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Over 10,000 Facebook Users Worldwide Falsely Check in at Standing Rock To Confuse Police (time.com)

More than 100,000 people from around the world have checked in on Facebook at the site of Dakota Access Pipeline protests in North Dakota, in an effort they hope will help protesters avoid detection by police. From a report on Vice:A call went out for Facebook users over the weekend to falsely check in at Standing Rock to confuse the police regarding protester identities and numbers. But it isn't clear whether the directive came from organizers on the ground at the Camp of the Sacred Stone, who call themselves Water Protectors because of the purported threat that the planned pipeline poses to Standing Rock's water supply, or whether it's a hoax. Protesters have been camped out at Standing Rock since April in response to the planned Energy Transfers Pipeline, but tensions reached a boiling point last week when protesters clashed with police and several vehicles were set on fire. Scenes of standoffs between riot police and protesters linked arm-in-arm were broadcast online via Facebook Live. Law enforcement used a sound cannon in an attempt to disperse protesters. Protest leaders in North Dakota say they were surprised by the Facebook check-in effort, but they appreciate it.

120 of 203 comments (clear)

  1. 10K, 100K, does't matter by kwerle · · Score: 4, Informative
    1. Re: 10K, 100K, does't matter by ganjadude · · Score: 1

      never really could

      --
      have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
    2. Re: 10K, 100K, does't matter by cain · · Score: 1

      Why is that?

    3. Re: 10K, 100K, does't matter by dywolf · · Score: 4, Insightful

      they reported the truth to many times.
      for RWNJs that's a sign of bias.

      --
      The guy who said the election was rigged won the presidency with the second-most votes.
    4. Re: 10K, 100K, does't matter by houstonbofh · · Score: 1

      Google "Snopes Lies" and decide for yourself.

    5. Re:10K, 100K, does't matter by Guybrush_T · · Score: 5, Insightful

      To some effect in fact. Even if the check-in is useless, this story brought more media attention, which can result in more protest, and more chances on the project being abandoned.

    6. Re: 10K, 100K, does't matter by cain · · Score: 2, Informative

      Well looking that the sites that that search brings up, I've decided that Snopes is still pretty trustworthy. They are all just seem to be political hack sites that themselves seem overly biased.

      I'd be interested in an actual source if you have one.

    7. Re: 10K, 100K, does't matter by unixisc · · Score: 1, Informative

      In the above story, Morton County's Sheriff department confirmed to Snopes that they don't use FaceBook for anything, which would work well for the RWNJs but totally bust the bubble of the LWLs (Left Wing Loons, for those wondering) who claim that Law Enforcement tracks people on Social Media and anything on the internet so that they can aggressively go after them.

    8. Re:10K, 100K, does't matter by Darinbob · · Score: 2

      I'm unfaimilar with Facebook. What is "check in at Standing Rock" mean? They just list their location as being there or something? Couldn't we all just list our location as 10 feet behind Obama and see if the secret service freaks out?

    9. Re:10K, 100K, does't matter by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      I'm unfaimilar with Facebook. What is "check in at Standing Rock" mean? They just list their location as being there or something?

      You have it in a nutshell. Anyone who thinks that Facebook can't tell the difference between someone checking in through the web client or even checking in through the app by putting in a location instead of actually geolocating is a dumbshit.

      Now, if you took one extra step and installed Lexa Fake GPS on an Android device (or VM) without real GPS, and used that to check in on Facebook, you might have something. Not much, but something.

      Couldn't we all just list our location as 10 feet behind Obama and see if the secret service freaks out?

      You could, and they wouldn't. Although they might come to your house anyway to make a point, because that's what they do. They're the biggest, baddest bullies around, and it's imperative that you know that.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    10. Re:10K, 100K, does't matter by hesiod · · Score: 1

      I am very skeptical of snopes' conclusions on this one.

      They reached no conclusion: the page says "Unproven", not "False". If they want to know if a police force is using an unlikely resource, who else can they contact but that police force? It's improbable that there ARE any other reliable sources.

    11. Re: 10K, 100K, does't matter by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      Law enforcement has used social media before, and also infiltrated peaceful left-wing groups before, It's very reasonable to speculate that law enforcement would use Facebook check-ins to see who they had to deal with. It's not happening in this case, but it could happen in others.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    12. Re:10K, 100K, does't matter by RockDoctor · · Score: 1

      Anyone who thinks that Facebook can't tell the difference between someone checking in through the web client or even checking in through the app by putting in a location instead of actually geolocating is a dumbshit.

      Doesn't Android in it's development modes have an option for faking (overriding) the location returned by the GPS sub-system. So unless Facebook directly talks to the hardware (don't know - never used the app when I had a FB account), they shouldn't be able to know if that's happening. Of course, the absence of "jitter" in the last couple of decimal places would still give it away. Unless the "developer modes" cover that too. Having met software that will fake data including different error/ noise models, I wouldn't be surprised either way.

      --
      Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
    13. Re: 10K, 100K, does't matter by Rakarra · · Score: 1

      totally bust the bubble of the LWLs (Left Wing Loons, for those wondering) who claim that Law Enforcement tracks people on Social Media and anything on the internet so that they can aggressively go after them.

      The mistake there would be in assuming all forms of law enforcement are the same or that they work in concert with each other. The FBI and NSA probably monitor Facebook, but the local police department? Quite unlikely.

  2. In unrelated news... by number6x · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I unrelated news, the Department of Homeland Security has added over 10,000 facebook users to the US No-Fly list, as suspected supporters of terrorism

    1. Re:In unrelated news... by houstonbofh · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Well, that would draw a lot of attention to that ridiculous list that has no real oversight...

    2. Re:In unrelated news... by Tablizer · · Score: 1

      In unrelated news, the Department of Homeland Security has added over 10,000 facebook users to the US No-Fly list

      Worse: a TSA guy resembling Ken Bone gives you the "deep glove" inspection.

    3. Re:In unrelated news... by DarkOx · · Score: 1

      Well that is what they ought to do! Isn't it. I mean this facebook checkin business is about thwarting police investigation, its not really about protest is it?

      People have a right to protest, I would say in fact the right to protest on public property is frequently and wrongly trodden on. Good examples are protests outside the G8, or when states try to pass laws keeping people of public sidewalks because they happen to be to near an abortion clinic, or when a political convetion is held and protesters are kept off the streets and forces to some location often miles away. This is all wrong an unjust.

