Are you a cop so bad you managed to actually get disciplined or charged with crimes for your behavior? Florida needs you! The Brevard County Fraternal Order of Police called on such officers to head south, where they can enjoy "lower taxes, no spineless leadership, or dumb mayors rambling on at press conferences."
Brevard County F.O.P. President Bert Gamin, who said he is a 28-year law enforcement veteran, with two years as a Melbourne Police Department reservist and 26 years with the Brevard County Sheriff's Office , claimed responsibility for the recruitment post.
"Our citizens have a right to protest peacefully and legally. They do not have a right to block roadways, trespass on private property or disobey lawful commands from law enforcement officers," he wrote in response to emailed questions from FLORIDA TODAY.
Gamin, a current Brevard County Sheriff's Office Lieutenant, specifically extended the offer to officers implicated in a felony assault in Buffalo and to six charged with a range of crimes in Atlanta. In Buffalo, two officers cracked open the head of a 75-year-old man by pushing him to the ground and dozens more cheered them after their arraignment on felony assault charges. In Atlanta, six officers were charged, four with felonies, after dragging black college students from a car and violently arresting them, inflicting serious injuries on two. Read the rest
Alice Cutter was a hopeful contestant in the Miss Hitler beauty pageant, but will be unable to compete again soon because she's been jailed as a member of the right-wing terrorist group National Action, banned after celebrating the murder of MP Jo Cox. Cutter was among four people thusly incarcerated this week, and is pictured above with fellow convict Mark Jones.
The court heard Cutter had entered the Miss Hitler beauty pageant under the name Miss Buchenwald - a reference to the World War Two death camp.
She denied being a member of National Action, despite attending the group's rallies, in which banners reading "Hitler was right" were raised.
Jurors were also shown messages in which Cutter joked about gassing synagogues, and using a Jew's head as a football.
Don't see the resemblance, to be honest.
GoDaddy took down the Miss Hitler beauty pageant site last month as the trial date loomed. Read the rest
On Twitter, top UK tea brand Yorkshire Tea told a racist to get lost. The racist said they would henceforth drink PG Tips instead. The account of PG Tips waded in to tell them to get lost too.
Per the BBC's summary:
Laura Towler, a right-wing vlogger based in Yorkshire, praised her local brand for not having voiced support for the movement. Yorkshire Tea said it had not yet commented on the BLM protests as it had been "taking time to educate" itself. It tweeted: "Please don't buy our tea again." ... PG Tips, which is owned by consumer goods giant Unilever, soon lent its support to its rival as right-wing commentators urged a boycott on Twitter.
"If you are boycotting teas that stand against racism, you're going to have to find two new brands now #blacklivesmatter #solidaritea," the brand tweeted.
Attention, Americans: there are few superior options for bagged tea than Yorkshire Gold, available by the box or in bulk from Amazon. I have them ship five boxes to me every three months and still run out. Steep in freshly-boiled water in a warmed cup or teapot for the best results.
The other brand is not quite so good as Yorkshire Tea, in my opinion, but Amazon sells these enormous 1000-teabag sacks of PG Tips that bring the price of a quality cup to just 4 cents. Read the rest
The English language being short of words, Thomas Dimson created an AI-powered word generator. This word does not exist
nephromatosis
an infectious bacterial infection of the lymphatic system in primary prevention of infection in animals, caused by a nematode parasite or by an enterovirus
"nephromatosis is a serious and fatal form of typhoid fever"
haholus
an effeminate child, especially a boy
monstrut
a fixed upright figure
"a sculpted octagon and monstrut"
Really delightful, and far ahead of "traditional" generative word-makers. Even if sometimes it's clear the machine has no real insight, it touches upon the greatness of Douglas Adams and John Lloyd's Deeper Meaning of Liff. I'll be putting pebblepenny (of a person, old-fashioned and rather vain, e.g. "a pebblepenny politician") to use soon. Read the rest
Opinion Editor James Bennet is out at the New York Times, resigning after the backlash to Sen. Tom Cotton's column calling for a military crackdown on Americans protesting* police brutality.
Mr. Bennet’s swift fall from one of the most powerful positions in American journalism comes as hundreds of thousands of people have marched in recent weeks in protest of racism in law enforcement and society. The protests were set in motion when George Floyd, a black man in Minneapolis, died last month after being handcuffed and pinned to the ground by a white police officer’s knee.
The foment has reached other newsrooms. On Saturday night, Stan Wischnowski resigned as top editor of The Philadelphia Inquirer days after an article in the newspaper about the effects of protests on the urban landscape carried the headline “Buildings Matter, Too.” The headline prompted an apology published in The Inquirer, a heated staff meeting and a “sickout” by dozens of journalists at the paper.
