🐱 Interesting clickbait, op-eds, fluff pieces and other smaller stories

http://www.cnbc.com/2015/08/24/caitlyn-jenner-halloween-costume-sparks-social-media-outrage-.html

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/ne...een-costume-labeled-817515?utm_source=twitter

It's nowhere near October, but one ensemble is already on track to be named the most controversial Halloween costume of 2015.

Social media users were out in full force on Monday criticizing several Halloween retailers for offering a Caitlyn Jenner costume reminiscent of the former-athlete's Vanity Fair cover earlier this year.

While Jenner's supporters condemned the costume as "transphobic" and "disgusting" on Twitter, Spirit Halloween, a retailer that carries the costume, defended the getup.

"At Spirit Halloween, we create a wide range of costumes that are often based upon celebrities, public figures, heroes and superheroes," said Lisa Barr, senior director of marking at Spirit Halloween. "We feel that Caitlyn Jenner is all of the above and that she should be celebrated. The Caitlyn Jenner costume reflects just that."

 

[glass_houses]

Thank for letting me know your faith

A US federal court ruled that the Marines Corps can't resist entry to Sikhs with a beard and a turban. The order comes as a relief to three Sikh recruits who can now join the elite fighting force for basic training.

Hang on a sec; aren't Sikhs pacifist?

 

[Super-Chevy454]

Dmitry Medvedev tweeted some predictions for 2023 and there was some interesting replies.

https://twitter.com/MedvedevRussiaE/status/1607487338401206273

 

[NoReturn]

Hang on a sec; aren't Sikhs pacifist?

Kinda. There's an "obligation to defend"/noblesse oblige.
So if they wanted to join the military as part of a defense force that would be ok.

 

[AnOminous]

Hang on a sec; aren't Sikhs pacifist?

As with most religious communities, in theory they are but in practice they will fuck your shit up if you make them.

 

[PS1gamenwatch]

The death toll from Christmas Day floods in the Philippines has risen to 13. The floods have caused the evacuation of nearly 46,000 people from their homes according to the authorities. The search is still on for 23 people.

 

[Super-Chevy454]

A bail group shuts down after getting sued for releasing a criminal who did an attempted murder.

Bail group shuts down after being sued for helping release serial offender who shot waiter

A California bail group backed by A-list celebrities has shut down after being sued for releasing a serial criminal who tried to murder a waiter less than a week later in Las Vegas.

nypost.com

A California bail reform group backed by A-list celebrities has shut down its operation in Las Vegas after being sued for releasing a serial criminal who less than a week later tried to murder a waiter there.

The Bail Project — whose supporters include Danny Glover, John Legend and Richard Branson — said it began restructuring its Sin City office in early December, 8 NewsNow reported.

The move came after The Bail Project posted a $3,000 bond for burglary suspect Rashawn Gaston-Anderson in December 2021.

Six days later, Gaston-Anderson shot Chengyan Wang 11 times in the Chinatown section of Las Vegas, 8 NewsNow reported.

In a plea deal, the 24-year-old was convicted of attempted robbery and mayhem, both with deadly weapon enhancements, according to News 3 Las Vegas.

Gaston-Anderson was sentenced in December to seven to 18 years behind bars for the shooting.

 

[AnOminous]

Rashawn

What kind of shit parents name their kids something that basically is "Crimey McCrimeFace?" Fucking groids.

 

[Skylab TIger]

9th Circuit Court of Appeals ( U.S. Federal Court for 9th circuit) rules expulsion of students for allegedly racist PRIVATE account social media posts somehow NOT violations of !st Amendment of U.S. or California.

As if anyone around here needed a reason to practice @Null 's CyberSecurity 101 this case while perhaps more specific to students and targeted harassment and bullying the following case is presented.

https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2022/12/27/20-16540.pdf

Apologies if I didn't post in the right forum.

 

[Null]

University is for fags anyways, learn a trade

 

[Random Internet Person]

Can you say "True believer"?

