Recently unsealed court papers are not likely to help Harvey Weinstein when he gets sentenced tomorrow for two rape convictions. The New York Times reports the court papers contain emails from Weinstein to Michael Bloomberg and Jeff Bezos begging for their help, and email to him from his brother Bob telling him he belongs in "hell."

The following paragraph in the Times story is the most alarming, and I'm surprised it didn't make it into the headline:

In one email, Mr. Weinstein suggested that the actress Jennifer Aniston — who he believed had complained about him — should be killed. And even as he endeavored to repair his reputation and excuse his behavior, his communications on the matter were often self-centered, unapologetic, and at times, patronizing.

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In this clip from Late Night with Seth Myers, comedian Maria Bamford talks about how she tried to take out a restraining order against "the unregistered sex offender in the White House." She said she felt unsafe having such a person in the Oval Office.

She says she "went down to the local courthouse. Saw a judge within a half hour. He denied me. Ultimately a useless gesture that didn't further the conversation in any way and wasted the time of caring professionals."

There are some other funny and heartwarming moments during the interview. Like, Maria picks people on Twitter and then meets up with them at Dunkin' Donuts to workshop her comedy. She also talks about the comedy special she did in front of an audience of two: her parents. And she talks about her show "What's Your Ailment?," where she talks, mainly to celebrities and fellow comedians, about dealing with mental health issues, something that Maria has very openly and courageously struggled with.

Image: YouTube Read the rest

Sometimes, even a malicious idiot like Bill O'Reilly says something pure and true and correct. Read the rest

Policy shift follows NYT report on YouTube recommendation algorithm pushing kids' videos to pedophiles

One letter different, but a world apart. Read the rest

In what feels like the one billionth installment of We Can't Have Nice Things, some pervy asshole's been creeping on Fortnite-playing minors. Over the past few weeks, according to police from the Quebec, Canada area, a number of parents have stepped forward to complain that their kids were asked, in-game and via Instagram, to fire over nude photos of themselves. The payoff: ways and means of advancing their in-game prowess. Once the prick had their hands on the pics, the kid that sent them would be threatened: send more or the ones that the pederast already had would be plastered all over the internet.

From The CBC:

Four cases have been reported in the past few weeks, according to police.

In three of those cases, minors were threatened, and in one, the victim sent personal photos to the cyber-predator.

Sgt. Jean-Luc Tremblay with the Richelieu Saint-Laurent police said the predator, or predators, tried to infiltrate groups of friends by offering them a chance to advance their game in exchange for providing revealing photos.

Police are working with school boards in the area to disseminate information about the sextortion.

Being a kid is already difficult enough without having to endure this kind of horse shit. Parents need to be on their guard and kids need to be educated in how to avoid these greasy shits online. It's a mantra that too many people have had to type too many times.

Hopefully, those responsible will have left enough digital breadcrumbs to be tracked down and dealt with--quickly. Read the rest

Archprankster Sacha Baron Cohen (Ali G, Borat, etc) has a new show called Who Is America? where he disguises himself sits down with US politicians and tries to get them to do something absurd, with some pretty remarkable (and even career-ending) results (though not everybody falls for it). Read the rest