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Rob Gilmore

CISPSA inspires web blackout, websites and Libertarian Party protest

Protesters of CISPA take to the web, lack corporate enthusiasm

CISPA has inspired the internet protest of 400 websites Monday, as groups like Anonymous and some subsections of Reddit are protesting the bill that could remove some legal barriers that currently prevent tech companies and the government from sharing sensitive information about web users.

CISPA easily passed the house last week, despite strong opposition from privacy groups and President Barrack Obama, who is threatening to veto the current version of the bill, according to motherjones.com. 

Unfortunately for Anonymous, the group responsible for organizing the blackout, the protest of CISPA isn’t nearly having the anticipated affect since most of the companies protesting are small, according to the Huffington Post. 

The largest website taking part in the protest against CISPA is Reddit, and not the entire website is joining in the protest.  Only certain subsections, which are controlled by users, are joining in the fight. 

“We’ve been running ads against CISPA for the past few months, but we didn’t think the timing was right for us to participate in today’s blackout,” says Erik Martin, general manager at Reddit, the social news site, to motherjones.com.  “We’re going to plan more action closer to the vote in the Senate, but in the meantime, the [independently controlled] subreddits are becoming kind of a lab for how you raise awareness on something important like this. Some of them are blacked out, others are posting about it.”

Other companies not participating in the CISPA protest are internet big-wigs like Google and Facebook, whose businesses are not directly affected by the proposed restrictions in CISPA.  The two companies fought SOPA and PIPA last year because those bills would have impinged on a user’s capacity to share illegal content, a bill that would have deeply impacted their businesses. 

This time around, CISPA only seeks to affect users and doesn’t cut into the profits of those large companies.  What do you think of CISPA.  Vent your anger on our message board below. 

420 celebrated with concerts, shenanigans, lots of weed

Cities across the country find creative ways to enjoy 420.

420, the term invented by a group of guys from Marin County, California for marijuana, has become, over the past few decades, a day set aside to celebrate the worldwide past time of sitting back, putting your legs up and lightin’ up a joint.  Yup, there’s a day for that now, and across the country, Americans are finding ways to celebrate the stoner’s holiday, 420.

The best 420 parties seem to be in Colorado, maybe because marijuana just recently became legal in that state.  Though, who knows?  Maybe Denver just has the craziest stoners around.  Today, an estimated 80,000 people stood inside the Denver City Civic Park to celebrate the decision last November to legalize marijuana. 

“This is what freedom smells like,” attorney Rob Corry told the crowd, according to Yahoo News.  He counted down the moments until 4:20 pm CT, at which point thousands of pot heads simultaneously exhaled, creating a haze that could be seen from blocks around the center.

The event began shortly after 10:00am Saturday morning, 420, as people showed up to the civic center to have fun and for the experience of smoking weed in large crowds.  In November 2012, more than a million Colorado voters supported the passage of Measure 64, which legalized the recreational use of marijuana in the state, according to Yahoo News.

Here’s some other ways ABC News is reporting that the nation is celebrating 420:
-Doug Benson, the comedian famous for smoking pot and making a movie about it- Super High Me, has a stand-up show in San Francisco Friday night, as he counts down to his favorite day of the year.

-Austin, Texas holds its annual Reggae Festival during the 420 weekend.

-High Times is hosting the Cannabis Cup in Denver over the weekend, with Redman and Method Man’s performance and Snoop’s Reincarnated premiere.  Redman and Method Man are performing at 4:20 p.m. on 420 in Denver.  How creative of them.

-Even Pittsburgh is celebrating with “The Bong Show” on 420 for Pittsburgh NORML, a local chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.

How much would you have enjoyed being in Denver or Pittsburgh Saturday night?  Tell the world below!

MIT shooting update: officer killed; gun control hotter topic

Shooting at MIT leaves one officer fatally wounded

A shooting at MIT has left one police officer fatally wounded Thursday night near building 32 on the university’s campus, according to ABC News.  Just one day after the Senate refused to pass legislation that would have required intense background checks for gun buyers, the nation is yet again wrapped up in another campus shooting,

The MIT shooting began when an officer was responding to a disturbance in the area.  He was shot dead by Building 32 of MIT’s campus, according to ABC News.  The shooting at MIT has left no other injuries, according to a press release by the Middlesex County District Attorney’s office.

