When journalist-turned-Clinton-shill Sidney Blumenthal was blocked by the Obama White House from a full-time job in Hillary Clinton’s State Department, he settled for the next best thing: Constantly spamming Clinton’s secret, private email account.

http://gawker.com/the-private-em...

The most recent 7,000-page court-ordered divulgence from Hillary Clinton’s giant boxed collection of printed-out emails, which the State Department published online last night at 9 p.m., tells us two things: First, as is the case with previous dumps, the fact that Clinton was permitted to unilaterally delete large portions of her private email account without any scrutiny or oversight means what the public is left with is pretty dull. Secondly, when her off-the-books global intel lackey Sid Blumenthal wasn’t sending her long, inaccurate memos on foreign affairs, he was peppering her with updates about his sons’ careers. Clinton’s responses to Blumenthal’s missives—she repeatedly forwarded them to aides with requests to print out multiple copies, and explicitly told Blumenthal to keep the advice coming—show conclusively that she actually relied on his unofficial counsel.

http://gawker.com/leaked-private...

These newly unearthed Blumenthal emails span the total spectrum of what’s possibly worth the Secretary of State’s attention span. On the one hand, we see Blumenthal relaying a “confidential report” out of Kyrgyzstan by Harper’s Magazine contributor Scott Horton—it’s no small feat to make sure a lowly writer has the ear of a cabinet-level official (she asks for three copies to be made).

But much of the Blumenthal/Clinton correspondence is just unsolicited noise, like updates on his son Max’s latest articles on “opendemocracy.net.”

He also took the time to update Clinton on the fact Max had been awarded the Annenberg Online Journalism Award—which described as “the equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize—eight years after the fact.

Not to favor one kid over the other, Sid also took the time to promote the viral web success of his other son Paul: He emailed Clinton to inform her that one recent Huffington Post article had “more hits and comments than any other piece, and is the number one story on blogs across the web right now.”

Hillary’s polite response: “Good for Paul!”

There’s also a relentless needling in Blumenthal’s emails, a constant pressure of opinions, unvetted facts, and third-hand rumors informing the daily judgments of one of the U.S. government’s most powerful figures.

He chimed in on how to spin Wikileaks:

He suggested meetings with foreign dignitaries:

And even made their dinner reservations:

Offered insight on Iran:

On Israel:

On who to ring, and when:

Timestamps on the State Department’s release suggest that Blumenthal was in touch with Clinton at least once per week (sometimes much more) in 2010—and again, that is just a partial record of those emails that Clinton didn’t unilaterally destroy because she judged them to be unrelated to her job.

For now we’re left to wonder why exactly Sid Blumenthal took it on himself to act as a policy counsel and social secretary to Hillary Clinton—did he just want to feel like he was part of it all? Or was he being compensated to act as an off-the-books spook, filling Clinton’s inbox with paternal pride and memos on Israel? Clinton claims her secret email server was hiding nothing more than “yoga routines” and other personal mundanities. But it’s also keeping us from ever knowing why the hell she cared so much what Sid Blumenthal had to say, or who was paying him to say it.

Photo: Getty

Contact the author at biddle@gawker.com.
Public PGP key
PGP fingerprint: E93A 40D1 FA38 4B2B 1477 C855 3DEA F030 F340 E2C7

A tropical cyclone is an iconic storm that strikes fear (or laughter) in the heart of coastal residents around the world. Most of these low pressure systems over the ocean are weak, but some can grow into monsters. If they’re all the same kind of storm, though, why do we call them different names around the world?

Tropical Cyclones

We know them here in the United States as hurricanes. The official name for this meteorological phenomenon is a tropical cyclone, as opposed to an “extratropical cyclone” like the ones we commonly experience over land as a result of the jet stream.

A tropical cyclone is a warm-core low pressure system (warm and muggy air from the surface to the top of the atmosphere) with deep thunderstorm activity that surrounds a closed circulation of winds at the surface. Tropical cyclones feed their energy off of the warm water beneath them, accumulating strength through the thunderstorms surrounding the eye of the storm (the eyewall).

As the updrafts that feed these thunderstorms grow stronger, they suck more air away from the surface, creating lower air pressure at the center of the tropical cyclone. The resulting pressure gradient creates violent winds at the surface as air tries to rush toward the low pressure minimum to fill it back up.

Believe it or not, there is a reason that tropical cyclones exist! Weather is the result of the atmosphere trying to smooth out the extremes and balance itself out; these cyclones exist as a way for the atmosphere to transfer heat from the tropics to the poles, a futile attempt to balance the two out by way of total and complete devastation.

What’s in a Name?

No matter where a tropical cyclone develops—whether it’s near Florida or Japan or Australia or even Brazil—a tropical cyclone is still a tropical cyclone. They form from the same processes in similar environments, and aside from slightly different wind speed requirements, a hurricane, a typhoon, and a cyclone are all the same thing.

When a tropical cyclone becomes well organized and produces damaging winds greater than a certain level (usually around 74 MPH), it’s considered “mature.” Hurricanes, typhoons, and cyclones are all classifications that represent the mature stage of a tropical cyclone. Lesser-organized and weaker cyclones (immature, I guess?) are universally called tropical storms and tropical depressions, though each ocean basin has vastly different wind requirements for each of these lesser classifications.

We call them hurricanes around North America because of the heavy Spanish influence on the continent in the 15th and 16th centuries—the Spanish word for hurricane is huracán. “Typhoon” entered the English language when explorers interacted with residents of southwest and southern Asia—according to the Online Etymology Dictionary (which probably isn’t wrong), the word comes from tufan, which means “big cyclonic storm” in Arabic, Persian, and Hindi.

The reason different regions call the same storm a “hurricane” or “typhoon” is the same reason your weird, old relative from Wiscahnsin is upset the office bubbler isn’t working. The shoes you wear to gym class, for instance, are called tennis shoes, gym shoes, sneakers, athletic shoes, or running shoes depending on where you are in the United States. Except, instead of putting on your sneakers to play tennis, you’re boarding up your house and fleeing inland.

Ocean Basins

How do you determine the cutoff line between a hurricane and typhoon, though? Tropical cyclone tracking around the world is broken down into different ocean basins. We track tropical cyclones in the Atlantic Ocean separately from those that form in the eastern Pacific or southwestern Pacific near Australia.

