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Forum: Smoky Backroom

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  • Concern over study visa refusal rate for Gazan students [Ireland]

    07/27/2026 7:30:46 PM PDT · by Olog-hai · 10 replies
    RTÉ News ^ | Tuesday, 28 Jul 2026 00:00 | Emma O’Kelly, Education Correspondent
    Concern is growing in Irish universities over a high rate of refusal of study visas to students in Gaza who are due to take up college scholarships in Ireland this September. RTÉ News understands that upwards of 20 Gazan students, who have all been accepted onto fully funded scholarships for third-level courses, have had their visa applications turned down by Irish immigration authorities. Others are awaiting outcomes. Sources within the universities say the refusal rate this year is in marked contrast to last year, when more than 80 Gazan students were granted visas and left Gaza in an evacuation organized...
  • Diarrhea parasite spreading in 41 states - with suspected cases topping 11,000... as officials continue to scramble to find the source

    07/24/2026 9:21:42 AM PDT · by algore · 65 replies
    The 'explosive diarrhea parasite' cyclosporiasis is running rampant across the US, with thousands of additional cases pushing the outbreak to a record high. Some 4,173 laboratory-confirmed cases have been reported across 41 states, the CDC confirmed on Tuesday. However, officials warn the true toll could stretch past 11,000, as more than 7,400 additional reports are still awaiting laboratory confirmation and investigation. Many of the newly reported cases have come from Michigan and Ohio, and local health departments are reporting more than 7,000 in those states alone. At least 308 people have been hospitalized. Despite the spike in cases, Health and...
  • I Reported on Flock’s Cameras. Now I’m One of the System’s Mistakes

    07/23/2026 12:11:44 PM PDT · by algore · 30 replies
    the drive ^ | Joel Feder
    Typically I report the news, but sometimes, rarely, I am the news. That time just came. Millions of people saw the story about my wife and I getting surrounded by the police after errors made by law enforcement and Flock Safety’s systems led authorities to believe I had performed grand theft auto with a $155,000 Range Rover. The body cam footage of the situation went viral. It was just weeks before my encounter with the law that we had an episode of The Drivecast featuring security expert and Ent.AI CISO Matt Hurewitz talking about how license plate cameras are tracking...
  • Alaska wants to seize a pilot’s plane over a 6-pack of beer. Supreme Court will decide

    07/20/2026 1:55:56 PM PDT · by algore · 64 replies
    WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court agreed Monday to review an Alaska bush pilot’s claims that state authorities have tried to illegally seize his $95,000 airplane after a passenger brought a six-pack of beer on a flight bound for a dry village. The pilot, Kenneth Jouppi, sued to block his plane’s seizure after he was convicted of an alcohol-related misdemeanor charge. The Alaska Supreme Court ruled in the state’s favor that Jouppi’s plane was subject to criminal forfeiture laws. On Monday, however, the nation’s highest court agreed to hear Jouppi’s case. He argues that taking his 1969 Cessna would violate...
  • Remand reform would help solve 'prison overcrowding crisis', report says [Ireland]

    07/20/2026 10:33:15 AM PDT · by Olog-hai · 9 replies
    RTÉ News ^ | Monday, 20 Jul 2026 14:15
    The bail system in Ireland is “operating in an opaque, haphazard manner” which risks eroding the rights to liberty and to a fair trial, the Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT) has said. The IPRT has argued that reforming current bail systems and reducing the number of people on remand in prison would help solve the prison “overcrowding crisis overnight”. It said a reliance on pre-trial detention for minor offenses is putting “unnecessary strain” on Ireland’s overcrowded prisons as it called for the establishment of an “adult bail support scheme” modeled on a youth justice scheme of intensive supervision which saw...
  • George Thorogood - One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer | Live at Capitol Theatre (1984)

    07/19/2026 5:32:26 PM PDT · by Pol-92064 · 32 replies
    Youtube.com ^ | 01/01/2008 | George Thorugood
    Explore the sound of George Thorogood with “One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer -
  • Ireland unlikely to end new HIV transmission by 2030 - report

