Torvalds Uses Profanity To Lambaste Romney Remarks 1223
netbuzz writes "Last night Linux creator Linus Torvalds took to his Google+ page and called Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney 'a f***ing moron.' Torvalds' stated reason? Romney's much-ridiculed suggestion that air passengers would be safer in emergencies if aircraft windows could be opened (a suggestion which some, including Snopes.com, have taken as a joke). Torvalds also recently called Mormonism, Romney's religion, 'bats**t crazy.' Is this just Linus being Linus? Or does such outspokenness on non-technical matters reflect poorly on the Linux community that Torvalds leads?"
Come on Slashdot, seriously? (Score:5, Informative)
For those having issues understanding the summary, here's the plain text:
'a f***ing moron' = ' a fucking moron'
'bats**t crazy' = 'batshit crazy'
Hope this helps.
He actually apologized (Score:5, Informative)
Speaking of people being morons... (Score:5, Informative)
The problem is that the reporter that originally covered this (New York Times's Ashley Parker) has stated that Romney said it in the form of a joke and was not being serious. Seems like not being a moron is a fine line even for Linux creators.
Ashley’s response to the question:
The Los Angeles Times story that relayed Romney’s airplane remark to the world was based off a pool report written by the New York Times‘s Ashley Parker. When we asked Parker this morning whether it seemed as if Romney made the mark in jest, she left no doubt. “Romney was joking,” she e-mailed. Parker told us that while the pool report didn’t explicitly indicate that Romney was joking, it was self-evident that he was. ”The pool report provided the full transcript of his comments on Ann’s plane scare,” she said, “and it was clear from the context that he was not being serious.”
Re:idiotic politically correct fears indeed (Score:3, Informative)
Bright or not, that would be caving to alleged mormon influence, as in "don't piss us off or we will hurt you"
Which smacks of intimidation.
Comment removed (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Mormons (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Romney *is* a moron (Score:2, Informative)
The airplane you opened that window in was not pressurized. Airplanes that fly over 12,500 feet must have pressurized cabins, or supplemental oxygen from a breathing mask. The lack of air pressure makes it difficult or impossible to receive oxygen in non pressurized cabins. Opening a windows or a door at altitude while the cabin is pressured would be very bad, and dangerous.
Flying small airplanes or helicopters at low altitude with open doors, windows or doors removed is not a problem at all. I do it all the time.
Mythbusters did an episode where they tested pressurized cabin breaches, and it wasn't as catastrophic as I expected, but it would definitely cause an early landing.
Snopes on the window comment (Score:5, Informative)
http://www.snopes.com/politics/romney/windows.asp
Per Snopes, although it is true that Romney made that remark, it was clearly told as a joke meant to lighten the mood. It was not a serious comment.
Re:Mormons (Score:5, Informative)
Some Scotsmen might have something to say about that [wikipedia.org]
Re:Come on (Score:5, Informative)
I was being sarcastic.
Technically speaking (Score:5, Informative)
Technically speaking, the poster is incorrect in referring to Linus Torvalds's comments as "profanity". They are, instead, vulgarity (common or coarse language), rather than profanity (language which demeans the sacred).
Hey ... I'm a writer. I can't help myself.
Re:reflects well (Score:3, Informative)
Somehow you forgot to mention the most important thing he did on vacation. While busy vacationing, on August 6, 2001, he ignored a little report titled 'Bin Ladin Determined To Strike in US'.
Re:reflects well (Score:2, Informative)
Wow. He spent some time playing golf. Big fucking deal.
Call me when he spends 3 years on vacation like bush.
http://politic365.com/2012/05/08/obamas-vacations-of-any-president-bush-racked-up-the-most/ [politic365.com]
Here [politico.com] is a picture of the Ranch. Notice the caption:
George W. Bush (center) is joined by Condoleezza Rice (left) and Paul Wolfowitz, (right) as they talk with reporters before the start of an intelligence briefing from the CIA at Bush's ranch
Obama has pictures of his "working vacations" too!
http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2010/01/obamas_working_hawaii_vacation.html [suntimes.com]
President Obama and top national security advisor Denis McDonough working in Hawaii, where the Obama family was vacationing over the holiday break. The family returned to Washington on Monday.
Obama doesn't attend CIA briefings when he's in Washington!
That's a little misleading, according to this source:
http://thinkprogress.org/security/2012/09/24/898081/kessler-thiessen-intel-breifing-bogus-misleading/?mobile=nc [thinkprogress.org]
Clearly, different presidents have structured their daily briefing from the CIA to fit their unique personal styles. Many did not have an oral briefing, while three — two of whom are named Bush — preferred to deal directly with a CIA official. Obama appears to have opted for a melding of the two approaches, in which he receives oral briefings, but not as frequently as his predecessor.
Comment removed (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Bill Nye (Score:5, Informative)
I don't hear Bill Nye being a pussy and apologizing for calling it like it is. He called a sitting US Congressman a "fucking idiot" for his pseudo-scientific beliefs and followers of creationism "fucking retarded".
Nope. It's a great story, but it didn't happen [snopes.com].
Re:reflects well (Score:3, Informative)
Ron Paul got to say plenty. He said he'd stop the wars and bring all troops home. He said he wanted to cut a Trillion dollars in the first year, eliminate 5 departments and balance the budget by the year 3. He said he wanted to eliminate IRS and audit the Fed and eventually eliminate the Fed. He said he wanted to legalize freedoms, so that no federal government bureaucrat could tell you what to eat, drink, smoke, ingest or who to marry or how to run your business.
He said plenty, he wasn't received well by most Republicans or Democrats for it.
Re:idiotic politically correct fears indeed (Score:4, Informative)
Somehow I have a feeling, that of those 15M mormons, only about 14.9M of them would be saying "Linus who?" if they read any of this.
Only in a community like Slashdot is this guy revered as some kind of opinion maker. Not a single damn is given in the rest of society.
Re:Fortunately, Romney isn't a Democrat (Score:2, Informative)
Thinks anyone with their own business didn't do it themselves and worse, thinks everyone is stupid as him.
Try not to be an obvious idiot, it's clear from the context that Obama thinks that "anyone with their own business" didn't build the roads and bridges that lead to the business. When someone deliberately misunderstands and misrepresents the truth, it just makes them look unreliable and stupid. Do you really want to be the crazy guy ranting on the corner?
Re:Fortunately, Romney isn't a Democrat (Score:3, Informative)
Yup. Anyone who owns a business that claims they built it entirely themselves is deluded. The majority of businesses in this country can't exist without roads - privately built, funded, and maintained roads are an incredibly rare exception, not the norm, and don't function without connectivity to the government-built road network.
In modern days, it could in theory be possible to have a business that does not directly depend on roads, but still:
1) The Internet was created using DARPA
2) Many Internet connections in this country have at least some government subsidization - anyone who lives away from the main road network and has phone service has the government to thank for that.
3) Can't get your equipment to your site without a road network. (Technically you could air/helo-lift things in - but guess where most of the initial development money for helicopters came from? Guess where the funding for our air traffic control system comes from?)
Re:Fortunately, Romney isn't a Democrat (Score:4, Informative)
Well, there's always Jill Stein [jillstein.org].
A Jill Stein vote will not be seen as a call for some political integrity, unfortunately. It will be interpreted as a pro-sustainability, anti-plutocracy vote by the brains (the Rove/Matlin/Carville types) and as crazy, un-american hippy lunacy by the brain-washed and brainless.