wolfriverjoe

At the end of that article, it mentions that two of the organizers were arrested. One was Tamara Lich. Since all her bank accounts have been frozen, and she doesn't really have any assets, the idea of her husband being the 'surety' for her bail (requiring him to report any violations). During the court hearing, the husband said he thought it was a peaceful protest and part of their First Amendment rights. Really. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/tamara-lich-bail-hearing-february-19-1.6358307 I wasn't aware that the American Constitution applied to Canadians in Canada. I thought the 'lake lizards' were in Ohio. https://journalstar.com/news/article_71913e3d-bb5e-5a8a-9e71-c3814743f20a.html

I don't think Putin is doing it for Trump. International crises don't affect how a state's Attorney General does her job. Or how a civil court conducts their business. It might distract Congress some, but I don't think it would derail the Jan 6 committee's work. I don't even think it would push any real legal actions against Trump off the front page. How many Americans can pick out Ukraine on a map? Or Russia? Or any state other than Florida, Texas, California and the one they live in?

Yup. Got it confused with the 475 Linebaugh. The 'super duper big' pistol calibers aren't my thing. Thank you for the correction. One of the really fun things about being a range officer (at the local 'club' range) is seeing what people bring down. Lots of shooters offer to let me try a couple shots. I've never said 'no', but I have said 'not again'. I've also seen mean boyfriends hand their girlfriend, who clearly hasn't shot before, a gun way beyond her capability. I've annoyed more than one dude like that by asking the girl if she's ever shot that before (no) or if she's ever seen it fired before (also no). I then suggest she watch him shoot it before she tries it. That usually gets a resentful look from the guy, and a grateful look from the girl once she sees how much power and recoil it has. I've then annoyed the dude even more by handing the girl a loaded magazine for a 22 pistol, giving her a quick lesson in operating it and letting her shoot. After shooting it the first time and realizing how mild it is, she then enjoys herself shooting the rest of the shots.

One thing the Epoch Times is good at is recycling old news and presenting stuff that was reported (and subsequently discredited) over and over again. They're also really good at presenting claims that are really false. One reason the Epoch Times is running that narrative is because they HATE the Chinese government. And the Chinese are imposing very strict mandates to try to stop Covid. They impose lockdowns on any place that has reported cases. Its one of the reasons the supply chain is so messed up. Chinese factories can't produce cheap stuff for Walmart when their workers are quarantined. The idea that the mitigation efforts (lockdowns, mask mandates, vax mandates) is worse than just 'letting the disease run its course' are a popular one. But it's not true. Look at Italy early on. They had a huge outbreak. Hospitals were so overloaded they were turning away people. Just sending them home to die. There was a time when Italy was seeing death rates approaching 10% of cases. That's why they imposed a strict quarantine. I won't disagree that lockdowns and quarantines have bad effects. I will state that overloading the hospitals is far worse than any of those effects.

Pfft. Fox would just use the 'no rational person would take this seriously' defense... Again.

Well, the 'good ones' are the old military ones from World War 2. The tanks on the back hold the fuel. They shoot a stream of napalm (jellied gasoline) and are both very brutal and cool as all hell. Since they don't explode, or launch a projectile (the gas doesn't qualify as one, I guess), they don't fall under the BATF's jurisdiction. I don't pretend to fully understand it, but that's the way the rules read. To see what one looks like in action, this scene is pretty good (and really fun): And as far as using a gun on a bear, I'd not want to try it. First off, a pistol large enough to have much hope of stopping a bear is going to be big. Really big. Your suggestion of a 44 mag or 454 Casull isn't bad. But a 500S&W or 475S&W would be a better choice. The problem is that those pistols (all of them) are really heavy. Packing one 'just in case' will get old fast And they're expensive. Both the gun and the ammunition. Pistols are not easy to use. It takes a LOT of practice (the comment about the scene from Pulp Fiction is spot on). The big pistols aren't terribly 'fun' to shoot. Not unless you're into pain. I've shot a 500 once (two shots). The recoil is brutal. To be able to accurately shoot while facing a charging bear is not something many people will be able to do. The paradox is that the average person won't be able to hit a vital area until the bear is so close that it won't die before it reaches (and kills) you. Too far away, you miss. Too close and you don't stop it in time. I've never been in real 'bear country' myself, but I've talked to people that have spent a good bit of time there. Avoidance is key. Realizing they are there before they get anywhere near you is the best choice. Surprising a bear isn't a good thing to do. Pistols are generally a 'comfort' item. They make you feel better, but aren't much use. If one is expecting an encounter, then pay the weight penalty and carry a decent rifle or shotgun. 12 mag slugs are adequate. 'Large bore' rifles are pretty good too. The 45-70 is an old cartridge, and SAMMI spec is low powered enough to be safe to shoot in old Trapdoor Springfields (the rifles that got Custer and his men killed). Modern actions can take a lot more pressure, and there are published handloads that can be shot in the Marlin lever action or Ruger single shot. Those approach 458 Win Mag energy levels (depending on bullet choice). I've shot a hot 45-70 out of a Guide Gun. It was a lot of recoil, but not painful. I was able to hit a 12" steel circle from 50 yards, open sights and standing (standing lets one rock back with the recoil - lots better than from a bench). If I was going somewhere that there was a real chance of encountering a large bear, I'd take one of those.

Not according to the BATF. Even the 'good' ones that shoot napalm aren't classified as 'weapons.' Really.

Maybe, maybe not. I'm not a fan of rap or hip-hop. Not my thing. But I didn't go off the deep end complaining about the show. I actually watched it. I have to say I was impressed with the production. The technical end was pretty flawless. The sound was excellent, the lights and effects all worked (that has not always been the case). While I understand the logic that the people who didn't like it are old and don't like that kind of music, the ones I personally know that hated it the most are also pretty racist (a few of them overt, most 'closeted').

