Minor Current Events, News, and Articles

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Lime Tonics: Nov 7, 2015; by FactsAreUseless

Clown warning issued in Middle Tennessee

A warning was given by the Tennessee Department of Safety and the Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) on Saturday. The agencies took to Twitter posting, "Watch for clowns in your area. They could be child predators seeking kids" and "Watch for clowns trying to lure children into the woods. They are possibly predators."

RELATED | Coffee County deputies investigating claim of clown attacking a juvenile in Summitville

Several recent clown sightings have left many communities in the Southeast in fear.

RELATED | Police investigating after reports of clowns attempting to 'lure children into the woods' in South Carolina

It is unclear at this time what specifically led to the warning in Tennessee.

http://fox17.com/news/local/clown-warning-issued-in-middle-tennessee

# ? Sep 26, 2016 14:25

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# ? Apr 27, 2024 14:27

Facebook Aunt: Oct 4, 2008; wiggle wiggle

Clownageddon.

This is the way the world ends. Not with a bang but a honk honk.

# ? Sep 26, 2016 17:21

Kurtofan: Feb 16, 2011; hon hon hon

Darkman Fanpage posted:

Local Clown Not So Scary After Demasking

Looks scarier to me

# ? Sep 26, 2016 17:23

POOL IS CLOSED: Jul 14, 2011; I'm just exploding with mackerel. This is the aji wo kutta of my discontent.; Pillbug

Is this mostly a combo of hoaxes and mass hysteria? From what I've seen, only that unfortunate looking dude was caught, and some other kids admitted their sightings were a joke. Or is someone doing a viral marketing campaign for a remake of It?

# ? Sep 26, 2016 17:34

Facebook Aunt: Oct 4, 2008; wiggle wiggle

RedTonic posted:

Is this mostly a combo of hoaxes and mass hysteria? From what I've seen, only that unfortunate looking dude was caught, and some other kids admitted their sightings were a joke. Or is someone doing a viral marketing campaign for a remake of It?

I blame juggalos. I have no evidence, but it's never a bad idea to blame juggalos.

# ? Sep 26, 2016 19:59

Helsing: Aug 23, 2003; DON'T POST IN THE ELECTION THREAD UNLESS YOU JOE BIDEN

As I recall the summer leading up to 9/11 the news cycle was obsessed with shark attacks. Who knows what this spate of clown sightings portends.

# ? Sep 26, 2016 20:14

big trivia FAIL: May 9, 2003; "Jorge wants to be hardcore,
but his mom won't let him"

There's been a shitload of them in small towns here in Mississippi, and this guy called a school claiming to be a clown and made threats: http://www.msnewsnow.com/story/33220572/prentiss-high-school-put-on-lockdown-after-clown-threat

But yeah, what the hell is this http://www.msnewsnow.com/search?vendor=ez&qu=clown

# ? Sep 26, 2016 21:19

POOL IS CLOSED: Jul 14, 2011; I'm just exploding with mackerel. This is the aji wo kutta of my discontent.; Pillbug

Facebook Aunt posted:

I blame juggalos. I have no evidence, but it's never a bad idea to blame juggalos.

This is probably fair. Watch for spikes in Faygo sales.

# ? Sep 26, 2016 21:32

Assepoester: Jul 18, 2004; Can't post for 10 years!; Melman v2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dy4t05lGQdc&t=64s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c706ibJgtnY&t=794s

# ? Sep 26, 2016 21:40

Bert Roberge: Nov 28, 2003

This guy in my town finally took down his sign now that tourist season is over and he can't get attention.

https://twitter.com/NECN/status/775480403570360321?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

http://www.necn.com/news/new-england/Black-Rifles-Matter-Sign-Offends-Tourists-in-Boothbay-Harbor-Maine--393171781.html

It was one of the first things you saw when you entered or exited the town and it pissed off a lot of tourists and locals, but he had the proper permits to put it up.

Bert Roberge fucked around with this message at 16:00 on Sep 27, 2016

# ? Sep 27, 2016 15:36

Bert Roberge: Nov 28, 2003

Some choice quotes from this man's interview:

Linc Sample posted:

"Guns are my thing. That's a real trigger for me, the assault weapons ban."

"They're being targeted because of their appearance. Fair enough. So's my rifles."

