Nylon cover
Stewart appears on the cover of the September issue of Nylon magazine. In the interview she talks about her sexual orientation.
Google me, I’m not hiding. I think in three or four years, there are going to be a whole lot more people who don’t think it’s necessary to figure out if you’re gay or straight. It’s like, just do your thing. If you feel like you really want to define yourself, and you have the ability to articulate those parameters and that in itself defines you, then do it. But I am an actress, man. I live in the f*cking ambiguity of this life and I love it. I don’t feel like it would be true for me to be like, ‘I’m coming out!’
Sweden to drop sex assault inquiry
Swedish prosecutors will drop their investigation into sexual assault allegations against Assange because of the statutes of limitation on that charge have expired due to investigators not being able to interview Assange. Prosecutors had until 13 August to question Assange about one accusation of sexual molestation and one of unlawful coercion, while the time limit on a further allegation of sexual molestation runs out on 18 August. The more serious allegation of rape is not due to expire until 2020. Assange’s lawyers:
Our position is that the investigation should have been shut down earlier because there wasn’t enough evidence to keep it going. It’s regrettable that it’s gone on for this long. We are convinced that as soon as he has the opportunity to give his version of the circumstances [of the alleged rape], there’ll be no need to continue the investigation.
Three accusers come forward
At a press conference in Allred’s Los Angeles office, Whitedeer, Hughes and Tirl say they were victimized by Cosby. Whitedeer says she met Cosby in the early ’70s when she was on a movie set with Cosby, who told her, he was going to interview her in the director’s office.
I felt Cosby’s left hand gently grab my long hair behind my head … his giant frame blocked the door so if anyone should try to enter, they would not be able to see what he was doing. As I looked up his penis was out of his pants and he shoved it in my mouth. His attack was fast with surgical precision and surprise on his side…When Cosby was done, there was a horrible mess of semen all over my face, my clothes and in my hair. He took out a Kleenex to try to wipe off my face. I was bordering between vomiting and passing out. He was mumbling that I had been blessed with his semen as if it was holy water. [He] gloated over my humiliation.
Hughes says she met Cosby while she was an American Airlines flight attendant in the early ’70s on a flight to L.A. They went to her hotel room so she could shower and change clothes and, when she emerged, Cosby had ordered appetizers and champagne which she claims Cosby drank out of her shoe. After she drank a glass of champagne, the last thing she claims to remember was Cosby attempting to hold her hand, after which she woke up hours later.
My clothes were thrown all over the room and I felt semen on the small of my back and all over me. Bill obviously did not use a condom and there was no lunch and he was nowhere to be seen.
She says that when she reminded the comedian of the alleged incident a year, when she saw him on another flight, he “turned pale and said ‘did you ever report that to anyone?'” She replied that she had not. Tirl says that after shooting an episode as a police officer on The Cosby Show on its fifth season she was ushered to Cosby’s dressing room where he locked the door. Although no sexual attack took place, Tirl says:
There was a palpable shift of power. I lost my breath…I had handled being ‘hit on’ many times in the industry, this had far surpassed that. I felt dominated.
Likes Trump’s ‘don’t give a sh*t’ attitude
On The Nerdist Podcast Cranston discusses Trump.
I actually like his candor. There’s something so refreshing about shaking up that world that is all about being handled. And here comes this loose cannon who has terrible ideas and would be a horrible president, but there’s something great about his ‘I don’t give a s—‘ attitude that really kind of keeps others honest. I think it’s a surprise benefit to the country, actually. I hope he stays in for a long, long time and just collapses that whole tent of his.