      That isn't what is happening here though, here we have protesters trespassing on private property and in many cases damaging a defacing private property, even the Green Party candidate. These are actually people who haven't any rights to be where they are. These facebook posters are now willfully and deliberately interfering with police investigations. They probably should be charged with evidence tampering or obstruction! I actually don't approve the no fly list though because there is no due process there, which is BS. If the government is going to restrict your right to travel it should only be able to do so after you have been convicted of an actual felony of some kind and had your day before a fair and impartial court with representation before a jury of peers if you so desire.

      --
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    4. Re:In unrelated news... by mspohr · · Score: 5, Insightful

      A couple of problems here:
      - The Standing Rock tribe says the land is theirs. It was given to them in an 1851 treaty. Of course, the treaty was quickly violated as soon as the white folks wanted the land but at some point they should get their land back
      - "Defacing property" is spray painting on the blades of bulldozers... not really any damage... more like freedom of speech
      - "Interfering with a police investigation"... this is actually interfering with the police unlawful snooping on private individuals but they deny they are doing it so not really interfering with anything

      (I agree that the "no fly" list is BS)

      --
      I don't read your sig. Why are you reading mine?
    5. Re: In unrelated news... by jmac_the_man · · Score: 4, Insightful

      "Defacing property" is spray painting on the blades of bulldozers... not really any damage... more like freedom of speech

      I'm not sure if you read the summary, but protestors lit a number of construction vehicles on fire, causing $2.5 million in damage.

      Also, if you spray paint on something that isn't yours (like the blade of someone else's bulldozer), that's vandalism and a crime. It's only free speech if it's your bulldozer.

    6. Re: In unrelated news... by Khyber · · Score: 2

      "I'm not sure if you read the summary, but protestors lit a number of construction vehicles on fire, causing $2.5 million in damage. "

      I'm not sure that you've been paying attention, but it was learned that private contractors acting on behalf of the oil companies have been agent provocateurs. Wanna bet they're the ones causing the damage?

      --
      Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
    7. Re: In unrelated news... by mspohr · · Score: 3, Interesting

      The construction vehicle fires are suspicious. They weren't anywhere near the encampment and there are no suspects. Could be false agents.
      OTOH, the construction company private army has attacked peaceful protesters with dogs, batons, tear gas, etc.

      --
      I don't read your sig. Why are you reading mine?
    8. Re:In unrelated news... by PopeRatzo · · Score: 5, Informative

      That isn't what is happening here though, here we have protesters trespassing on private property

      It's not "private property". It belongs to the tribe.

      http://www.kfyrtv.com/content/...

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    9. Re:In unrelated news... by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      So? That list has had attention drawn to it countless times. The length and irrelevance of it is a subject of jokes well outside the slashdot community. Nothing changed then why should it change now?

    10. Re: In unrelated news... by hesiod · · Score: 1

      I'm not sure if you read the summary, but protestors lit a number of construction vehicles on fire, causing $2.5 million in damage.

      IMO, once you start setting things on fire and breaking shit, you should be referred to as a "rioter", not a "protester". I'm not sure where the line is on that one, but a lot of recent "protests" have crossed it and no one seems to say anything about it.

    11. Re:In unrelated news... by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1

      Except, it's not. There are two treaties since the 1851 treaty that supercede it with different borders. This is no longer tribal land,

      You're wrong. There was a treaty that the US Gov't later dishonored. The matter is in federal court right now.

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    12. Re:In unrelated news... by PopeRatzo · · Score: 2

      So you are claiming that the tribe actually owns most of South Dakota west of the Missouri River?! Including, by the way, all of Rapid City.

      Right.

      Well, just because you and some tribe members say so doesn't mean that they automatically have the right to take over everything in Rapid City, nor the construction site. Maybe you and they should actually try to win a legal case about that first?

      Nobody's asking for Rapid City. They're just trying to maintain access to fresh water for their families.

      "In October, protestors began occupying a portion of private land just north of the reservation that lay directly in the pipeline’s path. They argued that this slice of land rightfully belongs to Native Americans under the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868, signed by eight tribes and the US government. (A decade after the treaty was signed, the land was seized back by the US government in 1877 after a conflict over gold mining, a move that was only deemed illegal in 1980 by the Supreme Court.) “We have never ceded this land,” said Joye Braun of the Indigenous Environmental Network in a statement."

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    13. Re:In unrelated news... by PopeRatzo · · Score: 2

      So, you are saying that the tribe does, indeed, own all of Rapid City and a bunch of other land, just because you and they say so.

      No, because there's a treaty that says so. Just because the US Gov't tried to do a takesbacksies doesn't mean it's legal. As I said, the matter is in court now.

      Remember, the tribe is a sovereign government. It's like when we gave the Panama Canal to Panama. If the US Gov't decided, "Oh, we changed our mind because we think we should own the Canal again", it would not mean the Canal was now owned by the US.

         

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    14. Re:In unrelated news... by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      Yeah, but the easiest way to get out of here is by air.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    15. Re: In unrelated news... by mspohr · · Score: 1

      OTOH, today someone set a prairie fire near the encampment. Fortunately it burned itself out.

      --
      I don't read your sig. Why are you reading mine?
  3. Love it by 110010001000 · · Score: 3, Funny

    Everyone protesting the pipeline drove their car to the protest. Classic.

    1. Re:Love it by fiannaFailMan · · Score: 1

      Would you prefer it if they took some non-existent electric train?

      --
      Drill baby drill - on Mars
    2. Re:Love it by lesincompetent · · Score: 1

      The US is transportation system is engineered to offer no viable alternative, mr. desperate binary apologist of a dying empire.

    3. Re: Love it by ArmoredDragon · · Score: 1

      Or you could always do what we did before we had cars. And since this is mostly about supporting the natives, you could travel the way they did before Europeans came, since they completely killed off the native horse population a long time ago.

      Is that means of transportation not viable enough for you?

    4. Re:Love it by interkin3tic · · Score: 3, Funny

      If they did that, trolls would be laughing about exhaling carbon dioxide. Anyone trying to do something charitable gets the scorn of basement-dwellers, logic doesn't enter into it.

      Also, not all the protest is about climate change. The pointlessly violent manhandling of the initial protesters ensured this turned into a bigger deal.

      I assume also there's something about it being native american land. Even if 100% of the native americans in question approved of it, is there a DUMBER place to route an oil pipeline through for PR purposes? I assume yosemite, yellowstone, and the grand canyon were too far out of the way, and running it through central park would have required too many permits.

