The toy company has partnered with a logistics company to collect, wash, and redistribute used Lego pieces as part of its sustainability goal.
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Tuesday, October 8, 2019
Monday, October 7, 2019
A look at Japan’s evolving intelligence efforts
Once upon a time — from the 1600s through the 1800s — Japan had a spy corps so famous we know their name today: the ninjas, intelligence agents serving the ruling Tokugawa family.
Over the last 75 years, however, as international spying and espionage has proliferated, Japan has mostly been on the sidelines of this global game. Defeat in World War II, and demilitarization afterward, meant that Japanese intelligence services were virtually nonexistent for decades.
Japan’s interest in spycraft has returned, however. In addition to a notable military expansion — as of last year, the country has aircraft carriers again — Japan is also ramping up its formal intelligence apparatus, as a response to what the country’s chief cabinet secretary has called “the drastically changing security environment” around it.
“Intelligence is a critical element of any national security strategy,” says MIT political scientist Richard Samuels, a leading expert on Japanese politics and foreign policy. “It’s just a question of how robust, and openly robust, any country is willing to make it.”
Examining the status of Japan’s intelligence efforts, then, helps us understand Japan’s larger strategic outlook and goals. And now Samuels has written a wide-ranging new history of Japan’s intelligence efforts, right up to the present. The book, “Special Duty: A History of the Japanese Intelligence Community,” is being published this week by Cornell University Press.
“Japan didn’t have a comprehensive intelligence capability, but they’re heading in that direction,” says Samuels, who is the director of the Center for International Studies and the Ford International Professor of Political Science at MIT. As firm as Japan’s taboo on military and intelligence activity once was, he adds, “that constraint is coming undone.”
Ruffians and freelance agents
Aside from the ninjas, who focused on domestic affairs, Japan’s international intelligence efforts have seen a few distinct phases: a patchy early period, a big buildup before World War II, the dismantling of the system under the postwar U.S. occupation, and — especially during the current decade — a restoration of intelligence capabilities.
Famously, Japan was closed off to much of the rest of the world until the late 19th century. It did not formally pursue international intelligence activities until the late 1860s. By the early 1900s, Japanese agents had found some success: They decoded Russian cables in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05 and cut off Russian raids during the conflict.
But as Samuels details in the book, during this period Japan heavily relied on a colorful array of spies and agents working on an unofficial basis, an arrangement that gave the country “plausible deniability” in case these operatives were caught.
“There was an interesting reliance upon scoundrels, ruffians, and freelance agents,” Samuels says.
Some of these figures were quite successful. One agent, Uchida Ryohei, founded an espionage group, the Amur River Society (also sometimes called the Black Dragon Society), which opened its own training school, created Japan’s best battlefield maps and conducted all manner of operations meant to limit Russian expansion. In the 1930s, another undercover agent, Doihara Kenji, became so successful at creating pro-Japanese local governments in northern China, that he became known as “Lawrence of Manchuria.”
Meanwhile, Japan’s official intelligence units had a chronic lack of coordination; they divided along military branches and between military and diplomatic bureaucracies. Still, in the decades before World War II, Japan leveraged some existing strengths in the study of foreign cultures — “The Japanese invented area studies before we did,” says Samuels — and used technological advances to make huge strides in information-gathering.
“They had strengths, they had weaknesses, they had official intelligence, they had nonofficial intelligence, but overall that was a period of great growth in their intelligence capability,” Samuels says. “That of course comes to a crashing halt at the end of the war, when the entire military apparatus was taken down. So there was this period immediately after the war where there was no formal intelligence.”
Japan’s subsequent postwar political reorientation toward the U.S. created many advantages for the country but was simultaneously a source of frustration to some. The country became an economic powerhouse while lacking the same covert capabilities as other countries.
“The Cold War was a period in which many Japanese in the intelligence world resented having to accommodate to American power in the intelligence world, and resented it,” Samuels says. “They had economic intelligence capability. They were very good at doing foreign economic analysis and were all over the world, but they were underperforming on the diplomatic and military fronts.”
The Asian pivot
In “Special Duty,” Samuels suggests three main reasons why any country reforms its intelligence services: Shifts in the strategic environment, technological innovations, and intelligence failures. The first of these seems principally responsible for the current revival of Japan’s intelligence operations.
