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What is QAnon? Explaining the bizarre rightwing conspiracy theory

Wikipedia

On June 26, 2018, WikiLeaks publicly accused QAnon of "leading anti-establishment Trump voters to embrace regime change and neo-conservatism". QAnon had previously pushed for regime change in Iran. Two days later, the whistleblower organization shared an analysis by Internet Party president Suzie Dawson, claiming that QAnon's posting campaign is an "intelligence agency-backed psyop" aiming to "round up people that are otherwise dangerous to the Deep State (because they are genuinely opposed to it) usurp time & attention, & trick them into serving its aims".

So, TR and I were out smoking and drinking coffee this morning and he tells me about this British bird who was walking around where she used to live, looking at all the old landmarks, and comes across this US MAIL mailbox painted up like an American flag. She instagrams or tweets or some shit a picture with a caption of "What the hell is this?". She gets some joking responses back like "freedom rings, baby!" and responds tongue-in-cheek "I'm all for immigration but they need to assimilate". I get a chuckle out of this because I like to see people not taking themselves seriously all the time.

That got me to thinking. There are a whole lot of folks in the US who are of the opinion that immigrants should be able to wag their entire culture over here, making no efforts at assimilation whatsoever. It made me wonder if they would say the same thing if a couple million Texans moved over to Sweden, kept right on being Texans at everyone, and demanded legal changes to better fit their Texan sensibilities. I'm dead certain they wouldn't. This tells me what they say is a lie and their beef is very specifically with the US's dominant culture/laws/etc... but that they are too cowardly to say so openly.

Okay, the subject isn't what the title line is going to make you think, LOL.

I've, for now, gotten out of the PC repair business and am instead pursuing two food jobs. The new one is mid-morning to mid-afternoon at a local bakery that just opened. I went in dressed to impress, thinking it was interview time--and instead was hired on the spot and spent 6 and a half hours (8 AM to 2:30 PM) baking and (wo)manning the front counter. They pay better than anything I've done before, too, and the clientele has enough money to plunk down $3.00 for a muffin without a second thought.

And you know what? I'm *good at this.* Never having made cinnamon rolls before, my first attempt came out, according to the manager, as almost the Platonic ideal. The cheese bread (this *is* Wisconsin, you know...) was likewise my first attempt, and it just flew off the shelves. Muffins came up huge and moist, full of blueberries. It's been all of one shift and the manager already wants me to tell her some whole-wheat recipes and maybe experiment with stevia for the health-conscious crowd.

My heart is singing. This might be a kind of happiness. I don't want to jinx it, and I'd still rather be doing pharmacology, but this is...nice, for now. Maybe it's a kind of last happiness before the country implodes on itself. Whatever it is I'm going to take it gratefully, even if it's short-lived. It feels so good to use these hands to create.

Les Moonves and CBS Face Allegations of Sexual Misconduct

Six women tell The New Yorker that CBS chief Les Moonves sexually harassed them

Leslie Moonves, current CEO of CBS

You can't kill what has already gone full #MeToo. You can only cauterize the wound with a CEO-sized resignation.

Previously: Law Firm Kills WaPost Exposé of 60 Minutes Producer

Now we need the exposé of the Amazon Post to see why they caved and missed their chance for a big scoop. From The New Yorker's article:

Fager has tried to keep the allegations about the treatment of women at “60 Minutes” from surfacing publicly. According to the Times, in 2015 Fager took over the writing of a book about “60 Minutes” after the original author, Richard Zoglin, began asking people about the subject. In April, as two Washington Post reporters, Irin Carmon and Amy Brittain, were reporting an article about the allegations of harassment at CBS News, including complaints about Fager and Rosen, lawyers retained by Fager threatened to sue the Post, and presented testimonials about Fager’s good character. “There was this ham-handed effort to make women at the show say Jeff was a wonderful person,” one producer said. “It was so obvious we were doing it with a gun to our heads.” Fager’s lawyers also attacked the professionalism of the two reporters. In the end, the paper published a story that included complaints of harassment against Charlie Rose from dozens of women, but not allegations about Fager or Rosen. In a statement, the Post said, “The reporting throughout was vigorous and sustained and fully supported by Post editors. Nothing that met our longstanding standards for publication was left out. Nor did outside pressures, legal or otherwise, determine what was published.” CBS employees told me that they were alarmed by the attempts to kill the reporting. “The hypocrisy of an investigative news program shutting down an investigative print story is incredible,” one told me.

Stargate SG-1’s Christopher Judge wants to make a Jaffa spinoff series

There’s been no official momentum on anything Stargate-related since the end of Origins (which has since been compiled into a film-style cut, combining all the webisodes), but it's worth noting Judge is still actively involved with the franchise in an official capacity as host of the Stargate Command streaming service’s Dialing Home interview series. So he’s certainly in proximity to the ears that would need to be bent about a new web project. Judge also wrote several episodes of SG-1 over the years, helping craft the mythology of the Jaffa from behind and in front of the camera. So he certainly has the know-how and skill set.

GateWorld has been a lot more active lately.

Tree Frog Poison and Other New Ways Hollywood Is Self-Medicating

Phyllomedusa bicolor

R. Kelly answers his critics with a 19-minute song, 'I Admit'

New R. Kelly song ‘I Admit’ details singer’s long list of scandals

The R. Kelly boycott is working

Song. Lyrics. Wiki.

Prognosis: Negative?

After Elon Musk called a rescue diver a "pedo", all sorts of people have been crawling out of the woodwork to bash him. But this bit takes the cake:

SpaceX — which Musk touts as replacing NASA and colonizing Mars — has been a literal failure to launch. So many of its rockets have burned up or crashed that Musk, for reasons unknown, has made a blooper reel.

Jesus Fucking Christ.

Northrop Grumman's Faulty Payload Adapter Reportedly Responsible for "Zuma" Failure

SpaceX celebrates its many failures in hilarious new blooper reel

I'll let you judge whether the other attacks in the article (mostly about Tesla) are accurate.

A man has been jailed for having sex with a horse he claimed had given him consent.

Daniel Raymond Webb-Jackson broke into the stables and was caught on CCTV abusing the animal.

However, when questioned, the 31-year-old claimed the filly had agreed to sex because she smelt his crotch and winked at him.

Man says horse gave him sexual consent by winking at him

‘60 Minutes’ Boss Hired Law Firm Over #MeToo Story

One of television’s most powerful men, 60 Minutes Executive Producer Jeff Fager, hired a law firm that boasts about “killing stories” for a Washington Post investigation into him, three sources familiar with the matter told The Daily Beast.

The story was a deep dive into what CBS managers knew about former anchor Charlie Rose’s alleged sexual misconduct, but due to the aggressive tactics of law firm Clare Locke, the sources said, the story was “effectively neutered.”

Clare Locke also did work for former Today show host Matt Lauer and current New York Times reporter Glenn Thrush, three sources say. Both men were accused in news publications of sexually harassing women. The law firm was also recently hired by David Pecker, the CEO and chairman of American Media Inc., parent company of the National Enquirer, to try and shut down a negative story from a newspaper, according to two sources.