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Top 10 Conservative Idiots #5-16: The College Dropout Edition
Top 10 Conservative Idiots #5-16: The College Dropout Edition
Welcome back to the Top 10 Conservative Idiots! What’s up BOSTON???? Yes I am in Red Sox territory so… how about them? Yeah! But that Patriots – Chiefs game… what the fuck??? Although I will say that I heavily support Tyreek Mill getting a face full of beer and a middle finger, but considering what he did, that dude got off light. But we got to move on, this is a comedy show! Not a horror movie! So I want to start with a heartfelt RIP… to Pete Davidson and Ariana Grande’s relationship. Yes, we need the Sad Hulk Music for this one! But one of my favorite aspects of celebrity relationships is when celebrities get premature tattoos. I’m not a tattoo guy, but I love premature tattoos. Like you know somewhere out there, there’s a Brewers fan out there who got a “Brewers 2018 World Series Champions” tattoo even though they’re only 2 games into the NLCS! And you know there’s a Lakers fan who got a “Lebron MVP” tattoo even though we’re still in preseason! But really, Pete, did you really think that your relationship with Ariana was going to go very far? And how much is tattoo removal? I don’t know, but does anyone have any guesses? How much? And I’m guessing that is going to be quite painful too. Well it’s really his loss. OK that’s enough of the intro, we got a lot of idiocy to get to, but first, John Oliver is back and he delves into the US relationship with Saudi Arabia (currently in the running for the worst country on earth) :
**NOTE: We are *NOT* going to cover the Jamal Khashoogi killing (at least this week) as it is another one of those stories where it would go against the Top 10 policy of making fun of tragedy. Sorry. Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.**
In the number one slot this week is a twofer – Kanye West and Donald Trump (1). We got to delve into Kanye’s visit to the White House because, reasons. Taking the second slot this week, Trump’s wife Melania Trump (2) is on a World Deplorable tour of her own and made some absolutely absurd claims about bullying and we are going to examine a few of those. Taking the 3rd slot this week we have Trump’s BFF Alex Jones (3) and he’s literally turning into that episode of Seinfeld where George gets fired and he refuses to leave, we’ll tell you more about that. For the 4th seed this week Stormy Daniels is back and she and Trump (4) exchange jabs at each other after a judge dismisses her lawsuit against the orange president, and no, Stormy, we don’t need further details, thanks! At number 5 is a brand new edition of Top 10 Investigates and this time we’re going to talk about travel, specifically long haul flights, and Singapore Airlines recently launched the world’s longest flight – are you up for it? Taking the 6th slot this week we have of course our weekly visit to the Holy Church Of The Top 10 in “Holy Shit” and this week our resident pastor is going to talk the end of the world. Just how close are we and what is our brethren on the other side saying about it? Find out! At number 7, last week we asked “What’s Up With India?” and this week we’re going to ask “What’s Up With Brazil?” because their elections are coming and they are about to elect a far right Putin stooge despite that he’s the less popular candidate. Gee, where have I heard that before? At number 8 we have a new installment of “How Is This Still A Thing?” and this week after South Park took a jab at an ongoing controversy involving a character on a competing show, we’re going to ask – “The Simpsons’ Apu: How Is This Still A Thing?”. In the number 9 (NEIN!!!) slot this week we’ve got a new installment of my favorite segment “I Need A Drink” and we’re going to talk passwords – specifically Kanye’s. Yep, that happened. And finally the next installment of our ongoing series Deep State Diaries, we’re going to hang out with the best of the best – the United States Marine Corps! Plus we’ve got the best dressed band in music – the Mighty Mighty Bosstones are going to be joining us! Enjoy! And as always don’t forget the key!
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[font size="8"]Trump Vs Kanye
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Fresh off his recent stint berating the SNL audience and berating the oval office, we got to talk about how batshit insane Kanye has become. And here’s the thing Kanye that you need to realize that no one else will tell you – Trump is using you, man. He’s using you and he’s playing you like a fiddle, like he is with literally every celebrity that’s come out in favor of him. And I mean come on, when Dave Chappelle calls you out and says you went too far, you went too fucking far!
Dave Chappelle considers Kanye West “my brother” — but he thinks that the rapper “shouldn’t say all that s—” in support of President Donald Trump.
“I’m not mad at Kanye,” the comedian, 45, told CNN’s Van Jones in a segment that aired Saturday but was filmed before West visited the White House on Thursday. “That’s my brother. I love him. I support him. But you know, I don’t have to agree with everything that he says. I just trust him as a person of intent. But yeah, he shouldn’t say all that s—.”
During the lengthy discussion in the Oval Office, West, 41, mentioned his mental health, his fondness for the Make America Great Again hat, Hillary Clinton and the Kardashians, along with other topics.
West also recently gave a pro-Trump rant after appearing as the Saturday Night Live musical guest and called first for abolishing and then for amending the 13th Amendment.
Calling West an “artist” and a “genius,” Chappelle said, “I think that the angle he’s seeing things from is about the division that he sees, and he’s not inconsistent with what he’s saying.” He noted that he once read that West had sought to “re-appropriate” the Confederate flag.
In 2013, West wore a jacket with the Confederate flag and defended his decision by saying, “You know, the Confederate flag represented slavery in a way. … So I took the Confederate flag and made it my flag. It’s my flag.”
Months after announcing that he had bipolar disorder, West told Trump that he was “misdiagnosed.” Commenting that he had a “98 percentile IQ test,” West said that a doctor told him that “I wasn’t actually bipolar; I had sleep deprivation which can cause dementia 10 to 20 years from now when I wouldn’t even remember my son’s name.”
A source told PEOPLE that those close to West “are telling him that he needs to get back on his medication, that he’s not doing well, that he’s not making any sense.”
https://people.com/politics/dave-chappelle-kanye-west-supporting-donald-trump/
“I’m not mad at Kanye,” the comedian, 45, told CNN’s Van Jones in a segment that aired Saturday but was filmed before West visited the White House on Thursday. “That’s my brother. I love him. I support him. But you know, I don’t have to agree with everything that he says. I just trust him as a person of intent. But yeah, he shouldn’t say all that s—.”
During the lengthy discussion in the Oval Office, West, 41, mentioned his mental health, his fondness for the Make America Great Again hat, Hillary Clinton and the Kardashians, along with other topics.
West also recently gave a pro-Trump rant after appearing as the Saturday Night Live musical guest and called first for abolishing and then for amending the 13th Amendment.
Calling West an “artist” and a “genius,” Chappelle said, “I think that the angle he’s seeing things from is about the division that he sees, and he’s not inconsistent with what he’s saying.” He noted that he once read that West had sought to “re-appropriate” the Confederate flag.
In 2013, West wore a jacket with the Confederate flag and defended his decision by saying, “You know, the Confederate flag represented slavery in a way. … So I took the Confederate flag and made it my flag. It’s my flag.”
Months after announcing that he had bipolar disorder, West told Trump that he was “misdiagnosed.” Commenting that he had a “98 percentile IQ test,” West said that a doctor told him that “I wasn’t actually bipolar; I had sleep deprivation which can cause dementia 10 to 20 years from now when I wouldn’t even remember my son’s name.”
A source told PEOPLE that those close to West “are telling him that he needs to get back on his medication, that he’s not doing well, that he’s not making any sense.”
https://people.com/politics/dave-chappelle-kanye-west-supporting-donald-trump/
Yeah probably! But there’s a lot of crazy things that happened during that whole visit to the Oval Office last week. And don’t worry – we’ll get to the epic passcode fail in a minute. But for now all you need to know is that Kanye is really the black Trump. He’s the college dropout, don’t you know?
There was a moment during rapper Kanye West's 10-minute Oval Office soliloquy on, um, hydrogen planes, alternative universes and the 13th Amendment (among LOTS of other things) when the cameras zoomed in on President Donald Trump's face. Trump looked alternatively bemused, entertained, baffled, guarded and, yes, maybe even a little nervous all at once.
Which is the closest I have ever felt to the President -- because I was feeling all those same things watching the rapper and the celebrity President interact in front of the cameras. ("Interact" probably oversells it. Kanye just sort of talked at Trump, with an occasional pause to side-hug the President or show him a plane from his phone.)
It was a particularly Trumpian spectacle. Kanye was invited, alongside NFL great Jim Brown, ostensibly to talk about prison reform, but was really brought to the White House because a) he is a celebrity b) he says nice things about Trump and c) he guarantees eyeballs and buzz everywhere he goes.
And of course, everyone watched -- even if they said they didn't want to or didn't care -- because it was impossible to tear yourself away from the spectacle. Kanye didn't really talk much about prison reform but, then again, I am not sure what the hell he did talk about.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/11/politics/kanye-west-donald-trump/index.html
Which is the closest I have ever felt to the President -- because I was feeling all those same things watching the rapper and the celebrity President interact in front of the cameras. ("Interact" probably oversells it. Kanye just sort of talked at Trump, with an occasional pause to side-hug the President or show him a plane from his phone.)
It was a particularly Trumpian spectacle. Kanye was invited, alongside NFL great Jim Brown, ostensibly to talk about prison reform, but was really brought to the White House because a) he is a celebrity b) he says nice things about Trump and c) he guarantees eyeballs and buzz everywhere he goes.
And of course, everyone watched -- even if they said they didn't want to or didn't care -- because it was impossible to tear yourself away from the spectacle. Kanye didn't really talk much about prison reform but, then again, I am not sure what the hell he did talk about.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/11/politics/kanye-west-donald-trump/index.html
By the way so you know while Melania is on her world deplorable tour (which we will get to in a minute), Kanye imitated Dave Chappelle and went to Africa because… why not?
Days after Kanye West’s bizarre sit-down with President Donald Trump, the rapper and his wife, Kim Kardashian, have cozied up to another head of state.
The couple took in a meeting with the president of Uganda, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, who has declared his love for Trump, and Museveni’s daughter Diana Museveni Kamuntu in Entebbe on Monday. West is visiting the East African country while recording his upcoming album.
Museveni announced the visit on his Twitter account and said they held “fruitful discussions” about promoting tourism and arts, revealing that West gave him a pair of white Yeezy sneakers.
“I welcome American entertainment stars Kanye West and @KimKardashian to Uganda,” he wrote on Twitter alongside a series of photos documenting their meeting. “I held fruitful discussions with the duo on how to promote Uganda’s tourism and the arts. I thank Kanye for the gift of white sneakers. Enjoy your time in Uganda. It is the true Pearl of Africa.”
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/kanye-west-kim-kardashian-meet-uganda-president-yoweri-museveni_us_5bc4a0dce4b0bd9ed55c54e5
The couple took in a meeting with the president of Uganda, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, who has declared his love for Trump, and Museveni’s daughter Diana Museveni Kamuntu in Entebbe on Monday. West is visiting the East African country while recording his upcoming album.
Museveni announced the visit on his Twitter account and said they held “fruitful discussions” about promoting tourism and arts, revealing that West gave him a pair of white Yeezy sneakers.
“I welcome American entertainment stars Kanye West and @KimKardashian to Uganda,” he wrote on Twitter alongside a series of photos documenting their meeting. “I held fruitful discussions with the duo on how to promote Uganda’s tourism and the arts. I thank Kanye for the gift of white sneakers. Enjoy your time in Uganda. It is the true Pearl of Africa.”
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/kanye-west-kim-kardashian-meet-uganda-president-yoweri-museveni_us_5bc4a0dce4b0bd9ed55c54e5
And by the way this might be the single craziest thing to come out of that whole Kanye and Trump meeting – he proposed a bizarre futuristic looking airplane that he thinks should be made by Apple, because… reasons. Really you can’t make this shit up!
Kanye West believes president Donald Trump should eschew the Boeing VC-25AS planes used as Air Force One in favour of a hypersonic jet. Naturally, it should be made by Apple. The outspoken rapper made headlines last week when he showed President Trump a prototype of the so-called ‘iPlane 1’, which he reckoned could be a new Presidential Air Force One.
In an extraordinary meeting in the Oval Office, West produced his phone and announced: ‘I brought a gift with me right here. This right here is the iPlane 1. It’s a hydrogen-powered airplane and this is what our president should by flying in. ‘And we’re gonna have Apple, an American company, work on this plane.’
