Hi there, !
Today Sat 06/03/2017 Fri 06/02/2017 Thu 06/01/2017 Wed 05/31/2017 Tue 05/30/2017 Mon 05/29/2017 Sun 05/28/2017 Archives
Rantburg
533165 articles and 1860303 comments are archived on Rantburg.

Today: 64 articles and 165 comments as of 6:42.
Post a news link    Post your own article   
Area: WoT Operations    WoT Background    Opinion        Politix   
Kabul Blast in Diplomatic Area Kills 80
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 3: Non-WoT
6 21:11 Mike Kozlowski [6] 
0 [3] 
5 20:27 Seeking cure for ignorance [6] 
6 14:38 gorb [2] 
1 08:28 Skidmark [3] 
0 [2] 
3 11:48 Crusader [2] 
4 18:27 magpie [7] 
2 12:53 Bobby [4] 
4 19:27 Frank G [4] 
3 12:29 Jeasing Creque5352 [5] 
18 19:15 Anomalous Sources [5] 
3 09:17 Iblis [5] 
0 [3] 
2 18:24 magpie [7] 
0 [2] 
8 16:20 Jack Salami [5] 
Page 1: WoT Operations
1 22:24 Raj [4]
9 11:17 Crusader [3]
4 23:53 Si vis pacem [4]
1 14:27 trailing wife [3]
0 [8]
0 [10]
4 09:13 Publius Punter [1]
7 15:37 Procopius2k [2]
0 [1]
6 11:39 DarthVader [2]
0 [6]
0 [2]
0 [3]
0 [7]
0 [8]
0 [7]
0 [9]
0 [11]
0 [11]
0 [3]
0 [1]
0 [2]
0 [4]
0 [8]
0 [9]
0 [2]
1 07:39 AlanC [2]
0 [3]
Page 2: WoT Background
2 16:09 Skidmark [6]
1 08:41 g(r)omgoru [10]
11 21:24 SteveS [4]
3 15:38 Pappy [2]
1 11:30 Crusader [4]
1 21:29 3dc [5]
1 03:21 Steven [8]
0 [2]
5 11:37 Crusader [3]
Page 4: Opinion
4 17:14 g(r)omgoru [7]
3 15:29 Procopius2k [5]
10 15:22 g(r)omgoru [7]
1 12:20 Crusader [7]
2 16:53 Zhang Fei [9]
0 [10]
Page 6: Politix
3 23:59 gorb [4]
6 14:45 Besoeker [4]
5 20:32 Seeking cure for ignorance [6]
8 19:20 Rjschwarz [6]
-Lurid Crime Tales-
Chicago: 69 shot over 76 hours
Posted by: Procopius2k || 05/31/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  At this rate, nobody will be left to shoot or do any shooting by the end of Trump's term. Problem solved as promised.
Posted by: gorb || 05/31/2017 0:49 Comments || Top||

#2  We foul feral firearms form, flocking;
Flap, clatter, and click as we're cocking.
Cue gawking and chalking
And shock... but not talking.
We squawk from the power lines, mocking.
Posted by: Zenobia Floger6220 || 05/31/2017 2:40 Comments || Top||

#3  This after anti-gang sweeps to reduce the Memorial weekend violence. Way to go, ChicaCongo.
Posted by: Flineting Gleaper2936 || 05/31/2017 5:03 Comments || Top||

#4  Well, it is the holey month of Ramadan.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 05/31/2017 8:37 Comments || Top||

#5  No downturn anticipated until casualty figures begin to overtake birth rates. I blame Planned Parenthood.
Posted by: Besoeker || 05/31/2017 8:39 Comments || Top||

#6  At the rate things are going there, HeyJackass! will have to be hosted on an RTOS...
Posted by: M. Murcek || 05/31/2017 10:11 Comments || Top||

#7  Well, Chicago *clearly* needs a few more firearm laws...
Posted by: Crusader || 05/31/2017 11:56 Comments || Top||

#8  The White Guilt crowd needs to move there and share in this tragedy.
Posted by: Jack Salami || 05/31/2017 16:20 Comments || Top||


-Short Attention Span Theater-
Kung Fu master uses his TESTICLES to pull seven cars in eye-watering demonstration
A Kung Fu master has successfully pulled seven cars - using just his testicles .

