What's in the news?

[Mithlomwen]

Survivors of the Las Vegas massacre are getting death threats from conspiracy theorists.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/oct/26/las-vegas-shooting-conspiracy-theories-social-media

I have no words for these scumbags, and the sad thing is that social media sites (especially Facebook) won't do a damn thing to stop them.

I can't even....

How are these people able to convince themselves that what they are saying is true?  I just can't wrap my head around how they come up with this stuff in the first place.....let alone actually believe it's true. 

[WindFish]

I can't even....

How are these people able to convince themselves that what they are saying is true?  I just can't wrap my head around how they come up with this stuff in the first place.....let alone actually believe it's true.

People will create conspiracy theories over everything. Remember how seriously some people took Pizzagate? There are still some nuts out there who believe that Sandy Hook was a conspiracy theory done with paid actors. I was not surprised that people were almost immediately calling Vegas a hoax as well.

Which makes me question, what exactly is their agenda? They obviously don't give a shit about the victims if they're pathetic enough to send them death threats.

[LisztesFerenc]

Which makes me question, what exactly is their agenda? They obviously don't give a shit about the victims if they're pathetic enough to send them death threats.

  They don't believe they're victims right, that's the point of the conspiracy, they believe they are sending death threats to paid actors who lost no one. As for their agenda, they believe the government is faking or staging these events to control us, and they want to expose it. By sending death threats over social media. That's the problem, if they were smart enough to expose these hypothetical government schemes better, they'd be smart enough to realize there are some holes in the conspiracy theory.

[Trigon]

Belief in conspiracy theories ultimately rest on the desire for consistency. What matters is not so much the physical or documentary evidence, but on whether or not it affirms their view of the world.

[HairyHeretic]

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/10/30/560847850/federal-judge-blocks-trumps-ban-on-transgender-service-members

[HannibalBarca]

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/10/30/560847850/federal-judge-blocks-trumps-ban-on-transgender-service-members

I wanna give Judge Kollar-Kotelly a big hug.

[Lustful Bride]

The 'Duck Dynasty' family has been receiving threats from White Supremacists over their adoption of a biracial son.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/celebrity/duck-dynasty-star-claims-her-family-was-targeted-by-white-supremacists-over-biracial-son/ar-AAufaHl?li=BBnb4R7&ocid=HPCOMMDHP15

Wow that makes me kind of sad :(

[Lustful Bride]

200 Feared dead after tunnel collapse in North Korea near nuclear launch site.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/more-than-200-feared-dead-in-tunnel-accident-at-n-korea-nuclear-test-site-report/ar-AAugiUr?ocid=HPCOMMDHP15

[LisztesFerenc]

  Facebook just gave me an alert that 2 of my friends in New York had marked themselves as save. Apparently at least 6 people have been shot in a gun and truck rampage.

[FeveredDreams]

  Facebook just gave me an alert that 2 of my friends in New York had marked themselves as save. Apparently at least 6 people have been shot in a gun and truck rampage.

I'm getting rather scared to leave house lately.

[Lustful Bride]

At least 8 dead in possible NY terror attack. Hours before the police had been investigating a gunshot call near the 9/11 memorial.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/at-least-8-dead-in-attack-in-lower-manhattan/ar-AAuhPHN?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=HPCOMMDHP15

He ran several people over before rushing out carrying imitation firearms and was shot dead by police.

(I don't know what they mean by 'imitation firearms'. I assume they were plastic models or non functional but I don't know)

[Sara Nilsson]

At least 8 dead in possible NY terror attack. Hours before the police had been investigating a gunshot call near the 9/11 memorial.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/at-least-8-dead-in-attack-in-lower-manhattan/ar-AAuhPHN?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=HPCOMMDHP15

He ran several people over before rushing out carrying imitation firearms and was shot dead by police.

(I don't know what they mean by 'imitation firearms'. I assume they were plastic models or non functional but I don't know)

Where paintball gun and a pellet gun according to huffpost.

