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

Belian In honor of my 50lb pup from 42 Since: Jan, 2001
In honor of my 50lb pup
#53126: Apr 14th 2013 at 7:13:24 PM

@Tax returns: Wow... surprisingly simple. Biden is getting Social Security, but that is because it is required that he receive it at his age. Also of note is that Obama's self-employment book revenue will "hurt" his tax return next year. Quote from The Other Wiki about the Fiscal Cliff deal:

  • Marginal income and capital gains tax rates increased relative to their 2012 levels for those with annual income over $400,000 for individuals and $450,000 for couples, but the rates below these levels remained at their 2012 levels. The top income rate increased from 35% to 39.6%, and the capital gains rate increased from 15% to 20%.
  • A phase-out of tax deductions and credits for incomes over $250,000 for individuals and $300,000 for couples was reinstated. Limits on deductions had existed before the Bush tax cuts, and had disappeared in 2010.

Biden will be hit by the 2nd one as well, but probably not as hard.

edited 14th Apr '13 7:13:32 PM by Belian

Yu hav nat sein bod speeling unntil know. (cacke four undersandig tis)the cake is a lie!
NickTheSwing Since: Aug, 2009
#53127: Apr 14th 2013 at 9:32:28 PM

[up][up] Aww, and it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy...

And just let me say that what Fox surely has called the Appearance-Gate by now is, in my perspective, kind of silly. Really? Obama cannot even comment on how nice someone looks without people jumping on him for it?

Midgetsnowman Since: Jan, 2010
#53128: Apr 15th 2013 at 5:30:53 AM

[up]

Obama could call Reagan a genius and Rupert Murdoch a great man and Fox News would find some way to take offense.

terlwyth Since: Oct, 2010
#53129: Apr 15th 2013 at 5:49:28 AM

[up] While I dunno about Murdoch,I'm pretty sure Obama's shilled Reagan enough as it is.

DeviantBraeburn Wandering Jew from Dysfunctional California Since: Aug, 2012
Zendervai Since: Oct, 2009
#53131: Apr 15th 2013 at 11:04:38 AM

If you want to see what a GOP President might look like, you might want to look at Stephen Harper, the current Canadian Prime Minister.

Random cuts to important programs, pushing the military, helping the companies, ignoring minorities, trying to create a prison-industrial complex and actively working against environmental programs, complete with a disturbingly good ability to make people think he's a good Prime Minister.

Yes, I know this is a tad off-topic, but his policies follow the GOP party line way too closely for comfort.

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#53132: Apr 15th 2013 at 11:08:58 AM

Yes, he almost sounds like George W. Bush. Or the elder Bush. Or Reagan.

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Achaemenid HGW XX/7 from Ruschestraße 103, Haus 1 Since: Dec, 2011 Relationship Status: Giving love a bad name
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Achaemenid HGW XX/7 from Ruschestraße 103, Haus 1 Since: Dec, 2011 Relationship Status: Giving love a bad name
HGW XX/7
#53135: Apr 15th 2013 at 12:34:46 PM

Explosions hit Boston Marathon.

An unknown number of people have been injured in a pair of explosions at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. No idea what caused them yet. Terrorists? Gas explosion? Apparently, there were "a lot of people down". No reports of fatalities, yet. Hopefully it will stay that way. Thoughts and prayers to everyone involved.

Gut feeling would be foul play - explosions sometimes happen by accident, but two? This is worrying indeed.

Schild und Schwert der Partei
Kostya (Unlucky Thirteen)
#53136: Apr 15th 2013 at 12:36:44 PM

Were the runners at the scene of the explosions when they happened? I hope they're okay.

Please don't let this be an attack...

We've got enough bullshit to deal with.

edited 15th Apr '13 12:50:23 PM by Kostya

Achaemenid HGW XX/7 from Ruschestraße 103, Haus 1 Since: Dec, 2011 Relationship Status: Giving love a bad name
HGW XX/7
#53137: Apr 15th 2013 at 12:38:22 PM

[up]

There are people injured. "We've got enough bullshit to deal with" doesn't come over as a particularly sensitive response.


EDIT: Counter-terrorism police are deploying to NY landmarks.

Apparently the explosions were within seconds of each other - so it is not implausible that it may have been an accident. But we don't know enough to tell. Hopefully no-one has died.

edited 15th Apr '13 12:46:07 PM by Achaemenid

Schild und Schwert der Partei
Deadbeatloser22 from Disappeared by Space Magic (Great Old One) Relationship Status: Tsundere'ing
#53138: Apr 15th 2013 at 12:40:30 PM

The Explosion occurred at the finish line while the Marathon was ongoing and runners were passing through.

