firehose

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Today on The View, Kelly Osbourne overshadowed Donald Trump’s comments about Latinos by offering up this line: “If you kick every Latino out of this country, then who is going to be cleaning your toilets, Donald Trump?”

Needless to say, the more than 24 million Latinos in the workforce do much more than clean toilets (not that there’s anything wrong with having that task as part of your job). Here are some numbers for Osbourne, who subsequently apologized on Facebook:

In 2012, Hispanics had the second highest labor-force-participation rate, at 66.4%, beating whites (64%), Asians (63.9%), and the population as a whole (63.7%), according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. (Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islanders had the highest rate at 71.4%.)

In 2013, more than 6.8 million Latinos worked in private US companies with 100 or more employees, including more than 577,000 professionals, 276,000 technicians, and 740,000 sales workers, according to data from the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Between 1980 and 2013, the percentage of Latinos in the US with a Bachelor’s degree nearly doubled, from 7.7% to 14.0%, according to Pew Research Center.

There are more than 50,000 licensed Hispanic physicians in the US. And in 2012, the Association of American Medical Colleges reported applications from Hispanics for medical school rose by 7% and the number of enrollees went up by 6% since 2011.

In 2009, there were nearly 25,000 Hispanic firefighters, 72,000 chefs and head cooks, 30,000 lawyers, 14,000 musicians and singers, and 5,000 aircraft pilots and flight engineers, according to the US Census.

None of these numbers, though, should obscure the fact that Latinos are usually at a disadvantage in the workplace. They often, for example, work in the most dangerous jobs: In the US, Hispanics are the only ethnic group whose number of fatal work injuries went up in 2013, according to the US Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. They are also the least likely to get paid leave and other flexibility in the workplace.

gamsee:

today this white girl asked me why my hair is so curly and i said im black and she told me to say african american

this is THE MONEY DOG reblog in 10 sec or you will never have a rich dog again

The upcoming one-year anniversary of the killing of Michael Brown will be commemorated in Portland with a series of discussions, activist trainings, and a community art project, according to a news release.

Black Lives Matter PDX activists on Aug. 7 from 3:30 pm to 8 pm, and again on Aug. 8 from 1 pm to 5 pm will hold a series of discussions featuring activists, advocates, and other community members. The discussions will be moderated by local activists Teressa Raiford, Mic Crenshaw, and Devin Williams.

On Aug. 9, from 12:30 pm to 5 pm, at the Jade/APANO Multicultural Space (JAMS), located at 8114 SE Division Don't Shoot PDX, Whitelandia, Black Lives Matter, and Portland Rising Tide will host a family-friendly day of remembrance for Michael Brown, featuring live performances by local musicians—including Glenn Waco and Marcus Cooper—a community art project, and activist trainings.

“For young Black Americans to realize their potential and for change to come, they must learn, understand and know politics and process as well as their history,” Raiford says. “To truly make the changes necessary to move towards a more just and fair nation, we must engage in these important discussions in our homes and in our communities.”

Don’t Shoot PDX, Portland Rising Tide, and other social justice groups are launching a fall campaign to "interrupt all forms of structural injustice through training, direct action, and civil disobedience under the banner of the nationwide #FloodtheSystem campaign. A training on non-violent, direct action by Portland Rising Tide also marks the launch of that campaign in Oregon.

UPDATE: Netflix announces unlimited paid paternity and maternity leave for its employees during the 1st year after birth, adoption. • $NFLX

— CNBC Now (@CNBCnow) August 4, 2015

And this is why Netflix is cooler than any other company right now.

You hear a lot of Big Talk about how America is all about Family Values – but it seems like Corporate America in particular makes it really difficult to have a family. Both men and women are often put into a position where they have to choose between their livelihoods or spending time with their children, which isn’t a choice any workplace should force their employees to make. Thankfully, Netflix wants to do the exact opposite. According to their blog:

We want employees to have the flexibility and confidence to balance the needs of their growing families without worrying about work or finances. Parents can return part-time, full-time, or return and then go back out as needed. We’ll just keep paying them normally, eliminating the headache of switching to state or disability pay. Each employee gets to figure out what’s best for them and their family, and then works with their managers for coverage during their absences.

