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| 2007/4/24-25 [Reference/Military] UID:46426 Activity:moderate |
4/23 For you guys who think we need guns to check government power, where
do you draw the line? Is there a line for you, or should all small arms
be legal for private ownership?
\_ Define "small arms"
\_ Yeah, I think recoiless rifles should be legit.
\_ 50 caliber or smaller
\_ Well, it seems to me that stuff like an MP5 with integral
suppressor would be quite useful for the covert ops needed
when trying to fight against superior federal forces. Same
with full-auto guns and stuff with "assault" features.
\_ Phased-plasma rifle in the forty watt range
\_ So is a 39 watt plasma rifle ok? you bastard!
\_ only way to check on government power is to allow average citizens
to own nuclear bombs. And no, I still don't see the relationship
between 2nd Amenment and *HAND GUNS*. Why can't we ban all
hand guns, but keep rifles and shutguns? Why hand gun advocates
never complain about our ban on grunade, rocket launchers, and
artillery is beyond me. |
| 2007/4/24-25 [Politics/Domestic/California, Politics/Domestic/HateGroups] UID:46427 Activity:high |
4/23 "This guy had to be a liberal. You start railing against the rich and
all this other -- this guy's a liberal. He was turned into a liberal
somewhere along the line. So it's a liberal that committed this act.
Now, the drive-bys will read on a website that I'm attacking
liberalism by comparing this guy to them. That's exactly what they do
every day, ladies and gentlemen. I'm just pointing out a fact. I am
making no extrapolation; I'm just pointing it out."
-- Rush Limbaugh on Cho
\_ What day and time did he say this? I'm almost 100% sure this was a
joke, but http://mm.org never distinguishes between serious commentary and
jokes.
\_ (responding to myself), http://mm.org falls for Rush's joke hook, line,
and sinker
http://mediamatters.org/items/200704230012
\_ please.
\_ Perfect Rush response: "I was joking and you guys fell for
it, ha ha! I'm smarter than you! Oh, and I really meant
it, ha ha! I'm smarter than you! Oh, and I really wasn't
joking, either!" -tom
\_ I bet Hitler was joking too!
\_ He wouldn't have said so. Why did you have to say
something so ridiculous?
\_ Guess what, "can't you guys take a joke" is in the same
vein as "Some of my best friends are black!" When you have
to go there you already lost and aren't doing yourself any
favors by not trying to drop the subject.
\_ Except that he made it clear the point he was making with
humor at the time. Since he uses humor all through his
show, you nutty libs are left scratching your collective
heads, because you apparently don't have a sense of humor.
Unless of course you're watching Jon Stewart.
\_ yeah, you nigger. ohh, i was joking too.
\_ No, sometimes humor is offensive. Defending it as
just being a joke doesn't make it any less offensive.
\_ And an offensive joke that isn't funny is useless.
Along with Imus, Limbaugh deserves shit for his
"jokes" because he's simply not funny.
\_ You mean I can't tell black jokes at work anymore??? |
| 2007/4/24-27 [Science/GlobalWarming, Politics/Foreign/Asia/China] UID:46428 Activity:kinda low |
4/24 China will pass the United States as the world's biggest source of
greenhouse gasses this year
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8OMPHM80
\_ As long as they only use one square per wipe it'll be ok.
\_ But they have more than four times the population than ours.
\_ what is your point again? Global Warming is caused by human
activities *OF 6-7 INDUSTRIAL NATIONS* in past 100 years.
Why China/India should be asked to curb greenhouse gasses
when the problem is mostly caused by France/Germany/Britian/
USA?
\_ Why? Because they share the same friggin' planet and if
they want to be alive in 2050 or 2100 or whatever they need
to cut back the same as everyone else. Dead planets don't
care about your historic/cultural 'rights' to screw shit up.
\- Larry Summers and The Big Fuck You:
http://tinyurl.com/yvexcz
in particular:
The industrial world was responsible for much of the
problem, he said, but most of the solutions must
come from the developing world, where emissions are
growing the fastest and infrastructure is still
unbuilt. The developing world should "demand" that
it be compensated and supported for taking actions
"in the interest of all," he said.
[given the context, it is kind weird to refer to the
harvard episode rather than "former treasury
secretary" ... they that's the clown-side of the NYT
secretary" ... that's the clown-side of the NYT
for you.]
\_ that is why I am no longer an environmentalist.
