Despite 115 posts for the year, and I only started this thing in March, so I suppose that's a pretty good start but no excuse, there has not been enough rabbling this year. My New Years (and I can't say I encourage New Years resolutions as they are silly attmepts at self improvement so people can feel better about their pathetic lives and and then not actually follow through on) resolution is MORE RABBLING! So get ready for an onslaught of rabbliness people. Maybe I could get a smart phone so I can unpdate on the go. Or, maybe not. Of course I could just not follow through on my resolution like everyone else I just complained about but I guess you'll have to keep reading to find out. Have fun, be safe. Rabble-B
"Look at all the pink. Pink daddy!" The desperate appeal of a 3 year old girl while pulling on the door of Victoria Secret with a giant, pink lingerie display in the window. Meanwhile her embarrassed father is trying to quiet her down and move along. Amazing. Rabble-B
Because polluting Earth to the point of biological collapse isn't enough, space the final frontier... to pollute. Now there's so much shit up there you stand a good chance of something taking down your Millenium Falcon. Maybe they are intentionally filling up Earth's orbit to block out the rays of the sun to curb global warming. Rabble-B
From MSNBC.com
Orbiting junk rivals weapons as major threat to space use
Debris could damage other crafts, people and Earth-based property Trackable objects in orbit around Earth. By Jeremy Hsu
updated 12/23/2010 5:45:24 PM ET
What began as a minor trash problem in space has now developed into a full-blown threat. A recent space security report put the problem of debris on equal footing with weapons as a threat to the future use of space.
Hundreds of thousands of pieces of space junk — including broken satellites, discarded rocket stages and lost spacewalker tools — now crowd the corridors of Earth orbit.
These objects could do serious damage to working spacecraft if they were to hit them, and might even pose a risk to people and property on the ground if they fall back to Earth and are large enough to survive re-entering the atmosphere.
The new Space Security 2010 report released by the Space Security Index, an international research consortium, represented space debris as a primary issue. Similar recognition of the orbital trash threat also emerged in the U.S. national space policy unveiled by President Obama in June 2010.
Such growing awareness of the space debris problem builds on stark warnings issued in past years by scientists and military commanders, experts said. It could also pave the way for U.S. agencies and others to better figure out how to clean up Earth orbit.
Consideration of space debris as a major threat may cause the United States to take a more global view on the threat of space weapons, said Brian Weeden, a former U.S. Air Force orbital analyst and now technical adviser for the Secure World Foundation, an organization dedicated to the sustainable use of space.
"This is an important realization, because before that much of the security focus was on threats from hostile actors in space," Weeden explained. "This is the first [national policy] recognition that threats can come from the space environment and nonhostile events."
All those bits of garbage in space could eventually create a floating artificial barrier that endangers spaceflight for any nation, experts said.
Even fictional space navigator Han Solo might prefer to risk turbolaser blasts from Imperial starships rather than hazard Earth's growing cloud of space debris, where objects whiz by at up to 4.8 miles per second (7.8 km/s).
The possibility of a damaging collision between spacecraft and orbital junk only continues to grow with more functional and nonfunctional hardware flying above Earth. Both the International Space Station and space shuttle missions have been forced to dodge space debris in the past.
More than 21,000 objects larger than 4 inches (10 centimeters) in diameter are being tracked by the Department of Defense's U.S. Space Surveillance Network. Estimates suggest there are more than 300,000 objects larger than 0.4 inches (1 cm), not including several million smaller pieces.
"The shuttle was more likely to be wiped out by something you didn't see than something you were dodging," said Donald Kessler, a former NASA researcher and now an orbital debris and meteoroid consultant in Asheville, N.C.
But the problem has become much worse since Kessler began studying the issue decades ago with Burton Cour-Palais, a fellow NASA researcher. Their 1978 research described how the debris cloud might continue expanding on its own because of an ever-higher probability of collisions that built upon each past collision.
The Kessler Syndrome
That prediction, known as the Kessler Syndrome, may have already been realized.
China's intentional destruction of an aging weather satellite during a 2007 anti-satellite test created about 2,500 pieces of new debris in Earth orbit.
More recently, a U.S. Iridium communications satellite and a defunct Soviet Cosmos spacecraft were destroyed in an unintended head-on collision in 2009. That incident added more than 1,000 pieces of trackable debris to the mess, adding to the number of possible targets and therefore upping the chances of future collisions.
The overall trackable amount of space debris grew by about 15.6 percent, according to the Space Security 2010 report.
NASA and other U.S. agencies could use national space policy as a chance to aggressively pursue solutions, such as using spacecraft propelled by solar radiation ( solar sails ) or other objects to take down a few select pieces of debris, experts said.
"If we only bring down four objects per year, we can stabilize [the debris field] if we carefully select those most likely to contribute to debris," Kessler told SPACE.com.
Path to cleaner space
The national space policy shift shows that policymakers have finally begun to take action based on the work of Kessler and other researchers, Weeden said.
"This policy basically sets the playing field for what is to come," Weeden said. "It's an enabler, not the actual solution itself."
The United States and other countries could begin discussing voluntary codes of conduct about how to minimize space debris from new missions, as well as how to clean up old space debris.
But legally binding agreements remain politically unlikely, Weeden cautioned. More plausible is an agreement on a strictly volunteer basis that would require spacefaring countries to put peer pressure on one another to comply.
Change of tune
The criticism of past space weapons tests that have created space debris has already changed how countries plan their actions, said Joan Johnson-Freese, a space policy analyst at the Naval War College in Newport, R.I.
"When the United States tested an anti-satellite (ASAT) weapon in 1985 by destroying its Solwind satellite, and China tested its ASAT in 2007, neither broke any 'rules,'" Johnson-Freese said in an e-mail. "But each created a substantial amount of space debris potentially dangerous to other spacecraft."
Both countries have since changed their policies, and said future tests will be characterized as "missile defense," aimed only at destroying targets that won't leave lingering debris, Johnson-Freese pointed out. "In terms of space debris, it is simply not in U.S. interests to pursue paths that encourage actions that result in debris creation."
On a lighter note, you should swing by the Patagonia website and pick up a Rabble Beanie (No, I am not making this up, it's a dream come true) and support your local rabbler.
So we have yet another instance of totally needless and senseless assholing by some dickhead preacher from Florida (of course it's Florida, the only other place it could be is Germany. Why do you think they play the game "Germany or Florida" on Loveline) who thinks he's doing the work of God by protesting at funerals. And, he even protests military funerals of soldiers that were killed in action defending his unfortunate right of free speech. Oh the irony. Fuck, man! What is wrong with you? Sometimes I wish we lived in a totalitarian state (preferably run by me, but you know...) so this dickwad's right to say and do utterly classless and heartless things could be snatched away at any moment. Hey, moron, I'm pretty sure God doesn't want you picketing a cancer victim's funeral. Just sayin'... Rabble-B
Edwards funeral to be picketed by controversial church
Westboro Baptist, which is at center of Supreme Court case, also pickets military funerals
msnbc.com staff and news service reports msnbc.com staff and news service reports
updated 12/9/2010 11:10:36 AM ET 2010-12-09T16:10:36
A church that pickets funerals to protest what it calls American immorality says its members will be picketing the service this Saturday for Elizabeth Edwards, who died of breast cancer on Tuesday.
Based in Topeka, Kan., the Westboro Baptist Church said it would be outside the Edenton Street United Methodist Church in Raleigh, N.C., during the funeral for the former wife of one-time vice presidential candidate John Edwards.
Westboro members, led by the Rev. Fred Phelps, have also picketed military funerals to make their point that U.S. deaths in Afghanistan and Iraq are punishment for Americans' immorality, including tolerance of homosexuality and abortion.
Signs like "Thank God for Dead Soldiers" have been raised at military funerals, and the church announced its latest action with a press release titled "God hates Elizabeth Edwards."
