdays, social security numbers, street addresses, email addresses and employment information, including income data

Massachusetts, Maryland Most Democratic States - Massachusetts and Maryland rank as the most Democratic states, and Wyoming and Utah are the most Republican

The College Loan Bombshell Hidden in the Budget - Michael Grunwald - politico Magazine - The 40 million Americans with student loans are now saddled with more than $1.2 trillion in outstanding debt. And with higher education costs rising much faster than inflation, the already massive program has been growing at a spectacular clip (expensive education, predatory loans and no jobs)

The History Of The Wisconsin Idea And A Self-Governing Political Commonwealth - Esquire - It was one of those conservative scams whereby you preach freedom (removing control of the university from the state itself) in order to destroy that of which you do not approve (handing that control over to a Board of Regents you've packed with cronies). This clever con has not escaped notice in Wisconsin.

Measles cluster at Chicago daycare prompts health department investigation | US news | The Guardian - Five children younger than 12 months old – under the recommended age to receive the measles vaccine – diagnosed with infectious disease - Measles and its complications, including encephalitis and blindness, were linked to 145,700 deaths worldwide in 2013.
Watch how the measles outbreak spreads when kids get vaccinated – and when they don't | US news | The Guardian - vaccination is understood by many as an individual choice, when science makes clear that the choice – to vaccinate or not to vaccinate – can affect an entire community. (special snowflakes spreading deadly diseases)
Measles outbreak: doctors see tighter 'philosophical' vaccine exemption as fix | US news | The Guardian - California moves to change law allowing parents to opt out on philosophical grounds as medical experts warn of link between such laws and disease rates - At least 20 states, including California, currently permit such broad “personal belief” vaccination exemption for parents, many of whom are skeptical of mainstream science (philosophical objections to facts)
6 Dangerous Anti-Vaccination Arguments Analyzed, Explained, And Shut Down
'It's never the science itself': why the right questions climate and vaccines | US news | The Guardian - Movement’s doubts about climate change, vaccination, and other matters of science are tied to ideas of morality and belief in limited government ... The Pew Research Center, in a poll released last week, found two-thirds of Americans supported mandatory vaccines. But there was a deep strain of suspicion among those under 30 years old, with 41% thinking vaccines should be a parental choice.
Wingnuts Pretty Sure It Was Illegals What Gave Measles To All Our Unvaccinated Kids | Wonkette
Eschaton: Disrupting The Purity Of Our Body - This isn't surprising, as one of the big narratives underlying anti-immigration views is the idea that "illegals" somehow carry dirt and disease and disrupt the purity of our country. It isn't always this literal, but there is a basic belief that the purity of our essence is being tainted.
Republicans Planning To Use Vaccination Issue To Put Wedge In Democratic Party? - Esquire - In short, there is a very active, and loud, liberal claque opposed to compulsory vaccination. Two of the states with the loosest laws regarding exemptions from mandatory vaccinations are Oregon and Vermont, neither of which will be voting for Scott Walker in 2016. And both Hillary Clinton and the president wobbled on the issue a bit while campaigning six years ago.

Chris Christie Administration Is Target Of New Federal Criminal Probe (corrupt Big Chicken)

Utah Lawmaker Questions Whether Sex With An Unconscious Person Should Always Be Considered Rape | ThinkProgress - Representative Brian Greene voiced his concerns ...
In Facebook Posts, Congressman Aaron Schock's Press Secretary Compared African Americans To Zoo Animals | ThinkProgress
alicublog: Makes A Perfect Gag Gift - Can't help but notice that the name of this little shindig is "Bullets & Bourbon." And that the activities suggest that some people might bring their kids along. This is just good ideas all the way down, isn't it? (they really are demented children)

Suit: Man held 20 hours after asking to file TSA complaint | www.wpxi.com - A traveler detained for more than 20 hours after a search of energy bars and a sports watch in his carry-on bag at an airport has sued the Transportation Security Administration and accused a TSA supervisor of lying.
Who's come to fix your broadband? It may be a Fed in disguise. Without a search warrant • The Register - And that's OK with the courts – if it's declared later on (perfectly Constitutional)
Prosecutors shouldn't have immunity from their unethical – or unlawful – acts | Alexa Van Brunt | Comment is free | The Guardian - Law enforcement officers only receive qualified immunity against legal liability for their actions on the job. But getting lawyers to amend the law isn’t easy
2 Philadelphia officers charged with aggravated assault | 6abc.com - "Hopefully this case will show Philadelphians that our system here works," Williams said. (if the "system" is an unnoticed surveillance cam)

Controversy grows over Brian Williams' Iraq apology - Feb. 5, 2015 - He was actually aboard a different helicopter.
Can Brian Williams' NBC career survive the retraction of his Iraq tale? | Television & radio | The Guardian - He has built a career on trustworthiness, but the false story was perpetuated for 12 years. Now the question is whether the deception was deliberate (deception is their game)
Brian Williams' apology leaves out key details of Iraq incident - U.S. - Stripes - News anchor's apology met with cynicism from servicemembers who were there
Amy Pascal steps down from Sony Pictures in wake of damaging email hack | Film | The Guardian - One of Hollywood’s most powerful executives is leaving company after hacking scandal that resulted in leak of her emails, but is starting studio-backed venture (more fallout)

FGM affects three times more people in the US than previously thought | Society | The Guardian - Campaigners call for action to deal with ‘state of emergency’ as figures show more than 500,000 US women are living with or at risk from consequences

Mirror Touch : NPR - mirror-touch synesthesia?
Michael Banissy – Mirror-touch synaesthesia (supertasters, superrecognizers)
HIV and syphilis biomarkers: Smartphone, finger prick, 15 minute diagnosis -- ScienceDaily - Medical researchers have developed a low-cost smartphone accessory that can perform a point-of-care test that simultaneously detects three infectious disease markers -- HIV and syphilis -- from a finger prick of blood in just 15 minutes.
First stars appeared 100m years later than thought, research finds | Science | The Guardian - Data from European Space Agency’s Planck telescope indicates that star formation began about 550m years after the big bang - this finding may have major consequences on our attempts to understand the dark components of the universe
Marquette moves to fire controversial faculty blogger @insidehighered - The McAdams dispute may also renew debate over the concept of civility as a value in academe.
Skull May Solve Mystery of First Humans in Europe | NewsTook - It is believed to be the primary proof of humans living in the Levant region during that time, according to discoveries published in the journal “Nature.” The Levant region is the area in the Middle East that includes modern-day countries including Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Syria.
Scientists just cracked the viral equivalent of the Enigma code - The Washington Post
New algorithms allow autonomous systems to deal with uncertainty

The Exit Of Andrew Sullivan Marks The End Of The Dish - Esquire - And yes, the conversation will continue - just not in this form and not in this place. The Dish, after all, is a very new media invention. It's less an institution than an organism - a living breathing creature that is more than the sum of its parts.

Indiana Woman Convicted Of Feticide After Using Abortion Drugs - Esquire - If you are now saying, "Wait a second. They convicted this woman of killing her baby and also of then neglecting a baby that was already dead?", you are far from alone in your confusion.

Are there a lot of spiders in NZ, compared to the US. : newzealand

Cable TV viewing declined by more than 12 percent in January — Tech News and Analysis - Looks like Netflix and other streaming services are starting to have an impact on traditional TV viewing: Total live TV ratings were down 12.7 percent year over year across the networks of major media companies,
The World’s Email Encryption Software Relies on One Guy, Who is Going Broke - ProPublica - Werner Koch’s code powers the email encryption programs around the world. If only somebody would pay him for the work.
Can a Novel’s Plot Be Reduced to Data Points?

020415
US officials: 9/11 plotter's claims Saudi royals aided al-Qaida 'inconceivable' | US news | The Guardian - Zacarias Moussaoui, the so-called ‘20th hijacker’ in the 9/11 plot, has alleged that Saudi diplomat discussed plans to shoot down Air Force One (so release the report)
Zacarias Moussaoui says al-Qaida was backed by Saudi Arabia. But can he be believed? | World news | The Guardian - Extremist serving life in prison for his role in the 9/11 attacks makes new claims about dealings with the kingdom that while intriguing don’t pass the smell test
New allegations of Saudi involvement in 9/11 : worldnews

What the Warren Commission Didn’t Know - Philip Shenon - politico Magazine - A member of the panel that investigated JFK’s death now worries he was a victim of a “massive cover-up.”

Jordanians turn their minds to revenge after Isis killing of pilot | World news | The Guardian - Muadh al-Kasasbeh’s death galvanises Amman locals, as mood changes in favour of war against Isis
Fox News site embeds unedited Isis video showing brutal murder of Jordanian pilot | Media | The Guardian - “[Fox News] are literally – literally – working for al-Qaida and Isis’s media arm,” he added. “They might as well start sending them royalty checks.”
ISIS Reportedly Crucified, Buried Children Alive In Iraq: UN
Outrage In Mideast Over ISIS Killing Of Jordanian Pilot (counter-chopping)

Jets bomb Boko Haram in Nigeria's first major offensive
Jets bomb Boko Haram in Nigeria's first major offensive : worldnews

TIL: Islamic countries are one of the top Porn users. : todayilearned

Democrats might skip Benjamin Netanyahu speech - Edward-Isaac Dovere and Jake Sherman - Politico - Democrats have had to balance publicly supporting Israel with backing Obama (this level of ridiculousness)


Jeb Bush lashes out at 'liberal mindset' in presidential appeal to middle class | US news | The Guardian - Bush lays out ‘plan of action’ that distances himself from family legacy and points to education record in Florida as proof he can help to ‘close the opportunity gap’

NBC's Brian Williams Admits He Was Never On Helicopter Forced Down In Iraq - Mike O’Keeffe, the door gunner on the damaged helicopter, commented on the same post that Williams was "a liar."

Christie stays out of vaccine greeting card program embraced by 2016 rivals | US news | The Guardian - Hallmark cards for new mothers list recommended vaccinations, including for measles, and are sent out by several of the New Jersey governor’s counterparts - a county circuit court judge who found that Florida law defines “sexual intercourse” as between men and women. (and only men and women can get married, so ...)

Alabama's Top Judge: "State Doesn't Have to Allow Gay Marriage." Despite a federal court having ruled they must. : news - "Alabama state officials object to Federal interference" would be a headline from almost any decade in the last 150 years. (loonatic Roy Moore)

Neuroscience: The brain, interrupted : Nature News & Comment - Babies are increasingly surviving premature birth — but researchers are only beginning to understand the lasting consequences for their mental development.
Mother brought to tears hearing Johnson & Johnson's Risperdal tactics - Johnson & Johnson's Janssen Pharmaceutical subsidiary tried to manipulated data in versions of reports to hide evidence that the company's antipsychotic drug Risperdal had caused boys like her son to grow breasts.
The Polygraph Has Been Lying for 80 Years - The Daily Beast - Eighty years ago, Leonarde Keeler’s lie detector made its debut in court. Decades later, we’re still paying the price for his con job.
Do you stray or stay? Humans divide into promiscuous or faithful groups | University of Oxford - One group had a ring finger which was much longer than the index finger, suggesting that they had been exposed to more testosterone in the womb and may be more likely to seek many sexual partners. The other group had fingers which similar in length, making them more likely to seek long-term relationships. (check your boyfriend's fingers, girls)
U.S. Surgeon General: ‘Marijuana Can Be Helpful’ | Marijuana - The nation’s top doctor says that marijuana has medical benefits for some patients.

What is sex? HIV case forces Florida supreme court to define intercourse | US news | The Guardian - State law requires people living with HIV to tell sexual partners of their infection but a lower court found that only covers certain acts between men and women

Deadly Metro-North Crash Highlights Concerns About Railway Grade Crossings
911 Operator to Teen Whose Dad Is Fatally Hit: "Stop Whining" : news

Neuroscience: The brain, interrupted : Nature News & Comment - more than one in 10 babies — around 15 million in total — are born prematurely each year. The great majority are born between 32 and 37 weeks of gestation, but 1.6 million are born between 28 and 32 weeks and 780,000 are born 'extremely pre-term', before 28 weeks
Purvi Patel found guilty of feticide and child neglect over unborn baby's death | US news | The Guardian - Kathrine Jack, an attorney who has followed the case closely, said that the verdict “sends a message to pregnant women in Indiana that if they have still-birth, or miscarriage, or in some cases seek an abortion they could be criminally investigating and charged for fetucide.”

Movie Trivias: A Kiss Worthy of Cinema History - Supposedly, after receiving complaints about Bankhead putting her genitals on display for everyone below her, Hitchcock quipped that he wasn’t sure whether it was a concern for the costume department or hairdressing.
9 Albert Einstein Quotes That Are Totally Fake | Gizmodo Australia - 1. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

TIFU by thinking I looked cute : tifu >At least once a week, some person just......explodes in there. (women and bathrooms)
TIL that the Greeks had proposed heliocentrism 2000 years before Copernicus: Aristarchus arranged the planets in order of distance from the Sun, concluding that it could not be in orbit around the Earth because a body that large could not orbit a body so small. : todayilearned
New here. I just love how it's called "The Chart". : badhistory
Carl Sagan, the Library of Alexandria, and 'The Chart'. So *much* bad history in this one. : badhistory
Brother of the Chart, The HISTOMAP! : badhistory
the_last_carfighter comments on The War on Democracy: How corporations and spy agencies use "security" to defend profiteering and crush activism
A "World History" test in which almost every question is insane. Japan was first inhabited 2000 years ago, India isn't 85% Hindu, and prehistory (and grammar) doesn't exist. : badhistory
MedievalPOC, Ancient Egypt, and pre-Colombian trans-oceanic contact : badhistory
Magna Carta hits the Front Page, and I hit the bottle : badhistory - This is one of those rare cases in which the devil is not in the details but actually sitting on your face.
How common is our Moon's orbit which causes it to always show us the same face to Earth? : askscience

'Awe-inspiring' FCC internet protections could alter landscape for net neutrality | Technology | The Guardian - Tom Wheeler pens op-ed in Wired magazine to declare support for ‘strongest open internet protections ever’ in what could be titanic shift on hot-button issue

020315
Deadly Northeast Snow Storm Slows Travel, Sets Record In Boston - Boston sets record for snowiest 7-day period in city

Keystone pipeline: Obama given boost from EPA report revising climate impact | Environment | The Guardian - Falling oil prices could mean higher carbon pollution for the controversial pipeline, a finding that gives Obama new cause to reject the project

No one knows what happened to NSA staffers who snooped on their lovers | Ars Technica - Senator blasts DOJ in delayed answer to query about LOVEINT consequences. (under the spy rug)
Do webcams watch the watchmen? No sticker on ex-NSA chief's laptop camera | US news | The Guardian - ACLU’s principal technologist spotted former NSA director Keith Alexander on a train working on his laptop. Its webcam was conspicuously uncovered ... working away on his Apple Macbook ... Alexander was apparently fully clothed while using his laptop

Isis video shows Jordanian hostage being burned to death | World news | The Guardian - Muadh al-Kasasbeh, who was captured by Islamic State just before Christmas, was set alight while locked in a cage
Pilot’s murder may weaken Jordanian support for role in anti-Isis campaign | World news | The Guardian - It is hard to see Jordan withdrawing from the US-led coalition, but King Abdullah may now become more cautious despite public’s calls to avenge Muadh al-Kasasbeh’s death
Jordan To Execute Sajida Al-Rishawi After ISIS Video Released
New ISIS Video Appears To Show Death Of Jordanian Pilot Muath Al-Kaseasbeh
Jordanian Pilot's Death Adds To Worries About U.S. Fight Against ISIS - But in a troubling signal for the coalition, Jordan watchers have suggested in recent days that the pilot's case was exacerbating internal divisions within the country about the Arab nation's participation in the anti-ISIS campaign.
Why ISIS Murdered Kenji Goto - The New Yorker - In this sense, ISIS is less like a conventional authoritarian or totalitarian state than like a mass death cult.
Casus Belli Dance » Balloon Juice - By getting involved militarily in the campaign against ISIS, the US is playing a dangerous game. The opponent may be depraved death cult, but its leaders aren’t necessarily stupid or irrational; they may hope to bring out the stupid and irrational in us.
ISIS Burns Jordanian Pilot Alive : worldnews

French Soldiers Attacked By Man With Knife In Nice - A man with at least one large knife hidden in his bag attacked three French soldiers Tuesday as they patrolled in front of a Jewish community center in southern France. He and a possible accomplice were detained and a terror investigation was launched, authorities said.

Iranian president says nuclear deal with the west is getting closer | World news | The Guardian - Mehr news agency quotes Hassan Rouhani saying sides have ‘narrowed the gaps’ as second report emerges of uranium enrichment deal with US

Arrest Warrant For Argentine President Found At Dead Prosecutor's Home

UN Court: Serbia Did Not Commit Genocide In Croatia During Balkan Wars - neither Croatia nor Serbia had committed genocide against each other's populations during the wars that accompanied the violent breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s.

Over 100 drugged and raped in Japan fake clinical study | GulfNews.com - Tokyo: Japanese police have arrested a man for allegedly drugging and sexually assaulting more than 100 women who believed they were taking part in a medical study, detectives and local media said on Tuesday.

The conspiracy theorists are right. Research shows nations really do go to war over oil. - The Washington Post - We found that the decision to interfere was dominated by the interveners’ need for oil – over and above historical, geographical or ethnic ties.

Pentagon loses track of weaponry sent to Yemen in recent years | World news | The Guardian - Chaos in the functionally leaderless country has seen Houthi rebels reportedly take control of Yemeni military’s arms depots and bases (same mistake again and again)

U.S. judge quits commission to protest Justice Department forensic science policy - The Washington Post - criticizing the U.S. Department of Justice for muzzling its work to benefit prosecutors. (Obama)

Justice Deferred Is Justice Denied by Jed S. Rakoff | The New York Review of Books - Too Big to Jail: How Prosecutors Compromise with Corporations by Brandon L. Garrett

Supreme Court King Sebelius Obamacare Decision Could Kill Thousands | The New Republic - in Massachusetts, for every 830 adults gaining insurance coverage there was one fewer death per year,” the brief reads. “Using the national estimate that 8.2 million people can be expected to lose health insurance in the absence of subsidies on the federal marketplace, this ratio equates to over 9,800 additional Americans dying each year. (Supreme Court Repubican Death Machine)

Chris Christie Shows Fondness for Luxury Benefits When Others Pay the Bill - NYTimes.com - The private plane, on which Mr. Christie had his own bedroom, had been lent by Sheldon G. Adelson, the billionaire casino owner and supporter of Israel. At the time, he was opposing legislation then before the governor to legalize online gambling in New Jersey. (Gov Fuckup is totally corrupt and has screwed the NE so bad)

Measles Outbreak Proves Delicate Issue to G.O.P. Field - NYTimes.com - It is a dance Republican candidates often do when they hedge their answers about whether evolution should be taught in schools. It is what makes the fight over global warming such a liability for their party, and what led last year to a widely criticized response to the Ebola scare. (facts are very hard for Republicans)
13 Numbers That Explain The Resurgence Of Measles In The U.S.
Rand Paul's Vaccine Comments Are Latest Chapter In 136-Year-Old Debate
Chris Christie Ducks Media After Controversial Vaccination Comments
Vaccines Should Be As Nonnegotiable As Seat Belts, Experts Say
Your feelings about vaccines don't trump another child's medical reality | Jessica Valenti | Comment is free | The Guardian
GOP Rep On Vaccines: An 'Oppressive State' Shouldn't Tell Us What To Do - Rep. Sean Duffy (R-WI) became the latest Republican on Tuesday to speak out against vaccine mandates
Congressman Speculates 'Illegal Aliens' Could Be To Blame For Measles Outbreak - Immigration hardliner Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) said Tuesday that "illegal aliens" may be to blame for the recent measles outbreak that began in California and has continued to spread to other states. (the clowns are out)
Congressman: Measles Outbreak May Be Caused By 'Illegal Aliens' | ThinkProgress - Many cases come from children of parents who have been fed misinformation about vaccinations by people like Jenny McCarthy. In California, where the outbreak is spreading rapidly, wealthy Los Angeles-area residents are increasingly opting out of vaccinations at historically high rates.
Virginia lawmaker wants parents held accountable for refusing to vaccinate children | WTVR.com - “We are paying the price for letting people opt-out,” Del. John O’Bannon (R – Richmond) said. O’Bannon, a physician,
Blame Hollywood for Anti-Vaxxers - The Daily Beast - Famous folks who have made dumb or reckless comments about vaccines range from Bill Maher and Jim Carrey to Oprah Winfrey, who helped give crusader Jenny McCarthy a soapbox.
Pat Robertson Rails Against Fluoride In Water And Vaccine Mandates (back to Goldwater)
We Asked A Lot Of Likely 2016 Candidates Two Questions About Vaccinations - BuzzFeed News - The science is clear: The earth is round, the sky is blue, and #vaccineswork. Let's protect all our kids. #GrandmothersKnowBest - — HillaryClinton (@Hillary Clinton)

Schock's Office Is Decorated To Resemble Downton Abbey - Esquire - Could a congresscritter decorate his office as the Fortress Of Solitude, or the race and sports book at Caesar's, or the Winnipeg Jets locker room, as long as the c-critter in question obeyed the congressional ethics regulations regarding gifts and so on? (Somebody could do up an office as an 1870's New Orleans bordello, but that would be redundant.) The things you learn on this job, I'll tell you
Poll: Iowa Republicans Side with Obamas After Huckabee's Beyoncé Attack - Bloomberg Politics - Still, 40 percent of likely Iowa Republican caucus-goers said they agreed with Huckabee's characterization of Beyoncé's music as “mental poison,” according to the poll. Thirty-eight percent said Huckabee “went too far” with his criticism of the singer, while 22 percent said they were unsure.

Barry Diller's Pier 55 Park: How Money Is Changing City Parks | The New Republic - America's Billionaires Are Turning Public Parks Into Playgrounds for the Wealthy

A Future Segregated by Science? - NYTimes.com - (In Mississippi only one person — not female, black or Hispanic, by the way — took the test that year. Oh, Mississippi.) (AP in computers: 1)

Columbia Student: I Didn’t Rape Her - The Daily Beast - Sulkowicz’s act, which is also her senior project for her visual arts degree, has been praised as both protest and art. To Nungesser, however, it is something else altogether: harassment. “It’s explicitly designed to bully me into leaving the school—she has said so repeatedly,” he says, referring to Sulkowicz’s statement that she will carry the mattress until either Nungesser leaves Columbia or they both graduate. (her "art" project)

New York AG Targets Herbal Supplements At Major Retailers - . In many cases, unlisted contaminants were the only plant material found in the product samples. Overall, 21 percent of the test results from store brand herbal supplements contained DNA from the plants listed on the labels. The retailer with the poorest showing was Walmart, where 4 percent of the products tested showed DNA from the plants listed on the labels.
New York Attorney General Targets Supplements at Major Retailers - NYTimes.com - The tests showed that pills labeled medicinal herbs often contained little more than cheap fillers like powdered rice, asparagus and houseplants, and in some cases substances that could be dangerous to those with allergies ... Three out of six herbal products at Target — ginkgo biloba, St. John’s wort and valerian root, a sleep aid — tested negative for the herbs on their labels. But they did contain powdered rice, beans, peas and wild carrots.
Nearly 80% of supplements found to contain NONE of herbal supplement claimed on label. : news

How One NYPD Officer Went To Jail For Using A Chokehold -- And Why That's Unlikely To Happen In The Eric Garner Case - But Francis Livoti, the officer who killed Baez, ultimately spent seven years in a federal prison. In December, a Staten Island grand jury decided not to indict NYPD Officer Daniel Pantaleo in Garner’s death.
NYPD officer charged after video seems to show him stomping on man's head | US news | The Guardian - Officer could face a year in jail after indictment for the incident in Brooklyn, which occurred less than a week after Eric Garner died in a police chokehold

Maternal Depression Often Starts Before Giving Birth, Study Says - NYTimes.com - t in those with the severest symptoms — suicidal thoughts, panic, frequent crying — depression most often began during pregnancy, not after giving birth, as is often assumed.
For Americans, Second Hand Smoke Exposure Cut in Half, C.D.C. Reports - NYTimes.com - over the past decade, federal health authorities reported Tuesday, as states and municipalities banned smoking in bars, restaurants and offices, and fewer Americans smoked inside their homes.
Preventing Chronic Disease | Defining Powerhouse Fruits and Vegetables: A Nutrient Density Approach - CDC - Watercress - 100.00
The Well Flu Quiz - NYTimes.com

DC_MJ-Monitoring-Health-Concerns-Related-to-Marijuana-in-CO-2014.pdf

Ore. bakery will have to pay same-sex couple up to $150K - The owners of Sweet Cakes by Melissa bakery will have to pay the couple up to $150,000, BOLI spokesman Charlie Burr said. The exact amount will be determined at a hearing on March 10. (karma's a bitch, bitches)

Conrad Hilton, Brother Of Paris Hilton, Arrested For His In-Flight Antics - BuzzFeed News - “I will fucking own anyone on this flight; they are fucking peasants.”

In 24 Hours, Internet Helped Change Life Of Detroit Man Who Walks 21 Miles To Work - Evan Leedy, a student at Detroit's Wayne State University, set up a GoFundMe account to help raise money to buy Robertson a car. It began with a simple goal of $5,000 and skyrocketed to over $200,000 from thousands of people after Robertson's story was picked up my media outlets around the world.

What statistic blows your mind? : AskReddit - 20% OR MORE of pregnancies end in miscarriage. 20% is just "known pregnancies"
TIL that the Greeks had proposed heliocentrism 2000 years before Copernicus: Aristarchus arranged the planets in order of distance from the Sun, concluding that it could not be in orbit around the Earth because a body that large could not orbit a body so small. : todayilearned
What has sex taught you in life? : AskReddit
What is the largest group of people you have been naked in front of? How did you find yourself in that situation? : AskReddit
dedinthewater comments on Mummified monk is ‘not dead’ and in rare meditative state, says expert

The FCC Says Your City Can Build a Public Internet, Even If Your State Says No | Motherboard - ?The Federal Communications Commission is going to allow two cities to ignore state laws that ban them from building community-owned broadband networks, according to chairman Tom Wheeler.
Google Search scratches its brain 500 million times a day - CNET - On a daily basis, 15 percent of queries submitted have never been seen before by Google's search engine.

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The Patriots Are Super Bowl Champions at Last and Again Because the Last Miracle Went Their Way - Touching All the Bases - Boston.com
Yes, That All Actually Happened (Just Don't Ask Us How) - Eric Wilbur's Sports Blog - Boston.com
New England Patriots Beat Seattle Seahawks 28-24 In Super Bowl XLIX

The science is clear: Forest loss behind Brazil’s drought | CIFOR Forests News Blog (deforestation has fucked Brazil)

Former CIA & NSA Boss: September 11th Gave Me Permission To Reinterpret The 4th Amendment | Techdirt - Michael Hayden, the former CIA and NSA director, has revealed what most people already suspected -- to him, the Constitution is a document that he can rewrite based on his personal beliefs at any particular tim

ISIS getting 'desperate,' struggling to replenish fighters - World - CBC News - U.S.-led airstrikes, Kurdish Peshmerga fighters having significant effect
Judge Accused Of Human Rights Violations To Preside In Trial Of Washington Post Journalist - A hard-line judge in Tehran’s Revolutionary Court has been chosen to preside in the case of Jason Rezaian, a Washington Post reporter who has been jailed in Iran for six months on unknown charges and without access to a lawyer.

Westminster child abuse scandal: KGB and CIA kept secret dossiers on Britain's VIP paedophiles - Mirror Online - Both Russian and US intelligence knew about a group of powerful paedophiles operating in Britain and the KGB hoped to blackmail them in exchange for information

Ukraine: US considers military help for Kiev as separatists plan to mobilise army | World news | The Guardian - John Kerry, US secretary of state, will use visit to Ukrainian capital to consider options amid frustration in the west at failure to find diplomatic solution

Experts raise alarm as plague kills dozens in Madagascar - CNN.com - The plague is caused by Yersinia pestis, a bacteria found in rodents and spread by fleas.
'Suppressed' EU report could have banned harmful pesticides worth billions | Environment | The Guardian - Science paper recommended ways of identifying hormone-mimicking chemicals in pesticides linked to foetal abnormalities, genital mutations, infertility and other diseases including cancer

German neo-Nazi party cancels protest after boarding wrong train | World news | The Guardian - NPD members due to arrive in Freiburg to support woman banned from exam due to her party allegiance
Police alerted to planned march against ‘Jewification’ of north London borough | World news | The Guardian - ‘Fascist supporter of white rights’ Joshua Bonehill has called for a mass protest in Stamford Hill, home to around 20,000 Jews - the centre of the ultra-orthodox Haredi population.
Iceland to build first temple to Norse gods since Viking age | World news | The Guardian - A modern version of Norse paganism has been gaining popularity in recent years as followers see the stories as metaphors for life not worship of the gods (praise Thor!)

Tech pioneer Phil Zimmermann calls Cameron's anti-encryption plans 'absurd' | Technology | The Guardian - PGP inventor rubbishes Tory plans to ban encryption and says modern commerce depends on it: ‘End-to-end encryption is everywhere now’

War Is the New Normal | William J. Astore - 3. “Support Our Troops” as a substitute for thought

Obama Budget Sets Up Battle With Republicans - WASHINGTON, Feb 2 (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Monday proposed a $3.99 trillion budget for fiscal year 2016 that sets up a battle with Republicans over programs to boost the middle class that are funded by higher taxes on corporations and wealthy Americans.

Christie Says Parents Should Have 'Choice' on Vaccinations - First Draft. Political News, Now. - NYTimes.com - Mr. Christie said that “not every vaccine is created equal, and not every disease type is as great a public health threat as others.”
Measles vaccine row escalates as Christie and Obama differ on advice | US news | The Guardian - Christie, who is considered a leading presidential candidate, told press during his visit to the UK that parents should have “some measure of choice” in the decision to vaccinate their children. (Gov Ebola) Within hours, Christie’s office had sent a clarification. (that Christie is an idiot)
Chris Christie waffles on vaccination issue during tour of British laboratory | Society | The Guardian - Calls for ‘balance’ between public health concerns and parental discretion before spokesman walks back comments in shades of last year’s Ebola quarantine fiasco
Chris Christie: Parents Should Have 'Some Measure Of Choice' On Vaccinating Their Children (for the comments)
Rand Paul: Children Got 'Profound Mental Disorders' After Receiving Vaccines
Fevered Dreams And Flaming Rants » Balloon Juice - When people say “You know, Obama should come out in support of breathing just to see Republicans turn blue and pass out” as a joke, and then hours after Obama says “Vaccinate your kids to keep them from getting awful shit like measles” (one of the most infectious diseases out there people) we have Chris Christie saying “Well, the government should respect parents not wanting to vaccinate your kids
Arizona measles exposure worries parents of at-risk kids - CNN.com - CNN asked Wolfson if he could live with himself if his unvaccinated child got another child gravely ill. "I could live with myself easily," he said. "It's an unfortunate thing that people die, but people die. I'm not going to put my child at risk to save another child." "My child is pure"
Anti-Vaccine Doctor: I Don't Care If My Kids Make Others Gravely Sick : videos - "It's not my responsibility to protect other people's child."
The Good Thing About the Disney Measles Outbreak | Claire McCarthy, M.D. - But as scary as this outbreak is, it may ultimately be a good thing -- because it may get more parents to immunize their children.
"Get your kids vaccinated," Obama tells parents doubting science: “There is every reason to get vaccinated — there aren’t reasons to not.” : news


State let oil companies taint drinkable water in Central Valley - SFGate - Oil companies in drought-ravaged California have, for years, pumped wastewater from their operations into aquifers that had been clean enough for people to drink.

Blind to the Future: Chris Christie and the Republican Default on Public Investment - Chris Christie and the Republican default on public investment. (dumbfuck fucks his state and the whole northeast)

US consumer spending weakest since 2009 despite lower gas prices | Business | The Guardian - Consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of economic activity, fell 0.3% but cheaper gas is expected to provide a tailwind in first quarter

Paul Ryan’s Most Shameless Lie Ever -- NYMag - Ryan’s complaint is that Obama’s economic policies have exacerbated the gap between the rich and the poor. “The Obamanomics that we’re practicing now have exacerbated inequality,” he claims. “They’ve exacerbated stagnation. They’re made things worse. The wealthy are doing really well. They’re practicing trickle down economics now.” (they really believe their bullshit because they are bullshit)
Bloomberg Politics/Des Moines Register Iowa Poll: Jeb Bush Has a Big Problem - Bloomberg Politics - His family ties aren't being held against him, but the Republican base is worried about his stands on immigration and Common Core.

Here Are The States That Spend The Most On Public School Students (and the usual dumb states)

Alabama Lawmaker: Same-Sex Couples Don't Deserve Same Financial Benefits As Other Families | ThinkProgress - “Let’s face it. If gay marriage is approved, I assume that those types of unions, those people would be entitled to Social Security benefits, insurance. Where does it end?” (with turtles getting SSDI, obviously, you dumb shit)


What harsh truth has life taught you? : AskReddit - It's okay to miss people you no longer want in your life
Motorcycled across Southeast Asia : motorcycles
My cousin's son is obsessed with Minecraft. While he was away at a sleepover, she changed his room up a little bit! : gaming
What was the most hurtful thing that anyone has ever said to you? : AskReddit - 'You're really easy to forget'. It hurt because it's soooo true
What's something you do, that you think everyone else does but dont have the courage to ask anyone about it? : AskReddit
If you could choose the next step in human evolution, what would it be and why? : AskReddit - Literally every single one of your fears is negated by the TELEPORTATION.

Our Inner Viruses: Forty Million Years In the Making – Phenomena
PLOS Genetics: Clonal Expansion of Early to Mid-Life Mitochondrial DNA Point Mutations Drives Mitochondrial Dysfunction during Human Ageing
National Sleep Foundation Updates Recommendations For How Much Sleep You Really Need - Older Adults (65+): 7-8 hours (new age category)

Acid flashback: one man's LSD adventures – in pictures | Art and design | The Guardian - Dawn love-ins at Stonehenge, dune diving in Carmel ... Roger Steffens met his wife when he was tripping, then spent years taking acid-soaked photos of her and his friends

Time Warner Cable's 97 Percent Profit Margin on High-Speed Internet Service Exposed | Bruce Kushnick
The FCC is moving to preempt state broadband limits - The Washington Post - Tennessee, for example, has passed rules forbidding cities from building high-capacity networks beyond a certain geographic area. Publicly run broadband in North Carolina may not offer service at prices below what a private carrier offers. (yeah, they could do that with their bought state lawmakers)
The FCC is moving to preempt state broadband limits: Federal regulators are moving ahead with a proposal to help two cities fighting with their state governments over the ability to build public alternatives to large Internet providers. : news
Net neutrality battle pitches activists and FCC against Big Cable and GOP | Technology | The Guardian - President Obama supports new rules that if passed will regulate the internet like water and electricity – executives and Republican politicians do not (Rethugs hate your internetz except for big cable)
Porn video malware infects 110,000 Facebook users | IT PRO

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Iraqi old man kills 7 ISIS militants in revenge for slain son : worldnews
Iraqi libraries ransacked | TribLIVE - When the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria invaded the Central Library of Mosul last month, it was on a mission to destroy a familiar enemy: other people's ideas.
Boko Haram Attacks Biggest City In Northeast Nigeria - Nigerian troops Sunday repelled Islamic extremists who attacked from four fronts on Maiduguri, the biggest city in northeast Nigeria, with several civilians killed by aerial bombs and grenades and mortar shells on the ground.

Laos suffers lethal legacy of Vietnam war | World news | The Guardian (see Iraq for the next 100 yrs)

Greece’s problems are the result of the eurozone having no fiscal policy | Business | The Guardian - Germany and Greece are on a collision course because there is no large-scale method of recycling taxes in the eurozone (same deal: bankers fuck everything up, so bail out the bankers by bankrupting the country)

PressTV-‘Russian bomber carried nuke near UK’ - Sources within the Ministry of Defence have revealed that one of the two long-range bombers was carrying at least one air-dropped “seek and find” nuclear missile, designed to seek and destroy a Vanguard submarine, Sunday Express, reported Sunday.
Huge library containing historic texts and 14 million books goes up in flames Moscow - Europe - World - The Independent - The Academic Institute of Scientific Information on Social Sciences (INION) has 14.2m texts in ancient and modern languages and includes the biggest collection of Slavic language books in Russia.
Fire rages through library in Moscow - comparing it to a cultural Chernobyl, referring to the 1986 nuclear power plant accident in Ukraine. "It's a major loss for science. This is the largest collection of its kind in the world, probably equivalent to the (United States) Library of Congress,"

A Walk Down Memory Lane on Republican Obstruction by Nancy LeTourneau | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - Norquist immediately replied: “We will make it so that a Democrat cannot govern as a Democrat.”

Jeb Bush the Fundamentalist by Nancy LeTourneau | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - Sitting recently on his brick back patio here, Michael Schiavo called Jeb Bush a vindictive, untrustworthy coward.

Student found dead last June quit working as confidential informant shortly before disappearing | Grand Forks Herald - In November 2013, SEMCA searched Sadek’s dorm room and found a plastic grinder with marijuana residue, which Sadek admitted to using ... Asked whether confidential informants are put in harm’s way, Thorsteinson acknowledged they are working in “a dangerous subculture.”
Toddler Wounds Both Parents With 1 Shot From Handgun - Authorities say a 3-year-old boy got ahold of a handgun from his mother's purse and fired just one shot that wounded both his parents.

History Is Made: 'Beat The Press' Host Emily Rooney Rides The T | WGBH News - Friday on Boston Public Radio, Beat the Press host Emily Rooney revealed on BPR that for the first time in her life, she rode on the MBTA. In the past, no less than former Transportation Secretary Rich Davey had tried, and failed, to convince Rooney to ride (they make the policy)
Dame Helen Mirren Rides The Subway Like The Rest Of Us Plebeians - Mirren rode the downtown R train with the rest of the commuters.

Where did the missing oil go? New study says some is sitting on the Gulf floor -- ScienceDaily - Some 6 million to 10 million gallons of oil from the BP oil spill are buried in the sediment on the Gulf floor, about 62 miles southeast of the Mississippi Delta, researchers have discovered.
Research uncovers connection between Craigslist personals, HIV trends -- ScienceDaily - Craigslist's entry into a market results in a 15.9 percent increase in reported HIV cases, according to research.
EPA Approves Continued Use of Pesticide That Causes Brain Damage | Ready Nutrition - chlorpyrifos, a chemical developed by Dow AgroSciences in 1965 that’s widely sprayed on a variety of crops.
Adherence to a Mediterranean Diet and Prediction of Incident Stroke - High adherence to MeD seems to be associated with a lower risk of incident IS independent of potential confounders
Added fructose is a principal driver of type 2 diabetes, experts argue -- ScienceDaily - Recent studies have shown that added sugars, particularly those containing fructose, are a principal driver of diabetes and pre-diabetes, even more so than other carbohydrates.
Interaction between the protective effects of cannabidiol and palmi... - PubMed - NCBI - Interaction between the protective effects of cannabidiol and palmitoylethanolamide in experimental model of multiple sclerosis in C57BL/6 mice. (your war on wonder drugs)
Dying To Be Free - The Huffington Post - There’s A Treatment For Heroin Addiction That Actually Works. Why Aren’t We Using It? Yet of the dozens of publicly funded treatment facilities throughout Kentucky, only a couple offer Suboxone, with most others driven instead by a philosophy of abstinence that condemns medical assistance as not true recovery
Confusion about terms: In what sense are fractals' dimensions non-integer numbers? : askscience
List of fractals by Hausdorff dimension

Rush After 'A Rape On Campus': A UVA Alum Goes Back to Rugby Road

Texas boy suspended after bringing 'ring of power' to school - NY Daily News - Two of the disciplinary actions this year were in-school suspensions for referring to a classmate as black and bringing his favorite book to school: "The Big Book of Knowledge." Principal Roxanne Greer (remember her name, internets) (can't have that in Texas, or any imagination)

What is your personal NSFW tip? : AskReddit - Pantyhose makes very soft, pleasant handcuffs.
That's illegal : funny
"Casablanca" Alternate Ending Could Be the Sketch of the Year On SNL - The Interrobang

Research says iPads and smartphones may damage toddlers' brains | Technology | The Guardian - Using a smartphone or iPad to pacify a toddler may impede their ability to learn self control, new research has shown.
Google Earth Pro drops $399 subscription, now available for free. : technology
Virtual Reality, The Empathy Machine | TechCrunch - Project Syria
Flash is dead, and YouTube dealt the killing blow | Technology | The Guardian - Will anyone miss Flash when it’s gone? Maybe, if these internet hits spark some nostalgia

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Monday Snowstorm Likely Brings More Large Snow Totals - Weather Wisdom - Boston.com
Climate change is lifting Iceland – and it could mean more volcanic eruptions | Environment | The Guardian - Land moving upward faster than researchers expected at 1.4in every year, allowing ‘hot potato’ rocks to rise

Night Will Fall - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Night Will Fall is an HBO documentary about one aspect of the Holocaust. Specifically it’s a documentary about the making of another documentary: German Concentration Camps: Factual Survey ... The word “camp,” even in the form of “extermination camp” or “death camp” can, I think, obscure what the essence of the Holocaust really was. The Nazis went to extraordinary lengths to hide the existence of these places, and indeed unlike the concentration and labor camps, the murder factories were never liberated or filmed

Canada Unveils New Anti-Terrorism Bill That Moves for 'Unprecedented Expansion of Powers': "This radical expansion of national security powers is not sound security policy and presents a real danger to Canadians," says civil liberties advocate : worldnews

Isis video purports to show beheading of Japanese hostage Kenji Goto | World news | The Guardian - Apparent death of kidnapped journalist follows days of back-door negotiations between Islamic State and government Shinzo Abe
Isis admits defeat in Kobani after air strikes force it to retreat | World news | The Guardian - ‘We had to withdraw and the rats advanced’, say Islamic State fighters in video statement after US-led attacks drive jihadis from Syrian town
11 Striking Photos From Kobani After Kurdish Forces Claim Victory Over ISIS
Kobani residents return after Isis retreat: ‘It was beautiful. Now it’s like a destroyed city’ – video | World news | The Guardian
US drone strike in Yemen kills four suspected al-Qaida operatives | World news | The Guardian - The latest crisis in Yemen has plunged the impoverished country deeper into turmoil and pushed it closer to fracturing along sectarian and tribal lines
Taliban Justice Gains Favor as Official Afghan Courts Fail - NYTimes.com (all that money for corruption)
Retroactively Authorizing War - NYTimes.com - The White House is consulting with lawmakers from both parties on the parameters that would retroactively establish ground rules for the bombing campaign against Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria that began in September.

