Gawker

@Liz DeBagara: There's a flaw in that line of thinking. Finding someone who didn't come from an Islamo-fascist background but was willing to immolate/blow themselves up would be *very* difficult. Really, there aren't a lot of blond haired, blue eyed folks from Kansas who'd believe that they'd get 72 virgins for blowing up a plane.

Expensive, Blurry Photo of Flight 253 Terrorist Given Ken Burns Treatment by CNN

maude_flanders
05:20 AM

@Newyorkez: What common sense (I only know a little about the case, and the would-be bomber)? I saw good luck for us (not the crazy fuck fortunately) and quick thinking on the part of the people who noticed him screwing around.....bu the most important variable is that his device didn't explode immediately (not the way he expected it to, anyway.) Common sense?

It is a crime of fate that destruction is cheaply, easily and quickly achieved, that fate seems to favor nutcases like this.

What a relief that this stupid bastard failed, but a bitter one, because there are plenty others out there following him.

Edited by maude_flanders at 12/27/09 5:22 AM

NWA Flight 253: Winners, Losers, Heroes, and The Schadenfreude of Burning Balls

cmd
05:06 AM

@jeffinfo001: I'm having the most delightful time imagining your glee at designating J. N. as "Butch." "'She's' a lesbian dyke bitch! It's not a slur at all. I call all lesbians 'Butch' and question their gender with scare quotes! Not name calling AT ALLLLLLLLLLLL.'" You're a hypocrite and just generally a terrible person. Oh, my bad. That's liberal name calling.

I Hereby Declare The Fashion Bloggers' "Front Row" Status Trend Piece Over

schvitzatura
04:48 AM

@raincoaster: It is the lumpenproletariatpetit-bourgeois fashionista digerati having a go at ossified media haute couture monoliths, and we daren't do a single, solitary thing, O my brothers.

Anna Wintour's greatest fear?

Being deposed by the Carly Shay/Nevel Papperman set...FEEL THE RUE, YA FEEL IT, NAN!?!

(Kelly Cutrone, as Ricky Flame curled up in a fetal position, clown tear, also)

Even Le Cirque has a Twitter, account, Ms. Wintour...time to get Web 2.0 crackalackin'!

John Mayer Earns Blogger Stripes Defending James Cameron from TMZ's Smear Campaign

LeeroySpitzer
04:13 AM

But I still can't look at him the same after hearing what he told the Mamas and Papas to do with their daughters.

John Mayer Earns Blogger Stripes Defending James Cameron from TMZ's Smear Campaign

schvitzatura
03:52 AM

And why is James Cameron flying commercial anyway?

He needs some sort of "frac" (or full) bizjet ownership/NetJets action...I'm talkin' G5, Jimmy. That's how you are going to roll.

No more frequent-flyer bitchmiles for my boieeee!

(and no need to deal with main concourse/taxi stand bullshit at LAX, either)

Have your people look into it, JC...

Edited by schvitzatura at 12/27/09 3:53 AM

John Mayer Earns Blogger Stripes Defending James Cameron from TMZ's Smear Campaign

snugbug
03:45 AM

@Foster Kamer: Also, Mayer is not the worst offender in this category. By far. Also, I'm lit. Also, Happy New Year!

John Mayer Earns Blogger Stripes Defending James Cameron from TMZ's Smear Campaign

snugbug
03:42 AM

@Foster Kamer: Chacun à son goût, as they say in Franconia.

You see, songwriting is such peculiar science. You can be technically proficient at it--obey the laws of harmonic progression, which is why songs or music in general appeal to us, btw--and yet still be a sucky songwriter. In the same way Thomas Kincaid is a realistic portrayer of reality and yet sucks as a painter. I would never claim John Mayer is incapable of constructing a technically "good" song. I'll just say he lacks the taste to compose a GOOD song.

Bushwick 'Artist Community/Trailer Park' Is Brooklyn's New Hipster Hell

schvitzatura
03:26 AM

Would an 81 year-old Andrew Warhola crash at this boho-hizzy?

Doubtful.

