What's in the news?

[Beguile's Mistress]

I saw part of her speech, and I do think she overstepped her role as a judge and resorted to some grandstanding for the audience, and not least for the tv cameras and microphones. Saying stuff like "I just signed your death warrant!", emphasizing that the length of the sentence was twice a normal lifetime and using the sentencing to ponder at length about the vengeance that will befall a specially despicable man, even drifting into gleeful fantasies about what it would be like if he could be raped non stop on behalf of his victims, really wasn't that dignified. And she seemed to be making long pauses between every few words to make it drip-drip to theatrical effect. I understand the hefty moral impulse driving her but it did sound like she was standing in for the vengeful Lord and trying to make sure that the guy would live forever in infamy.

A writer in The Atlantic is making some of the same points: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/01/nassar-judge/551456/

During the impact statements at the sentencing hearing Nassar remarked that he didn't know why he had to sit and listen to all those women drawing down on him.  I think he earned every single word the judge threw at him.  During a trial a judge needs to remain objective and impartial, applying the laws as they are written.  They usually only have an opportunity to give an opinion about the convicted person at the time of sentencing.  When a piece of human waste like Nasser is up for sentencing the judge has every right to call him every name in the book and promise retribution to be piled on.

[Lustful Bride]

If anyone has Crypto Currency you might want to take protective steps. YouTube has recently had its ads infected by a Crypto Jacking malware that spreads through computers and steals crypto currency.

Explained here in a video. But I will post links to articles here.

https://gizmodo.com/hackers-hijacking-cpus-to-mine-cryptocurrency-have-now-1822466650

[gaggedLouise]

Ingvar Kamprad, founder of IKEA, dies aged 91. Everyone with a bookshelf, a bed, a table or kitchen furniture from IKEA raise a hand!  :D

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ingvar-kamprad-dead-ikea-founder-dies-died-age-sweden-business-a8181886.html

[Regina Minx]

Ingvar Kamprad, founder of IKEA, dies aged 91. Everyone with a bookshelf, a bed, a table or kitchen furniture from IKEA raise a hand!  :D

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ingvar-kamprad-dead-ikea-founder-dies-died-age-sweden-business-a8181886.html

Memorial services and viewing will begun as soon as the coffin is assembled.

[Lustful Bride]

Israel criticizes Poland for law that supposedly wants to ban describing Death Camps in country as "polish".
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.com/news/amp/world-middle-east-42848842#ampshare=http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-42848842

[gaggedLouise]

Memorial services and viewing will begun as soon as the coffin is assembled.

:D

I wouldn't be surprised if there's some footage from his memorial service on the tv news here in time.

*Louise actually helped carry her uncle's coffin a year ago*

[Oniya]

Memorial services and viewing will begun as soon as the coffin is assembled.

Who's got the hex-wrench?

(Any of you who have assembled IKEA stuff will understand....)

[Sara Nilsson]

Who's got the hex-wrench?

(Any of you who have assembled IKEA stuff will understand....)

There is a reason many of us Swedes call that an IKEA key.

[Deamonbane]

There is a reason many of us Swedes call that an IKEA key.

Ditto Norwegians.

[Oniya]

Pennsylvania's district map has been struck down for partisan gerrymandering.  New district lines must be submitted by Feb 9.

I picked this article because it has the best picture of District 7.

[Orval Wintermute]

Somebody needs to call Websters and get the definition of irony updated : http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/trophy-hunter-killed-by-stray-bullet-he-took-aim-lion-complete-collection-1657467

[ShadowFox89]

Was the shooter Dick Cheney?

[TheGlyphstone]

Somebody needs to call Websters and get the definition of irony updated : http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/trophy-hunter-killed-by-stray-bullet-he-took-aim-lion-complete-collection-1657467

Eh. If it had been his own bullet that ricocheted off a tree and killed him or something, I'd call that irony. This is just a sad accident.

[Beorning]

Israel criticizes Poland for law that supposedly wants to ban describing Death Camps in country as "polish".
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.com/news/amp/world-middle-east-42848842#ampshare=http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-42848842

It's actually deeper and bigger than that. The new law (by the PiS government, of course) wants to punish all people (even *foreigners*) for statements where Poland is blamed for Nazi crimes - or where the role of Nazis is lessened and Polish role exaggerated in contradiction of what's considered to be the true version of historical facts. These news laws are seen by Israelis (as well as more liberal-minded people here in Poland) as a threat to open discussion of the history of Jewish-Polish relations, cases of Poles helping German in their genocide of Jews etc.

Overall, this situation is considered by many experts to be the biggests crisis in Polish-Israeli and Polish-Jewish relations since 1989. And there's a lot of awful emotions and prejudice exploding because of that on both sides. Back here, there were quite awful comments regarding Jews made by right-wing journalists - and over in Israel, there was one politician who tweeted that "Polish death camps were real!". A quite ugly matter...

Also, note that the PiS government managed to antagonize yet another country. They have already damaged Poland's relations with Germany, France, Ukraine, EU as a whole... and now, Israel? Who are they going to offend now? I guess it's time to try offending Sweden, possibly by threatening to sue for damages caused by the Swedish Deluge in mid-17th century... What do you say, Louise? :D

[Oniya]

Also, note that the PiS government managed to antagonize yet another country. They have already damaged Poland's relations with Germany, France, Ukraine, EU as a whole... and now, Israel? Who are they going to offend now? I guess it's time to try offending Sweden, possibly by threatening to sue for damages caused by the Swedish Deluge in mid-17th century... What do you say, Louise? :D

Someone please tell both 45 and the PiS that 'number of countries offended' is not a list where you want to claim the top spot.