# ? Sep 27, 2016 15:47

suck my woke dick: Oct 10, 2012; I CANNOT EJACULATE WITHOUT SEEING NATIVE AMERICANS BRUTALISED!

Put this cum-loving slave on ignore immediately!

Bert Roberge posted:

Some choice quotes from this man's interview:

# ? Sep 27, 2016 18:17

Burt Sexual: Jan 26, 2006; by Jeffrey of YOSPOS; Switchblade Switcharoo

Bert Roberge posted:

Some choice quotes from this man's interview:

man knows how to work a metaphor.

# ? Sep 27, 2016 18:34

sharknado slashfic: Jun 24, 2011

Helsing posted:

As I recall the summer leading up to 9/11 the news cycle was obsessed with shark attacks. Who knows what this spate of clown sightings portends.

Yup, I think it was dubbed "summer of the shark"

I thought correctly https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summer_of_the_Shark

# ? Sep 27, 2016 19:23

Slanderer: May 6, 2007

Clowns are a funny example, but police shootings are currently being reported at a national level at a much higher frequency than they were just a few years ago, with the effect being that some people are convinced that the police are murdering way more people than ever (without any evidence of this being the case). At least unlike with shark attacks and clown sightings, this seems to be having a positive impact by raising awareness of the misuse of force by the police in america.

EDIT: To be clear, the shark attack hysteria was about the media creating a feedback cycle by reporting on more shark attacks, getting people interested in this rash of shark attacks, causing the media to report on shark attacks even more to get better ratings, making people think there was a state of Shark War, and so on. Probably the clearest example of the media creating its own reality (and buying into it). The same effect was partially responsible for the Satanic Panic in the 80's (but evangelical churches were part of that feedback loop too, IIRC)

Slanderer fucked around with this message at 19:38 on Sep 27, 2016

# ? Sep 27, 2016 19:33

Lime Tonics: Nov 7, 2015; by FactsAreUseless

After graduating from clown school in 2007, Bonkers the Clown went on to start his own business.

The New Albany man runs Balloons by Bonkers.

�I did not plan on it being a business. It was just a hobby,� Bonkers said. �I am actually going into my busy season with a bunch of fall festivals."

Within the last month, a new trend has threatened Bonkers� business and others like it.

http://www.wdrb.com/story/33255223/sinister-clown-sightings-threaten-new-albany-mans-livelihood

# ? Sep 27, 2016 20:25

CrashCat: Jan 10, 2003; another shit post

Slanderer posted:

Clowns are a funny example, but police shootings are currently being reported at a national level at a much higher frequency than they were just a few years ago, with the effect being that some people are convinced that the police are murdering way more people than ever (without any evidence of this being the case). At least unlike with shark attacks and clown sightings, this seems to be having a positive impact by raising awareness of the misuse of force by the police in america.

I wonder if we'll actually do anything about the police, unlike the sharks

Granted I don't know what we could even have done about the sharks, people will always be dumb and nature will take advantage

# ? Sep 27, 2016 20:27

Lime Tonics: Nov 7, 2015; by FactsAreUseless

Someone start a kickstarter or whatever so we can win and hire a one-punch man for this,

You can punch Martin Shkreli in the face and help a kid too

Ever wanted to punch Martin Shkreli in the face? You soon may get your chance, and help a young child, too.

The infamous "pharma bro" likely has a long list of those who would like to hit him. Shrekli, the former Turing Pharmaceutical CEO, gained the ire of many last year after raising the price of a life-saving HIV and cancer drug by over 5,000% to $750 per pill. It had previously cost just $13.50. Last month he defended Mylan's raising of the price for the EpiPen.

After losing friend and PR manager Mike Kulich, 29, on Saturday, Shrekli wants to give people their chance to hit him in hopes of raising money for Kulich's soon to be 6 year old son, Tyler.

"I will auction one slap/punch in the face to benefit my friend Mike who passed away & leaves behind a young son who survived cancer," the pharmacy exec posted to Twitter Monday.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2016/09/27/punch-martin-shkreli-face-auction-tyler-kulich/91158310/

# ? Sep 27, 2016 20:35

Polygynous: Dec 13, 2006; welp

This story has come up again about someone transplanting mitochondria into the egg cells of a woman with some mitochondrial defect.

Having paid attention in high school biology I find this kind of neat but not really a big deal.

The stories however are all freaking out about BABY WITH THREE PARENTS and the dreaded DESIGNER BABIES.