Martial arts expert Hung Lo Ye Wei performed the eye-watering feat in front of stunned onlookers on March 30.

Channelling all of his strength into his genitals, Mr Wei towed the seven Audis, which weighed a combined 12.6 tonnes, for a total of eight metres.
Hey, a metric tonne is only 0.984 long tons. Now I'm not so impressed.
The impressive performance took place in his hometown of Zibo City, in East China's Shandong Province, where Ye has been practicing his own brand of martial arts for the past three decades.
His very own, I'm guessing.
He has made something of a name for himself over the years while following a style of martial arts that focuses on "inner strength", energy from his spine, as well as his testicles - which he calls his "outer kidneys".
Now he calls them his distant outer kidneys.
Incredible mobile phone footage from Ye's attempt shows dozens of onlookers excitedly cheering him on.

After tying the rope around both his testicles, Ye heaves the linked cars and successfully pulls them backwards in a straight line.

Ye did not say which organisation he has enlisted to track his incredible feat, but he was quoted as saying: "The record keepers have confirmed my successful attempt."
How do you confirm something you can't watch?
When asked why he chose to set such an unusual record, Ye added: "I do this in order to recognise the past 20 to 30 years that I've been practicing martial arts."
It certainly isn't because he's looking for any students.
Ye practices what he calls "zen source tai chi".
A very effective martial art. Once opponents see what he can do, they scatter like flies.
He says it exercises the pelvis and muscles around the thigh.

It is also thought to prevent premature ejaculation.
More than anything else, probably because it takes a while for the nerve signals to travel eight meters.
Posted by: gorb || 05/31/2017 04:20 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Ah'm guessing he stands up before he flushes.
Posted by: Skidmark || 05/31/2017 8:28 Comments || Top||


-Signs, Portents, and the Weather-
Kathy Griffin Fired by CNN Over Gruesome Photo of Trump
[NBC] CNN ended its deal with Kathy Griffin after she caused outrage over a video clip she posted showing her holding a fake decapitated head made to look like President Donald Trump.

The news network announced the decision in a tweet from its Communications Department.

"CNN has terminated our agreement with Kathy Griffin to appear on our New Year's Eve program," the tweet reads.

Griffin has hosted CNN's New Year's Eve coverage with network anchor Anderson Cooper since 2007.

On Tuesday, Griffin posted a short video clip on Twitter of herself lifting a bloodied head that appeared to resemble Trump. She wrote in a follow up tweet that she doesn't condone violence, and was "merely mocking the Mocker in Chief."

Both tweets have since been deleted.

After the image began circulating online, Cooper tweeted that he did not condone the image or find it tasteful.

"For the record, I am appalled by the photo shoot Kathy Griffin took part in. It is clearly disgusting and completely inappropriate," Cooper wrote.
Posted by: Besoeker || 05/31/2017 14:30 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The least that stupid bitch deserves. Some time in the clink wouldn't go amiss.
Posted by: DarthVader || 05/31/2017 14:34 Comments || Top||

#2  "For the record, I am appalled by the photo shoot Kathy Griffin took part in. It is clearly disgusting and completely inappropriate," Cooper wrote.

Off the record's another story.
Posted by: Raj || 05/31/2017 14:54 Comments || Top||

#3  Hopefully this Children's "author" gets fired by his publisher
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 05/31/2017 16:43 Comments || Top||

#4  Hopefully this Children's "author" gets fired by his publisher

A New York City publisher? He just guaranteed a generous contract for his next three books -- and an even more selective clientele for the publisher.
Posted by: trailing wife || 05/31/2017 18:31 Comments || Top||

#5  Anderson Cooper hardest hit.
Posted by: Flineting Gleaper2936 || 05/31/2017 18:53 Comments || Top||

#6  ...It is my understanding - YMMV - that Mr Cooper was, shall we say, not at all fond of Ms Griffin. (I know, line forms to the left, but I digress.) As he's the closest thing they have left to a star these days, I suspect his tweet made it very clear where he stood - had he NOT done so, CNN might well have decided to hunker down and try to ride it out.

