The Swamp

Posted: **Tue Jul 19, 2016 9:03 pm**

I tell ya, it's complex. Downright byzantine in its complexity.

Posted: **Tue Jul 19, 2016 9:08 pm**

I see what you did there.

I read 3/4 of a great history book on Byzantium. Just couldn't get all the way through for some reason.

Posted: **Wed Jul 20, 2016 9:24 pm**

Hey Johnnie ~ I thought the situation at Incirlik was over once the Ergodan forces made their arrests of Turkish Air Force officers. But, power is still out, four days later. And who knows how long their generators can last, if refrigeration of food supplies is compromised. There are some restrictions of movement by US personnel, but I don't know if those are imposed by USAF for safety, or by Turkish authorities. Oh, and I don't know much about these things but I think the care and feeding of stored nukes requires some electricity. Reportedly between 30 and 60 H-bombs are stored there.

Obama and Ergodan chatted by telephone today. And I still have heard nothing about the air base at Izmir.

Posted: **Wed Jul 20, 2016 10:28 pm**

Apparently 20,000 teachers are being fired in Turkey.

Posted: **Wed Jul 20, 2016 10:32 pm**

Pruitt wrote:Apparently 20,000 teachers are being fired in Turkey.

Sounds like the first line of a joke. Can't imagine the punch line.

Posted: **Thu Jul 21, 2016 6:01 pm**

Where the burn books, what do they burn next? Oh yeah. (This dude has a few other good one-liners.)

Posted: **Fri Jul 22, 2016 2:55 pm**

Jeez, what is the world coming to when even Munich is not safe from terrorism?

Posted: **Fri Jul 22, 2016 3:12 pm**

Steve of phpBB wrote:Jeez, what is the world coming to when even Munich is not safe from terrorism?

My exact thought. It's known for how safe it is.

Posted: **Fri Jul 22, 2016 3:33 pm**

Johnnie wrote:
Steve of phpBB wrote:Jeez, what is the world coming to when even Munich is not safe from terrorism?
My exact thought. It's known for how safe it is.

Either you didn't get the joke or you did and you're doubling down on it. Honestly not sure which.

Posted: **Fri Jul 22, 2016 3:56 pm**

No idea what you're talking about.

Posted: **Fri Jul 22, 2016 4:12 pm**

Steve of phpBB wrote:Jeez, what is the world coming to when even Munich is not safe from terrorism?

too soon?
(geez, didn't Spielberg make a movie about it?)

Posted: **Fri Jul 22, 2016 4:18 pm**

I wasn't being a smart-ass either. I could have believed either. But I thought you didn't get the joke based on the fact you lived in Germany for so long.

Posted: **Sat Jul 23, 2016 12:00 pm**

It looks like the Munich shooting was not an act of terrorism, as the shooter was an 18-year old with a history of mental illness who had an obsession with mass shootings but no apparent political motive. I haven't read whether he lawfully obtained his weapons, but I hate the fact that so many American mass shooters were able to legally obtain their weapons despite obvious mental health red flags. In my opinion, two of the most obvious gun control actions that should be taken are pre-sale mental health screenings and a ban on selling any firearms to anyone with a history of domestic violence.

Posted: **Sat Jul 23, 2016 1:53 pm**

When the headlines were first coming across about the Munich shooting, my boss walked in and said "That's what that open border policy will do! Hope Ms Merkel is happy." This from the guy who spent 2 days talking about how we don't have all the facts in the North Miami shooting and we shouldn't jump to conclusions and the media was irresponsible for speculating.

What a tool.

Posted: **Sun Jul 24, 2016 11:18 pm**

I'm not ready to embrace this thesis, but it's worth a read: History tells us what will happen next with Brexit and Trump

Posted: **Mon Jul 25, 2016 4:19 pm**

I left Germany in time, you guys.

Posted: **Tue Jul 26, 2016 11:24 am**

Really good summary, hits all the high points.

Thoughts on the Coup Attempt in Turkey

Posted: **Tue Jul 26, 2016 12:32 pm**

Moreta wrote:When the headlines were first coming across about the Munich shooting, my boss walked in and said "That's what that open border policy will do! Hope Ms Merkel is happy." This from the guy who spent 2 days talking about how we don't have all the facts in the North Miami shooting and we shouldn't jump to conclusions and the media was irresponsible for speculating.

What a tool.

Along these lines, the lead story on CNN.com is currently the killing of the French priest, with a huge headline, "Terror in the name of ISIS." Meanwhile, the slaughter of 19 people in Japan is relegated to a small sidebar headline. Just further evidence that killings both at home and abroad are given a hell of a lot more attention if they can be used to drum up fear of Muslims.

Posted: **Tue Sep 06, 2016 7:40 am**

Hate Map of the USA

Posted: **Thu Oct 27, 2016 6:14 pm**

Bundy brothers, Oregon militia fucknuts all found not guilty.

Nice job, jurors. Get ready for more of this bullshit.

