Random News Stories of Note

[fritterdonut]

Welp.

RCMP have officially prohibited the entire family of Swiss Arms/SIG 540 family. This after being sold as (RCMP approved, of course) restricted and non-restricted (based on barrel length) rifles in Canada for 12 years. They retail for about $3000-$4000 a piece, depending on quality/trim level. Now ~1,800 owners of them must turn them in without compensation, or face jail time for possession of a prohibited weapon. And the RCMP's suggestion? "Go back to the store or previous owner you purchased from and ask for a refund".

What a crock. In one fell swoop, anywhere from $5.4-$7.2 million dollars gone without compensation. And with no public oversight, either, because the gun classification is done by the RCMP and the RCMP aren't elected.

Edit: Oh man the best part is the online FRT database (essentially holds info on every specific model/manufacturer of firearm ever imported, as well as the current status non-restricted, restricted, prohibited) apparently is not available to anyone who isn't a firearm verifier, public agent, or police. So good fucking luck finding out if a firearm you own has been prohibited or not, because the RCMP don't make announcements about it unless you confront them with the changed status first.
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The Thirties dreamed white marble and slipstream chrome, immortal crystal and burnished bronze, but the rockets on the covers of the Gernsback pulps had fallen on London in the dead of night, screaming. - William Gibson, The Gernsback Continuum

[mouse]

wheels, i can't believe you wouldn't serve ham. ham is delicious.

although it will keep all those jews and muslims from boycotting you, i guess.
_________________
aka: neverscared!
a flux of vibrant matter

[ShadowCell]

the God-Emperor of Mankind technically doesn't tell me anything, since his broken body sits upon the throne holding together the Imperium and keeping the monsters of the Warp at bay through sheer force of will, but the mages and inquisitors who speak on his behalf tell me that i should slay all nonbelievers lest they provide a foothold for the vilest forces of the universe to annihilate all that is dear to us

thankfully, American conservatives will see to it that my religious practice of destroying the infidels can continue unabated!

[Snorri]

[Him]

[fritterdonut]

[fritterdonut]

Russian parliament OKs Putin's request to use military force in Ukraine
http://www.ctvnews.ca/world/russian-parliament-oks-putin-s-request-to-use-military-force-in-ukraine-1.1709506

[Him]

Yeah the situation is turning to shit alright.
Ukraine: Far-right armed with bats patrol Kiev
And as the BBC journalist notes, military agression from Russia will likely only strengthen the fascists.
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A cigarette is the perfect type of a perfect pleasure. It is exquisite, and it leaves one unsatisfied. What more can one want? ~Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray

[fritterdonut]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/ukraine-crisis-un-holds-open-meeting-on-russia-s-military-move-1.2556228

[fritterdonut]

The RCMP have struck again. They've now reclassified all versions and variants of the CZ-858 manufactured from 2007-current as prohibited weapons. The problem: unlike the Swiss Arms rifles they reclassified last week, there are a lot of CZ-858s in Canada, >10,000 of them. At a selling price of ~$700, that's another ~7 million dollars worth of firearms that were purchased legally with the RCMP's rubber stamp of approval that are now illegal to own. These things were literally sold everywhere (including at Cabelas and other major sporting goods stores) and were super popular because they looked like an AK but shared no parts in common with the AK (which is a prohibited firearm in Canada, along with all it's variants), were decent quality for the price, fired cheap and easy to get surplus ammo and were good for taking small and medium game up to and including deer, as well as having lots of aftermarket parts available.

Once again, turn them in without compensation, or face charges for possession of a prohibited weapon.
_________________
The Thirties dreamed white marble and slipstream chrome, immortal crystal and burnished bronze, but the rockets on the covers of the Gernsback pulps had fallen on London in the dead of night, screaming. - William Gibson, The Gernsback Continuum

[ShadowCell]

and just for fun the head of the Ukrainian navy has defected to Russia

there's pretty much no chance Ukraine can militarily resist Russia if it comes to war (and i'm kind of surprised it hasn't already), but this doesn't help

[Sam the Eagle]

I'm quite surprised none of you historains dusted up your books about Sudetenland already

...

Have no fear, I'm just back this one time. Comix is just too stuck in a ruck (and boring) for me to cone in again.
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我的氣墊船�滿了鱔魚

[mouse]

that's kinda what i was thinking (not about the comic) - npr was saying this morning that putin's justification for sending in troops was to protect ethnic russians .... which did sound a lot like hitler's reason for invading poland.

and it also sounds like both "protected" ethnic groups were experiencing about an equal amount of undue harassment, i.e., none at all.

now, of course, we in the u.s. will have to listen to sarah palin crowing about how she predicted this, and all the other repubs faulting obama for causing this be being "weak"...without having to come up with how they would have prevented it from happening. because a former kgb agent who is now the dictator in all but name of a former superpower which still has lots of soldiers and nukes and other nasty things, and which he very much wants to move back into the top rank, is totally going to be intimidated by a president who flexes his muscles, or whatever you have to do to look "strong".
_________________
aka: neverscared!
a flux of vibrant matter

[Yinello]

Europe seriously needs to find ways to stop being so edit: dependent on Russia's gas. It's bullshit that we can't do more than just say angry words because we don't wanna be gasless. The news said we'd be fine, but countries like Italy might get in trouble if Russia closes the gas tap.

[Mindslicer]