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski || 05/31/2017 21:11 Comments || Top||


Kathy Griffin draws ire over gruesome anti-Trump photo shoot
Ick. But she always was a tasteless whiner.
[CNN] Kathy Griffin is defending herself after drawing fierce criticism for participating in a photo shoot that featured her holding up a bloody head resembling President Donald Trump
...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States...
On Tuesday, celebrity photographer Tyler Shields, known for his provocative images, released photos he did with Griffin that immediately came under fire from people on Twitter, including the president's son, Donald Trump Jr, who called the imagery "disgusting but not surprising."
Posted by: Fred || 05/31/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I wonder who she hangs with and what they talk about that makes her feel that this is acceptable behavior or maybe merely "edgy."
Posted by: gorb || 05/31/2017 0:42 Comments || Top||

#2  Kathy Griffin apparently want to be just like Jane Fonda.
Posted by: Seeking cure for ignorance || 05/31/2017 1:18 Comments || Top||

#3  Imagine the outrage if former president Soetoro had suffered such treatment.
Posted by: Besoeker || 05/31/2017 8:14 Comments || Top||

#4  She took it down and offered an apology, but no one is buying it.

Assassination chic was overlooked during W's tenure, but not anymore. We are sick of our leaders being threatened, our rallies attacked, and the deep state ruling however they like regardless of what the voters wish.

You want a Civil War? Just say when.
Posted by: DarthVader || 05/31/2017 8:33 Comments || Top||

#5  How does this child abusing bitch have a career?
Posted by: chris || 05/31/2017 9:26 Comments || Top||

#6  My suspicion is that Ms. Griffin (Oak Park IL alumnus with her name emblazoned in the Village Hall Rotunda of Fame) received a communication from the Secret Service after the disgusting photo.

She seemed a little nervous in giving her "apology."
Posted by: Jeremiah Elminesh8765 || 05/31/2017 10:16 Comments || Top||

#7  A different photo shoot featuring Ms. Griffin. WARNING: NSFW.
Posted by: Jeremiah Elminesh8765 || 05/31/2017 10:22 Comments || Top||

#8  DV put his finger on it. At this point in American history I'm afraid a couple of assassinations would be all it takes to start a nasty civil war. Off a Democrat then off a Republican and neither side will trust the other, both will think the only way to stay alive and win is to kill the other.

Birdbrain Kathy Griffin needs a visit from the Secret Service, a pair of stainless steel bracelets and a new orange jump suit.
Posted by: Abu Uluque || 05/31/2017 10:36 Comments || Top||

#9  You wanna talk about corporations pulling their ads from FOX because of Bill O'Reilly or Sean Hannity? How about Kathy Griffins Viberzi ads. Check out the website. They still have her picture on it. I think if I was suffering from that particular ailment I'd ask my doctor for some other medication.
Posted by: Abu Uluque || 05/31/2017 10:43 Comments || Top||

#10  Pathetic when someone is so desperate for attention.
Posted by: rjschwarz || 05/31/2017 11:19 Comments || Top||

#11  You wanna talk about corporations pulling their ads from FOX because of Bill O'Reilly or Sean Hannity? How about Kathy Griffins Viberzi ads. Check out the website. They still have her picture on it. I think if I was suffering from that particular ailment I'd ask my doctor for some other medication.

Uh, that's not Kathy Griffin.
Posted by: Crusader || 05/31/2017 11:55 Comments || Top||

#12  The headline link is to a CNN website, in it there's this statement: "We found what she did disgusting and offensive," a CNN spokesperson said. "We are pleased to see she has apologized and asked that the photos be taken down."

Huh, huh, this is CNN, and they 'quoted' one of their own and called it 'news'!

There's also this following from the same article as above: The incident cost the comic at least one endorsement deal.
Squatty Potty, a line of footstools for toilets, said Tuesday it was "shocked and disappointed" and was pulling a new ad campaign starring Griffin.
"It was deeply inappropriate and runs contrary to the core values our company stands for," Squatty Potty chief executive officer Bobby Edwards said in a statement. "We have acted swiftly and decisively to demonstrate our commitment to a culture of decency, civility, and tolerance."


"Squatty Potty"? I'm trying to figure out who would use those! Okay Kathy lost an endorsement deal from a company nobody apparently ever heard of or care about.

I looked at the Squatty potty web page and fell off my chair laughing. Whew! I don't know if it was intentional or what! Make sense that the web page was designed with five year old humor for a product designed for toddlers.