:sigh:

Article from New Scientist which is probably the least awful from the first page of a google news search

# ? Sep 29, 2016 02:33

Guy Goodbody: Aug 31, 2016; by Nyc_Tattoo

I'm completely in favor of designer babies

# ? Sep 29, 2016 07:52

Assepoester: Jul 18, 2004; Can't post for 10 years!; Melman v2

http://www.networkworld.com/article/3125488/security/creepy-clowns-cause-sheriff-to-consult-with-fbi-and-homeland-security.html

# ? Sep 29, 2016 08:02

suck my woke dick: Oct 10, 2012; I CANNOT EJACULATE WITHOUT SEEING NATIVE AMERICANS BRUTALISED!

Put this cum-loving slave on ignore immediately!

Guy Goodbody posted:

I'm completely in favor of designer babies

# ? Sep 29, 2016 09:59

Nissin Cup Nudist: Sep 3, 2011; Sleep with one eye open

We're off to Gritty Gritty land

Clemson banned Harambe memes

Now who can I get my dick out for?

# ? Sep 29, 2016 14:02

Captain Fargle: Feb 16, 2011

In extremely minor news:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/37521171

There are currently 280 people living in Northern Ireland who are older than 100.

...Yay?

# ? Oct 1, 2016 18:06

Guy Goodbody: Aug 31, 2016; by Nyc_Tattoo

Captain Fargle posted:

In extremely minor news:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/37521171

There are currently 280 people living in Northern Ireland who are older than 100.

...Yay?

Yeah but I don't think any of them are gonna last very long

# ? Oct 1, 2016 18:26

Assepoester: Jul 18, 2004; Can't post for 10 years!; Melman v2

https://twitter.com/LiamWBZ/status/783126808648622081?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

# ? Oct 4, 2016 09:25

Koalas March: May 21, 2007

Lime Tonics posted:

Someone start a kickstarter or whatever so we can win and hire a one-punch man for this,

You can punch Martin Shkreli in the face and help a kid too

Ever wanted to punch Martin Shkreli in the face? You soon may get your chance, and help a young child, too.

The infamous "pharma bro" likely has a long list of those who would like to hit him. Shrekli, the former Turing Pharmaceutical CEO, gained the ire of many last year after raising the price of a life-saving HIV and cancer drug by over 5,000% to $750 per pill. It had previously cost just $13.50. Last month he defended Mylan's raising of the price for the EpiPen.

After losing friend and PR manager Mike Kulich, 29, on Saturday, Shrekli wants to give people their chance to hit him in hopes of raising money for Kulich's soon to be 6 year old son, Tyler.

"I will auction one slap/punch in the face to benefit my friend Mike who passed away & leaves behind a young son who survived cancer," the pharmacy exec posted to Twitter Monday.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2016/09/27/punch-martin-shkreli-face-auction-tyler-kulich/91158310/

Quick, someone call Luke Cage.

# ? Oct 4, 2016 14:16

Assepoester: Jul 18, 2004; Can't post for 10 years!; Melman v2

https://twitter.com/MartinShkreli/status/782649157404229633

https://twitter.com/dabeard/status/783324994004717568
https://twitter.com/vivalalisa23/status/783276467945926656

Assepoester fucked around with this message at 17:45 on Oct 4, 2016

# ? Oct 4, 2016 17:33

CrashCat: Jan 10, 2003; another shit post

Cardboard Box A posted:

https://twitter.com/vivalalisa23/status/783276467945926656

new pokemon tracker site lookin pretty good

# ? Oct 4, 2016 17:54

gradenko_2000: Oct 5, 2010; HELL SERPENT; Lipstick Apathy

I wanted to share this piece on What PTSD is, in the wake of Trump's comments about that subject:

quote:

PTSD isn�t a disease, it�s a world view.

War, disaster response, police work, these things force a person to live in the spaces where trauma happens, to spend most of their time there, until that world becomes yours, seeps through your skin and runs in your blood. Most of us in industrialized western societies live with feeling that we are safe, that our lives are singular, meaningful, that we are loved, that we matter. We know intellectually that this may not be the case, but we don�t feel it.

