Random News: random

[Ernie]

Yeah it just seems like a well researched opinion piece is the exception rather than the norm these days. Maybe I'm just cynical but I have a hard time getting worked up about almost anything I read now.

[Germz]

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/elizabeth-the-second-man-finds-woman-with-ex-girlfriends-name-for-round-the-world-trip/article22114093/

Elizabeth the second: Man finds woman with ex-girlfriend’s name for round-the-world trip

A Toronto man who made headlines last month by offering a free round-the-world air ticket to a woman with the same name as his ex-girlfriend has found Ms. Right.

Jordan Axani, 28, and his then girlfriend, named Elizabeth Gallagher, booked heavily discounted round-the-world air tickets in May, but their relationship ended and he didn’t want her ticket to go to waste. The ticket had a strict no-transfer policy, but since passport information was not required when booking, it can be used by any Canadian named Elizabeth Gallagher.

Axani posted his offer last month on Reddit, and received thousands of emails, including 18 from actual Elizabeth Gallaghers with Canadian passports.

He’s now chosen his travel mate, Elizabeth Quinn Gallagher, a 23-year-old student and part-time office administrator from Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia.

“It’s strictly a platonic trip. It’s going to be great,” Axani said.

At first the new Elizabeth Gallagher thought a trip with a stranger whose ex-girlfriend’s name is the same as hers was “crazy” but she hit it off with Axani after talking on the phone with him for hours.

“It definitely did seem a little bit creepy at the beginning but now that I talked to him it’s less creepy and more awesome,” she said.

She already has a boyfriend though.

“This is totally sort of like as friends,” she said. “I have a pretty serious boyfriend. We’ve been together for a while. We’re planning on buying a house and we have a puppy, so yeah I’m not really looking for anything at all.”

She acknowledged her boyfriend isn’t thrilled.

“He understands that I’ve always wanted to travel so while he’s not happy I’m taking off for nearly a month at Christmas with a random guy he’s smiling through it,” she said.

Axani, who works for an international real-estate development and advisory firm, said the tickets were purchased for a couple of thousand dollars, but their cash value today is around $5,000 to $7,000.

The trip is scheduled to start Dec. 21 in New York City and continue on to Milan, Prague, Paris, Bangkok and New Delhi before ending in Toronto on Jan. 12. Axani said that after the breakup he deferred all other planning for the trip, such as making hotel reservations.

But since the story became public, Marriott International offered to put him and the new Elizabeth Gallagher up, in separate rooms, during their trip.

Axani said the trip will be documented and shared online. He said that he was so moved by some of the e-mails – including one from an eight-year-old boy who said he was going blind and wanted to see the world before that happens – that he and his brother created an organization called A Ticket Forward to help people who desire to see the world but lack the finances to do so.

[clawfirst]

I'd break up with her as I dropped her off at the airport. "have a nice trip, I'm fucking your best friend"

[Captain Roy Bringus]

[Dog]

Jaws are dropping as they look at the hacked payslips of Sony execs.

[shredz]

Teen Jamal Rutledge saves cop Franklin Foulks who arrested him in Fort Lauderdale

[YOUTUBE]FwpLXMQQpxE[/YOUTUBE]






I think media is stretching it for a good story. He didn't look that concerned.

[Germz]

http://www.freep.com/story/opinion/contributors/2015/01/09/rape-kits-untested-detroit/21470319/

For more than 10,000 rape victims in Detroit, justice may depend on the generosity of strangers.

At least that's the goal of an unconventional crime-solving initiative that's under way in Detroit, where authorities are counting on private individuals and businesses to donate to what they believe is a first-of-its kind charity in the country: solving rape cases.

The Wayne County Prosecutor's Office, which discovered 11,000 untested rape kits in a Detroit police storage unit five years ago, announced today that it has teamed up with two nonprofits to raise $10 million to pay for the investigation and prosecution of those unsolved rape cases.

Since discovering the old rape kits in 2009, local prosecutors have tested 2,000 of them and found a DNA match in 670 of those cases. From those kits, 188 serial rapists have been identified, including 15 who have been convicted. Among them is Shelly Andre Brooks, who is serving a life sentence for raping and murdering seven women — crimes that likely would have been prevented had the original rape kit from a previous assault been tested.

The seven women were killed after Brooks had already sexually assaulted another woman, but her rape kit went untested.

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy, a sexual assault victim herself, has vowed to end such injustices. Her office has secured enough money to test all of Detroit's remaining kits with the help of the Michigan Women's Foundation, a 29-year-old nonprofit that is spearheading the fund-raising effort.

http://www.freep.com/story/opinion/contributors/2015/01/09/rape-kits-untested-detroit/21470319/

Detroit is not alone. More than 400,000 untested rape kits have been identified in cities across the nation. It is expected that more jurisdictions will report untested kits in the future.

Disturbing to think of all the women who went through the traumatizing experience of coming forward only to have the evidence locked away, untested, in a storage unit, giving serial rapists a free pass. But late progress is better than never I guess?

[RTWAP]

http://www.freep.com/story/opinion/contributors/2015/01/09/rape-kits-untested-detroit/21470319/



http://www.freep.com/story/opinion/contributors/2015/01/09/rape-kits-untested-detroit/21470319/



Disturbing to think of all the women who went through the traumatizing experience of coming forward only to have the evidence locked away, untested, in a storage unit, giving serial rapists a free pass. But late progress is better than never I guess?

