Archive for the ‘Pepe The Frog’ Category

Trending: Gronk crashes Spicer briefing; this juice squeezer actually costs $400 – Washington Post

Investors realize that they put money into a $400 juice hugger.

@AndBrei, tweeting about the Juicero, a machine that squeezes pre-packaged bags of juice. The startup, Juicero Inc., was profiled in Bloomberg Technology because investors realized that the juice packs can be squeezed by hand just as well as by the $400 machine. At least two Juicero investors were taken aback after finding the packs could be squeezed by hand, Ellen Huet and Olivia Zaleski wrote. Bloomberg even tested the machine against hand squeezing and found that the Juicero which has received around $120 million in startup capital took two minutes to squeeze about what a human could manage in a minute and a half.

Spicer gets Gronkd.

@nfldraftupdate, reacting after Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski interrupted Sean Spicers White House press briefing to ask if he needed any help. The stunt, during the teams Wednesday visit to the White House, was very on-brand for Gronkowski, who is often called by his nickname, Gronk, and is known for his funny antics. Spicer, a Patriots fan from Rhode Island, didnt need any help, but appreciated the gesture.

Zara pulls skirt that may or may not look like Pepe the Frog.

@fermiparadox_, tweeting about the Zara denim skirt with a cartoon image on it that some people thought looked like the Pepe the Frog meme, which has come to be associated with white nationalists on the internet. Zara decided to pull the skirt from its website and stores.

The last piece youll ever need to read about Rachel Dolezal.

I couldnt escape Rachel Dolezal because I cant escape white supremacy. And it is white supremacy that told an unhappy and outcast white woman that black identity was hers for the taking.

Ijeoma Oluo, writing for The Stranger in what the outlet called the last piece youll ever need to read about Rachel Dolezal. Through interviewing Dolezal, Oluo realizes it is white supremacy that enabled her story to take place and be heard.

Kim Kardashian tweeted about losing weight from the flu and people got upset.

@Fly_Malcolm_X, disagreeing with people who thought Kim Kardashians tweet about the flu was in poor taste. Kim tweeted that the flu can be an amazing diet, but later deleted the tweet after Twitter users called her out.

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Trending: Gronk crashes Spicer briefing; this juice squeezer actually costs $400 - Washington Post

Far Right Descends On Berkeley For ‘Free Speech’ And Planned … – Southern Poverty Law Center

BERKELEY, Calif. The American far right alt-right figures, antigovernment movement leaders, and a conglomeration of conspiracists and extremists ranging from anti-feminists to nativists, all angrily voicing their support for Donald Trump came here Saturday itching for a fight. They found it.

On social media, the organizers and supporters called it the Next Battle of Berkeley, a chance to gain revenge for an earlier event on the University of California campus that they believed had infringed on conservatives free speech rights: In February, a scheduled appearance by alt-right provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos was shut down by rock-throwing antifascist protesters.

So when several hundred of them gathered at a downtown park for a Free Speech event Saturday most from out of town, many from all around the country they came prepared to do battle with the same black-clad protesters, many of them wearing helmets, pads, and face masks of their own. The result was an inevitable free-for-all, with organized phalanxes on both sides lining up, occasionally erupting into fistfights, and then breaking down in a series of running melees that ran up Center Street into the heart of downtown.

By the days end, 11people were injured and six hospitalized. Police arrested 21 people on a variety of charges.

The rally had drawn wide attention among various right-wing factions leading up to the event. Perhaps the most noteworthy of them were the Oath Keepers, the antigovernment Patriot movement group closely associated with the Bundy standoff and various far-right conspiracist activities.

Stewart Rhodes addresses the crowd Saturday.

Were going [to Berkeley] because people are having their rights violated, Oath Keepers president Steward Rhodes told a North Carolina gathering the week before. So it could be argued that with the full support of the local politicians, thugs in the streets are beating people up and suppressing their rights to free speech and assembly. It could be argued that California is in a state of insurrection.

Various alt-right figures also became involved. Kyle Chapman, an Alameda County man who has gained recent notoriety as Based Stickman, the stick-and-shield-wielding defender of right-wing speech, came and was reportedly arrested. Canadian Lauren Southern, an alt-right pundit who came to notoriety by denying the existence of rape culture and by demonizing minorities, arrived wearing a helmet boasting a MAGA (Make America Great Again) sticker.

