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Ashraf Ghani declared winner of Afghan presidential poll, Abdullah rejects results
Today's Headlines
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2 19:30 Chunky Dark Lord of the Slytherins9097 [6] 
3 18:24 Anomalous Sources [4] 
15 18:56 Crusader [6] 
4 10:20 swksvolFF [7] 
14 17:05 European Conservative [3] 
5 15:45 Barbara [2] 
8 18:10 Herb McCoy [5] 
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10 21:35 trailing wife [9] 
1 10:27 Skidmark [1] 
4 16:14 USN, Ret. [3] 
1 11:02 Thaing Speack1062 [4] 
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Page 4: Opinion
2 10:26 Skidmark [2]
1 10:48 Lex [11]
6 16:39 DarthVader [5]
5 13:50 Abu Uluque [7]
6 13:48 swksvolFF [6]
11 17:03 M. Murcek [3]
Page 6: Politix
5 10:59 Frank G [8]
4 18:25 Lex [4]
5 11:14 Dron66046 [3]
7 13:20 Skidmark [10]
10 14:06 Frank G [8]
11 19:03 Besoeker [9]
10 14:43 Raj [6]
-Lurid Crime Tales-
Shocking moment stranger attacks a man with a HAMBURGER and repeatedly punches his face in unprovoked attack in Manhattan
Posted by: Skidmark || 02/19/2020 10:48 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Trump to blame for pardoning Hamburgler.
/CNN
Posted by: swksvolFF || 02/19/2020 14:57 Comments || Top||

#2  If it was one of those stupid BK veggie whoppers, string the stranger up!
Posted by: Raj || 02/19/2020 15:51 Comments || Top||


Florida Texas man, 24, drove for beer with 'mangled' corpse, body parts after allegedly striking pedestrian: report
Posted by: Skidmark || 02/19/2020 09:54 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Austin.

Hit a dude with a Focus; fast enough victim went through the front windshield.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 02/19/2020 18:24 Comments || Top||

#2  Shades of the Marie Celeste of Texas windshield massacre, that Mallard mess. At least this guy's post-collision behavior makes some kind of sense.
Posted by: Chunky Dark Lord of the Slytherins9097 || 02/19/2020 19:30 Comments || Top||


Man who allegedly slit French tourist’s throat arrested
[NYPOST] The man who allegedly slit a French tourist’s throat last week has been arrested, the NYPD announced Monday.

Khalief Young, 28, was busted by an officer who spotted him on the street around 3:50 p.m. Monday, police sources told The Post.

He was charged with two counts of assault in the second degree, police said.

Young is accused of slashing 27-year-old Gabriel Bascou in the neck on Valentine’s Day just as he and his girlfriend were walking out of an IHOP around 11 a.m. on Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard near West 132nd Street.

Bascou was caught on video bleeding on a sidewalk as passersby rushed to help him.

He’s been recovering at Harlem Hospital.

Young lives approximately two blocks from the pancake restaurant and has randomly attacked at least two others in the past, police sources said.
And according to the article, he has a habit of suddenly attacking others.
Posted by: Fred || 02/19/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [9 views] Top|| File under:

#1  His. Hair. Is. A. Crime.
Posted by: Dron66046 || 02/19/2020 4:47 Comments || Top||

#2  Gun free zone...
Posted by: BrerRabbit || 02/19/2020 5:04 Comments || Top||

#3  I assume he is back on the street sans bail by no, true?
Posted by: AlanC || 02/19/2020 7:44 Comments || Top||

#4  Gun free zone...

Doesn't matter after those in government don't feel threatened.
Posted by: gorb || 02/19/2020 8:59 Comments || Top||

#5 
Posted by: Latisha brown || 02/19/2020 21:01 Comments || Top||

#6 
Posted by: Latisha brown || 02/19/2020 21:02 Comments || Top||

#7 
Posted by: Latisha brown || 02/19/2020 21:04 Comments || Top||

#8 
Posted by: Latisha brown || 02/19/2020 21:05 Comments || Top||

#9  You’re expecting I’m gonna say nice things about him?
You’re PC AND IM NOT
Posted by: Latisha brown || 02/19/2020 21:09 Comments || Top||

#10  Mind your manners, Latisha brown, or take yourself elsewhere before you are banned.
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/19/2020 21:35 Comments || Top||


-Obits-
RIP- The water appeared to be on fire, and the scent of burning oil filled the air

[WashingtonPost] The USS Arizona burned around him in Pearl Harbor. A fellow sailor defied orders to save his life.

Donald Stratton stood on the deck of the USS Arizona as a Japanese bomb decimated part of the battleship, stationed in Pearl Harbor off the coast of Honolulu. The ground trembled beneath his feet as explosions rang out and a fireball ripped through him, setting his T-shirt ablaze and destroying part of his ear, he wrote in his memoir, "All the Gallant Men."

