Self-proclaimed white nationalist and alleged domestic abuser Richard Spencer has been bogged down in a civil lawsuit for his part in helping to organize the "Unite The Right" rally in Charlottesville, Virgina, which resulted in much calamity, including the tragic death of activist Heather Heyers at the hands of another proud self-proclaimed white nationalist. Spencer is — perhaps, sadly, fittingly — the heir to a cotton farm fortune, and that privilege has helped him to finance his campaign of hate. But increasing legal (and marital) pressures have finally started to milk his racist wallet dry. From Huffington Post:Richard Spencer’s attorney has asked for the court’s permission to withdraw from representing him in the civil case. The lawyer, John DiNucci, said Spencer owes him a significant amount of money in legal fees and hasn’t been cooperating adequately.Spencer told U.S. Magistrate Judge Joel Hoppe that the lawsuit over the “Unite the Right” white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August 2017 has been “extremely expensive” and a “huge burden” for him.“This case has been financially crippling for a long time,” said Spencer, who popularized the term “alt-right” to describe a loosely connected fringe movement of white supremacists, neo-Nazis and other far-right extremists.Huffington Post goes on to note that Spencer has also (allegedly) failed to turn over numerous documents for the trial, including thousands of photos and video files.The trustfund Neo-Nazi baby runs a "nonprofit" called the National Policy Institute, which had previously raised nearly $500,000 in tax-deductible contributions between 2007 and 2012. Read the rest

Mtsyry: Octobriana 1976 is a new book from Jim Rugg featuring Octobriana, the Russian superhero star of cult 70s comics which themselves have a strange and confusing history. Rugg's incarnation will be printed in fluorescent blacklight inks by AdHouse Books, which is apparently the first time this has been done: "It should look incredible and appeal to fans of weird comics, printed matter, unique zines, 70s counter-culture." The kickstarter has 8 days left and has already blasted past its target. Rugg writes:The story is set in the 1970s, the period when blacklight posters were most popular (also the period of Rugg’s graphic novel, Afrodisiac). In 1971, the west learned about Octobriana - the outlaw Russian superhero comic in Petr Sadecky’s expose, Octobriana and the Russian Underground. Octobriana is part Barbarella, part Orson Welles’ War of the Worlds. She’s an unusual cult character with a storied history. David Bowie tried to make a movie about her. Billy Idol has her likeness tattooed on his arm. As a child of the Cold War and fan of underground comix, Rugg identified Octobriana as the perfect character for his psychedelic outlaw comic!The concept of Mtsyry: Octobriana 1976 is that underground American cartoonists made their own Octobriana comic book after reading Sadecky’s book. It was an effort to show solidarity with their Russian cartoonist comrades. Robot Stalin's got a new doomsday bomb! Can the Devil-Woman stop him before he destroys us all? Siberian labor camps, PPP secret orgies, motorcycle gunship train chases - this one has it all! Read the rest

The US government announced funding clinical trials on three COVID-19 vaccine candidates. According to Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, we're still on track for a vaccine at scale by the end of this year or early 2021. From CNN:Phase 3 trials, which typically involve tens of thousands of people and measure whether a vaccine is safe and effective, will begin with one by Moderna in July, then an Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine in August and one by Johnson & Johnson in September...Last week, Fauci said the US should have 100 million doses of one candidate coronavirus vaccine by the beginning of 2021, but many doctors caution that is an ambitious goal. He has also said there will be "more than one winner" in the Covid-19 vaccine field on Tuesday.Who will get first dibs? (And who wants first dibs?) image: "Respiratory droplets produced when a man sneezes, visualised using Tyndall scattering" by James Gathany/CDC (public domain) Read the rest

COPS has glorified police since 1989, riding along as officers chase down, interview and arrest people. It crafted a reality-TV aesthetic of shaky cameras, counterfeit danger and harsh lighting, cruel in its presentation of suspects and fawning in its identification with officers. And now it's been cancelled, a conspicuous casualty of the American revolt against police brutality. Read the rest

Bad boys, bad boys, whatcha gonna do? In 1994, Atari released COPS, a LaserDisc-based videogame based on the now-cancelled "reality" TV series. Above is rare footage of the gameplay. According to the International Arcade Museum description, "You play a cop who must either shoot armed criminals while protecting the innocent or chase after escaping criminals in your patrol car."As usual, it would have been more fun to play the bad guys. Below are shots of a COPS Operator's Manual currently for sale on eBay.More about COPS and other LaserDisc arcade games at the Dragon's Lair Project.(via r/ObscureMedia) Read the rest

Writer Gerry Conway has been vocal for years about the misappropriation of the Punisher, a vigilante murderer superhero he created in 1974 when he wrote Amazing Spider-Man #129:It's disturbing whenever I see authority figures embracing Punisher iconography because the Punisher represents a failure of the Justice system. He's supposed to indict the collapse of social moral authority and the reality some people can't depend on institutions like the police or the military to act in a just and capable way. […] Whether you think the Punisher is justified or not, whether you admire his code of ethics, he is an outlaw. He is a criminal. Police should not be embracing a criminal as their symbol.Unfortunately, Conway's insistence on what's plainly obvious for anyone who's actually familiar with the Punisher has not stopped the character from becoming a symbol of fascism, proudly worn by law enforcement agents who probably shouldn't be boasting about their love of fascism.Here are some photos of Detroit police apparently from today. Can anyone explain the skull? Given the use of the totenkopf by the SS, doesn’t it seem just a little bit inappropriate?? pic.twitter.com/j3KES75kcb— Nick Krieger (@nckrieger) June 3, 2020Now, with protests against police brutality raging across the country, Conway is taking another approach:To be clear, this little project is open to anyone who wants to contribute their time and effort. It's not a paying gig, it's intended to raise funds to support BLM. I hope to use multiple artists with a variety of styles and artistic approaches. Read the rest