Although sounding like a project already in motion, the news came as a surprise to the actual designer of the concept, Detroit-based Shabtai Hirshberg. ‘It completely caught me by surprise,’ Hirshberg told The Verge. ‘A good surprise, I would say – it’s always nice to see your designs being thought well for.’
https://metro.co.uk/2018/10/16/a-closer-look-at-the-apple-iplane-that-kanye-pitched-to-trump-8042859/?ito=cbshare
In an extraordinary meeting in the Oval Office, West produced his phone and announced: ‘I brought a gift with me right here. This right here is the iPlane 1. It’s a hydrogen-powered airplane and this is what our president should by flying in. ‘And we’re gonna have Apple, an American company, work on this plane.’
Although sounding like a project already in motion, the news came as a surprise to the actual designer of the concept, Detroit-based Shabtai Hirshberg. ‘It completely caught me by surprise,’ Hirshberg told The Verge. ‘A good surprise, I would say – it’s always nice to see your designs being thought well for.’
https://metro.co.uk/2018/10/16/a-closer-look-at-the-apple-iplane-that-kanye-pitched-to-trump-8042859/?ito=cbshare
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[font size="8"]Melania Trump
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OK so we might be at that point in the movie where the team splits and goes their separate ways only to reconvene in the end and be… happy… I guess? Maybe if you were to go the Wes Anderson route. But really, so Melania went to Africa to promote her “#BeBest” campaign, and really, if you’re going to promote a Twitter hashtag, why not promote in countries that don’t really have proper internet access yet?
Sometimes a hat is just a hat. But not when it’s a pith helmet worn by a white politician visiting Africa. Pith helmets are relics of colonialism and its big game hunting tradition. So why would Melania Trump wear one?
On a solo tour of Africa, the United States first lady stopped in Ghana, Kenya, Malawi and Egypt. She went on safari. The pictures of her in a pith helmet and looking rather inscrutable went around the world. Although the first lady said: “I want to talk about my trip, not what I wear,” it is impossible to not talk about the ways race and space collide in this image.
This, of course, is not the first time Trump has been challenged on her clothing choices. After she wore a jacket that said “I really don’t care, do u?” while en route to an immigrant child detention centre, many claimed her choice of clothing was carefully scripted.
Safari is a multi-million dollar industry in Africa. It is most often talked about in terms of tourism, conservation, poaching and big game hunting. Let’s add race to that mix.
The legacy of safari hunting
https://www.news24.com/Africa/News/the-pith-helmet-worn-by-melania-trump-on-safari-in-africa-is-a-relic-of-colonialism-20181016
On a solo tour of Africa, the United States first lady stopped in Ghana, Kenya, Malawi and Egypt. She went on safari. The pictures of her in a pith helmet and looking rather inscrutable went around the world. Although the first lady said: “I want to talk about my trip, not what I wear,” it is impossible to not talk about the ways race and space collide in this image.
This, of course, is not the first time Trump has been challenged on her clothing choices. After she wore a jacket that said “I really don’t care, do u?” while en route to an immigrant child detention centre, many claimed her choice of clothing was carefully scripted.
Safari is a multi-million dollar industry in Africa. It is most often talked about in terms of tourism, conservation, poaching and big game hunting. Let’s add race to that mix.
The legacy of safari hunting
https://www.news24.com/Africa/News/the-pith-helmet-worn-by-melania-trump-on-safari-in-africa-is-a-relic-of-colonialism-20181016
Because if there’s one thing Africa needs to be reminded of, it’s colonization! I mean really you couldn’t possibly get more insensitive than that. Ah, who am I kidding? This is the Trump administration we’re talking about here. They got elected on their insensitivity! And you want insensitive? Well it doesn’t get more insensitive than this!
Melania Trump, America's media-wary first lady, was finally ready to sit down for her first TV interview as FLOTUS, but she had to go to Africa to do it.
Trump appeared on “Being Melania – The First Lady,” a special edition of ABC's "20/20" on Friday night (10 p.m. ET/PT) talking with the network's chief national correspondent and weekend anchor Tom Llamas, who interviewed Trump when he accompanied her on her just-completed first solo international trip touring four countries in Africa.
During the sit-down, Trump revealed the message behind one of her most controversial fashion statements.
After the administration's border policy of separating children from their parents created an outcry in June, she flew to McAllen, Texas, to visit a migrant children's shelter to bolster the administration's humanitarian credentials. But that was undermined by her decision to wear a casual jacket with a snarky message scrawled on the back reading, "I REALLY DON'T CARE, DO U?" during the trip.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2018/10/12/melania-trump-does-first-tv-interview-flotus-during-her-africa-tour/1532600002/
Trump appeared on “Being Melania – The First Lady,” a special edition of ABC's "20/20" on Friday night (10 p.m. ET/PT) talking with the network's chief national correspondent and weekend anchor Tom Llamas, who interviewed Trump when he accompanied her on her just-completed first solo international trip touring four countries in Africa.
During the sit-down, Trump revealed the message behind one of her most controversial fashion statements.
After the administration's border policy of separating children from their parents created an outcry in June, she flew to McAllen, Texas, to visit a migrant children's shelter to bolster the administration's humanitarian credentials. But that was undermined by her decision to wear a casual jacket with a snarky message scrawled on the back reading, "I REALLY DON'T CARE, DO U?" during the trip.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2018/10/12/melania-trump-does-first-tv-interview-flotus-during-her-africa-tour/1532600002/
To which I respond with “I really don’t care. Do U?”. Thank you audience! And by the way, we might want to cue the world’s tiniest violin straight for her. So is Melania Trump really the most bullied person in the world? Well she’s married to the guy who might be the biggest bully in the world, that’s for damn sure!
First lady Melania Trump said in an interview that aired Thursday that she is the most bullied person in the world, which has led her to create her anti-bullying "Be Best" initiative, before softening her comments slightly to say she is one of the most bullied.
"I could say I'm the most bullied person on the world," Trump told ABC News in an interview during her first major solo trip to Africa last week when asked what personally made her want to tackle the issue of cyberbullying.
"You're really the most bullied person in the world?" ABC News' Tom Llamas asked during the exchange.
"One of them, if you really see what people saying about me," Trump said.
Asked how bullying could affect children, including her son Barron, Trump said that is why her initiative is focused on social media and online behavior.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/11/politics/melania-trump-be-best-initiative-bullying/index.html
"I could say I'm the most bullied person on the world," Trump told ABC News in an interview during her first major solo trip to Africa last week when asked what personally made her want to tackle the issue of cyberbullying.
"You're really the most bullied person in the world?" ABC News' Tom Llamas asked during the exchange.
"One of them, if you really see what people saying about me," Trump said.
Asked how bullying could affect children, including her son Barron, Trump said that is why her initiative is focused on social media and online behavior.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/11/politics/melania-trump-be-best-initiative-bullying/index.html
Oh womp womp! Yeah that’s the world’s tiniest violin playing just for Melania. Oh and by the way if you want to take a trip to Egypt, maybe the Pyramids are the one place where you don’t put your best fashion foot forward. And by the way Melania, it’s kind of hard to focus on what you do when you don’t do anything.
I wish people would focus on what I do, not what I wear,” First Lady Melania Trump lamented on the final day of her solo four-country trip to Africa, which took her last week to Ghana, Malawi, Kenya, and Egypt. She was reacting to criticism of the pith helmet she had worn earlier in Kenya.
It's a sentiment any serious person would sympathize with—but it was difficult to honor her wish. The objectives of her trip weren’t clearly defined, and some of her clothes were, well, distracting.
Take the pith helmet. That’s a hat with a history. It was widely worn by European colonial armies in Africa and Asia and by the end of the 19th century had also become common civilian wear for Westerners in the tropics; it is considered by many a symbol of colonial oppression. Why, one can’t help but wonder, would the first lady of the United States want to lift up that rock?
Furthermore, at the precise moment she was making her plea, Trump was standing on the Giza plateau outside Cairo; behind her was the Sphinx and the Great Pyramid of the pharaoh Khufu, the only remaining wonder of the ancient world. And with her attire she was inexplicably channeling 1930s, gangster-era Chicago: What else to make of the wide, black-belted trousers paired with a white shirt and a black tie, a menswear-style double-breasted jacket draped over her shoulders, and a black-banded fedora on her head?
https://www.townandcountrymag.com/style/fashion-trends/a23657403/melania-trump-africa-clothes-style/
It's a sentiment any serious person would sympathize with—but it was difficult to honor her wish. The objectives of her trip weren’t clearly defined, and some of her clothes were, well, distracting.
Take the pith helmet. That’s a hat with a history. It was widely worn by European colonial armies in Africa and Asia and by the end of the 19th century had also become common civilian wear for Westerners in the tropics; it is considered by many a symbol of colonial oppression. Why, one can’t help but wonder, would the first lady of the United States want to lift up that rock?
Furthermore, at the precise moment she was making her plea, Trump was standing on the Giza plateau outside Cairo; behind her was the Sphinx and the Great Pyramid of the pharaoh Khufu, the only remaining wonder of the ancient world. And with her attire she was inexplicably channeling 1930s, gangster-era Chicago: What else to make of the wide, black-belted trousers paired with a white shirt and a black tie, a menswear-style double-breasted jacket draped over her shoulders, and a black-banded fedora on her head?
https://www.townandcountrymag.com/style/fashion-trends/a23657403/melania-trump-africa-clothes-style/
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[font size="8"]Alex Jones
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Remember that episode of Seinfeld where George’s boss discovers that he faked being handicapped and attempted to fire George, and George refused to leave, so the boss did everything he could to force George out? Well it’s kind of like that for Infowars, and we may need to get the Sad Hulk Music going for this one. But apparently there’s one outlet that’s still mysteriously keeping Infowars alive and it’s getting really strange. For those of you keeping score at home here’s who has banned Infowars so far. Paypal.
Alex Jones, founder and lead host of Infowars, has been booted off nearly every social media platform, lost access to advertising and web-hosting services, and is now denied service by the payment processor PayPal—but he is still able to generate revenue from his operation using a Visa-owned payment solution called Authorize.Net.
Because of his hateful rhetoric and bad-faith proliferation of conspiracy theories, Jones has been banned from using Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Apple, Spotify, Stitcher, MailChimp, PayPal, and many online advertising services.
Authorize.Net services, according to its website, “more than 430,000 merchants, handling more than 1 billion transactions and $149 billion in payments every year.” Authorize.Net’s parent company is CyberSource, which Visa acquired in 2010. One of the merchants the service works with is the Infowars web store, where Jones sells nutritional supplements and prepper supplies at inflated prices. The code running the Infowars checkout page, specifically the credit card verification system, routes to Authorize.Net.
In the terms of use presented on Authorize.Net’s website, the payment processor does not require users agree to any policies forbidding them from using the service to facilitate hate and harassment online. Color of Change, a nonprofit civil rights advocacy group, lists Visa as an “engaged” company, meaning that Visa has “no acceptable use policy but has actively removed groups under pressure,” including white supremacist groups. In the terms listed, the company says it does not assume responsibility for what its clients do and sell and that it does not guarantee “you will be satisfied with their products, services or practices.”
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/is-visa-subsidiary-alex-jones-last-refuge/
Because of his hateful rhetoric and bad-faith proliferation of conspiracy theories, Jones has been banned from using Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Apple, Spotify, Stitcher, MailChimp, PayPal, and many online advertising services.
Authorize.Net services, according to its website, “more than 430,000 merchants, handling more than 1 billion transactions and $149 billion in payments every year.” Authorize.Net’s parent company is CyberSource, which Visa acquired in 2010. One of the merchants the service works with is the Infowars web store, where Jones sells nutritional supplements and prepper supplies at inflated prices. The code running the Infowars checkout page, specifically the credit card verification system, routes to Authorize.Net.
In the terms of use presented on Authorize.Net’s website, the payment processor does not require users agree to any policies forbidding them from using the service to facilitate hate and harassment online. Color of Change, a nonprofit civil rights advocacy group, lists Visa as an “engaged” company, meaning that Visa has “no acceptable use policy but has actively removed groups under pressure,” including white supremacist groups. In the terms listed, the company says it does not assume responsibility for what its clients do and sell and that it does not guarantee “you will be satisfied with their products, services or practices.”
