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thearabkhaleesi · 5 years ago

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D23 EXPO DAY 2 - WALT DISNEY STUDIOS

On the second day of Disney’s D23 Expo this year, Disney hosted a huge panel on all the upcoming movies the company has planned. Here’s everything you need to know from the Walt Disney Studios panel.

STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER

A new poster for Star Wars IX: The Rise of Skywalker was released at D23! It shows Rey and Kylo fighting against a backdrop of PALPATINE! (⚠️ He was confirmed to be in the movie when the first trailer was released months ago, I know some of you consider it a spoiler, I would too, but it seems like Disney will feature him heavily in the marketing so there’s no escape from it really).

We also got some other not spoilery news and some VERY spoilery news.

First, no spoilers:

JJ Abrams says that Leia is still at the heart of Episode IX❤️

Anthony Daniels says of IX, “what an ending!”💛

Keri Russell says her character is an old friend of Poe’s...

Now, VERY SPOILERY NEWS FROM D23 FOR STAR WARS IX⚠️⚠️⚠️ You have been warned. D23 attendees were shown a reel of footage where Rey was wearing a dark cowl & was wielding a red lightsaber. I have goosebumps typing this. The video is attached below.

STAR WARS IX: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER is set to be released December 20💫

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CRUELLA

Disney unveiled the first look at Emma Stone in CRUELLA!🐶 Disney’s Cruella ia A live action movie surrounding the iconic villain from 101 Dalmatians, Cruella De Vil, focusing on Cruella’s origins, similar to Maleficent & it’ll have a pop punk vibe. The film also stars Emma Thompson, Paul Walter Hauser, and Joel Fry. Cruella currently has a release date on May 28, 2021.🖤

PIXAR’S SOUL

“Soul” is an upcoming Pixar animated film from Pete Docter (Monsters Inc, Up, Inside Out). The synopsis states: “Ever wonder where your passion, your dreams and your interests come from? What is it that makes you … you? [The film] takes you on a journey from the streets of New York City to the cosmic realms to discover the answers to life's most important questions.” The main character is a middle school band teacher who plays jazz on his off time, but unfortun lately life has derailed him from getting his big break and playing at a jazz club her dreams of getting into. He is the first black lead in a Pixar film. D23 attendees were shown footage. The voice cast includes Jaime Foxx, Daveed Diggs, Tina Fey, and Phylica Rashad. Soul is set to be released June 2020!

PIXAR’S ONWARD

A new poster & a still was just released for Disney•Pixar’s next movie an original story titled “Onward”! The film is set in a suburban fantasy world where humans do not exist, instead populated with elves, trolls, and sprites, where unicorns are as common as rodents, and the story follows two teenage elf brothers embark on a quest to discover if there is still magic in the world.

Click here for the trailer.

The voice cast includes Chris Pratt, Tom Holland, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Octavia Spencer, & D23 attendees were shown an 8-minute clip. Tom Holland took the stage & told the audience “Listen, I know it’s been a crazy week but I want you to know from the bottom of my heart, I love you 3000”. I’m crying. We love you 3000, Tom. Onward arrives in theatres March 6, 2020!🦄

KIT HARINGTON & GEMMA CHAN JOIN MARVEL’S ETERNALS

The Eternals cast made an appearance at D23, with concept art of their costumes, and it was officially confirmed that Gemma Chan is joining the cast as Sersi and KIT HARINGTON is officially joining as BLACK KNIGHT / Dane Whitman🤩💫💫

The Eternals are an immortal alien race created by the Celestials who are sent to Earth to protect humanity from their evil counterparts, the Deviants.✨

In the comics, Dane Whitman inherited a mystical sword that carried a family curse - he took the Black Knight name to help restore honor to their family legacy & was a long time member of the Avengers in the comics (very on brand for you Kit). Sersi is a member of the Eternals, & had a romantic relationship with Dane Whitman / Black Knight in the comics.🖤

The movie also stars Angelina Jolie, Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani, Lauren Ridloff as the first deaf superhero in the MCU, Brian Tyree Henry, Salma Hayek, and more. I’m so happy Kit is in Eternals, reunited with his Stark brother :’)🐺 💫 Filming has already begun and it’s set to be released November 2020!

FROZEN 2❄️

We finally have some more details on FROZEN 2!❄️ At the panel at D23, it’s said that Frozen 2 centres on an important question - why does Elsa have powers? Additionally, the producers said that Frozen 1 and Frozen 2 come together to form one complete story. And Frozen 2 starts in the past” - confirming that they will be bringing back Anna and Elsa’s parents for ONE SCENE in the new movie. Two new additions to the voice cast are: Sterling K Brown who will voice a character called Lieutenant Mattias, and Evan Rachel Wood who will voice Elsa and Anna’s mother. The attendees at D23 got to see some footage & heard some of the music (& apparently it’s very catchy) Frozen 2 hits theatres this November!❄️

RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON🐉

Disney just announced an original new animated film in the works, Raya and the Last Dragon!🐉 The movie is described as a combination of classic Disney and kung-fu movies, but also Disney meets Game of Thrones. The film is set in a mysterious land called Kumandra, & the region is split into five sections, and Raya is a warrior on the search for the last dragon in the world.🐉 Here’s the concept art & logo - Cassie Steele is voicing Raya and Awkwafina will voice the last dragon. The movie is set to be released Thanksgiving 2020!

Here are the final bits of news from yesterday’s Walt Disney Studios panel at D23!

BLACK PANTHER 2🐾 No official title yet but the release date is set for May 6, 2022, with Ryan Coogler set to return as writer & director.

BLACK WIDOW🕸D23 attendees were shown a teaser trailer for BLACK WIDOW twice so far during D23. A 4-second clip leaked but Disney is taking it down. We also know Black Widow takes place following the events of Captain America: Civil War, as she finds herself on her own & forced to deal with “some of the red in her ledger”. It stars David Harbour stars as Red Guardian (a Russian super-soldier), Florence Pugh plays Yelena (a sister-figure to Natasha), and Rachel Weisz plays a Red Room spy. The movie is currently filming & is scheduled to be released May 2020!

JUNGLE CRUISE🍃D23 attendees were shown footage/a trailer for Jungle Cruise, an upcoming Disney live action film based on the popular Disney Parks attraction of the same name. There are apparently lots of references to the ride that it’s based on. The film is set during the early 20th century, where a riverboat captain named Frank takes a scientist and her brother on a mission into a jungle to find the Tree of Life which is believed to possess healing powers. The film stars Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt, Jack Whitehall, Paul Giamatti, Edgar Ramirez, and Jesse Plemons. Jungle Cruise is set to hit theaters July 2020.

MULAN⚔️The live action adaptation of Mulan was discussed at the panel today, showing attendees clips that include the matchmaking scene & the recruitment of the Emperor’s army. Apparently lots of the animated film’s shots are recreated and the film feels like a Chinese epic. It only has instrumental music from the animated film, and Mushu and Li Shang will not be in it. Mulan is set to hit cinemas March 27, 2020.🏮

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dudedrops319 · 5 years ago

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Dooley Noted - A musical journey through the mojo of a Toledo bluesman

(original version can be seen at https://toledocitypaper.com/feature/dooley-noted/)

Dooley Wilson is frustrated.

It’s 9:57 am on a cold Saturday in December and he is supposed to start playing at 10 o’clock. He has only just now stumbled out of the Toledo tundra into the cozy confines of the Glass City Cafe, which has booked him for its popular Bluegrass Breakfast music series.

“I’m so sorry I’m late,” he cries out in the direction of restaurant owner Steve Crouse, who assures him everything is fine. Wilson looks pained as a brief flash of flame passes over his smoldering dark brown eyes. No, it’s not fine. He was scheduled to start playing the blues at 10 sharp, and now he’s going to start late. And a professional should always be punctual.

Undaunted, he swallows his disappointment and, within 10 minutes, he has everything set up at the front of the restaurant which serves as the stage. Upending his battered Cunard Queen of Elizabeth canvas bag, he sorts through the contents— Halls menthol cough drops, a bottle of slippery elm supplements (“Just in case my voice goes out”), a bottle of Deja Blue water, a glass vase that serves as a tip jar and a power strip.

He plugs the power strip into his amp, a well-loved 1965 Fender Bandmaster. And then out comes the artisan’s tool— his Jay Turser electric guitar. It doesn’t have a name or anything; it’s a utensil to serve the stew of blues (“It’s a cheapo guitar, but it’s MY cheapo guitar,” he muses). He’s almost ready. He asks, and a cup of hot black coffee is delivered. After the obligatory microphone check, he sits on the edge of a worn tan suitcase and readies his guitar. It’s time to go to work.