As Samuels notes, some Japanese officials wanted to change the country’s intelligence structure during the 1980s — to little avail. The end of the Cold War, and the more complicated geopolitcal map that resulted, provided a more compelling rationale for doing so, without producing many tangible results.
Instead, more recent events in Asia have had a much bigger impact in Japan: namely, North Korean missile testing and China’s massive surge in economic and military power. In 2005, Samuels notes, Japan’s GDP was still twice that of China. A decade later, China’s economy was two and a half times as large as Japan’s, and its military budget was twice as big. U.S. power relative to China has also declined. Those developments have altered Japanese security priorities.
“There’s been a Japanese pivot in Asia,” Samuels notes. “That’s really very important.” Moreover, he adds, from the Japanese perspective, “The question about China is obvious. Is its rise going to be disjunctive, or is it going to be stabilizing?”
These regional changes have led Japan to chart a course of greater confidence in foreign policy — reflected in its growing intelligence function. Since 2013 in particular, after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took office for a second time, Japan has built up its own intelligence function as never before, making operations more unified and better-supported. Japan still coordinates extensively with the U.S. in some areas of intelligence but is also taking intelligence matters into its own hands, in a way not seen for several decades.
As Samuels notes, Japan’s increasing foreign-policy independence is also supported by voters.
“Japanese public opinion has changed,” Samuels says. “They see the issues now, they talk about it now. Used to be, you couldn’t talk about intelligence in polite company. But people talk about it now, and they’re much more willing to go forward.”
“Special Duty” has been praised by other scholars in the field of Japanese security studies and foreign policy. Sheila Smith of the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington calls it a “truly wonderful book” that “offers much needed insight to academics and policymakers alike as they seek to understand the changes in Japan's security choices. ”
By looking at intelligence issues in this way, Samuels has also traced larger contours in Japanese history: first, an opening up to the world, then the alignment with the U.S. in the postwar world, and now a move toward greater capabilities. On the intelligence front, those capabilities include enhanced analysis and streamlined relations across units, heading toward the full spectrum of functions seen in the other major states.
“It’s been the assumption that the Japanese just don’t do [intelligence activities], except economics,” Samuels reflects. “Well, I hope after people see this book they will understand that’s no longer the case, and hasn’t been for some time.”
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Why fear that the slain Botham Jean case witness was targeted makes sense
Friday evening Joshua Brown, a key witness in ex-Dallas police officer Amber Guyger‘s murder conviction was slain outside his apartment complex, about five miles away from where Botham Jean was shot to death a year ago. Now several activists and community leaders are calling it foul play and demanding an investigation.
“I just spoke with Joshua Browns mother. She is devastated. We all are,” civil rights lawyer Lee Merritt tweeted on Saturday night, confirming that Brown, who used to live in the same apartment complex as Guyger and Jean, had been shot several times by an unknown assailant.
While investigators are being cautious and have yet to announce whether they suspect Brown’s death was connected to his participation in Guyger’s murder trial, many thought leaders and elected officials don’t believe it’s merely a coincidence that he was murdered only two days after a jury handed Guyger her sentence.
Perhaps most notable (for several reasons) amongst those voices is controversial civil rights advocate Shaun King, who on Sunday morning informed his followers that poker player and film producer, Bill Perkins, was offering a financial reward to anyone who could shed light on who killed the 28-year-old.
READ MORE: Activist DeRay McKesson questions Shaun King’s integrity
“My friend and brother Bill Perkins is providing $100,000 for the reward to help us find who murdered Joshua Brown. Joshua was executed,” tweeted King. “He was a lead witness in the murder of Botham Jean & was shot & killed right there in the same apartment complex.”
Cori Bush, who is a candidate for Congress in Missouri, retweeted King’s post with the caption, “Joshua should be alive right now.”
“We won’t stop until we find who murdered Joshua and why,” King followed in another tweet. “It was an execution. They didn’t even steal anything from him.”
We’ve seen this before
Objectively speaking we know some people, particularly those not from marginalized groups, will scoff at the knee jerk reaction to call what happened to Brown an execution. Objectively speaking it is perhaps not wise to jump to any conclusions until a thorough investigation of the shooting is done.
But it would be intellectually dishonest not to admit that many of the people suspicious about his death, feel that way due to several other suspicious deaths that have occurred in the recent past following high profile, racially charged cases.
