News Miscellany

[seebs]

why doesn't kim jong un, the largest dictator, not simply eat...

[Stephen Maturin]

That one worldwide child rape cult just keeps on rollin'.

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

Four links.

Four.

Christ on a cracker.

[Ari]

Synthetic psychedelic found in candies linked to seizures, intubation | Ars Technica Jun 2024

Mother Fucking Twats.
This is why we will never get true legalization, as psilocybin is a real and powerful chemical which will never withstand snake oil marketing and the psychotic breaks that will result.

"Diamond Shruumz premium microdose chocolate" turns out to actually be microdosing people with Psilocybin (4-aco-dmt is 100% swappable with psilcybin and is stable in crystal form making it the chemical many psilocybin studies actually use). So people are reportingly getting sick because their gimmick 'isn't this a laugh' chocolate was actually very lightly dosing them with real drugs.

In my educated opinion, microdosing psilocybin is pointless to slightly dangerous (both mentally and physically).

Studies are beginning to show that there are also certain people (a type of bipolar being the biggest) that shouldn't touch them, not to mention those on MAOIs who could actually die from the interaction. Making it extra important not to mix up real drugs and headshop marketting lingo to as not become the asshole that almost killed people with shruumz.

[LarsMac]

I used to like shroom, back in the day. Was great when hanging with kindred sorts. But, it never worked well for me in a social environment.
I'd get really deep, and some clown would come over and want to talk, and after a while, think I was dead, and get everybody else involve in trying to figure out what to do about a Dead Lars, and I would have to come back to settle them down. Kinda really screwed the trip.
When me and the Mrs got hooked up, she wasn't up for that kinda thing, so I gave it up.

But a Beach on shrooms with some people in the same kind of head can be pretty fair.

[But]

Originally Posted by Ari

Synthetic psychedelic found in candies linked to seizures, intubation | Ars Technica Jun 2024

Mother Fucking Twats.
This is why we will never get true legalization, as psilocybin is a real and powerful chemical which will never withstand snake oil marketing and the psychotic breaks that will result.

"Diamond Shruumz premium microdose chocolate" turns out to actually be microdosing people with Psilocybin (4-aco-dmt is 100% swappable with psilcybin and is stable in crystal form making it the chemical many psilocybin studies actually use). So people are reportingly getting sick because their gimmick 'isn't this a laugh' chocolate was actually very lightly dosing them with real drugs.

In my educated opinion, microdosing psilocybin is pointless to slightly dangerous (both mentally and physically).

Studies are beginning to show that there are also certain people (a type of bipolar being the biggest) that shouldn't touch them, not to mention those on MAOIs who could actually die from the interaction. Making it extra important not to mix up real drugs and headshop marketting lingo to as not become the asshole that almost killed people with shruumz.

"Microdosing" psilocybin isn't going to do jack shit.

It remains unclear what is in the candies and what may be causing the severe illnesses.

Though safety data on the compound is scant, it is not known to be linked to some of the severe symptoms seen in the current string of illnesses.

Additionally, the FDA found three compounds from the Kava plant (Piper methysticum) in the company's dark chocolate bar, though not the birthday-cake flavored bar. The compounds are kavalactones—desmethoxyyangonin, dihydrokavain, and kavain.

In all, it's still unclear if the compounds the FDA identified in the Diamond Shruumz chocolate bars so far can explain the illnesses seen in the linked cases.

The FDA said testing of other Diamond Shruumz products is still in progress. The agency noted that there can be differences across products and batches.

This has nothing to do with tiny doses of magic mushrooms, this looks like another instance of the whole "legal high" clusterfuck, which means some unknown chemical shit that could be anything and do anything.

In other words, a cocktail of different funny things that each were ordered wholesale from China or made by some bozo in a bathtub. And keep in mind that one reason why "Big Pharma" products are expensive is that it costs time and effort in multiple stages to clean that shit up, measure and make sure that impurities are gone. Like solvents or completely random byproducts that could send you to the hospital even if the compound itself was relatively safe.

Without the "war on drugs", most of this crap wouldn't even exist.

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

IMG_8810.jpeg

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

Ann Wilson - cancer

[LarsMac]

So,...,


Fake News is now News.

BBC: "A network of Russia-based websites masquerading as local American newspapers is pumping out fake stories as part of an AI-powered operation that is increasingly targeting the US election, a BBC investigation can reveal.

A former Florida police officer who relocated to Moscow is one of the key figures behind it."

There have been many times that I have been in conversations with people who bring up some of the most bizarre notions, which they claim they "Read it in the News" or "Saw it on TV News"

I am constantly reminded of what my grandfather oft said, "Believe none of what you hear, and only half of what you see."

There was a time when what you saw on the news, or read in the Paper could be relied on to have at least some basis in fact.

Not so much these days.

[specious_reasons]

A right-wing British tabloid started Me Too accusations about author Neil Gaiman.

Considering the source, I'm a bit reluctant to just assume it's true without independent verification. What does seem to be true is that the women identified had sexual relationships with Gaiman (confirmed in a statement), and those relationships were creepy (my opinion). Also, it seems like Gaiman's statement is of the "Bitches be crazy, right?" type of defense, which isn't really a defense of an innocent person.

I heard about this over the weekend, but in my "Kindle Daily Deals" emails over the last few days, I noticed a lot of his books being discounted, and I wonder if this is also part of the PR campaign.

[viscousmemories]

I saw something about this somewhere, but not being a Gaiman fan* I didn't really dig into it.


*Maybe only because I've never read him; I hear he's good.

[specious_reasons]

Originally Posted by viscousmemories

I saw something about this somewhere, but not being a Gaiman fan* I didn't really dig into it.

