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Re: Political Randomness

Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2018 9:39 am
by Zarathud
The puppet didn't testify against Harmon.

Bad jokes are one thing. Harming other people is different.

Re: Political Randomness

Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2018 9:46 am
by hepcat
Zarathud wrote: Thu Jul 26, 2018 9:39 am The puppet didn't testify against Harmon.
Unfortunately, it did testify in your trial.

Re: Political Randomness

Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2018 10:44 am
by Zarathud
If the Muppet Does Not Fit, You Must Acquit.

Re: Political Randomness

Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2018 11:54 am
by hepcat
:lol:

Re: Political Randomness

Posted: Fri Jul 27, 2018 9:56 am
by Defiant

Re: Political Randomness

Posted: Fri Jul 27, 2018 10:38 am
by hepcat
I started to write a rebuttal, but after thinking about it a bit more, I have to grudgingly agree with the writer of that piece. Cohen has already done this bit to death in previous times...and those times weren't nearly as explosive and dangerous as they are now.

Still, I'll watch and I'll laugh. But I'll be wearing a hazmat suit while doing so because of all the toxicity that will inevitably arise.

addendum: I did chuckle at a write up I found elsewhere of Ted Koppel's unaired interview, as well as Koppel's excellent way of handling it after the fact.
Koppel says the pitch for the show was to have "ordinary folk interviewing the expert" — with Baron Cohen apparently posing as the former. But immediately the man began to press Koppel to admit that the Trump inaugural crowd was the biggest ever.

"When I disagreed, he showed me a photograph on his laptop of a huge inaugural crowd and a man holding a digital clock on a pole," says Koppel. "The clock said 11 p.m. My interviewer pointed out that if the crowd was that huge at 11, hours after the actual inauguration, it had to have been the biggest ever."

Koppel then pointed out the obvious problem with that claim: If it was 11 p.m., why was it still broad daylight? That's when the conversation took an absurd turn.

"He said maybe it was an eclipse. And I said if it were an eclipse, it would have been dark," notes Koppel. "And he said maybe it was an eclipse of the moon and the sun eclipsed the moon. I said, 'Wait a second. The sun is many millions of miles away from the moon.' At that point, I realized something was really wrong. And that's when I said, 'Guys, I don't want to be rude; you're guests in my home. But we're done. Break down and time to leave.'"

At no point did Koppel sign a release. And he has not heard from "Julia Harris" or anyone else connected with the fake program since the interview. Koppel has worked as a correspondent for CBS News, which is part of CBS Corp., which also owns Showtime. But he has not heard from anyone at CBS or Showtime since Matt Drudge reported July 9 that he was among those "finked" by Baron Cohen. (Koppel initially told THR he was not aware of an encounter with Baron Cohen.)

The veteran newsman has taken the episode in stride. "Everybody loves seeing well-known people get duped," he says. "I relish it too, when it's done well."

Re: Political Randomness

Posted: Fri Jul 27, 2018 1:29 pm
by Defiant
"When I disagreed, he showed me a photograph on his laptop of a huge inaugural crowd and a man holding a digital clock on a pole," says Koppel. "The clock said 11 p.m. My interviewer pointed out that if the crowd was that huge at 11, hours after the actual inauguration, it had to have been the biggest ever."
Those were actually the crowd that showed up to Obama's second inaugural. You have to admit, if that crowd was that huge four years after the actual inauguration, it had to have been the biggest evar.

Re: Political Randomness

Posted: Fri Jul 27, 2018 11:16 pm
by AWS260
Modern parenting:
I am consistently jolted back to reality, and not just by evidence on the internet, like a video that surfaced of two white parents teaching children to be “patriotic” by vandalizing a mosque. My reminders come in the form of my daughter’s answers to “How was your school today?” One recent afternoon she reported that two girls she considered friends could no longer play with her. The reason: She’s brown.

My daughter, who’s 8 now, has been called “the maid” by her white classmates. Even more devastating, in some ways, is when she absorbs the attitudes the other kids seem to have learned from their parents. The other day, she asked me why “Mexicans are so dangerous.” I had to calm the tremor in my voice before I could correct her.