Pictures on the BBC News 24 feed are pretty chaotic.

edited 15th Apr '13 12:41:04 PM by Deadbeatloser22

"Yup. That tasted purple."
Greenmantle V from Greater Wessex, Britannia Since: Feb, 2010 Relationship Status: Hiding
V
#53139: Apr 15th 2013 at 12:41:30 PM

@ Kostya:

Were there runners at the scene of the explosions when they happened?

Definitely — even though the Elite Athletes finished three hours before, "Fun Runners" will still be running into the dark...

I wonder if this will have any effect on the London Marathon this Sunday?

edited 15th Apr '13 12:44:33 PM by Greenmantle

Keep Rolling On
Deadbeatloser22 from Disappeared by Space Magic (Great Old One) Relationship Status: Tsundere'ing
Achaemenid HGW XX/7 from Ruschestraße 103, Haus 1 Since: Dec, 2011 Relationship Status: Giving love a bad name
HGW XX/7
#53141: Apr 15th 2013 at 12:45:48 PM

The BBC are already talking about "devices" - there may be another one in another hotel in Boston.

This isn't looking good. Four people are in the emergency room of Mass General Hospital.

EDIT: Prudential Tower evacuated, according to BBC.

edited 15th Apr '13 12:48:21 PM by Achaemenid

Schild und Schwert der Partei
Greenmantle V from Greater Wessex, Britannia Since: Feb, 2010 Relationship Status: Hiding
Deadbeatloser22 from Disappeared by Space Magic (Great Old One) Relationship Status: Tsundere'ing
#53143: Apr 15th 2013 at 12:51:06 PM

Not the time or the place. Can we stay on topic please?

"Yup. That tasted purple."
Kostya (Unlucky Thirteen)
#53144: Apr 15th 2013 at 12:51:11 PM

Achaemenid: I'm sorry if it came off that way. I did say that I hope they're okay if it helps.

Anyway I assumed that since this is the US politics thread it was brought up because it could be an attack of some sort. Another terrorist attack would be a very big problem given the political climate of this country.

Deadbeatloser 22, Greenmantle: Okay, that's not good...

I assume they had medical staff on hand in case a runner was injured but they're likely not prepared for the chaos this will cause.

[up][up][up]Devices? Did they say anything else about them?

edited 15th Apr '13 12:53:00 PM by Kostya

Deadbeatloser22 from Disappeared by Space Magic (Great Old One) Relationship Status: Tsundere'ing
#53145: Apr 15th 2013 at 12:52:03 PM

They're not. EMS is apparently on scene now and have been using the medical tents as makeshift triage.

EDIT: Reuters apparently has video of one of the explosions actually happening.

edited 15th Apr '13 12:53:27 PM by Deadbeatloser22

"Yup. That tasted purple."
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#53146: Apr 15th 2013 at 12:54:13 PM

They are deploying counterterrorism and bomb squad forces as an automatic precaution. It doesn't mean there's hostile activity; it just means they are being prepared in case there is.

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Achaemenid HGW XX/7 from Ruschestraße 103, Haus 1 Since: Dec, 2011 Relationship Status: Giving love a bad name
HGW XX/7
#53147: Apr 15th 2013 at 1:00:18 PM

@Kostya: Cool. Sorry if I overreacted.

Re: Devices

No, they didn't say anything more. As @Fighteer said, deploying the bomb squad and these precautions are automatic is automatic. Now, it could be that some guy just left his briefcase in the lobby and everyone's freaking out (justifiably) because of what's happened. But we don't know, and probably won't for at least a couple of hours. No reports of fatalities so far, which is good (insofar as no news is good news). But it's early doors. Here's hoping for no deaths.

edited 15th Apr '13 1:00:43 PM by Achaemenid

Schild und Schwert der Partei
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#53148: Apr 15th 2013 at 1:01:53 PM

If this is a terrorist incident, it's been awfully inefficient at killing people. Of course, that's not the primary objective of such things — it's called terrorism for a reason — but still.

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Kostya (Unlucky Thirteen)
#53149: Apr 15th 2013 at 1:03:34 PM

[up]I doubt they meant to kill too many people. Given what was happening at the time and the location it occurred they probably just wanted to spook people. This is an event that people all over the world are paying attention to.

edit: BBC says they don't know how many were injured but there are some pretty severe injuries. One of them mentioned that a person had their limbs severed and a child had burns on their face.

...sad

edited 15th Apr '13 1:05:44 PM by Kostya

Deadbeatloser22 from Disappeared by Space Magic (Great Old One) Relationship Status: Tsundere'ing
#53150: Apr 15th 2013 at 1:06:51 PM

An ABC reporter has claimed seeing severed limbs and that one of the medical tents has been turned into a field morgue.

Unconfirmed reports, however.

"Yup. That tasted purple."

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