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New York, 1:24 PM
Fri Dec 11
62 posts in the last 24 hours

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    Dsmvwl  Admin  Promote to frontpage Approve user Ban user ×
    Image of DoctorNine DoctorNine
    12/07/09

    In reply to Anne Applebaum's Freaking Car Explodes
    If the explosion was preceded by an auditory cue of sufficient duration that she was able to stop it and get out to investigate, then it is unlikely that there was any sabotage. Or alternatively, if there was, that the sabotage was designed merely to get her attention, and not actually hurt her.

    People forget that being a journalist is an innately insecure vocation. Sometimes it's easy to see the action/reaction once a piece goes public, sometimes the results are more opaque. So it goes.

    I've also lately become convinced that we all choose how we are going to die, more or less. Presumably, she has the wherewithal to understand that poking a grumpy bear with a stick has some implications. I personally might spend some time deciding how to reconcile my profession and my mortality, if I were in her shoes.
     Reply
    DoctorNine was starred DoctorNine was unstarred
    Image of FTGDWolverineEdition'09 FTGDWolverineEdition'09
    12/07/09

    In reply to Anne Applebaum's Freaking Car Explodes
     
     Reply
    FTGDWolverineEdition'09 was starred FTGDWolverineEdition'09 was unstarred
    Image of shostakobitch shostakobitch
    12/07/09

    In reply to Anne Applebaum's Freaking Car Explodes
    This morning, when I blew a fuse making toast and plugging in an electric space heater, my first thought was that Russian gangsters had gotten wind of my critical stance on Putin.
     Reply
    Edited by shostakobitch at 12/07/09 1:46 PM shostakobitch was starred shostakobitch was unstarred
    Image of BicycleShed BicycleShed
    12/07/09

    In reply to Anne Applebaum's Freaking Car Explodes
    Maybe this is just car karma for her agitating for Polanski's release while not disclosing her relationship with her husband (who has also been critical of the Polanski prosecution). Regardless of where you stand on Polanski, Applebaum should have provided full disclosure when she wrote her WaPo column on the subject.
     Reply
    BicycleShed was starred BicycleShed was unstarred
    Image of Perhaps Not Perhaps Not
    12/07/09

    In reply to Anne Applebaum's Freaking Car Explodes
    Jesus P. God. Whenever anyone talks about the death of journalism these days, I picture Anne Applebaum smoking over an Underwood, beating out some incredibly damning thing about Vladimir Putin, and I have hope.

    Smoking a cigarette, I mean.

    Get 'em, Anne!
     Reply
    Perhaps Not was starred Perhaps Not was unstarred
    Image of Spirit Fingers Spirit Fingers
    12/07/09

    @Perhaps Not: Just wondering what the P. stands for? Percy?
     Reply
    Spirit Fingers was starred Spirit Fingers was unstarred
    Image of Conchie Birdie Conchie Birdie
    12/07/09

    @Spirit Fingers: Patrick, everyone knows Jesus is Irish.
     Reply
    Conchie Birdie was starred Conchie Birdie was unstarred
    Image of MrInBetween MrInBetween
    12/07/09

    In reply to Anne Applebaum's Freaking Car Explodes
    Russian cars are just like Russian men. If you don't regularly ply 'em with vodka, they ALL make strange noises before exploding.
     Reply
    MrInBetween was starred MrInBetween was unstarred
    Image of miss_msry miss_msry
    12/07/09

    In reply to Anne Applebaum's Freaking Car Explodes
    Sometimes an explosion is just an explosion.
     Reply
    miss_msry was starred miss_msry was unstarred
    Image of Buttafooco Buttafooco
    12/07/09

    @miss_msry: Agreed. I wonder if it was an Audi S4? Mine exploded and burned in dramatic fashion while idling with my father sitting in it. And as far as I know, he was never critical of the Russian government. He did complain about a bad deli experience in Brighton Beach once though.
     Reply
    Buttafooco was starred Buttafooco was unstarred
    Image of Sloop_John_B Sloop_John_B
    12/07/09

    In reply to Anne Applebaum's Freaking Car Explodes
    It's either the worst Russian gangster job on the planet or she's driving a Tatra, Lada, Trabant, or older Skoda. When it makes noises and then "Blows up" it sounds like the latter rather than the former. Only because what half-assed mobster modifies an engine to blow up? Why not just blow the car in general without making "noises" in the first place?
     Reply
    Sloop_John_B was starred Sloop_John_B was unstarred
    Image of Elhigh Elhigh
    12/07/09

    In reply to Anne Applebaum's Freaking Car Explodes
    I'd want to know more about exactly what make and model of car before taking it as ominous news. I don't expect Ms. Applebaum is driving a 1965 Tatra, but you never know. And if she has been piloting one of those more volatile models, even then the phrase "blew up" doesn't really tell us much. The engine "blowing up" is a lot different from the car blowing up.
     Reply
    Elhigh was starred Elhigh was unstarred
    Image of BettyCrocker BettyCrocker
    12/07/09

