What's in the news?

[The Lovely Tsaritsa]

So the 19th school shooting in the U.S. in 2018.

I'm an outsider, I have never lived in the U.S. so I don't know what the answer is. I do know that no other stable, democratic nation in the world would ignore this problem if it happened at an average of 2-3 times per week.

It's now moved past the realm of insane and into the surreal imho.

I used to live, in United States, I’m still not understanding it.

A teenager can buy, a military assault rifle? It makes no sense, so foolish.

How this happens, over and over, and government does nothings, it’s stupid. I guess NRA pays their politicians very good.

[Autumn52]

This school shooting makes me cry for the images those children, those teenagers, will carry for the rest of their lives. That sort of trauma never goes away. I am angry that our government has still done nothing to bring this sort of thing to an end. I don't care what the cost is, the cost of one child who dies outweighs the cost for making a reform that keeps our children safe at school. It is a travesty that in the USA this kind of thing is still happening when in other countries they have none of it. NONE of it. How many more children must lose their lives before congress gets their shit together and we see some reforms happening?


I seriously stopped watching the news because of these sort of events. But I am a realist and I can't go around with my head in the sand and pretend like this doesn't happen. I wish I could, because it seems congress does exactly that. Oh they have a moment of silence and cry on TV but the work of making things change, nope they refuse and that just pisses me off. I love this country but these children no long draw breath and something has to be done so that it doesn't happen again.


Thanks for letting me vent here. Please don't pick my post to bits or try to start an argument, I really can't deal with that right now. I just really needed to vent and now I have. Thanks again.

[RedEve]

Well it's not that this never happens in other countries. See Dunblane, Port Arthur. But the difference is that the countries in question did something in response to those tragedies, to at least make it less likely to see a repeat of them.
It's the inaction from the U.S. policy makers that is the most puzzling.

[Lustful Bride]

Well it's not that this never happens in other countries. See Dunblane, Port Arthur. But the difference is that the countries in question did something in response to those tragedies, to at least make it less likely to see a repeat of them.
It's the inaction from the U.S. policy makers that is the most puzzling.

I am at the point that (despite not wanting to give up my own firearms) I would love to see much stronger legislation. We are past the point reason. :/

I think I would even accept laws from someone who has no idea how guns work if it'l help prevent this. I'm just running on E as it is in my faith in humanity and moments like this break the needle :/

[Lustful Bride]

Supervolcano near Japan shows signs of activity and possible future eruption.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/video/tunedin/a-supervolcano-near-japan-seems-to-be-building-up-for-an-eruption/vi-BBJ8EUW?ocid=spartandhp

[Avis habilis]

It's the inaction from the U.S. policy makers that is the most puzzling.

There$ no my$tery about thi$ $ituation.

[RedEve]

There$ no my$tery about thi$ $ituation.

Membership of the NRA, is what, 1.5% of the population? Even in terms of the amount of money they have at their disposal for lobbying purposes, they punch way above their weight. They are one of the smaller players in Washington in that regard. Or rather, they should be.

[RedRose]

So the 19th school shooting in the U.S. in 2018.

I'm an outsider, I have never lived in the U.S. so I don't know what the answer is. I do know that no other stable, democratic nation in the world would ignore this problem if it happened at an average of 2-3 times per week.

It's now moved past the realm of insane and into the surreal imho.

I don't get it either. I'm one of those rare French who actually can shoot, but this... adoration? of weapons is so Strange.

[Sara Nilsson]

Membership of the NRA, is what, 1.5% of the population? Even in terms of the amount of money they have at their disposal for lobbying purposes, they punch way above their weight. They are one of the smaller players in Washington in that regard. Or rather, they should be.

As a gun enthusiast but not an NRA member. They have a very very passionate member base. After a tragedy people will demand legislation but will quickly tire of calling their representatives. But NRA members do not, they keep calling demanding that the second amendment not be infringed LONG after the outrage over a shooting has died down. That gives them a louder voice than their numbers would otherwise give them. And NRA members are quick to ship in extra cash to protect their hobby.

I am sure next time I go to the range to plink away a bit I will hear how they fear the government will come for their guns and that they need to all make sure to prevent that. I kept hearing for the last years how evil Obama was coming for our guns.

[Lustful Bride]

As a gun enthusiast but not an NRA member. They have a very very passionate member base. After a tragedy people will demand legislation but will quickly tire of calling their representatives. But NRA members do not, they keep calling demanding that the second amendment not be infringed LONG after the outrage over a shooting has died down. That gives them a louder voice than their numbers would otherwise give them. And NRA members are quick to ship in extra cash to protect their hobby.

I am sure next time I go to the range to plink away a bit I will hear how they fear the government will come for their guns and that they need to all make sure to prevent that. I kept hearing for the last years how evil Obama was coming for our guns.

The NRA is a shell of its former self. It only cares about the money from weapon manufacturers and not caring for the people and their rights.

[TheGlyphstone]

The NRA is a shell of its former self. It only cares about the money from weapon manufacturers and not caring for the people and their rights.

It's more accurate, TBH, to say they care more about people's money than people's rights - I actually went and looked it up to see where they actually got their oney, and at least of a few years ago, the NRA's income from firearms manufacturers was only a small fraction of its income. Most of their cash comes from selling ad space in their magazine, and the rest from membership fees. The key part of that is the last - they maintain a culture of fear to encourage people to continue paying membership dues and buying the stuff the NRA shills for its corporate backers.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Rifle_Association#Finances  (relevant direct citations #202-204, linked at the bottom).

