Monday, July 31, 2017
North Korea Gives Landmark ‘Pyramid’ Hotel a Makeover
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Pyongyang, North Korea (AP) -- While North Korea's second launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile dominated headlines late last week, Pyongyang quietly unveiled renovations around the capital's biggest landmark: a futuristic, pyramid-shaped 105-story hotel, the world's tallest unoccupied building.
After decades of embarrassing delays and rumors that the building may not even be structurally sound, could this be Kim Jong Un's next pet project?
If nothing else, it at least has a new propaganda sign: "Rocket Power Nation."
Walls set up to keep people out of a construction area around the gargantuan Ryugyong Hotel were pulled down as the North marked the anniversary of the Korean War armistice. Revealed were two broad new walkways leading to the building and the big red propaganda sign declaring that North Korea is a leading rocket power.
That, of course, is Kim's other pet project.
The day after Thursday's anniversary, North Korea test-launched its second ICBM, which experts believe demonstrated that the North's weapons can now theoretically reach most of the United States.
For more than a week leading up to the anniversary, a major holiday in North Korea, "soldier-builders" at the site in central Pyongyang were clearly visible behind the walls, along with heavy equipment for digging and brightly colored propaganda billboards that are a staple at North Korean construction sites, intended to boost morale.
Rumors, almost always unfounded, of plans to once and for all finish the hotel project are something of a parlor game among Pyongyang watchers. And it remains to be seen if the current work on the Ryugyong is intended to be a step toward actually finishing the long-stalled project or, more likely, an effort to make better use of the land around it.
But it's not surprising that work to do something with the idle landmark would begin. Pyongyang has been undergoing massive redevelopment since Kim assumed power when his father died in late 2011.
At Kim's orders, several major high-rise areas have been completed, including one with a 70-story residence and dozens of other tall buildings in the capital's "Ryomyong," or "dawn," district in April. Pyongyang also has a new international airport, a massive sci-tech complex with a main building shaped like a giant atom, and many other recreational and educational facilities.
How Kim can afford to pay for the apparent construction boom and his significantly accelerated testing of multimillion-dollar missiles is a mystery, but has led many sanctions advocates to point the finger at China, by far North Korea's biggest trading partner, for not doing enough to turn the economic screws on its neighbor.
From a distance, the glassy, greenish-blue Ryugyong looks like it's ready for business. But it is believed to be far from complete inside and possibly even structurally unsound.
Work on the building started in 1987 while Kim's grandfather Kim Il Sung, North Korea's founder and "eternal president," was still alive. It was supposed to open in 1989 and would have been the world's tallest hotel — surpassing another in Singapore that was built by a South Korean company.
But a severe economic crash and famines in the 1990s left North Korea in no position to pump funds into the hotel's construction, and it stayed little more than an embarrassing concrete shell for well over a decade before Egypt's Orascom Group — which was also key in establishing the North's cellphone system — helped pay for work to complete the building's shiny exterior in 2011.
Questions remain about whether it is structurally sound enough to ever operate as a hotel or office building.
Officials have offered no information regarding their plans for its future.
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Eric Talmadge is the AP's Pyongyang bureau chief. Follow him on Instagram @erictalmadge and Twitter at EricTalmadge.
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Amazing Chocolate-Stuffed Kit Kats Prove You Can Have Your Cake And Eat It Too
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Everyone's inner Augustus Gloop delights at the thought of a piece of chocolate. Naturally, when news about an already chocolatey treat suggests chocolate is being added to the mix,Willy Wonka should just sound the alarms.A cake-stuffed Kit Kathas hit the shelves, and naturally, it's the perfect excuse to have your cake and eat it, too.
These glorious bad boys are every candy lover's dream a chocolate exterior plusa soft chewy piece of cake in the middle.
Say it with me, Mmmm!
The limited-editionChocolatory Gateau Mignon Kit Kats have arrivedon the heels of other exciting releases for the candy, such as the the sushi Kit Kats that offer you the best of the dessert and dinner combined. In my opinion, the combo is just odd enough to work. Why yes, I fancy aMaguro sushi rollon white chocolate-covered puffed rice, thanks!
But back to the chocolate, because that's why you're here.
TheChocolatory Gateau Mignon Kit Kats are sold in threesand cost$13 per box. Though a bit pricer than the usual candy bar, it'sobviously worth the splurge since you're being treated to cake as well.
However, before you reach for your wallet, keep in mind that the Chocolatory Gateau Mignon Kit Kats are a lot like the sushi Kit Kats in that they're both available exclusively in Japan.
