kimmy

I don't want to see Harper step down after the election. I hate the idea that the Conservatives win, Harper quits, and our next PM is decided by the usually-ridiculous party leadership convention process instead of a general election. (and look how well that worked out for the Alberta Tories.) Who, aside from Harper, do you see in the Conservative Party that you'd like to take over? -k

I am sure there are already laws on the books against dosing people with drugs without their knowledge. Fairly sure that if some guy gets himself a female accomplice to obtain the RU-486 for him, then succeeds in administering it, he and his accomplice have both committed several criminal acts. -k

Not here on the forum maybe, but Saskatchewan Conservative MP David Anderson has stepped up to the plate: And of course the pro-lifers are angry, calling it "a human pesticide." -k

I reluctantly agree with all of that, Argus. I'm certainly not very excited about the Conservatives any more, and am fairly grossed out by some of the stuff they've done... C-51 and the UCCB being the most recent examples... ...but overall, I'm still concerned about what the alternative is. It's a fairly depressing situation, actually. -k

I can't imagine that a real "socialist" would say that about Rage Against The Machine. -k

No single drop of rain thinks it caused the flood. An Asian tycoon just wants one rhino horn so that his witch-doctor can make a magic potion to enlarge his dong. A rich American guy just wants one lion fur rug in his man-cave. But there's lots more Asian tycoons and rich American guys lots of others just like them and they just to kill one animal each, too. Like I posted earlier, white rhinos are on the brink of extinction. The population of lions in the wild has decreased by over 90% in the last 30 years. Those poachers who make their livelihood at this would be out of business without Dr Walt and guys like him. They're only participating in this because they have paying customers. They're not out there risking prison-time and potentially death for the fun of it. It is very risky work, and they are doing it because they can make a lot of money doing it. So yes, punish the poachers (and they're already arrested and charged) but you have to attack the profit motive that has them doing this in the first place. If more guys like Dr Walt were exposed, less guys like Dr Walt would be doing this. Another interesting attack on the profit motive I heard of recently: I heard of a plan involving advanced 3d printing technology to create fake rhino horns. If a bunch of fake poachers start showing up with fake rhino horns to sell, it could make life difficult for real poachers. -k

Why did it take so long for that to happen?? I'd like to know the history behind that. You'd think that most people would feel that way, but some people believe it should be protected from the moment of conception. She didn't "distance herself and the gov't" from the decision, she pointed out that the decision was made by Health Canada, not by politicians. -k

I keep picturing you getting your ass kicked by angry black guys after you've explained to them that they're being irrational for being offended that you called them "you people." -k

Merely stupid? The whole problem is people being merely stupid. Whether it be poaching for a lion fur rug, or for tusks, or for rhino horns for idiotic Asian medical superstitions, stupid is the root of the problem. This guy is, by definition, a poacher. He's just one of many, but he's part of the problem. And unlike all the other poachers in the world, we've got his name and face to put to the problem. Sucks to be him, but I don't really care. Like they say "couldn't happen to a nicer guy." Hopefully the giant Acme anvil of karma that has landed on Dr Walt will help promote more interest in the plight of endangered animals. -k

Is it Fred Durst?? -k

Another reason it sucked is that it was a crass commercialistic attempt to cash in on something that was never as great as baby-boomer nostalgia would have you believe. Number of people who were actually at Woodstock: roughly 400,000. Number of people who claim they were at Woodstock: roughly 40,000,000. -k

There were a couple of Limp Bizkit songs I liked once, but I can't even remember what they were anymore. Rage Against The Machine is still cool, Korn and Creed were never my thing, but Limp really went limp fast. On the list of things that seemed cool at the time but now make me scratch my head, Limp is right at the top. Ok, after review I think the songs were Take A Look Around (which has the cool Mission Impossible guitar riffs), and Break Stuff (because that's where my headspace was at at the time.) -k

...and apparently that doesn't include Dr Walt... With a hunting rifle, the surgical path is of secondary importance. What does most of the damage is usually the massive hydrostatic shock that a hunting bullet brings with it. A bullet (or an arrow) doesn't usually hit an artery or vital organ that incapacitates the animal. But with a hunting rifle, what you get is a shock wave that is transmitted through the blood and fluid in the target, crushing cells in a radius around the wound and often causing unconsciousness or death when the huge spike in blood pressure hits the brain. That's what usually makes the animal fall right in its tracks, not the damage in the cutting channel. I was buying ammo one day and overheard a hunter talking to the shop owner about the problem of trying to hunt deer with his Remington Ultra Mag. He was hoping the store had some lower-power ammo for the gun, because when he shot deer with his Ultra Mag, it left most of the meat in the animal bruised and ruined. That's hydrostatic shock. I was reading about this on Wiki a while back when I was interested in those Swedish 9.3x62 rifles they sell at Tradex. Makes it sound like it's a legal requirement, as opposed to a guideline or rule of thumb. -k

