November 2019 Current Events: Blade Runner happened this month

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Internet VFW > November 2019 Current Events: Blade Runner happened this month

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Godholio: Aug 28, 2002; Does a bear split in the woods near Zheleznogorsk?

mlmp08 posted:

E: ^^ ah, got it

I'm no family lawyer, but her original awarded child support was $18K/month. It was reuced later, and now she's sueing to get it reinstated at the original level. I get that $18K is a lot of money. But anyone bitching about her $18K month who doesn't demand systemic wealth redistribution, starting with the rich-as-hell dudes who run this joint, is at best getting played by a dumb misogynistic trope for the benefit of the wealthy or at worst just projecting their own relationship problems onto others.

I don't know how you have that conversation without agitating for revolution, but ok.

I have a love/hate relationship with child support, having paid it for quite a long time. It was the first bill I paid and the only one that I never missed even when I was sleeping in my car and crashing with family. I also saw my ex getting a new car or truck every 3-4 years, along with a bunch of other stuff, and knowing that her husband wasn't making that kind of money (they also had 4 other kids). On the other hand my son had a decent life in that house. But when it was first awarded, there was some kind of minimum amount I had to pay even though that was roughly my first paycheck of the month, and I was still stuck buying a lot of the baby supplies that she wasn't spending that money on. $18k is insane on the surface, but I doubt those kids were going to be starving for "stuff" if they'd grown up in dad's house so it's probably comparable and that's the point. I don't like that she got 2/3 of his estate after 7 years of marriage during the peak of his NFL career, but it's what it is and I'm not losing sleep over it. I don't really see that as the same as vets losing their poo poo because after 20 years of marriage and service the ex gets half their retirement after being drug around the globe and having no chance at their own career.

Edit: She's claiming he's behind on his monthly payments, he's denying it. gently caress whomever is lying.

# ? Nov 27, 2019 05:01

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# ? May 28, 2024 18:03

mlmp08: Jul 11, 2004; Prepare for my priapic projectile's exalted penetration; Nap Ghost

Godholio posted:

I don't know how you have that conversation without agitating for revolution, but ok.

It's called tax law :confused:

There are about a gajillion things ahead of "sneaky single parents" that are the actual cause of the common person being poo poo on in this country. If we made the rich pay for social services, there would be less requirement for individuals to pay as much for childcare.

# ? Nov 27, 2019 05:03

Patrocclesiastes: Apr 30, 2009

Eat the rich imo.

While that amount of money awarded from divorce makes me feel weird, we have to remember that the husband is rich as gently caress and a woman shouldnt have to sell assets to survive a divorce.

# ? Nov 27, 2019 05:14

Stultus Maximus: Dec 21, 2009; USPOL May

That Works posted:

I'm having a hard time accepting that this is a real persons account.

https://twitter.com/aubrey_huff/status/1198657627963547651

Laughing at someone thinking they actually deserve millions of dollars for playing child games.

(USER WAS PUT ON PROBATION FOR THIS POST)

# ? Nov 27, 2019 05:17

Godholio: Aug 28, 2002; Does a bear split in the woods near Zheleznogorsk?

mlmp08 posted:

It's called tax law

Which is written by rich people working for richer people to be voted on by other rich people who are almost universally disincentivized to cooperate with a plan for systematic wealth redistribution (even if a sizable majority in this country wanted it, which they don't).

quote:

There are about a gajillion things ahead of "sneaky single parents" that are the actual cause of the common person being poo poo on in this country. If we made the rich pay for social services, there would be less requirement for individuals to pay as much for childcare.

No doubt.

# ? Nov 27, 2019 05:22

Milo and POTUS: Sep 3, 2017; I will not shut up about the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. I talk about them all the time and work them into every conversation I have. I built a shrine in my room for the yellow one who died because sadly no one noticed because she died around 9/11. Wanna see it?

UP THE BUM NO BABY posted:

They don't just threaten, they use it all the loving time.