BREAKING: Zelensky announces he is planning to join World Economic Forum in Davos, to sign new postwar loans with BlackRock

“Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Larry Fink agreed to focus in the near term on coordinating the efforts of all potential investors and participants in the reconstruction of our country, channelling investment into the most relevant and impactful sectors of the Ukrainian economy,” the post said.

thepostmillennial.com

BREAKING: Zelensky announces he is planning to join World Economic Fo…

archived 28 Dec 2022 17:44:12 UTC

archive.vn

On Wednesday it was revealed that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s government is prepping to participate in January’s World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, and that the Ukrainian leader is in talks with BlackRock CEO Larry Fink regarding rebuilding efforts following the war with Russia.
According to Bloomberg, Zelensky said in an evening address to the nation, "Specialists of this company are already helping Ukraine to structure the fund for the reconstruction of our state."


Zelensky reportedly had a video call with Fink in September. He did not reveal whether he would be attending the WEF in person or virtually.
According to a Wednesday post on the Ukrainian President’s official website, Zelensky said, "In accordance with the preliminary agreements struck earlier this year between the Head of State and Larry Fink, the BlackRock team has been working for several months on a project to advise the Ukrainian government on how to structure the country’s reconstruction funds."


"Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Larry Fink agreed to focus in the near term on coordinating the efforts of all potential investors and participants in the reconstruction of our country, channeling investment into the most relevant and impactful sectors of the Ukrainian economy," the post added.
"During the conversation, it was emphasized that certain BlackRock leaders plan to visit Ukraine in the new year," the post continued. "The President thanked Larry Fink for the work of the professional team that BlackRock has allocated to advise on structuring the reconstruction projects."

 

[Mepsi Pax]

If there's a minority group we need in our military it's fucking Sikhs. Let 'em wear whatever the fuck they want.

lol c'mon dude

THESE heckin' smelly cousin-fucking aliens are BASED unlike those other dirty shit eating towelheads, MORE mystery ethnics please

A sect of South Asian inbreds that is primarily defined by NOT being muslims... what a prize

It'd be alright if they were going to be cannon fodder I guess (instead they'll carve out yet another "ethnic" territory from some specialty MOS)

 

[murph]

67-Year-Old Ugandan Man Who Has 102 Children And 568 Grandchildren Says This Is Why He's Done Having Kids​

A 67-year-old Ugandan father of 102 children has finally decided that he’s done having kids. According to the Daily Mail, Musa Hasahya is married to 12 women, and they collectively have 568 grandchildren.

“I married one woman after another. How can a man be satisfied with one woman,” Hasahya said, according to The Sun. In Uganda, polygamy is legal.

The farmer wants to ensure he can provide enough food for everyone. So he’s requested that his wives use some form of birth control to help because the costs of caring for his humongous family are higher than in the past.

“My income has become lower and lower over the years due to the rising cost of living, and my family has become bigger and bigger,” he said, the Daily Mail reports.

Along with his wives, around a third of Hasahya’s children, aged between 6 and 51, live on his farm with him. All the wives stay in one house so he can keep an eye on them, so they don’t leave him for another man.

His youngest wife, Zulaika, the mother of 11 of his 102 children, is on board with his decision. “I’m not having any more children. I’ve seen the bad financial situation and am now taking the birth control pill,” she said. Hopefully, the farmer doesn’t plant any more seeds."

Article | Archive

 

[Freshly Baked Socks]

A woman is caught on camera (and by police), trying to loot a body (in Anchorage, AK).

Man found dead at Benson Boulevard bus stop

An adult man was found dead near the intersection of Benson Boulevard and A streets on Thursday afternoon.

www.alaskasnewssource.com

 

[Random Internet Person]

Swedish teacher in a no go zone is treated like shit.

Teacher: Students Call Me 'Dirty' Because I Am White and Christian

A teacher in a Swedish school located in a no-go suburb has claimed that students call her "dirty" for being white and Christian.

www.breitbart.com

Teacher: Students Call Me 'Dirty' Because I Am White and Christian

archived 29 Dec 2022 23:36:50 UTC

archive.ph

 

[Jonah Hill poster]

I figured this seemed interesting, but I didn’t know they managed to put 25 moments on here:

Joe Biden’s 25 Worst Moments of 2022

Biden notched key legislative victories with a 50-50 margin in the Senate, but he also demonstrated his ignorance on key issues facing the country.

www.breitbart.com

For the sake of time (and length), here’s just the top five:

5. Joe Biden Greets Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman with Awkward Fist Bump​

In July, Biden greeted Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman with an awkward fist bump, in one of the most hypocritical moments of his entire presidency to date.

