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Courtesy commentor Omnes Omnibus. Because I’m tired. And not looking forward to this Friday’s doc-dump.
On the other hand:
Available here. Thanks again to Beth, who put it together, and remember all profits go to animal rescue.
Archives for 2014
Today’s Torture Update
"Does torture work?" as a question needs to be put in the bin with "Is slavery commercially feasible?" & "Can genocide help overpopulation?"
— Hend (@LibyaLiberty) December 10, 2014
Brennan: "unknowable" if we could have gotten the intel other ways. Study shows it IS knowable: CIA had info before torture. #ReadTheReport
— Sen Dianne Feinstein (@SenFeinstein) December 11, 2014
Brennan, ca. 2009 http://t.co/1aJUNlxSGp pic.twitter.com/TMF1cofU6n
— Dan Froomkin (@froomkin) December 11, 2014
100+ interview reports, oral and written testimony, CIA’s response and numerous CIA meetings all contributed to study. #ReadTheReport
— Sen Dianne Feinstein (@SenFeinstein) December 11, 2014
No time to read #TortureReport: this info graphic summarizes key findings & takes less a minute to read: http://t.co/vQ9n8ZcGDe
— Maher Arar (@ArarMaher) December 10, 2014
We broke the law. This Human Rights Day, call for a criminal investigation on US #torture. http://t.co/urur1X5KPO pic.twitter.com/3OFQA9Joun
— ACLU National (@ACLU) December 10, 2014
Those who carried out CIA torture are not "good people" with a bad job. Good people don't commit rape whether its their job or not.
— Murtaza Hussain (@MazMHussain) December 10, 2014
With Much Fanfare
It’s that time of year again, and first, a word from our benevolent artist:
Four years ago I volunteered to design the Pets of Balloon Juice calendar. And halfway through each of those four years I come to a point where I utter, “This is my last year. Let someone else take on all this work. Then, as I layout the photos, i recall the stories you shared about your pets and other animals in your life. I remember how they made me laugh, they made me cry and they gave me hope for humanity. Of all the projects I made over the course of the year – I get to work on some pretty awesome stuff – this is one that brings me abundant satisfaction and pride. I love being part of this community’s effort to make a better life for homeless animals in Tennessee. Thank you for putting up with missed deadlines and letting me have so much fun. Thanks, too, to John Cole for allowing some random stranger on the internet volunteer to make a calendar for his blog.
With that I am delighted to announce that the Pets of Balloon Juice 2015 calendar is officially for sale. I look forward to you all breaking last year’s record for funds raised for MARC as you buy calendars for your family, your friends, your coworkers and your mail carrier.
Commenter beth
So get your Pets of Balloon Juice 2015 Calendar for the same price as last year, $24.99, and support all those wonderful animals being helped by the Marion Animal Resource Connection.
And lets hear it for Beth!
Long-for-Twitter Read: One Folk, One Faith…
Herrenvolk Democracy & the American Right's Peculiar Definition of Tyranny
It's not big govt, it's who's running it:
https://t.co/vMeonlHRSW
— Billmon (@billmon1) December 10, 2014
20. To populist RW, liberals–like blacks, Hispanics, gays, Muslims, etc. etc.–aren't "white." Not part of the volk. Not "real Americans."
— Billmon (@billmon1) December 10, 2014
27. Defense of torture, domestic surveillance, support for cop brutality–these can all coexist with "herrenvolk libertarianism" but only..
— Billmon (@billmon1) December 10, 2014
29. Which means that for RW populism, politics is now essentially indistinguishable from racial panic–but with liberals as "enemy within."