#tips

Newyorkez
03:15 AM

This piece although via Drudge, deserves an entry. What's wrong with these wealthy African offshoots? Weren't they supposed to get education in the West in order to learn the trade and bring democracy and prosperity to their countries?

[www.independent.co.uk]

Also worth mentioning:
[gawker.com] #tips

John Mayer Earns Blogger Stripes Defending James Cameron from TMZ's Smear Campaign

BlinkyMcChuck
02:59 AM

Wow. I didn't think I'd ever write this, but Mayer wins.

The Four Bloggers Sarah Palin Bans from Her Events

schvitzatura
02:54 AM

She's ready for her close-up Messrs. Moonves, Iger, Zucker, Klein, Ailes.

What a piece of work...

NWA Flight 253: Winners, Losers, Heroes, and The Schadenfreude of Burning Balls

MyNameIsChris
02:46 AM

@Lysergic Asset: What? You don't comment on cnn.com? I'm always trying to get my witty comments to show up on the ticker running across the bottom of the screen...

Expensive, Blurry Photo of Flight 253 Terrorist Given Ken Burns Treatment by CNN

Newyorkez
02:44 AM

@Tart of Darkness: Yeah, good luck with sniffing dogs and more sophisticated technology scanners operated by exhausted humans.

One simple aluminum foil can scramble a scanner. A simple carbon paper wrap can fool a dog's smell.

A "mule" can smuggle up to one pound of drugs undetected in his ass.

A fanatic is a fanatic, and even if you strip them naked, they would carry their bomb in their stomach. They would come up one day with a way of ingesting the explosive and then taking a pill as detonator.

Dogs and scanners are for tourists and grannies, terrorist just like smugglers will always find their ways in.

The only way to prevent another disaster is to stop these lunatics before they have chance to kill. And I don't know exactly how to do this most efficiently, maybe just by common sense, on top of profiling and surveillance. Ironically, this story illustrates the best this idea. Human common sense prevailed where technology and security watchlists failed.

maude_flanders promoted this comment

Tim Robbins Saves Own Stalker's Life

honey's dead
02:36 AM

@triplethreat: My MIL is like Mother Theresa. In fact, that's her name. She's highly educated with a PhD in theology, and though she's really liberal on issues like priests marrying, she is still "pro-life." I really don't understand. If I had to declare a religion, it would be pantheist/hindu. In my beliefs, if someone has an abortion and a soul was due to that baby, soul moves on to another because it was not meant to be.

NWA Flight 253: Winners, Losers, Heroes, and The Schadenfreude of Burning Balls

howYOUdoin
02:36 AM

@randomnessish: Yup. I'm thinking a Fight on Flight response (as opposed to the Fight or Flight) is doable for just about everyone in that situation.

Tim Robbins Saves Own Stalker's Life

honey's dead
02:31 AM

@ParahSalin: I suspect that a lot of us females here are fag hags. But my gay friends hate that term. I try to respect it.

#tips

Tart of Darkness
02:24 AM

@Lysergic Asset: I'm glad I'm not the only one!

#tips

If You Lived in Sweden You'd Be Watching Donald Duck Cartoons Right Now

lchen
02:21 AM

@dirtybee: You had me at Alexander Skarsgård.

#tips

Tart of Darkness
02:17 AM

Pet journalism peeve: "The Christmas Miracle."

Why is it that secular news organizations persist in using the concept of a "Christmas Miracle" to describe a story of mayhem, crime, etc with a more or less favorable outcome?

Two examples of this from two different news orgs. The first one, on CBS news is about the boy who was set on fire by some other boys in retaliation for their stealing his brother's bike. The "Christmas Miracle" is that after weeks and weeks of surgery and high level care, he is able to go home from the hospital in time for Christmas. What I think should be acknowledged more rightfully in his case is the "miracle" of the technology, training and time his medical team put into saving his life and treating him. That's not a miracle, that's hard work and education.

That also raises the question of why he is considered somehow uniquely blessed as the recipient of a Christmas miracle on the same day that a 3 year old girl in New York fell off of the roof of her apartment building. Does God hate her family for some reason?