    5. Re:Love it by unixisc · · Score: 1

      Okay, so they are protesting against building a pipeline that will deliver gasoline to certain cities/communities in the US. And to get to the protest, they use... gasoline, which would either have been delivered from those pipelines, or which would have been imported, probably from an Islamic state that hates us. I know that a lot of people don't want the pipeline to be built, in which case, they should put their money where their mouth is and stop using cars altogether. Hey, bicycles are there, and a lot more affordable, and what's more - they'd shed half their weight doing that

    6. Re: Love it by unixisc · · Score: 1

      Since when did the termination of 'horse & buggy' imply the extinction of horses? Did horses die of unemployment as a result of losing the jobs and not getting food on the table? From what I understand, they would have been cut loose, made free agents free to feed off the land

    7. Re:Love it by interkin3tic · · Score: 2

      Transport contributes to about a quarter of our CO2 emissions and personal transport accounts for maybe 63% of that as far as I can tell. So cars are not the cause of nor the solution to climate change. After cars, what next? Agriculture contributes a lot, I suppose you'd argue they should grow their own food. Power is another big contributor, so they should go without power.

      You and I both know that some activists HAVE probably "put their money where their mouth is" and surprisingly climate change isn't solved. They're ignored as whackos which they are, and they lack any power to actually do more than pat themselves on the back. Real solutions will require more than voluntary personal lifestyle changes.

    8. Re:Love it by interkin3tic · · Score: 1

      It appears you're correct, I knew I should have read more than one CNN article about it, why WOULD they mention a little detail like that? I will point out that the pipeline crossing over the water supply just narrowly avoiding the reservation would concern me.

      Off topic, I'm pissed I have to concede the point to such a biased source.

    9. Re:Love it by PopeRatzo · · Score: 2

      Everyone protesting the pipeline drove their car to the protest. Classic.

      Everyone protesting the pipeline drove their car to the protest. Classic.

      And they managed to procure fuel, at $2/gallon without needing the pipeline.

      Say, do you know why the DAPL is going through Native American land? Because the nice people of Bismark, North Dakota didn't want it near them due to concerns that it would contaminate their drinking water. This is what's known as "white privilege": "This pipeline will poison us. Let's put it where the Indians are instead!"

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    10. Re:Love it by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      Then maybe you shouldn't be protesting the foundation upon which your house it built.

    11. Re:Love it by Darinbob · · Score: 1

      Sail in on the Mayflower?

      (too soon to be funny?)

    12. Re:Love it by lesincompetent · · Score: 1

      Answers like these explain how the dying empire ended up with such 'choices' in a two party system. Arrogant and gleefully willful ignorance exacerbated by blind chauvinism, sectarianism.

    13. Re: Love it by interkin3tic · · Score: 1

      GAAAAAAH! STOP it with the reasonable points!!!

  4. Pipeline protests make no sense by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    I don't understand the hate towards pipelines, it seems like the pipeline will not affect the amount of oil consumed, but rather decrease the amount of energy and risk of transporting it via conventional methods..

    these eco hippies are essentially fighting for the solution that burns more fosil fules (ie using trains, trucks and ships to move oil)

    just like that pipeline from canada that wont happen now, apparently eco hippies prefer america buying its oil from arab countries and sending it over via ship which is about the highest polluting method of transportation, and the one with the greatest potential for ecological disaster

    1. Re:Pipeline protests make no sense by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Exactly! A pipeline is far less risky than the current transport system utilizing rail. While accidents do happen, events are not common.

      After doing some reading from many sources including various documents on initial planning, there is more than meets the eye. There is lots of gray rather than the general big bad companies and government vs oppressed Native Americans.

      - Pipeline planned to capitalize of Bakken oil boom
      - Pipeline operator offer $56 million for pipeline to traverse Standing Rock territory
      - Offer is turned down
      - Pipeline operator purchases land and secures rights to route pipeline around Standing Rock territory
      - Standing Rock does not attend public hearings regarding rerouted pipeline
      - Pipeline construction starts
      - Standing Rock nation raises objections to new pipeline route

    2. Re:Pipeline protests make no sense by houstonbofh · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Well, there is also the question of taking Indian land, and plowing over sacred burial sites... And while a well maintained pipeline is safer, there is some questionable maintenance on a lot of older pipelines well past there expected useful lifetime. I guess the question is do you trust these guys that stole your land, attacked you with dogs, and plowed under grand dad's grave in the dead of night while the injunction was going through court?

    3. Re:Pipeline protests make no sense by Pig+Hogger · · Score: 2

      I don't understand the hate towards pipelines, it seems like the pipeline will not affect the amount of oil consumed, but rather decrease the amount of energy and risk of transporting it via conventional methods..

      The hate is very simple to explain: whenever a pipeline leaks (and they leak pretty often), it takes a long time for the operators to notice, and in the meanwhile, the spill gets quickly disastrous. By comparison, when an oil train derails, a lot less oil gets spilled. And there is no way in hell that the rail industry will let the conditions that led to the Megantic disaster ever materialize again; for one thing, that wreck simply killed dead the idea of one-man train crews...

    4. Re:Pipeline protests make no sense by eriks · · Score: 4, Interesting

      ... decrease the amount of energy and risk of transporting it via conventional methods..

      Only problem is that doesn't seem to be true:

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

      The risk to fresh water supplies is very real. The pipeline has already been rerouted once due to concerns of water supply contamination in the event of a spill for Bismark:

      http://bismarcktribune.com/new...

      The current route would take it right past the water supply for the reservation. Contrary to information that's circulating, the tribe has been very active in it's opposition to the pipeline being near their water supply since it was proposed to reroute through their land. They most certainly didn't "wait around" just so they could protest. The the objection has nothing to do with "burial grounds" but access to clean drinking water. This is complete and total misinformation.

      Pipelines aren't safer, just more profitable. Maybe they _could_ be made safer than truck and train tankers, but my guess is that then they wouldn't be any more profitable.

    5. Re:Pipeline protests make no sense by number17 · · Score: 1

      Just an FYI, Native Americans immigrated here 12,000 years ago, not hundreds of thousands of years.

    6. Re:Pipeline protests make no sense by bluefoxlucid · · Score: 1

      Hundreds and thousands. 12,000 would be thousands.

    7. Re:Pipeline protests make no sense by Zak3056 · · Score: 1

      He said "between hundreds and thousands of years" not "hundreds of thousands of years."

      --
      What part of "shall not be infringed" is so hard to understand?
    8. Re:Pipeline protests make no sense by RenderSeven · · Score: 1

      Only problem is that doesn't seem to be true

      ... says a quote from the local Sierra Club and referred to the Keystone XL. I'm open to being convinced but you'll need a better citation than that.