[Lustful Bride]

It's more accurate, TBH, to say they care more about people's money than people's rights - I actually went and looked it up to see where they actually got their oney, and at least of a few years ago, the NRA's income from firearms manufacturers was only a small fraction of its income. Most of their cash comes from selling ad space in their magazine, and the rest from membership fees. The key part of that is the last - they maintain a culture of fear to encourage people to continue paying membership dues and buying the stuff the NRA shills for its corporate backers.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Rifle_Association#Finances  (relevant direct citations #202-204, linked at the bottom).

While it may not be big weapon companies that finance them, they are still greedy and care more about the bottom line than actual good works. They are hurting the same people they are supposed to protect (and others) by building that culture of fear and feeding it, turning what could be sane and responsible gun owners into nut jobs thinking Big Brother is coming for them.

[TheGlyphstone]

While it may not be big weapon companies that finance them, they are still greedy and care more about the bottom line than actual good works. They are hurting the same people they are supposed to protect (and others) by building that culture of fear and feeding it, turning what could be sane and responsible gun owners into nut jobs thinking Big Brother is coming for them.

That's why I say, to the tiny number of people who listen (usually here), that I support the 2nd Amendment and view the NRA as the biggest modern threat there is to gun rights. Every time a tragedy happens, their stubborn refusal to even twitch in the direction of compromise makes gun owners as a whole look that much more out of touch and deluded. Their strategy - protect the 2nd amendment - is laudable, but their tactics - perpetuate a culture of fear and gun-driven paranoia to maintain their income stream and the resultant political influence that provides them, rabidly refuse to seek a middle ground to stem the tide of shootings, and generally keep their heads so far up their asses they can smell daylight - are detestable.

[Lustful Bride]

Tensions flare up once more between India and China over disputed region at their borders.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/china-angered-as-indian-pm-visits-disputed-border-region/ar-BBJ9Yfe?ocid=spartandhp

[Lustful Bride]

7.5 Magnitude Earthquake just hit Mexico City with entire buildings having been reported swaying.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/75-magnitude-quake-sways-buildings-in-mexico-city-usgs/ar-BBJevAw?ocid=spartandhp

[Sara Nilsson]

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2018/02/internet-rages-after-google-removes-view-image-button-bowing-to-getty/

Noted a button missing when you google for images? yeah thanks getty images.

This week, Google Image Search is getting a lot less useful, with the removal of the "View Image" button. Before, users could search for an image and click the "View Image" button to download it directly without leaving Google or visiting the website. Now, Google Images is removing that button, hoping to encourage users to click through to the hosting website if they want to download an image.

However a few heroes have added plugins to return it.

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/view-image/jpcmhcelnjdmblfmjabdeclccemkghjk for chrome

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/view-image/ for firefox

[Lustful Bride]

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2018/02/internet-rages-after-google-removes-view-image-button-bowing-to-getty/

Noted a button missing when you google for images? yeah thanks getty images.

However a few heroes have added plugins to return it.

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/view-image/jpcmhcelnjdmblfmjabdeclccemkghjk for chrome

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/view-image/ for firefox

What? aawww man. That is going to suck for getting roleplay images. :( I use it so much to find good images.

[Oniya]

You can still right click on the image at the Google page and save it. 

[Serephino]

That's how I've been getting my desktop wallpapers.  Actually going to the sites that host them has gotten me very nasty rootkits twice.

[Ket]

You can still right click on the image at the Google page and save it. 

You can also still right click to view the image in a new tab

[Sara Nilsson]

You can still right click on the image at the Google page and save it. 

but that usually gives you a lower resolution one

[Sara Nilsson]

You can also still right click to view the image in a new tab

again same problem, you get the google cashed version which is lower quality. If i want pixels I go see the crappiest movie ever made ^^ why i am so glad people made those plugins so its all back to normal.

[Beorning]

That change in Google image search is very annoying 

When it comes to the news - here's something that's been in the news in Poland for a few days now:

https://112.international/society/employer-in-poland-left-ukrainian-worker-with-stroke-on-street-25625.html

Basically, an Ukrainian woman has been working in one company for some time - first legally, then illegally (although the company's owner promised her to legalize her employment again). She's been living in an apartment on the company's premises. One day, during her off hours, she suffered a stroke - and her fellow workers alerted the company's owner. What did the owner do?

Instead of calling an ambulance, he took the woman into a car, drove her to a neighbouring town and left her on a park bench. *Then*, he called for an ambulance... reporting that he found an unknown drunken person sleeping in the park.

The woman was taken to a hospital. Eventually, the truth of who she was surfaced... At that time, the company's owner started making claims that he really cared for his employees, that he was going to pay for the woman's medical bills, that he would buy medical insurance for all his employees... It seems to me that he realized that, as we say over here, his butt was on fire and he was up for some serious charges.

Anyway, this is infuriating. The guy chose to risk the woman's life instead of just calling a doctor and admitting that the woman worked for him illegally. Bastard...

[Sara Nilsson]

wtf... please tell me the law will come down on him hard!

[TheGlyphstone]

wtf... please tell me the law will come down on him hard!

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.