Credo

I was a relatively new employee and the director was a rather uptight, proper Thai lady. I had a bit of a stomach issue and had gotten into the elevator alone. The door shut and I let go one of those deadly, silent farts. The door instantly opened and in stepped the director. It smelled like someone had crapped in there.????

It's never happened getting a massage, but I could tell a whole lot of fart stories that would make your eyes water.

I am 100% in favor of renewable energy, but we are a long way from being able to do it and keep the lights on. As we transition, nuclear is the most viable option. We can build them safely. It's expensive, but well worth the effort.

It is because of Covid. The President has been advised to try not to shake hands. He did shake hands with the King, but otherwise, during most of the trip has been without hand shaking. It was clear that the Crown Prince had been advised of the protocol because he did not extend his hand but did extend his fist.

I never thought I'd live so long that I would see people claiming they were smoking (vaping) marijuana not tobacco.

A truly sad situation. Guns and narcotics do not go well together. My condolences to those affected by this tragedy.

I have tried to keep up with events in Sri Lanka, but not being familiar with the politics, it's a little difficult. From what I can ascertain, many of us should be happy to be living in countries where we are coming through the pandemic and the economic chaos relatively unscathed. Sri Lanka most certainly isn't faring very well.

What a sad, pathetic remark to make. Let me give you just one example of what it might be like. If you live deep in the heart of Texas, the closest place where you MIGHT be able to obtain an abortion is in Kansas. That's around an 8 hour drive, one way. You MIGHT be able to get one in New Mexico. Both states have restrictions on how far along you are and there are movements to stop abortions completely. You could well be in your car when the state stops providers from granting abortions. To be safe and sure the closest and easiest place would be California. Now we are talking of upwards of a 20 hour drive, one way, or a very expensive flight -- and the risk of cancellation, delays etc. So yes, it's a big deal.

I am far from being anti-gun and I have owed guns. I didn't want them in the house when my kids were young. I received a non-life-threatening gunshot wound during a scuffle with a friend who was threatening to kill his sister's boy friend. It was not serious, but it had an impact. I simply cannot understand why these high capacity assault style weapons are allowed. They have no practical purpose for the vast majority of people. It's certainly not very sportsmanship-like to use them for hunting. There only use is hunt and kill people in large numbers. They should be outlawed and only allowed on a very limited basis. I think part of the problem that the Uvalde police faced was that they were facing this type of weapon. Their actions were cowardly, but no one in a civilian situation should ever have to face a weapon like that.

I don't want to go all conspiratorial on this, but it's a rather strange and tragic situation. I can't think of anything that is that fast acting and not leaving a trace that is easy to get. I hope this wasn't just a test run for something big. This is a very sad situation for the family and friends.

Well, this isn't the first time he's done it. Considering that he is usually talking out of that orifice, may he did.

I am not sure what your point is. Because the Committee decides to protect the identity of a person is not particularly relevant. The committee knows the person and the testimony was under oath. Not surprisingly, all roads lead to a planned insurrection by Trump.

That is not correct. If his name is listed as the father, he is the father. He would have had custody of the child since China does not have joint custody laws. One parent has custody and has the right to make decisions about the child. Here's a snippet about how it works, legally: In China, joint custody effectively doesn't exist; instead one parent is awarded sole custody, which not only means that the child lives with them, but that they have the right to make all important decisions related to the child's well-being. https://www.international-divorce.com/china_the_terrifying_reality

No decent human being would abandon a child like this. The 'father' seemed perfectly happy with the child when he thought it was his. Mothers do not have the right to just abandon a child. Safe haven laws, where they exist, do not extend beyond infancy. A 5 year old would not be covered under a safe haven. I would take a wild guess that the parents are separated and the mother is in a different province. Fathers, as long as they acknowledge paternity, have the same rights as a mother. A child cannot be put up for adoption without the permission of BOTH parents. Your little rant sort of falls flat when you consider just what kind of a father this man really is.

