July 1, 2020

Seattle police clear CHOP zone, make arrests after mayor's executive order

https://twitter.com/BRRN_Fed/status/1278359263707086848?s=20

Following "ongoing violence and public safety issues," Seattle's mayor has issued an executive order to clear the Capitol Hill Organized Protest (CHOP) zone -- a several block, autonomous police-free zone -- and Seattle police enforced the order Wednesday morning.

Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best said in a statement, "This order, and our police response, comes after weeks of violence in and around the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest zone, including four shootings, resulting in multiple injuries and the deaths of two teenagers."

"I support peaceful demonstrations," Best said, adding, "the CHOP has become lawless and brutal. Four shootings -- two fatal -- robberies, assaults, violence and countless property crimes have occurred in this several block area."

Police began issuing dispersal orders early Wednesday, and as of 9:25 a.m. local time, officers made 31 arrests for assault, failure to disperse, obstruction and unlawful weapon possession, the department said.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/seattle-police-clear-chop-zone-make-arrests-mayors/story?id=71551625

June 30, 2020

Adam Savage from Mythbusters accused of raping sister

Former MythBusters co-host Adam Savage's sister filed a lawsuit against him on Tuesday, alleging he sexually abused her numerous times when they were children.

In the complaint obtained by the New York Post, Miranda Pacchiana, 51, claims the abuse happened when she was between 7-10 years old and Savage was between 9-12 years old, when their family was living in Sleepy Hollow, New York.

Savage, 52, denied the allegations in a statement to PEOPLE via his lawyer Andrew Brettler, saying, "While I hope that my sister gets the help she needs to find peace, this needs to end. For many years, she has relentlessly and falsely attacked me and other members of my family to anyone who will listen."

"By spreading numerous untrue stories about us in pursuit of a financial bonanza, she has tortured our entire family and estranged herself from all of us," he continued. "I will fight this groundless and offensive lawsuit and work to put this to rest once and for all."

His mother Karen Savage also issued a statement via Brettler, saying, "It makes me very sad to say this, but my daughter suffers from severe mental health challenges, and it's devastating that she's putting Adam and our entire family through this. Adam is a good man, and I support him completely."

According to the New York Post, Pacchiana alleges in the complaint that Savage nicknamed himself the "raping blob" while masking the abuse as a game.

"Beginning in or about 1976 and continuing until approximately 1979, Adam Savage would repeatedly rape Miranda Pacchiana and force oral sex upon her, and forced Miranda to perform oral sex on him, along with other forms of sexual abuse," states the reported complaint, filed in Westchester Supreme Court.

The complaint also reportedly alleges that Savage would prevent Pacchiana from leaving the bed and anally rape her.

Pacchiana filed her lawsuit under the New York Child Victims Act, which extends the statute of limitations for a survivor of child sexual abuse in criminal and civil cases. The original deadline, which was set in August, was extended last month until Jan. 14, 2021, due to the coronavirus.

https://people.com/tv/adam-savage-accused-raping-sister-as-a-child-lawsuit-report/

June 29, 2020

Another shooting in Seattle's police-free autonomous zone kills man and critically injures boy

A shooting in Seattle's Capitol Hill Occupation Protest (CHOP) area Monday morning left one man dead and a 14-year-old boy critically injured -- bringing more scrutiny to the autonomous protest zone.
"When investigators arrived, they found a white Jeep Cherokee riddled with bullet holes on 12th Avenue," Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best said, according to CNN affiliate KIRO.
"We were told that there were two men inside the vehicle, and both had been shot."
The two occupants were taken to Harborview Medical Center in critical condition between 3:15 and 3:30 a.m. (6:15 and 6:30 a.m. ET), hospital spokeswoman Susan Gregg told CNN.
The man later died, and the 14-year-old boy remains in critical condition, the hospital said.
Monday's attack is the fifth shooting within two weeks in the CHOP area, and the second to turn fatal.
Thousands of protesters have occupied the area, a four- to six-block section of Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood, since June 8 in an effort to demand police reform following the death of George Floyd.
But CNN has observed that the number of people within the CHOP area has decreased significantly over the past week.
The police chief said violence in the autonomous zone "is a real problem" and said she questions "why would we continue to allow this to happen."
Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan's administration has been cautious about moving back into the protest zone. Friday, a spokeswoman for the mayor told CNN it's possible the CHOP area "could last a few more weeks."

https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/29/us/chop-seattle-shooting/index.html

June 29, 2020

Archbishop Performs Exorcism Where St. Junipero Serra Fell, Asking For God's Mercy

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — On June 19, the statue of St. Junipero Serra fell to angry protesters inside Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. On Saturday, Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone visited the park where St. Serra once stood to offer prayers, perform an exorcism, and offer other acts of reparation, in response to what he called "horrendous acts of blasphemy."