The MIT shooting, which left one officer shot critically, occurred at 10:48 pm near Ray and Maria Stata Center on the MIT campus and the “situation is still very active,” according to the university’s website. 

ABC News reports that the university said on their website at 12:21 a.m. eastern standard time, “Responding agencies are actively investigating the situation, which remains very fluid at this time. Police continue to sweep the campus. Stay indoors and remain inside until further notice.”

MIT police might not yet have a shooter, but one thing’s for sure.  As the rest of the world is focused on America’s handling of the gun violence epidemic, this incident at MIT is yet another in a laundry list of shootings that will surely heat back up the gun control debate- not that it ever has much time to cool down. 

No arrests have been made for the MIT shooting.

Guns again? Shots heard on MIT campus

Attention: mass protest needed

Only a day after the US Senate refused to pass legislation that would have seriously curtailed a crazy person’s ability to obtain firearms, Reuters is reporting that shots were reported on the campus of MIT. 

The report goes like this: “The shots ‘were reported near Building 32… which is currently surrounded by responding agencies,’ according to a statement on the MIT website for emergency information.”

All this comes just days after the Boston bombing, as people around the city and nation are on high alert after two explosions at the Boston Marathon that killed three and injured more than 170.

Reuters also reports that the university’s Twitter page warned students of an “active shooter incident and told them to “stay indoors and away from the area.”  CNN and WCVB-TV have reported that an officer was shot and a representative for the university’s police department could not be reached for comment by Reuters.

It might be a bit too early to point fingers and make broad conclusions about the culprit for such a crime, but I will anyways.  Anyone ready to march on Washington with me for some gun control up in this bitch? Damn.

Do you know the Boston explosion suspects?

FBI has identified two suspects in Boston explosion

Footage from the Boston explosion, which killed three people and injured more than 170, has yielded two person of interest as the FBI sifts through mounds of video and cell phone recordings of calls made in the area in the hours before the blasts.  No arrests have been made.

The two men are being identified as Suspect 1 and Suspect 2 in the Boston explosion.  One of the men was spotted dropping a bag before a bomb exploded at the second site, according to ABC News.  The two suspects appear to be “associated,” according to Richard DesLauriers, FBI special agent in charge of the investigation.

One of the suspects was also seen making a phone call immediately before the explosions.  Police believe he may have been using the phone to detonate a bomb.

The two are considered to be “armed and dangerous.”  The public is asked to help identify the suspects but not to approach them.

The FBI’s Operational Technology Division is working from a restricted area near the Boston harbor to sort through hundreds of videos and pictures from the area surrounding the twin bomb blasts to find additional clues, according to ABC News.
 
Three people were killed in the bombing and more than 170 injured in what top U.S. officials, including the president, are calling a terrorist attack.  No group, foreign or domestic, have claimed responsibility, according to ABC News.

The FBI has yet to identify the two men and is asking the public for help.  “Somebody out there knows these individuals as friends, neighbors, co-workers, or family members…” DesLauriers said.  Though it might be difficult, the nation is counting on those with information to come forward and provide it to us.”

LGBT people are the new illuminati

Further proof that Pat Robertson is a crazy man

Former Republican presidential candidate, television preacher and full-on crazy man, Pat Robertson implied on “The 700 Club” Wednesday that LGBT people are determined to destroy the family and the church and state, in comparison of the modern gay movement to the illuminati’s on the French Revolutionary War.

Yup, you read that right, folks.  Pat Robertson thinks that gay people are out to destroy everything middle-America stands for. 

“It has been said that those who do not learn the lessons of history are doomed to live them again,” he said in footage published online by Right Wing Watch. 

“You go back in history to the French Revolution, you find there was a thrust, uh, spurred by the, uh, writings of a group called the Illuminati, to destroy the family, to destroy the state, to destroy capitalism, to destroy the church,” Robertson continued, according to rawstory.com.  “And it was lived out in the blood of the French Revolution.”