The church, founded in 1955, has about 70 members consisting mostly of Phelps' children, grandchildren or in-laws. Phelps, 80, and his followers have protested at more than 200 military funerals, according to court documents.
The church has gotten the attention of the U.S. Supreme Court, which last October heard arguments over whether it has a free speech right to picket funerals with its controversial signs.
The justices are expected to rule by mid-2011 in the case brought by the father of a Marine killed in Iraq. He wants a $5 million civil verdict reinstated against members of the church.An appeals court threw out the fine on the ground that the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees the right of free speech.
The Supreme Court justices heard arguments in the emotion-laden case of Albert Snyder. His son died in Iraq in 2006, and members of the church protested the funeral.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said the question is whether the First Amendment must tolerate "exploiting this bereaved family." There was no clear answer from the court during the questioning.
Snyder is asking the court to reinstate the lower-court verdict's fine against the Westboro members who held signs outside the funeral of Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder, including ones that read "Thank God for Dead Soldiers, "You're Going to Hell" and "God Hates the USA." The Marine was killed in a Humvee accident in 2006.
The church also posted a poem on its website that attacked Snyder and his ex-wife for the way they brought up Matthew.
The case pits the right of the father, Albert Snyder, to grieve privately against the church members' right to say what they want, no matter how offensive.
The members of the small church welcome the attention the protests have brought, mocking their critics and vowing not to change their ways whatever the outcome at the Supreme Court.
"No American should ever be required to apologize for following his or her conscience," said Margie Phelps, a daughter of Fred Phelps and the lawyer arguing the case for the church.
Snyder won an $11 million verdict against the church for intentional infliction of emotional distress, among other claims. A judge reduced the award to $5 million before the federal appeals court in Richmond, Va., threw out the verdict altogether, citing the church's free speech rights under the First Amendment.
For Snyder, the case is not about free speech but harassment. "I had one chance to bury my son and it was taken from me," Snyder said.
Forty-eight states, 42 U.S. senators and veterans groups have sided with Snyder, asking the court to shield funerals from the church's "psychological terrorism."
While distancing themselves from the church's message, media organizations, including The Associated Press, have called on the court to side with church because of concerns that a victory for Snyder could erode free speech rights. The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
Yes, I realize that Google powers blogger.com but I don't really care, no one reads this anyway and I can always start a Wordpress account.
Anyway, Google entered China a while ago now but it's time for a rabble. Google's motto is "Don't be evil". Seriously, it is and honestly that's a pretty rad motto. But when Google entered China and agreed to censor tons of stuff they made tons of money (billions I'm sure) and at the same time became "evil". Your average Chinese dude cannot search Google for the Dalai Lama. Nothing exists on him on the Chinese internet. Nor can average Chinese brossif search Tiananmen Square massacre. It never happened on Google China.
Well fuck you Google, because by agreeing to supress the truth and history you are contributing to the Chinese government's stranglehold on information and the liberty of their people. You're denying free thinking and individual independence in cooperation with an authoritarian regime in exchange for money. That, Google, is by definition, EVIL! Maybe you should change your motto to, "Hookers and blow, the way to go". It even rhymes. Rabble-B
So I think I've figured out how to get this thing to email people when I post a rabble. The problem is it limits me to 10 email addresses. I think the whole world should be aware of the rabble but this is what I have to work with for now. So if you get an email notification of a rabble then you are a loyal/original supporter of the rabbles. If not then maybe you should email me and plead your case as to why you should be included in the top ten.
So this test rabble is actually an unrabble. Check out the worlds hottest pepper. Unrabble (unless you eat one, then I'm sure you'll be plenty rabbley)-B
World’s hottest pepper is ‘hot enough to strip paint’
Fiery food mavens seeking to one-up each other now have to gear up for a whole new test of culinary bravado: the world's hottest chili pepper.
Yes, the Naga Viper, the latest claimant to the world's-hottest-pepper crown, outdistances its predecessor, the Bhut Jolokia, or "ghost chili," by more than 300,000 points on the famous Scoville scale of tongue-scorching chili hotness. Researchers at Warwick University testing the Naga Viper found that it measures 1,359,000 on the Scoville scale, which rates heat by tracking the presence of a chemical compound. In comparison, most varieties of jalapeño peppers measure in the 2,500 to 5,000 range -- milder than the Naga Viper by a factor of 270.
You might think the Naga Viper would hail from some part of the world with a strong demand for spicy food, such as India or Mexico. But the new pepper is actually the handiwork of Gerald Fowler, a British chili farmer and pub owner, who crossed three of the hottest peppers known to man -- including the Bhut Jolokia -- to create his Frankenstein-monster chili.
"It's painful to eat," Fowler told the Daily Mail. "It's hot enough to strip paint." Indeed, the Daily Mail reports that defense researchers are already investigating the pepper's potential uses as a weapon.
But Fowler -- who makes customers sign a waiver declaring that they're of sound mind and body before trying a Naga Viper-based curry -- insists that consuming the fiery chili does the body good.
"It numbs your tongue, then burns all the way down," he told the paper. "It can last an hour, and you just don't want to talk to anyone or do anything. But it's a marvelous endorphin rush. It makes you feel great."
A member of the Clifton Chili Club -- a group of Brits who travel around sampling chilis -- decided to try one of Fowler's Naga Vipers on camera. You can watch his less-than-pleasurable experience here.
(Photo of Bhut Jolokia, the previous holder of the hottest pepper in the world title: AP/New Mexico State University)
So I just heard on NPR that Nigeria is planning on charging Dick Cheney with some sort of conspiracy and corruption charge for some bullshit with Halliburton when he was CEO, before he became the dark lord of the vice presidency. Karma is a bitch Dick, suck on it. Rabble-B
Alex Trebek is a prick. Watch Jeopardy, just watch and listen to the way he talks down to the contestants (though admittedly occasionally the contestants are idiots and deserve it) and how condescending his comments are, like he holds their entire life's goals in his hand and can crush them with one off handed comment. And, it's even worse when he's wrong.
Contestant: "What was the OK Corral Shootout?"
Trebek: "Uhh, oookkkay, that's close enough, we'll accept that (now I'm thinking he's being pissy about her not saying, "the shootout at the ok corral" but no...), it was the gunfight at the OK Corral.
Really Alex? Was it? Because I've never heard it called that before it spilled from your lips like a dog vomiting after he ate too much grass in the backyard. I've only ever heard it called, "The Shootout at the OK Corral" but you know, gunfight, shootout, whatever. You're the boss. Tell me what to think Alex. This is just one instance, which is fresh in my memory, among countless others. Just look on You Tube for Trebek moments, you'll be surprised how many retarded Jeopardy moments he creates with his comments. I love every SNL Celebrity Jeopardy skit where Sean Connery crushes your spirit Alex. Rabble-B
So the head of the Washington State Potato Commision (They have one of those? Seriously, no wonder this country is broke. Get a real job man. How many states have a potato commision? Is there a federal version that oversees the states? Shit.) decided to go on an all potato diet for 60 days to protest the vilification in food programs of the much maligned vegetable. The results? He dropped 21lbs and 67 cholesterol points. Ya that's right, all on potatoes. Mmmmm, mashed, Au Graten, twice baked, fried, baked with a little oil, salt, pepper and Tapatio mixture............................
