Officers involved in previous death
The Guardian reports that Kidd and Weibel, the officers who corroborated Tensing’s account of Dubose’s shooting, were implicated in prior death of another unarmed black man. Kelly Brinson, a 45 year old hospitalized mentally ill black man experiences a psychotic episode and is placed into a seclusion room by seven University of Cincinnati officers. According to the lawsuit, before Brinson was placed in restraints he “repeatedly yelled that slavery was over and he repeatedly pleaded not to be shackled and not to be treated like a slave”. One of the officers shocks him three times with a taser and puts him in restraints. Brinson suffers cardiac arrest and dies three days later leaving behind a young son, brother and sister. Court documents state:
All seven officers are accused of using excessive force and acted with deliberate indifference to the serious medical and security needs of Mr Brinson.
Brinson’s family settled a federal civil court case with the hospital and the police department for $638,000. All University of Cincinnati campus police officers were also removed from patrolling the psychiatric wards at the hospital after Brinson’s death.
Calls Weiner ‘worst deviant in U.S.’
Trump claims Abedin has access to Clinton’s emails and that her husband, Weiner, is a deviant.
So think of this – Hillary is giving confidential, top-of-the-line secrets to Huma, who has all her information. Because everything goes through Huma – she has everything – who’s telling her husband, who’s a deviant and now works for a public relations firm…The person seeing her [Clinton’s] emails more than anybody else is Huma. And who’s Huma married to? The worst deviant in the United States of America, right? Weiner!
General Petraeus, his life has been destroyed over a tiny fraction of what she [Clinton] did. He didn’t burn his hard drive. He didn’t get rid of the emails. He told somebody about it, but he didn’t get rid of them. It’s criminal! I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. It’s criminal!
Petition gains 16,000 signatures
A White House petition (link) garners over 160,000 signatures — meeting the threshold for the Obama administration to respond.
We urge the Secretary of State John Kerry and the Attorney General Loretta Lynch to fully cooperate with the Zimbabwe authorities and to extradite Walter Palmer promptly at the Zimbabwe government’s request…
Tweets Palmer’s address
Farrow tweets Palmer’s business address to 656,000 followers. Initially it is thought that the post included Palmer’s home address.
CecilTheLion -Gentle protector of 6 cubs. Loved by many. Killed by Dentist Walter Palmer. [Address]
Farrow quickly deletes the address and amends the tweet to show a picture instead of his dental practice in Bloomington, Minneapolis.
Guide: Palmer wanted elephant
Bronkhorst, the guide, says that after killing Cedric, Palmer wanted to hunt an elephant:
We then went back to my place near Hwange. The client asked if we would find him an elephant [whose tusk weighs] larger than 63 pounds, which is a very large elephant, but I told him I would not be able to find one so big, so the client left the next day and went to Bulawayo for the night and then flew out [to Johannesburg] midday the following day.
He also describes the events of Cedric’s hunt:
We set off quite late, with the sun down, and found the carcass of an elephant which we dragged and moved into the long grass and used for bait,” he said. “We then established the ‘tree blind’ [a camouflaged hide made of tree branches and grass]…Once we were established, and it was quiet, we first saw a lioness go past. And then a huge male – Cecil – came into view behind her. He was a magnificent animal…The client then fired using a bow and arrow, and it went away into the long grass. This was about 10 pm…We found it and it was wounded, and the client then shot it, with his bow and arrow, and killed it
He says the hunting party was “devastated” to discover that Cecil was wearing a GPS collar. But instead of turning it in to authorities, Bronkhorst says he panicked, taking the tracking device off and putting it in a tree.
I wish I had taken the collar.
ESpark-Viridian interview
Duffy talks about the partnership between Entrepreneurial Spark and Viridian, to launch hatcheries in India.
We are launching a brand-new 18-month program in ten cities, where entrepreneurs can come, get enabled, have access to mentors, get taught about finance, what it’s like to be an entrepreneur…We’re going to be launching in August. The vision is to create over 10,000 jobs, 60 entrepreneurs in ten centers. Make them all investable. Create a brand-new network of entrepreneurs, that grow together. That have confidence that they can pitch, but have great humility. They understand grassroots and giving back. They understand the value they bring to the communities that they serve and the cities they live in.
