Renaissance Robot posted:

Finally, all that time in kerbal space program is about to pay off


only when it's white men though

RonJeremysBalzac posted:

Bro Dad posted:

Renaissance Robot posted:

only when it's white men though

Exclamation Marx posted:

Lady Naga posted:

Yeah it's actually pretty weird how when a (rational) person makes fun of Spike Jonze for being a bit of an egoist, you don't have anyone whining about how "not all black directors are like that!", it's just sort of assumed. If that same person laughed at something crazy a furry said though, you get a whooooole bunch of weeping and moaning and the gnashing of teeth.

quote:

The Texas City disaster of April 16, 1947 was the deadliest industrial accident in U.S. history, and one of the largest non-nuclear explosions. Originating with a mid-morning fire on board the French-registered vessel SS Grandcamp (docked in the Port of Texas City), its cargo of approximately 2,300 tons (approximately 2,100 metric tons) of ammonium nitrate detonated,[1] with the initial blast and subsequent chain-reaction of further fires and explosions in other ships and nearby oil-storage facilities killing at least 581 people, including all but one member of the Texas City fire department.[2] The disaster triggered the first ever class action lawsuit against the United States government, under the then-recently enacted Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), on behalf of 8,485 victims.

...The Texas City Disaster is generally considered the worst industrial accident in American history. Witnesses compared the scene to the fairly recent images of the 1943 Air Raid on Bari and the much larger devastation at Nagasaki. Of the dead, 405 were identified and 63 have never been identified... An additional 113 people were classified as missing, for no identifiable parts were ever found. This figure includes firefighters who were aboard Grandcamp when it exploded. There is some speculation that there may have been hundreds more killed but uncounted, including visiting seamen, non-census laborers and their families, and an untold number of travelers. However, there were some survivors as close as 70 feet (21 m) from the dock. The victims' bodies quickly filled the local morgue, and several bodies were laid out in the local high school's gymnasium for identification by loved ones.

More than 5,000 people were injured, with 1,784 admitted to twenty-one area hospitals. More than 500 homes were destroyed and hundreds damaged, leaving 2,000 homeless. The seaport was destroyed and many businesses were flattened or burned. Over 1,100 vehicles were damaged and 362 freight cars were obliterated—the property damage was estimated at $100 million ($1.06 billion in today's terms).[7]

A 2-short-ton (1.8-metric-ton) anchor of Grandcamp was hurled 1.62 miles (2.61 km) and found in a 10-foot (3 m) crater. It now rests in a memorial park. The other main 5-short-ton (4.5-metric-ton) anchor was hurled 1⁄2 mile (0.80 km) to the entrance of the Texas City Dike, and rests on a Texas shaped memorial at the entrance. Burning wreckage ignited everything within miles, including dozens of oil storage tanks and chemical tanks. The nearby city of Galveston, Texas, was covered with an oily fog which left deposits over every exposed outdoor surface.

...Some of the deaths and damage in Texas City were due to the destruction and subsequent burning of several chemical plants (including Monsanto and Union Carbide), oil storage, and other facilities near the explosions. Twenty-seven of the 28 members of Texas City's volunteer fire department and three members of the Texas City Heights Volunteer Fire Department who were on the docks near the burning ship were killed. One firefighter, Fred Dowdy, who had not responded to the initial call, coordinated other firefighters arriving from communities up to 60 miles (100 km) away. Eventually 200 firefighters arrived, from as far away as Los Angeles. Fires resulting from the cataclysmic events were still burning a week after the disaster, and the process of body recovery took nearly a month. All four fire engines of Texas City were twisted and burned hulks.

quote:

A man walks below the 150' LONGHORN II that was washed ashore by the tidal wave created by the GRANDCAMP exploding. The arrow points toward a destroyed city fire truck twisted together with another vehicle and a large section of the GRANDCAMP.

http://www.local1259iaff.org/disaster.html

quote:

Hundreds of lawsuits were filed as a result of the disaster. Many of them were combined into Elizabeth Dalehite, et al. v. United States, under the recently enacted Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA). On April 13, 1950, the district court found the United States responsible for a litany of negligent acts of omission and commission by 168 named agencies and their representatives in the manufacture, packaging, and labeling of ammonium nitrate, further compounded by errors in transport, storage, loading, fire prevention, and fire suppression, all of which led to the explosions and the subsequent carnage. On June 10, 1952, the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned this decision, finding that the United States maintained the right to exercise its own "discretion" in vital national matters. The Supreme Court affirmed that decision (346 U.S. 15, June 8, 1953), in a 4-to-3 opinion, noting that the district court had no jurisdiction under the federal statute to find the U.S. government liable for "negligent planning decisions" which were properly delegated to various departments and agencies. In short, the FTCA clearly exempts "failure to exercise or perform a discretionary function or duty", and the court found that all of the alleged acts in this case were discretionary in nature.[citation needed]

In its dissent, the three justices argued that, under the FTCA, "Congress has defined the tort liability of the government as analogous to that of a private person," i.e., when carrying out duties unrelated to governing. In this case, "a policy adopted in the exercise of an immune discretion was carried out carelessly by those in charge of detail," and that a private person would certainly be held liable for such acts. It should also be noted that a private person is held to a higher standard of care when carrying out "inherently dangerous" acts such as transportation and storage of explosives.