Cont- "The six of us went hand over hand across the line and above the inflamed water," Stratton wrote. "My body was burned, my hands were raw, and I was focused on survival. I never thought about not making it."

Lou Conter and Ken Potts, both 98, are now the only living survivors of the Arizona, where 1,177 sailors and Marines were killed ‐ roughly half of the total death toll ‐ and 335 escaped in the attack on Pearl Harbor. The loss of one of the few remaining people with memories of what happened on that ship heralds the time when a monumental part of the infamous attack will be lost to history.
Posted by: Woodrow || 02/19/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Great article, even if it was in the WAPO. Thanks for posting.
Posted by: Matt || 02/19/2020 8:36 Comments || Top||

#2  Well, back then we blamed the Japanese. After 9/11 too many (Leftest) still blame America. Should have had that reckoning when the Wall came down.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 02/19/2020 8:50 Comments || Top||

#3  RIP, indeed. Pure selfishness follows. A few years ago (around the time I lost a parent, which would place the date near the 75th anniversary, and explain why I was so dopey), I walked into the local drugstore to see, of all things, a guy wearing a white Arizona survivor jacket, looking a little "lost in thought," positioned as if he were waiting while someone shopped. Squeamish about intruding, I grabbed my stuff and hurried back up, intending to accost him on the way out. Only... he's gone. Pretty quick for a old guy. And I'm still kicking myself.

Keep an eye on those old folks, kids -- they'll sneak off on you "without so much as a 'by your leave,'" as my dad would say. Why'm I typing this? Because I think this was probably the guy I saw. Looked a little taller, but you know how that works.
Posted by: Chunky Dark Lord of the Slytherins9097 || 02/19/2020 20:05 Comments || Top||


-Short Attention Span Theater-
'If monkeys attack Donald Trump's entourage, it will be a disaster': Indians fear not enough has been done to protect the President from primate 'terror' ahead of his Taj Mahal visit
Posted by: Skidmark || 02/19/2020 10:38 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:


#CoronaVirusFashion: Instagram fashionistas pose for sexy selfies wearing surgical masks as they exploit the killer virus for social media likes and followers
Posted by: Skidmark || 02/19/2020 10:30 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I was hoping for some "mask only" pix.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 02/19/2020 13:29 Comments || Top||

#2  Masked nudes for Grom.
Posted by: Skidmark || 02/19/2020 14:43 Comments || Top||

#3  Skid, it's outright prOn
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 02/19/2020 14:55 Comments || Top||

#4  but tastefully done.
Posted by: Skidmark || 02/19/2020 15:00 Comments || Top||


Married off-duty cops foil armed robbery on 'date night': Husband and wife draw their guns and take down gunman who burst into fried chicken restaurant
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news]
  • Detective Chase McKeown and Officer Nicole McKeown gave chase after the masked gunman tried to rob a Raising Cane's restaurant in Louisville, Kentucky

  • Justin Carter, 30, appeared in court Monday charged with first-degree robbery, receiving a stolen firearm and possessing a handgun as a convicted felon

  • The couple say they were just doing their jobs and their 'training kicked in' when they saw the robbery in progress and decided to step in and tackle the robber
Posted by: Skidmark || 02/19/2020 10:15 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:


-Signs, Portents, and the Weather-
Coronavirus infection may be spread by people without symptoms, mounting evidence suggests
h/t Instapundit
[Philadelphia Inquirer] - Testing of throat swabs from two people with no symptoms of coronavirus illness revealed that they were nonetheless infected with the virus, according to a report from Germany published Tuesday in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The finding, though previously suspected, would make the job of containing the virus significantly more difficult.
It's called asymptomatic carrier - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asymptomatic_carrier
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 02/19/2020 03:31 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Especially Wiccans. Beware of wiccans who frequent chinese markets for supplies.
Posted by: Dron66046 || 02/19/2020 4:46 Comments || Top||

#2  Not completely bad news.

The implication is that there's evolutionary pressure on the virus favoring variations that cause no or only very mild symptoms.
Posted by: Elmerert Hupens2660 || 02/19/2020 8:21 Comments || Top||

#3  Typhoid Mary to the courtesy phone.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 02/19/2020 8:56 Comments || Top||

#4  Beware of wiccans who frequent chinese markets for supplies.

Self-imposed three month ban on those places for me. As for the local restaurants I go a) alone and b) at off-peak hours, mainly because I don't like a crowd when chowing down.
Posted by: Raj || 02/19/2020 9:11 Comments || Top||

#5  /\ I don't like a crowd when chowing down.

Coronanoid? Yes, do you think I am stupid?