Each ocean basin is covered by a different meteorological organization responsible for issuing forecasts in that region of the world. The National Hurricane Center down in Miami covers tropical cyclones that form in the North Atlantic (from the Equator to the Arctic, including the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean) and eastern Pacific. The Central Pacific Hurricane Center in Honolulu covers tropical cyclones that form in the central Pacific Ocean, which is an area between the International Date Line (180°W) and 140°W. The list goes on for other regions.

The Names

Other than figuring out when tropical cyclone season starts and stops, as well as determining forecast jurisdiction, ocean basins are most important when determining what to call these systems.

A mature tropical cyclone (winds of 74+ MPH) that exists east of the International Date Line (180°W) and north of the Equator—an area covering the central and eastern Pacific Ocean—is a hurricane. I get bombarded with emails about this every time I write about a storm on the other side of North America—“uh, actually, you’re supposed to call them typhoons, sir”—but trust me, a mature tropical cyclone near Hawaii or Mexico is called a hurricane.

A mature tropical cyclone west of the International Date Line (180°W) and north of the Equator is a typhoon. A tropical cyclone turns into a typhoon in the western Pacific—near Asia—when it has winds of 74 MPH or greater. Guam and the Northern Marianas Islands are west of the International Date Line.

This brings up a strange issue—what about storms that cross the International Date Line? Well, we had an example of that today. Hawaii was briefly worried that a storm named Tropical Storm Kilo could threaten the islands, but it drifted west instead, quickly becoming a category four hurricane this past weekend. Hurricane Kilo kept moving west, and farther west, and even farther west until it eventually crossed the International Date Line. Once Hurricane Kilo crossed the other side of 180°W, it became Typhoon Kilo. Same storm, same winds, same everything, just a different name.

The southern hemisphere makes things easy for us. Every mature tropical cyclone in the southern hemisphere (and the Indian Ocean) is simply called a “cyclone.” Phailin, a destructive storm that made landfall on India’s east coast back in 2013 with winds of more than 100 MPH, was called Cyclone Phailin.

Tropical cyclones rarely form in the southern Atlantic, but there too they’re called cyclones, and the southern Pacific Ocean near South America is far too cold and hostile to support any sort of tropical development. If one ever formed in this part of the world, though, it would probably be called a cyclone instead of a hurricane or typhoon.

Our classifications schemes are a bit hard to keep up with, but it’s pretty easy to remember what to call each storm. If a strong storm threatens the United States or Caribbean, it’s a hurricane. If a strong storm is aiming for Asia, it’s a typhoon. Everywhere else, it’s just called a cyclone.

[Top Image: Typhoon Nabi in the western Pacific, September 2005, via NASA | Animated Satellite: Super Typhoon Haiyan making landfall in the Philippines, November 2013, via NOAA | Maps: author]

Email: dennis.mersereau@gawker.com | Twitter: @wxdam

If you enjoy The Vane, then you’ll love my upcoming book, The Extreme Weather Survival Manual, which comes out on October 6 and is now available for pre-order on Amazon.

Artist and programmer Nick Rindo, whose medium of choice is various plant seeds, created a portrait of accused sexual predator Bill Cosby out of canola seeds and submitted it to the Minnesota State Fair. But it didn’t take the fair organizers long to realize that the rape portrait had not fallen far from the rape plant.

In an attempt to make sure everyone who saw his piece got the joke, Rindo listed the medium as “canola seed (rapeseed).”

The Fair taped over the parenthetical reference before accepting the work—because crop art superintendent Ron Kelsey reasoned “we call everything canola in this country”—and then took it down from the Agriculture Horticulture Building altogether.

“It’s somewhere in a corner of shame,” Rindo told the Pioneer Press Monday.

Do we call everything canola in this country, though? Nay. The name “canola” is a Canadian invention.

Despite attempts by our polite northern neighbors to claim due credit for breeding the rape plant (and uncouple it from its unsavory homonym) by branding it with a portmanteau of “Canada Oil,” the plant that produces the oil is not commonly called “canola” anywhere. It is called “rape.”

Kelsey said he had to take the artwork down after receiving several email complaints from people who weren’t comfortable with its subject matter.

It appears that in this country, some people do not find calling rape “rape” to be very palatable.

http://gawker.com/who-wants-to-r...

[h/t Rubio (For Her Pleasure) on Kinja, rape portrait by Nick Rindo]

Great, Shane. This is just fucking great.

What were you even thinking? How many times have we told you to... I just don’t even know what to say!

Honestly, do you have any idea how much this is going to cost me?

Please just go upstairs. I can’t look at you right now.

Photos via AP and Getty

Deadspin Shut Up About Tom Brady’s Legacy | Jezebel Here’s How New Texas Public School Textbooks Write About Slavery | Kotaku Steam Is Getting An Uncensored Sex Game | Lifehacker Why Facebook Makes Your Images Look Like Crap, and How to Fix It | Kinja Popular Posts

On Tuesday, the former director of Jared Fogle’s anti-childhood obesity charity pled guilty to 12 counts of child exploitation and one count of distributing and receiving child pornography, charges related to an alleged conspiracy with the disgraced Subway spokesperson, The Washington Post reports.

From 2009 until his arrest this April, 43-year-old Russell Taylor served as the executive director of Fogle’s Jared Foundation. During that time, tax documents show that 60% of the charity’s budget was used to pay Taylor’s salary and 0% was spent on the grants the foundation was supposedly formed to distribute.

http://gawker.com/report-jared-f...

According to officials, Taylor admitted today to secretly filming 12 nude minors in his home as well as downloading commercial pornography featuring children as young as 6-years-old, some of which he later shared with Fogle. From the Department of Justice:

Taylor and his friend Jared Fogle discussed among themselves the fact that Taylor was secretly producing sexually explicit videos of minors in Taylor’s current and former residence. Fogle chose to benefit from such production by obtaining access to a significant amount of such material over the time period. However, Fogle did not produce any of this material himself.

[...]

On multiple occasions, Taylor provided Fogle with access to the images or videos by sharing them on a computer that Taylor owned. They frequently travel together for business trips. Taylor and Fogle were close friends. Taylor also provided Fogle with some images and videos through text messages and a thumb drive.

In a lawsuit filed last week, Fogle claims Taylor failed to repay a personal loan of $191,000, money Taylor allegedly used to buy the home where some of the child pornography was filmed.

[Image via Indiana State Police/AP Images]

Do you see this pig? The one photographed above, biting her pen like it’s a throbbing, 1-2 inch long piece of felt? This, my friends, is Denise, and it’s recently come to my attention that she’s the homewrecking hog America’s beloved Kermit the Frog left America’s more beloved Miss Piggy for. And I would like to know the fuck she thinks she is.