In a video released by the archdiocese, Archbishop Cordileone said the toppling of the statue had affected him greatly:

“I’ve been feeling great distress and a deep wound in my soul when I see these horrendous acts of blasphemy…and disparaging of the memory of Serra who was such a great hero, such a great defender of the indigenous people of this land. Someone who was very much a part of my life growing up. I grew up very close to the first mission that he founded in San Diego. So it inflicted a very deep wound in my soul.”

The archbishop performed an exorcism for what he called “an act of sacrilege, an act of the evil one,” adding: “This is the activity of the evil one who wants to bring down the Church, who wants to bring down all Christian believers. So we offer that prayer and bless this ground with holy water so that God might purify it, sanctify it, that we, in turn, might be sanctified.”

https://www.ncregister.com/blog/alyssamurphy/archbishop-cordileone-performs-exorcism-where-statue-of-st.-junipero-serra

June 26, 2020

Compilation video of anti-maskers from Florida

https://www.reddit.com/r/awfuleverything/comments/hg6htb/these_antimaskers_from_florida/

I'm surprised at how many women are anti-maskers. They really, really don't want to wear a mask at all and are going full Karen about it.

June 25, 2020

Unilever to drop terms like 'whitening' from beauty products

onsumer products giant Unilever said Thursday it is aiming for a “more inclusive vision of beauty” in its skin care products and will remove words such as “fair,” “whitening” and “lightening” from its products, a move that comes amid intense global debate about race sparked by the Black Lives Matter movement.

As part of the shift, Unilever will in coming months change the name of its “Fair & Lovely” product that is used for skin-lightening and sold in Asia, the company said.

“We are fully committed to having a global portfolio of skin care brands that is inclusive and cares for all skin tones, celebrating greater diversity of beauty," Sunny Jain, the head of Unilever’s Beauty & Personal Care. “We recognize that the use of the words ‘fair’, ‘white’ and ‘light’ suggest a singular ideal of beauty that we don’t think is right, and we want to address this.”

A statement from Hindustan Unilever Limited said the change would involve dropping the word “Fair.” It said a new name was awaiting regulatory approval.

Unilever said that its Fair & Lovely range “has never been, and is not, a skin bleaching product.” The global consumer company said its advertising for Fair & Lovely products has been changing since 2014.

“In 2019, we reflected this evolution on the Fair & Lovely pack in India, removing before-and-after impressions and shade guides that could indicate a transformation; and we have progressed all communication of product benefits towards glow, even tone, skin clarity and radiance,” the company said.

https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/unilever-drop-terms-whitening-beauty-products-71448905

June 25, 2020

'Faces of the conquerors': Trump trip to Rushmore draws fire

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — President Donald Trump’s plans to kick off Independence Day with a showy display at Mount Rushmore are drawing sharp criticism from Native Americans who view the monument as a desecration of land violently stolen from them and used to pay homage to leaders hostile to native people.

Several groups led by Native American activists are planning protests for Trump’s July 3 visit, part of Trump's “comeback” campaign for a nation reeling from sickness, unemployment and, recently, social unrest. The event is slated to include fighter jets thundering over the 79-year-old stone monument in South Dakota's Black Hills and the first fireworks display at the site since 2009.

But it comes amid a national reckoning over racism and a reconsideration of the symbolism of monuments around the globe. Many Native American activists say the Rushmore memorial is as reprehensible as the many Confederate monuments being toppled around the nation.

“Mount Rushmore is a symbol of white supremacy, of structural racism that’s still alive and well in society today,” said Nick Tilsen, a member of the Oglala Lakota tribe and the president of a local activist organization called NDN Collective. “It’s an injustice to actively steal Indigenous people’s land then carve the white faces of the conquerors who committed genocide.”

While some activists, like Tilsen, want to see the monument removed altogether and the Black Hills returned to the Lakota, others have called for a share in the economic benefits from the region and the tourists it attracts.