Soon the Glass City Cafe fills with the sound of the blues— and Wilson is lost in ecstasy. He’s sitting atop the worn tan suitcase, choking the guitar neck, his angular carved-in-stone features a mask of concentration, fingers and knuckles gnarled from a lifetime of plucking strings. There’s no setlist, no backdrop, no real plan. Just a working man with an instrument sharing the gospel of what he believes is the greatest music that exists. Wilson plays the blues as if his life depends on it.

And maybe it does.

From C.J. to Dooley

Dooley Wilson does not take toast with his mozzarella cheese omelet, favoring potatoes instead. Sitting in the Glass City Cafe months later— this time as a patron— he is a bit more relaxed than he was when he played here. He still doesn’t smile much. Wilson isn’t grumpy, he just carries himself with an intensity that’s disarming. You get the feeling that he doesn’t want to be here. That’s because he lives to do one thing: Play the blues. And when he’s not playing the blues, by gum, he wants to be playing the blues.

But for now, he’ll tell his story. Now 45 years old, he was born C.J. Forgy, in West Lafayette, Indiana to James and Sandy Forgy. His parents split when he was two years old and he went to live with his maternal grandmother in Maumee. An only child, Wilson describes himself as an “artsy kid” who spent hours in his room drawing and writing.

“Everyone thought I was going to be a visual artist,” says Wilson, taking a sip of his coffee. “But along with writing, over the years I’ve let those skills atrophy,” he says, with a regretful sigh. “But I don’t know; I’m thinking about taking up drawing again for its therapeutic value.”

So what sparked his obsessive devotion to the blues? It started as musical hangups often did in the ‘80s— with a cassette. At 15, Wilson, who was teaching himself guitar and whose musical tastes at the time ran towards Led Zeppelin, walked into Camelot Music in the now-long-gone Southwyck Mall and spied a tape from Columbia Records called Legends of the Blues Vol. 1. There was something about that tape that spoke to him.

He picked it up and looked at the back. As-yet unfamiliar names like Bo Carter, Blind Willie Johnson, Charley Patton, and Leroy Carr stared out at him from the tracklisting. Robert Johnson— he knew that name from an interview he’d read with Jimmy Page and he was fascinated by the infamous story about Johnson reputedly getting his blues talent while making a deal with the devil at a crossroads. Maybe it was the ghost of Johnson himself speaking to Wilson that day in Camelot Music. All he knew is that he had to buy it.

When he got home, he popped the tape into his boom box, and something in the universe shifted. At that moment, C.J. Forgy ceased to exist and the bluesman named Dooley Wilson was born.

“That anthology started this mystique and passion I had for this music,” says Wilson, in between forkfuls of omelet. “It just spoke to my angst-ridden soul at the time and I had never heard anything so authentic, so human, so real. Take Son House’s song ‘Death Letter,’ which is on that anthology. It’s taken from his 1965 Columbia session and it’s just this amazing song about how a man gets a letter saying that the woman he loves is dead. It’s just…” Wilson often trails off when he talks about the blues; yet another reason why he’d much rather play you a song than talk about it.

From that fateful moment, the blues wasn’t just a preferred style of music to listen to or to learn to play… it became, at that time, a life choice.

“I decided I’m going to devote my life to being some kind of bluesman like Fred MacDowell or Son House,” says Wilson. “It became much more important to me than making a living. If you weren’t dead and black, I couldn’t be bothered to listen to you.”

Henry & June

By the way, where did that name Dooley Wilson come from? Wilson smiles broadly with a touch of sheepishness. He was setting up one of his earliest gigs, at the famous East-side haunt Frankie’s, and his buddy Lance Hulsey (currently the leader of Toledo rockabilly outfit Kentucky Chrome)— who Wilson played with his first band, a heavy metal project called Harlequin— said that the promoter needed to know what to call him… and C.J. Forgy didn’t exactly sound bluesy. So the young musician, right there, decided on the name Dooley Wilson in homage to the actor and musician of the same name, famous for playing the character Sam in Casablanca. Dooley Wilson is now his legal name. He cashes checks with that moniker.

With a new name under his bluesman’s belt, the then-recent Maumee High School (Class of 1992) graduate needed a band that would let him explore the blues the way he wanted to. The result was Henry & June, a heavy blues ensemble that Wilson formed with his good friend Jimmy Danger. They got the band name from a recently released biopic of Henry Miller, one of Wilson’s favorite authors.

“I was obsessed with the blues at that time, but I’m still incapable of playing it correctly,” says Wilson, draining his coffee cup. “I was really struggling to learn how to play blues the way it was meant to be played.”

But even as he worked to unravel the mysteries of Deep South blues, Wilson was experiencing something unexpected: Success. Henry & June had released a single called “Going Back to Memphis” on Detroit label Human Fly Records, and the song was attracting a lot of heat. The popular band The Laughing Hyenas— which featured former Necros member Todd Swalla, who would go on to play with Wilson in his later outfit Boogaloosa Prayer— were big fans of the song and were trying to get Henry and June signed to Touch and Go Records. Some cat named Jack White, who had a little band called The White Stripes, also was a big Henry and June fan and began covering “Going Back to Memphis” in concert.

“We were kind of a hot, cult thing on the scene in Detroit,” says Wilson, thanking the Glass City Cafe waitress as she refills his coffee. “Jack White wasn’t the only cool person in Detroit who knew who we were though, of course, he became the most famous one. Judah Bower of the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion put out a cover of the single on his side project called 20 Miles. I heard The Von Bondies used to cover ‘Going Back to Memphis.’ It’s a really fun, simple, dumb song.”

And then right when things started to go well for Henry & June, it all went wrong. The blues were supposed to feel like freedom and suddenly Wilson and the rest of the band began to feel decidedly trapped.

“Jimmy in particular felt like things were getting stagnant,” says Wilson. “Things were going good for us but it started to feel like we were just going through the motions. It was creative claustrophobia.” And so the band, at its peak, unceremoniously broke up.

“We were just dumb kids. We had no idea what we were doing with our little garage band. Looking back, that may have been the worst decision of my career. But when you’re young and dumb, you don’t realize that; you just think ‘Well, I’ll just do the next thing that comes along.’”

Today, Henry & June is fondly recalled as an early part of the Detroit music resurgence of the latter 20th Century. While The White Stripes, Kid Rock, The Detroit Cobras, and various Detroit rappers, from Eminem to Insane Clown Posse, put the Motor City musically back on the map, Henry and June remains a small part of that legacy. Copies of “Going Back to Memphis” routinely go for more than $100 on eBay, and the song was recorded live by The White Stripes for their DVD concert film, Under Blackpool Lights.

And no, Wilson hasn’t received any royalties. It all worked out for the members of Henry & June, though. Drummer Ben Swank is now the top A&R guy at Third Man Records, Jack White’s label. The band did a well received reunion back in 2010 in Toledo and everyone is still cool with one another. But in rock-n-roll and the blues, time waits for no one, so Wilson was off to new projects and new adventures.

And those adventures would lead to him nearly lose his mind.

On a wing and a Boogloosa Prayer

Brushing off the ashes of Henry & June, Wilson decided to further buckle down and get more “authentically bluesy.” He quickly formed a new band with Ben Swank and guitarist Todd Albright, that went through various names such as Dime Store Glam and Gin Mill Moaners. They sat in for many nights at the long-gone-but-never forgotten Rusty’s Jazz Cafe.

“I was spending all of my disposable income on that watered down whiskey at Rusty’s,” said Wilson. “Rusty’s was an amazing little place.” After a while though, he got restless and decided he would get as real as the blues could get and move to New Orleans.

“I wanted to see if I could live as a street performer,” said Wilson. “I had this rather naïve idea that I could possibly make a living at it in that town. I suspected it was the place on Earth where you might encounter people doing this kind of music.”

So Wilson moved to New Orleans, virtually homeless, busking on the streets of NOLA. Meanwhile, The White Stripes were starting to get their first big taste of international notoriety and began introducing “Going Back to Memphis” to a whole new audience due to their frequent covering of the song in live gigs.

“There I am trying to get lunch money down in New Orleans, and suddenly The White Stripes and the whole Detroit thing started to blow up and I’m trying to be Mr Authenticity down in effing New Orleans,” says Wilson, shaking his head incredulously. “My career is awful. I always zig when I should have zagged.”

But New Orleans proved to be an artistically fruitful time for Wilson. He met true, dyed-in-the-wool blues players who were playing incredible music from their souls. Nobody had record deals or anything that could get in the way of making direct, honest music. Many of these men and women were homeless or living off the grid; something Wilson describes as “an anti-American dream.” He talks enthusiastically and excitedly about that time in his life.