CIA and Mossad killed senior Hezbollah figure in car bombing - The Washington Post - Mughniyah was targeted in a country where the United States was not at war. Moreover, he was killed in a car bombing, a technique that some legal scholars see as a violation of international laws that proscribe “killing by perfidy” — using treacherous means to kill or wound an enemy.

Greece on collision course with Brussels after Merkel backs hardline debt stance | World news | The Guardian - Germany will resist Greek efforts to do deals with individual creditor nations, even as Syriza finance minister heads to meet French counterpart (Merkel's bailout of the banks)
Germany's Merkel Says She Doesn't See Another Greek Debt Cut
Tens Of Thousands Rally In Spain For Anti-Austerity Party Podemos

AirAsia captain left seat before jet lost control: sources | Reuters

Two cases of child pornography possession in Vatican in 2014 | Reuters - The Vatican, which is still struggling with the effects of a worldwide paedophilia scandal in the Catholic Church, discovered two cases of possession of child pornography within its own walls last year, its chief prosecutor said on Saturday.

TSA to Require Secured Identification to Board Flights in 2016 - KTVN Channel 2 - Reno Tahoe News Weather, Video -

Pipeline not state-inspected before 3M-gallon saltwater leak - LancasterOnline: Health - Alison Ritter, a spokeswoman for the North Dakota Industrial Commission, which oversees the state's oil and gas industry, said Wednesday that it's common for officials not to inspect such small gathering pipelines before they become operational.

Fact-Checking Republicans on Social Security Disability by Nancy LeTourneau | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - We’re going to be hearing a lot about the Social Security Disability program over the next few months. That’s because it is the latest “hostage” the Republicans have decided to use as leverage to get President Obama and Democrats to give them what they want. (Death Party)
Heading Towards a GOP Train Wreck by Nancy LeTourneau | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - “What you’re going to see is the Republican party with all their clothes off,” said Rep. Jim McDermott (D., Wash.) “They are standing out there naked as a jaybird and they are going to have to stand up and explain, ’Well, now we got rid of it - now what do we do?’”

Jeb 'Put Me Through Hell’ - POLITICO Magazine - Michael Schiavo knows as well as anyone what Jeb Bush can do with executive power. He thinks you ought to know too.
Former Classmates: Jeb Bush Smoked Hash, Bullied Classmates at Phillips Andover - Nation - Boston.com

O'Reilly: Romney Lost In 2012 Partly Because He Did Not Exploit Benghazi | Video | Media Matters for America - Bill O'Reilly: Romney Failed To "Confront The President With The Benghazi Debacle" (delusion)

David Brooks Auditions For Graham Greene » Balloon Juice - He was impregnably armoured by his good intentions and his ignorance…

Seattle officer at centre of outrage over arrest of man with 'golf club cane' | US news | The Guardian - As the investigation continues into the actions of officer Cynthia Whitlach, activists say police department’s apology is ‘too little, too late’ and want her fired (he threatened her with his blackness and she feared for her life)
NYPD officials clarify duties of new counterterrorism unit - Newsday
Mo. Man Arrested After Telling Black Waitress He Wanted to Show Her Where He ‘Hung’ Her Grandpa - The Root
Mo. Man Arrested After Telling Black Waitress He Wanted to Show Her Where He ‘Hung’ Her Grandpa: Tommy Dean Gaa was charged with a hate crime after using several racial slurs and grabbing the waitress’s arm : news
Girls injured, suspended after fight with school officer | Maryland News - WBAL Home
Drunk Hockey Fans Assaulted 57 Native American Children, Will Face Child Abuse Charges - An unbelievable racist assault took place on Saturday during a hockey game in Rapid City, South Dakota. The attack was directed against children.
John B. Geer had hands up when shot by police, four officers say in documents - The Washington Post
Officer draws weapon responding to a snowball fight in New Rochelle, NY : videos
Seattle Policewoman Goes Batshit Crazy and Starts Spraying Innocent Bystanders at MLK rally. She is being sued for $500,000 by high school principal in photo. : pics
Giant Baby Cop Can’t Use His Big Boy Words, Uses Handcuffs Instead | Wonkette - His name is Brian Stansbury, and he’s an SFPD Sergeant.

Texas will honour American sniper by celebrating 'Chris Kyle Day' | Film | The Guardian (home of psychopathic liars)

Sadly, No! » Do not Fuck With his Children - Was hanging out at another place and ran into another discussion about the trial currently underway about the children of Martin Luther King fighting about whether or not the have a right to sell some shit. I have paid little or no attention to the case as 1: I feel like it is none of my fucking business, and 2: Because it is none of my fucking business.

Vaccine Critics Turn Defensive Over Measles - NYTimes.com - Kelly McMenimen of Marin County, Calif., said she decided not to vaccinate her son Tobias, saying she did not want “so many toxins” entering his body (their special snowflakes)
As Measle Cases Spread in U.S., So Does Anxiety - NYTimes.com - while Arizona officials warned that at least 1,000 people may have been exposed to the virus through seven others in that state.
Read Roald Dahl's Powerful Pro-Vaccination Letter (From 1988)
107 children stricken by mysterious polio-like illness - Doctors have more questions than answers about a mysterious polio-like illness that has paralyzed at least 107 children in 34 states since August.

Hair Loss Cure Isn't Here Yet, But Experimental Stem Cell Approach Looks Promising - The scientists, working at the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute in La Jolla, Calif., showed that stem cells derived from human skin can be used to grow hair--at least in mice.
Regular Walking Can Help Ease Depression - Scientific American - Women who averaged 150 minutes of moderate exercise (golf, tennis, aerobics classes, swimming, or line-dancing) or 200 minutes of walking every week had more energy, socialized more, felt better emotionally, and weren't as limited by their depression when researchers followed up after three years.

Has the mystery of Shakespeare’s Sonnets finally been solved? | Culture | The Guardian - Now fresh research suggests that the mysterious Mr WH, to whom Shakespeare’s sonnets were dedicated, was not, as had been thought, a contemporary English nobleman, but a recently deceased associate of the Sonnets’ publisher, Thomas Thorpe

The 3 deadliest drugs in America are all totally legal - Vox - As the US debates drug policy reforms and marijuana legalization, there's one aspect of the war on drugs that remains perplexingly contradictory: some of the most dangerous drugs in the US are legal.
Fox Host Tells Caller Her Bipolar Disorder Is "Made Up" And "The Latest Fad" For Money | Blog | Media Matters for America

[nsfw] Strap it on your face and scare your children! : WTF
LordByronic comments on Tumblr-bashing -why? (Or why not?)
Which U.S state would you absolutely refuse to live in, and why? : AskReddit
What do you look for in a gf/bf? : AskReddit - Usually a pulse, then we go from there.
TellahTruth comments on BroTeamPill hits Angry Joe's Controversies video with a copyright claim (explains gamergate and anti-GG)
narrenburg comments on Stop the Scandimania: Nordic nations aren’t the utopias they’re made out to be - In Table 2.1, the weighted proportion of US women who experienced rape (according to the CDC definition) up to the completion of the survey was 18.3% (in line with the "1 in 5" statistic). 12.3% of women experienced completed forced penetration.
S-senpai

After being down for 51 days, the original Pirate Bay is back online. : technology
Pirate Bay Won't Make A Full Comeback, Staff Revolt | TorrentFreak
Stay away from the new TPB. Your IPs will get logged! : technology - Okay all of us are really happy that TPB is finally up again, but there are red flags everywhere.
Google: 129 Million Different Books Have Been Published | PCWorld - The company plans to complete the scanning of existing books within a decade. The resulting virtual collection will consist of four billion pages and two trillion words

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Most Republicans Say They Back Climate Action, Poll Finds - NYTimes.com - the poll also found that two-thirds of Americans said they were more likely to vote for political candidates who campaign on fighting climate change. They were less likely to vote for candidates who questioned or denied the science that determined that humans caused global warming.

Canada's new anti-terror legislation prompts civil liberties fears | World news | The Guardian - Prime minister Stephen Harper announces Anti-Terrorism Act that would increase spy powers, crack down on websites
Prosecutors used the same legal strategy against Barrett Brown as they did me. Are you next? | Ladar Levison | Comment is free | The Guardian - FBI agents and the state’s lawyers misrepresented events to create a false narrative, and the judges in both our cases bought it
CIA interrogated suspects on Diego Garcia, says Colin Powell aide | World news | The Guardian - Lawrence Wilkerson is the latest of a number of US officials to say British territory was used in CIA rendition programme
NYPD Unveils Anti-Terrorism Unit To Deal With Protesters

Pilots Disabled Critical Computers Moments Before AirAsia Crash - Bloomberg Business - After initial attempts to address the alerts, the flight crew cut power to the entire system, which comprises two separate computers that back up each other, the people said.

Netanyahu Is Talking to Leading Democrats to Little Effect So Far - NYTimes.com - “This was not the right thing to do,” Mr. Reid said. (Netanfuckyu)

Assad Interviewer Finds Syrian Dictator Too 'Delusional' To End War, Work With U.S. - Jonathan Tepperman, who interviewed Assad in Damascus on Jan. 20, wrote a Washington Post op-ed on Friday that warned against any cooperation with the Syrian regime. The op-ed challenged what appears to be a growing consensus in Washington circles -- including, as revealed by The Huffington Post, at the highest levels of the Obama administration -- that Assad should be left in power because he could be useful in the U.S.-led fight against Islamic State militants.
Escaped Syrian Child Soldier: 'Don't Join ISIS'

Argentina warns Marco Rubio against 'meddling' in case of prosecutor's death | World news | The Guardian - Cabinet chief accuses US senator of ‘imperialist behaviour’ after Florida Republican says he doubts Argentina’s ability to conduct a credible investigation (o rly)
The Unsolved Terror Attack At The Center Of Argentina's Political Crisis
Venezuela legalizes use of lethal weapons by the national armed forces against protesters : worldnews

Ukraine: civilians die in artillery fire in Donetsk as rebels call off peace talks | World news | The Guardian - Fighting between pro-Russia separatists and government troops intensifies, with hostilities focused around Debaltseve - Moscow denies it is directly involved in fighting over territory that the Kremlin refers to as “New Russia”.

Greece’s finance minister vows to shun officials from ‘troika’ | Business | The Guardian - Yanis Varoufakis says new government will refuse to engage with auditors from the EU, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund
Planet Politics: Hoard Your Toilet Paper -- The Left Is Coming! - So far, however, toilet paper crises haves tended to materialize only when Austerians are around. They are said to have imposed just such a shortage on Catalonian schoolchildren, for example.

Inconsistencies Emerge In GOP's Latest Case Against Obamacare - Subsidized health insurance consumers in the home states of Ryan, Barrasso and Collins would see some of the highest premium hikes in the country if the King lawsuit prevails, according to federal data analyzed by The Huffington Post.

Mitt Romney Won’t Run in 2016 Presidential Election - NYTimes.com ("I'm still all you got, bitches")
Potential Presidential Candidate Jim Webb Has A Lot To Say About The Democratic Party Appealing More To White People - Esquire - There is no question that the Democratic party has done a god-awful job of explaining to white working people who's screwing them and why. Most of the people who have tried that have found themselves marginalized, and not always by Republicans, either (see below +Webb wants to appear to souther white men, good luck with that)

Obama to Dems: 'Get informed, not by reading the Huffington Post' | TheHill (Obama in a nutshell; watch Fox instead)
A.B. Stoddard: GOP is back at the edge | TheHill - When it comes to the Republican Party’s immigration divide, the more things stay the same, the more they stay the same.

Eschaton - That Was Fast - Kinda wow. - Outgoing Pennsylvania state treasurer Rob McCord will plead guilty to charges stemming from alleged campaign finance violations, his attorneys said in a statement Friday.

Oklahoma Is Currently On An Oil And Gas Binge - Esquire - Oklahoma had a staggering 567 earthquakes registering over 3.0 in 2014. Scientists, to whom we must never listen because they threaten our freedom, have attributed this to the wastewater wells that the extraction industries dig deep into the earth. This has caused some consternation among the locals. Oklahoma had a staggering 567 earthquakes registering over 3.0 in 2014.

Echidne Of The Snakes: Friday Facts And Some Fun: On Marissa Alexander, Colleen McCullough, Scott Walker And Others - But Walker did have a small Freudian slip in this part of his spiel. Walker said: "I think that looking ahead as Republicans, we need to make the case that we are going to promote policies that promote and support and defend hard work in this company - er, in this country once again."

New NYPD unit armed with 'machine guns' criticised by reform advocates | US news | The Guardian - New 350-officer unit tasked with guarding city against threats but critics accuse Bill Bratton of comparing Black Lives Matter protests with terrorist attacks abroad
The NYPD will launch a unit of 350 cops to handle both counterterrorism and protests — riding vehicles equipped with machine guns and riot gear — under a re-engineering plan to be rolled out over the coming months. : news - As it stands, if NYC were it's own country the nypd would be the 20the most funded army in the world. Number 21 is DPRK, AKA North Korea. This is what democracy looks like.

First Ever Law To Protect Gay 'Cure' Introduced in Oklahoma - Last week, Oklahoma state Rep. Sally Kern (R), who once claimed that homosexuality was "more dangerous" than terrorism, introduced the Freedom to Obtain Conversion Therapy Act, a bill that would ensure adults and children can undergo conversion therapy "without interference by the state."

Sales Call From Las Vegas Leads To Rescue Of Beaten Oregon Woman - On Thursday, Walter Warren Ruck, 33, of Lebanon, was charged in Circuit Court with fourth-degree assault and strangulation, both misdemeanors. (of course)
Officer Who Arrested 69-Year-Old Man Using Golf Club As Cane Reassigned To Desk Duty - Wingate appeared surprised, seemed to have trouble hearing the officer, and then insisted he had done no such thing. He said he had used the golf club as a cane for 20 years. Whitlatch said she was tired of "black peoples paranoia" and wrote of "chronic black racism that far exceeds any white racism in this country." (using a cane while black)
Teen Asked To Cover Up Partially Exposed Shoulders At High School Dance - Finlayson, who attends Lone Peak High School in Highland, Utah (Sharia Law in UT)

Bill Would Allow Texas Teachers To Kill Students | ThinkProgress - If Texas state Rep. Dan Flynn (R) gets his way, teachers will have the right to use deadly force against students in Texas classrooms, in the near future.
Newtown's tragic debate: was Sandy Hook gunman's mother also a 'victim'? | US news | The Guardian - The role of Nancy Lanza, who taught her son to shoot, in the massacre she died in troubles those producing a report dedicated to the victims: were there 26, or 27? - a report by the state’s Office of the Child Advocate concluded she contributed to his isolation as she kept him at home, where he was surrounded by an arsenal of firearms and spent long hours playing violent video games. - Lanza shot 20 children and 6 adults, but unlike every other mass shooting, every one of his bullets hit a target. He never missed.

America's Best Cities for Singles - No. 20 Boston

Seminal CD38 is a pivotal regulator for fetomaternal tolerance - rescued by a direct injection of recombinant sCD38 into the uterus. Thus, seminal sCD38 acts as a pivotal immune suppressor for establishing maternal immune tolerance against the fetus. sCD38 could potentially be used to prevent failed pregnancies.
4 Things You Should Know About Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder - One that involves intrusive thoughts about harming others.
Surprising study: Liberals might outlive conservatives - Self-proclaimed conservatives and moderates were 6% more likely to die during follow-up than self-proclaimed liberals with otherwise similar traits, including age, sex and socioeconomic status. When sorted by party, Republicans and Democrats had similar death rates; independents had lower death rates.

If You Don't Have Anything Nice to Say, SAY IT IN ALL CAPS | This American Life - Recently, This American Life has been getting a lot of hate mail about the young women on our staff — listeners complain about their "vocal fry." Ira investigates the phenomenon. (8 1/2 minutes)
Why we tell strangers our secrets | Life and style | The Guardian - ‘Sometimes we seek out non-intimates precisely because they’re non-intimate. For one thing, you’re not going to discuss your extramarital affair with your spouse’
How John Singer Sargent made a scene | Art and design | The Guardian

Hullabaloo - From blogofascism to PC Police. It's always something.
Chait on the netroots — Crooked Timber - May 4, 2007

Businesses stay clear of using Super Bowl name - Grocery chain Whole Foods has avoided using "Super Bowl" on in-store signs and social media. The Facebook page for the central Phoenix location offers recipe ideas for "your Big Game party." (NFL: sue them all)

Michael Moore - The Day Clint Eastwood Said He Would kill me
“American Sniper’s” biggest lie: Clint Eastwood has a delusional Fox News problem - Salon.com - The insanities and fantasies at the heart of "American Sniper" explain everything about the state of the 2015 GOP - Let’s start with the delusion. The film draws a direct link between the events of 9/11 and the war in Iraq, forgetting completely that the war in Iraq had nothing whatsoever to do with 9/11. (Eastwood is a metaphor for Republicans)
WGBH American Experience . Henry Ford . Ford's Anti-Semitism | PBS

Vaginal steams help women. That you haven't heard of something doesn't make it suspect | Katinka Locascio | Comment is free | The Guardian
Sorry, Gwyneth Paltrow, but steaming your vagina is a bad idea | Life and style | The Guardian - Paltrow’s lifestyle site goop.com recommends an “infrared and mugwort steam” treatment. Dr Ann Robinson suggests you think before straddling the kettle (don't listen to celebrity medical advice about your vagina)

Is it time we agreed on a gender-neutral singular pronoun? | Media | The Guardian - Some argue we need one for socially progressive reasons. Others simply want one to perfect their writing. But so far more than a hundred attempts have failed
The gender-neutral pronoun: after 150 years still an epic fail, The Web of Language

Amazingly creative short film. "Time Trap" a great way to waste 7 minutes (and 45 seconds) : videos (see ProGamerGov's list)
If your life depended on getting someone to laugh, which youtube video would you show them? : AskReddit
NSFW it just keeps going! : WTF
Led Zeppelin - Stairway to Heaven Live (HD) - YouTube
Civ V AI Only World Domination - Part 1 : civ
Urban Dictionary: Inception - Extractor’s are those who perform the inception
Urban Dictionary: meta
Urban Dictionary: recursion

The Simple Email Trick that Identity Thieves Hate | Adam Levin - The Secret Email Address

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Claims that climate models overestimate warming are "unfounded", study shows | Carbon Brief - A new paper takes an in-depth look at the suggestion that climate models routinely overestimate the speed at which Earth's surface is warming - and finds the argument lacking.

Will the Obama administration finally bring the CIA's torturers to justice? | Trevor Timm | Comment is free | The Guardian (no)

DEA plan to track drivers went much wider, new documents reveal | US news | The Guardian - ‘This could be a really amazing level of surveillance we’ve not seen before’ (drugz was always just the path to totalitarianism)

Administration Official Criticizes Israeli Ambassador Over Netanyahu Visit - NYTimes.com - The outrage the episode has incited within President Obama’s inner circle became clear in unusually sharp criticism by a senior administration official who said that the Israeli ambassador, Ron Dermer, who helped orchestrate the invitation, had repeatedly placed Mr. Netanyahu’s political fortunes above the relationship between Israel and the United States.

Sydney Siege Hostage Was Killed By Police Bullet - A hostage who died during a siege in a downtown Sydney cafe was killed when she was struck by fragments of a bullet fired from a police officer's gun as authorities stormed in to end the 16-hour standoff, a lawyer told an inquest on Thursday.

Argentina Prosecutor Alberto Nisman Didn't Trust Security Detail, Aide Says - The man who gave prosecutor Alberto Nisman the pistol that killed him said Wednesday that Nisman feared for the safety of his daughters and didn't trust the policemen protecting him.

Nigerian youths stone presidential convoy amid anger over failure to stop Boko Haram | World news | The Guardian - Protesters in eastern town of Jalingo demand action against Boko Haram extremists (Badluck Jonathan and his useless army)
Boko Haram rampage in northeast Nigeria kills more than 40 - World - CBC News - Maiduguri, city of two million, appears to be surrounded by militants - Boko Haram fighters warned they are preparing "a big grave" for them in Maiduguri and that "there will be no mercy."
Boko Haram appears to have surrounded city of 2 million, threatening a 'big grave' : worldnews (+best overview ever in comment)
ISIS Bombed Historic Walls of Nineveh in Iraq - Jihadists resumed bombings against historic sites in Nineveh and destroyed remains of the ancient wall of Mosul, specialized sources reported today; while politicians accused the United States of hampering the counterterrorist fight.

Inconvenient Truths in Afghanistan - NYTimes.com - “Its inexplicable classification now and its disappearance from public view does a disservice to the interest of informed national discussion,” Mr. Sopko wrote in the October report. ("lives on the line" prevent us from giving you the information to evaluate our failure)
Taliban Arrests ISIS Leader for 'Anti-Islamic Activities' - Breitbart

UK summons Russian ambassador after military aircraft disrupt aviation - Israel News, Ynetnews - Britain summoned the Russian ambassador on Thursday and asked him to explain why two Russian Bear long-range bombers had flown over the English channel the previous day, a move that forced British authorities to divert civil aircraft.

Armed man demands airtime on Dutch broadcaster : worldnews

Federal judge blasts DOJ lawyers in case of ATF whistle-blower | Fox News - A federal judge angrily accused Justice Department attorneys in newly unsealed documents of "fraud upon the court" by intimidating a witness in a case involving a former Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agent who alleges the agency trashed his reputation. Allegra said the government attorneys may have intimidated a witness and charged that seven of them may have kept illegal behavior secret from the court.

Obama Wants To End The Era Of Sequestration - President Barack Obama will propose a budget on Monday that calls for an estimated 6.8 percent increase in discretionary spending -- an approach diametrically different from the last time Democrats sustained major midterm election losses. (the sequester he so eagerly agreed to in his quest for a grand bargain)

NBC's Mohyeldin Suggests Real American Sniper a 'Racist' Who Went on 'Killing Sprees'
Jesse Ventura Slams Chris Kyle, Says He Won't See 'American Sniper' - "A hero must be honorable, must have honor. And you can't have honor if you're a liar. There is no honor in lying," Ventura told The Associated Press

Congressman Tim Ryan Changes Position On Abortion After Talking To Women - Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), a longtime opponent of abortion, announced in an op-ed on Tuesday that he now supports abortion rights after having talked to women in difficult circumstances throughout his home state.

Reducing Our Obscene Level of Child Poverty - NYTimes.com (no child left unstarved in the Republican war on the non-rich)

How Obama's tax changes would shift income from rich to poor (problem solved)

Brent Budowsky: The great GOP overreach | TheHill - According to the summary of polling from Real Clear Politics, approval of the Republican Congress is barely 15 percent. Disapproval remains near 72 percent. Control of Congress means ownership of the vast unpopularity of Congress.

Obama’s nominee for attorney general claims alcohol is safer than marijuana - The Washington Post - That weed is not safer than alcohol might have been the most controversial thing she said during her confirmation hearing Wednesday. As Danny Vinik notes, polls show that large majorities of Americans believe that alcohol is more dangerous.

How the GOP embraced being the Party of Death (their basic identity)
"Won't Someone Please Think of the Children?" "No." - Lawyers, Guns & Money :
Were the Poor Responsible For the Financial Meltdown? (SPOILER: No.) - Lawyers, Guns & Money

Here's Some Stupid For Lunch - Esquire - I think we have found the actual target audience for the rhetorical episode that happened to Princess Dumbass of the Northwoods this weekend. OK, it's only one person, but it's a start.
Nicolle Wallace: Palin’s Iowa Speech Revealed the ‘Gaps in Her Knowledge’ | Mediaite

Andrew Cuomo As Another Useless Influential NY Democrat - Esquire - There is something about New York that, virtually alone among states north of the Mason-Dixon, manages to produce the most useless influential Democratic politicians you can find.

PA State Treasurer Rob McCord under federal investigation | 6abc.com (PA government pretty corrupt)

American Family Association repudiates chief spokesman’s racist and anti-LGBT statements before hosting Israel trip for RNC members | Southern Poverty Law Center
Nevada Rancher Cliven Bundy's Son Jailed After Allegedly Resisting Arrest (check him out)

Once Ubiquitous, Parking Garages Fall to the Wrecking Ball - ABC News - Many of those efforts failed. Or as Murphy put it, "What were designers drinking or smoking in the 1960s?"
Paul Rudolph Building in Goshen, N.Y., Faces Threat - NYTimes.com - Paul Rudolph Building in Goshen, N.Y., Faces Threat

Parents United prevails in getting BCG school-closings list | Philadelphia Public School Notebook - The District held that some “members of the philanthropic community” and undefined “stakeholders” get to have a different level of access than the rest of the public. This reveals a lot about decisionmaking and voice in a state-takeover district. (charter schools scam an example of insider trading)

Teen Girl Shot Dead At Texas Police Station Had Knife, Cops Say (video)
St. Louis City Hall Meeting Interrupted By Brawl
St Louis police official unapologetic after pushing woman at public meeting | US news | The Guardian - Union official Jeff Roorda, widely reproached for wearing a bracelet in support of Darren Wilson, appeared to manhandle Cachet Currie during chaotic meeting
Joseph Weekley, Cop Who Fatally Shot Sleeping 7-Year-Old, Will No Longer Face Charges
LAPD chief's claim that Waze 'helps criminals' leaves many in blank disbelief | Technology | The Guardian - While it is true that police found a screenshot from Waze on Ismaaiyl Brinsley’s Instagram account, they do not believe he tracked the officers with the app – not least because he tossed his cell phone away two miles from where he shot and killed them. (cops want to ban cellphones)
Lawyers rail against 'unlawful' jailing of public defender for shielding client | US news | The Guardian - Jami Tillotson was arrested for intervening between plainclothes police and her client in an incident decried by fellow public defenders as ‘outrageous’ - “This is not Guantánamo Bay. People have an absolute right to have their attorneys present during questioning,”
Human body parts found inside suitcase on San Francisco sidewalk | US news | The Guardian - San Francisco police found a dismembered body when they opened a suitcase abandoned on a downtown street and then made another gruesome discovery when they uncovered more body parts nearby. (see Winnie Judd and plasticliving link on WP and Mama Cat review on Amazon)

How Weight Training Can Help You Keep the Weight Off - NYTimes.com
Why Your Workout Should Be High-Intensity - NYTimes.com

The New Republic addresses its 'perceived legacy of racism' - politico.com - In Heer's telling, the magazine's regression into racism comes with the arrival of Martin Peretz (without mentioning "Andrew Sullvan")
The New Republic's Legacy on Race: From Du Bois to the Bell Curve | The New Republic

Chait Speech
All politics is identity politics - Vox

The biggest myth about vaccine deniers: That they’re all a bunch of hippie liberals - The Washington Post - “respondents formed more negative assessments of the risk and benefits of childhood vaccines as they became more conservative and identified more strongly with the Republican Party.” However, as in the prior study, this was a very slight effect.
Arizona measles outbreak reaches 'critical point' - Health officials believe the Phoenix-area woman recently diagnosed with measles may have exposed as many as 195 children to the disease at the Phoenix Children's East Valley Center on Jan. 20 and 21.
After reading a woman in Arizona may have infected 195 kids at a daycare center with Measles. : AdviceAnimals
Raggedy Ann - Marcella died at age 13, shortly after being vaccinated at school for smallpox without her parents' consent. Authorities blamed a heart defect, but her parents blamed the vaccination. Gruelle became an opponent of vaccination, and the Raggedy Ann doll was used as a symbol by the anti-vaccination movement.[2]

Hipster churches in Silicon Valley: evangelicalism's unlikely new home | US news | The Guardian - Netflix fasts, coffee vouchers, plaid-wearing worshippers is what it takes for ‘church transplants’ to make their home in the affluent Bay Area ("planting a church" and what about the anti-abortion/anti-gay bit?)
Unlocking the Wolfpack – a strange tale of isolated brothers locked in a tiny NYC apartment | Film | The Guardian

In hindsight, Bill Cosby’s old books on love, sex and family are incredibly creepy - The Washington Post - As a boy, Cosby liked to hurt little girls, because they deserved it. ('ol creepy has always been creepy)

Hershey's lawsuit sparks British revolt for 'superior' Cadbury chocolate | Business | The Guardian - The lawsuit seeks to bar imported Cadbury goods in US and has caused British expats to rebel against the American chocolatier: ‘Eating Hershey’s is like a dare’

Why Those Statistics About The Patriots' Fumbles Are Mostly Junk (statwars)

Cause Of Deadly Maryland Mansion Fire Discovered - Anne Arundel County Fire Chief Allan Graves said in a statement Wednesday that the tree had been cut more than 60 days before the blaze and was in a "great room" of the house with 19-foot ceilings.

Does the human eye have a quantifiable image resolution? : askscience
Sexual Health and Well-being Among Older Men and Women in England: ... - PubMed - NCBI - The prevalence of reporting any sexual activity in the last year declined with age, with women less likely than men at all ages to report being sexually active.
Never Tell a Woman You Love Her! (Unless...) | Psychology Today - Why some people don’t like hearing “I love you.”
TIL that men are more likely to say 'i love you' first, than women are. : todayilearned
Semen 'Is Good For Your Health And Helps Fight Depression' - Whether it enters the body orally or via unprotected sex, the “mood altering chemicals” contained within seminal fluid reduce depression, increase affection and help you sleep.
Green tea ingredient may target protein to kill oral cancer cells : Top Headlines : MD News Daily - epigallocatechin-3-gallate -- EGCG -- a compound found in green tea, killed oral cancer cells without harming normal cells
Intracranial stimulation proved efficient in the recovery of learning and memory in rats -- ScienceDaily

FCC raises threshold for high-speed internet as service providers cry foul | Business | The Guardian - New benchmark means 55 million Americans currently lack broadband access after chairman derides internet companies’ advertisement claims
FCC broadband vote: 25Mbps standard opposed for stupidest reason | BGR - Some people, for example, believe probably incorrectly that we are on a path to interplanetary teleportation. Should we include the estimated bandwidth for that as well?”
FCC chairman mocks industry claims that customers don’t need faster Internet | Ars Technica - Wheeler: If slow speeds are enough, why do you heavily promote faster service?
Snapchat As You Knew It Is Gone - We'll see if the audience sticks around.
Amazon To Launch An Email Service - WorkMail
If Your iPhone Is Tight On Storage Space, Try The New iOS Update - According to one report, Apple makes billions by selling iPhones with small storage space.
Comcast Apologizes After Changing Customer's Name To 'Asshole Brown'
Jerome Jarre: The Making of a Vine Celebrity - NYTimes.com

What's the biggest red flag you've ever ignored? : AskReddit
What was the best time OP delivered? : AskReddit
blog.reddit -- what's new on reddit: reddit’s first transparency report

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New England Blizzard Buries Residents In Snow Amid Forecast Second-Guessing
Bill Nye Blames Blizzard on Climate Change, Because of Course | National Review Online (comment section dark and stupid heart of climate denialism)


European counter-terror plan involves blanket collection of passengers’ data | UK news | The Guardian - European commission plans to request 42 items of personal information about air passengers

This is how a police state protects “secrets”: Jeffrey Sterling, the CIA and up to 80 years on circumstantial evidence - Salon.com - Because, along the way to the conviction of Sterling this week on all nine counts – including seven counts under the Espionage Act — something far more banal yet every bit as dear to D.C.’s economy of secrets may have been criminalized: unclassified tips. (Barry's legacy of openness)
Torture If You Must, But Do Not Under Any Circumstances Call the New York Times - The Intercept - Monday’s guilty verdict in the trial of former CIA officer Jeffrey Sterling on espionage charges — for talking to a newspaper reporter — is the latest milepost on the dark and dismal path Barack Obama has traveled since his inaugural promises to usher in a “new era of openness.”

Israel and Hezbollah on brink of serious clash after soldier deaths | World news | The Guardian - Binyamin Netanyahu says attackers will pay the ‘full price’ as fears grow of escalating confrontation on the border with Lebanon
xs
Litvinenko postmortem ‘most dangerous ever in western world’ | World news | The Guardian - Inquiry hears from lead pathologist who examined Russian’s body after his death from polonium-210 poisoning in 2006

New York Times editor: we failed to do our job after 9/11 | Media | The Guardian - Dean Baquet admits that US mainstream media did not ask ‘hard questions’ about Bush administration’s prosecution of so-called war on terror (they weren't that "hard," Dean)

House Democrat Introduces ISIS War Authorization Bill - a step aimed at forcing Congress to take responsibility for a war it's been funding for nearly six months with almost no debate on its duration, costs or potential toll.

Friends on the Hill Interactive | USC News21 - AIPAC: America's Pro-Israel Lobby (some call it treason)

US nuclear scientist secretly taped by FBI claiming he could bomb New York | US news | The Guardian - Los Alamos scientist Pedro Leonardo Mascheroni jailed for five years after also offering to build nuclear weapons for Venezuela

Attorney general nominee Loretta Lynch opposes marijuana legalisation | US news | The Guardian - ‘I do not support legalisation of marijuana’ she tells Senate committee (more failed policy from Barry)

Maybe Affordable Housing Didn't Cause The Financial Crisis? - Esquire - It has become an article of faith among a number of people that the near-collapse of the world economy in 2008-2009 was not the result of unregulated thievery by the claque of soulless ghouls who operate the various institutions of the financial service industry but, rather, the fault of big government's insistence that red-lining was a bad thing, and maybe a little racist, too. (The conjuring words in this particular spell are "Community Reinvestment Act," "quotas," and, occasionally, "Barney Frank.")

Palin-Bashing Season on the Right by Ed Kilgore | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly (they finally saw her nuttiness)

Obama drops proposal to cut tax benefits of 529 college savings plans - The Washington Post - President Obama on Tuesday abandoned a proposal to end a major tax benefit of popular college savings accounts used by millions of American families after the White House faced mounting criticism from lawmakers and parents.

Mysterious Dismissal Of Popular UNC President Tim Ross - Esquire - We have been somewhat remiss in this shebeen in our coverage of Art Pope, the A-ball Kochite who is the prime reason that the newly insane state of North Carolina has become newly insane. Governor Pat McCrory is the most conspicuous of Pope's various marionettes
Huckabee Couldn't Deal With Women At Fox News Who Swore In The Office | ThinkProgress

Reagan's "Secret Cancer Cure" And Other Scams From Erick Erickson's Email List | Blog | Media Matters for America - RedState Subscribers Also Warned Of "FEMA Camps" And The Impending Death Of 281 Million Americans (grifter regularly on CNN)
Idaho Christian woman warns lawmakers they will legalize necrophilia by protecting LGBT rights - “Ladies and gentlemen, do you really want to legalize under this bill pedophilia, sadism, bestiality, necrophilia, exhibitionism, polygamy and many others?” Burchfield asked. “Those are all within this undefined term.” (she forgot turtle sex)

Peanut allergy researchers say they may have found key to a cure | Science | The Guardian - Researchers from the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute gave about 30 allergic children a daily dose of peanut protein together with a probiotic in an increasing amount over an 18-month period.
Stop the flu Wash your gross winter gloves, people - Health - TODAY.com - During the cold walk to the subway, your nose starts running and you casually dab it with your gloved hand. On the train, you hold onto a railing, touched by thousands. On the walk to the office, you rub your nose again.

Two former Vanderbilt football players convicted of rape thanks to pictures one of them took during attack - The Washington Post
Stanford swimmer to be charged with felony rape over alleged campus attack | US news | The Guardian - Case brought by Santa Clara County prosecutor is uncommon example of criminal prosecution of a campus rape allegation

Young Utah Family Poisoned Themselves; Feared ‘Pending Apocalypse’: Police | KTLA (Fundie Heroin addicts)

Chris Hedges is blackballed by Penn after likening ISIS to Israel – Mondoweiss

Punch-Drunk Jonathan Chait Takes On the Entire Internet
'PC culture' isn't about your freedom of speech. It's about our freedom to be offended | Jessica Valenti | Comment is free | The Guardian - When a writer like New York Magazine’s Jonathan Chait feels it necessary to whine in print about his and other (mostly well-remunerated) writers’ inability to write offensive tripe without consequence, I think: Boo-fucking-hoo. Get a real problem.
Scholars To Fox News: Writing About White People Doesn't Make You Racist - Those books view “white people as a root cause of social injustices in this country," Clark told Hasselbeck.
The Left’s Intensifying War On Liberalism « The Dish - To say I stood up and cheered as I finished reading Jon Chait’s new essay on the resurgence of a toxic political correctness on the left would be an understatement.
P.C. Policeman Jonathan Chait Can Dish It Out, But He Can't Take It
ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES: The End of Blogs? - Andrew Sullivan is killing his blog. Dylan Byers comments on that and tells us this ... But if blogs are dying (and as a general category they probably are), what is taking their place online?
The Petulant Entitlement Syndrome of Journalists - The Intercept - the depressingly abundant genre of journalists writing grievances about how they’re victimized by online hordes, of which Chait’s article is a very representative sample:

A Note To My Readers « The Dish (Andrew Sullivan quits blogging to write a book)

Three cops, a 17-year-old and 'a cry for help': why did Kristiana Coignard die? | US news | The Guardian - Coignard is the third person – and the third young person – shot dead by Longview police in less than a year.

The myth of the American love affair with cars - The Washington Post - A historian skeptical of the future of cars reconsiders the story of how we became so attached to them.

The results are in - here are the most amazing, $100% true events of 2014! : thatHappened
references - thatHappened (Vault of Knowledge)

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No mercy: Blizzard slams Boston area with 2 feet of snow - Yahoo News - Its winds howling at more than 70 mph, the Blizzard of 2015 slammed Boston and surrounding parts of New England on Tuesday with none of the mercy it unexpectedly showed New York City, piling up more than 2 feet of snow.
Some Areas Have Reached 30 Inches Of Snow - Weather Wisdom - Boston.com
NWSChat - NOAA's National Weather Service (snow levels)
Juno: Over a Foot of Snow in 6 States - weather.com - Thundersnow was reported in coastal portions of Rhode Island and Massachusetts late Monday night and early Tuesday.
Blizzard Of 2015 Snow Totals: Who Has The Most? « CBS Boston
East Coast Snow Storm Shuts Down New York City, Snarls Travel Plans
Northeast Snow Storm Slows Life Down, But Falls Short Of Forecast In Some Areas - Central Park saw 7.8 inches, while six inches had fallen in Newark, New Jersey. Only three to five inches fell in southern New Jersey and Pennsylvania, The Associated Press reported.
What a Warming World Means for Snowstorms - Scientific American - A warmer world could mean fewer storms but bigger snowfalls

Putin ordered Alexander Litvinenko murder, inquiry into death told | World news | The Guardian - Opening day hears Russian president called a ‘common criminal’ as lawyers lay out case surrounding former spy’s death
Alexander Litvinenko 'killed on third attempt' - He died three weeks after becoming violently ill in November 2006 following a meeting with two former Russian agents at the Millennium Hotel in central London.