It’s also awesome that they’re including adoption in this leave as well. So, it really isn’t just about medical recovery time for moms – it’s about a new family getting to bond and grow as best suits them. If we really care about families, this is the kind of thing more companies need to be doing for those who work for them. This is an amazing thing, Netflix. Oh, and your shows are pretty awesome, too.

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Alex Wood is a Major League Baseball pitcher, so he has probably thrown a baseball from the pitcher's mound to home plate at least 45 times in his life. Maybe he needs a few more reps.

This is a small part of a much larger thing but Vines are only allowed to be 6 seconds so https://t.co/ZOoCmP4LOz

— Ryan Thibs (@NotMrTibbs) August 5, 2015

Now, we can't be inside his head to know if this was some mind game he was playing with the other team, but we do know for sure that it was a balk. And it was really funny.

If the Los Angeles Dodgers are looking for someone who can get it a little bit closer to the plate, I know a guy.

It was a legitimate mistake!

Listen, making a diving catch isn't an exact science. You run really fast and hold off until the last possible second. Then you close your eyes, dive, stick your glove out and hope to make the catch while not eating a face full of grass. You don't actually see the ball go into the glove, you just hope for the best.

The only indicator on whether you made the catch is feeling the ball hit the glove. Except sometimes that is nothing but a tease. That was the case for Atlanta Braves outfielder Eury Perez.

He thought he had it. He knew he had it. Except he didn't have it.

On the bright side, the San Francisco Giants didn't score a run in the inning and Perez's teammates thought it was absolutely hilarious.

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pitwitch:

we live in the cyberpunk corporate dystopia that none one ever saw coming. 

aurawolfiewind:

dyinghistoric:

nix-finch:

ayellowbirds:

hexephra:

spinner rings for D&Ders, nerds, fidgety hands, indecisive people, or anyone, really. $20 each.

waaaant.

IS THAT A TAROT SPINNER RING HOLY SHIT THE NEED IS STRONG

Whelp i’ve been looking for a new ring and now I’ve found it o wo

archerofanarchy

sasscrotchety:

professorfangirl:

Julie Taymor Wraps Up Filming A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Film and theater director Julie Taymor has just wrapped up shooting on her fifth film: a big-screen version of her visually lavish reimagining of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

The stage presentation ran earlier this year at Brooklyn’s Polonsky Shakespeare Center. Despite rave reviews, Taymor knew the production couldn’t travel. "Many people wanted to tour, but it’s completely impractical,“ she said. "There were 17 children and 15 principals. It will probably never see the light of day again as a live production, so I feel very good about the film.”

Taymor was quick to differentiate her project from other recent stage-to-screen productions. “It’s not like Live From the Met,” she commented. “This is even more thorough. We shot all performances straight through, putting cameras in different positions at each show, and then in the daytime we went onstage with handheld cameras. I think it’s fairly unusual, because it is a real hybrid of live theater and film. It’s very cinematic. There are no visual effects – they’re all live.”

Taymor’s last film was another Shakespeare project, 2010's The Tempest, in which the male character of Prospero was played by Helen Mirren to shift the play’s dynamics into that of a mother-daughter relationship. 

Taymor says we can look for the film at this year’s Toronto Film Festival in September.

JUST SAW THIS. It was soo, just, beautiful the sets and costumes and movement, it was so good. I’m losing my shit. when is it out for general release? 

A Kentucky man shot down a drone that was hovering in his backyard:

"It was just right there," he told Ars. "It was hovering, I would never have shot it if it was flying. When he came down with a video camera right over my back deck, that's not going to work. I know they're neat little vehicles, but one of those uses shouldn't be flying into people's yards and videotaping."

Minutes later, a car full of four men that he didn't recognize rolled up, "looking for a fight."

"Are you the son of a bitch that shot my drone?" one said, according to Merideth.

