firehose

Lauren Weinstein writes "In a clear demonstration that actions do have consequences, often unintended ones, 'The New York Times' reports that Russia is again demanding a UN Internet takeover of exactly the sort repressive governments around the world have long been lusting after, and using Edward Snowden's continued presence in Russia as a foundation for this new thrust. Acting as a catalyst for a crackdown against freedom of speech on the Net was certainly not Snowden's intention — quite the opposite, it's reasonable to assume." Not to worry.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Warner Bros. has at last found the male marquee name and the much younger female lead who validates his box-office appeal for Focus, the long-gestating con-artist romance from Crazy Stupid Love duo Glenn Ficarra and John Requa. After abandoning the original idea to reteam that movie’s Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, producers moved on to Brad Pitt and then Ben Affleck—the latter dropping out after realizing it would conflict with Live By Night, and certainly not because it would mean attempting to romance Kristen Stewart. Then Stewart dropped out, after producers moved from the 40-year-old Affleck to the 44-year-old Will Smith, and Stewart suddenly cited an uncomfortable age gap, and certainly not any other reason, as Kristen Stewart feels very uncomfortable romancing men over the age of, say, 42.

But finally, Variety reports that Focus is nearly settled, and now Will Smith will be the veteran con man ...

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NEW YORK—Reflecting on the aftermath of the George Zimmerman trial, citizens across the nation prayed Tuesday that HBO’s The Newsroom somehow ends before the show is able to incorporate a storyline about the killing of Trayvon Martin.

gabriellebell.com


gabriellebell.com


gabriellebell.com

Gabrielle Bell

 

I think I actually see a little melting going on through the window.

Every two or three years somebody comes along and nicks our sign because, clearly, Shitterton is amusing. We think it was kids who would like to have it stuck on the wall in a den somewhere. I don’t think it was malicious, they just did it for fun, but it was exasperating for us. We would get a nice new shiny sign from the council and five minutes later, it was gone.

Link

	Courtney shared this story from The Raw Story » Pandagon:
	Mandatory reading of the day.

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This Tumblr that went up recently called We Are Not Trayvon Martin is an interesting experiment, a way to talk about the role of race and privilege in this case, and how some of us have the privilege—which should be a right!—of being at least safe from would-be vigilantes deciding to murder us for crimes we’re committing only in their heads. A lot of us out here are angry and upset about George Zimmerman being able to chase down and murder an unarmed young man, and get away with it because he was able to convince a jury that the young man—gasp!—had the temerity to fight back. Anti-racists, I think, have long understood that the cops are a real threat to young black men who can be randomly treated like criminals on the thinnest of excuses, but the possibility that any random white (or white-appearing, anyway) person can, if you’re black, just chase you down and detain you arbitrarily or they now have the legal right to take your life? That’s a cold bath of WTF. This tweet captures exactly what is bothering me so much:

I’ve been thinking about it a lot, because as a woman, being followed by creepy dudes who clearly have bad intentions in their cars while I’m out walking and minding my own business is something I’ve experienced probably a dozen times in my life. Unsurprisingly, Rachel Jeantel—who was on the phone with Martin when Zimmerman began to follow him—had the threat of rape pop into her head and made a crack about it to Martin before telling him to run. A lot of scary things go through your head when this happens to you: You worry that if he catches up to you, he’ll overpower you. You worry that you won’t be able to fight him off. You worry about how violent he intends to get with you.

But you know what I never worried about? That if I defended myself, he would have an excuse to shoot me dead and that cops would shrug it off and not bother to contact my family.

I never worried that if he caught up with me, any hitting or kicking to get away would be used as evidence that he was in his rights to murder me.

That’s because I’m a white woman, and if a man chased me down and shot me dead, a few scratches on his face would probably be seen as evidence that he was really determined to hurt or kill me, not that he was acting in “self-defense”.  I have the privilege of people using their basic common sense when it comes to what’s going on when creepy guys start following me. Even sexists have to admit that creepy guys stalking women are up to no good. With that in mind, if anyone ever started to chase me with the intention to restrain me against my will (which is, uh, kidnapping) or do bodily harm to me, I can give into the instinct to protect myself by fighting back without worrying that he now has the “right” to kill me.

I’ve seen a lot of conservatives arguing that Martin should have just surrendered if he didn’t want to die. Surrendered, i.e. allowed someone to arbitrarily just hold him there under threat of violence if he tries to leave (which, again, is kidnapping) because, well, he wanted to. That any random white or white-appearing dude has the apparent right to just randomly tell a young black man that he is no longer allowed to move freely, on pain of death. This is bananas. They wouldn’t say that for a white woman, and they sure as hell wouldn’t say that for a white guy.