Hullabaloo - How Torture Wins In the US Marketplace of Ideas by Spocko - Over two thirds of Christians support the torture of terrorist suspects.-- Washtington Post Poll, January 3, 2015 (and chopping their heads off)
Hullabaloo - Statistic 'O the Day - During the fiscal year that ended on September 30, 2014, U.S. Special Operations forces (SOF) deployed to 133 countries -- roughly 70% of the nations on the planet - xercises. And this year could be a record-breaker ... just 66 days into fiscal 2015 -- America’s most elite troops had already set foot in 105 nations, approximately 80% of 2014’s total.

Deploy the White House Laser! - Garrett M. Graff - POLITICO Magazine - Monday’s drone crash at the White House could well quicken a plan already being developed: the Drone Dome.

Louie Gohmert, the Bibi Whisperer - Bloomberg Politics - Before it was an international incident, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's upcoming speech to Congress was just a twinkle in Louie Gohmert's eye (crazy Louie Gumball)
Louie Gohmert: God Will Punish America For Obama's Tense Relationship With Netanyahu | Right Wing Watch - Rep. Louie Gohmert warned President Obama last week that his “disdain” for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may cause God to punish America,
The Netanyahu Disaster - The Atlantic - The Israeli prime minister has two main tasks, and he's failing at both.
Criticism of Netanyahu’s planned US speech mounts in Israel | The Star Telegram The Star Telegram - accused by his political rivals of damaging ties with Washington to promote his election campaign.

Mass surveillance is fundamental threat to human rights, says European report | World news | The Guardian - Europe’s top rights body says scale of NSA spying is ‘stunning’ and suggests UK powers may be at odds with rights convention - . It describes the scale of spying by the US National Security Agency, revealed by Edward Snowden, as “stunning”.
FOIA Documents Reveal Massive DEA Program to Record American’s Whereabouts With License Plate Readers | American Civil Liberties Union
Regin Malware Unmasked as NSA Tool after SPIEGEL Publishes Source Code - SPIEGEL ONLINE
New Snowden Findings Suggest Cyber-Espionage Program Used By Several Countries - A program used by U.S. and British spies to record computer keystrokes was part of sophisticated hacking operations in more than a dozen countries, security experts said on Tuesday, after former NSA contractor Edward Snowden reportedly leaked the source code for the program.

Hullabaloo - Don't worry, nobody will notice the hypocrisy - I understand that the US believes Realpolitik requires that we pretend not to notice that Saudi Arabia is the state from which ISIS learns its behavior.
U.S. Official Confirms Death Of American Citizen In Libyan Hotel Attack - In the latest sign of Libya's descent into chaos, gunmen stormed a luxury hotel used by diplomats and businessmen in the capital on Tuesday, killing 10 people, including an American, a French citizen and three people from Asia.
Doubts grow over Isis 'FGM edict' in Iraq - Earlier, Ms Badcock warned that the alleged Isis edict could affect nearly four million women and girls in and around the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. (Muslims)
Danish Islamists refuse to deradicalize, insist Danes change their values — RT News

41 Boko Haram members beheaded in Biu - Vanguard News - No fewer than 41 suspected members of Boko Haram sect were killed and beheaded by men of the Civilian Joint Task Force, a.k.a Civilian JTF, at Biu, Borno State following a failed attempt by the insurgents to overrun the Sabon Gari village, in Damboa Local Government Area of the state, Thursday.

Recording of Erdogan telling son to ‘zero’ money authentic, prosecutor says - Public prosecutor Celal Kara, who oversaw the massive corruption investigation that went public on Dec. 17, 2013 and who was suspended two weeks after the operation into the graft suspects, has said that the audio recording of then-Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan asking his son Bilal to “zero” $1 billion in cash that was in their house is authentic. (deep state is deeply corrupt)

North Korea Slams Israel as a Rogue 'Nuclear Threat' | The National Interest Blog - North Korea’s Foreign Ministry slammed the “shamelessness of Israel” on Friday, calling the Jewish State a “rogue group” that “poses a nuclear threat” and commits “terrorist attack[s]” against neighboring countries. (good points)
Bob Menendez, Other Senate Democrats To Hold Off On New Iran Bill -- For Now - President Barack Obama has said voting now for more sanctions, which are strongly supported by Republican lawmakers, could upset talks now under way with Iran. He has pledged to veto any bill imposing new sanctions during the talks. (bought by Israel)

Bowe Bergdahl to Be Charged With Desertion, Officials Say - NBC News.com

The Conservative Movement Is Infected With Scams | Blog | Media Matters for America - Politico Details "The Rise Of 'Scam PACs'" On The Right - w "the conservative movement has been plagued by an explosion of PACs that critics say exist mostly to pad the pockets of the consultants who run them." (jobz creaturzzzz) )

The US economy performs better under Democratic presidents. Why? | VOX, CEPR’s Policy Portal (the real question is why American idiots for Republicans)

The Ladies Vanish – The New Inquiry - The most magical innovation of the app economy is making the female workers it depends on mostly invisible. (the end "employees" the rise of "independent contractors" and death-corps)
Here's How Much You Have To Earn To Be In The 1 Percent In Each State

A Pair Of Gay 'Tech Bears' Owns JebBushForPresident.com - Business Insider - The domain is owned by CJ Phillips and Charlie Rainwater, a self-described "bear couple" from Oregon who told Business Insider they plan to use the site "as a platform to educate our friends and family about political impact to LGBT families." (well, how about Megyn?)

Sheldon Silver Out As New York Assembly Speaker By Next Week


Everybody Hates Chris Christie | FiveThirtyEight (of course, but their love for W was off the charts before the election)

Senate Republicans Float Bill to Kill Bertha | Slog - We didn't see this one coming.

Does the collective unconscious explain the common elements of our dreams? - Are the common elements in our dreams the result of basic biology, or something deeper?
Take me to the death cafe | Prospect Magazine - We are living longer and talking about our final days more—as a new movement shows

Dementia 'linked' to common over-the-counter drugs - Tricyclic antidepressants for treating depression - Antihistamines used to treat hay-fever and allergies (Claritin and Nyquil)
Why Finnish babies sleep in cardboard boxes - And some say it helped Finland achieve one of the world's lowest infant mortality rates. (Republicans consider small coffins in America)
Gigantic ring system around J1407b much larger, heavier than Saturn’s : NewsCenter
Physics - Cool and Heavy - A new scheme for cooling a mechanical oscillator in a cavity may allow the observation of quantum effects on macroscopic objects and the realization of ultrasensitive gravitational-wave detectors.
Ancient Sea Rise Tale Told Accurately for 10,000 Years - Scientific American - Aboriginal stories of lost islands match up with underwater finds in Australia - “There are aspects of storytelling in Australia that involved kin-based responsibilities to tell the stories accurately,” Reid said. That rigor provided “cross-generational scaffolding” that “can keep a story true.”
Mysterious radio signal from space caught live for first time | Fox News - “We're confident that they're coming from natural sources, that is to say it's probably not aliens, but we haven't solved the case completely." (so it still could be ...)
Ancient planets are almost as old as the universe - space - 27 January 2015 - New Scientist - The Old Ones were already ancient when the Earth was born. Five small planets orbit an 11.2 billion-year-old star, making them about 80 per cent as old as the universe itself. That means our galaxy started building rocky planets earlier than we thought.
Men, Those Tightie Whities Really Are Killing Your Sperm Count | FiveThirtyEight - there is a basic organizing principle around male fertility: Sperm production does not go well if the testicles are too hot.

Not a Very P.C. Thing to Say -- NYMag - I am white and male, a fact that is certainly worth bearing in mind. I was also a student at the University of Michigan during the Jacobsen incident, and was attacked for writing an article for the campus paper defending the exhibit (interesting background on Chait but that's about it)
James Poniewozik on Twitter: "Good overall point in @jonathanchait piece is that liberal PC is mainly effective as leverage vs *other liberals.* http://t.co/NCzlbG3z78" (infighting and hurt fee-fees)

A Timeline of Events Since the ‘Serial’ Premiere -- Vulture
2 Vanderbilt Football Players Found Guilty Of Rape Charges

lejefferson comments on Reddit without Unidan
Reddit Bans One of Most Popular Users for Vote Manipulation

Best part of my day : Surface (NYT crossword)
I read Ulysses (and you can too!) – beginner’s guide and post-read impressions : books
Who, in your opinion, is the most evil human being alive today? : AskReddit
What's the deal with this place? Lived across the street from it for 5 years, never seen a kid there. : SaltLakeCity
If a sphere passed through the 2nd dimension, it would appear as a circle out of thin air, grow, shrink, and disappear again. If a 4D sphere passed through the 3rd dimension, would it appear as if a normal 3D sphere appeared out of thin air, grew, shrank, and disappeared? : askscience
Is a quark one-dimensional? : askscience
ELI5: How does abortion work? : explainlikeimfive

Hey, Just A Silly Thought: Maybe It's Time We Stop Letting Comcast And AT&T Write State Telecom Law? | Techdirt - protectionist broadband laws large ISPs have written and lobbied for nineteen states.

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Snow Showers This Afternoon, Main Event Overnight - Weather Wisdom - Boston.com
Boston in crosshairs as blizzard prepares to wallop north-eastern coast - US news | The Guardian - Governors declare states of emergency
Northeast Braces For Colossal Snowstorm
Northeast Regional Doppler Weather Radar Map - AccuWeather.com
Weather, Hazards, Emergency Preparedness
Here Are All The Other Times New York City Has Been 'Crippled' By Snow

Warm ocean melting East Antarctica's largest glacier - Yahoo News
Africa's quiet solar revolution - CSMonitor.com - The continent skipped land lines for mobile phones. Now a new generation of start-ups is trying to bring sun power to rural Africa – and leapfrog the fossil fuel era.
The Guardian view on fracking: take the arguments seriously | Editorial | Comment is free | The Guardian - Instead, Mr Osborne’s focus is on bulldozing through the development of an unconventional fossil fuel that is likely to be locked into the UK’s energy mix by the sheer scale of investment required. He is ignoring serious dilemmas, that demand serious consideration.

Ex-CIA officer convicted in leak case - CNN.com - Jeffrey Sterling was convicted on nine felony counts of unauthorized disclosure of national defense information, according to The Washington Post, after allegedly leaking classified information about a top secret CIA operation to undermine Iran's nuclear program to New York Times reporter James Risen.

Liberia reports only five confirmed Ebola cases in entire country | World news | The Guardian - In dramatic turnaround, health officials say outbreak is beginning to wane as only five people are being treated for the virus

Kurdish forces: Kobane is free
Assad: Erdogan is ‘personally responsible’ for Syrian chaos - Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan “is personally responsible” for the turmoil in Syria and the surge in Islamic terrorism in the region, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said in a magazine interview published Monday.
Yemen chaos forces closure of US embassy to public | World news | The Guardian - Embassy in Sana’a has ‘very limited ability’ to help US citizens - Drone strike kills three as US counter-terrorism operations continue (another Obama failure)

Greece’s new anti-austerity government set on collision course with Brussels | World news | The Guardian - Alexis Tsipras, at 40 Greece’s youngest-ever prime minister, heads coalition of left and right parties with mandate to take on country’s paymasters (Merkel will never admit complete failure)
Ending Greece’s Nightmare - NYTimes.com - The troika, while pretending to be hardheaded and realistic, was peddling an economic fantasy. And the Greek people have been paying the price for those elite delusions. Both the European Commission and the European Central Bank decided to believe in the confidence fairy (oh those "elites," disasterously wrong again)
Greece shows what can happen when the young revolt against corrupt elites | Comment is free | The Guardian - The rise of Syriza can’t just be explained by the crisis in the eurozone: a youthful generation of professionals has had enough of tax-evading oligarchs
Greece's Syriza To Form Government After Election Victory
Greek election: Prostitution is the hidden cost of economic crisis - As the Syriza party prepare to take power in Greece, promising anti-austerity reforms, Rebecca Reid explains why it's the country's laws around sex work that need updating. Urgently (Merkel forced thousands of women into sex work)

Russian Security Forces Raid Independent Crimean TV Station - ABC News - "It appears (the authorities) want to forbid us from seeing, hearing, and speaking," Budzhurova said. "But we still have the right to live in our native land, and nobody will take that from us."
S&P Cuts Russia's Rating to Junk; Sanctions and Oil Slump Hammer Ruble - Bloomberg

Turkish Court Orders Facebook To Block Pages Insulting Mohammad: Reports (fuck you, Mo)

Exclusive: Freed Al Qaeda Agent Was Part of Proposed Swap for Jailed Americans - The Daily Beast (the evil done in the name of "we the people")

FBI Arrests Russian Spy Allegedly Collecting Intel In The Bronx - BI agents on Monday arrested an alleged Russian spy in the Bronx who they said attempted to recruit New York City residents as intelligence sources and gather intelligence on behalf of the Russian Federation. (recruiting hipsters)

Democratic Congressman: A Lot Of Strong GOP Support For Israel "Has To Do With Fundraising" - BuzzFeed News - “You know, I’m a Jewish member of Congress, I’m a strong supporter of Israel, but my first obligation is to the Constitution of the United States, not to the Constitution of Israel.” (your representatives have sold themselves over and over)
Michael Oren calls on Netanyahu to cancel upcoming speech to Congress - Diplomacy and Defense - Israel News | Haaretz - Former Israeli ambassador to U.S. says Boehner's invitation, PM's subsequent behavior created impression of 'cynical political move' that could backfire.
Rick Perry touts support for Israel in Des Moines

Government Employee Crashes Small Drone at White House - NYTimes.com (drones coming home to roost)

The Koch network’s 2016 spending goal: $889 million - Kenneth P. Vogel - POLITICO - The spending goal, shared with donors at a Monday morning session at the Rancho Mirage Ritz Carlton, reflects the sweeping ambition of a private conservative political network that in many ways has eclipsed the power of the official Republican Party.

Supreme Court Rules Against Retirees in Union Health Benefits Case - NYTimes.com - The Supreme Court on Monday ruled that a chemical company may be able to cut the health benefits of its retired workers, unanimously reversing an appeals court ruling that said the benefits had vested for life. (sorry, your pension isn't really a pension)

Steven Dennis on Twitter: "CBO: Obamacare 20% cheaper than they projected; *net* +24M people will have health insurance before Obama leaves office." (huge failure)
The Budget and Economic Outlook: 2015 to 2025 | Congressional Budget Office - At 2.6 percent of GDP, this year’s deficit is projected to be the smallest relative to the nation’s output since 2007 but close to the 2.7 percent that deficits have averaged over the past 50 years. (another huge failure)

Can Republicans Neutralize Issue of Economic Inequality? by Ed Kilgore | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly (that would be ... self-contradictory)
9 Republicans launch House Freedom Caucus - Lauren French - POLITICO - Nine Republicans officially launched a new caucus Monday to advocate for conservative legislation in the House.

Charles Blow: At Yale, the Police Detained My Son
17 Year-Old-Girl Shot Dead By Three Cops At Police Station - On Thursday, 17-year-old Kristiana Coignard was shot dead by three police officers in the lobby of the Longview Police Department. Coignard arrived at the station around 6:30 p.m. and asked to talk to an officer. Police say the girl was “brandishing a weapon” before she was shot four times. Beyond the alleged, unspecified weapon, virtually no details about the events that immediately preceded Coignard’s death have been released.
Cops Are Still Robbers - Reason.com - Eric Holder's new forfeiture policy affects only a small share of seizures. (which was obvious)

This Map Reveals Just How Unequal The So-Called Recovery Is - Among the states where the 1 percent got the biggest share of the income gains were Delaware -- where they got 301 percent of income growth -- and Florida, where they got about 260 percent. (keep voting for Republicans, assholes)

Why are so many college students failing to gain job skills before graduation? - The Washington Post - today’s college graduates severely lacking in some basic skills, particularly problem solving, decision making, and the ability to prioritize tasks.
Why are so many college students failing to gain job skills before graduation?: News (The modern corporate workplace is a nepotistic despot of creativity crushing doublespeak.)

Romney’s Consideration of Candidacy Is Closely Tied to His Faith, Allies Say - NYTimes.com - Some Mormons also believe in something called the “white horse prophecy” that, while not official church doctrine, says the Constitution will “hang like a thread” and be saved by a white horse — which some elements believe to be the Mormon Church or a prophetic church figure.
Let The Smiting Begin: Here Are The Least Bible-Minded Cities In The U.S. (Boston: 98; Providence: 100)
Silver Built Power by Speaking Softly While Punishing Foes - Bloomberg - “It will be a huge change because the next speaker will be more under the control of the governor, someone the governor thinks will not cause him any problems, not someone with an independent power base.”

Three Reasons Chris Christie Is the Wrong Man to Fix Atlantic City | News | Philadelphia Magazine - He’s had plenty of input into A.C.’s future. He’s been wrong the whole way.
Eschaton: Maybe A Megamall? A Water Park? A Go-Kart Raceway? - I think the real reason Christie is not the man to save Atlantic City is that he's stuck in 1983. (dumbfuck)

Vanderbilt Rape Trial Evidence: Several People Failed To Intervene For Unconscious Woman - Defense attorneys for the former Vanderbilt University football players whose own cellphones show they participated in a dorm-room sex assault have placed blame on the elite Southern university, saying their clients' judgment was warped by a campus culture where drunken sex was common. (naked drunk girls lying in the hallway is standard)

Environment affects immunity more than genetics - A new study into twins reveals that environmental factors play a greater role in shaping individual immunity than genetic ones.

Legal Marijuana Is The Fastest-Growing Industry In The U.S.: Report - Legal marijuana is the fastest-growing industry in the United States and if the trend toward legalization spreads to all 50 states, marijuana could become larger than the organic food industry (next: Whole Weed)

Man shoots himself outside News Corp building claiming Fox 'ruined his life' | US news | The Guardian - Man was a former employee of a local Fox affiliate in Texas - Gun and suicide note found at scene along New York City’s busy Sixth Avenue (one amony many)

Cosby: 'Trust Me.' | Cindra Ladd - I had a terrible headache but didn't want to cancel the evening. He told me he had a miracle cure his doctor had given him that would get rid of the headache. He went into another room and came back with a capsule. I asked a couple of times what it was. Each time he reassured me, asking, "Don't you trust me?" Of course I did. This was Bill Cosby.
Erica Kinsman, Woman Who Accused Jameis Winston Of Rape, Goes Public For First Time - Erica Kinsman has come forward to identify herself publicly for the first time as the woman who reported that she had been raped by Florida State University star quarterback Jameis Winston.

In defense of Tom Brady: why the Deflategate hatchet job is misguided | Sport | The Guardian - The New England Patriots quarterback is being accused of being a liar and a cheat without a shred of evidence that he broke any rule
Bill Belichick surprise press conference steers Deflategate into the surreal | Sport | The Guardian - The Patriots coach appeared out of the blue to blind press and public with science, belligerence and references to My Cousin Vinny. Advantage Bill - a master class in creating plausible deniability

Nutella not a girl’s name, French court rules | World news | The Guardian - The court ruled that such a name was against the girl’s interests as it would cause “mockery or disobliging remarks”. (also banned: Apple and International)
Forget normcore. Meet babycore, the clothing trend's juvenile counterpart | Art and design | The Guardian - A New York artist has created the ultimate in nostalgia – a reconstruction of the clothes he wore as an infant. He swears there’s more to it than mere regression - He adds that his work was also partially inspired by his mother, who told him he was regressing: “She said, ‘Matthew, most adults don’t dress like babies’.”

Why Some Women Are Giving Up Tampons For Good - “I suffered for years with the side effects of using tampons/pads because I didn't know there was another option,” Flasch wrote in an email to The Huffington Post. "Not only do [menstrual cups] reduce garbage and mess, but they are a lifesaver for women that find tampons and pads to be highly irritating."

Sheriffs Want Popular Police-Tracking App (Waze) Disabled : news
Denver police shoot and kill underage girl driving stolen car full of teenagers - A young woman suspected of driving a stolen car filled with teenage passengers was shot dead by Denver police on Monday after she struck an officer with the vehicle as he approached on foot, authorities said.

Guy Live Blogs His Wife's Affair On Reddit And It's Better Than A Soap Opera - A married man had Reddit captivated this weekend as he live-blogged his discovery that his wife was cheating on him (HuffPo believes Zach and Jenney)
Devastating: Man Finds Out His Wife Is Cheating, Liveblogs His Private Investigator Catching Her In The Act, Finds Out His Sister-In-Law Is Involved | Thought Catalog

Exclusive: politicians are supporting Comcast's TWC merger with letters ghostwritten by Comcast | The Verge - Documents reveal the cozy relationship between lobbyists, officials, and the FCC
The National Cable and Telecommunications Association issues a new FCC filing arguing that the average consumer doesn’t even need a connection speed of 25Mbps, let alone faster ones like the 1Gbps connections offered by Google Fiber. : technology

Scientology doc 'Going Clear' shocks Sundance filmgoers
HBO's Scientology doc 'Going Clear' shocks Sundance filmgoers : television

Will Hollywood Start to Close Its Gender Pay Gap? - Studio 360 - It’s no secret that even now, women are often paid less than men for the same jobs. But when Sony Pictures’ computer system was hacked, it revealed a case study of the pay gap in Hollywood. For American Hustle, Amy Adams and Jennifer Lawrence were given significantly smaller percentages (7% each) of the film’s profit than their male co-stars Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, and Jeremy Renner (9%).

WithinMyGrasp comments on I need the help of a clever person
Well that mystery is solved. Female Ejaculation! Thanks science! : videos
TIL that Serena and Venus Williams claimed they could beat any male tennis player ranked 200 or below. Karsten Braasch, ranked 203, beat each of them 6-1 and 6-2 respectively. : todayilearned
TIL that Grapefruit juice can have severe side effects (including sudden death) when mixed with common medications : todayilearned
What has been your worst ever sexual experience? : AskReddit
What are your tricks to getting up in the morning? : AskReddit
a crow demonstrating remarkable understanding of water displacement : videos
TIL that the Vikings essentially invented rap battling during the fifth century. : todayilearned
Reddit what is the weirdest compliment you have ever received? : AskReddit - "You're not as handsome as you look".
gloomdoom comments on Poverty Inc. argues that Wall Street and the banking industry’s portrayal of "business as usual" is undermining our democracy, shattering the lives of working class families and the poor, while endangering the very environmental balance of the planet.

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Obama and Modi agree to limit US liability in case of nuclear disaster | World news | The Guardian - Decision set to lead to contracts worth billions of dollars but hopes for a US-China-style air pollution deal are dashed
'Hottest Year' Story Obscures Bigger News: Ocean Warming Now Off The Charts | ThinkProgress
Mass Death of Seabirds in Western U.S. Is 'Unprecedented' - The Culprit: Warm Water?

As inequality soars, the nervous super rich are already planning their escapes | Public Leaders Network | The Guardian - Hedge fund managers are preparing getaways by buying airstrips and farms in remote areas, former hedge fund partner tells Davos during session on inequality

FBI Seeks To Legally Hack You If You're Connected To TOR Or a VPN - Slashdot - t to obtain a warrant to search electronic data without providing any specific details as long as the target computer location has been hidden through a technical tool like Tor or a virtual private network (trying to protect yourself from their spying is a criminal activity)
Obama seeks enhanced cybersecurity laws to fight hackers | Science & Technology | Worldbulletin News
WikiLeaks demands answers after Google hands staff emails to US government | Technology | The Guardian - Search giant gave FBI emails and digital data belonging to three staffers - WikiLeaks told last month of warrants which were served in March 2012
The war on leaks has gone way too far when journalists' emails are under surveillance | Trevor Timm | Comment is free | The Guardian - The US government’s demands for the private emails of WikiLeaks staffers is outrageous. Disliking Julian Assange is a disgraceful reason anyone to stay silent

Japanese PM stands firm on foreign policy after Isis hostage murder | World news | The Guardian - Shinzo Abe says Japan will continue to play active role abroad after ‘unforgivable’ killing of Haruna Yukawa by Islamic State
The secret world of Isis training camps – ruled by sacred texts and the sword | World news | The Guardian - We reveal how the terror group recruits and retains its members through zealotry, rhetoric and obscure theology (Islamic Tea Party +psychotic masculinity)
BasNews
30 Filipino police commandos killed in clash with rebels - More than 30 police commandos were killed in a clash with Muslim insurgents Sunday in the southern Philippines in the biggest single-day combat loss for Filipino forces in many years, officials said.
Attack Leaves 80% Of Pakistan Without Power - More than 140 million people - up to 80% of the population - lost electricity after militants attacked a transmission tower and caused a massive power surge.
140,000,000 people without power in Pakistan after terrorist attack : worldnews

There Are 13 Countries Where Atheism Is Punishable by Death - The Wire - Afghanistan, Iran, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritania, Nigeria, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, United Arab Emirates and Yemen

Senators: More special ops troops may be needed in Mideast - Yahoo News - The suggestion by Republican John McCain and Democrat Dianne Feinstein is a direct challenge to the president, who has said he doesn't want to increase the U.S. military presence in Yemen despite the deteriorating security condition in that country.

Strategic city falls in Nigeria's battle against Boko Haram - CNN.com - Monguno, a town of about 100,000 people in northeast Nigeria, is about a 135-kilometer (85-mile) drive from Maiduguri, a city of more than 600,000. Both cities are tucked into the corner of the country, near the borders with Chad and Cameroon.
Hundreds dead as Boko Haram clashes with Nigerian army in Maiduguri | World news | The Guardian - 200 combatants, mainly insurgents, reportedly killed in northern city
Kerry urges Nigerians to refrain from post-presidential election violence | World news | The Guardian - US secretary of state meets with president Goodluck Jonathan and plans to meet opposing candidate, former military dictator Muhammadu Buhari (Badluck Jonathan and the oiligarchs have fucked the country)
Nigerian city under attack from suspected Boko Haram militants | World news | The Guardian - Shelling heard and military helicopters circling north-eastern city of Maiduguri after assault shortly after midnight

Reporter who broke story of Alberto Nisman's death flees Argentina - UPI.com - "I am leaving because my life is in danger," Pachter told the Argentina online news outfit Infobae.com. "My phones have been extensively tapped."

Rebels press Ukraine offensive, Obama promises steps against Russian-backed 'aggression' | Reuters
International condemnation over shelling of Ukraine's Mariupol | News | DW.DE | 25.01.2015 - A deadly rocket attack on the eastern Ukrainian city of Mariupol has been met with widespread international condemnation. This has led to renewed calls for Moscow to stop supporting the pro-Russia separatists.

World backs India against US bullying on patents. : worldnews

Greek leftist leader Tsipras claims victory over austerity | Reuters
Syriza Rides Anti-Austerity Wave to Decisive Victory in Greece - Bloomberg
Are Greek elections about to call time on five punishing years of austerity? | World news | The Guardian - Historic elections could see disillusioned voters put leftwing party Syriza in power, sending a defiant message across Europe (five years of austerity failure and Merkel will never apologize for fucking over Europe)

Almost 500 cases of female genital mutilation identified in just one month in English hospitals - Independent.ie

Prince Charles and PM fly to Saudi | UK news | The Guardian - The decision to lower flags at government buildings and Buckingham Palace has angered politicians across the spectrum (the UK is mourning an Arab head-chopping tyrant)
Inside the derelict mansions of London's 'Billionaires Row' – video | UK news | The Guardian - a tour of the derelict, rotting homes owned until recently by the Saudi royal family
Home truths: the secret lives of other people’s houses | Life and style | The Guardian - Mould on your toothbrush – that’s never a good sign, is it?

‘It’s like a ghost town’: lights go out as foreign owners desert London homes | UK news | The Guardian - Absentee owners and the ‘buy to leave’ market are hurting businesses as housing rises up the political agenda in the capital - “lights-out London” where absentee owners push up property prices without contributing to the local economy (all the restaurants are closing)
London needs homes, not towers of ‘safe-deposit boxes’ | Peter Wynne Rees | Comment is free | The Guardian - Without planning control, much-needed offices have given way to piles of “safe-deposit boxes” rising across the capital. These towers, many of dubious architectural quality, are sold off-plan to the world’s “uber-rich”, as a repository for their spare and suspect capital.

IRA gunmen face arrest over Boston College Belfast Project tapes | UK news | The Guardian - Participants were promised interviews would only be released to researchers once they were dead

Woman says Dershowitz 'is lying' in new court filings by U. professor | KSL.com - That man is the same man that I had sex with at least six times," she stated.
31-year-old woman who claims she was a teenage sex slave and forced to service high-profile clients such as attorney Alan Dershowitz has now repeated those claims under oath. : news
A Second Look At The Allegations Against Alan Dershowitz | Above the Law

New York Times’ Charles Blow 'Fuming' After Son Stopped at Gunpoint by Yale Cops - The Root - The columnist took to Twitter late Saturday to express outrage after Yale officers stopped his son at gunpoint as he walked home from the library. (walking while black)

Could the Fast Food Industry Pay $15 an Hour? - Lawyers, Guns & Money : after correcting for inflation, today’s $7.25 federal minimum is about 33 percent lower than the $10.85 figure as of 1968—46 years ago. This long-term deterioration in the real value of the minimum wage is even more dramatic after we recognize that average labor productivity has risen by roughly 135 percent since 1968. This means that, if the federal minimum wage had risen in step with both inflation and average labor productivity since 1968, the federal minimum today would be $25.50 an hour.

GOP clown car runs into ditch - Roger Simon - POLITICO - Simon says the Republican Party’s clown car has become a clown van.
Unhinged Woman Climbs Onstage At Iowa Freedom Summit, Starts Rambling Incoherently | FreakOutNation - Sarah Palin delivered one of her strangest speeches yet and even Scott Conroy from RealClearPolitics, described it as the “strangest speech I’ve ever seen Sarah Palin deliver.”

Republican Governors Buck Party Line on Raising Taxes - NYTimes.com - There are proposals for raising the sales tax in Michigan, a tax on e-cigarettes in Utah, and gas taxes in South Carolina and South Dakota, to name a few. In Arizona, the new Republican governor has put off, in the face of a $1 billion budget shortfall, a campaign promise to eliminate the unpopular income tax there. (no new taxes except on poor people)

What on earth was Thomas Friedman talking about? -- Fusion
Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal to prayer rally: US needs 'spiritual revival' | US news | The Guardian (well, that's true)

When the South Wasn’t a Fan of States’ Rights - Eric Foner - POLITICO Magazine - The strange, often forgotten, history of the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850.

Fox News Raises Alarm Over College Course About Race - “All of these books have a disturbing trend and that’s pointing to white people as a root cause of social injustices for this country,” Clark told Hasselbeck on the segment, adding that such a course “causes more problems than solutions.” Clark is not herself enrolled in the class. (because black people sold themselves into slavery and all the hedgefund riches are Asian and Elisabeth Hasselbeck is what's wrong with America and ethics are anti-white)

WSDOT Says if This Bertha Contractor Walks Out, We'll Get Another One | Slog - A dispute review board—made up of three people chosen by WSDOT and its contractor, Seattle Tunnel Partners—sided with the contractor on January 16. (like those "arbitration panels" and "grand juries" that always keep the perps on the job +Seattle fucked itself)

Disneyland measles outbreak leaves many anti-vaccination parents unmoved | US news | The Guardian - In some parts of California, resistance to vaccinations including the MMR shot is stronger than ever, despite cases of measles hitting five US states - The Westside Waldorf school, which has only a 20% rate of measles immunisation among its students, did not respond to an invitation to comment (shun and quarantine the special snowflakes; stupidity is contagious and there is no vaccine)
I keep hearing about outbreaks of measles and whatnot due to people not vaccinating their children. Aren't the only ones at danger of catching a disease like measles the ones who do not get vaccinated? : askscience

Michio Kushi, Advocate of Natural Foods in the U.S., Dies at 88 - NYTimes.com - Michio Kushi, a Japanese scholar who popularized the macrobiotic diet in the United States, helping to change the way health-conscious Americans eat, died on Dec. 28 in Boston. He was 88.
The New Measles - The Atlantic

Teen girls report less sexual victimization after virtual reality assertiveness training | SMU Research - Study participants in the “My Voice, My Choice” program practiced saying “no” to unwanted sexual advances in an immersive virtual environment

TIL that, through most of western history, larger-than-average penises were considered embarrassing and barbaric; the modern idea that 'bigger is better', beginning in the late 19th century, was a side effect of pornography : todayilearned
Men are less promiscuous when women are scarce | Royal Society - ‘When the pool of males is large, finding a female partner can be difficult such that existing partners become a valued resource’ say the team. Men attempt to attract and maintain a relationship with a partner because, when females are rare, it is costly to lose a partner. (thank you, science)
Research | Research news | 2015 | Early human ancestors used their hands like modern humans - Pre-Homo human ancestral species, such as Australopithecus africanus, used human-like hand postures much earlier than was previously thought

What link is staying blue? : AskReddit
Which two words should never be googled together? : AskReddit
What's the creepiest thing you did as a teen to satisfy your raging hormones? : AskReddit

Kim Dotcom launches end-to-end encrypted voice chat ‘Skype killer’ | Technology | The Guardian - New MegaChat promises secure, encrypted and ‘private’ video chatting through a browser
Kim Dotcom launches end-to-end encrypted voice chat ‘Skype killer’ - New MegaChat promises secure, encrypted and ‘private’ video chatting through a browser : worldnews

012415
Press release: It is now 3 minutes to midnight | Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists - “Extraordinary and Undeniable” Climate, Weapons Threats Cited for Movement;
NEW DELHI: Can Obama clear the air in Delhi, world’s most polluted city? | White House | McClatchy DC - In the world’s most polluted city, a layer of smog hangs over everything, thicker year after year. (almost as thick as in a Republican's head)
US Senate refuses to accept humanity's role in global climate change, again | Environment | The Guardian - Senators accept global warming is not a hoax but fail to recognise human activity is to blame, nearly 27 years after scientists laid out man’s role
Denialism Should Disqualify Anyone From Office -- NYMag (basic thinking skills would be nice)

Report: ISIS Beheads Japanese Hostage

Saudi Arabia's Tyrant King Misremembered as Man of Peace - The Intercept
Compare and Contrast: Obama's Reaction to the Deaths of King Abdullah and Hugo Chávez - The Intercept
Eschaton: Mourning - If [random left wing South American president] was 1% as horrible as Saudi Arabia, the Washington Post editorial board would never stop freaking out about it.

Prison Dispatches from the War on Terror: Ex-CIA Officer John Kiriakou Speaks - The Intercept - John Kiriakou is the only CIA employee to go to prison in connection with the agency’s torture program. Not because he tortured anyone, but because he revealed information on torture to a reporter.
Even When Sharing Top Billing with Edward Snowden, the NSA Is Unrepentant - The Intercept
Latest FBI Claim of Disrupted Terror Plot Deserves Much Scrutiny and Skepticism - The Intercept - The alleged would-be terrorist is 20-year-old Christopher Cornell (above), who is unemployed, lives at home, spends most of his time playing video games in his bedroom, still addresses his mother as “Mommy” and regards his cat as his best friend

"We're at War!" -- And We Have Been Since 1776: 214 Years of American War-Making | loonwatch.com

WASHINGTON: Muslims in America are hearing backlash from Paris attack | Washington | McClatchy DC
American Sniper: anti-Muslim threats skyrocket in wake of film's release | Film | The Guardian (mission accomplished)
Is American Sniper historically accurate? | Film | The Guardian - Clint Eastwood’s simplistic film about one of the deadliest snipers in US history piles on Bush-era propaganda and sharp-shoots the facts (Christian Crusader and pathological liar)
In the Crosshairs - The New Yorker (backstory)

Missile attacks kill at least 30 in Mariupol, east Ukraine | World news | The Guardian - Pro-Russian rebels announce major new offensive in Ukraine, after attacks on crowded residential district

Students who survived Mexico’s night of bloody horror accuse army and police | World news | The Guardian - Two who escaped death in the attack on students in Guerrero last September testify to the murderous role of state forces (your war on drugs)

Jewish groups boycott Holocaust event over Argentina prosecutor's death | World news | The Guardian - Alberto Nisman had accused government of conspiring with Tehran to protect Iranian officials allegedly involved in deadly 1994 bombing of Jewish association

Former Miss Turkey, 26, arrest for posting 'funny' satirical poem that criticised the country's president | Daily Mail Online - Merve Buyuksarac quoted poem from weekly magazine on social media

Israel illegally demolishing Palestinian homes, UN says | The Times of Israel - Agency says 77 Palestinians, mostly children, made homeless in East Jerusalem, West Bank in recent days
Jewish outrage as ship named after SS war criminal arrives in Europe | World news | The Guardian - in Rotterdam of the world’s biggest ship, the Pieter Schelte, named after a Dutch officer in the Waffen-SS.

Wait! What? FCC ponders plan to route U.S. 911 calls through Russian satellites by Andrew Malcolm - Investors.com - Of course, such a system would also give Russians access to the American emergency response network, including the precise locations of every U.S. first responder.

Welcome back to the bad old days of American politics – only worse - The U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United is five years old, which makes it the age of a kindergartner. By all signs the kid is a bully, making everything around him a little bit worse. (dismantling democracy)

There’s Talk About Bloomberg Buying the Times -- NYMag (a match made in hell)

Mile Sly Club: Clinton, Dershowitz and The Prince on Billionaire’s Pedophile Sex Jet
Flight Logs Put Clinton, Dershowitz on Pedophile Billionaire’s Sex Jet

Cowbells, nouvelles révélations sur les pratiques de la NSA (more cowbells)
Snowden: iPhones Have Secret Spyware That Lets Govt's Monitor Unsuspecting Users. The NSA whistleblower's lawyer says the secret software can be remotely activated to watch the user : worldnews

Obama, Clinton tensions build over email lists ahead of 2016 | TheHill
Morning Plum: The only elections that mattered: 2010 and 2014 - The Washington Post

Preet Bharara's warning sends chill through state Capitol - NY Daily News - The big fish reportedly being looked at is Gov. Cuomo.

Yet Another Image to Haunt Sarah Palin if She Ever Does Run for Office? | Mediaite - A loyal Mediaite reader sent along this photograph of former Gov. Sarah Palin during her recent appearance in Las Vegas, Nev. (and then there's that hillbilly brawl)

Proposed bill would end marriage licenses - KSWO, Lawton, OK- Wichita Falls, TX: News, Weather, Sports. ABC, 24/7, Telemundo - - Russ says this bill is a way for the State of Oklahoma to prove its independent rights as a state to make laws.

New Jersey police shooting leads to renewed interest in body cameras | US news | The Guardian (and they think bodycams will help)
Prison Guards Strip-Searches Visitor To Prove She Was Menstruating: Lawsuit - "Plaintiff should not be forced to make the intolerable choice between abstaining from visiting an inmate in prison because she is on her period and visiting the prison with the risk of being subjected to another humiliating and degrading search of her exposed genitalia," the lawsuit says. (because they could)
Rapper Tiny Doo facing long prison sentence over lyrics - CNN.com (1st Amendment only for white people)

I had to accept I was gay at the age of 46 when I fell in love with a woman | Life and style | The Guardian - Gayle Anderson had a happy marriage with two children, but knew she couldn’t go on pretending. She told her family and friends – and then her girlfriend dumped her
? The Book Of Eli - Soundtrack Al Green How can you mend a broken heart - YouTube

Why do you see gender differences in sensitivity? Is it knowing how, or wanting to? - Lawyers, Guns & Money : socialization accounts for all or most of the observed differences in empathy or sensitivity (and motivation)
We agree it’s WEIRD, but is it WEIRD enough? | Neuroanthropology
We Aren’t the World - Pacific Standard - The paper basically suggested that much of what social scientists thought they knew about fundamental aspects of human cognition was likely only true of one small slice of humanity
Scott Atran. Psychology, Anthropology, and a Science of Human Beings | Social Evolution Forum

Cat genes could hold vital clues to treatments for human diseases | World news | The Guardian - Researchers aim to sequence feline genomes to help in fight against diabetes and asthma - they suffer from many diseases that humans also contract, from diabetes to the feline form of Aids. They have a lot to tell us
? David Bowie - Cat People (Putting Out Fire) Music Video HQ - YouTube
Scientists Turn Pure Metal into Glass | Materials Science | Sci-News.com - A team of materials scientists headed by Prof Scott Mao from the University of Pittsburgh has managed to make metallic glasses from pure, monoatomic metals.
This Species is Close to Extinction and That’s a Good Thing | TIME - The Guinea worm is inching ever closer to extinction (joining just smallpox and rinderpest)

Changing the World From Within: An Interview With Eckhart Tolle | Suza Scalora - I am referring to someone who is spiritually unconscious. This is to say that the person is completely in the grip of their ego -- their false sense of self. The ego gives rise to a sense of separateness between oneself and others, or between "us" and "them."

