The problem with this is assuming that the state is intending to do good. In a country that incarcerate more people per capita than any other in the world allowing the state to make people pay to be incarcerated is removing the one speed bump that keeps them from incarcerating more and more and more people. Many states have had to start actually releasing people because of court orders due to overcrowding which is the result of not having enough money to imprison everyone.

Another problem is the for profit prison system that is already raking it in off labor, phone tolls and tax money having yet another incentive to incarcerate people is....bad.

https://news.google.com/news/amp?cau...tml#pt0-476033

The US may have killed a bunch of Russian mercenaries. I saw this a few days ago, but was less sure about the source. These mercenaries are contract soldiers from a Russian version of Blackwater fighting with regime forces in Syria.

Link didn't go anywhere, but I was reading something similar here. Whichever oligarch is funding Wagner probably authorized them to step out and secure nearby gas/oil fields for a share of the profits. Thankfully, none of it is even remotely acknowledged by the Kremlin, so there shouldn't be any kind of escalation.

Microbet's link should go here.

Hey, would you guys like to feel a deep sense of despair at where the world is headed? No, I mean more than you do already? Sure, I can do that. Here you go!

Edit: Oh, and:

By the way, it's not entirely clear whether the US Posture Review says that this is a real thing on the basis of sound intelligence or whether they're just repeating internet conspiracies. But it's terrifying either way, so...

Also, really great piece from Taibbi about the recent school shooting and the way American culture is centered around violence. Highly recommended.

Of course

You gotta admit a 1,600 ft radioactive tsunami sounds kinda cool. Especially if there are sharks in it.

Applause

On the Beach not so fake now?

Speaking of doomsday devices, there was a thread on Reddit asking people from other countries what Area 51-like rumors existed in their parts of the world.

Someone from around Russia responded that there was basically a Mount Doom-esque massive underground bunker that housed tons of nukes that would auto-launch if Russian leadership were killed, it was on a deadman’s switch, that sorta thing. So that’s pretty terrifying if true.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Hand

Dr. Strangelove: Of course, the whole point of a Doomsday Machine is lost if you KEEP IT A SECRET! Why didn't you tell the world, eh?

Ambassador de Sadesky: It was to be announced at the Party Congress on Monday. As you know, the Premier loves surprises.

Pretty neat little story about Dem grassroots taking on moneyed interests in Virginia.

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry...b08dfc9303d14b

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry...b0892a0352426d

(both links are needed for the full story)

Cliffs: Both parties in the Virginia state legislature are owned by the state's primary electricity provider, Dominion. As a result, Dominion has enjoyed the usual monopoly power afforded to utilities without a commensurate level of regulation and public oversight. A bill to help Dominion bilk consumers, which was endorsed by loyal crony Governor Northam and which passed the Senate with a narrow super majority was defeated in the House (essentially, I'm glossing over some details), thanks to activists and the freshman delegates that flipped GOP held seats in November, including Danica Roem and the DSA guy. It is the first piece of legislation where Dominion "lost" in decades.

Super Cliffs: Elections matter. Spamming your reps matters. Vote, call, rinse, repeat.

Or better yet, Jeb Bush

Interesting article about Apple podcast rankings and how they might be gamed.

https://discoverpods.com/game-hack-m...-charts-itunes

I'm Canadian, but go to the USA like 5+ times a year. Probably average close to 10 or so. The difference between Seattle and Vancouver or Winnipeg and Minneapolis, Toronto and Buffalo is just so stark. Just a few hours or less away and it feels like a different world.

I’ll have to read the article but last time I went out of the country (Vancouver end of 2016) I was very aware that I was in a different country. The main thing is how concerned they are with being green. Everyone there asked us wtf re: Trump as well.

Yeah. I'm still gettting a bunch of that in Scotland. Nowadays, I'm so sick of talking about it that I'll lightly smack my forehead and shake my head when asked about Trump.

Re: Black Panther, a deplorable just told me that the opening weekend box office numbers are fake news because “schools bussed a bunch of those kids in and paid for their tickets, that’s cheating”

The residual grievance about school busing is an old-school touch.

In a "everything these people complain about is projection" conservative think tanks and PACs consistently boost right wing book sales by buying a ****load of them to get them on NYT lists then give them away below market price.

The kernel of truth is that there's a GoFundMe campaign to give free Black Panther tickets to kids. Snoop Dogg is donating a bunch of money for this. Apparently that's "cheating" or something.

http://comicbook.com/marvel/2018/01/...er-fundraiser/

My understanding is that this is also a way to skirt around campaign finance laws.