# Omnibus Stupid MFers in the news thread (Part 2) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 5, 2024, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657 "2024-01-05T16:15:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 122
**Author:** ![FluffyBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecb155/32.png) [@FluffyBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FluffyBob)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2024, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/2421 "2024-09-05T18:28:24Z")
I notice you have been avoiding the subject of your parents. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2024, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/2422 "2024-09-05T19:54:43Z")
Say a little more about I notice you have been avoiding the subject of your parents. ---
**Author:** ![FluffyBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecb155/32.png) [@FluffyBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FluffyBob)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2024, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/2423 "2024-09-05T20:09:26Z")
Okay I have to admit I don’t know if ‘say a little more about’ was another one of its lines or not. I do know that the bit about the parents would come up with one of the early ‘AI’ pc text chat programs. I always thought it was funny and a friend and I used to use it on each other mockingly when having a friendly discussion. ---
**Author:** ![SailorHG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecae2f/32.png) [@SailorHG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SailorHG)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2024, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/2424 "2024-09-05T20:51:13Z")
> [@Zyada](#): > > I met her in a Radio Shack on a trash-80 Me, too! It was one of the games that came with the machine (we bought it second hand from the Radio Shack manager). One time my dad was in the room with us and he typed “fart” at the input prompt. Eliza came back with “did you cut the cheese?” which totally made his day! ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2024, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/2425 "2024-09-05T22:54:31Z")
One of the classic UNIX text editors, emacs, over the years acquired some commands that had nothing to do with text editing. It had an ELIZA mode, and another command that would generate s random quote from the Zippy the Pinhead comic. The command “psychoanalyze-pinhead” would start a conversation between Zippy and ELIZA. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2024, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/2426 "2024-09-05T23:22:21Z")
I’ll call this one stupid, but it’s a close call. TV station tweets about the capture of the suspect in the recent Georgia school shooting - but shows a picture of one of the victims instead, with added racial profiling > **[Randy Milholland (@choochoobear.bsky.social)](https://bsky.app/profile/choochoobear.bsky.social/post/3l3g2pmwj3z2x)** > > So we're clear, that's a picture of one of the victims, not the shooter. > The tweet was deleted eventually but hasn't been addressed. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2024, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/2427 "2024-09-05T23:34:17Z")
> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > You can always tell a Brampton man… “…but you can’t tell him much.” _Thankyaverymuch_, will be here all week… Who’d have thought there would be so much excitement at a Tim Horton’s drive-thru. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2024, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/2428 "2024-09-06T00:29:35Z")
Even Canadians can misbehave if suitably provoked. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2024, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/2429 "2024-09-06T11:10:45Z")
These folks decided to set up an unauthorized wifi network on their Naval ship > **[How Navy chiefs conspired to get themselves illegal warship Wi-Fi](https://www.navytimes.com/news/your-navy/2024/09/03/how-navy-chiefs-conspired-to-get-themselves-illegal-warship-wi-fi/)** > > A scathing Navy investigation reveals how USS Manchester's enlisted leaders endangered their ship with an unauthorized Starlink Wi-Fi setup. > As the ship prepared for a West Pacific deployment in April 2023, the enlisted leader onboard conspired with the ship’s chiefs to install the secret, unauthorized network aboard the ship, for use exclusively by them. > > So while rank-and-file sailors lived without the level of internet connectivity they enjoyed ashore, the **chiefs installed a Starlink satellite internet dish on the top of the ship** and used a Wi-Fi network they dubbed “STINKY” to check sports scores, text home and stream movies. Consequences ensued: > At a special court-martial in March, Marrero pleaded guilty to willful dereliction of duty charge specifications,[Navy Times previously reported](https://www.navytimes.com/news/your-navy/2024/06/03/command-senior-chief-convicted-for-unauthorized-wi-fi-on-her-ship/). She also pleaded guilty to two false official statement charge specifications that involved her telling the CO that there was no Wi-Fi aboard the Manchester, according to her trial summary. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2024, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/2430 "2024-09-06T12:40:11Z")
That’s a remarkably detailed article compared to the many puff pieces in the Navy Times. Certain ideas need to remain unthinkable because once someone starts thinking of them, it’s a real slippery slope to giving away the whole mission. Unauthorized access to the internet by military folks needs to stay unthinkable. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2024, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/2431 "2024-09-06T13:46:14Z")
I’m surprised. It looks like they only busted her down one rank to E-7. After all the lying and such, is that normal? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2024, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/2432 "2024-09-06T15:52:55Z")
