What no DSK diaries today?

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Tuesday August 23, 2011 · 4:10 PM PDT

2011/08/23 · 16:10

Today all charges were dropped against Dominique Strauss Kahn in the alleged attempted rape of a chamber maid in the Sofitel in New York.

From the BBC

A New York judge has dismissed the sexual assault case against former IMF director Dominique Strauss-Kahn.
The move came as prosecutors cited doubts over the credibility of his accuser, 32-year-old hotel maid Nafissatou Diallo.

When the story first broke, there were multiple diaries and hundreds of comments, mostly condemning DSK. But today - seemingly nothing.

Only two people really know what happened that day, but probably both lives have been irreperably damaged.

I remember you well, Chelsea Hotel

senilebiker

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Wednesday August 17, 2011 · 2:10 AM PDT

2011/08/17 · 02:10

On the 1st of August, the Hotel Chelsea on West 23 rd Street, NY was closed to paying guests. The hotel immortalised in Leonard Cohen's song of the same name has been bought by Joseph Chetrit for $85 million and is to be redeveloped using ar architect whose resume is mostly Holiday Inns.

News of its demise can be found here and here

The Hotel Chelsea is an icon for the bohemian and avant garde New York lifestyle of NYC for over a century, with many famous artists, musicians and writers having lived, and in some cases died there. Amongst its famous residents are Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, Iggy Pop and Leonard Cohen, and it was the honeymoon location for Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller.

Amongst those who dies there were Nancy Sprungen, partner of Sid Vicious of the Sex Pistols, and Dylan Thomas drank his last 18 whiskies in one of its rooms.

The Chelsea Hotel has its own blog Chelseahotelblog.com where you can see the evolution of events over the last couple of years, and has some great pics of the interior.

Poll

132 votes Show Results

I stayed at the Chelsea Hotel

132 votes Vote Now!

I stayed at the Chelsea Hotel

Yes

32 votes

24 votes

No, but wanted to

55 votes

Goddam Hippies

21 votes

NotRKBA : How to close the gun show loophole

senilebiker

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Wednesday August 10, 2011 · 6:30 AM PDT

2011/08/10 · 06:30

This diary is inspired by a coup-le of comments I made in diary today by Mikeb30200 about gunshows.

Despite the fact that pro gun folks claim that there is no "Gunshow Loophole", over 500 mayors across the US have banded together in order to reduce the number of weapons in the wrong hands, and to crack down on unscrupulous dealers.

The RKBA supporters claim that there is no gunshow loophole, because the people concerned are private sellers, and the Government doesn't have the right to interfere in how you dispose of your personal property. However, in the video below you will see so called private sellers with hundreds of guns for sale. To quote from one of these private sellers

So in a little bit less than a year, we sold 348 of them

Now my point is that, as a "private" seller, no NICS checks were needed, and I would bet that a fair few of those guns went to people who would not have been allowed to purchase from a licensed firearms dealer.

So how can we effectively throttle this loophole with our current laws. Over the squiggle.

Poll

50 votes Show Results

Should we let the IRS loose at gun shows

50 votes Vote Now!

Should we let the IRS loose at gun shows

Yes

21 votes

23 votes

Pie

6 votes

A European view of this debt business.

senilebiker

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Tuesday August 02, 2011 · 12:48 AM PDT

2011/08/02 · 00:48

To be honest, I haven't been following the debt limit increase debate in very great detail for several reasons. The first reason is that the whole thing was political theatre, people storming out of meetings, being left at the alter, every man and his dog having his own plan. The second was the political pundits, and even more so people here on Daily Kos were going into hysterics at every leaked detail, crying shame, treachery, that's it, I cannot ever vote again etc etc etc.

All these theatrics are annoying and pointless.

It was up to the politicians to come up with a solution, and that will involve negotiation and compromise. And as an experienced negotiator, I know that sometimes you need to bluff ( about walking out for example), and sometimes you offer what the other guy wants, but attach a condition that he cannot accept (medicare cuts in exchange for tax increases) This is all normal business.

