Category: Uncategorized

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White Nationalists March On University Of Virginia

(image via Twitter)

If you’re just waking up and missed it, torch wielding white nationalists marched on a church in Charlottesville VA last night.

From the New York Times:

A month after a Ku Klux Klan rally here ended with the police using tear gas on protesters, Charlottesville is bracing for a weekend of white nationalist demonstrations and counterprotests, and suddenly this tranquil college town feels like a city under siege.

Thousands of people — many from out of town — are expected to descend on the city to either protest or participate in a “Unite the Right” rally on Saturday convened by white nationalists who oppose a plan to remove a statue of Robert E. Lee, the Confederate general, from a city park.

“People are angry, they’re scared, they’re hurt, they’re confused,” said the Rev. Seth Wispelwey of the local United Church of Christ. “White supremacists rallying in our town is an act of violence.”

Late Friday night, several hundred torch-bearing men and women marched on the main quadrangle of the University of Virginia’s grounds, shouting, “You will not replace us,” and “Jew will not replace us.” They walked around the Rotunda, the university’s signature building, and to a statue of Thomas Jefferson, where a group of counterprotesters were gathered, and a brawl ensued. At least one person was led away in handcuffs by the police.

In a Facebook post, Charlottesville’s mayor, Mike Signer, called it a “cowardly parade of hatred, bigotry, racism, and intolerance.”

“I am beyond disgusted by this unsanctioned and despicable display of visual intimidation on a college campus,” he added.

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Trump Congratulates Governor Of Guam On Becoming Famous Via North Korea Threat

The New York Post reports that President Trump called the governor of Guam on Friday to reassure him that as an American territory, the U.S. is at the ready to protect the residents of the island paradise.

Trump, who is personally obsessed with fame, made a point to tell the governor that he’s world famous now thanks to the attentions of North Korea.

Trump opened the conversation by telling Calvo, “Good morning, good morning. Great to speak with you. Good morning. I just wanted to pay my respects and we are with you 1,000. You are safe. We’re with you 1,000 percent. I just wanted to call and say hello.”

Trump later says, “We’re going to do a great job for you. All over the world they’re talking about Guam. Tourism is going to go up ten fold. It looks beautiful.” Calvo agrees. “It’s paradise.” And he told the former hotel magnate, “We have 95 percent occupancy and after all of this stuff calms down we’re going to have 110 percent occupancy.”

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New Music: Gryffin “Love To Ruins”

Gryffin releases the official video for his new latest single “Love In Ruins,” featuring London singer-songwriter Sinead Harnett.

Billboard calls it “a breezy cut” that “melds the worlds of indie and dance,” while Earmilk notes its “melodic tone, with ambient synths and strumming guitar,” as “Harnett’s pained voice tells a story of love lost over gentle production.”

“Love in Ruins” follows his previous single “Feel Good” with Illenium and featuring Daya. Described by Billboard as “melodic ear candy,” “Feel Good” has racked up more than 43 million Spotify plays since its release in March.

I love hooky melodic ambient tracks that have a chill vibe that can suit afternoon pool time or late night social time. The texture of the track just feels good.

I’ve previously written about Gryffin here.

Watch the “Love In Ruins” video below. For tour dates and more, head over to gryffinofficial.com

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Trump To North Korea: Any Further “Overt Threats” And You Will Truly Regret It Fast

Speaking to reporters in New Jersey before a workforce development meeting, Donald Trump said North Korea’s Kim Jong Un would “truly regret” any further “overt threats” to American territories or allies:

“If [King Jong Un] utters one threat in a form of an overt threat — which, by the way, he has been uttering for years, and his family has been uttering for years — or if he does anything with respect to Guam or any place else that’s an American territory or an American ally, he will truly regret it. And he will regret it fast.’

Watch below:

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MTV’s New Dating Show “Undressed”

MTV just released a teaser for it’s upcoming new series, Undressed.

Billed as a dating show, two strangers are given 30 minutes to undress each other and then, through the course of answering questions and performing challenges, decide if there is a chance for romance between the two.