    07/15/2026 12:01:32 PM PDT · by Olog-hai · 9 replies
    RTÉ News ^ | Wednesday, 15 Jul 2026 19:16
    There has been an increase in the number of new HIV cases in Ireland recently, with the number of new cases back to pre-COVID levels. HIV Ireland says that the country now has the second highest transmission rate per capita in Europe. A new report by the organization, which was developed with clinicians, researchers, advocates and people with lived experience from across Ireland and the UK, said that Ireland is unlikely to achieve its objective of ending new HIV transmission by 2030. […] Professor Yvonne Gilleece, a consultant in HIV medicine, has said that Ireland needs to increase testing rates...
  • You may actually like eating bugs

    07/15/2026 10:12:18 AM PDT · by algore · 72 replies
    Insects are not typically considered food in Western society, and many would probably balk at the idea of chowing down an insect bar (though gym bros might be excited at the idea of a new low-fat source of protein). However, the participants in a recent study were actually more likely to prefer an insect protein bar over a cereal bar. “Insect-based food, a potential solution for the escalating global food demand, faces consumer acceptance challenges in some regions,” a team wrote in the Journal of Neuroscience, Psychology, and Economics study. “This article aims to understand the physiological reactions to an...
  • Former GOP Champion Bill Kristol: ‘Abolish ICE Now’

    07/14/2026 7:55:35 PM PDT · by Olog-hai · 95 replies
    Breitbart ^ | 14 Jul 2026 | Neil Munro
    William Kristol, the NeverTrump icon and supporter of President George Bush, wants to destroy the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency that protects Americans from nation-changing, wage-slashing mass migration. “Abolish ICE. Now,” Kristol posted on Monday, prompting a vigorous response from ordinary Americans […] On Tuesday, Kristol celebrated the news that the Department of Homeland Security has temporarily halted the detention of migrants in vehicle stops, following the second fatal shooting of an illegal migrant driver:If ICE is telling the truth here, the lesson should be not be to declare victory (ok, take one minute to enjoy the victory), but to...
  • Teacher admits to having sex with boy, 16, as she gets sweetheart deal, splits from hubby

    07/14/2026 6:47:16 PM PDT · by nickcarraway · 95 replies
    New York Post ^ | July 13, 2026 | Chris Bradford
    A Washington teacher has admitted having sex with a 16-year-old boy in a sweetheart deal that drastically cuts any time behind bars — as it emerged she is divorcing her husband, who first exposed her twisted behavior. Mackenzie Naught, 25, had faced five years in prison after being charged with sexual misconduct with a minor for romping with the teen from a neighboring school in her truck — soon after she started her job teaching first grade at St. John Elementary School. But the now-fired teacher pleaded guilty Friday in a deal that means she now faces a maximum of...
  • Utility watchdog warns of rising water rates as regulators consider requests in Illinois

    07/14/2026 2:06:01 PM PDT · by Nevernikki
    Capitol City News ^ | July 7th 2026 | Maggie Dougherty
    Rate hike filings come as the state’s major water utilities seek merger. CHICAGO — Customers across Illinois could be facing higher water and sewage bills as the state’s largest private water utilities seek rate increases and permission to merge. Illinois American Water, the state’s largest private water utility, is seeking a $142 million rate increase, which would raise typical water costs for its 357,000 residential customers by around $14 per month. Typical wastewater customers would see an additional increase of around $28 per month. Aqua Illinois, the second-largest private water utility serving over 90,000 customers in the state, has asked...
  • How He Found 16,000 Dead Babies In A Shipping Container

    07/11/2026 9:17:42 PM PDT · by Morgana · 8 replies
    live action on YouTube ^ | July 10, 2026 | live action
    This horrifying discovery will shock you. It's 1982. Hank was sent to the property of Malvin Weisberg to pick up a shipping container that Malvin stopped making payments on. Malvin told the company that the reason he bought the container was so he could store [music] pool equipment for his backyard pool. Took a box up. It was so heavy as you saw it broke broke my winch. The container was way too heavy to just [music] have pool equipment inside.
  • The First Kiss in Recorded History Took Place 4,500 Years Ago

    07/10/2026 12:55:41 PM PDT · by nickcarraway · 23 replies
    Greek Reporter ^ | July 10, 2026 | Abdul Moeed
    In a recent discovery, scientists have uncovered the first kiss in recorded history. Evidence suggests that our ancestors may have engaged in kissing as early as 4,500 years ago. The evidence comes in the form of clay tablets found in regions that now make up Iraq and Syria. These tablets, originating from the earliest Mesopotamian societies, indicate that kissing was a common practice. Moreover, it is even suggested that such acts may have played a role in transmitting cold sores. Researchers from the esteemed University of Copenhagen have proposed that kissing was not limited to a particular region but rather...
  • Fight Breaks Out in Chinatown Massage Parlour Between 2 Women and a Man

