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Redditor Who Claimed to Have Murdered His Sister’s Ex Admits He Claimed to Have Murdered His Sister's Ex

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Redditor Who Claimed to Have Murdered His Sister’s Ex Admits He Claimed to Have Murdered His Sister's Ex

A week ago Saturday, a reddit user named Naratto used the Confession Bear meme to discuss a murder. "My sister had an abusive meth addict boyfriend," Naratto posted. "I killed him with his own drugs while he was unconscious and they ruled it as an overdose."

This declaration escalated into a Big Internet Incident, thanks to Naratto's fellow redditors, who took the image macro seriously enough to ferret out the account owner's personal information—biographical details from his reddit history that he'd willingly shared—and to compile it immediately on the same community site that's ardently defended the right to online privacy, even as a protection for despicable privacy-violating behavior. Although moderators soon deleted the data dump, Naratto's information was still in circulation; so thanks to reddit's own hypocritical sleuthing, the Naratto account could easily be traced to a 24-year-old with ties to San Diego, Colton Goodbrand.

Yesterday, Goodbrand wrote to our corporate overlord Nick Denton to confirm that, yes, he did post those words about killing his sister's abusive ex on a bear picture. "I did indeed make the post on reddit, but that doesn't make it true," he emailed, describing the claim that he killed someone as a "rumor." Except that the claim is a rumor he started, and now admits to having started, which makes the allegation that Colton Ryder Goodbrand confessed, however unseriously, to having murdered his sister's abusive ex on Reddit, via meme, a fact.

The note also confirms that Goodbrand did indeed author this Gawker comment, threatening to the call the cops. Except that according to the LA Weekly, the San Diego Police were investigating the situation. So perhaps they'd appreciate his call?

Goodbrand's note in full:

From: Colton Goodbrand
Date: Mon, Apr 15, 2013 at 5:51 PM
Subject: Invasion of privacy with malicious intent
To: Nick Denton

Hello, my name is Colton Ryder Goodbrand. There is a post about me, which is spreading a rumor that I killed someone.

http://gawker.com/colton-goodbrand/?post=58875859

I did indeed make the post on reddit, but that doesn't make it true. I made that post under a pseudonym to avoid tying it directly to my name. I knew that if an investigation was put underway by any law enforcement agency they could easily track it back to me. What I was not expecting was the Justice League of the Internet to band together and continuously post sensitive personal information about me and my family on numerous websites.

I am requesting the removal of this post, and any future post about me, my family, or anything I've ever posted on the internet. Non compliance in this will result in me seeking legal action for invasion of privacy with malicious intent, and defamation of character.

Thank you,
C.R. Goodbrand

[photos via QuickMeme and YouTube]


Men Deemed 'Too Handsome' Deported from Saudi Arabia for Fear They Would Be Irresistible to Women

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Men Deemed 'Too Handsome' Deported from Saudi Arabia for Fear They Would Be Irresistible to Women

At least three men attending an annual culture festival in Saudi Arabia were kicked out of the country after religious police officers deemed them "too handsome" to stay.

The men, delegates from the United Arab Emirates, were minding their own business at the Jenadrivah Heritage & Cultural Festival in Riyadh when members of the mutaween suddenly "stormed" the pavilion and removed the men by force.

"A festival official said the three Emiratis were taken out on the grounds they are too handsome and that the Commission [for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vices] members feared female visitors could fall for them," the Arabic-language newspaper Elaph reported this week.

The Emirati delegates were subsequently deported back to their home country.

According to an official statement released by the UAE delegation following the incident, it seems the religious police were unnerved by the presence of an unnamed female artist from the UAE.

"Her visit to the UAE stand was a coincidence as it was not included in the programme which we had already provided to the festival's management," said UAE delegation head Saeed Al Kaabi in his apology to festival officials.