For instance let’s look at Ferguson and the string of activists who have also mysteriously died in the last few years.
DeAndre Joshua was found in his car with two gunshot wounds to the head the night of the Ferguson verdict in 2014. Two years later, Darren Seals was also found dead with two gunshot wounds to the head in his car. In both of those instances, the cars were set on fire, which is often done to destroy evidence.
Then in 2017, Edward Crawford — the activist featured in that iconic Ferguson protest photo showing him catching an active tear gas canister thrown by police and hurling the explosive back at them — was similarly found shot to death in his car.
READ MORE: Disturbing number of Black men connected to Ferguson protests found dead
Maybe I watch too much “Law & Order” but three Ferguson activists who embarrassed local officials on a national stage, being murdered in the exact same way sounds like an M.O.
However, instead of stating the obvious, police instead announced they believe Crawford shot himself in the back seat of his car either in a suicide or perhaps by accident. But murder? Nah.
Suicide was the same outlandish cause of death cited in October 2018, when Ferguson activist Melissa McKinnies found her son Danye Jones in her backyard hanging from a tree.
“Every few months an activist from Ferguson losses their life or loved one,” wrote one supporter, echoing the sentiments of many. Missouri state Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal has also tweeted she too believes a murderer is targeting activists in Ferguson on Twitter.
So now what?
Unfortunately, Ferguson has taught many of us that Black people suspiciously dying after stepping up to do their civic duty, isn’t the sort of thing law enforcement seems to pursue with any sort of urgency. Which is why it’s perhaps understandable why Perkins has decided to take it upon himself to give people a financial incentive to speak up and see that justice is done.
“Every murder is sad,” he explained in his own social media message. “The particulars around this specific set of circumstances make it important that everyone learn why this happened irrespective of the outcome. Either way a killer needs to be caught & I wish in every case these resources could be brought to bear for justice.”
But while it’s great that Perkins has stepped up in this way, the truth is we shouldn’t have to have private citizens cutting six figure checks to get the public to do work that taxpayers are already paying the police to do. What exactly does it say about our justice system that rewards like these are even needed?
And also, is anyone looking out for Bunny?
For those who haven’t heard, Ronnie Babbs, the lone eyewitness who filmed the shocking moments surrounding Jean’s death on her cell phone, goes by the name Bunny. Babbs actually recorded Guyger after hearing the fatal shots followed by Jean reportedly asking Guyger, “Why did you shoot me?”
READ MORE: Diversity of jury seen as key factor in officer’s conviction
As a result of her actions she’s received death threats and even been fired from her job at a pharmaceutical company because people began contacting her job to accuse her of being a radical, anti-police, Black extremist.
“I was brave enough to come forward with information that has helped the DA charge a police officer who murdered an innocent Black man in his own home when nobody else would,” Babbs wrote in her appeal for money on GoFundMe.com. “I was hesitant as I knew the consequences could affect me greatly. I put my own life at risk and decided to help.”
So what will officials say if God forbid something else happens to this woman? I can’t even imagine the terror she’s felt in the last few days since Brown’s murder and how the psychological trauma of being pulled into this case has recked havoc on her life.
In the midst of all that, so many people seem more concerned with giving a convicted killer hugs and gifts of forgiveness than protecting the Black people who put their lives on the line under the guise of justice.
If Dallas police doesn’t step up this investigation, I fear that Amber Guyger won’t be the only person with blood on her hands.
Follow writer Blue Telusma on Instagram at @bluecentric
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New capsule can orally deliver drugs that usually have to be injected
Many drugs, especially those made of proteins, cannot be taken orally because they are broken down in the gastrointestinal tract before they can take effect. One example is insulin, which patients with diabetes have to inject daily or even more frequently.
In hopes of coming up with an alternative to those injections, MIT engineers, working with scientists from Novo Nordisk, have designed a new drug capsule that can carry insulin or other protein drugs and protect them from the harsh environment of the gastrointestinal tract. When the capsule reaches the small intestine, it breaks down to reveal dissolvable microneedles that attach to the intestinal wall and release drug for uptake into the bloodstream.
“We are really pleased with the latest results of the new oral delivery device our lab members have developed with our collaborators, and we look forward to hopefully seeing it help people with diabetes and others in the future,” says Robert Langer, the David H. Koch Institute Professor at MIT and a member of the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research.