Crowds you say? Me as well, but it's certainly NOT limited to 'chowing down.' The household six sez it's because I don't like womens. Not true! I provide both genders equal billing. I've been that way for over 60 years, possibly longer. Are there any other questions ?
Posted by: Besoeker || 02/19/2020 9:23 Comments || Top||

#6  Are there other questions?

What... is the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow?

I think all vets hate crowds.
Posted by: DarthVader || 02/19/2020 9:30 Comments || Top||

#7  Slightly less than .45 ball ammo. You didn't think I could answer that did you ?
Posted by: Besoeker || 02/19/2020 9:35 Comments || Top||

#8  I most certainly hate/avoid all crowds. That includes hospitals and grocery stores, so right there with you.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike || 02/19/2020 9:45 Comments || Top||

#9  I think all vets hate crowds.

Crowds attract fire. Spread out. Keep your intervals.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 02/19/2020 9:47 Comments || Top||

#10  There’s no shortage of lucrative jobs in health care.
Posted by: Skidmark || 02/19/2020 10:00 Comments || Top||

#11  No Mardi Grais or Carnival would be wise.
Same for St Pats day.
Not to sure about church and shaking hands.
Posted by: 3dc || 02/19/2020 11:12 Comments || Top||

#12  This is old news
Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom || 02/19/2020 13:50 Comments || Top||

#13  I think all vets hate crowds.

And large open urban areas, as so I'm told by three generations of vets.
Posted by: Mullah Richard || 02/19/2020 16:29 Comments || Top||

#14  Elmerert Hupens2660 has a point. The Spanish flu virus is gone, the common cold virus thrives.
Posted by: European Conservative || 02/19/2020 17:05 Comments || Top||


Marvel’s ‘The Eternals’ Will Feature First Man-on-Man Gay Kiss
[BREITBART] Damn! And I have to wash my hair that night!
Posted by: Fred || 02/19/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Like the first one? Ever?

I should like to point Marvel toward Plato's Symposium: a big hit for some 2500 years now. And Alcibiades was an actual guy that led actual armies into actual battles too.
Posted by: Secret Master || 02/19/2020 1:36 Comments || Top||

#2  Why do we bend over for 2% of the population?
Posted by: Uleck Spererong9442 || 02/19/2020 7:38 Comments || Top||

#3  Don't give em your dollars
Posted by: Frank G || 02/19/2020 7:57 Comments || Top||

#4  Glad there is another movie I'll never see out there.
Posted by: DarthVader || 02/19/2020 8:54 Comments || Top||

#5  "Your stool softener may have serious side effects."

Quote was stolen from another thread. Its funnier here.
Posted by: mossomo || 02/19/2020 9:27 Comments || Top||

#6  Why do we bend over for 2% of the population?

I see what you did there - well played.
Posted by: Raj || 02/19/2020 9:34 Comments || Top||


#8  Well, no, not really.

First, have you seen commercials lately? By the time this comes out guy guy kissing will be old hat.

Second, there is a guy guy kiss scene in that latest Aliens regurgitation.

Alcibiades was a bad-ass.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 02/19/2020 10:49 Comments || Top||

#9  Mercifully, the gay thing's one of many common vices to which I seem to have been born completely immune. Downside is, you can guess my second biggest vice (and deduce the procrastination) from a block away. *torpid sigh*

Don't have the context to know, but might Marvel maybe mean the very, very first? Cue lava fountains and meteors blazing through thin atmosphere of early Earth, eons of imperceptiby gradual cooling, and finally...

In the humid primordial ooze,
A... something... was having a snooze.
"Whoops! Sorry there, buddy...
The fog... it wuz muddy..."
And lo, down the ages
Compounded the wages
Of sodomite sin,
For THEY DID IT AGAIN,
Did Spartans and sages,
Fey knights and their pages,
Mad Muslims in rages,
Big apes in small cages,
Yats, overpacked rats
("Give a pass to the cats!"),
And, pace you ageists,
Small Asians, for wages.
Some do it for fun
("I was born this way, hon!");
A few chase your kiddies,
But some, only titties,
And maybe a shlong
If it helps them belong.

Unaltered pic-a-nic, so help me.

Posted by: Chunky Dark Lord of the Slytherins9097 || 02/19/2020 13:35 Comments || Top||

#10  Has Salami, really?