Chris Watts killed his pregnant wife and two young children and buried them in a tank. This mini-documentary by Jim Can't Swim (patreon) takes us through the bodycam footage of a cop called to his house after Shannon Watts failed to turn up to a rendezvous with a friend, and subsequent interview with detectives. It's detailed and striking work, pointing out the subtle (and not so subtle) tells in his calm behavior that led the police to suspect he was the culprit. You can tell why no-one knew what he'd done, but can readily see they felt it from the outset. We are rightfully armed by reason against such feelings as they are often wrong. Nonetheless, there's a moment in the bodycam video where Shanann Watts' friend makes a certain facial expression after Chris arrives home but doesn't call for his wife. You can't say it's realization, but she's sinking fast. Read the rest

In March of 2019 — about a year after the Parkland shooting at Marjory Stoneham Douglas High School — the ACLU released a report titled "Cops and No Counselors: How the Lack of School Mental Health Staff Is Harming Students." Based on publicly available federal civil rights data from 2015-2016, this report offered a comprehensive analysis of the school support resources, breaking it down by state and demographic, to get a better look at how we're serving students in America.The results were not good:The ACLU’s report found over 90 percent of students nationwide attend schools that fail to meet the nationally recommended ratios for student-to-counselors, psychologists, nurses, and social workers. Over 14 million of these students were in schools that reported having law enforcement present despite lacking critical mental and physical health personnel. The report cites research indicating that students would benefit more from increased access to mental health professionals than the increased school hardening the commission recommends.[…]The average number of students each school counselor serves is 444 — nearly double the already limited recommended student-counselor ratio of 250:1At least 43 percent of our nation's students attend schools with onsite police, and in some states more than 68 percent of schools have police31 percent of the nation's students attend schools that have school police, but no psychologist, nurse, social worker, and/or counselorBlack girls account for 16 percent of girls enrolled nationwide, but account for 39 percent of the girls arrested in schoolNative American and Pacific Islander students were more than twice as likely to be arrested as white students nationwideBlack and Latino boys with disabilities are 3 percent of students, but were 12 percent of school arrests.What I personally found most staggering was that 94 percent of "serious offenses" by students involved threats or actual physical fights … without a weapon. Read the rest

On April 5, 1968, the day after Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination, Riceville, Iowa schoolteacher Jane Elliott ran an incredible social experiment in her third grade classroom. Her "Blue Eyes/Brown Eyes" exercise identified the kids "as inferior or superior based solely upon the color of their eyes and exposes them to the experience of being a minority." The exercise had a tremendous, and lasting, impact on those children and countless others, and sparked Elliott's lifelong role as a an anti-racism activist and educator.Above is a 1985 episode of Frontline about Elliott. Below is her appearance last week on The Tonight Show: Read the rest

Romanian Cobbler Grigore Lup noticed that people weren't following the rules of social distancing at his local market, so he decided to make long-nosed shoes as a response. His Euro size 75 shoes are specifically designed to keep people apart, "If two people wearing these shoes were facing each other, there would be almost one-and-a-half metres between them." Reuters:Lup, who said he adapted the long footwear from a model he made for actors, said he had so far received five orders for social distancing shoes.It takes him two days to make a pair, which requires almost one square metre of leather. They cost 500 lei ($115) a pair.Now 55, Lup first started making shoes when he was 16, learning from a cobbler who at 93 today still makes traditional ethnic Hungarian footwear. View this post on Instagram #NouaColectie pentru #DistantareSociala. STOC LIMITAT!!!.. ??? #socialdistancing #quarantine #carantina #pielenaturala #mensfashion #menstyle #stilmasculin . Persoana contact: Grigore Lup (intre orele 9 – 17) Telefon: 0740.046.732 #madebyGrigoreLup #SHOEMAKER #produsromanesc #făcutînromânia . #incaltaminte #incaltamintedinpiele #incaltamintelacomanda #incaltamintecustom #pantofi #pantofilacomanda #pantofibarbati #pantofidistantare #leathershoes #genuineleather #lacomanda #madeinromania #facutinromania #cluj #clujnapoca #grigorelup Fotograf:@dan.bodeaA post shared by Incaltaminte din piele Cluj (@incaltaminte.din.piele) on Jun 6, 2020 at 11:55pm PDTimage via Incaltaminte din piele(RED)Thanks, Mark! Read the rest

Sarah Grossman, 22, died after being tear-gassed by police in Columbus, Ohio, reports the Dayton Daily News. Two days passed between her exposure to the gas and pepper spray and her death, but both family and investigators suspect a connection. Local authorities aren't denying it, adds the New York Post.Grossman’s body showed no signs of lethal trauma and the only medical condition mentioned in the preliminary records is an allergy to peanuts, the paper reported.“Police did use gasses to disperse crowds that night. We haven’t received an official complaint, nor have investigators in Montgomery County talked to (Columbus police),” city spokeswoman Robin Davis told the Dayton Daily News.“Again, we encourage anyone who was with her at the protest or on May 29 or 30 before she went to Sycamore to talk to Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office or (Columbus police),” she added. Read the rest