Over the squiggle are my main takeaways.

senilebiker

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Friday July 29, 2011 · 11:57 AM PDT

2011/07/29 · 11:57

So, now we know how far the lax US gun and ammunition laws reach- all the way across the Atlantic.

it is reported that Anders Breivik purchased extended capacity magazines for his weapons by mail order form the United States. In Norway, the limit is 3 rounds per magazine.

The man who confessed to killing 68 people in Norway last week says he bought the ammunition clips used in his shooting spree from the U.S by mail order.
Anders Behring Breivik wrote in his 1,500-page manifesto that he spent $500 for 10 30-round clips.

Clips with more than three rounds are banned from sale in Norway.

Full details are available on Raw Story.

So, for all those who ever asked themselves why non residents should express their views on US gun laws, now you know.

Not RKBA - Guns in Society

senilebiker

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Tuesday July 26, 2011 · 5:54 AM PDT

2011/07/26 · 05:54

This is a response to a similarly titled diary on the recent diary list, in which the diarist stated that there were certain people to whom he would not respond under any circumstances. So in case, I should figure on that list, I will draft my response here.

As with any traumatic event involving guns, like Norway, Gabby Giffords, Columbine, Virginia Tech, there are many people shouting out their views on how guns either contributed , or alternatively did not contribute to the event. Quite simply, trying to make laws on the basis of, and in the shadow of, exceptional events will lead to bad laws. Worse still, it polarises debate and hinders rather than helps conversation.

Over the squiggle is a my response to some of the issues raised.

senilebiker

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Friday July 22, 2011 · 12:23 PM PDT

2011/07/22 · 12:23

This is a diary I published a couple of years ago (December 2008), but I still think is valid. During the comments, some people threw up criticisms of the numbers etc which were valid, but didn't destroy the thrust of the diary. So I have decided to republish it

Over the last few days, there have been a large number of diaries discussing the merits or faults of raising US gas taxes, but very few have gone into any detailed numbers.

This diary aims to correct that by using easily found numbers to show that in around the time of two Obama presidencies, The US could cut its imports of oil by 25%, simply by using a flat rate tax mechanism on gas.

In addition, I will try to shoot down some of the more obvious straw men arguements that opponents always throw back.

senilebiker

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Thursday July 21, 2011 · 1:30 PM PDT

2011/07/21 · 13:30

Further to my diary earlier today about the two 3 year olds shot dead by self inflicted gun shot wounds in St Louis over the last week or so, we now have another.

A boy aged ten has accidentally shot and killed his five-year-old brother with a gun he found at his home in Belleville, Illinois.
The brothers were being looked after by a male babysitter while their parents were out at the time of the shooting.

It's the third time in little over a week that a child in the St Louis area has died after picking up a gun they found in the house.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/...

Seriously folks, how many is too many?

Poll

30 votes Show Results

How bad can it get before someone does something

30 votes Vote Now!

How bad can it get before someone does something

This bad

10 votes

Get your hands off my guns

20 votes

Two 3 year olds dead in gun accidents in St Louis this week

senilebiker

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Thursday July 21, 2011 · 1:27 AM PDT

2011/07/21 · 01:27

For the second time in the space of eight days, a three year old has died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in St Louis. Daniel Metz, the son of s serving police officer, found a loaded gun in his parent's bedroom, and shot himself in the chest. As his father was on patrol at the time, this was not his service weapon.

This follows on from a similar case last week when three year old Lilliana Moore found a loaded gun wedged between two matresses and shot herself fatally in the head.

On the same day two other kids were aslo shot in St Louis

A 13-year-old girl was rushed to hospital after she accidentally shot herself in the side. Police said they did not yet know how she had got the gun.
Earlier an 11-year-old boy was shot in the neck by a teenager as he played basketball with friends outside his apartment.

Last night he was in a serious condition in hospital.