    07/04/2026 9:42:23 AM PDT · by nickcarraway · 47 replies
    AsiaOne ^ | July 03, 2026 | Drima Chakraborty
    A violent altercation broke out between two women and a man at a Chinatown massage parlour on Thursday (July 2) afternoon. A video of the incident posted to Reddit shows a woman in a red blouse holding a man to the ground in a chokehold, while another woman in a black cardigan pushes his head down. He is also kicked repeatedly afterwards. Two other women can be seen trying to intervene, but one of them — identified as 8World to be the owner's wife — gets pushed and attacked as well. Another man can be seen dragging the woman in...
  • Ripped Elliot Page bares insane abs after getting ‘hooked’ on boxing

    07/01/2026 9:57:33 PM PDT · by nickcarraway · 49 replies
    New York Post ^ | June 30, 2026 | Eric Todisco
    Elliot Page showed off his ripped body in a Monday Instagram post dedicated to his New York-based boxing coach, Nolan Hanson. The shirtless “Odyssey” actor wore red shorts and white sneakers, giving a thumbs up to the camera while posing with Hanson after a gym session. Page also posted two videos of him throwing jabs and uppercuts at Hanson in the boxing ring.
  • Expanding the Supreme Court isn’t court-packing

    06/30/2026 8:56:25 PM PDT · by algore · 58 replies
    Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) is alarmed that Democrats might expand the membership of the Supreme Court It is true that leading Democrats, including former Vice President Kamala Harris, have welcomed “ideas, for example, that are about Supreme Court reform, including the notion of expanding the court.” But it is wrong to call it court-packing. In fact, the Supreme Court has already been strategically stacked by President Trump and his Senate allies, entrenching an illegitimate conservative supermajority. Adding four seats under the next Democratic trifecta would actually be unpacking the court. After Justice Antonin Scalia died on Feb 13. 2016, President...
  • Target is starting to track employees’ unexcused lateness and absences with a points system

    06/30/2026 5:32:43 PM PDT · by algore · 30 replies
    The post-pandemic days of coffee badging and logging in from the couch may be coming to an end. More employers have been rolling out novel ways to keep tabs on workers' whereabouts. And now, retail giant Target is doubling down on its attendance policy with a new points system. Starting this September, Target will begin tracking the unexcused tardiness and absences of its store and warehouse workers with a new points system, according to Business Insider reporting confirmed by the company. Staffers' attendance violations will be tallied up and addressed accordingly: a quarter of a point for being more than...
  • Music Video One Bourbon, One Scotch, One beer

    06/28/2026 1:11:00 PM PDT · by Pol-92064 · 43 replies
    You Tube.com Video ^ | 1/1/1984 | George Thorogood
    Are you ready to party tonight?!
  • Bill Maher Presses J.D. Vance on 2020 Election, Vance Declines to Concede

    06/27/2026 7:07:47 PM PDT · by MinorityRepublican · 27 replies
    TMZ ^ | June 27, 2026
    JD Vance has refused to stop claiming election fraud over the 2020 presidential election ... even after Bill Maher called him out to his face.Read the video transcriptTrump can't run again, and he'd be a little too exciting for me anyway. So it's either gonna be you or Rubio. Here's my deal breaker for your side, OK. Under Trump, you guys have two outcomes that an election can be either we win or they cheated. That has to stop. And the person who. And that means. The person who has to stop it would be you or Marco. Can you...
  • Jordana Brewster suffered major meltdown during surrogacy process

    06/24/2026 3:00:33 PM PDT · by nickcarraway · 21 replies
    AsiaOne ^ | June 23, 2026
    Jordana Brewster suffered a major meltdown during the surrogacy process and she felt like an "imposter" after her son was born. The Fast and Furious star, 46, is mother to two sons — Julian, 12, and Rowan, 10 — with her ex-husband Andrew Form and both boys were born via surrogate. Jordana has now explained she suffered an emotional breakdown after attending a scan with the woman — named only as Jessica — which left her sobbing and vomiting. In an essay written for The Cut, Jordana explained: "I'm driving south, I realised on the ride back, and my child...