Anyway, potatoes are rad and despite the fact this guy is head of some sort of state agency I've never even heard of... Maybe it's actually a front for a shadow government and he flies around in a black helicop... ya, right. Back on subject, potatoes are rad and it's 9:15am, I'm starving and the only thing I've had in the last 14 hours is a bowl of Lucky Charms. Should've made it a bowl of potatoes I guess, coulda filled up and lost weight. Rabble-B
So I learned something recently... Don't ever go into a coffee shop, big or small it does not matter, and order an apple cider. It's total bullshit. All they're gonna do is pull out a big bottle of Treetop Apple Juice, pour it in a cup and heat it up with the steamer. Seriously, fuck that. If I wanted hot apple juice I could make it at home and get a whole, giant fucking bottle of Treetop and stick it in the microwave for the $3 you charged me to heat up 12oz of it. And, at home I'll put bourbon in it so I can foget about the shitty one I ordered at the coffee shop. For fuck's sake coffee people, at least pour some cinnamon or nutmeg on top to give the illusion you give a shit. Or, how about I'll never make the mistake of ordering a sissy ass drink like apple cider again. I'll just stick to beer. Rabble-B
Former House majority leader Tom Delay(R) was convicted today of money laundering. He could face life in prison. See, this is what you get for fucking the American people in the ass. Current members of congress, pay attention...
Ok, look it's snow. It happens every year and every year you freak out and smash your cars up and try to drive up steep hills that you know better not to go up. Maybe, macho man, you think because you have 4-wheel drive you are invincible. Or maybe you're that lady who's so petrified of getting stuck or crashing that you stop on the hill, there by bringing your fears to fruition. You're an idiot. There are an unspoken set of snow rules for driving and it's high time they become spoken so we all have the same understanding of our rights and responsibilities on a snow day.
Don't stop, unless you really, really have to (like if you're going to slide into another car, which if this is the case it's probably because you already slammed on your brakes and spun around a couple times and you're an idiot) because it's usually hard to start moving the direction you want to again, especially on a hill, up or down. Just keep cruising slowly and you'll be fine.
Stop signs are void. This just goes back to don't stop. Unless someone is already in the intersection and you're going to hit them just roll on through.
Stop lights are just a suggestion. Again, unless there is a bunch of cross traffic, don't stop just slow down and cruise on through.
The other side of the street, i.e. the oncoming lane, is totally fair game. You have to get around those three jack-knifed buses somehow because you're certainly not going to stop behind them (see rule #1).
Pedestrians no longer have the right of way. Ya, that's right hipster dipshit in skinny jeans, pointy boots and a tank top with a feather in your hair, you can stop easily on the curb carrying your PBR half rack, I can't. I am going to continue to slowly roll on by to my destination and you can suck it.
Leave the sportscar at home and don't think your 4-wheel drive vehicle is a snowmobile and gives you license to fly around all over the place at 60mph. Just do everyone a favor and stay home and beat your dog.
If the city closes a road it applies to you too. Even if you have the aforementioned 4-wheel drive vehicle you don't get to drive on a closed road and crash into a parked car. More than likely drunk teenagers are sledding down the closed street anyway and you'll feel really bad if you run one over.
If you're not confident in your snow driving abilities or to follow the snow day rules stay home and for the sake of everyone else in the community, DON'T WATCH OR READ THE NEWS! it will only make it worse. Same goes if you're the overconfident "Please, I got this." guy. Stay home, order pizza.
This is my second picture post in as many days See below. Rabble-B
Don't end up like these folks outside my house at midnight in the place where buses go to die. You'll never make it out. This is one of probably 10 buses stuck on my street and none of the other four cars are moving either.
Really Seattle Times? You couldn't come up with a cheesier yet more fear inspiring headline? If this is only the first punch we should all head for Mexico I guess. The editors should be fired for this one. Can't wait for, "La Nina (Spanish for "The Nina" (feminine)) Delivers the Haymaker, City Cries Uncle" in January...
CAM-10 has been travelling a fair bit lately. his travels have taken him to a new state and two desert canyons. Oh yeah, he visited a meteor crater and an ancient castle too, no big.
Floating down the Grande Ronde deep in the canyon for 3 days, he had some mean BO by the end of the trip but we caught some fish and survived a monsoon. This trip only prepared him for a bigger canyon a month later.
CAM strolled around the south rim of the Grand Canyon for a while last week. He was pretty impressed. This photo was snapped moments before he did a backflip off the rock into the canyon. He is so buff you can't see the parachute on his back. He landed safely at the bottom and then got really pissed off when he was told he had to hike his own ass back up to the top.
CAM was really excited to hit the 50,000 year old meteor crater. Obviously, from the photo it met his expectations. Except for the dumbass on the tour who asked what the meteor was made of and if it was heavy, only 15 minutes after the ranger said it was made of iron and told the group the carry on suitcase sized (and I'm talking about a real carry on bag, not the jumbo, overstuffed bags that people drag onto the plane and try to jam into the overhead) chunk in the museum was 1400lbs. CAM thought that guy was a douche but he had fun and met some fellow travellers below...
CAM met a couple of troll/garden gnomes at the crater too. They didn't say much but CAM was happy to meet other in animate travellers like himself that are subjected to being carried around in all manner of stuffy pockets and bags and have to travel in the cold ass luggage compartment instead of getting their own first class seat like they think they deserve.
Montezuma's Castle was cool. He thought the Native Americans were pretty ingenious building a cool ass castle in a cave on the side of a cliff. He wanted to go up inside but was physically removed from the premises by the rangers as he was climbing up the cliff. He was charged with a misdemeanor and released to my custody.
but in Arizona the taxes make up 58% of the fees of rental cars. That is bullshit. I'm not using your stupid stadium, I'm going to see the Grand Fucking Canyon, I shouldn't have to pay a stadium fee tax. Who goes to Arizona and rents a car just to watch the Cardinals suck it up? Come on! I'll gladly pay a highway maintenance tax because I'm driving on your roads, but sure as shit shouldn't have to pay a 5% facility fee when the rental car facility isn't even at the fucking airport. I have to take a ten minute shuttle ride to the giant, rental car facility, then wait in line for half an hour to have my wallet sucked dry, lucky me. No thanks, next time I'm in Arizona I'll rent a helicopter and pilot, it'll be cheaper and cooler. Maybe it'll even have guns on it so I can blast my way to the Grand Canyon and then I won't have to hike down to the bottom or back out. Just set 'er down on a flat spot hop out and rabble around. Rabble-B
PS-CAM-10 made it to the Grand Canyon too as well as the Grande Ronde so there will be a double Grand(e) CAM-10 adventure posted soon. As well as a picture of CAM with his new friends he met abroad at the meteor crater.
You know what really makes me rabble? Everything, I know. But seriously, a-holes who wear glasses when they don't actually need them to see. What is wrong with you people? Do you think you look cooler with glasses on? Because you don't, you look stupid. Why would you want to wear them anyway if you don't have to? Glasses are a pain in the ass. They can fall off your face and then you're fucked because YOU CAN'T SEE, they can break and then you're fucked because YOU CAN'T SEE, they get smudged and dirty, you can't play many sports with them on, they get rained on, can't wear sunglasses. I mean come on, I've worn glasses/contacts since I was like 10 and it sucks. Bad vision isn't hip, it's lame. If we lived in the stone age all us blind folks would be weeded out something quick. Survival of the fittest and all. So don't act like your vision is bad if it's not because hopefully someday your vision will get shitty and then you'll have to get glasses and you'll realize how much of an asshole you were when you wore glasses when you didn't actually need them. Rabble-B
How about instead of cutting WDFW public services and jobs just stop wasting all the money we already give you. Give all license and conservation money paid by the public to enjoy the resources they already own to WDFW. And while you're at it declare Tim Eyman persona non grata in the state. Maybe we could continue to fish a little bit. Rabble-B
State proposes hunting, fishing license increase
By ALLEN THOMAS, The Vancouver Columbian
State wildlife officials have drafted a blueprint for the first across-the-board increase in hunting and fishing license fees in 14 years.
A resident freshwater fishing license would jump from $26 to $29.50 and a combination freshwater-saltwater-shellfish resident license from $48.20 to $54.25. An elk license would increase from $45.20 to $57, while a deer license would decrease from $45.20 to $44.90.
While most licenses would cost more, fees for youth, seniors and disabled veterans would decrease.
Increases in commercial fishing fees also are proposed.
