Oh god, Issy. This is one extremely funny movie...don't put it off any longer and take the chance of missing it.

You can even stream it from Netflix, so no waiting necessary!

>> ^GenjiKilpatrick:
>> ^Xax:
Plea bargain for 20 years when you know you haven't committed a crime? Forget it.

right, because you woulda been the real stoic "hero" and taken the full 25 to life outta principle?


Being a hero has nothing to do with it. 20 years is a long time for not having done anything wrong, so I'd take my chances. On the other hand, it seems like so many stupid fucking idiots don't seem to understand the concept of reasonable doubt.

You make good points. I think the intent of the prank makes all the difference.

Under normal circumstances, I would agree that if someone steals a piece of property that can be inherently dangerous, and gets hurt because the brakes don't work or because the chain on the stolen chainsaw was lose (or whatever), there's no one else who should be considered at fault. You take your chances when you do that, and the consequences are yours to bear.

However, we have video evidence of the sabotage, and the intent to hopefully injure someone for stealing. It's like entrapment combined with reckless endangerment combined with vigilantism.

It'd be nearly impossible to prove...unless you had video like this available as evidence.

In reply to this comment by Psychologic:

I don't think that it is "wrong" to use an open wireless network without permission. I would never do any sort of login over such a connection, but there are some things that aren't really a security issue that one could reasonably take a chance with.

It is wrong, as in incorrect, to assume that some open wireless connection that is available today will be there tomorrow. The person might move, change providers, turn on encryption -- anything. If that happens, you have absolutely no right to complain, at least not in any legal or otherwise official way. Your free lunch is just no longer free -- deal with it.

One thing you might consider: if you see an open wireless connection in your area, ask around to your neighbors about it. Tell them about the benefits of turning on security. Offer to show them how to turn on encryption, and offer to pay a portion of the bill if they would be willing to share the connection with you. If you don't NEED the full 3Mb/5Mb/10Mb/whatever, you can save a lot of the cost of getting a fast line by sharing a connection with people. This sort of arrangement does require a certain amount of trust between the people sharing the line, but it can get you good, fast, encrypted internet access for less money.

Thanks for this very long response! I think this was my favorite line: Take away everything someone has to live for, and he'll find a cause to die for.

I will remember that line, because I think you are absolutely right.



Thanks.

In reply to this comment by kagenin:
>> ^Avokineok:
I live in The Netherlands. Everytime I'm on Videosift, I get a sense of how bad it must be to be an American.
I see some great entertaiment with all the late night shows, but I feel bad for all of you who have to live in a country that has so many people taking everything said at Fox "News" ("Gossip" might be more appropriate) so seriously..
It seriously makes me said and makes me believe Amerika is not the land of opportunities; it's a land where people with a lot of money tell other people what think.


Who do you think were those first pilgrims from Europe were? Puritans - People who wanted nothing more than to lecture others on the poor choices they made. (If you've ever been to a good Renaissance Faire, they're the street actors wearing almost all black, and almost always carrying their bibles with them. Hang around one long enough and you'll want to tell them to go take a long walk off a short pier too, if they're in good character. That's basically how they made everyone else living at the time feel. Look at modern day puritanicals such as Pat Robertson.) The ones who colonized America had enough money to sail half-way around the world, which isn't terribly cheap.

Paying for the sins of our forefathers is something every culture does. Just look at television and video games. Here in the States, you can put some pretty violent imagery on TV and maybe even some drug use in your video games, but holy hell if you show a nipple, or touch on ANYTHING of a sexual nature. Releasing a game in the three major English speaking markets (US, UK, and AU) means subjecting your content to three different review boards, with differing notions about what is good and decent for the consumers of their country. Sex, violence, drug use - the disparity between opinions on what is acceptable for only adults to see, even among countries with common language, can mean what get's a Teen rating by the US's ESRB can get an "Adult Only" in the UK, and even be banned outright unless edited for an Australian market.