The fascist politics of Cotton's column were revolting and inappropriate for promotion by the Times, but Bennet's resignation can be overthought. He jumped on Twitter to lecture readers about appreciating "counter-arguments" and "public scrutiny", but it turned out he hadn't even read it himself before it was published. Performing this level of sanctimonious incompetence in public would be humiliating even if the column were about Spongebob Squarepants.
* UPDATE: Cotton's press secretary writes to stress that the senator only wants military force used on those "rioting and looting." Read the rest
Biden soars to 55%-41% in the latest CNN poll of voters, with Trump's approval rating falling and less than a third of respondents approving of his handling of the George Floyd killing and subsequent protests.
In the race for the White House, among registered voters, Trump stands 14 points behind Biden, who officially secured enough delegates to win the Democratic nomination in CNN's delegate estimate on Saturday. The 41% who say they back the President is the lowest in CNN's tracking on this question back to April 2019, and Biden's 55% support is his highest mark yet.
Alex Burns summarizes similar polls from last week:
2020 polling over the last week:
ABC/Post: Biden +10
Monmouth: Biden +11
NBC/WSJ: Biden +7
Fox: Biden +8
This can obviously change, but this is not currently a close race or one in which the Electoral College is a reasonably good insurance plan for Trump.
Here's the thing. About this time in 2016, Clinton led Trump in these polls thusly:
ABC/Post: Clinton +14
Monmouth: Clinton +8
NBC/WSJ: Clinton +14
Fox: Clinton +10
Things are looking good for the Democratic Party's candidate, but remember that whatever follows "This can obviously change, but..." will never be anyone's famous last words and no-one will ever have to eat them. We're all getting paid here. Read the rest
Prosecutors in the U.S. have demanded an interview with Prince Andrew, pal of dead billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Andrew, himself accused of raping one of the then-girls Epstein trafficked, has no plans to subject himself to further scrutiny.
The request, made under a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty, or MLAT, is similar to a subpoena in this case for Prince Andrew's testimony. It's a rare move to seek an interview like this through MLAT, officials say, and it's focused on making sure the investigation is as thorough as possible. U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman foreshadowed the move in March when he said he would consider legal action after Prince Andrew's representatives had closed the door to an interview. "Contrary to Prince Andrew's very public offer to cooperate with our investigation into Epstein's co-conspirators, an offer that was conveyed via press release, Prince Andrew has now completely shut the door on voluntary cooperation," Berman said, adding that his office is "considering its options."
Read the rest
A half-hour special episode on how police in America respond to protests against police brutality: with greater brutality, armed for war.
As nationwide protests over the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor are met with police brutality, John Oliver discusses how the histories of policing and white supremacy are intertwined, the roadblocks to fixing things, and some potential paths forward.
Read the rest
Cole Carini, a 23-year-old Virginia man who turned up at hospital missing his hands and peppered with shrapnel, claims he was hurt in a lawnmower accident. the FBI, however, says he's a misogynist who fantasized about blowing up hot cheerleaders and was trying to assemble a bomb.
On June 2, Cole Carini of Richlands, Virginia, showed up at the Clinch Valley Medical Center with a missing hand. Several fingers on Carini’s other hand were also gone, and he had shrapnel wounds to the neck and throat. ... When investigators got to the residence, they found a trail of blood leading from a red minivan parked in the driveway to the front door of the house, and up the stairs to a second-floor bedroom, according to the affidavit. After stepping over a “flesh colored substance that...looked like a piece of human skin,” cops found a plastic bottle filled with triacetone triperoxide, or TATP, a “substance used in the creation of improvised explosive devices,” inside a footlocker. Beside the footlocker was a box filled with rusty nails, and a plastic container, the top of which had been “peeled back in a manner consistent with an explosion,” the affidavit says. The blinds in the room were damaged, and a chunk of flesh was stuck to the ceiling.
And here's the penned fantasy they claim is relevant:
“He casually walked through the shopping mall, his jacket concealed deadly objects,” the letter read, parts of which were illegible. “He was doing it and was assured it must be done.
Read the rest
After work on the Golden Gate Bridge's sidewalks to bolster their wind resistance, nearby residents of San Francisco are complaining that the 1.7 mile-long structure makes a creepy droning noise when it's windy. The mysterious and unsettling tone is heard in videos posted by Alberto Martinez, Mark Krueger and @reedm. It's a spectacular example of engineering neglect.
Anthony J.:
“Engineers designed new sides for the sidewalk to help with wind resistance but didn’t take into account the EXTREME sound it creates when wind passes through it. The bridge sings crazy songs now it’s so trippy. It hurts the ears and unbearable it’s that loud.”