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is facing a $10 million to $20 million shortfall in state General Fund money plus about a $10 million reduction in the state Wildlife Account, which mostly comes from license revenue, in the 2011-13 budget cycle.
Phil Anderson, department director, said cuts might include 20 wildlife enforcement jobs, closure of seven to 11 fish hatcheries, elimination of steelhead fishing in Puget Sound tributaries and closure of some of the agency's 700 public access areas.
Anderson is making appearances around the state explaining the potential license increases and seeking reaction. New license fees require action by the state Legislature.
"We've got to have relatively broad-base support or the Legislature isn't going to buy it and we're going to be faced with a whole bunch of cuts,'' Anderson told the Columbia River recreational and commercial advisory groups in Vancouver recently.
The department is looking at a variety of ways to increase revenue to maintain its programs status quo, he said.
Other revenue measures, besides a license fee increase, are:
* Switching the money from saltwater fishing, shellfish and razor clam licenses from the General Fund (where it can be used for any purpose) to the state Wildlife Account. That would help to the tune of $3 million a biennium.
* Switching commercial license fees from the General Fund to the department. That would add about $2 million.
* Adding a commercial fishing license "administrative fee'' of either $70 or $105 per license.
* Charging a fee for Hydraulics Permit Approvals, the environmental review required to work in state waterways. The fee would provide $3.3 million.
* Creating an "Explore Washington Pass'' with the state Department of Natural Resources.
The pass would be required to use the 5 million acres of lands managed by the departments of Fish and Wildlife and Natural Resources.
Anderson said the pass would cost $5 for hunting or fishing license buyers and $40 for others age 18 and older.
One- and three-day passes would be available.
State lawmakers early this year approved a 10 percent surcharge on hunting and fishing license fees, but that ends on June 30, 2011.
An $8.75 annual Columbia River salmon-steelhead endorsement was initiated in 2010.
That would continue, but drop to $7.10 for youth under this proposal.
Anderson said the last general fee increase was in 1996.
The proposed fee increases got a mixed reaction from the advisory groups.
that Glenn Beck can suck it because his xenophobic, redneck, festy, fucking paranoia rally drew about 87,000 people and Comedy Central's Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear, a fucking comedic parody rally mocking Genn Beck and every other political whiner, retard out there, drew 215,000 people give or take. So what does that tell you? Most people don't give a shit about garbage politics it's the silent majority gets drowned out by the morons screaming at the top of their lungs about nothing.
So yeah, how about everyone crying about republican this and democrat that and crying about the wrong direction and the right one just shut up. Maybe even just for say, a week. Just shut the fuck up and let the rest of us live in peace for one glorious week.. Maybe it'll be sunny that week too and we can go play outside. Rabble-B
Ok, gentlemen. It's officially Novembeard, yesterday in fact. Put down the razors and grow some facial hair like you've never grown before. We'll compare at the end of the month. The best part of Novembeard is shaving your beard into a sweet mustache later. Oh, just think of the possibilities, Fu Manchu, Handlebar, Hitler, the creepy one where you shave just the upper half, goatee (only for frat assholes and douchey 40 something dads), The Dali, A La Souvarov, Walrus, or mustaches wild! Email me a photo a the end of the month and maybe I'll post it if you have a rad beard. Make me proud boys. Unrabble (unless you've shaved in the last two days, then you're a bitch and you should stop reading this blog because most of the posts are probably about you. In that case, rabble.)!-B
So some dumbass Nepalese telecom company thought it would be a good idea to provide 3G cell service on Mount Everest. What the fuck is wrong with you people?! How could you travel all the way to Mount Everest, one of the most remote, wild and beautiful natural places on Earth and still give a shit about your email? Sorry you're on a long, dangerous, really fucking expensive (it's costs something like $30K and over a month to climb Everest) and incredible journey climbing the tallest mountain in the world, leave the fucking cell phone at home you dick. Cell coverage will now ruin any trip for a true mountain climber or anyone who appreciates places that lack buildings and cars. Oh, what if you need to call for help? Well, we already have two-way radios but dude, there's no 911 up there anyway, and you need to realize even on a good day Everest is life threatening place, no two ways about it. I guess you could call your mom, but why don't you just be a man and recognize the fact that you might die and there might be nothing you can do about it and a cell phone isn't going to help. So again, if you can't come to terms with your own mortality and the condition that you are not allowed to bring a cell phone and ruin the whole experience then DON'T GO! Rabble-B
It's total bullshit. Or, ok, maybe it's just that the restaurant JUNO decided for their special menu they would serve dishes that look great on paper and then are prepared and taste like shit. I could've bought groceries for two weeks with the money I wasted in that shitty joint. When the best part of your meal is the bread you have a problem. Rabble-B
Note to all domestic abusers: FUCK OFF YOU PIECE OF SHIT SCUM! If you want to beat on someone come try and beat on me, we'll see how well that goes for you. Rabble-B
CBS News October 19, 2010 8:45 AM
Islamic Court: UAE Says Wife, Child Beating OK - Just Don't Leave Any Marks
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (CBS/AP) Apparently, it is perfectly OK for a man to beat his wife and young children, according to the UAE's highest judicial body, as long as the thrashing doesn't leave any physical marks.
The decision by the Federal Supreme Court shows the strong influence of Islamic law in the Emirates despite its international appeal in which foreign residents greatly outnumber the local population.
The court made the ruling earlier this month in the case of a man who beat his wife and adult daughter. The court stated that the man crossed the line suggested by Sharia Law because the daughter was not a minor and the wife sustained visible injuries.
The beating left the wife with injuries to her lip and teeth and the 23-year-old daughter suffered bruises on her knees and hand. In ruling against the defendant in that case, Chief Justice Falah as Hajeri stated that there were conditions when domestic violence was acceptable, according to the New York Daily News.
But Justice al Hajeri said the man "abused this right of discipline" and therefore was not "exempted from punishment."
Islamic law allows for "discipline" if no marks are left. It also says children who have reached "adulthood" - approximately puberty - cannot be struck.
The ruling was reported Monday in the Abu Dhabi-based newspaper The National.
so kanye west wrote, or more likely had someone ghostwrite a book for him, about himself called thank you and you're welcome. dear kanye, you are a giant douche bag. maybe bigger than the douche who built the billion dollar house. rabble-b
This one definitely falls under the "don't be an asshole" heading. So some absurdly rich douche bag in India just finished a house for himself that cost a cool $1 billion. Ya, a fucking billion dollars! Seriously, look it up on Google or Yahoo or whatever. It's 27 stories and has three helipads, because you know, one isn't enough. I mean, I have like five helicopters myself, but that's just what I'm into. I've got this one helicopter... Never mind. So this fuckwad is so rich he spends a billion dollars on a house for himself and all his friends can party there and yeah! It takes a staff of 600 to keep it running so I guess he's creating jobs and helping the economy. But wait, "Hey dipshit, you live in India! Most of it's a poor ass country, though I doubt you've noticed flying around in a helicopter. How about you build a house for $100 million and use the rest of the money to clean up the Ganges River and the appalling lack of drinking water or maybe build some houses for a few million people living in the slums and while your at it save a couple hundred million for some food for them too. Hey, the construction of all that housing and water purification facilities would create jobs too. Wow! What a novel concept. I'm sure you already give away plenty of money to charitable causes for tax write offs and sure, I applaud you for that but for fucks sake man, why did you have to go and be an asshole and build a house for $1 billion? It's just makes me think it had to be that big because the world's biggest douche bag lives in it. Rabble-B
Before he was traded to the Minnesota Vikings, Randy Moss(notes) got into a catfight with Tom Brady(notes) about, all of things, his facial hair.
According to Charley Casserly of CBS, Brady and Moss had a verbal altercation before the trade and that the pair had to be separated. During the spat, Brady told his receiver to shave his beard. Moss responded that Brady should cut his hair, because he looks like a girl.