Patissier Yasumasa Takagi created the magic-in-your-mouth offering, and it's sadly only for saleat the Kit Kat Chocolatory store in Tokyo.
Do you ever feel like the best treats are createdin Asia the Blue Hawaii Frizz from McDonald'sin Japan,the all-mermaid-everything cafe in Thailand? You're going to want to hop on Airbnb soon so you can find out how to take advantage of these items. It'sa foodie's paradise!
For those who aren't in Japan, take comfort in the fact that Cookie Butter Oreos are possibly on the way and Sugarfina is offering tequila-infused chocolatefor those looking for a 21+ treat. But Tokyo, if you're willing to sendthe Chocolatory Gateau Mignon Kit Kats, no one will complain!
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Twitter smokes the NYPD for posting braggadocios photo of tiny amount of drugs
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The New York Police Department arrested alleged gang members late last week, seized drugs and cash in the process, and then proudly posted its findings to Twitter to show that officers were keeping the streets safe. And then Twitter absolutely lit them up.
Here was the windfall recovered by the NYPD.
Gang members arrested and drugs recovered by @NYPDPSA9 officers. Keeping #Flushing #Queens safe – thats #NYPDprotecting http://pic.twitter.com/eeKHQnc5UX
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) July 28, 2017
And here was the mocking Twitter reaction.
this is the worst gang of all time
— CK (@cranekicker) July 29, 2017
dang y'all finally put caught El Chapo huh. congrats
— shriller than thou (@theshrillest) July 29, 2017
thank god we are finally free from the menace of Mr. $100 And A Bag of Weed
— Rich Lowtax Kyanka (@lowtax) July 29, 2017
Wow, real bang-up job guys. What's that $100 and maybe three ounces of pot? I'm sure the Sinaloa cartel will be outta business any day now.
— Andrew M (@VomitingBrain1) July 28, 2017
Shook down a real big time *squints at photo* 9 year old who was in his older brothers shoebox
— NBA HOF Kurt Rambis (@Milktoasted) July 28, 2017
Apparently their gang leader was sighted fleeing the scene http://pic.twitter.com/DDkMYpbRc5
— Glennjamin (@theglennjamin) July 29, 2017
It was probably some millennial dealer that accepts venmo payments
— just some random guy (@ArtiePodcast) July 29, 2017
thank god you got that blood money off the street before they made enough for a monthly metrocard
— David Hill (@davehill77) July 29, 2017
So, Twitter certainly wasnt impressed. But hey, at least Queens was just a little bit safer without those three bags of weed in the streets.
H/T LawNewz
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Former Linkin Park Member Chester Bennington Memorialized In Private Funeral Service
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Chester Bennington's family and closest friends have opted for privacy in this very emotional time, holding a private Saturday afternoon memorial service to remember the Linkin Park member
Police provided tight security at the event, and family members did not want videos or pictures taken there.
Fans have been organizing memorials around the globe for the frontman, but were not involved with the private ceremony yesterday in California.
According to reports, a full stage, including a drum kit, was set up at the funeral and several musical tributes were performed.
Additionally, all funeral attendees were given wrist bands and an access pass — just like what you might see in a VIP pass at a Linkin Park concert.
Above all, it was no doubt a very emotional day for Bennington's family and friends.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone who knew and loved him during this unimaginable time of need.
R.I.P.
[Image via Ricky Swift/WENN.]
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Shrink-wrapped Super Mario Bros. cartridge fetches more money on eBay than you can imagine
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How much money should youspend on a vintage, mint-conditionSuper Mario Bros. NES cartridge? That remains an open question. But as for how much money a person needs to spend to get one, thats been answered: Try about $30,000, as bidders on a recent eBay listing just learned.
The auction took place earlierthis week, and it broughtin an eye-popping amount of money. As startling as it might be to think of a 30-year-old video game selling for $30,000, this particular copy had something special going for it: It was still in its original plastic shrink-wrap, giving it a claim to perfect condition thats rarely found in games of its age.
Normal, non-mint condition used copies of Super Mario Bros. frequently sell on eBay for anywhere from $30 to $60, depending on the quality of the cartridge and the packaging. The hyper-pricey one that sold earlier this week has the additional distinction of being a standalone Super Mario Bros. cartridge, produced before Nintendo started including combo Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt gameswith every console sold from 1988 onward. In other words, it was a cartridge from an early run of the iconic game, which only increased its value.