[gaggedLouise]

Also, note that the PiS government managed to antagonize yet another country. They have already damaged Poland's relations with Germany, France, Ukraine, EU as a whole... and now, Israel? Who are they going to offend now? I guess it's time to try offending Sweden, possibly by threatening to sue for damages caused by the Swedish Deluge in mid-17th century... What do you say, Louise? :D

:)

I'd prefer if our countries jojned forces and made a well-rounded tv drama about those years, there was a great biography of the Swedish king in question some years ago and you guys have Sienkewicz's novels about the Deluge. Unfortunately I don't think that's gonna happen anytime soon...

Also, have they tried to offend Russia yet - or was there enough offence from the conspiracy rumours around the tragic Smolensk plane crash back in 2010?

[Beorning]

I'd prefer if our countries jojned forces and made a well-rounded tv drama about those years, there was a great biography of the Swedish king in question some years ago and you guys have Sienkewicz's novels about the Deluge. Unfortunately I don't think that's gonna happen anytime soon...

It'd actually be very interesting to see such a drama - I'd love to see the Swedish side of the conflict. But I don't think such a series could be made under current political climate - the Deluge is a much-mythologized period in our history, with those evil anti-Catholic Swedes laying siege to the holy Jasna Góra monastery etc. A TV series showing the actual reasons for Swedish invasion (which, I think, was tied to the stupid dynastic ambitions of Sigismund Vasa..?)? Eh, not really possible.

Also, have they tried to offend Russia yet - or was there enough offence from the conspiracy rumours around the tragic Smolensk plane crash back in 2010?

Well, these conspiracy rumours have almost become an official state policy these days, with the members of the sub-committee investigating it stating outright that the reason for the crash was a bomb (one member recently even stated that this bomb came from Russia), but... you know, I really don't think that Russia's government takes genuine offence. I suspect they are rather quite satisfied that PiS make fools out of themselves and drag Poland's reputation down...

[Nachtmahr]

Pennsylvania's district map has been struck down for partisan gerrymandering.  New district lines must be submitted by Feb 9.

I picked this article because it has the best picture of District 7.

If I recall correctly, wasn't there once an episode of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart where he sent someone, possibly John Oliver, to interview a woman who had accidentally been included in a district that was meant to be empty, so that the country could repurpose the are or something? So she ended up having not only the deciding vote, but the only vote that would be cast at all.

I can't find it on YouTube, and I'm not sure if I'm remembering it exactly right, but I'm pretty sure it was a thing.

Either way, gerrymandering as a whole is an insane beast to try and comprehend. Why it would even be allowed seems beyond me.

[Sara Nilsson]

If I recall correctly, wasn't there once an episode of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart where he sent someone, possibly John Oliver, to interview a woman who had accidentally been included in a district that was meant to be empty, so that the country could repurpose the are or something? So she ended up having not only the deciding vote, but the only vote that would be cast at all.

I can't find it on YouTube, and I'm not sure if I'm remembering it exactly right, but I'm pretty sure it was a thing.

Either way, gerrymandering as a whole is an insane beast to try and comprehend. Why it would even be allowed seems beyond me.

http://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-mh-a-gerrymandering-attempt-20150831-column.html

[Twisted Crow]

Either way, gerrymandering as a whole is an insane beast to try and comprehend. Why it would even be allowed seems beyond me.

+1

Heh. From my perspective, it only benefits those in power to which ever "wins" from it in a given instance. And that's about all it does (beyond giving us a glorified popularity contest every four years). Sadly, I fear that too many citizens are still generally too busy getting caught up with 'Red vs. Blue: The Reality Show, Season Whatever' to care enough about how gerrymandering is a deep root to a very old problem.  :-(

[eBadger]

+1

Heh. From my perspective, it only benefits those in power to which ever "wins" from it in a given instance. And that's about all it does (beyond giving us a glorified popularity contest every four years). Sadly, I fear that too many citizens are still generally too busy getting caught up with 'Red vs. Blue: The Reality Show, Season Whatever' to care enough about how gerrymandering is a deep root to a very old problem.  :-(

I think we've become a culture that's so eager to point out problems and so uninterested in pointing out solutions that we're jaded and simply don't care much anymore. 

The awareness isn't the problem, in other words, it's the lack of expectation for anything to improve.

Or such is my unscientific observation. 

[Twisted Crow]

That could also be an element to this given political climate, sure. I hear you, there.  :-)

[LisztesFerenc]

Either way, gerrymandering as a whole is an insane beast to try and comprehend. Why it would even be allowed seems beyond me.

  It could be one of those cases where its very easy to understand the spirit of the law (Don't Gerrymander, you idiots), but is very difficult to quanitfy why its wrong in exact words. District lines need to be drawn, and cities are complex enough that it cannot always be straight lines, so some disgression needs to be left to the burocrats who draw them up.

[Serephino]

Ah, but when you have small towns in different districts?  I've contacted my representatives, and when I give my zipcode I have to remember the last 4 which hardly ever matter otherwise because my crap town of maybe... 10 thousand people, and that's probably overestimating, is in different districts and have different representatives so the site has to make sure I get the right one. 

[Regina Minx]

  It could be one of those cases where its very easy to understand the spirit of the law (Don't Gerrymander, you idiots), but is very difficult to quanitfy why its wrong in exact words. District lines need to be drawn, and cities are complex enough that it cannot always be straight lines, so some disgression needs to be left to the burocrats who draw them up.

Because dilution of voting populations into a minimal number of districts is a dilution of both speech and the vote, which has both first and fourteenth amendment implications.

People always say gerrymandering is complicated. It’s really not.