Meanwhile, At The Huffington Post:

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Meanwhile, at the Huffington Post:
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 Leviathan.Chaosx
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By Leviathan.Chaosx 2015-04-05 03:08:39
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2 birds with one stone?

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The indictment of Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) on public corruption charges is the first bribery case involving the use of corporate political spending to support a candidate since the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United decision allowed corporations to do just that.

Justice Anthony Kennedy declared in the 5-4 majority opinion that corporations should be free to spend unlimited sums on independent political activities since “independent expenditures, including those made by corporations, do not give rise to corruption or the appearance of corruption.” Those making independent expenditures “may have influence over or access to elected officials,” but that “does not mean those officials are corrupt,” Kennedy wrote.

The Department of Justice begs to differ. Menendez’s indictment on Wednesday specifically ties two $300,000 contributions from Dr. Salomon Melgen’s Vitreo-Retinal Consultants to an officially independent super PAC -- donations that were earmarked for Menendez’s 2012 re-election effort -- to actions that the senator took on behalf of Melgen’s business interests.

This is exactly the kind of behavior that Kennedy could not fathom happening.

The reality, as many warned after the Supreme Court’s ruling, is that most of the political spending unleashed by Citizens United is not independent. It abides by the narrow guidelines set out by the Federal Election Commission, but as the Menendez indictment and many other examples show, these actually allow much dependence.

Senate Majority PAC, the super PAC at the center of this scandal, is a prime example. The group was set up by top former aides to Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.), then the Senate majority leader, to help maintain a Democratic Senate majority, and Reid has attended dozens of donor events and fundraisers for the group. It is, in essence, an extension of his obligation as a political leader to protect or expand his party’s power.

The former aides who decamped to the super PAC or are otherwise tied to it remain in contact with Reid without violating the relatively loose rules on independence. Campaign donors and lobbyists operate as if contributing to Senate Majority PAC is just another piece of the influence-peddling puzzle. The Huffington Post has documented multiple super PACs run by close allies of congressional leaders that are fueled by contributions raised by lobbyists from clients seeking legislative action.

Melgen, the donor who supported Menendez, gave hundreds of thousands of dollars to Senate Majority PAC while arguing with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services over charges that his company was overbilling the Medicare program. As the indictment makes clear, Melgen wanted the senator to intervene with Kathleen Sebelius, then-secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, to get her to overrule the agency.

To do so, Menendez allegedly roped in Reid, the most powerful Democrat on Capitol Hill. In August 2012, Reid, Menendez and Sebelius met, but the secretary said there was little she could do, according to the indictment. A Menendez staffer is quoted as calling the meeting “lively.”

In October, Melgen fired off his second $300,000 check to Senate Majority PAC. Like the first check, he routed this one through an unnamed fundraiser for Senate Majority PAC, dubbed Fundraiser 2 in the indictment.

Days later, Melgen wrote a memo detailing the latest information on his fight with CMS that yet again calls for Sebelius to overrule the agency. This memo was sent to Menendez’s staff and to Fundraiser 2, who is identified as a former Reid aide. According to the indictment, Fundraiser 2 replied that he or she would be seeing Reid the next day and would make sure Reid received the memo.

In essence, the fundraiser for Senate Majority PAC was acting as a go-between for legislative influence peddling by a major donor. Of course, the super PAC is still considered independent under current rules.

Details point to Fundraiser 2 being Jake Perry, the former Reid aide-turned-Senate Majority PAC co-founder and fundraiser. On Thursday, Senate Majority PAC announced that Fundraiser 2 would no longer be working with the group. When HuffPost asked a top consultant for the super PAC if Perry was Fundraiser 2, the consultant simply replied with that statement from Senate Majority PAC executive director Stephanie Potter. Calls and emails to Perry have not been returned.