The major "environemntal movement" is just a scheme
for the Industrial Nations to exploit their ex-colonies
in the form of "new, environmentally friendly
technology which Industrial Nations collect royalty
upon, as well as the "carbon trading scheme" which
Industrial nations can purchase their way out.
If one is serious about the environment, have a
carbon cap on per capita basis, and give out these
new technologies for free to developing nations as
part of the price to pay for fucking up the environment
in the past 100 years. |
| 2007/4/24-27 [Reference/RealEstate] UID:46429 Activity:moderate |
4/24 Existing home sales drop 8.9% in March, largest since 1989. Median
home values drop 8th straight time. Where's smug housing guy?
http://urltea.com/fbq
\_ Ooh, another huge 0.3% year-over-year drop! RUN FOR THE HILLS!
\_ Super-inflated Santa Clara / SF is going to take a long effin' time
to drop significantly in price. Podunk-ville, I can see real drops.
There are three major categories of people in America:
- Median wage earners
- Professionals
- Professionals (the future wealthy) and the wealthy
- Fucking-super-wealthy bastards
I call it "three America's".
I think that the latter two are doing much better in terms of growth
in net worth than the first group, which is reflected in the real
estate environment we see today. It's not a stretch to say as
housing slows down, we'll see this trend more clearly.
I call it "three America's".
estate environment we see today. Translation: Regions with lots of
professionals and/or the super-wealthy will maintain values --
professionals and/or the super-wealthy will maintain value --
because they can afford it, and they can stretch.
professionals and/or the wealthy will maintain value -- because they
can afford it, and they can stretch.
\_ I think the profressionals are going to do worse and worse every
\_ I think the professionals are going to do worse and worse every
generation from now on till they more or less don't exist
anymore.
\_ It's happening right now and has been for 20+ years. Look at
doctors for a start.
\_ What about them...? I agree that over time professionals
are doing worse in ways that matter: hours worked,
vacation, benefits etc. Most doctors I see are doing very
well though. Maybe they suffer more getting started though.
\_ Their incomes have eroded and their work hours have
increased. My neighbor is a doctor and he said that
his life is much different than his father's was
(his father was also a doctor) and that he's not
recommending that his 17 year old son go to medical
school at all when the time comes. Yes, doctors
still do well, but the above states "worse and
worse" which is true. That's not even accounting
for "getting started" which involves (for many)
$200K in student loans.
\_ When prices drop 8.9% *and* I'm trying to sell my house during that
drop, let me know. A co-worker was reading too many blogs and
convinced himself that a 40% drop in prices was coming (due about
6 months ago). I'd love to see a 40% price drop. Then I could
afford to move to another house and buy a few more as investments.
Or housing prices can stay where they are or keep going up. Then
when I sell my house I have a huge profit. Either way, as a home
owner I win big time.
\_ I'm not saying there's going to be a 40% drop, but if there
WAS a 40% drop here is how it would start. Prices on houses
drop a little. The market gets a bit skittish. People trying
to sell their residences take places off the market/stay where
they are for longer. If this reduction in supply doesn't
bring prices back people who have to sell or new construction
has to drop because the owners are losing money if they don't
sell. Thus starts the death spiral. Once again I'm not
saying this is going to happen. |
| 2007/4/24-26 [Uncategorized] UID:46430 Activity:nil |
4/24 "Kryptonite" Found in Serbia:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6584229.stm
\_ I thought they found a bicycle lock. :-) |
| 2007/4/24-25 [Computer/Rants, Recreation/Food] UID:46431 Activity:nil 72%like:46418 |
4/23 NYTimes, reform the farm bill!