Posted: **Thu Oct 27, 2016 7:06 pm**

brian wrote:Bundy brothers, Oregon militia fucknuts all found not guilty.

Nice job, jurors. Get ready for more of this bullshit.

I guess white lives matter too.

Fucking unreal.

Posted: **Fri Oct 28, 2016 12:27 am**

Posted: **Thu Feb 02, 2017 7:10 am**

Romania on the Boil

In the largest demonstrations since the fall of communism in 1989, as many as 300,000 people braved sub-zero temperatures to participate in protests across 50 towns and cities, including 150,000 in the capital alone. There were shouts of “Thieves!” and calls for politicians to be locked up.

In Bucharest the protests ended in clashes between the police and small groups of demonstrators. Five people were reportedly injured.

On Tuesday night the Romanian government passed an emergency ordinance that would, among other things, decriminalise cases of official misconduct in which the financial damage is less than 200,000 lei (£38,000). Further laws could see an amnesty for some prisoners serving sentences of less than five years, and sentences halved for those over 60.

Posted: **Fri Feb 10, 2017 2:29 pm**

Someone threw a Molotov cocktail in the subway in Hong Kong.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BQV7jYwjW31/

Posted: **Sat Apr 01, 2017 8:11 am**

Pissed off in Paraguay

Setting fire to the house of congress - that's hardcore.

Posted: **Sat Apr 01, 2017 9:38 am**

What a novel concept.

Posted: **Sat Apr 01, 2017 12:46 pm**

That's so 1812.

Posted: **Sat Apr 01, 2017 4:09 pm**

Venezuela Too

Looks like South America is in throwback mode.

Posted: **Wed May 03, 2017 6:59 pm**

Meanwhile in Venezuela, still:

That whole account is just full of stuff.

Posted: **Wed May 03, 2017 8:41 pm**

Johnnie wrote:Someone threw a Molotov cocktail in the subway in Hong Kong.

Missed this before. I'm disappointed the video didn't start with the guy throwing the molotov cocktail, turning toward the camera and screaming WORLD STAR!!

Posted: **Wed May 10, 2017 8:37 pm**

Puerto Rico Has Gone To Hell

The report says many municipal waters systems in Puerto Rico aren't tested regularly. Among those that are tested, the NRDC says it found the nation's highest rate of drinking water violations. More than 2.4 million people in the U.S. territory draw their water from systems which contain harmful bacteria or other contaminants.

A fiscal oversight board set up by Congress has approved a spending plan submitted by Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello that imposes severe spending cuts. As part of that plan, the island last week announced its closing 179 public schools, a move expected to save more than $7 million.

That's $7 million out of the island's $73 billion in debt.

Posted: **Mon May 22, 2017 8:34 pm**

At an Ariana Grande concert. Fuck.

Posted: **Mon May 22, 2017 8:54 pm**

Johnnie wrote:At an Ariana Grande concert. Fuck.

19 confirmed dead.

Posted: **Mon May 22, 2017 9:43 pm**

I just can't even. I fuckin hate people. It disturbs me beyond belief to think that I'm made up of the same cells as someone who could do that to total strangers, and kids at that. And I don't think there's an answer to fixing it, other than to not let ourselves become numb to it. And that's the part that is brutal. To maintain our humanity we have to feel the pain fresh each time.

Yes, the Fred Roger's 'look for the helpers' is beneficial, but man, it just doesn't stop.

Posted: **Tue May 23, 2017 5:58 am**

Square Rob wrote:I just can't even. I fuckin hate people. It disturbs me beyond belief to think that I'm made up of the same cells as someone who could do that to total strangers, and kids at that. And I don't think there's an answer to fixing it, other than to not let ourselves become numb to it. And that's the part that is brutal. To maintain our humanity we have to feel the pain fresh each time.

Yes, the Fred Roger's 'look for the helpers' is beneficial, but man, it just doesn't stop.

There's a nagging fear when you have kids that no matter how well you raise them, no matter how good they are, no matter how much potential they have, some deranged asshole can take them away in a heartbeat. What a nightmare.

Posted: **Tue May 23, 2017 6:25 am**

Twitter is horribly sad this morning.

Posted: **Tue May 23, 2017 11:27 am**

There's one in every crowd.

Posted: **Tue May 23, 2017 1:38 pm**

He freelanced for WBZ. Not anymore.

Posted: **Sun Jun 04, 2017 3:10 pm**

We aren't praying hard enough.

Also, who wore it better?

Humanity:

Cleveland:

At the very least, "Cleveland" was retired:

Can't say the same about Humanity.

Posted: **Sun Jun 04, 2017 3:28 pm**

Cleveland definitely wore it better. The jersey lists every QB, without exceptions, while humanity only prays for cities in the US and Europe. Someone bombed am ice cream shop in Baghdad earlier this week, but I guess we don't pray for Iraqis (or Afghanis or Pakistanis) when they're victimized by terrorism.

The Swamp

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