I’ve never met this pig, but I can tell she’s the absolute, honest-to-Henson worst. In fact, Denise the Homewrecking Pig is probably worse more than any pig I’ve ever met, and I knew all 48 of the shit-eating, egotistical monsters who played Babe. Everywhere they went, it was, “Well I was in Babe,” and, “Back when I did Babe.” We get it—you acted once! Big fucking deal! I’ve acted too! God, I hated the nineties. But let’s go back to Denise.

I know it’s hard to look at her without cringing, with those overdone smokey eyes and that $2 merkin of a wig, but LOOK ANYWAY. I’ve seen Porky the Pig’s drag show many times, and let me tell you something—you’d need at least 200 Denises to match the fierceness and slay-bilities of the West Village’s very own Miss Porque Chop. But who are we kidding? Denise isn’t even close to the hardest hog to beat. You can find more glam in the meat counter at Whole Foods.

Meanwhile, Lana Del Sow has probably spent a lifetime thinking she can just waltz on into any room, bat those dead eyes of hers with what is probably permanent eyeliner, and attract any male of any species directly to her nonexistent lips so she can suck their wallets (among OTHER THINGS) dry.

But it’s not going to work this time.

No, she will not be winning Kermit away from the Queen. Maybe that dope of a frog deserves to be manipulated by some Chipotle Farms reject, but I refuse—as someone with no affiliation with Miss Piggy or those who represent her whatsoever—to let him gain any pleasure from a relationship with her, no matter how brief.

I will not let this pig win.

Image via screengrab.

Three California deputies who repeatedly punched and kicked an apparently subdued suspected horse thief on live television earlier this year have been charged with assault by a police officer, the L.A. Times reports.

http://gawker.com/san-bernardino...

In April, 10 San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputies were put on administrative leave when an NBC news helicopter captured them swarming around a tased chase suspect and striking him dozens of times over two minutes.

After reviewing the footage, District Attorney Mike Ramos said at a press conference on Tuesday that just three of the deputies “crossed the line” and would be charged. From KNBC:

Video that showed deputies repeatedly punching and kicking Pusok as he lay on the ground was studied “frame by frame” during the investigation, Ramos said.

Deputies said a stun gun was ineffective due to his loose clothing.

The group surrounding the man grew to 11 sheriff’s deputies. Pusok appeared to have been kicked 17 times, punched 37 times and struck with batons four times, a review of the video showed, and 13 blows appeared to be to the head.

“We carefully took a look at every individual in this case,” said Ramos. “And, it’s really important that you can see the terrain. Those bushes are tall. You can’t see around them. So when these other officers are running up... They hear something the other officers are yelling, not knowing the circumstances.”

If convicted, each of the deputies face up to three years in prison. According to an FBI spokesperson, a federal civil rights investigation into the incident is ongoing.

[Video via NBC//h/t Buzzfeed]

The son of a high-ranking Baltimore police commander was arrested on Tuesday after officials say he stabbed his roommate multiple times, killing him, WJZ-TV reports.

28-year-old Melvin Russell—son of Lt. Col. Melvin Russell—was charged with first- and second-degree murder, assault and weapons violations after allegedly stabbing the victim in a fight in Southwest Baltimore on Monday. From The Baltimore Sun:

Police said he and his 49-year-old roommate got into a fight in the 4900 block of Challedon Road and both sustained stab wounds. Both were taken to hospitals, where the roommate was pronounced dead, police said. The victim was not identified. Russell was treated for his injuries and released.

As head of the department’s Community Collaboration Unit, the elder Russell has played an important part in trying to build ties between Baltimore’s citizens and the officers that police them.

“I always ask first do you want to see peace, hope and love restored to the community. If we can use that as our foundation, we can accomplish a lot,” Lt. Col. Russell told the Baltimore Afro-American in May. “It’s difficult to sell drugs when 20 or 30 people from the church turn out en masse in an open-air drug market to send a signal that they don’t want this in their community.”

[Image via AP Images]

“Hey, can the window stay down for now? I like it down, thanks.”

“Hey, wait! I said down. I said I wanted it—”

“Alright, never mind, I guess. It’s—it’s okay. It wasn’t really that important, anyway.”

[Image via YouTube//h/t The Daily Dot]

During last weekend’s preseason St. Louis Rams game, a familiar ritual played out: With a stadium full of fans and a television audience watching, Rams cheerleader Candace Ruocco Valentine was surprised by the arrival of her husband August Valentine, a Marine Corps first lieutenant, who had just returned home from service abroad.

As a series of visuals, shown in the video below, it was a sterling example of the genre. The All-American cheerleader literally drops her pom-poms to run toward her husband, relief written across her face as she does; the happy young couple embraces; and Rampage, an anthropomorphic ram, looks on approvingly at their release from anxiety and fear.

As a set of facts, though, the heartwarming moment was basically bullshit, despite which the viral glurge machine went ahead and ran with the story of a joint triumph for the Valentines, the St. Louis Rams, the NFL, and the Pentagon. SB Nation got in on it:

And so did Sports Illustrated:

And so did For The Win, USA Today’s brand liaison:

These headlines accurately capture what’s imparted in the story-like objects over which they run, which tell the tale of the St. Louis Rams surprising a cheerleader with the return of her military husband from service overseas. As far as we can tell, every element of it is true. It could also be described rather differently.

Candace Ruocco Valentine is in fact a cheerleader for the St. Louis Rams. She made her debut this past weekend, at the very game at which her husband surprised her with his return from abroad. She’s several other things as well: a first lieutenant in the USMC (without wanting to scrutinize the gender politics of something that involves Rampage the Ram too closely, one might wonder why no headline writer went with “Husband Surprises Military Wife At Her Job”); a former White House intern who worked under Laura Bush; and a member of the Ruocco family, which is heavily involved in Illinois Republican politics.

August Valentine, meanwhile, is in fact a first lieutenant in the USMC. He made his surprise return to St. Louis, though, not from, say, the anxiety and peril of a security mission in Anbar province, but from a posting in South Korea, where combat operations wound down 62 years ago. He also happens to be not some anonymous leatherneck but a member of the galactically wealthy Busch family, which built the Anheuser-Busch corporation and, years after the sale of the business, retains incredible power in St. Louis. Valentine’s maternal grandfather, Gussie Busch, is generally credited with building the family business into the biggest brewery in the world; the Rams at one point played in a stadium named for the family.

