kimmy

If that was his intent, he f*'d up big time. I think he'd have to be seriously tone-deaf to not recognized that he was depicting a rape. I don't think Game of Thrones "advocated" for rape, anymore than they advocate for beheadings, poisonings, massacres at weddings, heads on pikes, flaying, or anything else that happens on the show. I don't really want to get into a Whoopi Goldberg "it wasn't rape-rape" or Todd Akin "legitimate rape" type argument, but as it was depicted on TV, it was definitely "rape rape". She didn't scream for help... if she did, it could have exposed everything. It could have cost her and him and their bastard kids their heads. -k

So are you saying that there *is* an intrinsic value in "race"? It seems like you don't have an objection to people acting to "preserve their race", and that you're in favor of this aboriginal person's comments because you feel that aboriginal people are sufficiently scarce, but dismiss white people who want to "preserve their race" because white people are not at present particularly scarce. Is that the jist of what you're saying? -k

White people who claim a "duty to preserve the white race" aren't actually harming anyone either, but they're not viewed very charitably by most people. -k

Again, she's not simply stating a personal preference, she's suggesting a duty. No, it's not simply about getting a treaty card for her kids. She's suggesting an intrinsic value in "race". -k

I disagree that people just buy them to be "green". From what I have read, the Tesla cars are completely viable alternatives to other cars in their price range. As in, if you discount the savings on fuel and the "green" cachet, you still have an excellent luxury automobile. The earlier Tesla Roadster was similar: if you discount the savings on fuel and the "green" cachet, you still have a performance car that will blow the doors off of anything in its price range. I have seen a couple of Teslas rolling around Kim City, and they have an extremely high-end look. -k

I have no issue at all with people choosing their partner based on their personal preferences. I wouldn't have it any other way. In the snippet I quoted above, she's clearly talking about something beyond personal preference. She's suggesting aboriginal people have a duty or obligation to marry within their race to keep their bloodlines "pure" and preserve their culture and distinctive ethnicity. Aside from the particular skin tone, there's no difference between what this woman is saying and what the people who worry about "the extinction of the white race" are saying. A few years ago, some people on this forum wrote all kinds of terrible things about me when I said that all other things being equal, I'd like to have children who carry my blonde hair and blue eyes on to the next generation. -k

When Tywin told Tyrion he was marrying Sansa, the discussion seemed to indicate that while Sansa's male offspring would be heir to the North, Sansa herself is heir to neither diddly nor squat. As things stand, Lysa Arryn's special needs kid is the heir to the Vale, although if Littlefinger married her he'd presumably be essentially running the place, being the only mentally stable person in the Aerie. If he could arrange some kind of "accident" for the creepy kid and father his own son with the crazy lady, perhaps his son would be the rightful heir? Or does Lysa Arryn actually confer any claim to the throne? She was only an Arryn by marriage; the creepy kid is the only actual offspring of Jon Arryn. As for Sansa... he doesn't "have her" in any legally binding sense. If he's marrying Lysa Arryn, Sansa's status as the oldest surviving Stark does no good to Littlefinger. Since she's presumably wanted as an accomplice to the murder of the King, it's not likely she'll have the chance to marry and have legitimate children. She's probably most valuable as a bargaining chip at this point. Roose Bolton would probably like to get his hands on her... if he could extinguish the Starks, his line would become the lords of the North. -k

I agree that he's an asshat, but he's a 250 pound asshat with the strength and temperament of an alpha gorilla in mating season. I don't think he's scared that anybody on the Red Wings would try and pummel him. -k

When white people talk about "preserving their bloodlines" they're fitted for white hoods and swastikas, but these people are diversity heroes. It's totally different, because... because... -k

Interesting developments for Tesla in Texas. Texas has been one of the states where Tesla is banned from direct sales. However, Tesla has picked up a powerful ally in none other than Governor Perry himself. Perry has recently gone on record saying that he thinks the auto dealer regulations are "antiquated" and it's time to revisit it. Tesla is planning to spend about $5 billion dollars to build a massive factory for lithium-ion batteries for their cars, and Texas is one of a handful of states in the running to be the site. Rick Perry loves bringing business to Texas, and it looks as if he's willing to use updated auto-dealership rules as a bargaining chip to get Tesla to choose Texas. -k

It looks like the Habs are moving on to round 2. The Sharks looked awesome. I don't think anybody would have expected the Kings to get rolled that badly in two straight games. Of course, the Sharks have a history of screwing up when it comes to the playoffs, so they better not be getting fitted for the rings just yet. -k

Well darnit, the waldo was right again. Sooo... this is the second time Littlefinger has framed Tyrion for murder, right? Aside from being a hottie, Sansa is the only Stark commonly known to still be alive. Does that make her a valuable commodity that Littlefinger could somehow exploit? If I recall, Petyr Baelish was made Lord of Harrenhall, but Harrenhall is just a smoking ruin. Maybe he's looking to upgrade. I liked the scene with Tywin and Tommen. Tywin is great whenever he's on the screen, of course, but I also liked the subtext. He's making sure that Tommen receives the tutelage that Joffrey didn't. The message to Cersei is: "you screwed up with Joffrey. I'm taking Tommen under my wing to make sure that this gets done right, because I don't trust you to do it." He even disses Joffrey right in front of her face. A guy raping his sister right next to the rotting corpse of their son has to be probably one of the most inappropriate things to ever happen on TV. There's so much wrong with that that I don't even know which part to start with. They've already done the Khaleesi's sack of slave cities twice... there seems little point in doing it again unless something turns out different this time. I liked that Arya mentioned her "friend" in Bravos. Maybe she'll get to take him up on his offer. -k