Nathan Damigo, a leader in the white-nationalist 'Identity Evropa' movement, taunts protesters.

Nathan Damigo, one of the key figures in the student-oriented white-nationalist Identity Evropa organization, was not only present, but acted as a provocateur throughout much of the day, egging on protesters and leading a group of young white men with fascy haircuts in confrontations on the street. Damigo was videotaped sucker-punching a young woman in black who was embroiled in the street brawls.

The rally was scheduled to begin at noon, but by 11 a.m. both sides were out in force, and the right-wing speakers, including Southern and Rhodes, began addressing the crowd from a tree-covered portion of the park. Meanwhile, hundreds of protesters gathered, separated from the Patriots by orange police cordons, enforced by some 250 officers. By around noon, the protesters began to march around the park.

Groups of right-wing activists formed lines to prevent black-clad antifascists from entering their space, even as the protest moved around the east end of the park and then congealed on Center Street, on its west side. It was there that the police cordons finally started breaking down, the two sides were milling as a mob, and fights began to break out. Objects ranging from plastic bottles to large rock to bagels were flying through the air. A trash bin was rolled down the street, and several bins of garbage were set afire.

The Pepe banners came out early and often.

Banners came out, including some featuring Pepe the Frog, the notorious alt-right mascot. One sign featured the anti-Semitic meme, Goyim Know.

Eventually, the mass of people moved a half-block to the intersection of Center and Milvia streets, where the two sides again faced off for the better part of an hour. Insults were shouted and chanted, threats were made, skirmishes erupted. Both sides appeared to be evenly matched.

That mob broke up when someone lit a large smoke bomb that obscured everyones vision for several minutes. In the fog, melees began breaking out, several of them running east up Center. Eventually the mob moved up the block to the intersection of Center with Shattuck, the main downtown boulevard.

The right-wing militants appeared to be attempting to head toward the Cal-Berkeley campus a few blocks further east, but the protesters stiffened their resistance and prevented them from getting much further beyond Shattuck. As participants began drifting away, the combatants remained mostly within a small half-block on Shattuck. Eventually, an organized phalanx of police moved in and broke up the crowd, and most participants went home.

Afterward, the alt-right was exultant, claiming victory: Chapman claimed that Berkeley got sacked, while the rallys original organizers, a far-right group called the Proud Boys, boasted: Today was an enormous victory! I could not be more proud or grateful for every one who attended the event! This was the turning point!

Post-election pro-Trump rallies in late February held around the country similarly provoked scenes of mob violence.

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Far Right Descends On Berkeley For 'Free Speech' And Planned ... - Southern Poverty Law Center

Photos: Thousands March In Tax Day Protests In Seattle – Patch.com


Patch.com
Photos: Thousands March In Tax Day Protests In Seattle
Patch.com
When the first march reached the Seattle Center, protesters encountered pictures of Trump and Pepe the Frog - the mascot of the alt-right - plastered on utility poles. The Black Lives Matter protest kicked off with a few brief speeches and a musical ...
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Photos: Thousands March In Tax Day Protests In Seattle - Patch.com

‘Bill Nye Saves the World’ gives millennials a grown-up dose of science magic – The Daily Dot

Its been more than 20 years since audiences were first introduced to Bill Nye, the scientist and entertainer who helped make science fun for a generation of viewers. Now, like so many of our 90s favorites, hes back.

Bill Nye Saves the Worldis an evolution of the original, tapping into some of what made Bill Nye the Science Guy fun, but not without some experimental hiccups along the way.Some fans will inevitably compare Nyes new endeavor with his Emmy Award-winning educational series, which shares the explanations of science and chants of Bill! Bill! Bill! Bill! But where Bill Nye the Science Guy was geared toward children, Bill Nye Saves the Worldaims at the children he likely taught when they were younger, now grown up.

The show is less about What is this cool thing? and more Heres a scientific topic that will affect us and the Earth, now what do we do with that? (Though the show does include definitions of relevant jargon your average fan of science might not know.)

Filmed in front of a live studio audience, Nye introduces a new topic every episode with a mix of experiments and explanations, reports from special correspondents, and a wide-ranging discussion with a panel of experts. Theyre more complex than what fans are usually used to, and Nye and his guests could easily spend more than 30 minutes discussing them.