The president famously campaigned against the Saudis during his presidential campaign, vowing to treat them as a “pariah.”

But as gas prices skyrocketed, he traveled to Saudi Arabia to try to increase foreign oil production, even while insisting his visit was not about high gas prices savaging the United States.


Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman greets President Joe Biden with a fist bump after his arrival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on July 15, 2022. (Saudi Press Agency via AP)

​

4. Biden Repeatedly Stokes Fears of ‘Violent, Extremist’ MAGA Republicans, a ‘Threat’ to America​

In September, Biden unleashed a series of political attacks warning of the “violent extremist” MAGA Republicans that posed a threat to Democracy.

The president’s rhetoric was diametrically opposed to his claimed goal of restoring “the soul of the nation” as he instead called for the extinction of a political movement that threatened his party.

“[T]here is no question that the Republican party today is dominated, driven, and intimidated by Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans, and that is a threat to this country,” he said, during a speech in Philadelphia’s Independence Hall.

President Joe Biden delivers a primetime address denouncing “MAGA” Republicans outside of Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on September 1, 2022. (Jim WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)

The president was bathed in red light for his angry remarks, earning him mockery for his “Dark Brandon” moment in which he lied about his political opponents.

“MAGA forces are determined to take this country backwards,” he added. “Backwards to an America where there is no right to choose. No right to privacy. No right to contraception. No right to marry who you love. They promote authoritarian leaders and they fan the flames of political violence.”

3. Biden Falsely Claims Twice that his Late Son Beau Died in Iraq​

“I say this as a father of a man and won the Bronze Star, the conspicuous service medal, and lost his life in Iraq,” Biden said in October during a speech in Colorado.

“I’m thinking about Iraq because that’s where my son died,” he said during a later speech in November.

Biden’s son Beau served in Iraq, but he died years later of brain cancer at Walter Reed Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, in 2015 – not while serving his tour of duty.

Biden never apologized for making the false claims.

2. Where’s Jackie?​

In September, President Joe Biden mistakenly gave a shoutout to a Republican congresswoman who died in August.

“Jackie are you here? Where’s Jackie?” Biden asked during his speech.

“I didn’t think she was going to be here,” he added.

Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-IN) died in a tragic car accident in August.

The White House did not publicly admit Biden’s horrific gaffe, saying only that the Congresswoman was “top of mind” while the president spoke.

1. Joe Biden Tips Over on His Bike While on Vacation​

In June, Biden tried to demonstrate his physical fitness by riding a bicycle in front of reporters, but when he stopped to talk he promptly fell over in front of the media, sparking widespread alarm.

“I’m good, I’m good,” he protested as Secret Service agents rushed to help the leader of the free world off of the pavement and back on his bike.

 

[Rainbow Roulette]

kark.com
archive.ph

Arkansas Middle School gifts all students $10 for Christmas​

by: Donald Britton
Posted: Dec 21, 2022 / 11:22 AM CST
Updated: Dec 21, 2022 / 11:22 AM CST

TEXARKANA, Ark. (KTAL/KMSS) – Students at Arkansas Middle School received a special gift on their last school day before Christmas break.

The school gifted all their students $10 for Christmas Tuesday afternoon.

For the last two weeks, the school worked to raise more than $10,000 to split between over 900 students.

The principal said he wanted to ensure that all the students received something for Christmas.

“It’s exciting to know that you can put a smile on the kid’s face, it’s going to be the last time that we’ll see them in 2022,” said Middle School Principal Kendrick Smith. “Hopefully, this will be a culture-changing event for our campus, let everybody know that in a short two-week period of time we were able to raise a goal of this lofty. That lets us know that if we put our minds to it, there is nothing that we can’t accomplish together.”

Any money left over will go toward the students in 2023.

 

[Super-Chevy454]

Looks like the Bay Area might get another storm coming ahead.

