Poi!
________________________________
--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?

As a result of too many high profile drunken driver arrests involving California legislators, state senate officials have hired designated driving employees to drive home inebriated lawmakers. 
Spending $60k a year to drive drunk senators home is a wise use of taxpayer money? Why can't they call a cab and use their own money like the rest of us? They're  already overpaid and get tax free per diem so they should be able to afford it.

And people wonder why California is going bankrupt... 
ThsThey're  already overpaid and get tax free per diem so they should be able to afford it.

Okay, I finally broke down on two fronts.
One: I decided to go ahead and cut my list down to fifteen worlds, with a caveat for two 'stumbles'.

Two: I've decided that I want to go ahead and share the list with everyone.

1. Tenchi Muyo
   
2. MLP:FiM
   
3. Macross
   
4. Firefly
   
5. Pokemon
   
6. Katanagatari
   
   
   1. AIR (Stumble)
      
7. Utawarerumono
   
8. Sailor
   Moon
   
9. Kill
   la Kill
   
10. Battle
    Angel Alita
    
11. Banner
    of the Stars
    
    
    1. Forgotten
       Realms (Stumble)
       
12. Star
    Wars
    
13. Diebuster
    
14. Melody
    of Oblivion
    
15. Puella
    Magi Madoka Magica
    

http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/soccer/ ... ar-BBkpFIy
The only way that would happen is if he bribes the Attorney General or he somehow "persuades" the next Presdient to institute a "Saturday Night Massacre" ala Richard Nixon.
__________________
Into terror!,  Into valour!
Charge ahead! No! Never turn
Yes, it's into the fire we fly
And the devil will burn!
- Scarlett Pimpernell

Dail debates are a matter of public record. Speech in the Dail is absolutely privileged.

Yet a speech made in the Dail in thursday is being kept out of the news. Most newspapers aren't reporting it - and the few that do only mention that it exists. RTE, the government owned broadcaster demonstrated its usefullness by trying - only to be blocked by a Court order.

Now, as a bit of background there's been ructions in the media lately about a few shady deals and the impression that one particular individual was basically using his connections to the higher levels of a publicly-owned bank formed from the mess of Anglo to get himself better deals on debts - the usual generally shady old-boys-club crap that happens. But especially galling when the same bank is basically gutting small businesses and smaller investors.

Of course, the court's jurisdiction doesn't extend far beyond the shores of the island. I suppose it's better of pointing to the Guardian to give a reasonable account. Or maybe The New York Times.

And what nobody's trying to actually report:
So, here goes.

Quote: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to amend the Comptroller and Auditor General (Amendment) Act 1993 in order to make an addition to the First Schedule, to expand the areas under which an examination under section 9 may be conducted, and to provide for related matters.

The Comptroller and Auditor General (Amendment) Bill 2015 proposes to extend the functions and powers of the Comptroller and Auditor General to cover IBRC. It was the Taoiseach who first suggested that the Comptroller and Auditor General review the Siteserv sale process at which time it was pointed out to him that the IBRC does not come within the Comptroller and Auditor General's remit. With this Bill, I am attempting to address that problem by broadening the remit of the Comptroller and Auditor General. The reason I anticipate the need to involve the Comptroller and Auditor General, if not a full commission of inquiry which latter might well be a better option, is that the Government has got this matter badly wrong. That is not least because most of the key players in the Siteserv saga have links with KPMG and the eventual purchaser and vice versa. It is a web of connections and conflicts that requires outside eyes to unravel.

I have no doubt that the special liquidator is more than capable of carrying out such a review, but his direct involvement in the sale process, his relationship with the eventual purchaser of Siteserv and his current actions in the High Court in supporting Mr. Denis O'Brien against RTE place him in a position where there is, at the very least, a perceived if not an actual conflict of interest. The review is not confined to Siteserv, but that is the transaction that prompted a review in the first instance. I worry about the transactions that have been excluded from the review given what that we now know that in the final months before prom night, the relationship between the Department and IBRC had completely broken down. If deals were being done without the knowledge or input of the Minister, we must know what those were. We are now aware, for example, that the former CEO of IBRC made verbal agreements with Denis O'Brien to allow him to extend the terms of his already expired loans. We also know that the verbal agreement was never escalated to the credit committee for approval. I am led to believe and would welcome clarification by the Minister that the rates applicable to the extension were extremely favourable. I understand that Mr. O'Brien was enjoying a rate of approximately 1.25% when IBRC could, and arguably should, have been charging 7.5%. Given that we are talking about outstanding sums of upwards of €500 million, the interest rate applied is not an insignificant issue for the public interest. We also know that Denis O'Brien felt confident enough in his dealings with IBRC that he could write to Kieran Wallace, the special liquidator, to demand that the same favourable terms extended to him by way of a verbal agreement be continued. We now have Kieran Wallace, who has been appointed by the Government to conduct the IBRC review, joining with IBRC and Denis O'Brien in the High Court to seek to injunct the information I have outlined from coming into the public domain. Surely, that alone represents a conflict.