***

In an ideal world, I would have waited until my daughter no longer believed in Santa Claus before I had to have “the talk” with her. “The talk” is a conversation that black people have when they inform their children that there are people in our society who would rather see us die than thrive because we are a different color.

But raising a brown girl in a red state means I’m not living in an ideal world. It means being vigilant against the psychological damage of having my daughter internalize the feelings of inferiority that can occur when her peers imply she is less than them. It means I always have to be ready with a response.

I have to do all of this while working to ensure that my daughter knows she’s not inferior to anyone, that she doesn’t become hateful and that she never treats anyone differently based on anything other than character. I try daily to paint a picture for her of the people and attitudes that exist outside her school, and outside our red state. But right now, this is the place she calls home.

Re: Political Randomness

Posted: Sat Jul 28, 2018 11:13 pm
by Rip

Re: Political Randomness

Posted: Sun Jul 29, 2018 12:09 am
by Defiant
‘They Spit When I Walked in the Street’: The ‘New Anti-Semitism’ in France

Nearly 40 percent of violent acts classified as racially or religiously motivated were committed against Jews in 2017, though Jews make up less than 1 percent of France’s population. Anti-Semitic acts increased by 20 percent from 2016, a rise the Interior Ministry called “preoccupying.”

Re: Political Randomness

Posted: Sun Jul 29, 2018 12:36 am
by Daehawk
Mostly by muslims it says. Great way to treat a nation that takes you in.

Re: Political Randomness

Posted: Sun Jul 29, 2018 5:02 pm
by Holman
Rip wrote: Sat Jul 28, 2018 11:13 pm Time to head to Puerto Rico soon?

https://nypost.com/2018/07/27/cryptocur ... ve-bannon/
John Oliver on cryptocurrency. Go to 18:40 for the wonderful discussion of Brock Pierce.

Re: Political Randomness

Posted: Sun Jul 29, 2018 5:34 pm
by Alefroth
Daehawk wrote: Sun Jul 29, 2018 12:36 am Mostly by muslims it says. Great way to treat a nation that takes you in.
Too bad we can't just burn them all, amirite?

Re: Political Randomness

Posted: Sun Jul 29, 2018 5:42 pm
by Daehawk
Just what the article says. Up to you to belittle me over it.

Re: Political Randomness

Posted: Sun Jul 29, 2018 6:04 pm
by Rip
I thought he was doing an imitation of a French Muslim, talking about the jews?!?

If they are spitting on them today they will likely be looking to burn them next.

Re: Political Randomness

Posted: Sun Jul 29, 2018 6:50 pm
by Holman
Oooh, let's make sure a few represent the whole group!

That's how this works, right?

Otherwise the camps are way too expensive.

Re: Political Randomness

Posted: Sun Jul 29, 2018 6:55 pm
by em2nought
Rip wrote: Sun Jul 29, 2018 6:04 pm I thought he was doing an imitation of a French Muslim, talking about the jews?!?

If they are spitting on them today they will likely be looking to burn them next.
Only 500,000 left to drive out, they'll have to move on to Catholics next. Where does a Catholic flee to? Italy? :think:

Re: Political Randomness

Posted: Sun Jul 29, 2018 7:09 pm
by Rip
Holman wrote: Sun Jul 29, 2018 6:50 pm Oooh, let's make sure a few represent the whole group!

That's how this works, right?

Otherwise the camps are way too expensive.
Works for the jews why not everyone else?

Re: Political Randomness

Posted: Sun Jul 29, 2018 9:07 pm
by hepcat
I’m not even sure you know what you’re trying to say there.

Re: Political Randomness

Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2018 3:14 am
by Alefroth
Daehawk wrote: Sun Jul 29, 2018 5:42 pm Just what the article says. Up to you to belittle me over it.
The article didn't say all Muslims should be burned. You however, have. If reminding you is belittling, so be it.

