During the coverage of the Ferguson protests, activist Joshua Williams, 19, became something of a celebrity as an advocate for peaceful protests. He was profiled by MSNBC and shown walking hand-in-hand with Cornel West. Williams was the counter image of the violent protesters who burned and looted Ferguson. However, this week, Williams was charged for setting fire to a convenience store during those very protests — a crime that police say he confessed to in a videotaped interview. It is sad development for a young man who garnered national attention for his work as a protest leader.
Category: Society
I just saw the new Hobbit movie with the kids in Chicago (which I liked) and was immediately intrigued by this story: a YouTube video on how to make your own ultimate nerdy “Sting.” Rather than detecting Orcs, this Sting detects unsecured WiFi. For the Hobbit nerd, it promises an elevation to nerdom that few single, middle-aged Hobbit wannabes still living with their parents in the basement could hope to achieve. I cannot say that the new sword will make you an Elf “chick-magnet” at the next Hobbit convention but it will get those other Hobbits pulling pens out of their pocket protectors to write down your every Bilboesque instruction.
Continue reading “Nerdvana: Video Shows You How To Make Your Own “Sting” To Glow When There Is An Unsecured WiFi Signal Near”
Like most of humanity, I have been stunned by the sheer savagery and cruelty of the Islamic State. Yet, thousands have flocked to the ISIS forces from the West. For me, it has been a particularly shocking phenomenon. The images that repel us, attract them. Religion is clearly a release for these people. A release from the obligations of decency and humanity. Images show Islamic State fighters laughing and enjoying the torture and murder of captives. Muslim clerics with ISIS assure them that they can treat non-Muslims as lower than animals and commit rape as an Islamically pure act. It has been an incredibly depressing time for those of us who believe that humans can aspire to true greatest of spirit and caring. This Christmas, however, my daughter showed me the YouTube clip below of a man named Matt Harding who goes around the world getting people to dance with him. After watching him, my faith in humanity was restored.
There is an interesting twist on the usual nativity litigation that comes with the season (for a prior column, click here and here). In Ohio, Jasen Dixon has been told to take down his Nativity scene. Dixon, who manages a nearby haunted house, took a unique approach to the standard Christmas display: it shows the holy family as zombies.
Continue reading “Town Orders Ohio Man To Take Down Zombie Nativity”
We have had a great time in Chicago. The holiday went off without a hitch. The beef turned out great. I insert a whole head of garlic into the meat, which adds a great taste with the herb coating. With 29 people, it was a lot of beef but everything came off well and we had a wonderful family dinner with the Turleys from Bartlett, Naperville, Evanston, Highland Park and of course Virginia (as well as our friends Laura, Annie, Norman, and Jennifer). We finished the day with intense games of Quiz Up on our cellphones and iPads. As are now coming down from our sugar high from a record of cakes, pies, cookies, and other sweets.
If you gave a Barbie to a child in France, you might want to check the box. The French feminist group FièrEs secretly inserted pamphlets into hundreds of barbie toys and plastic guns reading “this toy is sexist. They stressed that “We have caused no damage or ripped any plastic. We simply slipped the message in boxes, or in books.” Of course, there is the injury to families who do not want to expose their children to the rantings of an extreme group that wants to use their children to make some point of social protest.
Best wishes to everyone celebrating Christmas. Continue reading “MERRY CHRISTMAS!”
Charles DiRosa, 27, has been criminally charged in Chicopee, Massachusetts after he posted “Put Wings on Pigs” to Facebook. It was a despicable act after the murder of two New York police officers, but in my view it was protected speech.
Continue reading “Massachusetts Man Arrested For Posting “Put Wings On Pigs” On Facebook”
The New York Times has been investigating a controversial immigration case that could present another challenge for Hillary Clinton as she prepares for her presidential run. At the center of the controversy is a rather disreputable character named Estefanía Isaías. A wealthy, well-connected Ecuadorean television executive, she was barred from coming to the United States after being caught fraudulently obtaining visas for her maids. However, the New York Times reports that the Clinton State Department intervened to get her into the country “so that Ms. Isaías could work for an Obama fund-raiser with close ties to the administration.” The newspaper also notes that her fortunes changed after “her family gave tens of thousands of dollars to Democratic campaigns.” Her family is accused of fraud costing the poor country $400 million. There are also serious questions being raised about the efforts of Senator Robert Menendez, Democrat of New Jersey in leading the intensive efforts to countermand the decisions of career officials in Washington and Ecuador in the case.
Middle school teacher and varsity cheer coach Heather Cagle was fired Wednesday night in a rather bizarre controversy. Cagle was fired after she admitted that she drove 11 yearbook students to Walmart for a snack, including two put into a locked trunk of her Honda Accord.
Mishawaka Police officer Jason Barthel has been told to stop selling T-Shirt in his spare time. There is nothing illegal about the Indiana officer selling shirts, but these t-shirts say “Breathe easy, don’t break the law.” They are in direct response to t-shirts being worn in protest over the decision of a New York grand jury not to indict officers in the death of Eric Garner who died in Staten Island from a chokehold while saying that he could not breathe. “I Can’t Breathe” has become a rallying cry for those protesting police abuse of minorities. However, Barthel wants to sell a counter message that supports police. While there has been vandalism of stores selling the t-shirts, they reportedly remain high selling items.
A Philadelphia Fire Department paramedic is under fire for posting this picture with the caption: “Our real enemy.” The caption also said “Need 2 stop pointing guns at each other & at the ones that’s legally killing innocents.” Marcell Salters has also published highly antagonistic language toward police officers. He has since apologized but some have called for his punishment or termination. In the meantime, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio is under attack after Ismaaiyl Brinsley effectively executed two police officers over his anger with the recent decisions by grand juries in Missouri and New York. police have been protesting what they view as de Blasio’s unfair portrayals of police after the decision, including turning their backs on the mayor when he came to give a press conference on the murders.
Turkey was long viewed as a symbol of secularism in the Islamic world — an alternative to the rigid Islamic governments imposing medieval Sharia laws to their populations. Then came the election of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has steadily broken down secular tradition and introduced more and more Islamic influences in government. (You may recall Erdogan recently declaring that Muslims discovered America and that there was proof of a Mosque in Cuba when Columbus arrived) The fines imposed this week by the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTUK) have reaffirmed those concerns. RTUK officials imposed as fine of 410,000 Turkish lira ($177,000, 145,000 euros) against The game show, “I Don’t Know, My Spouse Knows.” The episode in question showed wives pictures of their husbands dancing with foreign women. That was deemed “contrary to public morality and the Turkish family structure.”
Prime Minister Tony Abbott has been widely criticized (including by the author) for his comprehensive attack on environmental protections in Australia from stripping pristine areas of protection to his selection of pro-development environmental officials to his endangering of the Great Barrier Reef. However, even when others change the subject, Abbott returns to one of his most controversial measures. When asked on the country’s leading morning show what he thought was his biggest achievement as Australia’s Minister for Women, Abbott said . . . repealing the carbon tax.
By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
Hacktivism seems to be taking place in the aftermath of Sony declining to release The Interview. The Interview portrays a comic plot to assassinate North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un. The decision follows a security breach where afterward extortionists attempted to induce Sony to halt distribution of the film. Many regarded this decision to be a surrender of free speech rights.