What a shi**y way to raise awareness of a company.
Posted by: Seeking cure for ignorance || 05/31/2017 12:19 Comments || Top||

#13  On the first day of Ramadan no less. I bet ya Daniel Pearl's parents haven't been approached by CNN to give their opinion on this "political" statement.
Posted by: Tennessee || 05/31/2017 12:32 Comments || Top||

#14  Uh, that's not Kathy Griffin.

Really? I could be wrong but there certainly is a resemblance.
Posted by: Abu Uluque || 05/31/2017 13:57 Comments || Top||

#15  CNN finally cut the bitch.
Posted by: DarthVader || 05/31/2017 14:33 Comments || Top||

#16  Squatty potty? Laughed my ass off. Go down to the lumber yard and get a step-stool. After dropping off the logs, it has more than two uses.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 05/31/2017 14:56 Comments || Top||

#17  Uh, that's not Kathy Griffin.

Looks like they've pasted her out with an eco-green block.
Posted by: Skidmark || 05/31/2017 16:19 Comments || Top||

#18  The Viberzi Girl ("Irritabelle"), Ilana Becker, although similar in looks to Ms. Griffin, is far funnier, imho.
Posted by: Anomalous Sources || 05/31/2017 19:15 Comments || Top||


-Land of the Free
America leaves paris "climate" deal
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 05/31/2017 08:14 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under:

#1  President Trump has reportedly decided to pull out of the Paris climate change agreement

Reportedly? Somebody heard a rumor? I read he might. But now he has 'decided'? Has a document been issued? An announcement, perhaps? Or just journalistic mind-reading?
Posted by: Bobby || 05/31/2017 10:53 Comments || Top||

#2  Was it submitted to the Senate for ratification? No.

It's a piece of paper. Those who howl about it show they have no loyalty to America, just a bunch of globalists (who, of course, expect the American deplorables to forfeit their sons around the world to provide the security they rely upon daily for their enterprises and power to exist).
Posted by: Procopius2k || 05/31/2017 11:22 Comments || Top||

#3  Forget about it.
Posted by: Deacon Blues || 05/31/2017 12:32 Comments || Top||

#4  Dead letter feel good nonsense. So, of course, the Left freaks out.
Posted by: Iblis || 05/31/2017 13:12 Comments || Top||

#5  It will also set him against public opinion – 61 per cent of Americans said the US should uphold the agreement, according to a Huffington Post/YouGov poll on May 17.

Oh man I'm running out of fingers for them to pull! Look who conducted the polls
Posted by: Seeking cure for ignorance || 05/31/2017 20:27 Comments || Top||


USAA Backs Down In Hannity Boycott
[Daily Caller] The United Services Automobile Association (USAA) reinstated its advertisements on Sean Hannity’s nightly Fox News show Tuesday.

USAA was one of 10 companies to pull its ads from Hannity, due to the fallout from his reporting of the Seth Rich murder story. Hannity suggested that there was a conspiracy surrounding the death of the DNC staffer, but Fox News quickly backed off the story and retracted it from their website last Tuesday.

"We heard concerns from many members who watch and listen to these programs," USAA said in a statement Tuesday. "Our goal in advertising has always been to reach members of the military community who would benefit from USAA’s well-known commitment to service. Today, the lines between news and editorial are increasingly blurred."

The company chose to reinstate advertising while simultaneously reviewing corporate policy on opinion shows.
Posted by: Besoeker || 05/31/2017 02:15 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "We heard concerns from many members who watch and listen to these programs,"

Forgot who you worked for? Unlike other 'companies', USAA is more a co-op. It's 'members' can change leadership if you give them enough motivation to pay attention.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 05/31/2017 8:14 Comments || Top||


#3  They are *really* a pain in the ass to work with. They sell "less expensive" home insurance...until you need to file a claim. Its a that point that you'll bother to actually learn what it is that you signed up for, and find that they don't payout claims in the same manner (nor for as much) as their competitors.