Random: Sealed Copy Of Super Mario Bros. Fetches Over $30,000 On eBay https://t.co/KvhP3eIuLH #Random #Retro #SuperMario #NES http://pic.twitter.com/h7HI1Jo5Iv
— Nintendo Life (@nintendolife) July 28, 2017
The original, standaloneSuper Mario Bros. was first released in Japan and North America in 1985, a full 32 years ago. Needless to say, it’s hard to find products that last that long in their original packaging, much less still wrapped in plastic.
In this case, the seller was richly rewarded for their patience and care. For the record, anybody who wants to play the originalSuper Mario Bros. need not spend a fortune to do so. Anyone who owns a Nintendo system with access to the company’s Virtual Console store can download a copy of the game for a mere $5, a decidedly more manageable sum of money.
H/T Business Insider
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Two Dead And Three Seriously Injured After Gunman Opens Fire In German Nightclub
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Police have reported that two people have been killed and three more have been seriously injured during a nightclub shooting in the German city of Constance.
A man opened fire at 04:30am on Sunday morning and killed one person in the process. The gunman was then shot and injured by police, and later died in hospital. The attack, which isn’t being treated as a terrorist motivated incident, happened at the Grey club in an industrial part of the city, on Max-Stromeyer-Strasse. 
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‘Game of Thrones’ gives fans a meeting two decades in the making
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(CNN)Warning: Spoiler alert for Sunday's episode of "Game of Thrones"
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20 schwifty facts about Adult Swim’s ‘Rick and Morty’
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Adult Swim’s Rick and Mortyhas built a fiercely loyal cult following since its debut in 2013, thanks in large part to the way it blends morbid humor with human catharsis. No show with a character named Mr. Poopy Butthole has ever made people feel so much.
After a long wait, viewers are finally experiencing season 3 of the hit show. Though the series hasn’t aired a huge number of episodes, it already has a vasthistory and mythology, which are helpful to know if you want to catch some of the more subtle jokes and references. To kick off the new season, here’s a list of 20 interesting facts you probably didn’t know aboutRick and Morty.
20 schwiftyfacts aboutRick and Morty
1) The show’s creators met doing underground comedy in Los Angeles
Rick and Morty creators Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland initially worked together on Channel 101, an L.A. based media collective started by Harmon (Community) and Rob Schrab (The Sarah Silverman Program). Channel 101 was a monthly, non-profit short film festival, where participants would create and showcase shorts in the format of a TVpilot. Each short was under five minutes long, and at the end of each show, a panel and the audience would vote on which pilot would get invited back for the next screening.
Screengrab via EntertainmentWeekly/YouTube
Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon, co-creators of Rick and Morty.
2) Rick and Morty are based on Doc Brown and Marty McFly
Rick and Morty originated in 2006 from one of Roilands Channel 101 shorts, an animated parody of Back to the Future called The Adventures of Doc and Mharti. In this bizarrespin on the beloved ’80s film, Doc throws Mharti through a series of hellish nightmares, not unlike the experiences Rick and Morty havenow. The animation was significantly cruder, but the spirit and pitch-black sense of humor of the show remain intact. Fair warning: The episode isdefinitely adult-rated.
3) Justin Roiland is much more than just the show’s co-creator
In addition to co-creating Rick and Morty, Justin Roiland is also a successful voice over actor. He provides the voices for both Rick and Morty on the show, and has done work for HBO’s Animals, The Simpsons, Gravity Falls, Fish Hooks, and Adventure Time.
4) Rick and Mortyhas taken over everythingfrom other shows to other brands
Beyond their own adventures, Rick and Morty have broken into advertising and even some other pop culture universes. In addition to wrecking chaos in Springfield during the couch segment in the May 17, 2015, season finale of The Simpsons, our lovable adventurers have appeared in ads for Alien: Covenant and Hardees/Carls Jr. What makes these appearances each time with their brand of pitch black humor.
5) The decidedly adult show shares a universe with a Disney kids show
Despite airing on different channels and being intended for wildly different audiences, Rick and Morty and Disney XDs Gravity Falls take place in the same multiverse. While never officially established, a simple easter egg confirms the theory. In the Gravity Falls episode Society of the Blind Eye Grunkle Stans coffee mug with a question mark, pen, and notebook are sucked into a portal that supposedly will open a gateway to countless new worlds. You can see these items pop out of one of the portals during Close Rick-counters of the Rick Kind.
6) Rick and Morty‘sInstagram account is really worth following
Rick and Morty is the first show in TV history to premiere an episode on Instagram. Before it aired on Adult Swim, Rixty Minutes debuted on the shows Instagram account, posted over 109 different 15-second videos. You can still watch the episode in this 15-second format over on its page.