His terse reply to the men, while wearing a 10mm Glock holstered on his hip: "If you cross that sidewalk onto my property, there's going to be another shooting."

He was arrested, but what's the law?

In the view of drone lawyer Brendan Schulman and robotics law professor Ryan Calo, home owners can't just start shooting when they see a drone over their house. The reason is because the law frowns on self-help when a person can just call the police instead. This means that Meredith may not have been defending his house, but instead engaging in criminal acts and property damage for which he could have to pay.

But a different and bolder argument, put forward by law professor Michael Froomkin, could provide Meredith some cover. In a paper, Froomkin argues that it's reasonable to assume robotic intrusions are not harmless, and that people may have a right to "employ violent self-help."

Froomkin's paper is well worth reading:

Abstract: Robots can pose -- or can appear to pose -- a threat to life, property, and privacy. May a landowner legally shoot down a trespassing drone? Can she hold a trespassing autonomous car as security against damage done or further torts? Is the fear that a drone may be operated by a paparazzo or a peeping Tom sufficient grounds to disable or interfere with it? How hard may you shove if the office robot rolls over your foot? This paper addresses all those issues and one more: what rules and standards we could put into place to make the resolution of those questions easier and fairer to all concerned.

The default common-law legal rules governing each of these perceived threats are somewhat different, although reasonableness always plays an important role in defining legal rights and options. In certain cases -- drone overflights, autonomous cars, national, state, and even local regulation -- may trump the common law. Because it is in most cases obvious that humans can use force to protect themselves against actual physical attack, the paper concentrates on the more interesting cases of (1) robot (and especially drone) trespass and (2) responses to perceived threats other than physical attack by robots notably the risk that the robot (or drone) may be spying - perceptions which may not always be justified, but which sometimes may nonetheless be considered reasonable in law.

We argue that the scope of permissible self-help in defending one's privacy should be quite broad. There is exigency in that resort to legally administered remedies would be impracticable; and worse, the harm caused by a drone that escapes with intrusive recordings can be substantial and hard to remedy after the fact. Further, it is common for new technology to be seen as risky and dangerous, and until proven otherwise drones are no exception. At least initially, violent self-help will seem, and often may be, reasonable even when the privacy threat is not great -- or even extant. We therefore suggest measures to reduce uncertainties about robots, ranging from forbidding weaponized robots to requiring lights, and other markings that would announce a robot's capabilities, and RFID chips and serial numbers that would uniquely identify the robot's owner.

The paper concludes with a brief examination of what if anything our survey of a person's right to defend against robots might tell us about the current state of robot rights against people.

Note that there are drones that shoot back.

Here are two books that talk about these topics. And an article from 2012.

EDITED TO ADD (8/9): How to shoot down a drone.

king-in-yellow:

blackdenimjeans:

operattack:

Grace Jones ～ British Summer Time 2015, Hyde Park

Mother

In the 1980s, Keith Haring started painting Grace Jones like this, so it’s bringing back one of her signature looks

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The following was originally posted on She Geeks and has been republished here with permission.

Unlike San Diego, Atlanta, or even New York, New Orleans isn’t known for a particular convention, but the Gulf Coast is home to several conventions held throughout the year. It’s my goal, here at She-Geeks, to showcase those smaller (but no less enthusiastic) conventions. If there is a convention in or around the Gulf Coast that you’d like to see me cover, please send the convention details to eris.shegeeks@gmail.com.

One of New Orleans’ largest nerd-centric conventions, MechaCon entices anime fans, gamers, scifi/fantasy geeks, and everything in between to converge on downtown New Orleans in a colorful display of pastel wigs and impossibly oversized weapons. This year’s convention took place during a weekend of shared events and heat advisories. Thankfully, the oppressive, Southern heat didn’t seem to scare anyone off, and the convention was full of great vendors, impressive cosplay, and even a few games.

