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Great Acts Of Stupidity

Stormkhan said:
I'd suggest that many travellers do a bit of research on customs and laws before going to any foreign country, especially the more 'problematic' ones. She may've overlooked cannabis oil if she uses it regularly elsewhere but you'd have thought she'd have double-checked everything. Considering Russia's usual reputation for finding any cause for arrest.
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There was a TV advert on this theme, showing how gestures such as thumbs-up have offensive meanings in different cultures.

Sitting with your feet up and showing the soles of your feet or shoes is offensive in Arab, Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist areas. The ad showed a mother shielding her child's eyes from the sight of a western traveller doing this.

Can't find it now, sadly, but it was an eye-opener for me.
Having never been abroad back then, I resolved to keep my hands firmly in my pockets should I ever travel. :chuckle:

As you say, a little foresight goes a long way.
 
Dinobot said:
I didn't know Cadbury's had a Deep Heat flavour.....
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Deeeeep Heeeeeeeat :evil:

Dammit, you've set me off now.
Deeeeep Heeeeeeeat
:evil:
 
Just by way of checking for myself, because I wasn't that familiar with the case although I was aware of it, there was quite some reporting around Britney Griner, even prior to her extended Russian visit.
The most info I can find collected in a single article is here, in which they include the various accusations and also statements from Griner herself. I can understand how some people might support the idea that she is a he, thanks to extensive reportage to that being a truth, however it would appear not to be the case.
It concludes with a 'fact check' (and I never like supposed 'fact checks' but in this instance it appears to have been done sensibly)

Photos of a CNN broadcast reporting Brittney Griner's DNA was being tested are a fabrication. Griner has not previously identified as trans and has been housed in a women's prison pre-trial. There is no sign of the claim, which may be a misguided attempt to feed into wider conversations around trans prisoner rights, appearing or being acknowledged in any Russian news outlets or official statements by prosecutors.
 
Stormkhan said:
On a lighter note - and possibly connected to the idea of 'fact checking' - I think the TV show Call My Bluff would go down well nowadays.
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Used to like that.
All the guests spoke posh though. These days it'd be even funnier with a diverse panel.

Can only remember one correct definition - nife - which is the composition of the molten metal at the centre of the earth.
Nickel and iron, Ni and Fe. Nife.

Tried shoehorning this fascinating fact into a school science lesson but the teacher thought I'd made it up. :roll:

It was like the Flying Fox débâcle all over again. :mad:
 
Ah, but "Would I lie to you" is very much based on the guests life history. It might be funny to think of Johnny Vegas once attending a seminary to become a priest ... but I'm far more interested in the meanings and origins of obscure words.
 
Floyd1 said:

Israeli TikTok star held on drug trafficking charges in France: 'I didn't know it was illegal'.​

Three young Israeli women were arrested in Paris last week trying to smuggle over 440 lbs. of khat — a plant whose consumption causes a sense of euphoria and is illegal in France.

One of the suspects is TikTok star Chen Elkayam who was arrested in her hotel room after already having completed the drug deal.

"I did nothing wrong. This isn't a date rape drug. I've been branded a drug dealer. I know it's illegal in France but it's just Khat. The hype around this is disproportional" she said.

But she seems confused, as she then goes on to say; "Since I didn't know it was illegal, I didn't think about fleeing France''.

''I can't wait to get back to Israel so I can tell people exactly what happened."

https://www.ynetnews.com/article/hjfjwfpxn
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I learned a few things about Khat while in Djibouti... since it's actually legal there.

#1 thing is that in places where it IS legal....they KNOW that it's not legal everywhere.

But in Djibouti it's kinda like smoking in how wide spread it really is... And also like smoking in how rarely they have a problem with it.
 
Ronnie Jersey said:
LOL, there are many sites, and videos of the actual person.
I'll get tossed off here if I post the video. :)
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Does the reaction to your lack of sources not give you pause? This place runs on discussion, respect and showing your working if asked.

Is your evidence "well, I think that they must be a man because they don't have enough pink ribbons in their hair when I look at videos." ? Say it ain't so! :rollingw: nah! there must be some evidence that means that all the sites people have found and the archives they've dug through have been censoring the results.

@gordonrutter @Yithian please can you make a ruling on these mysterious videos which could get a member tossed off here? It seems very unfair to label someone with somehing that could get them barred from various countries - BG will have so few options after her forgetfulness!