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7) The show snuck in a loving reference to theactor who originally played therole thatinspired Morty
In Close Rick-counters of the Rick Kind it wasrevealed that Doofus Ricks Morty looks like Eric Stoltz from Mask. Stoltz was originally cast as Marty McFly in Back to the Future, the inspiration for Morty in the first place. However, after a few weeks of shooting, director Robert Zemeckis felt Stoltz wasnt working out, and recast the part. Just as there are alternate Mortys, there are alternate McFlys.
8) You can play Jerrys balloon popping game
In Something Ricked This Way Comes, Jerry spends the family breakfast playing a simple tablet game where he pops a never ending series of balloons. While originally a parody of mindless mobile games, the series creators have released the game online. You can download Jerrys Game, complete with in-app purchases, on iOS.
9) Sometimes major bits are improvised before they’re animated
The vast majority of the alternate universe TVshows and commercials in Rixty Minutes and “Interdimentional Cable 2: Tempting Fate” were riffed off the cuff by the actors. Rick himself comments while watching that the ads have an improvisational tone.
10) There is a tragic meaning to Rick’s catch phrase
At first, it seems like Ricks catchphrase, Wubba lubba dub dub, is just something silly he says from time to time. However, in the episode Ricksy Business Birdperson reveals it is a phrase from his cultures native language that means, I am in great pain, please help me.
11) The showrunners did an episode to show why they hate time travel stories
Despite the Back to the Future connection, Justin Roiland says theyll never do an official time travel episode. In fact, the first episode of season 2, A Rickle in Time was designed to show why the series doesnt do time travel episodes. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter Roiland said, It accomplishes something that I think is important that we set out to accomplish with the episode, which is, you should never f with time. We wanted to tell a story of why we don’t do time-travel on the show and why time-travel is a fing nightmare and just a complete fing mess.
12) Morty may not be Rick’s original Morty
While Rick wasnt around for the childhood of the Morty we know, he did spend time with a baby Morty at some point. In Get Schwifty Morty asks about a picture of Rick holding a baby Morty on Birdpersons wall. Birdperson quickly changes the subject. The baby Morty appears again in Rick Encounters. During a flashback through Ricks memories, an image showsRick picking up a baby Morty. The problem is Rick just came back into the familys lives. At the beginning of the pilot, Rick has only been back with the family for one month after abandoning his daughter Beth 22 years earlier. Who is the baby Morty that Rick picked up? Well have to wait and see.
13) Justin Roiland and Dan Harman sold the series and wrote the pilot in one day
According to the DVD commentary, Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland sold the series and wrote the first draft of the Rick and Morty pilot on the same day. Roiland, knowing Harmons tendency to procrastinate, encouraged his co-creatorto get right to work, reportedly telling Harmon, Wait, if you go home, it might take us three months to write this thing. Stay here right now, and we can write it in six hours. The team set up in Harmons unfurnished offices for Community on the Paramount Pictures lot, sitting cross-legged on the floor with their laptops until it was done.
14) The show will sometimes change static details, like the opening credits, when the story calls for it
If you look closely during the opening sequence of Total Rickall you can see Mr. Poopy Butthole edited into the opening credits. Here is a comparison between the original credits and the Mr. Poopy Butthole credits.
15) Dan Harmon has mockedCommunityon the show
In “Auto Erotic Assimilation,” Unity makes a show for Rick that’s just an alien version of Community. Ricks commands for Unity to manipulate the plot, Make them cry but happy cry, have them make fun of the blonde one, now cancel it, now put it back on, mirrors Harmon’s own time on the show.
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16) Birdperson is a parody tribute to a character from another classic sci-fi series
On the commentary track for Ricksy Business, the creators admit that Birdperson is a parody of The Hawk from Buck Rogers. While originally just a throwaway background character Birdperson has become an important part of the series cast.
17) The show’s theme has roots in two other adventure theme songs
Rick and Morty‘s opening theme is a combined parody of the theme songs for Doctor Who and Tintin. You can hear all three themes here to compare.
18) Adult Swim wasn’t initially sold on Roiland doing the voices of both Rick and Morty
Adult Swim was originally apprehensive about allowing Roiland to do both voices for Rick and Morty. They feared Morty was underdeveloped and too much of a punching bag, so the creators wrote four paragraph length short scenes to showcase a more assertive version of Morty. One of those scenes became the argument Morty has with Rick during the cold open of the pilot.