For perspective, the happy couple had their wedding ceremony at the Vatican. That isn’t to say that rich people don’t deserve nice moments, or that their Rampage-approved emotions are less authentic than anyone else’s, but, along with other basic information about the two, it does slightly complicate the story of a photogenic NFL cheerleader being surprised by her photogenic military husband’s surprise return from service at the football game. So does one of Candace Ruocco Valentine’s Facebook posts, in which she lauds not only the Rams for their efforts to make this reunion happen, but “the mom-with-a-plan: Mrs. Katherine Ruocco.”

Speaking of plans, that would be the same Katherine Ruocco who is running for a state representative’s seat in Illinois, and who now has a patriotic viral video featuring her family—lately seen on Fox News—to share on her campaign’s official Facebook page.

It makes sense that an NFL team would go out of its way to do something special for a member of one of the most powerful families in America instead of, say, a local grunt who’d served in a combat zone, because these reunions really aren’t orchestrated and televised for the benefit of the soldiers and families involved. They are done because cozying up to the military is a good way for the NFL to market itself as a noble civic endeavor while making some extra money, and because the American football-loving public loves a chance to share in a bit of un-earned catharsis—watching two smiling, photogenic soldiers embrace in relief is a great way to forget about all the bodies that have piled up. If a given reunion happens to basically be a viral political ad—and given that Candace Ruocco Valentine is not only the member of two connected families and a former White House intern but the holder of both a JD and a doctorate in public policy analysis, one suspects that this moment may be shared on some campaign page of her own before too long—it’s hard to be too put out. That is, after all, what they all are.

h/t Andrew

Wednesday morning, Judge Barry Williams refused to drop the charges against the six Baltimore police officers accused of being responsible for Freddie Gray’s death. Williams also denied a motion to recuse Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby from the case.

http://gawker.com/freddie-gray-s...

From the Baltimore Sun:

The arguments largely centered around the actions of Mosby and others in her office. The dismissal motion focused on statements Mosby made while announcing the charges against the officers on May 1 at the Baltimore War Memorial. The arguments on the recusal motion focused on the role Mosby and prosecutors played in her office’s independent investigation of Gray’s death.

Chief Deputy State’s Attorney Michael Schatzow argued against the dismissal and recusal motions on behalf of the prosecution as Mosby sat behind. Andrew Graham, a defense attorney for Officer Caesar R. Goodson Jr., argued for the dismissal of charges. Catherine Flynn, a defense attorney for Officer Garrett E. Miller, argued for the recusal of Mosby.

The pre-trial hearing is scheduled to resume today at 2 p.m., at which time Williams will hear arguments about whether the officers should be tried together or separately.

http://gawker.com/all-six-cops-c...

The six officers—Caesar Goodson, Alicia White, William Porter, Brian Rice, Edward Nero, and Garrett Miller—face charges ranging from second-degree murder to second-degree assault for the death of Gray, who died in police custody last April.

Contact the author at taylor@gawker.com.

On this day, September 2, in 2012, Piers Morgan, the then-CNN host, tweeted, simply, “I want to die.”

Morgan was, I think, upset about some sort of soccer thing. Or maybe he wasn’t. Maybe he just wanted to die. It doesn’t matter. This is not a history of that tweet, or an explanation. It is simply an appreciation. It is, perhaps, my favorite tweet.

If you haven’t retweeted it yet — and as of this writing, only 51,098 people have, so millions still have the opportunity to retweet it for the very first time — today is as good a day as any. But also, feel free to wait a while, and retweet it tomorrow, or next month, or on Christmas Eve. The beauty and joy of Piers Morgan’s tweet that says “I want to die” is that it is always appropriate and always welcome.

One can go months without being reminded of the existence of Piers Morgan’s Twitter message reading, in its entirety, “I want to die.” Then, suddenly and delightfully, there it is, back on that formerly dreary or enervating timeline, retweeted, probably not for the first time, by a friend or colleague. It is an unpredictable treat, like a call from an old friend, or a Fran Lebowitz interview.

As the French say, when you are tired of the Piers Morgan tweet that reads “I want to die,” you are tired of life.

Three years ago today, Piers Morgan gave the world a gift. Just about the only good thing Piers Morgan has ever done is compose and then post the words “I want to die” on a social networking and microblogging platform, and then not delete that post for three years. The best part of his gift is that each of us is capable of giving that gift, too.

This year, or next, give your friends and loved ones the gift of a tweet from Piers Morgan that says “I want to die.”

Bruce Willis and Rumer Glenn Willis, his daughter, are both slated to appear in Xiao Feng’s upcoming Chinese war drama The Bombing. According to Bruce Willis, this is a fact they were unaware of until it was brought up naturally in casual conversation.

Talking to Roger Friedman of Showbiz 411 at last week’s premiere of Rock the Kasbah, Bruce Willis dropped the six words of which every showbiz journo dreams: “Here’s a scoop no one knows.” Why, a scoop no one knows, you say? [Sharp inhalation] Bruce—do go on:

“Rumer just finished a role in The Bombing. I had nothing to do with it. They cast her as a nurse.”

Would you look at that, a nurse of her own merit. She had it in her this whole time. Rumer Willis. Hellooo, nurse! But that wasn’t the only scoop no one knows. Bruce continues:

“She said to me, ‘I’m going to be in a Chinese movie.’ I said, ‘So am I?’ Then I said, How many Chinese movies are there? Wait a minute…”

A scoop and a good question. Only unfortunate that Bruce Willis trailed off before revealing the measures by which he hopes to uncover an answer. We’re left to wonder ourselves: How many Chinese movies are there?

Hmm. Well, we know there is at least one, because Bruce Willis and Rumer Willis are in it together by accident. We also know that China boasts the world’s largest film market outside of the U.S., because we read that. So, the answer is most likely lies somewhere between one and [larger number].

Having reached a wall in my investigation, I reached out to Vine personality and author of Beijing Welcomes You: Unveiling the Capital City of the Future Tom Scocca to ask him how many Chinese movies are there:

Kelly Conaboy: How many Chinese movies are there?
Tom Scocca: Mainland?
Kelly Conaboy: Yeah
Tom Scocca: I forget whether SARFT has domestic limits or just a foreign-film quota.
Tom Scocca: Probably 200-plus.

There you have it.

Image via Getty. Contact the author at kelly.conaboy@gawker.com.