In documents released to me under freedom of information, the Minister, his officials, the Central Bank and even the troika acknowledge that IBRC - the former Anglo Irish Bank - is no ordinary bank and that there is a significant public interest as the bank was fully nationalised and was in wind-down mode. They all accept that this is the people's money we are dealing with and that there can be no dispute regarding the public interest in this. The same materials obtained under freedom of information detail instances where the Minister can specifically intervene and issue a ministerial order that material matters have a significant public interest. Included in these material matters are instances that are outside the ordinary course of business. I argue that what I have outlined here regarding verbal deals and extensions etc. are outside the normal course of business and ask the Minister to exercise his right to intervene in the current proceedings to defend the public interest.

I have a motion on the Order Paper signed by the majority of Opposition Members calling for a debate on the proposed review. I note that 45 Members have signed and more are welcome to. When I tried to raise the matter on the Order of Business, I was silenced and told to take it up with my Whip. I am the Whip of the Technical Group and I had raised the matter at the weekly Whips' meeting. The Government Chief Whip told me that the Government would not be altering the KPMG review and that it would not provide time to debate this issue. He suggested that we use Private Members' time. This is not just an Opposition issue; it is an issue for the whole House. It is an issue of serious public concern involving public money. If the Minister opposite, Deputy Paschal Donohoe, got his hands on an extra €20 million, he would not have to think too hard about how to spend it. I urge the Government to reconsider this matter and to give the Bill and the motion the time they deserve. It is in the public interest to do so.

Quote:“We are now aware…that the former CEO of IBRC made verbal agreements with Denis O’Brien to allow him to extend the terms of his already expired loans…

Quote:“I understand that Mr O’Brien was enjoying a rate of approximately 1.25 per cent when IBRC could, and arguably should, have been charging 7.5 per cent.

Quote:“Given that we are talking about outstanding sums of upwards of €500m, the interest rate applied is not an insignificant issue for the public interest.”

More specifically, an obsolete http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... sight.html]400-year old law in the remote Westfjords region:

Quote:The law, which applies only in Westfjords – a northern peninsula jutting out into the sea, and the most remote part of Iceland – dates back to 1615.

In that year Basque whalers ran aground in Strandir, in the far north of the Westfjords. The Westfjords sheriff at the time, Ari Magnusson, declared that any Basque people found in the Westfjords could be legally killed on the spot.

Quote:"The decision to do away with the decree was more symbolic than anything else," said Jonas Gudmundsson, Westfjords district commissioner, when he officially repealed the law at the http://www.galdrasyning.is/]Museum of Icelandic Sorcery last month.

Any wordplay title I could come up with wouldn't be as geeky as the simple statement "NASA ringtones," so:

http://www.nasa.gov/connect/sounds/index.html]NASA ringtones

Now for the wordplay: I choose to answer my phone, not because it is easy, but because it is ringing.
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

Found a relatively cheap copy of the Defender costume set on the auction house and decided I LOVED what it did for Sirene Seiben. 
She's the character that's basically the female counterpart to Cyberman 8. 

I got her to lvl 40 and decided that this is an "upgrade" that's going to be relatively permanent. What do you think?

For most of the last year or so I'd been having launcher issues. Which I managed to scrape by with most of the time and get online anyway. 
But it got so bad with STO that I could only (BARELY) get on by going through the CO launcher.
Then THAT went belly up as well. "Black Screen of Death" and I couldn't even get as far as the trouble-shooting stage or options. 
So I essentially gave up for about a month or two this spring. 
I had been thinking about outright uninstalling both games, but hadn't gotten around to it. The other day, while contemplating the back-up folders for the stuff that would be lost if I just uninstalled and shredded the folders (the screenshots and costume designs mainly) I thought to give the situation a more thorough attempt at a fix. 
And thus the "Nuke the Site from Orbit" protocol was initiated. 
I uninstalled both games after backing up the screenshot folders elsewhere. Then I also uninstalled ALL my other Steam games. Then I uninstalled Steam itself. And then used some System care tools to "deep clean" the remaining folders, scramble and randomize the data and the registry bits. ("Carthago delenda est!" )
Then I did a full defrag on my drives and a systemcare sweep, then rebooted the computer an extra time on top of the standard reboot - just to be thorough. 
Next I reinstalled Steam. But placed the game archive on my 1TB external USB drive. Then I re-installed Star Trek Online and Champions and let them fully update. in the process I followed the install process carefully and made sure my anti-virus "got to know" both games as they installed with new protocol and exceptions in place. 
Then I rebooted the computer again. THEN I crossed my fingers and launched STO - if I got the black screen of death on the launcher, that would be the end for real and I'd have to walk away from both games permanently. 
Well - no black screen of death. It launched just fine with no complaints and no hiccups. 
Same with CO. After rebooting again and making sure, I can safely say that both games are working like a charm now. 
I can't tell you what exact part of the above process was the actual "fix". I just took a shotgun approach and tried EVERYTHING all at once. But something obviously worked. 
So - if all else fails - remember the final option - "Nuke the Site from Orbit. It's the only way to be sure!" 