NTSB report: Roper at fault
The NTSB rules that Roper is at fault for the fatal accident that killed comic James McNair and seriously injured Morgan. Their report says Roper had driven 800 miles before even reaching Walmart’s distribution center and at the time of the crash and had been up for 28 hours straight. Roper also failed to wear a seat belt and was traveling 20 miles per hour above the 45-mph speed limit when he hit the tour van carrying Morgan and six others. Morgan and the other passenger’s injuries were made worse because all but one of the van’s occupants was wearing a seat belt. The van had also been modified. NTSB Chairman Hart:
The passengers … had no available exits until emergency responders removed part of a plywood panel that had been installed between the passenger compartment and the cab. [The only other way of exiting, a sliding door] had become inoperable in the crash.
NTSB investigators recommended that Wal-Mart improve fatigue management programs for drivers and install better vehicle warning systems for drivers and delivery operators.
Seven classified mails found, two ‘Top Secret’
McCulloch, the inspector general for the Intelligence Community, notifies senior members of Congress that seven e-mails contained classified information, including two with top-secret material. Two of a sample of forty classified emails discovered on the server Clinton maintained at her New York home contained material deemed to be ‘TOP SECRET//SI//TK//NOFORN”, one of the highest security classifications. Much of the classified information in the e-mail conversations originated with the CIA, according to two government officials familiar with the records. Some of the information was deemed to be classified by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency’s classification guidelines. The information included references to information related to satellite images and electronic communications, according to the officials.
McCullough also located two e-mails that included classified material from among a separate batch of 296 related to the 2012 attacks on U.S. outposts in Benghazi. One of those e-mails had been publicly released by the State Department, causing consternation within the intelligence community. He has also located one additional e-mail in the sample of 40 that was classified at the time it was sent but has since been declassified and two e-mails they believe contain information that the State Department considers classified, and they have alerted the agency so it can conduct its own review. Clinton aides have maintained that nothing on her server was classified at the time she saw it, suggesting that classified messages were given the label after the fact.
Calls death ‘just an incident’
Zuma brushes aside the killing of Cecil.
What it sounds like from a distance [is] that the hunter did not know that Cecil was so popular, just saw a lion, and killed a lion, and it’s Cecil, and Cecil is very well loved and it caused a problem, because everyone wants to go and see Cecil. I think it’s just an incident. I was told by somebody that there is a brother of Cecil. Who? There is Jericho. Thanks God, now people will ask if Jericho is among these lions and they will not shoot, I would imagine. Really I didn’t think it could become such a big issue, but it is a big issue because Cecil was loved. But I think maybe that the fellow did not know. And he just took a nice lion and it was Cecil. I think Zimbabwe has laws about hunting and everything, I don’t think it’s a matter we could really debate that much.
The President of Safari Operators Association of Zimbabwe responds:
I’m surprised that President Zuma would make a such a comment with regard to an animal hunted in a neighbouring country. I find it very undiplomatic and very unfair to comment on a sovereign state.
Family not eligible for compensation
The Dawabsheh family won’t be entitled to government compensation granted Israeli victims of terror. The law governing compensation applies only to Israeli citizens and residents – including West Bank settlers, who live in territory Israel never annexed. To seek compensation, the Dawabsheh family would have to apply to a special interministerial exceptions committee.
MK Jabareen (Joint Arab List) asks Attorney General Weinstein to apply the law to all Palestinian victims of Jewish terror.
The case of the Dawabsheh family underscores the absurdity that exists today in the legal and political arrangements related to paying compensation…Victims of nationalist attacks should be entitled to compensation from the state regardless of whether they are Jews or Arabs…This is a population without means or resources, which has been under Israeli control for about five decades…As long as the state controls the Palestinian territories, it is obligated under international law to protect Palestinian residents of the place, including the obligation to compensate them for crimes of hatred and racism against them simply because they are Palestinians. [The harm is] terrible and irreversible. No amount of money can compensate the family for its losses.
Says Ailes promises fair treatment
Trump tweets that Ailes called him and assured him of fair treatment.
Roger Ailes just called. He is a great guy & assures me that “Trump” will be treated fairly on @FoxNews. His word is always good!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 10, 2015
Trump: Kelly should apologize to me
On MSBNC’s Morning Joe Trump says Kelly should be apologizing to him, not the other way around.