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/is-visa-subsidiary-alex-jones-last-refuge/
I can imagine that will eventually happen to Infowars. I mean could you imagine that Alex is climbing through the vents at Infowars HQ screaming about the “Deep State”? I’m just laughing just thinking about this scenario – and he’s already red enough! So guess what? Alex is fighting back! He’s suing Paypal because, reasons.
Far right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones is suing PayPal over claims that his InfoWars website was blocked due to political bias.
PayPal is one of several technology companies that have banned the controversial site from their platform, with Twitter, Facebook and Spotify all saying that Mr Jones' promotion of hate and violence is in violation of their policies.
InfoWars has previously reported that the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012 – in which 20 students and six staff members were killed – was a hoax.
In a 15-page complaint, Mr Jones' company Free Speech Systems claims that the bans are purely political.
"It is at this point well known that large tech companies, located primarily in Silicon Valley, are discriminating against politically conservative entities and individuals, including banning them from social media platforms such as Twitter, based solely on their political and ideological viewpoints," the complaint states.
https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/alex-jones-sue-paypal-infowars-website-blocked-a8566226.html
PayPal is one of several technology companies that have banned the controversial site from their platform, with Twitter, Facebook and Spotify all saying that Mr Jones' promotion of hate and violence is in violation of their policies.
InfoWars has previously reported that the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012 – in which 20 students and six staff members were killed – was a hoax.
In a 15-page complaint, Mr Jones' company Free Speech Systems claims that the bans are purely political.
"It is at this point well known that large tech companies, located primarily in Silicon Valley, are discriminating against politically conservative entities and individuals, including banning them from social media platforms such as Twitter, based solely on their political and ideological viewpoints," the complaint states.
https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/alex-jones-sue-paypal-infowars-website-blocked-a8566226.html
Oh Alex, how many times do we need to tell you? You’re not getting banned because of your political bias, you’re getting banned because you’re a hateful dick! And companies these days don’t want to be associated with hate speech. And I thought you guys hated trial lawyers! Or are you going to represent yourself? And you know what they say about that right?
The publisher of the controversial Infowars website sued PayPal Inc. on Monday claiming that the payment site “discriminated against Plaintiff based on its political viewpoints and politically conservative affiliation, thus violating the California Unruh Civil Rights Act.”
On Sept. 21, PayPal informed Free Speech Systems, LLC, the owner of the websites at infowars.com and prisonplanet.com, that it would cease processing payments for the sites. “PayPal is engaged in unfair business practices by enforcing its contractual terms in an unconscionable manner, namely arbitrarily banning plaintiff from its platform for off-platform speech despite never claiming it might ban users for off-platform activity,” wrote the sites’ lawyer, Marc J. Randazza, of the Randazza Legal Group in Las Vegas.
A Paypal spokesman told Courthouse News Service on Monday that company was “aware of the filing and believes the claims in the complaint are without merit.”
https://www.law.com/therecorder/2018/10/02/infowars-publisher-sues-paypal-claiming-viewpoint-based-censorship-read-the-complaint/?slreturn=20180916145116
On Sept. 21, PayPal informed Free Speech Systems, LLC, the owner of the websites at infowars.com and prisonplanet.com, that it would cease processing payments for the sites. “PayPal is engaged in unfair business practices by enforcing its contractual terms in an unconscionable manner, namely arbitrarily banning plaintiff from its platform for off-platform speech despite never claiming it might ban users for off-platform activity,” wrote the sites’ lawyer, Marc J. Randazza, of the Randazza Legal Group in Las Vegas.
A Paypal spokesman told Courthouse News Service on Monday that company was “aware of the filing and believes the claims in the complaint are without merit.”
https://www.law.com/therecorder/2018/10/02/infowars-publisher-sues-paypal-claiming-viewpoint-based-censorship-read-the-complaint/?slreturn=20180916145116
No, they do have merit. See, we point out time and time again that companies have this thing called a “terms of service agreement” that you probably didn’t read when you signed up, so of course you’re going to scream “wolf”. By the way one of Trump’s favorite punching bags – CNN’s Jim Acosta, nailed it when he described Infowars:
The Washington Post’s Paul Farhi followed CNN chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta as he covered yet another Trump rally. Yes, Acosta continues to receive taunts and insults, but according to Farhi, tons of rallygoers also also ask him for selfies, while the countless other journalists continued to go about their business unrecognized and unbothered.
The reception Acosta gets abroad is far different, where people are much more polite towards the press, Farhi writes, than “the different country” Acosta says he sees when in Erie or in Tampa, Fla.
Acosta tells Farhi that Trump isn’t always the source of the anger. It’s increasingly conservative media outlets, like Fox News.
“A lot of people view this through the prism of conservative media,” Acosta tells Farhi. “If you stay on Fox, Infowars, Breitbart or Daily Caller, you’ll see something [inflammatory] about us. That’s what supercharges everyone.”
https://www.adweek.com/tvnewser/jim-acosta-if-you-stay-on-fox-infowars-breitbart-or-daily-caller-youll-see-something-inflammatory-about-us-thats-what-supercharges-everyone/381137
The reception Acosta gets abroad is far different, where people are much more polite towards the press, Farhi writes, than “the different country” Acosta says he sees when in Erie or in Tampa, Fla.
Acosta tells Farhi that Trump isn’t always the source of the anger. It’s increasingly conservative media outlets, like Fox News.
“A lot of people view this through the prism of conservative media,” Acosta tells Farhi. “If you stay on Fox, Infowars, Breitbart or Daily Caller, you’ll see something [inflammatory] about us. That’s what supercharges everyone.”
https://www.adweek.com/tvnewser/jim-acosta-if-you-stay-on-fox-infowars-breitbart-or-daily-caller-youll-see-something-inflammatory-about-us-thats-what-supercharges-everyone/381137
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[font size="8"]Trump Vs Stormy
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You know the last time we checked in with Stormy Daniels she ruined our collective childhoods in more ways than one. Especially if you happen to be 90s kids like I am (see: Idiots #5-12 ). But this week Trump is hopping mad at Stormy’s latest revelations. And you know what? After the shit show that has been the last two years, I never, *EVER* want to hear about a presidents’ sex life ever again. But it seems Trump picked up a minor victory, even if it is a, for lack of a better word, tiny one.
A federal judge has dismissed adult film star Stormy Daniels' defamation lawsuit against President Donald Trump.
Daniels sued Trump after he said in a tweet that her story of a man threatening her not to come forward with her story of her alleged affair with Trump was "a total con job."
Daniels argued Trump's tweet, posted April 18, "attacks the veracity of her account" of the incident and that Trump's statement was "false and defamatory, and that the tweet was defamation ... because it charged her with committing a serious crime," District Judge S. James Otero wrote in his opinion Monday.
Trump had asked Otero to dismiss the lawsuit.
"The Court agrees with Mr. Trump's argument because the tweet in question constitutes 'rhetorical hyperbole' normally associated with politics and public discourse in the United States. The First Amendment protects this type of rhetorical statement," Otero wrote.
In addition to dismissing the lawsuit, Otero ruled Trump is entitled to attorney's fees.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/15/politics/stormy-daniels-lawsuit-dismissed/index.html
Daniels sued Trump after he said in a tweet that her story of a man threatening her not to come forward with her story of her alleged affair with Trump was "a total con job."
Daniels argued Trump's tweet, posted April 18, "attacks the veracity of her account" of the incident and that Trump's statement was "false and defamatory, and that the tweet was defamation ... because it charged her with committing a serious crime," District Judge S. James Otero wrote in his opinion Monday.
Trump had asked Otero to dismiss the lawsuit.
"The Court agrees with Mr. Trump's argument because the tweet in question constitutes 'rhetorical hyperbole' normally associated with politics and public discourse in the United States. The First Amendment protects this type of rhetorical statement," Otero wrote.
In addition to dismissing the lawsuit, Otero ruled Trump is entitled to attorney's fees.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/15/politics/stormy-daniels-lawsuit-dismissed/index.html
Yeah BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! Of course they did! And really do we honestly need to know any more about Trump’s sex life? I mean honestly Trump is a pig don’t get me wrong, but this just… I can’t even. Well on the plus side this guy has the right reaction to this horror:
So maybe Nathaniel Greene saw the news and that was his reaction to the fact that our president boned a porn star! Of course Trump responds in the most Trump way possible by the angry tweet.
President Trump launched a war of name-calling on Tuesday with adult film actress Stormy Daniels and her attorney as he exulted after a judge threw out Daniels' defamation lawsuit against the president.
Trump said on Twitter that he welcomed the opportunity to take the offense against Daniels — whom he called "Horseface" — and lawyer Michael Avenatti in Texas, where Daniels lives.
Avenatti, who represents Daniels but who also has become an all-purpose antagonist against Trump, fired back by recalling Daniels' account of an alleged sexual encounter with Trump in 2006 at a time he was married to the now-first lady, Melania Trump, and not long after the birth of their son.
Avenatti suggested he would welcome some kind of suit by the president.
Trump has acknowledged making a payment to Daniels not long before Election Day in 2016 to keep her from talking publicly, but he has denied her underlying allegation of having a sexual encounter in 2006.
https://www.npr.org/2018/10/16/657842871/tiny-v-horseface-trump-slings-mud-with-stormy-daniels-after-courtroom-win
Trump said on Twitter that he welcomed the opportunity to take the offense against Daniels — whom he called "Horseface" — and lawyer Michael Avenatti in Texas, where Daniels lives.
Avenatti, who represents Daniels but who also has become an all-purpose antagonist against Trump, fired back by recalling Daniels' account of an alleged sexual encounter with Trump in 2006 at a time he was married to the now-first lady, Melania Trump, and not long after the birth of their son.
Avenatti suggested he would welcome some kind of suit by the president.
Trump has acknowledged making a payment to Daniels not long before Election Day in 2016 to keep her from talking publicly, but he has denied her underlying allegation of having a sexual encounter in 2006.
https://www.npr.org/2018/10/16/657842871/tiny-v-horseface-trump-slings-mud-with-stormy-daniels-after-courtroom-win
Well, to be fair now, at least he didn’t call her “Horsey McHorseface”! Hey o!!! But really is anyone surprised that Trump is acting this way right now? Trump has lowered the bar so much it’s literally past the lowest point on earth right now. Meanwhile, Stormy herself fired back with the usual allegation that Trump has a tiny penis. And no, Stormy, we do not need any further details!!!
President Donald Trump lobbed a crass insult at Stormy Daniels on Tuesday, calling the adult film star "horseface" after a federal judge dismissed her defamation suit against him.
"Great, now I can go after Horseface and her 3rd rate lawyer in the Great State of Texas," Trump wrote in a tweet that also referred to a news article about the suit being tossed.
"She will confirm the letter she signed! She knows nothing about me, a total con!" Trump added.
Stormy Daniels' defamation suit against Trump dismissed
Oct. 16, 201800:28
Daniels was quick to respond, citing what she called Trump's "shortcomings" and referring to him as "Tiny."
Daniels' attorney Michael Avenatti shot right back, calling Trump a "disgusting misogynist and an embarrassment to the United States."
"Bring everything you have, because we are going to demonstrate to the world what a complete shyster and liar you are. How many other women did you cheat on your wife with while you had a baby at home?" the attorney tweeted.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-calls-stormy-daniels-horseface-after-judge-dismisses-her-suit-n920701
"Great, now I can go after Horseface and her 3rd rate lawyer in the Great State of Texas," Trump wrote in a tweet that also referred to a news article about the suit being tossed.
"She will confirm the letter she signed! She knows nothing about me, a total con!" Trump added.
Stormy Daniels' defamation suit against Trump dismissed
Oct. 16, 201800:28
Daniels was quick to respond, citing what she called Trump's "shortcomings" and referring to him as "Tiny."
Daniels' attorney Michael Avenatti shot right back, calling Trump a "disgusting misogynist and an embarrassment to the United States."
"Bring everything you have, because we are going to demonstrate to the world what a complete shyster and liar you are. How many other women did you cheat on your wife with while you had a baby at home?" the attorney tweeted.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-calls-stormy-daniels-horseface-after-judge-dismisses-her-suit-n920701
Don’t you put that evil on us, Stormy!!! Don’t you put that evil on us!!! As if things couldn’t get any weirder, and why wouldn’t they at this point? Well…
President Donald Trump on Tuesday threatened to "go after" adult film actress Stormy Daniels and her lawyer Michael Avenatti after a defamation lawsuit against the president was dismissed in court on Monday.