From The Intercept:Documents obtained by The Intercept via the Freedom of Information Act reveal that a Pentagon war game, called the 2018 Joint Land, Air and Sea Strategic Special Program, or JLASS, offered a scenario in which members of Generation Z, driven by malaise and discontent, launch a “Zbellion” in America in the mid-2020s.The Zbellion plot was a small part of JLASS 2018, which also featured scenarios involving Islamist militants in Africa, anti-capitalist extremists, and ISIS successors. The war game was conducted by students and faculty from the U.S. military’s war colleges, the training grounds for prospective generals and admirals. While it is explicitly not a national intelligence estimate, the war game, which covers the future through early 2028, is “intended to reflect a plausible depiction of major trends and influences in the world regions,” according to the more than 200 pages of documents.The imaginary scenario involves a generation that's been psychologically scarred by 9/11, the Great Recessions, college debt, increasing healthcare costs, inequality, and economic frustrations. "Gen Z are often described as seeking independence and opportunity but are also among the least likely to believe there is such a thing as the 'American Dream,' and that the 'system is rigged' against them," the Pentagon writes. If these disillusioned youth were to rebel, they say, it will likely start as a protest movement growing out of major cities, eventually growing into a "Zbellion," a "global cyber campaign to expose injustice and corruption and to support causes it deem[s] beneficial." Read the rest

"Many young Kiwis are using porn to learn about sex."The New Zealand Government released this PSA as part of their "Keep it Real Online" campaign. Read the rest

Yes, it's that time again, the time when we ask: What hot garbage did impeached president Donald Trump spew on Twitter this morning.Well, children, this is what the man said:“For the first time in history, Police Organizations & National Security Organizations were used to SPY on a Campaign, & there was no basis for it. The media largely drove that, & claims were made that could have affected the election of the President.” A.G. Bill Barr @BretBaierThe tweet was almost certainly a direct response by Trump to a “Fox and Friends” segment the President was presumably watching on TV at the time.Here's a screengrab, for context.And here are responses to Trump's tweets this morning, from reporters and political observers.The president has repeatedly talked about “dirty cops” in the investigation into his campaign. Yet in matters not involving him, he largely ignores allegations of impropriety by law enforcement, even some on videotape. https://t.co/MYmXNSTG0D— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) June 10, 2020Actually given the most recent tweet this was actually a response to the initial segment.Left, Fox & Friends, 7:53 a.m.Right, Trump, 8:51 a.m. pic.twitter.com/XyjyYduWF7— Matthew Gertz (@MattGertz) June 10, 2020And then.Left, Fox & Friends, 8:11 a.m.Right, Trump, 9:32 a.m. pic.twitter.com/yS3UxcfXaV— Matthew Gertz (@MattGertz) June 10, 2020 Read the rest

View this post on Instagram Our very first koala of the season has popped out of Mums pouch to say hello! ? Keepers have decided to name her Ash! Ash is the first koala born at the park since the tragic Australian bushfires and is a sign of hope for the future of Australia’s native wildlife. . . . . . . . . . . #thisiscentralcoast #australia #sydneyactivities #fun #thingstodoinsydney #sydney #centralcoast #viral #cute #cuteanimals #newsouthwales #selfisolation #stayhome #animalfriends #australiananimal #koala #elsathekoala #cutekoalas #seeaustralia @australia #koala #koalajoeyA post shared by Australian Reptile Park (@australianreptilepark) on May 26, 2020 at 2:00pm PDTKoalas are not functionally extinct, although their population has rapidly declined in recent decades; these numbers have gotten worse as wildfires have ravaged the continent of Australia. The International Fund for Animal Welfare and Biolink research group place the koala casualties around 5,000, or 12 percent of their population, since the wildfires began; less conservative estimates place the casualty rate around 30 percent.But there is a glimmer of hope: for the first time since the wildfires, a baby koala has been seen emerging from a pouch. Baby Ash was born at the Australian Reptile Park, and is believed to be about 5 months old. "Ash represents the start of what we’re hoping to be another successful breeding season," Zookeeper Dan Rumsey told Buzzfeed News. "It was such an incredible moment when we saw Ash poke her head out of her mum’s pouch for the first time!" Read the rest

Starting on Wednesday afternoon, the trending list on the popular Chinese social media app Weibo will be banned for one week, the Cyberspace Administration of Beijing said, for “interfering with online communication orders, disseminating illegal information, and other problems”The Chinese government heavily regulates the internet, and often removes “sensitive” posts about topics like the coronavirus and human rights from social media. From Reuters:Weibo will need to stop updating its lists showing the most popular search terms and topics being discussed on the platform for a week from Wednesday, the CAC said, adding it had asked its Beijing branch to fine Weibo.Weibo did not immediately respond when contacted by Reuters for comment.The CAC said that the violations related to a case involving a person with the surname Jiang, without going into further details.It was not clear whose communications Weibo is being punished for interfering with but it comes after a senior Alibaba Group executive’s relationship with a prominent social media influencer came under scrutiny by Sina Weibo users in April, some of whom complained at the time that their posts were being censored.The executive, Jiang Fan, was later demoted after an internal investigation.Alibaba did not immediately reply when contacted by Reuters for comment.Read more:China punishes microblog platform Weibo for interfering with communication[June 10, 2020 / 4:52 AM]From Wednesday afternoon, the trending list on China's Twitter-like #Weibo will be suspended for a week, the Cyberspace Administration of Beijing said, after the regulator detected the list had "disturbed the order of online communication.” Read the rest

