The decision by Cuyahoga County prosecutor Timothy McGinty to make absolutely no effort to hold the police responsible for straight-up executing a 12 year old child has resulted in a grand jury declining to indict his killers, and it’s heartbreaking and infuriating and racist and fucked-up:
The prosecutor’s handling of the grand jury process, which began in October, has been heavily criticised by the Rice family and local activists, after the prosecutor proceeded to drip feed evidence seen by the grand jury to the public, which included reports from experts concluding that the shooting was justified.
Neither Loehmann nor Garmback appeared before the grand jury, and instead provided unsworn statements that were read to jurors earlier in the month. Loehmann claimed he shot because Tamir pulled the pellet gun from his waistband, “had been threatening others with the weapon and had not obeyed our command to show us his hands”.
Tamir’s family argued it would have been impossible for the officers to have issued commands given the fraction of time that elapsed before shots were fired.
Japan has finally officially apologized to South Korea for wartime sexual slavery, which is not overwhelming anyone with its impact or sincerity:
A total of 238 women have come forward in South Korea, but only 46 are still living. Initial reactions to the resolution from the women were far from welcoming.
“The agreement does not reflect the views of former comfort women,” Ms. Lee said at a news conference. “I will ignore it completely.”
She said that the accord fell far short of the women’s longstanding demand that Japan admit legal responsibility and offer formal reparations.
also:
Japan also won an important concession from Seoul, a promise not to criticize Tokyo over the issue again.
this gentleman sounds like a real charmer
this piece about a drag racing tragedy is the scariest thing I’ve ever read, let’s pivot into less horrible stories
LESLIE JONES (you know I love her, and also this piece has LOTS to suggest that being a black cast member on SNL is full of unique frustrations):
One night, I had dinner with Jones at Buddakan, an Asian-fusion restaurant in Chelsea that looks like it could serve as a set for “The King and I.” “The dan-dan noodles here are fucking insane,” she said. After dinner, dessert, and a couple of rounds of Patrón, we took a cab to the Comedy Cellar, in Greenwich Village. The booker, Estee Adoram, greeted Jones with a hug and implored her to perform, but she preferred to socialize. She walked past the comedian Judah Friedlander—he grabbed her arm and said, “Keep kicking ass”—and took a seat next to Larry Wilmore. At one point, the reactionary pundit Ann Coulter stopped by their table. Wilmore was courteous, but Jones leaned across the table and stage-whispered, “What the fuck is this frightening bitch doing here?” Coulter’s face froze in a rictus, and she soon backed away from the table.
ALSO, so happy that she and Kate are buddies:
She texted several times a minute with McKinnon, who had returned to New York the previous night. They knew each other from “S.N.L.,” where McKinnon is also a cast member, but their friendship had deepened on the set. “She had me walking everywhere—all around Boston, looking at old-fashioned doors and shit,” Jones said. “I hated it at first, but then I really got into it.” Though McKinnon had a girlfriend, she and Jones referred to each other as “my movie wife,” “my movie husband,” or simply “my bitch.” “I learned a lot from watching her timing,” Jones said. “She is a beast.”
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Please read all of Vivian’s tweets about Bathsheba, the angry female seal who doesn’t want your help:
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Q. Bad beginnings: My daughter has announced that she and her husband will not be doing any more family holidays after this year. They are going to travel instead. She said she is tired of all the drama and guilt trips. She specifically called out my “dictatorship adherence to the actual day instead of spirit” because I asked her to drive down Christmas Eve after they both got off their shifts. She said that working a 10-hour shift in an emergency room then driving three hours is unrealistic, unreasonable, and selfish on my part! I just wanted to spend Christmas with my kids instead of the weekend after. Did I do wrong?
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Omar Holmon of Black Nerd Problems (you may remember his INCREDIBLE review of Pitch Perfect 2) finally watched The Wire, and I am dyingggggg:
Now I still have to finish season 4 and 5 of The Wire but it feels so good to finally be able to understand these references and speak the same language as my friends. It’s also no longer confusing when they say, “Remember that time Omar walked out in that electric blue robe” and I’m like, “Are y’all like watching me in my sleep or something because I don’t own a blue robe… so I think you’re actually watching the wrong person.” The funniest thing is when I showed my girlfriend Thuli the “My name is my name” Marlo speech, and she told me, “I went to acting school with him.” I’m like “What?” I just seen this dude dual wield the ninas on the show and am now trying to wrap my head around her telling me, “Yeah, that’s funny because he was the kindest person ever.” I said, “Well, he’s an incredibly talented actor cause I just saw him UPS a body to Jesus and am having a hard time picturing him asking the teacher about breathing techniques.”
I watched the character Lex knock Fruit and realized I worked with him years earlier at a retail job. He mentioned he appeared on The Wire when we asked him about his acting but back then I had no idea what the fuck that was. Thirteen years later I see him dust off Fruit and I’m like, “OOOOOOH SHIT! …wait, NORMAN? OH SHIT, NORMAN KILLED FRUIT?!?”
1. Manager says if I get a raise, fewer of my coworkers will get raises
I have a salary that’s presumably on the higher end of non-management in the department I’m in. I also have about a decade or more development experience than those I work with, so my spot in the range seems justified.
What’s your opinion when a manager says “You’re near the top of the range. If we give you a raise then that means fewer of your coworkers can get raises too,” as a reason for me not getting a year-end raise?