Poll

112 votes Show Results

Should access to firearms be more regulated in the US

112 votes Vote Now!

Should access to firearms be more regulated in the US

Yes

75 votes

37 votes

Keystone Cops - with guns - shoot each other

senilebiker

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Monday July 18, 2011 · 6:33 AM PDT

2011/07/18 · 06:33

So here is today's step into the fantasy world of a law enforcement and second amendment madness in the US.

Two policemen are recovering after they were shot by fellow officers as they tried to arrest a man on child pornography charges outside a crowded move theatre.
The incident happened as undercover officers tried to apprehend the unarmed man in the parking lot as he left a screening of Harry Potter in Plainville, Kansas.

The officers opened fire after Eric Gothberg, 45, suddenly reached for his waistband after resisting arrest.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/...

So this unarmed suspected peadophile is tracked to a Harry Potter theatre, and is shot at when he reaches for his waistband - probably to check his zip fly as he was unarmed.

But the good Kansas cops managed to shoot the suspect in the foot, another cop in the arm, and break some glass and turn it into shrapnel.

Seems that there are too many guns, and not enough training.

This is a report from a UK newspaper (not one of Murdoch's) and is typical of the daily fare that is seen in Europe with respect to the US obsession with guns.

And to add some numbers in 2009, there were 9000 plus firearm murders in the US and 39 in the UK.

When Eurocops go to arrest a peadophile, they tend to worry whether he has washed his hands rather than if he is carrying a gun.

Will Murdoch be the next victim of the curse of the UK Press?

senilebiker

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Thursday July 14, 2011 · 6:51 AM PDT

2011/07/14 · 06:51

Only a short diary, but watching the unfolding News of the World phone hacking scandal, I started to wonder if the owning a chunk of the UK press is cursed as opening Tutankhamen's tomb.

The UK press has been long dominated by groups of newspapers, always in cuthroat competition. These are often owned by what we call press moguls, who fight for dominance, until one day they overeach and flame out.

So, in a short history of Fleet Street ( aka Wapping since the 80's), we have the famous flame out of the Mirror Group with Robert Maxwell

1991: Publisher Robert Maxwell dies at sea
The body of the millionaire newspaper publisher, Robert Maxwell, has been found in the sea off the coast of Tenerife.
Mr Maxwell's body was discovered at approximately 1800 local time (1700 GMT) and flown to Gran Canaria for identification.

The publisher had been cruising in the Canary Isles aboard his luxury yacht, the Ghislaine.

Of course, it then turned out that his newspaper group was bankrupt, and he had raided the pension funds.

Maxwell's untimely death triggered a flood of instability with banks frantically calling in their massive loans. His two young sons Kevin and Ian struggled to hold the empire together, but were unable to prevent its collapse. It emerged that, without adequate prior authorisation, Maxwell had used hundreds of millions of pounds from his companies' pension funds to shore up the shares of the Mirror Group, to save his companies from bankruptcy

senilebiker

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Wednesday July 06, 2011 · 11:24 PM PDT

2011/07/06 · 23:24

Ever get an ear worm? When a piece of Music or a song just won't leave you in peace?

A few days I posted a Randy Newman youtube in a comments section of a diary about corporate jet tax loopholes, and now the damn thing won't go away. Particularly since the lyrics are so damn timely, despite having been written 40 years ago. So why should I be the only one to suffer? Let me share my worm with you.

Lyrics below the squiggle

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What no DSK diaries today?

I remember you well, Chelsea Hotel

NotRKBA : How to close the gun show loophole

A European view of this debt business.

NotRKBA - Norway terrorist bought extended mags in US

Not RKBA - Guns in Society

25% reduction in US oil imports, no new technology.

And so it continues - one more shot kid in St Louis area

Two 3 year olds dead in gun accidents in St Louis this week

Keystone Cops - with guns - shoot each other

Will Murdoch be the next victim of the curse of the UK Press?

Ear Worms - Mr President