What's in the news?

[Lustful Bride]

Strange illness seems to be related to marijuana usage and body temperature.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/a-mysterious-syndrome-in-which-marijuana-users-get-violently-ill-is-starting-to-worry-researchers/ar-BBJbiHz?li=AA51YJ&ocid=spartandhp

[Beorning]

Based on how Beorning has painted the direction Poland is going, I'd find it more likely PiS will give him a medal - it's a woman, a foreigner, and an illegal worker all in one, so not dumping her in an alley to die is good enough for them.

I don't know... I don't this case as being of much interest to PiS, personally. Also, they are quite on the populist side, so I don't see them as defending a guy who mistreated an employee in such a way. Even if the employee was Ukrainian...

In any case, I hope the guys gets what he deserves.

[TheGlyphstone]

https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/16/politics/mueller-russia-indictments-election-interference/index.html

Not sure what consequences this will have, if any, but it shows Mueller's digging was not just partisan witch-hunting.

[gaggedLouise]

https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/16/politics/mueller-russia-indictments-election-interference/index.html

Not sure what consequences this will have, if any, but it shows Mueller's digging was not just partisan witch-hunting.

I'm sure there is more coming. :)

Trump's response on twitter was predictably dumb and cheap: he argued that the FBI's efforts with the Russia affair had led to the Florida school shooter going under the radar.  :P

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/965075589274177536

*sigh* How low can you go, Donald?

Meanwhile, the Trump lawyer who paid out a large sum to Stormy Daniels has declared that she is not bound to silence by the payout anymore. Hoping to hear much more from her in the media soon! :D

[Lustful Bride]

IS Claims responsibility after gunman attacks Church in Russia, killing five people before being gunned down by security officer.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/five-women-killed-in-dagestan-church-shooting-claimed-by-is/ar-BBJhXid?li=AA4Zpp&ocid=spartandhp

[gaggedLouise]

IS Claims responsibility after gunman attacks Church in Russia, killing five people before being gunned down by security officer.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/five-women-killed-in-dagestan-church-shooting-claimed-by-is/ar-BBJhXid?li=AA4Zpp&ocid=spartandhp

Dagestan is a notorious hotbed of militant islamism and Jihadism. The republic shares a border with Chechnya, it has a massive muslim majority but has been part of Russia for two hundred years. There's been a lot of jihadist and salafist fighting since 2010, it's practically an offshoot of the unrest in Chechnya (which is effectively independent but moving closer and closer to civil war).

Also, the local government was dissolved two weeks ago due to some of the de facto prime minister and his two deputies being embroiled in a large corruption scandal (at least according to the Russian FSB State Security Service), whereupon Moscow took over and established direct rule. The Mayor of the capital had been arrested in January on the same kind of charges. It's hard to say just how far those accusations were genuine or a bit trumped up, but I'm fairly sure that the whole thing didn't go down well with the local people. ^_ ^

Russia Today has an article about the crisis, they're pro-Putin of course but those republics in the Caucasus, within and outside of Russia, have a long-standing reputation for rampant corruption reaching deep into the state and the political elites:

https://www.rt.com/politics/417983-dagestan-government-dissolved-as-former/

[gaggedLouise]

Hmm, cut "some of" early in the second paragraph of my post. No way you can arrest some parts of a person, of course. :D

[Sara Nilsson]

So Florida after the recent shooting: nah no need to change gun laws. We are fine with how they are.. And then later that day. But PORN is a public health risk!!!!

https://wokesloth.com/guns-dont-kill-people-porn-kills-people/mariam/

Yeah.. seriously. I think I will go have a drink, I feel the need to kill some braincells.

[Sara Nilsson]

https://slate.com/technology/2018/02/paul-manafort-couldnt-convert-pdfs-to-word-documents.html?utm_content=inf_11_2641_2&utm_medium=paid&utm_campaign=socialedge&utm_source=Facebook&tse_id=INF_19d4282018bd11e89c3fe7b54f0f0b81

soo Mr Manafort managed to leave quite the papertrail because when he tried to falsify documents he didn't know how to convert a pdf into a word document, so he asked a friend to do it, he then edited the document, sent it back to be turned back into pdf.

So.. that happened.

Manafort and Gates made numerous false and fraudulent representations to secure the loans. For example, Manafort provided the bank with doctored [profit and loss statements] for [Davis Manafort Inc.] for both 2015 and 2016, overstating its income by millions of dollars. The doctored 2015 DMI P&L submitted to Lender D was the same false statement previously submitted to Lender C, which overstated DMI’s income by more than $4 million. The doctored 2016 DMI P&L was inflated by Manafort by more than $3.5 million. To create the false 2016 P&L, on or about October 21, 2016, Manafort emailed Gates a .pdf version of the real 2016 DMI P&L, which showed a loss of more than $600,000. Gates converted that .pdf into a “Word” document so that it could be edited, which Gates sent back to Manafort. Manafort altered that “Word” document by adding more than $3.5 million in income. He then sent this falsified P&L to Gates and asked that the “Word” document be converted back to a .pdf, which Gates did and returned to Manafort. Manafort then sent the falsified 2016 DMI P&L .pdf to Lender D.