http://urltea.com/fbx (nytimes.com) |
| 2007/4/24-26 [Politics/Foreign/MiddleEast/Iraq] UID:46432 Activity:low |
4/24 http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/04/23/iraq.main/index.html Diyala province, truck bombs (two 30-ton dump trucks) kill 9 U.S. soldiers at small patrol base, five hospitalized. (IIRC, the last major non-mortar attack that penetrated a U.S. base was the cafeteria one.) God forbid we see more of these. \_ While it sounds bad, it may be a shift in tactic by the resistance from sectarian killings to US military. *IF* there is a big drop in sectarian killings in Bagdad during this time, this may actually meant the "surge" is "working" in the sense that it stopped the secartian killings. Of course, if the data shows that secartian killing has no significance in reduction, then, all these means that the resistence is getting stronger and bolder. \_ Or it just means that fighting an insurgency is a long dirty ugly battle with few easy clear cut victories. Looking at any one single day and saying "it means this" or "it means that" in either direction is just guessing. |
| 2007/4/24 [Transportation/Bicycle] UID:46433 Activity:nil 90%like:46438 |
4/24 http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-bikevalet23apr23,0,5859225.story?coll=la-home-headlines Bicycle valet services. Free. \_ Every been to the bikestation at berkeley bart? \_ BART has been providing the same service for a while: http://www.bart.gov/guide/bikes/bikeOverview.asp |
| 2007/4/24-27 [Reference/RealEstate] UID:46434 Activity:kinda low |
4/24 The sign is here. Swami the Magnificent's prediction is
coming true. November 2007 will be the nadir of Real Estate:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18289082
\_ Swami was already wrong by at least a year on the peak, and
real estate prices haven't gone down an appreciable amount.
If they just start going up again in November 2007, Swami
will have been 100% wrong. -tom
\_ Do you mean "Unless" instead of "If"? His prediction that
the nadir is 11/07 would mean they would start rising in
12/07, right? I think prices still have a long way to fall
and will fall throughout 2008 as more and more neg ams cap
out and ARMs expire.
\_ His prediction was that the peak would be in 2005. If
prices just stop going up for a while, and then start
going up again, there was no peak at all. Personally, I
agree with you that we're likely to see prices flat or down
for a more extended time. -tom
\_ http://www.csua.org/u/ik1
"...other cities have exhibited persistent monthly declines
since last spring, such as San Francisco and Boston
yielding negative monthly returns since May of last year."
\_ You can't look month over month; housing prices are
seasonal. March numbers in California showed a
year-over-year rise of 3.2%; the Bay Area was up 5.6%.
Other places are down. Overall it's going sideways
in terms of price, on lower volume. -tom
\_ When do you think the peak was Tom?
\_ I think we've been on a plateau for the past 9 months or so.
It may eventually represent a peak, depending on what
happens in the next year. -tom |
| 2007/4/24-27 [Politics/Domestic/California/Prop] UID:46435 Activity:nil |
4/24 More on Mello-Roos. Basically it curbes growth and sprawling,
which you poor environmental hippies want anyways:
http://www.planetizen.com/node/91
\_ "The "auto mall" is now common throughout the United States,
but it was invented in California -- not by the auto
industry trying to sell cars, but by local governments
trying to capture sales taxes. The plethora of outlet
malls, entertainment retail centers, and regional malls is
also partly the result of Proposition 13. So is the boomlet
in the creation of new cities in the last twenty years --
because for the first time in history, a California
community could incorporate by transferring money out of
the county treasury rather than raising taxes. Many of
California's sprawling regional development patterns are
the result of Proposition 13 also."
What article are you reading?
\_ That article is kidding itself if it thinks all of this is
a result of Prop 13. All of that crap has happened in
non-Prop 13 states, too. |
| 2007/4/24-25 [Recreation/Dating] UID:46436 Activity:nil Cat_by:auto |
4/24 motd guy here
today Apr 24 2007 I will no longer look at porn.
help me stay strong.
\_ why?
\_ Crap. had a relapse. ok trying again. Wed Apr 25 2007. |
| 2007/4/24-26 [Health/Men, Health/Women] UID:46437 Activity:high |
4/24 dear married men, was sex more pleasurable without any condom?
I've never had sex without condom and I'm curious. ok thx.
\_ Yes it's INCREDIBLY good and addictive. It's better than drugs.
It feels really really really good. Also note that if you do get
addicted to bareback sex your life after 9 months will be
hell for the rest of your life.
\_ Try getting a steady girlfriend instead of using
prostitutes.
\_ gf insists on condom and would not discuss any other
alternatives. You know, they have too much side effects
like blood clot and stuff.
\_ There're other effective techniques other than the
\_ More likely to be a problem if the user smokes or is > 35yo.
\_ There're other effective techniques than the
pill. IUDs are quite effective and much safer these
days.
\_ Women still get pregnant on the IUD. The advantage is
there's no pill to remember and they last for several
years (Mirena 5 years; copper T 10 years).
Disadvantages include not finding out about a bad
install or dislodging event until several weeks into
a pregnancy.
\_ Hell yes.
