- Hey Egypt, how’s it going with that whole not being an
oppressive, totalitarian regime than tramples the basic rights of your people
and crushes any voices of dissent under the unforgiving heel of its combat
boots? Good, you say? Let’s take a closer look. How about we start with an Egyptian
court doing some work on the weekend and convicting 23 activists, including
prominent rights campaigners, of staging an illegal demonstration and sentencing
them each to three years in jail? That sounds like some great tolerance, right?
But wait, there’s more. The Cairo court also fined the defendants, who include
eight women, a robust 10,000 pounds (about $1,400) each. Making matters even
more sketchy, the case stems from a peaceful demonstration the defendants had
allegedly participated in last summer near the presidential palace in Cairo's
Heliopolis suburb. Yes, a PEACEFUL protest. Sure, it came in protest of a law
adopted late last year severely restricting the right to stage street protests,
but no Molotov cocktails were thrown and no dumpsters were set afire. The
defendants did face made-up charges like damaging public property and
assaulting policemen, but proof for those charges isn’t exactly overwhelming. The
conviction is alarming as it is the latest in a government crackdown against
liberal pro-democracy activists, many of whom were leading figures of the
popular uprising that forced longtime ruler Hosni Mubarak to step down in
February 2011. Hundreds of Islamists have died in the years that have followed
and now well-known activist Sanaa Seif, who hails from a family of longtime
rights campaigners, and prominent rights lawyer Yara Sallam are headed to jail.
The defendants can appeal, but one can surmise that their odds for victory
aren’t overwhelming………..
- Getting top football players to commit to the
U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York ain’t easy. Signing on with Army
means a) getting your ass kicked much of the time because you have weight
limits and fitness restrictions that non-military schools don’t have and they
are therefore bigger and stronger and b) committing to serve in the military
after graduation. So it shouldn’t surprise anyone that the school is in the
midst of a mini-crisis for treating recruits to a party, dinner with female
cadets, cash from boosters and VIP treatment on a party bus that included
cheerleaders and a police escort in January. The school has disciplined 20
cadets for promoting underage drinking and has self-reported a football
recruiting violation to the NCAA stemming from the incident and yet the players
involved, including starting quarterback Angel Santiago , are expected to play
in Army's next game against Air Force on Nov. 1. "Although seen as a minor
infraction by the NCAA, the U.S. Military Academy takes this very
seriously," West Point said in a statement. "We adjudicated this
under Article 10 of the Cadet Disciplinary Code and all cadets appeared before
the Commandant's Disciplinary Board." Blah, blah, blah. Compared to what
most schools do to pull players – extremely attractive female student
hostesses, under-the-table perks and benefits including cash and travel,
expensive dinners – Army is swimming in the shallow end of the bribery pool. Big
ups to Lt. Col. Chad Davis, West Point's director of football operations, who
allegedly recruited cheerleaders and players on Army's women's basketball and
volleyball teams to act as dates to recruits in February. Guys like hot chicks
and the guys Army is trying to recruit will someday put their lives on the line
for the United States, so a fun evening with an attractive lady is the least we
can do for them……….
- Being arrested is generally enough to ruin a person’s day.
The law probably doesn’t need to pile on by prying into that person’s
smartphone and seeing if the woman they just arrested has any titillating
pictures stored in the cloud. That’s apparently how the California Highway Patrol rolls, at least
when it comes to certain officers within the CHP’s Golden Gate Division. Avery
Browne, chief of the division in question, addressed reports over the weekend
that officers shared explicit photos stolen from female suspects’ cell phones.
Browne condemned the actions following reports that at least two officers
assigned to the CHP’s Dublin office had exchanged crude text messages about the
bodies of two women one of the officers took into custody during his patrol. “The
allegations that have been brought forward are disappointing,” Browne said. “The
callousness and depravity with which these officers communicated about women is
dehumanizing, horribly offensive and degrading to all women.” If only there
were some sort of law in place preventing that sort of behavior and if only
those involved somehow knew and understood said law….but we digress. The first
scumbag in question is CHP Officer Sean Harrington, who took a look-see into
the phone of a 19-year-old woman as she was undergoing X-rays after being
involved in a DUI crash in Livermore in August. “Taken from the phone of my
10-15x while she’s in X-rays,” Harrington allegedly texted fellow Dublin CHP
Officer Robert Hazelwood. The term “10-15x” is police speak for a female
arrestee and in an equally classy response, Hazelwood replied, “No f— nudes?”
Well played, officer. The suspect figured out what happened when she looked at
her iPad, which is synced to her iPhone, and saw the photos that had been
accessed. She may have been a DUI suspect, but she was sober enough to hire a
lawyer and notify the district attorney’s office, investigators said.
Coincidentally and in no way making up for what she went through, the woman
escaped any DUI charges because of Harrington’s alleged conduct. For a cop,
Harrington isn't too bright because he failed to realize that his phone records
would show that he had exchanged texts about women’s photos with at least
Hazelwood and another officer who is being considered a witness in the case. At
least he isn't dragging the case out by feigning innocence and has already
admitted to stealing the photos in what an affidavit says he called “a game.” Prosecutors
are still deciding whether to press charges, but Brown said it was “disturbing
to have an individual describe that misconduct as a game.” The lesson here is
clear: If you’re going to go out, get drunk and drive, make sure you increase
the security on your phone before you get pulled over on the way home……….
- Numbers were down across the box office board, but
newcomer “Ouija” conjured up enough spirits from the other side to bank $20
million and win the earnings race in its debut. Fellow newcomer “John Wick”
ass-kicked its way to $14.2 million and an underwhelming debut for Keanu Reeves’
latest (Spoiler: He still can’t act!) and those were the only two new movies to
crack the top five. The defending champion, “Fury,” slid to third place with
$13 million and has battled its way to $46.1 million in its first two weeks. Fourth
on the list was “Gone Girl,” which continues to overwhelm and added $11.1
million to its domestic total for a four-week haul of $124.1 million and
counting. “The Book of Life” snared fifth place with $9.8 million and its
disappointing run has yielded a mere $29.9 million in two weeks at local
multiplexes. “St. Vincent” made a big jump as it expanded from limited release,
bringing in $8 million – a 1,110 percent increase – for a three-week bank roll
of $9.2 million. “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day”
continued a run in the top 10 that will likely be shorter than its interminably
long name, sliding four spots to seventh place in its second weekend with a
scant $7.1 million. In those two awful weeks, it has earned $44.5 million. “The
Best of Me” was close behind in eighth place with its $4.7 million weekend,
giving a film with little buzz just $17.7 million in its own first two weeks. Robert
Downey Jr.’s latest ranked ninth for the frame as “The Judge” acquired $4.4
million and upped its domestic tally to $34.3 million. “Dracula Untold” locked
down the last spot in the top 10 thanks to $4.3 million and has hauled in $48.3
million in total since it dropped three weeks ago. “Annabelle” (No. 11), “The
Equalizer” (No. 12) and “The Maze Runner” (No. 13) fell out from last weekend’s
top 10……..
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