Trump, who has repeatedly mocked women's appearances, also offered up a demeaning nickname for Daniels, calling her "horseface."
"'Federal Judge throws out Stormy Danials lawsuit versus Trump. Trump is entitled to full legal fees.' @FoxNews Great, now I can go after Horseface and her 3rd rate lawyer in the Great State of Texas," the president tweeted. "She will confirm the letter she signed! She knows nothing about me, a total con!"
District Judge S. James Otero of the Central District of California dismissed a defamation lawsuit on Monday against Trump. Daniels sued the president after he wrote in a tweet on April 18 that her story about a man threatening her to not come forward about her alleged affair with Trump was "a total con job."
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/10/16/trump-go-after-stormy-daniels-avenatti-905698
Trump, who has repeatedly mocked women's appearances, also offered up a demeaning nickname for Daniels, calling her "horseface."
"'Federal Judge throws out Stormy Danials lawsuit versus Trump. Trump is entitled to full legal fees.' @FoxNews Great, now I can go after Horseface and her 3rd rate lawyer in the Great State of Texas," the president tweeted. "She will confirm the letter she signed! She knows nothing about me, a total con!"
District Judge S. James Otero of the Central District of California dismissed a defamation lawsuit on Monday against Trump. Daniels sued the president after he wrote in a tweet on April 18 that her story about a man threatening her to not come forward about her alleged affair with Trump was "a total con job."
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/10/16/trump-go-after-stormy-daniels-avenatti-905698
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[font size="8"]Top 10 Investigates: Longest Flight Ever
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Hey Boston it’s time to investigate beyond the headlines! This is Top 10 Investigates!
How long is the longest flight you’ve ever flown on? Is it 5 hours? Maybe a 12 hour transcontinental flight from Los Angeles to Sydney or London? But would you spend 17 hours on a flight? This week, the airline widely regarded as one of the world’s best unveiled a flight that smashed a Guinness world record. Using the state of the art Airbus A350, the flight reached a record from Singapore to Newark in no less than 19 hours. So what is life like on the world’s longest flight?
Getting from Singapore to New York in one hop is better than a layover — even if it involves taking the world’s longest flight.
That is my jetlagged verdict after disembarking from Singapore Airlines Ltd’s Flight 22, the return of the carrier’s Changi-to-Newark, New Jersey, journey after a five-year hiatus.
The final quarter of the 10,400-mile (16,737km) trek was tedious, I must say. By hour 14, somewhere over Canada, the fancy new plane (Airbus SE’s A350-900 Ultra Long Range) was starting to feel like a luxurious prison. My skin was parched, and I could not help trying to think of other scenarios in which that many people in a confined space would collectively go so long without a shower. Even the thought of another mimosa could not get me enthusiastic about still being airborne.
But travelling to the world’s opposite time zone is never going to be entirely painless. Doing it in business class, and there are no economy seats on this almost 18-hour flight, reduces a lot of the trauma. And in comparison with the other options to get from Singapore to the Big Apple — flying via hubs in North Asia, Europe, or the US. West Coast — this route is definitely preferable. I will choose it for New York work trips from now on.
http://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/worlds-longest-flight-singapore-airlines
That is my jetlagged verdict after disembarking from Singapore Airlines Ltd’s Flight 22, the return of the carrier’s Changi-to-Newark, New Jersey, journey after a five-year hiatus.
The final quarter of the 10,400-mile (16,737km) trek was tedious, I must say. By hour 14, somewhere over Canada, the fancy new plane (Airbus SE’s A350-900 Ultra Long Range) was starting to feel like a luxurious prison. My skin was parched, and I could not help trying to think of other scenarios in which that many people in a confined space would collectively go so long without a shower. Even the thought of another mimosa could not get me enthusiastic about still being airborne.
But travelling to the world’s opposite time zone is never going to be entirely painless. Doing it in business class, and there are no economy seats on this almost 18-hour flight, reduces a lot of the trauma. And in comparison with the other options to get from Singapore to the Big Apple — flying via hubs in North Asia, Europe, or the US. West Coast — this route is definitely preferable. I will choose it for New York work trips from now on.
http://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/worlds-longest-flight-singapore-airlines
Imagine doing that for 19 hours straight. But at least Singapore gave inaugural customers on the longest flight ever lots of stuff to keep them amused. Like movies, music, food, and champagne – all of which were very plentiful.
Last Thursday, the world’s longest nonstop flight — a 9,534-mile, 18-and-a-half-hour journey from Singapore to Newark on Singapore Airlines’ new Airbus A350-900 Ultra Long Range aircraft — touched down, raising the bar for super-long-haul travel, which most industry experts define as any flight over 8,000 miles one way.
New, lighter and more fuel efficient, dual-engine aircraft — including the Airbus models and Boeing’s Dreamliner — make flying for nearly a day economically viable as the number of ultra-long-haul flights increases.
Singapore’s new route, which takes 18 hours and 45 minutes in the opposite direction, isn’t the only rear-numbing new itinerary. In March, Qantas Airways launched a London-to-Perth route. It is the third longest flight at about 9,000 miles, according to the aviation industry consultancy OAG, after Qatar Airways’s Doha-Auckland route. In September, Cathay Pacific Airways began flying 8,153 miles, its longest route, between its base in Hong Kong and Washington, D.C. In late November, Air New Zealand plans to add service between Auckland and Chicago, its longest flight at a distance of about 8,200 miles.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/15/travel/long-haul-flights-amenities.html
New, lighter and more fuel efficient, dual-engine aircraft — including the Airbus models and Boeing’s Dreamliner — make flying for nearly a day economically viable as the number of ultra-long-haul flights increases.
Singapore’s new route, which takes 18 hours and 45 minutes in the opposite direction, isn’t the only rear-numbing new itinerary. In March, Qantas Airways launched a London-to-Perth route. It is the third longest flight at about 9,000 miles, according to the aviation industry consultancy OAG, after Qatar Airways’s Doha-Auckland route. In September, Cathay Pacific Airways began flying 8,153 miles, its longest route, between its base in Hong Kong and Washington, D.C. In late November, Air New Zealand plans to add service between Auckland and Chicago, its longest flight at a distance of about 8,200 miles.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/15/travel/long-haul-flights-amenities.html
?itemid=9389683
Somehow we don’t think they would allow open flames on board an airline. You know, for obvious reasons of course! But Singapore isn’t the only airline out there testing ultra long haul flights with the Airbus A350, others are joining in as well.
The world’s longest direct commercial flight is back and taking travelers from Singapore to the New York region.
Operated by Singapore Airlines, the city-state’s national carrier, the trip takes slightly under 19 hours. Skipping a stopover in Frankfurt will save hours of traveling time, the carrier says.
Starting Thursday, the route between Changi Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey will be served three times a week. A week later, the carrier will offer daily flights, after a second Airbus A350-900ULR aircraft is delivered.
Singapore Airlines launched the record-breaking route in 2004, but canceled it nine years later because of rising fuel prices.
Campbell Wilson, its senior vice president of sales and marketing, said the Airbus A350-900ULR, which was delivered two weeks ago, consumes 25 percent less fuel than an older generation aircraft of the same size.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/flights/todayinthesky/2018/10/11/worlds-longest-flight-singapore-airlines-retakes-title-newark-route/1603183002/
Operated by Singapore Airlines, the city-state’s national carrier, the trip takes slightly under 19 hours. Skipping a stopover in Frankfurt will save hours of traveling time, the carrier says.
Starting Thursday, the route between Changi Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey will be served three times a week. A week later, the carrier will offer daily flights, after a second Airbus A350-900ULR aircraft is delivered.
Singapore Airlines launched the record-breaking route in 2004, but canceled it nine years later because of rising fuel prices.
Campbell Wilson, its senior vice president of sales and marketing, said the Airbus A350-900ULR, which was delivered two weeks ago, consumes 25 percent less fuel than an older generation aircraft of the same size.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/flights/todayinthesky/2018/10/11/worlds-longest-flight-singapore-airlines-retakes-title-newark-route/1603183002/
So the Airbus A350ULR is capable of some insanely long ranges. It replaced the A340-500 which previously held the long haul record for flights but was found to be unprofitable. So what kind of routes can we expect for the new aircraft?
The A350-900 ULR, the super long-range version of the existing twinjet widebody, will be able to carry more fuel and fly quite a bit farther than the existing A350-900. So far, in fact that it will make feasible some ultra long-haul flights that were once either out of reach or uneconomical. Singapore Airlines — so far the only customer of this specialized aircraft — hopes to take full advantage of this increased range with nonstop flights to New York City (probably Newark, EWR) and Los Angeles (LAX), two routes it once flew with the four-engined A340-500 but terminated in late 2014 due to high operating costs. Airbus hopes other long-haul airlines like Australian flag carrier Qantas will also take interest in the plane, particularly as Qantas begins connecting distant cities with nonstop flights, like their new Perth to London nonstop service. Airbus claims the ULR will have a range of 9,700 nautical miles — over 10,000 statute miles — some 1,600 nautical miles more than the A350-900 and nearly 2,000 nautical miles more than the A350-1000. This is more than enough for a 19-hour New York – Singapore nonstop, but not quite enough for, say, Sydney to New York.
Singapore expects to take delivery of its first A350-900 ULR in August of this year, and, while the airline hasn’t specified, we expect the aircraft to come with a special low-density configuration, similar to the A340-500s that once flew to New York and LA — then the longest nonstops in the world. While those old A340s had only 100 business class seats in the whole cabin, we expect these planes to come with a two-cabin configuration, likely with Singapore’s A350 business class seats. We can’t be sure until they’re bookable, but if you’re interested in booking what will be the world’s longest flight on points, we’d bet it won’t be cheap, even with Singapore’s great award availability.
https://thepointsguy.com/news/airbus-a350-900-ulr-the-longest-range-aircraft-makes-first-flight/
Singapore expects to take delivery of its first A350-900 ULR in August of this year, and, while the airline hasn’t specified, we expect the aircraft to come with a special low-density configuration, similar to the A340-500s that once flew to New York and LA — then the longest nonstops in the world. While those old A340s had only 100 business class seats in the whole cabin, we expect these planes to come with a two-cabin configuration, likely with Singapore’s A350 business class seats. We can’t be sure until they’re bookable, but if you’re interested in booking what will be the world’s longest flight on points, we’d bet it won’t be cheap, even with Singapore’s great award availability.
https://thepointsguy.com/news/airbus-a350-900-ulr-the-longest-range-aircraft-makes-first-flight/
So don’t expect to use your rewards points to book the ultra long haul destinations. That’s it this week for Top 10 Investigates. Good day.
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[font size="8"]Holy Shit
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Gather around, my fair brothers and sisters of Boston, it’s time to take a seat in the pew and pass the collection plate! For the Holy Church of the Top 10 has convened and it’s our weekly duty to remind you why the holiest among us are also the most full of:
My fair congregation! Now that we are in the times where the dark forces of EVILLL are currently running the show we call life. So the Dark One, whose name shall *NOT* be named under any circumstances in my church, has recently been recruiting friends and denouncing his enemies in non kosher ways. Why no, sir, we do not engage in kosher practices here. I am just stating a fact. Of course when you state the facts, they don’t matter to those who support the Dark One!
Intercessors for America, the pro-Trump group that has been mobilizing its prayer warriors to help elect “godly” candidates in the 2018 midterms, has bumped up the frequency of its monthly prayer calls and will be holding them every week between now and the election. Rep. Jody Hice of Georgia was the featured guest on last Friday’s call.
IFA’s Dave Kubal described this year’s elections as the most important ever, and called Hice “one of my favorite Congressmen.” Hice returned the favor, saying that intercessory prayer activists are “the most important group in America right now.” He said that the “evidence of intercession is abundant in ways we cannot even fathom,” citing as examples the election of Trump and his ability to name Supreme Court justices, and the prayer meetings and Bible studies happening “all over the place” in Washington and at the U.N. and the Pentagon.