If she did have to transition that's one thing and really nobody's business (depending on the sport's rules). If she didn't then spreading the idea she is is verging on mean.
 
Stormkhan said:
I'd suggest that many travellers do a bit of research on customs and laws before going to any foreign country, especially the more 'problematic' ones. She may've overlooked cannabis oil if she uses it regularly elsewhere but you'd have thought she'd have double-checked everything. Considering Russia's usual reputation for finding any cause for arrest.
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I suspect she will never make this mistake again. Ever. For any country and all close planets. Etc.
 
Ronnie Jersey said:
I'll get tossed off here if I post the video.
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Okay, that's enough. I'm sick of people taking pot-shots at the mods here (yes, I am one), by saying things like the above comment, or "oh, I'd love to say something but I might get banned!"

We do what we do so that we can have CIVIL discussions. No more pot-shots. No more crap. You will be given warnings if this continues.
 
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MercuryCrest said:
Okay, that's enough. I'm sick of people taking pot-shots at the mods here (yes, I am one), by saying things like the above comment, or "oh, I'd love to say something by I might get banned!"

We do what we do so that we can have CIVIL discussions. No more pot-shots. No more crap. You will be given warnings if this continues.
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Nobody will be banned or disciplined for providing sources to substantiate their claims, least of all in response to a general clamour for substantiation.

We've had links (with appropriate cautions) to all kinds of non-mainstream commentators and groups, some pretty extreme. Even stopped clocks, and all that.

What may well happen, however, is that one may be told it was a unreliable and unsubstantiated source and they were unwise to trust in it.

Just ask @username deleted...

We'd like this digression to end now, please.
 
Putting this here, NOT because of what the pricipal did, but what the school board's actions were in response;

Principal fired after Florida students shown Michelangelo statue​

​






A picture of Michelangelo's statue of David

By Antoinette Radford
BBC News

A principal of a Florida school has been forced to resign after a parent complained that students were exposed to pornography.
The complaint arose from a Renaissance art lesson where students were shown Michelangelo's statue of David.
The iconic statue is one of the most famous in Western history.
But one parent complained the material was pornographic and two others said they wanted to know about the class before it was taught.
The lesson also included references to Michelangelo's "Creation of Adam" painting and Botticelli's "Birth of Venus".
Principal Hope Carrasaquilla of Tallahassee Classical School said she resigned after she was given an ultimatum by the school board to resign or be fired.
Local media reported that Ms Carrasquilla did not know the reason she was asked to resign, but believed it was related to the complaints over the lesson.
They also said Ms Carrasquilla had been principal for less than one year.
On Thursday, Florida's governor moved to expand a law that banned public schools from teaching sexual education and gender identity.
Teachers who violate the law face being suspended or losing their teaching licences.
 
Stormkhan said:
One person's fine art is another person's porn.
This was enforcing someone's personal taste, which is so out of order it's almost laughable in it's ignorance.
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I read it in the early hours, fell back asleep and thought I must have dreamt it. Unfortunately not.

But the real kicker is this;
The complaint arose from a Renaissance art lesson

Isn't that a bit like learning about Christianity but not showing images of, or even mentioning, that Jesus was nailed to a cross, for fear of portraying violence?
 
True. all true. The artist didn't make it for pornographic reasons. However, art is in the eye of the beholder and obviously the Talahassee parent thinks it's porn. The other two who want to "know about the class before it was taught" obviously know nothing of the subject and want to know what nude sculptures has to do with art.
 
Oh, it's the equivalent of wanting to learn about (eg) 'The Wild West' and then complaining that you were shown a film in which cowboys shot at each other.
Or those people that buy a house (eg) near a church/pub/school, and then complain about the bell-ringing/drunks/children.
 
I thought that at some stage it had been decided (court case? publishing guidance?) that an image would be deemed pornographic if, for a gentleman, he was, shall we say, pleased to see someone?

Put another way I thought the old top shelf mags could show willies but not erect willies. I think most art that would feature in lessons for twelve year olds would not feature a gentleman sporting a stiffie.

I suppose there will be a campaign to re introduce fig leaves, prompting male schoolchildren the world over to be traumatised by the fact that they don't have plant shaped genitalia like the statues.

Thinks, must go on Dragon's Den with a plan to start up a business manufacturing self adhesive fig leaves - or just leaves, all sizes from Micranthemum to Gunnera.
 
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