A statue of Christopher Columbus, the slaver, pimp and arriviste who first colonized the Americas, fell and tripped into a Virginia lake last night. Another was beheaded in Boston.A Christopher Columbus statue has been pulled down, set on fire and thrown in a lake by protesters in Virginia on Tuesday. The monument was toppled less than two hours after demonstrators gathered in Richmond's Byrd Park and chanted for the statue to goPhoto:@YourAnonCentral Read the rest

The streaming service HBO Max has removed the Civil War racist fantasy film “Gone with the Wind” from its service.A spokesperson for HBO Max told CNN the film is "a product of its time and depicts some of the ethnic and racial prejudices that have, unfortunately, been commonplace in American society."From CNN:"These racist depictions were wrong then and are wrong today, and we felt that to keep this title up without an explanation and a denouncement of those depictions would be irresponsible," the spokesperson said.The spokesperson added that when the film returns to HBO Max, it "will return with a discussion of its historical context and a denouncement of those very depictions," and will be presented "as it was originally created, because to do otherwise would be the same as claiming these prejudices never existed.""If we are to create a more just, equitable and inclusive future, we must first acknowledge and understand our history," the spokesperson said.Read more:'Gone with the Wind' pulled from HBO Max until it can return with 'historical context'Updated 8:52 AM ET, Wed June 10, 2020 [via Frank Pallotta] Read the rest

Man, 81, goes on rampage with HTC Vive VR headset

“My work team has been one-upping each other every day during our quarantine meetings with homemade costumes,” says IMGURian @squirrld1. “Here's some of my favorites.”This is seriously epic. Go look at the whole gallery. I want to work with these people!My work team has been one-upping each other every day during our quarantine meetings with homemade costumes. Here's some of my favorites. Read the rest

Well, this isn't creepy at all. Facial recognition search.A facial recognition website based in Poland claims to offer a service in which you can upload a picture of anyone to the site, and it finds more images of that individual all around the internet.Dave Gershgorn reports at OneZero:PimEyes, a Polish facial recognition website, is a free tool that allows anyone to upload a photo of a person’s face and find more images of that person from publicly accessible websites like Tumblr, YouTube, WordPress blogs, and news outlets.In essence, it’s not so different from the service provided by Clearview AI, which is currently being used by police and law enforcement agencies around the world. PimEyes’ facial recognition engine doesn’t seem as powerful as Clearview AI’s app is supposed to be. And unlike Clearview AI, it does not scrape most social media sites.PimEyes markets its service as a tool to protect privacy and the misuse of images. But there’s no guarantee that someone will upload their own face, making it equally powerful for anyone trying to stalk someone else. The company did not respond to a request for comment.PimEyes monetizes facial recognition by charging for a premium tier, which allows users to see which websites are hosting images of their faces and gives them the ability to set alerts for when new images are uploaded. The PimEyes premium tiers also allow up to 25 saved alerts, meaning one person could be alerted to newly uploaded images of up to 25 people across the internet. Read the rest

Not too long ago, projectors were those rickety old reel-to-reel devices that projected actual film. Now, projectors are as high tech as they come, and portable units are not only capable of serving as full-service on-the-go multimedia display systems, they’re also small enough to actually be truly portable.It’s a lot of functionality to pack into a device that could slide easily into your back pocket -- and now, it can even convert your tiny smartphone screen into an image 10 feet wide with the Kinkoo 4K HD Pocket Projector for Android 9.0. Weighing under a pound, this projector’s compact and lightweight design allows users to take it virtually anywhere for entertainment or professional use on the road, at a friend’s house, or during a business meeting. This unit is about as simple to operate as they come. Just connect your phone via Bluetooth or the Miracast Mirror Display function, and this projector beams your phone screen on to any surface in full HD resolution at up to 120 inches across. It even works for projecting 3D video images with no distortion.With a full charge, this projector’s LED 50 ANSI Lumens light source will shine for up to 90 minutes. And, the bulb itself is capable of running for about 20,000 hours without needing a replacement.As for content, the Pocket Projector has all the biggest and most popular video file formats covered at up to 4K resolution, able to show H.265, H.264, MPEG4, WMV, and more with no problem. Read the rest

In early June, about a week after George Floyd was murdered by police in Minneapolis — followed by the Trump administration gassing and shooting at peaceful protesters — Trump scuttled into a bunker to hide. He then built an ugly fence to cower behind. Now the eyesore has transformed into a wonderful collage of flowers, art, and messages like "Fuck Trump," "Black Lives Matter," "Let Them Breathe," "8:46," "The Media is Not the Enemy," and "Fund the Black Community." Thanks for the free cork board Trump! Read the rest

After spending months cooped up in the house and with the weather heating up, chances are you've already envisioned and planned your next road trip getaway for once the world opens back up.Of course, it isn’t always smooth sailing down the highways and byways. If you press too many people and too much stuff into the confined space of a vehicle, you’re bound to dig up some frayed nerves. Now more than ever, people need some room, you know?Rather than stacking your car, truck, van, or SUV to the roof with bags, supplies, and mountains of other stuff, the Pilot™ Automotive Cargo Carrier can quietly exile it all right out of your way, so everyone can enjoy traveling in comfort.This carrier mounts quickly and easily to either the crossbars or side rails of your vehicle’s roof, offering 18 cubic feet of convenient storage space, or enough room to hold about six medium-sized suitcases. Even at that spacious size, its aerodynamic design reduces your drag and will even save you on gas costs, which are not a small consideration on lengthy road trips.In case you encounter any weather, the carrier is completely weather-resistant and constructed with heavy-duty PVC material to be durable yet flexible, so it’s always capable of carrying objects of odd shapes and sizes. The large hooped zippers not only keep the elements out but are also lockable to keep all your contents safe even if you take an extended pitstop.With its portable construction, the carrier is also a breeze when your trip comes to an end. Read the rest

