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Er, but you haven't. You are simply repeating an axiomatic, fallacious statement for which you have offered no proof yourself ("the civil war in Syria was caused only by the Arab Spring"), and are demanding that Elerond proves a negative, which in this case is simply not possible as you can keep on raising the evidence threshold arbitrarily, as you have done already. That's not how proof works, bro. Try harder.

You do realize that Star Trek is a thinly veiled allegory for socialism, right?

Wow, just wow. So she's getting fired from an unrelated job because she made a vid that made fun of an issue that is increasingly becoming a modern day taboo. This is total bull****. We don't solve problems by stymying discussion about them, and comedians are going to step on people's toes as a matter of course. Poor taste is a tool of the trade. I stand by what I said before, she's not funny. But she certainly doesn't deserve sacking over this. Thoughtcrime is death.

n/m poor impulse control

Exactly. Do this and everything else takes are of itself. I consider myself to be in good shape, not just for my age but period. I don't exercise but I am very active, I do a lot of manual labor around my home like wood cutting, garden work, etc. I think I'm what you would call "farmer strong". I sympathize, but please understand, this is simply luck on your part. Your own experience is not sufficient to establish a general principle that can be extended to other people, which is compounded by the fact that it's based on something as unspecific as "moderation". Not trying to be an ass here, but that's not really helpful. As a counterpoint, I could use my own example: if I eat everything in moderation, I shed weight FAST. This is bad news because generally, less lbm = less strength. And I'm not even hardcore about training. Perhaps because what you view as "moderation" is different to my own idea. I have also met people who had weight problems and were honestly convinced that they didn't eat that much. They simply weren't aware of the mistakes they were making. Others thought they could offset their excesses at the table with more exercise. Ask anyone who's serious: the hard part isn't what you do in the weight room, it's what you have to do once you step outside. I'm thinking that you also probably have a good idea of what's healthy and what isn't, and especially what not to go overboard with. Odds are you also have access to high quality, satiating foods. Start changing parameters, and moderation just doesn't cut it anymore: you are going to need help to get your eating habits sorted out. (not a sales pitch in any way, just sharing a different perspective...)

Indeed, conspiracy or idiocy (or shortsighted greed, or blind adherence to market fundamentalism, pick your poison), the end result is the same. The only difference is the level of mustache twirling one suspects to be involved. Personally, and considering the abysmal average level of competence that people in positions of power have demonstrated throughout the ages, and the fact that there is no reliable method to predict and manipulate the economy and social dynamics -only now we are starting to see rigorous analysis of these fields- I'm more inclined to believe that it's the result of a myriad different factors than a classic conspiracy. Hell, there probably is a conspiracy, perhaps even several, each with its own particular petty goals, involved. But one cabal of Wise Men masterfully pulling the strings of it all? Yeah... if only. The one thing I'm missing in all this is the people. Yes, yes, the political elites and 1%ers are huge jerks, but where is everyone else? Why no "Occupy Brussels" to protest TTIP? Why no rioting on the streets to protest the fire sale of critical infrastructure to international investors? Why no mass demonstrations against imperial adventurism in Libya? Heh. edit: whoops, you already mentioned the thing with Greek airports. Clearly past my bedtime.

In fact, the motion to file charges of official misconduct has been taken by taken up with the KY General Attorney by Rowan County's Attorney's Office. A prosecutor from another jurisdiction will be appointed to handle the case. So yeah, sympathy will only get her so far. Regardless, your point leads us back to the root of the problem: a new law passed outside of KY by "a committee of nine unelected lawyers" (Scalia's words, not mine) and the expectation that local officials will all quietly acquiesce, even when it just so happens that they and the electorate they represent are largely against said law. Ah, beautiful, beautiful tyranny of the majority.

From what I gathered digging into the KRS*, she would also lose her position if she was convicted of a misdemeanor related to her functions in some cases, a felony in any case, and specifically, in the event of a conviction for malfeasance in office. So yes, unsurprisingly, there is a way to remove government officials who interpret or ignore the law when they aren't supposed to. Of course, going that route would undoubtedly take longer than simply throwing her in jail NOW to see if she breaks. That's due process for ya. "Contempt" is such bull****. *yes, I have way too much time on my hands

I'm not one to get my panties all in a knot over stuff people post on the internet, much less condone harassment, but well-meaning though it may be, that pic is indelicate and displays an amount of ignorance by the author, if it's to be taken at face value. Sorry, but that's how it is. The "excuse"? How about medication. Psychological problems? Hormonal disorders? Educational disadvantages? Poverty? Etc. Sure, the pic isn't necessarily judgmental by itself, but it does push people to judge themselves through an arbitrary, unscientific, external criterion, while hand-waving circumstances away as "excuses". I posted this on another thread, but it bears repeating: Is Obesity a Choice? Mind, that guy, unlike the "fit mom" from the pic, is an actual medical doctor dealing with overweight people regularly, and a natural bodybuilder and amateur triathlon competitor on top of it. Maybe he's on to something.

Political authority stems from law. Serbia is a signatory to the Refugee Convention of 1951, which protects refugees from penalties derived from their illegal entry into other countries. So, no, there is no authority that allows border guards to shoot people seeking refugee status. They cannot be forcibly returned either. Not to mention it would be a pretty ****ty thing to do. Everything else you wrote after authority isn't relevant to the issue of refugees, really.

