News & Not News Megathread

Johnstantine

Skibbidy Boo Bop
Walter said:
Roger Ebert is dead at 70 after a battle with cancer.

http://www.suntimes.com/17320958-761/roger-ebert-dies-at-70-after-battle-with-cancer.html

I respected his reviews, even if I didn't always agree with them.

Same here. I had the pleasure of meeting him back in 2001, while I was in Chicago. I told him he inspired me to be a writer and he responded with, "This is a special occasion. Usually people tell me that I inspired them to watch movies and critique things." Made me feel good.

BTW, the last sentence of his blog is "I'll see you at the movies". That really hit me right in the feels, moreso now since he posted it two days ago.
 
Definitely sad to hear of his passing. I too didn't agree with all his reviews but he would see a few movies in different light, which was refreshing to me.

That's a real cool experience Johnstantine, thanks for sharing. Was this a casual encounter or at an event?
 

NightCrawler

Aeons gone, vast, mad and deathless
Good riddance!

reagan-thatcher.jpg


Finally, together in Hell.
 

Th3Branded0ne

I'll be back.
http://m.usatoday.com/article/news/2072505

ROME, Maine (AP) — A man who lived like a hermit for decades in a makeshift camp in the woods and may be responsible for more than 1,000 burglaries for food and other staples has been caught in a surveillance trap at a camp he treated as a "Walmart," authorities said Wednesday.

Christopher Knight, 47, was arrested last week when he tripped a surveillance sensor set up by a game warden while stealing food from a camp for people with special needs in Rome, a town of about 1,000 whose population swells with the arrival of summer residents.

Authorities on Tuesday found the campsite where they believed Knight, known as the North Pond Hermit in local lore, has lived for 27 years.

Some residents say they've been aware of the hermit for years, often in connection with break-ins that have occurred. He was so well known to some summer cottage owners that they left food out for him so he wouldn't break in during the colder months, state Trooper Diane Vance said.

But others were hardly aware of the hermit living within their midst without detection since 1986.

"I was born in 1987. He was there before I was," Rome resident Melissa Witham said outside her home.

Paul Anderson, a selectman in the town about 20 miles northwest of Augusta, acknowledged local talk about a man living alone in the woods.
 
FCC considering allowing obscenities and nudity on FCC licensed television and radio?? No need for HBO now!

April 8, 2013

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced it is considering dropping current broadcast decency standards that ban explicit profanity and "non-sexual" nudity.

You can read the press release from the FCC here.

Specifically, if enacted, the new FCC policy would allow network television and local radio stations to air the f-word, the s-word and to allow programs to show frontal female nudity, even during hours when they know children will be watching and listening.

It is accepting comments on the proposal from the viewing public until the end of April.

Current broadcast decency law prohibits expletives and nudity, even if brief or "fleeting." The Supreme Court has upheld the law as constitutionally enforceable by the FCC, despite lawsuit attempts by networks NBC and FOX to overturn it.

http://action.afa.net/item.aspx?id=2147534194
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Pretty surprising. Does "non sexual nudity" include such things as Dennis Franz's ass?

Keep in mind it's just "considering" these possibilities right now, and the FCC is inviting comments. The official press release is here: http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2013/db0401/DA-13-581A1.pdf

The link you referred to, The American Family Association, talks about allowing "frontal female nudity" but nothing of the sort is listed in the press release. Sounds like they're just exacerbating things to me.
 

Deci

Avatar by supereva01 @ DA
Manga author received 1000's of death threats, most likely over the inspiration for one of his characters..

The death threats have given rise to a tidal wave of online speculation as to why someone would be angry enough with Isayama to want to murder him. Some believe it is because Isayama based one of Attack on Titan’s characters – a high-ranking soldier named Dot Pixis – on Yoshifuru Akiyama, a notorious general in the Imperial Japanese Army.


http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/315603/scitech/gaming/attack-on-titan-creator-receives-1-000-death-threats

2013_07_02_17_38_26.jpg


Attack on Titan was actually one of the few anime I've actually been slightly interested in checking out.
 
Yeah, read that a few days ago. Either way, the manga is pretty predictable and lame but the anime makes it look good in the appearance department. People are gaga over it cos of those graphic scenes but take that away and it's shallow.

You know what?! Old news or not ... this is hilarious

041613-celebs-coolio-domestic-abuse.jpg


http://www.thisis50.com/profiles/blogs/coolio-robbed-of-his-jewelry

Coolio reportedly had his jewlery and other valuables snatched when he attempted to stage dive during a performance at a British University earlier this week.

According to Contact Music, Coolio was performing at Staffordshire University on Wednesday (February 25) and the rappper decided to jump into the crowd but the audience parted and he landed on the floor.

While on the floor, the crowd mobbed Coolio and snatched his jewellery, bandana and shoes before he was rescued by the venue's security teams.

"(He) nearly flattened one poor girl then all the students decided to launch on him," said James Fielden, a bartender who witnessed the incident. "They grabbed whatever they could, including his trainers, watch, chains and glasses. He was pulled back on stage by the bouncers. They got his shoes back for him."

I haven't laughed as hard in so long. Stage dives, nobody catches him and they rob him instead ... brilliant.
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Normally I'd be the last person to post celebrity gossip, but this is a special case.

Headline: Justin Bieber pisses in restaurant mop bucket, yells ‘F**k Bill Clinton!’
Link: http://www.deathandtaxesmag.com/201842/justin-bieber-pisses-in-restaurant-mop-bucket-yells-fk-bill-clinton/

Curious about how he reacted to the video leaking, I checked his Twitter.

