Posts by CaptainSchmideo

2

I know Nov. 2 was upsetting, but it ain't worth dying over....

by CaptainSchmideo in

from cnn:.

new york (ap) -- a 25-year-old from georgia who was distraught over president bush's re-election apparently killed himself at ground zero.

andrew veal's body was found saturday morning inside the off-limits area of the former world trade center site, said steve coleman, a spokesman for the port authority of new york and new jersey.

CaptainSchmideo

Just saw the post by Confucious on the same subject on the Politics board. Oh well....

2

I know Nov. 2 was upsetting, but it ain't worth dying over....

by CaptainSchmideo in

from cnn:.

new york (ap) -- a 25-year-old from georgia who was distraught over president bush's re-election apparently killed himself at ground zero.

andrew veal's body was found saturday morning inside the off-limits area of the former world trade center site, said steve coleman, a spokesman for the port authority of new york and new jersey.

CaptainSchmideo

From CNN:

NEW YORK (AP) -- A 25-year-old from Georgia who was distraught over President Bush's re-election apparently killed himself at ground zero.

Andrew Veal's body was found Saturday morning inside the off-limits area of the former World Trade Center site, said Steve Coleman, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

A shotgun was found nearby, but no suicide note was found, Coleman said.

Veal's mother said her son was upset about the result of the presidential election and had driven to New York, Gus Danese, president of the Port Authority Police Benevolent Association, told The New York Times in Sunday's editions.

Friends said Veal worked in a computer lab at the University of Georgia and was planning to marry.

"I'm absolutely sure it's a protest," Mary Anne Mauney, Veal's supervisor at the lab, told The Daily News. "I don't know what made him commit suicide, but where he did it was symbolic."

Police were investigating how Veal entered the former World Trade Center site, which is protected by high fences and owned by the Port Authority.

14

It's Clobberin Time!!!!!!!

by Valis in

new fantastic four movie.... .

http://www.superherohype.com/news/fantasticfournews.php?id=2014.

and a new ghost rider movie..no pics of nicholas cage as the character yet though... http://www.superherohype.com/news/ghostridernews.php?id=2001.

CaptainSchmideo

A squabbling family with super-powers trying to cope with things like a happy marriage, teenage angst, dead end jobs?

I saw that story today!

"The Incredibles" is THE BEST superhero movie I have seen to date, better and faster paced than Spider-Man 2. The ground that it covered is going to make the FF movie seem imitative and irrelevant when it comes out next year. Which is a shame, because I was looking forward to this movie too (I have been collecting it since 1975! and still have my collection!).

But, the whole set-up for the series is pretty corny (hijacking a rocket ship? Cosmic ray bombardment? The arch enemy is a gypsy king genius turned into an armored dictator of an Eastern European nation the size of Luxembourg?). Fan demands aside, the series was at its best when the stories went cosmic, ie: Galactus and the Silver Surfer, The discovery of the Kree on Earth, The Skrulls, Inhumans, Adam Warlock...all of this from the real brains of the series, Jack Kirby. This is what the movie could be, but instead we are going to get phony armor and phonier Rumanian accents, and a sillier story. Too bad...

39

You mean Britain has increasing violent crime? I'm Shocked, Shocked!!

by CaptainSchmideo in

[ previous week | recent columns index | following week ]have great britain's restrictive gun laws contributed to the rise in violent crime?.

dear cecil:.

CaptainSchmideo

A case can be made that folks in the UK are too nice for their own good. In reading parliamentary transcripts and such you're struck by how exasperatingly fair-minded and decent everyone is--not just the lefties, either. One detects little appetite for the draconian measures that some believe have reduced crime in the U.S., notably the harsh sentencing laws that have given us one of the highest imprisonment rates in the world. If present trends continue, though, no doubt the Brits will learn to be assholes just like us.

And here is the paragraph that got Simon worked up: It says that folks in the UK are "nice", "fair-minded and decent", and then says that Americans are assholes. Damning with faint praise, indeed!