Here are the best of today’s deals. Get every great deal every day on Kinja Deals, follow us on Facebook and Twitter to never miss a deal, join us on Kinja Gear to read about great products, and on Kinja Co-Op to help us find the best.

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Nest just unveiled their third generation smart thermostat, which means you can score a rare $50 discount on the older model. The only real advantage of the new one seems to be a larger screen, and I mean...it’s a thermostat. You’re not watching movies on the thing. [Nest Learning Thermostat, 2nd Generation, $199]

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Whether you put in 20 miles every night, or just need some motivation to take your bike out of your garage every now and then, Amazon’s offering some great deals on Allen Sports bike accessories, today only.

The highlight here is a trio of bike racks to fit just about any car, all marked down to all-time low prices. We’ve posted these in the past, and heard great things from readers. You’ll also find a nice selection of bike lights with varying brightness levels, including one that can recharge over USB.

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Remember, as with all Gold Box deals, these prices are only available today (or until sold out), so get moving. [Allen Sports Bike Sale]

For a limited time, Amazon is taking an extra 15% off a huge selection of athletic and outdoor shoes for Prime members. Inside, you’ll find running shoes, cleats, work boots, and more, so be sure to check out the full selection. [Prime Members Get an Extra 15% Off Athletic & Outdoor Shoes at Amazon]

Note: The 15% discount is shown at checkout, and is in addition to any discounts listed on the product page.

This camping stove can fit in the palm of your hand (but omfg not while you’re using it!), and yet it boils two pints of water in just five minutes. Plus, a near-perfect 4.7 star review average inspires confidence, even at this price. [Dpower Foldable Camping Stove with Piezo Ignition, $13 code 445MICL3]

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$70 is about as cheap as we ever see 2TB portable hard drives, so if your files are overflowing, be sure to pick this up before it’s gone. [WD Elements 2TB Portable Hard Drive, $70]

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If you have a Regal theater in your neighborhood, here’s a chance to buy a $50 gift card for $40. That’s like a free large popcorn (maybe)! [$50 Regal Gift Card, $40]

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Want to practice digital illustration without blowing a hole in your wallet? Monoprice’s basic graphics tablet is marked down to $42, and has surprisingly decent specs for the price. [Monoprice Graphics Tablet, $42]

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This beefy 20,000mAh USB battery pack has enough juice to keep your phone running for days, making it perfect for long plane rides, camping trips, or unexpected power outages. [Aukey 20000mAh Portable Power Bank, $23 with code DK3AAHBV]

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00RJQB4IU/...

1Password is the best looking password manager on the market, and my one of the few apps I couldn’t live without. The only real downside is its upfront $50 cost for desktop apps (the mobile versions are freemium). So if you’ve been waiting on a good deal to secure your digital life, the Mac version is marked down to $35 today, which is one of the lowest prices we’ve ever seen. Trust me, it’s worth every penny. [1Password for Mac, $35]

If you want to mount your smartphone in your car, a magnetic vent mount is the most unobtrusive option you’ll find. And for $5, you might as well try one out and see how you like it. [Magnetic Smartphone Vent Mount, $5 with code CD5DO6QW]

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00P2SC6BQ

Want to try out Amazon’s crazy Dash Buttons without any financial risk? For a limited time, Amazon will take $4.99 off the first order you place with a Dash, which effectively means you got the button itself for free. [$4.99 off Your First Amazon Dash Button order]

Once you’ve recouped your money, feel free to start tinkering.

http://lifehacker.com/you-can-hack-t...

It doesn’t have the name recognition of a Dremel, but this Porter-Cable oscillating multi-tool has fantastic user reviews, and is marked down to an all-time low $75 today. Just note that it’s a Gold Box deal, meaning this price is only available today, or until sold out. [PORTER-CABLE 3-Amp Oscillating Multi-Tool Kit with 52 Accessories, $75]

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F9TE06M/...

Anova’s newest sous-vide circulator has Wi-Fi built right in, allowing you to control your water temperature from anywhere in the world with a smartphone. Unfortunately, it won’t ship until October, but you can save $50 by preordering with promo code WiFi [Preorder Anova Precision Cooker WiFi, $150 with code Wi-Fi]

If you don’t know what the hell I’m talking about, Lifehacker has a great explainer.

http://lifehacker.com/5868685/sous-v...

A lot of you have preordered Super Mario Maker already, but if you were waiting to see the reviews first, they just came in, and they’re fantastic.

http://kotaku.com/super-mario-ma...

As has been the case for awhile, Prime members can save $10 by preordering. Just remember that your discount is not shown until checkout. [Preorder Super Mario Maker, $50 for Prime Members]

http://www.amazon.com/Super-Mario-Ma...

Not a Prime member? Sign up for a 30 day free trial here.

http://www.amazon.com/Amazon-Prime-O...

AWOL on the Appalachian Trail is a must-read for anyone who loves the outdoors, and Amazon will sell you a Kindle edition for just $2, today only. 4.5 stars on nearly 1200 reviews. [AWOL on the Appalachian Trail, $2]

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003JMFKRE/...

In 2003, software engineer David Miller left his job, family, and friends to fulfill a dream and hike the Appalachian Trail. AWOL on the Appalachian Trail is Miller’s account of this thru-hike along the entire 2,172 miles from Georgia to Maine. On page after page, readers are treated to rich descriptions of the valleys and mountains, the isolation and reverie, the inspiration that fueled his quest, and the life-changing moments that can only be experienced when dreams are pursued. While this book abounds with introspection and perseverance, it also provides useful passages about safety and proper gear, with a view into a professional hiker’s preparations and tenacity. This is not merely a travel guide, but a beautifully written and highly personal view into one man’s adventure and what it means to make a lifelong vision come true.

Let’s clear up the obvious confusion with this deal before we start: It’s a 2-pack of 2-packs! So you’ll be getting four lights total. Okay, so...

Today on Amazon, you can get two 2-packs of OxyLED outdoor stair lights for just $16, matching an all-time low. You just mount these outside your house, let them recharge during the day via built-in solar panels, and they’ll illuminate your patio or stoop all night. You might not need four for yourself, but the extra 2-pack would make for a nice evergreen gift. [2x 2-Packs Outdoor Stainless Steel LED Solar Step Light, $16. Add two to cart and use code HLGL8XLH]

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VJIMWZ8/

Tech

Storage

• Transcend 16GB MicroSDHC Class10 UHS-1 Memory Card with Adapter ($7) | Amazon
• Sony 32GB Class 10 UHS-1 Micro SDHC up to 70MB/s Memory Card ($13) | Amazon
• Sony 64GB Class 10 UHS-1 Micro SDXC up to 70MB/s Memory Card ($23) | Amazon
• TOSHIBA Canvio Desk 5TB USB 3.0 3.5” Desktop External Hard Drive ($130) | Newegg | After promo code EMCAXAN24
• WD Elements 2TB Portable Hard Drive ($70) | eBay

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00X1404E4/...