Robertson goes on to make an argument, a weak argument at best, about how the modern gay liberation movement compares to the illuminati of nearly three centuries ago.

“We have here a debate over same sex marriage.  But is it really just about marriage? Or does it go far beyond that? They’re destroying the traditional family and building a country without God.”

So, there you have it.  More class “a” wisdom from the man on whom millions of American depend for spiritual direction and showy television antics and predictions.  Now doesn’t that make you feel proud to be an American?

The footage, which aired on a show called “The 700 Club” was featured Wednesday, April 17, 2013. 

Senate Shoots Down Gun Control Measure

Obama, victims and America people disappointed after gun bill failure

The decision by the U.S. Senate to shoot down gun control measures is showing advocates just how difficult the fight to ban high capacity clips and assault weapons can be in the United States.  On Wednesday, with 80 percent of Americans in favor of the measures, 54 senators approved the bill, according to Reuters.  

Republicans threatened to use a filibuster to block on gun proposal that did not get 60 votes out of the 100 seat Senate, and so the plan to expand background checks to sales made online fell short of the required support for approval. 

With the disapproval of at least sixty senators, Senate leaders are faced with the decision to either remove substantial new gun restrictions from the bill or allow it to fall to a filibuster next week.  Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, who threw his support behind the bill following the massacre in Newtown, Connecticut, is expected to pull the bill from the Senate floor and move on to an Internet sales tax measure and then an immigration policy, which is more likely to pass.

On Wednesday, the President expressed his disappointment over the Senate’s failure to pass the measure, calling it “a pretty shameful day for Washington.” 

Lori Haas, whose daughter was shot at Virginia Tech, and Patricia Maisch, a survivor of the mass shooting in Arizona, shouted together, “Shame on you,” as they sat in the Senate Gallery as their leadership failed to pass the measures.

Democratic leadership aides said the effort could be revived if public support demanded it, according to the New York Times.  “The world is watching the United States Senate, and we will be held accountable,” said Senator Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut.

“It’s almost like you can see the finish line, but you just can’t get there,” said Andrew Goddard to the New York Times, whose son was hurt in shooting at Virginia Tech. “It’s more annoying to be able to see it and not get to it.”

Lone Star College stabbing spree: semi-automatic rifles too old school?

Will congress debate banning knives next?

A mass stabbing at Lone Star College that took place earlier this week is transforming the gun control debate, just as Congress voted to address legislation to ban high capacity clips in the Senate.  Dylan Quick, the chief suspect in the case, allegedly wielded a box-cutter as he targeted students’ faces and throats at the college Monday.

In the attack, 15 students were wounded, with four believed to be in critical condition.  Though access to the campus was limited immediately following the rampage, photographers were able to capture photos of students on gurneys, ready to be loaded into ambulances on their way to local hospitals.

The suspect, 20-year-old Dylan Quick, is now on suicide watch in the Harris County Jail, possibly suffering from a psychiatric disorder, according to his attorney. 

“The judge signed an order yesterday to put him under suicide watch to make sure he doesn’t hurt himself,” said attorney Jules Laird.

The attorney also said that Quick’s family is “devastated” by accusations that a member of their family allegedly committed such a terrible crime.  They are thinking about the victims. 

“They want the all of the people who have been injured and their families to know they are sending their heartfelt wishes to them and hope they have a speedy recovery,” Laid said.

Laird said a fantasy about a mass stabbing led him to use an X-Acto knife and scalpel in the mass stabbing at Lone Star College Tuesday.  He told police that he had been fantasizing about stabbing people since he was 8 years old and that he had been planning the attack for quite some time, according to Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia.

Quick was expected to appear in court Thursday but did not appear.  Laird says that she would like her client to be reviewed by mental health professionals at the jail before he officially requests a bail reduction.  Concerned about his mental state, a magistrate judge has ordered that Quick be held without bail.

If Quick does make bail, he may be held in a “locked down” detention facility, according to The Chron.
 

Miranda Kerr loses angel’s wings?