39

You mean Britain has increasing violent crime? I'm Shocked, Shocked!!

by CaptainSchmideo in

[ previous week | recent columns index | following week ]have great britain's restrictive gun laws contributed to the rise in violent crime?.

dear cecil:.

CaptainSchmideo

Actually, ol' Unca Cecil tends to rise above the whole conservative/liberal struggle. He just dispenses knowledge in an entertaining way. I think you can take the "lefties" comment with a grain of salt. Remember, he closed the article by generalizing Americans as "assholes". Do you think he really meant that all Americans are assholes?

His website is a great read, and very informative. So are his books.

www.straightdope.com

39

You mean Britain has increasing violent crime? I'm Shocked, Shocked!!

by CaptainSchmideo in

[ previous week | recent columns index | following week ]have great britain's restrictive gun laws contributed to the rise in violent crime?.

dear cecil:.

CaptainSchmideo

[ Previous Week | Recent Columns Index | Following Week ]

Have Great Britain's restrictive gun laws contributed to the rise in violent crime?

05-Nov-2004

Dear Cecil:

I read an article claiming that as weapon-control laws in England become ever tighter, the crime rate is increasing--that over the past 80 or so years the British government has enacted policies making it harder for individuals to carry any kind of weapon for self-defense, with the result, it was claimed, that you are now six times more likely to be mugged in London than in New York. In addition, you can receive a stiff sentence for defending yourself even if a burglar has invaded your home. One case cited was that of Tony Martin, who lived alone in a rural area. He had been robbed six times before. Mr. Martin's home was broken into again, and he shot and killed one burglar and wounded the other. He was jailed for harming the burglars and later was denied parole because he posed a danger to burglars. Given that the author was an American, and the article in a somewhat conservative periodical, I wondered how much spin had been put on the facts. Is England indeed becoming a haven for burglars while aged pensioners cower in their cottages? --ZCamelopardalis, via e-mail

Cecil replies:

Complicated topic. We proceed in our usual methodical manner:

(1) No doubt about it, crimewise the UK has pretty much gone to the dogs. Violent crime jumped by two-thirds between 1998 and 2003. Crime is higher in the UK than the U.S. in every category except rape and murder.

(2) Some say Britain's increase in crime is a result of disarming the populace. One advocate of this view is U.S. history professor Joyce Lee Malcolm, author of the article you saw as well as the book Guns and Violence: The English Experience (2002). Malcolm claims the British government has virtually eliminated the right to self-defense.

(3) Whatever Malcolm may think, there's no direct correlation between weapons restrictions and crime. As she points out, the UK began requiring gun permits in 1920 and in 1953 prohibited the carrying of concealed weapons, even things like Mace. While a slow rise in the UK crime rate began in the mid-1950s, the rate didn't increase sharply until the 80s. Handguns were banned altogether in 1997.

(4) The Tony Martin case, a cause celebre in Britain, may not be as clear-cut as some claim, but it's still pretty outrageous. The eccentric Martin lived in a dilapidated Norfolk farmhouse with only three rottweilers for company. One night in 1999 the place was broken into by Brendan Fearon, 29, and Fred Barras, 16, both of whom had long criminal records. Martin claims he heard a noise, grabbed a shotgun, headed downstairs, had a flashlight shone in his face, and began shooting. The following afternoon Barras was found dead in the garden; the wounded Fearon was arrested nearby. Martin was convicted of murder and given a mandatory life sentence, but an appeals court reduced the charge to manslaughter on grounds of mental illness. Martin was denied parole, in part because probation officers feared he would shoot additional burglars; he's out now. Fearon, who did time for burglary, was granted legal-aid funding to sue Martin, although the suit failed. OK, the burglars weren't armed, Martin had previously expressed a hatred of Gypsies (Barras was one), and Barras was shot in the back, but many Americans would say: Come on--it was dark and they were in the guy's house.

(5) Although it's an exaggeration to say there's no right to self-defense in Britain, the law there is more restrictive and, in contrast to typical U.S. practice, cuts you no slack if you're defending your home. UK householders who injure a home invader are often hauled up on charges (although they may be acquitted), whereas in the U.S. more commonly you'll get a pass. Malcolm claims that because UK crooks don't fear disarmed householders, half of burglaries there take place while someone is home, a much larger fraction than in the U.S. Not so--close analysis of the data suggests "hot" burglary rates in the two countries aren't dramatically different.