Accuses airport officer of sexual assault
Morrissey accuses a male San Francisco airport officer of sexually assaulting him during a search on 27 July:
Before I could gather my belongings from the usual array of trays I was approached by an “airport security officer” who stopped me, crouched before me and groped my penis and testicles. He quickly moved away as an older “airport security officer” approached. The officer who sexually assaulted me was identified as the General Manager On Duty.
He claims the incident was witnessed by two British Airways staff members, who encourage him to file a complaint. Before he does so, he confronts the officer:
Morrissey: You have just sexually groped this man.
Officer: That’s just your opinion.
Morrissey: What you have done is illegal.
Officer: That’s just your opinion.
Morrissey: You have no right to do what you have just done.
Officer: That’s just your opinion.Apart from “that’s just your opinion”, he would not comment, even though, since the penis and testicles were mine and no one else’s, then my opinion must surely have some meaning. But, of course, what the airport security officer was saying was: your opinion will never count in the eyes of the law.
Officers corroborate Tensing’s story
Tensings body-camera records two unnamed Cincinnati police officers corroborate his account of the fatal shooting of Samuel Dubois, where they backed him up when he says he was dragged by the victim’s car. The officers repeat Tensing’s account of the incident three times and one officer says he witnessed the victim dragging Tensing. Parts of the video transcript:
Tensing: I think I’m OK. He was just dragging me.
Second Officer: Yeah, I saw that.
Tensing: I thought I was going to get run over. I was trying to stop him.
Later, Tensing: He was dragging me, man.
Officer: Yeah.
Tensing: I got my hand and my arm caught inside.
Officer: Yeah, I saw that.
Named leader
Top representatives of the Taliban choose Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour as their leader. A Taliban commander:
The shura [meeting] held outside Quetta unanimously elected Mullah Mansour as the new emir of the Taliban.
Apologizes to customers
Palmer apologizes to his customers for having to close his dental practice. The practice has become a memorial to the lion, with red roses and more than a dozen stuffed animals laid outside the locked front door.
To my valued patients: As you may have already heard, I have been in the news over the last few days for reasons that have nothing to do with my profession or the care I provide for you. I want you to know of this situation and my involvement. In addition to spending time with my family, one of my passions outside dentistry is hunting. I’ve been a life-long hunter since I was a child growing up in North Dakota. I don’t often talk about hunting with my patients because it can be a divisive and emotionally charged topic. I understand and respect that not everyone shares the same views on hunting.
Again, I deeply regret that my pursuit of an activity I love and practice responsibly and legally resulted in the taking of this lion. That was never my intention. The media interest in this matter – along with a substantial number of comments and calls from people who are angered by this situation and by the practice of hunting in general – has disrupted our business and our ability to see our patients. For that disruption, I apologize profoundly for this inconvenience and promise you that we will do our best to resume normal operations as soon as possible.
Will deport illegal immigrants
Trump says he will deport all illegal immigrants in the country but will allow “the good ones” to reenter the country legally.
Legal status. We got to move ’em out, we’re going to move ’em back in if they’re really good people.
‘He has lost his soul’
Osbourne reacts to killing of Cecil the Lion by Palmer:
I hope that #WalterPalmer loses his home, his practice & his money. He has already lost his soul…
— Sharon Osbourne (@MrsSOsbourne) July 28, 2015
Deeply regrets ‘taking’ lion
Palmer issues a statement saying his hunt was legal and that he will assist authorities:
In early July, I was in Zimbabwe on a bow hunting trip for big game. I hired several professional guides and they secured all proper permits. To my knowledge, everything about this trip was legal and properly handled and conducted. I had no idea that the lion I took was a known, local favorite, was collared and part of a study until the end of the hunt. I relied on the expertise of my local professional guides to ensure a legal hunt. I have not been contacted by authorities in Zimbabwe or in the U.S. about this situation, but will assist them in any inquiries they may have. Again, I deeply regret that my pursuit of an activity I love and practice responsibly and legally resulted in the taking of this lion.
PETA wants hunter hanged
PETA releases a statement about the killing of Cecil the lion. Newkirk:
Hunting is a coward’s pastime. If, as has been reported, this dentist and his guides lured Cecil out of the park with food so as to shoot him on private property, because shooting him in the park would have been illegal, he needs to be extradited, charged, and, preferably, hanged. To get a thrill at the cost of a life, this man gunned down a beloved lion, Cecil with a high-powered weapon. All wild animals are beloved by their own mates and infants, but to hunters like this overblown, over-privileged little man, who lack empathy, understanding, and respect for living creatures, they are merely targets to kill, decapitate, and hang up on a wall as a trophy. The photograph of this dentist, smiling over the corpse of another animal, who, like Cecil, wanted only to be left in peace, will disgust every caring soul in the world.
