Thread for obviously newsworthy stuff

[Uncle Sparky]

Prince Harry and his family want to quit the Royals, and possibly move to North America!

https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2020/01/13/queen-elizabeth-meets-harry-will-charles-sussex-roles/4449333002/

I think Canada should give Harry and Meghan a rent-free official residence in Grise Fiord, our northern most hamlet. What better way to assert sovereignty over the high arctic than with a sovereign? And they can avoid the paparazzi!

[giblets]

And they can avoid the paparazzi!

Won't stop them.

[Uncle Sparky]

But the real victims of the Harry/ Meghan saga are the poor people of Sussex... He is their Duke. Whomst shall lead them when the Duke of Kent stages an incursion into their territory?

[BeBMan]

They may have to bring back Robin Hood.....nod:

[Uncle Sparky]

Dauphin, did you finally move to Canada? Are you part of the Royal advance team?

[rah]

Yeah, coming to America will help them avoid the paparazzi.
Maybe they should move to Hollywood. They'll be safe there.

[Uncle Sparky]

I suggested sending them to Grise Fiord, a community of about 120 mostly Inuit in the high arctic. It is the northernmost community in Canada, accessible only by plane, and only for a few months per year. It takes at least 3 connecting flights, and over 24 hours to reach there from 'southern' Canada. There are no bars or hotels or restaurants. The average temperature (year round) is -14 C. If photographers want to camp out on their doorstep in Grise Fiord, they would become paparazzicles...

[Dauphin]

Dauphin, did you finally move to Canada? Are you part of the Royal advance team?

L’Etat, c’est moi.

The whole nonsense in the British press is dripping with irony and hypocrisy.

Many of the same commentators demeaning Meghan and accusing her of manipulating Harry were responsible for I) his mother being killed and Ii) hacking his phone and making private voicemails public record for no good reason. They rip into her as selfish for wanting a personal life, whilst giving Prince Andrew a pass for being an all but indicted paedophile. They complain about the cost they are to the state but then demand half a million pounds be spent on making Big Ben bong for Brexit.

I’m a mild Republican, if they want out of the family business, let them. Give them a nice severance package and be done with it.

[pchang]

I agree with all but the severance package. They should get nothing.

[Dauphin]

I see Trump is looking into making bribery great again, by making it no longer illegal.

[pchang]

I think of it more as extortion than bribery.

[BeBMan]

I’m a mild Republican, if they want out of the family business, let them. Give them a nice severance package and be done with it.

It seems they got Megxit done and took back control.

[Uncle Sparky]

Trump's trial (such as it is) should start soon. Let us hope he and his merry band get what they deserve! I know the deep south states love Trump, so maybe they can have him?

[Uncle Sparky]

https://www.thebeaverton.com/2020/01...s-into-flames/

Bible on which U.S. senators swear impartiality for Trump’s impeachment trial bursts into flames

[pchang]

Republicans have apparently resurrected the ghost of MLK.

[BeBMan]

Pyjamas in public: Chinese city apologises for 'shaming' residents

Officials in a Chinese city have apologised for "shaming" people for wearing pyjamas in public.

Government officials in Suzhou in Anhui province released pictures of seven people wearing their nightwear, calling it "uncivilised behaviour".

The online "shaming" included the pyjama picture - caught by surveillance cameras - plus the person's name, ID card and other information.

China has seen a huge growth in surveillance in recent years.

Two years ago, the country had 170 million CCTV cameras, with another 400 million expected by the end of 2020.

Many are linked to artificial intelligence - allowing them to recognise exactly who they are filming.

The pictures in Suzhou were published on Monday by the city's management bureau.

Officials argued they were entering a national "civilised city" competition, and that residents were banned from wearing pyjamas in public.

Other "bad behaviour" exposed online included "lying [on a bench] in an uncivilised manner", and handing out advertising flyers.

But the pyjama pictures caused anger online. Some argued there was nothing wrong with wearing pyjamas in public - while others said the government had infringed residents' privacy.

Officials later "sincerely apologised", adding: "We wanted to put an end to uncivilised behaviour, but of course we should protect residents' privacy."

The officials said they would, in future, blur the pictures instead.

Suzhou's proactive approach is not new. Last year, according to local media, the city asked residents to submit pictures of "uncivilised behaviour", offering to pay 10 yuan ($1.45; £1.10) for successful tip-offs.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-51188669

[giblets]

The hostage crisis doomed Mr. Carter’s presidency. And the team around Mr. Rockefeller, a lifelong Republican with a dim view of Mr. Carter’s dovish foreign policy, collaborated closely with the Reagan campaign in its efforts to pre-empt and discourage what it derisively labeled an “October surprise” — a pre-election release of the American hostages, the papers show.

The Chase team helped the Reagan campaign gather and spread rumors about possible payoffs to win the release, a propaganda effort that Carter administration officials have said impeded talks to free the captives.

“I had given my all” to thwarting any effort by the Carter officials “to pull off the long-suspected ‘October surprise,’” Mr. Reed wrote in a letter to his family after the election, apparently referring to the Chase effort to track and discourage a hostage release deal. He was later named Mr. Reagan’s ambassador to Morocco.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/29/w...se-papers.html

[Uncle Sparky]

Apparently, there was a 'Tiny Penis' rally in Virginia on MLK Day...
Thousands of heavily armed men with vistigial penises surrounded the state legislature. Good thing it was Virginia... I don't think they would have been allowed to self identify as males in most other states!