[H/T: MSN Now, photo via AP]

Reporter at Scene of Deadly Fire Does the Dougie for Wacky Staff Video

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You can't fault the WITI-Milwaukee Fox6 WakeUp crew for wanting to inject a little fun into their morning broadcast regimen. The morning is, traditionally, not a very fun time of day. Plus, it's their job to get all the Lavernes and Shirleys in town excited for a tedious day down at the bottlecapping plant.

However, you can fault them for filming one of their wacky dance "bits" out in the field.

At the scene of a deadly fire.

That claimed the lives of three children.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that reporter Angelica Duria did just that a couple days ago, while on site to deliver a somber news report about a devastating blaze. You can see her in the clip above, busting a move in fuchsia rain boots about a half block up from a home cordoned off by fluorescent yellow crime scene tape.

The tape is delineating the area where, one night earlier, three siblings—twin four-year-old boys and a five year old girl—perished in a fire. Not a wacky fire. A regular one.

According to the Sentinel, eyewitnesses working for other news organizations saw Duria filming her dance on the morning it happened and "wondered about its appropriateness." Local outrage grew after the video was posted online and viewers recognized the backdrop.

Eventually, the president and general manager of WITI was forced to issue a statement in response to the controversy:

"We have been working to make parts of FOX 6 Wake Up more fun and spontaneous — especially near the end of the show as we transition into ‘Real Milwaukee.' We have tried to involve all of the crew and staff.

While I personally received multiple positive comments from viewers about the segment—one person specifically thanking us for getting their day off to a fun start before going to work—we never intended to offend anyone. If we did, we certainly apologize."

Oddly, Steinmetz's statement—particularly the line about someone thanking the station for making life fun—suggests that he has mistaken Milwaukee, Wisconsin for Bomont, the tiny town from Footloose. He's not sorry because Duria's dance party took place in a grossly inappropriate setting. He's sorry you hate dancing.

The Sentinel notes that a clip of Duria reporting on a snow storm previously went viral when she said, on air, "It's snowing and it sucks." The anchors in the studio gave her a standing ovation for that one. Like she had just performed a moving aria.

Incidentally, the Dougie (which is three years old and none of the people in that video are even doing it) debacle is not the first time FOX6 WakeUp has experimented with the art of dance. On April 5, the station broadcast a part-live/part-pre-taped staff performance of the Harlem Shake. Duria's in that one too, though she doesn't appear to be at the scene of a tragedy, which marks a shift in tone from her later work.

"We're gonna go clubbing with Angelica on the weekends," laughs one dancing newsman in the Dougie video. Maybe this weekend the whole gang will take a roadtrip to Boston.

[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]

Family Guy Episode at Center of Boston Marathon Conspiracy Theory Pulled from Web by Fox

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Amid all the batshit crackpot conspiracy theories that have emerged in the wake of yesterday's Boston Marathon bombing, the "Family Guy false flag" theory stands alone in its batshittiness.

Not the least because the whole conspiracy is predicated on a hoax.

It all started when some heartless troll saw fit to combine two disparate parts from a single episode of Family Guy to make it appear as through Peter is using a cellphone to remotely detonate two explosive devices, thereby securing his victory in the Boston Marathon.

In actuality, the two scenes occur many minutes apart from each other and belong to two unrelated gags.

Alex Jones, never one to bother with facts that get in the way of his conspiratorial ravings, presented the doctored clip to his readers as proof that the media knew in advance about the government's plans to bomb the Boston Marathon in order to generate a convenient excuse "to take our civil liberties and promote homeland security."

Obviously.

Other right-wing websites picked up where Jones left off, and Twitter users helpfully spread word of an impending New World Order.

The whole thing eventually got so bad that Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane had no choice but to respond. "The edited Family Guy clip currently circulating is abhorrent," he tweeted.

Though it didn't make any mention of the fabricated controversy surrounding the episode, Fox a short while ago decided to pull "Turban Cowboy" — which originally aired one month ago tomorrow — from all digital outlets where it is currently available, including Fox.com and Hulu.

While the episode does not contain the scene depicted in the fake clip circulating online, it does feature a flashback showing Peter hitting Boston Marathon runners with his car.