    9. Re:Pipeline protests make no sense by mspohr · · Score: 1

      I think the point of obstructing the pipeline is to make it more difficult and expensive to burn the fossil fuel. This could be thought of as a carbon tax which we really need to compensate for the subsidies that fossil fuels enjoy to make them cheaper than renewables.

      --
      I don't read your sig. Why are you reading mine?
    10. Re:Pipeline protests make no sense by mspohr · · Score: 4, Informative

      Wikipedia has a good article with lots of specific details:
      The treaty produced a brief period of peace, but it was broken by the failure of the United States to prevent the mass emigration of miners and settlers into Colorado during the Pike's Peak Gold Rush. They took over Indian lands in order to mine them, "against the protests of the Indians,"[12] and founded towns, started farms, and improved roads. Before 1861 the Cheyenne and Arapahoe "had been driven from the mountain regions down upon the waters of the Arkansas."[12] Such emigrants competed with the tribal nations for game and water, straining limited resources and resulting in conflicts with the emigrants. The U.S. government did not enforce the treaty to keep out the emigrants.[12] In 1864 came the Sand Creek massacre on a camp of mostly Cheyennes by Colonel John M. Chivingtons army of one hundred days volunteers. The consequence was years of war between the Cheyennes and the United States.

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

      --
      I don't read your sig. Why are you reading mine?
    11. Re:Pipeline protests make no sense by cornjones · · Score: 1

      Nothing is perfect but rail is objectively safer.
      https://www.fraserinstitute.or...

      You suggest that there are pipeline leakages. There must be but surely this becomes an oversight/maintenance problem.

      The oil still has to move from A -> B. Trains/Trucks have far more risk than pipelines.

      If you want to abstain from usage, fine. But until you do, you need your fix to get to you.

      It would be the height of hypocrisy to type on your plastic keyboard on your electric computer in your heated home and pretend to be against fossil fuels.

    12. Re:Pipeline protests make no sense by cornjones · · Score: 1

      One more point on maintenance. Trucks at least, and likely trains, have to go through inspection several times a year. Wouldn't requiring that of pipelines be a more sensible solution than dismissing it out of hand?

    13. Re:Pipeline protests make no sense by 91degrees · · Score: 2

      This map seems to illustrate where the problem is.

      My reading is that the Sioux are a bit pissed off that the planners decided they were worried about Bismark's water supply being polluted but not theirs. I suspect that the burial sites thing is just being pushed as an additional reason.

    14. Re:Pipeline protests make no sense by houstonbofh · · Score: 1
    15. Re:Pipeline protests make no sense by rahvin112 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Though drinking water is the primary concern the Tribe has also expressed concerns that the pipeline route crosses unidentified native burial and archeological sites that were not identified in the environmental documents but readily visible. Within 24 hours of filing with the court a list of over 120 of these sites the contractor building the pipeline had demolished every site listed in the document, even starting construction in areas where it was planned to begin for months.

      This alone paints a very bad picture of the company and the state groups charged with protecting native remains and sites. The fact that every listed site was demolished within 24 hours should be grounds for significant damages and an immediate halt to all construction activity. See the power of the state of ND has been brought to bear on this pipeline, government and police power is being used to enforce construction because the state has an interest in seeing this pipeline built.

      Given what I've heard about the environmental process and document that was prepared for this work I don't believe the state and commercial interest have acted in good faith. The tribe's concerns are valid and were ignored or not addressed. These are all violations of NEPA rules.

    16. Re:Pipeline protests make no sense by eriks · · Score: 1

      I was actually referring to this part of the wikipedia article (emphasis mine):

      According to a report done by The Associated Press, North Dakota had nearly 300 oil pipeline spills in less than two years, all of which went unreported to the public. According to the report, from January 2012 to September 2013, those pipeline spills were only a part of approximately 750 “oil field incidents” involving over four thousand barrels of oil that were spilled without the public’s knowledge.

      I don't know what the accident rate for trains and trucks hauling crude is, but If there were more than 150/year in one region of the country, it might have made the news, though I guess since most of the pipeline spills didn't make the news, maybe the trucks and trains that spilled crude didn't either :(

      However, I think a major concern with pipelines is that a single leak can produce a much larger spill than an incident with a truck or even a fully loaded train, and that they have a track record that leaves much to be desired. The fact that many of these leaks (in un-populated places) go unreported demonstrates that the operators realize that there's a problem.

      I realize that we still need to get our energy from somewhere, but the crux of this particular issue seems (IMO) to be that water safety and common courtesy are being observed for some (the people of Bismark) but not others (the Standing Rock Sioux). Not to mention that the response by militarized police is unjustified and unwarranted.

    17. Re:Pipeline protests make no sense by eriks · · Score: 2

      That site is hardly unbiased. It was created by "Midwest Alliance for Infrastructure Now" which is an organization created by the companies with everything to gain from the pipeline, specifically to spin PR.

    18. Re:Pipeline protests make no sense by RenderSeven · · Score: 1

      Well... OK, that was a good cite :-) and I'm less convinced that pipelines are safe. However that made me curious about rail... each car holds 700 barrels or so, and in the one article I found (I didnt look *that* hard) claimed in 2013 over 1.15 million gallons spilled from rail accidents. They dont say goo dthings about pipelines either:

      http://www.riverkeeper.org/cam...

      I've done a little work on pipeline inspection gear, so I tend to think pipelines can be made safer easier - better inspections, monitoring, safety equipment, faster response times. And bump the bons from $250k to something substantial - maybe not the $1B the protestors want but millions anyway.

      Im not sure I agree the Sioux have been aggrieved by this particular pipeline; the court decision is a really good read, breaking it down nicely. I thought it well reasoned. But, IANAL.

    19. Re:Pipeline protests make no sense by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      Pipelines are generally safer than other ways of moving oil, but it's reasonable to be for pipelines in general and against a specific pipeline. They aren't perfectly safe, so you really don't want to put one where a sizable oil leak would be a disaster. At least not for anyone you care about.

      In this case, a leak could endanger the water supply for lots of Native Americans, which is why they're calling the protesters "Water Protectors". It also apparently destroys burial grounds and sacred sites, which is a very good reason for them to protest.

      They do have a reasonable argument that it's their land by treaty, and that they have a perfect right to be there.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    20. Re:Pipeline protests make no sense by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      And, given what's going on, the Native Americans should trust the pipeline company to carefully maintain the pipeline and respond quickly to leaks?