[gaggedLouise]

Just heard about NYC on the tv news. Damn coward/s, and an all too familiar method. 

Apparently the guy was heard shouting "Allahu Akbar" as he exited the truck. :(

[Cassandra LeMay]

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/10/30/560847850/federal-judge-blocks-trumps-ban-on-transgender-service-members

I wanna give Judge Kollar-Kotelly a big hug.

It's a good start, but it's early days in the proceedings. At the preliminary injunction stage, petitioners only have to convince the judge that they are likely to win on the merits. Another court might come to a completely different conclusion than judge Kollar-Kotelly during the merits stage of the proceeding. Plus "likely" is not the same as "certain" to begin with.

One good thing about this case is that the Supreme Court will not be able to kick it into the long grass and avoid a decision, should the case reach SCOTUS. That's how SCOTUS wiggled out of the travel ban topic, but the transgender ban doesn't have the same limited duration. (Personally I think the governmant would be stupid to bring this to the Supreme Court, but governments do stupid things sometimes, even without Trump at the helm.)


In other legal news, anyone remember the "Masterpiece Cakeshop" case now going through the Supreme Court, the refusal to make a wedding cake for a gay couple? The first amicus briefs supporting the Colorado Civil Rights Commission and said gay couple are now coming in - including one by Christian churches that argue that granting the exception to Masterpiece would open the floodgates to all sorts of religious discrimination in return. Interesting reading for all law nerds.

[RedRose]

I'm getting rather scared to leave house lately.

I had this after the Bataclan. I consciously decided nope. I forced myself to get out on the following Sunday (it happened a Friday night) to light a candle, and went to motivate various neighbours to basically not stay in a nightgown in front of the TV. It's always less scary outside. Also, one of the victims died in his own apartment, a random bullet. For real.

[Lustful Bride]

Ohio passes bill to ban Abortions after Down Syndrome diagnosis.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/ohio-house-passes-bill-to-ban-abortion-after-down-syndrome-diagnosis/ar-AAukWO2?li=BBnbcA1&ocid=HPCOMMDHP15


I really don't know how to feel on this. As someone born with a disability myself...the idea of an abortion due to something the child didn't choose makes me shiver and feel a sense of sadness. But at the same time I know it is very hard to care for those with such a problem, especially in these hard economic times.

I really don't know what to feel for this.

[Missy]

Ohio passes bill to ban Abortions after Down Syndrome diagnosis.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/ohio-house-passes-bill-to-ban-abortion-after-down-syndrome-diagnosis/ar-AAukWO2?li=BBnbcA1&ocid=HPCOMMDHP15


I really don't know how to feel on this. As someone born with a disability myself...the idea of an abortion due to something the child didn't choose makes me shiver and feel a sense of sadness. But at the same time I know it is very hard to care for those with such a problem, especially in these hard economic times.

I really don't know what to feel for this.

Star Trek

[Vergil Tanner]

Ohio passes bill to ban Abortions after Down Syndrome diagnosis.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/ohio-house-passes-bill-to-ban-abortion-after-down-syndrome-diagnosis/ar-AAukWO2?li=BBnbcA1&ocid=HPCOMMDHP15


I really don't know how to feel on this. As someone born with a disability myself...the idea of an abortion due to something the child didn't choose makes me shiver and feel a sense of sadness. But at the same time I know it is very hard to care for those with such a problem, especially in these hard economic times.

I really don't know what to feel for this.

I'm against the bill, honestly. It's another instance of the government trying to impose itself on peoples reproductive rights and personal decisions, and honestly...well, I wouldn't do it myself, but I understand why people would abort a baby if they knew that it was going to have severe disabilities. Not only because of the difficulties in caring for it, but also for the baby itself; nobody can argue that a disability like Downs Syndrome is desirable, after all. Again, I wouldn't do it, but I can understand why people would. And what if the parents were going to get an abortion anyway, and THEN they found out that the kid has Downs...and OOPS, nope, they can't get it aborted anymore! Sorry!
I mean. It just feels like Governmental overreach to me.