And God help you if use them for mortgage financing. You'll close on your purchase...eventually. But not before blowing past your contract date and generally pissing off everyone else involved in the transaction. But hey! You saved some money right?!? Afterall, USAA has a magic money tree that allows them to lend money out cheaper than everyone else...er...well...right...maybe?
Posted by: Crusader || 05/31/2017 11:34 Comments || Top||

#4  My older sister's experience with them was less than stellar, she was late mailing in a premium and *Bang* No Notice, No Courtesy Call, the Policy was cancelled. So... Not a fan.
Posted by: magpie || 05/31/2017 18:27 Comments || Top||


-War on Police-
Tamir Rice shooting probe: 1 officer fired, 1 suspended
[CNN] Timothy Loehmann, the Cleveland, kept in touch with the world by Obamaphone,
...was ruled by a Democrat machine from 1942 through 1971. After the river caught fire during the administration of Carl Stokes they tried a Republican, then went back to being Democrats when the party hacked up Dennis Kucinich ...
police officer who fatally shot 12-year-old Tamir Rice in 2014, was fired Tuesday -- not for the shooting, but because Sherlocks found he wasn't truthful about his employment history when he applied for the job, officials said.

The officer who was with Loehmann, Frank Garmback, will be suspended for 10 days because he violated tactical rules relating to how he drove to the scene that day, the city's public safety director and the police chief said.

An Ohio grand jury declined to criminally charge the officers in 2015.

None of the rule violations announced by Public Safety Director Michael McGrath and Chief Calvin Williams directly related to Loehmann shooting Rice outside a recreation center as the boy held a toy gun on November 22, 2014.
Posted by: Fred || 05/31/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:


Caribbean-Latin America
Vampire Bats Attack in Brazil
Posted by: Grunter || 05/31/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "Them bats got radar."
Posted by: Crusader || 05/31/2017 12:21 Comments || Top||

#2  Isn't this how the movie starts?
Posted by: Procopius2k || 05/31/2017 15:32 Comments || Top||

#3  Call MHI.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 05/31/2017 15:48 Comments || Top||

#4  ^ what's the PUFF?
Posted by: Frank G || 05/31/2017 19:27 Comments || Top||


Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Russian senator accuses TASS of hiding stats on kids
A Russian senator released a minority report on the scale of government seizing children in the juvenile justice system, saying that the government news agency TASS is hiding the real statistics, according to a Russian language news account.

Elena Mizulina, in holding a press conference in Moskva on Tuesday, said that in 2015, the Russian government seized a total of 309,000 children from their families and placed them in "other settings", presumably state controlled care unnecessarily. A total of 87 percent of the total were placed in temporary state run shelters, Of those 38 percent, or half were returned to their families after 11 to 12 months.

According to a separate report in regnum.ru, for the year 2015, only 13 percent of children taken were found to have been neglected. The report also said that the government have been under reporting seizures by 90 percent.

According to the latest report, the Russian news agency TASS under reported seizures by a factor of 100 and have yet to correct the report. She suggested a nexus between the TASS report and a tacit government policy on families.

Senator Mizulina suggested that the reason for all the unneeded seizures was to justify the institutions' budgets.
Posted by: badanov || 05/31/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:


China-Japan-Koreas
Woman Accused of Kim Jong-Nam Murder Appear in Court
An Indonesian and a Vietnamese woman accused of assassinating the half-brother of North Korea's leader with a deadly nerve agent, appeared in a Malaysian court Tuesday, wearing bullet-proof vests and under heavy security.

Both women, aged in their twenties, could face the death penalty, though they have denied murdering Kim Jong-Nam, saying they were duped into believing they were taking part in a reality TV show.

Seoul accuses North Korea of being behind the February killing, a charge Pyongyang denies.

Indonesian Siti Aisyah, 25, and Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong, 28, appeared for Tuesday's pre-trial hearing, during which their defence lawyers slammed the prosecution for failing to furnish them with relevant documents.

"The concept of a fair trial demands that all material documents should be supplied to the defence at the earliest opportunity," Gooi Soon Seng, chief lawyer for Siti Aisyah said.

Deputy public prosecutor Muhammad Iskandar Ahmad assured the defence they will be given the documents before the trial.

The High Court is expected within a month to fix a date when the accused will enter a plea. Prosecutors and defence lawyers will then have 60 more days to prepare for the case, after which the trial dates can be determined.

The Magistrate Court's judge also approved a prosecution request that the case be moved to the High Court for the trial.

Malaysian police accuse the women of wiping the banned nerve agent VX on Kim's face as he was about to board a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Macau, where he was living in exile.

Police are still trying to trace four North Koreans suspected of having taken part in the murder plot, who are believed to have returned to Pyongyang immediately after the killing.

