A Tank Full of Gold
In the UK some Tank restorers find an unexpected bonus while restoring an Iraqi Tank.
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They of course do the right thing and report it to the Police, but not before weighing it and getting an accurate receipt. Quite possibly the happiest thing I've seen all week.
Note, though, how at 4:09 - while there's more to be found ("I don't care what anybody says we only found 5...") they only weigh up the 5 to turn over to the Police.
...
Hopefully they get to keep the proceeds - (debatable) - but if there are any more it's good insurance against criminal bureaucracy. Now - imagine - how much is found and not recorded or reported, merely melted down and sold a little bit at a time and added to the pocket...
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- Category: Found
Back at the Magic Tavern
Having finished the series S*TOWN (Excellent, but glad it ended. 7 Episodes is 6 and 1/2 episodes longer than my attention span) I find myself back at "The Magic Tavern".
I like it, but am somewhat dissuaded by the sheer number of episodes. The website - well, it could use some improvement. A lot of improvement. The biggest criticism I have is that there's no navigation - I mean backward and forward throughout the series, I listen to episode 10, I have to search for episode 11, or browse the archives. There's links to the archives, to related episodes, to random episodes, to the shops, the sponsors, the tags, but - and it seems they should have noticed this - no "Next" or "Previous" or "First" or "Last" links. A petty inconvenience, but it's noticeable.
In any event I'm enjoying it. It's that perfect mix of Improv with a few scripted cues, but a lot of it's off the cuff banter and ribbing, baiting one another and trying to stay in character and form...amusing. And it reminds me of too many nights out myself with a few too many drinks and the right companions, you could have recorded something very close...
Enjoyable. Not Genius, but well done, and it's got that "I could have done this" (but didn't) flavor that makes it all that much better.
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- Category: Audio & Podcasts
Syria, Trump and Grand Gestures...
So the nutball's fired off a few cruise missiles into Syria, and the world applauds...
I mean, it's Syria, stop the murder of Innocent Children, it's fine as long as it's not nerve gas, it's fine as long as your chopping off a hand, it's fine as long as...
Really, really now folks, lets just be real. It's fine to kill children. Everyone does it, the Americans as well (here, and here, and keep looking, you'll find more).
Here's a couple of links to catch you up with how complicated the situation in Syria has grown - arguably "started" by the destabilization of Iraq by the Americans. (Where did ISIS come from? What does it stand for?)
Link: http://www.vox.com/2017/4/8/15218782/syria-trump-bomb-assad-explainer and https://nplusonemag.com/online-only/online-only/the-syria-catastrophe/
The Americans have never "won" a war in the Middle East - or improved a situation, however slightly. 50 odd - give or take - Tomahawk Cruise Missiles are not going to end or solve the conflict, they aren't going to influence Assad or Putin or anybody. Trump knows this. He's posturing - improving his image - while Barack Obama stood by and did nothing (and Trump tweeted his support for this view) Trump can say he's done his bit. And by "Angering" the Russians/Putin - probably not, they were given advance notice, and, again, that strike was minimal, he's "distancing" himself from the very government and people that helped to put him in power *(and be skeptical, this might well be collusion to throw a lot of late night comedians off the scent). And conveniently he begins to move his warships towards Korea - again, working for "world" stability - and having launched a minimal attack the North Koreans and China can see how erratic and "Just" he is, and perhaps be a little worried...
I used to think Trump was an idiot (Money, despite what every moneyed person will tell you, does not mean your intelligent.). Apparently he's not. But never for a moment think that he's acting in your interests. And maybe start hoarding the dry goods, because things will probably not improve and may well get an awful lot worse.
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- Category: Miscellany
Evil Banks & Execrable Lobbies
2 of interest on the web today:
In which Evil Banks lend money at predatory rates to bind students to a lifetime of debt, and:
Link: http://digg.com/2017/why-the-government-doesnt-do-your-taxes
Wherein TurboTax lobbies the government with millions of dollars to ensure that you (as an American) still have to pay someone to file your taxes.
I'd never thought about it, but doesn't it seem odd that in this age of technology anyone should have to file taxes? I'm guessing there's a similar game afoot in Canada.
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- Category: Link of the day
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