Power

• Aukey 20000mAh Portable Power Bank ($23) | Amazon | Use code DK3AAHBV
• Lumsing Dual USB Car charger (3.4A 17W Output) ($4) | Amazon | Use code FJO9Q24Z
• Lumsing 3-Port USB Car Charger (5.2A 26W) ($7) | Amazon | Use code LPIPOLAN

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00RJQB4IU/...

Audio

• SHARKK Boombox Bluetooth Wireless Speaker ($40) | B&H
• Motorola Buds SF500 Universal Bluetooth Stereo Headset ($30) | Staples
• Sennheiser HD518 On-Ear Headphones ($50) | Newegg | After promo code EMCAXAN25
• Cootree QY8 Sport Bluetooth Headphones ($15) | Amazon | Promo code 5NHPXGHT
• Mpow PisCes Neckband Bluetooth 4.0 Headphone ($27) | Amazon | Use code JM3WPHOO

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B012A1EVMY

Home Theater

• Epson EX7235 Pro, WXGA Widescreen HD, Wireless, 3000 Lumens, 3LCD Projector ($500) | Amazon
• 1byone Shiny Antenna Super Thin Amplified HDTV Antenna ($30) | Amazon | Promo code RKIMMZ8D

Computers & Accessories

• Toshiba Satellite Radius 11.6” Intel TouchScreen Laptop ($300) | Best Buy
• Logitech Multimedia Speakers Z213 (2.1 Stereo Speakers with Subwoofer) ($25) | Amazon
• Swiss Gear GRANITE Backpack w/ $25 Gift Card ($40) | Dell
• Inateck 13.3 Inch Laptop Sleeve ($10) | Amazon | Promo code YGJJNLD8

PC Parts

• Cougar Steel Gamer Case w/ ULTRA 600w ATX Power Supply and LED Fan ($30) | TigerDirect | After $60 rebate
• Thermaltake Toughpower Grand 850 Watt Power Supply Unit ($70) | TigerDirect | After rebate and code SIO160318
• TOSHIBA DT01ACA100 1TB 32MB Cache SATA 3 Internal Hard Drive ($43) | Newegg

Mobile Devices

• Meta M1 Smartwatch ($53) | meh
• Dell Venue 8 Pro Windows 8 Tablet ($99) | Dell
• Felix FlipStand Mini Case for Apple iPad mini, iPad mini 2 and iPad mini 3 ($20) | Best Buy
• Felix FlipStand Case for Apple iPad 2, iPad 3rd Generation and iPad with Retina ($20) | Best Buy

Photography

• Refurb. GoPro HERO3 White Edition Camera ($145) | eBay
• Sony DSC-H30 20.1 Megapixel Digital Camera ($170) | Best Buy
  

Home

• Nest Learning Thermostat, 2nd Generation ($199) | Amazon
• Etekcity Wireless Doorbell Kit with 1000ft Operating Range ($15) | Amazon
• OXO Good Grips Microfiber Delicate Duster ($7) | Amazon
• Hampton Bay Industrial 60 in. Indoor Black Ceiling Fan ($50) | Home Depot
• AT&T CL82415 DECT 6.0 Expandable Cordless Phone with Digital Answering System ($70) | Best Buy
• Paww Pick Pocket Dog Leash ($10) | REI
• Get up to 27% Off Select Cedar Playsets at Home Depot
• MIU COLOR Pet Grooming Large Deshedding Tool for Dogs/Cats ($10) | Amazon | Use code UC5BE9KI

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009GDHYPQ/...

Beauty & Grooming

• Diane 9 x 12 TV Mirror ($5) | Amazon

Kitchen

• Caza Trail 100-ct K-Cup Packs are $28 After 15% Off Coupon and Subscribe and Save | Amazon
• Anova Precision Cooker WiFi ($150) | Anova | Use code WIFI
• Sony 16oz White Plastic Mug ($3) | Kmart
• Farberware Nonstick Bakeware 9-Inch Springform Pan ($5) | Amazon
• Igloo 5.1 Cu. Ft. Chest Freezer ($145) | Best Buy
• Cuisinart 10Pc Aluminum NonStick Cookware Set ($55) | Woot

http://store.anovaculinary.com/products/anova...

Camping & Outdoors

• Inateck IPX8 Waterproof Case Bag with Touch Screen, Black, White and Orange ($7) | Amazon | Use code VGSNFBRL
• Esky ES-PS01 110lb/50kg Backlit LCD Display Electronic Balance Digital Fishing Postal Hanging Hook Scale ($8) | Amazon | Use code ZK4623QX
• Get up to 40% Off Select Bike Racks at Amazon
• AeroBed Single High Queen Airbed with Built-In Pump ($40) | Walmart
• Dpower Foldable Camping Stove with Piezo Ignition ($13) | Amazon | Promo code 445MICL3
• Elecrainbow 2 High Tensile Nylon Hammock Tree Straps with 2 Metal Hooks ($13) | Amazon | Promo code AAJ8NFE8

http://www.amazon.com/Inateck-Univer...

Tools & Auto

• Lotos LT5000D 50A Air Inverter Dual Voltage Plasma Cutter ($244) | Amazon
• PORTER-CABLE 3-Amp Oscillating Multi-Tool Kit with 52 Accessories ($75) | Amazon
  
• Refurb. Porter-Cable 20V MAX 1.3 Ah Li-Ion 1/2 in. Drill Driver Kit ($50) | eBay
• Craftsman 230-pc. Mechanic’s Tool Set ($120) | Sears
• Craftsman Hand Tools and Sets are On Sale at Sears
• Hitachi 200-Count Aluminum Oxide Multi-Bit Kit ($15) | Lowes

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ZTTNG1M

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Send deal submissions to Deals@Gawker and all other inquiries to Shane@Gawker

When hackers dumped an unfathomably large trove of internal materials from Sony Pictures on the internet last December, it created a feeding frenzy among reporters—unless you worked at the New York Times, which took a moral stance against touching stolen goods. Today, the Times has a big story explicitly based on material from that leak. So what changed?

http://gawker.com/how-sony-gets-...