[video via YouTube]

Two Recent, High-Profile False Positives for Ricin

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Two Recent, High-Profile False Positives for Ricin

Early Tuesday evening, news broke that a letter sent to Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) tested positive for the deadly poison ricin. Considering yesterday's bombings and the deadly anthrax-filled letters sent after 9/11, this is scary stuff, right? Maybe. But there's a history of false positives with ricin.

The most notable case occurred in January of 2003, when investigators found what they then believed to be traces of ricin during a raid of the London apartment of alleged al Qaeda operatives. Authorities used the discovery – from a mortar and pestle in the apartment – to declare the suspects a "poison cell." Despite the fact that the apartment contained the ingredients necessary to make ricin – including castor beans and acetone – as well as instructions, it was later discovered that the substance found was not ricin. Of course, this discovery, which was made shortly after the raid, was not publicly revealed until April 2005, over two years later.

In the two years before the false positive was publicly disclosed, public officials in the UK and the United States used the false positive to connect the five men arrested to eventual al Qaeda member Abu Musab Zarqawi, whom the US was then attempting to link to Saddam Hussein and a camp in Iraq where ricin was made. From the Washington Post:

Vice President Cheney, speaking of Hussein and his terrorist allies, told a Chamber of Commerce audience on Jan. 10, "The gravity of the threat we face was underscored in recent days when British police arrested . . . suspected terrorists in London and discovered a small quantity of ricin, one of the world's deadliest poisons."

A week later at the White House, then-press secretary Ari Fleischer told reporters, "When you read about people in London being arrested for possession of ricin, there clearly remain people in the world who want to inflict as much harm as they can on the Western world and on others."

In his Feb. 5 speech to the U.N. Security Council, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell put up a slide that linked a "U.K. poison cell" to Zarqawi.

After U.S. troops seized the northern Iraq camp linked to Zarqawi, Gen. Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told CNN's "Late Edition" on March 30: "We think that's probably where the ricin that was found in London came [from]. . . . At least the operatives and maybe some of the formulas came from this site."

Naturally, authorities had known about the false positive "well before the outbreak of war in Iraq" in March 2003, according to a key witness for the defendants in the trial.

There was another high profile false positive for ricin in 2006, when a student at the University of Texas discovered a "whitish-brown powder" on a roll of quarters in a college laundry room. An initial test of the powder indicated it was ricin. Panic ensued on the campus: the dormitory was evacuated, the quarter machine removed and a haz mat team was called to the scene to investigate. Subsequent tests for the poison were negative.

An NBC News story about a ricin-laced letter in 2004 mentions another possibility for today's incident with Senator Wicker.

A possible explanation for the positive reading also has emerged. The sources said that investigators have determined that non-toxic byproducts of the castor bean plant - the raw material for ricin - are sometimes used in making paper. Because tests performed on congressional mail are highly sensitive, they could have picked up minute traces of products derived from the castor plant - not actual ricin, according to this theory.

Of course, none of this means the letter sent to Sen. Wicker wasn't laced with ricin. CNN is reporting that three tests found traces of the poison, and a similar ricin-by-letter incident occurred in 2004, when a letter to Bill Frist tested positive for the poison. But it's worth considering the possibility of a false negative before we rush into a panic or, you know, invade another country.

[Image of Sen. Roger Wicker via AP]

High-Stakes Gambling Ring Busted as FBI Raids Art Gallery in Manhattan

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High-Stakes Gambling Ring Busted as FBI Raids Art Gallery in Manhattan

With fine art, gambling, gangsters, Hollywood stars, the Olympics, bribery, FBI agents and more, this story has something for everyone. On Tuesday afternoon, FBI agents raided the Helly Nahmad Gallery in Manhattan, charging its owner, Hillel Nahmad, with being involved with an international gambling and money laundering ring.

The Nahmad family has long been one of the more prominent names in the art world, with an estimated worth of over $3 billion that includes over 300 Picassos and 4,500 other works by well-known, high value artists, many of which are stored in a warehouse in Switzerland. For reasons that remain unclear, that vast treasure wasn't enough to keep the 34-year-old Hillel out of trouble.

