You sound like a poster who knows a thing or two about the oil business. Since through three of your posts, and I haven't read down very far, there has been no mention of the quality of your tar sands crude, perhaps we should start there. It's not Brent sweet light crude, it's not West Texas Intermediate, shit, it's fucking bitumen. It's great for asphault, roofing shingles, and sealing your canoe per the First Canadians first use.

The shit's dirty. If we needed fuel to escape orbit to avoid imminent planetary disaster, and we've squandered our other options, maybe, but damn, just on the outside chance the climate change scientists are correct in their hypothesis... right?

Yes. Someone posted a link on here a year or two ago concerning a shovel being repurposed into a repeating rifle... no great task in the grand scheme of things where the metallurgy craft and tools were present.

This is an obvious attempt to market a piece of machinery with an advertised single purpose... even though that may not accurately reflect the product.

Move along now... nothing here worth wadding up your undergarments.

Remember when we worried that perverting science was being done in the name of some shark killing?

I found myself on the fence here. Though it is shrinking, there has been a great deal of support in Pakistan for the extremist Muslim crusades by Al Qaeda and ISIL. Case in point: the Americans didn't notify Pakastanis before the raid on bin Laden's compound, even though they were allegedly allies at the time.

I believe this represents a turn from the tacit support of recent Pakastani leadership, as the actions of ISIL have become less palatable to many of their former support bases.

So yeah, it's a restriction of personal freedom imposed by a heavy-handed government, but I don't think most westerners have any idea what the average citizen's freedom is in an Islamic Republic.

It will work largely to the benefit of one side of the battle, and in all likelihood, a few battles.

The sincerest form of flattery will then level the playing field, and the next thing you know, we're waging war with no human casualties.

Earth's puny humans need more, not less incentives to aggression.

A man is run over at Main and Sycamore. Good Samaritan bystander calls it in.

911... what's your emergency?

"Man's been run over on Main and Syc-a-mmm..Sssik-am...sssii...shit! "

Sorry sir...where are you?

"Main and Sick... er, sik-ammmmm. Goddamnit. I'm going to drag him down to Main and Oak. Pick him up there."

We've had the power to fix it all along. How unfortunate there doesn't seem to be an end game that involves us.

Because the salting of pseudo-scientific facts and studies has been so successful,

and our leadership is filled by tools bent on their own reelection above all else,

we are likely to wait until such a measure is a the only recourse.

It would make sense the low-level criminal, in this case the marijuana seller, would be given some immunity in exchange for testifying against the armed robber. I'll not argue the merits or measures of prosecuting the robber, as I think most points of view have been covered, but I am pleased to see the defense attorney and judge do their jobs.

The police believe they are in a technological arms race with criminals, and sometimes behave as if the fate of the free World hinges upon every investigation. Realistically, they cannot be trusted to determine what is proper. Constitutionally, they are not allowed to.

There are things you can change about yourself, and things you cannot.

If being less than average height in your era is the biggest deformity you have, you got a pretty good package.

Besides, being born tall, lean, athletic, and beautiful often leads to coasting through life. Being born short, ugly, and pudgy often leads to overachieving.

I find it ironic that the movie chooses to portray Turing in an inaccurately negative light,

when so many times, the film industry polishes up a flawed human hero in a Hollywood retelling.

Spin. Present day corporatese for lies and deception.

My, how those ugly accusations have been made to sound pretty.

That's why you hate trilogies... now we're left hanging, not knowing if the final installment will have multiple esses, arrs, or some new alliteration.

If you've lived in the U.S. long enough, you may find yourself of the opinion that the real enemies of the state are in Congress.

Sony may not always be the smartest kids in the room, but they will not relegate their revenue stream to fewer segments of technology.

Too many companies get rendered irrelevant by not diversifying. Looking at you Blockbuster: After years of domination of the block and mortar video rental and sales niche, they passed up a chance to purchase the fledgling Netflix for $50 million US in 2000. (Current Netflix market cap is $28+ Billion.) Carl Icahn waged a proxy fight for control in 2005, and by 2010 the once great concern filed for Bankruptcy.

It's precisely why you see Facebook, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, and Google making what appear to be crazy stupid acquisitions.