There is no greater existential threat to this country than american conservatives

# ? Nov 27, 2019 06:25

Crab Dad: Dec 28, 2002; behold i have tempered and refined thee, but not as silver; as CRAB

Make any of you feel better my mom never got a penny of the 17 years of child support she was awarded after being married for 1 year with a few trips to the ER for being "clumsy". So the system works I guess.

# ? Nov 27, 2019 06:42

EBB: Feb 15, 2005

https://twitter.com/i/status/1195814623452094464

# ? Nov 27, 2019 06:48

FAUXTON: Jun 2, 2005; spero che tu stia bene

EBB posted:

https://twitter.com/i/status/1195814623452094464

People using cameo to have fading stars break up with their partners is absurd as hell and funny as hell

# ? Nov 27, 2019 06:53

Milo and POTUS: Sep 3, 2017; I will not shut up about the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. I talk about them all the time and work them into every conversation I have. I built a shrine in my room for the yellow one who died because sadly no one noticed because she died around 9/11. Wanna see it?

FAUXTON posted:

People using cameo to have fading stars break up with their partners is absurd as hell and funny as hell

Nobody ever gives credit to the bright spots of the cyberpunk dystopia

# ? Nov 27, 2019 07:10

FAUXTON: Jun 2, 2005; spero che tu stia bene

Milo and POTUS posted:

Nobody ever gives credit to the bright spots of the cyberpunk dystopia

that's because they ain't worth the rest

# ? Nov 27, 2019 07:13

Best Friends: Nov 4, 2011

facialimpediment posted:

For what it's worth, professional sportplayers tend to skew hella, hella libertarian. Setting aside the dudebro jock poo poo, a middling player would sign a $1m contract, of which ~$300k immediately goes to the taxman and ~$100k probably goes to the agent. That turns them a bit mentally goofy, getting only $600k of their $1m, plus all of the bullshit that sportowners like to pull to deny them that money if they get hurt. Make that paranoia exponential for the big-time players with big-time contracts.

The richest bunch tend to not give a gently caress and will randomly spout out nonsense because dammit, that bitch gonna get all my money in the divorce. Most have the good sense to shut up... but their brain tells them to start investing in wacky poo poo like bitcoin.

It's the same general story - money turns people libertarian/conservative in a hurry, then blend that with dudebro jock poo poo and you get an Aubrey Huff.

My hot take: Anyone who genuinely pulls themselves from poverty to riches with their own hard work and talents deserves to be a libertarian if they want. Not sure if that's Huff but it definitely is a lot of athletes.

I'll just keep laughing at the failsons working at a job daddy gave them who think they're being held back by the government.

# ? Nov 27, 2019 07:19

Kawasaki Nun: Jul 16, 2001; by Reene

Kill everyone that willingly procreates.

# ? Nov 27, 2019 09:57

That Works: Jul 22, 2006; Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy

Godholio posted:

Edit: She's claiming he's behind on his monthly payments, he's denying it. gently caress whomever is lying.

100%

My whole issue with the original tweet wasn't the amount of money or Strahans case, it was Huffs attitude that since the wife wasn't a famous athlete that having kids and being married was worthless financially compared to "chauvinist adjectives here". Honestly wasn't even looking at the actual money in the Strahan thing nor really care about that.

That Works fucked around with this message at 13:07 on Nov 27, 2019

# ? Nov 27, 2019 10:46

colachute: Mar 15, 2015

E:After considering my opinion, it�s probably not important to add to the conversation so I�ll just make a request:

McNally, in the future please try to facilitate discussions instead of immediately telling people to stop talking about things that you don�t like. This is your biggest fault as a mod.

colachute fucked around with this message at 11:25 on Nov 27, 2019

# ? Nov 27, 2019 11:04

Eej: Jun 17, 2007; HEAVYARMS

Patrocclesiastes posted:

Eat the rich imo.

While that amount of money awarded from divorce makes me feel weird, we have to remember that the husband is rich as gently caress and a woman shouldnt have to sell assets to survive a divorce.