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    21. Re:Pipeline protests make no sense by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      I think you're projecting your own motivations onto the protesters. They're not protesting the pipeline in general, only where it's going. If the pipeline ran near Bismarck, as was originally planned, the Native Americans would have been fine with it. The reroute is because most people in North Dakota don't care about the Native Americans.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    22. Re:Pipeline protests make no sense by cornjones · · Score: 1

      No, that's fair. They have every reason to organize and act against the placement of this pipeline due to our history.

      I was noting that rather than the rhetoric against pipelines in general, we should be examining how to make our best method of fossil fuel transportation fit for purpose.

  5. Re:There’s no way your Facebook “check by silverkniveshotmail. · · Score: 1

    Are you suggesting that slacktivism isn't effective?

  6. Donations are more useful... by Pyre · · Score: 1

    There's a donation page to aid the legal battle. My guess is that checking in is pointless. The authorities can simply get a warrant to see which cell phone subscribers are using the nearby towers if they need to know who is there.

    https://fundrazr.com/d19fAf?ref=sh_25rPQa

  7. Look at all the posts... by dywolf · · Score: 4, Informative

    from idiots clueless idiots calling the protestors hippies and ecowarriors.
    That how poor the reporting on these protests are right now.

    These arent tree huggers, these are Native Americans trying to protect land sacred to them.

    --
    The guy who said the election was rigged won the presidency with the second-most votes.
    1. Re:Look at all the posts... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      My magic fairies live in the ground you insensitive clod!

    2. Re:Look at all the posts... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      I wish I could mod you up. Also note; this was originally going to be routed closer to Bismark, but it was re-routed when the predominantly white neighborhood had concerns about their water supply. Regardless of where your stance is on the pipeline, the use of militarized force against these people is disgraceful. Some of the images coming out make the photos of civil rights clashes in the 60's look tame.

    3. Re:Look at all the posts... by HornWumpus · · Score: 1

      Nobody says they can't believe whatever the fuck they want.

      They just don't get to make public policy based on their superstitions.

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
    4. Re:Look at all the posts... by Pascoea · · Score: 1

      this was originally going to be routed closer to Bismark

      [Citation needed]

      Some of the images coming out make the photos of civil rights clashes in the 60's look tame.

      And the images of burning vehicles, blocked highways, and burning tires make the people "peacefully protesting" look like Hippocrates.

    5. Re:Look at all the posts... by JBMcB · · Score: 1

      These arent tree huggers, these are Native Americans trying to protect land sacred to them.

      That sounds an awful lot like a press quote. Any reporting more balanced than these are hippy nutjobs or horribly oppressed freedom fighters?

      --
      My Other Computer Is A Data General Nova III.
    6. Re:Look at all the posts... by King_TJ · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Are they really?

      I talked to someone who claims he lives out there and he claims most of the protestors are people who came in from out of town. The native American Indians up there are actually not too happy about all of the outsiders congesting up the area and protesting, according to him.

      Additionally, he says more people should research the actual land situation, because the area in dispute for the pipeline is actually privately owned land (owned by farmers in the area), AND it already has a natural gas pipeline running through it.

    7. Re:Look at all the posts... by Falconhell · · Score: 1

      Did you miss the ongoing abortion debate, which seems a fine example of Republicans doing exactly that?
      Do you have the same response?

    8. Re:Look at all the posts... by HornWumpus · · Score: 1

      Republicans don't get to make public policy regarding abortions. Have you been paying attention?

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
    9. Re:Look at all the posts... by Falconhell · · Score: 1

      Im not seeing the anti pipeline people getting to make public policy either.
      The republicans make anti abortion policy, and make no denials they would like to see it stopped.
      Have you been paying attention, or are your right wing blinkers blocking out reality again?

    10. Re:Look at all the posts... by Pascoea · · Score: 1

      haha, god damn auto correct.

    11. Re:Look at all the posts... by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      You could look up what the protesters are saying. Then you have two sides of an issue, which is more balanced than what you've got now.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
  8. FB loaded them into facial recognition DB by WillAffleckUW · · Score: 1

    Just a mention. Every single one of the people who "checked in" at Standing Rock were automatically loaded into the facial recognition databases.

    Illegally and unconstitutionally.

    --
    -- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
  9. Re:Destroying taxpayer's property? by tekrat · · Score: 2

    Maybe you should be asking why police are fighting to protect a pipeline from a giant corporation that doesn't pay taxes???

    In a true capitalist society, the corporation should be able to afford their OWN POLICE.

    Right now, *they* are the ones stealing from you.

    --
    If telephones are outlawed, then only outlaws will have telephones.
  10. Re:Destroying taxpayer's property? by SirSlud · · Score: 1

    It's not your property. Were it your property, you'd be allowed to destroy it if you wanted to.

    --
    "Old man yells at systemd"
  11. Snopes picks strawmen to debunk when it suits them by Xenographic · · Score: 1, Informative

    They have an angle. For example, when Snopes "debunked" how Hillary laughed while talking about the rape of a 12-year old girl, they went for the biggest strawman they could find. Yes, it's true that she was forced to defend that guy. Normal people aren't complaining about that part, just about how she did so.

    See, Hillary laughed when interviewed about it. It's on the tape. That doesn't count according to Snopes because "she did not laugh about the case's outcome." They say she was just chuckling a few times, for example when saying she mistrusted polygraph results because they would've indicated her client wasn't guilty. Snopes, please tell us, why is the rape of a 12-year-old funny at all? Should we just ignore that Hillary has a rather morbid sense of humor?

    Hillary implied that her client was guilty by her mistrust of the polygraph results where he was telling the "truth" about not raping the girl. But Snopes will summarize this as "she did not claim she knew the defendant to be guilty." Right, she only implied guilt based on inside knowledge that she should hold in confidence as an attorney. That's only a highly unethical violation of her attorney client privilege to imply things like this. But it's okay! She only mistrusts polygraphs--like the one she had him take and which he passed--because of this case with this man. She didn't come out and say he's guilty! It's not like you'd have to be an idiot to fail to understand the clear implication. Nothing to see here!

    They say "she did not assert that the complainant "made up the rape story,"" instead they point out that she just put forth an anonymous source who allegedly told her the girl was "emotionally unstable with a tendency to seek out older men and to engage in fantasizing about persons, claiming they had attacked her body." This kind of defense is exactly why we have rape shield laws nowadays--because people got fed up with this scummy tactic being used by defense lawyers and outlawed it. Yes, she may have some excuse of professional obligation there--this turns into a murky legal question. But morally? People thought this was such a disgusting, hurtful way to attack rape victims that it's been outlawed. Please let that sink in for a moment. It's true that she may be legally correct here. But how can you defend that kind of thing morally? [1]

    So the thing is they really do massage how they frame the articles, which "facts" or formulations thereof they try to debunk--picking strawmen to attack when it suits their claims, and then they make summaries that are misleading. It's a more subtle form of bias with the intent to mislead, but it's clear enough if you actually read everything and do your own research. They simply don't expect anyone to actually bother to read things and I hate to say it, but they're usually right that people won't.