“These were some of the greatest living blues artists. There was a guy named Augie Junior who was simply incredible. I had never heard anything like him. There was this woman named Lisa Driscoll who played the washboard. People called her Ragtime Annie. And…”

Suddenly Wilson stops in mid-sentence and a hollow expression crosses his face. He stands up, sets his coffee cup down, excuses himself with a hurried “I’m gonna step out for a minute” and before uttering another word, he’s left the Glass City Cafe. A few minutes pass and he returns, wiping his forehead.

“I’m sorry,” he apologizes, sitting back down. “It’s just…it’s hard talking about this. I just got a little overwhelmed talking about some of my departed friends.”

He steadies himself with a sip of coffee that’s starting to go cold, as he’s eager to move on to talk about his other great band, Boogaloosa Prayer. Formed after moving back to Maumee fresh off a year in New Orleans, Boogaloosa Prayer, which Wilson says “was one of the best things I ever did artistically” came after stints in short lived bands like The Young Lords, and The Staving Chain.

Boogaloosa Prayer, an aggressive blues rock outfit featuring in part his old friend Jimmy Danger and Maumee drumming legend Todd Swalla, garnered quite a devoted following, playing in both Toledo and Detroit. The band had momentum behind them that recalled the Henry & June days. Then one hot summer night in 2006 at the now-shuttered Mickey Finn’s Pub, Wilson’s demons got the better of him.

Sporting a shaved head and a sickly frame that was skinny even by his normally lithe, sinewy standards, Wilson cracked onstage during the show. He ranted incoherently, couldn’t perform any songs, and couldn’t remember any lyrics. To everyone who was there, it was a harrowing experience.

Today, Wilson is reluctant to talk about the incident but he acknowledges it happened.

“I can say that I had a horrible psychotic breakdown and it had an impact on my life,” says Wilson, a bit guardedly. “At the time I had several severe emotional stressors in my life. A toxic woman in my life was stalking me. I had a business deal that was crushing me under the pressure. Plus, Boogaloosa Prayer was breaking up at the time because Swalla was moving to California. It all led to that time in my life.”

Following his breakdown, Wilson spent some time in a psychiatric ward, and lived in his aunt’s attic as he attempted to rebuild his fragile psyche. He eschewed traditional psychotherapy and refused meds because he’d seen too many of his friends “get hooked on those damned things.” Through a lot of hard work, meditation, and support from his friends, Wilson says he “totally got well again” and he hasn’t had any mental health issues since— thank goodness.

“Losing your sanity really puts a damper on your life.”

Still walkin’ down that road…

Wilson now lives in what he calls “a shack,” though it’s actually a carriage house out on a property in Maumee. The place smells of incense, a bit cramped but cozy abode, filled with guitars, amps, books on Buddhism, and novels by Charles Bukowski. Exactly how you would expect Wilson to live. This is not the living quarters .of a typical 45 year old, but it is definitely the home of a bluesman— and that’s all Wilson ever wanted to be. He plays gigs around the region and works as a “factotum” (his term) helping out family members and friends with projects. He’s completed an album and is currently trying to figure out how to release it. Love? Not interested.

“I have the kind of personality where I just do better alone,” he says simply. He may be alone but he’s not lonely. He has the best friends in the world in his life, even if most of them are dead. Son House. Sonny Boy Williamson. Bo Carter. All those great blues artists of yesteryear he counts as his personal friends, and by playing their music and his own songs inspired by their influence, Wilson is a happy man.

On that cold December day at the Glass City Cafe, Wilson utters a line that captures his essence: “Oh, I’m Dooley Wilson. Don’t mind me.” But, about that, he’s wrong. Mind him. Pay attention to Dooley Wilson. Pay close attention.

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afriendlypokealien · 4 years ago

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News and useful info on Point of Sale & POS Hardware.

This article was produced through the NPR NextGen/Texas Observer Print Scholars program, a new collaboration designed to offer mentorship and hands-on training to student journalists and recent graduates interested in a career in investigative journalism.

For Greyson’s safety, identifying details, locations, and recent photos of his face have been intentionally left out of this story.

The lull between spring and fall semester was short-lived at the Rodriguez house. Lauren Rodriguez, a 37-year-old social worker, was busy managing a list of things that need to get done before her teenage son, Greyson Rodriguez, can start college in the fall. But before orientation and moving Greyson more than 1,000 miles away to begin his undergraduate career, the Rodriguez family needed to get through high school graduation.

Several boxes of supplies cluttered the dining room table, ready to be shipped to the school. Rodriguez checked on Greyson for the second time, warning the sleeping teen that he had a student advising appointment beginning in a few minutes. Greyson emerged, sluggish and silent, to sit on an oversized brown loveseat and stare at his phone. The neediest of their three dogs, Daisy, hopped into his lap to demand attention.

“He can be lazy sometimes, because that’s all teenagers,” Rodriguez says of Greyson. “But when he wants something, he’s very driven.”

Greyson has had to be driven. He graduated a year early to escape Texas, which he has mockingly nicknamed “the great state of hate.” Indeed, Texas is one of the most dangerous states in the country for a teen like Greyson.

At 13, Greyson came out as trans. He and his family faced abuse, cruelty, death threats, and aggression. “While I never read them, I know that during the summer I got death threats when I was 13 from people in my neighborhood who were sending me mail telling me to kill myself and they wanted me to die,” Greyson says. He was forced to switch to an online school and the family eventually moved to the more progressive Austin area to get away from their conservative hometown. Texas ranks second in the U.S. in number of cases of fatal violence against transgender and gender non-conforming people since 2013, according to the Human Rights Campaign.

Since he came out, both he and his mother have become advocates for LGBTQ Texans, especially trans youth. In March, Lauren Rodriguez testified in front of the Texas House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence in support of House Bill 73, which would have banned the use of the “gay/trans panic” defense. The panic defense, often cited by defendants in cases of violence directed at gay or trans people, argues that after an individual discovered someone was gay or trans, they panicked and assaulted or killed them.

“Currently in the state of Texas, a criminal penalty for a defendants’ violence, including murder, can be lessened or eliminated if the perpetrator claims that the victim’s gender identity or sexual orientation triggered a mental breakdown that resulted in their loss of self control and subsequent assault,” state Representative Gina Hinojosa, a Democrat who filed HB 73, said during the public hearing.

In more than 100 criminal cases between 1970 and 2020 where defendants attempted to use the “gay/trans panic” defense, the highest concentration of cases took place in Texas, according to W. Carsten Andresen a professor at St. Edwards University in Austin and an expert on the topic.

But the 87th Texas Legislature failed to pass HB 73, signaling to LGBTQ Texans like Greyson Rodriguez and his family that the “gay/trans panic” defense is still an acceptable excuse for violence against vulnerable Texans. The bill was brought to a vote and rejected in the House committee, while the Senate companion never got a hearing. Despite the defense’s conflict with federal hate crime laws and a 2013 resolution from the American Bar Association calling for states to ban it, so far only 15 states and D.C. have passed legislation banning the use of the “gay/trans panic” defense, with bills proposed in Texas and 10 other states.

In 2018, James Miller, a 69-year-old Austin man, was sentenced to six months in jail plus 10 years probation for stabbing his neighbor Daniel Spencer to death. Instead of a murder or manslaughter charge, Miller was convicted of the lesser offense of criminally negligent homicide after claiming that Spencer had made sexual advances and that he acted in self-defense. However, prosecutors called the self-defense claim “ludicrous,” saying Miller didn’t have “so much as a scratch on him.” LGBTQ rights advocates and experts like Andresen point to the light sentence in this case as an example of the “gay/trans panic” defense at work.

“‘Are they going to get away with murder?’ That’s the concern,” Greyson says. “It’s not a matter of if it’ll stop or to lower the rates that we’re being killed. It’s, if we do die at least justice is being served properly.”

During the public hearing, 11 people, including Rodriguez, testified in support of banning the defense and submitted a total of 15 pages of written statements supporting the bill. In contrast, only a lobbyist from Texas Values Action, a conservative think tank and evangelical Christian organization, testified against HB 73.

“I think it’s not good public policy to include definitions of sexual orientation or gender identity because it forces us to determine what a person perceives,” said Jonathan Covey, the Texas Values Action lobbyist. “You easily run into issues of constitutional vagueness when you use this terminology.”

In 2009, the federal definition of a hate crime was expanded to include crimes motivated by gender identity and sexual orientation in federal cases, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. While Texas’s hate crime statute includes crimes motivated by sexual orientation, it does not include crimes motivated by gender identity.

During the public hearing on HB 73, Covey also said that his organization opposed the bill due to free speech concerns. “It’s typically a bad public policy to ban offensive speech,” Covey said. “Open discussion even in a courtroom is better than allowing supposed bias to fester in a type of subconscious realm.”