18k a month is a lot but you have to consider she was married for 7 years and has twins. They were accustomed to a certain lifestyle so how do you decide what is an appropriate "cap" for how much money is appropriate to raise a child without a significant decrease in quality of life?

If you capped child support based on "reasonable living expenses" the following would happen:

Women would stay in lovely relationships longer because their quality of life would decrease significantly for themselves and their children

Filthy rich men would divorce women left and right when they get tired of them cause they can afford to pay whatever pittance support would be

Kids get hosed

# ? Nov 27, 2019 12:44

Milo and POTUS: Sep 3, 2017; I will not shut up about the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. I talk about them all the time and work them into every conversation I have. I built a shrine in my room for the yellow one who died because sadly no one noticed because she died around 9/11. Wanna see it?

woops

# ? Nov 27, 2019 12:55

A Bad Poster: Sep 25, 2006; Seriously, shut the fuck up.

poo poo, it's almost like nobody should be getting accustomed to a lifestyle where they can have access to tens of millions of dollars.

# ? Nov 27, 2019 13:18

Flying_Crab: Apr 12, 2002

colachute posted:

E:After considering my opinion, it�s probably not important to add to the conversation so I�ll just make a request:

McNally, in the future please try to facilitate discussions instead of immediately telling people to stop talking about things that you don�t like. This is your biggest fault as a mod.

# ? Nov 27, 2019 13:20

SimonCat: Aug 12, 2016; by Nyc_Tattoo; College Slice

LoL if you don't have a pre-nup.

My wife was adamant we get one to protect her savings.

# ? Nov 27, 2019 14:24

Stultus Maximus: Dec 21, 2009; USPOL May

SimonCat posted:

LoL if you don't have a pre-nup.

My wife was adamant we get one to protect her savings.

Lol if you have assets worth protecting with a pre-nup.

# ? Nov 27, 2019 14:39

Proud Christian Mom: Dec 20, 2006; READING COMPREHENSION IS HARD

Wow this got very red pill

# ? Nov 27, 2019 15:13

Serjeant Buzfuz: Dec 5, 2009

Wife made me sign a prenup that says if we divorce she keeps my balls.

# ? Nov 27, 2019 15:30

Patrocclesiastes: Apr 30, 2009

If you have assets that need to be protected by pre-nup, you need a guillotine instead

# ? Nov 27, 2019 15:46

Big K of Justice: Nov 27, 2005; Anyone seen my ball joints?

joat mon posted:

Current events adjacent:
Warner Brothers animators showing support for striking Disney animators during the Disney animators 1941 strike.
https://i.imgur.com/jV7ILAq.mp4

The effigy was of Disney's attorney.
https://i.imgur.com/CT0xNF4.mp4

I'm an inactive TAG [Animation Guild] member. Guild did good work getting a great deal for people in that guild, Film producers/studios pool money into a fund that gets sent to different other IATSE unions [actors, editors, screenwriters, etc] And Animators got a seat at the table, stuff like if you work 10 years you get lifetime health coverage past that even if you change industries or leave the field, standing up to Overtime violations, plus two pensions [well it was two pensions its down to one now ]. In 1979 they struck over runaway production forcing us studios/networks to have to use US animation studios before sending work to Canada/Korea/Japan, which worked.

Then 1983 happened. The union contract was up for renewal and there was another strike about outsourcing. This was also during the production of Tron at Disney where they had to send a lot of matte work to Taiwan for ink and paintwork, which was under dispute since Disney was classifying it as not animation, despite it being animation. Everyone was on strike and after 10 weeks, Disney workers gave up and went back to work. This is a no-no.. and forever kicked the Animation Guild out of the "big boys table" of IATSE negotiations. They immediately lost the support of other guilds in LA over this and were forced to deal with studios on their own in the future instead of on a united front with the rest of Hollywood.

1983 was the start of outsourced animation on tv in the US, which also combined with children's program deregulation opened the flood gates for shows roughly produced in the US but animated outside the US.. plus the rise of toy commercials disguised as tv shows.