Gentlemen, gentleman; both your follicle-stylings look awful. Brady telling Moss that his hair looks bad is like Creed telling Nickleback that they're lame. Takes one to know one.
What do you think?
Wow, this makes the Pebble Mine look like an even better idea. Lets go for it! Oh, ya the 24.7 acre storage pool described in the article? It's a mere puddle compared to what they want to build in Alaska, not to mention the chemicals for gold/silver/copper mining are far and away more toxic than alumina byproduct. But you know they'll build a stronger, better dam at the Pebble Mine, it's cool... Rabble-B
...are, maybe short of salt and vinegar chips, no not even that, single stuffed Oreos are the worst idea I can possibly think of. Why the fuck would you buy single stuffed Oreos when double stuffed are available? Rabble-B
Who the fuck ever thought of the padded toilet seat is an idiot! Why would I want to sit down on the toilet to take a shit only to feel like I'm already sitting in my own shit? Seriously, padded toilet seats are disgusting. They're already warm and on top of that squishy. When I sit down to take a dump I want to feel the opposite of sitting in my own shit. Gross people. And even better the vinyl covering is usually cracked and discolored. It may even look like it's been pooped on recently. I love getting up off a padded toilet seat after sitting on it for a while. It feels like the vinyl rim loves my skin more than I do as it tries to rip my ass cheeks away from me. Dammit man! Fucking wrong, they should be outlawed. Rabble-B
This guy has obviously lost his ability to judge what is and is not appropriate in public. And the chick just stands there like she's bored. What is wrong with people?!?! Rabble-B
No, not the third installment of Dumb and Dumber, which happens to be one of my favorite movies of which I've never seen in it's entirety. I always used to catch it around 4pm on a weekday during summer vacation and pick it up about 2/3 the way through.
No, what I am referring to is really more of a question. Does anyone else out there constantly run into people who by conversing with them make you feel dumber? Seriously, I meet people everyday and have conversations and they are so dumb and clueless just talking to them sucks my will to live. These conversations are the mental equivalent of failing to qualify for the Special Olympics. I mean what the fuck?! How do these people make it through life as a complete moron? The most telling symptom of this tragic, nameless disorder is when someone asks you a question, you provide an answer and then they ask THE SAME FUCKING QUESTION twice more during the conversation. You might say, "Oh, well, obviously they're just not paying attention." I say, "No! They are actually dumberer (if that could actually be a word. I think I will petition Websters and Wikipedia and Encyclopedia Britainica to put in a definition for 2011)." They have no physical deficiencies, except maybe being a lazy fatass, just a mental retardation that cannot be classified because technically they are not mentally handicapped. They receive no government aid and hold jobs and support families no problem. Why then does it feel like I'm talking to a person who should've won last year's Darwin Award but somehow escaped with their life and are still out there causing the human species to get dumber and dumberer? Rabble-B
So I really want to know how people can chew and mow and suck every little piece of corn off of a cob? Just clean and gnawed down to nothing. I chew the shit out of an ear of corn and at the end it still looks a Bernese Mountain Dog played fetch with it all gnarled and slobbery with half the kernels still on it. How do you do it people? If you're one of the clean corn eaters please email me or comment and tell me how you do it so I can stop feeling like I need it shaved off for me so I can eat it with a fork. Rabble-B
Maybe the coolest thing I've ever heard of, the Rally to Restore Sanity. October 30th, 2010 in Washington, DC at the Washington Monument on the National Mall. This is for all of us that are too busy, too tired or annoyed to participate in the pathetic quagmire that passes for politics and press in this country. If you are a rabid supporter of Palin, Tea Party, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Bill O'Reilly or any other of the liars, cheaters and thieves that we call politicians and newsmen (or women) then this is not for you. I'm basically just paraphrasing what you can read here, Rally to Restore Sanity It's about the raddest thing anyone has ever thought of, except maybe pizza or hotdogs or spaghetti... Un-Rabble-B
So Survivor Nicaragua premiered last night. Not that I watched it, I did watch some of the first season, years ago, for the novelty which quickly wore off. But really it's been like what, 10 years of survivor? Every season is in some tropical paradise or maybe at least somewhere hot. The only one so far that was remotely dangerous was Australia and that's simply due to the sheer number of deadly poisonous critters running around. I mean, I'm sure I'm not the first one to think of this but when are we going to see Survivor Antarctica? Where just not freezing to death affords you the chance to stick around and win money. Or maybe North Pole so they have to battle polar bears instead of cuddly penguins. Or what about Survivor South Central LA? Guaranteed the person that wins that season is someone I don't want to mess with. This tropical shit got boring like season 2 guys. So, hey, NBC or CBS or whatever the hell channel it's on, writers! You're getting paid a shitload of money to rehash the same stupid shit in a different location every year. Think of something clever and creative for next season. God knows America needs a little creativity these days. Surprise us and we'll pretend we're excited. Rabble-B
Ok, look drunk, 40-something, Microsoft-ie, Lexus driving, suburban, wannabe hippie (I still don't condone being a hippie but a wannabe hippie is just pathetic) who paid $350 for a pair of Journey tickets at the outdoor amphitheatre on the local Indian reservation, don't be an idiot. Holding a lighter up at a show is stupid enough but you can't just apply modern technology to a 60's convention and think you're clever. When they blast into "Open Arms" your cellphone is not the same as a fucking lighter! You can't just turn on your phone during a ballad and sway back and forth and time travel to Haight Ashbury in 1969. What you can do is look like a dipshit. Maybe you should start smoking so you'll actually have a lighter in your pocket for just such an occasion. And if you're are one of those idiots that got the picture of a lighter app. for your iPhone and are waving it around at the Journey show, then you really look stupid. I hope you drop it and the screen shatters. Rabble-B
So I have a new and recurring feature for this thing. It's pretty much just photos of my robot CAM-10, the perpetual humanoid model. He travels all over the place and does some crazy stuff and now it will be shared with the public.
CAM-10 has been many places and had some crazy adventures we will cover in the future but this first installment is from his recent trip to San Francisco. The first shot was hatching the plan, the second he lays waste the Golden Gate Bridge. It is now lying pieces at the bottom of the Bay. When asked for a quote he simply said, "CAM-10 smash! Rrrraaarr!" Sorry to those folks living in Marin County and whatnot... Rabble-B
"If I don't vent then I'll start ramming!" - My grandfather (who, unlike most old folks is still and excellent driver) in reference to his road rage and how he chooses to yell at shitty drivers instead of ramming their vehicles with his. Which we all know would feel much better for about 3 seconds until you have to deal with the consequences. Rabble-B
The only way small children and babies should be allowed on a plane is if there is a surcharge of $25 per hour of flight time for each other passenger within 5 rows front or back of said child. If the child/baby make a bunch of irritating noise during the flight those passengers collect the money for each hour of the flight. As you can imagine, this could become prohibitively expensive for the parents and they might think twice about bringing their annoying ass baby on a plane. Rabble-b.
Why is it anytime I happen to hear my local alternative radio station it's a 10 year old Red Hot Chili Peppers song, Kids from MGMT or one of three shitty songs by Kings of Leon (just to clarify, all these groups suck dick and I'm tired of hearing them and people talk about them everywhere I go)? If it's a rare day it might be a Muse song.
But really guys, there is an enormous catalog of good music available to play. How is it you can only seem to repeat the same like 6 songs day after day and still think you are doing something that isn't destroying society. For fuck's sake, stop it! Rabble-B
Whew! I don't know where the rabbles have gone let me assure you, the lack of rabbling lately does, in no way, mean that I have run out of subjects that make me rabbley. Mostly it's just that summertime means more stuff to do outside and some things get set aside. Now I could rabble about not having time to rabble but that would be rabbling about sunny days, lemonade, fishing, boating, Montana, 70 degrees at 11pm and whatnot so I won't rabble about that cuz all those things are rad! But I'm settling back into the rabble saddle and well, giddy up!