Federal investigators have charged him with leading an international gambling ring with ties to the Russian mafia, laundering over $100 million, and fraud. Nahmad is also accused of using $1.35 million of his father's money – transferred from a Swiss bank account – to finance the gambling operation.

The indictment also named Molly Bloom, who made headlines in 2011 for setting up poker games for celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck.

More impressive than Bloom and her Hollywood connections, though, is Alimzhan Tokhtakhounov, the alleged head of the operation's overseas division. Tokhtakhounov is reportedly a high-ranking member in the Russian mafia with close relationships to many high-powered Russian politicians, including some who are friends with Vladimir Putin.

Mr. Tokhtakhounov, according to the indictment, was a "Vory V Zakone," sometimes known as a Vor or a "thief in law," the highest level of Russian gangsters.

Between December 2011 and January 2012, Mr. Tokhtakhounov was paid $10 million for his leadership role in the organization, according to the indictment.

Tokhtakhounov was also indicted in 2002 for allegedly rigging two events at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. According to that criminal complaint, he used a member of his crime gang and a Russian skating official to somehow convince judges to award a gold medal for a Russian figure skater in exchange for the French team winning gold in ice dancing. He was never brought to the United States to stand trial.

[New York Times/Photo of Alimzhan Tokhtakhounov via Getty]

Here Are Photos of the Pressure-Cooker Bomb Used in Boston

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Here Are Photos of the Pressure-Cooker Bomb Used in Boston

On Tuesday, the Associated Press and Fox 5 in Atlanta obtained photos from an FBI intelligence bulletin showing what's left of one of the bombs that exploded during the Boston marathon. As earlier reported, at least one of the bombs used in the attack was improvised from a conventional pressure-cooker.

Three photos show what Fox 5 describes as pieces of a stainless steel pressure cooker. The fourth photo shows a shredded black nylon bag, the same type investigators believe were used to disguise the bombs.

Here Are Photos of the Pressure-Cooker Bomb Used in Boston

Here Are Photos of the Pressure-Cooker Bomb Used in Boston

Here Are Photos of the Pressure-Cooker Bomb Used in Boston

[Images via AP/Fox 5]

FBI Pleads for Help in 'Wide Open' Marathon Bombing Investigation

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FBI Pleads for Help in 'Wide Open' Marathon Bombing InvestigationHere's what investigators have said they know, so far, about the Boston Marathon bombings that killed three and injured 183 people on Monday: The explosive devices used were built out of conventional pressure cookers placed in nylon backpacks. What they don't know: anything else. The "range of suspects and motives remains wide open [...] Someone knows who did this," Special Agent Richard DesLauriers, the lead investigator, told reporters. "[T]he person who did this is someone's friend, neighbor, coworker or relative." The Bureau is actively soliciting photographs, tips and information; examining the bombs; and using face-recognition software in an attempt to generate leads. No one has claimed responsibility, and the "Saudi national" briefly placed in custody after the bombing (whose suspecthood was loudly touted by the New York Post and Fox) is no longer a person of interest. It will be a "long, painstaking investigation," Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick told WBUR this morning, but "every hour, every day" will get us "a little closer." [NBC, AP, image, of the Public Garden following an interfaith service at Arlington Street Church in Boston, via AFP/Getty]


New Zealand Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage; 13th Country to Do So

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New Zealand today became the first Asia-Pacific county to legalize same-sex marriage — and the 13th country overall to do so.

The Marriage Amendment Bill, first introduced by the Labour MP Louisa Wall last year, passed its third and final vote by a margin of 77 to 44, making it the law of the land starting in mid-August.

Members of Parliament who supported the bill cheered loudly at its passing, and several MPs even broke out in song.

"Yay, we did it," Wall, a gay woman herself, later told reporters covering the historic vote.

Her colleague, National list MP Tau Henare, expressed hope that New Zealand's marriage equality would encourage neighboring Australia to pass a similar bill.

