flowersoldier

Similar to the concept of Lawfare. When a government can impose their laws or economic leverage on a foreign country thereby occupying them without troops or a military presence.

I work at a healthcare facility, and the "emotional support" animals are a huge problem. We only allow Service Animals in our building. I frequently ask patients to keep their birds and even reptiles in the car. The ADA is very specific in that they only recognize dogs and miniature horses as Service Animals. It is worth noting that "emotional support" animals do not enjoy the same protections that the ADA provides. It doesn't stop patients from claiming that their emotional support animal is an actual Service Animal, but requiring proof is a slippery slope toward a discrimination lawsuit.

Indeed. I work at a local clinic and see the fallout of the opioid crisis on a daily basis. I'm always surprised how the Opium Wars seldom comes up in these discussions.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Opium_War

Opioids are quite effective at coaxing a population into complacency. Unless the government intervenes, I don't see the problem slowing down anytime soon. As someone else pointed out, the lobbyists are very influential...

I've noticed a decline in Monarchs here in Northern California as well. The very few I do see are colored differently than when I was a kid. They used to be a deep orange hue, but now they are all a pasty yellow color. At first I thought it was a different species. I've mentioned it to other people, but they don't really care. They're more interested in upgrading their cell phone or checking their instabook.

I have the same experience. I've never met anyone else with my name - Nehemiah.

If I order food, I use the name Tom. No one wants to spell my name out, including me. Also the consonants are easily confused, so if I do spell it out people are like, N-E-A-T...Tom is easier for everyone involved.

It does create a talking point when I mention to people that Tom is not my real name.

I do agree with the article. Having a unique name does seem to imply to other people that I am a little different.

You're right, it was 2003. I was only 21 when I moved there and it was all a bit of a blur.

Hmmmm...I'm trying to verify the outage in LA. The tweet about the power outage at LAX is from today, but the other tweet in the example is from 2/22/17. No articles about a power outage in LA are popping up on google. Something about this article feels a bit click-baity.

Let's not forget Cybersquirrel1. #cyberwar4ever

http://cybersquirrel1.com/

I lived in NYC during the 2001 blackout. It was the first power outage since 1977. The lights don't go out in NYC...it's a really big deal when they do.

Santa Rosan checking in. Can confirm, we have a lot of really great breweries here. I'm surprised there was no mention of Pliney the Younger by Russian River Brewery in the article. This town fills up with people from around the world when that beer comes out. I've never actually tried it because I have better things to do than wait in line for 3 hours for a beer. Especially when there are so many top shelf selections to choose from.

Whisky is for Drinking. Water is for Fighting. -Mark Twain

I heard they were bred to be alarm dogs. Nothing was getting close to your camp if you had a chihuahua. That's why they never shut up, and they are so difficult to ignore. My friend from Mexico told me that - he's not a dog authority by any means, but it sounded legit to me.

I agree with you, women's fashion choices are not something I think I'm an authority on. But, I research music equipment thoroughly before I make a purchase. There are a couple sites I use that I've white listed in AdBlocker and they serve me ads for music gear incessantly. Ironically, it's for a lot of the same equipment I've already purchased.

"I'd argue there is at least some value in taking enjoyment from improving yourself at any task" I agree but I think the task has to be meaningful in some way. I used to play modern warfare 2 from dawn til bedtime because I wanted the 2500 headshot with the F.A.L. achievement badge. I was getting like 70 headshots/day and feeling really good about it. Then one day I realized they'll eventually take down the servers and no one will ever know how awesome I was... So I do agree it feels good to improve at something, but it's best when we improve our skill set. Like becoming a better cook, or a musician practicing their instrument. Getting headshots with the F.A.L. was fun and all, but ultimately meaningless. I think gambling falls into this category. Gambling can be fun for most people, but for some people it stops being a game and becomes something serious.

Personally, I don't gamble - I'm afraid I'd win. I have a super addictive personality and I think hitting the Jackpot on a slot machine would be the most dangerous thing ever to a guy like me.

A lot of people I know feel that way too. We're all somebody's son or daughter. We may have sons or daughters of our own. I don't have kids, but I want to see a better world for my niece and nephews.It's really about the kids.

Things have been working Great for a lot of people in this country, but not for the average working person working 40 hours/week for $16k dollars/year.

It used to be we could expect our kids to have more opportunities than their parents, but that's no longer the case.

That's what we have to fix.

I read a post where someone actually set up a honey pot without actually hosting CP. There was an application system where the pedos thought they were going to get cp via an application process or were a big enough part of the "community." I feel like the FBI could have implemented something similar without actually hosting the images. I feel like there is no excuse for distributing cp, even if it is to catch pedos. You shouldn't become a pedo to catch pedos.

I'm in agreement vtange. This paragraph stuck out the most to me: "In the meantime, do everything you can to help, support, and stand up for the millions of people whose country just let them down, many of whom live in homes and communities that have just become unwelcoming or unsafe."

We live in a democracy - what about the millions of other people who feel like Trump will vocalize what they've been feeling for a long time? I'm not saying any one is right or wrong, but this article does seem to imply that there are millions of people who were just made victims by the outcome of the election. It does nothing to start a meaningful dialogue. I think it's important that we Help, Support, and Stand Up...but not because the country let anyone down. We should do that for everyone, everyday because they are Human Beings and they deserve it. Categorizing people into groups is exactly what landed this country in this polarizing situation. We need to start treating all people decently, not just the ones we're in agreement with. Kindness is the International Currency.

I'm a big fan of Arturia and picked up a Key Lab 49 SE with their Prophet V & Solina plug ins. Truly beautiful synths...but the build quality of their key beds is horrible. I lurk their forums a lot and I feel really lucky I received a reliable unit. It seems like a lot of their customers are less than pleased with their purchase. I'm a happy customer though! Their synths deserve all the praise they receive.

I've worked as a Greeter in a Health Clinic for 6 years and I get paid to be "nice." Here's what's interesting: Not everyone likes when I'm nice to them - in fact, some of them get downright offended. I don't let it bother me but their reaction seems based on fear.

It's interesting because smiling is free - it literally costs nothing. However, a smile does have value, and is an emotional transaction with another person. A simple smile can sometimes have more impact than we can understand.

Having said that, a smile is also something we should never expect or demand from someone else. That's what makes them so special when they are freely given.

Kindness is the International Currency.

I'm not so sure we live in a Democracy anymore. Peggy Noonan wrote an article suggesting we live in a 2 tiered society - we have people who make the Policies and the people who have to live with the Policies (the Policed). The Policy Makers set policies to protect their own interests, which don't necessarily align with the general population. We're at a point now where the population is taken out of the decision making process. IMO I don't think we can call the US a democracy anymore.

I agree. I use my iMac to run my music studio and none of these features appeal to me in the least. I suppose users who own an iphone or iwatch may be excited about this update, but I don't own either of those devices. Most of these features seem cosmetic or serve to lock current users into the apple ecosystem.Personally, I'm not updating.

I read a great article describing how Walmart does this. Companies who pay a living wage, like Costco, essentially subsidize Walmart by allowing them to pay low wages. Government Safety Nets like food stamps, medi-cal, etc., make up for the low wages. Thing is, these are paid for by tax dollars from employees at Costco who actually pay into the state treasury. Many Walmart employees are actually a drain on tax dollars. I'm at work and shouldn't be commenting on HN so here's the link to "Confronting the Parasite Economy. Actually read it here on HN, but it seems pertinent to the discussion. http://prospect.org/article/confronting-parasite-economy