\_ Kimono ultra-thin condoms are better than regular condoms, but it
\_ Kimono MicroThin condoms are better than regular condoms, but it
still can't beat no condoms. That is, unless one has premature
ejaculation problem. --- married 8 yrs
\_ EIGHT years? How much are you actually getting now? Do you
see a trend?
\_ Frequency dropped quite a bit after our first son was born,
and dropped to almost zero after our second son was born.
That sucks.
\_ The difference is actually pretty huge. I rarely went condomless
before marraige and it is nice to not have to anymore.
\_ Why are you framing this question for married men? Also, I am
surprised at how many people are okay with having their wives
on hormones. Maybe they should consider vasectomies. I fail to
see how married == no condom. Disease shouldn't be an issue, but
kids still are.
\_ How many men out there do you personall know are NOT ok
with their wives on pills?
\_ I'm not. I don't usually ask other couples what sort of
contraceptives they use.
\_ Dude, anal sex is so much better without a condom.
\_ You know most women have no problems with the pill. Why should
I care if she has no side effects?
\_ Actually, a lot of women do have side-effects and other
issues with the pill. Not a problem for the Hooters girl you
want to bang. A big problem if it's your wife and you care
about her health.
\_ Vasectomies are cool if you don't want any more kids again ever,
but they're not a reversible form of contraception. Condoms,
the pill, etc. are.
\_ Sex with a condom is not sex... sorry.. after wife gave birth
had to use condom, because she couldn't go back on the pill
because she was breast feeding. It's just not the same. The
warmth and the wetness can't be beat.
\_ If she was trying to get knocked up then, well, duh.
Have all the unprotected sex you want. Re: "back on the
pill"
\_ Just get a fleshlight. Women are just bitchy hassles.
\_ How easy is it to clean? It looks like it can't be cleaned by
flushing water into it.
\_ The withdrawal method has an 83% success rate |
| 2007/4/24-26 [Transportation/Bicycle] UID:46438 Activity:nil 90%like:46433 |
4/24 http://urltea.com/fcm (latimes.com) Bicycle valet services. Free. \_ Every been to the bikestation at berkeley bart? \_ BART has been providing the same service for a while: http://www.bart.gov/guide/bikes/bikeOverview.asp \_ Well, BART doesn't provide the service, they just provide the space. (And actually, that only in Berkeley) -tom \_ There is something similar in Embarcadero. -ausman |
| 2007/4/24-27 [Politics/Foreign/MiddleEast/Iraq] UID:46439 Activity:moderate |
4/24 http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1614000,00.html Iraqi Oil: More Plentiful Than Thought, 215 billion barrels, or double only second to Saudi Arabia, and more than Iran at 136 billion barrels of oil. So much for oil shortage. Time to fulfill your American dream by buying that big house 45 miles away from the city and the SUV you've always dreamed of having! \_ We pumped up 10% of all the oil consumed since the dawn of the age of oil during the first Bush term. During the second Bush term, we will pump up 10% of all known reserves. \_ I suppose you know what the core of the earth is made of too? Or are you citing unnamed sources, or you 'just know'? \_ Do we really want to put more money in the hands of muslims? Let's break the oil habit already, fer chrissake. \_ I just laughed when US was lecturing China about how China shouldn't be dealing with Nigeria and Sudan. \_ Every President from Nixon on has said this. And during the Presidency of every President since Nixon we've gotten more dependent on imports. Actually doing something about it will mean the kind of sacrifices by the American people that will get any politician who actually tries to implement them carried out of town on a rail. So instead the system will collapse and we will elect a constant stream of more and more maniacal tyrants who promise to fix the energy problems. \_ C'mon, a "maniacal tyrant" persuaded us into a war with Iraq, a country which never harmed us. Granted, he did that by lying to us. How hard could it be to persuade us to provide incentives, implemented on a gradual basis, toward moving us to oil-independence? Everyone knows oil is running out. Just look at gas prices. Everyone knows that we're headed for a collapse. I doubt a politician who says, "it's time to prepare for the inevitable--this new gasoline tax will provide incentive to moving to renewable transport fuels. And BTW, to reduce the impact on the poor, we're reducing the income tax, so you shouldn't be paying any more overall." \_ Poor people don't pay income tax. Reduce the payroll tax instead. \_ I read that only 33% of adults pay income tax now. That is scary for those of us who are paying into the system. \_ Where did you read this? I am skeptical. \_ That seems hard to believe. The majority of Americans do pay more in payroll tax than in income tax, however, a fact usually conveniently left out by people who advocate income tax taxcuts. \_ I didn't say 'payroll tax'. However, that just covers entitlements. I read it in that rag called the Wall Street Journal. The article is called "The Taxpaying Minority". http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_ID=14434 It says something like 40% of taxpayers pay 92% of the taxes. 