To me that's a worse indictment of police than the Ferguson thing. One is one cop that may have done something very wrong in the heat of the moment. The other is "serve and protect" discarded like worthless garbage, consistently and over a long period of time.

Shit. Heads should roll.

[mayoradamwest]

To me that's a worse indictment of police than the Ferguson thing. One is one cop that may have done something very wrong in the heat of the moment. The other is "serve and protect" discarded like worthless garbage, consistently and over a long period of time.

Shit. Heads should roll.

It's Detroit. You'd think it wouldn't matter that much, but it does. The person or people responsible are probably long gone, but either way it isn't surprising.

Read Charlie LeDuff's Detroit an autobiography, it'll put things like this in their proper context. It also happens to be a great book.

[Germz]

Indeed Detroit has special problems, but the article does say that more than 400,000 untested rape kits have been identified in cities across the USA.

I wonder what the regional / city breakdown is, and how that figure compares to Canada, UK, etc.

[Captain Roy Bringus]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2015/01/17/over-80-percent-of-americans-support-mandatory-labels-on-foods-containing-dna/

Over 80 percent of Americans support “mandatory labels on foods containing DNA”

[Dog]

I'll be damned if I eat something containing DNA.

[Germz]

I ingest far too much bull semen to ever consider a DNA-free diet.

[senate]

The South Korean Constitutional Court overturned a 1953 law banning adultery. As a result, a latex company's stock went up 15% and the stock of Hyundai's pharmaceutical division, which makes birth control and morning after pills, went up nearly 10%.

[Thomas Malthus]

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015 ... 0002&abg=0

[Craig]

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/07/03/upshot/a-quick-puzzle-to-test-your-problem-solving.html?_r=0&abt=0002&abg=0

[Boring Choice #2]

i just assumed that if you didn't hit "don't waste my time, just show me the answer and get to your fucking point" that you were doing it wrong.

either that or not bothering with the article at all.

[TGR]

http://globalnews.ca/news/2090085/new-s ... lcoholism/

[senate]

Logically, my fluctuating drinking habits can be attributed to my hazel eyes.

[mooseOAK]

I remember reading Josh Hamilton claiming that his blue eyes made it more difficult to see in the sunshine and he is a major alcoholic. The kind that requires a bodyguard to keep him away from the stuff.

[MP]

Or maybe blue eyed people live in areas of less sunlight, more winter leading to more time drinking.

[TGR]

Or maybe blue eyed people live in areas of less sunlight, more winter leading to more time drinking.

Like Western Europe. (Ireland, Scotland, England).

[Bernie Bernbaum]

http://globalnews.ca/news/2090085/new-study-points-to-link-between-blue-eyes-alcoholism/

As soon as I hit six days in a row, I take a couple off, so clearly I've got this shit under control.

[vf]

I remember reading Josh Hamilton claiming that his blue eyes made it more difficult to see in the sunshine and he is a major alcoholic. The kind that requires a bodyguard to keep him away from the stuff.

I think Josh has it backwards, lighter coloured eyes have better day vision; darker coloured eyes have better low light vision. Could have been the drugs talking for him though

[vf]

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/07/03/upshot/a-quick-puzzle-to-test-your-problem-solving.html?_r=0&abt=0002&abg=0

I took 5 guesses and two no's before deciding. I must be good at problem solving.

[senate]

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/spy-agency-whistle-blower-posted-top-secret-report-4chan-users-called-it-fake-gay-1514330

[TGR]

Kristy Cameron ‏@CFRAKristy 27m27 minutes ago
Case of two boys selling worms from their front lawn has prompted the City of Cornwall to review its zoning bylaw. #OttNews

FFS

[Shawnathan Horcoff]

Lord, please...just take me away.

[Boring Choice #2]

Kristy Cameron ‏@CFRAKristy 27m27 minutes ago
Case of two boys selling worms from their front lawn has prompted the City of Cornwall to review its zoning bylaw. #OttNews

FFS

I heard about that on CBC radio. City Council is against it, but some overzealous by-law officer and a nosy NIMBY neighbour are responsible for it.

[Thomas Malthus]

That damn underground economy, fellas.

[FH2002]

We need tougher minimum sentences for young offenders.

[Thomas Malthus]

We need tougher minimum sentences for young offenders.

[AD]

Damn Craig and his rep-hating ilk.

[Thomas Malthus]

Damn Craig and his rep-hating ilk.

Grég,

got ilk?

[Boring Choice #2]

Damn Craig and his rep-hating ilk.

Grég,

got ilk?

he did used to have random animal avatars saying "moo".

[Craig]

Don't I still?

[IcE ColD]

Nope. Some kind of capuchin monkey.

[Boring Choice #2]

no, it's just blank. no moo at all.

[Boring Choice #2]

to be fair, it'd look stupid now with the username below the avatar and before the description thingy.

[Boring Choice #2]

it's interesting though that some people have it say "Registered Broad" while others have nothing.

[VLoo]

That's not interesting at all, D.

[Boring Choice #2]

[Maw]

So... Where's the database of Ashley Madison users?

[senate]

So... Where's the database of Ashley Madison users?

http://tinyurl.com/px8y79v