No need for speed: Cable industry opposes 25Mbps broadband definition | Ars Technica - Normal people don't need 25Mbps down or 3Mbps up, cable lobby says.
WTF! It Should Not Be Illegal to Hack Your Own Car's Computer | WIRED (sorry, your car is copyrighted and you don't really own it)

Englishgrinn comments on [EU] Lex Luthor's anti-Superman TED Talk.
Married People of Reddit, What's a lie you've been telling your so throughout your entire marriage? : AskReddit
Let's say Sperm A fertilized with my mother's egg. Would I look different if Sperm B had met up with the egg? : askscience
What is it that YOU just can't get enough of? : AskReddit
Baby elephant's first time at the beach. : pics

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ISIS militants execute 2 Japanese hostages Kenji Goto Jogo and Haruna Yukawa
Barzani: Kurds expected invitation to London anti-ISIS conference (main ally in anti-IS war; not invited to anti-IS conf.)

Exclusive: CIA’s Top Spy Steps Down - The Daily Beast - As a practice, the CIA doesn’t identify the head of the clandestine service by name. But Frank Archibald was outed in a Twitter post in 2013, and details of his biography were known to some journalists.
Snowden: Apple is secretly spying on you - Whistleblower Edward Snowden has claimed all iPhones feature spyware that can track users' every move via remote tracking
Apple bows to Chinese demand for iPhone security audit - The Chinese government has succeeded in getting Apple to open up its hardware and software to a security audit, prompted by concerns of ‘backdoor’ surveillance
spiegel Interview with Chief New York Times Editor Dean Baquet - Dean Baquet, executive editor of the New York Times, is unusually self-critical. In an interview, he admits that it pained him to see Edward Snowden give his story to others and explains why his paper chose not to run Charlie Hebdo caricatures of Muhammad.
Police Seized 50 Servers in Pirate Bay Raid | TorrentFreak - and left no hardware unturned.
President Obama Drops His Promise To Take Phone Metadata Away From NSA... But Perhaps That's Fine [Updated] | Techdirt

U.S. counterterrorism operations with Yemen suspended, officials say - The Washington Post (that worked out really well)

Investigation Of Argentina Prosecutor Alberto Nisman Found Dead Turns To Police

Putting Together A Jury For The Tsarnaev Trial Proves Difficult In Boston - Esquire - The prospective trial of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev for his participation in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing has descended into farce.
Making the case for a change of venue - Metro - The Boston Globe - “69 percent of prospective jurors have a self-identified connection or expressed allegiance to the people, places, and/or events at issue in the case. Stronger support for a finding of presumed prejudice in Boston is difficult to imagine, and the existing record precludes a fair trial in Boston.”

Moroccan-born man jailed on terror charges to lose French nationality | World news | The Guardian - France can strip a French-Moroccan man convicted of terrorism-related crimes of his French nationality, the country’s constitutional council has ruled.

Netanyahu 'spat in our face,' White House officials said to say | The Times of Israel - PM ‘will pay price’ for spat over Congress address; Obama said to have asked him to tone down pro-sanctions rhetoric; Wash. Post: Kerry’s enthusiasm for defending Israel may wane
Democrats rally around Obama amid furore over Netanyahu Congress visit | US news | The Guardian - In the first White House press conference since the Republican House speaker, John Boehner, sparked controversy by inviting Netanyahu to speak before a joint session of Congress amid calls for a tougher approach to Iran (yes, Likud owns Boehner)
Tzipi Livni says Israeli prime minister leading country into 'diplomatic isolation' | World news | The Guardian - Top opposition figure says Netanyahu is driving Israel toward crisis as Obama administration fumes over leader’s planned visit
Iran Sanctions Supporters Don't Want To Improve Nuclear Talks. They Want To Destroy Them. (with "ticking time-bomb" Netanyahu)

Revealed: how Blair colluded with Gaddafi regime in secret | Politics | The Guardian - Libyan government papers pieced together by team of London lawyers show how UK cosied up to Tripoli over dissidents

Met policeman cleared after kicking mother tending to her child in hospital | UK news | The Guardian - Wood Green court clears PC Warren Luke of crime after ‘escalating’ row that left woman with more than 40 injuries (cops walk everywhere)

Rio admits it will fail to clean up 'open sewer' of 2016 sailing venue | Sport | The Guardian

Saudi Arabia’s new king promises continuity after death of Abdullah | World news | The Guardian - Salman bin Abdulaziz’s first public remarks as monarch designed to send reassuring message of stability and cohesion

Eschaton: No-Go Zones - They host guests who actually put numbers to "no-go zones." It's so beyond absurd. We might have to change the question to "stupid, lying, or just completely fucking psychotic?" (all of the above)
CNN, too, trafficked in ‘no-go zone’ chatter - The Washington Post

Republican convene hearing attacking Obamacare: The Affordable Care Act is proving difficult to undermine. - Republicans returned to their war on Obamacare on Thursday. It didn’t go well.

WTF Is She Talking About? » Balloon Juice - Despite Sen. Joni Ernst’s (R-IA) rhetoric about growing up poor on Tuesday night, her family actually received hundreds of thousands of dollars in government aid between 1995 and 2009, the District Sentinel news co-op reported.
Eschaton: Farm Subsidies Don't Count - It's baked into the American Way, John. It's been with us for a long time.

Eschaton: FREEDOM!!!!! - Every few years or so conservatives find some example of eminent domain abuse (and while a necessary power, it certainly can be abused) they decide is the Worst Thing Evah and then forget about the whole issue for awhile. Keystone XL would be an eminent domain abuse nightmare.
Defenders of Tradition in Keystone Pipeline Fight - NYTimes.com (LIBERTY!!! for big oil to seize and pollute your land)

Sheldon Silver's Arrest Means Headaches For Andrew Cuomo - Cuomo had undermined the Moreland Commission while it operated and diluted its final report. Soon after Cuomo announced that the panel's work was over in March, Bharara, whose bailiwick is the Southern District of New York, began questioning why the governor made that decision.

Why Republicans can't stop talking about rape - Vox - Republicans were supposed to spend the anniversary of Roe v. Wade passing a bill to restrict abortion, but instead they found themselves this week entangled in another ugly intra-party fight over rape.
Republican behind anti-abortion bill says legislation will be put to vote | US news | The Guardian - Arizona congressman Trent Franks likens campaign to limit late-term abortions to anti-slavery movement and says bill will be voted on in House (womens' access to choice = slavery)
The Republican abortion bill shows they still believe many women lie about rape | Jessica Valenti | Comment is free | The Guardian - ‘Forcible rape’, ‘legitimate rape’ or ‘reported rape’: anti-abortion politicians remain anti-woman, and no female conservative is going to change that (women always like about those rapey men, apparently)
Woman in Vanderbilt rape trial identifies herself in video of alleged assault | US news | The Guardian - Also states she was too intoxicated to remember alleged assault - Defense for former football players to focus on victim’s alcohol consumption (of course)

62-year-old black grandfather choked and held down by three white men who see his legal firearm (2nd Amendment for Whites Only)
Gross Incompetence Cited in Rikers Island Death - NYTimes.com - gross incompetence by medical personnel and correction officers at Rikers Island led to the death of a mentally ill inmate who was found naked and covered in feces after being locked in a cell for six days.

Eschaton: Pricey - New Yorkers do benefit from the fact that the subway system has single fare pricing, that the base fare can take you a very long way, but $2.75 is still pretty pricey... How many of these people do you think are regular riders?

Divisions open up in towns once led by polygamist leader Warren Jeffs | World news | The Guardian - Nearly four years after Jeffs was sentenced to life for child sex abuse, Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Arizona, are split between loyalists and defectors - Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, or FLDS

Sharp Football Analysis - The New England Patriots Prevention of Fumbles is Nearly Impossible
Deflategate explained: like Nipplegate, but it's about balls this time | Sport | The Guardian

Measles Outbreak That Started In California Expanding « CBS Baltimore - A health warning. The extremely contagious measles virus is back. An outbreak that started at Disneyland is starting to sweep the country.
No matter how many times you sing ‘Let It Go’ with your kids, it won’t change the fact that being anti-vaccine is sad and can cause physical harm
Anti-vaccine campaigner Sherri Tenpenny's Australian talks cancelled | SBS News
I Don’t Vaccinate My Child Because It’s My Right To Decide What Eliminated Diseases Come Roaring Back | The Onion - America's Finest News Source
1 Charge Dropped against Minnesota Mom Who Gave Son Cannabis Oil | KSTP TV - Minneapolis and St. Paul - A judge has dismissed one of two charges against a Minnesota woman who gave her son cannabis oil for chronic pain. (but you don't have to vaccinate them)
Eating Fish While Pregnant -- Worth a New Look? | Medpage Today - The benefits of its fatty acids may outweigh the risk of mercury exposure.

Could Psychedelics Be An Effective Suicide Prevention Measure? - . And according to another new study, use of "classic" psychedelics -- psilocybin (magic mushrooms), LSD and mescaline -- may also be an effective suicide prevention measure.
BBC NEWS | Health | Women 'more prone to nightmares' - Women experience significantly more nightmares than men and have more emotional dreams, research suggests.
Telomere extension turns back aging clock in cultured human cells, study finds | News Center | Stanford Medicine - Researchers delivered a modified RNA that encodes a telomere-extending protein to cultured human cells. Cell proliferation capacity was dramatically increased, yielding large numbers of cells for study.
The exceptionally powerful TeV ?-ray emitters in the Large Magellanic Cloud
A language family tree - in pictures | Education | The Guardian

4chan founder 'Moot' bids farewell: 'This is it for me. This is goodbye' | Technology | The Guardian - Addressing more than 40,000 people, Christopher Poole, who is known as ‘Moot’, said he felt deeply proud of the community he had created
Wikipedia bans five editors from gender-related articles | Technology | The Guardian - Online encyclopedia’s highest court rules on more than 10 editors deemed to be breaking the site’s rules amid Gamergate controversy
Mark Bernstein: Infamous - The infamous draft decision of Wikipedia’s Arbitration Committee (ArbCom) on Gamergate is worse than a crime. It’s a blunder that threatens to disgrace the internet
Many authors’ earnings fall below $500pa, survey finds | Books | The Guardian - Research shows median income for all authors is now below $5,000, though ‘hybrid’ authors who use both traditional and self-publishing are doing best (starving authors is an oxymoron)

Absolutely incredible archery skills : videos
NHL stars get creative with GoPro : videos
What do you not understand about YOUR OWN gender? : AskReddit
Reddit, what's the loneliest thing you've done? : AskReddit - For me it was when i moved my fish from the kitchen into my living room for company.

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Atomic Scientists: We're Getting Even Closer to Doomsday - NBC News.com - The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists says Earth is now closer to human-caused doomsday than it has been in more than 30 years because of global warming and nuclear weaponry
Crews Working To Control Oil From Break In Montana Pipeline - Esquire - Why do pipelines break? Because they're pipelines, that's why.

Jon Stewart Gives 'Implodey' Award For Worst State Of The Union Response

Netanyahu-Mossad Split Divides U.S. Congress on Iran Sanctions - Bloomberg View - The Israeli intelligence agency Mossad has broken ranks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, telling U.S. officials and lawmakers that a new Iran sanctions bill in the U.S. Congress would tank the Iran nuclear negotiations. (o rly)

'American Sniper' Is Almost Too Dumb to Criticize | Rolling Stone - it's a simple, well-lit little fairy tale with the nutritional value of a fortune cookie that serves up a neatly-arranged helping of cheers and tears for target audiences, and panics at the thought of embracing more than one or two ideas at any time ... The only thing that forces us to take it seriously is the extraordinary fact that an almost exactly similar worldview consumed the walnut-sized mind of the president who got us into the war in question.

Barrett Brown sentenced to 63 months for 'merely linking to hacked material' | Technology | The Guardian - The journalist and former Anonymous member says of prison term and fine in statement: ‘They’re sending me to investigate the prison-industrial complex’ (contrast and compare)

US Air Force wants to buy $8.8 billion worth of drones that it doesn't need | The Verge

Ukrainian Forces Retreat From Donetsk Airport, Civilians Killed In Bus Shelling

Argentine Phone Calls Detail Efforts to Shield Iran - NYTimes.com - Intercepted conversations between representatives of the Iranian and Argentine governments point to a long pattern of secret negotiations to reach a deal in which Argentina would receive oil in exchange for shielding Iranian officials from charges that they orchestrated the bombing of a Jewish community center in 1994.


Eschaton: Wonk'd - For years journalists have informed us that Bobby Jindal is one of the brightest bulbs in the Republican shiny light display. Pretty sure that's not really true. (Bobby Dimbulb)
Bobby Jindal Defends "No-Go Zones" Myth: Fox's John Bolton Said It Was True | Blog | Media Matters for America - Jindal: Zones Have Been "Very Well Documented" By Bolton (well, that's a reputable source)

House GOP Cancels Vote On 20-Week Abortion Ban - Republican leaders canceled the vote and replaced it with a less-controversial abortion limit (40 years and they're still attacking women)
Happy Birthday Roe v. Wade! - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Links to various arguments about why Roe was correctly decided and why it matters can be found here.

Washington, D.C. Based Fox Reporter Says D.C. "Is Not Part Of America" At Extremist Pro-Gun Rally | Blog | Media Matters for America - "It's great to be in Virginia, which is part of America where you recognize the Second Amendment. I came from D.C. this morning, which is not part of America, because they don't recognize the Second Amendment."

Sheldon Silver, New York Assembly Speaker, Is Accused of Taking Millions in Graft - NYTimes.com - arrested on federal corruption charges on Thursday and accused of using the power of his office to solicit millions in bribes and kickbacks, according to court documents. (why Cuomo vetoed anti-corruption)
Tallying the Damage From Sheldon Silver’s Arrest -- NYMag - The state of New York state politics is … convulsive.
Vito Lopez Spends $178K Campaign Cash On Lawyers In Sexual Harassment Case - The plaintiffs allege, quite reasonably, that the state — and specifically Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver — knew Lopez was a hands-y creep and failed to protect them from him. Silver had already signed off on two settlements with former Lopez staffers so he had to know that he was a creepy scumbag.
Look Inside The Function Of Democracy In The States - Esquire - We begin with Breaking News New York, where there was a serious Holy Fking Hell moment in the state legislature.

For LaGuardia, an AirTrain that will save almost no one any time « The Transport Politic - . One can only assume that this image was photoshopped by someone who is not familiar with transportation technology. (Cuomo at work)
New traffic apps may be pushing cars into residential areas - LA Times

The Fascinating Idiosyncracies Of The Austistic Brain - both over and under-connectivity may reflect an underlying principle of brain organization at work: Idiosyncrasy. (oh, they are different, or something)

If allegations prove true, New England Patriots' arrogance should have consequences - ESPN Boston - With integrity at stake, NFL should come down hard if Patriots' culpability proven
Madden: Deflategate's prime suspect should be Brady - "That would have to be driven by the quarterback,"

Measles Cases Linked to Disneyland Rise, and Debate Over Vaccinations Intensifies - NYTimes.com - The outbreak has increased concerns that a longstanding movement against childhood vaccinations has created a surge in a disease that was declared eliminated in the United States in 2000. 42 of the 59 California cases have been linked to the Disneyland outbreak. (your special disease-spreading snowflake)
Disneyland says unvaccinated kids not welcome amid measles outbreak | US news | The Guardian - Dozens of California cases prompt warning by park officials • Five Disneyland workers have been diagnosed with illness

Florida toddler fatally shoots himself with father's gun while parents load car | US news | The Guardian - Two-year-old Kaleb Ahles reportedly lifted gun from glove compartment in car and turned it so that it faced his chest and squeezed the trigger (live with that, gun happy parents)

PSA: vaping at high voltages produces high levels of a carcinogen | The Verge - We don't know all the risks of e-cigs, but this might be one

German Court Upholds Tenant's Right to Pee Standing Up - NBC News.com - There is also a derogatory term for men who sit down to pee - "Sitzpinkler" - which implies that it is not masculine behavior.

The 9 biggest announcements from Microsoft's Windows 10 event | The Verge
First Look at Microsoft’s HoloLens Holographic Headset | Re/code
Up close with the HoloLens, Microsoft's most intriguing product in years | The Verge
This is Windows 10: all the news from Microsoft's event | The Verge

012115
State Of The Union Watchers Give Obama High Marks In Instant Poll
'Ordinary Iowan' Joni Ernst Challenges Obama In State Of The Union Response
Curt Clawson Pushes Personal Liberty, Teamwork In Tea Party Response To State Of The Union - "Our vision is not based on wealth redistribution, but rather on economic liberty, private enterprise and wealth creation that benefits everyone (see, they get two responses)
The Ted Cruz Speech He Did Not Want You To See (thanks, TX)
GOP Mentions Immigration In State of The Union Rebuttal...But Only In Spanish
Felix Salmon: The U.S.'s 'Rather Crazy' Tax Policy 'Doesn't Make Any Sense At All'
The President Acted Like The President Last Night During The SOTU - Esquire - Before we begin, kudos to everyone who time-checked my new friend Joni Ernst and pointed out that, given her given age, Joni was forced to wear the bread-bags on her feet during the presidency of St. Ronald Reagan.
Joni, al-Qaida and rich folks: Fox News has a simple playbook for everything Obama says | Jeb Lund | Comment is free | The Guardian - 1. America is the most powerful nation on earth and can do anything and will never be beaten. 2. You are in constant danger. 3. We have to go to war immediately.

GOP Plans To Give Explosive Document Back To CIA - The chairman, North Carolina’s Richard Burr, is also asking executive branch agencies to return unredacted copies of the 6,600 page torture report, he told The Huffington Post in an interview Tuesday night. (why Obama threw the midterm election)
CIA torture report architect denounces Republican attempt to claw back copies | US news | The Guardian - Feinstein’s successor wants Obama administration to give back document - Move would put 6,000-page report outside Freedom of Information Act

Guantánamo officials faked letter from inmate’s mother who could not write | World news | The Guardian - Ploy was intended to persuade inmate to cooperate, brother tells event marking publication of memoir Guantánamo Diary

Pentagon says air force's 'expanding drone fleet' is unjustified and wasteful | World news | The Guardian - Internal watchdog report obtained by the Guardian shows Pentagon has questioned the air force’s increased spending on drones, suggesting it is a waste of money

Palestinian Stabs 7 People On Tel Aviv Bus, Police Say

Argentina Prosecutor Alberto Nisman Was Found Dead In A Barely Locked Apartment

'Le Petit Journal,' French TV Show, Totally Trolls Fox News (Fox, cancer on America)
Jon Stewart Shocked By Fox News Apology Over Muslim 'No-Go Zones' In Europe - "What did they say that was so much wronger than usual that it required a network-wide apology?" Stewart asked. “How bad does bullshit have to smell before the odor is detected by people who live on a mountain made out of that substance?”

Lawyers ask Prince Andrew to respond under oath about claims of sex with 17-year-old girl | UK news | The Guardian - Virginia Roberts files document in Florida court and demands that prince and billionaire financier Jeffrey Epstein be ‘brought to justice’

Language Log » Presidential pronouns: This time it's Ron Fournier - I'm therefore willing to place a substantial wager with Ron Fournier as to the outcome of his pronoun count. But I'm betting that he won't take the bet, because his column exemplifies Harry Frankfurt's analysis of "the bullshitter": (facts are hard for blowhards)


Video shows New Jersey police shoot man dead two minutes into traffic stop | US news | The Guardian - “No you not,” Days said. Days then shoots Reid after he pushes out of the car with his hands apparently held in front of him. A total of seven rounds appear to be fired by both officers. As Reid drops to the ground, Days continues to yell “Don’t you fucking move!”

Deflategate: Patriots Used Deflated Footballs In AFC Championship Win Over Colts, Reports Say (Cheatirots)

The boy who didn't come back from heaven: inside a bestseller's 'deception' | Books | The Guardian - “The Bible says people like fables.”

These Are Actually The Coolest Photos Of New York We've Ever Seen

012015
In State of the Union, Obama Focuses on the Middle Class - NYTimes.com
Obama in State of the Union: The Shadow of Crisis Has Passed - Nation - Boston.com - President Barack Obama declared Tuesday night that the ‘‘shadow of crisis’’ has passed America and urged Congress to build on economic gains by raising taxes on the nation’s wealthiest to pay for reductions for the middle class — an agenda more likely to antagonize the new Republican majority than win its approval.

Offshore Wind Better For Atlantic Coast Than Offshore Drilling - Offshore wind energy would produce twice as many jobs and twice the energy as offshore drilling in the Atlantic Ocean. (thanks, Teddie)

Ebola has killed off a THIRD of the world's gorillas and chimpanzees - Mirror Online - The great apes are in desperate need of an Ebola vaccine too

Someone is trying to crowdfund $10M to overthrow North Korea

Michael Moore Offers Opinion On 'American Sniper' Following Sniper Tweets - Moore wrote on Facebook that he was thinking about snipers over the weekend because of how Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. "I think most Americans don't think snipers are heroes," Moore wrote. "Hopefully not on this weekend when we remember that man in Memphis, Tennessee, who was killed by a sniper's bullet."
Hegs94 comments on Seth Rogen Slams ‘American Sniper': ‘Reminds Me Of Nazi Propaganda’
The real 'American Sniper' Chris Kyle being interviewed on Conan in 2012. : videos
In the Crosshairs - The New Yorker - Chris Kyle, a decorated sniper, tried to help a troubled veteran. The result was tragic.

Coup Fears Rise in Yemen as Rebels Storm Palace - NYTimes.com
Houthi Fighters Take Yemen's Presidential Palace, Shell President's Residence
Islamic State Threatens To Kill Japanese Hostages Unless $200 Million Ransom Is Paid: Video - The video was not dated, but on a visit to Cairo on Jan. 17, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged around $200 million in non-military assistance for countries battling Islamic State.
The French And Anne Hidalgo Look To Defend Against Fox's Claims That There Are No-Go Zones For Muslims In Paris - Esquire
CNN Correspondent Confronts Bobby Jindal Over False Comments About Muslims | ThinkProgress - But Jindal insisted that such areas do exist and instead of offering any additional details or locations he blamed the radical left for pretending “this problem is not here.”
Hullabaloo - Cranking up the crazy, Jindal style (no-go zones in Bobby's head)
Supreme Court rules for bearded Muslim inmate - A unanimous Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that a Muslim prison inmate in Arkansas can grow a short beard for religious reasons.
Rumi Followers Fight To Keep Turkey From Cashing In On Mystic's Legacy

Chechens held in France with explosives - The Local - Five Russian nationals of Chechen origin have been arrested in France with explosives, a French prosecutor revealed on Tuesday. On the same day it emerged that counter-terrorism police may also have thwarted an attack in Lyon.

Supporters Doubt Argentine Prosecutor Killed Self
No gunpowder traces found on Nisman’s hands, tests ordered on alleged weapon - BuenosAiresHerald.com - The forensic analysis on AMIA special prosecutor Alberto Nisman’s body confirmed that there were no traces of gunpowder on his hands. However, experts explained that it does not contradict suicide hypothesis.

Japan asks US publisher to change 'sex slave' textbook | Daily Mail Online - Japan has asked a major US publisher to "correct" a school textbook that references World War II sex slaves, the foreign ministry said Thursday, as Tokyo's bid to polish its history moves abroad.

The Sad State Of America's Middle Class, In 6 Charts
Richest 1% Disappointed to Have Only Half of World’s Wealth - The New Yorker

Memo to Dems: Voters you need to win back still really don’t like this economy - The Washington Post - The very voter groups that Democrats need to improve among most are also the ones who continue to say they are falling behind in spite of the accelerating recovery. Those groups are blue collar and older whites.

No, Congress Never Intended to Limit Obamacare Subsidies to State Exchanges | Mother Jones - The Supreme Court will soon hear oral arguments in King v. Burwell, in which conservatives will argue that the text of Obamacare limits federal subsidies only to people who buy insurance from state-run exchanges, not from the federal exchange.

GOP Quietly Giving Committee Chairmen Unilateral Subpoena Power - The change would allow GOP chairmen to issue subpoenas without input from Democrats, letting them challenge nearly all of President Barack Obama's signature accomplishments, including the Affordable Care Act, the Dodd-Frank financial reform law, immigration reform and environmental protections.

Democrats, Tech Experts Slam Obama's Anti-Hacking Proposal - President Barack Obama proposed overhauling a federal law used to prosecute hackers. His suggested revision has come under fire from fellow Democrats and tech experts, who said that it would make a bad law worse, discourage cybersecurity researchers from doing their jobs, and expand penalties even for hacktivists like the late Aaron Swartz, who killed himself while under federal indictment.


NYPD Union Chief Under Fire From His Own Membership - Patrick Lynch, who has been the president of the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association for 16 years, now faces a challenge from a slate of candidates who want to see him out of power, according to the New York Daily News.
New police radars can 'see' inside homes - At least 50 U.S. law enforcement agencies quietly deployed radars that let them effectively see inside homes, with little notice to the courts or the public.
Bill would ban police from using military gear in Tennessee. : news
ASU officer who made disputed arrest might be fired - CBS 5 - KPHO - The Arizona State University police officer placed on leave after a professor accused him of wrongful arrest and excessive force could be losing his job.

Police in James Holmes case ordered video footage of suspect in jail deleted | US news | The Guardian - Police ordered the deletion of video recordings of James Holmes in jail during the days after his massacre at a cinema in Aurora, Colorado, following a request from the state prosecutors who are seeking to prove that he was sane and should face the death penalty.

Key witness in Serial case Asia McClain says prosecutor suppressed testimony | Television & radio | The Guardian - McClain says Kevin Urick actively suppressed her testimony in which she describes seeing Adnan Syed in the school library at the time the crime allegedly took place

Teen caught after posing as OB/GYN at hospital for month, fooling doctors | fox13now.com

Uber CEO Reveals Mind-Boggling New Statistic That Skeptics Should Put In Their Pipes And Smoke - Business Insider - In its most mature market, San Francisco, the 4-year old Uber is already bigger than the whole taxi market. Much bigger, in fact.
Hearing Pits Tenants Who Denounce Airbnb Against Those Who Profit From It - NYTimes.com - Audrey Smaltz, a longtime Manhattan resident, testified before the Housing and Buildings Committee that entire floors of her building on West 55th Street were now occupied by visitors who cycled through on vacation. “My friends and neighbors are being replaced by strangers and tourists thanks to websites like Airbnb and others,” she said

To Fall Out of Love, Do This - The New Yorker

Who died at your high school? : AskReddit
tbarnes472 comments on Therapist confusing my feelings.
A Mother sent an invoice to my son for not attending her child's birthday party and now wants to go to small claims court. : LegalAdviceUK
AlphaAgain comments on I want to work out

The cat's meow: Genome reveals clues to domestication | EurekAlert! Science News
TIL genome maps show that cats are only really semi-domesticated, even after sharing homes with humans for over 9000 years. : todayilearned

A Letter from Allen Ginsberg Corrects the Record on LSD
Historical Badass: Explorer Alexandra David-Néel | adventure journal - One of the most intrepid explorers in recent history is someone whose name you’ve almost certainly never heard. Alexandra David-Néel stood all of five feet tall and from the age of two was wandering away from her parents through the streets of Paris. At 18, in 1886, she climbed on a bicycle and rode from Brussels to Spain — without telling her parents.

Man shot by police was actor Mark Wahlberg's hometown friend - Massachusetts news - Boston.com - Campbell had a relationship with Mayor Martin Walsh’s girlfriend two decades ago and was her daughter’s father. Walsh issued a statement requesting privacy for the family

011915
The New Yorker Shares Its 'Dream Of Reconciliation' With Striking MLK Cover - Titled "The Dream of Reconciliation," the cover depicts Dr. King marching alongside Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and Wenjian Liu, the NYPD officer killed last month with Rafael Ramos.
Remembering Martin Luther King, Jr. And The Others Involved In The Selma March - Esquire - DuVernay decided that she would make a war movie, and by the fact that this truly is the first film that shows the reality of the war waged against the Movement by the forces of organized American apartheid that does not have a white hero at its dramatic center.
‘Cowboy’ conservative claims MLK for the Tea Party until liberals stop bringing up race - During his speech at the South Carolina Tea Party Coalition convention yesterday, conservative entertainer and YouTube celebrity “Wild Bill” Finley claimed ownership of slain Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
Robert E. Lee Day: Some Southern states still celebrate the Confederate general on Martin Luther King Day. - Why some states can’t celebrate MLK without remembering the Confederate general, too.

U.S.-built Ebola treatment centers in Liberia are nearly empty as outbreak fades - The Washington Post

Pipeline breach spills oil into Yellowstone River

Tehran Says Iranian General Killed In Israeli Airstrike In Syria
U.S. Support for Syria Peace Plans Demonstrates Shift in Priorities - NYTimes.com
Marine Le Pen: France Was Attacked by Islamic Fundamentalism - NYTimes.com - every year tons of weapons from the Balkans enter French territory unhindered and hundreds of jihadists move freely around Europe.
Open door: The readers’ editor on… the Guardian’s values and Charlie Hebdo’s cartoons of Muhammad | Chris Elliott | Comment is free | The Guardian - one not to reproduce offensive cartoons of the prophet Muhammad that the magazine had published before the killings, and the second to show the front cover of the magazine produced afterwards, which also featured an image of Muhammad.
The Economist Pulls Charlie Hebdo Cartoon From Southeast Asia Edition
Charlie Hebdo Founder Says Slain Editor 'Dragged' Staff To Their Deaths - Roussel wonders why Charbonnier, also known as Charb, continued to push his staff despite multiple threats and attacks, suggesting that his "block head" behavior led the rest of the team to their deaths.
AFP Photographer Shot At Anti-Charlie Hebdo Protest In Pakistan
Bobby Jindal slams 'no-go zones,' pushes 'assimilation' - CNN.com - Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal on Monday stood by his criticism of so-called "no-go" zones in Europe, where sovereign nations allegedly cede authority to Muslim immigrants, a controversial idea that many critics say is overblown.

BasNews - Islamic State killed another 16 insurgents for fleeing conflict
Isis executions: Terror group throws 'gay' men off tower, stones woman accused of adultery and crucifies 17 young men - Independent.ie (necromongers)
ISIS published female sex slave handbook - Middle East - Jerusalem Post - The pamphlet handed out by ISIS militants answers over 27 questions, and approves the enslavement, rape - including of prepubescent girls - and sale of sex slaves.

China's Economic Growth Slows To 7.4 Percent - China's economic growth slowed to 7.4 percent last year, the weakest expansion in more than two decades.

GCHQ intercepted emails of journalists from top international media | UK news | The Guardian - Snowden files reveal emails of BBC, NY Times and more - • Agency includes investigative journalists on ‘threat’ list (spies hate terroristic journos; your rule of law is a joke)

They were never there: Russia's silence for families of troops killed in Ukraine | World news | The Guardian - The Kremlin denies sending troops into the conflict in east Ukraine, but Russian relatives of those who have served and died across the border tell a different story
Russia outlaws films that 'threaten national unity' or 'defile culture' | Film | The Guardian - Move criticised by film directors as being a relic of the Soviet era, following law banning profanity in Russian films

Did Iran Murder Argentina’s Crusading Prosecutor Alberto Nisman? - The Daily Beast - An Argentine prosecutor died from a single gunshot wound to the head Sunday, hours before giving evidence about Iran’s involvement in the 1994 bombing of a Jewish center. Ten members of the Argentine Federal Police force had been assigned to him as bodyguards, but it seems they were not deployed when he was at home. (of course)
Prosecutor in Argentina Bombing Inquiry Is Found Dead - NYTimes.com - A federal prosecutor who accused top officials including the president of protecting Iranian suspects in the 1994 bombing of a Jewish center, considered Argentina’s worst terrorist attack, has been found dead at home from a gunshot wound to the head
Argentine prosecutor Nisman who accused Pres. Kirchner of coverup in AMIA bombing probe found dead in his apartment : worldnews - This is massive news, in only 12 hours he was supposed to be making the accusations in the congress. The president and a lot of members of the state were involved in the tapes he had. I cant believe this is happening in "democracy"

GCHQ intercepted emails from the BBC, New York Times, Guardian and others

Natasha Vargas-Cooper Resigns From The Intercept, Heads To Jezebel - Natasha Vargas-Cooper is leaving First Look Media's The Intercept and joining Jezebel, the journalist announced on Twitter Thursday ... After the article ran, however, Vargas-Cooper took to her Tumblr to air some grievances concerning the decision to leave out an email correspondence between Urick and "Serial" host Sarah Koenig.

40% of British families ‘too poor to play a part in society’ | Society | The Guardian - 8 million lacking required income level, says charity, as rising figure reflects cost of living and benefit cuts

In Texas, Hunkering Down for the Oil Bust - NYTimes.com - With oil prices plummeting by more than 50 percent since June, the gleeful mood of recent years has turned glum here in West Texas as the frenzy of shale oil drilling has come to a screeching halt (drillbabydrill)

Hating Good Government - NYTimes.com - most self-proclaimed conservatives are actually reactionaries. That is, they’re defenders of traditional hierarchy — the kind of hierarchy that is threatened by any expansion of government, even (or perhaps especially) when that expansion makes the lives of ordinary citizens better and more secure.
'Cultural Marxism': a uniting theory for rightwingers who love to play the victim | Jason Wilson | Comment is free | The Guardian - The culture war that so defines current debates between the left and right sides of politics has its history in the barmy theory of ‘cultural Marxism’

Here’s one way you fight inequality: President Obama goes after a big, high-end loophole and uses the revenues to help the middle class. - The Washington Post
Richest 1 Percent To Own More Than Half Of The World's Wealth By 2016, Oxfam Finds
Inequality isn’t inevitable, it’s engineered. That’s how the 1% have taken over | Suzanne Moore | Comment is free | The Guardian - Unless we wake up to the fact that wild inequality isn’t just an unavoidable byproduct of growth, the gap will keep on widening
How Expensive It Is to Be Poor - NYTimes.com - most wealthy Americans believed “poor people today have it easy because they can get government benefits without doing anything in return.”

Dartmouth Has Trained You Well - Lawyers, Guns & Money : - Now that’s good trolling. Dinesh D'imbulb Souza)
Utah College Returns Pro-Confederate Statue To Artist - "What it (settlement) means is that we can officially put the Confederate identity behind us," university spokesman Steve Johnson told The Salt Lake Tribune. "Now the university can move forward."

As Pot Reaches Peak Bougie, Which Stoners Get Weeded Out? - Louisiana’s three-strike rule allows judges to sentence anyone convicted three or more times of drug crimes carrying 12-year sentences to life in prison without parole. (cops seizing your life for drugz that are mostly legal)
Legalized marijuana: What Colorado looks like 1 year after Amendment 64 - World - CBC News - Police officers were worried when Amendment 64 first passed, a Denver police officer tells Sherren, but that fear turned out to be unfounded.
High on Life? Medical Marijuana Laws and Suicide | Cato Institute - We conclude that the legalization of medical marijuana leads to fewer suicides among young adult males. This result is consistent with the oft-voiced, but controversial, claim that marijuana can be used to cope with depression and anxiety caused by stressful life events. However, the result may, at least in part, be attributable to the reduction in alcohol consumption among young adults that appears to accompany the legalization of medical marijuana (Anderson et al., 2013).

Man cited for ‘eating while driving’ in Cobb County | www.wsbtv.com - “He said specifically three times, you can’t just go down the road eating a hamburger.”

On Edgar Allan Poe by Marilynne Robinson | The New York Review of Books - Edgar Allan Poe was and is a turbulence, an anomaly among the major American writers of his period, an anomaly to this day
The (Still) Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe | History | Smithsonian - Was the famous author killed from a beating? From carbon monoxide poisoning? From alcohol withdrawal? Here are the top nine theories

Epic cosmic radio burst finally seen in real time - space - 19 January 2015 - New Scientist - Blitzars last about a millisecond but give off as much energy as the sun does in a million years, all seemingly in a tight band of radio-frequency waves.
The fuck is this shit? : pics (new math)
Big butts: Female curves give babies brain-building breastmilk | DHA - Researchers have found that the development of babies’ brains relies on fat supplies stripped directly from the mother’s thighs and bottom, especially during breastfeeding.
'Designer babies' debate should start, scientists say - Rapid progress in genetics is making "designer babies" more likely and society needs to be prepared, leading scientists have told the BBC.

What's the Best Space Heater?

I started Animating the story of Jenny and Kevin from TIFU : videos
My_Normal_Account comments on Is anyone actually buying this?
Jenny vs Carly : whowouldwin
imbeingmauledbybears comments on Does anyone else think that the cheating story on the front page is a total load of bullshit?
turingery comments on [PART 3 w/UPDATES] TIFU by reading my wife's text messages. She's cheating on me.
What is your countries most embarrassing contribution to the world? : AskReddit - Literally Hitler.

I have recut PJ’s Hobbit trilogy into a single 4-hour film (The Tolkien Edit) : tolkienfans

Silk Road Judge: Tor Browser Is "Mumbo-Jumbo To Most People On The Jury Right Now"

011815
The Long Game on Climate Policy by Nancy LeTourneau | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - All of this added to the Obama administration’s rules on coal plant and methane emissions mean that the United States goes into the Global Climate Change Conference in Paris later this year with a very strong hand.

Half global wealth held by the 1% | Business | The Guardian - Oxfam warns of widening inequality gap, days ahead of Davos economic summit in Switzerland

New Snowden Docs Indicate Scope of NSA Preparations for Cyber Battle - spiegel online - The NSA's mass surveillance is just the beginning. Documents from Edward Snowden show that the intelligence agency is arming America for future digital wars -- a struggle for control of the Internet that is already well underway.
Obama Administration to Disclose New Changes to NSA Spying - NationalJournal.com - The intelligence community will release more information about post-Snowden changes to its surveillance programs by the end of the month.
Chinese Spies Stole F-35 Fighter Design, Edward Snowden Reveals


France - Poll: Nearly half of French oppose Mohammed cartoons - France 24
Anti-Islam PEGIDA Rally In Germany Canceled Over Threat - against one of its organizers, the group and authorities said. But Biard suggested Sunday that following the pope's admonition would set a dangerous precedent. “We do not kill anyone. We must stop conflating the murderers and the victims. We must stop declaring that those who write and draw are provocateurs, that they are throwing gas on the fire,” he said. “We must not place thinkers and artists in the same categories as murderers.”
Ralph Steadman on Charlie Hebdo, the Right to Offend and Changing the World

Ignore the headlines. The world is getting safer all the time. - Vox - "terrorism works through our reaction to it"

Lack of political process in Iraq ‘risks further gains for Isis’ | World news | The Guardian - Iraq’s vice-president for reconciliation says air strikes alongside failure to reconcile Shias and Sunnis may drive more tribes to join jihadis
Sources: Israeli strike in Syria kills senior Hezbollah members, son of group's late leader - Arab-Israeli Conflict - Jerusalem Post
Dutch opposition says has documents proving Turkey sent arms to Syrian jihadists
ISIS Cell Busted in Israel - Defense/Security - News - Arutz Sheva
Israel lobbies foreign powers to cut ICC funding | Reuters - Israel is lobbying member-states of the International Criminal Court to cut funding for the tribunal in response to its launch of an inquiry into possible war crimes in the Palestinian territories, the country's foreign minister said on Sunday.