Perry, whose bio at the lobbying firm Crossroads Strategies labels him a co-founder of Senate Majority PAC, told Politico in 2013, “I’m always going to be there for Sen. Reid whenever he needs me in any way. My first job in policy was with Sen. Reid and I’ll always be a phone call away if he ever needs me.”

In the aftermath of the indictment, Menendez has insisted that he was simply doing favors for a friend and that Melgen was doing the same. Perhaps it is true that the senator was just using taxpayer-funded congressional aides to help out a friend -- and the largest funder of his 2012 re-election effort -- to obtain visas for that friend's girlfriends, maintain a contract with the Dominican Republic and try to influence an agency to allow overbilling of the government. That might be less illegal, but it doesn’t sound any less damning.

As for Kennedy and the four other justices who signed on to the Citizens United decision, they have argued that bought influence and paid-for access are not corruption for purposes of the law. According to the court, political corruption is defined legally as only the direct and explicit exchange of money for favors -- quid pro quo bribery.

Wednesday's indictment takes this definition of corruption and slams it up against the reality of independent expenditures' influence. The result of Menendez's case should go a long way to determining whether Citizens United has been indicted, too.
Bob Menendez Corruption Case Reads Like An Indictment Of Citizens United Ruling, Too
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By fonewear 2015-04-06 17:31:45
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TLDR This is 40:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/elaine-alguire/31-things-you-learn-by-the-time-youre-40_b_6976492.html?utm_hp_ref=women&ir=Women?utm_hp_ref=women&ir=Women

Being tired and ready for bed at 9 p.m. is more than OK.

The days are long but the years are short -- and any time in the doctor's office with kids feels like years and days.

A well-fitting bra is important, and should be off your body no later than 9 p.m.

Actually, 5 p.m. is good, too.

When in doubt, don't buy -- especially when it comes to shoes and lipstick.

Sometimes you take your kid to "Disney on Ice" because you know he or she will really love it, not because you will. And certainly not because you like paying $7.50 for that souvenir mug of tepid hot chocolate.

Stale popcorn is also very expensive at "Disney on Ice."

You can totally do your own pedicure, but it's much more relaxing to have someone else do it.

Chores for kids are a really good idea.

Exercising is essential, but so is eating a bag of kettle corn popcorn occasionally. It's all about balance.

According to your kids, the "good old days" are any of the days that were pre-Internet.

Red paint takes three to four coats.

Mirrors are kinda dumb, but good for convincing children that you have eyes in the back of your head.

Cookies are not dumb at all.

However, laundry is the dumbest.

The size of your house does not matter, but the size of the love inside its walls does (cheesy, but true).

Marriage is no piece of cake. But it is worth it to get to taste the anniversary cake.

You are old enough to be the mother of the cute lifeguards at the pool.

Having babies is a big deal, but raising them to be adults you admire and respect is a much bigger deal.

The term "low-rise" on clothing can be translated to "no buy."

Mom jeans (my version is jeggings) have their merits.

Eating an entire pint of cookie dough ice cream on the first day of your period is totally acceptable. And if it isn't, TOO DAMN BAD!

Your period can sometimes feel like the devil.

Being yourself is the best person to want to be and to actually be.

Drop-off birthday parties are the best.

It's better to have your husband talk to your pre-teen son about the "hair down there."

Writing your thoughts down right away is a really good idea, because otherwise, they could be gone in less than the blink of an eye.

Wrinkles are sneaky.

A good hairdresser is key.

Quality time spent really listening to your loved ones is priceless.

And...
40 is just a number.
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 Leviathan.Vienne
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By Leviathan.Vienne 2015-04-06 17:43:21
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thanks fonewear, you made me feel like supermom just now :) (also i love staring at your avatars cleavage for some reason, change it!)
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By fonewear 2015-04-06 17:57:20
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Leviathan.Vienne said: »
thanks fonewear, you made me feel like supermom just now :) (also i love staring at your avatars cleavage for some reason, change it!)

