Monday Overnight Thread (11/25/19)

Quote I

“I was most motivated by, essentially, anger that Yale — which is a place that I call home — is still invested in Puerto Rican debt and fossil fuels, which is antithetical to what I believe in." Yale sophomore Sam A. Gallen

Quote II

“She sort of seems to be filling a pretty strange lane. Is there a part of the party that hates the party?” “It’s a little hard to figure out what itch she’s trying to scratch in the Democratic Party right now.” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.)

Quote III

As much as the admirals – who really ought to have a bit more humility in light of the Navy’s recent demonstrated inability to perform its basic task of sailing ships without crashing them into other ships – might not approve of Trump, approving of him is not their job. While in the civilian government worker force there appears to be a Trump Exception™ to the powers of the presidency, there cannot be one within the military. This is an unprecedented breach of military discipline that must be swiftly, mercilessly and publicly crushed, here and now. Kurt Schlichter

Quote IV

“If it wasn't for our cash, Ilhan Omar would be just another Somali refugee in America collecting welfare and serving tables on weekends,” Kuwaiti-born Alan Bender

The ONT hates to break it to you, but Hawthorne, CA and a closed track isn't the real world. Why not test that Tesla truck in cold weather towing snowmobiles say in Montana?

About an hour or so after Tesla CEO Elon Musk revealed an absurd, futuristic, brutalist electric pickup called Cybertruck to the world, I pulled myself up into its passenger seat. A Tesla employee then took me and three others for a short joy ride down a temporarily closed-off road that lines one side of SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California.

We were riding in the midlevel, dual-motor version of the truck, which is supposed to go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 4.5 seconds and will eventually start at $49,900. But while the prototype truck was quick, the sensation of speed was dulled by its size and (undisclosed) weight. It didn’t really provide that thrilling jolt forward that Teslas are known for.

Instead, the most stunning thing about my ride in the Cybertruck was how big and roomy it was. Say what you will about the outside of the Cybertruck, but I (and the rear-seat passengers) had more space to spread out than previously seemed possible in a vehicle of this size, almost as if Tesla had pulled off some sort of magic trick.

While we are on the Elon Musk Cybertruck, Will 2,000 orders be 2,000 deliveries? Time will tell.

Tesla shares rose Monday in early trading after CEO Elon Musk claimed over the weekend that the company has seen 200,000 preorders for the Cybertruck following a disastrous public demonstration in which the vehicle’s windows shattered before a live audience. But unlike previous Tesla preorders, the Cybertruck preorder only requires a refundable $100 deposit, leading to questions about how valid the preorder numbers actually are.

Musk tweeted Sunday that Cybertruck has seen 200,000 preorders so far, with 146,000 of those orders coming on Friday or Saturday. But the figure could be deceptive since Tesla is requiring only a $100 refundable deposit for the new electric vehicle, a figure that is substantially less than the deposits required for other Tesla models.

Do they make girls like this anymore? I'm not so sure. Quite the trio of sisters.

Three teenage girls living in the Netherlands during World War II spent their evenings talking to German soldiers, extracting information from them and then luring them into the woods where they would shoot them.

The three were part of the Dutch resistance. Their story is being told in a new book by Sophie Poldermans called “Seducing and Killing Nazis – Hannie, Truus, and Freddie: Dutch Resistance Heroines of WWII.”

The 8 hour work day, too short, too long or just right?

The eight-hour workday started its life as a socialist dream. The Welsh textile mill owner and social reformer Robert Owens is credited as the first person to articulate it, by calling for “eight hours labor, eight hours recreation, and eight hours rest” for workers in the early 19th century. This was much better than the 12- or 14-hour days factory workers, including children, were expected to put in at the time. Over the next 100 years or so, labor unions in the US pushed for and won adoption of the eight-hour standard in various industries. Henry Ford brought the idea further into the mainstream in 1926 by mandating a five-day, 40-hour workweek in his company’s factories. In 1940, Congress officially limited the American workweek to 40 hours.

There’s just one problem in 2019: It’s all but impossible to actually work for eight hours a day in the jobs so many of us now have. Like most people writing hot takes and think pieces about productivity, I’m focusing on knowledge workers here—those of us who work at desks, mostly in front of computers, in offices or from home. Especially those of us who spend those hours making things, like writers, coders, and graphic designers. (Honestly, I think eight hours a day is too long to work in a factory, a restaurant, a call center, or a store, too, and we should rethink, and re-legislate, this standard in all industries.)

