Posted in stuff on Tue 27 Jun 2017| 21 Comments »
Scribh’s gravatar, 2017.
Some say that commenter Scribh is a troll, Scribh
Going forward, the question of whether Scribh is a troll will be discussed here only and be off topic elsewhere (except for whatever post I might do on it later).
Comment below, send me an email at abagond at gmail.com, or take the poll:
Thanks!
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Posted in stuff on Tue 27 Jun 2017| 39 Comments »
Note: Resw will not tell us his or her gender. I will assume he or she is male since he or she insults commenters using “she”.
The case for banning Resw is overdetermined:
Nomad: Unfortunately, Nomad gets swept up in the last one. When I looked into whether Resw was a Russian troll, Nomad’s name popped up too, but no one else’s. The most charitable thing I can say about Nomad is that if you are going to play Bobbsey Twins with a troll, you are going down with him.
Russian trolls: I say they are Russian trolls not for any computery reason but for how their comments on Ukraine suddenly changed and changed on the same day (August 3rd 2016) – and changed soon after their commenting went from casual to dedicated. At first I thought the sudden increase in their commenting was because I endorsed Hillary Clinton, but even after she lost it remained just as high, sometimes higher.
Ukraine: When it comes to Ukraine, everyone else’s opinions and levels of interest seemed organic, not like they had just joined a cult. Interest rose and fell with the news from Ukraine. Opinions changed slowly if at all.
In 2014 when the Ukraine crisis was at its height Bulanik, Linda, Origin, v8driver, sami and others talked about it, but Nomad and Resw, like me, took little interest in it. Nothing strange in that. But in 2016 and 2017 suddenly they were interested in it, for no apparent reason, and had brand new, matching pro-Russian opinions about it too, opinions hitherto unknown. Origin had pro-Russian opinions too, but they were hitherto known – because, as you would expect, he expressed them during the crisis. His opinions and interest did not seem to come out of nowhere.
There is more: This blog has never had a great interest in Russia – and, before August 2016, neither did Resw or Nomad! But now, suddenly, for no apparent reason, they get strangely upset if I say anything bad about Russia or RT, but not when I say anything bad about, say, the US or Fox News. It is just as if they have some new tie with Russia, that goes back to at least August 2016, which they are keeping secret.
I know not everyone will agree, but it has to be decided one way or the other.
– Abagond, 2017.
Update (June 28th): You can read Resw’s and Nomad’s reaction to this post at Nomad’s blog.
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519
Posted in stuff on Sun 25 Jun 2017| 6 Comments »
Remarks:
Produced by Quincy Jones, this is still one of his best songs. In 1983 it went to number one on the US R&B chart and on pop charts throughout the West. It did worst in Norway where it “only” made it to #6.
This was the video that made MTV a household name. Which is ironic since at first they would not play it at all. As Walter Yetnikoff, the president of CBS, tells it:
“I said to MTV, ‘I’m pulling everything we have off the air, all our product. I’m not going to give you any more videos. And I’m going to go public and fucking tell them about the fact you don’t want to play music by a black guy.'”
The video was directed by Steve Barron, who also appeared in this space as the director of “(Keep Feeling) Fascination” (1983) by the Human League.
It was eight years ago today that Michael Jackson died.
Requiescat in pace.
See also:
Lyrics:
[1st verse]
She was more like a beauty queen from a movie scene
I said don’t mind, but what do you mean I am the one
Who will dance on the floor in the round
She said I am the one who will dance on the floor in the round
[2nd verse]
She told me her name was Billie Jean, as she caused a scene
Then every head turned with eyes that dreamed of being the one
Who will dance on the floor in the round
[Bridge]
People always told me be careful of what you do
And don’t go around breaking young girls’ hearts
And mother always told me be careful of who you love
And be careful of what you do ’cause the lie becomes the truth
[Chorus]
Billie Jean is not my lover
She’s just a girl who claims that I am the one
But the kid is not my son
She says I am the one, but the kid is not my son
[3rd verse]
For forty days and forty nights
The law was on her side
But who can stand when she’s in demand
Her schemes and plans
’cause we danced on the floor in the round
So take my strong advice, just remember to always think twice
(do think twice.)