    [1] Whataboutists: I'm also disturbed by some of the allegations against Trump. However, there is some evidence pointing to deliberate fabrications, making that less clear than it might be.

  12. Re:Destroying taxpayer's property? by DarkOx · · Score: 2

    This is a good a point. If you want protection you should hire your own yard bulls. That is how the rail road companies did it. The public should not be forced to foot the bill.

    --
    Repeal the 17th Amendment TODAY! Also Please Read http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/right-to-read.html
  13. Re:Destroying taxpayer's property? by mi · · Score: 1

    Maybe you should be asking why police are fighting to protect a pipeline from a giant corporation that doesn't pay taxes???

    Maintaining law and order is one of the government's duties regardless of who the victim is or would be — a big KKKorporation or a homeless woman.

    In a true capitalist society, the corporation should be able to afford their OWN POLICE.

    And where did you get this strawman? On a post-Halloween sale?

    --
    In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
  14. Re:Destroying taxpayer's property? by mi · · Score: 1

    It's not your property. Were it your property, you'd be allowed to destroy it if you wanted to.

    Semantics. I paid for it — and will have to pay for it again, because of these asshole "protesters" looking for a cause.

    --
    In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
  15. Re:Chair based "activism". by RightSaidFred99 · · Score: 1

    True, I guess I should have said "This does no such thing, the police don't care, and it's not directly 'protecting' anyone."

  16. Re:Snopes picks strawmen to debunk when it suits t by Xenographic · · Score: 1

    > WRONG.

    You work for them? :)

  17. Re:Snopes picks strawmen to debunk when it suits t by rahvin112 · · Score: 4, Informative

    Yes Hillary laughed, she was a nervous 27 year old lawyer fresh out of school that had just defended probably one of the worst people in humanity and because the state fucked up she got the guy a significantly reduced sentence. So she laughed about how the lie detector was worthless as a way to cope with the horrible thing that the state and justice system allowed. There is NOTHING unusual about this. Cops and all kinds of people that deal with the worst of all human acts tell awful jokes about it as a way to cope with the horrible shit they are dealing with. Because if you can't try to deal with it you end up insane.

    Nothing she did during the trial was abnormal for trials of these kinds at the time. When you judge history by today's standards it makes you a fucking idiot. We used to treat rape suspects like whores in court, that doesn't make it Clinton's responsibility that the courts allowed and even expected that kind of behavior. It was wrong, no one disputes that and the laws have changed to disallow these kinds of defenses but if she'd failed to make motions that were routine at the time she could have been professionally punished for failing to do everything she could for the client she was forced to defend.

    Stop judging history through today's lens.

  18. Re:Snopes picks strawmen to debunk when it suits t by AthanasiusKircher · · Score: 1

    TL;DR -- Everybody's biased, News at 11.

    Seriously, anybody who believes ANY media source 100% without questioning -- even a "debunking" one -- is silly. Everyone has biases.

    And while I truly don't care enough about this story to actually read it and see whether your complaints stand up -- not because I like or trust Hillary Clinton... FAR from it! -- I also don't really think everything is as insidious as you make it sound.

    I doubt the folks at Snopes are "massaging" the facts deliberately, where there is an "intent to mislead." I think they're just stating what they think are reasonable opinions on stuff, based on the evidence they see and their evaluation of it. Maybe they're more likely to excuse person X than person Y, but I doubt they're being deliberately manipulative here. At best, they might work a bit harder to argue in favor of someone they like, but I really doubt they're even conscious of whether something might seem subtly "spun" to others.

    (And yeah, I've had run-ins with the Snopes folks in the past too. I sent in a complaint once on a science issue, where they didn't really investigate thoroughly. I was basically told that I was overreacting and that their sources were more authoritative, even though I actually was pointing to very recent actual real-world studies, while they were pointing to government agency stuff that was out-of-date and based on old speculation before the studies had really been done. I don't think they were trying to deliberately mislead either... everybody makes mistakes. And everybody's biased, often unaware of it too.)

  19. Re:Snopes picks strawmen to debunk when it suits t by thegarbz · · Score: 2

    That doesn't count according to Snopes

    That doesn't count according to Snopes that provide on their site a detailed list of facts as well as a link to the videos? How does the site having an angle equate to being unable to trust the site if it cites its sources?

    The fact that they didn't flat out claim it was false and actually mentioned many of the same things you did makes your case very weak indeed.

    Read the sources, make up your own mind.

  20. Re:Snopes picks strawmen to debunk when it suits t by Xenographic · · Score: 1

    > Seriously, anybody who believes ANY media source 100% without questioning -- even a "debunking" one -- is silly. Everyone has biases.

    Yes, this is very true. I always look for the article's sources and follow them down to any actual evidence.

    When this isn't possible, I tend to simply ignore the things which were said which could not be corroborated.

  21. Re:Snopes picks strawmen to debunk when it suits t by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Snopes, please tell us, why is the rape of a 12-year-old funny at all?

    It's not. But then, she wasn't laughing about the act itself, she was laughing (somewhat hollowly, by the sound of it) about a couple of specific aspects of the proceedings.

    Should we just ignore that Hillary has a rather morbid sense of humor [youtube.com]?

    You probably have to to preserve your sanity, if you're going to be a criminal defence lawyer.

    It's true that she may be legally correct here. But how can you defend that kind of thing morally?

    That's precisely why lawyers have a professional obligation to defend their clients.

    --
    systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
  22. Re:Destroying taxpayer's property? by mi · · Score: 1

    And I hope they burn it again, preferably with you on board.

    A violent hater... Typical Hillary Clinton supporter...

    --
    In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
  23. Re:Snopes picks strawmen to debunk when it suits t by rahvin112 · · Score: 1

    Every rape trial up until the rape shield laws of the 90's was a trial of the victim. Every single one. Often the victim was put through horrible, awful and completely legal practices to try to paint the victim as a liar. This was standard practice 101 for defending someone indicted on rape and remained this way right up until the rape shield laws changed the rules. In an era without DNA evidence the trial often came down to he said/she said and the only effective defense was to convince the jury the victim was a liar.