Hice warned that if Democrats take the House, they would immediately “begin pursuing impeachment, be it against President Trump or Chief Justice Kavanaugh [sic].” Under Democratic control, he said, taxes would rise, the military would “suffer,” there would be more sanctuary cities and less border protection, and religious freedom would be threatened.
Asked about pundits giving Democrats a 75 percent chance of winning a House majority, Hice noted that the same pundits had given Hillary Clinton a greater than 90 percent chance of winning the presidency in 2016. Hice took comfort in the fact that Trump moved the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem because God said that He would bless those who bless Israel.
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/rep-jody-hice-midterms-are-spiritual-battle-johnson-amendment-must-be-repealed-this-year/
IFA’s Dave Kubal described this year’s elections as the most important ever, and called Hice “one of my favorite Congressmen.” Hice returned the favor, saying that intercessory prayer activists are “the most important group in America right now.” He said that the “evidence of intercession is abundant in ways we cannot even fathom,” citing as examples the election of Trump and his ability to name Supreme Court justices, and the prayer meetings and Bible studies happening “all over the place” in Washington and at the U.N. and the Pentagon.
Hice warned that if Democrats take the House, they would immediately “begin pursuing impeachment, be it against President Trump or Chief Justice Kavanaugh [sic].” Under Democratic control, he said, taxes would rise, the military would “suffer,” there would be more sanctuary cities and less border protection, and religious freedom would be threatened.
Asked about pundits giving Democrats a 75 percent chance of winning a House majority, Hice noted that the same pundits had given Hillary Clinton a greater than 90 percent chance of winning the presidency in 2016. Hice took comfort in the fact that Trump moved the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem because God said that He would bless those who bless Israel.
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/rep-jody-hice-midterms-are-spiritual-battle-johnson-amendment-must-be-repealed-this-year/
if I remember correctly, JAYSUS said unto his disciples “attachment to the material is detachment from the spiritual!”. Oh, wait, that was Dr. Strange in “Infinity War”. But the sentiment rings true – and as long as there’s that barrier between church and state we are safe! But that’s not all they are paranoid about!!
Last weekend, self-proclaimed “prophetess” and “weather warrior” Kat Kerr spoke at Gateway on Mt. Zion church in Colorado, where she likened President Trump to Jesus and explicitly urged the congregation to “vote Republican” in the upcoming midterm elections.
“God has hand-picked the person that he wants there and there is no human being on this earth—there is nothing in the earth, over the earth—nothing that can take those people from that White House,” Kerr declared. “Never in the history of our country has one man caused such an uproar. Never in the history of our nation or even in this world, except Christ, because Christ caused the greatest uproar in his time. He was not liked by the hierarchy, he was hated by the ruling powers, and the devil especially despised him and tried every way he could to get him out of the picture. Does that sound familiar?”
Kerr also asserted that “Trump has given his heart to Jesus Christ” and “has given God a place in the White House,” which is why he cannot be defeated and why Republicans are guaranteed to win the midterm elections.
“Every time they try to do something—this is from heaven—they will lose,” she said. “They’ll lose in the elections, they’ll lose in areas of business, they’ll lose in areas of government, because this is God’s divine time and when he said, right before the election, ‘I’m turning that map red, whether anyone likes it or not, I’m putting my hand on America and I’m going to move across it; when they wake up in the morning, they will find out that map is red.’ Was it red? Well, get ready for the midterm elections. He’s going to turn it red again.”
“So vote Republican,” Kerr commanded. “On November 6, make sure you go vote. There will be angels in every voting booth.”
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/kat-kerr-tells-colorado-church-that-god-hand-picked-trump-so-vote-republican/
“God has hand-picked the person that he wants there and there is no human being on this earth—there is nothing in the earth, over the earth—nothing that can take those people from that White House,” Kerr declared. “Never in the history of our country has one man caused such an uproar. Never in the history of our nation or even in this world, except Christ, because Christ caused the greatest uproar in his time. He was not liked by the hierarchy, he was hated by the ruling powers, and the devil especially despised him and tried every way he could to get him out of the picture. Does that sound familiar?”
Kerr also asserted that “Trump has given his heart to Jesus Christ” and “has given God a place in the White House,” which is why he cannot be defeated and why Republicans are guaranteed to win the midterm elections.
“Every time they try to do something—this is from heaven—they will lose,” she said. “They’ll lose in the elections, they’ll lose in areas of business, they’ll lose in areas of government, because this is God’s divine time and when he said, right before the election, ‘I’m turning that map red, whether anyone likes it or not, I’m putting my hand on America and I’m going to move across it; when they wake up in the morning, they will find out that map is red.’ Was it red? Well, get ready for the midterm elections. He’s going to turn it red again.”
“So vote Republican,” Kerr commanded. “On November 6, make sure you go vote. There will be angels in every voting booth.”
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/kat-kerr-tells-colorado-church-that-god-hand-picked-trump-so-vote-republican/
Really? The Dark One was chosen by GAWD you say? Well I counter that with a verse from the Good Book – the LAWRD shall not be taken in vein, my fair Kat! For he is the light and the truth! And the way, and all that other good stuff that you do not abide by! He would not have chosen the Dark One, or his minion to serve on the highest court in the land. So how does this tie into the end of the world, you might ask? Apparently DAYMONS are in control of the election! And they will smite you if you do not vote their way!
Robert Henderson, whose website describes him as “a global apostolic leader who operates in revelation and impartation,” is calling on people to—every day between now and the elections—recite a prayer that he has written calling on God to use the midterm elections “to seat people intent on upholding Your virtues and reclaim the destiny of America as it is written in the books of Heaven.”
Henderson’s prayer was distributed on Wednesday by Elijah List, which through a website and daily email newsletter—it claims about 300,000 subscribers—distributes what it deems to be “credible prophetic words.”
As religion scholars Brad Christerson and Richard Flory documented in “The Rise of Network Christianity,” leaders in the “prophetic” and “apostolic” branches of Pentecostal Christianity function through networks of individuals who align with, and draw spiritual “covering” from, other established leaders. Henderson calls himself an apostle; his “apostolic family” is called Global Reformers and its purpose is to “Secure Nation’s Destinies From the Court of Heaven.”
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/texas-apostle-prays-midterms-will-sweep-devils-reps-out-reclaim-americas-heavenly-destiny/
Henderson’s prayer was distributed on Wednesday by Elijah List, which through a website and daily email newsletter—it claims about 300,000 subscribers—distributes what it deems to be “credible prophetic words.”
As religion scholars Brad Christerson and Richard Flory documented in “The Rise of Network Christianity,” leaders in the “prophetic” and “apostolic” branches of Pentecostal Christianity function through networks of individuals who align with, and draw spiritual “covering” from, other established leaders. Henderson calls himself an apostle; his “apostolic family” is called Global Reformers and its purpose is to “Secure Nation’s Destinies From the Court of Heaven.”
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/texas-apostle-prays-midterms-will-sweep-devils-reps-out-reclaim-americas-heavenly-destiny/
That’s not how this works!!! By the way, give it up for the gospel choir, how great are they? Can I get an amen??? But this might be my new favorite thing someone on the ultra far Christian right said. Apparently did you know you can command an army of angels in heaven in the billions if you are among GAWD’s chosen few?
During her recent appearance at Gateway on Mt. Zion Church in Golden, Colorado, self-proclaimed “prophetess” and “weather warrior” Kat Kerr declared that she commands an army of 33 billion angels who are so powerful that they have caused ISIS fighters to drop their weapons and flee.
“Even when the ISIS were everywhere, my favorite thing to do is I would command my hosts to go and pull down the strongholds of Satan commanding the ISIS and fear would fall on them,” Kerr said. “They began to find weapons abandoned in the desert in the Mideast. They didn’t know what happened. The ISIS would drop their weapons and run because my hosts went there, they pulled down all the demonic [powers] controlling them … They pulled down the strongholds. Those ISIS had no power from Satan because they couldn’t hear, there were removed. Fear and confusion falls on them.”
Kerr went on to claim that, prior to the 2016 presidential election, she had traveled to Washington, D.C., and posted heavenly “sentinels” up and down Pennsylvania Avenue to protect President Trump.
“I saw them visibly being posted there,” Kerr said.
Kerr went on to claim that when Christians learn to take proper authority over heavenly hosts, they are rewarded with an ever-increasing army of angels to command.
“I’ve been doing it probably around five years or so,” she said. “I have 33 billion that I send everywhere, all the time.”
Kerr claimed that she has sent her angel army out all over America to influence elected officials and laws at every level, and dispatched angels “throughout the midterm elections, into every voting booth to speak to the people in the voting booth, to vote for life, freedom, and justice.”
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/kat-kerr-commands-an-army-of-33-billion-angels/
“Even when the ISIS were everywhere, my favorite thing to do is I would command my hosts to go and pull down the strongholds of Satan commanding the ISIS and fear would fall on them,” Kerr said. “They began to find weapons abandoned in the desert in the Mideast. They didn’t know what happened. The ISIS would drop their weapons and run because my hosts went there, they pulled down all the demonic [powers] controlling them … They pulled down the strongholds. Those ISIS had no power from Satan because they couldn’t hear, there were removed. Fear and confusion falls on them.”
Kerr went on to claim that, prior to the 2016 presidential election, she had traveled to Washington, D.C., and posted heavenly “sentinels” up and down Pennsylvania Avenue to protect President Trump.
“I saw them visibly being posted there,” Kerr said.
Kerr went on to claim that when Christians learn to take proper authority over heavenly hosts, they are rewarded with an ever-increasing army of angels to command.
“I’ve been doing it probably around five years or so,” she said. “I have 33 billion that I send everywhere, all the time.”
Kerr claimed that she has sent her angel army out all over America to influence elected officials and laws at every level, and dispatched angels “throughout the midterm elections, into every voting booth to speak to the people in the voting booth, to vote for life, freedom, and justice.”
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/kat-kerr-commands-an-army-of-33-billion-angels/
That’s not how this works, Kat! That’s not how any of this works! But did you know that those who support the Dark One also support brutal dictators? Yes, I am not making this up! That’s why they want the apocalypse to happen. I mean really this is like watching the Avengers and rooting for Thanos.
Over the weekend, the Christian Broadcasting Network ran a softball-lobbing interview with Péter Szijjártó, Hungary’s Foreign Minister, in which CBN interviewer Dale Hurd sympathized with the government of Hungarian strongman Viktor Orbán in what the two portrayed as its mistreatment by the European Union and the Western media.
Like Russia’s Vladimir Putin, Orbán has been showered with praise by U.S. Religious Right leaders and the World Congress of Families for his defense of “traditional” values in spite of—or in some cases because of—his power-consolidating attacks on media, civil society, and constitutional checks and balances.
In September, the European Parliament voted overwhelmingly to sanction Hungary for anti-democratic behavior; according to the Telegraph (London, U.K.), Orbán himself is accused of “fostering anti-semitism and undermining universities, the free media and Europe’s liberal values.” Orbán has responded by defiantly defending his country’s illiberal and anti-immigrant populist nationalism.
Religious Right leaders have praised the Orbán government’s refusal to accept immigrants from Muslim countries, which the government has portrayed as a defense of Hungary’s, and Europe’s Christian heritage. CBN’s Dale Hurd said that the “fiercely independent” Orbán government is being “treated like a pariah in the Western media over its position on open borders.” (Hungary has refused to accept its quote of asylum-seekers as required by the E.U.) But, said Hurd, “Hungary’s leaders are smart enough to know that their national values will never please the global Left.”
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/christian-broadcasting-network-gushes-over-defiant-government-of-hungarian-strongman-orban/
Like Russia’s Vladimir Putin, Orbán has been showered with praise by U.S. Religious Right leaders and the World Congress of Families for his defense of “traditional” values in spite of—or in some cases because of—his power-consolidating attacks on media, civil society, and constitutional checks and balances.
In September, the European Parliament voted overwhelmingly to sanction Hungary for anti-democratic behavior; according to the Telegraph (London, U.K.), Orbán himself is accused of “fostering anti-semitism and undermining universities, the free media and Europe’s liberal values.” Orbán has responded by defiantly defending his country’s illiberal and anti-immigrant populist nationalism.