Goodluck Jonathan: from poor boy to accidental president | Observer profile | From the Observer | The Observer - Nigeria’s leader has ridden out storms over corruption and a terrorist war. But as he stands for re-election, even with 2,000 feared dead from Boko Haram attacks, he remains a clear favourite - In one case, payments of $6.4m flowed from the state treasury within 24 hours to “unknown entities” (of the oiligarches)
Boko Haram kidnaps 80 and kills three in attack on villages in Cameroon | World news | The Guardian - Many children kidnapped in raid across border with Nigeria as soldiers exchange fire with militants for around two hours
Ukraine troops retake Donetsk airport area with ‘mass operation’ | World news | The Guardian

Republicans Remain Terrified That President Obama Will Close Gitmo by Nancy LeTourneau | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - At a news conference on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, Ayotte argued the administration’s increased clip of transfers was dangerous because it could allow detainees to re-enter the terrorism fight, citing the recent terrorist attacks in Paris. (whinny-ass scaredy-cat NH dimbulb)


President Obama finally has his Piketty moment - The Washington Post

White House pushes Obama tax plan as Republicans line up to voice opposition | US news | The Guardian - Announcement comes ahead of Tuesday’s State of the Union address, where president will outline $320bn plan to help struggling middle class
Obama To Propose Tax Hikes On Wealthy, Breaks For Middle Class (now that he doesn't have any Dems holding him back)
GOP pounces on Obama's tax plan | TheHill - Republicans pounced on President Obama's tax plan that he will unveil during Tuesday's State of the Union Address as little more than a partisan stunt with virtually no chance of passing in the GOP-controlled Congress.


Vanderbilt students rally against hate speech - following the publication of Professor Carol Swain's op-ed in The Tennessean. Swain wrote the article "Charlie Hebdo attacks prove critics were right about Islam"

These Surprising Maps Show How Crime In America Has Changed Over The Last Decade - Movoto
Gunned Down: The Power of the NRA | FRONTLINE | PBS
Oklahoma 'Survivalist' Released After He Shot Police Chief 4 Times - "Don't know what he heard or didn't hear screaming from five officers of the law announcing our presence, requesting to see hands," Ross said. (got swatted)
Packing Heat at the Airport? Oops - NYTimes.com - bullets in the chamber. - “Oops, I forgot,” is usually the armed travelers’ wide-eyed response, as if they’d been caught with a water bottle in their bag or loose change still in their pockets (responsibile gun owners)

Disneyland measles: Rapid spread concerns health officials - LA Times - “The greatest threat to the U.S. vaccination program may now come from parents’ hesitancy to vaccinate their children,” (wow, you wrote that whole article without mentioning Oprah or Jenny McCarthy)

Will the F.D.A. Kill Off E-Cigs? - NYTimes.com
Redefining Mental Illness - NYTimes.com - psychiatric researchers will no longer study people with anxiety; they will study fear circuitry. (sounds like an improvement)

Odd Byproduct of Legal Marijuana: Homes That Blow Up - NYTimes.com
Study: Long-Term Marijuana Smoking Doesn’t Significantly Harm Your Lungs - Reset.me (not even vaping)
Inhalation of one marijuana cigarette per day over a 20-year period is not associated with adverse changes in lung health : science

ELI5:( sorta ) What does the liquid in female ejaculate ( squirt ) consist of and why / how does it happen? (NSFW ) : explainlikeimfive

[PART 3 w/UPDATES] TIFU by reading my wife's text messages. She's cheating on me. : tifu
A German commercial about how important washing your hands is in a strange way : videos
And this is why people dont abort after 6 weeks : ImGoingToHellForThis
All the popular baby names you hate while pregnant will be the names of your child's friends and classmates. : Showerthoughts
What city has the worst design flaws and why? : AskReddit
A fifteen year old Amish boy and his father were in a mall : Jokes
Airforce UFO Reports Declassified: " nearly 130,000 pages of declassified UFO records — a trove that would make Agent Fox Mulder's mouth water — hit the web." : news

Lizard Kids: A Long Trail of Fail — Krebs on Security
LizardSquad's DDoS tool falls prey to hack, exposes complete customer database : technology
Lizardstresser.su User Enumeration / Eric Zhang [Xeroday]

011715
First atomic blast proposed as start of Anthropocene : Nature News & Comment - Other researchers see earlier beginning to the human-dominated age.
Biggest Reservoir for Brazil's Largest City Is Running Dry - ABC News - Halfway through the rainy season, the key reservoir for the hemisphere's largest city holds just 6 percent of its capacity, and experts warned Friday that Sao Paulo authorities must take urgent steps to prevent the worst drought in more than 80 years from drying it out.

Ron Wyden on Twitter: "It is unreal that no one at @CIA is being held accountable for hacking into Senate computers. http://t.co/kJJ9pUSBD7 #torturereport"
The CIA Has Created A Culture Of Credulous Fear In This Country - Esquire - Danner explains how a complicated infrastructure of mendacity was constructed and how it became equally as vital to the torture program as were the waterboard and the rectal feeding tube. Not only did the CIA arrange this infrastructure in order to lie to the American people about what was done in their name, but also the CIA built this infrastructure to provide an institutional basis for the American government to lie to itself. (Republicans doing what they do)
No penalty for CIA employees accused of spying on Senate - CNN.com - Five CIA employees who improperly accessed data belonging to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence will not face disciplinary measures as they "acted reasonable under the complex and unprecedented circumstances in investigating a potential security breach in the highly classified shared computer network," according to an agency accountability board.
White House knew CIA spied on Senate torture investigators - report — RT USA (Obama knew all along and emboldened them)
No penalty for CIA employees accused of spying on Senate : news - Never be deceived that the rich will allow you to vote away their wealth. --Lucy Parsons.
John Brennan Exonerates Himself with Sham Investigation - The Intercept

CIA leak trial: 90+ people reportedly knew of secret mission against Iran — RT USA - More than 90 people in the government knew about a covert CIA mission aimed at slowing down Iran’s nuclear program, an agency manager said in a federal court. The plan was eventually leaked to the media.
CIA torture is reason for France to exit NATO – Le Pen — RT News - "Si vraiment il y a une indignation générale sur la torture utilisée par les Etats-Unis, sortons de l'#OTAN !
Condoleezza Rice Testifies on Urging The Times to Not Run Article - NYTimes.com - White House officials favor two primary tactics when they want to kill a news article, Condoleezza Rice, the former national security adviser, testified Thursday: They can essentially confirm the report by arguing that it is too important to national security to be published, or they can say that the reporter has it wrong.

Obama Sees Need for Encryption Backdoor - BankInfoSecurity - Cameron Describes a 'Front Door' to Circumvent Encryption
If you seek to 'switch off' encryption, you may as well switch off the whole internet - (FT)

Operation Socialist: How GCHQ Spies Hacked Belgium’s Largest Telco - Snowden told The Intercept that the latest revelations amounted to unprecedented “smoking-gun attribution for a governmental cyber attack against critical infrastructure.” (and the corps left the spyware alone)

The Week | Fourth Khushab nuclear reactor now operational - n: US-based Institute for Science and International Security has said that Pakistan's fourth heavy water reactor at Khushab nuclear site, which allows it to build a larger number of miniaturised plutonium-based nuclear weapons, is now operational. (jihadis w/personal nukes is next)

France Arrests a Comedian For His Facebook Comments, Showing the Sham of the West's "Free Speech" Celebration - The Intercept (for non-Muslims)
Jon Stewart: France's Hate-Speech Arrest 'A Little Weird' After Free-Speech Rallies

Soldiers to guard Belgian Jewish sites as Europol warns of further attacks | UK news | The Guardian - Protection stepped up across Europe – with UK police on highest alert level ever – in wake of series of terrorist incidents
Terror attacks in Europe: the five danger zones | World news | The Guardian - Security experts believe jihadis returning from Syria are most likely to be plotting attacks in five western European countries
Patriot Act Idea Rises in France, and Is Ridiculed - NYTimes.com - “The spiral of suspicion created in the United States by the Patriot Act and the enduring legitimization of torture or illegal detention has today caused that country to lose its moral compass,” he wrote in Le Monde (cf Obama)
Protesters burn French flag at anti-cartoon rally on Temple Mount | The Times of Israel - 500 Muslim worshipers gather at holy site to protest French magazine’s portrayal of the Prophet Muhammad
Niger Protesters Burn Churches On Second Day Of Anti-Charlie Hebdo Violence - "They offended our Prophet Mohammed. That's what we didn't like,"
Isis using UK female jihadis to incite terror acts back home, say researchers | World news | The Guardian - According to monitoring of their social media accounts, a number have been acting as Isis recruiters or openly praising the Charlie Hebdo shootings, while encouraging more bloodshed, including the beheadings of westerners.
Kurds Battle Assad's Forces, Opening New Front In Syria's War - "There has been some serious fighting today. The PYD (the political wing of the YPG) arrested 10 soldiers and Baath party gunmen,"
Report: Egypt uncovers explosives-laden tunnel between Sinai and Gaza - Israel News, Ynetnews - Military forces find, blow up 1,200-meter long tunnel with large amount of explosives, mortar shells; shaft opening located in smuggler's home.

Saudi blogger Raif Badawi’s case referred to supreme court, says his wife | World news | The Guardian - King said to have stepped in amid flogging clamour as second round of 50 lashes delayed on health grounds
US woman held in Saudi for having affair - Emirates 24/7 - Cops arrest woman and Saudi boyfriend while meeting in his car
Hullabaloo - Our close allies the Islamic extremists - Another day another beheading:
Woman Is Publicly Beheaded in Saudi Arabia's Tenth Execution of 2015 | VICE News - Gruesome footage circulating on social media shows Saudi authorities publicly beheading a woman in the holy city of Mecca earlier this week. The execution is the tenth to be carried out in country in the last two weeks; setting 2015 up to be even more bloody than last year, when 87 people were punitively killed by the state.

Thousands see off Chadian troops to fight Boko Haram - Yahoo!7 - Tens of thousands of people joined a march in N'Djamena on Saturday in support of Chadian troops heading to Nigeria and Cameroon to fight the Islamist group Boko Haram.

Pakistan School Massacre Suspects Arrested In Afghanistan - Afghan security services have arrested five men in connection with the massacre at a Pakistan military school last month that killed 150 people, most of them children, officials said Saturday.

A Mysterious Twitter Whistleblower Is Trying to Take Down the President of Turkey | VICE News - An anonymous whistleblower is captivating Turkey by tweeting revelations from the upper echelons of Turkish politics. The latest claims are the most explosive yet: The whistleblower says Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan plotted terrorist-style attacks on Turkish civilians to frame his opponents.
Turkish anchorwoman faces 5 years in jail for tweet - politics

emr1028 comments on A map of all known militarized features in the Spratly Island/Reef Chain in the South China Sea. Red = China, Green = Taiwan, Blue = Vietnam, Yellow = Malaysia, Purple = Philippines. [1599x875]

Russia could soon run multiple Ukraine-sized operations: U.S. general | Reuters

Hedge funds, speculators face big losses on Swiss franc rally - Yahoo Finance - Currency speculators and global macro hedge funds with large short positions in the Swiss franc are staring massive losses in the face after the Swiss National Bank shocked markets on Thursday by removing a three-year-old cap on the currency.
Casualties From Swiss Shock Spread From New York to New Zealand - Bloomberg - “This was a 180-degree about turn by the SNB. People feel hurt and betrayed.” (riches fee-fees are hurt)
WRAPUP 5-Swiss franc shock shuts some FX brokers; regulators move in | Reuters

Green membership surge takes party past Lib Dems and Ukip | Politics | The Guardian - Party signs up 2,000 in a day amid blaze of publicity over exclusion from general election leaders’ debates ("not a major party")

BP’s maximum fine for Gulf of Mexico oil spill is cut by billions | Business | The Guardian - Federal court rules that size of Deepwater Horizon spill in 2010 was smaller than the US government had claimed (corps walk)


Restricting abortion high on the agenda for Republican-controlled Congress | World news | The Guardian - Anti-abortion campaigners see the issue as a potentially decisive election issue while pro-choice advocates see ‘very worrisome’ political landscape

Mitt Romney looks to 2016 run and wants to 'lift people out of poverty' | US news | The Guardian (by starving them to death)

Justice Anthony Kennedy Key Figure As Supreme Court Weighs Gay Marriage

Eschaton: Good Luck, Kansas! - It really is the perpetual story of New Jersey. Christine Todd Whitman was the awesomest, and that awesomeness was paid for by underfunding the pensions. Rinse, repeat, everywhere. (America the dumb)
Booman Tribune ~ A Progressive Community - I try to remind myself that plenty of people in Kansas voted against Sam Brownback, but part of me looks at these citizens' looming regressive sales tax increases and thinks, "They're going to get exactly what they deserve." (Kansas now ranks 7th in the nation in net population loss)
Eschaton: Do Any Of These People Ever Leave The Country - I suppose it's just another edition of the endless stupid or lying question - " An advance text of Jindal's speech, circulated by his office, warns that Islamic radicals are fomenting anti-Western sentiment in "no-go zones" where they rule themselves by Islamic religious law, not the laws of their host nations." (lying is what they do, dumb is what they are)
Jindal doubles down on Muslim 'no-go zones' in Europe - British Prime Minister David Cameron responded: "When I heard this frankly, I choked on my porridge and I thought it must be April Fools Day. This guy is clearly a complete idiot."
Fox Guest: "Put Razor Wire Around" Muslim "No-Go Zones" And Catalogue Residents | Video | Media Matters for America (the latest Fox Fantasy: remember, Birmingham is 99% Mooslim)

The NY Police vs. the Mayor by Michael Greenberg | The New York Review of Books - Reuters recently interviewed twenty-five black male NYPD officers and all but one said that when off duty and out of uniform they had been harassed or racially profiled by police: Black officers are also the most frequent victims of cop-on-cop shootings, mainly because fellow officers mistake them for criminals. (you know, those phtographic black targets +NY cops are really disgusting)
North Miami Police Chief Suspends Training Program Immediately after Mug Shots Of Black Males Had been Used As Targets
Poll: New Yorkers don't approve of police rebuffing mayor - Yahoo News - The Quinnipiac University poll found that 69 percent disapproved of the silent protest among police at the funerals of officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu and 77 percent considered union leader Patrick Lynch's comment "too extreme." (little PR problem there, cops)
Former Trumbull cop gets 30 months for sex assault - Connecticut Postings - A 20-year veteran of the Trumbull police force Tuesday began serving a 30-month prison term Tuesday for repeatedly sexually assaulting a teenaged girl he met through the department’s explorer program.

How military sex offenders fly under the radar at home - In the calm of Central Wisconsin’s rolling hills, big-city dangers seem as if they’re an entire world away. Yet, right here in the small town of Reedsburg, population 10,000, a serial sex offender from the military chose his latest victim, an unsuspecting civilian.

U.S. education spending tops global list, study shows - CBS News - "When people talk about other countries out-educating the United States, it needs to be remembered that those other nations are out-investing us in education as well," said Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, a labor union.
Test Finds College Graduates Lack Skills for White-Collar Jobs - WSJ - Forty Percent of Students Seen Ill-Prepared to Enter Work Force; Critical Thinking Key (Republicans hate "thinking")
More Than Half Of American Schoolchildren Now Live In Poverty (Americans hate children and education)
Another Maryland Mom Arrested: She Let Daughter, 10, Wait in Car with Baby Sister for 10 Mins : Free Range Kids (six months probation, contrast the copsters; Maryland loves intrusive big goverment)
Parents investigated for neglect after letting kids walk home alone - The Washington Post - It was a one-mile walk home from a Silver Spring park on Georgia Avenue on a Saturday afternoon. But what the parents saw as a moment of independence for their 10-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter, they say authorities viewed much differently ... Montgomery County Child Protective Services, he said, which showed up a couple of hours after the police left.

Supersizing Manhattan: New Yorkers rage against the dying of the light | Cities | The Guardian - ‘Supertall’ buildings are sprouting like beanstalks in central New York, costing its citizens precious sunshine and air, and turning the city’s skyline into a jumble (sunlight is for penthouses)

Eschaton: Affluenza - The poors never feel the special feels that the rich do, that acute loneliness is never felt by the kids whose parent is working 70 hours per week. The rich have special feels.
The Price of Privilege - NYTimes.com - police said, Thomas S. Gilbert Jr., 30, marched into his parents’ apartment this month and shot his father in the head — after asking his mother to run out and get him a sandwich and a soda - spent long hours at shooting ranges honing his skill with a pistol. (riches were left alone too much)

Too rich to get sick? Disneyland measles outbreak reflects anti-vaccination trend | US news | The Guardian - In Orange County, California, wealthier, better-educated parents are less inclined to immunise their children. Doctors warn of a public health time-bomb - At Capistrano Unified school district, for instance, there was a 9.5% rate of children not fully vaccinated because of parents’ beliefs. At the nearby, poorer Santa Ana Unified district, in contrast, only 0.2% of kindergartners had exemptions on file.
Disneyland Measles Outbreak Now In 4 States - The majority of people who get measles aren’t vaccinated and measles can spread when it reaches a community where groups of people are unvaccinated,

A Significant Step Towards Explaining the Cosmic Origins of the Seeds of Galaxies - SciTech Daily
New study finds that closing your eyes boosts memory recall | University of Surrey - Guildford - In a new study, published today in the journal Legal and Criminology Psychology, researchers from the University of Surrey have found further evidence to suggest that eyewitnesses to crimes remember more accurate details when they close their eyes.
Teens Who Skimp On Sleep Now Have More Drinking Problems Later : Shots - Health News : NPR - Teenagers ages 14 through 16 who had trouble falling or staying asleep were 47 percent more likely to binge drink than their well-rested peers.
What Humans Can Learn From The Mice Utopia Experiment - The limiting factor of Calhoun’s experiment’s was space. As time transpired, the mice passed on the negative behavioural attitudes to the next generation, and these, subsequently passed them on to the next generation, with the addition of new unsocial attitudes
Century-old drug reverses autism-like symptoms in fragile X mouse model -- ScienceDaily - Researchers previously reported that a drug used for almost a century to treat trypanosomiasis, or sleeping sickness, reversed environmental autism-like symptoms in mice

The question isn't if female ejaculation is real. It's why you don't trust women to tell you | Lux Alptraum | Comment is free | The Guardian - The debate about ‘squirting’ is actually about whether or not women can be trusted to accurately report their own sexual experiences
Nature and Origin of "Squirting" in Female Sexuality. - PubMed - NCBI

Considering Marijuana Legalization: Insights for Vermont and Other Jurisdictions | RAND - Vermonters likely consumed between 15 and 25 metric tons of marijuana and spent between $125million and $225 million on marijuana in 2014.

Classic psychedelic use is associated with reduced psychological distress and suicidality in the United States adult population (your government wants you depressed and afraid)
What's your drug of choice reddit? Why? : AskReddit
Considering Marijuana Legalization: Insights for Vermont and Other Jurisdictions | RAND - Vermonters likely consumed between 15 and 25 metric tons of marijuana and spent between $125million and $225 million on marijuana in 2014.
People who have taken hallucinogenic drugs such as LSD, PCP, etc., how have they changed the way you look at things? : AskReddit
I microdose LSD every third day - AMA! : casualiama
Does marijuana personally have any benefits for you? : AskReddit
[Serious][NSFW] Whats the one thing you hate during sex? : AskReddit - When he's being eerily quiet. You have no idea how hot it is when guys moan during sex so please do it, it's just unffff.
Only in Sweden : WTF
Microsoft virus scam : legaladvice (sauce)
Reddit, what ridiculous sentence does your phone come up with if you keep hitting the word prediction button? : AskReddit
I don’t believe in guilty pleasures. If you fucking like something, like it.

Two key Republicans shift to backing strong net neutrality - Sen. John Thune (R-SD) and Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), will introduce legislation to "prohibit blocking and throttling (the selective slowing of data), and also ensure that internet service providers could not charge a premium to prioritize content delivery."
Will the FCC’s net neutrality decision cost Americans $15 billion in new taxes? Nope - The Washington Post (would Grover Norquist lie to you? +3 pinocchios but Americans are stupid, so ...)
Sprint vs. AT&T: Net neutrality wouldn’t hurt investment | BGR - Sprint on Friday turned its back on its carrier framily members by saying reclassifying ISPs under Title II of the Telecommunications Act wouldn’t slow down its efforts to upgrade its services.
Man dies after three-day internet gaming binge - A Taiwanese man has died after a three-day gaming binge at an internet cafe in the island's south, the second such case this year.

Every State Should Make the Bold Internet Investment New York Just Did - Good news if you live in New York! Your internet is about to get faster and cheaper, and all it took was the shuffling of funds from big corporate banks to companies working hard to improve infrastructure for the good of the people—if you live in New York. Good job, New York. Your turn, every other state. (and fuck you Massachusetts)
The Book of Broken Promises: $400 Billion Broadband Scandal and Free the Net | Bruce Kushnick - By the end of 2014, America will have been charged about $400 billion by the local phone incumbents, Verizon, AT&T and CenturyLink, for a fiber optic future that never showed up. (a little backstory to the swindle)

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Humanity is in the existential danger zone, study confirms (Republicans have already screwed the world)
Scientists: Human activity has pushed Earth beyond four of nine ‘planetary boundaries’ - The Washington Post
Ocean Life Faces Mass Extinction, Broad Study Says - NYTimes.com
2014 Was the Warmest Year Ever Recorded on Earth - NYTimes.com

West Virginia Revisits Science Standards - NYTimes.com - The changes go far beyond mere tweaks and have importance beyond the boundaries of West Virginia, said Minda Berbeco, programs and policy director for the National Center for Science Education, based in Oakland, Calif ... L. Wade Linger Jr., the board member who asked for the changes, said in an interview that members had improved the curriculum. “We simply added some balance, to get the politics out of it,” ... Mr. Linger, who is a technology entrepreneur, said he had come to his conclusions about warming after doing research on the Internet (thinking is hard, Wayne thought)

Wrong Responses to Charlie Hebdo - NYTimes.com - Regrettably, some politicians are proposing the kind of Internet censorship and surveillance that would do little to protect their citizens but do a lot to infringe on civil liberties. (both extremes want the same thing)
French Town Struggles Over Departures for Jihad - NYTimes.com - , Mr. Goumri told local news media that the policies of President François Hollande were the main culprit and complained that it was not his job to denounce the jihadists when nobody protested French citizens who traveled to Israel to help the army “kill Palestinian babies.”
The Belgian connections to Islamic radicalism | World news | The Guardian - Verviers, where police killed two suspects on Thursday, was identified by US researchers as a hotbed of radicalism in 2008
European Police Arrest Over 2 Dozen In Anti-terror Sweeps - Belgium ordered its army into the streets and anti-terror raids across Western Europe netted dozens of suspects Friday as Europe rushed to thwart more attacks by people with links to Mideast Islamic extremists.
As Terrorism Suspects Are Detained in Europe, Scope of Challenge Is Highlighted - NYTimes.com - Those people, particularly the young, “are completely ready to be radicalized,” said Ms. Renier, though she emphasized that Islam should not be blamed
Four dead in Niger as Charlie Hebdo cartoon sparks protests | World news | The Guardian - Depiction of prophet Muhammad in French magazine also leads to violent reaction in Pakistan, Jordan and Algeria
France’s Jews Have No Choice but Israel - NYTimes.com - “The state of Israel is your home,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the Jews of France, refraining from blatantly saying that they ought to leave and come to Israel as Prime Minister Ariel Sharon suggested 10 years ago (well, that worked)

Boko Haram Appears to Be Using Abducted Girls as Suicide Bombers: Experts - NBC News.com - The kidnapping of nearly 300 girls in Nigeria by Islamist extremists Boko Haram has sparked global outrage and an online campaign, Bring Back Our Girls. (which has done, like nothing)
Turkish military says MIT shipped weapons to al-Qaeda - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East - Turkey's national intelligence service (MIT

Francs, Fear and Folly - NYTimes.com - Switzerland’s monetary travails illustrate in miniature just how hard it is to fight the deflationary vortex now dragging down much of the world economy ... the same serious people who decided, wrongly, that 2010 was the year we should pivot from jobs to deficits (you know, whats-his-name and whats-her-name)

Guantánamo Diary exposes brutality of US rendition and torture | World news | The Guardian - Memoir serialised by Guardian tells how Mohamedou Ould Slahi endured savage beatings, death threats and sexual humiliation (Republians at work)

Shocking: CIA clears CIA in Senate hacking brouhaha | Ars Technica - CIA snooped on Senate staffers investigating CIA torture practices. (well, that settles that)

D.E.A. Kept Telephone Records on Americans, Justice Department Says - NYTimes.com - The Justice Department revealed on Thursday the existence of yet another database of American telephone records, adding new details to the disclosures in recent years about mass government surveillance.

Russia moves first troops to Arctic base near Finnish border | Yle Uutiset | yle.fi - Russia is stepping up its military activity in the Arctic region. As part of this effort, Russian Armed Forces reopened an abandoned military base on the Kola Peninsula in the Russia city of Alakurtti recently, just 60 kilometres from the Finnish border.

Supreme Court to Decide Whether Gays Nationwide Can Marry - NYTimes.com


GOP Congresswomen Get Cold Feet On Anti-Abortion Bill - A group of Republican congresswomen led by Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-N.C.) is expressing concerns about an anti-abortion bill that was expected to have overwhelming GOP support in Congress, National Journal reported on Friday.

Sam Brownback Proposes Tax Increases In Wake Of Budget Problems - Kansas would nearly triple its cigarette tax, raise taxes on alcohol and slow down promised income tax cuts to balance its budget under proposals Republican Gov. Sam Brownback outlined Friday.

Holder limits seized-asset sharing process that split billions with local, state police - The Washington Post
Breaking down Holder’s move to limit civil asset forfeiture abuse - The Washington Post
Eric Holder Curbing Federal Government's Role In Civil Asset Forfeiture - But Holder says because all states now have civil or criminal asset forfeiture laws, it's no longer necessary for local law enforcement to turn over seized property. (so, nothing changes?)
The police rely on fear and lobbying to defeat reforms. Protestors can't let them do so again | Steven W Thrasher | Comment is free | The Guardian - Lobbying can be as hard to argue with as the spectre of terrorism. But, increasingly, Americans are not on law enforcement’s side
One in three Americans believe police 'routinely lie': survey | Reuters
Judge Dismisses Brooklyn Gun Case as Police Are Investigated - NYTimes.com - A Brooklyn man who claimed the police manufactured gun-possession charges against him had his case dismissed on Thursday, amid two investigations into the practices of a group of police officers in the 67th Precinct in East Flatbush.
For Better Crime Prevention, a Dose of Science - NYTimes.com - Crime Lab found that violent crimes committed by this group were 44 percent lower than in the control group. (CBT reduces crime)
Florida police on defense after black men's mugshots used for target practice | US news | The Guardian - Woman finds 15-year-old photo of her brother peppered with bullet holes - Police say real photos are key to training: ‘No discipline forthcoming’
Teenage runaways blazing trail of crime across US south still at large | US news | The Guardian - We’re going to see him as someone who’s stolen three vehicles with two handguns in them (66% of cars have 1.5 guns in them)

Why Some Teams Are Smarter Than Others - NYTimes.com - the most important ingredients for a smart team remained constant regardless of its mode of interaction: members who communicated a lot, participated equally and possessed good emotion-reading skills. (i.e., women)


Far Out: Astronomers Say Two Unknown Planets May Lurk Beyond Pluto - NBC News.com - "Planet X" might actually exist — and so might "Planet Y."
Why Billions of Exoplanets Are Suddenly Looking More Habitable -- Earth-Like Planets - Popular Mechanics - A new astrophysics study just raised the chances for finding life on exoplanets across the universe.
Three nearly Earth-size planets found orbiting nearby star | EurekAlert! Science News
Woolly mammoth cloning attempt revives ethical debate | CBCNews.ca Mobile - How close are we to bringing back an extinct mammoth? Should we? Scientists weigh in
New version of common antibiotic could eliminate risk of hearing loss, study finds | News Center | Stanford Medicine - A study in mice has found that a commonly used antibiotic can be modified to eliminate the risk that it will cause hearing loss.

Alex Malarkey, 'The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven,' Admits He Made It All Up - The 2010 memoir, "The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven," was written by Alex Malarkey and his father, Kevin Malarkey, a Christian therapist in Ohio. (eponymous)
Satan's School Bus Makes Mom Mad As Hell

What It’s Like to Date Your Dad -- Science of Us
This Interview With a Woman Dating Her Father Will Haunt You Forever

Tara Brach - Audio - Guided Meditations

The Pen Is Mightier Than the Keyboard - Advantages of Longhand Over Laptop Note Taking (they all use Macs, so they don't know you can write longhand on your laptop)
The Case for Banning Laptops in the Classroom - The New Yorker (oh, look at all the glowing Apple logos!)

What was the most dangerous thing did you do as a child where you had no idea of the potential risks? : AskReddit
How Germans advertise cow milk : videos
Males of Reddit, what's your most girly secret? : AskReddit
ELI5: When someone buys a URL address, what are they buying, who are they buying it from, and what does the current owner pay/has paid to have the right to sell it? : explainlikeimfive
oz2usa comments on Questions before I (29/m) pop the question.
A very good mythology summary of The Lord of the Rings explains a lot about Gandalf and the other wizards, all in under 5 minutes : movies
'The Ainulindalë' by J.R.R. Tolkien, art by Evan Palmer - Imgur
Collection of awesome LOTR posts! - Imgur
The Glamazon Way

Remember That Undeletable Super Cookie Verizon Claimed Wouldn't Be Abused? Yeah, Well, Funny Story... | Techdirt

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Does climate change exist? The Senate is about to let us know | Environment | The Guardian - An amendent to the Keystone XL pipeline bill hopes to force Republican climate change deniers to state whether they agree with the science or not

Long Watch: “Were Gitmo Murders Covered Up As Suicides?” » Balloon Juice
Evil Sponge Bob and Satan: Inside a Guantanamo Bay Prison Riot | VICE News

Unions target Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal for defeat - SFGate - Just over two decades after lobbying unsuccessfully against the North American Free Trade Agreement, U.S. labor unions are again voicing strong reservations about a proposed major trade-liberalization deal. The pact is still being hammered out in closed-door negotiations. ("fast-tracked" = you don't need to know)
The New CISPA Bill Is Literally Exactly the Same as the Last One

Man Held In Belgium Over Possible Weapons Sale To Paris Attacker Amedy Coulibaly - Belgian authorities have detained a man for arms dealing and are investigating whether he supplied one of the Islamist gunmen who together killed 17 people in Paris last week, prosecutors said on Thursday. (not sounding like much of network)

Saudi man sentenced 10 years jail and weekly public canings for 5 months. He is guilty of setting up a public online forum for debate and discussion. : worldnews

Israel says Swedish foreign minister not welcome | The Times of Israel - Diplomatic relations with Jerusalem sour since Stockholm recognized state of Palestine


Elizabeth Warren says government hurts business. Huh? - Elizabeth Warren: I'm not running for president

Marco Rubio's new book is full of the word 'innovation' and no actual policy innovations | Jeb Lund | Comment is free | The Guardian - It is the equivalent of someone taking his seminar class improvisations from all those mornings when professors called on him after he didn’t do the reading, then converting them to one massive, incoherent year-end term paper for all his classes. Rubio will pass, just so his professors can be rid of him. But he will not be class president. (real thoughtleading) )



Louisiana - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Public college and university campuses in Louisiana could close if the state ends up cutting $300 million or more out of its higher education budget during the next fiscal cycle. Jindal is supposedly looking to take some $250 million out of state health services in the next fiscal year.

Rikers inquiry finds 'shockingly inadequate screening' for prison guards | US news | The Guardian - Report says current employees of notorious New York prison have past convictions, gang ties, mental problems and unexplained connections to inmates (20 yrs of Guiliani, Bloomberg)


The End of Power by Moises Naím review – a study in mass alienation | Books | The Guardian - predicting that the loss of centralised authority breeds anarchy (just the book for Zuckerberg)

After Satanists Planned to Give Away Coloring Books, Florida School Board Halts Religious Distributions Entirely - In January of 2013, World Changers of Florida, Inc. held Bible distributions at a number of public high schools in Orange County, Florida. No student would be forced to take one, but there would be a table set up where interested students could take a copy if they wanted:

JF Ptak Science Books: Massiveopolis: Filling in the North Sea (1930) (and other big projects)
Another Predatory Publisher Accepts a Computer-Generated Paper | Scholarly Open Access
Why Mothers Kiss Their Babies | Birthing Magazine | Birth Unlimited | Calgary Alberta (lick your baby's germs)
Prolonging lifespan: Researchers create 'Methuselah fly' by selecting best cells -- ScienceDaily - Scientists have managed to considerably prolong the lifespan of flies by activating a gene which destroys unhealthy cells. The results could also open new possibilities in human anti-aging research.
What's at the top of your sexual bucket list? : AskReddit

Men of Reddit, what do you think periods feel like? : AskReddit - It feels like your uterus walked downstairs and missed the last step.
Identical twins of Reddit: What's the greatest thing you've achieved by swapping places, without anyone noticing? : AskReddit
What is being 'mainstreamed' right now that is pissing you off? : AskReddit
TIL no one born blind has ever developed schizophrenia : todayilearned
A Girl and her Monster Friend : pics (reflections on mortality and loss)
If you switched genders for one day with no consequences, what is the first thing you would do? : AskReddit
Christian Mom Alarmed that School Bus Has Tail Lights forming Pagan Pentagram : videos - The school caved in and ordered all new brake lights

Why Stopping #GamerGate And 8chan Is Important For Everyone - Including GamerGate | Badass Digest
If a #GamerGate-r plagiarises the John Birch Society on your blog and no one notices, does it make a sound? | we hunted the mammoth
Mocking GamerGate, the Right Wing Gamer Babies' Playpen

Marriott Will Stop Blocking Your Wi-Fi Devices
Comcast Accused Of Unauthorized Credit Checks On New Customers In Class Action Suit - . A new class-action lawsuit asserts that Comcast Corp. helped itself to a customer’s credit report without authorization, even after he specifically paid the cable giant to prevent the disclosure of his financial information (Fuckcast)

011415
Senate Will Vote on Sanders' Climate Amendment to Keystone | The New Republic - Bernie Sanders Is Forcing Republicans to Embarrass Themselves on Climate Change
FACT SHEET: Administration Takes Steps Forward on Climate Action Plan by Announcing Actions to Cut Methane Emissions | The White House
Research Updates: Dust Veil of AD 526 - 6th Century Environmental Disaster in Europe - According to written records and supported by dendrochronology and archaeological evidence, for 12-18 months in AD 536-537, a thick, persistent dust veil or dry fog darkened the skies between Europe and Asia Minor. The climatic interruption brought by the thick, bluish fog extended as far east as China, where summer frosts and snow are recorded in historical records; tree ring data from Mongolia and Siberia to Argentina and Chile reflect decreased growing records from 536 and the subsequent decade.
TIL that in 526 AD there was a worldwide dust cloud that blocked out the sun for a FULL YEAR, resulting in widespread famine and disease. More than 80% of Scandinavia and parts of China starved to death, 30% of Europe died in epidemics. : todayilearned

Satellite Images Show Horrifying Scale Of Destruction In Nigerian Towns Attacked By Boko Haram

France cracks down on hate speech, sends carrier to Mideast
Charlie Hebdo print run raised to 5m as copies in France sell out | Media | The Guardian - People queued before dawn at kiosks across France for the first edition of the weekly to go on sale since last week’s attacks
France Arrests 54 For Defending Terror; Announces Crackdown
Al-Qaida in Yemen uses video to claim responsibility for Charlie Hebdo attack | World news | The Guardian - AQAP leader appears to avoid taking responsibility for attack by Amedy Coulibaly – who has pledged allegiance to rival group Isis – on policewoman and Jewish supermarket
Charlie Hebdo killings: ‘Don’t be afraid. I won’t kill you. You’re a woman’ | World news | The Guardian - “It’s Charlie, come quickly. They are all dead … they’re all dead,” she told them.
Dieudonné arrested over Facebook post on Paris gunman | World news | The Guardian - French comedian accused of justifying terrorism after linking attacker to tribute slogan by writing ‘I feel like Charlie Coulibaly’

Article « The Existential Necessity Of Zionism After Paris A Commentary Editorial « Commentary Magazine - Its existence before the Holocaust would have saved millions. Its existence after the Holocaust saved and created millions. Seventy years after the Holocaust, Jews in Europe are in need of it again.
Israeli newspaper edits out Angela Merkel from front page on Paris march | World news | The Guardian - “Including a picture of a woman into something so sacred, as far as we are concerned, it can desecrate the memory of the martyrs and not the other way around,” he said. (logic)
Oxford University Press bans mention of pork and pigs in books to 'avoid offending Muslims or Jews' - As a result, the academic publisher has issued guidance advising writers to avoid mentioning pigs or "anything else which could be perceived as pork" so as not to offend Muslim or Jewish people.
Arbitrary Detention Cannot Fail, It Can Only Be Failed - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Shorter John McCain, Richard Burr, Lindsey Graham, and Kelly Ayotte: “We can’t possibly release prisoners from Gitmo now. How else could the terrorist attacks in France have not been prevented?”
Eschaton: Supervillains - It's quite impressive that the prisoners in Gitmo are the masterminds behind everything bad that happens in the world. Maybe it isn't a prison camp at all, but an Evil Lair Of Evil, a base of operations for all terrorism everywhere. If so, we probably should close it, no?

With New Charlie Hebdo Cover, News Value Should Have Prevailed - NYTimes.com - Readers responded passionately, and in large numbers, to my post last week about The Times’s decision not to publish the now-famous Charlie Hebdo cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. (In fact, I’ve never had more comments on a post or column.) (Baquet whimps out)

Survivor Of Peshawar School Massacre Posts Devastating Before And After Photo

The plummeting oil price: a guide to the global shockwaves | Business | The Guardian - Oil touches every aspect of our lives and its price is crashing. Here are just some of the mixed blessings that may flow – from cheaper holidays and safer sex to busier roads and more terrorism

Danes agree to keep public services open by making babies | World news | The Guardian - Citizens in Thisted rise to challenge of procreating to help maintain under-populated schools, nurseries and leisure facilities


4 top Secret Service executives told to leave their posts in agency shake-up - The Washington Post - The Secret Service has decided to remove four of its most senior officials while a fifth has decided to retire, the biggest management shake-up at the troubled agency since its director resigned in October after a string of security lapses, according to people familiar with internal discussions.

House GOP Votes To Block Protections For Undocumented Immigrants - House Republicans voted Wednesday to fund the Department of Homeland Security, but with the requirement that millions of undocumented young people, parents and others be put back at risk of deportation.
Republicans offer Obama choice between counter-terror funding and immigration reform | US news | The Guardian - House Republicans pass amendments to homeland security budget that White House says it would refuse to sign if they are attached
In New Congress, Wall St. Pushes to Undermine Dodd-Frank Reform - NYTimes.com
House to vote on abortion bill next week | TheHill - The House plans to vote on legislation banning abortions after 20 weeks on the same day as the annual March for Life next Thursday. (Republicans launch anti-women jihad)

Is pot as bad as LSD? Heroin? Judge to rule on 1970 law - LA Times (the war on your mind)
Iowa Man Who Fought to Use Marijuana Oil on Rare Cancer Dies - ABC News - An eastern Iowa man who was convicted late last year of growing marijuana that he used to treat his rare form of cancer has died.

Supreme Court clarifies rules for rescinding mortgages | UTSanDiego.com - A unanimous Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that home buyers don't need to file a lawsuit, but may simply write a letter if they want to back out of a mortgage because they claim their lender violated the federal Truth in Lending Act.

The American Worker Just Got a Bunch of Good News - Businessweek - This tells the same story as the NFIB survey. It's getting harder and harder for employers to fill jobs. In this environment, the balance of power should begin to tip more toward workers.
Mitt Romney, anti-poverty warrior: Why his latest reinvention is so ridiculous - Salon.com - He once declared that he wasn't "concerned about the very poor," but now Mitt thinks he's the new Bobby Kennedy

Women and Leadership | Pew Research Center’s Social & Demographic Trends Project
Afternoon Open Thread: Madam President? » Balloon Juice - Yep, only 16% of Republican men would hope to see a female president in the US in their lifetime, and only 20% of Republican women do.
Former highest-ranking U.S. cardinal blames ‘feminization’ for the Catholic Church’s problems - The Washington Post (he should know)

Woman Killed in Smoky Metro Tunnel Was 61, Mom of 2 | NBC4 Washington - Nearly 70 people taken to area hospitals - Metro's most recent quarterly safety report showed 86 incidents of smoke or fire in 2013 and 85 such incidents through the first eight months of 2014. (take a ride on the fireway)

Eschaton: We Meant Pony. Catastrophic Herds Of Ponies. - WSDOT’s Todd Trepanier hardly disguised his irritation with the letter and the city council's subsequent line of questioning. "There never has been, and there is currently not, any risk of failure," he said. "That is a gross mischaracterization of that word ‘catastrophic’ in the report."