"Hopefully it will push the Aussies into doing something," he said.

New Zealand's vote comes exactly one week after Uruguay became the 12th country to legalize gay marriage.

The two nations join Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, South Africa, Sweden, and parts of the United States, Mexico, and Brazil.

[video via Towleroad]

ICYMI: Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert Open Their Shows With Emotional Words of Support for Boston

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ICYMI: Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert Open Their Shows With Emotional Words of Support for Boston

In their first shows since Monday's bombings at the Boston Marathon, both Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert had a few things to say about the tragic event.

Few — but powerful.

Echoing the words of many others who have witnessed the outpouring of pure goodness in the aftermath of the attacks, Stewart expressed his gratitude to the Cradle of Liberty for "inspiring and solidifying my belief in humanity and the people of this country."

Echoing Stewart's sentiments, Colbert had similar, albeit spicier things to say to the individual or individuals behind the attacks.

"Whoever did this obviously did not know shit about the people of Boston, because nothing these terrorists do is going to shake them," Colbert said before adding, "for Pete's sake, Boston was founded by the Pilgrims!"

[videos via The Daily Show, Colbert Nation]

4,000 Police on Duty at Margaret Thatcher's Funeral

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4,000 Police on Duty at Margaret Thatcher's Funeral In fashion typical of the day, a horse-drawn carriage delivered Margaret Thatcher's coffin to St. Paul's Cathedral in London earlier this morning. The procession route passed a divided crowd, split between cheerers and hecklers. The threat of demonstrations, particularly those from Irish Republicans, caused an influx of security throughout London. The procession was flanked with British Army, Royal Air Force, the Royal Navy as well as over 4,000 Metropolitan Police on duty for the event.

Margaret Thatcher, who died of a stroke on April 8th at the age of 87, was given a "ceremonial" style funeral with full military honors—similar to the funerals accorded to Princess Diana and the Queen Mother.

Over 2,300 people confirmed attendance for the first female prime minister of Britain's funeral. Mourners came from 170 countries and included Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, former U.S. House Speaker Next Gingrich, the last apartheid-era president of South Africa F. W. de Klerk, former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, and former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. (The Washington Post also includes notable no-shows in their list, which is fascinating).

The current UK Prime Minister David Cameron as well as Thatcher's granddaughter Amanda gave readings. The Bishop of London, Richard Chartres, gave the address, in which he noted in a telling turn of phrase, that her funeral was "neither the time nor the place" to debate the Iron Lady's legacy.

[CNN | BBC | Washington Post, image via AP]

Open Psychic Wound Mark Sanford Accused of Trespassing in Ex's House

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Open Psychic Wound Mark Sanford Accused of Trespassing in Ex's HouseWhat goes on in the mind of Mark Sanford—politician, businessman, lover, poet, creep? On the eve of his attempted political comeback (he's running for congress), the former South Carolina Governor, who disappeared for five days while governor, claiming to be hiking the Appalachian trail, has been accused of trespassing in his ex-wife's house:

The complaint says Jenny Sanford confronted the former governor leaving her Sullivans Island home on Feb. 3 by a rear door, using his cell phone for a flashlight. Her attorney filed the complaint the next day.

The couple's 2010 divorce settlement says neither may enter the other's home without permission. Mark Sanford lives about a 20-minute drive away from Sullivans Island in downtown Charleston.

Sanford has been for a long time our favorite Damaged American Political Creep, thanks to his bizarrely heartfelt speech about being in love with the Argentine woman he was visiting during his disappearance, and also for writing the line "the erotic beauty of you holding yourself (or two magnificent parts of yourself) in the faded glow of night's light" in an email to Maria Chapur, said Argentine mistress.

Lately, however, his position has been threatened by former congressman Anthony Weiner, whose New York Times Magazine profile this weekend was a four-car pileup of damage and neuroticism, equal parts charming and repulsive. But now! Ah, how can you not be totally grossed out and yet strangely fascinated by a guy who, weeks away from possibly staging a political comeback and returning to governance, breaks into his ex's house, in the dark?