In tests in pigs, the researchers showed that this capsule could load a comparable amount of insulin to that of an injection, enabling fast uptake into the bloodstream after the microneedles were released.
Langer and Giovanni Traverso, an assistant professor in MIT’s Department of Mechanical Engineering and a gastroenterologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, are the senior authors of the study, which appears today in Nature Medicine. The lead authors of the paper are recent MIT PhD recipient Alex Abramson and former MIT postdoc Ester Caffarel-Salvador.
Microneedle delivery
Langer and Traverso have previously developed several novel strategies for oral delivery of drugs that usually have to be injected. Those efforts include a pill coated with many tiny needles, as well as star-shaped structures that unfold and can remain in the stomach from days to weeks while releasing drugs.
“A lot of this work is motivated by the recognition that both patients and health care providers prefer the oral route of administration over the injectable one,” Traverso says.
Earlier this year, they developed a blueberry-sized capsule containing a small needle made of compressed insulin. Upon reaching the stomach, the needle injects the drug into the stomach lining. In the new study, the researchers set out to develop a capsule that could inject its contents into the wall of the small intestine.
Most drugs are absorbed through the small intestine, Traverso says, in part because of its extremely large surface area --- 250 square meters, or about the size of a tennis court. Also, Traverso noted that pain receptors are lacking in this part of the body, potentially enabling pain-free micro-injections in the small intestine for delivery of drugs like insulin.
To allow their capsule to reach the small intestine and perform these micro-injections, the researchers coated it with a polymer that can survive the acidic environment of the stomach, which has a pH of 1.5 to 3.5. When the capsule reaches the small intestine, the higher pH (around 6) triggers it to break open, and three folded arms inside the capsule spring open.
Each arm contains patches of 1-millimeter-long microneedles that can carry insulin or other drugs. When the arms unfold open, the force of their release allows the tiny microneedles to just penetrate the topmost layer of the small intestine tissue. After insertion, the needles dissolve and release the drug.
“We performed numerous safety tests on animal and human tissue to ensure that the penetration event allowed for drug delivery without causing a full thickness perforation or any other serious adverse events,” Abramson says.
To reduce the risk of blockage in the intestine, the researchers designed the arms so that they would break apart after the microneedle patches are applied.
Insulin demonstration
In tests in pigs, the researchers showed that the 30-millimeter-long capsules could deliver doses of insulin effectively and generate an immediate blood-glucose-lowering response. They also showed that no blockages formed in the intestine and the arms were excreted safely after applying the microneedle patches.
“We designed the arms such that they maintained sufficient strength to deliver the insulin microneedles to the small intestine wall, while still dissolving within several hours to prevent obstruction of the gastrointestinal tract,” Caffarel-Salvador says.
Although the researchers used insulin to demonstrate the new system, they believe it could also be used to deliver other protein drugs such as hormones, enzymes, or antibodies, as well as RNA-based drugs.
“We can deliver insulin, but we see applications for many other therapeutics and possibly vaccines,” Traverso says. “We’re working very closely with our collaborators to identify the next steps and applications where we can have the greatest impact.”
The research was funded by Novo Nordisk and the National Institutes of Health. Other authors of the paper include Vance Soares, Daniel Minahan, Ryan Yu Tian, Xiaoya Lu, David Dellal, Yuan Gao, Soyoung Kim, Jacob Wainer, Joy Collins, Siddartha Tamang, Alison Hayward, Tadayuki Yoshitake, Hsiang-Chieh Lee, James Fujimoto, Johannes Fels, Morten Revsgaard Frederiksen, Ulrik Rahbek, and Niclas Roxhed.
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This is the Can’t-Miss Conference for Creatives of Color
Now in its third year, CultureCon has quickly evolved into one of New York City’s most-anticipated events for creative millennials of color. The one-day experiential conference brings together hundreds of black and brown entrepreneurs, tastemakers, artists, and influencers for celebrity fireside chats, informative panels, and sponsor activations. This year, the conference will take place on Oct. 12 in Brooklyn, New York, and include A-list speakers such as Tracee Ellis Ross, Regina King, Keke Palmer, and Sanaa Lathan. In addition to top industry talent, it will be packed with workshop courses on finance, marketing, and collaboration. Plus, attendees will hear from a variety of black professionals and business experts such as John Henry, Angelina Darrisaw, Dia Simms, and Coltrane Curtis.