[ShadowFox89]

Remind me, how did they catch Al Capone?

[Sara Nilsson]

Remind me, how did they catch Al Capone?

Good point :)

[Oniya]

Remind me, how did they catch Al Capone?

Forensic accounting.  If he'd actually reported his illegal earnings to the IRS, he might have gotten away with it.

[Regina Minx]

Remind me, how did they catch Al Capone?

Carrying concealed weapons without a permit. Before that he was held in contempt of the court when he didn't show up as a witness on trial of another man. Then vagrancy. THEN for tax evasion.

Anecdotes don't always give the full picture.  :P

[Sara Nilsson]

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/02/nra-gives-ajit-pai-courage-award-and-gun-for-saving-the-internet/

NRA gives Ajit Pai “courage award” and gun for “saving the Internet”
Killing net neutrality helps Pai win award for "standing up under pressure."

yes... the NRA..

[DominantPoet]

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/02/nra-gives-ajit-pai-courage-award-and-gun-for-saving-the-internet/

yes... the NRA..

You read that article and the things the presenter was saying, and you want to think to yourself "Damn, what drugs are they on??"...but the sad thing is, they actually believe the tripe they're saying. Saved the internet, HA!!

[Oniya]

You read that article and the things the presenter was saying, and you want to think to yourself "Damn, what drugs are they on??"...but the sad thing is, they actually believe the tripe they're saying. Saved the internet, HA!!

'What drugs are you on; give me some; and you're fired.' (I forget if this quote was in regards to a particularly bad movie or a particularly bad video game.  Heard it from Little Oni's computer, and it seemed appropriate.)

[stormwyrm]

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/02/19/plane_makes_unscheduled_stop_over_man_farting/

Some silly news this time. :P

[Lustful Bride]

Boko Haram attack in Nigeria leads to 110 girls missing, likely kidnapped.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/nigeria-says-110-girls-unaccounted-for-after-boko-haram-attack/ar-BBJzitD?li=BBmkt5R&ocid=spartandhp

[Sara Nilsson]

https://slate.com/culture/2018/02/court-finds-john-oliver-has-the-right-to-hire-giant-squirrels-to-insult-coal-barons.html?utm_content=inf_11_2641_2&utm_medium=paid&utm_campaign=socialedge&utm_source=Facebook&tse_id=INF_3c1ed53019ec11e8831e8dbc9df7201c

West Virginia judge Jeffrey Cramer is dismissing a defamation lawsuit against John Oliver stemming from a segment in which a giant squirrel named “Mr. Nutterbutter” told coal baron Robert Murray to eat shit, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

victory!!!

[TheGlyphstone]

https://slate.com/culture/2018/02/court-finds-john-oliver-has-the-right-to-hire-giant-squirrels-to-insult-coal-barons.html?utm_content=inf_11_2641_2&utm_medium=paid&utm_campaign=socialedge&utm_source=Facebook&tse_id=INF_3c1ed53019ec11e8831e8dbc9df7201c

victory!!!

Yaaaaaasssssss!!!!

[Oniya]

Love the headline on that.  'The right to hire giant squirrels' is not something I'd like to see lost.  ;)

(I mean, think of all those giant squirrels that would be unemployed, and willing to work for peanuts!)

[Deamonbane]

Love the headline on that.  'The right to hire giant squirrels' is not something I'd like to see lost.  ;)

(I mean, think of all those giant squirrels that would be unemployed, and willing to work for peanuts!)

[gaggedLouise]

Boko Haram attack in Nigeria leads to 110 girls missing, likely kidnapped.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/nigeria-says-110-girls-unaccounted-for-after-boko-haram-attack/ar-BBJzitD?li=BBmkt5R&ocid=spartandhp

Aaaw, not *again*?!  >:( Not such a massive surprise, but still infuriating.

[Lustful Bride]

UN investigation establishes a link between North Korea and Chemical Weapons in Syria.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/un-links-north-korea-to-syria’s-chemical-weapon-program/ar-BBJEadn?li=BBmkt5R&ocid=spartandhp

[Hades]

On the 26th, the US Second Circuit court ruled 10-3 in Zarda v. Altitude Express, that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 applies to sexual orientation when it comes to protections against discrimination.

Turns out this is the second Circuit Court to make this decision, the first being the Seventh Circuit back in April 2017.  As long as there's not a split between the Circuits, the Supreme Court is unlikely to take a case about this issue, which means it's unlikely to be overturned by the stolen seat that is Neil Gorsuch.