Also, what will he tell people was doing, now that he's used up his great Appalachian Trail excuse?

[Yahoo!, image via AP]

This Is How Easy it Is to Find a Gun-Buying Felon Online

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This Is How Easy it Is to Find a Gun-Buying Felon Online As the Senate prepared this morning to chicken out of tougher background checks on gun buyers, the New York Times plumbed the depths of Armslist, an online "firearms marketplace," and without much trouble turned up felons, fugitives, and random dudes hawking hundreds of guns at a time:

Over the past three months, The Times identified more than 170,000 gun ads on Armslist. Some were for the same guns, making it difficult to calculate just how many guns were actually for sale. Even so, with more than 20,000 ads posted every week, the number is probably in the tens of thousands.

Notably, 94 percent of the ads were posted by "private parties," who, unlike licensed dealers, are not required to conduct background checks.

Armslist makes its agenda clear, leading its front page with quick-links to sales listings for what it calls "Feinstein's Favorites": assault weapons targeted for regulation like AKs, AR-15s, Uzis, and MAC-10s.

The would-be purchasers included Omar Roman-Martinez, a double-felon and convicted domestic abuser who in several posts over more than a week sought a handgun and 9mm ammunition, even offering "to trade a tablet computer or a vintage Pepsi machine for firearms." (When contacted by the paper, he said he'd decided not to buy a piece.)

Then there's the Rhode Island fugitive with two felony warrants who wanted an AK-47; the domestic batterer selling his SKS; and the South Carolinian who's put 80 guns up for sale since February, and told the paper he doesn't do background checks or keep any sales records. The reason: "I can just sort of read people."

[Image via Flickr/Brian.ch]

Republican Lawmaker Refers to Women as 'Vaginas' in Email to Colleague

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Republican Lawmaker Refers to Women as 'Vaginas' in Email to Colleague

A Republican state legislator from New Hampshire is in scaldingly hot water after he used the word "vaginas" as a substitute for the word "women" in an official email sent to a colleague via the New Hampshire House internal email system.

State Rep. Peter Hansen (R-Amherst) was debating the recently passed HB 135 — a State House bill repealing parts of a Stand Your Ground law passed last year — with Rep. Steve Vaillancourt, also a Republican, who had argued in favor of retreating from a confrontation rather than resorting to the use of deadly force.

In an official email to Vaillancourt, Hansen wrote:

There were two critical ingredients missing in the illustrious stories purporting to demonstrate the practical side of retreat. Not that retreat may not be possible mind you. What could possibly be missing from those factual tales of successful retreat in VT, Germany, and the bowels of Amsterdam? Why children and vagina's (sic) of course. While the tales relate the actions of a solitary male the outcome cannot relate to similar situations where children and women and mothers are the potential victims.

Other lawmakers were quick to express shock at Hansen's misogynist "play on words."

"Are you really using 'vaginas' as a crude catch-all for women? Really?" wrote back State Rep. Rick Watrous, a Democrat. "Please think before you send out such offensive language on the legislative listserve."

The Huffington Post notes that Hansen's remarks are particularly odd given that New Hampshire recently made history by becoming the first state to have an all-female delegation to Congress.

The state's governor, speaker of the State House, and chief justice of the state Supreme Court are all women as well.

But that proved inconsequential to Hansen as he continued to stand his ground. In response to Rep. Watrous' objection, Hansen wrote:

Having a fairly well educated mind I do not need self appointed wardens to A: try to put words in my mouth for political gain and B: Turn a well founded strategy in communication into an insulting accusation, and finally if you find the noun vagina insulting or in some way offensive then perhaps a better exercise might be for you to re-examine your psyche.

It wasn't until Hansen was called out by State Republican chair Jennifer Horn — yes, also a woman — for his "disrespectful and shameful" comments that he finally backed down some.

