Friday, October 31, 2014

Your world, as described by Murdoch

Good job Rupert...it's all going according to plan.
Australians believe the proportion of Muslims in the country is nine times higher than it really is, according to a new international survey comparing public perceptions with actual data. The Ipsos Mori poll conducted across 14 countries also showed Australians are wildly wrong in their estimations of the number of pregnant teenagers, unemployed people, immigrants and Christians in the country. ...Australians said that Muslims made up 18% of the country’s population, far higher than their actual proportion, just 2%.
Of course, Murdoch's original homeland is actually on par with his present self-proclaimed one. [cross-posted at Firedoglake]

Thursday, October 30, 2014

Fox News Democrat

This guy is Dr. Keith Ablow...with hair.

America...home also to, the lame

And...
An actor who recorded 10 hours of catcalls and remarks from passersby in New York City...
...of course:

...has received rape threats in response to a video detailing the harassment, the advocacy group that commissioned the video said on Tuesday.
[cross-posted at Firedoglake]

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Engage in social discourse much?

Wow.

"The Good Guys..."

"The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun" - Wayne LaPierre

Ladies and gentlemen...you can guess where Mr. LaPierre's logic train rests here, just a portion of one day in America:
A Seattle grandfather shot and killed his daughter and granddaughter in front of his 10-year-old grandson before turning the gun on himself Monday night, police said.
More heroes.
After initially saying he had only heard the gunshot, Galen Hawk, 26, allegedly confessed to detectives that he shot Lonato Moran-Allen, 3, on Wednesday night, according to reports from the Billings Gazette newspaper and Montana television station KECI.
I'm sure these folks were just intending to defend themselves from the government. [cross-posted at Firedoglake]

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

"Hey, this amount of hypocrisy is OUR job now!"

Sure, in the 19th and 20th Centuries when the British were not just exporting teen moppets but offending whole nations via petty ignorance you'd expect this sort of thing. But the 21st Century has placed such profitable immoral simplicities on the Americans...so really how dare they!
Britain is planning to increase the sale of arms to Qatar, identifying the rich Gulf state as a “priority market” for its weapons, documents seen by the Guardian show. Last year the Qatari Amiri Guard ordered more than £3m-worth of British-made Heckler and Koch assault rifles, according to a copy of a “purchase order” document obtained by the Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT).
This will do a fine job keeping immigrants in docile indentured status.  

Which is usually America's the fine-honed edge of the profit margin today.

[cross-posted at Firedoglake]

Friday, October 24, 2014

Only Condi Rice could not have anticipated

Pretty much how one would figure this would come to, other than sugar coma [and wait a bit, could be both]




And then with Ebola, we can make it so ONLY WASPS aren't bothered...y'know like every other fucking day in America!

Must be one of those "y-ending" days

Given the unimpeachable integrity of the claimants, it is hard to believe that FoxNews failed to stretch it's string of time without a factual error beyond the then-existing 7 consecutive minutes when this was proclaimed.

 Tuesday's episode of a Fox News host Megyn Kelly's program incorrectly told viewers that Colorado voters are now able to print ballots using their home computers and vote by turning them in.

And those sources of high-integrity?
The comments on Fox News came as a set-up to a segment featuring Michelle Malkin and David Bossie, who created a film called Rocky Mountain Heist for the conservative group Citizens United.
I thought Malkin was busy breaking her own vertical leap record?

Meanwhile, in places recently half-heartedly administered by FoxNews commenters, metaphorical progress went unmentioned.


USDA Brings Indoor Plumbing to Alaska Village

Thursday, October 23, 2014

How could we all be in semi-retirement when this is going on?

Many of us have stopped blogging so anally ("hey, I have a regular job, a workout routine, and a semi-life!") or have stopped blogging altogether ("Dependable" Renegade my ass [I kid Watertiger, wherever you are]).


It looks like we picked the wrong-time to get a life.

At some point, men at the party at family friend Korey Klingenmeyer's house allegedly badmouthed the Palin daughters, leading to father Todd and son Track punching their friend Steve. "He's like a little pussy you know what I'm saying?" Track told the officer. "Like he's not gonna fight nobody. Most innocent, basically a gay guy, but he's not."

More men then apparently became involved. Track took his shirt off.
"I just bought this brand new shirt, so I took it off. I don't want to rip it," Track tells the officer. "Let's fucking fight. Four guys came on me, I hit one. One picked me up, tackled me, I hit one."