PTSD is what happens when all that is stripped away. It is the curtain pulled back, the deep and thematic realization that life is fungible, that death is capricious and sudden. That anyone�s life can be snuffed out or worse, ruined, in the space of a few seconds. It is the shaking realization that love cannot protect you, and even worse, that you cannot protect those you love. It is the final surrendering of the myth that, if you are decent enough, ethical enough, skilled enough, you�ll be spared. The warriors that the media ascribes so much power are the first to truly know powerlessness, as death becomes commoditized, statistics that you use to make an argument for promotion, or funding, or to score political points.

Warrior cults (and, heck, most religions) were invented to give death meaning. Even if you look past the promise of immortality, they offer a tremor in the world, a ripple of significance in your passing. You do the right thing knowing that, somewhere down the line, you have a meaningful death. PTSD is what happens when you realize that you won�t, that your survival will be determined by something as random as the moment you bent over to tie your shoelace.

Diseases are discrete things. But how do you treat a change in perspective? Joe Abercrombie captured it best in his description of Ferro Maljinn�s final revelation of the world of demons just alongside our own. Once seen, the creatures cannot be unseen. When you�re quiet enough, you can hear them breathing.

Nobody talks about this. Nobody talks about the boredom, the impossibility of finding meaning in 8 hours work in an air-conditioned office after you just spent months working 18 hours a day on a battlefield where your touch altered history. Nobody talks about the surreal experience of trying to remember how you got excited about a book, or clothing, or even a car or house. On the battlefield, in the burning building, the ground trembled, we felt our impact in everything we did, until the world seemed to ripple at our touch. Back home, or off shift, we are suddenly the subject of sympathetic glances, of silly, repetitive questions. The anonymity of the uniform is nothing compared the anonymity of comfort. We drown in it, cut off from what makes it worthwhile for others, unable to carve out a piece of it for ourselves.

Time helps you to shift back, but you never shift back all the way. You develop the dreaded �cop�s eyes,� where you see the potential threat around every corner, where you ask the waiter for the chair with its back to the wall. Where the trust essential to build relationships is compromised, because in the world you live in, everybody is trying to harm someone.

And this is why so many of us, even post diagnosis, go back to work in the fields that exposed us to the trauma in the first place. Because the fear is bone deep, and the only thing that puts it to sleep is the thought that you can maybe patch a few of the holes in the swiss cheese net under the high wire. Because we are frightened from the moment we wake until the moment we sleep, and if we can stave that off for someone else, well, then maybe that�s something to live for.

And that�s for those of us who get off easy. In the worst cases, people aren�t able to find meaning in a regular job, or in wealth-building, or relationships, or any of the things that modern societies tell us charts the course of a life. These are the people that PTSD takes, as they flail their way into suicide, or crime, or insanity, desperately trying to carve meaning out of a world where all the goal posts have suddenly moved, where the giant question that no one can answer is, �why bother?�

# ? Oct 5, 2016 13:50

fool of sound: Oct 10, 2012

Cut-Me-Own-Throat Diddler

# ? Oct 20, 2016 15:18

AriadneThread: Feb 17, 2011; The Devil sounds like smoke and honey. We cannot move. It is too beautiful.

fool_of_sound posted:

Cut-Me-Own-Throat Diddler

jesus christ, that's not the story i expected from that allusion

# ? Nov 5, 2016 17:56

VikingofRock: Aug 24, 2008

Hail Satan.

quote:

In December, Texas will impose new rules requiring all fetal remains to be buried or cremated, a sneaky way to impede abortion access and make patients feel just a little worse, all at the same time. The Satanic Temple, the nation�s best and foremost trolls, declared today that under federal religious freedom laws, their members must be granted immunity from the new rules.

Texas�s new rules (not a �law,� since it didn�t go through a legislative process, but a bureaucratic one), stipulate that fetal remains have to be buried or cremated by hospitals or healthcare providers. The rules won�t apply to miscarriages or abortions that occur at home, and healthcare providers won�t be required to obtain death certificates for fetal tissue, which could have created privacy concerns.

Nonetheless, the Satanic Temple sees the whole thing for what it is: a naked bid to elevate fetal tissue to the status of a human being. In a press release, Satanic Temple spokesperson Lucien Greaves called the new rules, which go into effect December 19, �a direct violation� of the group�s religious beliefs.