Suppose I need to just get ready to find out one of the nine realms is the Star Wars universe, and lady Thor along with gay Spiderman travel there to clear up latest flopogy. Parker and Jar-Jar fall in love, and we find out Gungans are hermaphrodites when their child is born.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 02/19/2020 13:36 Comments || Top||

#11  And lo, all this gayness
Was horribly heinous,
Enraging the hater,
And, sure, their creator,
Who nipped in the bud
What occurred in the mud,
But whose creatures continue to cruise.
Posted by: Chunky Dark Lord of the Slytherins9097 || 02/19/2020 13:39 Comments || Top||

#12  The fact that they are advertising this says a lot.
Posted by: rjschwarz || 02/19/2020 15:39 Comments || Top||

#13  "Get woke, go broke"
Posted by: Crusader || 02/19/2020 18:57 Comments || Top||

#14  Dong Work for Yuda - Joe's Garage, Frank Zappa
Posted by: M. Murcek || 02/19/2020 19:01 Comments || Top||

#15  "Will Feature First Man-on-Man Gay Kiss"

I had Nevada debate
Posted by: European Conservative || 02/19/2020 19:08 Comments || Top||

#16  Needless to say, some markets will not have this scene in their prints.

And the brave wokescolds will still happily take their money while shoving Western normies' noses in shit.
Posted by: charger || 02/19/2020 19:19 Comments || Top||

#17  #15 - late Snark 'O The Day entry
Posted by: Frank G || 02/19/2020 19:30 Comments || Top||

#18  ^ Boy, no kidding. Anybody talking shit about the German sense of humor gotta fight me too. Anybody except MM.
Posted by: Chunky Dark Lord of the Slytherins9097 || 02/19/2020 20:26 Comments || Top||

#19  The last....5? Marvel movies have been...well, to put it mildly, crap. I'm done with them. Tired of the spandex comic book movies anyway.
Posted by: Silentbrick || 02/19/2020 23:43 Comments || Top||


Britain
UK gets it right, shuts the door to unskilled migrants
[Politico] LONDON ‐ The U.K. government will not create a visa route for low-skilled migrants and temporary workers in its post-Brexit immigration system, which will give "top priority" to those with the highest skills, including scientists, engineers and academics.

A policy paper published Tuesday evening outlines plans for a new points-based system after EU freedom of movement ends in December. The report said employers "will need to adjust" to not being able to recruit unskilled workers from Europe.

"We need to shift the focus of our economy away from a reliance on cheap labour from Europe and instead concentrate on investment in technology and automation. Employers will need to adjust," the paper said.

"It is important that employers move away from a reliance on the U.K.’s immigration system as an alternative to investment in staff retention, productivity and wider investment in technology and automation."

Carolyn Fairbairn, director-general of the employers’ group CBI, said firms in the care, construction, hospitality, food and drink sectors could be most affected.

"In some sectors firms will be left wondering how they will recruit the people needed to run their businesses," she said. "Firms know that hiring from overseas and investing in the skills of their workforce and new technologies is not an ’either or’ choice ‐ both are needed to drive the economy forward."
Posted by: Besoeker || 02/19/2020 02:29 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "I'm skilled. I know how to make IEDs and how to cut off heads."
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 02/19/2020 3:18 Comments || Top||

#2  g(r)om, did you forget their teaching skills? They are experienced trainers of young girls too.
Posted by: AlanC || 02/19/2020 7:40 Comments || Top||

#3  ^Nope, that's skills they've acquired in UK. In Dar men guard their property.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 02/19/2020 7:43 Comments || Top||

#4  "In some sectors firms will be left wondering how they will recruit the people needed to run their businesses,"

Um, by paying them more money? Here's the Peter Principle on full display, putting the world-class obtuse into positions they shouldn't be near, never mind in.
Posted by: Raj || 02/19/2020 9:28 Comments || Top||

#5  Doesn't the UK have to follow EU immigration laws? Oh wait Brexit never mind.
Posted by: jpal || 02/19/2020 10:33 Comments || Top||

#6  So they got the 'berg message and decided they didn't need any more 'farmers.'
Posted by: USN, Ret. || 02/19/2020 16:07 Comments || Top||

#7  Sounds a bit radical to me. The UK does need relatively unskilled workers, too. Unemployment seems to be quite low (4.5% in London), so those jobs won't be filled by locals easily.

Automation won't work in care, construction, hospitality and food sectors.
Posted by: European Conservative || 02/19/2020 16:45 Comments || Top||

#8  Maybe companies need to stop concentrating in London and go to where the workers are. Crazy idea, I know.

But to all too many, London *is* the UK. Including most Londoners.
Posted by: Herb McCoy || 02/19/2020 18:10 Comments || Top||


London’s mayor Sadiq Khan pushes idea of an ‘associate’ EU citizenship for Britons after Brexit
[PUBLISH.TWITTER]
Posted by: Fred || 02/19/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Shut up mini muzzle.
Posted by: Uleck Spererong9442 || 02/19/2020 7:36 Comments || Top||

#2  Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, No.
Posted by: Mullah Richard || 02/19/2020 8:54 Comments || Top||

#3  Sure thing, Chaka Khan - wait until the EU makes you clowns file 'Associate Citizenship' tax returns; let's see what you say after scratching a four figure check or two to Brussels for estimated tax payments.
Posted by: Raj || 02/19/2020 9:33 Comments || Top||

