BoneDaddy

Here's an article looking at the trailer. Her take is different from mine, but the author makes some very good points. I'm obviously not a woman, so she saw some things that I didn't

 

The only thing I disagree with, is her belief that the Flash is "dark and gritty". Maybe I missed something else, but I don't see it.

Flash is dark and gritty like brown sugar is dark and gritty.  Mostly, it's just sweet.

They whined and moaned and played the victim when they got booted. Made a big stink.

The chief of police, asked about the lack of violent response (sorry, "escalation of force") by the riot police, said "there were 13, 14, and 15 year-old kids out there, do you want us to shoot them?" He has a point. Also, escalation of force almost never leads to de-escalation of conflict. It feels reckless and unjust, but waiting it out was a smarter move. Doing what they did very likely saved lives and property and let tonight be a quiet night in my city. If the guys with the truncheons are not beating people, trust that they have good reason to do so. Truncheons love working, and it is hard to hold them at your side without finding something to hit with them.

If you think gang members are dishonest, you should see the baltimore PD. the gang members live here, and have an investment in a community that includes their families and their (illicit) businesses. They don't benefit from a broken city any more than the rest of us.

So how does elected mayor Betty McCray fit into this small town melodrama?

I've been trying to figure that out, but it looks hinky all around.  I suspect the whole city hall could just be turned into a jail and they could let everyone keep their original offices, from mayor to council to police to city attorney.  It will make an interesting news item when someone figures it all out, but I expect it will be off the radar by then.

Newly Elected Black Mayor Locked Out OF City Hall By Police

Some of this weirdness has a lot to do with the former mayor, also black.  There's an issue here, but it isn't race.  It is almost certainly corruption.  This from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 1/29/2014.  Things are all kinds of crazy in that little town.

KINLOCH • Darren Small took a folded piece of paper out of his pocket on Tuesday to prove that he had legally reclaimed the mayor’s seat in Kinloch.

The paper contained minutes from an emergency board meeting held over the weekend reinstating Small, who was ousted in October. St. Louis County Judge Steven Goldman had ruled Small forfeited his office by pleading guilty to a felony charge of failing to pay child support.

But Small appealed the decision and on Friday, the Missouri Court of Appeals gave him a stay, pending the outcome of the case.

In its ruling, the appeals court said Small had a “high probability of success.”

The court said according to Missouri law an elected official only forfeits office “upon sentencing.” In Small’s child support case, he received a suspended imposition of sentence in exchange for the guilty plea, meaning he wasn’t sentenced, according to the decision.

The ruling, however, did little to quell the drama that surrounded City Hall in his absence.

After Small was ousted, the city’s aldermanic board appointed Alderwoman Theda Wilson to serve as interim mayor. But then the board suspended her from office in December.

Wilson still claims the title of interim mayor, and said she was never given a reason for her suspension.

On Monday evening, Wilson informed St. Louis County Police she would be giving termination letters to the city manager, all Kinloch police officers and other city staff. Two county police commanders accompanied Wilson to City Hall out of concern that the county might have to take over police services for the municipality, said Lt. Bryan Ludwig.

When Wilson arrived at City Hall with the police officers, she encountered Small. The two got into a heated exchange, but Small provided the county commanders with the appeals court order that put him back into office, along with other city documents.

The officers then left because they had no reason to be there, Ludwig said, adding that it took at least two hours for police on the scene to make sense of the paperwork.

On Tuesday morning, Wilson again tried to shut down City Hall and ask for county police assistance, but this time she was rebuffed because she is not the lawful mayor, Ludwig said.

Wilson also emailed a news release to reporters on Tuesday, saying she would “lock down” City Hall and the police department that afternoon. She had planned on placing chains with padlocks over the doors, she said.

But when Wilson showed up at City Hall a little after 2 p.m., she had rethought her plan.

She said she will focus on running for mayor in the April municipal election.

Meanwhile, Small said, “I’m concentrating on moving the city forward. I don’t have time for this.”

Christine Byers of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.

 

On a related note...

 

The FBI Faked an Entire Field of Forensic Science

 

As a former prosecutor, I am utterly horrified.  The scope and willfullness of this injustice is greater than I could have ever considered realistically possible.  How many retrials will be necessary?  Amazing and awful.