Last January, the BBC released the first episode of a true-crime style podcast called The Case of Charles Dexter Ward. Created by Julian Simpson, this story took a Serial-esque approach to a locked room mystery involving an American man who disappeared from an asylum in England. But as the story progresses, it quickly becomes apparent that there's something darker going on.That "something darker" would be the fact that it's a loose adaptation of The Curious Case of Charles Dexter Ward by HP Lovecraft. Simpson's podcast version takes the initial Lovecraftian premise — a person of privilege uncovers some hidden knowledge that inevitably connects back to ancient evil Elder Gods — and spins an updated modern tale that spans the Atlantic Ocean. Simpson cleverly weaves in English folklore and the occultism of Aleister Crowley as the journalist narrators travel back-and-forth between England and Rhode Island.One of those narrators, it should be noted, is a woman. And there are people of color, and class issues, too — a clear response to Lovecraft's notorious bigotry (the dude was so terrified of black people and vaginas that he literally crafted an entire universe of creepy-ass tentacled fish monsters just to try and justify it). It's an organic way to breathe new life into a story that doesn't have to be so bogged down in Lovecraft's more unfortunate qualities.I recently binged all 10 episodes of the podcast while working on some home renovations, and I found it utterly delightful. The Investigative Reporting approach gives it an almost Blair Witch-like vibe — it's certainly presented as if it is a genuine true crime podcast, and you wouldn't be faulted for falling for it (In my humble opinion, that also makes for a more gripping narrative device than the usual Lovecraft method of Random Trustfund Baby Takes A Bus Into a Random Creepy Town and Randomly Gets Involved In This Dark Mystery About Cthulhu). Read the rest

A striking message from babynames.com today: "Each one of these names was somebody's baby." Read the rest

Every year, the 5th graders at Wirtz Elementary School in Paramount, California get to have a big jam session concert with real musicians. It's the brainchild of teacher Eric Caruso, who recognized that a lot of the students came from underserved communities, and could really use the inspiration of an interactive arts program, complete with an awards ceremony and guest artists.In 2018, the students performed some Big Boi songs. In 2019, they grooved on Sly and the Family Stone. And in 2010, they rocked out to the seminal DC hardcore punk band, Minor Threat.We're not the first, I hope we're not the last'Cause I know we're all heading for that adult crashThe time is so little, the time belongs to usWhy is everybody in such a fucking rush?Make do with what you have, take what you can getPay no mind to us, we're just a minor threatWe're just! A minor threat!We're just! A minor threat!The kids are all right. Read the rest

I have a couple of different headlamps and this broadbeam LED headlamp, which uses a strip of 20 LEDs is my first choice for doing any kind of work in dark places. It lights a wide area and is very bright. It's lightweight, too. It uses 3 AAA batteries and has an easy on-off touch sensor switch. Read the rest

Minnesota State Troopers and deputies from the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office thought it was a good idea to slash tires of unoccupied parked cars during a protest in Minneapolis. Minnesota Department of Public Safety spokesperson Bruce Gordon said the officers slashed tires of cars to “stop behaviors such as vehicles driving dangerously and at high speeds in and around protesters and law enforcement,” which is odd because cars parked in a Kmart parking lot can't move. The cops also said they disabled cars that “contained items used to cause harm during violent protests” like rocks and pieces of concrete, but according to Mother Jones, the drivers included "protesters, news crews, and medics."From Mother Jones:“We’re so busy, it’s just unbelievable,” said a tow truck driver in an interview from the K-Mart parking lot with Andrew Kimmel, formerly the head of BuzzFeed’s video team. The towing company had received “call after call after call.” Asked whose cars were being towed, the tow truck driver said, “Everybody. Medics over there. News crews. Random people that were just here to protest and—tires slashed.”‼️THE POLICE SLASHED THIS TRUCKS TIRES‼️ all the protestors left the Kmart area as soon as they got closer. #MinneapolisRiot pic.twitter.com/eTGrHUUZLA— brandi (@brandiiimariiie) May 31, 2020Minneapolis Police slashed every tire on my rental car, as well as every tire of every car in this parking lot. pic.twitter.com/lchFplYQ0n— Andrew Kimmel (@andrewkimmel) May 31, 2020Radio-Canada journalists covering the protests in Minneapolis had their tires slashed. Witnesses told them police did it. Read the rest

I’m a voice actor, messing with Scammers again! ??? from r/funnyIRLRosie is a YouTuber who pranks telescammers by using different voices. She's really good! Read the rest