According to Melvin Belli in his book Ready for the Plaintiff! (1965), Congress acted to provide some compensation after the courts refused to do so.[11] The Dalehite decision was eventually "appealed" to Congress, where relief was granted by means of legislation (Public Law 378, 69 Stat. 707 (1955)). When the last claim had been processed in 1957, 1,394 awards, totaling nearly $17,000,000, had been made.

Lady Naga posted:

Yeah it's actually pretty weird how when a (rational) person makes fun of Spike Jonze for being a bit of an egoist, you don't have anyone whining about how "not all black directors are like that!", it's just sort of assumed. If that same person laughed at something crazy a furry said though, you get a whooooole bunch of weeping and moaning and the gnashing of teeth.

quote:

“You buy into the history and the tradition, the values of the club,” said Bryan Lee, a digital brand strategist who grew up in Southern California and lives in Greenpoint. He showed up in a vintage gray Liverpool away jersey. “Historically, Liverpool has been a blue-collar port city,” added Mr. Lee, 24

OneThousandMonkeys posted:

Hi, PYF is that way. We have much higher standards here in D&D. Please post either:

1) A graph describing how hosed we are

2) A picture of a Communist who died at least 60 years ago

3) A screen grab of riots or something occurring somewhere, without any context

4) Hitler

PostNouveau posted:

How could you forget flags, the most inconsequential of D&D Pictures derails?

quote:

Jews in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk where pro-Russian militants have taken over government buildings were told they have to "register" with the Ukrainians who are trying to make the city become part of Russia, according to Ukrainian and Israeli media.

Jews emerging from a synagogue say they were handed leaflets that ordered the city's Jews to provide a list of property they own and pay a registration fee "or else have their citizenship revoked, face deportation and see their assets confiscated," reported Ynet News, Israel's largest news website.

Donetsk is the site of an "anti-terrorist" operation by the Ukraine government, which has moved military columns into the region to force out militants who are demanding a referendum be held on joining Russia. The news was carried first by the Ukraine's Donbass news agency.

The leaflets bore the name of Denis Pushilin, who identified himself as chairman of "Donetsk's temporary government," and were distributed near the Donetsk synagogue and other areas, according to the reports.

Pushilin acknowledged that flyers were distributed under his organization's name in Donetsk, but denied any connection to them, Ynet reported in Hebrew.

Emanuel Shechter, in Israel, told Ynet his friends in Donetsk sent him a copy of the leaflet through social media.

"They told me that masked men were waiting for Jewish people after the Passover eve prayer, handed them the flyer and told them to obey its instructions," he said.

The leaflet begins, "Dear Ukraine citizens of Jewish nationality," and states that all people of Jewish descent over 16 years old must report to the Commissioner for Nationalities in the Donetsk Regional Administration building and "register."

It says the reason is because the leaders of the Jewish community of Ukraine supported Bendery Junta, a reference to Stepan Bandera, the leader of the Ukrainian nationalist movement that fought for Ukrainian independence at the end of World War II, "and oppose the pro-Slavic People's Republic of Donetsk," a name adopted by the militant leadership.

The leaflet then described which documents Jews should provide: "ID and passport are required to register your Jewish religion, religious documents of family members, as well as documents establishing the rights to all real estate property that belongs to you, including vehicles."

Consequences for non-compliance will result in citizenship being revoked "and you will be forced outside the country with a confiscation of property." A registration fee of $50 would be required, it said.

Olga Reznikova, 32, a Jewish resident of Donetsk, told Ynet she never experienced anti-Semitism in the city until she saw this leaflet.

"We don't know if these notifications were distributed by pro-Russian activists or someone else, but it's serious that it exists," she said. "The text reminds of the fascists in 1941," she said referring to the Nazis who occupied Ukraine during World War II.

Morton Klein, president of the Zionist Organization of America, the oldest pro-Israel group in the USA, said the leaflets should be seen in the context of a rising tide of anti-Semitism across Europe and the world, and that it should prompt a strong response from the White House.

"This is a frightening new development in the anti-Jewish movement that is gaining traction around the world," Klein said.

Michael Salberg, director of the international affairs at the New York City-based Anti-Defamation League, said it's unclear if the leaflets were issued by the pro-Russian leadership or a splinter group operating within the pro-Russian camp.

But the Russian side has used the specter of anti-Semitism in a cynical manner since anti-government protests began in Kiev that resulted in the ousting of Ukraine's pro-Russian former president Viktor Yanukovych. Russia and its allies in Ukraine issued multiple stories about the the threat posed to Jews by Ukraine's new pro-Western government in Kiev, Salberg said.

Those stories were based in part on ultra-nationalists who joined the Maidan protests, and the inclusion of the ultra-nationalist Svoboda party in Ukraine's new interim government. But the threat turned out to be false, he said.

Svoboda's leadership needs to be monitored, but so far it has refrained from anti-Semitic statements since joining the government, he said. And the prevalence of anti-Semitic acts has not changed since before the Maidan protests, according to the ADL and the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union, which monitors human rights in Ukraine.