Religious Right leaders have praised the Orbán government’s refusal to accept immigrants from Muslim countries, which the government has portrayed as a defense of Hungary’s, and Europe’s Christian heritage. CBN’s Dale Hurd said that the “fiercely independent” Orbán government is being “treated like a pariah in the Western media over its position on open borders.” (Hungary has refused to accept its quote of asylum-seekers as required by the E.U.) But, said Hurd, “Hungary’s leaders are smart enough to know that their national values will never please the global Left.”
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/christian-broadcasting-network-gushes-over-defiant-government-of-hungarian-strongman-orban/
So apparently the Christian right loves them some genocidal dictators, and that’s why they love the apocalypse. There you go! Mass has ended, may you go in peace! That’s it this week for:
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[font size="8"]The Proud Boys
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We need some music for this one:
Yeah! If you were out in New York City or Portland on Saturday you might have run into the real angry mob – the Proud Boys! To use the words of the great Ron Burgundy – “that escalated quickly”. And it did escalate quickly. And why is it that the right wing are the ones that always get into fights? Because they are looking for them! And yes their ring leader Gavin McInnes – seen here one eye patch away from mimicking the famous Bond villain Blofeld, actively encourages this. You can’t be a Proud Boy if you don’t fight the libtards in Antifa, right?
Three people were charged with assault in connection with a fight on Friday near the Metropolitan Republican Club in Manhattan after the appearance of a right-wing provocateur, the police said.
Doors had been defaced with anarchist symbols and windows had been broken at the club hours before an appearance there by the provocateur, Gavin McInnes, who was banned by Twitter for violating its policy on “violent extremist groups.”
A note left with the vandalism suggested that the damage to the building on the Upper East Side was related to the appearance by Mr. McInnes, the founder of the Proud Boys. The Southern Poverty Law Center has characterized it as a hate group that has engaged in several battles with the left.
“The Metropolitan Republican Club chose to invite a hipster-fascist clown to dance for them, content to revel in their treachery against humanity,” the note said.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/12/nyregion/gavin-mcinnes-republican-club-vandalized.html
Doors had been defaced with anarchist symbols and windows had been broken at the club hours before an appearance there by the provocateur, Gavin McInnes, who was banned by Twitter for violating its policy on “violent extremist groups.”
A note left with the vandalism suggested that the damage to the building on the Upper East Side was related to the appearance by Mr. McInnes, the founder of the Proud Boys. The Southern Poverty Law Center has characterized it as a hate group that has engaged in several battles with the left.
“The Metropolitan Republican Club chose to invite a hipster-fascist clown to dance for them, content to revel in their treachery against humanity,” the note said.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/12/nyregion/gavin-mcinnes-republican-club-vandalized.html
Except I’m not sure you could call that beautiful. But of course it’s your typical Saturday night – starts out great, then drinking is involved, then politics get involved and then the discussion about the stupid cucks rears its’ ugly head, before you know it, you’re in the back of a police car awaiting assault charges. Yes, this is the America we’ve come to expect now – controlled chaos.
The strategy of the far-right Patriot Prayer “flash marchers” Saturday was much like that of their Proud Boy counterparts the night before in New York City: Assemble a ready-to-rumble crew with out-of-town violent extremists, then troll through the urban center in hopes of confronting left-wing protesters, ensuring violence eventually will break out.
It worked, as it almost always has for Joey Gibson and his Patriot Prayer crew.
Though the “Flash march for Law and Order in PDX” was hastily thrown together in a day or so, Gibson's group managed once again to force a massive police presence into downtown Portland, and yet again provoked violence as multiple brawls broke out near the march’s end.
Most Patriot Prayer members travel to Portland from across the river in Vancouver, Washington, as well as elsewhere in southwestern Washington and western Oregon. Only a handful of Patriot Prayer participants actually hail from Portland proper or pay taxes there.
Nonetheless, Gibson’s pretense this time out was again claiming to represent “the citizens” of Portland, standing up to “radical leftists” who they claim make the streets unsafe for motorists.
https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2018/10/15/patriot-prayer-again-brings-violence-portland-flash-march-downtown-rounding-out-weekend-far
It worked, as it almost always has for Joey Gibson and his Patriot Prayer crew.
Though the “Flash march for Law and Order in PDX” was hastily thrown together in a day or so, Gibson's group managed once again to force a massive police presence into downtown Portland, and yet again provoked violence as multiple brawls broke out near the march’s end.
Most Patriot Prayer members travel to Portland from across the river in Vancouver, Washington, as well as elsewhere in southwestern Washington and western Oregon. Only a handful of Patriot Prayer participants actually hail from Portland proper or pay taxes there.
Nonetheless, Gibson’s pretense this time out was again claiming to represent “the citizens” of Portland, standing up to “radical leftists” who they claim make the streets unsafe for motorists.
https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2018/10/15/patriot-prayer-again-brings-violence-portland-flash-march-downtown-rounding-out-weekend-far
Worst flash mob ever by the way! And yes I could totally picture Gavin, a la Tyler Durden, going “We are the all singing all dancing crap of the world”. Yes, I’ve seen that movie way too many times sir! So how could it possibly get any crazier you might ask? Well I answer you – a whole lot crazier!
New video released by the NYPD shows the start of an intense Friday brawl between members of the far-right group known as the Proud Boys and demonstrators protesting a speaking arrangement of the group’s founder.
The two groups squared off on 82nd Street when a person with a mask seen on the left of the video —believed to be an alleged anti-fascist activist — throws a bottle. Suddenly, people on the right, believed to be alleged supporters of the right-wing Proud Boys Group rush in throwing punches.
Both sides end up throwing fists and kicks with many falling onto the sidewalk.
“When uniform scooters arrive on the scene, they immediately disperse and you can hear people in the video yelling, ‘Stop! Stop!’” NYPD Chief of Detectives Dermont F. Shea said.
The violence spilled onto other corners on the Upper East Side – all of it happening after Gavin McGinnis, leader of the Proud Boys, identified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, was invited to speak at the Metropolitan Republican Club.
https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/national-international/New-Video-Released-NYPD-Fight-Brawl-Proud-Boys-Hate-Group-Protesters-New-York-NY--497611111.html
The two groups squared off on 82nd Street when a person with a mask seen on the left of the video —believed to be an alleged anti-fascist activist — throws a bottle. Suddenly, people on the right, believed to be alleged supporters of the right-wing Proud Boys Group rush in throwing punches.
Both sides end up throwing fists and kicks with many falling onto the sidewalk.
“When uniform scooters arrive on the scene, they immediately disperse and you can hear people in the video yelling, ‘Stop! Stop!’” NYPD Chief of Detectives Dermont F. Shea said.
The violence spilled onto other corners on the Upper East Side – all of it happening after Gavin McGinnis, leader of the Proud Boys, identified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, was invited to speak at the Metropolitan Republican Club.
https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/national-international/New-Video-Released-NYPD-Fight-Brawl-Proud-Boys-Hate-Group-Protesters-New-York-NY--497611111.html
Well maybe Tyler Durden isn’t really involved here, but Gavin does seem like he’d be good subject fodder for the Fight Club reboot. Oh god, imagine if that movie had been filming during the Trump era! I mean my god think of all the possibilities they could come up with! The possibilities!! Why is my voice so high? But you don’t really need to know what side Gavin is on, do you?
Since President Trump’s inauguration, the GOP has repeatedly decried the supposedly “unhinged” tactics of the left.
After being mocked at the White House Correspondents’ dinner in April, for instance, conservative activist Matt Schlapp and his wife Mercedes walked out. The National Review compared those who protested Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh to a “mob”, while Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell accused Hillary Clinton of “unhinged tactics” after she said that “you cannot be civil with a political party that wants to destroy what you stand for.”
So, naturally, it would make sense for the civility-loving Metropolitan Republican Club of New York City to invite Gavin McInnes, who founded a far-right group which regularly engages in street brawls and violence, to join them at a lecture Friday evening, where he’ll “discuss historical context and offer perspective on the environment that surrounded Otoya Yamaguchi in 1960’s Japan.”
McInnes, who was also one of the co-founders of VICE, founded the Proud Boys in 2016, a group which bills itself as a “pro-Western fraternal organization for men who refuse to apologize for creating the Western world.” McInnes has repeatedly insisted the group is not far-right or racist, describing the group in the wake of last year’s Unite the Right rally as “a men’s club that meets about once a month to drink beer” — despite the fact that Jason Kessler, a initiated Proud Boy, was the main organizer for the event.
https://thinkprogress.org/civility-loving-republicans-host-gavin-mcinnes-ecd4f06482bd/
After being mocked at the White House Correspondents’ dinner in April, for instance, conservative activist Matt Schlapp and his wife Mercedes walked out. The National Review compared those who protested Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh to a “mob”, while Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell accused Hillary Clinton of “unhinged tactics” after she said that “you cannot be civil with a political party that wants to destroy what you stand for.”
So, naturally, it would make sense for the civility-loving Metropolitan Republican Club of New York City to invite Gavin McInnes, who founded a far-right group which regularly engages in street brawls and violence, to join them at a lecture Friday evening, where he’ll “discuss historical context and offer perspective on the environment that surrounded Otoya Yamaguchi in 1960’s Japan.”
McInnes, who was also one of the co-founders of VICE, founded the Proud Boys in 2016, a group which bills itself as a “pro-Western fraternal organization for men who refuse to apologize for creating the Western world.” McInnes has repeatedly insisted the group is not far-right or racist, describing the group in the wake of last year’s Unite the Right rally as “a men’s club that meets about once a month to drink beer” — despite the fact that Jason Kessler, a initiated Proud Boy, was the main organizer for the event.
https://thinkprogress.org/civility-loving-republicans-host-gavin-mcinnes-ecd4f06482bd/
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[font size="8"]How Is This Still A Thing
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It’s time once again to ask:
This week – the Simpsons character Apu Nahasapeemapetilan. How is this still a thing? Last week, Comedy Central’s hit show South Park took a jab at one of its’ key competitors with an ongoing controversy that has plagued the show for the last two years. Ever since documentary filmmaker Hari Kondabolu asked what the problem with the Simpsons’ Apu is, isn’t it about time that we do the same with such a controversial subject?
Indian stand up comedian Hari Kondabolu made a splash in the pop culture scene when he released the documentary "The Problem With Apu" which attempted to address the subtle racism that comes with "The Simpsons" character Apu Nahasapeemapetilon. You can check out the trailer here.
Since the documentary aired, the world has been divided on the issue. Some argue that people have gotten too PC for its own good and Apu is just one of the funny colorful characters on the show. While others make the plea that a thickly accented convenience store worker, voiced by a white actor, is too stereotypical to be accepted.
Amid the controversy, The Simpsons fired a direct message to viewers with their own opinion on the matter through a scene in which Lisa states "Something that started decades ago and was applauded and inoffensive is now politically incorrect. What can you do?"
Just yesterday, South Park seemed to weigh-in on the issue themselves when a character "Mr. Hankie" gets sent to a place that is "more willing to tolerate racism." The place ending up to be The Simpsons hometown, Springfield.
http://www.ebaumsworld.com/articles/south-park-just-trolled-the-simpsons/85789604/
Since the documentary aired, the world has been divided on the issue. Some argue that people have gotten too PC for its own good and Apu is just one of the funny colorful characters on the show. While others make the plea that a thickly accented convenience store worker, voiced by a white actor, is too stereotypical to be accepted.
Amid the controversy, The Simpsons fired a direct message to viewers with their own opinion on the matter through a scene in which Lisa states "Something that started decades ago and was applauded and inoffensive is now politically incorrect. What can you do?"
Just yesterday, South Park seemed to weigh-in on the issue themselves when a character "Mr. Hankie" gets sent to a place that is "more willing to tolerate racism." The place ending up to be The Simpsons hometown, Springfield.
http://www.ebaumsworld.com/articles/south-park-just-trolled-the-simpsons/85789604/
So even the shows’ creators have seemed to think that Apu is a non issue, and the character still remains wildly popular. What are the pros and cons of such a controversial character like Apu? One popular argument is that Apu is trying to see the light in a small town as twisted as Springfield.
Apu Nahasapeemapetilon appears to have, once again, come back to haunt Simpsons creator Matt Groening. The character has barely appeared on the long-running animated comedy in two years—but as Groening sat down with The New York Times ahead of a Comic-Con appearance to promote his new Netflix series, the Indian store clerk came back to haunt him once more. Specifically, the Times asked Groening about his last attempt to address the controversy—which didn’t end well.