Piss off wanker.

CHRISTCHURCH: Prince Charles warned Friday that time is running out to address the impact of climate change as he prepares to visit one of the Pacific island nations most-affected by global warming.

As he wrapped up a six-day trip to New Zealand ahead of three days in the Solomon Islands, Charles said the need for climate action was urgent.

"We have reached a tipping point and we still have the ability to change course, but only 10 years," said the first in line to the British ..

Not only does PG&E have to fight the greenies, the government and now Incredible damage claims.

PG&E Corp. says it has found suspicious monetary claims by victims of California’s wildfires, including one from a man who says a 500-pound (227-kilogram) emerald worth $280 million was destroyed at his home a year ago in the most destructive and deadliest wildfire in state history.

The utility is probing duplicate or “exceptionally large monetary claims, which appear suspicious,” according to a court filing that is part of efforts to determine PG&E’s potential liability from fire-related losses and estimate damages.

I call bullshit on a 500 pound emerald.

Over the weekend a funny thing happened. Donald J. Trump is still Commander in Chief.

What a country!
A back-stabber wakes up Saturday as Secretary of the Navy, lips off to the president in the Fishwrap of Record, and by Monday, he's a PFC: Private F**king Civilian.
Mirabile dictu!

(Dept. of BFYTW) Navy Secretary Richard Spencer was fired Sunday by Defense Secretary Mark Esper, who ordered that a Navy SEAL who was acquitted of murder be allowed to remain in the elite commando corps, the Defense Department said.
In other Navy news, plans to name a garbage scow after the former SecNav, the proposed USS Douchebag, have been put on indefinite hold.

If one was considered upper class, could they be considered uppity at times? We'll never know if you watch ITV.

A TV network in the UK has banned the word “uppity” after a single viewer complained that the term was racist when used to describe Meghan Markle.

The farce began after ITV host Eamonn Holmes criticized the Duchess of Sussex’s attitude when she refused to pose for photographs with fans during her visit to the Wimbledon tennis tournament in July.

“If you have an uppity attitude, you’re only through the door two minutes and suddenly you’re sitting at Wimbledon and your royal protection are saying, ‘No photographs, no photographs!’” Holmes said on his show This Morning.

This prompted one viewer to complain to broadcasting watchdog Ofcom that the term was racist because it was once used by southerners in the 19th century to describe black people in America during the slavery era who didn’t know their place.

However, according to the Collins Dictionary, the term only came into popular use after 1929 and simply means, “inclined to be haughty, arrogant, snobbish.”

Another reason to celebrate our Declaration of Independence from them.

If they are softer on my bare feet in the middle of the night I don't give a sh!t what they are made of. Lego plans to find replacement materials.

In an effort to be more environmentally responsible, LEGO have said they aim to stop manufacturing bricks made of plastic resin and are considering other options, which could include hemp.

According to Telegraph World, the company makes 60 billion blocks a year. While LEGO want to replace the harmful plastic used in their products, they also require the new material to meet the high standards that allow the blocks to work as they always have, especially with the effective “clicking” together is a key aspect of the iconic coloured block.

In 2015, they established the LEGO Sustainable Materials Centre in order to research other options for its product and packaging.

“There is no common definition of a sustainable material. Several factors influence the environmental sustainability of a material – the composition of the material, how it is sourced and what happens when the product reaches the end of its life. When we search for new materials all of these factors must be considered,” said Jørgen Vig Knudstorp, CEO and President of the LEGO Group.

Seems there was some global warming going on in 1938. And the fish wraps of the day recorded it.

This week in 1938, massive forest fires were burning up movie stars homes in California – and Britain was hit by 108 MPH winds which killed more than a dozen people. The Coast Guard was rescuing climate refugees who fled into the ocean to escape the flames

Oberlin College and its students are once again in the news. When they aren't busy defaming a local bakery, they are busy defending and glorifying Palestinian terrorists.

The display erected by Oberlin Students for a Free Palestine, which advocates for boycotts, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) against Israel, did not mention Palestinian Islamic Jihad. In a Facebook post earlier this month, the student group said it would “shout the names of those that the IDF has killed,” listing Abu al-Atta and multiple other Islamic Jihad members, again without referring to their affiliation with the terrorist group.

BDS organizers on and off university campuses have long been accused of ignoring or supporting the goals and activities of terrorist groups like Islamic Jihad, Hamas, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

Visionary or just plain nuts?

