Fantastic Headlines

[Steve]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11275043/Put-sub-away-Stark-naked-man-goes-nuts-Union-Square-subway-station-NYC.html

 

well at least he wasn't carrying a concealed weapon

[Grumpmeister]

The hell?? 

https://www.dailywire.com/news/new-paypal-policy-lets-company-pull-2500-from-users-accounts-if-they-promote-misinformation

[Steve]

The hell?? 

https://www.dailywire.com/news/new-paypal-policy-lets-company-pull-2500-from-users-accounts-if-they-promote-misinformation

Misleading headline, it's for companies that use PayPal to get users to fund their misinformation or other evil activities.
 
The $2,500 is an up to figure that PayPal charge companies for investigations into dubious activities.
 
In short PayPal want nothing to do with evil

[Grumpmeister]

I hate to disagree with you Steve but courtesy of the Wayback Machine here are the full terms and conditions in question. Take note (a) of the date and (b) that it doesn't specify businesses just account holders.

https://web.archive.org/web/20220927223312/https://paypalobjects.com/marketing/ua/pdf/US/en/acceptableuse-full-110322.pdf

You are independently responsible for complying with all applicable laws in all of your actions related to your use of PayPal's services, regardless of the purpose of the use. In addition, you must adhere to the terms of this Acceptable Use Policy. Violation of this Acceptable Use Policy constitutes a violation of the PayPal User Agreement and may subject you to damages, including liquidated damages of $2,500.00 U.S. dollars per violation, which may be debited directly from your PayPal account(s) as outlined in the User Agreement (see “Restricted Activities and Holds” section of the PayPal User Agreement).

5. involve the sending, posting, or publication of any messages, content, or materials that, in PayPal’s sole discretion, (a) are harmful, obscene, harassing, or objectionable, (b) depict or appear to depict nudity, sexual or other intimate activities, (c) depict or promote illegal drug use, (d) depict or promote violence, criminal activity, cruelty, or self-harm (e) depict, promote, or incite hatred or discrimination of protected groups or of individuals or groups based on protected characteristics (e.g. race, religion, gender or gender identity, sexual orientation, etc.) (f) present a risk to user safety or wellbeing, (g) are fraudulent, promote misinformation, or are unlawful, (h) infringe the privacy, intellectual property rights, or other proprietary rights of any party, or (i) are otherwise unfit for publication.

While I agree with a lot of what is in section 5 the disturbing part is that Paypal are the sole arbiters of what counts as objectionable which in this case is a nice little catch all for anything they don't like regardless if it is legally accepted speech.

Also the fact that David Marcus, a former President of Paypal, has also criticized the move lends credence to this not being meant for businesses only.

https://twitter.com/davidmarcus/status/1578795041719750663?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1578795041719750663%7Ctwgr%5E5bf96e0d3ec3a828be6d21e7328a7a8c1bc172b4%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bloomberg.com%2Fnews%2Farticles%2F2022-10-10%2Fpaypal-misinformation-fines-musk-criticized-were-published-by-mistake

It would also seem that the management is scrambling to try and enact damage control and claiming that this was a mistake after the backlash knocked 5% off their share value.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-10-10/paypal-misinformation-fines-musk-criticized-were-published-by-mistake

[Steve]

Interesting, thanks.
 
If you're just a consumer you have all sorts of protections under our (and dare I say the EU's) financial protection rules.  But once you're a business, even a small business, you're by and large out there on your own.  And there I would agree PayPal acts insensitively and arrogantly.
 
There was a case on the BBC recently where someone made a payment to a business and for unknown reasons tagged it as 'raffle'.  PayPal's auto software decided the business was operating a gambling site (very much against their rules) and closed the account immediately.
 
There are other transaction platforms out there, if you're a business donot put your eggs in one basket - but sadly so many do

[Steve]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-63224720
 
King Charles to star in The Repair Shop 




I suspect the discussion went along the lines of:

Charles: "I have this poor reputation and low credibility can you repair them?"

Producers: "No, some things are hopeless but if you've got an old clock we'll have a bash at that"

Whatever why didn't he ask himself the question - would Mum have done this?  No because Royals have to set themselves as positive examples above us mere plebs, not show they can come down to our level having old stuff repaired for free

[Grumpmeister]

Gwent Police unveil their secret weapon against rising crime



Well I suppose that if criminals are on the floor pissing themselves laughing it will make them easier to apprehend.. 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-63262276

[Grumpmeister]

WTF? Okay I think I need to refer to an expert here. Apey, how the hell could someone deflate a tyre using lentils??? 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11317589/Middle-class-eco-vandal-62-admits-using-lentils-deflate-tyres-10-SUVs-night.html

[Grumpmeister]

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-11315633/Painful-oversight-Gruesome-video-shows-woman-having-23-CONTACT-LENSES-removed-two-YEARS.html

[Barman]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-11315633/Painful-oversight-Gruesome-video-shows-woman-having-23-CONTACT-LENSES-removed-two-YEARS.html

Not clicking! 

[Steve]

WTF? Okay I think I need to refer to an expert here. Apey, how the hell could someone deflate a tyre using lentils??? 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11317589/Middle-class-eco-vandal-62-admits-using-lentils-deflate-tyres-10-SUVs-night.html

Sadly easily but not saying how on a public forum

What I'd rather know is how do we stop these tyre extinguisher bastards
 

[Steve]

And more arrogant lunacy from these self indulgent prats as they close the QE2 bridge  https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-63281841
 

[Just One More]

And more arrogant lunacy from these self indulgent prats as they close the QE2 bridge  https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-63281841

 

[Grumpmeister]

Frankenstein a new Omicron variant in a lab that killed 80% of the test subjects? I'm sure that nothing can possibly go wrong.. 

https://metro.co.uk/2022/10/17/scientists-develop-new-covid-strain-that-would-kill-80-of-people-infected-17581534/

[Uncle Mort]

Frankenstein a new Omicron variant in a lab that killed 80% of the test subjects? I'm sure that nothing can possibly go wrong.. 

https://metro.co.uk/2022/10/17/scientists-develop-new-covid-strain-that-would-kill-80-of-people-infected-17581534/

Fortunately we're not mice:

The scientists admit the hybrid virus would be unlikely to be as deadly in real humans as it was in mice.

They noted that one limitation of their study was the specific breed of mice used, as other types of mice are more similar to humans.

Mice and humans also don’t have identical immune responses, as there are variations in DNA and genes between the species.

The genes that regulate the immune system behave differently, for example, and the response to stress is different in mice and humans.