The murder sparked a diplomatic row between Malaysia and North Korea.
Posted by: Omogum Fillmore4810 || 05/31/2017 03:17 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Commies


WannaCry ransom notice analysis suggests Chinese link
[BBC] New analysis suggests Chinese-speaking criminals may have been behind the WannaCry ransomware that affected thousands of organizations worldwide.

Researchers from Flashpoint looked at the language used in the ransom notice.

They said the use of proper grammar and punctuation in only the Chinese versions indicated the writer was "native or at least fluent" in Chinese.

The translated versions of the ransom notice appeared to be mostly "machine translated".

The WannaCry ransom note could be displayed in 28 different languages, but only the Chinese and English versions appeared to have been written by humans.

The English text also used some unusual phrases such as: "But you have not so enough time".

The WannaCry cyber-attack infected more than 200,000 computers in 150 countries, affecting government, healthcare and private company systems.

The UK's National Crime Agency, the FBI and Europol are investigating who was responsible for the ransomware.

Some earlier analysis of the software had suggested criminals in North Korea may have been behind it.

But the Flashpoint researchers noted the Korean-language ransom note was a poorly translated version of the English text.

"It was only really the Chinese and the English versions that appeared to be written by someone that understood the language," said cyber-security expert Prof Alan Woodward from the University of Surrey.

"The rest appeared to come from Google Translate. Even the Korean."

Prof Woodward noted that the people behind the ransomware had not attempted to retrieve the money victims had paid in Bitcoin, and added it was likely they were keeping a low profile.

"I actually think they've run for the hills," he told the BBC.

"Their so-called command and control system, the thing that controls quite a lot of the software, has all been turned off.

"They know that so many people are watching them now and that following the money could lead to their downfall. I suspect if they've got any sense at all they'll leave it well alone."
Posted by: trailing wife || 05/31/2017 00:22 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under: Commies

#1  I read elsewhere that roughly 98 percent of the successful attacks were on machines run by Windows 7.
Posted by: Crusader || 05/31/2017 12:14 Comments || Top||

#2  Anyone evil enough to do this is clever enough to point a finger of translation to whomever they wanted.

Especially Putin! As directed by Trumpovitch!

You heard it here first.
Posted by: Bobby || 05/31/2017 12:53 Comments || Top||


Economy
Insurance companies denied treatment to patients, offered to pay for assisted suicide, doctor claims
[Wash Times] A Nevada physician says insurance companies in states where assisted suicide is legal have refused to cover expensive, life-saving treatments for his patients, but offered to help them end their lives instead.

Brian Callister, associate professor of medicine at the University of Nevada, said he tried to transfer two patients to California and Oregon for procedures not performed at his hospital. In phone calls with representatives from two different insurance companies, he said those requests were denied.

"And in both cases, the insurance medical director said to me, ’Brian, we’re not going to cover that procedure or the transfer, but would you consider assisted suicide?’ " Mr. Callister told The Washington Times.

The phone calls took place last year within the span of a month, Mr. Callister said. He said he did nothing to prompt the suggestion in either case.

The patients were not terminal, but "would have become terminal without the procedures."

"It was estimated that their chance for cure -- cure, not just adding time -- of about 50 percent in one case and 70 percent in the other case," Mr. Callister said.
Posted by: Besoeker || 05/31/2017 08:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  And thus, the medical rationing starts.
Posted by: DarthVader || 05/31/2017 8:31 Comments || Top||

#2  The patient's insurer should only pay out to the medical company if they survive.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 05/31/2017 8:35 Comments || Top||

#3  Alternative treatment?
Posted by: gorb || 05/31/2017 11:49 Comments || Top||

#4  "Let's put it in the government's hands! Afterall, what could possibly go wrong?"
Posted by: Crusader || 05/31/2017 12:08 Comments || Top||

#5  Last year hmmmm? Who was responsible for insurance last year?

I'm sure this is related but I can't quite come up with the name....
Posted by: AlanC || 05/31/2017 12:12 Comments || Top||

#6  Perhaps the same administration that denied that there would be death panels?
Posted by: gorb || 05/31/2017 14:38 Comments || Top||


Europe
Trump lashes out at Germany, promises 'change' in relations
h/t Gates of Vienna
[TheLcal.de] President Donald Trump took to Twitter on Tuesday to complain about a US trade deficit with Germany, and his belief that Germany needs to pay more for the NATO military alliance.