“This is not a free speech bill,” state Representative Ann Johnson replied. “We are talking about the criminal context where it’s assaultive conduct. Right? So it’s not a speech.”

“I understand that,” Covey said.

Johnson continued: “For example if a 16-year-old has sex with a 32-year-old, we would not allow the 32-year old to say, ‘but she consented.’ We have made a policy decision that there is no consent, correct?”

“I think I’m following what you’re saying,” Covey said. But, “we don’t create laws that hinge on someone’s perception of how much they weigh or create laws that hinge on someone’s perception of how tall they are.”

Greyson Rodriguez poses with his maternal grandparents, who flew into Texas to attend his graduation. Sadie Brown

Rodriguez says that this failure to support and affirm gay, trans, and gender diverse Texans at the state level exacerbates safety concerns for Greyson. “My son has to live in fear of someone finding out he is trans and hurting him,” Rodriguez said during her testimony.

In nearly every social situation, Greyson has to consider how someone would react to him coming out as trans. At his first job as a host in a restaurant, Greyson says he “tested the waters” to gauge his coworkers’ acceptance of him by mentioning his long-time boyfriend; he didn’t tell them he was trans.

Rodriguez and her son have strict rules around dating, specifically about coming out to potential partners. Because LGBTQ people are at a much greater risk of intimate partner violence, Rodriguez and Greyson have agreed that the first few dates with a new person will always be in public and that Greyson will only come out if he decides it’s safe and wants to pursue a relationship. He says that conversation is also about mutual respect.

“If I think I want to have a relationship with you and you think you want to have a relationship with me, I still want that to be built on everything being out in the open,” he says. “Not built on your assumptions on what you think is going on, only for that to be thrown out the window and you having a crisis or not understanding what to do with this information.”

On a humid day in early June, Greyson accepts his high school diploma during a socially distanced, in-person commencement ceremony. He’s difficult to spot in his emerald cap and gown with a black mask covering nearly his entire face.

When his name is called, Greyson walks out onto the stage to shake hands with administrators, as his mother, father, and grandparents cheer from a section near the front of the room. Then he disappears again into the first few rows of seats filled with other teens leaving high school behind.

Greyson also plans to leave behind his activism, at least for a while. “Passing isn’t the goal,” Rodriguez says, but both she and Greyson describe the importance of his identity outside of being trans, and safety concerns around his visibility.

“There’s some people who think every single person on the planet has a right to know,” Greyson says. “In my opinion it would be great if everyone had the ability to know and it wasn’t a threat. But the less random people who freaking know, the less risk there is.”

Greyson will start college in the fall, 1,200 miles away from his home and parents because he says he isn’t safe in “the great state of hate.” Inspired by the affirming care he has received from his medical team, Rodriguez says that he plans on studying nursing. Lauren had hoped that a bill banning the “gay/trans panic” defense would bring some peace of mind that would allow her family to remain close.

“If we pass this bill, my son may be able to feel safe enough to return to Texas and live as his authentic self,” Rodriguez said during her testimony. “And I would have my son closer to me.”

This program is made possible by gifts from Roxanne Elder in memory of her mother, journalist and journalism teacher Virginia Stephenson Elder, Vincent LoVoi in honor of Jim Marston and Annette LoVoi, and other generous donors.

This post was first provided here.

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afrolatinxsunited · 4 years ago

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News and useful info on Point of Sale & POS Hardware.

For Greyson’s safety, identifying details, locations, and recent photos of his face have been intentionally left out of this story.

“He can be lazy sometimes, because that’s all teenagers,” Rodriguez says of Greyson. “But when he wants something, he’s very driven.”

“This is not a free speech bill,” state Representative Ann Johnson replied. “We are talking about the criminal context where it’s assaultive conduct. Right? So it’s not a speech.”

“I understand that,” Covey said.

Greyson Rodriguez poses with his maternal grandparents, who flew into Texas to attend his graduation. Sadie Brown

“If we pass this bill, my son may be able to feel safe enough to return to Texas and live as his authentic self,” Rodriguez said during her testimony. “And I would have my son closer to me.”

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afroavocadowitch · 4 years ago

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News and useful info on Point of Sale & POS Hardware.

For Greyson’s safety, identifying details, locations, and recent photos of his face have been intentionally left out of this story.

“He can be lazy sometimes, because that’s all teenagers,” Rodriguez says of Greyson. “But when he wants something, he’s very driven.”

“This is not a free speech bill,” state Representative Ann Johnson replied. “We are talking about the criminal context where it’s assaultive conduct. Right? So it’s not a speech.”

“I understand that,” Covey said.

Greyson Rodriguez poses with his maternal grandparents, who flew into Texas to attend his graduation. Sadie Brown

“If we pass this bill, my son may be able to feel safe enough to return to Texas and live as his authentic self,” Rodriguez said during her testimony. “And I would have my son closer to me.”

This post was first provided here.

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cypher2 · 5 years ago

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“The Portland game is a typical rivalry,” Reign FC head coach Vlatko Andonovski said. “Regardless of how good you are, regardless of how well you play, it can go either way. I’m just excited. I’m excited to play Portland. Every time that we play them, it’s a good show. I’m looking forward to Sunday.”

Last Match: 2-1 W vs. Utah Royals FC

Reign FC took care of business at home against Utah Royals FC on Wednesday, September 25, winning 2-1 to claim three massive points in the race for the postseason.

Rookie forward Bethany Balcer extended her team scoring lead, grabbing her fifth goal of the season to open the scoring in the 40th minute. After assisting on Balcer’s goal, forward Jodie Taylor volleyed in the game-winner in the 86th minute of a hard-fought contest.

“It was a battle, wasn’t it?” Taylor said. “We knew going into it that it was going to be a scrappy game. I thought it was quite end-to-end and tight. I’m just happy that we won.”

Fan Appreciation Match

As the final home game of the season, the game against Portland will serve as Reign FC’s Fan Appreciation Match. The first 4,000 attendees through the gate will receive a team poster presented by Zulily.

Playoffs Within Reach for Reign FC

Reign FC will guarantee itself a spot in the postseason with a win in either of its final two matches. The club owns the head-to-head tiebreaker against Utah. The Washington Spirit’s 0-0 draw at Houston on Wednesday, meanwhile, means that the Spirit can only attain 36 points in their final three matches, while a Reign FC win would lock the final playoff spot up with 37 points.

The club can also clinch a playoff spot before play even begins on Sunday morning. Should Washington and Utah lose to North Carolina and Chicago on Saturday, respectively, Reign FC’s current 34 points would be enough to clinch a playoff spot, thanks to the tiebreaker against the Royals.

According to FiveThirtyEight, Reign FC currently has an 86 percent chance of finishing in fourth place, an eight percent chance of finishing third and a six percent chance of finishing in fifth place.

Big Stage for a Rivalry Match

Reign FC has the opportunity to sweep Portland in the 2019 regular season if it wins on Sunday. Each club has swept the other once before, with Portland winning all four meetings between the clubs in 2013 and Reign FC winning both matches in 2015 en route to winning the NWSL Shield.

Centerback and captain Lauren Barnes says that a rivalry match with Portland is the perfect situation for the club as it seeks to lock up a playoff spot.

“We’re in this position, but to be fair, there’s no better game to be in this position with,” Barnes said. “It’s always a really hard-fought battle with them. We’re excited to play in front of the fans we have down here in Tacoma. They’ve been so great for us. There are no words for these games. You go out there and you play with your heart. That’s all you can do.”

Injury Report

Six players are unavailable for selection in Sunday’s contest:

Taylor Smith (SEI - R knee)

Jasmyne Spencer (SEI - L knee)

Michelle Betos (SEI - R achilles)

Jaycie Johnson (SEI - R knee)

Scout Watson (SEI - concussion)

Jess Fishlock (SEI - L knee)

How to Watch

A limited number of tickets are available online, or by calling the Reign FC ticket office at (855) REIGN-FC.

Fans inside the U.S. can watch the match live on ESPN2, while fans outside of the U.S. can watch the match live on their local ESPN channel or stream.

#seattle reign fc #reign fc #nwsl #woso

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mfmagazine · 6 years ago

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100 Monkeys

Article by Victoria Laurey

By “Curious George” I think we’ve got it! Los Angeles bound, 100 Monkeys, will rock the stage of your hometowns’ local nightclub in the near future. With a funk-rock like sound that would surely electrify the inner species in you; this band knows how to put on a show. Coming from all sorts of jungles, this group of guys had emerged to bring music to a new stance. They are spontaneous in all that they do, from improvising songs due to the audiences’ request, to switching up the roles a bit playing a variety of instruments and vocals.