I had the same reaction. Between the OpSec implications, the lying, and the conspiracy aspect, I expected to see some pretty hefty punishments. Of a bunch of the other co-conspirators too. ---
**Author:** ![SunUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SunUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunUp)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2024, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/2433 "2024-09-06T16:27:12Z")
Yeah, that was pretty egregious. A Starlink tranceiver, WiFi hotspot and _repeaters_ throughout the ship? Might as well have lit it up like a Christmas tree in the RF spectrum. I’m sure no member of that ship’s chief’s mess is ever going to get a promotion, but I would expect some punishments a little more draconian. Of course, the Navy has been missing recruitment goals for a while now. Perhaps TPTB thought they might have a hard time keeping some billets filled if they threw out the lot of them? ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2024, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/2434 "2024-09-06T16:31:50Z")
How do you hide a wi-fi network, anyway? All you need is for some bored officer or enlisted to press an icon on their laptop or phone, and the gig is up. ---
**Author:** ![SailorHG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecae2f/32.png) [@SailorHG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SailorHG)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2024, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/2435 "2024-09-06T16:39:41Z")
I believe you can tell a wifi network not to broadcast its SSID. In that case you have to manually type the name into a connection window to join it. For MacOS (what I’m using at the moment) it’s the wifi menu / Other Networks / Other… to pull up that connection option. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2024, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/2436 "2024-09-06T16:47:42Z")
From the article, people were finding the SSID - first they used “STINKY”, then they changed it to something that resembled a wireless printer’s network. But it sounds like everyone below officer rank knew about it, it was just that the chiefs who installed it wouldn’t let anyone else use it. Heck, the satellite transceiver was found & removed at one point, and then the conspirators put it back a few days later. If anything, I’m guessing the minor punishments are being used to avoid a larger investigation that would show how completely clueless the officers were. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2024, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/2437 "2024-09-06T18:28:39Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > it sounds like everyone below officer rank knew about it, it was just that the chiefs who installed it wouldn’t let anyone else use it. Isn’t that just begging to have some of the “anyone else”'s tell on them? ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2024, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/2438 "2024-09-06T19:40:27Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > and the gig is up. ISWYDT ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2024, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/2439 "2024-09-06T21:02:17Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > I’m surprised. It looks like they only busted her down one rank to E-7. After all the lying and such, is that normal? The level of court-martial determines the maximum penalty available. A special court-martial is basically a glorified Article 15 and, [according to this Wiki link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Courts-martial_of_the_United_States#Summary_court-martial), > The summary court-martial consists of one individual, who is not a military attorney, but still functions as judge and acts as the sole finder of fact.[[25]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Courts-martial_of_the_United_States#cite_note-25) The maximum [punishment](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punishment) at a summary court-martial varies with the accused’s paygrade. If the accused is in the [pay grade](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._uniformed_services_pay_grades) of E-4 or below, he or she can be sentenced to 30 days of confinement, reduction to pay grade E-1, or restriction for 60 days. Punishments for service members in pay grades E-5 and higher (i.e…, sergeant in the Army or Marine Corps, petty officer 2nd Class in the Navy or Coast Guard) are similar, except that they can only be reduced one pay grade and cannot be confined.[[26]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Courts-martial_of_the_United_States#cite_note-26) As the Command Senior Chief Petty Officer, she had the pay grade of E-7 and thus reduction of more than one rate is not available. (Fascinating bit: if someone is frocked, their reduction is based on their actual pay grade, not the frocked grade.) I’m with others. I would have expected someone in such a position to have faced a higher level of court-martial based on both the offenses charged and her position as the senior enlisted advisor. Actually, I would have expected the entire Chief’s Mess to face punishment for this stunt. > [@thorny\_locust](#): > > Isn’t that just begging to have some of the “anyone else”'s tell on them? According to the _Navy Times_ article linked above, someone attempted to tell on them. > Charge sheets state that she “willfully failed” to share a commanding officer’s suggestion box comment from a crew member about the Wi-Fi system with the then-commanding officer of the Manchester’s gold crew in June 2023. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2024, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/2440 "2024-09-06T21:51:23Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > As the Command Senior Chief Petty Officer, she had the pay grade of E-7 Note: E8 as Command Senior -so she goes down one grade to E7. And agree that I would have expected something heavier. OTOH that apparenly you just can jury-rig a Starlink dish on the roof of a Navy vessel and reasonably expect nobody notices… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657.md?page=121) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657.md?page=123)