19) The show’s fans are so loyal they’llfully animate a throw away goof
During Comic-Con 2016, the Rick and Morty crew reenacted a real-life court hearing in the case State of Georgia v. Denver Fenton Allen. Allens argument with a Georgia judge became a viral hit thanks to the wild nature of the defendants profane and belligerent dissent. When shown at Comic-Con, the debate was accompanied by an animatic, which you can see here.
A fan took the audio and animated the whole thing over the course of two months. The results look as good as the show itself.
20) Season 3 will feature some hardcore method acting from Rick
The character of Rick is a brutal drunk, but in episode 4 of the upcoming Season 3, he apparently goes on a bender to end all benders. To properly portray the obliterated Rick, Justin Roiland got hammered to record his lines. The process and unfortunate results were documented by Adult Swim. Dont drink tequila and record vocals gang.
Editor’s note: This article is regularly updated for relevance.
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Blac Chyna And Lamar Odom Are Hanging Out Now Because Of Course They Are
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Chyna looks pretty awesome in her sparkly blue dress/romper/whatever it is, and Lamar looks like a mannequin that came to life from a Big & Tall store in his maroon suit. Apparently Jenner-ex Tyga was also at the event, but he chose to sit this picture out, probably because hes also Blac Chynas ex, or because he doesn't need the drama. Eithe way, props to Tyga. The way this world works is just fucking beautiful.
We havent seen much of Lamar in the couple years since his overdose and subsequent divorce from KoKo, but at least he still has app launches to attend. We should all be so lucky. Our only hope is that him and Chyna will team up next, either in the form of a romantic relationship, or a pair of mismatched cops that get their own tv show. Someone call E! right now and set up a pitch meeting.
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Sydney police raid 5 locations after ‘advanced’ plot to down plane foiled
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Sydney (CNN)Police raided at least five properties in Sydney, Australia, on Monday after four men were arrested over a plan to bring down an airplane as part of a complex terror plot.
'Elaborate conspiracy'
Airport security tightened
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Sunday, July 30, 2017
Two divers die off coast of Barra – BBC News
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Two shellfish divers have died after getting into difficulty in waters off Barra in the Outer Hebrides.
The men were reported missing at 11:20 BST on Saturday by a ferry boat skipper in Castlebay after they failed to resurface, leaving their small boat unmanned.
The Coastguard was alerted along with the RNLI Barra lifeboat, the crew of which recovered the two divers at about 13:00.
Both divers died at the scene.
Police Scotland said inquiries were at an early stage to establish the full circumstances of the deaths.
The family of one of the men who died has been informed. Officers are in the process of informing the next of kin of the other man.
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Donald Trump makes snarling threats on Twitter if new healthcare bill isnt passed
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After a devastating defeaton the Senate bill to repeal Obamacare early Friday morning, President Donald Trump took to Twitter on Saturday afternoon to send a threatening message to lawmakers and insurance companies.
Early Saturday morning, Trump demanded the Senate kill off the filibuster rule (even though the healthcare bill onlyneeded a simple majority) and said the GOP senators looked like fools.Trumps anger apparently continued on later in the day.
After seven years of "talking" Repeal & Replace, the people of our great country are still being forced to live with imploding ObamaCare!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 29, 2017
If a new HealthCare Bill is not approved quickly, BAILOUTS for Insurance Companies and BAILOUTS for Members of Congress will end very soon!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 29, 2017
Though it seems unlikely at this point that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell could get an Obamacare repeal passed at this pointhe tried three times last week and failed each timethe Trump administration still could hurt Obamacare.
As the Los Angeles Timesexplained:
Officials could stop marketing and outreach efforts that encourage people to sign up during open enrollment periods. They could refuse to enforce the requirement that people buy insurance or pay a tax a step that officials already have said they will take. And they could stop trying to keep insurance companies in the markets.
None of those actions would cause the markets to collapse overnight, but they would destabilize them over time by driving out healthy people, which causes costs to rise, which in turn drives out more healthy people. Thats whats known as a death spiral, and it could happen at least in some parts of the country eventually.
The biggest issue involves money that has the bureaucratic-sounding name of cost-sharing reductions. Basically, the government tells insurers that they need to hold down the insurance deductibles and co-payments that they charge low-income people. That costs the insurers money. To make the insurers whole, the government is supposed to reimburse them.
Trump has threatened to stop those payments, which costs about $600 million per month. If he cuts off those reimbursements, insurance companies likely would raise premiums and/or pull out of the individual market. That, observers fear, would send the insurance market into pure chaos.