Things bottomed out in the late 80's with the closure of Filmation [Heman/Shera/Bravestar,etc] and Hanna Barabaria getting sold. The union did recover in the 1990's with the rise of the Hollywood big-budget animated features and the rise of Dreamworks and Disneys CG feature divisions. IMO, things were still weighed down by upper union-management which hasn't changed since the 70's and early 80's... many issues were still viewed through the lens of TV animation even though at that point [early 2010's] 90% of membership was CG feature at two studios. Fortunately, new blood got in power and things are working out better now but I don't think they'll ever recover from the 1983 fiasco.

That being said computer/CG folks were always the hardest to get to unionized. Lucasfilm/ILM was unionized at one point and IMO, the workers got scammed there to walk away from the union on a vote. PIXAR should have been unionized, but LOL Pixar.

More recently, after Frozen turned out to be a big hit, Disney cut bonus checks out to the animation staff, averaging around $30k each if I recall correctly. Problem was, Disney hand a round of layoffs after the film was done but before it was released and those folks never got the bonus... the union stepped in over that and a deal was worked out.

SO uh.. that's my essay on animation unions.

Big K of Justice fucked around with this message at 15:50 on Nov 27, 2019

# ? Nov 27, 2019 15:48

Nostalgia4Butts: Jun 1, 2006; WHERE MY HOSE DRINKERS AT

tyvm for that, gently caress disney

# ? Nov 27, 2019 16:03

Generation Internet: Jan 18, 2009; Where angels and generals fear to tread.

Big K of Justice posted:

SO uh.. that's my essay on animation unions.

Thanks for this post, it was a good read.

# ? Nov 27, 2019 16:24

piL: Sep 20, 2007; (__|\\\\); Taco Defender

Lou Takki posted:

Wife made me sign a prenup that says if we divorce she keeps my balls.

Why not split each one down the middle?

# ? Nov 27, 2019 16:35

Nick Soapdish: Apr 27, 2008

https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2019/11/27/ice-arrested-250-foreign-students-fake-university-metro-detroit/4277686002/

quote:

About 90 additional foreign students of a fake university in metro Detroit created by the Department of Homeland Security have been arrested in recent months.

A total of about 250 students have now been arrested since January on immigration violations by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as part of a sting operation by federal agents who enticed foreign-born students, mostly from India, to attend the school that marketed itself as offering graduate programs in technology and computer studies, according to ICE officials.

Many of those arrested have been deported to India while others are contesting their removals. One has been allowed to stay after being granted lawful permanent resident status by an immigration judge.

The students had arrived legally in the U.S. on student visas, but since the University of Farmington was later revealed to be a creation of federal agents, they lost their immigration status after it was shut down in January. The school was located on Northwestern Highway near 13 Mile Road in Farmington Hills and staffed with undercover agents posing as university officials.

Out of the approximately 250 students arrested on administrative charges, "nearly 80% were granted voluntary departure and departed the United States," the Detroit office of ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) told the Free Press in a statement Tuesday.

Out of the remaining 20%, about half of them have received a final order of removal; some of them were ordered removed by an immigration judge, and others "were given an expedited removal by U.S. Customs and Border Protection," said HSI Detroit.

The remaining 10% "have either filed for some sort of relief or are contesting their removals with Executive Office for Immigration Review," said HSI Detroit.

ICE said in March that 161 students had been arrested, which has now increased to about 250.

Meanwhile, seven of the eight recruiters who were criminally charged for trying to recruit students have pleaded guilty and have been sentenced in Detroit, including Prem Rampeesa, 27, last week. The remaining one is to be sentenced in January.

Attorneys for the students arrested said they were unfairly trapped by the U.S. government since the Department of Homeland Security had said on its website that the university was legitimate. An accreditation agency that was working with the U.S. on its sting operation also listed the university as legitimate.