On that note, my first rabble in a couple weeks is a most exciting un-rabble. My friends Randy and Renee got married last Saturday. They are rad and their wedding was rad. I wish them a long and unrabbley life together, and Bode the lab too. I'll be back with more rabbling soon. Yea (yes I do mean yea, as opposed to yeah, cuz it's not a full yeah, it's more of just a yea. So yea.)! Un-Rabble-B
So every town across America (ok, I guess only above the Mason-Dixon maybe) has some sort of summer festival to celebrate sun and heat and long days while they can before it snows again or in my case turns wet and gray for 9 months. Seattle has the lovely Seafair celebration. Actually Seafair sucks and I wish all the budget shortfalls and the shit economy would force the city to cancel it, permanently. What a clever name for a festival too right? Sea-Fair, a funny play on the city name. Just like the Seahawks, our crappy football team in our non-sports loving town that won like 6 games the last two years combined.
So the Blue Angels can kiss my ass. They shut down the freeway twice a day so they can fly around. It's not like they're landing on the fucking I-90 bridge, why do we have to close the bridge and clog up the rest of the the surface streets and the 520 bridge so they can do some cute barrel rolls up in the air? Planes for air, cars for pavement.
The Torchlight Parade. Hey, lets build a bunch a floats and drive them down 4th Ave really slowly and wave to all the people watching on the sidewalk. What?! People start lining up for this thing at like 10am and it doesn't even start until like 6pm. And what's even better it doesn't get dark until like 9pm and it's over by then. Why on Earth is it call the TORCHLIGHT parade?! For fuck's sake. And the Seafair pirates, they aren't scary or lewd like pirates should be. They're smiley and jolly and dressed like they'd be more at home in a gay nightclub called Shiver Me Timbers. Give me those ostrich feathers on your hat, I'll do something useful with them, like tie flies.
Aaahhhh, the hydros, NASCAR (Non Athlethic Sport Causing Adult Retardation) on the water. "Oh man, here they come. Wooooohhhoooooo! Look at that rooster tail. Oh, they're turning left again." Except it's not poor, Southern trash or a bunch of festys watching them. It's rich, business people in bikinis and banana hammocks unwinding on their yachts on Lake Washington. Give it up already! And you, guy in the car in front of me on the I-90 bridge. Watch the road, not the boats, I don't like driving 15mph under the speed limit. Rabble-B
Looks like Kanye West and Steven Holmes don’t see eye to eye on the subject of fame.
The prodigious rapper and tweeter randomly selected Holmes as the solo person to follow on Twitter and let’s just say that Holmes is less than flattered by all of the attention.
Initially, Holmes seemed excited by the connection, tweeting , "Holy [expletive] bro thx for following!" But the Brit quickly changed his tune once the full glare of the limelight hit. Speaking with his local paper, the Coventry Telegraph, The Nottingham University student sounded far from enthused by the global attention he says has led to him turning down interview requests from media outlets around the world.
“I didn’t want to talk to any of them,” Holmes is quoted as saying. “Fame has never appealed to me. It’s vacuous.”
He went on to say that “Before this weekend I thought it would be cool to have a celebrity following me on Twitter but now I think it’s really not worth it.”
Holmes reiterated that stance on his Twitter page when he tweeted “This has been completely surreal and I really have no desire for this attention i'm just a normal person” and later added that he will not be speaking with any other media outlets.
(Another Charles Taylor related post. Scroll down for background of my hatred for this excuse for a human) Ok Naomi, you better tell the truth. I don't care that you didn't want to be involved, you have the power to help, at least slightly, give emotional relief to hundreds of thousands in Liberia and Sierra Leone so tell the whole story and bury that fucker and his dirty diamond fueled bullshit. Charles Taylor deserves to rot in prison with photos of the murdered and raped and limbless women and children suffering in the pain he caused. All with bright spotlight 24hours a day, behind plexiglass so he cannot take them down. Fuck you Charles Taylor, your not guilty plea is insulting to my very being. Rabble-B
Naomi Campbell will testify in war crimes trial Thursday
By the CNN Wire Staff
August 4, 2010 1:16 p.m. EDT
Naomi Campbell did not want to be involved in the trial but was subpoenaed July 1.
(CNN) -- A judge in the war crimes trial of former Liberian President Charles Taylor has decided that supermodel Naomi Campbell's testimony in the case will go ahead Thursday.
The Special Court of Sierra Leone confirmed to CNN Wednesday that Campbell will take the stand at the tribunal, despite an emergency motion the defense filed Monday to delay her testimony.
Prosecutors say Taylor gave Campbell a diamond during the war in Sierra Leone, contradicting Taylor's testimony that he never handled the precious stones that fueled the conflict.
The defense said it hadn't seen a copy of Campbell's testimony, which interferes with Taylor's right to a fair trial. Under tribunal rules, the defense team should get advance access to prosecution witness testimony so it can prepare its arguments. Prosecutors said they have not obtained a statement from Campbell, but they did provide a copy of her anticipated testimony to the defense.
Prosecutors had rested their case against Taylor in February 2009, but reopened it specifically to call Campbell to testify after learning in June of that year that Taylor had given the supermodel a diamond in South Africa in 1997. Prosecutors said they also wanted to call actress Mia Farrow and a witness named Carole Taylor to testify, court papers show.
Prosecutors have said that Farrow confirmed that Taylor gave Campbell a diamond.
When arguing to reopen the case, prosecutors said Campbell's testimony would prove that the former president "used rough diamonds for personal enrichment and arms purchases," according to papers filed with the U.N.-backed court.
Campbell did not want to be involved in the trial but was subpoenaed July 1.
Taylor, 62, was president of Liberia from 1997 to 2003. The war crimes charges against him stem from the widespread murder, rape and mutilation that occurred during the civil war in Sierra Leone. It was fought largely by teenagers who were forced to kill, given addictive drugs to provoke violent behavior, and often instructed to rape and plunder.
Taylor is charged with five counts of crimes against humanity, including murder, sexual slavery and violence, and enslavement.
He also faces five counts of war crimes, including acts of terrorism and torture, and one count of other serious violations of international humanitarian law.
So if you are going to pet something (or someone I suppose), does that imply the critter has fur or hair? Can you pet a fish or a Komodo Dragon or a Naked Mole Rat? I don't know. When you pet something your stroking it's fur but if you were to pet a worm it would just be rubbing it's skin right? I don't know, just thought that was kind of weird... Rabble-B
Dude, seriously, how hard is it to listen to your voicemail and delete messages that are no longer pertinent? It takes like ten seconds man. How the fuck am I supposed to leave you a message informing you I ran into Darla, your ex-girlfriend, last night and how she was wasted and knows about Cindy, that slutty chick you've been hooking up with lately (the same one I told you to stay the fuck away from, but far be it from me to tell you what to do...), and she wants to rip her jugular out and drink the blood spraying from her carotid artery. That's after she chops your balls off with a dull hatchet. Man, how the hell did you ever get involved with her? Anyway, yeah, text message you say? I don't think that's gonna cut it dipshit. I'm not going to write you a freaking novel to enlighten you about last night's mayhem. I need to talk to you or leave a message so you'll call my ass back. But no, all I get is, "The subscriber you are trying to reach has a voicemail box that is full. Please try again later." Later, like when? 30 seconds from now or later, like after you run into Darla again. Dammit man! Or, even better pal, what if I was your doctor calling to say you have Ebola or maybe, the test results came back and you're deathly allergic to shitty beer so don't go to that party in Ellensburg this weekend. Or shit, I don't know, maybe your mom had a fall and broke her hip. Clean out your fucking voicemail box asshole! Rabble-B
Maybe the last time you were flying around drunk in your spaceship and crashed into the alien ambassador ship for the sixth time they finally got fed up and started a personal crusade to annoy you. Not ruin your life or vaporize you or the entire planet but just annoy the shit out of you by hurling meteorites at your house once a year. Good job pal, fucking idiot. Rabble-B
Man hit by six meteorites is being 'targeted by aliens'
A Bosnian man who claims he is being targeted by extraterrestrials after a series of meteorite strikes on his house has now been hit by a sixth space rock in the space of a few years.