Despite all this, I remain hopeful because of the fact that those like ol' Noun-Verb-9/11 Rudy are in the minority. The fact that he's so focused on using terms like "Islamic terrorist," or "islamist" displays a blunt ignorance, and could be interpreted as flat out racism. Let's remember that he put the NYC Emergency Command Center, setup after a failed World Trade Center fertilizer bombing in the 90's, was picked by Rudy to be put in the World Trade Center, a place that had recently been the target of a terrorist attack (by attackers who were brought to justice within the same judicial system that handles our parking tickets - we didn't need the post-9/11 military tribunals then, and we don't really need them now, despite certain anti-American Right-Wingers who lack requisite faith in the system they serve). It's like he refuses to learn from history or something, and unfortunately it's not an uncommon condition among modern conservative talking heads here in the states.

The fact that our president didn't use words like "islamist" or "islamic terrorist" or any permutation thereof is because he understands that the greater threat to our nation is a foreign policy that takes away everything from poor young brown-skinned people living in the cradle of civilization and gives them nowhere to turn to but bombed out countries, crumbling infrastructure, and eager suicide bomber recruiters. Take away everything someone has to live for, and he'll find a cause to die for. Dealing with the symptoms is one thing. End the root cause, and then you have the potential for peace.

Take the issue with rampant piracy around the waters of Somalia. Sure, everyone's talking about the latest tanker to be overtaken, but how many stories have delved into the root cause? The polluted waters that have killed off all the fish in the region? The fish who fed the people on the land? The fish that drove the local economy? All dead. The Indonesian Tsunami caused a tidal wave of wretched filth to wash up ashore, tainting the land and water supplies, causing pestilential illnesses. If you're a poor Somali 20-something with your family boat, and you can't make an honest living with it, what are you going to do? Grab some weapons, recruit a crew of close friends in the same situation you're in, and take your chances on the shipping lanes within striking distance... yeah, that would seem like something someone EXTREMELY desperate would do. It's happening right now. The Somali Government can't do jack, they can barely govern an area the size of my rural hometown. Sure we can bust out the snipers when someone important gets kidnapped, and we can applaud the heroes who put their lives on the life to ensure the safety of others. But that won't stop the next motley crew of fishermen with nowhere else to turn but terrorizing the high seas.

I've only spent about 4 days total in the Netherlands. What I saw was beautiful. Amsterdam was breathtaking, both figuratively and literally - man, those canals can really wreak in the summer . I hope to visit again soon. Didn't get to check out much of the television, but what brief moments I was allowed rest in front of a TV on that trip was pretty cool. A lot of stuff just wouldn't get past the FCC here without some serious fines being levied for sexual content, and that's a damn shame...

But, like I said, I'm still hopeful. Wow, that was long If you made it this far, thanks for reading.

>> ^Avokineok:
I live in The Netherlands. Everytime I'm on Videosift, I get a sense of how bad it must be to be an American.
I see some great entertaiment with all the late night shows, but I feel bad for all of you who have to live in a country that has so many people taking everything said at Fox "News" ("Gossip" might be more appropriate) so seriously..
It seriously makes me said and makes me believe Amerika is not the land of opportunities; it's a land where people with a lot of money tell other people what think.


Who do you think were those first pilgrims from Europe were? Puritans - People who wanted nothing more than to lecture others on the poor choices they made. (If you've ever been to a good Renaissance Faire, they're the street actors wearing almost all black, and almost always carrying their bibles with them. Hang around one long enough and you'll want to tell them to go take a long walk off a short pier too, if they're in good character. That's basically how they made everyone else living at the time feel. Look at modern day puritanicals such as Pat Robertson.) The ones who colonized America had enough money to sail half-way around the world, which isn't terribly cheap.