Trump already has taken to threatening members of his own party. He jokingly wondered if Nevada Sen. Dean Heller wanted to be reelected in 2018, and Heller, who originally showed misgivings about the healthcare bill, eventually voted with the GOP. He also tweeted out a threatto Alaskas Lisa Murkowski, but she still voted to kill the bill.
Whether the Republicans are scared of Trumps threats or whether theyre scared he might decimate the insurance markets, their response to his latest threats remains to be seen. But a number of key Republicans in Congress have already said the reimbursements need to continue as normal.
I think theyre going to have to be paid, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) told Politico earlier this month. You cant let people be without basic health care.
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Apple just removed anti-internet censorship VPN apps from China’s app store
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Apple users in China woke up Saturday to find they could no longer access unfiltered internet via their iPhonesthe company had taken down severalmajor virtual-private network apps from the country’s app store.
According tothe New York Times, at least threecompanies, ExpressVPN, Star VPN, and VyprVPN, hadtheir applications removed by Apple. ExpressVPNposted a letter from Apple onits blogstating that itsapp “includes content that is illegal in China.”
“Were disappointed in this development, as it represents the most drastic measure the Chinese government has taken to block the use of VPNs to date, and we are troubled to see Apple aiding Chinas censorship efforts,” the company commented in its post.
Sunday Yokubaitispresident of Golden Frog, which overseesVyprVPNtoldthe Times that the company is disappointed in Apple’s decision to give into China’s pressure and remove VPN apps without citing Chinese laws.
“We view access to Internet in China as a human rights issue, and I would expect Apple to value human rights over profits,” Yokubaitis said.
The apps only appear to be removed from app stores connected to billing addresses in mainland China, Apple’s largest market outside of the United States. Because of Apple’s vulnerable relationship with the country, thismove marks the first time China’s influenceallowed itto push back against the company itself.
This isn’t the first time Apple has complied with the Company’s Great Firewall in order to keep a positive relationship with its second largest market. Last year, it removed news apps fromthe Times from the app store, per China’s request. It also announced its first-ever China data center last month, a move to comply with a new law requiring foreign companies to store data in the country.
According tothe Times, the VPN-app crackdown likely signals stricter controls on VPNs to continue after this fall’s Chinese Communist Party congress.
Apple declined to comment about the app store removals.
H/T New York Times
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Grandma’s response to this restrictive abortion bill is savage
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A restrictive abortion bill is set to go into effect in Arkansas on Sunday. Critics argue that the law will require survivors of rape to get permission from their rapists to get an abortion. Onegrandmas response to the Arkansas abortion billhas gone hugely viral, with thousands cheering for her blunt criticism of the controversial law.
This year, theArkansas state legislature passed HB 1566, also known as the Tissue Disposal Mandate, which states that fetal tissue must be treated the same way that the remains of a deceased family member would be. State law requires that family members get to decide what to do with their relatives body; under the new law, both the mother and father of a fetus have equal say in how fetal tissue is disposed. If they do not agree, then the matter can be taken to court, which could, in turn, delay the decision long enough to make abortion impossible. Critics argue that the law effectively requires women seeking an abortion to get permission from the fathers beforehand. In cases in which the woman is a minor, her parents or the father (if he is over 18) would make the decision. The law does not contain any provisions for cases of rape or incest.
TheAmerican Civil Liberties Union has sued to stop the law, arguing that, as written, it opens the possibility that a woman who has been raped would be required to seek permission from her rapist to terminate a pregnancy resulting from non-consensual sex.
California-based Twitter user Jessica Rose read about the situation in a July 10VICE articleand shared the article on Facebook. Her 80-year-old grandmother saw the post and didnt mince words.
Who the fuck let my grandma get on Facebook. http://pic.twitter.com/YpltgYsPFz
— jessica rose. (@hey_death) July 27, 2017
Jessica Roses tweet of the comment went viral, racking up a staggering 85,000 likes since Thursday. Many people tweeted to cheer her grandma on.
She's 80 and fucking wild. Thank you!
