A White Guy posted:

46 million registered voters? 32ish million actual votes. 14 million people just let somebody else decide their future for for them

A White Guy posted:

46 million registered voters? 32ish million actual votes. 14 million people just let somebody else decide their future for for them

A White Guy posted:

46 million registered voters? 32ish million actual votes. 14 million people just let somebody else decide their future for for them

spog posted:

Higher turnout than the general election

(in the US in 1992, more people voted for the Fat Elvis vs Thin Elvis stamp issue than the presidential election)

Dr Sun Try posted:

who won?

Iron Crowned posted:

It was the Elvis that goons think they are

spog posted:

(in the US in 1992, more people voted for the Fat Elvis vs Thin Elvis stamp issue than the presidential election)

Woodburger posted:

Seriously? Thats ~69.6% turnout.

Woodburger posted:

Seriously? Thats ~69.6% turnout. The U.S. hasn't had voter turn out anywhere close to that in a presidential election since 1908.

Phanatic posted:

Phanatic posted:

Woodburger posted:

This would be classic if true but I'm not finding anything to back it up. Acording to http://postalmuseum.si.edu/ 1.2 million ballots were recorded for the Elvis stamp vote and according to wikipedia 104,405,155 Americans voted in 1992 general election. I don't doubt the Elvis stamp vote garnered as much attention.

quote:

Thousands of Elvis fans and stamp enthusiasts from around the world gathered on Graceland’s front lawn on January 8, 1993, Elvis’ birthday, as special guests Priscilla and Lisa Marie Presley revealed the Elvis stamp image. After nearly 1.2 million votes were cast in the contest jokingly termed “Decision ’92,” America had spoken and the choice was clear: the face of young Elvis won by nearly 75 percent. In fact in that year more people voted for their favorite Elvis stamp than voted for President.

Phanatic posted:

It's not enough for some people:

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/131215/

As a non-UKian, I have no strong opinion on Brexit. I did find a number of the Remain arguments I've seen in my Facebook feed ridiculous, like the ad with Patrick Stewart in it credited the EU with guaranteeing the UK things like free trials (which it already had well before the EU) and free speech (which it is risible to claim that either the EU or Britain has or guarantees) and freedom of religion (when the UK and a bunch of European countries have *official state churches*). I don't think it's especially wonderful or bad for the UK in the long run; on the one hand they get out from under the increasingly onerous EU regulations and regain some autonomy. On the other hand, they stand to lose out on trade. On the gripping hand, the EU needs the UK to trade with at least as much as the other way

Takes No Damage posted:

Some decent crossposts from the Dashcam Thread:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyA9iHna4o8
Yes..... what indeed??


Road buckling in Minnesota

Phanatic posted:

This fiasco brought to you by the IOC, an organization so corrupt it makes FIA and FIFA look like nuns.

Ratjaculation posted:

That video, unless there's one I've not seen, is about the ECHR not the EU. Completely separate institutions

Judge Schnoopy posted:

The desire for cities to host the Olympics after the past half-dozen or more have been colossal money-draining burdens is astonishing.

"Maybe if WE host it things will be different! We can do it better than China and England in their capitol cities!"

Is there an example of a successful Olympic host, ever? Somewhere the massive infrastructure improved quality of life for people in that area after the games? A city or country that saw positive returns on investment?

Verge posted:

Wait, where's the dashcam thread?

Phanatic posted:

The Rio Olympics are going to be loving amazing.

SpacePig posted:

Remind me why so many cities clamor to host the Olympics. Especially economically ill-equipped ones.

quote:

DALLAS — More than 30 people who attended an event with motivational speaker Tony Robbins have been treated for burns after Robbins encouraged them to walk on hot coals as a way of conquering their fears, Dallas fire officials said.

Five people were taken to a hospital Thursday night, while the rest were treated at the scene for burns to their feet and lower extremities, Dallas Fire-Rescue spokesman Jason Evans said.

The hot coals were spread outside the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center as part of a four-day Robbins seminar called "Unleash the Power Within." It's a regular part of some of Robbins' seminars; more than 20 people were treated for foot burns after an event in 2012 in San Jose, California.

Paul Gold of West Palm Beach, Florida, suffered second-degree burns on both feet that will take about two weeks to heal, he told The Associated Press on Friday from a burn unit. It was the second time he's walked on hot coals; the first he described as a "very good experience" at a Robbins seminar a few months ago in Florida.

He said the difference Thursday was that it appeared staff members didn't allow the coals to cool enough before adding more to the pile, which was about 3 to 4 feet wide and about 20 feet long. He realized halfway through his walk over the coals that he'd suffered burns.

"In hindsight, jumping off would have been a fantastic idea," he said. "But when you're in the spirit of the moment, you're kinda focused on one task."

After his walk, Gold, 44, said it felt like someone had "taken a hot iron and pressed it against my feet." He also said he saw a girl who was crying and others complaining of burns; his fiancee had minor burns.

"I'm not even sure I could do it again, because now I have this massive fear of fire," he said, adding later that he still believes Robbins helps a lot of people and that it was staff members who "weren't following directions properly."

In a statement to the AP, representatives for Robbins said about 7,000 people walked across the coals and only five "requested any examination beyond what was readily available on site."

"Someone not familiar with the fire walk observed the event and called 911 erroneously reporting hundreds of people requiring medical attention for severe burns," according to the statement.

One participant, Jacqueline Luxemberg, told WFAA that some people were not concentrating on walking across the coals because they were taking selfies and asking others to take video of them.