Paying for the sins of our forefathers is something every culture does. Just look at television and video games. Here in the States, you can put some pretty violent imagery on TV and maybe even some drug use in your video games, but holy hell if you show a nipple, or touch on ANYTHING of a sexual nature. Releasing a game in the three major English speaking markets (US, UK, and AU) means subjecting your content to three different review boards, with differing notions about what is good and decent for the consumers of their country. Sex, violence, drug use - the disparity between opinions on what is acceptable for only adults to see, even among countries with common language, can mean what get's a Teen rating by the US's ESRB can get an "Adult Only" in the UK, and even be banned outright unless edited for an Australian market.

Despite all this, I remain hopeful because of the fact that those like ol' Noun-Verb-9/11 Rudy are in the minority. The fact that he's so focused on using terms like "Islamic terrorist," or "islamist" displays a blunt ignorance, and could be interpreted as flat out racism. Let's remember that he put the NYC Emergency Command Center, setup after a failed World Trade Center fertilizer bombing in the 90's, was picked by Rudy to be put in the World Trade Center, a place that had recently been the target of a terrorist attack (by attackers who were brought to justice within the same judicial system that handles our parking tickets - we didn't need the post-9/11 military tribunals then, and we don't really need them now, despite certain anti-American Right-Wingers who lack requisite faith in the system they serve). It's like he refuses to learn from history or something, and unfortunately it's not an uncommon condition among modern conservative talking heads here in the states.

The fact that our president didn't use words like "islamist" or "islamic terrorist" or any permutation thereof is because he understands that the greater threat to our nation is a foreign policy that takes away everything from poor young brown-skinned people living in the cradle of civilization and gives them nowhere to turn to but bombed out countries, crumbling infrastructure, and eager suicide bomber recruiters. Take away everything someone has to live for, and he'll find a cause to die for. Dealing with the symptoms is one thing. End the root cause, and then you have the potential for peace.

Take the issue with rampant piracy around the waters of Somalia. Sure, everyone's talking about the latest tanker to be overtaken, but how many stories have delved into the root cause? The polluted waters that have killed off all the fish in the region? The fish who fed the people on the land? The fish that drove the local economy? All dead. The Indonesian Tsunami caused a tidal wave of wretched filth to wash up ashore, tainting the land and water supplies, causing pestilential illnesses. If you're a poor Somali 20-something with your family boat, and you can't make an honest living with it, what are you going to do? Grab some weapons, recruit a crew of close friends in the same situation you're in, and take your chances on the shipping lanes within striking distance... yeah, that would seem like something someone EXTREMELY desperate would do. It's happening right now. The Somali Government can't do jack, they can barely govern an area the size of my rural hometown. Sure we can bust out the snipers when someone important gets kidnapped, and we can applaud the heroes who put their lives on the life to ensure the safety of others. But that won't stop the next motley crew of fishermen with nowhere else to turn but terrorizing the high seas.

I've only spent about 4 days total in the Netherlands. What I saw was beautiful. Amsterdam was breathtaking, both figuratively and literally - man, those canals can really wreak in the summer . I hope to visit again soon. Didn't get to check out much of the television, but what brief moments I was allowed rest in front of a TV on that trip was pretty cool. A lot of stuff just wouldn't get past the FCC here without some serious fines being levied for sexual content, and that's a damn shame...

But, like I said, I'm still hopeful. Wow, that was long If you made it this far, thanks for reading.

>> ^Throbbin:
Mackie's character did say he ahd spent 7 years in intelligence prior to his EOD deployment. It's not that hard to be a spotter. Handling a rifle itself is not very hard, and I don't have any military training. I've handled a .50 (never fired one) - and it's just a bigger, heavier version of other rifles. What's the big deal?
After the sniper shoots Fiennes' character, he took cover to remain hidden. Seems perfectly reasonable to me - it's what I would do.

i still don't think any sane person would take that chance and go up there 'blind'. one of the few things you know is that the other sniper has a bead right on that spot where the gun is still sitting. and you're gonna go up there, hoping he's in the middle of re-locating, or just not paying attention to the big fuck-off rifle that may be used against him and then you have to find him and kill him before he does the same to you. that seems to be putting a lot of faith in the other guy's incompetence... i mean, what happens if there was more than one of them?