Speaking yesterday, Hansen claimed he was attempting to "get into the mind of the perpetrator," and that the entire thing "has been totally blown out of proportion." In signature non-apology fashion he also apologized "to those who took offense."

[photo via Amherst Patch]

Composing Soap Opera Music Is So Easy, Even a Cat Could Do It

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It's a story as old as time: Boy meets girl; boy falls for girl; girl points out how the music in her favorite soap opera is so bad "that her cat could have written it"; boy decides to test her theory and is met with "great success."

The End.

[H/T: Reddit]


World’s Worst Friend President Obama: We Have 'Better Things to Do’ Than Plan Trips to Cuba for Beyoncé

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President Obama showed his true colors in an interview on Today Wednesday morning, when host Savannah Guthrie asked if he had been aware that two normal, average American citizens named Beyoncé and Jay-Z were planning a visit to Cuba before the trip occurred.

Those true colors: Bad Friend Burgundy.

Obama was like Why would I plan that trip I don't have time to plan that trip I don't even know them really I don't even like them really my Mom made me go over their house one time after church but I wasn't even there that long and I don't talk to them and we're not friends whaaaat whoooo huuuuuh?

Here's what he actually said:

"I wasn't familiar that they were taking the trip. My understanding is I think they went through a group that organizes these educational trips down to Cuba. You know, this is not something the White House was involved with. We've got better things to do."

Better things to do? That's interesting. I guess Beyoncé and Jay-Z have better things to do than drop off that "Someone Who Loves Me Went to Cuba and All I Got Was This Lousy Camiseta" t-shirt they picked up for a certain special somebody at the Havana airport.

Obama didn't touch the second part of Guthrie's question, which asked whether he had "seen" (it's a song, Savannah!) Jay-Z's "Open Letter," in which the rapper brags about receiving White House clearance for the controversial trip. Guthrie was probably too embarrassed by the dorky way she'd said "~raps~" the first time to do a follow-up.

As previously reported, Florida Senator Marco Rubio recently demanded an investigation into the couple's trip to Cuba, requesting that the White House "explain exactly how trips like these comply with U.S. law and regulations governing travel to Cuba." The trip was approved by the Treasury Department, reportedly as part of a "people to people" cultural exchange.

(In case you're wondering, the interview segment was filmed prior to Monday's Boston Marathon bombing, which is probably why Savannah Guthrie and the President didn't have anything more interesting to talk about than Beyoncé and Jay-Z.)

[via NBC]

Poisonous Ricin Found in Letter Addressed to Obama

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Poisonous Ricin Found in Letter Addressed to ObamaA letter addressed to President Obama that was intercepted after a "suspicious substance" was detected has tested positive for ricin, the same substance found on a letter to Mississippi Senator Roger Wicker yesterday, the Dow Jones news wire is reporting.

In addition, a second letter sent to the U.S. Senate has also tested positive for ricin, according to ABC.

Authorities are said to have a suspect in the case of the letter sent to Wicker—a person who "writes a lot of letters to members," Sen. Claire McCaskill said today. It's also worth remembering that there's a history of ricin false positives that have been used to justify hasty security action.

[AP]

The Master Bedroom Is No More

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The Master Bedroom Is No More Looking for a home in the DC area? It's likely you will be unable to locate a Master Bedroom. Not because it's the newest architectural trend to hide these rooms behind a discreet bookshelf door or to shrink these suites to the size of a pantry. No—the phrase Master Bedroom is being wiped from the blueprints.

A survey of ten major real estate developers in the Washington DC-area found that six no longer used the description "Master Bedroom" in the floor plans to describe the largest bedroom in the home. It's just a matter of time, said Grant Johnson of the ludicrously swanky custom home builder Sekas Homes, before the word is phased out of the industry entirely.

Because of negative associations with the word master—both on a gender level (it implies a male) as well as uncomfortable historical connotations (for example, a master of slaves), architects and contractors are looking for a more accurate and more politically correct replacement.