   "Dear Ron,

   "I have just heard through a mutual acquaintance that you have 
   become a Hogwarts prefect.

   "I was most pleasantly surprised when I heard this news and 
   must offer my congratulations.  I must admit that I have 
   always been afraid that you would take what we might call the 
   'Fred and George' route, rather than following in my 
   footsteps, so you can imagine my feelings on hearing you have 
   stopped flouting authority and have decided to shoulder some 
   real responsibility.

   "But I want to give you more than congratulations, Ron, I want 
   to give you some advice, which is why I am sending this at 
   night rather than by the usual morning post.  Hopefully you 
   will be able to read this away from prying eyes and avoid 
   awkward questions.

   "First, I presume that absent any radical changes in your 
   life, you are still close to Harry Potter.  I have reason to 
   fear that continued fraternization with him could cost you 
   your badge -- or worse.  Before you throw this letter away in 
   anger, please let me explain.

   "The Minister is convinced that Potter and Dumbledore are
   spearheading a campaign to undermine him.  I have heard him 
   say in private moments that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named cannot 
   have returned, and thus Potter must be insane and/or lying 
   about it for political reasons.  His primary Undersecretary, 
   Dolores Umbridge, agrees with him and together they are 
   planning some manner of retaliation against Potter and 
   Dumbledore both.  

   "However, in my time here, I have cultivated contacts in other 
   parts of the Ministry.  From my acquaintances within the 
   Department of Mysteries I have learned that the Unspeakables 
   have accepted Potter's account of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's 
   return as an incontrovertible fact and are acting accordingly. 
   I cannot relay their reasons for this to you due to Ministry 
   regulations imposed just this week, but the evidence offered 
   to me has been most convincing.

   "Thus I find myself in the position of having to warn you to 
   sever your ties with Potter for the sake of both your future 
   and your safety.  Potter's disciplinary hearing before the 
   Wizengamot this summer was only the beginning of the 
   Minister's campaign against him, if what I have overheard is 
   any indication.  I suspect that there will be no hesitation to 
   strike at his associates if it furthers the Minister's plans.  
   If you are tarred with the same brush as Potter, it could be 
   very damaging to your future prospects, and I am talking here 
   about life after school, too, should matters fall out as the 
   Minister desires.

   "That is assuming you *have* future prospects.  Remaining a 
   very visible friend and supporter of Potter will make you a 
   primary target for He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and his followers.  
   While I understand that our family is already marked for death 
   as 'Blood Traitors', the simple fact is that by being one of 
   Potter's two closest friends you have elevated yourself (and 
   most likely everyone else in our family) to 'kill first, kill 
   at all costs' in the eyes of the Dark Lord and his followers.

   "This is the simple truth, Ron:  in the current social and 
   political atmosphere, keeping company with Harry Potter is at 
   best a decision that will ruin your immediate future, and at 
   worst will cost you your life.  Please, please distance 
   yourself from him and protect not only yourself, but the rest 
   of our family.

   "I am sorry that I was unable to see more of you over the 
   summer.  At the time I was afraid that I could no longer live 
   under our parents' roof while they remained mixed up with what 
   I saw as the dangerous crowd around Dumbledore.  Even though I 
   now know that Potter and Dumbledore are right, that does not 
   make their crowd any less dangerous.  I choose to continue my 
   estrangement from our parents in order that some part of our 
   family will escape the inevitable retribution which 
   He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named will visit upon the Weasleys for 
   their rejection of his cause.

   "I count myself very lucky to have escaped the stigma of 
   association with Dumbledore's people, but make no mistake -- 
   as much as I respect the Minister, his refusal to accept the 
   evidence possessed by the Unspeakables reveals him to be far 
   less astute than I had believed.  However, by sticking close 
   to him and to Dolores Umbridge I have acquired a certain 
   protective coloration that will serve me in good stead should 
   the worst occur.  I strongly recommend that you make similar 
   arrangements.  Break publicly with Harry Potter, and align 
   yourself with any clique or classmate whose political views 
   can shield you.  The rest of our family may be doomed by their 
   association with Potter and Dumbledore, but you do not have to 
   be.  And if by some miracle they and I both survive the next 
   few years, rest assured that I will be ready to offer them a 
   full apology for the pain and anguish I have surely put them 
   through.

   "Please think over what I have said most carefully, and 
   congratulations again on becoming prefect.

   "Your brother,

   "Percy"

Harry looked up from the parchment in his hand.  "Well," he said
after a long moment of thought.  "He's not exactly wrong, you
know."
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.