"We have a MASSIVE trade deficit with Germany, plus they pay FAR LESS than they should on NATO & military. Very bad for U.S. This will change," Trump wrote.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 05/31/2017 09:31 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:


WW2 Grenade Collection Explodes
Posted by: Grunter || 05/31/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Not the best hobby.
Posted by: gorb || 05/31/2017 0:39 Comments || Top||

#2  Makes me re-think my collection of old Russian submarine torpedoes.
Posted by: SteveS || 05/31/2017 0:49 Comments || Top||

#3  Yeah if you have one of the torps they tried to power with high purity hydrogen peroxide they can go off if a sparrow farts near them. That peroxide can react over time with the alloys in the peroxide container and get really touchy. The Russians tried to blame the sinking on US Navy actions at the time. but unfortunately they had already bragged about their use of HP in their torps.
Posted by: Jeasing Creque5352 || 05/31/2017 12:29 Comments || Top||


Science & Technology
Schrödinger's Cat Lady Invents Intersectional Quandumb Fizzix
From the article:
[TheCollegeFix] Stark identifies Newtonian physics as one of the main culprits behind oppression. "Newtonian physics," she writes, has "separated beings" based on their "binary and absolute differences."

"This structural thinking of individualized separatism with binary and absolute differences as the basis for how the universe works is embedded in many structures of classification," according to Stark.

These structures of classification, such as male/female, or living/non-living, are "hierarchical and exploitative" and are thusly "part of the apparatus that enables oppression."

Therefore, Stark argues in favor of combining intersectionality and quantum physics theory to fight against the imperative to classify people based on hierarchical categories.
Translation:

"Therefore, I AM pretty and sane! Quandumb fizzix sez so, ZOMG!

FUCK YOU, Dad! (Sob!)"

See, STEM people? It was only a matter of time before the SJWs came for you.
Posted by: charger || 05/31/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Since you are so sure these distinctions are so arbitrary and therefore meaningless, I propose an experiment. Put your money where your mouth is and jump into that wood chipper over there.
Posted by: gorb || 05/31/2017 0:45 Comments || Top||

#2  Why dogs hate cats and some people.

Posted by: Omogum Fillmore4810 || 05/31/2017 2:05 Comments || Top||

#3  Brilliant headline. Just art.
Posted by: Iblis || 05/31/2017 9:17 Comments || Top||


US successfully 'intercepts and destroys' target in missile test
[CNN] The Pentagon successfully shot down an intercontinental ballistic missile using its own upgraded long-range interceptor missile on Tuesday in what was widely seen as a test of US ability to counter a North Korean missile launch.

The Missile Defense Agency launched a ground-based interceptor from Vandenberg Air Force Base in Caliphornia, an impregnable bastion of the Democratic Party, to intercept a US-launched mock ICBM target over the Pacific Ocean, according to a US defense official.

The interceptor "destroyed the target in a direct collision," according to a statement from the Missile Defense Agency.

"The intercept of a complex, threat-representative ICBM target is an incredible accomplishment ... and a critical milestone for this program," said MDA Director Vice Adm. Jim Syring.

"This system is vitally important to the defense of our homeland, and this test demonstrates that we have a capable, credible deterrent against a very real threat," he said.

While the Pentagon is calling this test a success, some experts cautioned that the $40 billion missile defense system still has a long way to go before it can be considered fully developed.

"It marks two successes in a row, which is significant, but only two hits out of the last five attempts; that is, only a 40% success rate since early 2010," said Philip E. Coyle, a senior fellow at the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation.

"In school, 40% isn't a passing grade," added Coyle, who formerly headed the Pentagon's office of operational test and evaluation. "Based on its testing record, we cannot rely upon this missile defense program to protect the United States from a North Korean long-range missile."

Washington Rep. Adam Smith, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, congratulated the Missile Defense Agency for a successful test but sounded a note of caution that "much work remains to be done to ensure we have a reliable and effective system."

"After an investment of more than $40 billion since 2002, it's good that the Missile Defense Agency is finally doing a missile defense test against an ICBM target, some 13 years after the first Ground-Based Interceptor system's deployment," Smith told CNN.