This same otherworldly idea was invoked again on Abcnews today. A young girl in Arizona was rescued from her abductor by an alert policeman who spotted the truck the abductor, a known sex offender, was supposed to be driving. He approached the truck and found the girl safe. This is described not as good, solid police work, but as "A Christmas Miracle."

Yet on the same Christmas Day, searchers found the body of an 11 year old girl dumped in the woods in Maryland. She was also abducted by a known sex offender. So why weren't she and her family the recipients of a Christmas miracle, too? Or does God hate her family, too?

We blithely skip over the religious slant on these stories as if it is objective and natural to attribute positive events to God, but what if the reverse were true? What if we kept in the "Christmas miracle" part for good things that happen, but attribute the negative to the author of bad things in human lives, Satan? Or his minions.

How about "Christmas Miracle. Abducted Girl Found Safe!" "Demonic Acts Result in Death of Abducted Maryland Girl." Then we can go toe to toe in evaluating the relative strength loved ones and friends prayers in the outcome of the horrible crime that their children have fallen victim to. What do you think? Is it time to admit we are Christianizing the news and go whole hog, so to speak?

#crosstalk

#tips

t0ph
02:11 AM

Jon Gosselin's NYC apt was ransacked and vandalized. here is to hoping that he does not have renters insurance. [www.people.com]
#karma
#jongosselin
#asswizard
[gawker.com]

Edited by t0ph at 12/27/09 2:11 AM

The Invincible Charlie Sheen's Old-School Christmas: Chokin' Ladies Out

MartaD
02:08 AM

@Proofer3: ROSE! She was fantastic. I also really liked Candi.

John Mayer Earns Blogger Stripes Defending James Cameron from TMZ's Smear Campaign

noonecaresowen
02:05 AM

@Foster Kamer: Now that would be worth the price of admission!

The Invincible Charlie Sheen's Old-School Christmas: Chokin' Ladies Out

tjones70001
01:50 AM

@Carson Suggs: That's right, all those stupid people who watch his show aren't great intellects like those of us who read this website and send in comments.

ShawnP approved this comment

Expensive, Blurry Photo of Flight 253 Terrorist Given Ken Burns Treatment by CNN

Tart of Darkness
01:50 AM

@maude_flanders: I don't know. Explosive materials that aren't encased in metal don't show up on metal detectors. This is a long term and well-known weakness in the screening system. Richard Reid only failed because the explosives on his shoes were too damp to ignite.

I suspect that if we are smart we will start having boarding passengers walk by a sniffer K9. A dog can easily be taught a variety of scents to react to on a potential bomber.

Certainly if cruise passengers can be screened before coming back into the country through customs by drug-sniffing dogs, potential bombers could be screened in the same way.

Amazing we would already have a system implemented to detect drugs on returning cruise ship passengers but it takes a second bombing run on an airline to cause us to figure out how to screen more effectively against explosives.

AND this guy was on the "watch" list.

It is scary and sad. Scary and sad. But mostly scary.

John Mayer Earns Blogger Stripes Defending James Cameron from TMZ's Smear Campaign

Aaron Altman
01:50 AM

@snugbug: I read John Mayer's post with the memory of Mayer's appearance on "Extra" last week in my head. Despite that appearance - I seem to recall him being snarky with the obsequious (as usual) entertainment news "reporter" - I think Mayer is one of the few "genuine" celebs out there, i.e. not one whose every blog or Twitter post is written by a flack, or TV appearance scripted by same.

Oh yes, I watched "Extra" quite by mistake, promise.

Old Onion Article Saves Christmas

ParahSalin
01:49 AM

@sweet_communist: Great clip. I've always been interested in schizophrenia too. I have a theory that most religions are based on schizophrenic visions - the burning bush, walking on water, anything Joseph Smith ever said, etc...