The fire walk is a voluntary experience and trained medical staff is on hand, according to Susan Thompson, a spokeswoman for Robbins Research International. In the decades that the fire walk has been part of events, very few have suffered any extensive injuries, she said.

Thompson did not know whether participants had to sign a waiver or what instruction was given by staff; Gold said he signed something at registration, but did not know what it said.

The 6-foot-7 Robbins conducts a variety of seminars — which can range from about $1,000 to up to $3,000 — and "Unleash the Power Within" is described on his website as "designed to help you unlock and unleash the forces inside that can help you break through any limit," and those who do the fire walk are instructed to wear pants that can roll up and avoid loose-fitting or long-flowing clothes.

Robbins says on his website that he believes people who perform tasks they once thought unthinkable, such as walking across hot coals, will help them "conquer the other fires of your life with ease."

Robbins' celebrity has resulted in crossover appeal. For instance, he played himself in the 2001 comedy "Shallow Hal" starring Jack Black.

__

Hunzinger reported from Chicago. Associated Press reporter Hannah Cushman in Chicago contributed to this report.

spog posted:

http://blog.graceland.com/signed-sealed-delivered-our-favorite-memories-of-1993-elvis-stamp/


I've seen that quoted a few times. But as you point out, it must be clearly a load of BS, so now I feel a bit silly.

Phanatic posted:

See above about the IOC being the most corrupt organization ever. Every Olympic bid is a veritable haboob of cash flying around. Hosting an Olympics means the city needs to spend a shitload of money on infrastructure. Sure, it'll never get used again, but people stand to profit a lot from building it. Or accepting bribes and kickbacks to get it built. It's no mystery why a city's political and financial establishments want an Olympics. It's a mystery to me why any of the people who live there do.

Retro Access posted:

I'm married to an immigrant. I spent two years working 18 hours in two jobs to sponsor the UK spousal visa. Ran myself ragged and left the UK when my husband's parents very loving generously waved a visa sponsorship at me.

My entire family knew all this poo poo and voted "leave."

I only found out this loving morning.

Our only way back into the UK, or to have stayed there in the first place was via european law.

I feel like I have had my heart torn out. I didn't know them at all and they sure as gently caress knew nothing about me.

Phanatic posted:

The Rio Olympics are going to be loving amazing.

They already completely failed and just plain stopped trying to clean up the water they pledged to clean up, so the athletes in a number of events will literally be swimming in raw poo poo.

Journalists and athletes are staying away either because they're pregnant or actively trying to have kids and won't want to risk melting their fetus's brain. Even aside from that it's a brilliant idea to have a shitload of tourist and international workers flooding into a city with an uncontrolled communicable disease and then going back to their homes all over the world a few weeks later.

http://harvardpublichealthreview.org/off-the-podium-why-rios-2016-olympic-games-must-not-proceed/

The state's declared a financial emergency. It literally has no money to pay doctors and is asking people to make emergency donations of toilet paper to their local police stations, but it's still required by the terms of its IOC agreement to spend millions of dollars expanding public transport systems to serve arenas that will be empty ghost towns the instant after the closing ceremonies:

https://www.yahoo.com/news/brazils-rio-state-declares-financial-disaster-games-215847439.html

A recent torch ceremony featured a jaguar that escaped from its handler. The cops shot it.

https://ca.news.yahoo.com/amazon-jaguar-shot-dead-olympic-torch-ceremony-192428528--oly.html

And now, just 6 weeks before the games start, the Rio drug-testing lab that was to handle the drug testing for all the games has been suspended by the WADA and can't actually do any drug testing.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/25/sports/olympics/rio-drug-testing-lab-is-suspended-by-wada.html

This fiasco brought to you by the IOC, an organization so corrupt it makes FIA and FIFA look like nuns.

Judge Schnoopy posted:

The desire for cities to host the Olympics after the past half-dozen or more have been colossal money-draining burdens is astonishing.

"Maybe if WE host it things will be different! We can do it better than China and England in their capitol cities!"

Is there an example of a successful Olympic host, ever? Somewhere the massive infrastructure improved quality of life for people in that area after the games? A city or country that saw positive returns on investment?

Judge Schnoopy posted:

The desire for cities to host the Olympics after the past half-dozen or more have been colossal money-draining burdens is astonishing.

"Maybe if WE host it things will be different! We can do it better than China and England in their capitol cities!"

Is there an example of a successful Olympic host, ever? Somewhere the massive infrastructure improved quality of life for people in that area after the games? A city or country that saw positive returns on investment?

Krispy Kareem posted:

Atlanta in '96 turned out pretty well. It helped that the most profitable TV market was watching the Games in prime time.

Judge Schnoopy posted:

The desire for cities to host the Olympics after the past half-dozen or more have been colossal money-draining burdens is astonishing.

"Maybe if WE host it things will be different! We can do it better than China and England in their capitol cities!"

Is there an example of a successful Olympic host, ever? Somewhere the massive infrastructure improved quality of life for people in that area after the games? A city or country that saw positive returns on investment?

Gomi Day posted:

https://twitter.com/DRPS/status/746402034660872192

the schadenfreude are the multiple people who have apparently fallen for this.

LogisticEarth posted:

Yeah the Atlanta Olympics were a blast.

Gomi Day posted:

https://twitter.com/DRPS/status/746402034660872192

the schadenfreude are the multiple people who have apparently fallen for this.