    In reply to Anne Applebaum's Freaking Car Explodes
    My first car (a 1978 Thunderbird) blew up during rush hour, backing up traffic for miles. The creepiest thing about it was that even though I had the keys in my hand, the engine kept trying to start itself as it burned. Totally possessed.
     Reply
    BettyCrocker was starred BettyCrocker was unstarred
    Image of momof3wildkids momof3wildkids
    12/07/09

    @BettyCrocker: American cars.
     Reply
    momof3wildkids was starred momof3wildkids was unstarred
    Image of BettyCrocker BettyCrocker
    12/07/09

    @momof3wildkids: True. My 2001 VW Passat has 148,000 trouble free miles on it, and it's still rolling.
     Reply
    BettyCrocker was starred BettyCrocker was unstarred
    Image of Clashtastic misses Jalopnik 1.0 Clashtastic misses Jalopnik 1.0
    12/07/09

    @BettyCrocker: 148k trouble free on a Passat count yourself lucky. VWs have worse reliability than even the worst American cars.
    Also please note, Ford's reliability is at parity or beats the reliability of the Japanese.
     Reply
    BettyCrocker promoted this comment Clashtastic misses Jalopnik 1.0 was starred Clashtastic misses Jalopnik 1.0 was unstarred
    Image of BettyCrocker BettyCrocker
    12/07/09

    @Clashtastic misses Jalopnik 1.0: Statistically, you are correct. However, I've always maintained my cars properly, so that helps.
     Reply
    BettyCrocker was starred BettyCrocker was unstarred
    Image of momof3wildkids momof3wildkids
    12/07/09

    @BettyCrocker: The Honda Odyssey I have has about 125k on it. I am running this thing into the ground. With any luck, my 10 year old will be driving it when she gets her license in 6 years.

    I'm not against American cars; I've just had some really crappy ones over the years. Since I switched to Honda and Toyota, my auto situation has been completely trouble free. (Knock wood)
     Reply
    momof3wildkids was starred momof3wildkids was unstarred
    Image of bboston88 bboston88
    12/07/09

    @momof3wildkids: Damn I want an Odyssey. There, I said it, I want a minivan!!
     Reply
    momof3wildkids promoted this comment bboston88 was starred bboston88 was unstarred
    Image of momof3wildkids momof3wildkids
    12/07/09

    @bboston88: If you must have a mini van, it is a good one to get. However, no one in their right mind really 'wants' one. Necessity not desire.
     Reply
    momof3wildkids was starred momof3wildkids was unstarred
    Image of Uncle_Billy_Slumming Uncle_Billy_Slumming
    12/07/09

    @momof3wildkids:

    Oh! I had a minivan for a few years. The boys at work with the Ferraris and the Bimmers, etc. snickered when they first saw it. But, but, I looked them straight in the eye and I told them it was one of the finest automobiles in the world and that the fact that it transports a family, the most important thing in the world, trumps any tiny-penis sports-car-self-worth.

    After that, every time someone showed up with a new car, I would remark... "sure it's nice, but it's no minivan," and they would nod seriously in agreement like sheepish dogs.
     Reply
    Uncle_Billy_Slumming was starred Uncle_Billy_Slumming was unstarred
    Image of AzureTexan AzureTexan
    12/07/09

    In reply to Anne Applebaum's Freaking Car Explodes
    This is yet another argument in defense of going green. I mean, it's hard to hide a detonator — especially a long-period delay detonator — beneath a horse-drawn carriage.
     Reply
    AzureTexan was starred AzureTexan was unstarred
    Image of DennyCrane DennyCrane
    12/07/09

    In reply to Anne Applebaum's Freaking Car Explodes
    Someone send Austin Millbarge and Emmett Fitz-Hume to investigate!
     Reply
    DennyCrane was starred DennyCrane was unstarred
    Image of HowardRoarkLaughed HowardRoarkLaughed
    12/07/09

    @DennyCrane: Your're right - a couple of GLG-20's will have that cleared up in no time.
     Reply
    Maxichamp promoted this comment HowardRoarkLaughed was starred HowardRoarkLaughed was unstarred
    Image of Maxichamp Maxichamp
    12/07/09

    @HowardRoarkLaughed: Why, they're spies! Like us!
     Reply
    Maxichamp was starred Maxichamp was unstarred
    Image of The Real JR The Real JR
    12/07/09

    In reply to Anne Applebaum's Freaking Car Explodes
    So is Russia running out of Polonium or something?
     Reply
    The Real JR was starred The Real JR was unstarred
    Image of momof3wildkids momof3wildkids
    12/07/09

    In reply to Anne Applebaum's Freaking Car Explodes
    For some reason, I cannot help but think of Spinal Tap and the spontaneously combusting drummers.
     Reply
    momof3wildkids was starred momof3wildkids was unstarred
    Image of Ash78, cube farmer Ash78, cube farmer
    12/07/09

    In reply to Anne Applebaum's Freaking Car Explodes
    It could have been any manner of Lada, Trabant, or older Skoda. They'll "blow up" if you look at them wrong.

    Or, to give in to our editor's conspiracy theory, a really crappy mafia effort.
     Reply
    Ash78, cube farmer was starred Ash78, cube farmer was unstarred
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