[4th verse]
She told my baby we’d danced ’til three
Then she looked at me
She showed a photo of a baby crying
His eyes looked like mine
Go on dance on the floor in the round, baby
[Bridge]
People always told me be careful of what you do
And don’t go around breaking young girls’ hearts
She came and stood right by me
Then the smell of sweet perfume
This happened much too soon
She called me to her room
[Chorus]
Billie Jean is not my lover
She’s just a girl who claims that I am the one
But the kid is not my son
Billie Jean is not my lover
She’s just a girl who claims that I am the one
But the kid is not my son
She says I am the one, but the kid is not my son
She says I am the one, but the kid is not my son
Billie Jean is not my lover
She’s just a girl who claims that I am the one
But the kid is not my son
She says I am the one, but the kid is not my son
She says I am the one, she says he is my son
She says I am the one
Billie Jean is not my lover
Billie Jean is not my lover
Billie Jean is not my lover
Billie Jean is not my lover
Billie Jean is not my lover
Billie Jean is not my lover
Sources: A-Z Lyrics, Wikipedia.
Posted in stuff on Sat 24 Jun 2017| 21 Comments »
If I kill a cop it will be because “I feared for my life”:
Or, more likely, because I wanted to get out of a traffic ticket. You know, the usual reason.
If I kill a cop, I will not be arrested. Instead the mayor and responsible faith leaders will urge calm to “let the process work”, that process where we do not arrest suspected killers, that one. The one that has worked so well in the past.
If I kill a cop the press will never say, “Abagond killed a cop” or anything close to that. They will leave my name out of it and create as much distance as possible between me and the crime, saying a police officer died from injuries sustained during a citizen involved shooting. Passive voice all the way.
If I kill a cop I will lie and the press will take my lies seriously, like they are six-year-olds. Even if I have to change my lies. It will not cross their minds that as the killer I have every reason to lie.
If I kill a cop the press will dutifully report that the police officer was “no angel”. They will demonize him, not me, the killer. They will report every damaging fact and false accusation about him that they can find from the past 15 years. At least. And if they cannot demonize him directly, they will demonize his family. And all of this will be used to excuse my actions even though I knew none of it since I lack the resources of a city newspaper.
If I kill a cop my employer will give me paid leave of up to one year and my union will pay any court costs. And, depending on press coverage, people on the Internet will give me up to hundreds of thousands of dollars at GoFundMe to help pay for my already-paid-for court costs.
If I kill a cop my friends will carry out a “thorough” investigation. Only after they have gathered all the facts, and maybe destroyed some, will they they interview me so that my lies can fit the facts.
If I kill a cop the grand jury will hear only my side of the story. And it will be done in secret. They will see no evil unless there is damning citizen video or riots that make their city look bad.
If I kill a cop and if it goes to trial, on that off (2%) chance, the jury will be packed with people who will favour me over the cop. And even if it is packed with the sons and daughters of murdered police officers, even then they will have to let me off because I will use their magic words against them: “I feared for my life.”
– Abagond, 2017.
See also:
537
Posted in stuff on Thu 22 Jun 2017| 8 Comments »
Note: I did a post on Philando Castile last year shortly after police shot him dead. This post is mainly about the police dashcam video that was just made public.
Dramatis Personae:
Scene: Larpenteur Avenue in Falcon Heights, Minnesota, a suburb of St
Paul. Wednesday July 6th 2016 at 9.04pm.
Yanez pulls over Castile. With Castile in the car are Reynolds and her
four-year-old daughter.
Yanez: (on the police radio) Gonna stop the car. I have reason to pull
it over. It just look like, uh, people that were involved in a robbery.Yanez: (walks up to the car) Hello sir.
Castile: (inaudible), how are you?
Yanez: Good. Uh, reason I pulled you over do you, your brake lights are out. So you only have one activated, active brake light and that’s gonna be your passenger side one. Your third brake light which is up here on top and then this one back here is gonna be out.
Castile: (inaudible)
Yanez: You have your license and insurance? (puts his hand on his gun!)
(pause/background noise)
Castile: (hands over his insurance but still has to get his licence) Sir, I have to tell you I do have a…
Yanez: Okay.
Castile: …firearm on me.
Yanez: Okay.
Castile: I (inaudible)
Yanez: Don’t reach for it then.
Castile: I’m, I, I was reaching for…
Yanez: Don’t pull it out.
Castile: I’m not pulling it out.
Reynolds: He’s not…
Yanez: Don’t pull it out.
BANG
BANG
BANG
BANG
BANG
BANG
BANGReynolds: You just killed my boyfriend.
Castile: I wasn’t reaching … (his last words)
Reynolds: He wasn’t reaching…
Yanez: (screaming) DON’T PULL IT OUT!
Reynolds: He wasn’t.
Yanez: (screaming) DON’T MOVE! FUCK.
Reynolds: Oh man, I can’t believe you just did that.
Yanez: (screaming) FUCK. FUCK!
Reynolds: Oh my God!
Yanez: (screaming) DON’T MOVE!
Reynolds: Oh my God!
Yanez: (screaming) DON’T MOVE!
Reynolds: Oh my God I’m shaking
Yanez: (screaming) DON’T MOVE!
