Friday, April 17, 2015

Blade Runner's awful sequel, Riot Watch! Chile and TSA patdown groping


- That screaming baby in the middle seat of coach doesn’t sound so terrible now, does it air travelers? Sure, that brat is going to make your life hell for two and a half hours, but at least he won't be groping you under the guise of national security. No, the only ones doing that are two Transportation Security Administration screeners who have been fired after conspiring to grope attractive men at Denver International Airport. Denver police confirmed that the male TSA officer would pick out men he thought were attractive and alert his female cohort. She would then tell the screening machine that a female passenger -- not a male -- was walking through and when something showed up on the screen in the ground area, the machine would register an anomaly, prompting the male TSA officer to pat down the passenger. Had it been the lady agent doing the pat down and had she been hot, maybe dudes would have had less of an issue with it. Instead, this skeevy male agent used the palms of his hands to touch the passenger's front groin area and buttocks, which violates TSA policy. The groping ring came to light after an anonymous tip from a TSA employee in November. The agency launched an investigation and investigator Chris Higgins monitored the two TSA officers in question, according to Denver police. Higgins saw these two scumbags carry out their sexual assault operation on February 9 and when he interviewed the female TSA officer, she caved quickly and admitted she had done this with her colleague at least 10 other times. Both agents have since been fired and while authorities did not release their names, the TSA called the incident deplorable. "These alleged acts are egregious and intolerable," the agency said in a written statement. "All allegations of misconduct are thoroughly investigated by the agency. And when substantiated, employees are held accountable." Sadly, criminal charges are unlikely because there is no identifiable victim. But if you passed through the Denver airport in recent months and received an unusually thorough pat down…….


- Speaking of holding employees accountable….welcome to the party, NBA. The Association has lagged behind when it comes to making sure its players aren't gaining an unfair edge by something they can inject or ingest, but starting next season the league will do a bit more to ensure the playing field remains level for one and all. NBA players will be blood-tested for human growth hormone starting in the fall, the league and the players' association announced. Testing will start during training camp and during the course of a calendar year, all players will be subjected to three random, unannounced tests annually -- two during the season and once in the offseason. Those found to be HGH-ing up will receive a 20-game suspension for a first violation and a 45-game ban for a second violation. Anyone dumb enough to test positive twice and come back for more in the hopes of finally dekeing that damn test the third time – and there will be someone - will be banned for life. This all comes four years after owners and players agreed during collective bargaining negotiations in 2011 to determine a process for how HGH testing could be implemented. No need to rush into it, y’all. After all, it’s not like you have a league full of hyper-competitive freaks who are scratching and clawing around the clock for any way to gain the slightest competitive edge to keep their career alive or rise up to the next level and earn a big contract extension. The league hasn't previously done blood testing, but getting with the times and using the technology available to you is often a good thing……….


- Riot Watch! Riot Watch! It was on this week in Santiago, Chile, where thousands of students marched through the streets of the capital to protest recent corruption scandals and to complain about delays in a promised education overhaul. Raging against corruption is always cool, while rioting because the government isn't overhauling the educational system as quickly as you think it should is decidedly less badass, but getting thousands upon thousands to come out for the demonstration is impressive regardless. How many people were there depends on whom you ask. If you chat with police, who want to do everything possible to make the gathering seem as minor as possible, there were a mere 20,000 protestors on hand. If you ask the event’s student organizers, the crowd was more than seven times that large, about 150,000. The good news is that while the gathering was largely peaceful, violence broke out at the end when hooded protesters threw rocks and gasoline bombs at police. Props to those bold souls, whoever they are, and even if they had nothing to do with the cause of the protest and merely used the riled-up scene to further their own angry agenda. Past student marches focused on pressuring President Michelle Bachelet to fulfill her campaign promise of education reform and this one came from students who say they are tired of waiting for chance and irate about corruption scandals. That would include a controversy over a bank loan involving Bachelet's son and a campaign financing scandal involving right-wing politicians and a prominent financial company, but when you’re already this angry, it doesn’t take too much to push you over the top……..


- It’s still a terrible idea, but the long-awaited sequel to “Blade Runner” is picking up steam and star power as it lumbers forward. Ridley Scott will not direct the sequel to his 1982 sci-fi classic, but he’s already signed on to be an executive producer. Aged-out, grasping-for-fleeting-youth star Harrison Ford is also fully committed and now, he’s going to have some help from a younger co-star who can actually make it through a movie without fracturing his hip or needing a phone call from his grandson and a bag of Werther’s Originals. Ryan Gosling is reportedly in negotiations to star opposite Ford, but the identity of Gosling's character are being kept under wraps. While Scott will keep a safe distance from this one, Denis Villeneuve is set to direct based on a script written by Hampton Fancher, co-writer of the original, and Michael Green, who is also working on Scott's forthcoming Prometheus sequel. While the plot details are closely guarded, the sequel is believed to be set several decades after the conclusion of “Blade Runner.” According to Scott, Ford's iconic character Rick Deckard will not appear in the entirety of “Blade Runner 2.” "Harrison is very much part of this one, but really it’s about finding him; he comes in in the third act,” Scott said. “I think it would be very interesting to revisit the character." Hey R., the character is the reason there’s going to be a damn sequel. Don’t go getting all inventive and revisionist here; stick with what got you the right to make this ill-advised tire fire of a sequel and try to keep it from sucking too much………

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