Links - 2nd April 2019 (2)

I'm An Asian Woman Engaged To A White Man And, Honestly, I'm Struggling With That - "“Oh, God, another Asian girl/white boy couple,” I groan, dropping my fiancé’s hand.He hates it when I do this. So do I, really. I know it’s unkind and self-loathing, but every time I see another couple of our racial makeup, a little part of me sinks... every time someone non-Asian showed interest, the whispers would start: I heard he had a half-Asian girlfriend in high school. He took a Japanese class last semester. Huge fan of sushi. Like, big time."

Dems Melt Down Over The Onion Headline About Stacey Abrams - "Dems Melt Down Over Onion Article…Mocking Them for Being Too Sensitive... The satirical newspaper’s satirical story ― headlined “Guilt-Ridden Stacey Abrams Wondering When She Should Tell Democrats That She Lost Her Election” ― mocked Democrats for being in a fragile state of denial about Abrams’ failed bid to become the first black female governor in Georgia, and the nation... Despite Abrams’ loss and her ungracious and unfounded reaction thereto, Democrats have since sought to elevate her to nearly Martin Luther King-like status. So much so, that Abrams was chosen to give the party’s response to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday. She was subsequently hailed in near-hagiographic terms for the speech, during which she predictably harped on election reform and Trump’s terribleness... A number of Twitter users called out liberals for their hypocritical handling of Abrams; defeat, recalling the left’s hysteria about Trump allegedly undermining faith in elections with his “rigged” rhetoric on the 2016 campaign trail."

Experts finally tracked down the digital wallets of the crypto CEO who died with sole access to millions. They say the money's gone - "Gerald Cotten, the founder of QuadrigaCX, was thought to have had sole access to the funds and coins exchanged on it. After his death in December, his colleagues said that about $137 million in cryptocurrency belonging to about 115,000 customers was held offline in "cold storage" and inaccessible.The case has sparked numerous theories, including that Cotten faked his own death and ran off with the cash. A court-appointed auditor, Ernst & Young, has secured Cotten's laptop, home computer, USB keys and home computer. Using public blockchain records, it determined the digital wallets thought to contain millions were emptied in April, eight months before Cotten's death... The investigators said they found other issues too, such as that Quadriga kept "limited books and records" and never reported its financials. Ernst & Young also reported that 14 user accounts were internally created under various aliases, traded on Quadriga's exchange, and withdrew cryptocurrency to addresses not tied to Quadriga."

Teen Vogue: We Need to Talk About Hollywood's Obsession With White Male Serial Killers
Well Maybe if Women and Minorities Would Pull Their Weight and Commit More Murder Sprees Instead of Leaving It to White Men to Take Care of Lol

Study: Living abroad leads to a clearer sense of self - "living abroad increases "self-concept clarity," the extent to which individuals' beliefs about themselves are clearly and confidently defined and consistent and stable over time... Extended periods of time spent in a foreign country can yield numerous benefits that come with a clear sense of self, ranging from greater life satisfaction to decreased stress, improved job performance"

Boy Scouts On Verge Of Bankruptcy - "The Boy Scouts of America is considering declaring bankruptcy, according to a Wall Street Journal report. The Wednesday report comes in the wake of sinking membership and multiple controversies surrounding the 108-year-old organization, including sex abuse allegations and its controversial decision to change its program name from Boy Scouts to Scouts BSA and allow girls into that program... As the organization has made decisions deemed to be more inclusive, such as allowing openly gay scouts in 2013 and scoutmasters in 2015 as well as the 2018 decision to allow girls, membership has continued to decline sharply, from over 4 million members at its peak to a claimed 2.3 million members at present."
Get woke, go broke

Girl Scouts Sue Boy Scouts for Trademark Infringement - "The Girl Scouts of the USA has sued the Boy Scouts of America for trademark infringement. The dispute, filed Nov. 6 in federal court in New York, centers on the use of the word “scout” without a gender modifier.The suit argues that despite the long co-existence of the two organizations using the same term for its members and group, the Boy Scouts don’t have the right to use that word by itself when marketing itself to girls.The suit alleges that confusion among names will “marginalize the Girl Scouts Movement by causing the public to believe that GSUSA’s extraordinarily successful services are not true or official ‘Scouting’ programs, but niche services with limited utility and appeal.”"

All-girl Boy Scouts troop launches in Wayne County - "Anything boys can do, girls can do, too, and that includes being part of the Boy Scouts of America.A small but enthusiastic group of young ladies met at Zion Lutheran Church in Wooster last week to become part of the new Troop 64 — an all-girl troop which will offer the new recruits some privileges they think they’ve been missing, such as whittling and camping."
Instead of joining the Girl Scouts, they had to force their way into the Boy Scouts and create an all girl group.

Mike Rowe - Posts - "If the Boy Scouts want to attract a new generation of members, they'll need to stand for something more than inclusion. Because being inclusive doesn't make you relevant. If I were calling the shots, I'd take a stand against the safe space movement and everything it embodies. And I'd do it in the most public way possible. But of course, that might also require a level of risk completely inconsistent with current orthodoxy.As we all know, in 1974, a chipped tooth or a black eye didn’t lead to lawsuit, and today, I’m pretty sure a boxing ring and a trip to the shooting range would make a lot of parents...uncomfortable. But that’s exactly the point. In a world that values safety above everything else, discomfort is never welcome. Neither is risk. And yet, discomfort and risk are precisely why my time in Scouting was so valuable, and why Troop 16 was the polar opposite of a safe space... Someone has to challenge the insipid belief that safety is the most important part of living. Someone has to challenge the idea that feelings trump achievement. Someone has to challenge the idea that “crying closets” on campuses designed to console stressed out students who just can't handle their finals exams, (or the outcome of a presidential election,) will produce a responsible, productive adult.It’s not enough to simply ignore bad ideas. The safe space movement needs to be confronted, and I’d love nothing more than to see Scouts of both genders lead the charge."