(6) Rising crime in Britain surely has a lot to do with the lousy economy. From 1974 to 1999 the UK unemployment rate averaged more than 10 percent. It's lower now, but a lot of antisocial behavior became entrenched during that time. Soccer hooliganism is one example; I'd say crime in general is another.

(7) A case can be made that folks in the UK are too nice for their own good. In reading parliamentary transcripts and such you're struck by how exasperatingly fair-minded and decent everyone is--not just the lefties, either. One detects little appetite for the draconian measures that some believe have reduced crime in the U.S., notably the harsh sentencing laws that have given us one of the highest imprisonment rates in the world. If present trends continue, though, no doubt the Brits will learn to be assholes just like us.

--CECIL ADAMS

18

Serena Williams - a good role model

by TheOldHippie in

jw
friends

.

serena's dress at a london show yesterday night.

not quite a kh dress ...............

CaptainSchmideo

I dunno,

The body on her is outstanding, a perfect example of physical excellence.

But her face looks like Mike Tyson....kinda kills it for me.

50

Do you believe in the paranormal?

by BeelzeDub in

jw
friends

.

if you do, and can prove it, you could be a millionare..

CaptainSchmideo

James Randi has been on the forefront of bull$%^ detection for at least 30 yrs.

He is professional magician who was tired of seeing people like Uri Geller make fantastic claims about their abilities, which were simply magician's tricks. He would show up as a surprise guest on talk shows when Geller was on the show, and duplicate his metal bending trick easily, exposing him as a fraud.

His big concern, as was Carl Sagan's and others, is that we as a society should not be retreating backwards into superstitious beliefs,or let ourselves be taken advantage of by hucksters and quacks who sell very expensive "power crystals," "ionized water," "magno bracelets" for health benefits, and things like "healing procedures" that delay people from getting real help for serious diseases, things like "knifeless surgery" for instance.

You wanna believe that you have a poltergeist in you house, fine. You wanna charge $100 for an ounce of magic beans that cure cancer, he his going to call your bluff, and try to do it publicly, so that you can't fleece people that shouldn't be spending money that they don't have.

I admire the guy. Cranky, smart-alecky, and nobody's fool. I wish there was a way he could take on the WTBS.

3

Angels in America

by CaptainSchmideo in

jw
friends

i just started watching this movie/miniseries/epic on dvd last nite.

so, far, very intriguing!.

i find the storyline about the mormon couple particularly riveting.

CaptainSchmideo

I just started watching this movie/miniseries/epic on DVD last nite. So, far, very intriguing!

I find the storyline about the Mormon couple particularly riveting. The husband is struggling with homosexual tendencies versus his religious upbringing and beliefs, while his wife, who has family abuse in her history, is addicted to Valium and slowly going crazy while dealing with her husbands issues.

Al Pacino as Roy Cohn is really complex. His doctor tell him he has AIDS, and his response is "I am not a homosexual. I am a heterosexual male who likes to #%&@ around with guys. A homosexual has no Clout. I have Clout. A homosexual has AIDS. I have Liver Cancer." Meanwhile, he tells a lawyer colleague that "La Cage a Folles" is the best musical on Broadway, ever. Better than "Cats".

All this in the first hour, and a really wierd dream sequence combining Cocteau's "Beauty and the Beast", "Sunset Boulevard","Wizard of Oz", and "Twin Peaks."

I really wonder how this all was done when it was a play...

47

Top five films seen this year...

by Brummie in

jw
friends

1, i robot (though the very last 1 minute scene was stchupid) .

2, eternal sunshine of the spotless mind.

(jim carey, best film he's ever done so far).

CaptainSchmideo

5. SpiderMan 2

4. Shaolin Soccer

3. Manchurian Candidate

2. Fahrenheit 911

1. Lord of the Rings: Return of the King