If you enjoy the sounds of Iggy Pop mixed with the Raconteurs, then this quintet exudes rock-n-roll of the 60’s in all aspects. Besides singing along to their lyrics, you may have seen these guys in action in other projects such as: Jackson Rathbone (who appears in such movies as “The Last Airbender,” and the “Twilight” saga), Ben Graupner (Trapped in the 5150, Devolved), Jerad Anderson (Wayne/Lauren Film Company), Lawrence Abrams (of the great Willie Bobo, Bob Hope U.S.O. tour, and The Artist Consortium), and Ben Johnson (of the Stevedores and music producer of Spencer Bell’s “Brain”). After getting a taste from the rise of 100 Monkeys’ second album, “Liquid Zoo” I can assure that it won’t disappoint.

Coinciding with the “Liquid Zoo” album release, 100 Monkeys kicks off a 40+ city US tour starting in Cincinnati on June 28 and will also include dates in Dallas, Anaheim, Detroit, Chicago, San Francisco and other major cities. The guys were also selected as one of LG’s “One’s to watch” this summer. They promise the biggest and best tour yet and of course the usual surprises along the way that only 100 Monkeys can deliver. The band logged a quick eight day tour over the winter holiday playing to sold out venues in several cities across the southern U.S. and they are more than eager to get back to what they love...playing for their fans.

What was it about the supposed phenomenon, "The Hundredth Monkey Effect” that inspired the name for the band? We believe that The Hundredth Monkey effect is very real, not just supposed. It's the way of art to spread through the cultural mind in an exponential way, especially in this modern age of internet and social networking. The population of the world is more connected than it has ever been, and we are very lucky to be living in a time when a simple idea or creation can be spread beyond its community of origin and be appreciated by so many.

At what age did you guys pick up your first musical instrument? Which instrument was the hardest to learn? It was different for all of us. Lawrence Abrams was playing the conga drums almost before he could talk, and has been ever since. We suppose the hardest instrument to learn is the one you play the least. Time and energy equal experience and ultimately skill.

In a MTV interview, Jackson expressed how he and Ben G. first started the band off as a duo, improv piece. What motivated the two to pursue the idea of the band further? How did the other members come to be? The duo became a three piece when we convinced Ben Johnson to move out to Los Angeles. Jackson and Jerad had been jamming together for years, and when we met Lawrence, it was only a matter of time before it all came together.

Your music is said to be based on; drinking, the devil, death and women who cheat and steal. From those particular genres, would you say your music comes from personal experiences? Yes!

On your upcoming album, "Liquid Zoo", you have anomalous song titles such as; Shywater, Black Diamond, Invisible Monsters, and Devil Man. What new sound can your fans expect to hear? The inspirations for the sound of the songs on Liquid Zoo comes from many different genres and styles of music, so the listener can expect variety throughout the album. At the same time, we are one band with five members, and we think there is a consistency to how we play the music together.

" Every Monkey Dookies" is the title from the band's book. What inspired the book? Do you intend on making it into a book series? We wanted to convey a universal message to the people of the world, something that everyone can relate to and learn from. And there is a lot of room for sequels.

A lot of bands have that one thing that separates them from the rest. What other trademarks does the band have besides improving at live shows? We switch instruments many times during our set. An audience member can expect to see each of us playing every instrument on stage throughout the show, as well as taking a turn at lead vocals on different songs.

On an episode of " When I Was 17", you called yourselves the "Prank-war Gods" - have you ever played pranks on the other band mates? What was the best prank you two have done on one other? Given the close quarters and living situation of a tour bus, we have kept an armistice. It is always a temptation though...

After, starting off as a host for Disney's 411, Jackson, have you ever considered creating your own show? Yes.

In the movie "Girlfriend" Jerad, you and Jackson get into this huge brawl over "Raising Hope" star Shannon Woodward. Jerad, was it a challenge for you to become vulnerable within that character when it's your friend attacking you? It was easy to feel vulnerable in that situation because he was lunging at me, fist first, at full speed.

What's the craziest thing that has happened while on tour? We hired a clown for Jerad's birthday on tour. We hid on the bus with the clown and had party poppers at the ready. When Jerad opened the door we set off the party poppers, but also accidentally set the clown's hair on fire. Needless to say, Jerad was very confused. Luckily no one was hurt and there was no damage to the bus.

Do you guys partake in any special hobbies besides music? The members of our band are involved in a wide variety of artistic endeavors. You never know when inspiration will strike, and what form it might take.

There are many myths when it comes to superstitions. Do you guys have any? If so, what are they? It's not really a superstition, but we always make our set list for a show within an hour of going on stage.

You guys are set to hit some major cities on tour. Which places are you most excited to visit? The places we haven't been yet, to play for our fans there and meet the new people. And many cities we have been to before, every place has its own feeling and way about it. It's one of the best things about being on the road to get to experience that in a new place every few days.

The band's sound is said to be a mixture of "Iggy Pop with the Raconteurs" Who are your strongest, musical influences? Is there a possibility of future collaborations? Our musical influences are as varied as our individual members' backgrounds and upbringings. From jazz, blues, top 40, southern rock, folk and traditional music, even surfer rock, we have a wide range of influences we draw from. We're always looking to collaborate with other artists and bands. Look out for an upcoming debut album by The Bleeding Horse Express in August, it was produced by Jackson, mixed by Scott Coslett, and The Bleeding Horse Express will be playing shows with us on this upcoming tour.

After current and new fans come from seeing you perform live, is there a message within your music you would want for them to obtain? We're all going to die, so have a good time!

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afishtrap · 8 years ago

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Until recently, cultural evolution has commonly been regarded as a permanent teleological move to a greater level of hierarchy, crowned with state formation. However, recent research based upon the principle of heterarchy – ‘... the relation of elements to one another when they are unranked or when they possess the potential for being ranked in a number of different ways’ (Crumley 1995: 3) changes the usual picture dramatically. The opposite of heterarchy, then, would be a condition in a society in which relationships in most contexts are ordered mainly according to one principal hierarchical relationship. This organizational principle may be called ‘homoarchy’. Homoarchy and heterarchy represent the most universal ‘ideal’ principles and basic trajectories of socio-cultural (including political) organization and its transformations. There are no universal evolutionary stages – band, tribe, chiefdom, state or otherwise – inasmuch as cultures so characterized could be heterarchical or homoarchical: they could be organized differently, while having an equal level of overall social complexity. However, alternativity exists not only between heterarchic and homoarchic cultures but also within each of the respective types. In particular, the present article attempts at demonstrating that the Benin Kingdom of the 13th – 19th centuries, being an explicitly homoarchic culture not inferior to early states in the level of complexity, nevertheless was not a state as it lacked administrative specialization and pronounced priority of the supra-kin ties. The Benin form of socio-political organization can be called ‘megacommunity’, and its structure can be depicted as four concentric circles forming an upset cone: the extended family, community, chiefdom, and megacommunity (kingdom). Thus, the homoarchic megacommunity turns out an alternative to the homoarchic by definition (Claessen and Skalník 1978: 640) early state.

Dmitri M. Bondarenko. "A Homoarchic Alternative to the Homoarchic State: Benin Kingdom of the 13th–19th Centuries." Social Evolution & History, Vol. 4 No. 2, September 2005 18–88.

The word ‘homoarchy’ first came to the present author and his colleague, Andrey Korotayev's minds during an informal discussion of Carole Crumley's concept of ‘heterarchy’ (1979; 1987; 1995; 2001). Crumley (1995: 3; see also 1979: 144; 1987: 158; 2001: 25) defines the heterarchy ‘… as the relation of elements to one another when they are unranked or when they possess the potential for being ranked in a number of different ways’, just in the vein heterarchy is defined in biophysics from which the term was imported by her to social science (see Crumley 1987: 156–157). Respectively, homoarchy may be coined as ‘the relation of elements to one another when they are rigidly ranked one way only, and thus possess no (or at least very limited) potential for being unranked or ranked in another or a number of different ways at least without cardinal reshaping of the whole socio-political order’. The association used for delimitation of heterarchy and hierarchy in cybernetics is applicable for our purposes as well: ‘Heterarchy [is the] form of organization resembling a network or fishnet’ while ‘Hierarchy [is the] form of organization resembling a pyramid’ (Dictionary n.d).