Back in December, Times reporter Jeremy Peters described just how forbidden the Sony dump was for his colleagues. Per HuffPo:

Times reporters have not only stopped short of first reporting information from the hacked email cache, but according to one, have been advised by the papers’ attorneys not to download and open them at all.

“This is stolen material,” Jeremy Peters, a Times political reporter, said Wednesday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “As our lawyers are telling our reporters at the New York Times, we are not to open these emails. We are not to actively look at them. We are only allowed to report on what has been out there because this is stolen material and trafficking in it is in itself a criminal act.”

“We are not to actively look at them”! That’s really something. This week, though, the Times ran a front page story about “Concussion,” an upcoming Will Smith film about the NFL’s attempts to downplay the lethal effects of head injuries. It’s a good article. It’s also almost entirely based on emails that were hacked out of Sony and released last year, and it directly quotes Sony employees having online conversations that they never intended to become public. This is exactly the kind of (good!) reporting that the paper had deemed toxic and beneath itself last year.

http://gawker.com/sony-threatens...

The Times seems to make an effort to show that these emails were already out there in some sense, like a $20 bill that blew over its shoe: They’re described as “first reported on Reddit” and “posted on WikiLeaks.” But why not deploy this kind of responsibility laundering nine months ago, when the hack first happened and this mattered most?

I asked Times’ Public Editor Margaret Sullivan if there had been any formal change in editorial policy regarding hacked materials, and received a response from her assistant saying “the public editor’s practice is to let her columns and posts speak for themselves.” I was referred to a Times spokeswoman who hasn’t yet replied. Neither has Ken Belson, the reporter behind the Concussion piece.

Photo: Getty

Contact the author at biddle@gawker.com.
Public PGP key
PGP fingerprint: E93A 40D1 FA38 4B2B 1477 C855 3DEA F030 F340 E2C7

Rachel Dolezal, 37, a divorced, unemployed mother of one, has announced she’s pregnant with her second child. Love. Motherhood. A prominent career in racial justice. A medium Mystic Tan. Dreadlocks. Can a white woman have it all in 2015?

Dolezal, 37, let TMZ know she’s now in her second trimester, but declined to name the father of her child. She divorced her husband, Kevin Moore, in 2004, and her racial identity (white) sometime before that.

[Photo: AP Images]

Welcome to Midweek Madness, where we get a text message from our best friend Jennifer Aniston that says, “:-\ Justin and I r getting a divorce,” sigh, roll our eyes, respond, “Awww bb want me to come over?” to which she responds, “sure, but i’m fine alone,” sigh again, roll our eyes again, hop in the car and head over to her house, where she pours us a glass of whatever’s cold, and keeps us up until 4:00AM telling us the whole story, at which point she’s like, “You wanna just sleep over?” and you do because the bed in her guest room is a Tempur-Pedic. This week, Justin dumped Jen, Kanye dumped Kim, Kate is pregnant, and Christine Ouzounian left her pregnancy test out for Jennifer Garner to find.

Let’s begin.

OK!

NANNY TELL-ALL: BEN SEDUCED ME IN THE SHOWER!

Christine Ouzounian, FKA Bennifer 2.0’s former nanny, is “ready to spill every salacious detail of her time with Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner,” and I’m ready to mop it all up. Here’s a sampling of the spill, according to some all-knowing sources: “From the moment they met, there was a mutual attraction.” Ben gave her eyes, she gave him eyes back, and then...he “joined her in the shower.” Oh! Oh! And you wanna know what else? She left a used pregnancy test on the bathroom counter so that Jen would see it - which is a move that’s sort of animalistic expression of dominance meets 90s erotic thriller. Next up, Kris Jenner and Corey Gamble are getting engaged! Talk about a GAMBLE, right Corey??? So she’s 59 and one of the scariest people in entertainment, and he’s 34 and works for Scooter Braun, one of the scariest people in entertainment. They sound like a perfect match! Can’t wait to see photos of all the guests being held captive at their wedding

And Also:

• Zac Efron has “always been interested in romance.”
• Rosie’s daughter ran off to live with her birth mother.
• Chrissy Teigen may need rehab for her selfie addiction.
• Britney Spears’s dad/the man who keeps her soul in a bell jar in his bedroom wants her to be single for a while.
• Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom are “at war” on the set of the new Pirates movie.
• Jesus Christ, there’s a new Pirates movie.
• Elle Fanning screamed “THIS IS BULLSHIT” and said “FUCK” a lot at the passport office in Van Nuys.
• Bradley Cooper is sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo in love with Irina Shayk.

Grade: F (You go out to dinner, and find one of Christine Ouzounian’s pregnancy tests in your food.)

In Touch

PREGNANT KIM BETRAYED: SPLIT!

There you have it, everyone. Kimye is over, and here’s why: Kim was bored one day, so she started snooping around on Kanye’s phone. Well, as she was tapping and scrolling, she noticed some “messages on there from one of his exes—a woman he was deeply in love with before he got super famous,” and LOST her mind. The two screamed and screamed for, I don’t know, 36 hours? 37? And Kim “grew angrier and more vitriolic, until finally” Kanye was like, “Bye I want a divorce I’m so over this marriage!” And now they’re broken up. Sad! Now it’s time for happy. Sandy B will not be marrying Jon Hamm and becoming Hamm Sandy because she’s going to marry Bryan Randall and become Sandall! Randall looks sort of like you took Sandy’s ex-husband Jesse James to a fancy salon, and then stripped him of all that uncomfortable Nazi stuff.

And Also:

• Rihanna is sick of her boyfriend Lewis Hamilton texting Nicole Scherzinger.
  
• People text Nicole Scherzinger?
  
• Oh my god Louis Tomlinson isn’t the father of Briana Jungworth’s baby.
  
• Oh my god Kendra is dumping Hank.
  
• Oh my god Kris Jenner is changing her name back to Kris Kardashian.
  
• Oh my god Kate Moss can’t stop drinking.
  
• Oh my god everyone on The Talk is about to be in a car accident:

Wrong Answer:

Grade: D+ (You look through your significant other’s phone and find pictures of Christine Ouzounian’s pregnancy test.)