The saga began last year, when comedian Hari Kondabolu released a documentary called The Problem with Apu. As Kondabolu pointed out in the film, Apu, who was introduced in the show’s first season, traffics in countless stereotypes, from his occupation running the Kwik-E-Mart to his thick accent. In April, the series confronted the issue directly, but the show’s flippant approach only courted more controversy. Weeks later, Groening emerged to brush off the whole conversation surrounding Apu: “I’m proud of what we do on the show. And I think it’s a time in our culture where people love to pretend they’re offended,” he said. As one might imagine, it did not go over well.
When asked by the Times how he felt about the response to the show’s handling of the Apu debate, Groening responded, once again: “I love Apu. I love the character, and it makes me feel bad that it makes other people feel bad. But on the other hand, it’s tainted now—the conversation, there’s no nuance to the conversation now. It seems very, very clunky.”
https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2018/07/simpsons-apu-controversy-matt-groening-stereotypes-problem-with-apu
The saga began last year, when comedian Hari Kondabolu released a documentary called The Problem with Apu. As Kondabolu pointed out in the film, Apu, who was introduced in the show’s first season, traffics in countless stereotypes, from his occupation running the Kwik-E-Mart to his thick accent. In April, the series confronted the issue directly, but the show’s flippant approach only courted more controversy. Weeks later, Groening emerged to brush off the whole conversation surrounding Apu: “I’m proud of what we do on the show. And I think it’s a time in our culture where people love to pretend they’re offended,” he said. As one might imagine, it did not go over well.
When asked by the Times how he felt about the response to the show’s handling of the Apu debate, Groening responded, once again: “I love Apu. I love the character, and it makes me feel bad that it makes other people feel bad. But on the other hand, it’s tainted now—the conversation, there’s no nuance to the conversation now. It seems very, very clunky.”
https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2018/07/simpsons-apu-controversy-matt-groening-stereotypes-problem-with-apu
So even the showrunner and the main producers of the Simpsons don’t seem to think Apu is the problem that he has been made out to be. What about the Fox executives? Maybe they have an answer or is this going to be one of those topics that nobody is going to touch with a pole 100 foot long?
The problem with Apu continues for "The Simpsons."
The character has been criticized for portraying racist stereotypes about Indian people, all the while being voiced by a white man, Hank Azaria. The most prominent criticsm came in late 2017 when comedian Hari Kondabolu premiered the documentary "The Problem with Apu," examining the effect of the character and other racial stereotypes.
"The Simpsons" addressed this controversy in a spring episode which essentially shrugs at the controversy without offering any solutions, which was met with fierce backlash by fans and advocates, including Kondabolu himself.
Speaking to reporters at the summer Television Critics Association press tour Thursday, Fox executives didn't express much concern about the character or the reaction to the spring episode.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/tv/2018/08/02/simpsons-fox-execs-address-shows-future-and-apu-controversy/890780002/
The character has been criticized for portraying racist stereotypes about Indian people, all the while being voiced by a white man, Hank Azaria. The most prominent criticsm came in late 2017 when comedian Hari Kondabolu premiered the documentary "The Problem with Apu," examining the effect of the character and other racial stereotypes.
"The Simpsons" addressed this controversy in a spring episode which essentially shrugs at the controversy without offering any solutions, which was met with fierce backlash by fans and advocates, including Kondabolu himself.
Speaking to reporters at the summer Television Critics Association press tour Thursday, Fox executives didn't express much concern about the character or the reaction to the spring episode.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/tv/2018/08/02/simpsons-fox-execs-address-shows-future-and-apu-controversy/890780002/
The showrunners don’t want to answer the question. Matt Groening himself doesn’t want to answer the question, nor does Al Jean. So where else can one go for answers about such a subject? Even the show itself maybe?
In a new interview, Matt Groening explained why he previously said people "love to pretend they're offended" and how he intends to move forward with the character.
Matt Groening is doubling down on his previous comments that people are primed to collectively take offense to news items in popular culture, like his Simpsons character Apu, which has been accused of racism and perpetuating unflattering ethnic stereotypes.
In a new interview in The New York Times published Wednesday, Groening says that his much-quoted comment, "People love to pretend they’re offended," from a USA Today story about the Indian-American character, who is voiced by a white actor, was directed at the culture at large and not the Apu controversy.
"That wasn’t specifically about Apu. That was about our culture in general. And that’s something I’ve noticed for the last 25 years. There is the outrage of the week and it comes and goes," he said. "I think particularly right now, people feel so aggrieved and crazed and powerless that they’re picking the wrong battles."
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/simpsons-creator-matt-groening-says-no-nuance-around-apu-debate-decries-outrage-week-culture-1128224
Matt Groening is doubling down on his previous comments that people are primed to collectively take offense to news items in popular culture, like his Simpsons character Apu, which has been accused of racism and perpetuating unflattering ethnic stereotypes.
In a new interview in The New York Times published Wednesday, Groening says that his much-quoted comment, "People love to pretend they’re offended," from a USA Today story about the Indian-American character, who is voiced by a white actor, was directed at the culture at large and not the Apu controversy.
"That wasn’t specifically about Apu. That was about our culture in general. And that’s something I’ve noticed for the last 25 years. There is the outrage of the week and it comes and goes," he said. "I think particularly right now, people feel so aggrieved and crazed and powerless that they’re picking the wrong battles."
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/simpsons-creator-matt-groening-says-no-nuance-around-apu-debate-decries-outrage-week-culture-1128224
There you have it – it’s a subject so controversial no one wants to address it head on. That’s enough to make you ask – The Simpsons’ Apu:
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[font size="8"]I Need A Drink
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Hey Boston, I’m in one of the biggest drinking cities in America, I really need a drink!
So of course you know the idea behind this segment is that we have a few drinks and talk about anything in the news as long as it doesn’t relate to politics. But this week we’re actually going to break our rule and talk about something in politics. While I generally don’t mix booze and politics I do mix booze and fails. So tell me bartender, what goes well with a story about Kanye? Really? There’s a beer called “Stable Genius”? Why didn’t I think of that? Ah I’ll just have my usual Jack Daniels mixed with Jack Daniels. So I’m sure by now you heard that Kanye West was meeting with Trump last week and somebody may have discovered that his passcode is 000000. Even Saturday Night Live made fun of it:
Excuse me a minute… Yeah that happened. So there’s of course more to this story than you might think:
Kanye West may need a new iPhone password. The outspoken musician accidentally revealed his password when unlocking his iPhone X on video during a meeting with President Trump, shown to be the incredibly weak combination of 000000.
West revealed the password as part of a stream of consciousness speech to the president, which saw him break off on a tangent to show off a GIF of what West referred to as “the iPlane 1,” a hydrogen-powered concept aircraft that he felt “our President should be flying in.” (Trump: “Can we get rid of Air Force One? No?”)
Despite using an iPhone X or XS — which both support Face ID, therefore negating the need for a typed-in password — West chose to unlock his phone manually. (Whether Face ID failed, was disabled, or is simply not fast enough for West is unclear.) Apple doesn’t recommend that users set such a simple password on its iOS devices. If you attempt to change your password to something like 000000 or 123456, a notification will pop up, suggesting that the combination can be easily guessed and recommending that you choose something else.
Despite using an iPhone X or XS — which both support Face ID, therefore negating the need for a typed-in password — West chose to unlock his phone manually. (Whether Face ID failed, was disabled, or is simply not fast enough for West is unclear.) Apple doesn’t recommend that users set such a simple password on its iOS devices. If you attempt to change your password to something like 000000 or 123456, a notification will pop up, suggesting that the combination can be easily guessed and recommending that you choose something else.
https://www.theverge.com/tldr/2018/10/11/17964848/kanye-west-iphone-passcode-trump-iplane-apple-meeting
West revealed the password as part of a stream of consciousness speech to the president, which saw him break off on a tangent to show off a GIF of what West referred to as “the iPlane 1,” a hydrogen-powered concept aircraft that he felt “our President should be flying in.” (Trump: “Can we get rid of Air Force One? No?”)
Despite using an iPhone X or XS — which both support Face ID, therefore negating the need for a typed-in password — West chose to unlock his phone manually. (Whether Face ID failed, was disabled, or is simply not fast enough for West is unclear.) Apple doesn’t recommend that users set such a simple password on its iOS devices. If you attempt to change your password to something like 000000 or 123456, a notification will pop up, suggesting that the combination can be easily guessed and recommending that you choose something else.
Despite using an iPhone X or XS — which both support Face ID, therefore negating the need for a typed-in password — West chose to unlock his phone manually. (Whether Face ID failed, was disabled, or is simply not fast enough for West is unclear.) Apple doesn’t recommend that users set such a simple password on its iOS devices. If you attempt to change your password to something like 000000 or 123456, a notification will pop up, suggesting that the combination can be easily guessed and recommending that you choose something else.
https://www.theverge.com/tldr/2018/10/11/17964848/kanye-west-iphone-passcode-trump-iplane-apple-meeting
Come on, Kanye! You’ve got an iPhone X! You can unlock the phone with your face, and the fact that Kanye doesn’t do that already to me is beyond baffling. You know that Kim somewhere has her phone setup to unlock by selfie. Of course it’s a bad idea to use 000000. You might as well have a sign on your back that says “hack me”!
It’s still not exactly clear why Kanye West is so enamored with the science denying, race-baiting commander-in-chief. But fortunately, it’s only a matter of time before the truth gets out thanks to some noble iPhone hacker: My dude’s lock-screen password is literally 000000.
We know this because the Chicago rapper visited the Oval Office on Thursday to discuss topics ranging from prison reform to job opportunities for ex-cons. At one point in the meeting, Kanye wanted to show the president something on his phone, and proceeded to unlock it on live television. In short order, the whole world had an opportunity to grasp just how much Ye’s commitment to cybersecurity leaves to be desired.
All of this could have been easily avoided if he had used FaceID to unlock his phone. But, it seems that he either didn’t activate the facial recognition feature introduced with the iPhone X — or it simply didn’t work.
The musician’s ensuing rant left the President speechless as well as many onlookers, making Kanye’s dumb-ass password the photo-op’s main takeaway. One viral tweet amassed more than 39,000 likes, 12,000 retweets, and almost 800 replies at the time of this writing.
https://www.inverse.com/article/49813-kanye-west-password-is-terrible
We know this because the Chicago rapper visited the Oval Office on Thursday to discuss topics ranging from prison reform to job opportunities for ex-cons. At one point in the meeting, Kanye wanted to show the president something on his phone, and proceeded to unlock it on live television. In short order, the whole world had an opportunity to grasp just how much Ye’s commitment to cybersecurity leaves to be desired.
All of this could have been easily avoided if he had used FaceID to unlock his phone. But, it seems that he either didn’t activate the facial recognition feature introduced with the iPhone X — or it simply didn’t work.
The musician’s ensuing rant left the President speechless as well as many onlookers, making Kanye’s dumb-ass password the photo-op’s main takeaway. One viral tweet amassed more than 39,000 likes, 12,000 retweets, and almost 800 replies at the time of this writing.
https://www.inverse.com/article/49813-kanye-west-password-is-terrible
Come on Kanye, you’re one of the most famous people in the world. Like I said you might as well invite people to hack you. I’m sure Trump somewhere is going “Come on, my iPhone passcode is 123456, no one can hack me!”. Of course you can. In fact it’s probably illegal.
The day has come: Kanye West met with Donald Trump for the second time since the 2016 election. There were hugs. MAGA hats. West praised Trump's relations with North Korea, and gave a monologue that touched on everything from the 13th and 2nd amendments to Superman. The whole event was confusing, uncomfortable, and deeply depressing. But there was one small spark of joy.
West, a man who has referred to himself on a number of occasions as "Steve Jobs," a man who expresses unreserved admiration for Jobs and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, uses 000000 as the passcode for his iPhone. He is one of the biggest celebrities in the world. The contents of his phone are probably more valuable than Elon Musk's current net worth. How could he have such bad security?!
He'll probably change it now, but it was still hilarious. Do you think the passcode is performance art? Has Kanye heard of two-factor authentication? Will that cousin who stole his laptop come back for the iPhone?