Re: Political Randomness

Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2018 4:19 am
by Daehawk
Alefroth wrote: Mon Jul 30, 2018 3:14 am
Daehawk wrote: Sun Jul 29, 2018 5:42 pm Just what the article says. Up to you to belittle me over it.
The article didn't say all Muslims should be burned. You however, have. If reminding you is belittling, so be it.
Nope. I stated what was in the article. Nowhere did I or the article state all. You made that word up in your mind so you could snipe at me in typical fashion. You see a post of mine and you get triggered. Admit that at least and be that honest about your rude postings.

Re: Political Randomness

Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2018 7:29 am
by hepcat
I didn’t read Daehawk’s reply as damning all Muslims. He was clearly referring to those mentioned in the article.

Re: Political Randomness

Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2018 11:26 am
by Isgrimnur
Forget it, Jerry, you're out of your element!
Last week, Jones said that his players will be on the sideline and standing for the anthem, ignoring both the fact that the NFL’s Anthem Policy 2.0 (which currently has been tabled) permits players to stay in the locker room and the fact that the NFL and NFL Players Association may negotiate an Anthem Policy 3.0 that preserves in some way the players’ right to protest during the anthem.

Jones had been scheduled to conduct a round of interviews on Sunday evening with Dallas-area media outlets, and those outlets were informed that there could be no questions about the anthem policy. FOX 4 canceled its interview given the limitation on the questioning.

Via Hill, Mike Doocy of FOX 4 explained that he made the decision to kill the interview after being told at the last minute he couldn’t ask any questions about the anthem policy. While it would have been better for Doocy to have been allowed to ask the questions with Jones simply declining to answer, it’s hard to pass on a chance to sit down with Jones, even with restrictions.
...
The league has now slammed the door on any anthem comments from Jones. It remains to be seen whether he’ll be punished for the things he already has said. Given that this would simply give the primary resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue another reason to attack the NFL, the league may choose not to pick Jerry’s deep pockets over this one — unless he defies the direct order to quit talking about the anthem policy.

Re: Political Randomness

Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2018 12:02 pm
by Alefroth
Daehawk wrote: Mon Jul 30, 2018 4:19 am
Alefroth wrote: Mon Jul 30, 2018 3:14 am
Daehawk wrote: Sun Jul 29, 2018 5:42 pm Just what the article says. Up to you to belittle me over it.
The article didn't say all Muslims should be burned. You however, have. If reminding you is belittling, so be it.
Nope. I stated what was in the article. Nowhere did I or the article state all. You made that word up in your mind so you could snipe at me in typical fashion. You see a post of mine and you get triggered. Admit that at least and be that honest about your rude postings.
You know what I'm referring to.

Re: Political Randomness

Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2018 1:00 pm
by gilraen
hepcat wrote: Mon Jul 30, 2018 7:29 am I didn’t read Daehawk’s reply as damning all Muslims. He was clearly referring to those mentioned in the article.
Agreed. I read his replies a couple of times, and he definitely didn't imply any of that.

Plus, it's not exactly a secret that France has a huge problems with their Muslim population. Their citizenship laws make it hard for even descendants of immigrants to obtain citizenship, so you have large marginalized swaths of population that never feel fully "French", never learn the language, are largely unemployed, and live in immigrant ghettos that make the South Side of Chicago look like a safe neighborhood. Wherever there is poverty, there is crime - and when you throw centuries-old religious hatred into the mix, you get hate crimes against Jews (yes, primarily by Muslims).

Re: Political Randomness

Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2018 2:33 pm
by Alefroth
gilraen wrote: Mon Jul 30, 2018 1:00 pm
hepcat wrote: Mon Jul 30, 2018 7:29 am I didn’t read Daehawk’s reply as damning all Muslims. He was clearly referring to those mentioned in the article.
Agreed. I read his replies a couple of times, and he definitely didn't imply any of that.
I read any comment Daehawk makes on Muslims through this lens.