Distributing such leaflets is a recruitment tool to appeal to the xenophobic fears of the majority, "to enlist them to your cause and focus on a common enemy, the Jews," Salberg said.

And by targeting Donetsk's Jews, they also send a message to all the region's residents, Salberg said.

"The message is a message to all the people that is we're going to exert our power over you," he said. "Jews are the default scapegoat throughout history for despots to send a message to the general public: Don't step out of line."

SedanChair posted:

Just like this:



It doesn't really matter how real the "Jews have to register" paper is. It's terrifying whether it was created by pro-Russians in an official capacity or just by thugs. Some seem to be implying that pro-Western Ukrainians created it for sympathy...eh. That's more Russia's style.

Kenny Logins posted:

pig slut lisa posted:

e:

OneThousandMonkeys posted:

1) A graph describing how hosed we are

2) A picture of a Communist who died at least 60 years ago

3) A screen grab of riots or something occurring somewhere, without any context

4) Hitler

StickySweater posted:

I was disappointed to discover that this is merely visual art, and not an actual cassette tape set. Anyway, here are all 4 volumes:

StickySweater posted:

I was disappointed to discover that this is merely visual art, and not an actual cassette tape set. Anyway, here are all 4 volumes:

RonJeremysBalzac posted:

PostNouveau posted:

How could you forget flags, the most inconsequential of D&D Pictures derails?

StickySweater posted:

I was disappointed to discover that this is merely visual art, and not an actual cassette tape set. Anyway, here are all 4 volumes:



EDIT: These are from a site called Gin and Tacos.

Little Blackfly posted:

Guess who's dead,






Rot in hell, you awful shithead neocon


Special cameo appearance by Tweedledum, mayor of Toronto,

Nckdictator posted:

I agree, lets laugh at his grieving sons.

JoelJoel posted:

A politician whose policies harmed countless people died. Totally inappropriate to be happy about it in an Internet forum.

JoelJoel posted:

He also forgot links to YouTube videos with no context or label. Like so:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bA2LgJviH9w

PostNouveau posted:

I never click a youtube link that doesn't have someone quoting it, so I won't be following this one.

Wait...gently caress

JoelJoel posted:

A politician whose policies harmed countless people died. Totally inappropriate to be happy about it in an Internet forum.

Mineaiki posted:

Translation:

• More money for us.
  
  
• gently caress you.
  

Apparently they have a needlessly complicated way of giving poor people back the money they spend on "necessities," but that just opens the system up to attacks by conservatives aimed at redefining "necessity" to mean a tent on the side of the road and a package of ramen noodles per person per day. Here, "less complicated" means if you're rich you don't have to spend time evading your taxes like you do now, and instead the poor people will have to chase the government down to get their money, which they can totally do because it's not like they're working multiple jobs with odd hours all the time.

Assuming of course they don't just die of starvation immediately when you double the taxes on their food.

It's like they sort of realize that they're shifting 99% of the burden of taxes onto the poor, and they're conscious enough to understand that they should address that, but priority One is that rich people shouldn't have to do their taxes.

quote:

After careful evaluation, the Panel decided to reject a complete replacement of the federal income tax system with a retail sales tax for a number of reasons. Two considerations were particularly important to the Panel’s decision:

• Replacing the income tax with a retail sales tax, absent a way to ease the burden of the retail sales tax on lower and middle-income Americans, would not meet the requirement in the Executive Order that the Panel’s options be appropriately progressive.
  
• Although a program could be designed to reduce the burden of a retail sales tax on lower-income and middle-income taxpayers by providing cash grants, such cash grants would represent a new entitlement program – by far the largest in American history. Adjusting the distribution of the burden of the retail sales tax through a cash grant program would cost approximately $600 billion to $780 billion per year and make most American families dependent on monthly checks from the federal government for a substantial portion of their incomes. The Panel concluded that such a cash grant program would inappropriately increase the size and scope of government.

The Panel also had additional concerns with replacing the current tax system with a retail sales tax:

• Even with favorable assumptions, a retail sales tax on a broad base with a cash grant program would require a tax rate of at least 34 percent, and likely higher over time if the base erodes, creating incentives for significant tax evasion. A discussion of the range of potential estimates of the tax rate is provided later in this chapter.
  
• The federal administrative burden for a retail sales tax may be similar to the burden under the current system. A federal agency, such as the IRS, would be required to administer the tax in order to ensure adequate collection of federal revenues and uniform enforcement of the rules and regulations underlying the tax. Indeed, two types of administrations would be required – one to collect the tax and another to keep track of the personal information that would be necessary to determine the size of the taxpayer’s cash grant.
  
• Taxpayers likely would continue to file state income tax returns, which would limit the potential simplification gains from replacing the federal income tax system with a retail sales tax.

quote:

DiggityDoink posted:

XKCD is usually just a terrible blog with stick figures and the occasional crazily detailed yet totally uninteresting infographic, but the most recent one actually managed to make a good point. People bitching about the 1st Amendment being violated for poo poo like this is one of my biggest annoyances.