I don’t know what else to say about this. I just wish that more people could perform the basic act of putting themselves in Trayvon’s shoes and realizing that Zimmerman just got away with, functionally, offering him the choice between surrender to a crazy man with unclear but definitely dark intentions or death. In the year 2013, in America. And somehow we’ve decided that’s legal.

	Courtney shared this story from Yo, Is This Racist?:
	Correct.

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anonymous asked: Yo, I agree that the use of the word “patriot" usually correlates with racism, but what about rooting for the New England Patriots, tho?

Have you been to Boston before?

	Courtney shared this story from Yo, Is This Racist?:
	oh snap!

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anonymous asked: Yo I’m so confused - why aren’t the NRA releasing a statement to say that the tragedy wouldn’t have happened if only Trayvon Martin was armed, and calling on young black men to get themselves guns? Surely that’s the kind of thing they like to do?

It’s allllmoooooooooost like they are a bunch of racist assholes?

~Alison Kafer

It's been a decade since astronomers last spied a moon orbiting Neptune. Now, the Hubble Space Telescope has spotted a new satellite circling our solar system's most far-flung planet.

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Following the release of internet hit Sharknado, Syfy has released a new teaser trailer for Ghost Shark, the channel’s latest shark-related original movie. Ghost Shark will premiere on Syfy on Thursday, August 22nd at 9PM.

video via Syfy

via Deadline

ABC News

Zimmerman juror drops plan to write book USA TODAY The juror said she did not realize while being sequestered how much pain was felt by the public over the case. George Zimmermanb. George Zimmerman stands for instructions from Judge Debra Nelson with attorney Lorna Truett, left, and Don West, center, ... 14 arrested after Zimmerman verdict protest in LA turns violentLos Angeles Times Zimmerman Protesters Raid LA Store, Stop FreewayABC News Zimmerman trial juror B37 drops plans for a bookChristian Science Monitor TIME -New York Times (blog) -Fortune all 1,392 news articles »

NDTV

Astronaut's helmet leak causes scrapping of spacewalk USA TODAY The truncated spacewalk was the second in 8 days. space station spacewalk. In this July 9 image made from video provided by NASA, Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano stands on the end of a robotic arm during a spacewalk outside the International Space ... UPDATE 1-NASA aborts spacewalk after water leak in astronaut's helmetReuters NASA cuts spacewalk shortCNN International NASA Aborts Spacewalk Due to Water Leak in HelmetABC News CBC.ca -Headlines & Global News -Houston Chronicle all 58 news articles »

“It’s a traaap!” – Admiral Ackbar

In this animated episode of How It Should Have Ended (HISHE), an alternate ending is provided for the 2013 superhero film, Man of Steel. Previously, we wrote about HISHE’s ongoing series of animated videos.

The solution to stopping Zod isn’t just a “snap”… it’s also a cinch.

New York Daily News

14 arrested after Zimmerman verdict protest in LA turns violent Los Angeles Times Los Angeles police arrested 14 people overnight for failing to disperse after hundreds of protesters splintered off a peaceful demonstration in the Crenshaw district and began stomping cars and breaking windows. “It started off as a peaceful protest at Leimert ... Juror: Zimmerman should have stayed in his carUSA TODAY Mayhem in Calif. follows Zimmerman's acquittal in death of Trayvon MartinWashington Post Zimmerman's defense team breaks down the trial, verdictFox News CBS News -BBC News -MiamiHerald.com all 1,349 news articles »

demonsee:

Cumberbatch and The Stig

"First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out, because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out, because I was not a Trade Unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out, because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me–and there was no one left to speak for me." - Anglican Mainstream, reacting to yesterday's House Of Lords decision by quoting Martin Neimoller. Because gay marriage = the Holocaust. Or something. (Via Gay Star News

The Dallas, Texas offices of law firm Schulman & Mathias were broken into two weeks ago by two burglars caught on surveillance camera. The two stole three computers. Damon Mathias, a partner at the firm, said

Attorneys said the burglars may have been hired to steal documents related to State Department whistleblower Aurelia Fedenisn, who is represented by the firm...