— jessica rose. (@hey_death) July 27, 2017
i love her omg
— babydoll (@awaywego) July 27, 2017
Your grandma is hard
— Bianca Pollock (@BiancaaJoy) July 27, 2017
is she currently accepting new grandchildren?
not asking for a friend— large marge (@legsmcgeephoto) July 28, 2017
http://pic.twitter.com/Hl0yGK7W2X
— cassidy (@cass_bowers) July 28, 2017
In aninterview with Bustle, Arkansas Republican Representative Kim Hammer, the bill’s primary sponsor, claimed that HB 1566 is not intended to force survivors of rape to consult with their attackers. I can’t speak for judges in the state of Arkansas, but I don’t see judges who ultimately have the control to make that decision applying it that way, he said. But I will tell you, if that becomes an issue, I’d be glad to bring clarity to that so somebody who is in that unfortunate situation isn’t required to do that. I don’t agree with the idea that she would have to notify who raped her.
However, thecurrent version of HB 1566makes no mention of rape, incest, or domestic violence, and there is nothing written in the law that would exclude victims of violence from the requirement that they get the consent of the men involved before having an abortion.
This story originally appeared on Bustle and has been republished with permission.
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Turkey’s new Uber alternative is a government surveillance tool
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All taxicabs in Turkeys business capital, Istanbul, will soon have internal cameras to record passengers during trips and retain the data for the use of law enforcement.
Matched with a mobile app that collects phone number, GPS location data, and credit card information, Turkish ruling partys iTaksiprojectan Uber-like ride-hailing servicedoubles as a surveillance tool enforced by law and advanced by government investment.
The move follows a new policyissued by the Turkish National Police in February, requiring all public transport vehicles to record travelers for helping investigate primarily terror incidents, solving crimes, and gaining fast access to evidence and information regarding suspects. After the initiative rolls out in Istanbul, as many as 30 other Turkish cities are planned to have cameras on taxicabs, shared taxis, and bus services.
The policy implicitly refers to the Istanbul nightclub shooting on New Years Eve that left 39 dead. After the attack, police investigatorsexamined hours of security footage to track the ISIS gunman, Abdulkadir Masharipov, who arrived and left the scene by taxi despite multiple police checkpoints. The U.S. National Security Agency later claimed that its warrantless surveillance program helped the investigation, which the Turkish government denied.
Promoted as secure taxi on pro-ruling party media channels, the iTaksi project drew criticism from lawyers and the opposition party on privacy and mass surveillance grounds. The owner of the project is the Istanbul Municipality, run by President Recep Erdoans AK party. Responding to public outcry, ISBAK A.., the municipalitys smart city company, claimed the cameras will not record audio (conflicting with earlier statements) and that the data will be kept encrypted offlineallowing only the law enforcement officials to view its content during investigations. However, the revealed features of the hardware and the mobile application are not reassuring.
According to the FAQ for the drivers on the project website, the panic button broadcasts the camera feed live to the police, together with the information of the passenger collected by the iTaksi mobile app. The promotional video ofiTaksi shows that the app collects name, mobile number, precise location by GPS, travel history, and the credit card information of the passenger.
Head of Istanbuls Chamber of Taxi Drivers, Yahya Uur, who previously held a seat on the city council under the banner of Erdoans ruling party, defends the project on public safety grounds and expects more inhabitants to use the cabs. A private security company already developed a proposal for integrated facial recognition system at taxicabs that alerts the police if a passenger matches records on the national suspect database.
Concerns for the vaguely defined legal access to camera and app data has only increased after an opposition lawmaker, Bar Yarkada, revealed that the software firm behind the iTaksi app is the son of a deputy from Erdogans party. Back in December, news outlets reported a pro-Erdoan taxi driver snitching on a passenger to the police with a recording of her criticizing the government during a ride.
In addition to its surveillance capabilities, the iTaksi project is also promoted as a national company against its global competitors, such as Uber and Lyft, and the government does not hold any weapon in its fight. Local media reports 691 Uber drivers have been fined TRY 2,532 ($700) by the Turkish National Police for running pirate taxis.
Istanbul, Europes biggest city, has 17,395 licensed taxis, more than the New York Citys yellow cabs, and it is a huge market. A license to operate a standard yellow taxi cab is as high as TRY 1,600,000 ($450,000). According to the contract that now all Istanbul taxi drivers have to sign, iTaksi will take a 4.95 percent commission per each ride, generating an additional $56.6 million for the municipality.
Taxi drivers who are concerned that installing an iTaksi could alienate passengers are threatened with losing their license. Some columnists are also troubled by the Istanbul Municipalitywhich fails to prevent heavy rains fromflooding subway stations and causing deathsis investing the citys money into services where private companies already operate.
Istanbul Bar Association and an opposition deputy, Gamze Akku lgezdi, filed legal objections against the iTaksi project on privacy grounds. There is also a separate filing against the Istanbul Municipality for iTaksi creating a monopoly in the city. The project will officially launch city-wide on Aug. 1.