This enough cleavage for you !: (possibly NSFW)
 Leviathan.Chaosx
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By Leviathan.Chaosx 2015-04-06 18:06:08
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Cleavage is never safe for work.
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By fonewear 2015-04-06 18:07:48
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Leviathan.Chaosx said: »
Cleavage is never safe for work.

Depends on what type of job you have... !
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 Leviathan.Chaosx
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By Leviathan.Chaosx 2015-04-06 18:08:50
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fonewear said: »
Leviathan.Chaosx said: »
Cleavage is never safe for work.

Depends on what type of job you have... !
Hmm... fair point.

I could see it being useful in a police situation, to distract the criminals, or a strip club.
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By fonewear 2015-04-06 18:11:57
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The beauty of a strip club is everyone is named sapphire or crystal !

And they all are only "temporary" strippers trying to pay for college or cocaine.
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 Leviathan.Chaosx
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By Leviathan.Chaosx 2015-04-10 02:16:03
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Quote:
Frank Rich isn't holding his breath for a Hillary Clinton presidential victory in 2016.

The former secretary of state could be "potentially a problem for the Democratic Party," Rich told HuffPost Live on Thursday, "because I think she could lose."

"She's her own worst enemy," he explained, because "she gets very defensive. She's not good with the press."

"She has reasons, of course, to be insecure with the press," Rich said. "But people don't really change, and she's been so fixed as a public personality for so many years, it almost would be weird if she changed to some huge degree. So I have a feeling this is what we're gonna get."

Although Democrats have every reason to expect a win in 2016, considering "the bounce-back of the economy and Obama's rise in popularity," Rich said it's very possible a more compelling candidate could spring from the Republican Party at any moment.

"Even though collectively we laugh about a lot of the Republican field, the fact is one of these people could emerge as a strong candidate after the primaries and will be younger and possibly a more adept politician. And if it's not Jeb Bush, [it could be] someone fresh," the New York magazine columnist theorized. "And that could be a problem."
Frank Rich Thinks Hillary Could Lose In 2016: 'She's Her Own Worst Enemy'
 Leviathan.Vienne
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By Leviathan.Vienne 2015-04-10 02:28:02
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dickfest
way more exciting topic
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 Leviathan.Chaosx
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By Leviathan.Chaosx 2015-04-10 03:09:19
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Leviathan.Vienne said: »
dickfest
way more exciting topic
Japan... lol
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By fonewear 2015-04-10 08:59:57
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Dickfest that could be the title of the bodybuilding forum !
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By fonewear 2015-04-10 09:10:23
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I'd say there is vagina fest in Japan also...
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By fonewear 2015-04-10 09:13:04
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In give you nightmare news:



http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/10/hillary-clinton-2016_n_7040258.html

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (D) is expected to kick off her 2016 presidential campaign on Sunday.

Clinton will announce her campaign through social media and a video, according to multiple outlets. She'll follow up her announcement with campaign travel to early-voting states like Iowa and New Hampshire.

Clinton published a new epilogue from her book Hard Choices on The Huffington Post Friday, where she reflected on how her new granddaughter has motivated her to keep pushing for a better future.

"Becoming a grandmother has made me think deeply about the responsibility we all share as stewards of the world we inherit and will one day pass on," Clinton said. "Rather than make me want to slow down, it has spurred me to speed up."

According to HuffPost Pollster, Clinton has a wide lead over other potential Democratic candidates, including Vice President Joe Biden and former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley:
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By fonewear 2015-04-10 09:19:17
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In where were these teachers when I was in school news:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/09/plea-allows-teacher-to-av_0_n_7035842.html?cps=gravity_2682_-6643686893862855774


HAHNVILLE, La. (AP) — One of two former high school teachers accused of having sex with a 16-year-old student has agreed to a plea deal that will allow her to avoid prison time or having to register as a sex offender.

The deal was announced in Hahnville at a Thursday hearing in the case of 32-year-old Shelley Dufresne (doo-FRAIN'). The deal avoids a May 20 trial.

