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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#270501: Feb 7th 2019 at 8:31:20 PM

Bezos definitely has the moral and legal high ground here.

Helluva page-topper.

Edited by M84 on Feb 8th 2019 at 12:31:32 AM

Disgusted, but not surprised
wisewillow She/her Since: May, 2011
She/her
#270502: Feb 7th 2019 at 8:33:49 PM

For the first and only time in his life. Heyo! tongue

Ramidel Since: Jan, 2001
#270503: Feb 7th 2019 at 8:36:41 PM

@Fighteer: Not so much political as cultural. America's had a century-long love affair with big honkin' autos. The fact that car companies have gone out of their way to sabotage alternatives (like the New York trolley system) is only part of the story; people just love the freedom to drive wherever the hell they want, whenever they want. This is changing in the Millenial generation (since we've got an increasing number of people who've adapted to living in a cardboard box with an Internet connection), but we aren't in the driver's seat yet.

@the Bezos affair: I'm not much of a Bezos fan, but I'm rootin' for him here. The National Enquirer attacking Bezos as part of an inept Trumpist hatchet job is like copyright trolling Disney. Poke the bear and you get mauled.

AceofSpades Since: Apr, 2009 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
#270504: Feb 7th 2019 at 10:15:31 PM

Ok referring back to the previous page where people are saying "people need to drive when they get where the train takes them". You do realize that people rent cars when they fly somewhere, right? I mean, I worked briefly at an airport, and they had HUGE rental car places right next to it. This is literally a non-issue, because if we do manage to get cross country trains going, rental car companies will literally go where the customers are going. And, you are bizarrely forgetting that they're trying to develop cars that run on cleaner fuel. I don't think that part is going to stop either.

Like, how do you forget that car rental is a thing? People might not be particularly happy about it, but if you can get there in four hours (or whatever speed the train goes) on a train rather than spending a day in a car I think a lot of people will be quite content to just rent a car wherever it is that they're going.

Oruka Since: Dec, 2018
#270505: Feb 7th 2019 at 10:38:09 PM

@De Marquis

"However, I've read SEWHA, in particular his chapter on nuclear energy sources, and that is emphatically not what he concludes. He is in fact a proponent of nuclear energy, and documents that we have enough uranium and/or thorium to last us at higher than current consumption levels a thousand years if not more. Building and decommissioning nuclear facilities is difficult and expensive (it is by far more expensive across the lifetime of the reactor than the fuel itself), and the fuel does present a challenge in terms of storage and safety, but nevertheless he concludes that these barriers are surmountable using current technology."

I see. I completely misremembered, then. My apologies, I was wrong, and spreading misinformation.

"Oh wow, I expected the source to be bogus but this is way worse."

It is. I'm shocked I messed it up so badly. It'be only read it like four years ago.

[up]Even in the most dense public transport areas, last mile solutions, like bicycles and scooters, electric or otherwise, that you can insta-rent by app, are proving extremely popular. Looking forward to subscription driverless carsharing solutions.

"I know there was difficulty in California and along the East Coast, but as I do not know much about this, I was wondering if anyone here knew what the main obstacles are?"

The roadblocks are purely political.

Edited by Oruka on Feb 7th 2019 at 10:52:31 AM

SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#270506: Feb 7th 2019 at 11:39:25 PM

John Dingell, longest-serving member of Congress in U.S. history, dies at 92. This man spent 59 years as a representative for Michigan, more than half his life.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
Ramidel Since: Jan, 2001
#270507: Feb 7th 2019 at 11:47:01 PM

Man, reading that obituary, I have to lift my glass to that guy. He was a real American hero, and Mueller before Mueller got the job.

CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#270508: Feb 8th 2019 at 4:18:24 AM

Remember the non prosecution clause AMI (Enquirer parent company) got itself for the Cohen crimes? I just learned on Maddow that it has a clause about not committing any crimes for three years.

It's like Manafort—some people can't NOT commit crimes.

I wonder if the case against Trump will be severely hampered because every one of his witnesses is a pathological liar, perjurer, and criminal.

Edited by CharlesPhipps on Feb 8th 2019 at 4:18:49 AM

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
HailMuffins Since: May, 2016 Relationship Status: Shipping fictional characters
#270509: Feb 8th 2019 at 5:02:19 AM

Let me me see if I got this right: someone is trying to blackmail one of the most powerful figures in the world of business with intimate pictures so doesn't cooperate with something that'll severely hurt Trump?

Are those people, by any chance, a bunch of demented orangutans?

Edited by HailMuffins on Feb 8th 2019 at 10:02:45 AM

CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#270510: Feb 8th 2019 at 5:19:47 AM

The story is getting bigger.

Ronan Farrow (Mia Farrow's son) and New York Times reporter on things like Harvey Weinstein's sexual abuse of actresses has revealed that the National Enquirer was blackmailing HIM too in order to get him to back off on Trump.