He insists, however, that had it been a fair, one-on-one fight, he'd have won. 

"If it was one-on-one, I'd beat the shit out of them," he said. "One-on-one, like I'll beat their ass. I'm not trying to be gay or nothing. But they're four guys, man, like come on. I've done jujitsu my whole life, wrestled forever. Like let's fucking roll."

A real man-of-letters that Track (like his whole family...I believe he has perhaps advanced to "B" by this point) ... and as you can see, a bastion of tolerance.

And that Limo story...

It's times like this when I sort of regret having shit to do.

Well that is cinematic

The story of the ending of the terrorist attack on the Canadian Parliament had a real badass ending...in Canada...that normally occurs only in American Cop films set in New York (and, of course, actually filmed in Canada).

And then there is this rather Hollywood inspired insanity.

The legislature was minutes away from convening when Lortie entered the building through a side door carrying two submachine guns, and at one point sat in the Speaker's chair firing wildly. He killed three people and wounded 13 others.

A Universal Truth...well, almost!

Hey, look a non-American ironically sums up America's shared little secret.
Representatives from trade unions, women's groups and left-leaning political parties marched on the house of Hong Kong’s Chief Executive C.Y. Leung on Wednesday after he told media outlets that free elections would give poor people too much power.

On Tuesday, Hong Kong’s Chief Executive said in an interview that Hong Kong required a nominating committee to screen electoral candidates, claiming that if the city allowed the direct civil nomination demanded by democracy protesters, “you’d be talking to the half of the people in Hong Kong who earn less than $1,800 a month.”
Yeah, we cannot have that...and by that I really mean "we".
Members of Congress 14 Times More Wealthy Than Average American

[cross-posted at Firedoglake]

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Oh good plan!

I'm sure it will make you all sad and depressed to think that Scott Walker has a fighting shot at once again retaining his Governorship of Wisconsin. But this may make you feel a bit better...
In a tight election it’s common to flatter voters or promise them the earth, but a top Republican supporting governor Scott Walker’s campaign in Wisconsin has tried a novel approach: insulting them. “I don’t want to say anything about your Wisconsin voters,” Sharon Day, co-chair of the Republican National Committee, told an audience, “but some of them might not be as sharp as a knife.”
Well-done Sharon, well-done. You are dull as a...well as a Party that may think about nominating Mitt Romney again. [cross-posted at Firedoglake]

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

"C'mon it is not like they are bankers or anything!

I imagine this really builds one's faith in governmental decision-making.
The US government has paid dozens of suspected Nazi war criminals millions of dollars in social security after forcing them to leave the US. The payments, funded by taxpayers, were made through a legal loophole, an Associated Press investigation has uncovered. Some are still being paid. Former guards at Nazi labour camps, where millions died, are among them.
Believe it or not, all - or at least most - of these people were not employed by Bank of America or Wells Fargo. [cross-posted at Firedoglake]

Monday, October 20, 2014

"Let's not get ahead of the 19th century here or anything..."

For those of you who've been mildly surprised with the almost modern Papacy of Pope Frank, the week started out pretty well.
In a dramatic shift in tone, a Vatican document said on Monday that homosexuals had "gifts and qualities to offer" and asked if Catholicism could accept gays and recognize positive aspects of same-sex couples. The document, prepared after a week of discussions at an assembly of 200 bishops on the family, said the Church should challenge itself to find "a fraternal space" for homosexuals without compromising Catholic doctrine on family and matrimony.
But finishing what you start, is not exactly a strong point on Vatican Hill.
Catholic bishops scrapped their landmark welcome to gays Saturday, showing deep divisions at the end of a two-week meeting sought by Pope Francis to chart a more merciful approach to ministering to Catholic families. The bishops failed to approve even a watered-down section on ministering to homosexuals that stripped away the welcoming tone of acceptance contained in a draft document earlier in the week.
So much for lightening up, Francis.

Of course, in reality it matters not.

Overwhelming 85% Of Young American Catholics Support Gays And Lesbian, Pew Report
If you cannot lead, and refuse to follow...get out of the way. [cross-posted at Firedoglake]

Friday, October 17, 2014

All in for crazy

Jodi Ernst the Republican half of one of the nastier senatorial campaigns in the nation ("you hate farmers" versus "you hate everyone") is in a very tight battle. Counter-intuitively this may help.
Iowa Republican Senate candidate Joni Ernst said she would support a federal bill that gives legal personhood rights to fetuses from the moment of fertilization, effectively wiping out legal abortion in the United States.
Which is a crazy position, held by crazy people...let's welcome the latest potential group of attempted murderers under that scenario.