She asked me a very inappropriate question. She should really be apologizing to me, you want to know the truth.
Mugabe says heroes acre only for ZANU PF
Mugabe makes it clear that only those who participated in the liberation struggle and continue to show their allegiance to him and his Zanu PF party will be conferred hero status when they die. Addressing the thousands who turned out to remember the country’s liberation heroes at the national shrine in Harare, President Mugabe says those who leave Zanu PF and go into opposition should not expect to be granted hero status at the end of their lives. He says there are some ‘misguided elements’ in society whom he accused of denigrating the country’s heroes and the national shrine, adding some went as far as suggesting how national heroes should be selected saying this his and Zanu PF’s prerogative only.
Heroes proved to be heroes as they fought and lived for the independence. They never abandoned struggles, they never were rebels or selfish or what we now call sellouts.
US to provide military training
After his four-person bipartisan delegation meets with Buhari and military service chiefs, Issa says the U.S. is ready to provide military training to help Nigeria’s battle against Islamic extremists. He says Nigeria’s military is not outgunned by Boko Haram and needs training, not arms, to defeat the insurgents. This contradicts Buhari, who says that the United States is aiding Boko Haram by refusing to sell attack helicopters to Nigeria. Issa:
The number one thing we bring is professional training to help the Nigerian forces fight Boko Haram and to advise them how to treat insurgents and civilians captured in the war zone. [Nigeria’s military] doesn’t lack basic firearms … it lacks training in military strategy and in international and humanitarian laws. This is a military that was allowed to fall into disrepair during the previous administration. Morale is low when training is low.
He says Obama’s pledge to give whatever training is needed signals ‘a new day’ in U.S.-Nigeria relations.
Kelly discusses debate
Kelly is interviewed for the first time after the debate, but does not directly address Trump’s comments.
I’m sure nerves were high as they were for all of the candidates. He felt attacked – it wasn’t an attack, it was a fair question. But I get it. He’s in the arena and so am I. Its ok with me that there’s some consternation. I’m sure he’ll get over it and we’ll be fine and so will America.
Kelly also says that she told Bret Baier and Chris Wallace before the debate not to defend her if she was attacked.
I’m a big girl, I can handle it. My job is not to feel passionately about these candidates. My job is to go out there and ask probing questions that are hopefully smart and that help the people learn something about this person. (Baier and Wallace) are both gentlemen and I didn’t want them to in any way feel they needed to somehow come to my rescue. I didn’t want them to feel if anybody started to attack me that I would be wondering where my compadres are. I’m a big girl. I can take it.
TechCrunch interview
In an interview with TechCrunch, Atman talks about YC’s Fellowship program:
I think we all get a little screwed up in the way we think about money in Silicon Valley sometimes; $12k is actually a lot of money to most people. It should be enough to live on, build a product, and get initial users. I think it’s fair to say that YCF is targeting people with low personal burn rates. These are often younger, but certainly not always. And I’ve met some 24 year old Google engineers that get their personal burn rates up pretty high…
On giving advice to startups:
We usually (but certainly not always!) give good advice. This is surprisingly hard to get for startup founders… The general principle is to identify the startup’s single biggest current problem, and help them figure out how to solve that. This is hard because a) most startups have a lot of problems and b) most founders are bad at knowing what actual problems vs fake problems are. For example, most founders worry a lot about competitors, but not much about users not staying engaged.
Returnees allege discrimination
Residents of Michika, whose communities have been recaptured from Boko Haram, rsay alarm over alleged discriminatory distribution of relief materials. Some of the returnees say a leading tribe in the area is marginalizing the other tribes using ethno-religious sentiments to distribute relief items and denying many other relief items. A returnees:
Whenever there is a relief material to be distributed, members of a particular tribe which I don’t want to mention would dominate the distribution points making sure that other tribes do not benefit. If there is a list to be taken, they make sure that only their tribes men or kith and kins were listed for support. My people are experiencing this particularly in Garta village of the area.