There were more than 600 students enrolled at the university, which was created a few years ago by federal law enforcement officials with ICE. Records filed with the state Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) show that the University of Farmington was incorporated in January 2016.

Many of the students had enrolled with the university through a program known as Curricular Practical Training (CPT), which allows students to work in the U.S through a F-1 visa program for foreign students. Some had transferred to the University of Farmington from other schools that had lost accreditation, which means they would no longer be in immigration status and allowed to remain in the U.S.

Emails obtained by the Free Press earlier this year showed how the fake university attracted students to the university, which cost about $12,000 on average in tuition and fees per year.

The U.S. "trapped the vulnerable people who just wanted to maintain (legal immigration) status," Rahul Reddy, a Texas attorney who represented or advised some of the students arrested, told the Free Press this week. "They preyed upon on them."

The fake university is believed to have collected millions of dollars from the unsuspecting students. An email from the university's president, named Ali Milani, told students that graduate programs' tuition is $2,500 per quarter and the average cost is $1,000 per month.

"They made a lot of money," Reddy said of the U.S. government.

No one has filed a lawsuit or claim against the U.S. government for collecting the money or for allegedly entrapping the students.

Attorneys for ICE and the Department of Justice maintain that the students should have known it was not a legitimate university because it did not have classes in a physical location. Some CPT programs have classes combined with work programs at companies.

"Their true intent could not be clearer," Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon Helms wrote in a sentencing memo this month for Rampeesa, one of the eight recruiters, of the hundreds of students enrolled. "While 'enrolled' at the University, one hundred percent of the foreign citizen students never spent a single second in a classroom. If it were truly about obtaining an education, the University would not have been able to attract anyone, because it had no teachers, classes, or educational services."

In the memo, federal prosecutor Baker said the case raises questions about the U.S. "foreign-student visa program."

Baker wrote that "immigration and visa programs have been hot-button topics in the United States for years and national scrutiny has only been increasing. Fairly or unfairly, Rampeesa�s conduct casts a shadow on the foreign-student visa program in general, and it raises questions as to whether the potential for abuse threatens to outweigh the benefits."

Reddy said, though, that in some cases, students who transferred out from the University of Farmington after realizing they didn't have classes on-site, were still arrested.

Rampeesa was sentenced Nov, 19 to one year in prison by Judge Gershwin Drain of U.S. District Court in Detroit. With time already served of 295 days, he should be out in about two to three months, and will then be deported to India, said his attorney Wanda Cal. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit visa fraud and harbor aliens for profit.

Detroit ICE spokesman Khaalid Walls said the other recruiters sentenced so far are Barath Kakireddy, 29, of Lake Mary, Florida, 18 months; Suresh Kandala, 31, of Culpeper, Virginia, 18 months; Santosh Sama, 28, of Fremont, California, 24 months; Avinash Thakkallapally, 28, of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, 15 months; Aswanth Nune, 26, of Atlanta, Georgia, 12 months; Naveen Prathipati, 26, of Dallas, Texas, 12 months.

Phanideep Karnati, 35, of Louisville, Kentucky, is to be sentenced in January.

In court, Rampeesa's attorney, Cal, said his client had no criminal record and came from a rural background in India.

He was trying to "help his family back home," Cal said before Judge Drain. "My client is very remorseful. He is really a good person caught up in a bad situation."

Rampeesa arrived in the U.S. legally a few years ago on a student visa and earned in 2016 a master's degree in computer science at Northwestern Polytechnic University. But the university later lost its accreditation, which put his immigration status in jeopardy. He had spent $40,000 in tuition and fees for his studies at the university.

"He was desperate to find a way to stay in the United States," Rampeesa's attorney, Cal, wrote in his sentencing memo. He wanted to get a Ph.D. in computer science, she said.

Rampeesa then met Sama, who recruited him to attend the University of Farmington and told him he could get tuition credits if he recruited other students, Cal said.

Sama and Rampeesa were working with people they thought were university officials, but were actually undercover agents for the Department of Homeland Security.