But in an off-year election, crazy votes an especially large share of the vote.

[cross-posted at Firedoglake]

Thursday, October 16, 2014

Imagine if we'd added them to the bombing rolls?

The Bush Administration's clever plan of not so cleverly creating Iran's largest client state has a least one advantage.

When the rest of the left-overs rise up, they have an interest in maintaining their inadvertently gotten gains.
General Qassem Suleimani, the commander of Iran’s elite Quds force - one of the key players in the war against Islamic State (Isis), normally keeps a very low profile. But a recent spate of photographs – showing a shy, silvery-haired man in his late 50s wearing a revolutionary scarf around his neck – point to a striking shift in Tehran’s strategy in its fight against the jihadi insurgents who have taken over large parts of Iraq and Syria. Once rare and amateurish, images of Suleimani are now taken professionally as Iran publicises its indispensable role in Iraq
Strange...and ignored bedfellows and all that.

[cross-posted at Firedoglake]

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Simulate this!!!

Yeah, this is undoubtedly intended to give comfort to somebody...
Regulators from the United States and the United Kingdom will get together in a war room next week to see if they can cope with any possible fall-out when the next big bank topples over, the two countries said on Friday. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew and the UK's Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, on Monday will run a joint exercise simulating how they would prop up a large bank with operations in both countries that has landed in trouble.
How many times do you have to simulate giving really rich people, the great wealth deprives masses' money? Isn't that any day ending in "Y"? [cross-posted at Firedoglake]

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Why we haven't even bombed these people...yet

Let's see off the top of my head which countries in the Islamic World we've bombed in the last decade: Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, Libya, Pakistan, and Somalia. And, of course, it's been habit forming...with lots of coincidences.
The US Has Bombed at Least Eight Wedding Parties Since 2001
In fairness, that last story is ten months old. One could assume this is a sign things are not working too awesomely.
Though Tunisia is in many senses the most advanced and secular of Arab states – and the only country to have come through the revolutions of 2011 relatively unscathed – that is only half the story. According to some estimates, there are more Tunisians fighting for Isis than from any other single country.
...but of course, it will be argued it just means we have to bomb another country. [cross-posted at Firedoglake]

Monday, October 13, 2014

Hey 'murica

It's been yet another tough week to not be a Walton or Koch family member.

But hey, there's still good news out there if you look hard enough (or spend a couple minutes on Google) but it is out there.
Prison officials unveiled the renovated execution chamber inside the Oklahoma State Penitentiary on Thursday and expressed confidence that the agency would be ready for the state's next scheduled execution in November. The $71,000 reconstruction of the death chamber and adjacent witness rooms gives executioners more space in which to operate. Department of Corrections also spent about $34,000 on new medical equipment, including $12,500 for a surgical table and $6,000 for an ultrasound machine to help locate veins.
Finally, Oklahoma's pressing "claustrophobic executioners" dilemma has been eased.

So one problem solved.

[cross-posted at Firedoglake]

Sunday, October 12, 2014

Everybody chill...



Uh-oh...

A Texas health care worker who was in full protective gear when they provided hospital care for an Ebola patient who later died has tested positive for the virus and is in stable condition, health officials said Sunday. If the preliminary diagnosis is confirmed, it would be the first known case of the disease being contracted or transmitted in the U.S.

Uhhhh...uh-oh...

 On the western edge of Iraq's capital, Islamic State group militants battle government forces and exchange mortar fire, only adding to the sense of siege in Baghdad despite airstrikes by a U.S.-led coalition.

Friday, October 10, 2014

Oh more of this!

Austerity has worked so well in hurting as many people in as many ways as possible. And the gift keeps on giving.
On 8 August, the WHO director, Margaret Chan, finally declared Ebola an international public health emergency. There had been 1,711 cases and 932 deaths. “Countries affected to date simply do not have the capacity to manage an outbreak of this size and complexity on their own,” she said. She urged the international community to provide support. Everybody now agrees this should have happened much earlier. “They clearly underestimated the situation, partly because the African office dropped the ball, partly because member states, including the UK, cut [the] WHO’s budget for emergencies and haemorrhagic fevers (as proposed by WHO management),” said Piot.
Oh we need more of where that came from. [cross-posted at Firedoglake]

Thursday, October 09, 2014

"We cannot afford that!"