Trump has long shown a fascination with Mount Rushmore. South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem said in 2018 that he had once told her straight-faced it was his dream to have his face carved into the monument. He later joked at a campaign rally about getting enshrined alongside George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. And while it was Noem, a Republican, who pushed for a return of the fireworks on the eve of Independence Day, Trump joined the effort and committed to visiting South Dakota for the celebration.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/faces-conquerors-trump-trip-rushmore-042444011.html

June 24, 2020

Earthquake in California, did anyone else feel that??

Just felt it a few minutes ago, I'm in the Central Valley near Turlock. A few seconds of my bed rocking slightly. Jeez, just when 2020 couldn't get any worse.

June 24, 2020

Off-Duty LAPD Officer Says Worker at Starbucks Spiked His Drink With a Tampon

An off-duty Los Angeles Police Department officer alleges that an employee working at a Starbucks in Diamond Bar, California put a tampon into his drink last Friday, specifically because he was a member of the police force. The incident was reported to the Sherriff’s Department, and is being investigated.

Word of the incident was first made public by local Fox reporter Bill Melugin, who shared a photo that the unnamed officer says is a tampon inside of his drink. Per Melugin, the officer believes that his drink was targeted because, while off duty and not in uniform, he paid with the drink using a police credit union debit card.

Twitter responded vociferously to the post, saying that a number of similar posts made by officers alleging abuse from restaurant employees end up being hoaxes, fabrications, or misunderstandings. Others questioned the veracity of the image itself.

Recently a Shake Shack in New York City came under fire when officers alleged that someone had spiked their milkshakes with a cleaning chemical; it was later revealed that the milkshake machine had recently been cleaned, and that none of the employees had conspired against the officers in any way. What’s more, the New York City officers were later revealed to have never even actually gotten sick in the first place.

Nevertheless, the LAPD police union responded with a scorching statement to Fox LA, saying:

This disgusting assault on a police officer was carried out by someone with hatred in their heart and who lacks human decency. We hope they are publicly exposed, fired, arrested, and prosecuted for their cowardly and repugnant actions.

The Los Angeles Sherriff’s Department’s Walnut station is investigating the incident further, and may have pulled surveillance tape from the Starbucks stand, which is located inside of a Target store. Both Target and Starbucks are said to be helping with the investigation.

https://la.eater.com/2020/6/23/21300819/los-angeles-diamond-bar-tampon-starbucks-police-officer-news

June 23, 2020

Experts call for regulation after latest botched art restoration in Spain

Conservation experts in Spain have called for a tightening of the laws covering restoration work after a copy of a famous painting by the baroque artist Bartolomé Esteban Murillo became the latest in a long line of artworks to suffer a damaging and disfiguring repair.

A private art collector in Valencia was reportedly charged €1,200 to have the picture of the Immaculate Conception cleaned by a furniture restorer.

However, the job did not go as quite as planned and the face of the Virgin Mary was left unrecognisable despite two attempts to restore it to its original state.

The case has inevitably resulted in comparisons with the infamous “Monkey Christ” incident eight years ago when a devout parishioner’s attempt to restore a painting of the scourged Christ on the wall of a church on the outskirts of the north-eastern Spanish town of Borja made headlines around the world.

Parallels have also been drawn with the botched restoration of a 16th-century polychrome statue of Saint George and the dragon in northern Spain that left the warrior saint resembling Tintin or a Playmobil figure.

Fernando Carrera, a professor at the Galician School for the Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage, said such cases highlighted the need for work to be carried out only by properly trained restorers.

“I don’t think this guy – or these people – should be referred to as restorers,” Carrera told the Guardian. “Let’s be honest: they’re bodgers who botch things up. They destroy things.”

Carrera, a former president of Spain’s Professional Association of Restorers and Conservators (Acre), said the law currently allowed people to engage in restoration projects even if they lacked the necessary skills.

“Can you imagine just anyone being allowed to operate on other people? Or someone being allowed to sell medicine without a pharmacist’s licence? Or someone who’s not an architect being allowed to put up a building?”

While restorers were “far less important than doctors”, he added, the sector sill needed to be strictly regulated for the sake of Spain’s cultural history.

“We see this kind of thing time and time again and yet it keeps on happening,” said Carrera.

“Paradoxically, it shows just how important professional restorers are. We need to invest in our heritage, but even before we talk about money, we need to make sure that the people who undertake this kind of work have been trained in it.”

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/experts-call-for-regulation-after-latest-botched-art-restoration-in-spain/ar-BB15QpZV?OCID=ansmsnnews11