Tim Robbins Saves Own Stalker's Life

kimperati
01:46 AM

@MissNormaDesmond: OK, Norma. That may have been crass and incosiderate, but my impulsive nature frequently leads me to great, unlikely friendships. Have you ever seen a random person on the subway cry? Have you ever been able to go up to that person, offer a random condolence, and be their shoulder to cry on if they need it? It's impulsive and totally fulfilling if they need you. I also had a great encounter with a cast member from LOST. I invited her for a coffee or margarita and we spent two hours getting drinks and just shooting the shit. And now we have a decent cell-phone conversation now and again - because she solicited my number and enjoyed my ability to relate to her like she was a person.

Everyone wants to be talked to like another person.

Expensive, Blurry Photo of Flight 253 Terrorist Given Ken Burns Treatment by CNN

Ogiri W Surie
01:46 AM

It's like a Ken Burns sequel to "Dr. Tongue's House of 3-D Stewardesses."

John Mayer Earns Blogger Stripes Defending James Cameron from TMZ's Smear Campaign

fatmonalisa
01:45 AM

@snugbug: My parents work in the entertainment industry and the vast wealth of knowledge they have about what stuff is bullshit and what is not is unfathomable. They used to go overseas on vacation and be like "Thank god we got away from all that crap"

John Mayer Earns Blogger Stripes Defending James Cameron from TMZ's Smear Campaign #popcultureaneurysm #johnmayer

I Hereby Declare The Fashion Bloggers' "Front Row" Status Trend Piece Over #fashion #bloggers

The Invincible Charlie Sheen's Old-School Christmas: Chokin' Ladies Out #maritaldisquiet #charliesheen

NWA Flight 253: Winners, Losers, Heroes, and The Schadenfreude of Burning Balls #travel #flight253

Please Talk Among Yourselves on #crosstalk While We Gorge on Eggnog #forums #crosstalk

Presenting The Gawker Internet Yule Log™ #merrychristmas #yulelog

Did Susan Sarandon Dump Tim Robbins for a Ping Pong Entrepreneur? #rumormonger #susansarandon

NWA Flight 253: Winners, Losers, Heroes, and The Schadenfreude of Burning Balls

Expensive, Blurry Photo of Flight 253 Terrorist Given Ken Burns Treatment by CNN

NWA Flight 253: Winners, Losers, Heroes, and The Schadenfreude of Burning Balls

I Hereby Declare The Fashion Bloggers' "Front Row" Status Trend Piece Over

John Mayer Earns Blogger Stripes Defending James Cameron from TMZ's Smear Campaign

John Mayer Earns Blogger Stripes Defending James Cameron from TMZ's Smear Campaign

John Mayer Earns Blogger Stripes Defending James Cameron from TMZ's Smear Campaign

John Mayer Earns Blogger Stripes Defending James Cameron from TMZ's Smear Campaign

Bushwick 'Artist Community/Trailer Park' Is Brooklyn's New Hipster Hell

#tips

John Mayer Earns Blogger Stripes Defending James Cameron from TMZ's Smear Campaign

The Four Bloggers Sarah Palin Bans from Her Events

NWA Flight 253: Winners, Losers, Heroes, and The Schadenfreude of Burning Balls

Expensive, Blurry Photo of Flight 253 Terrorist Given Ken Burns Treatment by CNN

Tim Robbins Saves Own Stalker's Life

NWA Flight 253: Winners, Losers, Heroes, and The Schadenfreude of Burning Balls

Tim Robbins Saves Own Stalker's Life

#tips

If You Lived in Sweden You'd Be Watching Donald Duck Cartoons Right Now

#tips

#tips

The Invincible Charlie Sheen's Old-School Christmas: Chokin' Ladies Out

John Mayer Earns Blogger Stripes Defending James Cameron from TMZ's Smear Campaign

The Invincible Charlie Sheen's Old-School Christmas: Chokin' Ladies Out

Expensive, Blurry Photo of Flight 253 Terrorist Given Ken Burns Treatment by CNN

John Mayer Earns Blogger Stripes Defending James Cameron from TMZ's Smear Campaign

Old Onion Article Saves Christmas

Tim Robbins Saves Own Stalker's Life

Expensive, Blurry Photo of Flight 253 Terrorist Given Ken Burns Treatment by CNN

John Mayer Earns Blogger Stripes Defending James Cameron from TMZ's Smear Campaign

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