Actor and activist Keke Palmer, who we saw in a video from recent protests that went viral, has an amazing guest column in Variety today: ‘I Have Waited for a Revolution My Entire Life.’In the video, we see Keke confronting heavily armed members of the National Guard, and peacefully imploring them to “March with us.”Watch all of this. pic.twitter.com/YHq0QhXrnw— Gadi Schwartz (@GadiNBC) June 2, 2020“They didn’t march with us, and while one offered to for a short stretch, he also said he had to “protect the businesses” and buildings in the area,” Keke writes:White supremacy is the longest-lasting oppression in America, but it is not the only one. We may not all share in the Black experience of this, but I can guarantee you, almost everyone in this country has been oppressed in some form or another. It’s the reality of what happens when the illness of racism becomes validated through the system. It creates even more division, desensitizes us to the humanity of others to the point that so many can be easily blind to sweeping social injustices.I don’t know everything, but I know how to speak from my heart — at least I try to every day. I know there are others who are just like me. They don’t have the answers, but they are present and they know they can’t do it alone. They ignite the little fires everywhere that shine a light that casts out the darkness. Read the rest

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) today voted unanimously to propose a $225 million fine against Texas-based health insurance telemarketers blamed for making 1 billion illegally spoofed robocalls. This is the largest such fine ever proposed by the FCC.BREAKING NEWS: FCC proposes its largest fine ever: $225 million against a health insurance telemarketer for making about 1 billion illegally spoofed robocalls in less than 5 months in 2019. #OpenMtgFCC #FCCLive— The FCC (@FCC) June 9, 2020From Reuters:The order names two individuals using business names including Rising Eagle and JSquared Telecom. The FCC said robocalls falsely claimed to offer health insurance plans from major health insurance companies such as Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna, and UnitedHealth Group.FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel said later on Tuesday a group of state attorneys general is going to file action against the companies in U.S. District Court. The companies could not immediately be reached for comment. Read more:FCC proposes record $225 million fine for massive robocall campaign Read the rest

• One of the largest spy-for-hire operations ever exposedAn Indian cyber firm that few people have ever heard of, BellTroX InfoTech Services, is reported to have been serving as an international hacking shop for surveillance jobs, helping clients spy on at least 10,000 email accounts belonging to politicians, investors, journalists and activists around the world.The news comes from this report published Monday night by Citizen Lab:Dark Basin Uncovering a Massive Hack-For-Hire OperationBy John Scott-Railton, Adam Hulcoop, Bahr Abdul Razzak, Bill Marczak, Siena Anstis, and Ron DeibertJune 9, 2020“Researchers at internet watchdog group Citizen Lab, who spent more than two years mapping out the infrastructure used by the hackers, released a report here on Tuesday saying they had "high confidence" that BellTroX employees were behind the espionage campaign,” Reuters reports:New Delhi-based BellTroX InfoTech Services targeted government officials in Europe, gambling tycoons in the Bahamas, and well-known investors in the United States including private equity giant KKR and short seller Muddy Waters, according to three former employees, outside researchers, and a trail of online evidence.Aspects of BellTroX’s hacking spree aimed at American targets are currently under investigation by U.S. law enforcement, five people familiar with the matter told Reuters. The U.S. Department of Justice declined to comment.Reuters does not know the identity of BellTroX’s clients. In a telephone interview, the company’s owner, Sumit Gupta, declined to disclose who had hired him and denied any wrongdoing.Muddy Waters founder Carson Block said he was “disappointed, but not surprised, to learn that we were likely targeted for hacking by a client of BellTroX.” Read the rest

Director/writer Duncan Jones — whom you may know from his hyper-focused, small cast sci-fi films like Moon and Source Code, or the larger-scale Warcraft film that I admittedly never saw — has a new project out in the form of a graphic novel. Madi: Once Upon A Time In The Future is written by Jones and author/letterer Alex de Campi, with a huge team of artists including Ed Ocaña, Pia Guerra, James Stokoe, RM Guéra, Chris Weston, Rufus Dayglo, Annie Wu, David Lopez, Christian Ward, Matt Wilson, Nayoung Kim, Kelly Fitzpatrick, and many more. Here's a brief synopsis:Madi Preston, a veteran of Britain’s elite special operations J-Squad unit, is burnt out and up to her eyeballs in debt. She and the rest of her team have retired from the military but are now trapped having to pay to service and maintain the technology put into them during their years of service. They're working for British conglomerate Liberty Inc as mercenaries, selling their unique ability to be remote controlled by specialists while in the field, and the debts are only growing as they get injured completing missions. We meet Madi as she decides she’s had enough. She will take an off-the-books job that should earn her enough to pay out her and her sister, but when the piece of tech she’s supposed to steal turns out to be a kid, and she suddenly blacks out... she finds herself on the run from everyone she’s ever known.Madi is supposed to the final part of a trilogy comprised of Jones's other M-productions, Moon and Mute; while each story exists independently, they're also part of a loosely connected universe. Read the rest

A police officer chases a man on foot. The man starts running down a pier, which seems like a bad idea, until it turns out to be a brilliant idea. Read the rest

In the new Looney Tunes Cartoons series on HBO Max, Elmer Fudd no longer carries his signature rifle.“We’re not doing guns,” [series executive producer and showrunner Peter] Browngardt said in the New York Times. “But we can do cartoony violence — TNT, the Acme stuff. All that was kind of grandfathered in.”From CBS News:Yosemite Sam will also lose his iconic double pistols in the series. Neither Browngardt nor WarnerMedia, HBO Max's parent company, have explicitly stated the reason for the decision to drop guns from the series.Last summer, Warner Bros. TV released a short on its YouTube channel titled, "Dynamite Dance," which appeared to be from the new series. (Video above.) The cartoon shows Fudd chasing his nemesis Bugs Bunny with a scythe before the rabbit puts a stick of lit dynamite in the hunter's mouth. The 90-second clip features many sticks of dynamite and a plethora of massive explosions as Bugs Bunny blows up Fudd in multiple creative ways, all set to Amilcare Ponchielli's "Dance of the Hours." Read the rest