However, in social science homoarchy must not be identified with hierarchy (as well as heterarchy must not be mixed up with egalitarianism [Brumfiel 1995: 129]). Hierarchy is an attribute of any social system while on the other hand, in any society both ‘vertical’ and ‘horizontal’ social links may be observed (Berreman 1981; Smith, M. E. 1985; Ehrenreich et al. 1995: 1–5, 87–100, 116–120, 125–131; Blanton 1998; Bondarenko and Korotayev 2000c; for this dictum verity's explicit confirmation in recent works on an impressive variety of specific cultures, based on different kinds of sources – archaeological, written, and first-hand ethnographic, see e.g., Kelly 1993; Jolly and Mosko 1994; Small 1995; Wailes 1995; Kammerer 1998; Kristiansen 1998: 54–56; Nangoro 1998: 47–48; Anderson, C. E. 1999; Kuijt 2000: 312–315; Scarborough et al. 2003). More so: sometimes it seems too difficult to designate a society as ‘homoarchic’ or ‘heterarchic’ even at the most general level of analysis, like in the cases of the late-ancient Germans (see, e.g., Gurevich 1999: 45–57) and early-medieval ‘Barbarian kingdoms’ in which one can observe monarchy and quite rigid social hierarchy combined with (at least at the beginning) democratic institutions and procedures (like selection of the king), not less significant for the whole socio-political system's operation (see, e.g., Diesner 1966; Claude 1970; Dvoretskaja 1982). Hence, the questions which rise are if in a given social system there is only one hierarchy or there many of them? and in the latter case, are the hierarchies ranked rigidly or not: do, say, two individuals find themselves ranked towards each other the same way in any social context or not?

Every hierarchy in a society is underpinned by a specific set of values. A society may be considered as homoarchic when there is one value which is central to all the hierarchies and not only integrates but also arranges in a definite pyramidal order all the other, secondary to it, values and hierarchies they underpin. Under such circumstances this value ‘encompasses’ all the rest and makes the society ‘holistic’ (Dumont 1966/1980), that is homoarchic when the whole unequivocally dominates parts as the supreme expression of that all-embracing and all-penetrable value. Although Dumont's vision of ‘purity’ as the value (or idea) encompassing the holistic society in India is criticized nowadays (Mosko 1994b: 24–50; Quigley 1999), his theoretical contribution's validity is nevertheless testified, for example, by the 20th century totalitarian societies in which, e.g., the idea of communism clearly did play precisely the role Dumont attributes to that of purity in the case of India. On the contrary, when ‘there is a multiplicity of “hierarchical” or asymmetrical oppositions, none of which are reducible to any of the others or to a single master opposition or value’, ‘the … case immediately departs from the Dumontian formulation’ (Mosko 1994a: 214) – the society does not fit the homoarchic (or hierarchic in the Dumontian sense) model.

[...]

The overwhelming majority of modern theories of the state consider this phenomenon as a specialized and centralized institution for governing a society, to what its right to exercise coercive authority – legitimized violence is often added as the state's critical characteristic feature (see e.g., ‘summarizing’ definitions in anthropological encyclopedias, text-books, and general publications of the last decade: Earle 1994: 945; Claessen 1996; Marcus and Feinman 1998: 4; Ember and Ember 1999: 226–229, 242; Abélès 2000; Kradin 2004: 268). This approach to the state, rooted in political, philosophic, legal, and anthropological thought from Antiquity on (Hodgen 1964: 354–515; Harris 1968; Service 1975: 21–46; 1978; Nersesjants 1985; 1986; Iljushechkin 1996: 13–92; Gomerov 2002: 14–68), in the 20th century became equally typical of Marxists, (neo)evolutionists, and structuralists notwithstanding all the differences between them3. We may argue safely that these two characteristics – political centralization (‘the “concentration” of power in the hands of a few’ [Roscoe 1993: 113]) and specialization of administration, form the backbone of the theory of the state in general4.

However, contrary to the postulate of political anthropology's Founding Fathers, Fortes and Evans-Pritchard (1940/1987: 5), political centralization cannot be regarded as a specifically state's feature as it is applicable more or less to all forms of complex homoarchic (organized ‘vertically’) societies including chiefdoms first and foremost5. Even more so, in current research of the statelevel polities ‘… there is a clear movement away from a view of states as highly centralized, omnipotent entities toward a heterogeneous model that recognizes variability in state/urban organization and explores the limits of state power within the broader society’ (Stein 1998: 10). Good examples of such movement have recently been provided by Blanton (1998) and Kristiansen (1998). However, it must be noted that e.g., when Kristiansen postulates the opposition between ‘the decentralized archaic state’ and ‘the centralized archaic state’ (1998: 46–48)6, he de facto means that the former is less centralized than the latter but not that it is not centralized at all. Is it really true lack of centralization (if it is not mixed up with one person's omnipotence or lack of intermediary administrative levels) when ‘government is carried out (by “the warrior chiefs and king” – D. B.) through regional and local vassal chiefs…’ (1998: 46)?!7 It would be better to describe such a society as politically centralized but disintegrated (and what Kristiansen calls the centralized archaic state as politically [more] centralized integrated one).

In the meantime, specialization resulting in professionalization is precisely the feature which is typical of the state only, it is not by chance that in the specialization of the administrative apparatus scholars usually see the brink between the state and all the nonstate forms of socio-political organization, again including homoarchic ones like the chiefdom and complex chiefdom (see Wright 1977: 381–385; Earle 1978: 1–7; Godiner 1991; Belkov 1995: 171–175; Spencer 1998; Blanton et al. 1999: 112; Johnson and Earle 2000: 245–329; Bondarenko 2001: 244–245). So, I shall agree with Charles Spencer's (1998: 5) elegantly simple dictum (the first part of which I have already just quoted in note 5 and which is based on Henry Wright's seminal publication of 1977): specifically chiefdoms are ‘societies with centralized but not internally specialized authority’, and states are ‘societies with centralized and also internally specialized authority’ (see also Earle 1987: 289). ‘A state administration, from this perspective, is inherently bureaucratic’ (Spencer 2003: 11185; see also Cohen 1978).

Indeed, what makes the administrative apparatus specialized? It becomes such when it is ‘filled’ with professional (i.e., permanent and full-time) administrators thus forming bureaucracy. Max Weber elaborated the most authoritative concept of bureaucracy and his ideas form an implicit or explicit background for most of influential modern theories of the state8. Though not all the famous Weber's ten features of bureaucracy could apply to preindustrial states mainly because his definition is based on executive and decision- making functions only (Morony 1987: 9–10), and although it is stressed sometimes (recently, e.g., by Claessen and Oosten [1996: 5–6; Claessen 2003: 162], Kristiansen [1998: 45, 46], Johnson and Earle [2000: 248], Chabal, Feinman, and Skalník [2004: 28], Christian [2004: 273–274], and Kradin [2004: 179]) that bureaucracy can be poorly developed in early states, it must be admitted that it still has to be present as such if a given society is attributed as a state. In the meantime, even most complex among all complex chiefdoms, like Cahokia (Pauketat 1994; Milner 1998), the Powhatan paramountcy (Potter 1993; Rountree and Turner III 1998), or Hawaii (Earle 1978, 1997, 2000) notwithstanding their political sophistication, could not boast of having professional administrators at all. The existence of specialized administration was also improbable in Benin of the First (Ogisos) dynasty time, in the 10th – 12th centuries (see Bondarenko 2001: 108–117) attributed by me as a complex chiefdom elsewhere (Bondarenko 2000b: 102–103; 2001: 133–135; 2004: 340).

#anthropology #cultural traditions #benin #early modern #west africa #research #political system

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leftpress · 8 years ago

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“The Poster Wars”: Fighting Fascism on the Street Level

The Transmetropolitan Review | IT'S GOING DOWN | March 10th 2017

The post “The Poster Wars”: Fighting Fascism on the Street Level appeared first on IT'S GOING DOWN.

“We got to face some facts. That the masses are poor, that the masses belong to what you call the lower class, and when I talk about the masses, I’m talking about the white masses, I’m talking about the black masses, and the brown masses, and the yellow masses, too. We’ve got to face the fact that some people say you fight fire best with fire, but we say you put fire out best with water. We say you don’t fight racism with racism. We’re gonna fight racism with solidarity. We say you don’t fight capitalism with no black capitalism; you fight capitalism with socialism.”

– Fred Hampton, “Power Anywhere Where There’s People,” 1969

T...

here has been an alarming increase in white nationalist organizing in Seattle in the last year. In August 2016, a white nationalist group called Identity Europa (also called Identity Evropa, or IE for short; formerly, the National Youth Front 1) held a private conference in Ballard 2. Immediately afterwards, a wave of white nationalist posters and stickers began to spread over Seattle, concentrated in the University District. Most of these posters are for The Right Stuff, a neo-Nazi website that hosts a prominent alt-right podcast, The Daily Shoah 3. (Shoah is the Hebrew word for the Holocaust.) These are people who revel in edgy extremism, talk about putting Jews in ovens, and invented the practice of putting triple-parentheses around the names of (((Suspected Jews))) to target them for harassment and worse.