Reynolds: Don’t move baby.
Yanez: (screaming) CODE 3. GET THE BABY GIRL OUTTA HERE. OH FUCK. (an officer takes the girl)
Reynolds: Don’t, don’t (inaudible) sir.
Yanez: (screaming) DON’T MOVE!
Reynolds: Don’t move baby, please
Yanez: (screaming) FUCK.
Reynolds: Whatever you do…
Yanez: (still screaming) 6921 GET A, MEDIC HERE CODE 3. SHOTS FIRED. OH FUCK! (heavy breathing)
At this point Reynolds starts streaming video live to the Internet, what we saw last year.
More police cars arrive. One officer holding a rifle (pictured above) takes away Reynolds.
Reynolds and her daughter in the back of a police car shortly after the shooting.
In a separate video from the back of a police car:
Reynolds’s daughter: Mom, please don’t scream ’cause I don’t want you to get shooted! […] I wish this town was safer.
During the shooting, a bullet had hit the back seat where she was sitting.
Nearly five minutes pass before police try to save Castile’s life.
Yanez was charged with:
Last week a jury of ten White people and two young Black men found
Yanez not guilty of all three charges – because he feared for his life.
Yanez never saw the gun.
Yanez’s wrist on the day of the killing: “Police lives matter.”
– Abagond, 2017.
Sources: mainly NPR, gomn.com, Google Images.
See also:
746
Posted in stuff on Wed 21 Jun 2017| 25 Comments »
Charleena Lyles (c. 1987-2017), a pregnant mother of four, was shot dead by police on June 18th 2017 after calling them to report a burglary. This was in Seattle, on the liberal Left Coast of the US, in a city with an Obama Era consent decree to reform the police.
Her city councilman, Rob Johnson:
“People should not fear getting shot when they call law enforcement for help.”
The Seattle police made her the suspect:
“Officer involved shooting update: adult female suspect is deceased. Police are not searching for anyone else. More information to follow.”
The Seattle Times dutifully reported her criminal record.
Her family says her criminal record was driven by mental health issues she has been having for the past year.
On June 5th, two weeks before her death, she called the police for a “physical domestic disturbance.” By the time police got there her boyfriend was gone. They found her holding a huge pair of scissors.
According to police she was talking about changing into a wolf, cloning her daughter and telling them they were devils and were part of the Klan. (To be fair, the police of the North Precinct, where she lived, are known for being racist.)
After more police arrived, two sergeants among them, they got her to drop the scissors.
Her family said she was
“worried that authorities would take her children, one of whom has Down syndrome.”
On Facebook she had pictures that said things like:
“Dear Lord,
Bless my children,
take care of them on their
daily walk & keep evil away.
Amen.”
and:
“Always love your Mother because you will never get another.”
In 2011, in the wake of the police shooting of John T. Williams, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) investigated the Seattle police. Among other things, they found that Seattle police more readily point guns at people of colour and were more likely to use excessive force on people with mental health or substance abuse issues.
As part of the consent decree, Seattle agreed to give their officers Crisis Intervention Training. The North Precinct opposed the consent decree, but the two officers who killed Charleena Lyles did receive the training.
On June 18th, when she called about the burglary – it seems someone took an Xbox – the police said (there is no video) that she was holding two knives. They knew she was the same woman with the scissors, yet they did not bring their tasers. Or try to disarm her (she was less than a hundred pounds). Or try to talk her down. Or even order her to drop the knives. Instead it was:
Officer 1: Hey, get back. Get back.
Officer 2: Get back. Tase her.
Officer 1: I don’t have a taser. Get back, get back.
Officer 2: Get back.
Officer 1: Get back.BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM
Three of her children, ages 11, 4 and 1, were there.
Kris (@thatkblife) on Twitter:
“The expectation of black people having to be perfect and not in distress to not get killed by police is exhausting. #CharleenaLyles”
– Abagond, 2017.
Sources: mainly Heavy.com, KING 5, Seattle Times (2017), Seattle Times (2011), @SeattlePD, @thatkblife.
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Posted in stuff on Tue 20 Jun 2017| 397 Comments »
resw’s current avatar
Some say that commenter resw is a troll. Others say that I just cannot stand being disagreed with. In either case, the subject is swallowing up other threads. So:
Going forward, the question of whether resw is a troll will be discussed here only and be off topic elsewhere (except for whatever post I might do on it).
Take the poll and/or comment below:
Thanks!
Update (June 27th): I banned Resw and Nomad.
Update (June 28th): There has been a surge of No votes. During the first seven days of the poll, 15 voted No (out of 99). Over the past 25 hours, 38 have voted No. The Yes vote has dropped from 65% to 47%.
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