Eddy Chen/Netflix

Nye isnt beholden to the idea of presenting facts and conspiracies as two equal options in a scientific debate in the name of impartiality. So for episodes where scientists state something as fact, Nye doesnt have to entertain alternate viewpointsthat have no basis in fact. Episodes around these topicslike vaccines, alternative medicine, and climate changefocus less on whether it exists andmore on how, which can lead to more nuanced and fascinating discussions. Climate change in particular is something Nye has spoken extensively about.

For other topics that dont necessarily have a right and wrong answer, the discussion can sometimes wanderastray. Episodes that dont have a cohesive conversationmost visible during expert panelsare the weakest part of the series. Nye usually participates as a guest in discussions (with panels containing other familiar faces), but ultimately hes the host. He gets off to a rocky start in that role, but he does improve over the course of the six episodes offered to critics.

Nyes correspondents and experiment guests include celebrities, scientists, and some of Nyes real-life friends, and they offer new perspectives on topics even scientists might not have considered. He still pulls off wacky experiments, whether hes using a Pepe the Frog-shaped shredder, riding in a self-driving car to get ice cream, or bringing in an MLB power hitter to illustrate a bigger point. The experiments are more complex than were used to seeing, but Nye and his guests are clearly having fun with everything. Fortunately he still has his handy blue lab coat, which he puts on before performing experiments.

And you cant argue with the timeliness of some of his episodes, some of which could be ripped from recent headlines.

Bill Nye Saves the World is a work in progress, butits sprinkledwith enough nostalgic factors to satisfy his older fans without being completely overwhelmed by them. Nye might not save the world on his own, but he does offer the tools and the knowledge for viewers to join the fight.

All 13 episodes of Bill Nye Saves the World drop on Netflix April 21.

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'Bill Nye Saves the World' gives millennials a grown-up dose of science magic - The Daily Dot

Pepe the Frog declared a hate symbol by Anti-Defamation League

The Anti Defamation League is now calling 'Pepe the Frog' a form of hate speech. Time

Pepe the Frog, a cartoon character turned Internet meme, has been added to the Anti-Defamation Leagues database of hate symbols.(Photo: Screenshot)

Pepe the Frog, a cartoon character turned Internet meme, has been added to the Anti-Defamation Leagues database of hate symbols.

The character was added to the database Tuesday, after Pepe the Frog was depicted as a slew of racially charged caricatures including Hitler and a Klansman, according to the group.

Once again, racists and haters have taken a popular Internet meme and twisted it for their own purposes of spreading bigotry and harassing users, Jonathan A. Greenblatt, Anti-Defamation League (ADL) CEO said in a statement.

Greenblatt said many had abused the image to harass and spread hatred on social media.

But Pepe the Frog wasnt always considered a hate symbol.

The frog first appeared in Matt Furie's Boy's Clubcartoons in 2005.

Known as the sad frog, Pepe was often depicted as a mellow characterwith the slogan feels good, man, among others. Just a year ago, celebrities like Katy Perry shared the meme alongside many other Americans.

ADL notes that Pepes Internet meme famedomtook a turn for the worstwhen the character spread to the websites4chan, 8chan and Reddit, where a subset of memes came into existence promoting anti-Jewish, bigoted and offensive ideas.

The meme was also recently dragged into politics. Two weeks ago, Donald Trump's sonposted aphotoshopped photo depictinghis father and Pepe the Frog as The Deplorables. He later said he didn't know there was a negative connotation to the character.

In response to the photo, Hillary Clinton's campaign posted anin-depth explainer on Pepe the Frog and his ties to white supremacy.

Furie recently told the Atlantic the politicalization of Pepe and Clinton's explainerdownplaythe importance the mellow character holdsfor many young people.

He believes the demonization of Pepe will be a "passing phase."

"Pepe is more than, whatever is happening in the news today, especially to younger people and to teenagers," he told the Atlantic."For example, I get emails pretty regularly, from kids, from high schools, who need my permission to use Pepe in their senior shirts, or their clarinet club, or their photography clubs, and I tell them to go ahead as long as they sell me a shirt."

Follow @MaryBowerman on Twitter.

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Pepe the Frog declared a hate symbol by Anti-Defamation League