^This. The protesters are a combination of anti-vax, anti-'liberal', disgruntled racists and 'sovereign citizens' (yes, Canada has those idiots too). To a large degree, they don't even know what they are protesting. They're just 'mad as hell and aren't going to take it anymore'. You know, because they're a bunch of sensitive snowflakes, and can't handle real life in the current world.

Yup. If you don't say the words of the spell exactly right, the spell won't work.

Well, if you provide fraudulent documents to the accountants, they aren't liable for the fraud... UNLESS it can be shown that the fraud was obvious enough that they should have known. Or it can be shown that they were given information that shows the fraud. It's not terribly surprising that the accounting firm broke ties with Trump after meeting with the prosecutors looking into the accusations of fraud by Trump and his cabal.

Since GoFundMe froze the funds for these idiots, they went to GiveSendGo. I wasn't familiar with it, but it's a "Christian" site. It has funded such 'Christ like' groups as the proud boys, Qanon idiots, and the Jan 6 insurrection attempt prisoners. In a not terribly surprising development, their site security wasn't very good and they got hacked. Lots and lots of info on who donated money for the 'convoy'. https://www.vice.com/en/article/k7wpax/freedom-convoy-givesendgo-donors-leaked?utm_source=reddit.com

The 'funny' thing about that is that Fauci said the exact same thing back early in the pandemic. https://www.factcheck.org/2020/05/outdated-fauci-video-on-face-masks-shared-out-of-context/ The 'anti mask' crowd took it out of context and ran with it, pretending that masks don't work at all. Masks aren't perfect. Keeping distances isn't perfect. The vax isn't perfect. The only 'perfect' solution is to not have ANY contact with ANYBODY. Which is impossible. So many (most?) folks take what precautions they can, understanding that they are reducing the risk, not eliminating it. Unfortunately, there are some seriously binary idiots who seem to believe that if a solution isn't perfect, then it's completely useless. I know a few of those. They are insanely frustrating to talk to. And the 'citation thing' is general practice. Make sure to put some common sense with it. If you claim the sun is going to come up tomorrow, you don't need to provide links to NOAA with sunrise times. If you're going to claim that its the vaxed, not the unvaxed that are overloading the hospitals, then you probably should. And be prepared to be challenged on them.

Shhhhh. The first rule of White Privilege is that we don't admit White Privilege exists.

You don't quit skydiving* because you get old. You get old because you quit skydiving. * - Insert 'ride motorcycles', 'skiing', 'hiking' or any other activity.

I don't recall anyone saying that masks would be a 'magic bullet'. Except, that is, for the people who try to make that claim when they are trying to claim that masks don't work. From the beginning, it was made pretty clear that masks reduce the spread. They don't eliminate it. There are even links & pics on this very thread from a while back that clarify the reductions. They are most effective at helping prevent a sick person from 'spewing' virus out to infect others. Wearing one to prevent catching the virus is a lot less effective (not zero, but less). Kind of funny that 'taking care of others' is something that so many people are unwilling to do. Remember when Fauci said he didn't want to recommend them? It was because they were worried about the idiots going on a buying spree and hoarding them (remember the Great Toilet Paper Shortage?). And because he was worried that people would think they were a 'magic bullet' and stop taking other precautions. As with just about everything, masks are a part of the mitigation strategy. Interestingly, handwashing is probably the least effective part. Covid is airborne/droplet spread. All the surface cleaning and sanitizing did little to stop Covid (it was likely one of the reasons 'normal' colds & flu largely disappeared). Providing citations isn't a 'rule', but it is a 'best practice'. Has been for a long time. It's always been the 'responsibility' of the person making the claim, not the person challenging it.

It's a rather sad testimonial to the state of the world when I can no longer tell if this is satire or people actually believe it. On a similar note (this one is satire): https://newsinfection.com/2021/08/smoke-detectors.html

Because, for some people, treating someone they view as 'lesser' with courtesy & respect makes them 'weak'. Those same people are utterly incapable of empathy. They give absolutely zero shits about anyone else. It goes way beyond preferred pronoun usage, but that's a really obvious one.

Fine, upstanding citizens peacefully protesting. Riiiiiiiight. https://globalnews.ca/news/8600592/trucker-convoy-police-investigating-arson-apartment/

Or the Koran.

No, they have what they call the 'world championship', which is rather presumptuous. Considering there's more than ONE country in the 'world'. (baseball does the same thing) And I would say that American football (Hand-Egg) is a long way from extinction. They've got some pretty big problems, mostly resulting from their own arrogance, bigotry and greed. But it's far too popular, far too big and FAAAAAAAAAAR too profitable to go away.

He's talking about 'football', where only one person on each team can use their hands to touch the ball. Not Hand-Egg, where only two people on the team actually use their feet to touch the ball.

Well, yeah. Back in the 50s, letting poor people die from lack of medical care (or lack of nutritious food) was the norm. Johnson was a piece of shit, but his social programs did a lot to improve the lives of poor folks. And improved the country as a side effect. The "Great Society" concept had a lot going for it.

Option 3 - He knows full well what he's doing, and is doing it specifically to generate responses.

I stopped jumping last summer when the Delta variant started spiking. Part of it was the 'stuffed into a little plane with people who may be contagious', but a bigger part of it was because the hospitals were filling up, wait times at emergency rooms were going through the roof and beds were becoming scarce. The idea of having a reasonably minor accident (break an ankle on landing or something) and having to go to the hospital didn't appeal to me.