Random News Stories

[Telarus]

Fucking hell, that's a great example of the split justice systems.

In other news, the DEA bribed AMTRAK (specifically one secretary) for your (yes, anyone's) travel data. Even better? If they had gone through official channels, it would have cost $0.

http://news.msn.com/us/dea-improperly-paid-dollar854460-for-passenger-lists?ocid=ansnews11
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/dea-unnecessarily-paid-854460-for-amtrak-passenger-lists/
http://freebeacon.com/issues/senator-demands-answers-on-850k-dea-bribe-to-amtrak-employee/

[Junkenstein]

This is what happens when you have sacks of drug money kicking around. You just bribe people by accident.

[Junkenstein]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-28834849

Interesting times ahoy for Assange, apparently leaving the embassy shortly.

I hope he's got a better plan than "Leaving now" because I can't see a way this doesn't result in his imminent arrest and deportation.

[Junkenstein]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-28827091

An angry mob attacked the centre in Monrovia's densely populated West Point township on Saturday evening.

A senior health official said all of the patients had been moved to another medical facility.

But a reporter told the BBC that 17 had escaped while 10 others were taken away by their families.

Health experts say that the key to ending the Ebola outbreak is to stop it spreading in Liberia, where ignorance about the virus is high and many people are reluctant to cooperate with medical staff.

Mental note - Avoid Liberia.

[Cain]

That's pretty much always been good advice.

[P3nT4gR4m]

Troof. The thought of Liberia spreading is a thousand times scarier than Ebola

[Junkenstein]

No argument from me there Gents.

Panic about this is growing nicely. It's making those who ran about shitting themselves over Swine flu and the like ill already. 

[P3nT4gR4m]

totally innocent question - what's the best way to fake the symptoms?

[Cain]

totally innocent question - what's the best way to fake the symptoms?

Copious amounts of fake blood.  Use a tissue to cover putting it in your mouth, then vomit "blood" everywhere.  Preferably on public transport.

[Junkenstein]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebola_virus_disease#Signs_and_symptoms

Signs and symptoms of Ebola usually begin suddenly with am influenza-like stage characterized by fatigue, fever, headaches, joint, muscle and abdominal pain.[9][10] Vomiting, diarrhea and loss of appetite are also common.[10] Less common symptoms include: sore throat, chest pain, hiccups, shortness of breath and trouble swallowing.[10] The average time between contracting the infection and the start of symptoms is 8 to 10 days, but it can vary between 2 and 21 days.[10] Skin manifestations may include a maculopapular rash (in about 50% of cases).[11] Early symptoms of EVD may be similar to those of malaria, dengue fever or other tropical fevers, before the disease progresses to the bleeding phase.[9]

In 40–50% of cases, bleeding from puncture sites and mucous membranes (e.g. gastrointestinal tract, nose, vagina and gums) has been reported.[12] In the bleeding phase, which typically starts 5 to 7 days after first symptoms[13] internal and subcutaneous bleeding may present itself through reddening of the eyes and bloody vomit.[9] Bleeding into the skin may create petechiae, purpura, ecchymoses and hematomas (especially around needle injection sites). Types of bleeding known to occur with Ebola virus disease include vomiting blood, coughing it up or blood in the stool. Heavy bleeding is rare and is usually confined to the gastrointestinal tract.[11][14] In general, the development of bleeding symptoms often indicates a worse prognosis and this blood loss can result in death.[9] All people infected show some symptoms of circulatory system involvement, including impaired blood clotting.[11] If the infected person does not recover, death due to multiple organ dysfunction syndrome occurs within 7 to 16 days (usually between days 8 and 9) after first symptoms.[13]

Standard Flu/Food poisoning routine which degrades over the week leaving your next appearance in work to be a fake-blood-fest.

It would really depend on how far a person might wish to go before potentially ending up in quarantine.

[Junkenstein]

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/aug/13/porn-star-mma-fighter-selfie-domestic-abuse

On Monday, adult film actress Christy Mack took to Twitter and posted pictures of herself bruised and battered – allegedly the result of a beating that she said she received from her ex-boyfriend, Jon Koppenhaver, a mixed martial arts fighter who goes by the name War Machine. Along with the pictures, she tweeted her account of the attack, writing that Koppenhaver beat her, forced her to undress and shower in front of him, threatened to rape her (but couldn't get aroused), chopped off her hair with a knife, and stabbed her. Mack says her injuries include 18 broken bones, various lesions and missing teeth.

Koppenhaver is under investigation by Las Vegas police in connection to the beating, but has posted a "defense" of himself on Twitter (where his bio reads simply: "I do Alpha Male shit"). Koppenhaver claims in his tweets that he went to Mack's house intending to propose but found her there with another man. "I'm not a bad guy," he tweeted. In response, some fans offered words of encouragement, saying "everyone deserves fair treatment", and that "we don't know all the facts". Others suggested that it was actually Koppenhaver who was attacked.

Quite startling the lengths folk will go to in order to justify/minimise/ignore abuse. Various links at the link. Needless to say, the Porn Star's account of events is rather grim.

[LMNO]

Yeah.  Just a warning, Christy's posts contain pictures of her in the hospital, and are fairly gruesome if you're someone who has suffered abuse.

On a positive note, supporters of her have raised funds to help with her injuries.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

totally innocent question - what's the best way to fake the symptoms?

Copious amounts of fake blood.  Use a tissue to cover putting it in your mouth, then vomit "blood" everywhere.  Preferably on public transport.

Note:  While I have no opinion on the humor of this activity, in the USA it will get a black bag jammed onto your head, and you'll never see actual sunlight again, as long as you live.

Just for the record.

[Cain]

Yeah, but that's half the fun: explaining it to the Pentagon and USAMRIID guys.

[P3nT4gR4m]

Point. Like most things I do, I hadn't thought it through. Forgot about the tale of the boy who spewed wolf