I have always regretted not taking the chance when I could to get stationed there while I was in the Navy. Being heavy on post-production isn't a big deal either, the *heart* of the video is truth, and it shines through with every shot. The rest is simply enhancing it for the better.

Taking a chance that the last comment was intended for me, I would just like to point out that I was not debating the existence of human influence on global warming. However the extent and the effect of it is debated widely.

But the subject can still be spun in either direction, the world will end soon, or we will get more sun

Like you say, as long as science is subject to peer review and so forth, it can only move forward. Therefore it should have no problem dealing with these groups. However it would be a mistake to ignore them.

From a medical standpoint I'll add that sure, this could be great for normal births that lack congenital defects and yield healthy babies. Using midwives and birthing at home will be less costly to you as a 'consumer' of medical care, and gives us, the medical staff, more time to worry about those babies that do have a problem and need constant monitoring, etc.

So yeah, normal baby = go right ahead.

Sick baby = take your chances, but I don't recommend it.

> going to refuse getting various shots that will keep you alive.

LOL @ swine flu vaccine keeping me alive, you're a real sucker !!! drink it up, dude, enjoy that vaccine it was MADE FOR people like YOU ! We'll take our chances with diseases and our immune systems in my house. ( and we've already done the swine flu anyway )

p.s. people usually live to be about 85 in my family and 90 in my wifes family and most of them dont take any of your "life extending" pharmaceuticals at all.

So remember kiddies, eat those pills, drink those cocktails, accept your injections! The medical industry may be wholly profit driven on your symptoms and despair, but you can rest easy they're doing the best they can for their stockholders.

What is considered legal tender in the US. In Canada the Canada Currency Act specifies limits on what is considered legal tender for each denomination. For pennies the limit is 25 cents meaning that that is the maximum number of pennies anyone is required to accept. Probably the main reason for this is to prevent douchebaggery like this. When it comes to parking you takes you chances then you pay your money.

If it was me, when he said you can count it if you want, I would have said OK but I'm slow come back tomorrow when I'm finished to get your car.

Conspiracy theories aside, I'll take my chances with the swine flu.

Awesome!

I have been up there myself (it´s about a 2 1/2 hour hike) but I didn´t dare put my legs over the ledge!
I just laid flat on my belly and took a peek over the edge.

Usually I have quite good balance, but with the strong winds up there I really didn´t want to take any chances.

Long ago, intellectuals were the first eaten by saber-toothed tigers, as they were "above" feeling fear. As humans tamed the wilderness and became agrarian, the opportunity for intellectuals to thrive arrived, but they still weren't explorers and thrill seekers and it's doubtful you'd find many on the Mayflower or taming the West.

America was founded by balls-out bad-asses who decided to take their chances instead of being a satellite of another monarchy. They would not for one second equate the line "promote the general welfare" with the welfare state of today that is going bankrupt, as they all eventually do.

Even in Jefferson's day, intellectuals were suspect, that's the way it was, and is. ACTION made America, and made America great, and there was freedom enough that Franklin got his libraries and anyone could be a seeker of knowledge. But the egghead has never been embraced, in any American era.

Constitutional principles and Republican principles have an eerie resemblance and are a lot closer cousins than modern liberalism. I have more faith in the "ignorant" Midwesterners who understand the Constitution better than the socialists in power now.

Karl Marx was a great intellectual, and yet he couldn't have been more wrong about economics and human nature. On a personal level he was disastrous with money and never held a job. It would appear that WISDOM--the fusion of time, intelligence and experience--has it all over plain vanilla high intelligence that praises theory over results.

As ignorant as they often are, and despite inevitable mistakes, The People are smarter than any king or bureaucrat. Or Bureaucrat-King. Even when they're "greedy".

If America continues to exist in some free incarnation, Obama will go down in history as just another Jimmy Carter, praised by revisionists and loathed by the people who were there.