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/ronan-farrow-says-jeff-bezos-isnt-the-only-person-ami-has-tried-to-blackmail_us_5c5d54c4e4b0a502ca347c0c

Weirdly, David Pecker seems to have done this personally for both of them and used signed e-mails.

Edited by CharlesPhipps on Feb 8th 2019 at 5:21:00 AM

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
HailMuffins Since: May, 2016 Relationship Status: Shipping fictional characters
#270511: Feb 8th 2019 at 5:23:34 AM

David Pecker seems to have done this personally for both of them and used signed e-mails.

I want to take a moment to express my sincere apologies to all orangutans everywhere.

CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#270512: Feb 8th 2019 at 5:26:36 AM

David: I assumed this was a gentleman's blackmail agreement! You know, like in Sherlock! Wait, didn't Watson's wife murder him in that...

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
nightwyrm_zero Since: Apr, 2010
#270513: Feb 8th 2019 at 5:33:42 AM

How stupid do you have to be to blackmail billionaires with their dick pics?? And yet, here we are...

CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#270514: Feb 8th 2019 at 5:40:14 AM

I'm repulsed by Farrow stating the Enquirer investigated him before so they could help Harvey Weinstein get ahead of his articles.

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
HailMuffins Since: May, 2016 Relationship Status: Shipping fictional characters
#270515: Feb 8th 2019 at 5:45:24 AM

So I took a quick read on the Weinstein case, and all I gotta say is: fuck the Enquirer, hope they crash and burn into oblivion.

Edited by HailMuffins on Feb 8th 2019 at 10:46:03 AM

Euodiachloris Since: Oct, 2010
#270516: Feb 8th 2019 at 6:00:48 AM

Welp, that was a doozy of a business model. How not to even vaguely newspaper or magazine...

I wonder how many other people they tried this with? I wonder what possessed them to specifically target individuals with known "fine, try it — Imma comma atcha" mind-sets? I also wonder how many years all concerned will spend in court even after "The National Enquirer" bites the dust? So many things an enquiring mind would like to know... tongue

Edited by Euodiachloris on Feb 8th 2019 at 2:13:48 PM

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#270517: Feb 8th 2019 at 6:09:27 AM

I am totally fine with the National Enquirer being reduced to a stain on our collective memories and all of its executives spending quality time in prison. This isn't a First Amendment issue in the slightest.

Edited by Fighteer on Feb 8th 2019 at 9:09:59 AM

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Ultimatum Disasturbator from the Amiga Forest (Old as dirt) Relationship Status: Who needs love when you have waffles?
Disasturbator
#270518: Feb 8th 2019 at 6:14:32 AM

I'm hoping it winds up like Gawker and News of the World,biting the dust after a lengthy court battle

have a listen and have a link to my discord server
DrunkenNordmann from Exile Since: May, 2015
#270519: Feb 8th 2019 at 6:18:20 AM

So wait, am I seeing this correctly? They used ''their offical e-mail accounts'' to attempt to blackmail one of the richest people in America?

This has to be one of the stupidest blackmail attempts I've seen in my life.

We learn from history that we do not learn from history
Euodiachloris Since: Oct, 2010
#270520: Feb 8th 2019 at 6:19:21 AM

[up] and [up][up]I think AMI managed to beat TNOTW for complete sliminess and sheer, unthinking contempt. Wow.

I keep my fingers crossed for The Daily Mail. One of these days, my pretty. One of these days....

Edited by Euodiachloris on Feb 8th 2019 at 2:22:46 PM

CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#270521: Feb 8th 2019 at 6:23:32 AM

One of the richest people in the world and owner of the Washington Post.

The other was an investigative journalist tied to Hollywood.

Edited by CharlesPhipps on Feb 8th 2019 at 6:48:10 AM

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#270522: Feb 8th 2019 at 6:25:22 AM

According to Maddow, he's currently the richest person on the planet, full stop, although that might not remain the case after his divorce. Which, I will stipulate, is his own fault — he did admit to having an affair. That is not the issue being disputed here, however.

If I had access to the kind of money that Bezos has, I might send people to buy every issue of every Enquirer in news stands and publicly burn them, just to make a point. Of course, that would establish a very dangerous precedent for right-wing ideologues to follow, so probably not a good idea.

Edited by Fighteer on Feb 8th 2019 at 9:42:31 AM

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#270523: Feb 8th 2019 at 6:45:26 AM

So wait, am I seeing this correctly? They used their offical e-mail accounts to attempt to blackmail one of the richest people in America?

This has to be one of the stupidest blackmail attempts I've seen in my life.

It's so stupid the only reason I believe it's even real is the connection to Donald "Only the Best People" Trump.

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#270525: Feb 8th 2019 at 6:47:46 AM

The First Amendment does not protect blackmail!

"Why didn't someone tell me this!"

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.

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