In early June, Fedenisn gave CBS News a draft State Department Inspector General report which offered the details of allegations that alleged sex crimes involving diplomats — including one U.S. ambassador who allegedly visited prostitutes — were ignored by State Department top officials. (more)

Time to sweep the office.

Researchers at iSec hacked into a Verizon network extender, which anyone can buy online, and turned it into a cell phone tower small enough to fit inside a backpack capable of capturing and intercepting all calls, text messages and data sent by mobile devices within range...

"The level of technical skill that you need to break into one of these, people are learning college. 

A malicious person could put one of these, with a battery, in a backpack, and go downtown - to a place like Times Square or Wall Street...

Frankly, these devices scare us. It is not the NSA tapping ordinary people. It is about ordinary people attacking ordinary people." (more)

Note: Verizon says they fixed this particular issue.

Warning: Femtocells in general, however, offer a new playground to hackers and criminals alike. Cut back on your confidential transmissions in densely populated areas.

elvislikesmydress:

Poster for burlesque show 1890

In 1874, Cincinnati, Ohio built a huge main library. This architectural marvel remained in use until 1955. Can you imagine wandering from tier to tier of the stacks in the main hall? Or looking through the stereoscope at photographs?

Link -via Erik Kwakkel

(Photos: Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County)

I don’t want to see this

Deaf NYC Starbucks patrons sue, say they're mocked Uniontown Herald Standard A lawsuit claims some Starbucks workers in New York City were so rude to deaf customers they mocked them and called the police to try to get them kicked out. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for what's described as multiple occasions of abuse. and more »

Xzavier Brandon went from a 16-year-old honor student to a felony suspect in a matter of minutes during a walk to school last month.

“A gun was pointed at me and handcuffs were put on me, and that’s everything that’s done to a criminal,” Brandon said in an interview last week.

Exempt from final exams because of good test scores at New Albany High School, Brandon was walking his usual route to preseason football practice on May 28 when a resident of Hilltop Trail Drive thought he looked suspicious. A house in the Northeast Side neighborhood had been broken into between 8:30 a.m. and 12:40 p.m., when the homeowner returned and discovered the crime.

About the same time, Mike Eberts, who lives in the neighborhood, saw Brandon walking by and called 911.

“There’s someone walking down the street who might have something to do with this,” he told the Columbus police dispatcher. “It may just be a coincidence that he’s just walking by, but it sure looks suspicious to me.” He told the dispatcher he would follow the youth in his car.

Brandon remembered that he had said hello to a man he didn’t know as he passed, but he kept walking toward Thompson Road. He had headphones on while listening to his iPod, he said, and it wasn’t until he heard a loud shout, turned around and saw a gun in his face that he realized something was wrong. Officer Leonard Milner told the teen to drop to the ground and then handcuffed him and asked if he had any jewelry in his backpack. Brandon said he didn’t.

As he was on the ground at the side of busy Thompson Road, he tried to turn his face so he wouldn’t be recognized, he said. Brandon, who will be a junior at New Albany in the fall, said he’s active in football, school and volunteering.

“I was a little insulted that anyone in New Albany would think I was a threat,” he said.

He was held until another officer showed up about 15 minutes later and vouched for him. That officer, Sgt. Tyrone Hollis, knew Brandon from his son’s football team and gave him a ride to the high school after he was released.

Because there was no arrest, no report was filed, and that makes both Brandon and his mother, Jo Brandon-Jones, angry.

“Something serious just happened,” he said. “And in my opinion, it was just blown off.”

Brandon-Jones filed an internal-affairs complaint with the Police Division, alleging that Milner used excessive force when he encountered her son. That review likely will take months to complete.

Sgt. Elrico Alli, a police spokesman, said the officer was approaching someone who might have just committed a burglary, a serious crime.

“Whenever we encounter anything that involves a felony, or serious physical harm ... we display our firearms,” Alli said.

Eberts, the neighbor who called police, said this week, “I wasn’t accusing anyone of anything. I simply was encouraging the police to talk with someone in the area.” He wouldn’t elaborate on what he thought was suspicious about Brandon.

Brandon, who is black, wonders whether Eberts suspected him of the crime because of his race.

“What other reason would he have to call police on me?” he asked.

The encounter might not have ended safely if he had reached in his pocket to turn off his iPod or hadn’t heard the officer’s commands, he pointed out. “I could have been shot. I could have been killed that day.”

Both mom and son would like an apology from the police officer, an acknowledgement that what Brandon went through was wrong.

“You can’t undo it,” Brandon-Jones said. “But you can make it better.”

Original Source