Bits and Bites > The Semi-Tragic Story of the Black Watch

 

Hopefully, those Scottish soldiers of legendary courage 
will not accuse me of cultural appropriation.

The story goes: 

I once had a watch with a black face, but I had to get rid of it as it kept reminding me of our Prime Minister.

Forgive me a little silliness as it seems necessary sometimes to maintain my sanity. That's assuming I have some sanity to begin with - a large assumption, not necessarily supported in reality.

GWM

Bits and Bites from Around the World > Teen linked Minecraft to terrorism; Preschool blackface - seemed like a good idea at the time; Crypto - VD

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Russian teen sentenced to 5 years in prison for 'Minecraft'-

linked terrorism

Nikita Uvarov planned to blow up a security service building

after practicing on video game

By Ailis Halligan

Russian teen sentenced to 5 years in prison for 'Minecraft'-linked terrorism

Police cars outside the Federal Security Service (FSB) building on Lubyanka Square in Moscow.

© Sputnik / Evgeny Odinokov

A Russian teenager has been sentenced to five years in prison after planning to blow up a local headquarters of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), and first practicing on a video game.

According to the Investigative Committee, 16-year-old student Nikita Uvarov planned to destroy the building on Minecraft, a popular world-building game, and then replicate the measure in real life. Uvarov, who comes from the small Siberian town of Kansk, was sentenced on Thursday morning, and was also told to pay a 30,000 ruble ($400) fine.

The investigators said that the teenager and two of his friends had been learning how to manufacture explosives since 2019, and had practiced throwing Molotov cocktails on abandoned land in Kansk. It was also alleged that they studied extremist literature and watched videos with instructions for making explosives, and successfully made four bombs.

The Eastern District Military Court found Uvarov guilty of charges of terrorism, namely, undergoing training to carry out criminal activity, his lawyer Pavel Chikov announced.

Chikov heads Agora, an organization that represents those who may be victims of suspected human rights abuses by the authorities. The group is classified in Russia as a ‘foreign agent’ due to receiving funding from abroad.

According to the investigators, Uvarov and two other males used the video game to construct the buildings of the Kansk police department and the city’s FSB division, and plotted to virtually blow them up. Russian newspaper Kommersant reported that the teenagers used the gaming world to demonstrate how a real explosion of the buildings would take place.

While being taken into custody following the court decision, Uvarov cried, “I'm a child, I’m not a terrorist,” it was reported. His co-defendants were exempted from criminal liability for “facilitating the investigation.”

Uvarov was first detained back in 2020 along with two school friends, Denis Mikhaylenko and Bogdan Andreev, for crimes committed in their hometown of Kansk, including flyer distribution and the use of fireworks.

Specifically, the trio was arrested for distributing posters backing the release of self-described anarchist and mathematician Azat Miftakhov, one of which appeared on the local FSB building. Miftakhov was arrested in 2019 for allegedly attacking the Moscow offices of the ruling political party United Russia.

After the schoolboys’ detention, law enforcement officers were able to gain access to their online communications and found details of how they would construct virtual buildings. Authorities also uncovered criticisms of the FSB and discussions about anarchism and pyrotechnics. This is also where investigators found plans to blow up buildings in the Minecraft computer game, the Baza Telegram channel reported.

Preschool shuts down after forcing toddlers to wear ‘blackface’ masks

A peculiar classroom activity meant to celebrate Black History Month

triggered outrage among parents

A Massachusetts preschool is closing its doors indefinitely after a class assignment saw children don a form of ‘blackface’ to mark Black History Month, with the facility issuing a lengthy apology to irate parents amid the controversy. 

In a statement shared online late last week, the ICKids preschool in Newtown, Massachusetts said a teacher at the school had “carried out an activity that involved black mask/black face,” and that a parent later complained that the assignment was “offensive.” 

While the school noted that the staffer in question was fired over the incident, it added, somewhat cryptically, “Considering of protests [sic] happening at the center that will put the children at risk… we are closing the ICKids daycare at this time.” 

The preschool did not elaborate on what the controversial ‘blackface’ activity entailed, however, a Facebook post by a self-described relative of a student there shared a photo taken in the classroom, in which children are seen with what appear to be paper plates with black faces painted on them. One little girl is seen holding a plate to her face as a mask. 

“My cousin sent me a picture of… her child’s daycare in the town of Newton, Ma. This is how they decided to celebrate Black history month, by having the students make Black Face,” the family member wrote alongside the photo.

Nadirah Pierce, the mother of a student at the Newton school, told a local NBC affiliate the assignment was “unacceptable,” adding “I don’t really understand the concept of this project.”

It's very likely that the staffer didn't understand the concept either. Much like Justin Trudeau when he was an elementary school teacher.

The mother was also critical of the school’s initial apology, which stated: “To all who are offended, we sincerely apologize for what happened with one of our classroom activities: blackface. 