The promo video features a gay couple, presumably au natural in bed, with one asking the other, “As a gay man, how could you vote for Trump?”

The new series debuts August 16 at 11PM on MTV.

You can watch the promo at this link (it was unavoidably auto-play, and I find that annoying for my readers)

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North Korean Missile Could Reach Guam In 14 Minutes

USA Today reports that should North Korea fire an armed missile at United States’ territory island Guam, residents would have 14 minutes before impact.

If North Korea fires missiles toward Guam, the deadly weapons would take about 14 minutes to reach the island, said Guam Homeland Security spokeswoman Jenna Gaminde.

She said residents would be immediately notified by the 15 All-Hazards Alert Warning System sirens, located in low-lying areas throughout the island.

North Korea announced Thursday that the nation has a detailed plan for a missile strike near Guam using four intermediate-range ballistic rockets.

“Our office will be notified from the military and will utilize all forms of mass communication to get the message out to the public,” Gaminde said. Local media, village mayors and social media would be used to disseminate information, she said.

Gaminde urged island residents to tune into local media for further instructions if sirens began sounding.

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Texas’ “Bathroom Bill” Looking Less Likely As Special Session Nears End

With only a few days left in the special session of the Texas legislature called by Gov. Greg Abbott, Senate Bill 6, the anti-transgender “bathroom bill,” hasn’t even had a committee hearing placed on the schedule in the state House.

And according to the chairman of the committee that would handle the bill, a hearing any time soon looks unlikely.

From The Advocate:

Rep. Byron Cook, chairman of the House State Affairs Committee, said this week he had no plans to hold a hearing on the bill, which must pass his committee before going to the full House.

“Quite candidly, at this point, I don’t know what a hearing would add when we already had hearings” during the regular session, he told Austin TV station KXAN. In that session, the bill passed the Senate but stalled in the House. Some supporters are still holding out hope that it could be attached to other legislation, but that seems unlikely as well.

The testimony during the regular session was heavily against SB 6, which would require students, staff, and visitors in public schools to use the restrooms and other single-sex facilities matching the gender on their birth certificate or an ID issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety, and would put the same restriction on those using facilities in buildings overseen by local governments. It would also override portions of city ordinances that allow trans people to use the restrooms of their choice.

“Corporate America is stepping forward, speaking loudly about the fact that this will have a chilling effect on business opportunity in this state,” Cook recently told The New York Times. “I’m hearing from many major corporations about this bill and the effect it will have.”

Companies that have stated their opposition include IBM, Amazon, Apple, Dell, Microsoft, Intel, Capital One, Ben & Jerry’s, Facebook, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, and United Airlines. The overall list of opponents encompasses more than 650 businesses, chambers of commerce, and convention and visitors’ bureaus, according to the Texas Association of Business, which has organized a campaign against the bill with a coalition called Keep Texas Open for Business.

The bill passed the state Senate two weeks ago, but the moderate Republican Speaker of the House Joe Straus is no fan of the legislation, and has indicated he may not even bring the bill to the floor for a vote.

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Trump: I’m Doing The Military A ‘Great Favor” Kicking Trans Troops Out

For the first time in months, Donald Trump took questions from the reporters at his Bedminster, NJ golf club yesterday where he’s in the middle of a 17 day vacation.

Asked about his proposed ban on transgender military service, Trump said:

“I have great respect for the community. I think I’ve had great support, or I’ve had great support from that community. I got a lot of votes. But the transgender, the military’s working on it now. It’s been a very difficult situation and I think I’m doing a lot of people a favor by coming out and just saying it. As you know, it’s been a very complicated issue for the military, it’s been a very confusing issue for the military, and I think I’m doing the military a great favor.”

The Navy Secretary disagrees with the president, though:

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Donald Trump: Military Solutions Now Fully Locked And Loaded

Taking the escalation of threats to the next level, President Trump tweeted from his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club that “military solutions are now fully in place, locked and loaded, should North Korea act unwisely.”

This comes just a day after Defense Secretary James Mattis issued an ultimatum to North Korea to “cease any consideration of actions that would lead to the end of its regime and destruction of its people.”