Another complainant also calls for government intervention to check the discrimination, adding that Michika Local Government has long history of ethno-religious tension that is aggravated by the Boko Haram crisis.
This is the time for relevant authorities and leaders from the area to intervene to address this problem before it turns into an ethno- religious crisis being experienced in parts of Plateau and Kaduna states.
Russia urges US to include Syria
Russia says the United States is ‘unprepared’ for including the Syrian government in international plans to counter extremist ISIS. Lavrov says he discussed Putin’s proposal on coordinating efforts against IS during a recent meeting in Qatar with Kerry.
I asked him if it wouldn’t be easier to reach an agreement, to sit down at the negotiating table and discuss everything with the involvement of the Syrian Army. Unfortunately, the Americans are unprepared for that.
Lavrov says he also expressed concern about a U.S. decision to provide air support for Syrian opposition groups fighting against Assad’s government. He said he warned Kerry that some ‘grave mistake,’ such as the accidental bombing of civilians, could
explode the situation to such an extent that nobody would be able to control it.
Lavrov also rejects allegations that the Assad government has undeclared stockpiles of chemical weapons. He says ‘groundless accusations’ must be avoided and gave his ‘guarantee’ that all the claims ‘will be double-checked.’
We have every reason to believe that the Syrian government will continue cooperating closely.
Responds to Erickson
Trump’s campaign responds in a statement to Erickson’s ban on him attending RedState Gathering.
By the way, the guy (Erick Erickson) who made the decision about RedState called Supreme Court Justice David Souter a “goat [expletive] child molester” and First Lady Michelle Obama a “Marxist Harpy. He was forced to make a humbling apology. Also, not only is Erick a total loser, he has a history of supporting establishment losers in failed campaigns so it is an honor to be uninvited from his event. Mr Trump is an outsider and does not fit his agenda. Many of the 900 people that wanted to hear Mr Trump speak tonight have been calling and emailing – they are very angry at Erickson and the others that are trying to be so politically correct. To them Mr Trump says, “We will catch you at another time soon.”
Claims ‘blood’ comment was about nose
Trump’s campaign releases a statement about his ‘blood comment’ about Kelly:
Mr Trump made Megyn Kelly look really bad – she was a mess with her anger and totally caught off guard. Mr Trump said “blood was coming out of her eyes and whatever” meaning nose, but wanted to move on to more important topics. Only a deviant would think anything else. This related to the debate, which because of Mr Trump had 24 million viewers – the biggest in cable news history.
Urges fans not to record Hamlet
Cumberbatch asks fans not to video his performance in Hamlet.
I can see cameras, I can see red lights in the auditorium, and it may not be any of you here that did that, but it’s blindingly obvious. It’s mortifying, and there’s nothing less supportive or enjoyable as an actor being on stage experiencing that. And I can’t give you what I want to give you, which is a live performance that you’ll remember, hopefully in your minds and brains —whether it’s good, bad, or indifferent — rather than on your phones. This isn’t me blaming you. This is just me asking you to just ripple it out there, in the brilliant beautiful way that you do with your funny electronic things.
Hamas urges infitada
Hamas urges Palestinian Authority arabs to to participate in the funeral and to attack Israelis throughout Judea and Samaria (The West Bank) after the death of Sa’ad Dawabsheh.
The burning of this family is a turning point that will launch the start of the third intifada against the occupier in Judea and Samaria. [Dawabsheh’s death] demonstrates the enormity of the Zionists’ crime against this family, the result being that resistance in [Judea and Samaria] has become an obligation and a means of self-defense. The murderous settlers will not be deterred unless we initiate attacks – do not wait for them to arrive in our villages and towns. We have no other option but for a general confrontation with the occupation, without waiting for a decision or the granting of permission from anyone.