It seems some states are going to take action: Abortion provider says it's deploying a fleet of mobile clinics along border states (ABC NEWS) -- Just The Pill, a nonprofit abortion group, announced a program called Abortion Delivered and vowed to deploy a fleet of mobile clinics to offer "mobile procedural abortions" along the border of states that impose restrictions. "By operating on state borders, we will reduce travel burdens for patients in states with bans or severe limits," said Dr. Julie Amaon, the medical director of Just The Pill and Abortion Delivered, in a statement. Abortion law and restrictions vary by state. Some states have trigger laws in place that immediately ban abortion once the federal protection of Roe was overturned. https://www.wsiltv.com/news/abortion-provider-says-its-deploying-a-fleet-of-mobile-clinics-along-border-states/article_068bfb66-f3de-11ec-ab24-bb8f398d12a7.html

For those who might need further information on how this works and what can be determined from it, this is a good read: https://climate.nasa.gov/news/2616/core-questions-an-introduction-to-ice-cores/

Ice core samples alone go back as far as 800,000 years. Ice core basics - Antarctic Glaciers https://www.antarcticglaciers.org

By and large, the powerful and wealthy get by with much more than most of us do but in this case the Jan 6 is also very powerful. The two witnesses were good. Not very dynamic, but it was good to hear from people actually on the ground. It makes it more real and less abstract.

You do not get to decide if it's an exaggeration or not. It's been published and it has not been retracted.

Newsom will likely run. Maybe Corey Booker. Personally, I'd like to see Pete Buttigieg run.

I love the way you right wingers view this kind of thing. There is nothing to show this story is NOT true. Unlike the sources used by the right, it does have a credible source, but one is apparently not enough for you. The article said that three days after the June 24 court ruling, an Indianapolis obstetrician-gynecologist, Caitlan Bernard, who performs abortions, received a call from “a child abuse doctor” in Ohio who had a 10-year-old patient who was six weeks and three days pregnant. Unable to obtain an abortion in Ohio, “the girl soon was on her way to Indiana to Bernard’s care,” the Star reported. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/07/09/one-source-story-about-10-year-old-an-abortion-goes-viral/ There is nothing to indicate the story is not true.

Give it a ticket, it was behind the wheel after all.

It would be an absolute tragedy if the lack of potatoes affects the output of Vodka!!

Well, yes and no. Some of our members may remember the Saudi Oil embargo of the early to mid -70's. It was largely over the support for Israel during the Israeli-Arab War. The US was extraordinarily dependent on OPEC. The embargo extended to a few other countries and caused major economic problems worldwide. In the US, there were long lines at the gas stations. To make a long, complex situation short, the upshot was that the US implemented rather drastic measures to curb oil usage. It triggered new measures that focused on energy conservation and development of domestic energy sources. These measures included the creation of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, a national 55-mile-per-hour speed limit on U.S. highways, and later, President Gerald R. Ford’s administration’s imposition of fuel economy standards. It also prompted the creation of the International Energy Agency. Money was made available to insulate houses to conserve fuel oil. Saudi Arabia and OPEC learned a valuable lesson. Their control of oil was curtailed. The US, and much of the rest of the world could cut back on oil usage and this to some extent put Saudi Arabia in its proper place. Since then, the Saudis have maintained a pretty good and consistent supply to the world. Like a drug cartel, they don't want their customers to quit using. Now, as then, conservation is a key factor, but it's not in the best financial interest of the Saudis to have a massive and quick turn to renewables. It's in their interest to keep it flowing and nourish the addiction. I don't know much about the situation with Saudi reserves, but I believe that worldwide we are starting to see a diminishing amount of easily extracted oil. A good friend working in Kuwait told quite some time back that they were pumping as much and as quickly as possible, but they were facing diminishing capacity in existing wells. Perhaps the Saudis are reaching the point of diminishing capacity?

I often wonder if anyone actually followed the Epstein-Maxwell case. Maxwell was instrumental in finding and procuring young girls to give massages to Epstein. Those girls would then be lured into further sexual activity over time. What started out as a well-paid job giving a massage led to further exploitation. There was no stable of young girls. Many of those lured in, felt uncomfortable and left. Some, who were probably a little more cautious, were kept as household staff until they could be groomed into sexual activity. Those who could be more easily manipulated and were probably enamored with the wealth and lifestyle (as well as the money), stuck around. Maxwell, in a few cases, also talked to the girls' mothers about their job. She could make things sound pretty legitimate. A 50+ year old man would have a little trouble providing a credible story as to what his intentions were with their 15-year-old daughter. Maxwell, a well-educated socialite, provided the perfect cover. There is no indication, however, that Maxwell provided these services for anyone other than Epstein. She most certainly knew that some were being used by others, but she wasn't an active participant. She may have been more active, but proving that in Court may have been trickier, so it was much easier to charge her with what they could reasonably believe they could get a conviction on. The Feds raided Epstein's home in NY (and eventually his other homes). They took computers and other material. I am sure they have the names and any incriminating information they need, but from all appearances, it seems the vast majority of those who Epstein 'shared' with the rich and famous were of age and willing participants. I suspect the younger ones, were more or less his private collection.