Radivoje Lajic and one of the many space rocks of doom to have rained down upon his house
Radivoje Lajic first came to international attention in 2008, shortly after the fifth meteorite had crashed into the roof of his house in the northern village of Gornji Lajici.
And now, within the past month, another rock has hit the roof of his house, in defiance of all the odds - making it six strikes since the plague of meteorites began in 2007.
Experts at Belgrade University have confirmed that all the falling rocks he has handed over were meteorites. They are now trying to work out what exactly it is about his house that particularly attracts them. The strikes always happen when it is raining heavily, he says, never when there are clear skies.
Lajic has his own explanation, of course. After the fifth rock struck his house, he said: 'I am obviously being targeted by extraterrestrials. I don't know what I have done to annoy them but there is no other explanation that makes sense. The chance of being hit by a meteorite is so small that getting hit six times has to be deliberate.'
50-year-old Lajic has had a steel girder reinforced roof put on the house to protect it from the alien bombardment - which he funded by selling one of the meteorites to a university in the Netherlands.
'I have no doubt I am being targeted by aliens,' he adds. 'They are playing games with me. I don't know why they are doing this. When it rains I can't sleep for worrying about another strike.'
Really? The last one in the whole fucking park? Aren't national parks and game preserves supposed to be sanctuaries for animals? Can we just pay park rangers a shitload of money and arm them with sniper rifles and night vision scopes and give them immunity from murder prosecution? Then can we see how much poaching goes on after that? We've cured Polio but we can't stop killing endangered animals for aphrodisiac potions, for fuck's sake people! Poachers, FUCK OFF! Rabble-B
Poachers kill last female rhino in South African park for prized horn
Record levels of poaching are endangering survival of rhinoceros in South Africa
The last rhinoceros cow in Krugersdorp park, South Africa, bled to death on Wednesday after poachers hacked off her horn. Photograph: Reuters South African wildlife experts are calling for urgent action against poachers after the last female rhinoceros in a popular game reserve near Johannesburg bled to death after having its horn hacked off.
Wildlife officials say poaching for the prized horns has now reached an all-time high. "Last year, 129 rhinos were killed for their horns in South Africa. This year, we have already had 136 deaths," said Japie Mostert, chief game ranger at the 1,500-hectare Krugersdorp game reserve.
The gang used tranquilliser guns and a helicopter to bring down the nine-year-old rhino cow. Her distraught calf was moved to a nearby estate where it was introduced to two other orphaned white rhinos.
Wanda Mkutshulwa, a spokeswoman for South African National Parks, said investigations into the growing number of incidents had been shifted to the country's organised crime unit. "We are dealing with very focused criminals. Police need to help game reserves because they are not at all equipped to handle crime on such an organised level,'' she said.
Rhino horn consists of compressed keratin fibre – similar to hair – and in many Asian cultures it is a fundamental ingredient in traditional medicines.
Mkutshulwa said poaching was also rife in the Kruger Park. Five men were arrested there in the past week alone – four of whom were caught with two bloodied rhino horns, AK-47 assault rifles, bolt-action rifles and an axe.
Krugersdorp game reserve attracts at least 200,000 visitors every year. It is also close to a private airport, which may have been used by the poachers.
"The exercise takes them very little time," Mostert said. "They first fly over the park in the late afternoon to locate where the rhino is grazing. Then they return at night and dart the animal from the air. The tranquilliser takes less than seven minutes to act.
"They saw off the horns with a chainsaw. They do not even need to switch off the rotors of the helicopter. We do not hear anything because our houses are too far away. The animal dies either from an overdose of tranquilliser or bleeds to death."
The committee of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) warned last year that rhino poaching had reached an all-time high. The Cites conference in Geneva in July 2009 heard that Asia's economic expansion had fuelled the market in rhino horns. The horns are also used in the Middle East to make handles for ornamental daggers. Cites said demand for them had begun to soar in recent years. In the five years up to 2005, an average of only 36 rhinos had been killed each year.
Conservationists estimate that there are only 18,000 black and white rhinos in Africa, down from 65,000 in the 1970s. Mostert, who has been a ranger for 20 years, said the animals fetch up to 1m rand (£85,000) at game auctions and cannot be insured.
Cites has praised South Africa for its action against poachers. Two weeks ago, a Vietnamese man was jailed for 10 years for trying to smuggle horns out of the country.
Ok, you guys fucked up the US Gulf Coast for years, maybe decades to come. And, despite the announcement today that your new, fancy cap is holding back the torrents of oil for the moment, you tripped over yourselves and ate a sandwich and drank a beer before you actually did something meaningful about the disaster. No thanks to the federal government of course. They had golf to play. Anyway, first of all, what reason could BP have for lobbying for the release of the Lockerbie bomber? Something you officially aknowledge doing. And no I don't believe you, BP, when you say you did not make some sort of back door, under handed, money grubbing deal with the UK and Libya to drill oil off their coast in return for the release of the Lockerbie bomber. What sort of honest track record do you have that would make me believe you? I hope you don't cite the 5,000 barrels a day of oil pouring into the gulf when it actually turned out to be like 60,000 and you only admitted that when outside sources verbally pummeled you for your pitifully low estimate, also known as a lie. Anyway, fuck you gain, BP. I hope you go bankrupt. Rabble-B
BP to drill for Libyan oil despite Lockerbie bomber furor
U.S. senators urge delays but BP says it will press ahead within weeks
AFP - Getty Images file
Lockerbie bomber Abdel Baset al-Megrahi received a hero's welcome when he arrived in Tripoli, Libya, on Aug. 20, 2009.
LONDON — Oil giant BP said Thursday that it planned to start drilling off the coast of Libya within weeks despite calls from U.S. senators for a moratorium over the company's alleged links to the release of the Lockerbie bomber.
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., told NBC’s TODAY on Thursday that the U.K. government should investigate what role the company played in the decision to free Abdel Baset al-Megrahi in August 2009.
"We want a moratorium on the drilling [by BP] off Libya's coast. We believe BP should not be allowed to drill until we have resolution of this," she told the show.
Al-Megrahi, 57, is the only person convicted of carrying out the 1988 bombing of a U.S. airliner over Lockerbie, Scotland, that killed 270 people.
He was released on compassionate grounds by the Scottish government after doctors said he was likely just months from death. Nearly a year later, he remains alive.
BP signed a $900 million exploration agreement with Libya in May 2007, the same month that Britain and Libya signed an agreement that paved the way for al-Megrahi's release from a Scottish prison.
BP has admitted that it lobbied the British government over a prisoner transfer deal with Libya in late 2007, but denied playing any role in the actual decision to release al-Megrahi nearly two years later.
What the fuck is up with parking garages?! Seriously, are parking garages only designed by first year architect students at a second rate technical school? I defy you to think of a parking garage that is easy to navigate and drive through. Up in the air or down in the ground, they all suck. I can hear the design conversation now, "Ok, so in this one we're going to have drivers enter and drive around on the left side of the road the whole time. That will make things more efficient." "In this garage we're going to have them enter on the left and then half way up switch over and drive on the right. Genius!" "We have a limited space this time boys so we're going to make every spot just big enough to fit a shopping cart and a boombox in and then we can squeeze an extra 75 spaces in." "Ok, so to make sure people know where they left their vehicle we're going to use a combination of several letters, colors, animals and past losing presidential candidates. So you will park in R, Blue Hyena, Mondale." Ugh. I have a message for all parking garage designers out there.