Cecil the Lion monologue
Kimmell chokes up near the end of a monologue on the killing of Cecil the Lion. After explaining the events surrounding the lion’s death to the audience he says:
The big question is: Why are you shooting a lion in the first place? I mean, I’m honestly curious to know why a human being would feel compelled to do that. How is that fun? Is it that difficult for you to get an erection that you need to kill things that are stronger than you? If that’s the case, they have a pill for that. It works great. Just stay home and swallow it, and you save yourself a lifetime of being the most hated man in America who never advertised JELL-O Pudding on television.
And, by the way, I’m not against hunting. If you’re hunting to eat, or to help keep the animal population healthy, or it’s part of your culture or something, that’s one thing. But if you’re some a-hole dentist who wants a lion’s head over the fireplace in his man cave so his douchebag buddies can gather around it and drink scotch and tell him how awesome he is, that’s just vomitous.
He also encourages viewers to donate to Wild Cru (http://www.wildcru.org/) the organization that was tracking Cecil.
‘I would give her a D’
In her Salon interview, Paglia criticizes Sulkowicz:
I’d give her a D! I call it “mattress feminism.” Perpetually lugging around your bad memories–never evolving or moving on! It’s like a parody of the worst aspects of that kind of grievance-oriented feminism. I called my feminism “Amazon feminism” or “street-smart feminism,” where you remain vigilant, learn how to defend yourself, and take responsibility for the choices you make. If something bad happens, you learn from it. You become stronger and move on. But hauling a mattress around on campus? Columbia, one of the great Ivy League schools with a tremendous history of scholarship, utterly disgraced itself in how it handled that case. It enabled this protracted masochistic exercise where a young woman trapped herself in her own bad memories and publicly labeled herself as a victim, which will now be her identity forever. This isn’t feminism–which should empower women, not cripple them.
Parole date set
Pollard is granted parole after serving 30 years of a life sentence for spying for Israel. He is due to be released Nov. 21. Lawyer:
Mr. Pollard is looking forward to being reunited with his beloved wife Esther. Mr. Pollard would like to thank the many thousands of well-wishers in the United States, in Israel, and throughout the world, who provided grass roots support by attending rallies, sending letters, making phone calls to elected officials, and saying prayers for his welfare. He is deeply appreciative of every gesture, large or small. We look forward to seeing our client on the outside in less than four months.
Told to ‘take a nap’
Delevigne has a bad interview with Good Day Sacramento. While discussing her role in Paper Towns, she sarcastically answers the news anchors’ questions. Asked if she read the book:
Delevigne: Uh, no. I never read the book or the script. I kind of winged it. No, of course, [I did.] John Green is an incredible author, so really if you haven’t read his books, you should.
Asked about her lack of enthusiasm:
Delevigne: No, I mean, I’m still very excited. The premiere was last night and it felt like the end of an era, but I’m not any less excited than I was a couple of weeks ago. Maybe I had a bit more energy. It’s the morning.
Anchor: You seem a bit irritated, perhaps it’s just us?
Delevigne No, I think it’s just you.
Anchor: We’ll let you go then, how about that? We’ll let you go and take a nap and maybe have a Red Bull.
Nearly detained in Thailand
Wilson tells Kimmel that he is nearly detained in Thailand while on his way back to the U.S. from filming an action thriller No Escape.
The day that I was leaving, somebody asked for a picture and gave me something to put around my neck… I guess this thing that I put on identified me with the rebels – I’m not kidding. All of a sudden, they (authorities) were calling the prime minister’s office saying that I was going to be detained from leaving (sic) because these colors and that whistle meant that I was siding with the protesters.
Companies deny ties, donations
Some corporations on a list of Planned Parenthood ‘sponsors’ claim they have not made donations to the organization. A page with a list of corporate sponsors on the Washington, DC chapter’s website is removed after demands by Coca-Cola, Xerox and Ford Motor Company. A Ford Motor Company spokeswoman denies that the corporation is a donor and claims that Ford has not matched employee contributions since 2005.