    She NEVER laughed about the rape. She nervously laughed at a joke about polygraph testing (lie detector) being completely unreliable. I listened to it, you clearly did not. She implied her client was guilty with this joke but only inferred it, though it would normally be unethical if this statement had been public before the trial the statement was months after the trial and acquittal of rape charges. Had the statement been truly unethical by the state's standards she would have been punished by her legal board. I suspect that such implied statements are perfectly fine once the trial has been adjudicated as she no longer represented the man but I'm not a bar member.

    You are clearly biased with a line to sell. Not everyone buys that line. The objective evidence indicates a young attorney who was forced to defend a client who was clearly guilty, that the state lost key evidence and as a result a truly horrible person was let off on minor criminal charges. She laughed about it because like anyone involved in things like this they use humor to cope with the awfulness of it. Cops do it, crime scene investigators do, attorney's and DA's do it, firemen do it and anyone that deals with objectively horrible things do it. You'd burn out in less than a year in any of these jobs dealing with cases like this one where you are forced to participate if you don't find a coping mechanism and humans use humor to cope. These are broad sociological actions that exist throughout all cultures that no one should be judged for, not the fireman that makes an awful joke about a houseful of kids being burned alive nor the attorney that jokes about polygraph machines clearly not working because her client passed one. It's absurd to hold Clinton to a standard that's higher than we hold anyone else to.

  24. Re:Snopes picks strawmen to debunk when it suits t by rtb61 · · Score: 1

    Yep, I know that defence, it's the "my lying ears and eyes defence" and I usually ignore that defence because which is easier to believe, my ears and eyes or your lies and references leading to references which lead back to the original reference. That laugh is the laugh of a clinical narcissist who does not empathise with any one and hence an embarrassing outburst covered over with a lie of I did not mean it or I was joking and snopes looks like shite now.

    --
    Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
  25. You mean the taxpaying Sioux? by Uberbah · · Score: 1

    The pipeline is going across their land, moran, so as not to go north of Bismarck and endanger the watershed of the lilly white state capital.

    1. Re:You mean the taxpaying Sioux? by mi · · Score: 1

      I mean the taxpayers, maron. All of them. It was our cars, that got torched by these assholes.

      lilly white state capital

      Why do you hate White people?

      --
      In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
    2. Re:You mean the taxpaying Sioux? by Uberbah · · Score: 1

      Aside from the bulldozed graveyard and violated treaties. So, you were blathering? If there's no problem with the pipeline, route it north of the state capital.

    3. Re:You mean the taxpaying Sioux? by Uberbah · · Score: 1

      I mean the taxpayers, maron. All of them. It was our cars, that got torched by these assholes.

      Actually, it was their own junk cars. Moron. And as is invariably the case, this was a police riot. It's not the protestors out there with unlicensed attack dogs, snipers and mine-resistent vehicles.

      Why do you hate White people?

      Why so willfully obtuse? If there's no problem with the pipeline and no risk of leaks contaminating the watershed, prove it by putting it back upstream of the capital.

  26. Re:Snopes picks strawmen to debunk when it suits t by Xenographic · · Score: 1

    No argument about old rape trials being horrible. Doesn't mean I'll excuse anyone else for putting rape victims through that. Lawful evil behavior is still evil.

    > She NEVER laughed about the rape.

    See, I didn't say that. I said she "laughed when interviewed about it" and that raping kids isn't funny. Laughing about your client being guilty (which you seem to imply by saying it was the polygraph joke) doesn't help things any.

    > though it would normally be unethical if this statement had been public before the trial the statement was months after the trial and acquittal of rape charges.

    He wasn't acquitted, he plead down to a lesser charge.

    > I listened to it, you clearly did not.

    While I'm not clear on why you think that, I have to note that you misstated the claim I made about her laugh and then you decided that he was somehow acquitted, despite the Snopes article clearly debunking that claim:

    Finally, Hillary didn't "free" the defendant in the case. Instead, the prosecuting attorney agreed to a plea deal involving a lesser charge that carried a five-year sentence, of which the judge suspended four years and allowed two months credit of time already served towards the remaining year:

    > Had the statement been truly unethical by the state's standards she would have been punished by her legal board.

    That requires someone to file a complaint with the bar and I don't think she's even a practicing attorney any more.

    > You are clearly biased with a line to sell.

    Yes, but so is everyone. Anyone who says they have no bias is trying to sell you something, unless maybe they truly have no skin in the game.

  27. Re:Snopes picks strawmen to debunk when it suits t by piojo · · Score: 1

    No argument about old rape trials being horrible. Doesn't mean I'll excuse anyone else for putting rape victims through that. Lawful evil behavior is still evil.

    That's quite a simplification. How about the fact that if a defense lawyer does not do everything within their capability to defend the client, it perverts the justice system? Our system is adversarial. Both sides are in a fight. Neither side of the American justice system is actually responsible for finding the truth. If one side holds their punches (doesn't do everything they can according to the legal standards at the time), it's a loss for justice. It's not an attorney's job to decide which tactics she is or is not willing to use. If she doesn't fight as hard as she can according to the standards at the time, she is perverting the justice system.

    --
    A cat can't teach a dog to bark.
  28. Re:Snopes picks strawmen to debunk when it suits t by Xenographic · · Score: 1

    > if a defense lawyer does not do everything within their capability to defend the client, it perverts the justice system?

    That would imply that the rape shield laws pervert the justice system. I have a lot of problems with how she supported this motion seeking a test, as well, given that the fact that she didn't name her sources, merely repeating anonymous claims with no one standing behind them. As another put it -

    Clinton critics have also pointed out that she filed an affidavit in support of a motion seeking a psychiatric test of the victim in which she asserted that unnamed persons told her the victim was "emotionally unstable," displayed "stubbornness," and had made false accusations before. We don't know whether those allegations are true (the victim denies them) and we don't know whether Clinton told the truth that someone told her those things. If she didn't tell the truth, or if she put them in an affidavit in a way that concealed that she had no basis to believe that her source had a reason to believe they were true, then that was unethical and contemptible.

  29. Re:Destroying taxpayer's property? by Falconhell · · Score: 1

    Bwahaha, you orange buffoon fans always project your own faults on others.

  30. "Sacred" land... by swb · · Score: 1

    I'm puzzled why the left is so willing to genuflect to Native Americans every time they claim something is "sacred" to them. They regularly pillory Christian religions when they make a claim to some custom or place being sacred -- what makes a stone age religious practice carry more weight?

