Related posts:

1. sounds kind of delicious, honestly.
2. This plan sounds OK to me
3. the sweet sounds of freedom

A few days ago, the conspiracist site Infowars posted a “strategic report” by the Missouri Information Analysis Center (MIAC), a police “public safety partnership” that collects “incident reports of suspicious activities to be evaluated and analyzed in an effort to identify potential trends or patterns of terrorist or criminal operations within the state of Missouri.” The document is a throwback to the great militia panic of the ’90s, a time when all sorts of libertarian and populist organizations were conflated with domestic terrorists, and when the threat posed by the latter was wildly exaggerated. Among other things, the MIAC paper declares that “It is not uncommon for militia members to display Constitution Party, Campaign for Liberty, or Libertarian material. These members are usually supporters of former Presidential Candidate: Ron Paul, Chuck Baldwin, and Bob Barr.” It also warns that the Gadsden Flag, bearing a coiled rattlesnake and the slogan DON’T TREAD ON ME, “is the most common symbol displayed by militia members and organizations.”

I’m not sure which the be more surprised about: the fact that infowars broke a story that was verifiable or that police agencies are targeting people who display symbols of patriotism.

I need to invest in a rattlesnake sticker for my car ASAP.

Related posts:

1. Good news, for a change
2. hahahaha… wheeez… hahahahahaha
3. Change is A-Coming

A fake British aristocrat was convicted yesterday of playing a leading role in an audacious attempt to carry out the world’s biggest bank raid.

The gang of international criminals came close to stealing £229 million from a City bank by exploiting the high-tech security measures designed to protect money transfers. But the plot failed when a hacker into the system missed one set of numbers from an electronic form.

Hugh Rodley — who insisted on being addressed as “Lord” despite having bought his manorial title — was the front man for the group, setting up companies and bank accounts to receive and launder the money.

Details of the “bold and sophisticated” attack were untangled by the Serious Organised Crime Agency during a four-year investigation.

Serious Organized Crime Agency? Ha! They got nothin’ on the Bicycle Adventure Team! Furthermore, this is pretty much Hollywood-Brought-To-Real-Life Awesomeness.

After months of preparation, the Belgian hackers returned to Sumitomo’s offices in October 2004. They made 21 transfers of up to £40 million each from the accounts of high-profile customers including Casio, Toshiba and Nomura Asset Management. The money was destined for accounts in Spain, Dubai, Hong Kong, Liechtenstein, Turkey, Israel, Turkey and Singapore.

Rodley then attempted to transfer the stolen money out of the recipient accounts and on to banks in countries including northern Cyprus and the Seychelles, unaware that the Belgians had made a mistake in the Swift money transfer system.

Rodley was convicted yesterday at Snaresbrook Crown Court of conspiracy to defraud and conspiracy to transfer criminal property. Nash was convicted of conspiracy to transfer criminal property. Another defendant, Inger Malmros, 58, a Swedish businesswoman who lived in the Canary Islands, was cleared of all charges.

O’Donoghue, 33, Van Osselaer, 32, and Poelvoorde, 34, had already pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal. All will be sentenced at a later date.

Other members of the plot have not been caught and are known to have carried out similar attacks abroad. Among those who are suspected of being involved are the Eastern European mafia and a Middle Eastern sheikh.

A fake British aristocrat, Belgian hackers, Eastern European mafia and a Sheikh. Plus others. How does one even convince groups like this to get involved? This could have been fucking amazing. Damn them for stopping this from happening!

Related posts:

1. Movie Review: How to Rob a Bank
2. lets arrest the old hippies; the kids are too clever and the old folks won’t see it coming
3. Those Damned Kids, Part One

LOGAN6

Yes. It’s in reference to this epic film. If I had got a photo it would have been fucking amazing. I had to restrain myself from being a creepy neighbor guy and bum-rushing him to tell him how rad his license plate is. Perhaps if I see him in the parking lot again, I will do so.

Or maybe, in a style more suited to my personality, I will print a hundred or so screen captures from the film and stick them under his windshield wipers, one per day. Or maybe I’ll just steal his damn license plate for being so damn awesome. I really am tempted to do something strange.

Also, when I saw This Machine Is Me, the opening act was a little metal group called 11 Spirits. In the preceding two weeks, I have now encountered the lead singer in public on no less than four separate occasions. Should I start screaming “Robot Arms!” at him? (If you check out the myspace page, it’s the only song they have posted.) During the show, it was the one song that made both myself and Craig say, “Uhmm… is he saying robot arms?!” Craig asked. He was. And now this man haunts me with his damned robot arms.

And now, our country at a glance:
Former Chicago cop ‘splains it, doesn’t hold his punches:

This one could come from a punch extended halfway across the country, from a former Chicago cop who allegedly has been recorded on tape telling students at Colorado State University that beating suspects and paying off informants with drugs is just a way of life for police in “Chi-town.”

Dexter Yarbrough, a former Gresham District community policing officer, allegedly made the remarks to students in 2008 lectures taped by a graduate student, according to the campus student newspaper, The Rocky Mountain Collegian.

Which is, quite honestly, pretty fucking awesome. I loved The Shield all the way through season 3, when I got bored of television for the most part and sank into a hole of booze and gambling. Rock on, Chi-town!

