Random News Stories

[Brother Mythos]

"Bundy Boy Jon Ritzheimer Gives A Lecture On The Constitution And Gets It Wrong"

"This is the same man who was willing to die a couple of weeks ago while defending his right to lay claim to federal lands where birds live."

http://crooksandliars.com/2016/01/bundy-boy-jon-ritzheimer-gives-lecture

So, he's willing to die defending a document he can't comprehend.

The Bundy Militia has some truly interesting members.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

"Bundy Boy Jon Ritzheimer Gives A Lecture On The Constitution And Gets It Wrong"

"This is the same man who was willing to die a couple of weeks ago while defending his right to lay claim to federal lands where birds live."

http://crooksandliars.com/2016/01/bundy-boy-jon-ritzheimer-gives-lecture

So, he's willing to die defending a document he can't comprehend.

The Bundy Militia has some truly interesting members.

Isn't it so nice that they're here in Oregon. Just lovely.

[Brother Mythos]

"Living near a pub makes you happier ..."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/12119342/living-near-a-pub-makes-you-happier.html?utm_source=fark&utm_medium=website&utm_content=link

I'll drink to that!

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

"Living near a pub makes you happier ..."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/12119342/living-near-a-pub-makes-you-happier.html?utm_source=fark&utm_medium=website&utm_content=link

I'll drink to that!

It makes sense; a nearby community gathering area where people go to relax and socialize would tend to have a positive effect.

[Cain]

Living near a pub would actually annoy me.  People, being drunk and noisy, the 11pm exodus....I did live within 10 minutes of a pub once before, but it was down the end of a long road, with a field behind me.  I never saw or heard anyone after 8pm, and I liked it that way.

[Brother Mythos]

"San Diego School District's New 18-Ton Armored Vehicle Creates Stir"



http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2014/09/13/348242448/san-diego-school-district-s-new-15-ton-armored-vehicle-creates-stir

Why am I not surprised by that news? And, it raises the additional question for someone like me who is unfamiliar with the 'So Cal' lifestyle: Exactly what are they trying to teach in that school district?

My curiosity being aroused, I did a little research and found the following:

"Limitations of the MRAP

MRAP has acquired a well-deserved reputation as the "most survivable" vehicle, with casualty rates at a very low six-percent. However, the heavy weight and large size of the MRAP imposes limitations, including:

Poor maneuverability makes it difficult, sometimes impossible to use in an urban environment (Bold print mine.)
Poor off-road performance
Prone to tipping
70% of world's bridges can't hold MRAPs
Too wide for many roads
High fuel consumption—approximately 3 mpg (Bold print mine.)
Can only be airlifted by U.S. Air Force's C-17 and C-5, and Russia's AN-124
Do not fit on the Marine's pre-positioning ships"

Here's the link to that, if anyone is interested:

http://olive-drab.com/idphoto/id_photos_mrap.php

[Brother Mythos]

"Spanish Man's Secret to a Long Life: Never Drink Water"

http://www.snopes.com/2016/02/04/secret-life-never-water/

After reading this article, I hereby pledge that I too am willing to take on the heavy burden, and make the necessary sacrifice for a long and healthy life.

[minuspace]

"Coastal California Firestorm"

Tomorrow, I think, foreign interests will try to oust Californa's Coastal Comissioner from office for doing his job, namely, protecting the natural patrimony of the United States' Pacific Coast.  The attempt is hostile and probably I'll fated, yet the fact that such ignorant audacity is given a chance in court, well, welcome firestorm.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/09/us/california-coastal-commission.html?_r=0

http://touch.latimes.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-85666834/

[Junkenstein]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-35542708

undreds of letters and photographs that tell the story of Pope John Paul II's close relationship with a married woman, which lasted more than 30 years, have been shown to the BBC.
The letters to Polish-born American philosopher Anna-Teresa Tymieniecka had been kept away from public view in the National Library of Poland for years.
The documents reveal a rarely seen side of the pontiff, who died in 2005.
There is no suggestion the Pope broke his vow of celibacy.

I can't help but recall the figure relating to celibacy in the Church - Around 50% break their vow.

She appeared to have revealed intense feelings for him because his letters immediately afterwards suggest a man struggling to make sense of their friendship in Christian terms.
In one, dated September 1976, he writes: "My dear Teresa, I have received all three letters. You write about being torn apart, but I could find no answer to these words."

Hmm.

Marsha Malinowski, a rare manuscripts dealer who negotiated the sale of the letters, says she believes Ms Tymieniecka fell in love with Cardinal Wojtyla in the early days of their relationship. "I think that it's completely reflected in the correspondence," she told the BBC.

Hmm.

After becoming Pope he wrote: "I am writing after the event, so that the correspondence between us should continue. I promise I will remember everything at this new stage of my journey."
Cardinal Wojtyla had a number of female friends, including Wanda Poltawska, a psychiatrist with whom he also corresponded for decades.
But his letters to Ms Tymieniecka are at times more intensely emotional, sometimes wrestling with the meaning of their relationship.

Yes, apparently there is no suggestion at all that the pope broke his vow. What are we looking for exactly? Used rubbers, photo evidence and "I FUCKED HER" graffiti-ed around the Vatican?