Driving me crazy: A day in the life of a driver - "Some drivers leave bottled water in the back seat for their passengers, while others leave candy for a sweeter ride.In the same vein, Grab driver Westin Chong, 39, used to leave his powerbank in the cupholder of his car for passengers to charge their devices. Most were grateful for the extra juice. Some would even commend him for his consideration.But one particular middle-aged rider seemed to take offence at Mr Chong’s charity.“Don’t you know someone could steal this?” the passenger had asked, brandishing the powerbank.As it turns out, the passenger used to be a private-hire driver himself, who also used to offer passengers a cable to charge their devices – until it was stolen.Mr Chong told his passenger that it was a risk he was willing to take, as long as it made his passengers happy.“How much do you earn from driving?” the passenger demanded.When Mr Chong explained that he was also a part-time tuition teacher, the passenger berated him – in a mix of Hokkien and English – for stealing jobs from people who “rightfully deserve” them by holding two jobs at the same time.“It’s your fault that society is turning out like this,” he spat, jabbing Mr Chong with an admonishing finger.His heart pounding, Mr Chong quickly drove the aggravated passenger to his destination. But that was not enough for the passenger. “I’m taking this powerbank,” he shouted, and took off with it."

The Screen - Posts - "She agreed to let a man inside her body without a condom
She chose not to use Birth Control
She Chose to let him inside her body while she ovulated
She Chose to allow the Fetus to grow into a baby
She Chose to carry the baby to full term
She Chose to birth the baby
She chose to keep the baby after birthing the baby
HE NEEDS TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR HIS ACTIONS"
""But gynoid hypoagency states she cannot be held to account for her actions.
#PussyPass in action."

Katrina vandenHeuvel on Twitter - "Russia's propaganda machine discovers 2020 Dem contender Tulsi Gabbard"
"What you think of Tulsi Gabbard isn’t the point. What matters is we’re witnessing influential media outlet equating dissenting foreign policy thinking with the Kremlin, essentially stigmatizing anyone who thinks differently"

Money only makes you happy if it makes you richer than your neighbors - "A study by researchers at the University of Warwick and Cardiff University has found that money only makes people happier if it improves their social rank. The researchers found that simply being highly paid wasn't enough -- to be happy, people must perceive themselves as being more highly paid than their friends and work colleagues. The researchers were seeking to explain why people in rich nations have not become any happier on average over the last 40 years even though economic growth has led to substantial increases in average incomes. Lead researcher on the paper Chris Boyce from the University of Warwick's Department of Psychology said: "Our study found that the ranked position of an individual's income best predicted general life satisfaction, while the actual amount of income and the average income of others appear to have no significant effect. Earning a million pounds a year appears to be not enough to make you happy if you know your friends all earn 2 million a year.""

Bragging sex offender jailed for sexual activity with girl, 12, he called 'filth' - "A boastful sex offender who masturbated in front of a 12-year-old girl and filmed her as she wore a body stocking has been jailed today.Carl Hodgson, 28, spent the night with the victim, whom he thought was 19, after they met on a dating app, but the pair did not have sex... "I take into account that while (the victim) was 12 years of age at the time of these offences you did not believe that to be the case. You thought, and on reasonable grounds, that she was over 16." Manchester Crown Court heard the victim used a different name on her dating app profile and falsely stated she was 19."
At least in the UK, unlike Singapore, there is a 4 year buffer for mistake of age. So just one day won't kill you

Yanis Varoufakis on Twitter - Donald Tusk: "I've been wondering what that special place in hell looks like, for those who promoted #Brexit, without even a sketch of a plan how to carry it out safely."
"Probably very similar to the place reserved for those who designed a monetary union without a proper banking union and, once the banking crisis hit, transferred cynically the bankers' gigantic losses onto the shoulders of the weakest taxpayers

Escape The Echo Chamber - Posts - "The shadenfreude is strong for Virginia Republicans as they watch what is happening with the state’s leadership. The governor wore blackface to a party in 1984. No hint of scandal the next 35 years. A lot of people want him to quit his job as penance. Mark Herring, the Virginia State Attorney and third in line for Governor, said it was “no longer possible” for the governor to remain in office because of the blackface. Four days later Herring came forward to say he wore blackface to a party in 1980. He hasn’t resigned.
Then there is Justin Fairfax, the Virginia Lt. Governor. He now faces to two accusation of rape, one in 2000 and another in 2004. Virginia politicians are near unanimous in calling for him to resign.
Herring and Northam broke a social taboo back in the ‘80s. Nothing in their 35 years since indicates they are racists. Sacrificing them to the outrage mob makes no sense.
Fairfax is being accused of two violent crimes 15 and 19 years ago. This is far more serious and more recent. The media has known about the first charge for more than a year and did not report on it due to a lack of corroborating evidence. Lawyers say there is contemporaneous statements for the second charge but that information has not yet been made public."

A randomized, blinded, placebo-controlled trial comparing antibody responses to homeopathic and conventional vaccines in university students. - "Homeopathic vaccines do not evoke antibody responses and produce a response that is similar to placebo. In contrast, conventional vaccines provide a robust antibody response in the majority of those vaccinated."