Forecasters warn of 'brutal,' potentially deadly storm system arriving Wednesday

After experiencing an atmospheric river that soaked Northern California New Year's weekend, Bay Area residents prepared for another, even more devastating storm system set to arrive Wednesday.

www.cbsnews.com

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF/AP) — After experiencing an atmospheric river that soaked Northern California New Year's weekend, Bay Area residents prepared for another, even stronger storm system set to arrive Wednesday that weather forecasters warn could have catastrophic impacts.

A new weather system was predicted by afternoon or evening, but the National Weather Service (NWS) said the rain would be modest until the arrival late Tuesday of another strong atmospheric river delivering a long plume of Pacific Ocean moisture.

The Bay Area office of the National Weather Service did not mince words about the approaching atmospheric river, warning it could have catastrophic impacts across the region.

"To put it simply, this will likely be one of the most impactful systems on a widespread scale that this meteorologist has seen in a long while," the statement read. "The impacts will include widespread flooding, roads washing out, hillside collapsing, trees down (potentially full groves), widespread power outages, immediate disruption to commerce, and the worst of all, likely loss of human life. This is truly a brutal system that we are looking at and needs to be taken seriously."

 

[George Lucas]

https://slate.com/culture/2013/06/monopoly-auction-rule-official-yes-smart-no.html

OMG YOU’RE PLAYING THE GAME WROOOOOONG.

This article is ancient but it’s absolutely hilarious reading a grown man’s complaints about how people play a children’s game.

An old blog post about an “unknown” Monopoly rule has been making its way around the Web the past few days, starting with a piece on BuzzFeed, then spreading to MSN, Yahoo, HuffPo, and a slew of other places. The gist is simple: When landing on a property, you’re allowed to auction it off, with the highest bidder paying the bank, rather than just purchasing it yourself.

Even putting aside the fact that all respectable Monopoly players already know this rule, the blog post is deeply annoying to enthusiasts of the Parker Brothers classic (those of us who, say, play in Monopoly tournaments). The BuzzFeed writer says that this rule “makes the game much more skillful,” but that’s only true if you pride yourself in giving opponents easy monopolies with which to annihilate you. Diehard Monopoly fans know this rule already, but they never use it, because it’s an absolutely putrid strategy. The blog post that started this and the many articles that have appeared in its wake are roughly akin to asking, “Did you know you’re allowed to shoot 3-pointers underhand in basketball?!?” Of course you can. But no sane person would.

The strategy is foolish because every property is actually severely undervalued—by landing on one, you have the opportunity to purchase it at a price far below market value. You can read a good rundown of the data online, which shows that the value of most properties with only a house or two is easily recouped within 10 or so turns around the board in a three- or four-player game. All of these articles seem to suggest you might get a property at a cheaper price by auctioning—but if that happens, you’re facing extremely unskilled Monopoly players. Usually what will happen is that you’ll sell a $200 property for, say, $450 and feel like a moron. Even if you can’t build on it, you can just mortgage it for half the price.

There’s a common misconception that you need a lot of money at the beginning of the game, and so many players fear spending it all on properties. Really, though, the important thing at the game’s onset is to simply grab up as much property as possible, Blake Carrington-style, and then use that to trade for monopolies or cash. If you’re at the point in the game where properties are still available, then it’s unlikely anyone else has anything serious to watch out for—so it’s OK to have a thin wallet, especially when there’s an instant $200 cash flow every time you pass Go.

People also seem to think you should “target” the orange monopoly, and consider the other properties auctionable. That’s fine and all if you’re Tony Wonder and can manipulate time and space, but most of us are at the whim of the dice when it comes to what monopolies we’ll be in position to acquire. You may wish you’d held on to that yellow one when the guy across from you has the other two and wants to trade.

But perhaps the main reason this “new” rule went viral is because it can supposedly speed up the game. Playing tennis left-handed will also result in a pretty quick match. And besides, a game of Monopoly among smart, experienced players usually takes between 60 and 90 minutes. Yes, you read that right. Games among “amateur” players often extend far longer for a variety of reasons:

People wait too long to trade monopolies.There’s a train of thought that once you give someone a monopoly, you’ve given them the game. But trading someone the last piece of their monopoly for cash or other valuable assets that could lead to your own monopoly is not such a bad move, especially if you leave your opponent without a lot of money to build up their new monopoly.