#4  He's only there until May now.
Posted by: Dron66046 || 02/19/2020 11:09 Comments || Top||

#5  It's amazing how they just won't admit they lost. It's delusional.
Posted by: Herb McCoy || 02/19/2020 16:40 Comments || Top||


UK Passengers on Diamond Princess Stranded near Japan
[Express] Coronavirus cruise ship horror as UK abandons Britons to their fate - 'We are forgotten'
apparently 450+ infected on this ship out of 3k passengers

what is amazing (and good) is that no one has died and as far as I can tell no one seems to be in critical condition - perhaps a less lethal strain of the virus on that ship
Posted by: lord garth || 02/19/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  My understanding is that this version of the corona virus is 5 x as contagious to East Asians as it is to Caucasians.
Posted by: Thaing Speack1062 || 02/19/2020 11:02 Comments || Top||


Caribbean-Latin America
Trump administration moves to tighten financial restrictions on Venezuela, blacklisting a subsidiary of Russian oil firm Rosneft
[PUBLISH.TWITTER]
Posted by: Fred || 02/19/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under: Commies


Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Russian troops attacked Ukrainian strongholds in the #Zolote area
[PUBLISH.TWITTER]
Posted by: Fred || 02/19/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:


Russia bans Chinese from entering the country.
[rbc.ru] Russia closes its borders to citizens of China. Entrance to Russia will be banned on February 20 for all visitors from China: tourists, students, entrepreneurs

Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin signed a decree that prohibits Chinese citizens from entering Russia. This was reported to reporters in the operational headquarters for the fight against coronavirus.

A travel ban to Russia is imposed for Chinese citizens visiting the country for both tourism and business, educational and private purposes. The border for them will be closed from February 20. The decision was made "in order to ensure the security of the state, protect public health and the non-proliferation of new coronavirus infection."

Also, the Russian authorities temporarily suspend the processing of documents for Chinese citizens to enter Russia, including accepting documents for a visa, issuing invitations to enter, permits to attract foreign workers. Acceptance of any documents stops on February 19.

“The restriction will not affect transit passengers,” the Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova specified in the secretariat.

In 2019, 2.3 million citizens of the People's Republic of China arrived in Russia, it follows from the statistics of the FSB Border Service on the indicator “entry of foreign citizens into the Russian Federation”. Of these, 1.5 million Chinese arrived for tourism purposes, 321 thousand - for business.

Russia has previously restricted air traffic to China. Moscow allowed only Aeroflot and four Chinese airlines to fly to China and back. All passengers from China pass through Sheremetyevo terminal F. Since February 14, a temporary ban on charter flights to China has entered into force. Until February 14, charter flights were carried out for the return of Russians in the PRC.
Posted by: 3dc || 02/19/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Commies



China-Japan-Koreas
China not allowing World Health Organization representatives into Hubei province
[Arutz Sheva] Over one hundred people have died from COVID-19, the new coronavirus, since Tuesday - almost all of them in China, and the vast majority of them in the country's Hubei province.

Official statistics show a drop in the speed at which new patients are being infected with the virus, a sign that the lockdowns China has imposed on Wuhan and several other cities are beginning to work.

At the same time, China refused requests from the World Health Organization (WHO) representatives to entier Hubei.

In addition, the Chinese government has decided to tighten the lockdown, and police officers dressed in protective gear are now walking from house to house checking residents' temperatures. Anyone who is suspected of having contracted the coronavirus is transferred to one of the large isolation centers set up in halls and other public buildings.

The Chinese authorities have warned that those who refuse to cooperate - either refusing the inspections or refusing to move to an isolation center if asked to do so - will be severely punished.

In addition, the government is following pharmacy purchases, and anyone who purchases medication for fever or cough needs to present identification and his details are transferred to the authorities, which come to his home to investigate whether he needs to be transferred to an isolation center.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 02/19/2020 07:38 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under: Commies

#1  Meanwhile, interest appears to fade into the exact origins of the COVID-19 virus.

“I cannot forecast to you the action of Russia China. It is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma."
Posted by: Besoeker || 02/19/2020 8:19 Comments || Top||

#2  WHO? Frankly, I wouldn't let those political poseurs in the country much less in a quarantine area.
Posted by: Mercutio || 02/19/2020 9:11 Comments || Top||

#3  It's for their own good.
Posted by: Skidmark || 02/19/2020 9:45 Comments || Top||

#4  The WHO?

Thought they said no biggie. Oh wait, half a billion dollar sales pitch needs backing.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 02/19/2020 10:20 Comments || Top||


Europe
French ski resort angers ecologists by using helicopters to transport snow
[France24] A French ski resort has angered ecologists by using helicopters to transfer snow to its lower slopes after a mild winter left them devoid of the white stuff.