Surprisingly the homebuilders in Washington DC, a national hotbed for the latest neologisms and descriptive metaphor, did not construct particularly creative descriptions. The current replacements include:

  • Owner's Suite
  • Owner's Bedroom
  • Mastre Bedroom

Imagination abounding! It seems that the switch-over to an incorrect spelling of the original offending word as well as replacement with "Owner" is more common in high-end listings. A managing broker for McLean's RE/Max Allegiance, Brian Block, interviewed in the Washington Business Journal said:

"The terminology has more of an upscale tone to it, particularly in some of the really large homes that truly have a large bedroom, sitting area, enormous walk-in closets, and lavish bathrooms," Block wrote in an email. "Owner Suite conveys a sense of being distinguished, having ‘made it' or ‘arrived' rather than the everyday ‘Master Bedroom.'"

[Washington Business Journal, image via John Kwan/Shutterstock]

This Incredible Marriage Equality Speech by a New Zealand Member of Parliament Is a Must-Watch

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Depending on your time zone, you either woke up or went to bed (or did neither) with news that New Zealand had become the 13th country to legalize same-sex marriage.

It was a decades-long journey that was appropriately capped off with a parliament speech for the ages.

Speaking in support of MP Louisa Wall's Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Bill, MP Maurice Williamson of the National Party delivered what some are hailing as "one of the greatest speeches ever delivered at a marriage equality debate."

After warming up the crowd with some jokes about a Catholic priest who chided Williamson for "supporting an unnatural act" despite having "taken an oath of celibacy" himself, and the unlikelihood that he (Williamson) will "burn in the fires of hell for eternity" given his "body weight and humidity," the lawmaker got down to brass tacks:

A huge amount of the opposition was from moderates, from people who were concerned, who were seriously worried what this might do to the fabric of our society. I respect their concern. I respect their worry. They were worried about what it might do to their families, and so on.

Let me repeat to them now: All we are doing with this bill is allowing two people who love each other to have that love recognized by way of marriage.

That is all we are doing. We are not declaring nuclear war on a foreign state. We are not bringing a virus in that could wipe out our agricultural sector forever. We are allowing two people who love each other to have that recognized, and I can't see what's wrong with that for love nor money.

I give a promise to those people who are opposed to this bill right now. I give you a watertight guaranteed promise; the sun will still rise tomorrow, your teenage daughter will still argue back with you as if she knows everything, your mortgage will not grow, you will not have skin diseases or rashes or toads in your bed. The world will just carry on.

The Pakuranga representative concluded his stirring address by noting that, contrary to claims that the marriage equality bill was responsible for New Zealand's drought, it was actually "pouring with rain" in his electorate.

And after the rain stopped, "we had the most enormous big gay rainbow across my electorate," Williamson said. "It has to be a sign."

Williamson's moving words appear to have gone unheard by Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard. Responding to a question about New Zealand's legalization of same-sex marriage, Gillard stated that she remains firmly opposed to equal marriage rights for same-sex couples.


[video via NZ Herald, photo via @williamson_nz]

Here Is What's Left of the Boston Marathon Bombs

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Here Is What's Left of the Boston Marathon Bombs

These new photos, taken of the scene of the Boston marathon attacks on Monday, show fragments of the two bombs that detonated at the finish line. The images—which show frayed wires, a misshapen battery pack, a bloody zipper-pull from a backpack, nails, a small green circuit board, and dented metal fragments—will provide clues to the anatomy of the bombs. Authorities are weeding through heaps of forensic evidence at the site to try to find some answers and track suspects.

[NBC, images via Joint Terrorism Task Force of Boston / Reuters]

Here Is What's Left of the Boston Marathon Bombs Here Is What's Left of the Boston Marathon Bombs Here Is What's Left of the Boston Marathon Bombs Here Is What's Left of the Boston Marathon Bombs Here Is What's Left of the Boston Marathon Bombs Here Is What's Left of the Boston Marathon Bombs Here Is What's Left of the Boston Marathon Bombs Here Is What's Left of the Boston Marathon Bombs

[NBC, images via Joint Terrorism Task Force of Boston / Reuters]

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