Mitt 3.0 Fails To Impress Conservatives At Major Conference In Washington - But the prospect of another Romney campaign failed to capture the hearts of social and fiscal conservatives gathered this week in the nation's capital to hammer out the policy agenda for the new Republican-controlled Congress. (upgrade to Mitt 4.0)

Measles outbreak spreads in US after unvaccinated woman visits Disneyland | US news | The Guardian - Highly contagious disease, which spread through airports and the theme park after woman contracted virus, now at 26 cases in four US states - The woman became sick and contagious on 28 December, while at the theme park. From there, the LA Times reports she flew from Orange County to Snohomish County in Washington state. She then returned to Orange County on 3 January, and California health officials announced the outbreak on 7 January.

Yep, Gasoline Lead Explains the Crime Decline in Canada Too | Mother Jones - Unless I've missed something, this might actually be the first time the New York Times has ever mentioned childhood lead exposure as a possible explanation for the decline in violent crime. Progress! (another of the NYT's unthinkable thoughts)

The rise of New York's police unions | US news | The Guardian - For years, New York’s police unions have flexed their muscle to help their members. Now, after orchestrating a politically motivated slowdown in arrests and ticket-writing, they’re on a collision course with Bill de Blasio (9/11Guiliani and Bloomfuck is your answer)
New York jail guards used force against inmates over 4,000 times in 2014 | US news | The Guardian - Figures show an average of 11 use-of-force incidents per day – from pepper spray to punches – amid federal scrutiny to clean up ‘culture of violence’
Albuquerque police fatally shoot man a day after officers charged with murder | US news | The Guardian - Police officer kills man who fled and fired on officers in shooting that comes just after two officers were charged over killing of homeless man
Informant's Lie Leads Swat Team to Kill Man With No More Than $2 of Cannabis : news
A SWAT Raid Based On Faulty Information Kills a Man Over His ‘Huge Stash.’ Worth Maybe All of $2.
Gun purses the ultimate accessory for the pistol-packing woman-about-town | US news | The Guardian - Business is booming but accidental shooting of nuclear scientist by her two-year-old son heightens concern about safety of leaving firearms in handbags - you can, if you wish, buy the Flashbang Bra Holster, which stuffs a gun between your breasts, snapped in between the bra’s cups. Or you can buy a thigh holster, an item that will allow you to strap a firearm to your thigh with lace and elastic.
Arachnophobic driver caused fatal crash after spider fell in lap, court hears | UK news | The Guardian - Dr Amy Elizabeth Walpole, 38, was at the wheel of her red Mazda MX5 when the spider fell from the sun visor, sending her into a “blind panic”. The GP was seen waving her arms frantically before smashing into the oncoming car of 87-year-old John Evans, Llanelli magistrates court was told.

Florida Schools Ban Bibles After Pressure from Atheists | CNS News - Orange County (Fla.) Public Schools have banned Bible distribution in several area high schools after Satanists and an anti-religion group announced plans to pass out their own literature.

The Dark Psychology of the Sexist Internet Commenter - The Atlantic - A new study has found that men and women comment on news stories very differently—and that men don't feel shy about expressing misogyny.
The plight of the bitter nerd: Why so many awkward, shy guys end up hating feminism - Salon.com - MIT professor Scott Aaronson wrote a post about how feminism makes him feel like a monster. Here's what he meant
Now that white people have declared 'bae' over, black people can use it in peace | Robin Boylorn | Comment is free | The Guardian - Suddenly there were articles attempting to define the word “bae”, otherwise reputable businesses began implementing “bae” in their social media ad campaigns, and everybody and they mama started using it. At which point it was declared overused by organs of upper-class white folk media like Time magazine.
Revenge is a dish best served glittery: company offering to glitter bomb your enemies sells out | Australia news | The Guardian - Sydney-based entrepreneur Mathew Carpenter, 22, said he had been swamped with orders from people keen to wreak sparkly revenge on those who had wronged them ... “Have you ever attempted to ship dog shit via mail? It’s a logistical nightmare with both supply and distribution issues. You don’t have that problem with glitter,” he replied.

Where key players from the O.J. Simpson trial are 20 years later | AOL Features

What Happens to a Woman's Brain When She Becomes a Mother - The Atlantic - Perhaps, then, motherhood really is like secret space in a woman's brain, waiting to be discovered.
Bilingualism changes children's beliefs about the world around them - PsyPost - But a new study from Concordia University suggests that certain bilingual kids are more likely to understand that it’s what one learns, rather than what one is born with, that makes up a person’s psychological attributes.
Mastodon Bones Discovered In Michigan Man's Yard - That's right around the time of the area's first known human settlers, the Paleo-Indians who arrived some 12,000 years ago.

Study Suggests Men And Women May View Cheating Very Differently - the average male is more likely to be upset by sexual infidelity, while the average female is much more likely to be bothered by emotional infidelity
What's the best euphemism for masturbation? : AskReddit

When I was 10, my aunt gave me an old copy of National Lampoon magazine. This was one of the features. : WTF (racial stereotypes)

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We Need to Stop the White House From Putting TPP and TTIP on the Fast Track To Ratification | Electronic Frontier Foundation - That has enabled these agreements to include extreme copyright and other digital policy provisions that would bind all signatory nations to draconian rules that would hinder free speech, privacy, and access to knowledge. (Obama's true corporate colors)

More state power, not free speech, the likeliest we-are-Charlie result - World - CBC News - A renewed war on terror seems to be what's on most Western governments' minds
Charlie Hebdo’s new edition ‘made with joy as well as pain’ | Media | The Guardian - Editor-in-chief and cartoonist describe process of putting together latest edition of satirical magazine
Charlie Hebdo Cover Features Muhammad Holding 'Je Suis Charlie' Sign
The Charlie Hebdo Attack in France and the Possibility of Progress out of Tragedy | The New West
Paris march: TV wide shots reveal a different perspective on world leaders at largest demonstration in France’s history - Europe - World - The Independent
French Defense Minister: ISIS Must Be Wiped Out | Bimzz Magazine (off with their heads)

Jake Tapper Ashamed At The Lack Of High Profile Americans At The Paris March For Unity - Esquire - After what this country has done to itself, and to other people all over the world, since the attacks of September 11, the fact that the United States was represented at an elaborate photo op only by Jane Hartley, its Ambassador to France, is what gets you ashamed as an American?
Republican Congressman Randy Weber Compares Obama To Hitler - The ultra-conservative congressman from Texas criticized the president for not traveling to Paris on Sunday to attend a massive unity rally against terrorism,
Republican apologizes for Hitler tweet | TheHill
Saudi cleric condemns snowmen as anti-Islamic | Reuters

Why did the world ignore Boko Haram's Baga attacks? | World news | The Guardian - As media coverage focused on the Paris terror attacks last week, more than 2000 Nigerians were reported to have been killed by Islamist militants. What makes one massacre more newsworthy than another? (non-whitish people)
Cameroon Government Claims 143 Boko Haram Militants Killed

David Cameron in 'cloud cuckoo land' over encrypted messaging apps ban | Technology | The Guardian - The prime minister’s pledge to give security services access to encrypted communications is ‘crazy’, experts say
Banning all encryption won't make us safer, no matter what David Cameron says | Trevor Timm | Comment is free | The Guardian

Death Toll Rises To 72 From Contaminated Beer In Mozambique

Al Jazeera America Struggles After Network Cancels Programs

Eschaton: We Must Cut Benefits So We Don't Have To Cut Benefits - Democrats can pull the freakout if they go there.
Hullabaloo - The Zombie Rises - The new House Budget Committee chairman hinted Monday that he had big plans for Social Security reform in the next two years, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Role of FBI informant in eco-terrorism case probed after documents hint at entrapment | US news | The Guardian - In the case of Eric McDavid, alleged to be ring-leader of eco-terrorist cell, ‘game-changing’ documents seen exclusively by the Guardian show informant may have entrapped him

Supreme Court will consider the constitutionality of the Armed Career Criminal Act - The Washington Post - Justice Scalia has been arguing with increasing force that the Act is vague, and the reargument order suggests that there’s a good chance he may finally have convinced his colleagues that he’s right.

Steve Scalise Refused To Vote For 1996 Bill Apologizing For Slavery

Christie Blames Parents for Bad Economy - The Daily Beast - Is there any chance the potential 2016 hopeful will stand up to the right and embrace paid sick leave?


'A no-brainer': activists hail murder charge against two Albuquerque police | US news | The Guardian - Preliminary hearing in open court will determine if there is probable cause
Man Arrested For Not Handing Over His Camera
Albuquerque PD lieutenant shoots undercover police officer multiple times - The Albuquerque PD has shot another victim and this time its one of their department's own officers working undercover. The circumstances surrounding this latest shooting have yet to be released.

Review - The Myth of Mirror Neurons - Psychology - The Real Neuroscience of Communication and Cognition

Female ejaculation comes in two forms, scientists find - life - 09 January 2015 - New Scientist
Do Women Have a Prostate Gland? | Berkeley Wellness

1946 yearbook captions : WTF
What's something you suspect is bullshit, but can't prove that it is? : AskReddit
TIFU By Telling my HS Biology Teacher That She Had a Nice Ass : tifu

Obama calls for end to 19 state laws that harm community broadband | Ars Technica - President joins FCC in tackling laws that protect ISPs from competition. (all those laws that cable lobbyists got passed to inhibit competition, remember?)

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Living on Earth: This Week's Show - Wow, the most anti-science crowd on Capitol Hill since the Monkey trials, which pitted creationism against scientific evolution? How did we get to this point?
As Oil Prices Fall, Banks Serving the Energy Industry Brace for a Jolt - NYTimes.com (they did it again, of course)
At least one major oil company will turn its back on fossil fuels, says scientist | Business | The Guardian - Jeremy Leggett, former industry adviser, warns over plunging commodity prices and soaring costs of risky energy projects
World’s Largest Indoor Farm is 100 Times More Productive | Urbanist - (100 times more per square foot than traditional methods) with 40% less power, 80% less food waste and 99% less water usage than outdoor fields

France to Deploy Thousands of Troops to Protect Jewish Schools and ‘Sensitive Sites’ - NYTimes.com
Victims of the Terror Attacks in Paris - NYTimes.com - Among the 12 people who were killed in the attack Wednesday on the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo were cartoonists, a proofreader, a maintenance worker and two police officers. A police officer was killed the next day in a Paris suburb, and four hostages were killed at a kosher supermarket in eastern Paris on Friday.
Charlie Hebdo's Wednesday edition to include Prophet Mohammed cartoons - Wednesday's edition of Charlie Hebdo will 'naturally' contain cartoons of Prophet Mohammed, the magazine's lawyer has announced
Jihadism Born in a Paris Park and Fueled in the Prison Yard - NYTimes.com

Israeli TV: Hollande didn't want Netanyahu at Paris march | The Times of Israel - French president thought PM would be divisive presence, report claims; highlighted Abbas invite when Netanyahu insisted on coming
Why Benjamin Netanyahu Attended Paris Anti-Terror March Over France's Objections – Forward.com - Did Israeli Politics Cause Premier to Flip-Flop and Go? - French President Francois Hollande asked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to come to Paris for the march against terror on Sunday, but the Israel premier decided to attend anyway after hearing that political rivals were going to be there
Benjamin Netanyahu ridiculed over appearance at Paris solidarity march - Israeli leader criticised for urging French Jews to emigrate to Israel following last week's deadly attack on kosher store - The Israeli prime minister was seen elbowing his way to the front of the parade of world leaders and also unsuccessfully tried to jump to the head of queue waiting for a bus that was to take guests to the starting point.
#JeSuisNico trends after Sarkozy sneaks to front of Paris march - Internet users mock former French president Nicolas Sarkozy after he winds his way to the front of the Paris solidarity march

Obama Spokesman Says U.S. Should Have Sent High Profile Representative to March - NYTimes.com - Mr. Earnest declined to say whether the president had considered attending the march himself or considered sending Vice President Joseph R. Biden, or to detail the conversations that led to the decision not to do so
Reza Aslan: Anyone Who Asks Why Muslims Aren't Denouncing Attacks "Doesn't Own Google" | Video | Media Matters for America (or know how to type)
Joe Sacco: On Satire – a response to the Charlie Hebdo attacks | World news | The Guardian
Muslim Mayor of Rotterdam Tells Islamists To F*** Off On Live Television - Breitbart - “There may be a place in the world where you can be yourself, be honest with yourself and do not go and kill innocent journalists. And if you do not like it here because humorists you do not like make a newspaper, may I then say you can f*** off.

The Paris Mystery: Were the Shooters Part of a Global Terrorist Conspiracy? - The Intercept

Barack Obama’s French kiss-off - Edward-Isaac Dovere - politico - The president's decision to skip the Paris march raises eyebrows. Barack Obama n’est pas Charlie — or at least, he wasn’t this weekend.
America snubs historic Paris rally | Daily Mail Online - No cabinet secretaries or other senior officials attended, leaving only US Ambassador to France Jane Hartley as the top US official there

I read the French far-right party's platform, and it gets one big thing absolutely right - Vox - On finance, Le Pen sounds like Elizabeth Warren (France trapped in Merkel's austerity bubble)
Le Pen’s Moment - The New Yorker

Massacre Survivors Say Boko Haram Slaughtered Civilians 'Like Insects'
Nigeria 'needs same support as France' after Boko Haram attacks kill over 2000: archbishop

China has just banned the burqa in its biggest Muslim city : worldnews

ISIS Is Cited in Hacking of Central Command’s Twitter and YouTube Accounts - NYTimes.com - the “cybercaliphate” was “already here, we are in your PCs, in each military base.” (all your base are belong to us)
Pentagon hacked - Pastebin.com - American Soldiers, We Are Coming, Watch Your Back. ISIS. #CyberCaliphate

Legal Fight Ends for James Risen of the New York Times - NYTimes.com - ending a seven-year legal fight over whether he could be forced to identify his confidential sources
Report: The FBI Oversaw the NSA's Email Surveillance 
F.B.I. Is Broadening Surveillance Role, Report Shows - NYTimes.com
The Corrupt Philanderer Who Built the CIA's Black Sites - The Intercept - One example of the validity of this thesis about the degenerative effects of secrecy on bureaucratic institutions involves the aptly named Dusty Foggo, who concluded a twenty-four-year career in the CIA as executive director. (remember "Dusty Foggo? good times at the CIA)
Q&A: On the Untouchable 'Lords of Secrecy' - The Intercept

Spies should be able to monitor all online messaging, says David Cameron - The Tory leader said: 'If I am prime minister I will make sure that it is a comprehensive piece of legislation that does not allow terrorists safe space to communicate with eachother'
British prime minister: Fox News security analyst is clearly a complete idiot

Why History Will Be Very Kind to Obama -- NYMag - Obama’s uninterest in engaging in the more public aspects of his job — communicating his reasoning and vision, soothing our anxieties with lofty rhetoric, infusing his administration with the sense of purpose that electrified his supporters during the 2008 campaign — has clearly harmed him
Why History Will Eviscerate Obama -- NYMag - Obama will go down as America’s Gorbachev.
Why, Oh Why, Did Barack Obama Turn Mitch McConnell Into A Reflexive Partisan? - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Lawyers, Guns & Money - Virtually every word of Christopher Caldwell’s evaluation of Obama’s presidency is an embarrassment. Let’s start here:

Ted Cruz, Longtime Foe Of NASA And Science, Will Oversee NASA And Science In New Congress (dumbfucks take over)

The "people aren't perfect, he made a mistake" theory of criminal law - Lawyers, Guns & Money : “This man has suffered enough in my view,” Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, the former Senate Intelligence Committee chairwoman, told Gloria Borger, CNN chief political analyst on CNN’s “State of the Union.” (too big to jail)
Rumsfeld References An Ape In Relation To President Obama's Handling Of U.S. Military Forces In Afghanistan - Esquire - "A trained ape could get a status of forces agreement," Rumsfeld said on Monday - Also, it's not About Race because it never is About Race.

Democrats, in a stark shift in messaging, to make big tax-break pitch for middle class - The Washington Post (Dems can't take a position if their political futures depend on it)

Elizabeth Warren, Progressives Sink Obama Treasury Nominee Antonio Weiss

More Sneaky Anti-Gay Laws Popping Up | Matt Baume - And there's an even crazier law under consideration in Texas. It was introduced by Representative Cecil Bell Jr., and it would force Texas courts to dismiss all marriage cases and exempt Texas from having to obey the U.S. Constitution when it comes to marriage for gay and lesbian couples

Police Keep Using Chokeholds, Despite Bans and Scrutiny - NYTimes.com - In free-ranging discussions designed to subject everything to scrutiny, police officials have debated the effectiveness of the 20-year-old bright-line prohibition. (more like an ignored because no consequence dark-line
New York Police Officers Are Quick to Resort to Chokeholds, Inspector General Finds - NYTimes.com
Albuquerque police charged in homeless killing - Two police officers in Albuquerque, New Mexico, will face charges for killing a homeless camper, their lawyers say.

Help Unravel a Gordon Parks Southern Mystery - NYTimes.com - Here, a white baby is held by a Negro maid while the baby’s mother checks on reservations, etc. Although the Negro woman serves as nurse-maid for the white woman’s baby, the two would not be allowed to sit and eat a meal together in any Atlanta restaurant.”

Education Secretary Says Administration Is Committed to Testing - NYTimes.com (no bureaucrat left behind)

Seattle Officials Not Warned About "Catastrophic Failure" Concerns for Bertha Rescue Pit | Slog - When asked what "catastrophic failure" might have meant in the context of SDOT and SPU's letter, Sawant added this: "I would like to ask WSDOT that very question before there is a danger that Pioneer Square sinks into Elliott Bay like Atlantis."
What Does Living 'Close' to Transit Really Mean? - CityLab - New studies suggest proximity to transit is quite flexible and could extend to a mile out ... but the consensus holds that no one makes it farther than half a mile that on foot. (fat America; 1 mile: 22 minutes slow walk)

Tina Fey & Amy Poehler Burn Bill Cosby At The Golden Globes

When Diabetes Treatment Goes Too Far - NYTimes.com - There are roughly 11 million Americans over age 65 with diabetes. Most of them take medications to reduce their blood sugar levels. The majority reach an average blood sugar target, or “hemoglobin A1C,” of less than 7 percent. Why? Early studies showed that this can reduce the risk of diabetes complications, including eye, kidney and nerve problems. As a result, for more than a decade, medical societies, pharmaceutical companies and diabetes groups have campaigned with a simple, concrete message — to get below seven. Many patients carry report cards with their scores to clinic appointments. Doctors are often rewarded based on how many of their patients hit the target.
‘Text neck’ is becoming an ‘epidemic’ and could wreck your spine - The Washington Post
Could an ‘Ocean’ of Water Be Trapped Within the Earth?

Why Life Is Absurd - NYTimes.com
A Brief History Of The Crock Pot, The Original Slow Cooker - Today, however, slow cooking is as popular as ever, as 83 percent of families owned a slow cooker in 2011, according to Consumer Reports. The original Crock Pot design has changed little over the years, but now the insert is removable, a major improvement.

13 Ways You Can Make Coloring Books A Part Of Your Adult Life (NSFW)
TIL In the Bible, The New Testament mentions that from Heaven will descend an enormous city named New Jerusalem made of "pure gold, like clear glass" and gives its specific dimensions, 1.9 million square miles. If rested on the Earth, its ceiling would be inside the exosphere. : todayilearned
How can you ruin a date with just 5 words? : AskReddit
dancing-photons comments on is it true that guys can feel girls orgasm with a machine? (dry/prostate orgasms)
A Guide to Multiple Prostate Orgasms : sex
Men's guide to having multiple dry orgasms and multiple orgasms (as requested) : sex
Men who were raped/beaten by women, what is your story? : AskReddit

Metasploit: Google No Longer Provides Patches f... | SecurityStreet - In other words, Google is now only supporting the current named version of Android (Lollipop, or 5.0) and the prior named version (KitKat, or 4.4). Jelly Bean (versions 4.0 through 4.3) and earlier will no longer see security patches for WebView from Google, according to incident handlers at security@android.com.
Google has been criticised by Microsoft after the search giant publicised a security flaw in Windows - which some said put users at risk. : technology
Leaked Palantir Doc Reveals Uses, Specific Functions And Key Clients | TechCrunch

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Saudi prince: $100-a-barrel oil 'never' again (drill, baby, drill)
Stanford professors urge withdrawal from fossil fuel investments | Environment | The Guardian - Faculty members call on university to recognise urgency of climate change and divest from all oil, coal and gas companies
North Dakota county feels Bakken boom ebb away as oil falls - Yahoo News - Today, Divide County may be another vanguard for the state, this time ominous, as the first to feel the full effect of a collapse in prices that has lopped more than 50 percent off the price of oil since the summer.

AirAsia Black Boxes Found
FLUG MH17 | MH17 – Hauptgeschichte – English - The investigation unveiled a clear chain of evidence. MH17 was downed by a ground-launched BUK missile – launched by a unit of the 53rd Russian Air Defense Brigade from Kursk.

Paris anti-terror rally: all religions, ages and nations in massive show of unity | World news | The Guardian - François Hollande says ‘Paris is the capital of the world’ as estimated 3.7 million across France march in solidarity
‘France will shout its love for liberty and tolerance. Come in numbers’ | World news | The Guardian - One million expected in Paris as a country unites in grief and defiance
France Vows To Combat Terror With Massive Rally
World leaders join mass Paris march to honor attack victims | Reuters
National Unity March In Paris Draws World Leaders And Crowd Of Thousands

This map shows every attack on French Muslims since Charlie Hebdo - Vox - Since the terrorist attack on French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, the country's Muslim community, despite universally and repeatedly condemning the attack, has come under a wave of misguided "reprisal" attacks.

Charlie Hebdo shooting: Hamyd Mourad 'in shock' after wrongly linked to attack on newspaper - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Video Shows Paris Gunman Pledging Allegiance to Islamic State - NYTimes.com (was sending naked selfies to his virgins in heaven)
Paris attacks: worldwide inquiry into jihadi networks under way | World news | The Guardian - Priority is uncovering further attacks, as it emerges surveillance on Chérif and Saïd Kouachi was lifted months ago
Photos Of Paris Grocery Store Hostage Situation Show Chilling, Panicked Scene
Charlie Hebdo Gunmen Had Weapons Training In Yemen: report - "These two brothers arrived in Oman on July 25, 2011, and from Oman they were smuggled into Yemen where they stayed for two weeks," a senior Yemeni security official, who declined to be named, said.
Paris terror arsenal: Kalashnikovs, rocket launcher, grenade - Yahoo News - The relatively heavy weaponry — a staple of recent attacks — seems to indicate that terrorist networks are moving away from bombs in favor of military-grade assault rifles and machine guns backed by smaller automatic pistols.

Germany arrests suspected Islamic State militant after return from Syria | Reuters
Wife of Al Qaeda recruiter appeals against her own terror conviction | Daily Mail Online - He recruited Cherif Kouachi when they were in prison together (should obviously renounce welfare)

Lassana Bathily: the Paris kosher supermarket hero | World news | The Guardian - Shopworker hid customers in a cold store then escaped via lift
Paris supermarket attacker claims allegiance to Islamic State in video | World news | The Guardian - • Footage of Amedy Coulibaly refers to Charlie Hebdo attack
France Gunman Linked To Jogger Shooting - A prosecutor says the shooting of a jogger in a Paris suburb on the same day as the Charlie Hebdo massacre has been linked to the gunman who killed a policewoman and four hostages at a kosher grocery.
German Newspaper Attacked After Publishing Charlie Hebdo Cartoons - The newspaper Hamburger Morgenpost said on its website the overnight arson attack destroyed several files in its archive, but didn't injure anyone. (backups, dudes)
Arson attack at German newspaper that printed Charlie Hebdo cartoons : worldnews
Islamic scholar threatens Irish publications with legal action if they publish offending cartoon - Independent.ie
Islamic scholar threatens Irish publications with legal action if they publish offending cartoon : worldnews

Charlie Hebdo: Asterix creator Albert Uderzo comes out of retirement to draw 'Je suis Charlie' cartoon - News - Art - The Independent
Legendary Cartoonist Robert Crumb on the Massacre in Paris | New York Observer - The ex-pat artist, who has lived in France for 25 years, talks to the Observer about his new cartoon of Muhammed - That’s what they have over in America now. Two-hundred and fifty thousand people in public relations. And a dwindling number of actual reporters and journalists.
R. Crumb's Response To 'Charlie Hebdo' Includes Swipe At | Animation Scoop

Belgian paper that ran Charlie cartoons evacuated after threat - Yahoo News
Charlie Hebdo Attack Investigator Commits Suicide: Reports / Sputnik International - Police commissioner, who had been investigating the attack on the Charlie Hebdo magazine committed suicide with his service gun on Thursday night.
Who Trained Charlie Hebdo Attackers: Terrorist Recruitment Scheme Revealed / Sputnik International - The recent Charlie Hebdo terrorist attack in France represents a deeper problem rising across Europe, coping with the growing number of hidden jihadist cells that see this attack as only the dawn of a new wave of international terrorism.
Leaked Al Jazeera emails expose anger over global support for Charlie Hebdo - Middle East - Jerusalem Post

A Timeline of Threats and Acts of Violence Over Blasphemy and Insults to Islam - NYTimes.com (Muslim drama queens)
Before Paris Shooting, Authors Tapped Into Mood of a France ‘Homesick at Home’ - NYTimes.com - “Submission” is already the No. 1 seller on Amazon in France. (French Caliphate with nukes in 2022 +"immigration, feminism and the 1968 student uprisings set France on a path to ruin" - “inquiétude,” - Polygamy is legal and women, now covered in public, take on the role of housewives.)

French Prime Minister: If Jews Flee, the Republic Will Be a Failure - The Atlantic - Manuel Valls: "If 100,000 Jews leave, France will no longer be France."
Netanyahu: Israel will welcome European Jews with open arms | World news | The Guardian - Israeli PM issues invitation to French and other European Jews who want to emigrate to Israel in wake of Paris attacks
Martin Freeman: exposing Adolf Eichmann | World news | The Guardian - The televised trial of Adolf Eichmann in 1961 was a landmark in Holocaust history. To mark the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, the drama is coming to our screens again. Euan Ferguson meets Martin Freeman on set to hear why it has lost none of its power
The Holocaust film that was too shocking to show | Film | The Guardian - Lustig has a theory about why British authorities suppressed Bernstein’s film. “At this time, the Brits had enough problems with the Jews.” By that, no doubt, he means that Britain was dealing with Zionists agitating for a Jewish homeland in the British mandate of Palestine – and seeing the full extent of Jewish suffering would only inflame them.

ISIS Battle In Iraq Kills 30 Kurds, Officials Say

Pakistan Bus Crashes Into Oil Tanker Killing Scores - A passenger bus crashed into an oil tanker in southern Pakistan early Sunday, killing 57 people with remains charred beyond recognition, officials said.

Dick Cheney Targeted By Anti-Torture Protesters - Two protesters were arrested at the McLean, Virginia, home of former Vice President Dick Cheney on Saturday after 20 demonstrators, some in orange prison jumpsuits, walked onto his property to mark the 14th anniversary of the opening of Guantanamo Bay prison.

Silk Road trial to begin as prosecution may introduce evidence of murder plots | Technology | The Guardian - Jury selection starts Tuesday in case against Ross William Ulbricht, who authorities say ran a website where cocaine, heroin and other drugs were sold

China uses long-range intimidation of U.S. reporter to suppress Xinjiang coverage - The Washington Post

Cuba, amid the censorship, wades into WiFi - Cuba, where Internet access is largely limited to government employees and pricey pay-by-hour public access, plans to start offering wireless service for the first time this month, officials said Saturday.

Aerial Photos Expose the American Prison System's Staggering Scale | WIRED - There are some 2.2 million people behind bars in the United States. That’s more people than there are in all of New Mexico. And there are more jails and prisons than colleges and universities in this country. Still, it can be difficult to grasp the scale of incarceration in America, in part because so many of these facilities are tucked away far from view in rural areas. (prison-state America)

Kicking Dodd-Frank in the Teeth - NYTimes.com - The 114th Congress has been at work for less than a week, but a goal for many of its members is already evident: a further rollback of regulations put in place to keep markets and Main Street safe from reckless Wall Street practices.

The Poorest County in Each State - 24/7 Wall St. (Berkshire County MA twice as rich as Sumter County AL)

NYPD Slowdown Results In 0 Tickets During New Year's Celebration
When Will the North Face Its Racism? - NYTimes.com - Generations later, police killings of African-Americans occur as often as twice a week for at times mundane infractions and at three times the rate as for whites, according to conservative estimates from recent studies.

University Of South Dakota Athletes Ran Tax-Fraud Scheme, Made $400,000 - Valdez's now ex-girlfriend, Tampa resident Melissa Dinataly, was employed by an insurance company and managed to collect more than 30 Social Security numbers. Twelve false returns connected to her were filed in 2011 claiming over $110,000 worth of refunds, and authorities caught all but one of the fakes before the defendants got the money.
Mom Gets 25 Years For Encouraging Boyfriend To Sexually Assault 4-Month-Old Daughter - A Missouri mother has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for encouraging her boyfriend to sexually assault her 4-month-old daughter in an attack that later killed the child.
Hope Ruller Lay Dead For 14 Months While Daughter Lived Upstairs - Authorities in Gloversville, New York, are investigating the death of a 94-year-old woman whose body may have been decomposing for nearly 14 months as her daughter lived upstairs.
Couple films their 1 year old daughter playing with a .40 caliber pistol, watching her put it in her mouth while encouraging her to say "pow," "bang" and "shoot". : WTF - According to the Evansville Courier & Press, the child's mother, Toni Wilson, 22, and Michael L. Barnes, 19, face charges of child neglect and recklessness with a deadly weapon.

In Georgia gym mat death suit, 7 judges say they can't be fair - CNN.com - "Given the fact that officials with whom the judges in the circuit deal with everyday are involved, it is not fair to the parties for any judge in this circuit to rule on contested matters of importance to the parties and the community," (wait, that means ... )

Tina Fey & Amy Poehler Burn Bill Cosby At The Golden Globes
Bill Cosby Heckled At Show, Crowd Chants 'We Believe The Women'

Growing Up on Easy Street Has Its Own Dangers - NYTimes.com - When Thomas Gilbert Jr. was arrested on Monday and charged with killing his wealthy father with a gunshot to the head, the rubbernecking and tut-tutting began almost immediately.

Indoor Tanning Poses Cancer Risks, Teenagers Learn - NYTimes.com - tanning beds account for as many as 400,000 cases of skin cancer in the United States each year, including 6,000 cases of melanoma, the deadliest form.
TSRI Scientists Find Drug That Helps Huntington’s Disease-Afflicted Mice—and Their Offspring - Thomas and other scientists at TSRI have been testing compounds called histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors to see if they can induce “epigenetic” changes to help lessen the severity of diseases such as Huntington’s.
Optimistic people have healthier hearts, study finds | EurekAlert! Science News - Optimists are twice as likely to be in ideal cardiovascular health (heart-ache kills you)
Denying Rape but Endorsing Forceful Intercourse: 1 In 3 college men say they would 'force sex with a women' if they could get away with it; when language is changed to 'rape', 13% agree with statement (open access article) : science
(NSFW) what is your weirdest fetish? : AskReddit (varieties of desire)
The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive (this is on the internets)
ELI5: Tachyons : explainlikeimfive
Finding faster-than-light particles by weighing them - In a new paper accepted by the journal Astroparticle Physics, Robert Ehrlich, a recently retired physicist from George Mason University, claims that the neutrino is very likely a tachyon or faster-than-light particle

Sia’s video: let’s be wary of seeing paedophilia everywhere | Barbara Ellen | Comment is free | The Guardian
Gamergate: a brief history of a computer-age war | Technology | The Guardian
Unpaid interns charged £300 for a job reference by thinktank | Education | The Guardian - Civitatis International, run by an ex-aide to a Lib Dem peer, condemned over fees for unpaid trainees

Jet stream blasts BA plane across Atlantic in record time - Boeing 777 reported at speeds of up to 745mph as it flies from New York to Heathrow in just 5 hours 16 minutes

Record thin on Steve Jobs’s philanthropy - The Washington Post - “there is no public record of Mr. Jobs giving money to charity. .?.?. Nor is there a hospital wing or an academic building with his name on it.”
TIL Steve Jobs "eliminated all corporate philanthropy programs" at Apple when he became CEO and declined to join Bill Gates' "Giving Pledge" : todayilearned
Steve Jobs secretly gave millions to charity, publically criticised for not doing enough - Jobs kept quiet about his charitable giving even when he found himself under attack for his apparent lack of philanthropy.
TIL a secretary told Steve Jobs she was late for work because her car wouldn't start – Jobs came back the same afternoon and threw her a set of keys for a brand new Jaguar saying: "Here, don't be late anymore." : todayilearned - No, his car would be the easiest to find: badly parked in a handicapped spot he didn't actually need. There used to be a site full of photos of his car all over the area around Apple, always like that.
Steve Jobs Still Parking In Handicapped Spaces — The Pictures | Cult of Mac (didn't believe in license plates, either)

What's the best advice you've ever received? : AskReddit - "Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement."
[Serious] (NSFW) How many people have you had sex with? How do you feel about your number? : AskReddit
Parents of reddit, what's the most NSFW thing your child has done, without realizing it was NSFW? : AskReddit
Gamer nerd gets sweet revenge against trash-talking bully + Thug Life : videos (Boogie's videos!)
What book will enrich your vocabulary and train your thinking mind? : books
LibriVox

RIP Google Analytics, Casualty of Spam | Dither and Bicker - What we're left with however is that Google Analytics is now junk. The code is cracked. It's not worth it to constantly prune away the dozens of spam referrers.
RIP Google Analytics, Casualty of Spam : webdev
I want to build a list of referrer spam links to block. I'm being hit hard on every site I run, and I'm tired of it. Anyone want to add to it? : Wordpress
5G Blacklist 2013 | Perishable Press
AT&T defends unlimited data throttling, says the FTC can’t stop it | Ars Technica - FTC has no jurisdiction because AT&T is a common carrier, company tells judge. (whut?)
If the price of giving everyone internet access is total domination by Facebook, it’s not worth it | Technology | The Guardian - The social media firm’s latest big idea – to allow users in developing nations free net access if they use its app – should be resisted (Facenet)

011015
At Least 1 Dead In 150-Vehicle Pileup On Michigan Interstate - Lt. Rick Pazder says many vehicles are on fire, including at least two semi-trucks carrying fireworks and other hazardous materials.

Source: Terror cells activated in France - CNN.com - Kouachi, who was studying Arabic grammar, and underwear bomber Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab previously were roommates for one to two weeks in Yemen's capital, Sanaa (no shit)
French Premier Declares ‘War’ on Radical Islam as Paris Girds for Rally - NYTimes.com
Days of Sirens, Fear and Blood: ‘France Is Turned Upside Down’ - NYTimes.com
More than 700,000 rally in France after Islamist attacks - Yahoo News
Hundreds Of Thousands Rally Across France For Terror Victims
Search Continues for Woman Linked to Suspects in Charlie Hebdo Attack - NYTimes.com
Partner of Paris Gunman Believed to Be in Syria - WSJ - Hayat Boumeddiene Is Believed to Have Left France on Jan. 2 - She crossed into Syria from Turkey, the people said.
Al-Qaeda in Yemen threatens France with new attacks: SITE - Yahoo News
France Gripped By Fear After Paris Terror Attacks
'We vomit' on Charlie's sudden friends: staff cartoonist - Yahoo News
Antisemitism in France: the exodus has begun - As gunmen attack a kosher supermarket in Paris, Jews there will pack their bags even faster - Because when it comes to home grown anti-Semitism, France leads the world.
The Charlie Hebdo attack was a strike against free speech. So why is the response more surveillance? | Trevor Timm | Comment is free | The Guardian - Let’s not avenge the deaths of journalists by trying to curtail the very rights for which the world has praised them (that's always the response, duh)
Murdoch says Muslims must be held responsible for France terror attacks | World news | The Guardian - News Corp boss tweets to say even peaceful Muslims must bear burden of deadly Charlie Hebdo death toll ‘until they destroy growing jihadist cancer’ (from the mouth of Satan)
BBC NEWS | Europe | French court bans Christ advert - France's Catholic Church has won a court injunction to ban a clothing advertisement based on Leonardo da Vinci's Christ's Last Supper. (très docile: 2005: le double standard)
Business | Brigitte Bardot Vs. Muslim Sheep Slaying -- Animal-Rights Stand Criticized As Racist In Tone | Seattle Times Newspaper - "From one year to the next we are seeing the construction of mosques all over France while our village church bells grow silent for lack of priests," wrote the former actress whose movies once were condemned by the Vatican. (1996)

Intelligence indicates Assad building nuclear plant: report - Yahoo News

Suicide Bombing By Young Girl Kills At Least 16 In Nigeria's Maiduguri - "The explosive devices were wrapped around her body and the girl looked no more than 10 years old," a police source said. Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state, lies in the heartland of an insurgency by Sunni Muslim militant group Boko Haram, and is often hit by bomb attacks.
Canada arrests Ottawa twin brothers on terrorism charges | World news | The Guardian - Police say Ashton and Carlos Larmond planned to leave country
Who are the Kharijites and what do they have to do with IS? - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East - mbers of the Islamic State (IS) have often been described as modern-age Kharijites, in reference to the Muslims who rebelled against the ruling powers in early Islamic history. The Kharijite rebellions began in the 7th century, against the Umayyad Caliphate, and persisted against the Abbasid Caliphate

North Korea will suspend nuclear tests if US cancels military exercises with South Korea | World news | The Guardian - Pyongyang ‘ready to take such a responsive step’ US rejects overture and calls for North to ‘cease all threats’

Agency boss allegedly gave Epstein models for orgy | Page Six
Jeffrey Epstein: inside the decade of scandal entangling Prince Andrew | World news | The Guardian - How a telephone call set off a cascade of FBI investigations, secret plea deals and lawsuits from Palm Beach, Florida, to Buckingham Palace as questions resurface over whether the disgraced financier used his wealth and power to elude justice - The allegation: that Epstein forced another of his teenage victims into sexual encounters with Andrew on three separate occasions. (bad year for royalty)

Petraeus Fiasco Highlights the Danger of Hero Worship by David Atkins | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - It’s another thing to put a human being on a pedestal and insist that anyone is above attacks on their honor and integrity. General Petraeus clearly wasn’t, and it’s more than a little ironic that he’s now in danger of felony charges for actually betraying national security secrets.

Of course Boston should bid for the 2024 Olympics: it's the best city in the US | Maraithe Thomas | US news | The Guardian - Ask a local – the Massachusetts capital is a hub of history, harmony and graceful sports fans who don’t mind losing in the slightest. It’s perfect for the Games

Why These Democrats Flipped To Defeat Wall Street Deregulation - Actually, 95 Democrats supported a very similar bill as recently as September. Both bills were 11-point packages chipping away at the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reform law

Bernie and the TPP - Lawyers, Guns & Money : Bernie Sanders is taking the lead in attacking the odious Trans-Pacific Partnership, the centerpiece of Obama’s trade agenda. [These same sorts of claims were made about NAFTA. Instead, 683,000 American jobs were lost because of NAFTA by 2010, 61 percent of which were the high-paying manufacturing jobs at the backbone of the American union movement of the 20th century.]

Where Are The Friedmans Of Yesteryear? - NYTimes.com (hacks)

Disneyland measles outbreak grows, sparks concern - LA Times

NYPD Union Rejects NYC Mayor As Deep Rift Persists (any other job and their fat asses would be history)
NYPD Close To Changing How It Polices Public Housing Buildings - Former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who had defended stop-and-frisk as a vital anticrime strategy, appealed the decision. (facist Bloomfuck)
No Charges Against Nicholas Locilento, Officer Who Struck, Killed Boy With Car - Charges won't be filed against a police officer who was speeding when he struck and killed a 10-year-old boy with his squad car, authorities said Friday. (no siren)
Indiana couple charged over 1-year-old daughter putting gun in mouth | US news | The Guardian - Evansville police discovered the videos after a 19-year-old man was arrested for trying to sell a handgun to an undercover officer.
Videographer arrested for refusing to hand over his camera to police after recording an accident scene. : news

A License to Say Anything? - NYTimes.com

Touring the World - Lawyers, Guns & Money : I love it when my Baptist Bible school teaching home schooling good Christian security men just so happen to sleep with any woman that moves when their wives aren’t around. ( Before joining the Secret Service, he was an airport security guard and then a cop in St. Petersburg, Florida.)