"Using helicopters to bring snow to ski resorts is not an option," said the Minister of Ecological Transition Élisabeth Borne on Sunday.

"It’s a question of putting a quick stop to it. It’s not possible to repeat such a highly polluting operation," one of Borne’s advisers told AFP.

Officials at the Luchon-Superbagnères ski resort in the Pyrenees made the decision on Friday to transport the snow from higher up the mountains to the lower slopes used by beginners and ski schools.

It took two and a half hours to transport some 50 tonnes of snow at a cost of between €5,000 to €6,000, said Hervé Pouanu, the director of the local council in France's southwest.

Pounau said the resort expected to recoup at least ten times the cost of the operation from the business that would have been lost from the lack of snow.

Pounau acknowledged the operation was not "very eco-friendly" but explained that it was an "exceptional move".

"We have no intention of doing it again. We didn’t have a choice this time," said Pounau, adding that the operation would enable between 50 and 80 people ‐ resort and hotel staff ‐ to work through the holidays.

For the moment, about 40% of the ski area is open.
Posted by: Besoeker || 02/19/2020 02:51 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "Environmentalists" please - "Ecology" is a science (underdeveloped at present).
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 02/19/2020 3:19 Comments || Top||

#2  It doesn't sound like they have much in the way of snowmaking equipment if you're a resort in mid-winter and only have 40% capacity.

And score another one for France for the completely useless position of Minister of Ecological Transition, whatever the hell that's supposed to mean.
Posted by: Raj || 02/19/2020 9:23 Comments || Top||

#3  My Inner Pinochet suggests using helicopters to transport ecologists.

"Ecology" is a science (underdeveloped at present).

It's complicated. All those feedback loops and non-linear equations...
Posted by: SteveS || 02/19/2020 10:05 Comments || Top||

#4  It's complicated. All those feedback loops and non-linear equations...

... Emergent behaviors resulting from the cumulative effects of independent, self regulating cycles...

Golly. Just like the climate.
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/19/2020 14:43 Comments || Top||

#5  What #2 Raj said.
Posted by: Barbara || 02/19/2020 15:45 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Politix
NSA leaker Reality Winner seeks clemency, turns in thousands of letters of support
[Fox] "NO"
Posted by: Frank G || 02/19/2020 08:13 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  She should do ten years just for her stupid name.
Posted by: Raj || 02/19/2020 9:03 Comments || Top||

#2  first thing president bloomberg will do.
Posted by: Herb McCoy || 02/19/2020 15:04 Comments || Top||

#3  To qoute AoS: "And on the lighter side, the you-couldn't-make-up-that-name-if-you-wanted-to Reality Winner, the NSA apparatchik imprisoned for leaking state secrets to the press is, get this, angling for the President to commute her sentence. To that I say learn to code, make license plates and scissoring."
Posted by: Anomalous Sources || 02/19/2020 18:24 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Chemical lab says respiratory problems may be result of 'overexposure to soybean dust'
[DAWN] The International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS) on Tuesday advised the government to consider "exposure to soybean dust (aeroallergens)" as a cause of breathing difficulties being faced by residents of Bloody Karachi
...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous...
's Keamari area.

So far, 14 people from different areas of Keamari have died and over 400 have been taken to different hospitals for treatment reportedly after inhaling toxic gas. Residents have complained of experiencing breathing difficulties, "burning sensation in the nose", watery eyes and itching in the throat.

ICCBS is an advanced research centre at the University of Karachi. The Dr Panjwani Centre for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research and Hussain Ebrahim Jamal Research Institute of Chemistry are part of the research centre.

A letter sent today to Karachi Commissioner Iftikhar Shallwani by Dr Muhammad Iqbal Choudhary, the director of ICCBS, said that the lab had examined blood and urine samples of people "exposed to toxic aerosols" as well as soybean dust samples collected from the port area. Dr Choudhary said that while the ICCBS was still "extensively engaged in deciphering the cause of this toxic exposure", the findings so far suggest that the symptoms being experienced by Keamari residents are a result of "overexposure to soybean dust".
Posted by: Fred || 02/19/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:


Science & Technology
Privacy concerns raised over the Samsung S20 Ultra's 'space zoom' feature which is so powerful it is 'basically invasive', expert claims
Posted by: Skidmark || 02/19/2020 10:45 || Comments || Link || [8 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I have a piece of electrical tape over the camera lens of my pc...
Posted by: Glenmore || 02/19/2020 17:50 Comments || Top||

#2  Put some over the microphone as well.
Posted by: Iblis || 02/19/2020 18:02 Comments || Top||

#3  Safest if you tape the power switch too.
Posted by: Skidmark || 02/19/2020 21:43 Comments || Top||


The Army is doubling down on a brand new sniper rifle
[Task & Purpose] The Army is almost doubling its purchase of new bolt-action Precision Sniper Rifles as its primary anti-personnel sniper system of choice, according to budget documents.