— Billmon (@billmon1) December 10, 2014
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Supplementary reading: Thomas Edsall, NYTimes, “Have Democrats Failed the White Working Class?“
Long-for-Twitter Read: One Folk, One Faith…Post + Comments (49)
Thursday Evening Open Thread: World’s Tiniest Fiddle
(Warning: possibly traumatic “role reversal” images beginning ca. 1:00 mark)
Amazing how some big tough bro-country dudes can have such tender, woundable fee-fees. Per the Washington Post:
“Girl in a Country Song,” the breakout first single from duo Maddie & Tae, just hit No. 1 on the Mediabase and Billboard country airplay charts this week. It’s cause for a lot of folks to cheer: For Maddie Marlow and Tae Dye, enjoying a triumphant debut before either turns 20. For Big Machine president Scott Borchetta, who signed the unknown pair this year to his new imprint Dot Records. And for anyone sick of “bro country,” the massively dominant sub-genre that celebrates endless streams of ice cold beer, those rambling dirt roads to the old swimming hole and hot girls with long, tan legs dangling off of the back of truck tailgates…
But despite the critical acclaim, one group is definitely not laughing about the success of “Girl in a Country Song”: The alpha bros themselves.
It makes sense that the male artists referenced in “Girl in a Country Song” (Blake Shelton, Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Tyler Farr, Thomas Rhett, Cole Swindell, Florida Georgia Line, etc.) might not be thrilled to be the subject of mockery… When the song dropped, the bros were tellingly silent amid the waves of hype, if not downright annoyed. Asked about the song by the Chicago Tribune, Florida Georgia Line’s Brian Kelley claimed he didn’t know what the interviewer was talking about. When asked further, he got snippy. “All I’m gonna say about that is, I don’t know one girl who doesn’t want to be a girl in a country song,” Kelley said. “That’s all I’m gonna say to you. That’s it.”…
– Luke Bryan told ABC News the term was “aggravating and derogatory”: “Yeah, do I sing about a truck and a beer on one song, but then do I sing about a completely different subject matter. I mean, listen to the whole album and don’t judge me on one song.”
– Tyler Farr: “A lot of my friends sing the new stuff, what they call bro-country. I mean, whatever. I have no clue what it is and whoever invented that term, I’d like to smack him upside the head.”…
– Sam Hunt: “I don’t know if the phrase originally was meant to be derogatory but it’s turned into that. It’s sort of a snobby thing to say.”…
***********
Apart from (entirely failing at) feeling sorry for a bunch of young dudes with money, what’s on the agenda for the evening?
Thursday Evening Open Thread: World’s Tiniest FiddlePost + Comments (146)
Sir, Zee Germans Are On The Line
I’m just going to leave this one right here like so…
Germany’s top public prosecutor said an investigation into suspected tapping of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s mobile phone by U.S. spies had so far failed to find any concrete evidence.
Revelations by former National Security Agency employee Edward Snowden that Washington carried out large-scale electronic espionage in Germany provoked widespread outrage — particularly the allegation that the NSA had bugged Merkel’s phone.
Harald Range launched an official investigation in June, believing there was enough preliminary evidence to show unknown U.S. intelligence officers had tapped the phone, although there was not enough clarity on the issue to bring charges.
On Wednesday he said however, “the document presented in public as proof of an actual tapping of the mobile phone is not an authentic surveillance order by the NSA. It does not come from the NSA database.
“There is no proof at the moment which could lead to charges that Chancellor Merkel’s phone connection data was collected or her calls tapped.”
Oh.
How very interesting.
Now, who would benefit from a fake a surveillance order from the NSA on wiretapping Angela Merkel’s phone and how did Edward Snowden get a hold of it to release it?
I See No Potential Downside
Members of the Ohio House of Representatives have approved a local politician’s proposal to allow hunters to use silencers on their guns.
In a 76-15 vote Wednesday, house members voted in favor of House Bill 234. The legislation will now move to the Senate for further consideration.
Silencers, or suppressors, are used to muffle or diminish the sound of a firearm. While they’re illegal for hunting in the state, suppressors are legal for Ohio residents to own.
Their popularity has skyrocketed in Ohio in the last year. The state ranks fourth in the nation for the most registered suppressors, with more than 25,000 legally owned, according to 2013 data from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
State Representatives John Becker (R-Union Township) and Cheryl Grossman (R-Grove City) introduced the bill in July after they were approached by hunters who claim to have hearing damage caused by their non-suppressed firearms.
“This bill only has to do with the hearing loss to hunters,” said Becker.
So wear fucking earplugs. Or find a recreational hobby other than killing shit. But we do not need to flood the market with silencers, for obvious reasons, not to mention the fact that we’ll probably see a marked increase of hunter on hunter accidental shootings.