Hey, fucktards, maybe someday you could design a parking garage that actually accommodates cars and isn't horribly confusing to drive in. How about starting with one with a ceiling higher than 6' so a contractor or landscaper or who the fuck ever person that actually needs a uses a truck (no, not you rich, suburban mom in your giant Ford Expedition, I feel no sympathy for you) can park. Or maybe you could figure out a way to not have 15 different signs telling me to go this way and then that way and despite what the last sign said, this is not an exit. Just sayin', you know. Or, what about a garage big enough that I don't have to make an 18 point turn in my Honda Civic to avoid backing into the car across the way? Or, is that asking too much. I'm sorry. Oh, wait, I'm not. I'm pretty sure I could take some crayons and scrawl something down on a paper towel sheet that would function better than any parking garage I've ever driven in. It's not difficult, it's your job. For fuck's sake man! Rabble-B
If you're that drunk and you feel the need to drive I can't imagine a safer way to travel than 5 mph on a riding mower. Rabble-B
Iowa man arrested after lawn mower ride on highway
updated 7/8/2010 1:58:42 AM ET
MADRID, Iowa — A middle-of-the-night ride on a lawn mower landed one Iowa man in jail.
The Boone County Sheriff's Office says deputies stopped the man on Highway 17 near Madrid around 1 a.m. Wednesday after receiving reports of someone driving a mower all over the road with no headlights. Madrid is about 25 miles northwest of Des Moines.
The man was arrested for drunken driving. The Sheriff's Office says his blood-alcohol level was .190 — well above Iowa's limit of .08.
Boone County Sheriff Ron Fehr says it's illegal in Iowa to drive any kind of motor vehicle anywhere while drunk.
Fehr wasn't sure how fast the man was going on the six-speed Bolens lawn tractor. The Des Moines Register reports that the top speed for that mower is about 5 mph.
"Nothin' ain't worth nothin' but it's free." - Bob Weir
Wow, that's some deep, philosophical shit Bob. What?! What the fuck does that even mean? Or were you just so high when you thought that one up it sounded profound and you had to sing a song about it? Or maybe it was a cover you played. Well, if that's the case you picked dumb fucking song to cover. How about just roll antoher joint and quit playing music because the only reason anyone knows who you are is Jerry Garcia and he is dead and the band is over. Quit playing shitty music with shitty lyrics and deal with it. Rabble-B
What's with people clapping at in appropriate times? You sir or ma'am, look like an idiot. I'm not talking about at a concert, clapping before the song is really over, belying the fact that you are a casual fan at best and don't really know the songs. Nor am I talking about inappropriately clapping for someones birthday at a restaurant after the staff sings happy birthday to them, or something awkward like that. I'm saying, why are you clapping after a 4th of July fireworks display is over? The pyrotechnicians who put on the display cannot hear your applause. Or at a movie theater. Why are you clapping when the movie is over? I understand you liked the film, I did too but neither the, director or actors nor the key grip, can hear your applause. Besides they only care about your ticket money or maybe a Oscar. So in keeping with lists here are several places where clapping is appropriate and several where it is not...
Appropriate: Sporting events experienced in person, speeches (political or otherwise), a play, protest rally, symphony etc.
Inappropriate: Movies, fireworks displays, sporting events experienced from your couch, I can't think of anymore but you get the idea. Rabble-B
Why? Dude, seriously solar is the awesome-ist energy of all. All we have to do is put a shitload of solar panels on the roofs of all the fucking buildings we've constructed over the last millennium and bingo,crystal clean power for the whole world. Ok, I'll concede solar power isn't as efficient as other power sources and is pretty expensive. However, that's what technology is for. Before the 1960's did anyone think we could actually fly a fucking space shuttle to the moon? Not so much. So maybe if we made it a priority and invested some money in it solar power could kick ass. Actually, I'm sure it would and while we're at it make the solar panels recyclable or maybe edible. Yeah, I know the sun will burn out some day but in like another few billion years we'll have figured out something else I'm sure. So, solar power wins.
Wave power is pretty rad in its own right. Wave energy is constant and clean. No mess, no waste and it never runs out. Endless energy for the world. The only downside vs. solar is solar panels on top of a million buildings we have to put a bunch of machines in the ocean. Creates a little bit of waste, though it would be way out in the ocean where no one travels or sees it. And, yeah, I know this is another area we haven't perfected yet but just inject a little money into it and I guarantee it will work. I mean an 8th grade kid created a wave machine for a science project a few years ago and got on the news. How hard can it be?
Now, nuclear energy is a spicy topic but in reality nuclear power create mass amounts of energy and the output is very clean. Right now though we can only control nuclear fission reactions to create energy. What we really need to to is create controllable fusion reactions. That's what a nuclear bomb is but obviously that is totally uncontrolled, not to mention horrifying. Controlled fusion would create many times (I don't know the exact number) more energy than fission and again, power the world. In theory the only downside is nuclear power plants are huge and ugly. In reality the downside is nuclear waste and meltdown. We don't need another Chernobyl. That kind of thing pretty much negates the positives of nuclear power so hence the asterisk on the list. In the event of nuclear meltdown it goes to the bottom of the list.
Wind is great too. Never ending and clean as a whistle. No, it doesn't kill mass birds, they fly through or around wind farms. This is one energy area that has seen significant growth in the last decade but still accounts for a tiny percentage of our energy production. And for you rich fuckers over in Massachusetts that complained about the proposed off shore wind farm. "Oh, it would ruin our view of Nantuckett Sound." It's like 15 miles off the coast, you wouldn't even be able to see it! So fuck you! Anyway, the only downside to wind is all the windmills. I mean, they actually look kind of cool but millions of them all over the place would get a little ridiculous. But better a windmill than an oil derrick ruining that national park view (fucking George Bush).
Hydroelectricity is clean, renewable energy but fuck hydro power. It's complete bullshit. It degrades river environment corridor and kills fish both directly and indirectly. Damming rivers creates warm lakes for coldwater fish, blocks fish passage, mass amounts of siltation, turbines cut up juvenille fish among other vile impacts. Yes, in some cases dams are fine and even improve a river system. The vast majority of the time? They suck. They ruin the environment and kill fish. Fuck hydro power.
Oil, where do I begin. How about this... Giant oil companies with too much money and control, lack of government regulation and/or balls, oil spills, foreign oil dependence, air pollution, water contamination, oil rig footprints, $4 at the pump. Oil sucks. Next!
Coal is just shit. It's only slightly worse than oil just because it does all the shitty things oil does but our economy and society doesn't run on it. I can't fill my car up with rocks at the coal station. Coal is produced by invasive strip or deep shaft mining. Either way it ruins the environment and leaves a nasty footprint on the Earth. Strip mining is rough on the surface, where layers of mountainsides are literally carved away. Of course mining deep in the bowels of the Earth can easily kill you. You know, gas explosion, cave in, no big deal... Then there's the coal fired power plants. The air pollution is fucking ridiculous. Coal even stains the trees and building black. No thanks, fuck that. Make diamonds out of it instead, then maybe fewer people would be killed mining in Africa. Rabble-B
Fiery food mavens seeking to one-up each other now have to gear up for a whole new test of culinary bravado: the world's hottest chili pepper.
CAM-10 has been many places and had some crazy adventures we will cover in the future but this first installment is from his recent trip to San Francisco. The first shot was hatching the plan, the second he lays waste the Golden Gate Bridge. It is now lying pieces at the bottom of the Bay. When asked for a quote he simply said, "CAM-10 smash! Rrrraaarr!" Sorry to those folks living in Marin County and whatnot... Rabble-B
(CNN) -- A judge in the war crimes trial of former Liberian President Charles Taylor has decided that supermodel Naomi Campbell's testimony in the case will go ahead Thursday. 
Radivoje Lajic and one of the many space rocks of doom to have rained down upon his house Radivoje Lajic first came to international attention in 2008, shortly after the fifth meteorite had crashed into the roof of his house in the northern village of Gornji Lajici.
AFP - Getty Images file 
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