The Fourth Amendment is somewhere, crying in a corner:

WASHINGTON—The Supreme Court ruled Monday that police officers have leeway to frisk a passenger in a car stopped for a traffic violation even if nothing indicates the passenger has committed a crime or is about to do so.

The court on Monday unanimously overruled an Arizona appeals court that threw out evidence found during such an encounter.

Uhm, how’s that work?

The justices accepted Arizona’s argument that traffic stops are inherently dangerous for police and that pat-downs are permissible when an officer has a reasonable suspicion that the passenger may be armed and dangerous.

The pat-down is allowed if the police “harbor reasonable suspicion that a person subjected to the frisk is armed, and therefore dangerous to the safety of the police and public,” Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said.

Ohh… of course. Anytime a police officer speaks with a civilian it’s a dangerous situation and the civilian should be frisked, regardless. Wait, did I skip a step? My bad, but I’m not into that much foreplay, friend.

And Connecticut wants to decriminalize marijuana:

Two prominent lawmakers pushing for reform of the state’s marijuana laws have a potent new ally: the budget deficit.

Sen. Toni Harp, chairwoman of the powerful appropriations committee, and Senate Majority Leader Martin Looney hope economics will succeed where other arguments have failed in convincing their colleagues that the costs of prosecuting and punishing pot smokers is an expense Connecticut can no longer afford.

“We’ve got to take a strong look at what we want to pay for as a state,” said Harp, D- New Haven, who with Looney is co-sponsoring a bill that would punish low-level marijuana users with a fine, not a criminal charge.

And it’s for a reason you can’t object to on moral grounds: fiscal responsibility. Take that, society! (I’m actually stupified that I had no idea there was a ‘c’ in the middle of Connecticut. It’s just not a state name I think I’ve ever typed before, in my life. What the hell is wrong with you Connecticut? I actually want to pronounce it connect-a-cut, now. Blast!)

Also, I kinda just rolled all my posts for today into one gratuitous post. Dig it.

Related posts:

1. why we can’t have nice things

It’s either that or I make a crazy melty-face wax mask. Which would make drinking difficult. I’m sure you can see how there isn’t much of a decision here, really.

Related posts:

1. Brighton Bodycasting

My jackassery was only surpassed by a friend throwing up on the floor in the middle of the bar last night. She took a shot of Goldshlager (or something nearly as foul) and the results were about what I would have expected. Hilarious. I, myself, stuck to Flying Dog Woody Creek White Belgian Wit. Quite delicious.

Almost everything else was a blur. Oh glorious booze.

Related posts:

1. Goodbye Facebook
2. Booze can kill!

I think it happened yesterday/last night. The only places would be at work, school or my apartment. I’d put money on it being one of my dickhead neighbors (most of my neighbors are cool, but you know).

Maybe I’ll replace it with a GA Libertarian tag, instead.

Also, my proposal for a research project/documentary into drug culture got poo-pooed by my sociology prof. But she did like my idea for one about the science of ‘hooking-up’, so the effect should be quite a bit more hillarious considering the fact that I’m doing it all in stop-motion animation.

No related posts.

I find myself wanting September to be over with. The realization that October will simply be more of the same, with costumes, makes me wonder why. I’m sort of just happy I made it through the week without losing my fucking mind. There is something about this time of year that puts me on edge. The weather is wonderful, though.

Related posts:

1. I did go booty dancing the other night, although I don’t think that counts.
2. okay, i’m feeling a little punchy today.
3. Today almost killed me, but I am still presenting the best of today for you out of the kindness of my own heart.

September 18th will mark the one-year anniversary of when I began growing my beard. To this end, I present this clip from Star Trek – The Next Generation episode 9, Season 6, titled “The Quality of Life.“

Related posts:

1. the proverbial diamond in the rough
2. Star Gate Universe on MY television? It’s more possible than you think.
3. story of dans beard and my glasses

Some parts sound reasonable. For example, U.S. consulates will provide “mail-order brides” with brochures that explain their legal rights.

Other parts sound draconian. For example, the IMBA requires American men who wish to correspond with foreign women through private for-profit matchmaking agencies to first provide those businesses with their police records and other personal information to be turned over to the women.

Corresponding with a foreigner is legal. Marrying a foreigner is legal. Immigrating spouses and their husbands go through rigorous and lengthy screening before visas are issued. U.S. laws against violence protect “mail-order brides.”

Now American men who wish to pursue a legal activity must release their government files to a foreign business and foreign individuals for their personal benefit.

It’s the American Woman’s backlash against men who don’t want to put up with their shit anymore; European women are stronger in many ways and less prone to being a ninny with emotional baggage. Most American Women I know like this are lesbians; doesn’t help me out much, now does it?

American Women have a television image of what men should be; Lloyd Dobbler should be buried in a shallow grave for what he has done to us. And now the hetero-feminists have struck back at the Men who would go shopping at a different store.

As Tyler Cowen would say: markets in everything… (only this time, they’re taking choices away from us.)

Related posts:

1. The “Cougar Cruise” fails to satisfy, and this actually surprised someone
2. The proof is in the pudding
3. It’s not misogyny, it’s psychology