"My client has no other criminal history, not even a traffic ticket," Cal said in court last week.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Baker said in court that Rampeesa was "aware it was completely fake," that "it was just for maintaining status."

"He chose the University of Farmington for a reason," Baker said of Rampeesa.

In calling for a sentence of 24 to 30 months, Baker said: "It's important to send a message ... this type of crime will not be tolerated."

Accompanying Baker in the court last week was Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronald Waterstreet, who helped prosecute the case.

Judge Drain sentenced him to 1 year, but he will be released in two to three months because of time served, and then deported.

Drain said of Rampeesa: "You don't have any criminal history. ... I don't think you're a danger to the public."

Rampeesa received a shorter sentence than Sama because he was not recruiting other students for cash, but for tuition credits provided by the university, Judge Drain said.

Rampeesa wrote a letter to the court pleading for leniency that was read before the judge. A Telugu-speaking translator was at his side in court, translating the courtroom proceedings. Most of the students were from Telugu-speaking regions of India in the state of Andhra Pradesh.

He said he was trying in the U.S. after his previous university's loss of accreditation made his master's degree "worthless."

"I am ashamed," Rampeesa wrote. "I made a very bad decision" to recruit students that "bought shame to my family name."

Contact Niraj Warikoo: nwarikoo@freepress.com or 313-2234792. Twitter @nwarikoo

We're really going to need a South Africa style Truth and Reconciliation Commission in the 2020s

# ? Nov 27, 2019 16:39

LtCol J. Krusinski: May 7, 2013; by Fluffdaddy

Nick Soapdish posted:

https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2019/11/27/ice-arrested-250-foreign-students-fake-university-metro-detroit/4277686002/

We're really going to need a South Africa style Truth and Reconciliation Commission in the 2020s

# ? Nov 27, 2019 16:54

Milo and POTUS: Sep 3, 2017; I will not shut up about the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. I talk about them all the time and work them into every conversation I have. I built a shrine in my room for the yellow one who died because sadly no one noticed because she died around 9/11. Wanna see it?

Nick Soapdish posted:

We're really going to need a South Africa style Truth and Reconciliation Commission in the 2020s

I haven't faith enough in this country to see it happen tbh.

# ? Nov 27, 2019 16:57

Flying_Crab: Apr 12, 2002

Nick Soapdish posted:

https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2019/11/27/ice-arrested-250-foreign-students-fake-university-metro-detroit/4277686002/

We're really going to need a South Africa style Truth and Reconciliation Commission in the 2020s

What the gently caress?

Don�t worry:

https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/1199718185865535490?s=21

# ? Nov 27, 2019 17:24

Milo and POTUS: Sep 3, 2017; I will not shut up about the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. I talk about them all the time and work them into every conversation I have. I built a shrine in my room for the yellow one who died because sadly no one noticed because she died around 9/11. Wanna see it?

I don't know if I want that to be real or not

# ? Nov 27, 2019 17:25

FAUXTON: Jun 2, 2005; spero che tu stia bene

which rocky movie was it where he couldn't read cue cards

# ? Nov 27, 2019 17:27

MA-Horus: Dec 3, 2006; I'm sorry, I can't hear you over the sound of how awesome I am.

is that real

I mean, is the tweet real

if so, what the fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck

# ? Nov 27, 2019 17:28

Hot Karl Marx: Mar 16, 2009; Politburo regulations about social distancing require to downgrade your Karlmarxing to cold, and sorry about the dnc primaries, please enjoy!

Flying_Crab posted:

What the gently caress?

Don’t worry:

https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/1199718185865535490?s=21

my god

# ? Nov 27, 2019 17:29

Nick Soapdish: Apr 27, 2008

Flying_Crab posted:

What the gently caress?

Don�t worry:

https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/1199718185865535490?s=21

It is great that his CHUD supporters somehow think the "239lb" never exercising, McDonalds eating, good genes having good (great) President is the height of masculinity

# ? Nov 27, 2019 17:30