Re: Political Randomness

Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2018 3:52 pm
by hepcat
And I'm trying to view his posts without the need for corrective eye wear. I believe he's been making a discernible effort to avoid sweeping generalizations over race or religion over the last few years. I'm not going to attack him when he isn't explicitly saying something reprehensible.

Re: Political Randomness

Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2018 3:55 pm
by hepcat
In other news:

I can now safely say that my faith in humanity and politics in general has been restored after reading the following headline and the accompanying news article:

'Bigfoot erotica' takes center stage in Virginia congressional race

But then THIS also appears?



I feel like this is all a gift.

A magnificent, healing gift...

:wub:

Re: Political Randomness

Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2018 4:02 pm
by Isgrimnur
Should someone with the last name Cockburn really be kink-shaming?

Re: Political Randomness

Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2018 4:03 pm
by LawBeefaroni
hepcat wrote: Mon Jul 30, 2018 3:55 pm In other news:

I can now safely say that my faith in humanity and politics in general has been restored after reading the following headline and the accompanying news article:

'Bigfoot erotica' takes center stage in Virginia congressional race

But then THIS also appears?



I feel like this is all a gift.

A magnificent, healing gift...

:wub:








B.F.E. is just furry porn for the Cracker Barrel set.

Re: Political Randomness

Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2018 4:04 pm
by hepcat
Isgrimnur wrote: Mon Jul 30, 2018 4:02 pm Should someone with the last name Cockburn really be kink-shaming?
FIrst off, nice callback. Secondly, you found yet another gift to mankind in the story.

Seriously, I feel like just packing it up and calling it a week. It doesn't get any better than this.

Re: Political Randomness

Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2018 5:18 pm
by Isgrimnur
WaPo
Facebook has shut down a sophisticated disinformation operation on its platform that engaged in divisive messaging ahead of the U.S. midterm elections, the company said Tuesday, an escalation of what a top executive described as an “arms race” to manipulate the public using its tools.

Facebook said it discovered 32 false pages and profiles that operated from March 2017 until this May, which lured 290,000 people with ads, events and regular posts on topics such as race, mindfulness and feminism — and sought to stir opposition to President Trump. The company deleted the profiles and notified law enforcement and lawmakers of the activity, as well the real Facebook users who were swept up in the operation.

The pages had links to the Internet Research Agency (IRA), the Kremlin-backed organization of Russian operatives that flooded Facebook with disinformation around the 2016 election, Facebook said. Yet the operators of the newly banned pages, who Facebook said it was not in a position to identify, were more clever about covering their tracks. Lawmakers and experts attributed the activity to Russia, and Facebook itself found that some of the pages had connections to IRA.
...
The deceptive accounts have also modified their tactics to mask their identities. They used third parties to buy ads on their behalf and didn’t use Russian Internet protocol addresses or pay with rubles, according to Facebook. And they relied heavily on promoting events, which Facebook doesn’t scrutinize as closely as ads on political or social issues. One such event was organized to counterprotest a far-right rally planned in Washington this month.
...
The new revelations could worsen Facebook's political headaches in Washington, where the Senate Intelligence Committee is set to hold a hearing Wednesday on efforts to spread political discord on social media ahead of the 2018 midterms. In September, the congressional panel aims to hold another hearing with representatives from Facebook, Google and Twitter, aides have said.

Re: Political Randomness

Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2018 9:58 pm
by Defiant

Re: Political Randomness

Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2018 2:09 am
by GungHo
Isgrimnur wrote: Mon Jul 30, 2018 11:26 am Forget it, Jerry, you're out of your element!
Last week, Jones said that his players will be on the sideline and standing for the anthem, ignoring both the fact that the NFL’s Anthem Policy 2.0 (which currently has been tabled) permits players to stay in the locker room and the fact that the NFL and NFL Players Association may negotiate an Anthem Policy 3.0 that preserves in some way the players’ right to protest during the anthem.

Jones had been scheduled to conduct a round of interviews on Sunday evening with Dallas-area media outlets, and those outlets were informed that there could be no questions about the anthem policy. FOX 4 canceled its interview given the limitation on the questioning.