64 Dartmouth Students Cheat in Ethics Class -- NYMag

Alaska man beaten to death by the boyfriend of his "victim" after woman falsely accuses him of rape in Fairbanks hotel room : news
Charges: Fairbanks man was killed after false rape accusation | Local News - KTUU.com Anchorage

What the Mueller Report Doesn't Have to Tell Us | VICE Sports

Why do men fake orgasms? | Nichi Hodgson | Comment is free | The Guardian - We presume that men are simple sexual machines and that, when it comes to sex, their pleasure is something we can see. The truth is more complicated - On average, that means men are more likely to fake an orgasm than inflate their height on a dating site (22% according to a Cornell/WM study) or inflate their salaries in an online dating profile (most add 20%, according to OkCupid’s own stats analysis).


TIL some schizophrenics can tickle themselves. Mentally sane people can predict the sensory consequences of their own actions and reduce them, whereas schizophrenics have trouble recognizing their own actions and often attribute their behavior to an alien source. : todayilearned
Can't Tickle Yourself? That's a Good Thing - Scientific American - Studies of Tit-For-Tat Games And Links To Delusional Thinking - This neurological phenomenon not only explains why we can’t tickle ourselves, but also might help avert delusional thoughts.
These GIFs Show the Freakishly High Definition Future of Body Scanning | TIME (don't miss, changes your self-image)
Neuromyths like we only use 10% of our brains, sugar causes hyperactivity, and hemispheric dominance determines personality are still prevalent among the public. Surprisingly, a high percentage of teachers also believe in these myths, including some that may influence teaching methods. : science
Neuromyths and the disconnect between science and the public — Neuroscientifically Challenged
I am Cambridge University linguistics professor Bert Vaux. You may have seen the viral New York Times dialect quiz based on questions from my Harvard Dialect Survey. AMA! : IAmA

Truck drivers of Reddit, what city or town do you absolutely refuse to stop in? : AskReddit
Reddit, what is an obscure reference you can post here that will make you instantly friends with the person who identifies it's origin? : AskReddit
James Tiptree - The most interesting female science fiction author you've probably never heard of. : books (+The author of that article couldn't look more NPR if he tried.)

The guy who reviews knobs on youtube posted a new video : videos
Alantutorial - Tutorialheads Wiki - alantutorial is a creative project by artist Alan Resnick. It consists primarily of a series of videos in which Resnick plays a fictionalized version of himself, who is depicted as a reclusive young man obsessed with giving tutorials. As the videos progress, strange things begin happening and Alan's already-tenuous grip on reality begins slowly slipping.

010915
The Anti-Science Climate Denier Caucus | ThinkProgress - Climate change is happening, humans are the cause, and a shocking number of congressional Republicans — over 56 percent — deny or question the science (spawn of Satan destroying the planet)

Charlie Hebdo Suspects Killed, Market Shooter Dead
French security forces kill gunmen, end hostage sieges
News from The Associated Press - Two al-Qaida-linked brothers suspected in the Charlie Hebdo massacre came out of their hideaway with guns blazing Friday and were killed in a clash with security forces
Charlie Hebdo shooting suspects and third gunman killed in twin police raids | World news | The Guardian - Four hostages dead after French Swat teams storm printing firm in Dammartin-en-Goële and supermarket in Paris
French Police Storm Two Hostage Sites, Killing Charlie Hebdo Suspects - NYTimes.com
Charlie Hebdo suspects killed as French police raid siege locations – live updates | World news | The Guardian
Charlie Hebdo Suspects Killed (have fun with your virgins)
Amedy Coulibaly, Paris Kosher Market Terrorist, Had History Of Ties To Violence
Armed Man Takes Hostages In Kosher Grocery Store In Paris
Thirty Jewish shoppers in Paris avoided being taken hostage by hiding in freezer | Daily Mail Online
Paris Hostage Situation Live Thread : worldnews
Police: 2 Hostages Held In Jewelry Store In France's Montpellier
Charlie Hebdo and the Assault on French Identity - NYTimes.com (French Caliphate in 2022)
New York Times Reports On Muslim Proselytizing During Charlie Hebdo Attack, Then Deletes It | The Daily Caller
Another False Charlie Hebdo Analogy by Ed Kilgore | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - It’s not remotely as messed up as Erick Erickson’s comparison of the victims of the Paris massacre to an Atlanta Fire Chief dismissed for public displays of homophobia. But still, David Brooks is far off-base in a column suggesting that “speech codes” at American colleges that prohibit or limit appearances by controversial speakers are a distant cousin to the violent suppression of Charlie Hebdo’s cartoonists
Juan Cole: Paris Suspects Radicalized By Iraq War, Abu Ghraib Torture | Crooks and Liars
Dean Baquet calls N.Y. Times critic 'a--hole' - POLITICO.com - New York Times executive editor Dean Baquet called an associate professor at the USC Annenberg School an "asshole" on Facebook today after the professor took a shot at Baquet for not running Charlie Hebdo's Muhammed cartoons.
In Solidarity With a Free Press: Some More Blasphemous Cartoons - The Intercept (some speech is freer than others)
Al Qaeda Source: AQAP Directed Paris Attack - The Intercept - A source within al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has provided The Intercept with a full statement claiming responsibility for the attack against the offices of Charlie Hebdo in Paris:
After Taking Hostages, The Fight Inevitably Ended With The Death Of The Gunmen - Esquire

'Takfiris' offend Prophet more than cartoons: Nasrallah | News , Lebanon News | THE DAILY STAR - Extremist religious groups following a "takfiri" ideology have offended the Prophet Mohammad more than the Western cartoons mocking him, Hezbollah chief Hasan Nasrallah said Friday.
Paris attack shows the West is not free from terrorism - Opinion - The Boston Globe - | Andrew J. Bacevich
Raising Questions Within Islam After France Shooting - NYTimes.com - The majority of scholars and the faithful say Islam is no more inherently violent than other religions. But some Muslims — most notably the president of Egypt — argue that the contemporary understanding of their religion is infected with justifications for violence, requiring the government and its official clerics to correct the teaching of Islam ... murder rates were substantially lower in Muslim-majority countries and instances of political violence were no more frequent. (is the Bush family inherently violent?)
Anti-Muslim Attacks After Charlie Hebdo Highlight France's Long History Of Islamophobia
FARK.com: (8553371) It's that 'the world has gotten so crazy, even Hezbollah is starting to make sense' time again - Agreed that the Hebdo terrorists were Salafists, repors are coming out tht 2 of them attended a radical Salafist Mosque before going on their killing spree.
BSP leader Haji Yakub Qureshi booked for defending Paris terror attack | Zee News - Meerut: A case has been registered against former Uttar Pradesh minister and BSP leader Haji Yakub Qureshi for his controversial comments, in which he defended the terror attack on French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.

New anti-terror laws coming as jihadis ‘declare war,’ Harper says - The Globe and Mail - Warning that an “international jihadist movement” has declared war on Canada and its allies, Stephen Harper says his government plans to bring in new legislation shortly after the Commons winter break to give security agencies more powers to thwart terrorist attacks.

Amnesty: Nigeria Massacre Deadliest In History Of Boko Haram - Hundreds of bodies — too many to count — remain strewn in the bush in Nigeria from an Islamic extremist attack that Amnesty International suggested Friday is the "deadliest massacre" in the history of Boko Haram ... the town was razed and as many as 2,000 people killed. (Goodluck, Jonathan)
Nigeria: 2,000 feared killed in Boko Haram's 'deadliest massacre' | World news | The Guardian - Amnesty International calls the killings ‘a disturbing and bloody escalation’ and a local defence group says its fighters have given up trying to count the bodies

Exclusive: Edward Snowden on Cyber Warfare — NOVA Next | PBS - By James Bamford and Tim De Chant on Thu, 08 Jan 2015
Snowden Claims U.S. Policy Is Creating A Black Market For Digital Weapons | TechCrunch

NSA Played Key Role Linking North Korea to Sony Hack - The Intercept - National Security Agency data and technical analysis assisted in the U.S. government’s attribution of the Sony cyber attack to North Korea, Admiral Michael Rogers said on Thursday.

Prosecutors Said to Seek Felony Charges against Petraeus - NYTimes.com

Oscar Romero Being Fast-Tracked To Sainthood For His Work With The People Of El Salvador - Esquire - D'Aubuisson was trained at the notorious School of the Americas at Fort Benning in Georgia. He was noted for his use of blowtorches in his interrogations, which is something that somehow slipped by Dick Cheney.
Maher's Atheism Comes Down To His Intellectual Snobbery - Esquire - Upon hearing the words "Hoc" and "corpus" (in the "For this is my body" passage), newly literate and impatient artisans in the pews would mockingly whisper, "Hocus-pocus," finding a tough slang term for the religious obfuscation at which they were beginning to chafe.
Bill Maher’s Charlie Hebdo mess: Last night’s “Jimmy Kimmel” revealed why we need studio audiences - Salon.com - Kimmel had to be polite when the "Real Time" host spouted off about Charlie Hebdo -- but the studio audience didn't

House G.O.P. Proposes Sweeping Reversal of Obama Immigration Steps - NYTimes.com (unremitting evil)

Most of America’s rich think the poor have it easy - The Washington Post - There is little empathy at the top.
The Politics of Financial Insecurity | Pew Research Center for the People and the Press - he rich vote Republican, the poor vote Democratic. And while the reality of the situation is much more nuanced, in broad strokes it has been the case that Republicans have consistently garnered disproportionate levels of support from the financially well-off, while the least financially secure Americans have been significantly more likely to back Democrats.

U.S. Liberals at Record 24%, but Still Trail Conservatives - Conservatives continued to outnumber moderates and liberals in the U.S. population in 2014, as they have since 2009. However, their 14-percentage-point edge over liberals last year, 38% vs. 24%, is the smallest in Gallup's trends since 1992. (stupid and evil dominates in America)
Voodoo Time Machine - NYTimes.com - But while Mr. McConnell’s self-aggrandizement is funny, it’s also scary, because it’s a symptom of his party’s epistemic closure. Republicans know many things that aren’t so, and no amount of contrary evidence will get them to change their minds. (the anti-reality party)

Three Georgia Men Charged With Domestic Terrorism | Crooks and Liars - Will Lindsey Graham have anything to say about this? (boots on the ground in Georgia!)
Here Are Some Of The Major Attacks On The NAACP Since The Civil Rights Act

As Police Go Idle, So Do New York City Courts - NYTimes.com - “This proves to us is what we all knew as defenders: You can end broken-windows policing without ending public safety,” said Justine M. Luongo, the deputy attorney-in-charge of criminal practice for the Legal Aid Society. (well done, NYPD)

Mike Huckabee Sold Out His Fans To A Quack Doctor, Conspiracy Theorists, And Financial Fraudsters | Blog | Media Matters for America (Huckafuck)

Republicans are forcing women to have abortions – and then telling us it's too late | Jessica Valenti | Comment is free | The Guardian

Grand jury wants recommends charges against Kathleen Kane - The Morning Call - A grand jury has recommended criminal charges against Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane after probing allegations she leaked secret information to a newspaper in an attempt to embarrass critics, The Philadelphia Inquirer is reporting.

Arizona's Former Education Chief Explains Why He Called For The End Of Spanish - Yet later it was reported that you had used pseudonyms to make strident comments on blogs, including calling for the elimination of the Spanish language from the United States, the elimination of the Spanish-language media. Do you worry that you’ve bred resentment against Hispanics?

Nearly One-Third Of College Men In Study Say They Would Commit Rape - "the No. 1 point is there are people that will say they would force a woman to have sex but would deny they would rape a woman."
Alan Dershowitz tried to discredit girl who accused Jeffrey Epstein of rape | US news | The Guardian - A high school transcript for AH was found by police during a raid of Epstein’s mansion in Florida after allegations of abuse first surfaced ... as a drama student, she was an expert in misleading people.

Who's Paying for Bertha's Overruns Again? | Slog

The 6 biggest lies you’ve been told about vaginas - Salon.com
ELI5: Why is circumcision so popular in the United States and not the rest of the world? : explainlikeimfive - John Harvey Kellogg, the co-founder of Corn Flakes and Kellogg's food company, had extreme views regarding masturbation ... He also suggested that a woman's clitoris be exposed to carbolic acid to limit their excitement and sexual arousal, which he tested on young girls himself. (quack cureall marketed by quack doctors in late nineteenth century)
Has there been a disease that was beneficial to humans? : askscience



U.S. Flu and Cold Reports Among Highest Since 2008 - An average 4.0% of Americans reported being sick with flu on any given day in December. This is higher than all previous Decembers since Gallup began tracking the flu daily in 2008, and is one of the highest rates for any month over the past seven years.
Unraveling the Key to a Cold Virus’s Effectiveness - NYTimes.com

This computer program virtually cannot lose at Texas Hold'em. Researchers present the first algorithm ever to solve poker. : science
ELI5: Why is circumcision so popular in the United States and not the rest of the world? : explainlikeimfive

Males AND females of reddit, who's your 10/10? : AskReddit

FCC net neutrality: Verizon is about to suffer a major defeat | BGR - However, the huge public outrage at the prospect of letting ISPs create Internet “fast lanes” put renewed pressure on the FCC to take a tougher stance on net neutrality, and now it looks like Verizon is about to suffer a humiliating defeat.
Title II for Internet providers is all but confirmed by FCC chairman | Ars Technica - Tom Wheeler says exactly what giant broadband providers didn't want to hear.

010815
Climate activists won the Keystone fight. Great. Now can we actually fight climate change? | Sarah Laskow | Comment is free | The Guardian - Liberal protesters transformed a construction project into a huge environmental fight. Could liberal politicians trade pipeline approval for progressive energy policies? (no, because planet-killing Republicans)

Boston and Chicago close schools as freezing temperatures grip US | US news | The Guardian - Boston’s mayor closes schools because of ‘extreme weather conditions
2 Dead, Many Injured In 18-Vehicle Pileup During Whiteout In Pennsylvania

If America wants to make sure it never tortures again, it must choose law over secrecy | Katherine Hawkins | Comment is free | The Guardian - Memos to Obama aren’t enough when neither politicians, nor the president, nor the courts can stand up to the CIA’s wall of secrecy. Let’s tear down that wall

Survivors Retrace a Scene of Horror at Charlie Hebdo - NYTimes.com
Hunt for Charlie Hebdo killers switches to rural France | World news | The Guardian - Tens of thousands of French police and soldiers search for Cherif and Said Kouachi, suspected of attack in Paris - Cherif Kouachi, 32, and his brother Said, 34, were born in eastern Paris to Algerian immigrants who died when they were young. They were raised in an orphanage in the city of Rennes
Charlie Hebdo suspect Cherif Kouachi linked to network of French militants | World news | The Guardian - Man who led deadly attack on the satirical magazine had links to disorganised web of extremists for more than 10 years
Charlie Hebdo shooting suspect defended by classmates on Twitter | World news | The Guardian - Students say suspected getaway driver Mourad Hamyd was in class at time of attack, in series of tweets under hashtag #MouradHamydInnocent
ABC News on Twitter: "French Interior minister: 9 people taken into custody as part of investigation into Paris terror attack; 90 witnesses have been interviewed."
The Attack On Charlie Hebdo Newspaper, In Pictures

12 People Murdered At The French Publication's Offices - Esquire - Midnight In Paris: Attack At Charlie Hebdo Kills 12 - Nous sommes Charlie, I guess, but, deep in us all, in that part of us that reeks of stale incense and the smell of old and guttering candles, nous sommes des barbares, aussi. And "political correctness," that empty, impotent phrase, is inadequate to account for the monsters that lurk in the shadows there.

Charlie Hebdo attack: police descend on town in hunt for gunmen - live updates | World news | The Guardian - Anti-terror police converging on area north-east of Paris
Charlie Hebdo attack: Suspects 'rob service station' - The two main suspects in the Islamist attack on Charlie Hebdo magazine in Paris are said to have robbed a service station in the north of France.
French police converge on small town after Paris attack suspects seen | Reuters
Several Arrests Overnight In Hunt For Charlie Hebdo Attackers, French Prime Minister Says
Police Officer Killed, Street Sweeper Wounded In Paris Shootout - An assailant opened fire on a police officer on the southern edge of Paris early Thursday, killing her and injuring a nearby street sweeper before fleeing,
Why Muslims Are Talking About Islam And Blasphemy After Charlie Hebdo
Mosques Attacked In Wake Of Charlie Hebdo Shooting
Rethinking Security · So Sophisticated? - Sophistication becomes a proxy for the validity of assumptions regarding the nature of jihadist organization (or lack thereof).
After Charlie Hebdo attack, U.S. Catholic group says cartoonists ‘provoked’ slaughter - The Washington Post - "Had [Charbonnier] not been so narcissistic, he may still be alive," Donohue says, in what must be one of the more offensive and insensitive comments made on this tragic day.
"Do You Support ISIS?": Watch CNN's Don Lemon Ask A Muslim Human Rights Attorney If He Supports Terrorists | Video | Media Matters for America - Lemon To Arsalan Iftikhar: "Would You Describe Those Who Support ISIS As Islamic Extremists? Do You Support ISIS?" (eponymous)
After Paris Attack, Fox Anchor Suggests Skin Color Can Help Identify "Typical Bad Guys" | Blog | Media Matters for America - Co-Host Kennedy Exploits Attack To Push Gun Agenda: "I Think The Best Thing That Americans Can Do Is Arm Themselves" Bream suggested profiling may not be effective in situations where criminals are wearing masks or where the tone of their skin doesn't "look like typical bad guys," apparently implying that certain skin tones should raise red flags for law enforcement: (you know, like "black")
Radical hate preacher, Mr Anjem Choudary, wants this photo removed from the Internet. : pics

Boko Haram crisis: Nigeria's Baga town hit by new assault - While he raised fears that some 2,000 had been killed in the raids, other reports put the number in the hundreds. (Muslim death-orgy)

Why is Sexual Assault So Common in Our Military? | Ten Miles Square | The Washington Monthly - But, Jesus Christ, look at those numbers. We’re talking about 20 to 25 thousand sexual assaults annually within the ranks of our military. (rape culture)

What's Really Wrong With the GOP | Rep. Alan Grayson - Let me repeat that: every elected GOP Member of the House and Senate was a white Christian. (and spawn of Satan, The Deceiver)
Obama issues veto threat as Republicans flex muscles in new Congress | US news | The Guardian - Republicans push bills to approve Keystone and redefine the Affordable Care Act’s definition of a full-time work week from 30 hours to 40 (vote Republican and get fucked)
Mitch McConnell is off to a bitter start - The Washington Post - In a speech on the Senate floor Wednesday morning outlining his priorities for the new Congress, the Kentucky Republican suggested that the GOP takeover of Congress — not yet 24 hours old — had already boosted the American economy.

Jim Webb's Old Novels Re-Emerge As 'Oppo' In Latest Sign That 2016 Will Be An Unrelenting Storm Of Garbage - Clinton’s longtime communications guru, pitched talk radio producers on the racy, sexually charged writings in Webb’s novels, according to a source." (you don't fuck with the Big Fucker)

Supreme Court Could Kick 10 Million People Off Health Insurance (get ready)
On Their First Day Back, Congress Introduces Abortion Ban
It’s All Right with Sam - NYTimes.com - He is the redemption of the promise that failed a quarter-century ago, when John H. Sununu, chief of staff to President George H.W. Bush, assured worried conservatives that the president had selected a hole-in-one Supreme Court nominee: David H. Souter. (Alito most reactionary justice)

Haaretz.com on Twitter: "Rand Paul moves to ban aid to Palestinians until ICC bid withdrawn http://t.co/IxP1wYHbsB http://t.co/H3hEMpVvo1"
Glenn Greenwald on Twitter: "Rand Paul is a panderer and a fraud https://t.co/dg287uY0wf"

The War on Drugs Is Burning Out | Rolling Stone - Leading at the ballot box from Alaska to Washington, D.C., Americans are charting a path to a saner national drug policy
How America Lost the War on Drugs | Rolling Stone - After thirty-five years and $500 billion, drugs are as cheap and plentiful as ever. An anatomy of a failure (imagine what half-a-trillion could have been spent on +millions of less lives wrecked)

Conservatives Admit The Truth On Indiana 'Religious Liberty' Bill | ThinkProgress - Micah Clark of the American Family Association explained to The Indianapolis Star that the bill would allow small businesses to refuse services to same-sex couples and also that it would allow adoption agencies to refuse to place children with same-sex couples - “license to discriminate”

Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin Re-Elected By State Legislature - Gov. Peter Shumlin (D) was re-elected Thursday by the Vermont legislature, which voted 110-69 for Shumlin over challenger Scott Milne.
Grand jury recommends criminal charges against Attorney General Kathleen Kane - The panel concluded that Kane violated grand-jury secrecy rules by leaking investigative material in a bid to embarrass political enemies, sources said.

Connecticut court rules teenager must have chemotherapy she does not want | US news | The Guardian - Doctors say treatment offers 85% survival chance from cancer - Girl, 17, known as Cassandra C, can make up her own mind in September - The teen’s mother, Jackie Fortin of Windsor Locks, said after the arguments on Thursday that she would not allow her daughter to die. She said they just want to seek alternative treatment that does not include putting the “poison” of chemotherapy into her daughter’s body. (Christians)

The NYPD found a more destructive way of protesting than shutting down traffic | Jessica Bulman-Pozen and David Pozen | Comment is free | The Guardian - Angry cops don’t like protesters who break the rules. But now they are using the opposite of civil disobedience to defy the law
New Video Of Tamir Rice Shooting Shows Police Arresting Sister, Delaying First Aid - Previously unreleased surveillance footage surrounding the police shooting of a boy in Cleveland shows authorities forcing the young victim's 14-year-old sister to the ground, handcuffing her and putting her in a patrol car. (priorities, the officers "feared for their lives")

Fox News Hosts Apparently Have No Idea What Slut-Shaming Means - "They are essentially trying to slut-shame companies into paying their highest workers less money," Montgomery said. "And slut-shaming companies is not the job of the U.S. government," co-host Andrea Tantaros agreed. ("sluts" are now obscenely paid CEOs)

Gloria Allred Introduces 3 New Bill Cosby Accusers, Criticizes Phylicia Rashad - Phylicia, I vow to you that I will not forget these women, because women matter. They deserve respect and dignity. Phylicia, you should be supporting these women rather than joining Cosby's paid "attack dogs" who are trying to undermine them in any way they can.
Phylicia Rashad Says She Was Misquoted During Cosby Defense
Jian Ghomeshi Facing More Sexual Assault Charges From Three New Alleged Victims

Kirby Delauter, Who Didn't Want His Name In A News Story, Apologizes : The Two-Way : NPR

Middle School Reading Lists 100 Years Ago vs. Today | Better Ed

Why would people 'choose' to be gay? | Dean Burnett | Science | The Guardian - Those opposed to homosexuality regularly describe being gay as a choice, despite all evidence to the contrary. But what is never explained is why people would make this choice in the first place
Study of gay brothers may confirm X chromosome link to homosexuality | Science/AAAS | News - The finding made some evolutionary sense. An X-linked gene for homosexuality has long been proposed as a way to explain how the trait persists in the population even though gay men tend to have fewer offspring: The gene could increase fertility in females, who would have two “chances” to inherit it. (mommy makes you gay)
Two Infants Too Young For Vaccinations Contract Measles From Unvaccinated People At Disneyland | ThinkProgress (anti-vax park)
Most MS Patients Who Received Stem Cell Transplants Still in Remission Years Later - Newly published study results show no new relapses for most of the HALT-MS study volunteers.

Study Finds More Reasons to Get and Stay Married - NYTimes.com - some old-fashioned advice for people navigating the stresses of life: Find a spouse who is also your best friend.
Stay Away From Guys Who Do This - Men who shower the Internet with photos of themselves are more likely to have narcissistic and psychopathic traits than guys who don’t share their self images online, new research has found.
8 Signs Your Marriage Was Doomed From The Start - Women with at least a $20,000 wedding bill were 3.5 times more likely to divorce than women with $5,000 to $10,000 weddings.

Among the Disrupted - NYTimes.com - By Leon Wieseltier (not sure what he's trying to say)
Brooks Contemplates Meaning And Metaphysics In The New York Times - Esquire - Meaningfulness tries to replace structures, standards and disciplines with self-regarding emotion.

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The Record of Austerity - NYTimes.com (is disasterous failure, but Merkelites can only be failed)
Why Yes, I Do Believe Jeffrey Sachs Has Lost His Mind. Why Do You Ask?: Live from The Roasterie (Brad DeLong's Grasping Reality...) - For could anything possibly lead somebody who has not lost his mind to call a real GDP growth rate of 2.2%/year "brisk"? (and "Europe" apparently does not exist)
Warren takes swipe at Reagan, trickle-down economics - Kyle Cheney - POLITICO - “The trickle-down experiment that began in the Reagan years failed America’s middle class,”

Suspect Surrenders In Charlie Hebdo Attack - French police pressed a massive hunt for two brothers suspected in the murderous attack on offices of the French satirical publication Charlie Hedbo after a teenager surrendered early Thursday.
Suspects Identified in Attack on French Newspaper, Charlie Hebdo - NYTimes.com - They were identified as Said and Cherif Kouachi, 32 and 34, and Hamyd Mourad, 18. French news reports said the brothers had been born in Paris,
Charlie Hebdo attacks: ‘It’s carnage, a bloodbath. Everyone is dead’ | World news | The Guardian - Paris magazine staff say gunman knew their targets in advance and entered the building like ‘an organised commando’ raid
Charlie Hebdo magazine attack: vigils held as French hunt suspects – live | World news | The Guardian
Charlie Hebdo attack | World news | The Guardian
Charlie Hebdo: Gun attack on French magazine kills 12
Terror Attack on Charlie Hebdo Newspaper in Paris Kills 12 - NYTimes.com
Gunmen attack office of Charlie Hebdo, French satirical magazine, in Paris - CBS News
4 Cartoonists Killed In Attack On Charlie Hebdo Newspaper
France In Shock After Brutal Attack On Satirical Newspaper Charlie Hebdo
Charlie Hebdo killings condemned by Arab states – but hailed online by extremists | World news | The Guardian - Supporters of Isis praise attack, but many Arabic Twitter users point out magazine also satirised Jews, Christians and Buddhists

Cartoonists around the world respond - Imgur
in solidarity with those who lost their lives, here's a cartoon of the prophet, freedom of expression will never die - Imgur
CNN cut off controversial Charlie Hebdo cartoons - The Washington Post - Yet CNN and host Wolf Blitzer hid them in a segment this afternoon.
Many Outlets Are Censoring Charlie Hebdo's Satirical Cartoons After Attack - BuzzFeed News - News outlets shy away from publishing the controversial images of the paper’s satirical cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.
Internal CNN memo: 'We are not at this time showing the Charlie Hebdo cartoons' - POLITICO.com
Danish Paper That Published 12 Muhammad Cartoons Boosts Security - NBC News.com
These Are The Charlie Hebdo Cartoons That Terrorists Thought Were Worth Killing Over
Sharpening Contradictions: Why al-Qaeda attacked Satirists in Paris | Informed Comment - Al-Qaeda wants to mentally colonize French Muslims, but faces a wall of disinterest. But if it can get non-Muslim French to be beastly to ethnic Muslims on the grounds that they are Muslims, it can start creating a common political identity around grievance against discrimination.
The Blame for the Charlie Hebdo Murders - The New Yorker - They are only the latest blows delivered by an ideology that has sought to achieve power through terror for decades.

'Shots fired' at French magazine HQ : worldnews
These two cartoonists for French magazine Charle Hebdo were murdered today for standing up for freedom of expression and satire : pics
Mohammed : funny
German satirical magazine 'Titanic': "If you shoot at satirists, you only make our work more relevant". Put satirical message on their website, telling terrorists when to come. : worldnews
Terrorist Incident in Paris : news

Stephane Charbonnier: The editor of Charlie Hebdo was on al-Qaida magazine Inspire hit list.
Europe’s confused debate about Islam and terrorism: Europeans are both too Islamophobic and too timid about facing the roots of Islamic fundamentalism. - Europeans are both too Islamophobic and too timid to face up to the roots of Islamic fundamentalism.
The case for mocking religion.

Time to crack down on 'Islamophobia', Turkey's Erdogan tells EU : worldnews (good timing, Recep)

The Decline of ISIS Has Already Begun - The Atlantic - Evidence suggests that the Islamic State's power has been declining for months.

Hullabaloo - Every Last Bit Of Authority From God (the Christian version)

Euro: CURRENCY:EUR quotes & news - Google Finance - 1 EUR = 1.1809 USD

Ex-Sony Employees Echo Cybersecurity Company's Suspicion That Hack Was An Inside Job

Jeffrey Epstein scandal: women with new identities run firms from Epstein-linked property | US news | The Guardian - Two women questioned about Prince Andrew in 2010, operating businesses from New York property years after appearing to have left Epstein’s entourage

Is It Surprising That A Bomb Going Off Near An NAACP Office In Colorado Springs Has Gone Mostly Unnoticed? - Esquire - Somehow, another attempted terrorist attack has gone largely unnoticed. It is very strange how this happens sometimes.

Congress’s First Act Was to Declare War on Math -- NYMag

PaterTemporalis comments on I really want to be a teacher, but I'm afraid of the environment I'll be teaching in. - Forget your superficial concerns, the whole discipline you're considering is on fire, collapsing and destroying the lives of a huge number of people involved in it. Pay and respect have never been lower, and the sheer amount of sidework has never been higher. Only martyrs teach now in America. (Republican war on facts, knowledge and teachers has destroyed America's educational system)

Congress Introduces A National Abortion Ban On Its Very First Day Back | ThinkProgress (priorities)
Pregnant woman challenging Wisconsin protective custody law - For the second time, a pregnant Wisconsin woman has challenged a state law that landed her in jail after she admitted to past drug use while seeking prenatal care. (and we wouldn't want that)

No Justice, No Police - NYTimes.com - Call this what it is: a reckless, coordinated escalation of a war between the police unions and Mr. de Blasio and a hijacking of law-enforcement policy by those who do not set law-enforcement policy.
NYPD Union Head Patrick Lynch Lashes Out At Mayor Again (Drama Queen of the Drama Queens makes no sense, either)

First new antibiotic in 30 years discovered in major breakthrough - The discovery of Teixobactin could pave the way for a new generation of antibiotics because of the way it was discovered.
Alcohol Poisoning Kills 6 Americans Every Day

Eschaton: Who Gets Stuck With The Bill - Things are really going to get fun when the fight over Bertha-related cost overruns begins. Seattle muckety mucks embraced building a tunnel which is essentially a Seattle Bypass and they're gonna get stuck with the bill ...
Law is clear: Bertha overruns are not state burden | Northwest Opinion Columns | The Bellingham Herald - In plain English, lawmakers specified that further overruns would be borne by those who stood to profit handsomely from the project, which is to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct that carries state Route 99 through Seattle. (at least the Big Dig worked, eventually)

Jameis Winston's accuser files federal lawsuit against FSU - Orlando Sentinel
Virginia considering mandatory reporting in wake of Rolling Stone rape article | US news | The Guardian - State legislature mulling three new bills that would force universities to report allegations of sexual assault to police

Walker shakes up state gasline board, removes three members | Alaska Dispatch - Gov. Bill Walker took a major step toward revising the way the state is dealing with a proposed gas pipeline by removing three members of the Alaska Gasline Development Corp. board and instructing two commissioners not to sign a secrecy pledge proposed by the Parnell administration.

Stanley Cohen, Lawyer for Terrorists, Goes to Jail For Tax Evasion | The New Republic - Government prosecutors say he neglected to report over $3 million in income and ran his practice largely off-the-books. His license to practice law is suspended, effective Tuesday.

I'd Love To Help My Wife, But I'm Trapped Under Something - Mallory Ortberg
This Brat's for You - The Baffler - William Giraldi - Sometime in 2011, before the gestation of my second son, my employer, Boston University, implemented paternity leave for its male professors
"I am so flooded with awe that I cannot move" - Lawyers, Guns & Money
How to write a bad review - Salon.com - A cruel New York Times piece shows how not to pan a book. But there is a way to do it, without appealing to trolls
Writers and readers on Twitter and Tumblr: We need more criticism, less Liking. - The epidemic of niceness in online book culture.
William Giraldi in the Daily Beast wants you to stop comparing him to Cormac McCarthy - “into the gelid wilds of Alaska"
William Giraldi’s Review of Alix Ohlin: A Failure in Four Parts | htmlgiant
sleeplessness.pdf
James Franco's Adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's Child of God Review | The New Republic

Kirby Delauter, Who Didn't Want His Name In A News Story, Is Now A Story : The Two-Way : NPR
Kirby Delauter, Kirby Delauter, Kirby Delauter - The Frederick News-Post : Politics And Government (read the first letters of each paragraph)
#kirbydelauter - Twitter Search (oh look, the moron got himself hashtagged)

So Many Earth-Like Planets, So Few Telescopes - NYTimes.com
Sun may determine lifespan at birth: study - Yahoo News - In an unusual study published Wednesday, Norwegian scientists said people born during periods of solar calm may live longer, as much as five years on average, than those who enter the world when the Sun is feisty.
Why Women Shaving Their Faces Is Now a Thing - Yahoo - "It's definitely a thing," said Alexis Wolfer, editor of The Beauty Bean. "One reason men are thought to get fewer wrinkles is that they're constantly exfoliating their faces every time they shave, literally shaving away the outermost layers of skin and encouraging your skin to create new layers."

Never mind the selfish gene – ribosomes are the missing link - We challenge the “selfish gene” concept, proposing instead that if a cellular component is “selfish” it must be ribosomes. Cells – and DNA itself – evolved, we argue, to optimise the functioning of ribosomes. That upends everything we think we know about the evolution of cellular life and ribosomes themselves. (Dawkin's paradigm shifted)

How ketamine went from dancefloor drug to wonder pill | Dazed - From afterparty to doctor's surgery: we speak to a New York anesthesiologist who prescribes ket for depression and PTSD
World's first drone-filmed porno actually quite picturesque | Dazed - It's called Drone Boning, BTW
? David Coffin - "Roll the Old Chariot" - YouTube
Sea Shanties & Songs
What ISN'T there a Subreddit for? : AskReddit

What stereotype is false about your country, province, or state? : AskReddit

Only 25Mbps and up will qualify as broadband under new FCC definition | Ars Technica - Broadband not being deployed “in a reasonable and timely fashion," Wheeler says.
ESPN Joins Sling TV, Is Finally Killing Cable | The New Republic - You can expect telecoms to fight any constrictive FCC proposal that much harder, and lobby their Republican allies in Congress for protective legislation all the more. That may include the blackmail maneuver of refusing to upgrade broadband infrastructure.
Over 2,300 MS-DOS games now completely free to play at Internet Archive | Ars Technica - Update also shows off website's new beta design for easier game browsing.

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Jones, Lynch, And Graham To Host Press Conference On Resolution To Declassify 9/11 Report | Congressman Walter Jones - calls on President Obama to declassify the 28 pages of the Joint Inquiry into Intelligence Activities Before and After the Terrorist Attacks of September 2001 that were initially classified by President George W. Bush and have remained classified under President Barack Obama.
New questions raised about U.S.-Saudi relationship - World - CBC News - The 28 pages. U.S. legislators pushing to know more about alleged Saudi role in 9/11
New questions raised about U.S.-Saudi relationship. The 28 pages. U.S. legislators pushing to know more about alleged Saudi role in 9/11 : worldnews

NYT reporter refuses to reveal sources on failed CIA effort against Iran - World Israel News | Haaretz - James Risen refuses to answer prosecutor's questions in case against former CIA agent, charged with leaking information about CIA operation against Iran's nuclear program.

The greatest trick Obama ever pulled was convincing the world America isn't still at war | Trevor Timm | Comment is free | The Guardian - Afghanistan, Iraq, the illegal conflict with Isis, secret drone strikes across the Middle East: You would think Congress might want to vote on the Forever War. But you would be very, very wrong

Euro Countries Take Tough Line Toward Greece - NYTimes.com - As a caustic election campaign in Greece revives fears that the country could leave the euro, European officials are taking an increasingly hard line toward Athens, saying they want to keep Greece in the single currency, though not at any cost. (Merkel trashes Europe in Germany's revenge)

Syrian government accuses John McCain of entering country illegally | World news | The Guardian - Syria’s ambassador to the UN said McCain and French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner violated Syria’s sovereignty when they entered country in 2013 (no visa, ha-ha, arrest him)
Israel News - King Abdullah abdicates - JerusalemOnline - Egyptian media reports the ailing Saudi king has decided to vacate the throne.

Egypt's Sisi: Islamic "Thinking" Is "Antagonizing the Entire World" :: Middle East Forum
Pakistan offers $100,000 bounty for Taliban leader | Daily Mail Online
Female suicide bomber hits police station in Istanbul's historic heart | Reuters
Dutch reporter held on terrorism charges in Turkey | World news | The Guardian - Dutch foreign minister expresses shock at Frederike Geerdink’s arrest, while President Erdogan defends Turkish press freedoms
Islamic State ‘police’ official beheaded: monitoring group - The Globe and Mail
Taliban Commander Caught On LinkedIn - Business Insider - A terror leader wanted over the assassination attempt on Malala Yousafzai has account in his name on LinkedIn, the networking site for professionals
Islam forbids men from becoming homemakers, says religious research centre | Malaysia | Malay Mail Online

90% of Bibi’s Campaign Funds From U.S. - The Daily Beast - “There is a well-established network in the U.S. through the group, American Friends of the Likud, which is connected to people who care about Israel and its future,” said a Likud party adviser. “He doesn’t even have to ask and they give.”

Discovery of witness’s mutilated body feeds claims of state killings in Kenya | World news | The Guardian - Meshack Yebei had been due to testify against Kenya’s deputy president, William Ruto, at the international criminal court
Mexican town's entire police force detained over journalist disappearance | World news | The Guardian - Moisés Sánchez Cerezo was abducted by armed men on Friday - Journalist had been critical of local authorities in Medellín de Bravo, Veracruz
Mexico missing: Organised crime charges for ex-mayor's wife - The wife of the former mayor of the Mexican city where 43 students went missing has been charged with organised crime and money laundering.

Anti-terror plan to spy on toddlers 'is heavy-handed’ - Nursery staff and childminders are given 'duty' to report toddlers they suspect of being at risk of becoming terrorists under new Home Office measures (waterboard the little terrorists!)

Eschaton: The Swedish Way - Uh, dude, you can shop, cook, and clean even if your breasts don't produce milk and stinky diapers give you the sad.

Central Figure In CIA-Senate Spying Scandal To Leave Post - Buckley will end his tenure as the agency's chief internal watchdog after four years in the position and 35 in the government. (who will watch the watchdog's dog?)

John Boehner Retains Position As House Speaker Despite Some GOP Opposition - Tuesday's vote saw the most votes against a sitting speaker since 1923.

Bernie Sanders' Brutal Letter On Obama's Trade Pact Foreshadows 2016 Democratic Clash - The letter Sanders sent on Monday to U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman criticizes secrecy standards that Froman's office imposes on the TPP talks. (you aren't allowed to know)

White House Issues Veto Threat Over Keystone XL Pipeline

3 Charts That Illustrate The Bleak Reality About Reproductive Rights In The U.S. | ThinkProgress

Bob McDonnell Sentenced To Prison - Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, who was once on the short list of potential Republican vice presidential nominees, was sentenced to two years in prison by a federal judge on Tuesday.