The Army wants to purchase 536 Precision Sniper Rifles (PSR) for a total of $10.13 million, according to the service's fiscal year 2019 budget request, an increase over the 357 systems that the service initially purchased for $5.74 million in fiscal year

The Army's PSR, which the documents indicate will be produced by Barrett Firearms, will eventually become the "primary anti-personnel sniper weapons system" for all of the service's sniper teams, replacing the M107 sniper rifle and offering "improved accuracy in a lighter weight package."

The PSR "provides increased probability of hit over the current M2010 [Enhanced Sniper Rifle] configuration at distances up to twelve-hundred (1200) meters and increases range out to fifteen-hundred (1500), which enhances the sniper role in supporting combat operations and improves sniper survivability," according to Army budget documents.

The system also includes a sound suppressor and direct view optics with fire control capabilities which "allows snipers, when supplemented with a clip-on image intensifier or thermal sensor system, to effectively engage enemy snipers, as well as crew served and indirect fire weapons virtually undetected in any light condition," according to Army budget documents.
Posted by: Besoeker || 02/19/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The AEWE2020 features some interesting upgradation and technical advancement in intermediate range combat and crew-served systems to America's warfighting capabilities. I think they'll share what they can with us in March with the final report, thanks to their newfound candor. Let's hope the politicians can okay the budgets though. There are more people who'd rather spend on an F35 type thingy.
Posted by: Dron66046 || 02/19/2020 4:40 Comments || Top||

#2  Live practice
Posted by: Skidmark || 02/19/2020 11:50 Comments || Top||

#3  Re #2: That's when Mike got within 20 yards of him and shot him,

um, guys? a 500lb boar is why they make 24 power scopes.
Posted by: Mercutio || 02/19/2020 15:31 Comments || Top||

#4  $16K + for first round, then up to over $18K for round #2.

That is approaching F-35 procurement costs...
Posted by: USN, Ret. || 02/19/2020 16:14 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Culture Wars
Man forced woman to watch roots 'Roots' - Defendant wanted victim to 'better understand her racism'
[Smok'n Gun] FEBRUARY 18--An Iowa man held a female acquaintance captive and forced her to watch "Roots" so that she "could better understand her racism," according to a criminal complaint.
I frequently watch 'Wheel of Fortune' to learn more about LGBT word identification aptitude and spelling proficiency.
Investigators allege that Robert Lee Noye, 52, yesterday forced Jill Shelton, 37, to sit with him and watch the program about slavery. Shelton allegedly was held against her will inside a small Cedar Rapids home (seen below) she has shared with Noye.

Shelton told police that when she tried to move, Noye "threatened her to remain seated and watch the movie with him" or else he would "kill her and spread her body parts across I-380 on the way to Chicago," the complaint charges.

Noye, pictured at right, was arrested for felony harassment and false imprisonment, a misdemeanor. He was booked into the Linn County jail and released from custody last night. A judge has ordered Noye to have no contact with Shelton.

Court records show that Noye and Shelton have been involved in a tumultuous relationship spanning nearly two decades, with both parties filing for multiple restraining orders against the other person.

The criminal complaint does not reveal whether Shelton was allegedly forced to watch the original nine-hour "Roots" miniseries or subsequent remakes based on Alex Haley’s novel.
Posted by: Besoeker || 02/19/2020 07:53 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under:

#1  IMA going out on a limb here and predicting this many not end well for Jill.
Posted by: Besoeker || 02/19/2020 8:00 Comments || Top||

#2  Could've been Ishtar, the new Ghostbusters flick or something really painful to watch.
Posted by: Raj || 02/19/2020 9:15 Comments || Top||

#3  #metoo

In thanks, Chicken George is now a running gag in my home. Unfortunately, the best part of the remake.

Bit off topic, I came across a movie I thought was going to be brutal to watch but ended up liking it: We Die Young
Posted by: swksvolFF || 02/19/2020 10:32 Comments || Top||

#4  Coulda been worse.
Coulda been The Eternals.
Posted by: Skidmark || 02/19/2020 10:42 Comments || Top||

#5  I always thought that forced viewing of Hollywood crap would be (almost) as effective as waterboarding.
Posted by: Lex || 02/19/2020 10:51 Comments || Top||

#6  Coulda been the new Watchmen show.
Posted by: Dron66046 || 02/19/2020 11:04 Comments || Top||

#7  But Roots turned out to be plagiarism.
Posted by: 3dc || 02/19/2020 11:05 Comments || Top||

#8  How is this not the Bee?