People wait too long to build up monopolies. Once you get a monopoly, you should usually build it up as quickly as possible with any spare cash, even mortgaging any unessential properties to increase your purchasing power. This is especially important if you can get to the coveted three-house level, where rent really skyrockets.

People don’t know the cost of a property or house. Solution: Memorize them. Houses are easy—$50 for the first row, $100 for the next, then $150 and $200.

People don’t know the distance of a roll and count out each space to move their token.Solution: The board is 10 spaces wide. If you roll an 8, just quickly move your piece where you are on the next side and subtract two spaces.

People wait to pay money. You don’t have to wait for the guy next to you to break his $500 into singles to pay his rent or purchase a property before you roll. He can do that while you’re taking your turn. (This is especially pertinent at the beginning of games, which should mostly consist of rapid-fire rolling and purchasing of properties.)

While auctioning is a bad strategy a huge majority of the time, there are, to be fair, a few rare occasions in which it’s smart. These are usually at the end of a game, when an expensive, unowned property is landed on and has little value to you or other players, who already own monopolies and have their hands full trying to fund those. (One of the biggest misconceptions in Monopoly is that you want to acquire lots of monopolies. You really only need—and can afford to fund—one.)

So in those rare situations, sure, go ahead and auction if you must. But there’s no need to turn your living room into Christie’s, unless you really want to finish ASAP and don’t mind your little nephew humiliating you with the set of reds you just handed him.

 

[PS1gamenwatch]

Good luck

The Japanese government is taking a drastic leap in an attempt to reverse population decline in certain regions of the country. The government has now offered a package of $7500 (1 million yen) per child to families to move out of Tokyo.

 

[Jet Fuel Johnny]

This shit is great...

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2022/11/29/4th-infantry-division-accidentally-tear-gassed-its-own-soldiers-during-morale-event.html

Some 8,000 soldiers with the 4th Infantry Division were accidentally tear-gassed the day before Thanksgiving during a massive physical morale event in which soldiers scaled obstacles, went through trenches and ran up hills.

Division leadership overseeing the event at Fort Carson, Colorado, marked the boundaries of the course with tear gas, an unusual use of the chemical irritant given it can easily move with the wind.

The gas did shift with the wind on Nov. 23, settling on soldiers who were not told ahead of time they would be gassed. They did not have gas masks, a standard requirement for any time chemical irritants are deployed in training.

"The purpose of this event was to build unit cohesion. Leaders at echelon participated in this event with Soldiers," Dee McNutt, a Fort Carson spokesperson, told Military.com in a statement. "The limited use of CS [gas] was not intended to interfere with the formations but to deter participants from leaving the course."

Troops are often informed ahead of time about whether they may be exposed to tear gas as a safety precaution. Army guidance instructs that soldiers should not wear contact lenses, given the gas can get trapped between that and the eye, causing severe pain. Pregnant soldiers are also advised not to be exposed to tear gas due to possible health risks; there is some evidence that exposure to tear gas can increase the risk of a miscarriage.

The event was intended to honor the Battle of Dak To, a Vietnam engagement composed of elements from the 4th Infantry Division, in which 361 U.S. soldiers were killed. Fort Carson had two other similar events, one in November last year and one in May honoring the 4th Infantry Division's actions in World War II in Huertgen Forest and on Utah Beach.

"These events are meant to have aspects of the unknown, replicating historical combat events in previous battles," McNutt said.

OK, why is this so funny?

Well... the fucking whining and crying is absolutely hilarious.

The whole "Troops are informed ahead of time!" AND that they didn't have their masks is goddamn hilarious.

They're crying because they didn't take their masks AND nobody told them they'd get gassed.

Now, command is in the wrong for having the preggos out there, and MAYBE they're in the wrong if they didn't issue out the masks, but you know what? FUCKING SUCK IT UP!

Why didn't they have their masks? Is it no longer part of the uniform when on the field sites? Is it not part of the training uniform?

Personally, the videos and pictures and the whole "THEY CAN'T DO THAT!" and "WAAAAH!" makes me laugh my ass off.

It makes me want to CS gas their fucking barracks at 2AM.