Imani Ellis, founder of The Creative Collective NYC
So, what’s the magic behind putting together an event of this caliber? Her name is Imani Ellis. The millennial corporate communications director founded the organization that produces the annual conference, The Creative Collective NYC (TheCCnyc), back in 2016. The organization was birthed out of her Harlem apartment after she invited a few friends over for tacos to share ideas in a safe space. The gatherings inside her living room expanded into monthly meet-ups with groups of 10 to 50 people and eventually outgrew her apartment. Today, TheCCnyc is a community-driven network that curates dozens of year-round events and partners with mega-brands like Nike, Live Nation, HBO, and SquareSpace.
In an email, Ellis told BLACK ENTERPRISE that CultureCon, the org’s marquee event, “was created to fill a void in the conference space. Instead of approaching one specific aspect of a person (like their career or their side hustle), CultureCon focuses on everything that makes young creatives thrive.”
CultureCon 2018
Buzz about the conference has caught fire. “The first CultureCon kicked off in October 2017 at Samsung 837 in Meatpacking district with only 150 people,” she tells BE. Last year, there were 500 people just on the waiting list. This year, Ellis is expecting 2,000 attendees. She also added a week of programming leading up to the event. “We want attendees to walk away inspired and ready to walk in their purpose,” she says.
For others looking to curate live events of the like, Ellis’ advice is to start small. “I would suggest starting small and perfecting your format,” she says. “Bigger isn’t always better. Sometimes having the best of a very particular product [or] event type will serve you more than trying to mass-produce a just OK brunch mixer or happy hour. Put yourself in the shoes of your guests[s] and see every detail through their eyes. Once you’ve done that, be open to partnerships that are beneficial.”
Learn more about CultureCon here.
BLACK ENTERPRISE is a media partner of CultureCon 2019.
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Colin Powell urges the GOP leaders to ‘get a grip’ amid Trump’s impeachment inquiry
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell has urged his party members to “get a grip on itself” and grab hold of the reins to openly oppose President Donald Trump and get things under control.
—GOP split over impeachment pushback as Democrats plow ahead—
“Right now, Republican leaders and members of the Congress ― both Senate and the House ― are holding back because they’re terrified of what will happen to any one of them if they speak out,” Powell told CNN’s Fareed Zakaria during an interview at Ohio’s New Albany Community Foundation last week that aired Sunday, Yahoo reports. “Will they lose a primary?”
As the Democrats drive an impeachment inquiry toward a potential vote by the end of the year, Trump’s allies are struggling.
Powell cautioned Republicans to serve for the country’s best interest and put politics aside.
“When they see things that are not right, they need to say something about it because our foreign policy is in shambles right now, in my humble judgment, and I see things happening that are hard to understand,” said Powell, a moderate Republican.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
—Rep. Rashida Tlaib wants you to say it with your chest in her new “Impeach the MF” T-shirts—
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2nd whistleblower may give House Democrats fresh information
By ERIC TUCKER, RICHARD LARDNER and JILL COLVIN Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Democrats leading an impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump’s dealings with Ukraine may have fresh information to work with after a new whistleblower stepped forward with what the person’s lawyer said was firsthand knowledge of key events.
With Congress out for another week and many Republicans reticent to speak out, a text from attorney Mark Zaid that a second individual had emerged and could corroborate the original whistleblower’s complaint gripped Washington and potentially heightened the stakes for Trump.
Zaid, who represents both whistleblowers, told The Associated Press that the new whistleblower works in the intelligence field and has spoken to the intelligence community’s internal watchdog.
The original whistleblower, a CIA officer, filed a formal complaint with the inspector general in August that triggered the impeachment inquiry. The document alleged that Trump had used a July telephone call with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to investigate a political rival, Joe Biden, and his son Hunter, prompting a White House cover-up.
The push came even though there was no evidence of wrongdoing by the former vice president or his son, who served on the board of a Ukrainian gas company. Trump and his supporters deny that he did anything improper, but the White House has struggled to come up with a unified response.