"New York Times Best-selling author" is a one of those highly treasured accolades to which most writers aspire. It's the kind of recognition that can make or break a writer's career — even though the numbers are not curated in a plain and simple way. Consider the way that Donald Trump Jr. hacked his way to the top of the list by buying up copies of his own book, in order to become a "New York Times Best-selling author," thus guaranteeing higher sales for his book.(Full disclosure: I do work for a company that is owned by the New York Times, a fact which does not impact my perspectives either way.)Over on Medium, a user calling themself "John the Correlator" has compiled all of the publicly-available data related to the Times' best-seller list, and crunched the numbers to analyze the demographic diversity of the authors represented by the list. And, perhaps unsurprisingly, it's not very representative of the US population: There's a lot more specific data broken down in the blog post, titled, "We Need To Talk About The List." And I suspect that we'll be seeing more from John the Correlator soon. But needless to say, it all supports the thesis: we need to talk about the list.We Need To Talk About The List [John the Correlator / Medium]Image: Public Domain via U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Hailey Haux Read the rest

ABC offered a number of interesting messages under the guise of 'The Bod Squad.' Read the rest

Tom the Dancing Bug, IN WHICH the Seussian BLM-I-am wonders if he can protest here or there or anywhere

Legendary American explorer, soldier, and folk hero Davy Crockett (1786-1836) may be known as the "King of the Wild Frontier," but we all know that title actually belongs to Bigfoot. I hadn't realized that the two actually met in 1835 in Nacogdoches, Texas, a year before Crockett's involvement in the Battle of the Alamo and his death. From Mysterious Universe:Crockett purportedly took a seat upon a log, removing his sweaty shoes and digging into his small rations. As he ate his food, he sort of absent-mindedly tapped his axe against the wood, and that was when he claimed that an enormous bipedal beast that was “the shape and shade of a large ape man” and quite frightening in appearance materialized out of the trees and brush before him. He would describe the creature in a letter to his brother-in-law, Abner, as follows:Whether it was the axe’s disturbance or possibly the heat of the sun which caused an apparition to slowly form in front of my eyes, I know not. As a Christian man, I swear to you, Abe, that what spirit came upon me was the shape and shade of a large ape man, the likes we might expect among the more bellicose and hostile Indian tribes in the Territories. The shade formed into the most deformed and ugly countenance. Covered in wild hair, with small and needling eyes, large broken rows of teeth, and the height of three foundlings, I spit upon the ground the bread I was eating.[...] Read the rest

Are you a cop so bad you managed to actually get disciplined or charged with crimes for your behavior? Florida needs you! The Brevard County Fraternal Order of Police called on such officers to head south, where they can enjoy "lower taxes, no spineless leadership, or dumb mayors rambling on at press conferences."Brevard County F.O.P. President Bert Gamin, who said he is a 28-year law enforcement veteran, with two years as a Melbourne Police Department reservist and 26 years with the Brevard County Sheriff's Office , claimed responsibility for the recruitment post."Our citizens have a right to protest peacefully and legally. They do not have a right to block roadways, trespass on private property or disobey lawful commands from law enforcement officers," he wrote in response to emailed questions from FLORIDA TODAY.Gamin, a current Brevard County Sheriff's Office Lieutenant, specifically extended the offer to officers implicated in a felony assault in Buffalo and to six charged with a range of crimes in Atlanta. In Buffalo, two officers cracked open the head of a 75-year-old man by pushing him to the ground and dozens more cheered them after their arraignment on felony assault charges. In Atlanta, six officers were charged, four with felonies, after dragging black college students from a car and violently arresting them, inflicting serious injuries on two. Read the rest

Alice Cutter was a hopeful contestant in the Miss Hitler beauty pageant, but will be unable to compete again soon because she's been jailed as a member of the right-wing terrorist group National Action, banned after celebrating the murder of MP Jo Cox. Cutter was among four people thusly incarcerated this week, and is pictured above with fellow convict Mark Jones.The court heard Cutter had entered the Miss Hitler beauty pageant under the name Miss Buchenwald - a reference to the World War Two death camp.She denied being a member of National Action, despite attending the group's rallies, in which banners reading "Hitler was right" were raised.Jurors were also shown messages in which Cutter joked about gassing synagogues, and using a Jew's head as a football.Don't see the resemblance, to be honest.GoDaddy took down the Miss Hitler beauty pageant site last month as the trial date loomed. Read the rest

Covid-19 takes no prisoners, and North Safari Sapporo in Japan’s northernmost prefecture is no exception. Scott Wilson reported for SoraNews 24 that mandatory shutdowns have forced the animal park to get creative, so the zoo started a crowd funding campaign offering incentives such as earrings made from skin shed by their snakes and feathers dropped by their parrots, coasters gnawed by beaver, and for 70,000 yen ($639) a pair of distressed jeans that have been ripped, chewed and mauled by the park’s lions.North Safari took a cue from Yagiyama Zoological Park, who in 2016 put their lions, tigers and bears to work in partnership with a local retail chain to create ZOO Jeans: Read the rest