People Magazine says Victoria’s Secret axed popular model, Miranda Kerr

Miranda Kerr isn’t losing her Victoria’s Secret angels wings anytime soon, despite a recent report by US Weekly. 

According to the report, which boasts an unnamed source, the popular, and totally gorgeous, model simply wasn’t selling well for Victoria’s Secret and the popular lingerie model had a “difficult reputation.” 

“The Victoria’s Secret brand is bigger than any of the individual model’s brands,’ said editor of Ad Age, Abbey Klaasen, according to ABC News.  “That is why Victoria’s Secret can get away with recycling models every few years.” 

But Victoria’s Secret officials have fought rumors that attack the model’s reputation or suggest that she will no longer work for Victoria’s Secret.  “Miranda Kerr is one of the best models in the history of the business — and easily one of the most popular,” president and chief marketing officer Ed Razek said in a statement, according to People Magazine. “She is also a consummate professional. Any rumors to the contrary are simply untrue.”

He added that Victoria’s Secret “has no plans to stop working with her,” and that Kerr has plans to walk in the company’s famous fashion show this year. 

Kerr was even selected to model the company’s 2.5 million dollar “fantasy bra” in their 2011 fashion show in New York.  The 30-year-old model is also the wife of actor, Orlando Bloom, and mother to their two year old son, Flynn. 

Her other professional commitments include founding cosmetics line Kora Organics, being a spokesmodel for Mango and modeling Qantas airlines’ new uniforms designed by Marin Grant.  Last month, according to the Los Angeles Times, she ended her “Fashion Ambassador” relationship with Australian retailer David Jones.

A source reportedly told People magazine that “if Miranda and Victoria’s Secret part ways it’s not because of her behavior. It’s purely contractual. She’ll be coming back for the show but it’s unclear if she’ll be in future campaigns. But she is definitely one of the most popular models and in high demand.”

Even if Kerr were to officially hang up her wings, it wouldn’t be the first time a Victoria’s Secret Angel moved on to bigger and better things, according to the LA Times.  Models like Tyra Banks, Heidi Klum and Gisele Bunchen all left their contracts with the popular fashion company to pursue bigger and better things.

Margaret Thatcher, iconic British prime minister, dead at 87

The Iron Lady dead Monday

Margaret Thatcher was the first female prime minister of Britain and the west.  She won three general elections, and her 11 years in Downing Street made her the UK’s longest-serving leader in modern times, according to ABC News.  She died Monday at the Ritz in London.  She had been in poor health for months and was suffering from dimentia.  

But Margaret Thatcher’s many accomplishments as prime minister of Britain don’t end there, and the controversy surrounding her hardheaded approach to British politics.

By the time of her retirement as prime minister in 1990, Thatcherism-the belief that economic freedom and individual liberty are interdependent, that personal responsibility and hard work are the only ways to national responsibility and that free-market democracies must stand firm against aggression, had earned her much international praise, especially from the United States. 

David Cameron, the current British Prime Minister, cut short a trip to Madrid and called off a diplomatic visit to Paris.  He described her as the “patriot Prime Minister,” saying: “She didn’t just lead our country, she saved our country.” 

But her hard-nosed approach to international cooperation made her a popular target for members of her own parliament who disliked her opposition to further economic integration with other European countries.

Thatcher is also widely known for dividing the country, especially during a year-long miners’ strike, when unemployment peaked at three million. 

Thatcher died at the Ritz hotel in London, where she had been living since December after leaving the hospital.  Both Houses of Parliament will be recalled from their Easter break tomorrow for special tribute, according to ABC News.  Thatcher will receive a ceremonial funeral with military honors at St. Paul’s Cathedral, one step down from a full state funeral.

World leaders are expected to attend the funeral of the woman who became known as the “Iron Lady,” for her fight against the Soviet Union and victory for an unlikely war in the Falkland Islands in 1982. 

President Barack Obama said: “The world has lost one of the great champions of freedom and liberty, and America has lost a true friend… Many of us will never forget her standing shoulder to shoulder with President Reagan, reminding the world that we are not simply carried along by the currents of history — we can shape them with moral conviction, unyielding courage and iron will.”

Margaret Thatcher was 87.