*Maybe only because I've never read him; I hear he's good.

He's generally a good writer, and I like a lot of his work. I really liked the Sandman comics, even if it's extremely 90s now.

This came up in our Sword and Laser book club. A few of us suspected that Gaiman has had so many young goth ladies throwing themselves at him that maybe he felt it was more of a right than a privilege.

[specious_reasons]

Remember Alec Baldwin? Remember how he unintentionally shot cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the movie "Rust?" The armorer on the set had already been convicted of involuntary manslaughter, and they were prosecuting Baldwin as well. Well, it turns out the prosecutors hid evidence from Baldwin's lawyers, and the judge dismissed the case with prejudice.

My opinion is that Baldwin, as producer on the movie, can still be held liable in civil courts, and I doubt he will be so lucky.

See moment judge throws out case against Alec...

[seebs]

so far as i can tell the judge is right and the prosecutors were completely not playing fair

[LarsMac]

That has been such a weird case.
Like where the hell did that bullet come from? But, ultimately, it was the Cinematographer's responsibility to see that the shot could be done safely.

Any time you're screwing around with firearms is an opportunity to kill someone.
Rule #1 there is no such thing as an unloaded gun.
So, make sure you are not pointing the damned thing at somebody you don't want to kill, and,
Rule #2 is don't fuck around with a loaded gun (See Rule #1).

So, all of the prosecution's work to try and punish whoever was responsible was a ludicrous waste of time and resources. The responsible party was long dead and buried.

[specious_reasons]

Originally Posted by LarsMac

That has been such a weird case.
Like where the hell did that bullet come from? But, ultimately, it was the Cinematographer's responsibility to see that the shot could be done safely.

[...]

So, all of the prosecution's work to try and punish whoever was responsible was a ludicrous waste of time and resources. The responsible party was long dead and buried.

I don't know — the cinematographer's job is to ensure the camera is capturing the right things in the right way according to the director's instructions. I don't believe it was her job to ensure the firearm was properly loaded. For my own personal safety I might make sure there were extra precautions when setting up this shot, but there were people whose job was to ensure safety protocols were followed. The person whose job it was to ensure the gun was safe (the armorer), the director, and the person who oversees the production (the producer — Baldwin) all failed in their responsibilities.

The only issue in my mind is how badly they failed. It seems to me that the armorer, in allowing live rounds to be present at a filming that didn't require live rounds, and handing a gun with live rounds to an actor is probably criminally negligent. I think it's possible that Baldwin (as the producer) could have been successfully prosecuted as well, but the outcome would be less certain.

One of the weird things about this is that Baldwin (the actor) who actually fired the gun is not as responsible as Baldwin (the producer) who should be ensuring the gun is safe. I wonder if the dual roles affected his ability to do the producer's job in the times when it was most needed.

[LarsMac]

Originally Posted by specious_reasons

I don't know — the cinematographer's job is to ensure the camera is capturing the right things in the right way according to the director's instructions. I don't believe it was her job to ensure the firearm was properly loaded. For my own personal safety I might make sure there were extra precautions when setting up this shot, but there were people whose job was to ensure safety protocols were followed. The person whose job it was to ensure the gun was safe (the armorer), the director, and the person who oversees the production (the producer — Baldwin) all failed in their responsibilities.

The only issue in my mind is how badly they failed. It seems to me that the armorer, in allowing live rounds to be present at a filming that didn't require live rounds, and handing a gun with live rounds to an actor is probably criminally negligent. I think it's possible that Baldwin (as the producer) could have been successfully prosecuted as well, but the outcome would be less certain.

One of the weird things about this is that Baldwin (the actor) who actually fired the gun is not as responsible as Baldwin (the producer) who should be ensuring the gun is safe. I wonder if the dual roles affected his ability to do the producer's job in the times when it was most needed.

Agree. The problem lies with that one phrase, "as responsible as Baldwin (the producer) who should be ensuring the gun is safe."
The problem is that almost anyone at the NRA, or any other organization that focuses on Firearms will tell you that under no circumstances should one EVER presume a gun to be safe to point at another living creature. Period. End of story.

There are an average of 45- 50 thousand accidental firearm deaths every year. I venture at least half of them are from "Unloaded Guns."

[ceptimus]

When making movies, it's likely necessary (or at least desirable) to have actors pointing guns at other actors.

No need for them to be real guns though. With no ammunition (live OR blanks) AND no real guns allowed on the sets, there would be two layers of safety.

Nowadays, any visual and audio effects of a real gun firing could be added in post production.

[specious_reasons]

Hollywood has been using guns on sets for over 100 years, and it's rarely fatal. Until the incident on "Rust", the last death was in 1993 (Brandon Lee). You would expect that most prop handlers would have a healthy respect for guns and have established protocols on set for handling them. Let's not pretend that professionals in the industry don't understand gun safety.

I do agree with Ceptimus, though. It's irresponsible to have real guns on the set of any movie, but it's not criminally irresponsible.

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

Sen. Bob Menendez found guilty on all counts, including acting as foreign agent, in federal corruption trial

[erimir]

If they can put Bob in prison for accepting gold bars from foreign agents, you think they won't come after you for being a government official and taking gold bars from foreign agents?

It's all about control, people.

[Stephen Maturin]

Freedom was nice while it lasted, I guess.

[JoeP]

Rabid seals in Cape Town

Literally. Cape fur seals with rabies are biting surfers.

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

Originally Posted by Kamilah Hauptmann

Hunter Biden guilty

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

Maine boy Eliott Kullman hopes to be voted 2024 Mullet Champ | newscentermaine.com