This post shamelessly uses Frederick County (Md.) Council Member Kirby Delauter’s name without authorization - The Washington Post - Kirby Delauter - Kirby Delauter - Kirby Delauter (is an idiot)
Mr. Media Training - As you’ve seen from the reaction to your Facebook post (which appears to have been deleted), you only helped to attract more attention to Ms. Rodgers’ original article; among others, The Washington Post has now helped to make this a national story - Kirby Delauter - Kirby Delauter - Kirby Delauter (got himself a lot of attention there)

Our Failed Police Establishment » Balloon Juice - complete list of groups who stage protests at funerals: - Westboro Baptist Church - New York Police Department
NYPD's de Blasio Protest: Why the Police Turned Their Backs on the City - The Atlantic - Does believing the police are constantly under fire serve a productive function for society? - Policing has been getting safer for 20 years. In terms of raw number of deaths, 2013 was the safest year for cops since World War II. If we look at the rate of deaths, 2013 was the safest year for police in well over a century .... You’re more likely to be murdered simply by living in about half of the largest cities in America than you are while working as a police officer ... and half are car crashes (drama-queen bullies)
This Letter Could Restart The Case Against Darren Wilson | ThinkProgress - under Missouri law, McShane has the authority to investigate McCulloch and appoint a new special prosecutor to handle the case against Darren Wilson. Such a move would effectively restart the case against Wilson for killing Michael Brown, after no charges were filed against Wilson during last year’s grand jury proceeding.
Judge Agrees To Consider Release Of Eric Garner Grand Jury Records
New York Mayor Touts Record Crime Lows In Face Of Restive NYPD - de Blasio said the decreases in both murders and stop-and-frisk encounters last year proved that "it was possible all along to create a safer city and a fairer city." The mayor's remarks came a day after the second funeral for the officers killed in a Dec. 20 ambush.

Giant Pterosaurs Could Fly 10,000 Miles Nonstop - Reptiles burned fat stores equal to a "good-size human" each trip, expert says.

Sharpton's Viagra Rx found in Sandy Rubenstein home: source - NY Daily News - The 70-year-old lawyer was accused of preying on an unconscious 42-year-old woman, a top official in Al Sharpton’s National Action Network, in his Upper East Side apartment in October. During an investigation into Rubenstein’s home, officials found a prescription for the sex pill Viagra issued in Sharpton’s name, a police source told the Daily News

How White Flight Ravaged the Mississippi Delta - The Atlantic - For generations, plantation owners strove to keep black laborers on the farm and competing businesses out of town. Today, the towns faring best are the ones whose white residents stayed to reckon with their own history.

Taming Christian Rage - The Atlantic - On issues like gay marriage and birth control, cultural warriors haven't changed their minds—they just want to be left alone.

Childhood Guilt, Adult Depression? - The Atlantic - "In the kids who had high levels of guilt, even the kids who weren't necessarily depressed, they had smaller anterior insula volume, and that smaller anterior insula volume is predictive of later occurrence of depression," said Joan Luby, one of the study authors. "This research suggests that early childhood experiences impact the way the brain develops."
Anti-Vaxxers Are Idolizing the Amish, Inexplicably - The Atlantic - A viral pseudoscience article claims the Plain People never get sick because they don't get vaccinated. Actually, members of the religious sect are prone to some terrible diseases. (anti-vaxers should stop driving cars and watching TV)
Most Earth-like planet ever discovered could be a cosy home for alien life | Science | The Guardian - Kepler 438b is likely to be a rocky world in the ‘Goldilocks’ zone of its parent star where the temperature is just right for liquid water to flow
A Fascinating Year in Breast Cancer Advances - Tamoxifen made headlines again. Widely hailed was the news that the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and other cancer societies changed their recommendation for use, for many hormone positive patients, from five years to ten
King's College London - Exercise allows you to age optimally
High intelligence linked to reduced risk of schizophrenia - Medical News Today - The exact causes of schizophrenia are unclear, but scientists have established that the disorder is familial; around 1% of the general population have schizophrenia, but it occurs in around 10% of people who have have a first-degree relative - such as a parent, brother or sister - with the condition.

Johann Hari: ‘I failed badly. When you harm people, you should shut up, go away and reflect on what happened' | Media | The Guardian - He was the Independent’s star columnist whose lying and cheating destroyed his career. Now Johann Hari is back, with a book about drug-taking – including his own. But will anyone believe a word of it?
Johann Hari Is Still Lying To You — Jeremy Duns
Men of reddit, what's the most hurtful thing a girl has ever said to you? : AskReddit

How were the last N digits of Graham's Number calculated if the number is so big that it does not fit in the observable universe if each digit was written in a Planck volume? : askscience

What personal hygiene norms don't you follow? : AskReddit
Reddit, what was your "I'm getting old" moment? : AskReddit

Developers Of Chrome Extension That Finds Cheaper Textbook Prices Receives Legal Threats From Major Textbook Supplier | Techdirt - All Follett had to do was leave it alone. Now, it's faced with a viral opponent and armed with little more than law firm letterhead.

010515
2014 Was The Hottest Year On Record Globally By Far | ThinkProgress (Republicans will outlaw the word "hot")

James Risen, in Tense Testimony, Refuses to Offer Clues on Sources - NYTimes.com - James Risen, a reporter for The New York Times, took the witness stand in federal court on Monday and refused to answer any questions that could help the Justice Department home in on his confidential sources.
NYT’s James Risen pushes back in hearing on leaks - Josh Gerstein - POLITICO - The Obama administration’s plan to defuse a First Amendment showdown with a New York Times reporter over his confidential sources was nearly derailed at a court hearing Monday when the journalist rebuffed a series of questions concerning his reporting.

Democrats lose the ‘torture’ debate - The Washington Post - Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who chairs the Senate intelligence committee, launched a six-year, 6,000-page, $40 million investigation into the CIA interrogation program, with the goal of convincing Americans that a) the program did not work and that b) enhanced interrogations were wrong and should never again be permitted. She failed on all counts (says a pro-torture Republican)

FBI says search warrants not needed to use “stingrays” in public places | Ars Technica - Feds' position on decoy cell-site towers continues anti-privacy theme.

Exclusive: U.S. Drone Fleet at ‘Breaking Point,’ Air Force Says - The Daily Beast - Too many missions and too few pilots are threatening the ‘readiness and combat capability’ of America’s unmanned Air Force, according to an internal memo.

US oil price falls below $50 on supply glut fears

The price of life in Singapore, city of rules: 'It’s a Faustian deal' | Cities | The Guardian - The south-east Asian city-state has been hailed for its urban policies – and condemned for the authoritarianism that underpins them. So what do Singapore’s residents make of life there?
Indian couple granted police protection are hacked to death | Daily Mail Online - Young 'untouchable' Indian couple who had been granted police protection because relatives did not approve of their marriage are hacked to death after officers refused to carry out judge’s orders

Two men in US charged with conspiring to overthrow Gambian government | US news | The Guardian - Prosecutors say a US-Gambian dual national and a US resident helped launch a 30 December coup attempt against President Yahya Jammeh

Billionaire Sex Offender's Phone Book Contained E-Mail Addresses, 21 Phone Numbers For Bill Clinton | The Smoking Gun

Florida issues first same-sex marriage license as statewide ban nears end | US news | The Guardian - Miami-Dade judge clears way for gay and lesbian couples to marry - Florida to be 36th state where same-sex marriage is legal
Jeb Bush on court-ordered gay marriages in Florida: “It ought to be a local decision” | The Miami Herald (states rights! except for you-know-what)
Attracted To Men, Pastor Feels Called To Marriage With A Woman : NPR - Allan Edwards is the pastor of Kiski Valley Presbyterian Church in western Pennsylvania, a congregation of the Presbyterian Church in America. He's attracted to men, but he considers acting on that attraction a sin. Accordingly, Edwards has chosen not to act on it.

Presidents and the Economy - NYTimes.com - Since then, however, scorched-earth Republican opposition has more than reversed that initial effort. In fact, federal spending adjusted for inflation and population growth is lower now than it was when Mr. Obama took office; at the same point in the Reagan years, it was up more than 20 percent. So much, then, for fiscal policy

Food Stamp Enrollment Expected To Drop By 1 Million Next Year - WASHINGTON -- Food stamp enrollment is expected to fall by 1 million next year thanks to harsher rules, according to a new report by a liberal Washington, D.C., think tank. (let those babies starve, say Republicans)
20 states just raised the minimum wage. It wasn’t enough. - The Washington Post - "The work that we do, it’s modern-day slavery," says one Florida worker who just got a 12-cent raise.
How driver's license suspensions unfairly target the poor | Minnesota Public Radio News

Judicial Activism Is When They Do It, Not When We Do It - Esquire - There is some absolutely stunning Weaselspeak in this piece from the NYT concerning the sudden affection of Republicans for the judicial system, especially that romance that has bloomed recently among conservative Republicans out in the states ("judicial activism" was always projection)
Senator Pushes Keystone XL Pipeline With Egregiously Misleading Statistic | ThinkProgress - Once the project is completed, the State Department estimates that the pipeline would only create 35 full-time jobs, and 15 temporary contractors. (down from 42,000)
Oil-price plunge raises specter that Texas economic boom was mere luck - The Wall Street Journal - MarketWatch - The downturn in energy prices now has triggered a debate over whether Texas simply got lucky in recent years, thanks to a hydraulic-fracturing oil-and-gas boom, or whether it hit on an economic playbook that other states, and the country as a whole, could emulate.

NYC Mayor De Blasio: Police Were Disrespectful To Turn Backs
America's War Machine sells fear and loathing beyond Ferguson. Black and brown people pay the price | Steven W Thrasher | Comment is free | The Guardian - From Afghanistan to the NYPD and back again, America’s circle of violence is already repeating itself in 2015. But now is the time to question America’s addiction to violence – and violent racism
Drop in New York Police Arrests Continues for a Second Week - NYTimes.com (looks like you don't need all those cops, NYC)
Wenjian Liu's Funeral Draws Thousands Of Officers, Supporters In Brooklyn - While many officers listened respectfully, some still turned their backs in protest, as they had done previously, at Liu's partner's funeral a week ago.
Darren Wilson Grand Juror Sues, Accusing Ferguson Prosecutor Of Mischaracterizing Case - "From Plaintiff's perspective, the presentation of evidence to the grand jury investigating Wilson differed markedly and in significant ways from how evidence was presented in the hundreds of matters presented to the grand jury earlier in its term," the lawsuit stated. The grand juror believes that the portrayal of the case in the media has not been accurate. (life-time gag order)
Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson says he didn't trust the Ohio Attorney General's Office to handle Tamir Rice investigation | cleveland.com

Privilege of ‘Arrest Without Incident’ - NYTimes.com - [Charles M. Blow] - The day after Christmas, a shooter terrorized the streets of a Chattanooga, Tenn., neighborhood. According to the local newspaper, the shooter was “wearing body armor” and “firing multiple shots out her window at people and cars.” One witness told the paper that the shooter was “holding a gun out of the window as if it were a cigarette.

Steve Scalise: Damaged goods? - John Bresnahan and Jake Sherman - POLITICO - The majority whip may be toxic in some GOP circles.

Health Care Fixes Backed by Harvard’s Experts Now Roil Its Faculty - NYTimes.com - the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, the heart of the 378-year-old university, voted overwhelmingly in November to oppose changes that would require them and thousands of other Harvard employees to pay more for health care

Police Questioning Son in Death of Hedge Fund Manager - NYTimes.com

In U.S., Boston, Los Angeles, Washington and San Francisco Vie for 2024 Olympic Bid - NYTimes.com - In U.S., Boston, Los Angeles, Washington and San Francisco Vie for 2024 Olympic Bid - Bostonians pretending to live in a big city. It said residents “buzz about their daily routines in a delightful hubbub of excitement as if they lived in a major American metropolis.”

SUV hits, kills man and injures woman on Upper East Side - NY Daily News - Wesley Mensing, 27, died when he and Erin Sauchelli, 30, were struck by a Mercedes SUV as they were crossing Lexington Ave. at E. 62 St. around 7:20 p.m., police said ... The 45-year-old driver stayed at the crash site and was issued a summons for driving without a license. (get a Benz, kill people for free)
Hit-And-Run Driver Arrested After Leaving Teen For Dead: Gothamist - Police arrested a driver in the Bronx last night after he ran over two teens and fled the scene. (just don't leave)

Year of the Condo in New York City - NYTimes.com - The number of units coming to market at the so-called “entry level,” defined by prices at less than $1,700 a square foot, is also expected to rise. More than 800 units in this category are expected to enter the market in 2015, up from 306 in 2014. One-bedrooms in this segment were selling for an average of $1.19 million in the third quarter of 2014, based on contracts signed.

Homophobic, transphobic parents make abusive homes. Let's help LGBT kids get out | Jessica Valenti | Comment is free | The Guardian - Leelah’s mother, Carla Alcorn, told CNN that “we don’t support [transgender identity], religiously.” Misgendering Leelah, her mother continued: “we told him that we loved him unconditionally.” (except for that one little condition that made her kill herself)

Is depression a kind of allergic reaction? | Life and style | The Guardian - A growing number of scientists are suggesting that depression is a result of inflammation caused by the body’s immune system
Coronal Hole Spotted On The Sun Is Hundreds Of Times Bigger Than The Earth
Archaeologists find possible site of Jesus’s trial in Jerusalem - The Washington Post
Fructose More Toxic than Table Sugar in Mice: the fructose-glucose mixture found in high-fructose corn syrup was more toxic than sucrose or table sugar, reducing both the reproduction and lifespan of female rodents. : science

Boston officer charged with assaulting Uber driver - Metro - The Boston Globe - A veteran Boston police officer uttered racial slurs during an alleged assault of an Uber driver in South Boston early Sunday, according to a police report and a statement from the department ... At that point, Doherty got behind the wheel of the Uber vehicle and drove off, according to the police report. (Boston's Finest)

Sharyl Attkisson sues administration over computer hacking | Fox News - In a series of legal filings that seek $35 million in damages, Attkisson alleges that three separate computer forensic exams showed that hackers used sophisticated methods to surreptitiously monitor her work between 2011 and 2013 ... as she investigated stories on such subjects as Benghazi, Fast and Furious and ObamaCare. (craaaazzy)

Bess Myerson, 90, Dies; Famed for Beauty, Public Service and Scandal - NYTimes.com - It all ended in a public implosion, a conflict-of-interest scandal involving a married sewage contractor who did business with the city and his bitter public divorce. It led to bribery allegations, indictments and sullied reputations all around, and it left Ms. Myerson less likely to be admired than to be pitied.

Wet Seal May Be the Next Teen Retailer to Declare Bankruptcy - The End is Nigh - Racked National
Employees leave a protest sign at failing Wet Seal mall store (xpost r/Seattle) : pics (employees fucked over; capitalism at work but internets have revenge)
0xdeadf001 comments on How can independent/unknown developers make better, decent, and far more superior applications than Microsoft?
TIL that prostitution was widely legal in the United States up until the early 1900's, when the Woman's Christian Temperance Union lobbied against it. This was the same union that was a driving force behind Prohibition in the 1920's. : todayilearned

The Streisand Effect: Celebrating 10 Years of Internet Pile-Ons
Apple's iOS Is In 'Rapid Decline,' Says Prominent Programmer - Arment had no specific complaints about iOS, but called it "riddled with embarrassing bugs and fundamental regressions." (suck it up, iPhonies)
Republicans Lay Plans to Fight FCC’s Net-Neutrality Rules - WSJ - Newly fortified Republicans in Congress are considering a number of ways to stymie the Obama administration’s planned regulations on broadband Internet providers in 2015, making Capitol Hill a new front in the fight over “net neutrality.” (Republicans hate you)
Brazen Attempts by Hotels to Block Wi-Fi - NYTimes.com - Some large hotel chains want to block guests from using their own wireless Internet devices. It’s a blatant attempt to limit customer choice, and the Federal Communications Commission should say no.
Brazen Attempts by Hotels to Block Wi-Fi -- Some large hotel chains want to block guests from using their own wireless Internet devices. It’s a blatant attempt to limit customer choice, and the FCC should say no : technology - Considering all smartphones have wifi access I would honestly love to see them try to prohibit all customers from owning a smartphone, let alone bringing their laptop. RIP Marriot (but really, I hope you go down screaming).

010415
Playing Dumb on Climate Change - NYTimes.com - SCIENTISTS have often been accused of exaggerating the threat of climate change, but it’s becoming increasingly clear that they ought to be more emphatic about the risk - We are now seeing dangerous effects worldwide, even as we approach a rise of only 1 degree Celsius. The evidence is mounting that scientists have underpredicted the threat

Playing Dumb on Climate Change - NYTimes.com - SCIENTISTS have often been accused of exaggerating the threat of climate change, but it’s becoming increasingly clear that they ought to be more emphatic about the risk - We are now seeing dangerous effects worldwide, even as we approach a rise of only 1 degree Celsius. The evidence is mounting that scientists have underpredicted the threat

North Korea Criticizes U.S. Over New Sanctions - NYTimes.com - North Korea reiterated its denial of involvement in the hacking of Sony and said that Washington’s sanctions would only strengthen its resolve to pursue its “military first
jimmydushku comments on TIL the official Twitter page of North Korea only follows three other accounts, one of which belongs to a random accountant from Texas named Jimmy Duschku. No one knows why.

'ISIL is losing': Iraqis optimistic for 2015 - Middle East - Al Jazeera English - Circumstances of battle have changed in favour of Iraqi troops since June, local security officials say.
Radical Islam, Nihilist Rage - NYTimes.com
WHO ‘probing’ whether ISIS fighters got Ebola | New York Post
Pakistani Judge Upholds Bail for Suspect in Mumbai Attacks - NYTimes.com

Ukraine Leader Was Defeated Even Before He Was Ousted - NYTimes.com - the president was not so much overthrown as cast adrift by his own allies, and that Western officials were just as surprised by the meltdown as anyone else.
Prominent Rebel Commander Of The 'Batman' Battalion Killed In Ukraine - A website of the separatist Luhansk People's Republic said that Alexander Bednov, head of a battalion called "Batman," was killed Thursday when separatist security forces tried to arrest him

Germany Says Greece Exit From Euro Would Be Manageable: Report (after Merkel trashed their economy)

F.B.I. Employees With Ties Abroad See Security Bias - NYTimes.com (because the last thing the FBI needs is people who understand foreign cultures)

The world’s super rich got richer in 2014 - The Washington Post - Global inequality is deepening, with millions of poorer people around the world affected by rising rates of joblessness and decreasing incomes. At the same time, the world's population of billionaires is growing

If Florida Counties Have To Marry The Gays, They Just Won’t Marry Anyone. Happy Now, The Gays? | Wonkette

Palin To PETA Over Dog Controversy: 'At Least Trig Didn’t Eat The Dog'

Prince Andrew and Alan Dershowitz Are Named in Suit Alleging Sex With Minor - NYTimes.com

? Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Civil Forfeiture (HBO) - YouTube - "legalized robbery by the police force" - for-profit cops!)
Reforming a Relic of the War on Drugs: Civil Asset Forfeiture

New Bill Would Make Wearing Hoodies A Crime | ThinkProgress
Eschaton: Morning Thread - Oklahoma lawmakers are planning to introduce a bill this February that would make it illegal to wear hooded sweatshirts, or “hoodies,” in public, according to a report from Oklahoma’s Channel 6 News. Can't regulate guns, but by gum, they can regulate hoodies.
Republican Arizona schools chief says Hip-Hop class violates state ban on ethnic studies
Remembering the Rosewood Massacre - On January 1, 1923 a massacre was carried out in the small, predominantly black town of Rosewood in Central Florida. The massacre was instigated by the rumor that a white woman, Fanny Taylor, had been sexually assaulted by a black man in her home in a nearby community
This map shows you just how many prisoners are in each US state - The incarceration rate in the US is the highest in the world.
NYPD cops turn their backs again on Mayor de Blasio at funeral for slain police officer Wenjian Liu

Mayor Murray Has Some Vague Plans for Dealing With the Bertha Mess! Which of Them Is Best? | Slog

Sex Reassignment Surgery at 74: Medicare Win Opens Door for Transgender Seniors - NBC News.com

A Craigslist ‘Missed Connection’ Lure - NYTimes.com

Book Review: Victoria Vantoch, The Jet Sex: Airline Stewardesses and the Making of an American Icon - Lawyers, Guns & Money


How My Mom Got Hacked - NYTimes.com

010315
Moving Ice May Mean More Melting for Greenland (La-Di-La)
Health of oceans 'declining fast'

Unruly Factions Hurt Taliban’s Bid to Capture Afghan Hearts, and Territory - NYTimes.com

Following ICC application, Israel freezes Palestinian tax funds - Israel News, Ynetnews (always with the fuck you)
Iran: We thwarted Mossad attempt to assassinate nuclear scientist - Middle East - Jerusalem Post

Japanese student kidnapped and gang raped for 3 weeks in India : worldnews

Lawyers seek evidence of prince’s support for billionaire paedophile | UK news | The Guardian - US government asked for any documents it may have showing Duke of York lobbied on behalf of Jeffrey Epstein
State won't cope with volume of sex abuse allegations, MP warns - State institutions including the police and social services will be unable to cope with the volume of child abuse victims coming forward ... The number of people coming forward with allegations about historic child abuse is set to reach "many tens of thousands", an MP has warned.

More Sanctions on North Korea After Sony Case - NYTimes.com
Who Was Behind the Cyberattack on Sony? » CounterPunch
Bitcoin theft from MtGox was an 'inside job', according to police

4Chan DDoSed by Lizard Squad’s DDoS Rent-A-Tool Lizard Stresser : technology (just when you thought it couldn't get any weirder)
India 'jihadi' web blocking causes anger - India's Department of Telecoms ordered the blocking of the sites in order to prevent the publicising of "jihadi activities".

Julian Assange has cost Britain £9m to police at Ecuador embassy | Daily Mail Online - Metropolitan police officers have been standing outside building ever since

The worst argument against Thomas Piketty yet - Vox - Harvard economist Greg Mankiw has been a vocal critic of Thomas Piketty's Capital in the Twenty-First Century since its release

The Senate's 46 Democrats got 20 million more votes than its 54 Republicans - Vox

Here's Why We Can't Just Put Homeless Families In Foreclosed Homes - Business Insider - According to some reports, there are now an estimated five vacant properties for every homeless person in the U.S., many left empty as the result of the foreclosure crisis.

Republicans in state governments plan juggernaut of conservative legislation - The Washington Post (a tidal wave of stupidity and avarice)

We Need Real Competition, Not a Cable-Internet Monopoly - The New Yorker

alicublog: Mario Cuomo, 1932-2015. - Look at Jacob Weisberg marveling in 1994

The True Relationship Between Crime and Law Enforcement » CounterPunch: Tells the Facts, Names the Names - Corruption is Their Business
Police Chief Who ‘Accidentally’ Shot His Wife Twice Had Been Divorced By Her, and Caught Cheating : news

Your Husband Is Definitely Gay: TLC’s Painful Portrait of Mormonism - The Daily Beast - My Husband’s Not Gay isn’t so much an indication that Mormonism is homophobic as it is a sign that Mormon homophobia has taken an even subtler and more pernicious turn - showcases Mormon men who are open about their attraction to men even as they date and sometimes marry women ... another generation of sham marriages

Feds stick to court argument that marijuana is dangerous - SFGate

Ex-pastor charged with possessing indecent writing - KJRH.com - The McAlester News-Capital reports prosecutors charged 65-year-old Larry Jones on Tuesday with possessing obscene or indecent writings.

A new test measures analytical thinking linked to depression, fueling the idea that depression may be a form of adaptation | neuroscientistnews.com - The research suggests that depression may be a natural condition in which the mind concentrates involuntarily on a complex issue to the point where it allocates resources to analyzing the problem at hand, diminishing concentration on other aspects of living, perhaps giving rise to disrupted eating, sleeping and social interaction that are associated with depression. (yes, it's called "thinking")

Researchers Find Significant Link to Daily Physical Activity, Vascular Health - Even a few days of inactivity can decrease function in certain blood vessels
It's called the Meissner Effect : videos
Archeologists discover Mythical Tomb of Osiris, God of the Dead, in Egypt | Ancient Origins - an enormous ancient reproduction of the mythical Tomb of Osiris as described by Egyptian legend, complete with multiple shafts and chambers. Inside the tomb complex, researchers found a carving of Osiris and a room with a wall relief depicting a demon holding knives.

What subtle signs tells you that a person of the opposite sex likes you? : AskReddit
17-year-old girl fights Connecticut over forced chemotherapy treatment : news
Waiters of Reddit, what's the most ridiculous order someone's placed and how did you deal with it? : AskReddit
totalitarian_jesus comments on PsBattle: Terrified Cheerleaders!

New iCloud hacking tool released, puts iPhone and iPad users at risk | BGR - called iDict on GitHub that is capable of bypassing restrictions and authentication on any iCloud account, potentially giving hackers unfettered access to iOS device
2014's #3 Most Read: Why Google Fiber will never come to Seattle | Crosscut.com - The “Seattle Process” and a balky bureaucracy at City Hall stand squarely in the way.
Samsung Owners Happier Than iPhone Owners : technology

010215
Sea level report shows increasing pace of change along coast :: WRAL.com (North Carolina is the canary)

Princeton Study: U.S. No Longer An Actual Democracy - over the past few decades America's political system has slowly transformed from a democracy into an oligarchy, where wealthy elites wield most power (the Reagan revolution)

Cluster of Concerns Vie for Top U.S. Problem in 2014 - Poor government leadership was top problem in 2014 - Economy ranked a close second - No issue averaged 20% or more mentions, a first since 2001
The five major things we screwed up in inequality in 2014 | Money | The Guardian - Among the other ills of 2014, the US failed to take action on economic issues affecting the poor and middle class. Here’s where our lawmakers and CEOs did a shoddy job of helping the economy
What U.S. Intelligence Predicted the World Would Look Like in 2015 - The Atlantic - Shortly before 9/11, officials foresaw a fundamental shift in the nature of power.

Iran says Saudi Arabia should move to curb oil price fall | Reuters - "The reality is that the United States is not acting to eliminate Daesh. They are not even interested in weakening Daesh, they are only interested in managing it," he said.

U.S. advisers in Iraq stay out of combat but see fighting edging closer - The Washington Post
Germany's Cologne Cathedral To Turn Off Lights In Protest At Anti-Muslim March - One of Germany's most famous landmarks, Cologne Cathedral, will be plunged into darkness on Monday evening in protest at a march by a growing grass-roots anti-Muslim movement through the western German city, cathedral authorities said.
Egypt warns Amal Clooney she risks arrest over al-Jazeera three | World news | The Guardian - Egyptian officials have warned human rights barrister Amal Clooney that she risks arrest after identifying serious flaws in its judicial system that contributed to the conviction of three al-Jazeera journalists now jailed in Cairo.
Israeli settlers stone two cars belonging to US consulate staff | World news | The Guardian - US security staff reportedly unholster weapons during standoff in Jerusalem between US consular party and far-right settlers from illegal West Bank outpost

Abandoned ship Ezadeen with 450 migrants on board being towed to Italy | World news | The Guardian - Sierra Leone-flagged vessel is second in four days to be abandoned by crew in rough seas in new strategy by human traffickers

Prince Andrew named in US lawsuit over underage sex allegations | UK news | The Guardian - A woman who claims that an American investment banker loaned her to rich and powerful friends as an underage “sex slave” has alleged in a US court document that she was repeatedly forced to have sexual relations with Prince Andrew.
Woman who sued convicted billionaire over sex abuse levels claims at his friends - POLITICO.com - A woman allegedly kept as a sex slave by politically-connected billionaire investor Jeffrey Epstein, who went to jail for having sex with underaged girls, is accusing several prominent friends of the financier of having taken part in the debauchery, according to a new court filing.

Katie Hopkins’ Ebola tweets investigated by police | UK news | The Guardian - Police in Scotland are making inquiries after complaints over a Twitter outburst about Ebola by the controversial TV personality Katie Hopkins - “Sending us Ebola bombs in the form of sweaty Glaswegians just isn’t cricket.”

A Hacker's Hit List of American Infrastructure - The Atlantic - In an 800-page document dump, the U.S. government revealed critical vulnerabilities.

Morning Plum: A SCOTUS decision gutting Obamacare could cause widespread disruptions - The Washington Post (another terroristic attack by Republicans)

Steve Scalise defender's ties to white nationalist group closer than he disclosed, documents show | NOLA.com

Without irony, Christie embraces cross-Hudson capacity | Capital New York - Senator Chuck Schumer called Christie's move "one of the worst decisions that any governmental leader has made in the 20th century, or the 21st century."

What's Wrong With Georgia? - The Atlantic - While many other states are recovering, Georgia's unemployment rate has risen. Some blame the state's laissez-faire approach to policy. (little test-tubes for Republican failures)

The NYPD's 'Work Stoppage' Is Surreal | Rolling Stone - In an alternate universe, the New York Police might have just solved the national community-policing controversy ... It would be amazing if this NYPD protest somehow brought parties on all sides to a place where we could all agree that policing should just go back to a policy of officers arresting people "when they have to."
Heather Mac Donald: De Blasio’s fateful anti-cop slander - NY Daily News - The mayor worries “every night,” he said, about the “dangers” his biracial son, Dante, may face from “officers who are paid to protect him.” (the truth is slanderous)
Won’t an NYPD “work stoppage” set a bad precedent? by Charles Ellison | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly - excessive punishment of low-income communities as a slick way to plug police department deficits can contribute to overall distrust and resentment of law enforcement.
How Low Income New Yorkers Are Benefiting From The NYPD’s Work Stoppage | ThinkProgress - The city residents who are normally hit with tickets for minor violations tend to be low income individuals who are forced to pay up a hefty portion of their paychecks. (it was always about fucking with the poor)
Why Broken Windows Policing Is So Broken - "The NYPD trots out this justification that they're arresting people for minor infractions as a way of keeping violent crime down, and yet there is no evidence to show that there's any correlation between turnstile jumping and violence." (just another scam in the war on poor people revealed by the cops quitting their shit)
The Benefits of Fewer NYPD Arrests - The Atlantic - New York cops started a "virtual work stoppage" to protest Mayor Bill de Blasio. That might be a good thing for New Yorkers. (they really didn't think this one through)
St Louis man arrested over alleged Twitter threats against police | US news | The Guardian - A man in St Louis has been charged with threatening to kill police and cause an explosion at the city jail in Twitter posts that referenced Ferguson (terroristic threats)
Duluth case shows police body camera footage is new legal battleground | US news | The Guardian - But when officers broke down the door, saw Zontelli had a knife, shot him twice and then claimed they had feared for their lives, some say the line between public and private vanished. (murder by cop)

L.A. Weighs Options for Fixing 4,400 Miles of Sidewalks – Next City (Repubicans hate infrastructure)

Revlon CEO rips blacks, Jews, hates ‘dirty’ Americans: suit | New York Post - The CEO of Revlon is a bigoted bully who hates “dirty” Americans, thinks Jews “stick together” and believes he can “smell” black people when they walk into a room, according to a new lawsuit.

John Arwood Amber Campbell arrested after being trapped in a closet at Daytona State College - Orlando Sentinel - A man and a woman thought they were trapped in a Daytona State College closet for two days until police let them out Tuesday – and found out the two could have opened the door themselves.

Two-thirds of adult cancers largely ‘down to bad luck’ rather than genes | Society | The Guardian - It may be sheer good fortune that some people exposed to cancer-causing agents do not develop the disease, study suggests ... In two-thirds of the cancers – 22 cancer types – random mutations in genes that drive cancer could explain why the disease occurred.
New diet guidelines might reflect environment cost - Yahoo News
Jupiter Moon Europa's Giant Geysers Are Missing - Scientific American - Research teams are failing to confirm plumes of water vapor reported a year ago to have been spewing about 200 kilometers into space from Europa's south pole

Reddit, what's the greatest non-sexual pleasure? : AskReddit


010115
Underplayed Conflicts of 2014 - The New Yorker (a lot of very bad actors)
Hullabaloo - With 2014 gone (and good riddance), perhaps in 2015 America will look itself in the mirror and reflect on what it means to behave as if civilized rules only apply to everyone else
What happens when literally everybody is allowed to go all-out with fireworks? New Year's Eve, Manila 2014 : videos

Media Blacks Out New Snowden Interview The Government Doesn’t Want You to See | Ben Swann Truth In Media

Shanghai: dozens killed and injured in stampede at new year celebrations | World news | The Guardian - At least 36 people have died, including 25 women and some children - Crush centred on viewing platform on Shanghai riverfront - at least 36 people dead and nearly 50 others injured

Congo government ‘hounding’ hospital for rape victims | World news | The Guardian - Authorities have slapped a $50,000 (£32,095) monthly tax on the hospital. Patient Bashombe, a lawyer for the facility, said it had been accused of tax evasion even though “no public hospital in DRC has ever paid tax”. He accused the authorities of hounding it, adding: “Seizing the hospital’s accounts is illegal.” (Congo loves rape)

Economist Thomas Piketty refuses France's highest honour - Yahoo News - "I have just learned that I was nominated for the Legion of honour. I refuse this nomination because I do not think it is the government's role to decide who is honourable," Piketty told AFP. "They would do better to concentrate on reviving (economic) growth in France and Europe," added Piketty, who was once close to the Socialist Party but has distanced himself from the policies of President Francois Hollande. (zing)
Members of French far-right party spike vice-president's drink with laxative | World news | The Guardian - Two members of Front National party expelled for prank which involved Marine Le Pen’s boyfriend Louis Aliot (ah, the French)

Syria conflict: 76,000 die in deadliest year - activists
Saudi Beheads 83 People in 2014, the Most in Years - NYTimes.com
Poll: One in 8 Germans would join anti-Muslim marches : worldnews
Turkish man fires on Erdogan's Istanbul offices | The Times of Israel - Gunman arrested after also throwing grenade, which didn’t go off, at Dolmabahce palace complex, local media report
Saudi Arabia's national airline plans to keep men and women apart - Jewish World News Israel News | Haaretz - Move comes after customers complain about on-board gender mixing; on flights to Israel, women object to being asked to move away from men.
The Tablet - Collins Middle East Atlases, which are sold to English-speaking schools in the Muslim-majority Gulf, depict Jordan and Syria extending all the way to the Mediterranean Sea. (that'll work)

Japan suffers lowest number of births on record as population shrinks : worldnews

Supreme Court, in Big Leap, Plans to Put Filings Online - NYTimes.com (you aren't supposed to know what they are doing)

Dana Milbank: How can America inspire the Slacktivist Generation to action? - The Washington Post - John Bridgeland, who worked on national-service initiatives in the Bush White House, sees the decline of military service as the cause of Washington’s problems (WaPo's solution: not jobs, but "national service" and more wars because kids just don't want to work and that will teach them to make "sacrifices" like dying)

GOP legislators thwart bids to expand Medicaid - Yahoo News - Governors across the political spectrum are hitting a roadblock in their bids to expand Medicaid with federal funds: Republican legislators who adamantly oppose "Obamacare." (Republicans always want you to die)

After Years of Cuts, Government Spending Is Starting to Rebound - NYTimes.com - For the first time since 2011, local, state and federal governments are providing a small but significant increase to prosperity.
Republicans To Push Controversial Fiscal Policy In 2015 - Critics say wider use of "dynamic scoring," as the Republican-favored approach is known, would introduce new uncertainties into fiscal policy and degrade the value of present analysis now done by Capitol Hill staff experts.
No evidence of negative fallout from N.J.'s higher minimum wage (another scare-story)

2014 Golden Duke Awards Winners Announced!

De Blasio's bad NYPD relations shadowing DNC bid - NY Daily News - Party officials are concerned the bad blood might still be an issue when the convention is held in 2016, stealing the spotlight from the party’s presidential nominee (Brooklyn is a stupid idea anyway, but who are the drama queens who just lost a lot of overtime?)

Reagan | Video | C-SPAN.org - How did Ronald Reagan get away with giving voice to sentiments that before had seemed beyond the pale? ("liturgy of absolution" - it's ok to be racist - when Republicans really ramped up the bullshit)
Neoliberalism - Neoliberalism also represents a set of ideas that are famously associated with the economic policies introduced by Margaret Thatcher in the United Kingdom and Ronald Reagan in the United States. (here's the whole problem: neocon and neolib are both Republican)

Much of David Duke’s ’91 Campaign Is Now in Louisiana Mainstream - NYTimes.com (and there we are)

Battle of the billionaires: Why liberals shouldn’t count on their rich patrons to win - Salon.com - The way liberal and conservative billionaires use their money for political change is different. Here's who wins

The Newtown Lawsuit and the Moral Work of Gun Control - But all of the talk about legal and illegal weapons, automatic and semi-automatic—as about the treatment of the psychologically troubled—evades the simple, central point: it ought to be very, very difficult, as it is in every other civilized country, to get your hands on a weapon whose only purpose is to kill people quickly. The N.R.A. and their allies make it very, very easy.
Georgia Police Chief William McCollom Says He Shot His Wife Accidentally -- TWICE - A Georgia police chief, who claims he accidentally shot his wife twice, has been placed on administrative leave, pending the outcome of the investigation.

Gov. O’Malley to commute sentences of Maryland’s remaining death-row inmates - The Washington Post
Illinois governor pardons 1800s abolitionists - Yahoo News (better late than ...)

‘Listen up ladies’: Fox News kicks off New Year with absurdly sexist advice for ‘catering to your man’ - Fox News host Ainsley Earhardt (looks terrifying) Doocy said that one way a woman could stroke a man’s ego would be to “prepare his meals, draw him a bath and massage his feet every now and then.”

Will Serial's Adnan Syed ever be exonerated or get a new trial? | Alan Dershowitz | Comment is free | The Guardian - For many listeners there is enough doubt – both factual and legal – to raise serious questions about whether Syed’s continuing imprisonment is just, even if the legal system considers it “justice”.
False rape allegation sparks violence

Eschaton: Does Anybody Remember MOOCs? - Apparently administrators finally figured out that a "course in a box" actually costs a lot of money, that it doesn't scale nearly as well as they hoped, that they are a substitute for "learning from a book" not "learning from a person," and you can't charge $50,000 per year tuition simply because your prestigious name will be on the online course degree.


Researchers Map The Sexual Network Of An Entire High School - The most striking feature of the network was a single component that connected 52 percent (288) of the romantically involved students at Jefferson. This means student A had relations with student B, who had relations with student C and so on, connecting all 288 of these students.
Determination of carbohydrate structure recognized by prostate-specific F77 monoclonal antibody through expression analysis of glycosyltransferase genes
Multiple Allergic Reactions Traced To Single Protein - 12/17/2014 - Points to new strategy to reduce allergic responses to many medications
Belize's 'Blue Hole' May Help Solve Mystery Of Maya Downfall - "When you have major droughts, you start to get famines and unrest,"
Mastodons Disappeared from Beringia before Ancient Humans Arrived | Paleontology | Sci-News.com
Reconstruction of the Gravettian food-web at Predmostí I using isotopic tracking of bone collagen | Herve Bocherens - Academia.edu - “ Palaeolithic dogs ” had a high proportion of reindeer/muskox in their diet, while consumption of mammoth would be expected from the availability of thisprey especially in case of close interaction with humans (who ate mammoths)
Octopus Genome Remains Elusive—But Full of Promise | Octopus Chronicles, Scientific American Blog Network - The California two-spot octopus, for example, is expected to have a genome of about 3.2 billion base pairs—the same size as ours. And blue-ringed octopus is expected to top out at an impressive 4.5 billion base pairs.
ELI5: How come photons have no mass (0.000...), don't interact with the higgs field, but are caught by black holes? : explainlikeimfive

TIL Marion Zimmer Bradley, world-famous author and feminists, husband was jailed for child molestation. Bradley's daughter claims she was molested by her mother (Bradley) many times, and claims the author molested many other children. : todayilearned

What is your most cringe worthy moment from your teenage years? : AskReddit
Just saw a dad teaching his son how to change a tire. All I could hear is, "Great job buddy" ect, both wearing smiles. Looked like a man raising a man to me. : pics
Your username is the answer. What is the question? : AskReddit
How'd you get your username? : AskReddit
What is your most cringe worthy moment from your teenage years? : AskReddit
ELI5: if I had a room covered completely in mirrors, and turned on a flashlight, what would happen? : explainlikeimfive
ELI5: What was/is the point of a middle name? : explainlikeimfive
We found a hidden camera pointing at the bed in our new year's airbnb rental... : WTF - Boink 'n Broadcast
gilded by bitofnewsbot

Comcast Customer Spends Four Hours Canceling His Account | TechCrunch
Google Fiber vs. Comcast: FCC filing is Comcast’s worst nightmare | BGR
Apple sued for shrinking storage space on 16GB devices thanks to iOS 8 | The Verge (any way to screw you)