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Federal Judge Says Alabama Doesn’t Have To Tell Felons They May Now Be Able To Vote
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Alabamaelection officials dont have to immediately educate impacted people about a change in state voting qualifications that clarified tens of thousands of felons have the right to vote, a federal judge ruled Friday.
The ruling came in response to a request from lawyers from the Campaign Legal Center, on behalf of 10 voters over a law that prohibited anyone who committed a felony of moral turpitude from voting. In May, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R) signed a law defining exactly which offenses constituted a crime of moral turpitude, earning widespread praise. But Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill (R) told HuffPost in June the state wouldnt undertake any effort to target people affected by the change and let them know theyre now eligible to vote.
The Southern Poverty Law Center estimatesthechanges could affect thousands of potential voters.
Campaign Legal Center lawyers said that the overhaul would cause confusion among people who previously had been told they could not vote, but under the clarified law were now clearly eligible. Ahead of a Monday registration deadline for a special election for the U.S. Senate, the plaintiffs filed a motion for preliminary injunction requesting the state promote the changes in eligibility. It also requested it automatically reinstate and notify those who had been told they couldnt vote in the past two years, but were clearly eligible.
In a 35-page ruling, W. Keith Watkins, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, who is the chief U.S. district judge for the middle district of Alabama, said by instructing election registrars to comply with the clarified moral turpitude law, the state had taken enough action. The plaintiffs in the case hadnt shown they faced irreparable injury, he said, and werent being denied the ability to vote.
There is no evidence, however, that Defendants have denied any eligible HB 282 voters application to register to vote or have engaged in any type of prohibitive tactic, Watkins wrote in his ruling, referring to the new Alabama law. Instead, the evidence demonstrates that the county registrars, at the direction of the Alabama Secretary of State, are adhering to HB 282 and are permitting individuals to register whom HB 282 does not disqualify. Plaintiffs, who are eligible HB 282 voters, cannot claim irreparable harm when they have been granted the right to vote.
Danielle Lang, a lawyer for the Campaign Legal Center in the case, told HuffPost in June education and outreach would be crucial to the success of the new law. Because there was previously no universal definition of a felony of moral turpitude, local officials had wide discretion in the past to tell people they were ineligible to vote. That means now there may be many people who were previously told they were ineligible to vote, who are in fact now eligible, who wont know about the change unless they closely follow the legislative process. Some of these voters told the court they wouldnt have known they were now eligible to vote if lawyers hadnt contacted them.
This is confusion that was wrought by the state, she said. Under this newfound definition, it turns out [some] do have the right to vote. I dont see how anyone would know that unless theyre kind of legislative junkies, Lang told HuffPost in June.
But Watkins said there had been widespread public reports about the changes and it would be too much of a burden on the secretary of states six-person election staff to find the affected voters and then send out mailings targeting them. Lawyers hadnt shown evidence that any of the 10 plaintiffs in the case had been blocked from voting because they didnt know about changes to the law.
Absent state action, the Alabama chapter of the ACLU and Legal Services Alabama are offering clinics this summer to help educate people about the changes.
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Grand Theft Auto 6 Production Rumours Have Officially Been Proven Fake
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Grand Theft Auto remains one of the best-selling and controversial gaming franchises ever designed. It’s one of those titles that is every bit as iconic as older games like Super Mario Bros, Pac-Man, and Space Invaders. Everyone has heard of it, most people have played at least one iteration of the series, and you can guarantee that when a new instalment is released that eager gamers will queue (literally) round the block to get their hands on a new copy.
It’s tricky to say what exactly makes the sandbox crime simulator so appealing. Maybe it’s Dundee-based developer Rockstar’s wry and satirical sense of dark humour, maybe it’s the attention to detail, incredible graphics and intuitive user interface. Or maybe it’s just the feeling of anarchic freedom that they provide. You can chose to be a goody two-shoes, a criminal mastermind, a stealthy cat burglar, or more likely, a rampaging lunatic. It’s simply up to you. 
Neff tweeted, “Yeah it’s super fake. Trolls …The main issue is I don’t even have a breakdownexpress account so I don’t know who made that.” So there we have it, it seems as though we’ll have to wait for an official confirmation from Rockstar games before we learn anything new about the upcoming GTA. Until then however, obsessive fans will probably still continue to comb through the internet in search of a few precious clues regarding the release date. Until then, you’ll just have to be patient, and enjoy the games we already have.
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