On Twitter, top UK tea brand Yorkshire Tea told a racist to get lost. The racist said they would henceforth drink PG Tips instead. The account of PG Tips waded in to tell them to get lost too. Please don't buy our tea again. We're taking some time to educate ourselves and plan proper action before we post. We stand against racism. #BlackLivesMatter— Yorkshire Tea (@YorkshireTea) June 8, 2020Per the BBC's summary: Laura Towler, a right-wing vlogger based in Yorkshire, praised her local brand for not having voiced support for the movement. Yorkshire Tea said it had not yet commented on the BLM protests as it had been "taking time to educate" itself. It tweeted: "Please don't buy our tea again." ... PG Tips, which is owned by consumer goods giant Unilever, soon lent its support to its rival as right-wing commentators urged a boycott on Twitter."If you are boycotting teas that stand against racism, you're going to have to find two new brands now #blacklivesmatter #solidaritea," the brand tweeted. Attention, Americans: there are few superior options for bagged tea than Yorkshire Gold, available by the box or in bulk from Amazon. I have them ship five boxes to me every three months and still run out. Steep in freshly-boiled water in a warmed cup or teapot for the best results.The other brand is not quite so good as Yorkshire Tea, in my opinion, but Amazon sells these enormous 1000-teabag sacks of PG Tips that bring the price of a quality cup to just 4 cents. Read the rest

On Friday night, New York Police Commissioner Shea tweeted a photo of a bunch of bicycle repair gear and other commonly handy devices that had been confiscated from protestors, which he referred to as "the tools of criminals bent on causing mayhem & hijacking." At the time, I joked that it was some kind of sequel to the "Bicycle Rights" sketch from Portlandia. I carry every single thing in those photos (except the hammers) in my bicycle messenger at all times, and I've never even had a problem getting a plane with it all. The idea that these somehow constituted deadly weapons of war — in a country with a Constitutional right to bear arms, no less! — is utterly absurd.But apparently, I made my Portlandia joke too soon. Because the very next day, the known white-supremacist collaborators in the Portland Police Department tweeted a similar photo of the supposedly-awful things with which their officers had been allegedly assaulted: hard seltzer, chickpeas, and a half-eaten apple.More items recovered that were thrown at officers: Full beverage cans, bricks, bottles, rocks, food. pic.twitter.com/RTGILdcUKS— Portland Police (@PortlandPolice) June 6, 2020Police officers in America can be armed to the teeth with riot armor and helmets, carrying chemical weapons and ordnance cannons in their massive Bearcat tanks … and every single one of them is paralyzed by fear at the thought of a plastic water bottle. Why is that?I guess it's true what they say: ain't no laws when you're throwing Claws. Read the rest

Coming this summer.”Whoa. The wait is finally over, dudes!” ?⚡Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter star in the first official trailer for Bill & Ted Face the Music, and the tease couldn't come at a more perfect time.“And remember: be excellent to each other.” Whoa. The wait is finally over, dudes! Keanu Reeves and @Winter star in the first official trailer for Bill & Ted Face the Music! Watch now! And remember: be excellent to each other. ?⚡ #BillAndTed3 #FaceTheMusic #BillAndTedDay pic.twitter.com/oh7Oj3mVK3— Bill & Ted 3 (@BillandTed3) June 9, 2020Video: BILL & TED FACE THE MUSIC Official Trailer #1 (2020), ORION PICTURES#BillAndTed3 #FaceTheMusic #BillAndTedDay Read the rest

On March 5, 1770, militarized law enforcement officers committed a heinous act of state-sponsored violence in front of the Old Boston State House, shooting and murdering an innocent black man named Crispus Attucks along with four other people who were protesting against state-sponsored violence committed by militarized law enforcement officers. This massacre is largely recognized as a turning point in public sentiment against the corrupt authorities, which would eventually lead to a full-blown revolution.On June 7, 2020, militarized law enforcement officers staked out a position in front of the Old Boston State House as a pre-emptive measure against people who were protesting against state-sponsored violence committed by militarized law enforcement officers, largely motivated by the unjust murders of innocent black people at the hands of militarized law enforcement officers.While no one was killed during this embarrassing moment of accidental historical cosplay, public sentiment does appear to be turning against the authorities. Whether this leads to a full-blown revolution has yet to be seen.Irony is dead. pic.twitter.com/UJTQAdBOVO— Jake @ HUB History (@HUBhistory) June 7, 2020Image: Public Domain via Paul Revere Read the rest

The English language being short of words, Thomas Dimson created an AI-powered word generator. This word does not existnephromatosisan infectious bacterial infection of the lymphatic system in primary prevention of infection in animals, caused by a nematode parasite or by an enterovirus"nephromatosis is a serious and fatal form of typhoid fever"haholusan effeminate child, especially a boy monstruta fixed upright figure"a sculpted octagon and monstrut"Really delightful, and far ahead of "traditional" generative word-makers. Even if sometimes it's clear the machine has no real insight, it touches upon the greatness of Douglas Adams and John Lloyd's Deeper Meaning of Liff. I'll be putting pebblepenny (of a person, old-fashioned and rather vain, e.g. "a pebblepenny politician") to use soon. Read the rest

Pure happiness. I never get tired of "babies experiencing the weirdness of ice cream" videos.Pure happinessHere are more babies eating ice cream videos to wholesome up your day. Read the rest

“The greeting we get every time we come home!!!!”This dog's name is Teasel. She loves her humans. She greets the humans by presenting them with their own shoes.Says IMGURian @TomD97,So here we have teasel again, just like her bowl she loves to pick shoes up, even if they do smell? But either way it’s still really cute! Also look at the butt wiggle.The greeting we get every time we come home!!!![IMGUR] Read the rest