There's a greater variety of music available commercially than ever before, but it's also harder to find. Commercial radio only plays a portion of what's out there, so you won't find the rest unless you actively go looking for it. And Argus is one of those who feels that television reached its apex with Archie Bunker; he's not likely to be out searching the interwebz for new music either. -k

I think "Dream On" is one of the great rock vocal performances ever. And the bass groove and guitar riff from "Sweet Emotion" are among my favorites. But if I never hear "Love In An Elevator" or any of their other more recent crap again, it'll be too soon. "Living it up while I'm going down". pffff. -k

I think a significant portion of the anger being directed toward this dentist is as a proxy for all of the other poachers who are bringing species closer to extinction. Like, usually we don't get to put a face to the crime. We know that white rhinos have been brought to the brink of extinction because some dumb-ass Asians think powdered rhino horn will give them larger dongs and will pay outrageous sums of money for rhino horns. But we don't ever get to see the morons who are buying rhino horns, or the poachers who are feeding this demand. But now we've got a real live poacher, and he's a stand-in for all the other douchebags out there who we never get to rage at. -k

One thing I find odd is that I thought you were required to have a certain grade of weaponry before you go hunting (ie, in Canada you're not allowed to hunt deer with a .22). And I thought that in most parts of Africa, a .375 H&H rifle was considered the minimum amount of firepower to go hunting for big game. It seems odd that a bow would be legal for hunting lions, for reasons demonstrated by this story. Unless you're Katniss Everdeen or Hawkeye, maybe you should get a proper weapon for hunting. -k

They do allow big game hunting. They have a system involving quotas and permits, and they select specific older animals that are no longer necessary to their herd's reproductive survival, and the money raised is used to maintain the wildlands the animals need. But along comes Bungalow Bill here and says "screw your quotas and permits! I need my lion-fur rug RIGHT NOW!" and instead of buying a proper permit from the proper authorities he gives his money to a couple of shady poachers, and instead of maintaining the wildlands, the money will probably be used on hookers and blow. Big Bwana Walt Palmer is just another rich-guy who thinks he's too important to wait in line. Nothing new. -k

THC can stay in your system for hours or days after you've smoked, so its presence isn't proof that she was impaired at the time of the arrest. (My hunch is that she wasn't high at the time because she's too agitated and talks too much and too fast. That doesn't mesh with my .. uh, experience. But that's just a completely unscientific opinion.) But, either way it really doesn't matter. I don't think anybody here is arguing about whether Officer Encinia had cause to conduct a traffic stop. To me, it seemed like he pushed the issue with the cigarette because he was mad that she told him she was unhappy about getting pulled over. And to me it seemed like he decided to make her get out of the car because he was mad that she declined his "polite request" to put out the cigarette. He might have had the authority to order her to get out of the vehicle, but if he decided to do that in retaliation for her not putting out the cigarette, he was deliberately being antagonistic. -k

The facts of this case make clear that Dr Walt and his hired hands are poachers. By definition. The only question is whether Dr Walt was aware. He says he wasn't, but considering he already has a poaching conviction on his rap sheet, as well as convictions for lying about it to the US Wildlife Service, as well as for illegal fishing, how credible is he? We already know he's a liar. We also know he's a piece of crap; he had to cough up $125,000 to settle with his employee, who he fired because she threatened to report him for sexual harassment after demeaning her for years. I bet he loves Jell-o~! -k

And Dr Walt is just one more rich douche who has ruined his career by being a piece of crap. I hope he enjoys his new lion fur rug. I sure hope that was worth it, Dr Walt. But from what you said earlier it sounds like it's not hard to find a dentist in Bloomington, so I'm sure he won't be missed too much. -k

If he wasn't aware to start with, you'd think he might have clued in when the guides made him wait until they'd lured the lion out of the national park before he shot him. I'm imagining the conversation went something like this: Dr Walt: "Come on guys! That lion has been following us for miles! When do I get to shoot him??" Guide 1: "No, Meester! You must wait!" Guide 1, whispering to Guide 2: "cripes, Dembe, the whale is getting impatient. What do I tell him?" Guide 2, driving: "I dunno, tell him it's bad luck or something." Guide 1: "Meester! No can allowed shoot lion on sacred lands! Evil spirits will bring curse to family! Must drive farther!" Dr Walt: "We better be off the sacred lands soon. I'm itching to kill something!" Guide 2, whispering to Guide 1: "evil spirits? Nice one. You're laying on the accent a little thick, though." -k

The Ferguson man who was curb-stomped by a group of police while handcuffed on the floor of a cell has won the right to sue, following the successful appeal of a lower court ruling. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/07/29/ferguson-prisoner-beaten-by-cops-has-won-his-appeal.html Henry Davis is the guy who was charged with destroying public property because his blood got all over the cops' uniforms while they were stomping his face in. -k

It's possible that he didn't intend to break the law. Then again, considering his history, it's also possible that he didn't give a crap about the law. -k