Photo: Ed Dunens (CC BY 2.0) Read the rest
Itch.io today announced the Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality, a collection of 744 games worth $3,400. You can download and experience the lot for a minimum donation of $5.
We live in a time of racial injustice, inequality, and police brutality against black people. We hope that everyone takes a stand in any way that they can. We’ve partnered with creators from all across our platform to support organizations that are working directly with those affected.
We reached out to our community and an unprecedented number of creators donated over 740 projects to be part of what we believe is the largest bundle ever. Over $3,400 of paid works are available Pay-what-you-want with a minimum donation amount of $5.
All proceeds will donated to the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and Community Bail Fund split 50/50.
Please note: No Steam (or other external keys) will be given for bundle purchases. Only direct downloads will be available on the itch.io page.
If you’re looking for more ways to help try here: https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/
The servers seem to be having some trouble: if it doesn't come up for you, drag this URL to your bookmarks and try it again later: https://itch.io/b/520/bundle-for-racial-justice-and-equality Read the rest
This was on Fox News, as reported by a number of reporters and viewers: a chart showing upticks in the S&P 500 stock index after killings of black people and the acquittal of the police offers filmed beating Rodney King. The defense is that it's a fact. Facts can't be racist, can they? There's no element of choice in how facts are identified, put in context and presented, is there? Maybe Fox News is actually critiquing capitalism!
I have revised the old joke from The Simpsons to bring it up to date. ↓
Read the rest
Walmart is removing guns from shop floors, according to Fox News and CNN. The move was prompted by nationwide protests over the killing of an unarmed black man, George Floyd, by cops in Minneapolis.
The company has faced criticism over its decision to continue selling guns after 22 people were killed in a mass shooting at Texas Walmart and two store managers were fatally shot at a Mississippi Walmart in August.
The retailer amended its policy in September, asking customers to not openly carry firearms in its stores. It stopped selling assault-style rifles in 2015 and in 2018 stopped selling firearms to anyone younger than 21.
If you've been wondering all these years what it would take for big box stores to stop selling guns, the answer is "lots of black people suddenly interested in guns." Read the rest
T.C. Sottek writes that this week's protests, marked by soaring levels of police violence against demonstrators, show that we have a responsibility to record them when we can. Last night's horrific attack on an unarmed, elderly man by Buffalo police is only the latest and sharpest example of a lie—the officers claimed he tripped—exposed by video.
You have a right to record the police
Everyone in the United States — citizen or resident — has a constitutional right to record police who are performing their public duties. The police don’t have the right to stop you as long as you’re not disrupting their business, and they aren’t allowed to confiscate your phone or camera just because you were recording them. This is the consistent opinion of federal courts and the Supreme Court, which affirmed in 2014 (in a 9-0 decision) that cops need a warrant if they want to seize and search your cellphone.
Many excellent tips. Extra batteries! Read the rest
The Huffington Post reports that law enforcement has siezed hundreds of coronavirus masks to prevent protestors from wearing them in public.
The U.S. Postal Service tracking numbers for the packages indicate they were “Seized by Law Enforcement” and urge the mailer to “contact the U.S. Postal Inspection Service for further information.”
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment.
It’s not entirely clear what law enforcement entity seized the masks or why.
Without masks, protestors have less protection against coronavirus (and may even be breaking the law). They are therefore less likely to protest and more likely to fall ill if they do.
Read the rest
Two officers from Buffalo police department were suspended late Thursday after footage of them shoving an elderly man spread on social media. The man, who was unarmed and clearly unthreatening to the officers, was seriously injured and taken to hospital. Buffalo police claimed he tripped and fell. Only the footage, which shows the man unconscious and bleeding from a head injury and one ear, forced the truth from them.
Buffalo Police Department Captain Jeff Rinaldo told CBS News later Thursday night that "the Police Commissioner has immediately suspended two officers without pay in connection with the incident observed in the video." Rinaldo said the department has launched an internal affairs investigation.
Buffalo Police originally told reporters in a summary of the protest that "one person was injured when he tripped and fell."
This is what they do when they know the cameras are rolling. Think what they do when they know they aren't. Read the rest
This dongle allegedly converts "household" -- i.e. 110v AC power -- to 3.5mm. It's misdescribed and is for photographic use (if it were intended to be jammed in the mains, the prongs would have holes) but it makes me think a splendid purpose would be for the gadget mafia to use to issue death threats to people. If you find one of these on your doorstep or, God forbid, your pillow, you have displeased them.
Spotted by Chris Satterfield on Twitter: "it adapts camera strobe triggers."
UPDATE: Male to Male power cords are still listed at Amazon, but are out of stock.
Read the rest