A second whistleblower with direct knowledge could undermine efforts by Trump and his allies to discredit the original complaint. They have called it politically motivated, claimed it was filed improperly and dismissed it as unreliable because it was based on secondhand or thirdhand information.
A rough transcript of Trump’s call with Zelenskiy, released by the White House, has already corroborated the complaint’s central claim that Trump sought to pressure Ukraine on the investigation.
Text messages from State Department officials revealed other details, including that Ukraine was promised a visit with Trump if the government would agree to investigate the 2016 election and a Ukrainian gas company tied to Biden’s son — the outline of a potential quid pro quo.
Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., a member of the House Intelligence Committee, said word of a second whistleblower indicates a larger shift inside the government.
“The president’s real problem is that his behavior has finally gotten to a place where people are saying, ‘Enough,'” Himes said.
Democrats have zeroed in on the State Department in the opening phase of their impeachment investigation. The Intelligence, Oversight and Foreign Affairs committees have already interviewed Kurt Volker, a former special envoy to Ukraine who provided the text messages, and least two other witnesses are set for depositions this week: Gordon Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union, and Marie Yovanovitch, who was abruptly ousted as the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine in May.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., one of Trump’s most vocal backers, provided perhaps the strongest defense of the Republican president. He said there was nothing wrong with Trump’s July conversation with Zelenskiy and said the accusations look like a “political setup.”
As for Trump, rather than visiting his nearby golf course in Sterling, Virginia, for a second day, he stayed at the White House on Sunday, where he tweeted and retweeted, with the Bidens a main target.
“The great Scam is being revealed!” Trump wrote at one point, continuing to paint himself as the victim of a “deep state” and hostile Democrats.
Aside from Trump’s attempt to pressure Zelenskiy, the July call has raised questions about whether Trump held back near $400 million in critical American military aid to Ukraine as leverage for an investigation of Burisma, a Ukrainian gas company.
Hunter Biden served on the board of Burisma at the same time his father was leading the Obama administration’s diplomatic dealings with Ukraine. Though the timing raised concerns among anti-corruption advocates, there has been no evidence of wrongdoing by either Biden.
Joe Biden, a leading candidate for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, wrote in The Washington Post that he had a message for Trump and “those who facilitate his abuses of power. … Please know that I’m not going anywhere. You won’t destroy me, and you won’t destroy my family.”
Additional details about the origins of Trump’s July 25 call with Zelenskiy have emerged over the weekend.
Energy Secretary Rick Perry had encouraged Trump to speak with the Ukrainian leader, but on energy and economic issues, according to spokeswoman Shaylyn Hynes. She said Perry’s interest in Ukraine is part of U.S. efforts to boost Western energy ties to Eastern Europe.
Trump, who has repeatedly has described his conversation with Zelenskiy as “perfect,” told House Republicans on Friday night that it was Perry who teed up the July call, according to a person familiar with Trump’s comments who was granted anonymity to discuss them. The person said Trump did not suggest that Perry had anything to do with the pressure to investigate the Bidens.
Himes appeared on CBS’ “Face the Nation” while Graham spoke on Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures.”
___
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Ellen Knickmeyer and Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report.
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University of Kansas apologizes for Snoop Dogg’s stripper-pole performance
If you don’t know that Snoop Dogg parties like a rockstar and brings the heat, booty-shaking ladies, some Gin and Juice and sometimes lights one too when he rolls through, now you know.
—Snoop Dogg and family mourn baby grandson’s death—
At least that’s what the University of Kansas learned after they invited the “Drop It Like It’s Hot” and “Gin and Juice” hit-maker to perform for the “Late Night in the Phog” preseason celebration, but ultimately apologized Friday night for the raunchiness that accompanied his show.
Snoop got on the mic and rocked it, belting out all his jams during his 35-minute performance at the Allen Fieldhouse. But show officials who booked apparently were surprised when concertgoers were treated to ladies dancing on stripper poles, dropping it and doing splits in bootylicious mini shorts. And snoop made it rain when fake money was shot into the crowd.
For some reason the school expected Snoop Dogg to deliver a clean performance.
“We apologize to anyone who was offended by the Snoop Dogg performance at Late Night. We made it clear to the entertainers’ managers that we expected a clean version of the show and took additional steps to communicate to our fans, including moving the artist to the final act of the evening, to ensure that no basketball activities would be missed if anyone did not want to stay for his show,” the said Kansas athletic director Jeff Long in a statement to the Kansas City Star.