Jobs is turning in his grave.
http://www.papermag.com/kanye-west-passcode-2611721610.html
West, a man who has referred to himself on a number of occasions as "Steve Jobs," a man who expresses unreserved admiration for Jobs and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, uses 000000 as the passcode for his iPhone. He is one of the biggest celebrities in the world. The contents of his phone are probably more valuable than Elon Musk's current net worth. How could he have such bad security?!
He'll probably change it now, but it was still hilarious. Do you think the passcode is performance art? Has Kanye heard of two-factor authentication? Will that cousin who stole his laptop come back for the iPhone?
Jobs is turning in his grave.
http://www.papermag.com/kanye-west-passcode-2611721610.html
Does anyone get the irony of this? The guy who travels with a 50 person entourage for security purposes obviously doesn’t give a shit about cyber security! So go on, if someone is dumb enough to give their passcode is 000000, don’t be surprised when you get hacked! And I guess Kim isn’t too concerned either!
It's been an interesting couple of weeks for Kanye West, whose Trump-supporting antics peaked this past week when he met with Donald Trump in the White House. The meeting was a bizarre spectacle to say the least, with Kanye pitching Air Force 1 ideas, dropping quotes like 'Time is a myth,' and accidentally revealing his uninspired iPhone passcode.
Despite the backlash, CNN says that Kim Kardashian West is "not embarrassed" by Kanye's behavior, contrary to previous reports. "Kim is incredibly supportive," a source said, adding that West's mind "moves at lightning speed" and suggested the forum for the White House meeting wasn't the best representation of West's "genius."
Leading up to Kanye's White House appearance, Kardashian told Extra that she excited for it. "I always say he isn't the best communicator, but he has the best heart," Kardashian said. "I know what he wants to accomplish... and I can't wait to see that happen."
Shortly after Kanye's surprise post-show rant on SNL, the rapper deactivated his social media accounts. But he made his return to Twitter yesterday for a lengthy discussion on mind control.
https://www.elle.com/culture/a23763905/kim-kardashian-not-embarrassed-kanye-west-report/
Despite the backlash, CNN says that Kim Kardashian West is "not embarrassed" by Kanye's behavior, contrary to previous reports. "Kim is incredibly supportive," a source said, adding that West's mind "moves at lightning speed" and suggested the forum for the White House meeting wasn't the best representation of West's "genius."
Leading up to Kanye's White House appearance, Kardashian told Extra that she excited for it. "I always say he isn't the best communicator, but he has the best heart," Kardashian said. "I know what he wants to accomplish... and I can't wait to see that happen."
Shortly after Kanye's surprise post-show rant on SNL, the rapper deactivated his social media accounts. But he made his return to Twitter yesterday for a lengthy discussion on mind control.
https://www.elle.com/culture/a23763905/kim-kardashian-not-embarrassed-kanye-west-report/
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[font size="8"]Deep State Diaries Episode 16: The United States Marine Corps
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It’s time for episode 16 of Deep State Diaries. Yes we’re touring the 24 branches and services that make up the United States government. Everything from the FBI to the IRS to the Pentagon to the CIA to the DPW to the DVA to parks and recreation and all branches and services in between. Of course if you’re here you probably already know more about our government and how it works than your average Fox News loving Trump supporter does. So that’s what this segment is going to address. We are going to do a deep dive into all that makes the United States the United States. Because we here at the Top 10 love to educate as well as entertain. Because we care.
[font size="6"]The US Marine Corps[/font]
Here we are folks, the few, the proud, the US Marine Corps! So of course you know by now that the US Marine Corps is strictly made of the best of the best. So the last couple of editions we’ve talked about the controversial and extremely expensive F-35 fighter jet. Which is capable of long ranges and can destroy lots of stuff. So how does this jet affect the USMC – we assume the Marines only want the best of the best and we can assume that the US government provides all of that for them, can’t we? Well…
After a fuel tube problem sidelined all operational F-35 aircraft last week, more than 80 percent of jets have been cleared to return to flight, the F-35 joint program office stated Monday.
In a Oct. 15 statement, the JPO confirmed that the U.S. services and international partners have completed inspections of their F-35 inventories for faulty fuel tubes. The aircraft that are not impacted by the bad tubes — which are a component in Pratt & Whitney’s F135 engine — are back in flying status.
“The F-35 Joint Program Office continues to work closely with the military services to prioritize fuel tube replacements using the current spares inventory,” the JPO said. “Pratt & Whitney is rapidly procuring more parts to minimize the overall repair timeline for the remaining jets. Current inventory will restore about half of the impacted jets to flight operations, and the remaining aircraft are expected to be cleared for flight over the coming weeks.”
https://www.defensenews.com/air/2018/10/15/most-f-35s-return-to-flight-operations-after-fuel-tube-problem/
In a Oct. 15 statement, the JPO confirmed that the U.S. services and international partners have completed inspections of their F-35 inventories for faulty fuel tubes. The aircraft that are not impacted by the bad tubes — which are a component in Pratt & Whitney’s F135 engine — are back in flying status.
“The F-35 Joint Program Office continues to work closely with the military services to prioritize fuel tube replacements using the current spares inventory,” the JPO said. “Pratt & Whitney is rapidly procuring more parts to minimize the overall repair timeline for the remaining jets. Current inventory will restore about half of the impacted jets to flight operations, and the remaining aircraft are expected to be cleared for flight over the coming weeks.”
https://www.defensenews.com/air/2018/10/15/most-f-35s-return-to-flight-operations-after-fuel-tube-problem/
I don’t think we need to vent that hard yet. So what else does the Marine Corps do? Well as the country makes the switch from manned battalions to virtual ones, there’s a huge problem with people who actually know how to fly drones.
The U.S. Marine Corps is turning to virtual training, which would allow units to simulate—at least to some agree—amphibious training even when ships aren’t available. However, GAO faulted the virtual effort for lack of consideration of what tasks marines would train in, available time for training, and how to measure whether virtual training works.
The U.S. Marine Corps is arguably the best amphibious-warfare force in the world. But a new Government Accountability Office report suggests that lack of training may be eroding the marines’ amphibious capabilities.
The problem isn’t with the marine amphibious units deployed at sea, which would be at the forefront of the fighting should war erupt in Korea or the South China Sea . The issue is that relentless overseas commitments have strained marine resources so badly that it can’t conduct the other training that it needs to maintain its combat edge.
A review of readiness data from 2014 to 2016 revealed that “Marine Corps units were unable to fully accomplish training for other amphibious operations priorities,” according to the GAO report . “These shortfalls include home-station unit training to support contingency requirements, service-level exercises, and experimentation and concept development for amphibious operations.”
https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/marine-corps-has-big-problem-32931
The U.S. Marine Corps is arguably the best amphibious-warfare force in the world. But a new Government Accountability Office report suggests that lack of training may be eroding the marines’ amphibious capabilities.
The problem isn’t with the marine amphibious units deployed at sea, which would be at the forefront of the fighting should war erupt in Korea or the South China Sea . The issue is that relentless overseas commitments have strained marine resources so badly that it can’t conduct the other training that it needs to maintain its combat edge.
A review of readiness data from 2014 to 2016 revealed that “Marine Corps units were unable to fully accomplish training for other amphibious operations priorities,” according to the GAO report . “These shortfalls include home-station unit training to support contingency requirements, service-level exercises, and experimentation and concept development for amphibious operations.”
https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/marine-corps-has-big-problem-32931
Yeah it’s kind of like that. But you know this issue we’ve been delving deep into cyber security (or a complete lack thereof) maybe we should look at the military. But even they aren’t completely immune, and if they aren’t immune, no one is!
Nearly 150 security vulnerabilities have been discovered in US Marine Corps websites and related services during a bug bounty challenge that saw ethical hackers awarded over $150,000.
Hack The Marine Corps is the sixth public bounty program by the US Department of Defense (DoD) and bug bounty platform HackerOne. More than 100 ethical hackers took part in the scheme over a three-week period, and found nearly 150 unique vulnerabilities for the U.S. Marine Corps Cyberspace Command team.
"What we learn from this program assists the Marine Corps in improving our warfighting platform. Our cyber team of Marines demonstrated tremendous efficiency and discipline, and the hacker community provided critical, diverse perspectives," said Major General Matthew Glavy, commander of U.S. Marine Corps Forces Cyberspace Command.
"The tremendous effort from all of the talented men and women who participated in the program makes us more combat ready and minimizes future vulnerabilities," he added.
https://www.zdnet.com/article/bug-bounty-scheme-uncovers-150-vulnerabilities-in-us-marine-corps-websites/
Hack The Marine Corps is the sixth public bounty program by the US Department of Defense (DoD) and bug bounty platform HackerOne. More than 100 ethical hackers took part in the scheme over a three-week period, and found nearly 150 unique vulnerabilities for the U.S. Marine Corps Cyberspace Command team.
"What we learn from this program assists the Marine Corps in improving our warfighting platform. Our cyber team of Marines demonstrated tremendous efficiency and discipline, and the hacker community provided critical, diverse perspectives," said Major General Matthew Glavy, commander of U.S. Marine Corps Forces Cyberspace Command.
"The tremendous effort from all of the talented men and women who participated in the program makes us more combat ready and minimizes future vulnerabilities," he added.
https://www.zdnet.com/article/bug-bounty-scheme-uncovers-150-vulnerabilities-in-us-marine-corps-websites/
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Yeah that’s probably why our cyber security is so bad. But is that it? Is that all there is in this entry? Well this might be my new favorite thing about the Marine Corps = their weapons might be going full blown Dr. Evil on us! Yes, there’s a company out there that actually wants to put freaking laser beams on its’ combat vehicles! I am not making this up!
The Marine Corps is on the hunt for a vehicle-mounted laser system that can produce “sustainable and controllable plasma at range” for the purposes of crowd control, according to A U.S. government solicitation.
A Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) solicitation details future needs for a Scalable Compact Ultra-short Pulse Laser Systems (SCUPLS) that, when integrated into a small tactical vehicle like a Humvee or Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, can generate “a full spectrum of scalable non-lethal effects,” including “flash bang effects, thermal ablation for pain, and delivery of intelligible voice commands at range.”
This may sound tame, but it’s not. The new solicitation builds on previous efforts the Marine Corps were able to achieve a variety of deeply uncomfortable, if non-lethal, effects, including “a sufficient level of thermal discomfort on human skin” at a range of up to 30 meters and a sonic component that delivers an acoustic at a sound level of a passing Formula 1 race car at full throttle.
The next iteration of the tech, according to the solicitation, should kick things up a notch.
https://taskandpurpose.com/marine-corps-lasers-crowd-control/
A Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) solicitation details future needs for a Scalable Compact Ultra-short Pulse Laser Systems (SCUPLS) that, when integrated into a small tactical vehicle like a Humvee or Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, can generate “a full spectrum of scalable non-lethal effects,” including “flash bang effects, thermal ablation for pain, and delivery of intelligible voice commands at range.”
This may sound tame, but it’s not. The new solicitation builds on previous efforts the Marine Corps were able to achieve a variety of deeply uncomfortable, if non-lethal, effects, including “a sufficient level of thermal discomfort on human skin” at a range of up to 30 meters and a sonic component that delivers an acoustic at a sound level of a passing Formula 1 race car at full throttle.
The next iteration of the tech, according to the solicitation, should kick things up a notch.
https://taskandpurpose.com/marine-corps-lasers-crowd-control/
[font size="6"]Score Card [/font]
Overall importance: A
How Things Are Going: B
Likely hood To Survive: A+
Overall: A-
[font size="6"]Next Week [/font]
We’re heading out to Arlington, Virginia as we get into the real Deep State – we’re going to hang out with the FBI!
[font size="8"]And Now This:[/font]
[font size="8”]Jack White[/font]
My next guests are the best dressed band in music! You can see them December 28th – 30th at their annual “Hometown Throwdown” festival. Now playing their song “The Constant” from their new album “While We’re At It”, give it up for the Mighty Mighty Bosstones!
Thank you Boston , we love you! We will be back very soon, we promise! We are off to Philadelphia next! See you next week!
Credits
Host: Initech
Top 10 Conservative Idiots Recorded In Front Of Live Audience At: Laugh Boston, Boston, MA
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Initech Productions: Yes, We Got The Memo
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Rec 
Can you give me the winning lottery numbers? 