Posted by: Fred || 05/31/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under: Commies

#1  Hmmm...ESA put a lander on a comet ten years out.
Posted by: Skidmark || 05/31/2017 8:46 Comments || Top||

#2  "It marks two successes in a row, which is significant, but only two hits out of the last five attempts; that is, only a 40% success rate since early 2010," said Philip E. Coyle,
So the last two test of a program under development were successes is his "proof" that the program is a 'total' failure. Hard to say who is spinning more him or CNN [*spit!*]. From his resume he looks like a apparatchik deluxe...
Posted by: magpie || 05/31/2017 18:24 Comments || Top||


Government
Social Security Administration Spent $32 Million on Conferences
[Free Beacon] The Social Security Administration billed taxpayers $32 million for work conferences, according to a new audit.

The inspector general for the agency reported that just over 300 conferences cost taxpayers roughly $100,000 each in travel, meals, and lodging expenses during a three-year period.

The audit found that the agency mostly complied with federal reporting requirements to disclose conferences that cost $20,000 or more. The inspector general did find two instances where those conferences were not reported, because initial cost estimates fell below the $20,000 threshold.

In all, the inspector general identified 317 conferences that were held between fiscal years 2013 and 2016.
Posted by: Besoeker || 05/31/2017 02:22 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Of course. They have to discuss what it is they do, or at least what they say they do when someone asks. Even being idle requires planning.
Posted by: ed in texas || 05/31/2017 6:12 Comments || Top||

#2  held between fiscal years 2013 and 2016

Ah yes, what federal bureaucrats in years to come will refer to as the Obama era in Eden, before that snake cast them out.
Posted by: trailing wife || 05/31/2017 11:18 Comments || Top||

#3  Yet another illustration of the problem of counting on others ("government") to spend YOUR money wisely. Its doubly problematic when there is no P&L statement that holds anyone accountable for the decisions they made with that money.
Posted by: Crusader || 05/31/2017 11:48 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
28[untagged]
12Islamic State
3Govt of Syria
3Commies
3Taliban
2al-Nusra
2Govt of Iran Proxies
2Arab Spring
1Hamas
1Hezbollah
1Thai Insurgency
1Maute group (IS)
1Sublime Porte
1Ansar al-Sharia
1Houthis
1Govt of Iran
1al-Shabaab (AQ)

Bookmark
E-Mail Me

The Classics
The O Club
Rantburg Store
The Bloids
The Never-ending Story
Thugburg
Gulf War I
The Way We Were
Bio

Merry-Go-Blog











On Sale now!


A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.

Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.

Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has dominated Mexico for six years.
Click here for more information

Meet the Mods
In no particular order...
Steve White
Seafarious
tu3031
badanov
sherry
ryuge
GolfBravoUSMC
Bright Pebbles
trailing wife
Gloria
Fred
Besoeker
Glenmore
Frank G
3dc
Skidmark

Two weeks of WOT
Wed 2017-05-31
  Kabul Blast in Diplomatic Area Kills 80
Tue 2017-05-30
  Puntland sentences Five militants members to death
Mon 2017-05-29
  52 LNA soldiers die in Tripoli fighting
Sun 2017-05-28
  Russian airstrikes smoke 120 ISIS Bad Guys in Raqqa
Sat 2017-05-27
  Student sentenced to 15 years for planting bomb on London tube
Fri 2017-05-26
  31 Maute group members killed in Marawi gunbattles
Thu 2017-05-25
  Younger brother of Manchester bomber was planning terrorist attack in Tripoli, SDF says
Wed 2017-05-24
  ISIS takes control of its first city in the Philippines
Tue 2017-05-23
  Egypt orders military trial for 48 'Islamic State' suspects over church attacks
Mon 2017-05-22
  Manchester 'explosions': Police warn people to stay away from arena after loud bangs heard at Ariana Grande concert
Sun 2017-05-21
  Police arrest knife-wielding 14-year-old girl in West Bank
Sat 2017-05-20
  Saudi Arabia confirms Yemen’s missile strike on Riyadh
Fri 2017-05-19
  ICJ orders Pakistan to stay Jadhav execution
Thu 2017-05-18
  Blasts heard inside Afghan state TV compound in Jalalabad after gunmen attack
Wed 2017-05-17
  Female Bombers Attack NE Nigeria Village, Kill Two


Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
52.15.63.145
Help keep the Burg running! Paypal:
WoT Operations (28)    WoT Background (9)    Opinion (6)    (0)    Politix (4)