The name “alt-right,” short for alternative right, was coined by Richard “Hail Trump” Spencer 4. Like “fascism,” alt-right is a vague, much-debated term; the alt-right currently seems to boil down to a belief that traditional hierarchies are justified, so feminism, egalitarianism, and racial equality must be rejected. They claim that racism is justified by biology, culture, and/or history (many of them call this “race realism”), and that today white people are threatened by immigration and interracial mixing (what many of them call “white genocide”). They are really into Pepe the Frog, Donald Trump, and deporting brown people; they really hate Muslims and the radical left (antifascists, socialists, communists, anarchists, and so on). Beyond that, they have several disagreements: whether homosexuality is okay, whether Jews run the world, what rights women and black people should have, how to approach religion and economics, whether to use the word “fascism,” and how to achieve their goals.

Instead of debating the meaning of “fascism” 5, it is probably more useful to discuss the movement in terms of white nationalism, as Fredy Perlman does in the essay, “The Continuing Appeal of Nationalism”:

Common language and religion appear to be corollaries of nationhood, but only because of an optical illusion. As welding materials, languages and religions were used when they served their purpose, discarded when they did not. Neither multi-lingual Switzerland nor multi-religious Yugoslavia were banned from the family of nations. The shapes of noses and the color of hair could also have been used to mobilize patriots—and later were. The shared heritages, roots and commonalities had to satisfy only one criterion, the criterion of American-style pragmatic reason: did they work? Whatever worked was used. The shared traits were important, not because of their cultural, historical or philosophical content, but because they were useful for organizing a police to protect the national property and for mobilizing an army to plunder the colonies.

We need to take these threats seriously, before more people get hurt. But there is good news: the alt-right mostly consists of people hiding behind computer screens, spewing hate in an echo-chamber of blogs, social media, discussion forums and podcasts. Many Americans are starting to question whiteness, capitalism, sexism, and so on, and that makes the alt-right desperate. Their online organizing can still be dangerous, as when they snitch to ICE on undocumented people and dox their enemies. Milo Yiannopoulis told his audiences to “purge your local illegals” 6. On the day of his UW talk some people attempted to dox undocumented UW students, and doxed a couple student organizers. Yet so far, the alt-right are not organizing publicly and in the streets. Mostly, they are organizing from their computers and parents’ basements—or in the case of Richard Spencer, his parents’ vacation home. They are attempting to make the leap from online spaces to physical spaces with their propaganda, secret meetings, and outreach to or infiltration of existing groups. Antifa (antifascist) organizing works to disrupt this stage, by documenting white supremacist activity, exposing their organizers, and breaking up their meetings. 7

In early December, 2016, fake Emerald City Antifa (now Pacific Northwest Intersectional Anti-Fascist Network) posters appeared in the U-District, reading: “When you date a white it’s not alright/Propagation of whites is propagation of hatred, oppression, homophobia, sexism, transphobia, racism, ableism. This will not be tolerated/You have been warned!” Emerald City Antifa quickly declared to posters to be fake [8]. Alt-right trolls have circulated templates for similar fake antifa posters online, and many of the posters were put up next to posters for a Cascadian white nationalist group. Similarly—possibly by the same people—a fake antifa group called “Action Front! Collective” appears to have been set-up by white supremacists. They have postered on Capitol Hill and created a website, actionfrontblog.wordpress.com. They set-up several fake “Seattle Antifa” social media accounts, at twitter.com/seattleantifa, seattleantifa.tumblr.com, and facebook.com/Action-Front-138904783253471/. Many alt-right people have been setting up such “honey pot” fake-antifa social media accounts to collect information on the Left in the last few months 9.

On the night of February 15th, 2017, three neo-Nazis were nearly caught in the act outside the UW-Seattle Glenn Hughes Theater 10. They left posters for “AtomWaffen Division” with straight-up Nazi imagery across campus, including a call to “drive out sodomites and degenerates.” They posted a Youtube video of themselves putting up the posters and doing a fascist salute outside Sieg Hall. The UW police stepped up patrols outside the theater, and UWPD Major Steve Rittereiser told a reporter: “For some people, [those flyers are] going to be clearly offensive. For others it’s going to be seen as not offensive. We are an open campus that respects freedom of speech, freedom of expression, so we will let people judge that in a way they want to. Obviously, if you find it offensive you’ll want to stay away from that.” 11 Quotes like this, and police inaction after the Red Square shooting on January 20th, make it clear we cannot rely on the police to protect us.

In response to all this, people have been removing racist propaganda, and some are putting up antifa posters and stickers. One group collected reports of white supremacist propaganda through [email protected], and made a map of incidents available at pugetsoundanarchists.org 12. The map lists 112 documented incidents over the last several months. This includes 45 posters and stickers for The Right Stuff, concentrated in the U-District and downtown Bellevue; 26 Identity Europa posters and stickers, mostly on UW campus and Capitol Hill; 19 American Renaissance tags, another white supremacist group, almost all in the Central District; and six swastikas, mostly in the U-District.

Recently, stickers reading “ ‘Diversity’ Is a Code Word for White Genocide” and for the white nationalist group “True Cascadia” have appeared in the U-District and on Capitol Hill. (The main Cascadia group, CascadiaNow!, and the designer of the Cascadian flag, Alexander Baretich, explicitly denounce white supremacy and all forms of bigotry.) Strangely, there are two stickers that often show up in the same places as the more-obviously-racist propaganda: one reading “Craft Beer = White Supremacy,” and another reading “White Suburban Folks,” with an outline of a man, woman, boy, and girl.

You can carry a thick sharpie or paint pen to cover racist graffiti, and a small tool like a carpenter’s chisel for scraping racist posters and stickers. Be aware of local graffiti laws. In Seattle, there is no law explicitly prohibiting stickers or wheatpasted posters on public property. Spray painting and sharpie graffiti are legally considered vandalism.

Identity Europa’s main national organizer is a California State University-Stanislaus student named Nathan Benjamin Damigo, who works closely with Richard Spencer. Several years ago, Damigo was convicted of a felony hate crime for brutally attacking and robbing a Muslim cab driver. On November 12th, 2016, Damigo visited Seattle to speak at the Northwest Forum, organized by Greg Johnson of the white nationalist website Counter-Currents Publishing. Last December, Northern California Anti-Racist Action reported:

“Much of IE’s recent efforts have gone into massive road trips, in which cadre members have traveled around their respective regions putting up posters and stickers, and in some cases attempting to engage with students. By and large these efforts have been thwarted; from their failed attempt at holding a rally in SF to hundreds of posters and stickers being destroyed. IE also spends a lot of energy on inreach into campus groups such as the college Republican clubs and other white nationalist organizations, using Trump’s campaign as a foot in the door much like ‘Alt-Lite’ speakers such as Milo Yiannopoulos have done.” 13

On February 25th, 2017, the Northwest Forum featured Kevin MacDonald, an anti-Semitic professor called “the neo-Nazi movement’s favorite academic” for his race theories about Jews 14. MacDonald is co-director of the American Freedom Party, Identity Europa’s parent organization. Johnson has stated Counter-Currents will organize six more Northwest Forums in 2017, in each even-numbered month. One or more of these forums will likely be in Seattle. Damigo has stated he is interested in working with College Republicans, and he appears to have a cozy relationship with the University of California-Berkeley College Republicans 15. James Allsup, the president of the WSU College Republicans who helped organize Milo’s visits to WSU and UW, is openly a white nationalist.

This might all be overwhelming or intimidating, but it is very unlikely that each of the groups represented by the propaganda have an active group of followers in Seattle. The alt-right has a lot of overlap; there are probably only a handful of people responsible for Seattle’s white nationalist propaganda. Here are some basic steps towards overcoming them:

Photograph and report fascist propaganda to [email protected]. As mentioned above, remove fascist posters and stickers with a scraping tool or house key; cover fascist graffiti with paint or a sharpie. Practice good security culture to defend yourself against doxing by right-wing activists. Get out and do some wheatpasting, stickering, and otherwise bring some color to our gray city. If you witness harassment, ask the person being harassed how they are and what they need; place yourself between them and the harasser. Report ICE raids and checkpoints to the United We Dream hotline: 1-844-363-1423. Take pictures, video, and notes of what happens, time, number of agents, badge numbers, and vehicle types. Talk with your neighbors about starting an Anti-Racist Neighborhood Watch (see the Anti-Racist Neighborhood Watch Quick Start Manual at portlandassembly.org). Organize with your co-workers or fellow students to demand bigotry-free workplaces and schools. Read up on white nationalists and stay updated on antifa organizing. Some good sources are ItsGoingDown.org, AntiFascistNews.net, PugetSoundAnarchists.org, Crimethinc.com, RoseCityAntifa.org, and the report “CTRL-ALT-DELETE: The origins and ideology of the Alternative Right” by Matthew N. Lyons at PoliticalResearch.org. And of course, you can get together with some trusted friends and start an antifa group. The more the merrier.