Yeah, I saw that, one of the fitness/nutrition pros I follow on FB had attempted to troll the thread, and it showed in my feed. I wasn't offended (I'm an ED fan), but honestly, didn't find it funny. So a dumb broad whose only claim to fame is a fat shaming video and a wonderbra is burning up the internet. Sad, sad state of affairs.

No, mate. I mean more like over a 15 year period, where most are actually African (sub-saharan and Moroccan), South American, and Romanian, and an estimated half a million of illegals. Do the math. Or ask /pol/ to do it for you.

Not necessarily, sorry to rain on your parade. We've absorbed close to 7 million immigrants, and despite the unemployment rates and economic crisis, far-right parties are still niche at best, without parliamentary representation or significant street support. Propaganda and hate-mongering are a bigger factor in the rise of extreme political movements than anything else, provided that people at large have their basic needs covered. And by the time they don't, you have bigger problems anyway.

Thanks for the replies! I'm probably going to opt for the 970 then: we've been having downright insane raises in the electricity bill, so it's kind of a big deal for me. The 970 also means I can get away with a 500w power source, further bringing down the price of the rig to ~1100€, and if the world hasn't ended by then, an upgrade a year or two down the line would be much more justified. Much obliged, folks.

If by "being let in" you mean not being shot on sight, then yeah, I suppose they are. What do you want, to torch 'em at the border a la World War Z? Sink their inflatable boats? Like shooting fish in a barrel, right? Whatever, everything that's worth saying has already been said to death. I just hope I'm never in a situation where I need to request refugee status on another country.

So I'm looking into building a new rig and kick my current laptop to the curb. I'm aiming to stay under 1500€. I'm looking at either a GTX970 or 980. Either option would be valid, but going for a 980Ti would be a gross cost overrun. Do you guys think the price difference between the two (just about 170€) is justified by the performance difference? How long could I reasonably expect a 980 to run games at 1080p in high or ultra settings?

"Cowards" get to see history for themselves, though. Usually from a safe distance. As for subsidiary responsibility of the average citizen for the actions of their governments in Western democracies, it's a fascinating theory. Doesn't work so well in practice, though. (cf. Alexis Tsipras)

Hungary has basically fortified its border with Serbia, to no avail. There's just too many of them coming. A lot of them come in really crappy boats too, and the navies and coast patrols are over capacity just rescuing people from wreckages. And even then a lot of them just drown. It really is a ****ed up situation.

One can only hope.

Sure. The case is pretty clear-cut from a legal standpoint. That's not all there is to it however, as you are disregarding the context of how the law came to be what it is, and also disregarding the fact that the judge who found her in contempt could have fined her as the plaintiffs, the ACLU and the KY Senate president asked, but chose to incarcerate her offhand, instead. That's mostly what the debate has been centered on, rather than whether she actually has a right to interpret the law, under current law. If you can't distinguish between the law and one's personal convictions, I don't know what to say to you...

Normally I'd agree with you, but this is one of those cases. This law didn't exist when she ran for office, and it wasn't passed as a result of the will of the people (previous to Obergefell there was a statutory and constitutional ban on same-sex marriage in KY; indeed, statutes specifically mentioned penalties for clerks issuing marriage licences outside of the definition in KY law), but rather it was handed top-down as a result of a closed-door decision by nine unelected lawyers elsewhere in the country. You may not agree with her on this particular issue -I know I don't- but I can't fully condemn her decision to obstruct the process. Would you be more sympathetic to her if instead of doing it out of religious bigotry she was doing it for civic reasons? Regardless, I find it really baffling that some people are worried about "due process" wrt dismissal of elected officials, which in this case requires the official in question to be convicted of willful neglect of duty or another misdemeanor (and failing that, impeachment proceedings could be instituted by the House or at the request of any person), but such worries disappear or no longer apply when we're talking about imprisonment, because the always expeditious "contempt of court" is legal. Must be a cultural thing.

Bah. I was totally expecting you to have challenged a werewolf to an all-night log lifting and chili chugging contest. soniamdisappoint.jpg

Mate, the sole reason for fines to exist is to deter certain behaviors. If, after being caught and fined, criminal behavior is being rewarded with earnings numbered in the billions, there is no deterrence going on, rather the opposite. So no, it's not good news, because these joke fines are actually encouraging banksterism. Once again, your double standards shine through: you are all for making an example out of a nobody clerk for her defiance of the SCOTUS, but imposing an exemplary punishment on a big bank that may break it to make the rest think twice is a no-no. In the immortal words of Volourn: LOLOLOLLIPOP

This guy really is a walking comedy show. Do you even read the links you post? Oh, what am I saying, of course you don't. You don't have time for "evidence" and "reading", and expecting either from you is "annoying"! From the first link: "Since 2009, the American banking industry alone has racked up nearly $503 billion in profits, according to FDIC quarterly data through the first quarter of 2014." $128bn worth of fines spread across the whole financial sector doesn't even amount to a slap in the wrist. $550M fine for Goldman Sachs? Wow, that's really going to hurt them, they only made ~13bn in 2009. Get real.

The point is that, as usual, the full weight of the law is falling on this idiot because she's small fish and being open about her reasons. If you are a big shot and smart enough to spread responsibility around with legal gymnastics, you can get away with murder, quite literally. We're all equal under the law, but some are more equal than others, right?