The New Orleans Advocate reports that Dufresne pleaded guilty to one felony count of obscenity. She received a $1,000 fine, but a three-year prison sentence was deferred on the condition that she complete 90 days of mental health treatment.

She and another former teacher at the school have been arrested, but not yet formally charged, in a Jefferson Parish case involving the same student.

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 Leviathan.Chaosx
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By Leviathan.Chaosx 2015-04-10 14:00:35
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The best argument I could find about why female teachers get away with rape is that it helps build self esteem for the kids involved.
And really who needs educations when self esteem is always the answer?
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 Leviathan.Chaosx
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By Leviathan.Chaosx 2015-04-10 23:26:40
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Quote:
The neocons, deprived of a John McCain presidency, have latched onto a new potential female savior. No, it isn't Sarah Palin. It's Hillary Clinton. Two new pieces in the Weekly Standard make it clear that the neocons see Hillary as their best hope over the next four years. In "Hail Clinton," Michael Goldfarb, until recently a McCain campaign aide, blogs that "Clinton's a hawk. Not only did she vote to authorize the war in Iraq, she delivered her vote in style -- her floor speech on October 10, 2002, went so far as to connect Saddam to al Qaeda..."

There's more. Noemie Emery, in an online piece titled "The Great Right Hope?," muses that
"For the moment, Hillary Clinton will be the conservatives' Woman in Washington, more attuned to their concerns on these issues than to those of the get-the-troops-home-now wing of her party, a strange turn of events for a woman whose husband was impeached by Republicans just ten years ago, and whose ascent that party had dreaded since she went to the Senate two years after that."

Now, it's certainly possible that Clinton will be the neocon of the Obama administration, pushing it to the right. In this thinking, she would deal as ruthlessly with Vladimir Putin as she tried to dispose of Obama during the primaries. But if Clinton has shown anything during the campaign, when she morphed from establishment to working class candidate, she has an elastic sense of the possible. Whether she will become the standard-bearer of the interventionist wing of the Democratic party remains an open question. But as the neocons have discerned, it is a possibility and one that they welcome.
Hillary Clinton, Neocon Savior?
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By Garuda.Chanti 2015-04-11 19:00:03
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Teen Attacks Paramedic Who Stopped Ambulance Sex Session

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A teen who was trying to have sex in an ambulance will spend nearly three years behind bars for attacking paramedics who wanted to use the vehicle for official business.

Kyle Hargreaves, 18, of Grimsby, England, was sentenced last week for the Feb. 15 assault and for violating an anti-social behavior order, according to the Grimsby Telegraph.

He also admitted robbing a crate of beer from a store on the same day.

The incident began when paramedics responded to the home of a 92-year-old man suffering from chest pains. The crew members left open the back doors of the ambulance when they went to retrieve him.

When they returned, they found Hargreaves and a female companion making out on a stretcher, the Lincolnshire Echo reports.

Hargreaves yelled, "What's your problem? We are just trying to have sex," according to the North Devon Journal.

Hargreaves then punched paramedic Michael Newman three times in the face and spat blood and saliva on him. The female suspect also bit the hand of technician William Heron, according to court testimony.

The ambulance crew, which was waiting outside the vehicle with the patient, contacted police with a panic button on one of their radios.

Police then arrested Hargreaves while a separate crew arrived to take the elderly man to the hospital. He didn't suffer any ill effects from the delay.

One medic stayed behind to treat Newman for a black eye, some cuts and a bleeding nose, the Mirror reports.

Hargreaves' partner was not identified. It wasn't immediately clear whether she faced any charges.
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By fonewear 2015-04-13 20:38:41
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In virtual rape news: (old but still amazing for the amount of feminism in one video)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/12/grand-theft-auto-rape_n_5671400.html

The widely popular "Grand Theft Auto" video-game series lets players get away with a wide range of virtual crimes, including looting and murder. But that's not enough mayhem for some players, who are rewriting its code to add another crime: rape.