[Junkenstein]

In other news, Richard Dawkins has had a stroke.

Let's all keep our fingers crossed.







I've been waiting since Thatcher was last seriously ill to use that line and it's working wonders. Try it and watch the rage fly.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

In other news, Richard Dawkins has had a stroke.

Let's all keep our fingers crossed.







I've been waiting since Thatcher was last seriously ill to use that line and it's working wonders. Try it and watch the rage fly.

Beautiful.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

I feel like it gives a bit of credence to my hypothesis that his increasingly erratic and offensive behavior over recent years has been due to a series of mini-strokes.

[Prelate Diogenes Shandor]

I feel like it gives a bit of credence to my hypothesis that his increasingly erratic and offensive behavior over recent years has been due to a series of mini-strokes.

That would explain a lot

[Junkenstein]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-35696238

More than 70 doctors and academics are calling for a ban on tackling in rugby matches played in UK and Irish schools.
In an open letter to ministers, they say injuries from this "high-impact collision sport" can have lifelong consequences for children.
They argue two thirds of injuries in youth rugby and most concussions are down to tackles and urge schools to move to touch and non-contact rugby.
Supporters say rugby builds character and other forms are less challenging.

So today, we have this tedious heap of shit.

Rugby, for the uninitiated, is essentially American Football without any of the protective gear. It's typically used in UK schools to give those who have hit puberty quickly the opportunity to beat those who have not.

What caught my eye was this bullshit around "Building character".

I(had no choice but to) put up with a lot of bullshit and this reasoning is always around, regardless of what the actual task or results of task are.

Running in the rain? Character building.
Rugby in the snow? Character building.
Tedious shitwork? Character building.
Team projects? Character building.  You actually increase Character exponentially for each member of the team that doesn't bother.
Getting up early? Character building.

It seems that people have a strong desire to inflict shit on kids that they know will not really benefit them. (No-one likes fucking rugby apart from that guy who has a full beard at 12 and STD's at 13) All this seems to be to me is the insistence on perpetuation of a system because you went through it. I suffered, so they shall also suffer and behold! They will somehow be better people for it and not resentful of this waste of fucking time that they've had to endure.

It's almost worth it's own thread because I'm sure we've all been put through some shit at some point with this bullshit justification.

Even the article isn't able to get away from the nonsense (As in, it's not measurable, quantifiable or remotely able to be proven) about character. They even quote the renowned bastion of knowledge, the PE teacher.

"Contact rugby helps build character. They are putting their body on the line in a match. The risk factor is part of it," he says.

Can we quantify or measure the risk?

One of the signatories of the open letter is Prof Allyson Pollock, from Queen Mary University of London, who has long campaigned about the dangers of rugby.
She said evidence collected over 12 years showed rugby players up to the age of 18 or 19 had a 28% chance of getting injured over a season of 15 matches.
"If you're thinking of a million children playing every year with this risk of injury you're looking at 300,000 extra injuries a year, including up to 100,000 concussions," she said.
She added that 90% of injuries resulted in more than seven days lost from school.

I bet the government is able to take a smart line though, right?

A spokesman for the Department for Education in England said: "Team sports, such as rugby, play an important role in developing character.

What a shock.

When this is the best reasoning you can come up with, whatever the thing is, it's probably a total waste of fucking time and effort.

[Junkenstein]

Horrormirth?

http://www.nj.com/passaic-county/index.ssf/2016/03/state_police_lab_tech_allegedly_faked_results_in_p.html#incart_river_index

A lab technician for the State Police allegedly faked results in a drug case, and has drawn into question 7,827 criminal cases on which he worked, according to state officials.

Kamalkant Shah worked as a laboratory technician for the State Police laboratory in Little Falls and was found to have "dry labbed" suspected marijuana, according to a Feb. 29 memo to Public Defender Joseph Krakora from Deputy Public Defender Judy Fallon. Shah's essentially accused of making up data.

"Basically, he was observed writing 'test results' for suspected marijuana that was never tested," Fallon said in the memo.

That's the impact of one lab tech. I'd be fucking astonished if this was the only one working like that.

I guess this means that more than a few people in prison were actually genuinely innocent.

It's unclear what impact the disclosure will have on thousands of drugs convictions, but several attorneys who deal with criminal matters said Wednesday that it wouldn't likely affect the large number of defendants who pleaded guilty to drug possession.

Because fuck those guys, right? Must have been guilty to plead guilty. Not like they were faced with a shitty no-choice situation.

"In Passaic County alone, the universe of cases possibly implicated in this conduct is 2,100," Fallon said in the memo.

I'm not saying that all of these were obviously faked. I just know that people take the easy path where possible. Why fuck about with the testing when you get paid the same regardless of result? I'd guess that there's a touch of corruption to find with cops telling the guy that the sample MUST be positive because they wouldn't have taken it unless they were SURE. And not giving back the "right" result would naturally lead to this dangerous maniac being able to be back on the streets.

It's actually still somewhat amazing to me to see these little parts of the X to prison pipeline reveal themselves. Just when you think you've got a good handle on it, another element of the system exposes itself as fucking broken and corrupt.

I have no idea on the laws and regs, but I bet that those samples can't be re-tested. And if they can be, would you trust the result?