What's in the news?

[Lustful Bride]

I've seen a couple of news stories recently about right wingers setting up fake antifa twitter accounts, using doctored photos and trying to discredit the antifa movement, or at least make them look more violent / intolerant / whatever in the public eye. This could be a similar thing.

Problem is some people among the Antifa are actually like that. :/ and neither side cares about policing themselves.

So it gets hard to see who is taking and who is genuinely like that. I usually chock it up to a 50-50 possibility on either end.

[HairyHeretic]

There's going to be extremists in any religious, political or social grouping. Unfortunately that's human nature.

[AmberStarfire]

So many people. :(

http://www.news.com.au/world/europe/german-police-say-former-nurse-niels-hoegel-may-have-killed-up-to-180-with-lethal-drug-overdoses/news-story/194c5f51f904ce277baec1595ff29ea2

[Lustful Bride]

North Korean Missile flies directly over Japan in latest provocation attempt. It broke apart and later landed in the water, but people in the area near it are being advised to take precaution.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/north-korea-missile-passes-over-northern-japan-japan-government/ar-AAqRLzW?OCID=ansmsnnews11

The flooding in Texas has only gotten worse, with the storm predicted to double back and hit the area again.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/photo-of-mother-and-babys-rescue-becomes-symbol-of-storm/ar-AAqRIIe?li=BBnb4R7&ocid=HPCOMMDHP15

Many Police and Firefighters are being worked to the breaking point. The national guard has reported over 2,000 multi person rescues at this point.

If anyone wants to help here are a few good places to go. Those people need all the help they can get.

Diaper Donation:
https://texasdiaperbank.networkforgood.com/projects/33717-change-a-life

Red Cross Donation.
https://www.redcross.org/donate/hurricane-harvey?campname=Harvey&campmedium=aspot

This is may not be as damaging as Katrina or other hurricanes, but its scars will last much longer. :(

[Sara Nilsson]

http://www.salon.com/2017/08/28/stormfront-internets-oldest-major-racist-website-has-domain-suspended/?utm_content=inf_11_3115_2&utm_source=SocialEdge&utm_campaign=influencer&tse_id=INF_d178f9108c0911e7a7253d7eefa2109b

Stormfront has its domain suspended. And of course the right wing nutjobs are screaming censorship.

[Lilias]

Remember the guy who claimed he was stabbed 'for looking like a neo-Nazi'? Turns out he made it all up.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/aug/28/neo-nazi-stabbing-fake-colorado-joshua-witt

I'm shocked. Shocked, I tell you. This is my shocked face.

[Trigon]

North Korea has launched a missile over Japan: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/28/world/asia/north-korea-missile.html

It flew over the island of Hokkaido and landed in the sea. Though it didn't hit anything (thankfully), it nonetheless sent Japan into a state of emergency...

[Missy]

You know this dumbass is doing it to try and taunt us into hitting him, but really he might actually make everyone feel like it's justified.

[Lustful Bride]

You know this dumbass is doing it to try and taunt us into hitting him, but really he might actually make everyone feel like it's justified.

Good, hopefully if we do have to step in, at least the world wont go screaming we are after oil or something .


In other news. The 'Cajun Navy' a group of volunteers from Louisiana have rushed to texas with everything from speed boats, to rafts, and trucks and just you name it. They brought supplies and rescue material to help those in Texas.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/%e2%80%98cajun-navy%e2%80%99-races-from-louisiana-to-texas-using-boats-to-pay-it-forward/ar-AAqRZDi?li=BBnb4R7&ocid=HPCOMMDHP15

Makes me proud to be an American. Seeing how we band together for the greater good of all. ^_^

[gaggedLouise]

You know this dumbass is doing it to try and taunt us into hitting him, but really he might actually make everyone feel like it's justified.

Back in the day when Kim Jong Il made his first nuclear tests, there was a guy from here who made a superb blog post commenting on a photo of a cocky Kim with three smiling military police in the background. Compared Kim to the bunch of multi-millionaire gangsta rappers: "They all want something to impress the world, but while people like Snoop Dogg emphasize bling and fast cars, Kim goes for fissile material".

[HairyHeretic]

You know this dumbass is doing it to try and taunt us into hitting him, but really he might actually make everyone feel like it's justified.

Why though? What benefit does he get if he gets attacked? I don't think China will support him if he becomes too much of a liability to their interests.

[Iniquitous]

Why though? What benefit does he get if he gets attacked? I don't think China will support him if he becomes too much of a liability to their interests.

China has already told them to knock their shit off because they will not defend them if they strike first.  I am hoping China would not defend them if they provoke a first strike.

[Oniya]

Why though? What benefit does he get if he gets attacked? I don't think China will support him if he becomes too much of a liability to their interests.

You have to look at it from Kim Jong Il's mindset.  It's like a 5 year old doing the 'I'm not touching you' game:

'Maaaaaaaaa!  Big bully America hit me!'

(The fact that I can so easily see certain world leaders as small children makes me think of a certain Pink Floyd album.  I'mma be on YouTube for a bit.)

[Lustful Bride]

The Levees in Huston have broken :(

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/levee-breach-due-to-harvey-forces-evacuation-in-houston-suburb/ar-AAqWqEN?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=HPCOMMDHP15

[Twisted Crow]

Well, one of them it seems. Strange I didn't see this on local news but perhaps it might have been while I was still asleep or scouting a bit with my Dad (in our area). Apparently, this one was near Brazos River.