In a disturbing new trend, "Grand Theft Auto V" gamers are virtually raping the avatars controlled by other people playing online. They then post videos of their exploits on YouTube.

The virtual rapists modify the game's code to let them do things they otherwise couldn't. They choose a naked or pantless man as their character, lock him to another player and play an animation that thrusts his pelvis back and forth.

Note: YouTube videos of the gameplay that previously appeared here have since been removed by the site as a violation of its policy on content depicting sexual violence.

A Reddit user with the handle "mrerikmattila" described the experience of being a victim. "You cannot kill him and there is nothing you can do about it," he wrote of his virtual rapist. "Worse, when he's done, you are stuck doing strip dances."

Rockstar Games, which publishes the series, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In the past, Rockstar has pushed back against accusations that its games depict rape. Last year, when a video-game blogger at PlayStation Universe thought he encountered a rape scene in "Grand Theft Auto V," Rockstar responded that the episode in question was "meant to depict and imply cannibalism, not rape."

Sadly, virtual rape isn't new to video games. Earlier this year, video-game writer Kim Correa described her own virtual sexual assault in the zombie apocalypse game "DayZ." Two armed men cornered her character, made her strip, killed her and simulated having sex with her body. The players could speak to her through the video game the entire time.

"I definitely don't want to say what happened to me verbally is as important as if it had happened in real life," Correa later said in an interview with TLDR, a radio show that airs on WNYC 93.9 FM. "But it means something. And I'm not sure what it means."

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 Leviathan.Chaosx
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By Leviathan.Chaosx 2015-04-14 07:59:33
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Do these women have nothing better to do?
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By fonewear 2015-04-14 08:35:02
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Leviathan.Chaosx said: »
Do these women have nothing better to do?

The answer is no. Feminism is a solution to a problem only things in theory. In theory feminism works...in theory !
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By Leviathan.Chaosx 2015-04-14 19:37:33
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fonewear said: »
Leviathan.Chaosx said: »
Do these women have nothing better to do?

The answer is no. Feminism is a solution to a problem to things based on feels. In theory feminism works...in theory !
ftfy.
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 Garuda.Chanti
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By Garuda.Chanti 2015-04-14 20:50:34
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Fone, that virtual rape stuff is OLD news.

Like at least a month RT which is FOREVER in internet years.
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By fonewear 2015-04-14 21:09:22
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Garuda.Chanti said: »
Fone, that virtual rape stuff is OLD news.

Like at least a month RT which is FOREVER in internet years.

I know but it is worth point out how terrible feminism is still !
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By Ragnarok.Nausi 2015-04-15 09:42:28
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Leviathan.Chaosx said: »
Do these women have nothing better to do?

After years and years of being told they are overly oppressed, they feel obligated to keep "fighting the patriarchy". But, in lack of any real oppression, they're so desperate for recognition they expose what they can.
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 Leviathan.Chaosx
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By Leviathan.Chaosx 2015-04-20 10:50:00
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Article is way too long.
World's Last Male Northern White Rhino Placed Under 24-Hour Armed Guard In Kenya
 Asura.Kingnobody
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By Asura.Kingnobody 2015-04-20 12:01:05
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fonewear said: »
In virtual rape news
Physical or mental?

Cause we got a lot of mental rape here. Just look at the latest vaccination thread.

At least we have our own version of a mental rape kit
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 Leviathan.Chaosx
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By Leviathan.Chaosx 2015-04-21 00:08:32
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By Valefor.Endoq 2015-04-21 00:39:02
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how can anyone be offended by something like this in such a morally bankrupt game like gta5? I found gta5 to be too extream for me so I didn't buy it. If this was a childrens game I would understand the outrage, but it's not.

If it offends you, don't play it. If the players offend you, leave.. right?
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