First and foremost, let’s discuss how the convention seemed to fair when it came to harassment: MechaCon, sadly, has not participated in the Cosplay is Not Consent movement. While there is a touching and thorough section of the “Attendee Conduct” policy outlining all the reasons hate symbols are not allowed at MechaCon (which is awesome!), issues of harassment are only glazed over in other sections and given a very short “Hands-Off Policy” paragraph in their paper program (neither this policy nor the anti-hate symbol policy appear on their webpage), and there were no signs posted addressing harassment around the convention. Considering how prevalent the issue is in our community (specifically at anime heavy conventions), and considering how many of MechaCon’s attendees are under-aged, I was really hoping they’d adopted a more comprehensive and visible harassment policy.

Personally, I noticed a number of aggressive photographers at the convention. One in particular honed in on two young, female cosplayers on the Dealer Room floor. When I spotted them, this photographer was already taking their photo, so I stopped to wait my turn and began chatting with my friend. Nearly a full 5 minutes later I realized he was still taking their photos and encouraging them to get closer and more “friendly” (he all but directly asked them to start making out) as he invaded their space several times to get extremely close up shots. It was…uncomfortable to witness, and potentially avoidable with more of a visible policy.

On the plus side, I attended a lovely Anti-Bullying Panel on Friday with Queen D, Pink Pariah Cosplay, and Steve Kenson, that managed to start my MechaCon experience on a high. These three were genuine, funny, and insightful (all things I look for in a quality panel). They discussed some cosplay etiquette, the importance of standing up for yourself and those around you, how to approach a friend who may be unwittingly bullying others, and the generally great concept of “mind your own” (as D put it) to avoid bullying others when confronted with lifestyles and life choices with which you may disagree. They connected with the audience through humor and personal stories, and welcomed questions and comments in a true show of community. Truly, a great panel all around!

One thing that MechaCon does that is somewhat unique is their Scavenger Hunt. It’s pretty massive, and certainly no joke! I helped my friend who won second place last year, and I can honestly say that winning takes some serious dedication. In addition to taking photos of yourself at various events and with various guests, you also had to scour the convention for 9 puzzle pieces scattered throughout the rooms. Even with two of us actively looking, it took the full weekend to find all nine!

Some of these little bastards were legitimately hard to find in a crowd.

If wandering around for the Scavenger Hunt wasn’t quite your scene, perhaps the Droid Hunt would be. Conducted by the Bast Alpha Garrison chapter of the 501st Legion and +1 Gaming, the Droid Hunt was much more passive, but still carried the potential for an awesome pay out. Essentially, you pick up a numbered tag (complete with the beautiful work of a local artist) from the 501st table on Friday, then wear said tag around on Saturday until a trooper “captures” you by taking the bottom half of the tag. Then, starting Sunday morning, pop by the 501st table throughout the day to see if your tag was pulled and you won a prize. It’s super easy, adorable, and could net you some sweet Star Wars swag!

The one real snag I saw at MechaCon was the location. Held at the Hilton Riverside, the hotel itself was less than ideal. While the size of the hotel was certainly adequate, having to navigate three floors of random conference rooms didn’t exactly flow well. (To be fair, I’m directionally challenged, so I spent a good portion of the weekend just trying to figure out what floor I was on at any given moment.) In addition, the parking garage was littered with potholes, and due to some bizarre scheduling the convention’s registration desk had to move out of the main hallway on Sunday morning to make room for another conference’s setup despite that area being the only way to move from the first floor conference rooms to the escalators leading to the upper floors. These few issues were certainly not the fault of the convention organizers though, so all in all, I give MechaCon a thumbs up and I’m looking forward to next year!

Eris Walsh (@SheGeeksBlog) is obsessed with Batman, Neil Gaiman, chemistry, Doctor Who, and baseball. She also enjoys scouring conventions for fantastic examples of cosplay craftsmanship and discussing role-playing games (both table top and LARP), comics, movies, etc. with other enthusiasts. Eris can also be found on her blog She-Geeks, where she writes about geek stuff; On Comicosity, where she posts comic book reviews; and on the Krewe du Who community webpage, where she posts weekly reviews of current Doctor Who episodes.

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mausspace:

fuck summer i want it to be dark and misty and frigid and october