The criminal complaint does not reveal whether Shelton was allegedly forced to watch the original nine-hour "Roots" miniseries or subsequent remakes based on Alex Haley’s novel.

Seriously, not the Bee?
Posted by: SteveS || 02/19/2020 11:07 Comments || Top||

#9  Not the Bee? *Wow*
Posted by: magpie || 02/19/2020 11:21 Comments || Top||

#10  The Gubmint is gonna put Mr Noye in chains.
Posted by: Joey B || 02/19/2020 12:49 Comments || Top||

#11  when Roots is aired, is it prefaced by, "what you are about to see was plagiarized - from a white guy"
Posted by: Bob Grorong1136 || 02/19/2020 12:56 Comments || Top||

#12  racist to assume her ancestors had anything to do with slavery.
Posted by: rjschwarz || 02/19/2020 14:01 Comments || Top||

#13  Remember the Billy Wilder movie One, Two, Three(1961) where: "... After Otto is forced to listen endlessly to the song "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini" during interrogation, he cracks and signs a confession that he is an American spy."
That kind of torture?
Posted by: magpie || 02/19/2020 14:52 Comments || Top||

#14  Well, at least she didn't have to pay tuition, unlike most people in her circumstances.
Snark O'The Day
Posted by: charger || 02/19/2020 17:19 Comments || Top||

#15  It could have been "The Color Purple".
Posted by: Crusader || 02/19/2020 18:56 Comments || Top||


Government
Pres. Trump commutes sentence of Rod Blagojevich and others
[Right Scoop] Trump has just announced that he commuted the sentence of Rod Blagojevich, who was convicted for trying to sell Obama’s Senate seat:

Trump says he served eight years in jail and had a long time to go, suggesting his sentence went too far. He added the prosecution was by Comey, Fitzpatrick, "the same group." Trump says that even though Blagojevich was on the Apprentice, he doesn’t know him that well.

Earlier today, Trump pardoned the former owner of the San Francisco 49ers:
President Donald Trump on Tuesday pardoned Edward DeBartolo Jr., the former San Francisco 49ers owner convicted in a gambling fraud scandal who built one of the most successful NFL teams in the game’s history.

DeBartolo, who owned the San Francisco 49ers during their 1980s-1990s dynasty, was involved in one of the biggest owners’ scandals in the sport’s history. In 1998, he pleaded guilty to failing to report a felony when he paid $400,000 to former Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards in exchange for a riverboat gambling license.

The White House announced the surprise decision to reporters on Tuesday, with NFL greats Jerry Rice, Jim Brown, Ronnie Lott and Charles Haley in attendance.

“You know what, we all make mistakes and today the president cleared that mistake from him,” said Haley, an NFL Hall of Fame defensive end who played on two of DeBartolo’s Super Bowl winning teams.

Trump has no fear. Most presidents save their pardons until it won’t have a negative impact on them electorally speaking.
Posted by: Besoeker || 02/19/2020 02:05 || Comments || Link || [10 views] Top|| File under:

#1  No complaints from the Donks about this. Wait until he commutes or pardons some Trunks and see how the rules change.
Posted by: gorb || 02/19/2020 8:55 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
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Two weeks of WOT
Wed 2020-02-19
  Ashraf Ghani declared winner of Afghan presidential poll, Abdullah rejects results
Tue 2020-02-18
  LNA claims to destroy Turkish arms ship in Tripoli harbor.
Mon 2020-02-17
  24 Killed In Brutal Terror Attack On Burkina Faso Church; Local Pastor Targeted
Sun 2020-02-16
  Switzerland Thwarts Major Islamic State Terror Attack
Sat 2020-02-15
  Six Cartel Kidnappers Busted with Mexican Border City Victim in Trunk
Fri 2020-02-14
  US navy ship seizes 150 Iranian-manufactured anti-tank guided missiles after boarding a vessel in the Arabian Sea
Thu 2020-02-13
  Hafiz Saeed sentenced to five-and-a-half years in prison for terror financing
Wed 2020-02-12
  Sudan will hand over Omar al-Bashir to the International Criminal Court
Tue 2020-02-11
  Russians bomb a joint Turkish & Jihadi column
Mon 2020-02-10
  Ehsanullah Ehsan sends greetings from Turkey, thumbs nose
Sun 2020-02-09
  Multiple US troops killed during shootout in eastern Afghanistan
Sat 2020-02-08
  Khalid Haqqani and Qari Saifullah banged in Kabul
Fri 2020-02-07
  Syria says its troops enter the strategic city of Saraqib in Idlib and begins ‘combing’ its neighborhoods
Thu 2020-02-06
  Hazim Al-Halafi, a senior commander of Saraya Al-Salam dead
Wed 2020-02-05
  Trump acquitted by Senate on articles of impeachment for abuse of power


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