    1. Re:"Sacred" land... by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      I'm puzzled why the right is so willing to genuflect to Christians every time they claim something is "sacred" to them. They regularly pillory Native American religions when they make a claim to some custom or place being sacred. Seriously, people are protesting antidiscrimination laws as attacks on religious liberty, and a lot of Christians seem to be convinced they're the persecuted minority. I argued with one and wound up saying that the best way for them to have religious liberty is to favor it for everyone.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
  31. Re:Snopes picks strawmen to debunk when it suits t by SecurityGuy · · Score: 1

    See, Hillary laughed when interviewed about it. It's on the tape [youtube.com]. That doesn't count according to Snopes because "she did not laugh about the case's outcome." They say she was just chuckling a few times, for example when saying she mistrusted polygraph results because they would've indicated her client wasn't guilty. Snopes, please tell us, why is the rape of a 12-year-old funny at all? Should we just ignore that Hillary has a rather morbid sense of humor [youtube.com]?

    I've listened to the tape. As someone who doesn't like Clinton at all, it sounded to me like a rueful "can you believe how crazy the system is" laugh.

    Personally, I've found Snopes to be pretty reliable and it's nothing short of a terrible irony (cue rueful laugh) that people are finding a measure of success in casting a web site that debunks nonsense on the internet as a purveyor of falsehoods.

    Snopes remains a damned reliable method of checking on the validity of the junk the average facebook user posts. If you're the suspicious type, by all means check Snopes and other sites AND check the "facts" they present to see if they're consistent.

  32. Silly by Mondor · · Score: 1

    Seriously, why did they think it would help? If I would need to find out those who were there, I would compare their location in Facebook with their IP address. So non-Dakota IPs would be filtered away. But even better - get the IMEI numbers of all phones in area and find mobile contracts for them. No Facebook needed. I'm pretty sure NSA can do that.

  33. Re:Snopes picks strawmen to debunk when it suits t by david_thornley · · Score: 1

    Clinton had to give her client the best defense possible. At that time, it meant doing whatever she could do to discredit the victim's testimony to the point where there was reasonable doubt, no matter what it said about the victim. Now, the best defense possible doesn't include quite so savage attacks on the victim, so if Clinton were doing it now she'd give her client the best defense possible within current rules. The current rules are not a perversion of justice; indeed, I think they lead to more justice. Following the current rules back then would have meant not giving the client the best possible defense, and would have been a perversion of the justice system.

    Your quotation speculates that Clinton lied, and therefore might have been unethical. That's not evidence of anything except that there's someone who doesn't like Clinton.

    --
    "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
  34. Re:Snopes picks strawmen to debunk when it suits t by david_thornley · · Score: 1

    Snopes relies on the media, as far as I can tell. They will try to contact individuals involved in what they're reporting on, if they can, but other than that they don't do their own ground-up investigations. I'd think that the media just didn't cover what you were at, and Snopes was either unable to find anyone involved from their sources or couldn't get a response.

    This doesn't mean Snopes was lying, but they are dependent on their sources.

    --
    "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
  35. Re:There’s no way your Facebook “check by david_thornley · · Score: 1

    It's publicity, and I've been seeing a lot more stuff about how to donate to the cause. Checking in does little besides provide a bit of moral support, but providing money isn't slacktivism.

    --
    "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
  36. Re:Destroying taxpayer's property? by david_thornley · · Score: 1

    You know, everything I've heard from the protesters is to stay peaceful. They would be against burning anyone alive. (Obviously they can't restrain a lunatic fringe or agents provocateur.)

    --
    "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
  37. Re: Snopes picks strawmen to debunk when it suits by Xenographic · · Score: 1

    I'd rather be neutral good than lawful evil. Yes, that is more chaotic.

  38. Re:Snopes picks strawmen to debunk when it suits t by Xenographic · · Score: 1

    They actually support Hillary, in part, damning her primarily for implying that her client was guilty with her statements about polygraphs. However, that section clearly shows why it's problematic to give an anonymous source badmouthing the victim. You see, anyone could claim they heard anything and doing so robs anyone of a way to check the validity of her sources. Given how easy it would have been to give a source, the lack of one should be considered suspect for that reason alone.

    Allowing unsubstantiated rumors to destroy someone is simply wrong and that's why things like hearsay are normally kept out of court.

  39. Re:Snopes picks strawmen to debunk when it suits t by Rakarra · · Score: 1

    No argument about old rape trials being horrible. Doesn't mean I'll excuse anyone else for putting rape victims through that. Lawful evil behavior is still evil.

    If only we could prove that they actually were or were not rape victims. If there was no question, then you wouldn't even need a trial, just sentencing.
    But here's the thing: in a criminal case, the accused is presumed not guilty. You must be able to prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, and introducing doubt, regardless of crime or circumstances, is fair game. Because everyone, everyone without exception, is entitled to defense under the law. The scales of justice truly are that -- the prosecution on one side, and the defense on the other, with the judge/jury in the center seeing which side has more weight.

    What if he wasn't a rapist? What if the accuser really did have mental problems and there was no basis behind her claims? Is that really so far-fetched? The court can't wave a magic wand and find out. These cases have to be argued. I'll always agree with Blackstone's Forumula, where I would rather ten guilty men go rather than condemn one innocent man. We are inundated with bad TV shows and movies where "crooked defense lawyers" get "clearly guilty people" off with some stupid technicality, and we're now conditioned to hate the criminal defense attorney. But reality is different and messier.

  40. Re:Snopes picks strawmen to debunk when it suits t by Rakarra · · Score: 1

    Should we just ignore that Hillary has a rather morbid sense of humor.

    That's a positive, not a negative.

  41. Re:Snopes picks strawmen to debunk when it suits t by david_thornley · · Score: 1

    Allowing unsubstantiated rumors to destroy someone is simply wrong and that's why things like hearsay are normally kept out of court

    In other words, you think Clinton should have given her client substandard representation. That's the issue here. Fortunately, there are new rules that protect rape victims from some of the worst stuff they had to go through.

    --
    "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
  42. Re:Snopes picks strawmen to debunk when it suits t by piojo · · Score: 1

    > That would imply that the rape shield laws pervert the justice system.

    No, if there are proper mechanisms for the justice system to be adjusted, by definition that's part of the system. (I'm not saying it's good or bad, but it's how the system was meant to function.) When lawyers decide to hold their punches, that's not part of the system. If I'm ever accused of a serious crime, I want my lawyer to do everything he can to make me look good and the prosecution look bad! If he doesn't, he's not doing his job. A lawyer's job isn't to be sweet. It's to follow the truth, obey the law, obey the current professional ethical guidelines, and to win the case. Otherwise justice isn't being served (according to the rules at the time).

    --
    A cat can't teach a dog to bark.