“Unfortunately we didn’t do enough research on black history and carried out a wrong activity. We are sorry about it and we mean it!” the original statement went on. Pierce described that missive as “empty,” and said the lengthier mea culpa posted to Facebook was still “disheartening.”

However, while the Newton school said it would be shutting down for an unspecified period of time, it did suggest it could someday resume operations, stating “In the event that we reopen our doors all staff will be trained in Diversity” and that “multicultural issues in child care and other mandated professional development will be done continuously through the year.”

I have to agree with him...

Billionaire compares crypto to ‘venereal disease’

Berkshire Hathaway Vice Chairman Charlie Munger wants virtual currency banned

© Getty Images / Julian Popov / EyeEm

Charlie Munger, the longtime business partner of Warren Buffett, has ripped cryptocurrencies, likening them to a sexually transmitted disease. In a comment that went viral, the veteran investor also called for virtual currencies to be banned.

“I certainly didn’t invest in crypto. I’m proud of the fact I’ve avoided it. It’s like a venereal disease or something. I just regard it as beneath contempt,” Munger said at a shareholder’s Q&A session at the annual meeting for LA-based newspaper company, Daily Journal Corp, where he serves as chairman.

The 98-year-old billionaire investor added that he “admire[s] the Chinese for banning it.”

The news, first reported by Bloomberg, comes months after Berkshire Hathaway bought $1 billion worth of stock in a digital bank that focuses on crypto. The SEC filing submitted earlier this week confirmed the holding’s crypto investments into Nubank, a digital bank based in Brazil.

Last December, Nubank raised $2.6 billion in its New York IPO, valuing the fintech firm at over $40 billion.

Munger and Buffett have been long-standing critics of cryptocurrencies. Buffett has previously derided Bitcoin for being an asset that “does not create anything,” calling it “rat poison” and saying that crypto is nothing more than a “delusion that attracts charlatans.”

Exactly! And blockchain is a horrendous waste of power that could be used for something useful.

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Black Student Kicked from Meeting for Wearing Justin Trudeau Blackface Costume

‘Woke’ college kids can’t take a joke? 

© Twitter / Campus Reform; Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau © REUTERS / John Morris

Mocking Justin Trudeau and his past penchant for blackface is apparently off-limits – even if you’re black. An African-American conservative was booted from a student meeting for dressing up as the Canadian prime minister.

Koby Peters, a student government member at Colorado State University, was asked to leave an assembly because he showed up dressed as Trudeau in blackface. Photos of the Canadian leader surfaced earlier this year showing him donning the ultra-offensive face paint as part of a costume.

For his own costume, Peters donned a black blazer and dress shirt and painted his face black and topped it off with a Trudeau-esque wig. He also waved two small Canadian flags, essential props for any Trudeau costume.

Campus Reform✔
@campusreform
EXCLUSIVE: Black conservative kicked out of meeting for wearing Trudeau blackface costume.https://campusreform.org/?ID=13953 

Black conservative removed from meeting over Justin Trudeau blackface costume

"I cannot take off my blackface"

The engineering student told Campus Reform that his colleagues voted to remove him from the meeting without offering him a chance to defend himself. Peters said it was bizarre that the group thought it was offensive that a black man was wearing blackface.

“As you can see, I cannot take off my blackface so adding on another shade, in my opinion, doesn’t change anything,” Peters told the outlet. He stressed that his aim wasn’t to offend but rather to spark a conversation about double standards in politics.

A shot from a very brief video that shows Trudeau raising his arms like an ape. While the video surfaced during the election campaign, no media in Canada pointed out the 'aping' actions during the election campaign.

I chose this costume to bring out the hypocrisy that Canada re-elected Justin Trudeau on the back of the endorsement of Barack Obama, so we really need to figure out whether blackface is OK or it’s not OK.

Obama, Trudeau's fellow Deep Stater, is not the least concerned that he interfered, in an unprecedented way, in a Canadian election.

Peters theorized that he was booted simply because he’s one of the few black conservatives, who “aren’t supposed to exist,” on campus.

The costume could even cost Peters his leadership role, although he said that he was confident that he would be able to beat racism charges filed against him.

Incredibly, the university’s chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers sent an email to its members about the incident, describing it as “another recent issue with disrespect towards people of color.” The message didn’t mention that Peters was black.

In September, a photograph of a grinning 29-year-old Trudeau wearing brown makeup on his face, neck, and hands was discovered in an old yearbook from a private school where the Canadian prime minister once taught.

Responding to the embarrassing photos, Trudeau acknowledged that it was racist to wear blackface, but insisted that he was still a champion of minorities.

I wonder if we should ask him to define 'champion'.

Trudeau could have walked down St Catherines Street and shot someone at random, and he would still have been re-elected. Canadian media would have put the blame on the victim and made Trudeau a hero. Canada's mainstream media leans so far to the left and yet thinks of themselves as centrists. They would be completely unrelatable to the media 35 or 40 years ago. But that's progress, apparently. 

In 21st century Canada, having a conscience, or being of good character, will ensure you are unelectable.