“I take full responsibility for not thoroughly vetting all the details of the performance and offer my personal apology to those who were offended. We strive to create a family atmosphere at Kansas and fell short of that this evening,” Long added.
Snoop on the other hand thanked the school on Instagram for allowing him to do what he’s known to do.
“Thank. U for letting me be me. This is America,” he captioned the post.
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50 Cent set to produce docuseries about Tekashi69’s rise and fall
50 Cent is launching a docuseries project that will give the low down on some of his industry friends like Snoop Dogg and foes like Tekashi 6ix9ine.
— Cardi B’s post-indictment Instagram photo teases new movie ‘Hustlers’—
The rapper who is known for his petty trolls of celebrities is reportedly producing “A Moment in Time” and putting Tekashi’s short-lived rap career on blast, chronicling his rise and unceremonious fall from grace, TMZ reports.
Tekashi turned into a federal informant against Nine Trey Blood gang members and other rappers, something some celebs have dogged him out for.
The docuseries will feature 6 to 8 hour-long episodes that will also highlight Snoop Dogg during a difficult time centered around his murder trial, at the height of his career when “Doggystyle” was the highest-selling hip-hop album in the country.
Also featured will be music producer Scott Storch, former NBA star Rafer Alston and 50 Cent.
50 Cent is never one to hold his tongue so we have to see how this docuseries plays out. But from his past transgressions, we’re pretty sure it’ll be just as petty as his checkered past confrontations.
Let’s not forget that 50 once called out his own “Power” co-star Rotimi for owing him $300k.
—Tekashi 6ix9ine plans to decline witness protection and resume his rap career after prison—
And the G-Unit rapper used his Instagram account as a part-time collections agency, where over the past year, he has put on blast the likes of Bow Wow, Young Buck, Teairra Mari, Power executive producer Randall Emmett as well as series co-star Rotimi, Jackie Long, Biz Markie, and Adrien Broner.
Surely Tekashi’s episode will be one to watch!
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Outrage after Black man sentenced to 10 days in jail for missing jury duty
A 21-year-old Florida man was penalized with a 10-day jail sentence after he overslept and missed attending jury duty.
—Amber Guyger: Key witness in murder conviction slain outside home—
Deandre Somerville said he has never been arrested and yet faced criminal charges after Judge John Kastrenakis sentenced him to 10 days in jail, one year of probation and 150 hours of community service for failing to show up for a schedule court case, The NY Daily News reports.
According to the judge, Somerville “inconvenienced the court” for at least 45 minutes, and that rubbed the judge the wrong way. Somerville explains that he was chosen as a juror earlier this year and the case started on Aug. 21 but he didn’t wake up until 11:30a a.m.—two hours too late to attend, he thought.
Instead, Somerville who works in an after-school programs for the City of West Palm Beach and Recreation Department, went to work for his afternoon shift thinking that it was pointless to try to attend the trial at that point.
“At work, I was looking at my phone thinking, ‘What’s the worst-case scenario that could happen?’” Somerville recalled. “I thought maybe I would get a fine or something like that.”
While at work, Somerville said he received an urgent call from his grandmother alerting him that police were at the door. His grandfather then urged him to get to the court, where he said he was arrested after he explained to the judge about the delay.
“They handcuffed me in courtroom after that,” Somerville said.
—‘Deeply disturbing’ video of Black teen being arrested at UPS under investigation—
Somerville was also ordered to write an apology letter to judge Kastrenakis who then reduced his probation and community service hours.
After outrage following the sentence, the judge however stood his ground defending the time Somerville served implying that it fit his “crime.”
“I came to conclusion it was deserving of punishment,” Kastrenakis told CNN. “Good people make bad mistakes.”
According to CNN, instead of a year of probation, Somerville will now serve just three months, according to court records. His 150 hours of community service were reduced to 30 hours, which includes reporting to the jury office once a week to give a 10-minute talk on the importance of jury duty.
Somerville’s public defender asked the judge to throw out the case, according to WPTV.
Court records show the judge withheld Somerville’s conviction, and the station reported that the judge said he would entertain a motion in the future to drop the charge.
The post Outrage after Black man sentenced to 10 days in jail for missing jury duty appeared first on theGrio.
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