@justinbieber: "In life u will make mistakes and people will try and tear u down...but u gotta stay positive. Stay strong..and learn to be better..and.....always live to serve others and The Lord. #growingeveryday"
 

Th3Branded0ne

I'll be back.
Nothing new with celebrities apologizing and bringing God to make it sound credible. Either way, doesn't seem that outrageous what he did and don't care.
 

Rhombaad

Video Game Time Traveler
Walter said:
@justinbieber: "In life u will make mistakes and people will try and tear u down...but u gotta stay positive. Stay strong..and learn to be better..and.....always live to serve others and The Lord. #growingeveryday"

I don't belieb he's being sincere (see what I did there?).
 
Kids and their lingo these days ... kinda reminds me of Idiocracy @ Beiber.

Video game starship worth $9,000 destroyed in ambush

http://games.yahoo.com/blogs/plugged-in/video-game-starship-worth-9-000-destroyed-ambush-190533986.html

eve-online-revenant-top630.jpg
 

Kompozinaut

Sylph Sword
I don't know much about EVE Online, but I feel like this kind of thing happens (relatively) frequently. Every few months there's another story about large scale heists or raids.

My question: is this real money that they've invested in this game? Or is it just some kind of conversion to put the EVE economy into perspective?
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Delta Phi said:
I don't know much about EVE Online, but I feel like this kind of thing happens (relatively) frequently. Every few months there's another story about large scale heists or raids.
Yep, I think $9K is actually on the low end of what was lost in the last massive war that erupted as a result of a misclick (guy teleported into the middle of hostile territory while in super expensive ship, resulted in a huge battle).

http://www.gamefront.com/massive-eve-online-battle-starts-over-a-misclick/

One of the largest battles in years, it took place over the course of 8 hours, involved over 3000 players, and resulted in the loss of approximately 834 billion ISK worth of ships and materials (for reference, that’s close to $30,000).
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
8-Year-Old Intentionally Shot And Killed Elderly Caregiver After Playing 'Grand Theft Auto'

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/24/8-year-old-grand-theft-auto_n_3810778.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000003

The police statement goes out of its way to throw video games under the bus.

"Although a motive for the shooting is unknown at this time investigators have learned that the juvenile suspect was playing a video game on the Play Station III 'Grand Theft Auto IV', a realistic game that has been associated with encouraging violence and awards points to players for killing people, just minutes before the homicide occurred."

OH, I SEE! Though, I also found this interesting:

"By accounts of relatives of the victim, as well as friends of the family, the victim and the juvenile had a normal, loving, relationship and even shared the same bedroom," the sheriff's department said.

Hmmmm...

So, anyway, who is going to be selfishly defensive, intentionally obtuse, and less responsible about this; gun enthusiasts or video game enthusiasts? Because when I read the Internet gamer reaction to stuff like this it's actually becoming competitive, "The government wants to take my games away. :badbone:"

I look forward to the Kotaku article denying any connection is possible or should even be considered, because... GAMES! 2nd 1st amendment!
 

Metal_Bear_Rex

⊂( ̄(エ) ̄)⊃
I've never really believed that violence can be associated with video games, but it is true that children are dumb and easily impressionable. I can see the little brat finding dads' gun and shooting her thinking she wouldn't possible die as a result.

I also think guns are almost never an issue in cases like this, as they save many more lives than they take. The only issue you could find about the gun is the fact that the parents didn't act responsibly and kept it somewhere locked or out of the child's reach.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Metal_Bear_Rex said:
I also think guns are almost never an issue in cases like this, as they save many more lives than they take.

Let's not fool ourselves here: guns are about taking lives, that's what their purpose is. They might take someone's life over someone else's, but in any case they're about killing. Dissuasion is based on that premise as well.
 

Metal_Bear_Rex

⊂( ̄(エ) ̄)⊃
Let's not fool ourselves here: guns are about taking lives, that's what their purpose is. They might take someone's life over someone else's, but in any case they're about killing. Dissuasion is based on that premise as well.

Well that's obvious. What people tend to overlook is the thousands potential crimes that law enforcement and civilians prevent with their guns every day.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Metal_Bear_Rex said:
Well that's obvious. What people tend to overlook is the thousands potential crimes that law enforcement and civilians prevent with their guns every day.

I think you greatly overestimate the amount of crimes prevented by civilians using firearms.
 

Metal_Bear_Rex

⊂( ̄(エ) ̄)⊃
Aazealh said:
I think you greatly overestimate the amount of crimes prevented by civilians using firearms.

You'd be wrong.

University Study Confirms Private Firearms Stop Crime 2.5 Million Times Each Year

http://rense.com/general76/univ.htm

"Our results ended up indicating, depending on which figures you prefer to use, anywhere from 800,000 on up to 2.4, 2.5 million defensive uses of guns against human beings -- not against animals -- by civilians each year."

The study is from twenty years ago, and the numbers are certainly different today, but still I wouldn't call 800,000-2,500,000 crimes stopped a year by guns two decades ago an "overestimated amount".
 

Lithrael

Remember, always hold your apple tight
Like any sociological issue, this one is very muddy. That study can't speak to questions like whether these confronted criminals would have scarpered if confronted with nothing but an angry resident or an angry resident with a baseball bat, that is, whether brandishing a gun in these situations is overkill. It does mention that more than half of these 'uses' was the gun owner only saying that they had a gun.

From your link: "Okay. I can just hear critics saying that 50 or 55 people responding that they used their gun and you're projecting it out to figures of around 2 million, 2-1/2 million gun defenses."

I'm afraid I'm not 100% on board with their explanation why that's not a valid criticism.

http://www.stat.duke.edu/~dalene/chance/chanceweb/103.myth0.pdf
A discussion of the survey and of surveys in general :troll:
 
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