Wait a minute! Our favorite German leftist is coming stateside on vacation? Where? What part of our beautiful republic will you be visiting, so we can buy you inadequate beer, something we call a bratwurst that isn't really one, and show you historical landmarks that are only a few centuries old at most?

And maybe a pick-up game of hero somewhere in there.

Back when I was dating, I made sure to date in public, on neutral territory.  Not because I wanted my date to feel safe, but because I didn't know if I was dating a psycho either.  It also prevented me from having to endure a long and very boring date (which happened on occasion.  Pretty girl, empty head.)

I think our "rape culture" is slowly turning into a "terrified of being raped culture".  It is certainly worth avoiding, but the odds remain very low given a few reasonable precautions.  By "very low" I mean really ridiculously f-ing low.  And yes, reasonable precautions include dating on neutral territory for as long as reasonably necessary, not getting blasted at frat parties, and going out with the buddy system.  Hell and damnation, men go out with the buddy system so we don't get our asses kicked!  This isn't hard or unreasonable, it's just part of living in a society where a given unidentifiable portion of the population is likely to hurt you.

And if someone is in a car accident and wasn't wearing their safety belt (certainly a reasonable precaution) I actually do blame them for their injuries.  Do stupid, get stupid.  Cut through an alley and get mugged?  Yes, that was stupid, and so of course while I have sympathy, I also blame the victim for being stupid.  Of course.  We all do.  That's not specific to rape.

I'd like better law enforcement.  I'd like better rape prosecution.  I'd like less raping.  I'd like people to not think that being responsible for their own safety is an undue burden.  No one actually has the privilege of being totally safe, which sucks, but expecting it is childish.

The hypothetical dude in the comic was being a douche, but it's better to find that out before dating him anyway.  She could have called the comic "not dating a douche."

I sympathize with her anxiety, I truly do, I have plenty of my own.  I think her anxiety is more of a hazard to her happiness than the risk of getting raped.  Anxiety about being liked by the douche, anxiety about dating someone predatory, anxiety about explaining to him why he's such a douche.  I wish she could rest easy in her awesomeness and find a non-douche to date in some nice public place they can both agree on.

Ugh...

 

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/breaking-news/os-ap-kkk-florida-prison-murder-plot-20150402-story.html

Those guys are going to have a hard time doing hard time.

You guys really are the nicest group to moderate for some days. 

 

I haven't been called a fascist in ages!

Oh Super Sailor, we hardly knew ye.

Those things are ubiquitous.  WVU's was just the third google hit down, so it was the one I used.  Damn near every college has one, and they've only recently started to include the idea that someone reading it might want to make sure someone is consenting to something.

Woman Held Eight Days In NYC Psych Ward For Saying Obama Followed Her On Twitter

 

Part of her therapy involved getting her to retract her claim that Obama followed her.

 

The word "inexcusable" does not even begin to describe these actions.

After an experience like that, she probably needs a shrink, but probably isn't going to go to one, either.  She had to refute her entire identity or they wouldn't believe she was sane.  Un-spanking-believable.  They should accept any demand for damages she offers.  Any at all.  The jury award will be worse.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJOVIHMDhbrdeEljpAvaSRPjmqLS9iQKr

Queen - '39

Smashing Pumpkins - Today

Flaming Lips/Stardeath/The White Dwarfs - Time (Pink Floyd Cover)

More enlightened advice exists.  Here's an example of that.  http://www.trincoll.edu/cs/SART/Pages/Tips.aspx

Any specific examples of the objectionable advice? Or is the concept of giving advice at all what's objectionable? Please explain.

https://well.wvu.edu/articles/tips_for_preventing_sexual_assault

Honestly, it's pretty sound advice, but combined with an apparent absence of prosecution or even arrest for rape on campus, I can see why it would be infuriating.  It's the combination that's the kicker, here.  The college isn't going to do anything, even after the fact, including keeping reporting statistics for future use, so the onus is literally entirely on the prospective victims.