1] “Big Nazi on Campus: How Well Dressed Racists Are Coming to a College near You” itsgoingdown.org/big-nazis-on-campus/ [2] “Recent Rise in Racist & Fascist Propaganda in Seattle Area & Beyond,” http://www.pugetsoundanarchists.org/node/152 [3] “#Cuckservative: How the ‘Alt Right’ Took Off Their Masks and Revealed Their White Hoods” antifascistnews.net/2015/08/16/cuckservative-how-the-alt-right-took-off-their-masks-and-revealed-their-white-hoods/ [4] “ ‘Hail Trump!’: White Nationalists Salute the President Elect” theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/11/richard-spencer-speech-npi/508379/ [5] Though, for a useful discussion of the definition of fascism, see Umberto Eco’s essay, “Ur-Fascism”: publiceye.org/fascist/eco/ur-fascism.html [6] “Free Speech?” sfist.com/2017/02/08/free_speech_milo_yiannopoulos_plann.php [7] “Forming an Antifa Group: A Manual” itsgoingdown.org/forming-an-antifa-group-a-manual/ [8] “Pacific Northwest Intersectional Anti-Fascist Network” Facebook page tinyurl.com/h2p76ge [9] “Time to Beef up Defense Against Far Right Doxxing” itsgoingdown.org/time-beef-defense-against-far-right-doxxing/ [10] “UW’s Glenn Hughes Theatre Vandalized with Neo-Nazi Recruitment Posters” thestranger.com/slog/2017/02/16/24877015/uws-glenn-hughes-theatre-vandalized-with-neo-nazi-recruitment-posters [11] “Neo-Nazi posters found on University of Washington campus” komonews.com/news/local/neo-nazi-posters-found-on-university-of-washington-campus [12] “Map of Fascist Propaganda,” http://pugetsoundanarchists.org/node/158; “Map #206-161,” zeemaps.com/map?group=2261515# [13] “Identity Evropa: Mapping the Alt-Right Cadre” nocara.blackblogs.org/2016/12/09/identity-evropa-mapping-the-alt-right-cadre/ [14] “Kevin MacDonald” splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/individual/kevin-macdonald [15] “The Kids are Alt-Right: The UC Berkeley College Republicans” itsgoingdown.org/kids-alt-right-uc-berkeley-college-republicans/

#leftpress #Analysis #Anarchist Movement #Anti-fascist #Featured #Northwest #news #resistance #politics

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afriendlypokealien · 4 years ago

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News and useful info on Point of Sale & POS Hardware.

For Greyson’s safety, identifying details, locations, and recent photos of his face have been intentionally left out of this story.

“He can be lazy sometimes, because that’s all teenagers,” Rodriguez says of Greyson. “But when he wants something, he’s very driven.”

“This is not a free speech bill,” state Representative Ann Johnson replied. “We are talking about the criminal context where it’s assaultive conduct. Right? So it’s not a speech.”

“I understand that,” Covey said.

Greyson Rodriguez poses with his maternal grandparents, who flew into Texas to attend his graduation. Sadie Brown

“If we pass this bill, my son may be able to feel safe enough to return to Texas and live as his authentic self,” Rodriguez said during her testimony. “And I would have my son closer to me.”

This post was first provided here.

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afrolatinxsunited · 4 years ago

Text

News and useful info on Point of Sale & POS Hardware.

For Greyson’s safety, identifying details, locations, and recent photos of his face have been intentionally left out of this story.

“He can be lazy sometimes, because that’s all teenagers,” Rodriguez says of Greyson. “But when he wants something, he’s very driven.”

“This is not a free speech bill,” state Representative Ann Johnson replied. “We are talking about the criminal context where it’s assaultive conduct. Right? So it’s not a speech.”

“I understand that,” Covey said.

Greyson Rodriguez poses with his maternal grandparents, who flew into Texas to attend his graduation. Sadie Brown

“If we pass this bill, my son may be able to feel safe enough to return to Texas and live as his authentic self,” Rodriguez said during her testimony. “And I would have my son closer to me.”

This post was first provided here.

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anagamitofotografia · 4 years ago

Text

News and useful info on Point of Sale & POS Hardware.

For Greyson’s safety, identifying details, locations, and recent photos of his face have been intentionally left out of this story.

“He can be lazy sometimes, because that’s all teenagers,” Rodriguez says of Greyson. “But when he wants something, he’s very driven.”

“This is not a free speech bill,” state Representative Ann Johnson replied. “We are talking about the criminal context where it’s assaultive conduct. Right? So it’s not a speech.”

“I understand that,” Covey said.

Greyson Rodriguez poses with his maternal grandparents, who flew into Texas to attend his graduation. Sadie Brown

“If we pass this bill, my son may be able to feel safe enough to return to Texas and live as his authentic self,” Rodriguez said during her testimony. “And I would have my son closer to me.”

This post was first provided here.

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afroavocadowitch · 4 years ago

Text

News and useful info on Point of Sale & POS Hardware.

For Greyson’s safety, identifying details, locations, and recent photos of his face have been intentionally left out of this story.

“He can be lazy sometimes, because that’s all teenagers,” Rodriguez says of Greyson. “But when he wants something, he’s very driven.”

“This is not a free speech bill,” state Representative Ann Johnson replied. “We are talking about the criminal context where it’s assaultive conduct. Right? So it’s not a speech.”

“I understand that,” Covey said.

Greyson Rodriguez poses with his maternal grandparents, who flew into Texas to attend his graduation. Sadie Brown

“If we pass this bill, my son may be able to feel safe enough to return to Texas and live as his authentic self,” Rodriguez said during her testimony. “And I would have my son closer to me.”

This post was first provided here.

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exclusivememorabilia · 5 years ago

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Our Favourite Memorabilia Pieces!

Since working in the signed sports memorabilia since 2002, members of our team have met numerous athletes and stars of the screen. We've had thousands of items signed for us over the years by numerous different heroes. Here's some of our personal favourite memorabilia pieces and the reasons behind them:

David:

" My favourite piece of memorabilia is this road sign from the 2018 Tour De France stage between Brest and the Mur De Bretagne.

I was there to see the stage as part of a cycling trip to Brittany and cycled the route the previous day. After the stage finished we liberated the sign and stored it in our Voiture Balai for the journey home.

Some months later at our first signing with Geraint Thomas I was able to get the winner of the 2018 Tour to sign it.

So this item is a memory of a great trip with friends to see the Tour signed by the maillot jaune from that year.

A unique and treasured item. "

James :

"One of my favourite pieces of memorabilia would be our Eric Cantona signed football boot .

Cantona was one of my first signings with the company back in 2016. We travelled to Lisbon, where Eric currently resides.

Being a United fan, I was very anxious and excited to meet one of the club's all-time greats. In walked 'Le King' and the signing began.

This piece of memorabilia will always remind me of not only an awesome trip, but meeting a legend."

Josh S:

"Mine would have to be the Darth Vader helmet!

Being a massive Star Wars fan and having so much fun during the signing session with Spencer Wilding, I think this would be my favourite item we currently have."

Josh P:

"My favourite is the signed Pelé 10 shirt.

Pelé is one of football's most iconic players and his signature on the back of a classic Brazil number 10 shirt is one of the best I've seen.

I've always admired the Brazilian style of football with lots of pace, skill and flair. I remember watching my dad's VHS tapes over and over of the 1970 World Cup, since then I have been a massive Pelé fan.

Being the most successful domestic league goal-scorer in football history scoring 650 goals in 694 league matches is why he is one of my favourite players ever."

Charlie:

"My favourite memorabilia piece is our Martin Johnson and Jonny Wilkinson dual signed England shirt.

I have been fortunate enough to meet both Jonny and Martin at our Exclusive signing sessions. As a huge rugby fan I was extremely excited about the prospect of meeting both rugby legends. Jonny is the nicest person I have had the pleasure of signing with and Martin's knowledge of cycling, NFL and football truly made me listen with awe during the signing.

The stories and knowledge I gained from spending time with these players are ones I will treasure.

The shirt itself is an incredible reminder of England's iconic 2003 Rugby World Cup victory! The large clear signatures from each player really do make it an incredible piece and one any rugby fan would be proud to own."

Tom:

"My most treasured item of memorabilia would have to be my signed Diego Maradona Argentina shirt.

He's always been my favourite football player, not even the Hand of God goal changed that, so to meet him in 2005 was a privilege.

The signing session took place at his mother's house in Buenos Aires, where, while signing shirts and posing for photos, he chatted and joked and smoked a fat cigar. I still can't quite believe it happened."

#Memorabilia #sports #film #football #cycling #star wars #rugby #blog post #favourite #collection #signature #autograph #tour de france #world cup

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