The world’s richest person was one of eight inductees into the International Air & Space Hall of Fame — honored for his space company Blue Origin, which this summer detailed plans for a lunar lander called Blue Moon.

In the central pavilion of the San Diego Air and Space Museum, Bezos was introduced to the recorded strains of “The Magnificent Seven” theme (better known as the Marlboro Man jingle).

Retired Lt. Col. David Hamilton, 97, received the only standing ovation of the night.
Retired Lt. Col. David Hamilton, 97, received the only standing ovation of the night. Photo by Chris Stone
He described the origins of his space infatuation.
Bezos said he told his high school paper he wanted to start a space company to save the environment and “eventually turn Earth into a national park.”

Saturday, he said: “I believe that, one day, Earth will be zoned residential and light industry. We’ll move all heavy industry into space. That’s the only way, really, to save this planet.”

The ONT grades Mr. Cenen Placencia, 71, of Kodiak, Alaska alleged criminal activities:
Unusual design - A; Creativity - B; Execution - F; Overall grade - F.

Department of Justice
U.S. Attorney’s Office
District of Alaska
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, November 22, 2019
Kodiak Man Arraigned on Drug Trafficking Charge
Denies Knowledge of Checked Luggage Containing Meth and Heroin Lodged in Spoiled Goat Intestines

Anchorage, Alaska – U.S. Attorney Bryan Schroder announced that Cenen Placencia, 71, of Kodiak, was arraigned today on a complaint charging him with possession with intent to distribute controlled substances.

On Nov. 20, 2019, Placencia was ticketed to depart from Anchorage International Airport, destined for Kodiak, Alaska. Investigators from the Alaska State Troopers (AST) Anchorage Airport Interdiction Team (AAIT) requested Placencia’s consent to search his checked luggage, which consisted of a 47-pound fish box that was duct taped shut with a rope tied around the box.

After obtaining Placencia’s consent, the box was opened and investigators observed loosely wrapped meat pieces frozen together in a single large mass. The meat did not appear to be for human consumption, and packaging and shipping was inconsistent with the standard methods of meat processing. Investigators obtained Placencia’s consent to fully thaw and search the meat while he waited for the next Kodiak flight. As the meat was thawing, investigators detected an odor consistent with spoiled meat, no longer safe for consumption.

10 duct tape wrapped balls, each slightly larger than a golf ball, were found lodged inside the intestines of what investigators believed to be a goat and contained, in total, six packages of approximately 389 grams of meth and six packages of approximately 740.5 grams of heroin.

Placencia stated he purchased the goat for $140 from a rancher in California, packed the box himself, and intended to eat the goat intestines. Further, he denied having any knowledge of the meth and heroin found inside the goat.

If convicted, Placencia faces a statutory maximum of 40 years in prison, a $5,000,000 fine, and a minimum of 4 years of supervised release. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

The Alaska State Troopers (AST) Anchorage Airport Interdiction Team (AAIT) and Coast Guard Investigative Services (CGIS) conducted the investigation leading to the charge in this case. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christina Sherman.

A complaint is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Earlier today we learned of the passing of Moron rickl. F*ck cancer. Rickl was a regular contributor to The ONT and The Ace of Spades Pet Thread. He was a big fan of our space program, Bob Dylan and Toys For Tots.

So let us remember our friend with some Dylan tunes. And maybe think of rickl by purchasing an extra toy or two for the Toys For Tots program.

Not quite Dylan, but saying "Goodbye" to a friend............

The need for speed. Genius Award Winner.

At about 2 a.m. on Friday, a man driving across the Courtney Campbell Causeway revved his engine and tried to bait a fellow motorist into racing him.

Unbeknownst to the man with a need for speed, the driver he was trying to bait was a Clearwater police officer.

The officer pulled over Connor Michael Proleika, 20, of Tampa, and arrested him on a charge of racing on a highway, which is a misdemeanor. Worse for Proleika, the arrest resulted in him violating probation on previous charges of grand theft and possession of a controlled substance, which are felonies.

Yes, it is a video. Yes there is NSFW-Language. Nevertheless it is Tonight's Feel Good Story of The Day.

Tonight's ONT has been brought to you by Leash Laws.

Notice: Posted with permission by the Ace Media Empire and AceCorp, LLC. On your way out, why not hit Ace's tip jar. Thank you.

posted by Misanthropic Humanitarian at 10:00 PM

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