33% pay none at all and the rest pay so little as to be almost nothing. \_ First you say that only 33% pay payroll tax, now you say that 33% pay none at all. Which one is it??? \_ Huh? \_ "I read that only 33% of adults pay income tax now." "33% pay none at all..." Which one is it? You do understand that these do statements do not say the same thing, right? \_ First one was from memory. Second from the article. Just read it and see. The gist the article makes, from what I remember, is that some people pay more than "none at all" but it is so small as to be almost nothing. \_ Thanks for clarifying. The poor pay a disproportionate amount of sales, gasoline and use taxes as a percentage of income, so only talking about "income" tax is a misapprehension. Actually, when the WSJ does it, it is a deliberate attempt to distort the truth. \_ Sure, they do pay more in proportion, but (except for gasoline) those are state taxes. \_ Ok, 33% pay none at all-- does that include children, old people, and disabled? \_ Obviously. \_ If you look at all taxes we have basically a flat tax, with each quintile paying almost the same percent of their income in taxes. However, since the very top has so much more income than everyone else it makes sense they are paying most of the taxes. That doesn't show the top is being taxed unfairly, it shows that the bottom is getting screwed. \_ I never said it was unfair. I am just saying that the tax base is eroding. \_ As the gap widens between the top tier and the rest of us also-rans, it would be more accurate to say that a smaller number of people are continuing to pay enormous (yet still not necessarily unfair) amounts into the tax base. It's so much eroding as it is becoming proportionately uber-relevant. -!pp |
| 2007/4/24 [Uncategorized] UID:46440 Activity:nil |
4/24 Jesus christ
http://www.onemodelplace.com/member.cfm?ID=299456
\_ NSFW, picture of a woman with breasts bigger than her hip. |
| 2007/4/24-27 [Politics/Domestic/California] UID:46441 Activity:low |
4/24 Dianne Feinstein comes down squarely on the RIAA's side on the
Copyright Royalty Board ruling. Please write her snail mail, or
phone her office, to tell her how wrong she is!
http://somafm.com/blogs/rusty/2007/04/senator-dianne-feinstein-has-wrong.html
\_ DiFi is a sell-out, and has been a sell-out on this particular
issue for many years. -tom
\_ Was it Pelosi or Diane who has the concealed carry permit issued
in SF?
\_ That's Feinstein. Don Perata (the California State Senator
who writes most of California's state-level gun ban
legislation) also has one. --alawrenc |
| 2007/4/24-27 [Recreation/Food] UID:46442 Activity:kinda low |
4/24 Anyone else going to the alumni BBQ on Friday, 4/28? -jrleek
\_ I'll be there. --mconst
\_ When and where???
\_ Here's the reminder I got in the mail today from edilaic:
We're having a barbecue on Friday, April 27 at 5:00! Everyone's
invited to have steak and top dog hot dogs at Soda on the
volleyball court, or possibly a pleasant vegetarian surprise
(it'll be good, we promise.) Please send RSVPs to omgwtfbbq@csua
if you're going to attend!
\_ I'll be there. It'd be good to chat again jrleek, its been a
while. -quasi alumni mrauser
\_ I think being an alumnus is like being pregnant. Either you
or you aren't. A degree isn't a requirement either.
\_ I can't make it this year, I have to study for my last finals
evar!
\_ Ah, BS. You can slip out for an evening of burgers with the
nerds.
\_ Why didn't you guys use evite? Can you just show up or
is RSVP mandatory?
\_ You should email politburo with these kinds of questions.
None of them read the motd AFAIK. I just posted the
announcement here in hopes I could meet some other motders
there. My guess is if you don't RSVP, you may not get
food. However, there always seems to be too much food at
these things, so you'll probably be fine. -jrleek
\_ I really want to, but I can't. I need to make sure that
I don't mess up the last two finals I will probably ever
take. I'm not just turning down burgers w/ nerds, I also
turned down karaoke w/ a fed. judge on friday as well :-)
\_ I have to study for Boards. How about beers at Jupiter in Dec? |
| 4/15 |