 

 

Tips for Partying Smart

1. Stick with your friends.
2. Make a plan before you go out. Set up checkpoints or code words to make it easy for you and your friends to stay connected.
3. Hold on to your drink—even when you go to the bathroom.
4. If your drink is out of your sight, even for a few seconds, get a new one. Spiking a drink with a date rape drug can happen quickly.
5. Don’t accept a drink from anyone—unless you can watch the bartender pour it.
6. Don’t share drinks.
7. Don’t drink from punch bowls or open containers.
8. Don’t drink anything that tastes strange.
9. Avoid clubs or parties that charge men but let women enter and drink for free.
10. Always keep your cell phone charged and on you. You never know when you’ll need it.
11. Make sure you always have a ride home or a plan to walk home with a friend or roommate.
12. Trust your instincts. If something doesn’t feel right to you, leave and get to a safe place immediately.

It's good advice.  Everyone, frankly, especially every girl and woman, should heed this advice.  But the social contract should include some sheepdog to guard against the wolves, rather than expecting the sheep to look after themselves.

Silverman's satire missed its mark. The rape prevention tips that colleges hand out to the women who are their students look just like this, and they are ridiculous and should be ridiculed. They put the onus entirely on women to not be raped, which is a bit lol giving deer tips on how not to be hunted. The trouble is that being a victim, or better yet a martyr, has become such a perceived position of privilege that everybody gets all butt-hurt about misandry and misses her point entirely.

http://boingboing.net/2015/03/27/rust-race.html

Why the hell does the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control have the power to forcibly arrest people who aren't selling or distributing alcohol?

Rolled up magazine. You saw what Jason Bourne could do with that thing. Maybe a paper clip like Bullseye.

Dan Deacon.  Some of Baltimore's beautiful weird.  We gave you Zappa, and Deacon.  You are all so welcome.

Next, loving someone sick.  First, Sarah McLachlan with  video that shows every single thing that was wrong with music videos in the 1990s.  Every.  Single. Thing.

And finally, The Flaming Lips are here to sing about worrying about someone sick.

First, being sick.  Mystery Disease, by MGMT

Being sick, or possibly on fantastic hallucinogens.  Hard to tell.  Two more after the break.

Possibly. If he actually got his hands on a gun, then perhaps just gross incompetence. I'll tell you right now he didn't get a gun out of a retention holster during that altercation. So, either someone had a gun out and let themselves be disarmed by the victim, or wasn't wearing a retention holster, or had a backup weapon that was accessible. Or they just yelled "drop the gun" and shot the guy. It's kind of hard to tell without better video.

 

In any case, if that many police can't restrain one person, then none of them need to be police.

I generally agree.  I had a sheriff's deputy friend of mine let me try to remove his gun from his retention holster, and there was really only one way to do it and that way was nearly impossible to do from most positions, prone including.  I doubt they were shouting that as a pretext, but I also feel it is exceedingly unlikely that the shooting was justified.

3 Songs with 1 story.

Years ago, I had a Sony 300 disc turntable, and it was absolutely awesome.  You could create 10 different preset mixes, and it held a delete bank so I never had to listen to Lily Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts ever again.  One fine night a friend of mine was over visiting, drinking wine and listening to a chill mix of discs.  She worked as the booking agent for the local performance venue. A smallish concert venue, big enough for Cheryl Crow, too small for Metallica.

First, Nick Drake's Pink Moon came on, the one made popular by a VW commercial.

She was delighted.  "Who is this?  I have to book him down here for next season!"

"This is Nick Drake and I'm sorry but he died in the early '70s."

"Rats."

Next in the shuffle came Eva Cassidy, covering "Fields of Gold."  Have a listen and pick up the pieces of your heart later.

http://youtu.be/3DWg7zNOyK8

"Who's this?"

"Eva Cassidy."

"She's amazing!  If I can't get Nick Drake I'll get her instead!"

"I'm so sorry, she died of cancer a few years back."

"Oh dammit."

The next song was "England 2, Columbia 0," by the great Kirsty MacColl

http://youtu.be/J5tnQSGRnJc?list=PLAE03B6D347635368

"She's wonderful!  Who's this and can we get her?"

"Oh honey..."