Hmmm, has a familiar ring (emphasis on "familiar"):
Starting Jan. 1, Wal-Mart told The Associated Press that it will no longer offer health insurance to employees who work less than an average of 30 hours a week..."We had to make some tough decisions," Sally Wellborn, Wal-Mart's senior vice president of benefits, told The Associated Press.
"Wellborn"? Only somewhat ironic, certainly poetic.
The six Waltons on Forbes’ list of wealthiest Americans have a net worth of $144.7 billion. This fiscal year three Waltons—Rob, Jim, and Alice (and the various entities that they control)—will receive an estimated $3.1 billion in Walmart dividends from their majority stake in the company. The Waltons aren’t just the face of the 1%; they’re the face of the 0.000001%. The Waltons have more wealth than 42% of American families combined.
"Tough decisions" indeed. "Do we make $3 billion more each this year? Of merely $2.75 billion? Let's go with the former, it's not like poor people need health insurance!" [cross-posted at Firedoglake]

Wednesday, October 08, 2014

Not a bad start to the day

Too walk about with a beautiful view of a lunar eclipse.

No bad at all.

Meet the new holdouts...same as the old holdouts

One could say it is strange or funny that the same states holding out against marriage equality are the ones that generally hold the country back in general.

Except it is neither funny nor at all surprising.

I am willing to bet that these same states would conversely lead polling in thinking there's a link between Ebola and Benghazi -- after all, they both originated in Africa..."just like Obama".

[cross-posted at Firedoglake]

Tuesday, October 07, 2014

This is a consonant away from being a real "dick move"

To me personally.


A last cup of tea for all mankind

The happy news just keeps getting happier!
Research published Sunday concluded that the upper 2,300 feet of the Southern Hemisphere’s oceans may have warmed twice as quickly after 1970 than had previously been thought. Gathering reliable ocean data in the Southern Hemisphere has historically been a challenge, given its remoteness and its relative paucity of commercial shipping, which helps gather ocean data. Argo floats and satellites are now helping to plug Austral ocean data gaps, and improving the accuracy of Northern Hemisphere measurements and estimates. “The Argo data is really critical,” said Paul Durack, a Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory researcher who led the new study, which was published in Climate Nature Change. “The estimates that we had up until now have been pretty systematically underestimating the likely changes.”
Oy.
“We continue to be stunned at how rapidly the ocean is warming,” said Sarah Gille, a Scripps Institution of Oceanography professor.
Just throw some lemons in there...for when the lobsters' flesh turns white. [cross-posted at Firedoglake]

Monday, October 06, 2014

Bury him in a casket of recycled tin-pots...don't forget the 'Murican Flag while you're at it

After all...how could we forget a friend?
Haiti's former dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier, who ruled the impoverished Caribbean nation with an iron fist from 1971 until his ouster in 1986, died of a heart attack. He was 63.
'Baby Doc' was the "merit-based fetus" of 'Papa Doc' Duvalier who took power in 1971 at the age of 19 upon the death of his father. He was always good at staying on the good side of the nation that also supported his father -- usually by mentioning how nice that Castro fella seemed.

A better summary of this early template of Bill Kristol/Liz Cheney can be seen below:
“On Duvalier’s death, I’m thinking of the look in my mother’s eyes when she talks about her brother Joel, who was disappeared by that dictator,” Patrick Gaspard, the American ambassador to South Africa, who is Haitian-American, posted on Twitter on Saturday. “News of the passing of Duvalier makes me honor my father and generations of Haitians who resisted that vicious dictatorship.”
[cross-posted at Firedoglake]

Friday, October 03, 2014

The "best" revenge

This is more like it...unless they pass enough voter restrictions on time.
More than 3,000 people have registered to vote in Ferguson, Mo., since the death of Michael Brown — a surge in interest that may mean the city of 21,000 people is ready for a change. Since a white police officer shot the unarmed black 18-year-old on Aug. 9, voter registration booths and cards have popped up alongside protests in the city and surrounding neighborhoods. The result: 4,839 people in St. Louis County have registered to vote since the shooting; 3,287 of them live in Ferguson.
[cross-posted at Firedoglake]