So I hear this "Nathan MacKinnon" kid is pretty good. -k

The XKCD comic strip made this explanation of how "heartbleed" works: God dammit, Meg. -k

Cool! Do you hunt? I was interested in archery, and still am, but have yet to try it. I have heard that when it comes to hunting, bows tend to not give an outright kill and you have to track the animal for some time. It sounded excessively cruel to me. -k

I have always envisioned myself to be conversing with former Vice President Dick Cheney. The extent to which GM and the business that depend on it might have been replaced by competitors is highly speculative... as is the premise that those competitors would create jobs in the United States. The government would bail out more businesses if more businesses had the economic importance that GM does. Letting GM disappear at the best of times would be a serious economic impact. Letting GM disappear at a time when the economy was already snowballing towards an economic depression would have been an absurd risk. Two administrations agreed as much. -k

We have rules. We don't have rivers turn inexplicably red, or have the air quality become so bad that people can't leave their homes. -k

GM bought back its shares from the treasury ahead of schedule. As did Chrysler. Ford is the only automaker that still owes money to the US government. As Dick correctly points out, the $10 billion loss is more than balanced out by the benefit of having GM remain a viable business: hundreds of thousands of Americans paying taxes instead of receiving benefits. Plus it prevented the snowball effect that would have resulted from those jobs disappearing. The US government put about $50 billion into GM and recovered $40 billion. If GM had failed, the cost to the US tax base would have been a lot more than $10 billion. It proved to be a very good investment. And, if you are going to use direct financial gains or losses as the metric of whether the bailouts were worthwhile for taxpayers, then ultimately the bailouts were a success. The $10 billion the US government lost on its investment in GM are more than balanced by the profits the treasury department made on its investment in the financial sector. -k

Yes, that's what I was getting at... the sarcasm was lost on some, apparently. India uses the streets as toilets, China uses the water, earth, and air as a dumpster. -k

It's a hilarious video, and I'm glad BH posted it. It's also highly amusing that some members here are having a tantrum over a joke made about a guy who's been out of office for 5 years. For what it's worth, since leaving office G.W. Bush has been actively involved in humanitarian work in Africa. He has also refused to participate in political discussions out of a sense of propriety. -k

Guys! Let's not fight! I think the etiquette we have always followed in this thread is that anything that has already appeared on TV is fair game and open for discussion, and material from the books is also fair game and open for discussion provided that it is something that precedes events that have already occurred on TV. -k

A high-tech solution... http://www.rei.com/product/799009/gsi-outdoors-cathole-sanitation-trowel Yeah! Taiwan is no more part of China than Crimea is part of Russia! Yep, me too. And I think I'll cross China off my list too. -k

Hadn't even thought of him. What might be his motive, unless it was revenge for Catelyn? The guy with the obvious motive would be the Dornish prince, of course, but that would be way too obvious I think. I don't know if there are any Stark/Tully/Arryn allies who could have pulled it off. Lord Varys is sneaky enough to pull it off, and says that he only wants to do what's best for the Kingdom. A dead Joffrey is a good thing for the Kingdom... The Tyrells obviously wouldn't want Joffrey killed before the marriage got consumated. Whoever was behind it might have had the opposite motive: make sure that the marriage didn't get consumated... make sure that Maergery didn't wind up with the next heir in her belly. Joffrey's younger brother (Tommyn? I forget) was on screen for the first time in a while. I assume that with Joffrey dead, he is first in line. hmmm What if it was an inside job?! What if one of the Lannisters came up with the plot? "Joffrey's a psycho and a loose cannon. He'll be the ruin of our House. Tommyn's a better choice." But if that was the idea, you wouldn't think they'd have waited until the wedding. Recently saw this picture of Jack Gleeson with what appears to be fan art: I hate to disagree, but I think Joffrey got cured on Sunday. Jack Gleeson has had the somewhat thankless job of portraying one of the most hated TV characters in the history of TV characters over the past few years. I gather he's a likeable young man when he's off screen, but he is doomed to being "you! you're that bastard from the TV show!" for years to come. Farewell Jack. -k

That was hilarious. -k

GM's profits since the bailout, and their quick buy-back of the treasury department's stake in the company, proves pretty conclusively that Romney wasn't right. Romney wasn't right about moving Jeep production to China either. He wasn't right when he included Tesla Motors in the list of "losers" that Obama backed. Why does Romney hate American automakers? The premise that the airbag controversy will cause the financial ruin of GM is pretty dubious, to say the least. The idea that it's a vindication of Romney's initial stance is laughable. The idea that a "structured bankruptcy" would have yielded better outcomes for American consumers who may have been harmed by GM negligence is also laughable. The idea that a "structured bankruptcy" would have yielded better outcomes for anybody other than private equity firms is also laughable. -k