�Texas health officials are baldly imposing the view that the fetal tissue is elevated to personhood�a religious opinion that conflicts with our own,� Greaves is quoted as saying. �If Texas is going to treat the disposal of fetal tissue differently from the disposal of any other biological material, in contradiction to our own religious beliefs, they need to present a compelling state interest for doing so. Of course, there is no such state interest, and it�s perfectly clear the demand for fetal tissue burial is a punitive measure imposed by sadistic theocrats. It�s clear these officials deem harassment an acceptable form of pushing their misguided religious agendas.�

The Satanic Temple, you will recall, said the same thing about anti-abortion legislation in Missouri, saying their members should be immune from those aswell, because Satanic tenets hold that the body is inviolate and shouldn�t be subject to outside influence. In both cases, they cite a law that conservatives fervently love, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), a federal law passed in 1993 and mirrored by state laws in 20 states. The Satanic Temple is insisting that Texas provide a �compelling reason� why the state shouldn�t honor their religious beliefs.

Greaves�who also answers to the name Doug�tells Jezebel that the Satanic Temple hasn�t filed suit against the new rules, but plans to do so as soon as they have standing.

�We�ll file an injunction as soon as the state tried to impose this on a member who claims exemption,� he said. �As soon as that happens, we absolutely will sue, and it�s very, very difficult to imagine any plausible reasoning by which we�d lose.�

We�ve said it before, but it bears repeating: God bless those Satanists.

The Satanic Temple fighting back against attempts to impose the Republican version of "Christianity" on people is pretty freaking good + cool in my opinion.

# ? Dec 5, 2016 02:24

CrashCat: Jan 10, 2003; another shit post

gradenko_2000 posted:

I wanted to share this piece on What PTSD is, in the wake of Trump's comments about that subject:

Belated thanks for this article, it's a good read and explains a bit about my own thoughts.

# ? Dec 5, 2016 05:01

Communist Zombie: Nov 1, 2011

VikingofRock posted:

The Satanic Temple fighting back against attempts to impose the Republican version of "Christianity" on people is pretty freaking good + cool in my opinion.

You cant post that pic without also sharing the story behind it. Which iirc is tldr; A state in the south put up a big copy of the ten commandments in front of the state capital, which went against some law about religious imagery on government property. So to get around that they said any religious group could put up statues near it aswell, cue the Satanists applying to have the pictured statue of Satan erected on state grounds. And as part of their application they listed the benefits of having a statue of Satan could have lead to which included children crawling onto Satan's lap and gazing into his face to perhaps gain some wisdom to help them.

# ? Dec 5, 2016 08:42

Tiny Brontosaurus: Aug 1, 2013; by Lowtax

Communist Zombie posted:

You cant post that pic without also sharing the story behind it. Which iirc is tldr; A state in the south put up a big copy of the ten commandments in front of the state capital, which went against some law about religious imagery on government property. So to get around that they said any religious group could put up statues near it aswell, cue the Satanists applying to have the pictured statue of Satan erected on state grounds. And as part of their application they listed the benefits of having a statue of Satan could have lead to which included children crawling onto Satan's lap and gazing into his face to perhaps gain some wisdom to help them.

That uh... that "some law" is the First Amendment.

# ? Dec 9, 2016 18:40

Communist Zombie: Nov 1, 2011

My post was a bit poorly worded but I thought there was a state specific law involved in addition to the First Amendment that led to this situation?

# ? Dec 10, 2016 09:12

Double Punctuation: Dec 30, 2009; Ships were made for sinking;
Whiskey made for drinking;
If we were made of cellophane
We'd all get stinking drunk much faster!

This was in Oklahoma, and the Oklahoma Constitution prohibits it, regardless of what the First Amendment says. The state supreme court struck it down before the lawsuit even went to the feds.

Oh, and it gets better. The congressmen who wanted it up decided to amend the state constitution, which would send it to the feds (and be a waste of everyone's time). To amend the state constitution, you need to put it on the ballot. It got shot down. Pretty solidly, too. (You'd think they'd have gotten the hint after the third time someone ran it over with a car.) So, no Ten Commandments (and no totally awesome goathead statue, either).

# ? Dec 10, 2016 14:50

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# ? Apr 27, 2024 14:27

achillesforever6: Apr 23, 2012; psst you wanna do a communism?

Some news way too close to home
https://twitter.com/AchillesF6/status/808773290315698176
It shows how once you leave the city of Pittsburgh, PA just turns into an awful horrible place until you get to Philly.

# ? Dec 14, 2016 01:12

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