Life & Style

NEWLYWED JEN: DUMPED AFTER 21 DAYS

Aw, Jennifer Aniston can’t catch a break when it comes to love. Her new husband, Justin Theroux, has decided to throw her Golden Globe-nominated butt to the curb because they “couldn’t get on the same page” - which is very funny to me because they’ve been on the same page of literally every tabloid for maybe two years? In any case, they’re through and we’re all going to have to start lighting candles for Jen again during our midweek prayer circles. Would you like to know who got a “revenge makeover”? You would?! Good. Because I’ll tell you who got a revenge makeover: Miranda Lambert. After being cheated on (and possibly cheating herself), she and Blake Shelton filed for divorce earlier this summer - and she’s showing him what he’s missing by making the most of her glam squad. Lambert CUT HER HAIR and MADE IT BLONDER, and you know who likes SHORT, BLONDE HAIR? Blake Shelton.

And Also:

• A room in Taylor Swift’s New York City home is “a BFF playground” where “no boys” —not even Calvin Harris—are allowed.
  
• Charlize Theron lost her damn mind when craft services had brewed coffee and espresso.
  
• Kylie is DEMANDING that Kris make Tyga a star.
  
• Kourtney and Scott have been secretly hooking up.
  
• Desert hues are in this week, and anyone who fails to wear them is headed straight for the quicksand.
  
• Two-finger rings are all the rage, and this Finger is going to rage if you don’t wear them.
  

Wrong Answer:

Grade: D- (You freak out about being late, buy a pregnancy test, and find Christine Ouzounian’s inside.)

Star

IT’S OFFICIAL: KATE’S PREGNANT AGAIN!

It’s official: Kate’s pregnant again! That’s right, the Royal Kate. And it’s official, she’s pregnant again. I know you’re probably thinking, “Hey! There’s no way Star would be the outlet who officially announces Kate’s pregnancy!” Well I hate to break it to you, but you’re wrong, because she’s pregnant with baby number 3, and it’s official. The Queen is “delighted to be having another great-grandchild, and sources say William said her pregnancy is a “wonderful surprise.” Another wonderful surprise is the new romance between Rosie O’Donnell and Tatum O’Neal. Though Rosie had a “rough month” in August (Donald Trump called her a “fat pig” and her “daughter Chelsea went missing”), she made it through because of support from Tatum. Says a source, “They’ve known each other for a while but the secrecy of their dating as made it more exciting...They aren’t quite ready to go public with their romance.” I am, though! I’m very ready. You should listen to my heart and tell the world you’re in love, because the world needs to know. And then I’ll need you to invite me to dinner so I can take notes while watching you both interact.

And Also:

• Kristen Stewart and Alicia Cargile might be married?
  
• Lindsay Lohan befriended her Uber driver.
  
• Charlize Theron was STOOD UP by a monster.
  
• Chris Martin and Jennifer Lawrence are THROUGH.
  
• Shia LeBoeuf and Mia Goth are THROUGH.
  
• Katherine Heigl told her husband Josh Kelley to GET A JOB.
  
• Josh Kelley was probably all, “HOW DO YOU KEEP GETTING THEM?”
  

Wrong Answer:

Grade: F (You’re invited to dinner with Rosie O’Donnell and Tatum O’Neal but when you get to the restaurant you’re seated at a table with Christine Ouzounian’s pregnancy test.)

Appendix:

Fig. 1 - In Touch

Fig. 2 - In Touch

Fig. 3 - In Touch

Contact the author at bobby@jezebel.com.

The Guardian today, picking up on a paper in Nature, reports that scientists have calculated that there are more than “3tn” trees on Earth. The “3tn” means three trillion. What does “trillion” mean in British English? Did they give up on that “billion”-means-“trillion”/“trillion”-means-“quintillion” nonsense yet? Whew, yes. There are more than 3,000,000,000,000 trees.

How many more, though? Trees, though immobile, are hard to count. The previous global estimate was a mere 400,250,000,000 trees. “This has, however, been thrown into doubt by a recent broad-scale inventory that used 1,170 ground-truthed measurements of tree density to estimate that there are 390 billion trees in the Amazon basin alone,” the researchers write in Nature.

The new number is 3.04 trillion, they write: “With a human population of 7.2 billion, our estimate of global tree density revises the ratio of trees per person from 61:1 to 422:1.”

Not every denizen of Earth gets to enjoy his or her personal allotment of 422 trees, though. The Guardian offers a chart of the most and least tree-populated countries, from Russia (642 billion trees) down to Bahrain (3,000 trees). Down at the bottom of the chart, a note informs readers, “Clippeton Island, Spratly Islands and Vatican City have no trees.”

Can this be? How many trees has the pope? Zero? Is that why Pope Francis plans to detour into Central Park on his New York trip, so he can marvel at the leaf-topped things sticking up out of the ground? (“[W]e define a tree as a plant with woody stems larger than 10 cm diameter at breast height,” the Nature authors write.)

Here is a photographic map of the Vatican City from above, via Google:

Let’s look closer.

Closer...

Hmm.

Those certainly appear to be trees, where the Guardian would have us believe there are none.

What is the relationship between the trees missing from the data and the trees that are visible in the imagery? Consider: The share of the world’s tree population that has been lost since the dawn of human civilization, according to the Nature authors, is approximately 45.8 percent. For every tree there is, there is nearly one other tree that is not.

Meanwhile, the Vatican Climate Forest, a widely publicized carbon-offset project in Hungary designed to make the operations of the Vatican City carbon-neutral, was reportedly a boondoggle that never led to any actual trees being planted. This occurred under the previous pope, Benedict XVI, before his unexpected resignation.

What is the truth about the trees of the pope?

Additional reporting by Jim Cooke.

Top image via Getty. Contact the author at scocca@gawker.com.

If this is your first time hearing of the white rapper named Post Malone then it probably wasn’t how he would have planned it, with a video of him saying “nigga” discovered by a message board and then posted on YouTube for the world to see.

Malone’s big song—functionally his only song—is an impressionistic ballad called “White Iverson,” and, despite mostly being a rip-off of an old Chief Keef song, it has begun to convert viral momentum into real world attention. Across two YouTube videos, the song has amassed something like 8 million plays, and Malone has begun to pop up on the radio and on lists of rappers who might end up with lasting careers.

Those plans might be complicated, somewhat, by the sycophant message board Kanye To The finding what was an old Vine and putting it online even after Malone deleted it (as reported by Noisey’s Craig Jenkins). But the music industry has always had a long leash for anyone with enough talent to make the suits a buck. Whether Malone can fulfill that end of the bargain will take precedent over whatever ugliness may be in his past, though to that end if I were him I would be trying to milk “White Iverson” for whatever it’s worth.

Contact the author at jordan@gawker.com.