[Oniya]

It's definitely over-reach.  Especially when (since Kasich is still Governor of Ohio, as far as I know) the parents will have to crawl through a maze of red tape to get any assistance what-so-ever to assist their disabled child - or to prevent a high-risk pregnancy to begin with.

There are families for whom a diagnosis of Down's will have no bearing at all on their decision to have a child.  There are other families where the necessary care for that child to have a healthy existence - specialized child care (or loss of one parent's income), medical appointments, etc. - will financially and emotionally break them. That same family that would have made the difficult choice to terminate the pregnancy will be criticized for being 'a drain on the State' when they apply for assistance.

[Callie Del Noire]

Thing is.. will it stop there? Will folks who determine that their child will NOT thrive.. lose the right of choice?

I had a friend/co worker who was tay sachs recessive, as was the girl he married from back home (Both are cajuns of long heritage.) That means.. something like 1 in 4 chance of a child who comes in positive. Could you, realistically knowing.. and having family who passed to this horrible condition, accept bearing a child who might not live to 3 and will die PAINFULLY?

There are a lot of unintended consequences in laws like this..

[Lustful Bride]

Donna Brazille Former DNC analyst and political strategist has begun releasing info on some of the shenanigans that went on behind the scenes at the Clinton foundation.

https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/11/02/clinton-brazile-hacks-2016-215774


I feel that Phily D went over the topic the best. Most of it is just going abit over my own head. Skip to about 9:30. (Kept as link due to him showing his kid in the video in an earlier segment.)

[DominantPoet]

NBC News decided to try and link video games and the alt-right together. Even going so far as to title their "think" piece - How gamers are facilitating the rise of the alt-right.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uN1P6UA7pvM

The video, and the story in general, unsurprisingly, is getting a lot of heat...but not just because the idea itself is rather ludicrous.

No, it also turns out that NBC decided to, unfortunately, live up to the whole "fake news" thing...because they took tweets and altered them to try and make them a part of GamerGate, when in fact, they could have been sent to the recipient of them for any number of reasons.

https://www.oneangrygamer.net/2017/10/nbc-news-publishes-fake-news-edits-tweets-blame-gamergate-harassment/43156/

[Lustful Bride]

NBC News decided to try and link video games and the alt-right together. Even going so far as to title their "think" piece - How gamers are facilitating the rise of the alt-right.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uN1P6UA7pvM

The video, and the story in general, unsurprisingly, is getting a lot of heat...but not just because the idea itself is rather ludicrous.

No, it also turns out that NBC decided to, unfortunately, live up to the whole "fake news" thing...because they took tweets and altered them to try and make them a part of GamerGate, when in fact, they could have been sent to the recipient of them for any number of reasons.

https://www.oneangrygamer.net/2017/10/nbc-news-publishes-fake-news-edits-tweets-blame-gamergate-harassment/43156/

Wow that was actually worse than I thought.

I hate that they actually make 'Fake news' seem like a legitimate saying now.

They aren't wrong in that there is a nasty level of racism and sexism in the gaming community, but they distort the facts to be this doomsaying 'All gamers are racist bigots!' lie.

[Mithlomwen]

Wow.....that's really awful.  :/



So, now that Donna Brazile's book has come out, detailing what went on with the DNC during the primaries.....Trump is throwing a fit, wanting to know why there isn't a special counsel investigating her. 

Meanwhile, Bernie supporters are like, 'Dude, this is old news'.  Why in the hell do you think Bernie supporters were so pissed off?  They already knew Hillary rigged the primaries against him in favor of herself. 

[TheGlyphstone]

Bernie supporters knew the DNC was biased in favor of Hilary because she was their golden girl. I doubt many of them, myself included, knew that Hillary had literally taken the DNC by the balls and was giving them their marching orders.