Via Hill, Mike Doocy of FOX 4 explained that he made the decision to kill the interview after being told at the last minute he couldn’t ask any questions about the anthem policy. While it would have been better for Doocy to have been allowed to ask the questions with Jones simply declining to answer, it’s hard to pass on a chance to sit down with Jones, even with restrictions.
...
The league has now slammed the door on any anthem comments from Jones. It remains to be seen whether he’ll be punished for the things he already has said. Given that this would simply give the primary resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue another reason to attack the NFL, the league may choose not to pick Jerry’s deep pockets over this one — unless he defies the direct order to quit talking about the anthem policy.
Proud to say that me and my crew took knees (and definitely removed our hats, placing them squarely over our hearts) as we belted out The National Anthem before our ICC game featuring a team from Spain in FC Barcelona and one from Italy in AS Roma at AT&T Stadium last night. Oddly enough nether the Italian nor Spanish national anthems were played, though to be fair each teams song was played in its entirety.

I am certain our brazen acts of social courage will die faster than the Mexican wave. Was a got game tho! So there's that.

Re: Political Randomness

Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2018 2:27 am
by GungHo
Also had an actual meaningful post to make as well :

It deals with #NeverTrumpers such as myself who minus the slew of conservative justices being named to posts throughout the country at an apparently high rate, see absolutely nothing of the conservative movement I've been a part of for 20+ years in this current administration. We've been wringing our hands about what to do about trump since..well 2015 I'd say and we obviously haven't figured it out yet. At least on a national scale; speaking for me personally, I'm all in on the Dems for at least the next 3 election cycles. Straight ticket. But there is obviously a large subsection of the #NeverTrump movement that is highly conflicted.

There's a good article on Politico today by Bill Scher about why actually becoming a Democrat is a #NeverTrumpers best option (despite having nothing but bad options)

Re: Political Randomness

Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2018 4:23 am
by tjg_marantz
Thanks for that piece, refreshing. Ultimately I doubt enough principled conservatives will do this to matter but it's not a silly suggestion.

Re: Political Randomness

Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2018 6:17 am
by malchior
Agree - a good piece. Piling into the D party is practical but that tent has people very far away from them politically. A reprise of the Whig/Republican transition would likely be "better" since it'd be a true reset of conservatism but it is hard to imagine that happening.

Re: Political Randomness

Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2018 10:16 am
by Kraken
tjg_marantz wrote: Thu Aug 02, 2018 4:23 am Thanks for that piece, refreshing. Ultimately I doubt enough principled conservatives will do this to matter but it's not a silly suggestion.
One fantasizes about a progressive migration into the GOP as conservative refugees dilute the D Party. Make Republicans Sane Again! :P

Re: Political Randomness

Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2018 10:19 am
by El Guapo
There's no reason why any Republicans or NeverTrumpers or what have you have to become Democrats. What is *essential* is just voting Democratic in 2018. The house is on fire now, and putting the opposition party (the democrats) in power in at least one part of government is the only reliable way to start to put it out. Once the emergency has passed, then is the time to figure out whether the GOP can be saved, whether to form a new party, etc.

Re: Political Randomness

Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2018 11:23 am
by LordMortis
El Guapo wrote: Thu Aug 02, 2018 10:19 am There's no reason why any Republicans or NeverTrumpers or what have you have to become Democrats. What is *essential* is just voting Democratic in 2018. The house is on fire now, and putting the opposition party (the democrats) in power in at least one part of government is the only reliable way to start to put it out. Once the emergency has passed, then is the time to figure out whether the GOP can be saved, whether to form a new party, etc.
Agreed. The Op Ed is interesting and I came to similar conclusion a while back. But I never became a democrat. In Bernie terms, I just caucus with ally'all in hopes and efforts that something better comes along. In the meantime, I'm doing everything I can to corrupt you from within. :ninja: (which isn't entirely true either, otherwise I'd vote for El-Sayed for governor in the primaries next week whom I believe would be our best choice for governor in the field, though the (R)s will use the power of motivated bigotry to crush him in the general. :( )