Edit: Now I see it. Yeah, this is around Lake Jackson south of us.

[Twisted Crow]

I should also note that our levees are mostly designed for our surrounding rivers (as opposed to New Orleans with, I guess, the more ambitious task of blocking an ocean). Our infrastructure is different. Sadly, damage is done by that breach, I am sure. I need to follow up on what that looks like while I have been digging for information. But in that one aspect, its not quite like when Katrina happened to our Louisiana neighbors (when their levees gave way). In ways it might affect us differently, but not quite as brutal or sudden. I couldn't say its better or worse. Every big storm like this is different.

The storm is pretty much out of our way, but flooding is still going to be an issue because we depend on rivers to bleed out reservoirs and wetlands and draw water out back to the Gulf. We are going to look like Amsterdam or Venice for a few days, and a lot of fellow Houstonians are without shelter right now (that hopefully FEMA and Red Cross can get set up soon). We have been setting up temporary shelters (Such as George R. Brown center and several schools) in the meantime. We are going to feel it. And when it comes to gas, I would guess the rest of the nation might see it on a per-gallon basis. I am more concerned with those that need shelter. Prior to that levee breach, I want to say we have had 7 recorded deaths. Plus news of an HPD Sergeant drowning while helping with the rescue.

The annoying questions I keep seeing around the interwebs is "Why didn't you guys evacuate?", "Why weren't you/we better prepared for this?", etc.



Heh. Yeah, lets try to organize a mass exodus of some 6.5+ million people from several county areas with this sort of infrastructure. Could never happen over the course of 2 days. Not here. I don't care if every citizen was given boats and helicopters. Sometimes geography and infrastructure cannot accomodate for something this big. I was raised here, I know this city. Houston was as prepared as it could have been for this, and the response has been incredible against record breaking floods. This is more rain in a few days than we get in an entire year. Nobody could have prepared for that. I don't care what anyone says.

[Regina Minx]

The annoying questions I keep seeing around the interwebs is "Why didn't you guys evacuate?", "Why weren't you/we better prepared for this?", etc.



Heh. Yeah, lets try to organize a mass exodus of some 6.5+ million people from several county areas with this sort of infrastructure. Could never happen over the course of 2 days. Not here. I don't care if every citizen was given boats and helicopters. Sometimes geography and infrastructure cannot accomodate for something this big. I was raised here, I know this city. Houston was as prepared as it could have been for this, and the response has been incredible against record breaking floods. This is more rain in a few days than we get in an entire year. Nobody could have prepared for that. I don't care what anyone says.

Plus, if you evacuated Houston (let alone every major coastal city) every time there was a hurricane or tropical storm warning, it would pretty much be empty throughout August and September.

[Twisted Crow]

Oh, definitely. In our particular case we kinda have this "The Gulf Giveth; The Gulf Taketh Away" mentality.

[Oniya]

'Why weren't we better prepared for this'? 

Talk to the American Society of Civil Engineers about that...  America as a whole got a D+ on our infrastructure.

[Callie Del Noire]

'Why weren't we better prepared for this'? 

Talk to the American Society of Civil Engineers about that...  America as a whole got a D+ on our infrastructure.

Yeah.. we have been at that for like something on 40 years.

I'm honestly surprised a major bridge somewhere hasn't catastrophically failed in operation during rush hour. The reason that congress has skipped out on upping the highway gas tax in like decades.

[Lustful Bride]

Yeah.. we have been at that for like something on 40 years.

I'm honestly surprised a major bridge somewhere hasn't catastrophically failed in operation during rush hour. The reason that congress has skipped out on upping the highway gas tax in like decades.

Of course Congress is involved in this. They get paid to just sit on their hands most of the time.

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

[Twisted Crow]

Holy crap. That shouldn't surprise me but it does somehow.

Speaking of engineers, I have a whole new appreciation for them after this. Army Corps of Engineers seem to really have their shit together with this situation. Wish we would have listened to those silly engineers when they told us not to build goddamn houses beside levees. Golf courses... why not? Houses, though? Really? Fortunately those got evacuated quickly sans one dumbass reporter trying to get a story... I will just not get into that too much :

"Hey, let me interview you about your thoughts and feelings while you were ordered to evacuate... like, right now. The levees could breach any minute and..."

Me watching the TV: O.O

By the way these weren't the same that breached, this was last night on the north side.

[Oniya]

Army Corps of Engineers seem to really have their shit together with this situation.

Not surprised.  These are the folks who put together bridges in combat zones for tanks to cross.

[gaggedLouise]

You have to look at it from Kim Jong Il's mindset.  It's like a 5 year old doing the 'I'm not touching you' game:

'Maaaaaaaaa!  Big bully America hit me!'

(The fact that I can so easily see certain world leaders as small children makes me think of a certain Pink Floyd album.  I'mma be on YouTube for a bit.)

Actually Kim Jong-Un, but these guys are a dynasty and the son is heavily defined by his father's policies. :)

[Oniya]

Actually Kim Jong-Un, but these guys are a dynasty and the son is heavily defined by his father's policies. :)

Thanks - I'm always second-guessing myself and thinking that 'Un' was the father and 'Il' was the son.  I think it's the 'Un' and 'One' getting mixed up in my head (and not helping that Il and II look way too similar.)